A couple of administrative things:
First; heavy spoilers will be present in this chapter and several subsequent ones for very recent and indeed upcoming Black and White season two episodes that have so far only aired (or will air) in Japan. You have been warned.
Second; unfortunate obligatory disclaimer – I don't own Pokémon.
Third; update schedule. (Yes, here we go...) I intend to attempt to guarantee a regular update every Thursday. However, depending on how often I actually finish a chapter, updates may be more regular, but I will not upload a chapter on any day other than Thursday unless I have a buffer of at least one chapter to upload on the next Thursday – primarily so that I don't fall behind on updating as I have in previous stories (please, in the name of the Emperor, do not look at my older stories. Please don't.)
Of course, knowing me, I'll probably still fall behind. That's just what I hope to achieve.
Present Day
One thing Ash Ketchum had recently been reminded of since the beginning of Dawn's Unova visit was how long she could spend in the bathroom if left uninterrupted. He'd also forgotten how irritating it could be when she didn't respond to repeated attempts to persuade her to leave.
He suspected that the difficulty in doing so would only be increased by the size and quality of the bathrooms that Cynthia's villa possessed. When roused at last, Dawn would inevitably complain that he had no good reason to disturb her anyway. But they would always move on from those arguments.
Until the next time, anyway.
"Dawn! You've been in there half an hour! Come on, we've gotta get going!" The raven haired trainer only had one volume setting when in a hurry, and that setting was loud.
"Pika pi..." Pikachu was perched on its trainers' shoulder, shaking its head at his impatience. Piplup was asleep on the floor next to the door, waiting for Dawn.
But they were in a hurry, and the reasoning was important.
Tomorrow was the registration day of the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup, which began the day after. The journey to the hosting Lacunosa Town would take very little time at all in Cynthia's truck, but Ash didn't want to take any chances – given the frequency of unfortunate events occurring that seemed to be a fact of life for his group of friends.
And they simply couldn't afford to miss the tournament. Another chance to battle Alder - champion of the Unova league – properly, this time. Another challenge to face and overcome with the strength and skills of his Pokemon.
Another step towards being a Pokémon Master.
He didn't give it too much thought anymore – the old dream was always there, in the background, out of sight and often out of mind, but never far enough that he would forget it.
Sometimes, most often after a particularly painful loss, Ash would stop and question his original dream. But even if it was foolhardy, or simply downright impossible, he had long ago decided to continue journeying with his friends, meeting new people and Pokémon, and taking each day as it came.
It was, he liked to think, what a Pokémon Master should do.
"Hurry up!" But all of this would be irrelevant unless Dawn would vacate the damned bathroom...
"Ash, we're not leaving for another two hours yet, anyway." Cilan pointed out. He'd been able to tell that this was an old ritual for the two of them, and had focused on preventing Ash from becoming too annoyed whenever it occurred.
At the moment, his tone was calm but his face was strained, betraying a certain desperation that was somehow familiar to Ash, but he was unable to place it.
"He'd know that if he'd listened to Cynthia yesterday at dinner instead of just stuffing his face." Dawn's voice came through the door, muffled slightly by the obstruction.
"Iris never takes as long as you do." Ash grumbled under his breath, as Dawn finally emerged... and Cilan leaped inside with a cry of relief, slamming the door shut behind him. Dawn shook her head as Ash brought his palm to his face.
"Come on and sit down, Ash, if you just wait around for the time to pass it'll feel like forever." She picked up Piplup and motioned for Ash to follow her into Cynthia's living room, and he did so.
He'd been surprised at the size of the villa at first sight of it, considering the fact that he had assumed that Cynthia would live alone, particularly when on holiday. As the situation was, with Ash and Cilan sharing one room and Dawn and Iris sharing another, there had been no complaints of crowdedness or claustrophobia. Indeed, compared to a Pokémon center or, say, the middle of the woods, it had been a very luxurious week.
Iris had been for a run, and waved and smiled at Ash and Dawn as they entered the room, cradling a hot cup of coffee in one hand and Axew in the other.
"Morning. Where's Cynthia?" asked Ash. Before Iris could reply, Jeremy, Cynthia's butler – or so Ash assumed – emerged from the conjoining kitchen. Ash had been impressed and somewhat disconcerted by Jeremy's ninja-like ability to appear swiftly and silently when needed and depart much the same way.
"Lady Cynthia had an errand to run in Undella Town. She left a message to say that she would return within the hour." He said, disappearing into the kitchen again. The trio caught a glimpse of a plate and a scrubbing cloth as he walked away.
"Fair enough. So, Dawn, have you decided what you're going to do after the tournament's over?" Ash asked.
"Not really." Dawn frowned. "I'd like to stay out here for a bit, but I think my mom's getting a bit worried since I came here straight from Johto. I'm not sure what I'll do after that."
"It'd be cool if you could stay. Shame they don't have contests in Unova."
"Yeah..." Dawn was thankful that Ash turned away to address Iris just in time to miss her blushing profusely at his words. She'd barely noticed it when travelling with him through Sinnoh, but it really had become apparent that Ash could sometimes say the sweetest things and yet seemed to do so completely by accident, such was his obliviousness.
"Hey, Iris, how's Dragonite doing?" Iris frowned at Ash's question, reaching down to fish out a Poké Ball from her bag.
"I don't really know." She sighed, turning the ball over in her hands. "I didn't expect him to listen to me straight away, but I'm not sure how to get through to him. He's so... aggressive, distant..."
"When my Swinub evolved into Piloswine, he stopped showing me any respect for a long time." Dawn offered sympathetically. "It took a while to build up the bond between us again."
"Yeah, I had the same problem when my Excadrill lost a battle for the first time." Iris replied. "But even then, I knew him from before he evolved; I had some idea how to reach out to him even if it took so long to break his depression. I've never caught a Pokémon at such a powerful level before." She admitted finally. "I don't really know what to do."
"Maybe you could ask Cynthia? She's got so many strong Pokemon, I'll bet she'll be able to help somehow." Ash suggested.
"That's a great idea!" Iris perked up considerably. "Just like she did with Axew!" As if on cue, Axew emerged from her mess of hair and yawned loudly.
An hour later, lunch turned out to be an excellent opportunity for Iris to ask Cynthia.
"I'd be happy to help how I can, Iris!" smiled Cynthia as she shovelled a remarkably sized portion of vegetable pie into her mouth.
One thing that the group had discovered during the time that they had spent at Cynthia's villa was that the champion ate just about as voraciously as Ash did, which was something of an impressive achievement considering Ash's well-noted skill for consuming large amounts of food relatively quickly. Cilan later hypothesised to Dawn and Iris, drawing on the evidence that he had previously witnessed of Alder's table manners – or lack thereof – that champions, or those who aspired to such a role, required such competence in dining because of the stresses and strains of their high-flying, constantly moving lifestyle. Dawn noted sarcastically that it hadn't helped Ash win the Sinnoh League.
"That's great!" Iris' face lit up in excitement at the possibility of spending more time with her idol.
"We can spend some time with it in the downtime during the World Tournament." Cynthia continued, turning her gaze to her own dragon-type Pokémon. "I'm sure Garchomp would be happy to keep it company too."
Another thing that had taken some getting used to at the villa was the fact that Cynthia's Garchomp spent almost all of its time outside its Poké Ball when inside or outside on the grounds, often finding some place to lie in the sun peacefully, or sometimes even curling itself up as much as was biologically possible for it to do – almost like a regular domestic Meowth or Persian – and sleep. Iris had, at one point, tripped over the Mach Pokemon on her way to the bathroom whilst half asleep at about two in the morning. The resulting draconic rampage had required the intervention of Meloetta to aid in calming the annoyed battle. Garchomp, it transpired, was not a morning dragon.
The encounter hadn't managed to stifle Iris' enthusiasm for dragon-type Pokémon, however, and certainly not for Garchomp.
"How often does the tournament take place?" Cilan asked, curious. Though they had known about it for several days, Ash's group knew little about what it actually entailed other than that Cynthia would be battling in an exhibition match, and that the winner of the tournament would be entitled to battle Alder.
"Once a year, and it rotates across all of Unova, because there are Junior Cup tournaments for each of the different region. They're meant to be a reflection of the actual World Tournament held between the strongest trainers in the all of regions every two years."
"Huh, I've never heard of that before." Ash shrugged. "Guess it's just another step on the road to becoming a Pokémon master, right Pikachu!"
"Pika!"
Another step... Always something more to do...
"Sounds like a great place to witness some intense battle flavour!" commented Cilan, and earning a sigh from Iris and Dawn.
"Excuse me, M'lady?" Jeremy had reappeared, having departed after serving lunch earlier, addressing Cynthia. "A visitor is requesting your presence at the entrance. He wishes to speak with you alone, and says that it is urgent."
Cynthia rose, having finished her food seconds before.
"That's unusual, but thank you, Jeremy. I'll see him now." She glanced at Ash and the others as she walked out. "Finish up, this shouldn't take long. Then we can get ready to leave for the World Tournament."
"All right!" Ash cried. He'd also finished much sooner than Cilan, Dawn or Iris, who were barely halfway.
None of them had the faintest notion of how, in the next couple of hours, their journey would be diverted so drastically.
Cynthia found it unusual at the time, as she walked to the front door, that the identity of her visitor had not been announced. Jeremy knew most of the people who frequented the villa and would have obviously informed Cynthia if such a person was the guest. If he did not, they would normally at least give their names before stating a vague request shrouded in mystery.
In hindsight though, she probably should have guessed a little earlier.
"Cameron?" She stopped still and practically gaped at the sight of the former Unova champion standing in her villa once again. He gave her a weak smile.
"Hiya, Cyn. Been a while, hasn't it?"
"You're... back." She managed, and then actually looked at him properly. "You... don't look too good..."
"Thanks. Can't say the same about you, though." He eyed her blue summer dress. "Suits you better than black, I think."
But he did not look well. Dark shadows ran under his eyes, even if they did appear to be receding somewhat, as if he had just caught up on a few hours of sleep. He favoured his right leg over his left, walking stiffly and wincing on alternate steps as he moved closer.
"What happened?" She asked, concern for his condition warring with annoyance at his temerity to pop up out of the blue unannounced. Again.
"I've got news to deliver. Important news." He replied, ignoring the question.
"Again?" Cynthia said, a little more testily than she had intended. He smiled again, but there was a hollowness to it that spoke of a desire for brevity and the absence of the normal banter, so she spoke no more about her annoyance. Instead, she glanced back the way she had come through the villa. "I've got friends staying here... Ash Ketchum and three of his group. We were about to head off for the World Tournament Junior Cup; they're expecting me back any moment."
"Then this concerns them as well, and I'll speak to them about it too, if that's okay."
Cynthia had no problem with this, but it only served to pique her interest.
"Have you, uh... Turned a TV on in the past hour, Cyn?" He asked.
"Uh... No. Why?" She replied, wrong-footed. Cameron suppressed a grimace.
"Then this'll come as quite a shock."
"Then can you tell me first, Cam? I don't want to be too badly blindsided by some huge revelation."
"In short..."
And so he told her.
Five minutes later, Cynthia strode back into the living room, somewhat dazed, and headed straight for the kitchen area. Or, more specifically, the bar.
"Uh, Cynthia, is everything okay?" Ash asked as she passed him. He thought he overheard the words "need" and "drink" murmured. "You were gone a while." The others also looked to her with concern.
"She's just had some rather bad news." Cameron said, having finally caught up. Cynthia had walked far faster than he could manage at the present time back through the villa.
"Who're you?" Ash asked, confused by this new presence. Iris and Dawn seemed equally flummoxed. The Pokémon took note of their trainers' attitudes and eyed the newcomer warily. Out of the Pokémon assembled, only Garchomp gave a roar and an waved an arm in greeting. Cilan, however, regarded him thoughtfully.
"I've seen you somewhere before... A picture of you, I guess." He said, before Cameron could answer Ash. "Wait..." His face lit up suddenly in excitement. "I remember now! You're Cameron, the former Unova champion!"
At this, Iris gave a squeal of excitement, albeit quieter than she had emitted upon meeting Cynthia beforehand.
"Oh, of course!" She exclaimed. "I remember Drayden mentioning you once back at the Village of Dragons."
"Nice to meet you, but I thought that Alder's been champion for years." Ash said, recalling their prior meeting and Trip's excitedness.
"He was my predecessor and successor." Cameron explained. "He returned to the Pokémon League after I stepped down last year."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Cameron." Ash replied. He was still wary at Cynthia's sudden behaviour, and the others were too. Meeting a former champion might have had them more excited had the champion that they counted as a friend not been acting so strangely.
"It's nice to meet you too at last, Ash."
The Sinnoh champion finally made her way back out of the bar, holding a glass of something that Ash couldn't identify, and sat back down at the table.
"What's that, Cynthia?" He asked.
"I can't say." She said in a conspiratorial tone, taking a large gulp of the liquid. Across the table, still not sat down, Cameron snorted.
"It's just pure Pecha berry juice, isn't it?" He asked dryly. Cynthia raised her eyebrows at him and raised her glass to him, coming a mock toast and a mock salute in one action.
"You know me too well."
"Uh, guys?" Dawn interrupted the so-far stilted conversation. "Don't we have to get going for the tournament?"
"No. We're not going." Cynthia said grimly and took another sip. The effect of her words was immediate.
"What?" cried Ash, Dawn and Iris. Cilan merely looked shocked.
"Why, what's happened?" he asked.
Cynthia looked at Cameron again, who had still made no move to join the table.
"Tell them."
"Aye." He finally moved, walking round to pull up the remaining seat next to Cynthia and gingerly sat down. "What you're about to hear is going to be a lot to process, but feel free to ask questions. There are two main events that you need to be aware of, the first concerning very recent events in this very region, and the second... we'll get to later. First, though... You may have heard of a group named Team Plasma operating out of this region?" All shook their heads, apart from Cynthia, who kept her gaze on the floor. She'd heard this, just minutes before.
"No, only Team Rocket." Iris said.
"There was Team Galactic too in Sinnoh!" Dawn put forward.
"And Teams Aqua and Magma in Hoenn." Ash recalled. "But we've never heard of a "Team Plasma", no. Who are they?"
"I'm not surprised that you've never heard of them. Unlike the previous criminal organisations you mentioned, they've done an excellent job at hiding their existence from not only the general public, but also general law enforcement. Their goal – to put it as simply as can be said – is to promote the well-being of Pokémon."
"That doesn't sound so bad." Ash shrugged.
"It isn't, and many Plasma members that have been uncovered are good people." Cameron replied. "But it's the way they go about their goal that has been the problem. In the few public rallies and events they've held, they've advocated the release by trainers of all captured Pokémon. This, as a viewpoint, I suppose you could argue, isn't necessarily a bad thing, But in the last month they extended their actions to stealing and holding Pokémon captive with the intention of simply mass-releasing them at a later date, we assume."
"That's horrible!" Ash growled. Cilan nodded.
"Ash is right. People and Pokémon don't always get along, but separating the two isn't going to help anything! Only by working together can the greatest battle flavour be produced!"
"Flavour?" questioned Cameron. Iris brought her palm to her face, whilst Dawn and Ash sighed.
"He's a Pokémon Connoisseur." She explained.
"Ah. Right... Well, last week Plasma sent an ultimatum to Alder and the Pokémon league."
"An ultimatum?" Ash said, confused.
"A final warning." Cilan simplified for him. Cameron nodded.
"They essentially ordered the League to require all trainers to release all Pokemon by sundown three days ago. The league decided they were bluffing and refused, only responding by publicly refusing to deal with terrorists. This effectively brought Plasma into the public eye, and I assume they felt that they needed to act fast." He paused, unsure how to continue.
"And then what happened?" Dawn asked, almost on the edge of her seat. The tension in the room was high.
"And then, very late last night, they attacked the Unova Pokémon league. Their leader, known only as "N", defeated Alder." Cynthia, finally speaking, finished for him. "Cameron told me ten minutes ago."
If the revelation of Team Plasma's goals had drawn anger from Ash and the others, this pronouncement simply stunned them into silence.
"No... How could Alder lose?" Ash couldn't believe it, and, given the way he nearly fell off Ash's shoulder, neither could Pikachu. Dawn had turned white. Iris had her hands over her mouth, whilst Cilan stood still as a stone.
"From what it would seem, N apparently befriended the legendary Pokémon Reshiram, impressing it with his quest for "truth". With Reshiram's immense power, no-one, not even Alder and his Pokémon, was able to stand in his way."
"Well, then, we need to help!" Ash yelled, jumping up. "We need to get to the Pokemon league and stop Plasma! Reshiram or not, we can't just let them get away with this!"
"There is no need." Cameron replied coolly. "The situation was already resolved by the time I arrived at the League this morning." Ash calmed slightly at this.
"Resolved? How?"
"A trainer – much like yourselves, actually – was intending to challenge Alder today and was staying at the League. When Plasma attacked, this trainer helped to defend the headquarters, and confronted N after he defeated Alder. The strength of their ideals apparently summoned Reshiram's counterpart, Zekrom, whom was promptly captured and aided in N's defeat, as well as in the defeat of Ghetsis, the mastermind behind Plasma's scheme. N left on Reshiram shortly after, and Ghetsis was arrested." He paused again, noting Ash's flash of recognition at the mention of Zekrom. "You've encountered Zekrom before?"
"Yeah, on my first day in Unova." Ash explained. "Pikachu was hit by a bolt of lightning when we first arrived, and Professor Juniper thought that Zekrom was responsible."
"Interesting. Either way, whilst Plasma's plans have been foiled, Unova is hardly out of the woods yet. League agents and the International Police are working together to find and dismantle the rest of its operations across the region. Given Alder's need to recover from his injuries, and the logistics of the aforementioned investigations, the World Tournament Junior Cup has been cancelled indefinitely for this year." Cameron finished with a grim finality.
At last, the pronouncement was made, and the four young trainers at the table sagged considerably, despondent for the moment, as did their Pokémon, some actually understanding the issue, and some simply sensing the mood.
"What about the Pokemon League competition?" Ash realised frantically. Surely that can't be cancelled too...
"Don't worry, so far the Unova League has yet to cancel the conference – if nothing else occurs to disrupt the schedule, it will still take place in three months time." Cameron reassured him, standing up and walking to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Ash breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was so looking forward to that tournament as well." Iris said dejectedly. Axew began wailing, and it took a long hug to render him quiet again.
They all sat in silence for a short while.
Ash was briefly focused on preventing Pikachu from scampering off with a bottle of ketchup.
Dawn suddenly found the floor of Cynthia's villa much more interesting than before.
Iris admired the quality of the tablecloth whilst rocking Axew back and forth.
Cilan realised his shoes were untied.
"Well, actually..." The unexpected guest broke the silence and cleared his throat. "There is something that we could use your help with. But first I need to tell you more."
"You said that these recent events were only half of what you had to tell us." observed Cilan.
"Almost everything I've told you up to this point has been second hand. I received it from Alder this morning as he was being treated. Almost all of it will be public knowledge very shortly, when the media arrive and are properly briefed. No cameras were there at the time; all of the journalists had packed up to head to the World Tournament." He sat back down before continuing. "What will not be public knowledge is the truth about where I've been for the past year, alongside Steven, former champion of Hoenn."
"I met Steven once, back in Granite Cave in Hoenn!" Ash put in. He could hardly forget him; the elite trainer had saved him, May, Brock and Max from a horde of angry Aron and rescued Pikachu from Team Rocket shortly after.
Iris was amazed and reasonably annoyed at Ash's personal knowledge of so many august persons.
"How many champions have you met?" she cried indignantly, turning to face him.
"Lance sends his regards." Cameron added. Iris choked on a breath and started coughing.
"You... You've met Lance? Why did you never tell me?" she roared furiously, almost waking Axew again.
"Uh... it never came up? Why's it so important anyway?"
"Ash, Lance is the greatest dragon-type user ever!" Her tone was becoming increasingly frustrated. "Ugh, you're such a kid!"
"Anyway, as I was saying..." Cameron resumed. "Steven and I have been working together on a mission of infiltration, investigating suspicious activity in northern Hoenn. It took us a year to prepare, search and follow up on leads all across the region. Last week, we hit the jackpot... and blew our cover in the process."
Five Days earlier...
"No. This is impossible..."
"If it's what their records say I wouldn't be too quick to doubt it." Steven countered. He stood next to Cameron, who was sat at the computer feeling as though the whole world had turned upside down.
They both wore black cloaks which had helped to mask their presence at the base so far. Whoever the group actually was, all of their members seemed to wear such apparel.
Not that it would help them at all if they were caught in this restricted zone gazing at such vital information.
They had seen very little of actual use inside the base; mostly just locked, guarded doors and uncountable numbers of dark-cloaked grunts. Accessing this computer had been their first real success.
"This..." Cameron jabbed a finger at the screen. "This links them to Unova... To "Team Plasma"... Is that who my contacts spoke of, just before we set off? And here – links to Kanto – deals, negotiations, joint operations with Team Rocket – they're everywhere."
"And yet there appears to be no information about this organisation itself in their own database." Steven observed thoughtfully. "No records; no personnel files nor logistics. Not even a mission statement. You'd expect their efforts to coordinate with other parts of the criminal underworld would be better encrypted..."
"Last thing before we go, we need a record of this." Cameron pulled out a USB drive. "Then we can depart." He plugged it in.
An alarm went off.
"Ah. Not good."
They could hear muffled voices outside the room, and then the door was flung open – two similarly clad opponents confronted them, one brandishing a Poké ball.
"Intruders!" that one cried, tossing the ball. "You won't have our secrets! Skuntank, Flamethrower!" The Skunk Pokémon inhaled and shot a stream of fire at the two infiltrators, who leapt to the side as it incinerated the computer.
"Damn, there goes Plan A." Cameron reached under his cloak and let out Jellicent, as Steven called upon Aggron. The former's Shadow Ball and the latter's Stone Edge cleared the path out of the room, the second grunt having been unable to send out a Pokémon before his defeat. They stormed out, Aggron in the lead and Jellicent taking up the rear, drifting unnervingly quietly along as it so often did.
"Enough talk; let's just get out of here with what we know already." Steven grunted as the alarm continued to wail incessantly. On walkways above they could hear panicked shouts and rushing footsteps. "Aggron, open up that far wall with Hyper Beam!"
With a roar, the rock/steel type unleashed an echoing blast from his mouth, piercing the metal and concrete to open out into the light of day. Both trainers recalled their Pokémon, only to be blocked by grunts from out of the shadows as more closed in from behind.
"And then what happened?" gasped Dawn. Cameron shrugged.
"We fought our way out –"- he paused, indicating his injured leg – "and escaped before they could call on more reinforcements. After that, we travelled back to Kanto to brief Lance, and then I came straight here, knowing that Cynthia had been asked to participate in the World Tournament. Steven returned to Hoenn, and is focusing on marshalling forces for a proper assault on these mystery headquarters."
"I don't quite understand though; how does that have anything to do with needing our help?" Cilan queried.
The others nodded in confused agreement. Cynthia remained still.
"Strictly speaking, he only needs Ash's help..." She said quietly.
Cameron nodded and removed a container from his belt. He opened it to reveal a grey chunk of stone. It would be unremarkable if not for a white indentations and grooves etched into the surface.
"This was confiscated from a Plasma grunt a month ago. Lenora and Professor Juniper had time for an analysis over the past few weeks, but found nothing. If not for that Grunt's hysteria at its removal, and Ghetsis' reaction this morning to discovering that it was no longer in Plasma's possession, we would think nothing of it." He said. "However, we have to be sure. I've been told that you know Professor Oak very well, Ash. We need you to deliver it to him for further study. Lance will be arriving in Pallet Town in three weeks to hear the results."
Ash took the contained stone from him and stared at it briefly, before snapping the lid of the container shut.
"I wasn't planning on heading back to Kanto so soon... I don't understand, really; why me?" He asked.
"Because you've proven to multiple champions in the past that you're trustworthy and that you have the strength of will and character to get the job done."
Ash's spirit privately soared at the thought of being so positively regarded by the champions, but his continuing confusion at the unusual situation prevented his face from acknowledging it.
"But what does this have to do with Hoenn, and what you found?"
"Honestly? We don't know. But we know that whoever that group is, acting so secretly in the north, they have connections to Plasma. This stone could be vital in some way to those connections; even if it does not, we need leads, we need options. That stone's all we've really got so far, and with the recent crisis at the Unova league they need all hands on deck to assist with damage control, particularly next week when the inevitable inquiries and witch hunts for blame begin, so I can't deliver it myself."
"Politics at its finest." Cynthia muttered bitterly.
Ash sighed, and glanced once more at the container, and then at Pikachu, who gave him a look that practically said "whatever you choose, we'll support you."
I guess I've got three months til the Unova league anyway, and the World Tournament Junior Cup's cancelled...
He turned to regard Iris, Dawn and Cilan. His friends looked back at him worriedly.
"What do you guys think?" He asked. Iris answered first.
"It's a bit of a shakeup from what we had planned, but I'll go with you to Kanto. Who knows? I might find some more dragon types there, and be one step closer to being a dragon master!"
"Cilan, what about you?" The connoisseur shrugged, ignoring Iris' sudden realisation and swooning cry of I'll get to meet Lance.
"I've never been outside of Unova before..." He hesitated briefly. Ash feared for a second that he might decline. Cilan gazed over at Pansage, sitting with the other Pokemon. It kept its face neutral, but anyone looking closely enough would have observed the slightest nod, which Cilan seem to accept. "But I'll go with you, Ash."
"Dawn?" The blue-haired coordinator hesitated too, but – Ash knew - for a different reason.
"Okay." Dawn said finally. "I'm sure my Mom will understand if I call her first..." She smiled at him. "Oh yeah, I'll finally get to see your house, too! Maybe we could see Brock while we're there too..."
Ash turned back to Cameron.
"All right, we're in. But there's something we need to do first." Ash looked round, and called out. "Meloetta! If you're here, come out, please. This guy's a friend."
"Meloetta? Oh!" Cameron gasped as Meloetta appeared in front of him, shy as it always was when meeting new people. "Amazing! I've never seen..." He trailed off, fascinated.
"Meloetta's been travelling and staying with us for a while now." Ash explained. "If we're going to be leaving Unova soon then we need to give her the chance to find a new home, and Cilan said he'd heard rumours of a place on Route Fourteen that might be good to look at." Cilan confirmed this.
"Melo..." Meloetta blushed, seemingly touched by Ash's concern.
"That's okay, it could be a few days before flights out of Unova are opened again anyway, given the crisis. I'd be happy to come with you if you'd like up until you leave the region."
"Fine by me. It's settled then." Ash accepted, and the others nodded their assent as well.
"Not quite." It was Cynthia, speaking for the first time in at least five minutes. Everyone in the room turned to look at her. "I'm going too."
"To help Meloetta, or-"
"No. To Kanto."
Cameron didn't seem too happy with this.
"Cyn-" He started to say, but she shook her head and interrupted.
"No, Cam." She glared at him. "I'm sick of doing nothing. Sinnoh'll be fine without me for a little while. I want to travel again, and I'm going to Kanto to see Professor Oak with Ash and the others. And I want to have a long talk with Lance about a few things."
A private, mental battle – or at least a staring contest - seemed to erupt between the former champion of Unova and the reigning champion of Sinnoh, with Ash and company caught in the middle. Eventually, Cameron seemed to relent, and waved his hand in defeat.
"All right."
"Okay, now it's settled!" Ash said triumphantly. "We'll help Meloetta get home, and then we'll get this stone to Professor Oak in no time!"
"We'll leave tomorrow morning at ten." Cynthia declared. She seemed - to Ash - to be more confident about the whole venture now that she was taking an active role – almost like she felt happier to be more in control over it than earlier. "I'll make the arrangements for our travel to route fourteen proper later today. It's only just past one o'clock, actually." She left the room. Cameron glanced at her on the way, then walked uneasily back over to the kitchen and began helping himself to the well-stocked fridge.
He'd visited before, of course, and knew she wouldn't mind.
Privately, Ash was unsure as to whether he'd made the right decision in agreeing to this responsibility. He could've just refused, and resumed exploring Unova with Iris and Cilan, meeting new people and Pokémon, and preparing for the Unova league.
His friends began chatting amongst themselves about what they had heard of Kanto, and what they hoped to see on the visit.
Iris had decided that she would call it a vacation, which, really, was stretching the truth a little.
But, he realised, we always end up sidetracked in some way on these journeys. This could be important, and if what Cameron said is true, we have no idea what we might face coming out of northern Hoenn – or how far it could have spread.
And, he reasoned, this way Iris and Cilan get to meet my friends back in Kanto – and my older Pokémon too. Plus, Dawn gets too travel with us a little bit longer.
And really, he finished deliberating his choice in his mind, how hard can this errand be?
Much later, he would kick himself for tempting fate so blatantly.
So wondrous to behold, so delicate and finely crafted – and yet, such a pleasure to smash.
- Hatching Plans (Guildpact)