Author Notes:

Zane: Well, it's time for chapter three. If you missed the last two disclaimers, here's the third: neither Gammatron nor I claim ownership of One Piece and Pokemon, support the official releases, you've heard this all before. Today, we delve a bit into the lives of our two heroes between the previous events and the beginning of their journey. This includes a fateful encounter between the brothers and our cyborg and skeleton duo, as well as a fierce battle and a tearful parting. Before we start, any notes you'd like to add, Gammatron?

GammaTron: Yes. *starts sobbing like Franky, Brook, Usopp, Chopper, or Luffy do* SABOOOOOOOO~~~~~~!-!-!

Brook: Please forgive him. He just recently found a site with One Piece Manga still up and just finished reading the chapters involving Luffy-san's childhood. *starts crying again* The poor boy~~~!-!-!

Zane: Brook, how are you even crying without tear ducts? Oh, never mind. Enjoy the chapter, folks.

Chapter Three: The Unpredictable Encounter: A Clash Between Friends and Foes Alike

Four years have passed since the departure of the Akagami Pirates, and today, on Ash's tenth birthday, another person was to make their departure.

"I don't get it, Jii-chan (Grandpa)!" Luffy, now 11 years old and wearing the hat Shanks gave him, asked in an aggravated tone, "Why does Ash get to start his Pokemon journey, but last year, I couldn't start one? I'm the older brother, dammit!"

"Baka!" a tall, imposing elderly man shout, clonking Luffy over the head with his fist, "You're still not strong enough to go out on your own! You can blame Ash for that!"

The man had a short, gray fuzz of hair on his head with a matching mustache-beard combo. He wore a stainless white suit over a dark blue dress shirt with a light blue tie, and like the two boys, had a scar near his left eye, though his was longer and ran around the side of his face. In one of his hands was a dog-themed hat. The two were currently standing in the foyer of the Ketchum residence, bickering and fighting as Delia walked in. She swiftly clonked the old man over the head in the same manner he had done with Luffy.

"He doesn't have to 'blame Ash' for anything," Delia lectured her father-in-law as he nursed the new bruise on his head, "Not for saving him time and time again from your so-called 'training.'"

Luffy suppressed a shudder. For those not aware, Garp's definition of 'training' involved tossing the two brothers into deep crevices (which Ash's dragon wings would pull them out of), leaving them to fend for themselves in the forest at night (whose beasts were frightened off by Ash's dragon fire breath), and tying balloons to them and letting them float off into the sky (only to have said balloons pop, courtesy of a certain Ketchum's dragon tail and for both to be returned via gem-encrusted dragon wings).

"Hey! I'm just trying to raise my grandsons to be tough and proud Marines!" he roared in response.

"But Ash and I aren't going to be Marines!" Luffy argued, "We're going to be pirates!"

"No, you're not!" Luffy's grandfather continued, whacking his grandson's head again, which earned him the same from Delia, "And stop doing that, woman! Don't you have any respect for the elderly?"

"I'll stop when you stop hitting my son!" Delia countered, "And just how is tossing my sons into jungles, chasms, and even the freaking sky supposed to toughen them up, anyway?"

"Hey, if it doesn't kill them, it makes them stronger, of course! Wahahaha!" he laughed heartily, before a third bump was left on his head and he lay knocked out on the ground.

"Honestly," Delia tsked, blowing on her knuckles, "You should be more encouraging of your grandchildren to follow their dreams, like Dadan and her boys are in their own way. By the way, Luffy, could you run down to Oak's lab and give Ash these?" She handed the rubber boy a folded set of clothes consisting of a black shirt, blue vest, jeans, sneakers, a green backpack, and a red and white baseball cap with a dark green triangular design on the front, "He was in such a rush, he left in his pajamas. I'd go myself, but someone needs to restrain your grandfather so he doesn't try to, oh, say...kidnap Ash after he leaves Pallet Town and drag him off to Marine HQ or something. I'll catch up afterwards, though."

"Yeah, that does seem like something he'd try," Luffy agreed as he took the bundle and started out the door, "I'll see you there!"

A few seconds after the door closed, Delia sighed as she turned to look at her father-in-law on the ground, "You're not fooling me, Monkey D. Garp. I know you're just pretending to be unconscious so you won't get hit anymore."

Slowly, he pulled himself back to his feet, having an annoyed, defeated look on his face.

"Should've known better than to think that'd fool you, I guess," he sighed, "And don't worry, I won't try to kidnap Ash like you said. There's no point in dragging him off to HQ if he wouldn't join of his own free will, anyway."

"And yet you'd resort to beating them on a daily basis until they'd agree," Delia commented dryly, "My, what an inspiring grandfather you are."

"Hey, at least I have their best interests at heart," Garp grumbled, "At least I'm not encouraging them to be criminals like you're doing."

"I'm encouraging them to follow their dreams," Delia defended, "Something you should have tried with Ryu-chan."

"Oh, not that stupid pet name again," Garp groaned in annoyance, putting a hand on his forehead in an attempt to try to block the headache, "It's one thing to have the son of a Vice-Admiral have the nickname 'Ryu-chan', but for that to be the nickname of the world's most wanted criminal? As much as I hate to admit it, that dope deserves a bit more respect than that."

"Don't call him a dope," Delia scolded sternly.

"Fine! I'll call him what he is!" Garp replied angrily. "A treacherous, no good, no account delinquent gecko! I don't know what you saw in such a worthless, little...!"

Before he could finish his insult, Delia had knocked him back to the floor; his head now sporting three new bruises stacked one on top of the other. Delia looked especially steamed now, pouting as she turned towards a small table with a picture frame on it.

"Don't talk about my Ryu-chan that way!"

Her frown instantly faded, though, as she looked at the photo in the frame, and a loving smile came to her face, though anyone else would question why when he or she saw the photo. It depicted a younger version of her and a young man, standing back to back lovingly as they flashed a peace sign at the camera. They looked to be about the age of high school students, so the childish pose wasn't that surprising. What was, however, was their choice of attire. Both outfits were traditional Japanese style school uniforms, a seifuku for Delia and a gakuran for "Ryu-chan", but it were the added touches of torn sleeve ends, pocket chains, medical masks, and sunglasses that really made the scene seem strange, giving the two the appearances of stereotypical Japanese delinquents. The picture was a tad torn at the edges and faded, showing its age.

"I guess there's just a time in every young girl's life when she just wants to ride off into the sunset with her rebel of a boyfriend," she sighed happily, "I guess I just never grew out of that phase."

Glancing over her shoulder, Garp let out a second groan of annoyance before saying, "So you two never took a better picture together than that?"

A moment later, his head was buried under the broken pieces of the table the photo used to sit on, courtesy of Delia picking it up and using it to discipline the Marine in the same manner her fist had done before. His attacker was humming a merry little tune before placing the photograph on its new home, a shelf holding two other photographs of her with Ash and Luffy, one of the pair as toddlers and the other more recent, with a third boy with dark hair and freckles and a fourth boy with curly blond hair, a gap in his teeth, and a large black hat bickering with the two in what one would garner to be an attempt at a family, given the fancy attire of the boys, herself, and a group of people-including Garp. The frame of the picture read 'Our Family.'

"…I never stopped loving him, you know," she said somberly, "But I know that what he needs to do for the world is more important than me, maybe not to him, but in the grand scheme of it all, whether you approve of how he does what he needs to do or not. It would have been selfish to try to make him stay, so I let him go freely. I'll raise Ash and Luffy so they can survive in this world, and he'll try to make it a better place for them."

Garp's anger faded as he looked solemnly at the ground, "I'm just trying to do the same," he nodded, "Preparing them for challenges they'll encounter and throwing the worst at them so the world can't catch them off guard with it. It's not easy doing my job when you know as much about it as I do."

"I know," Delia smiled, no longer angry either, "Come on, it's about time we left to see Ash off. This is an important day for him, you know, and I'm sure he'd be happy to see his Grandpa cheering for him as he left."

Garp smirked as he opened the door for her before stepping out himself. Leaning on the other side of the doorframe was Garp's second in command, a man in a gray three-piece suit with a gray fedora-like hat obscuring his eyes. Slung over his shoulders was a prestigious white coat with gold shoulder tassels and the Kanji for "Justice" stamped on the back, and at his side was a katana. He had his arms crossed as he leaned and waited, and a noticeable frown on his face.

"What's the matter, Bogart?" Garp jokingly asked as Delia went on ahead. "Were you worried about me when you heard the furniture crashing? You know I've handled worse!"

Bogart's frown persisted as he ignored his superior's joke and spoke, "We managed to get into contact with him, sir. While he cannot attend the send off, he has agreed to meet with you at the requested location afterword, provided only you and I attend this meeting."

In an instant, Garp's joking grin dropped into a more serious expression.

"Tell the men on board the ship that you and I will be late returning," he ordered, "Make up the excuse that we're going out to celebrate Ash starting his journey and have them prepare the ship for departure in advance to keep them busy."

His subordinate nodded in compliance before leaving the yard and heading to the harbor. Garp sighed before starting a faster pace to keep up with Delia.

Ash's send-off on his journey was unorthodox, to say the least. For one, it took longer than he'd like to admit for him to realize he showed up in his pajamas, but he also chose not to take a starter Pokemon, preferring to start his journey with his newly evolved Pikachu instead. There was also the fact that Luffy was crying loudly about him leaving and demanding that he fight him when he comes back to visit and Delia not wanting to let him go out of her sobbing hug of farewell and Garp's threats of becoming a Marine after his Pokemon Journey or else. In the end, all he left the Oak Laboratories with was his new Pokedex and the bundle Luffy brought for him (which he doubted his older brother would let him forget anytime soon, nor would Chimchar with Pikachu), but his friends and family gave a proper goodbye, nonetheless.

About an hour after the send off, at a small rest stop selling dango, rice crackers, tea, and other commodities on the outskirts of Pallet, Garp and Bogart had finally made their way there, throwing off any tag-a-longs, whether they were Marine, civilian, or otherwise, and decided to look around for a seat. The stand was almost empty, save for an elderly woman, who owned the rest stop and was tending to some affairs inside, and another person outside sipping tea. It was understandable that it would be pretty dead at this hour, still early in the morning and any new trainers who had passed it on their quests would have done so hours ago, mostly why Garp chose it as his meeting place.

You couldn't see if it was a man or woman at first glance because the person wore a dark green hooded cloak that concealed their appearance, leaving only their hands visible as they held their cup. However, said hands were large and rugged, and when combined with the broader frame of the person under the cloak, one could tell that person was male. At his side sat two long, wooden toothpicks, the types of sticks that previously held dango on them, and an unopened bag of rice crackers.

Garp nodded to Bogart, and the coated Marine walked inside the stand to distract the owner, while Garp sat back to back behind the stranger.

"Say..." he started, pointing at the bag, "You going to finish those?"

"Help yourself," was the stranger's response, the voice unmistakably masculine and strong.

Garp picked up the bag and tore the top off easily before biting into a cracker.

"So, you hear that the new generation of trainers in Pallet Town start their journeys today?" Garp asked, hoping to start a conversation.

"…I've heard," the stranger replied, taking another sip of his tea. "Saw a few walk past here actually. A lot of promising kids, especially this one named Gary Oak. Had his own cheer squad and everything, already."

"Wahahaha!" Garp laughed, stuffing another cracker into his mouth as he talked, "Kids these days have it so easy, you know! Back in my day, we actually had to earn our cheer squads, heck, some of us never even got one cute girl for a cheerleader!"

"…Let's not beat around the bush," the stranger stated coldly, "Why did you call me here? You should know I'd be prepared in case you tried an ambush."

"Hmpf, so serious," Garp grumbled, biting into a third cracker, "We both know this has nothing to do with the Marines or the Revolutionaries. I just thought that you'd like to see your son head off on the beginning of his journey, that's all."

"We both know I can't see them," the cloaked man growled in annoyance, "It would put them all in too much danger. You know that as well as I do."

"Yeah, yeah," Garp sighed, fishing around the bottom of the bag for one last cracker, "Of course I know. Did you forget who took all the documents linking them to you from Marine HQ and has been making sure no new ones circulate? They're doing fine, by the way." He stopped fishing and slumped over a little, "…She misses you, you know. Luffy and Ash have no clue about you other than that picture she keeps of you and her. Then there was the Goa Incident..."

"…She should've burned it long ago," the man sighed after a few moments, "I don't want anything connecting us together to exist; it's for their own good."

"Cheer up," Garp comforted him, crumpling up the now empty bag, "It doesn't even look like you anymore, since it's from before you got that stupid-looking face tattoo. Anyway, I should leave soon. If Bogart and I are gone too long, the men will get suspicious."

"I understand. It wouldn't look good for me either to be seen with a Marine Vice-Admiral. Tell Ash…happy birthday for me."

Garp stood up, flicking the crumpled bag into a nearby wastebasket, "I will. I'm sure the boys will meet you some day if they really intend to be pirates, so next time, you can tell them yourself." Garp took two steps before stopping, "Oh, one more thing. Even if it was just for a little bit…" he gave the man a large, fatherly smile, "…it was nice talking to you again, son. Welcome home."

"Thank you very much…Dad."

Garp motioned to Bogart that his business was done, so the swordsman quickly followed his commander as they returned to town. The cloaked figure still sat there for a few seconds, just holding the tea in his hands. He then stood as well, and started walking out in the opposite direction.

'Ash, Luffy, Delia, everyone,' The cloaked figure thought as the wind whipped around him, 'I'm sorry for all you have to go through at my expense, but I swear to you all, I will change this world. I'll change it into one where you can all live peacefully, and I hope that you all can forgive me for all my action once this new world is realized.'

"They're coming home! They're coming home!" a voice cheered.

"Ferno! Monferno!"

Delia paused from her gardening. Beside her, a strange humanoid creature stopped its sweeping. It had a a round, white body with a red spot in the middle. Its light pink arms and legs ware connected to its body by red spheres. Its knees had small, white coverings. There were red pads on the tips of its white fingers, and its black feet curled upwards at the tips. Blue growths extended from the sides of its pale pink head, and there were red circles on its cheeks. All in all, aside from the green apron with gold buttons, it looked like a mime.

"Here comes Luffy," Delia giggled, "I wonder what they're talking about, hm, Mimey?"

"Mr. Mime," the Pokemon shrugged as Luffy, age fourteen, ran to the house, grinning, while a Pokemon sat on his shoulders, grinning as well.

It was a bipedal, primate-like Pokémon. Orange fur covered most of its body, except for its ears, muzzle, fingers, circular areas on its palms, feet, and chest, which were tan. A small tuft of fur extended from the top of its head, and it had oval, brown eyes. Its eyes had a thick blue marking above and a small, red marking in-between. Its muzzle was short and blunt, with two small, pointed teeth it its upper jaw. There was a white ruff of fur around its neck and gold bands around its arms near its shoulders. It had five fingers on each hand, but only three toes on each foot. Its long tail had a red ring around the base and a flame burning at the tip. That was originally Luffy's Chimchar, but it had evolved two years ago into Monferno during training with his older brother.

"Kaa-chan, did ya hear?!" Luffy grinned from cheek to cheek, "Ash and Pikachu are coming home!"

"Oh, how wonderful!" Delia beamed, "They'll make it just in time for Ace's seventeenth birthday and his Day of Sailing Off."

Luffy nodded in excitement, "Yeah!" he turned to his right, "Ace, come on! We're gonna miss Ash and Pikachu coming home!"

"No! Ferno!" Monferno waved.

"Ease up, you two," a voice chuckled as a figure walked up, "Hey, Mom."

The voice belong to a young man, almost seventeen years of age. Although they were not blood related, Portgas D. Ace looked remarkably like his second-youngest foster brother, Luffy. However, Ace was more serious looking than Luffy's lighthearted appearance, and was also slightly taller and more muscular. He also sported rather childish freckles. He wore an open-front shirt, black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. On Ace's left arm, he wore a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, and an orange elbow guard. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.

"Oh, Ace! It's so good to see you!" Delia greeted as she hugged the young man, "In just a few days, I'm not gonna be able to do this."

"Oh, come on, Mom. Don't cry now..." Ace sweated a bit as he saw the tears welling up on Delia's face, "You know I'll try to call you and everyone here every chance I get at Pokemon Centers and anywhere I can find a phone."

"Let's go get some food to make Ash a welcome home feast!" Luffy cheered, "And after that, we can get twice as much to give Ace a sailing for adventure party!"

Ace chuckled as he rolled his eyes while Delia giggled a bit. Mimey rolled his eyes before resuming his sweeping. The Pokemon then made a few hand movements with one hand and a barrier appeared, blocking the throw stretched fist and a rock the size of a tire.

"Still as quick as you were back when we first met," Ace smirked at Mimey before Luffy and Ace were on the floor, smoke coming from the head bumps on their heads.

"Don't attack Mimey," Delia ordered.

Several years have passed since the momentous day Ash began his journey, and much has happened. He made his way through not only the entirety of Kanto, but moved on afterword to other regions, including the Orange Islands, Johto, and Hoenn. In fact, it was on this day, three years or so later, that Ash found himself returning to his hometown alone, having parted ways with his friends along the way to take their separate paths. Brock had tagged along for the last part of his trek, most likely chasing some girl below deck now, seeing as neither Misty nor Max were around to get in his way, but once the ship docked, they'd head their separate ways once again. Brock would travel to Pewter City and Ash to Pallet Town.

In addition to getting some much needed rest, he had received a message from Luffy that their older brother Ace was to set out on his own journey in just a few days. Ash couldn't pass up the opportunity to see him off as he began his life as a pirate! The Ryu-Jemu no Mi user stood on the deck of a ship drawing closer and closer to the harbor of Vermilion City, where it'd dock and he'd get off and head for Pallet. His outfit now was similar to the one his mother originally gave him, but very different. His button-up shirt was now replaced by a black and blue sleeveless hoodie, his green gloves now black, and his hat, while still the same style, was red and black now, with the triangle symbol replaced by a circle and larger half-circle of the same color.

Pikachu stood at his feet, not any different than the day it evolved, watching the coast grow nearer like his trainer. Both were looking forward to the day they could say 'good luck' to their blood brother before he went on his journey, a small part of each of them knowing that, should they cross paths again afterword, it may be as enemies. Such was the life of a pirate, after all.

"You're looking forward to seeing everyone, too, aren't you, Pikachu?" Ash asked his partner, who nodded in agreement as the small mouse Pokemon smiled.

"Pi-pika!"

"I wonder how much Luffy has grown since we last saw each other..." Ash pondered, his grin growing broader, "And Chimchar, too, for that matter. You plan on seeing how much stronger the little guy became?"

"Pika!" Pikachu replied energetically, sparks flying from his cheeks as he envisioned the next battle he'd have with his rival.

"Ryushishishi!" Ash laughed at his teammate's enthusiasm, pumping his fist in the air to show his. "I'm excited, too, buddy! Pallet Town, here we come!"

"Pi-Ka-Chu!" the electric rodent cheered in agreement, pumping its fist in the air in the same manner.

Just then, though, their moment ended when the speakers on the ship squeaked on.

=Attention passengers. We are almost at the Vermilion City port, so we ask everyone to return to his or her own cabin until the ship is docked. Thank you all for sailing with us and enjoy your stay in the Kanto region=

"Well, you heard him, Pikachu," Ash said, turning back to the ship, "Time to head inside."

Pikachu leaped after its master as both returned to their rooms on the ship.

Meanwhile, a heavy fog had fallen over the port of Pallet Town, letting no sunlight through it and reducing visibility to zero. Luckily, no ships were out on the water today, so no one was endangered by it in any way. One man, a sailor whose ship was supposed to shove off today, was walking through the nearly deserted docks to the local tavern. Since his ship couldn't sail safely through the fog, they were given an extra day of leave, and he planned on spending the rest of it celebrating.

As he walked, though, a strange sound started to echo, coming from the water.

Yo ho ho ho

Yo ho ho ho,

He looked around rather frantically, finding the sound rather eerie, but when he couldn't see the source of it, he instead opted to quicken his pace.

Yo ho ho ho

Yo ho ho ho.

Then, glowing high in the air, five balls of blue fire materialized, shining faintly through the fog. This got the sailor hastening his pace into a fast run, but due to the mist, he didn't see the small bundle of spare rope that was left on the dock. His foot was caught in it, tripping him and making him hit the cobblestone hard. But when he lifted his head from the ground, his eyes were locked on an enormous, worn and damaged, purple galleon with torn, black sails that depicted a jolly roger on them. The fires he had seen were hovering a small ways in front of where the figurehead would have been, though none was there.

todoke ni yuku yo… (Going to deliver…)

If the poor sailor wasn't scared enough already, the sight of who was singing this tune made the color really drain from his face. Standing at the front of the ship, with Zuuta hovering around him, was Brook, the talking gentleman skeleton from before. However, as if he wasn't scary enough in his own right, he currently was wrapped in a dark purple cloak, leaving only his face visible underneath the hood of the cloak, giving him the appearance of a certain grim specter.

Binkusu no sake wo (…Binks' Sake)

"G-G-G-" the terrified sailor stuttered before screaming, "G-GRIM REAPEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR! UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

At that exact moment, back on board the supposedly cursed ship…

"Oi! Knock it off with the singing, Skeleton-Bro!" Cutty Flam yelled, throwing a wrench at the back of his friend's head.

He looked much different from how he used to as a boy, growing noticeably taller and having thicker forearms with blue stars tattooed on them and a metal nose. He wore a now intact Hawaiian shirt, though still open, kept his classic speedos instead of pants, and a pair of pointed sunglasses replaced the goggles he wore on his forehead. His hair had been refashioned as well, now giving resemblance to Elvis Presley, and a pair of sideburns on his face.

"And get back inside! Who knows what people would think if they saw something like you out in this fog!"

"Ah, forgive me, Franky," Brook apologized, rubbing the bump that appeared on the back of his skull, though don't ask me how something like that is even possible, "I needed to come above deck to instruct Zuuta where to aim his Will o' Wisp attack so we could see through this cursed fog. As for the singing, well, I found the foggy atmosphere rather frightening, like maybe a ghost or a sea monster might emerge from it, and thought that maybe a song would lighten my nerves." His excuse, however, did little to relieve Franky's annoyance, actually furthering it.

"Two things," the cyborg shipwright seethed, holding up the number of fingers for emphasis. "One, this fog isn't cursed Brook. We've been over this before. I built a fog machine into the crow's nest of this ship so you wouldn't have to be burdened by your 'condition' while we're sailing. It's not magic or curses, it's science. Second, there are no monsters in this fog. In fact, you, Mi, and Zuuta are the closest things to ghouls haunting this place, and while I realize we need Zuuta's attack to see through it ourselves, you can still control him from a less conspicuous location on the ship. You don't need to be in a visible spot of the ship, and you don't need to be singing that song to ward off spirits or whatever you said, especially not in such a slow, spooky way."

"Again, sorry," Brook apologized, "But the cold of your fog was making me sleepy. Why else would I wear this cloak to stay warm, after all?" Then, the hood flew back on its own, no longer able to contain the skeleton's large Afro under it. Brook took the opportunity to fish his top hat from out of the cloak and place it back atop his head.

"G-GRIM REAPEEEEEEEEEERRRRRR! UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"EEEEYAH!" Brook shrieked before looking around, "Where? Where?! Begone evil spirit!"

"HE PROBABLY MEANS YOU, BAKA (IDIOT)!" Franky roared, tossing an empty bottle at the cowardly skeleton's head again.

Luffy laughed in glee as he was on the couch across from the door. Nearby, Ace and Delia bowed to a family altar, where a picture of the boy with a gap in his teeth was placed. Monferno hit his head on the table as Mimey showed a hand made of a Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of Spades to the Fire-Type. The doorbell rang and Luffy was at it in an instant.

"Ash!" Luffy cheered as he swung the door open...only to be met with three Pokemon, "Huh?"

"Bulbasaur!"

Bulbasaur was a small, quadruped Pokémon with green or bluish-green skin and dark patches. Its thick legs each ended with three sharp claws. Its eyes had red irises, while the sclera and pupils ware white. Bulbasaur had a pair of small, pointed teeth visible when its mouth is open. It had a bulb on its back, grown from a seed planted there at birth. One patch was shaped like a heart.

"Combusken!"

Combusken was a bipedal, chicken-like Pokémon. Most of Combusken's upper body was yellow, while most of the lower body was orange. An orange, pointed design adorned the center of its waist at the dividing line of the two colors. It had orange eyes, and short, wide beak. There was a feather crest on top of its head with three orange points. This crest was smaller on female Combusken. Its tail was short and pointed. It had three, sharp claws at the ends of its long arms, and scaly, gray legs with well-developed thighs covered in shaggy yellow feathers

"Munchlax!"

Munchlax was a teal Pokémon with a cream spot on its chest. Its round head was teal in the top half and cream on the bottom half. It had big, round eyes and large pointy ears. It had five-fingered hands and cream feet with three clawed toes. The fur close to the bottom of a Munchlax seemed to resemble a dress. Munchlax had two pointy teeth that stick out of its mouth even if closed.

"...Hey, Mimey, are you having friends over?" Luffy asked, turning to the mime.

"Mime!" Mimey shook his head.

It was then a girl around eleven poked her head from the left side of the door. She wore a red bandana on her long brown hair that split into an upside-down 'V' on the front of her face, ending just at her shoulders, a red shirt that zipped up with a black ring near the neck area, a white skirt over a pair of dark-blue shorts, a yellow fannypack, black socks, white and blue running shoes, and white and blue gloves. She had a look of mirth on her face.

"Hello!" she greeted.

"...You're not Ash," Luffy slumped before Ace whacked his head.

"Luffy, that's not how you greet someone," Ace sighed, "Sorry about my little brother. I'm Ace."

"Ace? Oh! I know you," the girl noted, "Ash talked about you and Luffy all the time."

"You know Ash?!" Luffy was immediately in her face, "Where is he?!"

"I'm not with him at the moment, but I did want to surprise him," she replied with a nervous laugh, taking a step back from Luffy, "I'm May."

"Surprise him?"

"Yep!" May giggled, "Is he here?"

"He's not here yet, I'm afraid," Ace informed, "But do you and your Pokemon want to come in?"

"Thank you," May bowed as Ace dragged Luffy out of the way to let the four enter, Mimey stopping Munchlax from going into the kitchen.

"Man..." Luffy whined as he looked out the window in the direction of the harbor. He noticed the heavy fog hanging over the harbor area and his bad mood grew, "Stupid fog. It better not make Ash late."

"Yeah. I have to admit that it's a bit strange for a fog to last this long, and only near the harbor, in fact. Weird..." Ace noted before grinning, "You think we'll get to see fog like that in the Grand Line?"

"You bet!" Luffy laughed before his eyes widened, "That's it!" he ran outside and took in a deep breath, "ASHHHHHHHHHH!-!-! PIKACHUUUUUUUU!-!-!"

"...Ash was right. Luffy is always like that," May sweatdropped.

"Yeah. But he can be serious when he wants to be," Ace chuckled, "It's the same with A..." he collapsed, making May scream.

"Oh my god!" May yelped, "I...Is he dead?"

"Oh no, no, no," Delia shook her head, giggling, "Ace has Narcolepsy, so this is typically normal."

"I...I see..." May sweatdropped.

Meanwhile, having docked the ship and turned off the fog machine, Franky had disembarked to search the island for a certain gaseous specter, other than Brook. Before landing, Brook sent out Mi to search for any nearby islands for the two to land on and restock their supplies in its town. When they saw Mi's Will o' Wisp signal flare from afar, they followed it to Pallet Town, and now Franky had to find him before they got what they needed and left.

"Dammit, Mi," Franky grumbled, "Why'd Brook have to teach you how to hide so good? We're not playing a game!"

As he was making his way through the forest, however, he heard a primal roar coming from close by. With thudding footsteps and the sound of claws being sharpened against bark, a large, purple, and spiny creature emerged before him, knocking down a pair of trees that stood in its way. It has large ears, three-fingered claws, single-toed feet, and a row of purple spines going down the length of its back. Its skin looked more like an armored exoskeleton, despite the fact that running across the beast's forehead underneath its protruding horn was a four-clawed scar that looked like it had only healed recently, and the look it its eyes showed blind fury at anything or anyone that happened across its path.

"Niiidoooo!" it roared, beating its own chest with its fists before its eyes fell on Franky.

"So this is a Nidoking, I think they're called," he observed, moving his sunglasses over his eyes. "Looks bigger and stronger than they usually are, like it's the head of the herd. Too bad I don't have any pokeballs on me; he'd make a great first partner."

Nidoking roared a second time, challenging the cyborg in a contest of strength before lower its head to charge.

"So you wanna fight, do you?" Franky sneered, pulling a glove made to look like skin off this right hand and revealing it to be made of metal. This surprised the Pokemon, but didn't deter it as it rushed at Franky with the force of a freight train. "Fine, but don't go crying or anything afterword. It's not my fault if you can't handle how Super I am this week."

At the same time, Ash and Pikachu had been making his own trek through the forest, seeing as it was the quickest shortcut to Pallet from Viridian. He noted that he'd have to thank Dadan for teaching him that one of these days. He was almost to town when he heard a loud voice shout, "Strong Hammer!" Pikachu's more sensitive hearing detected a second sound, more quiet than the roar and almost lost in it, of defeated, pained whimpering. Choosing to act, Pikachu took off in the direction the sounds came from.

"Pikachu? Where are you going?" Ash cried out, taking chase of his friend.

Back at the scene of the fight, Nidoking now laid on the ground unconscious, its horn slightly bent at an angle and a large, fist-shaped imprint under it and over the scar. Franky took the opportunity to pick the monster up by the scruff of its neck and raise it to eye level.

"Man, oh man," he chided, "That was totally un-Super, dude. You're not as strong as I thought you were, but I guess you'll still do. I'll just carry you through town until I find a shop that sells pokeballs."

"PIKA-CHUUUU!" Suddenly, a bolt of lightning came out of nowhere, shocking Franky and making him drop the Nidoking. Pikachu leapt out from behind some shrubbery and landed on all fours, letting off sparks and growling at the cyborg.

"Pikachu, what are-" Ash questioned as he caught up, but stopped when he saw the scene. Franky, rather than be hurt or knocked out like anyone struck by Pikachu's attack, stood still, slightly singed and letting off a few sparks of his own. "Who are you, and what were you doing to that Nidoking?"

"Ara?" Franky replied, turning to face Ash and give him his most menacing glare. "I was catching it, you dolt. I beat it and it becomes mine. Got it?"

Ash was slightly confused, but when he saw the metal fist and nose of this man, realization dawned on him.

"I get it!" he exclaimed, pointing at the cyborg. "You must be another Team Rocket robot! That's why Pikachu's Thunderbolt didn't hurt you. I'm not just going to stand by and let you run amuck!"

"Team Rocket?" Franky questioned, but before he could ask more, Ash spat out a fireball at the speedo-wearing shipwright, who responded with a fireball of his own, canceling both out in a large explosion. The flapping of wings blew the smoke away, and Franky saw that Ash had taken a new form.

Black scales embedded with a pair of rows of multicolored gemstones lined the sides his back and tail, which now ended in a blade-shaped ruby, much like a Seviper's tail. His wingspan was wider now, the membrane lined with a similar ruby-like scaling that dazzled in the sunlight, and the forearm of the wing studded with gemstones like the ones that lined his back. His arms were covered by the same black scales and ended in claws with diamond nails, as were his feet that poked through small holes at the ends of his sneakers. His wardrobe had been altered to accompany the change in structure and size his transformation warranted, being made of a more elastic material that many Zoan type users used in their outfits. The upper half of his head and grown longer and scaled as well, giving him the appearance of wearing the upper portion of a dragon mask that melded with his skin, and a pair of black, backward pointing horns grew out from under his hat, jutting out of holes made in it, the same as his shoes and the back of his hoodie and shirt for these transformations. His eyes had become more reptilian and a ruby-like chakra was ebbed into his forehead.

"Well, that's…something," Franky commented, moving his sunglasses back to his forehead as Ash snorted out puffs of fire. "A Devil Fruit user, eh? Maybe this fight will be more fun."

As Franky pulled back his arm for a punch, Ash inhaled to form another fireball. Ash fired his blast and Franky let his fist fly, as his forearm detached from the rest of his arm, connected to his body by an iron chain, and punched through the fire. The strangeness of the attack caught Ash off guard and it connected with his gut, causing him to double over.

"How do you like my Strong Right?" Franky smirked before paling when he heard chuckling come from his enemy.

Ash looked up, wearing his own smirk and revealing he caught Franky's arm. Before the cyborg could react, Ash gave it a strong tug, pulling Franky off his feet and towards the half dragon. Ash pulled back his own fist before delivered his own diamond-knuckled punch to Franky's jaw, sending him spiraling backwards towards a tree. Before he made contact, though, Ash repeated the tug-and-punch combo, one after another, like a giant metal yo-yo.

On about the fourth one, though, just as Ash was about to land another blow, Franky yelled, "Fresh Fire!" and blew a large jet of flames into his face, stunning him long enough to add a Strong Hammer with his good hand. Ash was knocked back this time, releasing his grip on Franky's arm and letting it reconnect. He then leapt onto the dragon-human's stomach and pinned him down with his foot, pointing his left arm at him. The hand flipped back to reveal a cannon shaft in the forearm and a crosshairs lens in the palm, and with the words "Weapons Left!" declared, an explosive blast fired from the cannon.

When the smoke from the blast cleared, Franky was surprised to see a cracked and heavily dented diamond skin covering Ash's chest where the blast struck. Though saved, the lad's heavy panting was a clear sign that the attack had done too much for this fight to continue much longer. Franky, annoyed his attack didn't go through, lined the cannon up again and fired a second round, and then a third, each breaking further and further through the half-dragon's pseudo exoskeleton shielding.

Before he could fire a fourth and final shell to break through the defense, though, a second bolt of lightning, courtesy of a peeved Pikachu, struck Franky. Before he could turn to face the electric rodent, it slammed its glowing tail into him, sending him back a ways as if struck by a heavy, iron rod. Pikachu rushed to his friend's side and nuzzled his wounded chest in a concerned manner.

"Don't worry, Pikachu," he grinned, sitting up to pet his Pokemon's head before standing up again. "It'll take more than some bucket of bolts thrown together by those three jokers to put me down. I think I just got my second wind." While reassuring his pokemon, the diamond skin covering chipped apart on its own before falling off completely.

"Bucket of bolts? Ara, now you've gone and hurt my feelings," Franky sneered. He opened a compartment on his stomach and pulled out what looked like a T-shaped three-ended pipe, and then used it to connect his two oversized forearms and took aim at Ash. "So now I'm not going to be so merciful, and end this with my strongest attack. Max Cola Power!" His forearms inflated as air was absorbed into them, and Franky's fingers curled around the connection pipe to steady its aim.

Ash, not looking to lose, decided to end this with his strongest technique as well. He took a large breath of air in, saying, "Doragon no eikō no (Dragon's Glorious)…" as he did. Inside his jaws formed a large fireball, its heat more intense than his regular ones and proven to melt through steel.

"Coup de Vent!"

"HONO (BLAZE)!"

However, before either could launch their attacks, a gaseous form faded into existence right between the two. It had a round head with a pair of disembodied hands, each ending in three pointed fingers. Its head was flanked by three large, spiked protrusions on either side, and its eyes were large and triangular with small pupils. The gases composing its head curved down to form several pointed teeth framing a pink mouth and a long tongue, and its body tapered into a jagged tail.

"Haunt, Haunt Haunter!" it laughed, sticking its tongue out as it did so.

Surprised, both Frank and Ash, realizing a bystander would be caught in their blast, used the last of their strength to redirect their aim upward at the last minute. A shell of condensed air fired from the connection pipe collided with the large sphere of hot, blue flames Ash shot over head, creating an earthshaking explosion as the intense flames grew from the added oxygen in the shot.

"Whoa! Did you hear that?" May pondered as she looked around the field outside Professor Oak's laboratory.

"Oh! Fireworks!" Luffy shouted as he pointed towards a set of trees where an explosion was seen ending.

"...You think it's Ash?" Ace asked.

"Yosha! Ash!" Luffy shouted before running off, Monferno on his shoulder.

"Dammit, Luffy!" Ace barked before giving chase, running past a large white stallion-like Pokemon with its mane and tail made of flames and a horn, "Rapidash, let's go!"

The Pokemon neighed before running alongside Ace, letting him get on, before going past Luffy and Monferno, the former quickly stretching an arm out to grab Ace and quickly get behind him.

"...And you said that you traveled with all three in the Orange Archipelago, Tracey?" May asked, looking at an older teen with a sketchpad.

"Yeah. Those three actually took down an entire town's worth of hypnotized Pokemon all on their own," Tracey recalled, "Though, it was hard trying to prevent Luffy and Ash from falling into the sea all the time while on those two Lapras we traveled on."

The gaseous ghost, Haunter, clapped playfully as it laughed at the display, as if watching a fireworks show. Ash, his energy spent, reverted to human form as he landed on his behind. Franky's hair flopped down in front of his face as he fell back to the ground, panting just as hard as Ash.

"Man, ran out of Cola already, huh?" Franky grinned with his eyes closed, falling backwards to lie on his back, "Guess we really did need this restocking stop. Ah well, good to see you, Mi. Go on back to Brook, now. He can't go anywhere outside the ship without you, you know."

The Haunter, Mi, nodded and grinned before flying off in the direction of the harbor, laughing all the way.

"So," Ash moaned from his slumped over position, "I'm guessing you're not really another one of Team Rocket's robots, are you?"

"What was your first clue, genius?" Franky taunted.

"No way anything those goons could come up with would let a Pokemon escape like that," Ash replied, a smirk growing on his face, "Besides, they never put up as great a fight as you did. Sorry for the mistake, but when I saw the metal parts and the Nidoking…"

"Save it," Franky replied, holding up a hand dismissively, "Guess it did look sort of suspicious. The thing attacked me outta nowhere, though, and I didn't have a Pokeball to catch it with afterword. Figured I'd just keep it slung over my shoulder until I got back into town to buy one."

"And the Haunter?"

"Belongs to my friend, a musician named Brook, and his name is Mi. We sent him ahead to scout for an inhabited island we could restock at, seeing as we've been sailing for quite a while and started to run low on supplies. He was supposed to come out of hiding after he saw our ship dock, but he loves playing hide and seek and is near impossible to find."

"...A musician? Don't let my brother Luffy hear that or he'll try to recruit Brook for his Pirate Crew," Ash advised.

"Oh? You've got a pirate for a bro?" Franky chuckled, "Brook's one, too."

"My brothers and me are Pirates," Ash informed, "In three years, Luffy and me will be sailing off while our big brother Ace is gonna sail off sometime tomorrow."

"Nido..."

Franky and Ash slowly turned to see the Nidoking was awake and livid. The Drill Pokemon glared harshly at them. Pikachu charged at it with an Iron Tail at the ready, but Nidoking swatted him to the side.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out, 'Not good!'

"Dammit! I...If only I had some Cola, I'd..." Franky growled.

"...ROCKET!"

"DUMBAAAAAAAAAAAS!-!-!-!"

The two blinked as something rammed into the back of Nidoking, sending it flying over Ash and Franky and crash into a tree. Where it had been, Luffy was laughing while sitting on a dazed Ace. Rapidash soon ran up, Monferno on its back.

"Ash! I found you!" Luffy cheered before noticing Franky and his metal fist, "SUGEI! A ROBOT!"

"I'm a Cyborg, dammit!" Franky snapped before Ace slammed a fist into Luffy's face and knocked him over.

"Dammit, Luffy! Don't use that unless you warn me!" Ace barked.

"NIDOKING!"

The two turned to see the Nidoking getting up in a rage.

"...Food!" Luffy and Ace declared in unison.

Nidoking halted its charge at that declaration. Looking over Luffy, the cogs in its head slowly turned until spotting the Monferno on the Rapidash, smirking. A heavy sweat broke out as its eyes lost all color while they turned into perfect circles. Slowly, the Nidoking turned around and ran off.

"Oi! You get back here so I can get a Pokeball for ya!" Franky shouted.

"Ace!" Ash grinned on the ground, "Luffy! I'm home, guys!"

"Oh! So you're name is Franky!" Luffy grinned.

"That's right!" Franky declared as he brought the back of his arms together to make a star from his two star tattoos and leaned to the left, "And I've been Super all this week!"

"Speedos..." May whispered with a sweatdrop.

"What kind of Cyborg wears speedos?" a little boy around seven whispered in confusion, wearing a pair of green-rimmed glasses, a greed shirt over a white button shirt, and green shorts.

"Oi! I heard that!" Franky shouted, making the two hug each other in startlement.

"So why did that Nidoking just run off when he saw you guys?" Ash asked as he looked at his two brothers and Monferno, who was currently Tail-Wrestling with Pikachu.

"...Oh yeah..." Luffy bopped his fist into his palm in recollection, "That Nidoking was the one me and Monferno beat up last week for stealing our meat."

"That was the Nidoking that stole the meat?!" Ace exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Luffy laughed, "Me and Monferno beat him up but good and Monferno gave him that cool scar of his before I sent him flying off with a Gomu-Gomu no Bazooka!"

"Oh! You finally perfect Bazooka?" Ash asked with an excited grin before the doorbell rang.

"Oh! I'll get it~!" Delia called as she walked out of the kitchen with a pink apron on.

"So, Franky, how were you able to fight so strong?" Ash asked.

"That's easy! I'm a Cyborg! Hand-built!" Franky declared, "Steel and weapons are built right into my body. If I'm shot, it hurts a little and sometimes it bleeds too, but, well, it doesn't work. I'm a Super armored fighter and a top-notch shipwright."

"A shipwright? Where were you when we needed a ship for the Orange League?" an orange-haired girl joked, a little mouse-like Pokemon with only a pair of feet, blue skin, and a tiny black tail ending in a blue bubble in her arms.

"What are you talking about, Misty?" Luffy and Ash asked.

"That was kinda fun riding on those two Lapras, even if trying to keep my little brothers from falling over was a hassle," Ace chuckled.

"Oi! Oi! Oi!" both snapped at Ace.

"Amazing!" May exclaimed before taking out a needle and poking him in the back, "How's this?"

"Itaaaa!-!-!-!" Franky screamed before turning to May, tears in his bulged out eyes, "What're you doing, you jerk?!"

"Eh? Isn't a needle small enough that it doesn't hurt at all?" May asked in confusion.

"Kono baka (You idiot)! How dare you start a dreadful experiment?! Then, I'll tell you this before you go any further. My back is different!" Franky informed, "Look. I did the makeover by myself, so I couldn't reach the back side! Only my front is a Cyborg!"

"I see..." Max nodded.

"Well then, while I'm at it, I'll tell you one more thing," Franky pointed at himself with a thumb while putting the back of his other hand on his hip, "My belly tends to feel cold. Why do you think that is?"

"Maybe you ate some ice cream?" Luffy guessed.

Franky smirked before putting a hand on his belly and opening it, revealing a fridge with three bottles in it, "That's because I've got a fridge in my belly to chill Cola."

"Oh! That's pretty handy," Ace pointed out.

"SUGEI!-!-!" Ash, Max, and Luffy exclaimed, stars in their eyes along with Pikachu and Monferno, until they heard Delia scream and run in.

"S-Sk-Sk-Sk-Skeleton!" Delia screamed.

"Yohohohohoho! Pardon the rude entering if I do such a thing! But you left the door open and I assume you are allowing me in!" a voice called out before Brook entered.

"...Are...Are...Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Luffy asked, stars in his eyes.

"Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" Ace and Ash nodded, stars in their own eyes, as Max, May, Delia, and Misty hid behind the trio.

"A skeleton playing violin!" Luffy grinned.

Brook gave a hearty laugh. A dark purple mist was covering his body enough to let people see him, but not let sunlight hit him. The mist formed a cylindrical curtain around the musician, topped by a dome of the same hue with six spikes protruding from the sides. Suddenly, Mi's triangular eyes and mouth opened at around the top of the curtain, laughing as Zuuta flew around him.

"This has to be an illusion. An illusion!" Misty stammered in fear.

"Good afternoon! Yohohohoho! Mi led me here and, what do my eyes find, but Franky is here as well! Ah! But I don't have eyes, for I am a skeleton! Skullll Joooooke!" Brook declared with a laugh.

Luffy began to laugh, "Skullll Joooooke!"

"He's talking! A skeleton with an afro and he's talking!" Ash beamed.

"Un...Unbelievable..." Misty squeaked out in shock.

"Is it...an Akuma no Mi?" Ace pondered before Brook settled his eye sockets on Delia.

"Well, well, who is this stunning woman we have here? Beautiful!" Brook declared before he fluffed his afro and tried to make himself look presentable before calmly walking up to her, "This is the first time I have ever seen such a beauty."

"Wow! He's kinda tall!" Ash noted.

"Last time I measure him, he was over nine feet tall," Franky shrugged, "But there's something about Brook you should..."

"May I be allowed to see your panties?"

"...know," Franky finished lamely.

"NO WAY IN HELL!" Delia snapped as she delivered a powerful fist into the side of Brook's head.

"Oi, yoi, yoi! How harsh!" Brook exclaimed as he fell over onto his side, a large, smoking bump on the side of his head, "Your punch was so strong that it tore the skin right off my body even while I am just a skeleton!"

"SHUT UP!" Delia snapped, her eyes blank and teeth shark-like.

"I'm getting déjà vu here," Ash noted.

Luffy laughed, "It's like when Shanks got drunk and asked to sleep with her!" he frowned as he tilted his head, "Though...I don't get what was wrong with it, though. Ash and I slept with Kaa-chan all the time when we were little!"

"True, true," Ash nodded in agreement.

'He obviously meant the other kind of 'sleeping,'' everyone but Delia and Brook thought.

"Hey, do you poop?" Luffy asked right out of nowhere.

"Don't ask questions like that!" Ace, Misty, and May barked.

Brook quickly corrected himself as Zuuta flew in with a cup of tea for him to sip on, "...I do poop."

"Don't answer that!" May, Misty, and Max exclaimed in disgust as Ace, Luffy, and Ash laughed.

"Oi! Skeleton guy, Franky! Be my crew!" Luffy declared.

"Eh?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Dammit, Luffy! I was gonna ask Franky that!" Ace groaned.

"Very well/Sure. Ain't got much to do," the two replied.

"What?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Yosha! Three crewmates!" Luffy cheered as he and Monferno began to dance around.

Ace began to chuckle at his little brother's antics. "A bit of a sudden decision, don't you think?" he asked the pair.

"Well, to be honest," Franky answered nonchalantly, "our ship has travelled quite the long journey, withstood the harshest of weather conditions, and it's on its last leg. It doesn't help that it was in incredibly poor condition when I first boarded it, despite my best efforts to hold it together. It would be nice to settle down someplace after all we've gone through, even if it's just for a while, or at least until we can find a new ship."

"Oh, that reminds me. Who are you?" Luffy asked.

"Indeed. I forgot to ask that as well to you," Brook nodded.

"..." Misty, Max, Franky, and Ace facepalmed with groans.

"Ah. So you ate the Yomi-Yomi no Mi," Professor Oak noted, "I read about that one while researching Ash and Luffy's Akuma no Mi. This is the result of it?"

"Yes. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to find my body in time, so it became all bones!" Brook informed, "Just call me 'Dead Bones' Brook! Yohohohohoho!"

"Brook?" Oak repeated, "Hm...Tell me, did you happen to go by 'Humming Brook' before you died?"

"I did."

Oak walked over to a shelf and pulled out a scrapbook, "When I was a kid, I always enjoyed looking through the paper to see the latest bounties on Pirates." he proceeded to open it to a page, "Ah. Here we are. Rumbar Pirates Acting Captain Humming Swordsmen Brook. Oh my. If people learn you're still 'alive' after 50 years, then your active bounty is easily 33,000,000."

"Th...Thirty-three million?!" Luffy exclaimed in glee.

"The average bounty in the East Blue is 20,000,000 so that means you're a pretty strong guy," Ace noted before rubbing Ash and Luffy's head, "Lucky guys! Not even out to sea and you've already got a bounty in the crew!"

"So this is you from fifty years ago?" Tracey pondered as he looked at the man in sunglasses, smiling happily while playing the piano, "I see the resemblance."

"Oh?" Brook asked.

"Yep," Tracey nodded as he looked at the afro in the picture and compared it to the afro of the skeleton, "How is that even still there?"

"Oh, that's simple; I have deep roots!" Brook laughed happily, "Yohohohohoho!"

"So I'm assuming that the galleon in the mist out there is yours?" a rotund man with brown hair and a lab outfit asked.

"Of course!" Brook beamed, "It was the pirate ship of the Rumbar Pirates! Our pride and joy outside of a special crewmate we had to leave behind fifty years ago."

"But...If you go out and meet him or her looking like that, you know what their reaction will be, right?" Brook looked at the man, "You're a talking skeleton."

"Birch..." Oak whispered.

"You once said when we met that you were 'sadder than death,' didn't you?" Franky asked, "If I were you, I would have given up on living. Living such a small existence with only you, Mi, and Zuuta...acting like a gentlemen from time to time. Tell me what you left out of that story when we met. To go so far...To live like that...to be alone just you three for all those years...What was the promise you made with your original nakama?"

"A...promise?" May whispered.

"Yohohoho. You don't seem to care about timing at all, you two..." Brook chuckled softly, "It's quite simple...as I said earlier, long ago, my crew left one of our nakama behind in a certain place. We all found it to be a painful and difficult decision, but...We made the promise that we would 'definitely return.'" he walked over to the window, gazing out at the ship as he remembered its prime condition, "We set off and were annihilated in the Grand Line. And to not break our promise with him...!-!" he tightened the grip on his cane, everyone hearing his bones popping in his hands, "The result was that I've lived alone on that ship with just Mi and Zuuta for so long is because I have that promise to fulfill!"

"..." Luffy just watched Brook, no one really seeing his eyes under his straw hat.

"Since the day we died...I suppose it's been more than 50 years by now."

"Then...Then how do you know he's still alive?" Max asked.

"Why do I?!" Brook demanded, making everyone freeze up a bit, "I know very well that he may not be there...He had all the rights to leave..."

Cue: One Piece OST - Gold and Olden

"But if by some chance he's been waiting for us ever since, then...How lonely must he be by now?" Brook pondered, making everyone's eyes widen, "He may think that we've betrayed him, but if he's waiting even now...How miserable must he be..."

"You..." Franky and Birch whispered.

"The name of the nakama we swore to meet again is...Laboon!" Brook informed as he recalled the squeaks and chirps that he so fondly remembered, "We couldn't take a young whale on a dangerous cruise like ours..."

"Kujira (Whale)?" May repeated.

"Yes," Brook whispered out, recalling the last words to Laboon, 'We'll definitely come back,' "He must have grown really big by now..."

"You nakama is...a whale?" Ace asked.

"Exactly," Brook replied, glancing over his shoulder at the eldest son of the three brothers, "I can't help but think that he's believed in us all this time...And think we'd come back and play our cheerful music with him. I don't think he'll forgive us for dying so irresponsibly, and would yell into the skies if his voice could, because of our selfish promise," everyone heard almost all his bones popping as he trembled, "That Death isn't an apology! Because a man once said that they would definitely be back!-!"

No one spoke after that. For moments on end, they looked at Brook in shock. How...How much pain was going through the skeleton before them? None of them could even begin to understand. It was then a loud sobbing broke the silence.

"Skeleton-Bro~~~~~!-!-!-!" Franky sobbed comically, complete with boogers coming from his nose and rivers of tears streaming from his eyes, "I love ya and that whale of yours~~~~!-!-!-!"

Luffy laughed in excitement, "I'm all pumped up!-! You're a musician! A talking skeleton! Have an afro! The 'Yohoho!' And you're nakama with a whale!-! Even if I end up dragging you, you will join my crew! And become my nakama!" he looked over at Ash and Delia, "Any complaints, Kaa-chan, Ash?"

"I really want Brook to join now! With his friend Laboon once we find him!" Ash grinned.

"MISTER MIME~~~~!-!-!-!" Mimey sobbed just like Franky. (Translation: COMPLETE APPROVAL~~~~!-!-!-!)

"I agree with letting him be a part of your nakama!" Delia sobbed as well, an arm covering her eyes as she cried just like Franky and Mimey, "I'm not scared of knowing a talking skeleton at all!-!"

"He'll find Laboon, right?" Max asked as he looked up at his older sister.

"I'm sure he will, Max," May nodded as she looked at Brook, his jaw dropped at all the reactions.

At his sides, Mi pulled his eyes out blew on them, rubbed them on Brook's jacket, and then put them back in. Zuuta rubbed the eye with his glowing red eye a few times to make sure he wasn't seeing things. The two ghost Pokemon joined their Trainer in dropping their jaws.

"Luffy-san...Franky-san..." Brook trembled, "I...I am..." he began to cry as well, "I AM SO GLAD TO BE ALIVE! I TRULY AM GLAD TO BE ALIVE!"

"Hee!" Luffy grinned.

"Finally, this day has come!" Brook sobbed before quickly sobering up, "And, I know we agreed already, but may I join your crew?"

"Sure, go ahead," Luffy stated.

Ace began to laugh heartedly, "Well! Seems we've got a lot to celebrate tonight! Ash's returning home, my setting off, and now the joining of Brook and Franky to Luffy and Ash's pirate crew!"

"Makino-chan and I are going to be quite the busy cooks tonight!" Delia giggled as she quickly sobered with the others.

"Mime!" Mimey pumped his fist, his own way of saying he'd help.

"Seems we came at the right time, then," Misty giggled in excitement, "Mrs. Ketchum and Makino-chan throw the greatest parties together."

"Hooray! We got ourselves a Musician and a Shipwright!" Ash cheered as he, Luffy, Monferno, and Pikachu began to toss Franky and Brook into the air together.

"A Musician and Shipwright! They may be just bones and a Cyborg, but they're our Musician and Shipwright!" Luffy cheered, "The crewmates we always wanted!"

"They sure seem hyper about this," May whispered.

"Of course," Ace grinned, "Luffy always wanted a Musician for a Nakama and Ash always wanted a Shipwright for a Nakama so that their ship c...Zzzzz..."

"DON'T FALL ASLEEP!" May, Max, Misty, Birch, and Oak barked.

"Oh! We've gotta introduce them to everyone!" Ash realized.

"Yahoo! Let's go out!" Luffy cheered, "Oi, Franky, Brook! Wait until you meet all the Tauros Ash caught! And Bulbasaur shoots a beam out of his bulb, too!"

"Oh! You got a ton of Pokemon?" Franky awed.

"Yosha!" Ash grinned as the four ran out, the four Pokemon giving chase with Mi making another mist to put on Brook for outdoors.

"Wait up!" May called as she and Max followed, "We wanna meet your Pokemon too, Ash, Luffy!"

"Ace's too!" Max added.

"Hm? What's going on?" Ace woke up.

"They all went outside to meet yours, Luffy's, and Ash's Pokemon, dear," Delia smiled motherly.

"Oh. Thanks, Kaa-chan," Ace nodded as he followed them, "Oi, you coming along Misty?"

"Y-Yeah," Misty nodded with a small blush.

"Well, I need to go tell Makino the good news!" Delia giggled, "Sorry if my boys do something crazy out there."

"It'll be fine," Professor Oak chuckled as he looked at Misty and Ace heading out, "Misty and Ace can handle them."

"I was referring to all three of them," Delia sighed before she left.

"Oh! Delia, tell Makino that the party will be here! It's more than big enough and all of the Pokemon have been wanting to wish Ace a good send-off!" Oak called out just as she was leaving.

"Can do!" Delia giggled.

Meanwhile, outside the lab in the corral, Ash, May, Max, Luffy, and Ace were playing with all of Ash's Pokemon after stopping his herd of Tauros from stampeding.

"Hey!" Luffy yelled. "Let go, Snorlax!"

Luffy was currently being held in the air by a large, cat-like blob with squinting eyes, as it dug through one of his pockets and pulled out a slab of meat with a bone running through it. Before Luffy could object any further, the Snorlax dropped him to the ground and ate the meat in one bite.

"Ash, control your Pokemon!" Luffy scolded his younger brother, before his older one smacked him on the top of his head.

"How many times do Mom, Dadan, and I have to tell you to stop hiding food in your pockets? It's unsanitary!" Ace scolded.

"Squirtle!" Everyone's attention turned to where the sudden cry came from, and saw a small, blue Pokemon.

It looked like a baby turtle standing on two feet with a squirrel tail, and it was bawling its eyes out as it ran towards the group. It quickly ducked behind May and hid behind her leg as a group of three more Pokemon appeared. It was a pair of Scyther and a Voltorb, all three glaring at the little turtle Pokemon as the twin mantises sharpened their blades menacingly and sparks flew from the red and white sphere.

Before anyone could make a move, though, a pair of vine-like tendrils flew forth and struck all three, knocking them back. When they recovered, they started glaring at who could have attacked, but paled when that noble soul walked forward. It was a Bulbasaur, much like May's but without the heart-shaped pattern of spots on its forehead. Ash's Bulbasaur, the self appointed peacekeeper of the corral, and it let out a growl at the motley trio.

The three quickly leapt into a groveling position (or as much as a ball could, in Voltorb's case) and started whimpering pleas of forgiveness to the bulb-backed dinosaur. Bulbasaur looked to mull it over a bit in its head for a minute, then released its vines again. But this time, instead of striking them, its tendrils patted the two Scythers on their shoulders before pointing back in the direction they came. The three nodded a couple times nervously before dashing off in the pointed direction.

"What was that all about?" May asked, kneeling down to scoop up the still frightened Squirtle.

"Honestly, those three are still up to their old tricks, eh?" Ash shrugged as he knelt down to scratch Bulbasaur on the head, making it purr in happiness.

"Well, they've been getting better at socializing with the other Pokemon," Tracy responded in a rather embarrassed tone, "but they have been taking just baby steps when it comes to rehabilitation. Despite what just happened, they're much better behaved than they were a few years ago, according to Professor Oak."

"Rehabilitation? A few years ago…wait, are they the-" May gasped upon realization.

"Yep," Luffy responded, grinning widely. "Those three were the Pokemon of that bandit from the story of when Ash and I got our first Pokemon."

"When Higuma got eaten and his gang was arrested, they were left all alone and still pretty violent from Higuma's raising them to attack humans," Ash explained, "so Professor Oak agreed to keep them on his corral until they were rehabilitated enough to be released back into the wild. That way they wouldn't hurt any trainers who entered their territory or attack villages like when they were bandits' Pokemon."

"Oh, that's pretty smart, I guess," May said, Squirtle calming down and now resting in her arms.

"It's actually pretty standard procedure when criminals who use Pokemon maliciously are apprehended," Tracy elaborated. "The criminal's Pokemon is transferred to a local Pokemon rehabilitation facility or in this case a Professor's lab to be rehabilitated before being released. The process is always lengthy, but the results are worth the effort." He pulled out a sketchbook and flipped to a page showing the two Scyther and Voltorb from before, depicting them scaring other smaller Pokemon while Bulbasaur charged at them from the background. He then flipped to another sketch of the three, this time depicting them knocking fruit out of a tall tree alongside Bulbasaur for some small grass type Pokemon in the foreground.

"Hey, speaking of Pokemon, time to let out the rest of my pals!" Ash cheerfully said, taking the five Pokeballs from his belt and tossing them in the air. Each opened and released a bolt of white light that formed into its respective Pokemon occupant. These included: a tall gecko with two blade-like leaves growing out of its forearms and one from its forehead; a miniature lobster with a triple-pointed crest on its head; a horned snowball with a menacing face; a large, dark blue bird with red and white feathers on its face and stomach area; and an orange tortoise with a black and red, rock-like shell with a hole on the back.

As the Pokemon of old and new mingled and chatted, so too did the trainers. Ace traded stories with Misty and May of his growing up with Ash and Luffy, the brothers sat near a stump and competed in an arm wrestling match, and Tracy sketched the entire scene.

"Greetings, youngsters!" a cheery voice said as four figures stepped into the light.

One was a woman with long, magenta-colored hair, glasses, and a hot pink, tight dress with a silver belt and shorts. The other was a man with short, lavender hair, sunglasses on his head, and an open orange overcoat over a green shirt and yellow tie. Both were holding microphones and accompanied by the strangest of folks: a short, cat-like individual in a suit, with a small mustache and golden coin-like object on his forehead, while the other looked like an amorphous, blue blob wearing a backwards cap and holding a video camera.

"It's your lucky day!" she continued. "You're our next interview for Pokemon Sunday showcase!"

"I love that show!" May gushed.

"I know. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Max agreed.

"Smart boy," the man replied. "Then you must know that I'm the professor."

"And I'm the lying, scheming agent," the shorter, cat-like one added proudly.

"So, this week's segment? Hometown trainer kid makes good!" the woman said to the camera. "And that would be Ash Ketcham of Pallet Town."

"Ah! You mean me?" Ash asked in surprise, pointing to himself.

"Right, twerp-I mean, Ash," she quickly covered, holding her mike out to Ash. "Sources say you performed extraordinarily well in the Hoenn Championships, making it all the way to the Top 8."

"Well, thanks," Ash blushed and rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner, "but it wasn't really that great."

"That's true," Max stated matter-of-factly. "It was just the best 8. He didn't win the whole tournament or anything.

"Wobba-" the blue blob almost announced, before the man in the orange coat covered its mouth with a panicked expression.

"Cut cut!" the cat yelled. "The professor says we need to get a full shot of all the Pokemon and their trainers, so scoot back and together a bit.

"Really?" Max asked excitedly. "Does that mean we're gonna be on TV?"

"I hope there's a good make up department," May commented, brushing her hair a bit with her hand.

"Me too. And I can't go on the air wearing this," Misty added, blushing sheepishly at the thought.

"You look fine. Now everyone step back and say-"

"Hold it!" Ace called out. He, unlike the others, had a glare on his face as he looked at the documentary crew.

"What is it, bro?" Ash asked.

"Doesn't anyone else find this the least bit suspicious?" he asked. "A camera crew and interviewer come right outta the blue and want to interview a trainer who placed in a tournament in another region? Along with all his friends and Pokemon?"

"I'm not buying it either," Franky added, lowering his sunglasses again. "Something about this just seems off, ya know?"

"Come on, you guys are just being paranoid," Luffy chuckled as he started stepping back to where the crew wanted him to go. Monferno did the same as its master, chuckling in agreement. "We're gonna be on televisioAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Before anyone could react, the ground under Luffy and Monferno gave way and the pair plummeted into a deep hole.

"Luffy!" Ash and Ace exclaimed, before turning angrily towards the interviewing crew. "Who are you guys!?"

"Ehehehehehe," the trio laughed as they threw their disguises to the side, revealing their true attire of white shirts and pants/skirt with black gloves and boots. Emblazoned on the fronts of their uniforms was a large, red letter "R".

"Prepare for trouble, from the skies," the woman announced rhythmically.

"From beyond the stars, a nasty surprise," the man added in the same meter.

"An evil as old as the galaxy…"

"Sent here to fulfill our destiny…"

"Plus, dere's me!" the cat-like member, now lacking his suit and mustache, jutted in.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"And Meowth are da names!"

"Anywhere there's peace in the universe…"

"Team Rocket…"

"Will be there…"

"To make everything worse!" all three concluded together, before the blob butted in and added, "Wobbuffet!" In addition, a new Pokemon that looked like a light blue wind chime with red markings added in, "Chime chime!" in a soothing voice.

"Team Rocket!" Everyone save Brook and Franky announced angrily. Luffy stretched his arms to the top of the pit and launched himself and Monferno out as they rejoined the others. However, before anyone could act, a large net covered the lot of them and their Pokemon.

"Aaaaahhh..." Luffy and Brook moaned, both slumping over, drained of their energy.

Ash was putting up more of a struggle, but he too was too weakened to fight back. "Seastone…draining…power…"

"You didn't think we'd forget your little weakness to seastone, did you?" Jessie smirked. Pikachu tried to shock them, but its attack was absorbed by the net and fizzed out. "Not to mention it's indestructible!"

"Fresh Fire!" A fireball from Franky, however, burned right through the net and freed the captives, shocking the Rockets more than Pikachu could.

"Meowth! You were supposed to get the reinforced net that stops ALL attacks!" Jessie yelled at the cat Pokemon.

"Well, seeing as we always get hit by electric attacks only, I figured you prefer the cheaper shock-proof net so we could save some dough," he sheepishly responded.

"Don't think you can get away with this!" Ash responded, changing back into his half-dragon form.

"Rrrggh! Time for Plan B," James growled.

Meowth pulled out a remote and pressed the big, red button in the middle of it. The ground behind them exploded as an enormous, purple robot rose out from the dust cloud. It sat on tank trends and had two vacuum arms jutting from its sides, connected to the pair of red canisters on its back, and the same "R" from the trio's uniforms was on the front of the mech.

"Sugoi!" Luffy beamed with stars in his eyes at the sight of the giant robot.

Franky couldn't help but beam at the craftsmanship of it, either, saying to himself that he'd build his own someday.

"Wit' da money we saved from dat net, we invested in dis little baby," Meowth announced through a speaker, as the trio were now situated inside the bot's cockpit, "which we call our Sucker-for-Punishment."

With the flip of the switch, the suction process began, forcing the group to hold their ground to avoid being drawn in. When a couple of the smaller pokemon were pulled up by the suction, Bulbasaur's vines lunged out and secured them. However, during this Luffy lost his grip and was pulled up towards the hose arm. With a last second move, he spread out his hands and feet with his Gomu-Gomu powers and held onto the edges of the hose, keeping himself from being sucked up.

"Guys! Do something!" Luffy called out, one of his feet slipping from its grip as he did. "I can't hold on forever!"

"Luffy! Don't worry, I'll-" Ace started, but was stopped when Brook and Franky moved out ahead of the rest.

"Leave this one to us," Franky smirked, giving the older brother a thumb up.

"Luffy-dono, to repay the kindness you showed me, allow me to assist you with my ultimate technique," Brook announced, gripping the top of his cane like a sword. He revealed that it contained a hidden blade and rushed towards the mech with blinding speed, before skidding to a halt behind it and started re-sheathing his sword.

"Huh?" the Rocket trio asked themselves, confused why their machine was undamaged. "What's going on? That attack did nothing."

"Hanauta Sancho…" Brook silently said before completely sheathing his weapon. "…Yahazu Giri!"

With the click of the sheath hitting the hilt of the cane sword, the vacuum arm of the giant robot that Luffy was blocking instantly split apart into pieces.

"Waaah?!" the trio cried out in surprise.

As Brook turned back to the group he stated, "This move of mine is so powerful, you won't know you've been hit by it until you've taken three steps, humming all the way."

"Well said, Skeleton-bro!" Franky laughed. Just like during his bout with Ash, his forearms were inflated and connected by the T-shaped pipe and aimed at the "R" on the robot's chest. "Max Cola Power! Coup de Vent!"

The pressurized air shell fired and connected with the mech, blowing it apart instantly and knocking the trio out of it and onto the ground in front of them. It took a few seconds for them to collect themselves, giving Pikachu enough time to walk up, smirking.

"Uh-oh," Meowth paled as he saw the electric mouse's cheeks start sparking.

"Pika..." the lightning that shot out of Pikachi was seen all over the area, "CHUUUUUUUUU~!-!-!"

"It explodes?!" Brook exclaimed as he saw the attack finish with an explosion, sending Team Rocket skyrocketing into the air and out into the distance.

"...Is this...?" Franky began to ask if Team Rocket was a normal thing.

"Yes," Ash sighed.

"Good luck out there, Ace!-!-!-!" Luffy cheered, extending his arms into the air to wave them.

"Take care!" Ash called out, Pikachu cheering on his shoulder, "We'll be out to sea before you know it!"

"You just wait!-! I'll make a name for myself in no time!-!" Ace declared as his boat sailed away from the small town around the brink of dawn.

"Hahahaha!" Oak laughed, "He's still waving!"

"What will Garp think about this...?" Woop Slap groaned as Makino giggled with Delia.

"Yohohoho!" Brook laughed in mirth as he played a farewell on his violin, "Good luck out there!"

"Ow! Just you wait until you see us again! We'll be on a SUUUUUPER ship crafted by the finest shipwright in the world!" Franky declared with a pose.

"Oi! You two better take care of my little brothers or else!" Ace warned Franky and Brook, "I hear that they got hurt bad while you two were near them, I'll know who to fry after I handle the ass who did it!"

"...Your eldest son so has a brother complex," Franky whispered to Delia, who merely giggled.

"Aw man..." Luffy groaned, "I don't think he can see me waving still."

"Well, you're made of rubber, right?" May asked.

"Yeah."

"Aren't balloons made of rubber?" May questioned, "I mean, they stretch when they're filled with oxygen."

"Like that'll work," Max adjusted his glasses while Luffy's eyes widened.

"Oh! Great idea!" Luffy beamed in excitement before retracting his arms and quickly bit down on his thumbs, "I'll just inflate my bones! Hone Fuusen (Bone Balloon)!-!-!"

With that, Luffy took in a deep breath before exhaling it right into his thumbs where he bit down on them. Out at sea, Ace gazed out at the receding shoreline as long as he could, still waving. His waving stopped as his jaw dropped and his eyes popped out in surprise and shock. Back on land, Luffy laughed with glee as he began to wave his massive arms to make sure Ace could still see them. Everyone else had fallen on their rears in shock and awe.

"...R-Remind me to never give your brother any ideas in the future," May whispered to Ash.

"And remind me to hang you by your underwear if you try," Ash replied.

"May..." Max groaned, facepalming in annoyance.

"We should've expected this..." Oak facepalmed with both hands.

"Indeed," Delia nodded as Mimey was out cold beside her, foaming from the mouth with solid white eyes that were in the shape of perfect circles.