Sorry about the mix-up with the previous chapter number. I fixed it :)

Chapter 3: Aspirations

Alice, Damos, Brandon, and Meredith were all on the plane from Rustboro City to the Kalos region, where the four of them plan on attending the famous Alain Sycamore's Pokemon trainer camp. To say that they were excited would be quite the understatement.

"Wow, I've never flown on a plane before!" Brandon exclaimed rather loudly for being on a plane. A few people looked over, slightly annoyed, but Brandon was completely oblivious to it.

Meredith looked over at him, smiling. "Really? I've flown so many times before this...I've been to the Kanto region to visit my mother's childhood friend. Another time I went to the Sinnoh region where we watched the amazing Fantina perform in a contest."

Intrigued, Brandon barraged her with questions. His outgoing energetic personality was charming to her, and she knew that they were going to be good friends.

"Wow! Who was your mom's friend? Was he some famous contest performer? What kind of Pokemon did Fantina use? Who is Fantina? Do you think I could try a contest sometime? Oh, maybe you can teach me!" Brandon didn't know when to stop.

Meredith laughed, wondering where to start. "Oh, um, well my mom's friend is a man named Ash, who was a famous Pokemon trainer back in his day! He has a son our age, named Aaron. I met him a long time ago..." she seemed to blush as she talked. "And as for Fantina, oh my gosh she was so amazing and beautiful, I remember..."

The two of them continued with their conversation during the flight. Meanwhile, Damos glanced over at them from the other side of the aisle. He and Alice had been sleeping when he had heard Brandon's loud voice. He felt slightly jealous at how well Brandon and Meredith were getting along because within the first few seconds of meeting Meredith, he had immediately developed an infatuation with her.

That Brandon, all he does is talk, Damos thought. I'm going to become the best contest performer there ever was so I can impress Meredith, so she can see that Brandon is no good for her.

Alice stirred in her sleep a little, turning her head towards the window. She was dreaming of a great Pokemon battle between her and the champion of Kalos.

– –

~ Camp Sycamore ~

"We're here, Phillip! Thank you for being so patient," Professor Sycamore said. He and his wife Mairin had just driven up to Camp Sycamore, bringing Phillip along for the ride.

"Chespy, will you help unload the trunk for me, please?" Mairin asked her Chesnaught, her very first Pokemon and lifelong partner.

Chespy grunted a little at the rather juvenile nickname, expressing slight disapproval as he began to carry boxes from the trunk. Mairin knew that this was just an act however; she knew that deep down, the huge Spiny Armor Pokemon liked his nickname, the name she had given him the moment her father-in-law had given him to her.

Phillip looked around at the beautiful camp. Cabins lined the edge of the beach, each with a banner displaying the face of a different Pokemon. He wondered who he would bunk with, seeing as how he currently had no friends that he knew of attending this camp. He decided not to worry about it right now.

Alain Sycamore breathed in the fresh air he had come to love ever since his father had brought him here for the first time. This was the place where Charmander evolved into Charmeleon during the final triple battle on the last day of camp. Charmander had been the last one on his team standing, and he had been faced with two opponents left. The motivation to persevere had inspired it to evolve and become stronger, proceeding to beat impossible odds and win the battle. It was no surprise that Alain was able to Mega Evolve it when it evolved into Charizard, because their bond was so strong by then.

Alain looked out at the calm ocean water, reminiscing about those nostalgic childhood moments. They were the reason why he loved his job now; he loved to see children grow and become greater trainers, greater people...just as he had.

~ Pallet Town ~

"Aaron, that's fantastic! I'm so proud of you, honey," Serena Ketchum said to her son. He had video called home to tell his parents the great news of him earning his first badge in Santalune City, as well as telling them the bad news of his loss at the Lumiose City Gym.

"You should've seen it, Mom! I used Smokescreen to block the sun from Viola's Vivillon so it couldn't use Solarbeam right away, then Charmander ended it with an amazing Dragon Rage attack! I wish you and Dad could've seen it," Aaron Ketchum said, excited to share his success with his mother. It was unfortunate that Ash couldn't be home for this.

Serena smiled. She was so proud of her son, almost forgetting about how much she worried for him. "You know, Aaron, it was in that Gym where I first met your father," she said, remembering the day when she had decided to leave home just to see Ash again. In hindsight, Serena knew that leaving home on a whim had been a pretty hasty and somewhat reckless decision. But it was all so worth it, she thought.

~ Geosenge Town ~

After arriving in the Kalos region, Damos, Alice, Brandon, and Meredith are all beginning their walk to Camp Sycamore, each of them excited as ever. It's a rather cloudy day, the sun still shining but with the feeling that rain might be upon them soon.

"All right, I can't wait to get to camp! How long until we get there?" Brandon asked, directing the question mainly towards Meredith.

Meredith looked at her map. "Hmm. Well it says here that the fastest way to there is through a cavern called Reflection Cave. Sounds interesting, doesn't it?"

Damos quickly answered, "Yeah, that sounds totally cool, Meredith! And don't worry, we won't get lost because I have a great sense of direction," he said in a rather conceited tone. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Sure you do, Damos. Like that one time you couldn't even find the way home from Lake Verity," she said, remembering the time when they had visited the lake in search of the legendary Pokemon that supposedly lived there.

Meredith and Brandon both laughed. Then Meredith said, "I'm reading about how apparently some people in Reflection Cave have...oh my goodness!"

Brandon looked at her curiously. "What? What is it? Oh, I want to know so badly!"

Meredith smiled and continued. "Apparently...some people have traveled to a parallel universe when they were inside Reflection Cave!"

~ Veilstone City ~

A man with purple hair and black eyes sat on a couch watching reruns of Pokemon battles on television. On the screen he watched as a familiar Pikachu released a powerful ball of electricity towards its opponent. The opposing Mega Gardevoir fell to the ground, knocked out.

Well that's new, Paul thought. I guess he decided to ditch Volt Tackle for Electro Ball. Interesting decision.

Paul lived alone in a small apartment in his hometown, Veilstone. After his recent divorce with his wife, he had been feeling pretty depressed. He was completely unwilling to leave the house, except for work. He never answered the phone calls that he received from his brother, Reggie. He knew eventually that Reggie would come knocking on his door, but decided to deal with that when the occasion arose.

The only light left in his pathetic life was his son, Zack. Zack had just left for his Pokemon journey with an Elekid as his starter Pokemon. The Elekid was the child of Paul's Electivire, who was now living happily working at Fuego Iron Works.

Paul sighed heavily as he leaned back on the couch. Thinking that it would make him feel better as a person, he had released all of his Pokemon because he knew that they weren't happy with him. But it hadn't made things better. He just felt worse. But what alternative was there?

Zack...don't make the same mistakes I did... he thought.

~ Reflection Cave ~

Aaron Ketchum stood at the mouth of Reflection Cave as he decided whether or not to venture inside. He had heard the rumors; it definitely wasn't the safest place to just look around casually.

He had gotten there all the way from Lumiose City within a matter of minutes. How? He had met a man named Wally who was visiting from the Hoenn region. He had a Gardevoir that knew Teleport. Aaron knew that he needed to make up some distance after spending all that time challenging the Santalune and Lumiose Gyms, so he challenged Wally to a battle, wagering a ride to Reflection Cave, the closest reference point to the camp that he could find.

He had lost, but Wally admired his battling spirit and gave him the lift he needed anyway.

Now, he was faced with another dilemma. He knew it wasn't safe to go inside alone, but he had Charmander...maybe if he had traveled with a group of friends, this wouldn't be as much of an issue.

Alice, Damos, Brandon, and Meredith were all walking when they saw a lone boy and a small orange Pokemon sitting at the mouth of Reflection Cave. The twins and Brandon thought nothing of it, but Meredith's eyes widened a little. "Could that be...?" she asked aloud.

Aaron saw the four kids approaching him, two boys and two girls. One of the boys and one of the girls had navy blue hair and had similar-looking facial features, so he assumed that they were related. The other boy had bright blonde hair, and the other girl was a pretty brown-haired one with a blue bandana on her head. Wait a second... he thought. He recognized her. The one with the blue bandana.

"Aaron! Is that you?" Meredith shouted as she ran up to him and put her hands on his shoulders. "What a coincidence! I'd never thought I'd meet you again!" she said, blushing.

Aaron smiled. "Meredith! It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he said. The two trainers enjoyed their reunion together.

Brandon was the next one to acknowledge Aaron, stepping up in a challenging sort of manner. "Hi! My name's Brandon, and it looks to me like you're a Pokemon trainer. Care to have a battle? You know what they say when two trainer's eyes meet!" he said, grabbing a Pokeball from his belt.

Aaron smiled and nodded. "Sure! How can I refuse an offer like that? My name's Aaron, and I get the feeling that you're strong!" he replied, confidence defining his demeanor. He glanced over at Meredith, who returned his gaze for a brief moment.

"All right, Turtwig, come on out!" Brandon shouted, tossing his Pokeball into the air. In a flash of white light, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon appeared.

"Wow! That's so cool! I've never seen that kind of Pokemon before!" Aaron exclaimed, pulling out his Pokedex. It said: "Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon. Photosynthesis occurs across its body under the sun. The shell on its back is actually hardened soil."

Brandon smiled. "Yeah, Turtwig is my very first Pokemon, and I know that together we'll become super strong! And it all starts here, with our very first battle!"

Aaron nodded. "Your very first battle, huh? Then I guess we'll take it easy on you," he said. There was no intended arrogance in his voice, it was just Aaron's personality to try to keep everything on as fair grounds as possible.

Damos muttered under his breath, "This kid thinks he's some big hot-shot...I'll bet he's not even all that tough."

Shaking his head, Brandon retorted, "No need for that, Aaron! I'll bet me and Turtwig battle so well we can crush you, no matter how much experience you have compared to us!" Turtwig cried out in agreement, pumped up for a battle.

"Well, okay then. I guess it's time you met my partner! Charmander, take the battlefield!" Aaron shouted, throwing his Pokeball up high. Embers flew in all directions as Charmander emerged from its Pokeball.

Alice admired the flame burning on Charmander's tail. She could feel the heat radiating from its body even though she was about a meter away from it. She wondered if her Chimchar's flame would ever burn as brightly as that.

"Chimchar, come on out! Time to learn!" Alice shouted, releasing her partner from his Pokeball. "Chimchar, we're gonna watch these two battle, so I want you to pay attention and learn from it!" she said. Chimchar nodded, although truthfully he would have much rather been battling himself.

"Mudkip, you come out, too!" Meredith said as she tossed her partner's Pokeball into the air, revealing the Mud Fish Pokemon in a flash of white light. "Kip, kip!" it cheered, happy to be outside of its Pokeball.

Brandon and Turtwig stood facing Aaron and Charmander. Alice stepped up in between them. "Can I be the referee? Oh, please let me, please!" she frantically pleaded, excited to see her very first Pokemon battle up close.

Brandon laughed and said, "Of course, Alice. It's always good to practice officiating. What do you think, Aaron?"

Aaron nodded his head with a smile. "I don't see why not!" he said cheerfully.

On the sidelines, Damos was saying something to Meredith but she wasn't listening at all. Her thoughts were on Aaron. Was he smiling at Alice? Okay, maybe he was just smiling to be nice...or maybe he thinks she's cute? Her mind raced with thoughts.

"Battle begin!" Alice shouted, a big smile on her face as she raised her hand up high. Beside her, Chimchar did the same thing. It glanced over at Charmander and noticed how brightly the flame burned on its tail. He looked behind him at his own tail and frowned, seeing a very meager flame in comparison.

"You and Turtwig can have the first move, Brandon!" Aaron said, confident that this battle was his already.

Brandon nodded. "Well, alright then! Turtwig, use...uh...useee..."

Everyone waited silently for Brandon to finish his command, but he just kept stumbling.

"Aw, shoot. I never even learned what moves Turtwig knows!" he said, drooping his head down as he pulled out his Pokedex. After about a minute of reading, he looked back up with a new sense of confidence. "Okay, sorry about that!" he said. "Turtwig, use Tackle!"

Turtwig charged forward as quickly as it could, but Charmander sidestepped out of the way without needing an order from Aaron.

"Charmander, let's hit it with a Dragon Rage!" Aaron calmly commanded.

Charmander released a purple, flame-like sphere towards Turtwig, who was far too slow to dodge it. Turtwig took the full brunt of the attack and was sent flying backward.

"Turtwig! Are you okay?" Brandon shouted, his face expressing concern for his Pokemon. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, he thought.

"Charmander, use Ember!"

Turtwig cried out in pain as it suffered from the type disadvantage of the attack and rolled onto its back, unconscious.

Alice and Chimchar stared at Charmander with amazement. Wow...that Charmander can really pack a punch...

Meredith stared at Aaron adoringly, thoroughly impressed with his battling capabilities. He's already a powerful trainer...just like he always said he would be...

Damos shrugged nonchalantly. "It was an unfair matchup from the start," he said, using that as an excuse to downplay Aaron's strength.

"Oh, uh, um, Turtwig is unable to battle! Which means Charmander and Aaron win the match!" Alice announced.

Aaron walked up to Brandon and extended his hand. "That was a good match. Turtwig tried its best!" he said.

Brandon smiled shamefully. "Yeah, I know...but it wasn't fair to Turtwig for me to just throw it out there without knowing what I was doing first," he said, scratching the back of his head. He shook Aaron's hand. "Next time we battle, I'm gonna make sure to put up more of a fight!"

"Sure thing, Brandon. Just let me know whe-" but Aaron was cut off by the crackling of thunder.

Damos felt a drop of water on his head. "Uh-oh," he said, looking up at the sky.

Within seconds, a huge rainstorm fell heavily upon them without much warning. Lightning started to flash in the sky as they could hear rumbling thunder.

"Oh, man! Charmander, return!" Aaron shouted, recalling Charmander back into its Pokeball.

"You, too, Chimchar!" Alice shouted.

"C'mon, guys, let's get into the cave!" Damos yelled as she started running towards the entrance to Reflection Cave.

The other four trainers followed him. Aaron was the first to enter the cave, apparently being the fastest runner there. Damos, Alice, and Brandon finished close behind. Meredith stumbled, crying out as she fell towards the wet, muddy ground.

Aaron turned around and saw Meredith holding her ankle with both hands. "Meredith!" He quickly dashed back out into the storm and helped her up, allowing her to use him for support as they slowly made their way to the cave entrance.

When they were all safely inside the cave, Aaron pulled out his sleeping bag and wrapped it around Meredith to help keep her warm. He also sent out Charmander again to help keep everyone warm with its flame.

"Th-thanks, Aaron," Meredith said, her cheeks a deep shade of pink.

Aaron smiled. "No problem. I'm always here to help!" he said cheerfully.

Damos and Brandon were both glaring at Aaron, although no one noticed.

After a few moments of silence, Alice spoke up. "So...who wants to explore the cave?"

– – – –

End of Chapter 3. Sorry I haven't been able to update this story in a while, to the few people who actually follow this XD. What do you guys think Paul's son should be like? Also, I'm planning on cutting the size of the gang to 3-4 people after the camp; the others will go their separate ways but will still be recurring characters. Aaron, of course, is a staple member of the gang, so other than him who do you want to be in the main gang? I always take your thoughts and opinions into account!