All Ash has so far is some rudimentary TF power from whatever happened because of Ditto's sacrilegious attempts to mimic the holy hat. Problem is that Ash can't really control much of these new powers, as they are completely foreign to his body.

So yeah, it's not really complex. I tried to be clever and avoided any lengthy exposition in the story, but now fear that that may have been a mistake. Either way, what's done is done, and if you have any more questions feel free to askey away.

The forest was a riot of green, with every turn turning up something new and wonderful.

Ash and Scyther had walked forward at a leisurely pace, the Scyther keeping quiet for the journey. But Ash didn't mind the silence. It was as if the boys eyes had been opened to a whole new world that was hidden just behind the tree line. Every step he took he saw life in action. Rattata running in the bushes playing their games, or the songs of the newly hatched Pidgey, singing songs of what it would be like to have the wind under their wings.

It was as if, despite all of his days walking through the countryside and the woods, the truth of nature had been hidden from his eyes. And now… now it had blossomed, like a spring flower. Bringing life and joy to all its surroundings.

And his heart, it leapt and jumped with joy, like a child who had just been introduced to the wonders of dancing. Unhindered by the chains of growing up; content to gather the confetti from the floor, only to throw it into the air. To watch the world become awash with colour.

He was so entranced by the wonder of the forest that the feeling of Scyther slapping him on the head with the flat of his blade felt like a Thunderbolt.

"Wake up!" was the only thing the Pokémon said to him before returning to his walk.

The joyous world was broken and all of a sudden Ash found himself at a loss regarding the sensations that had just overcome him. It was as if he was wrapped up, held close and tight; made willing to do anything for the one that held him.

The feeling was intoxicating.

But, it was strange… foreign.

The thought unnerved him. He tried to piece together the events that had happened to him. The dreams, the Ditto, the poison and the Beedrill and the Scyther. Sceptile and Pikachu. The transformation…

The transformation!

It hit Ash like a burst of fire. It had to be something to do with the change that was forced onto him. It was affecting his thinking, the way he acted and-

Sceptile, when he, when Ash climbed the trees like that. He had never been able to climb like that before and when he was running in the branches, trying to get back to the River, the urge that had gripped him was kinda like… sorta like. But… not…

His thoughts began to blur. His head began to flush red as it was flooded with blood. A distant part of him remembered Misty warning him not to think too much in case he broke something.

Then Scyther lifted his blade to motion Ash to stop and the thoughts that he was having vanished into thin air. Replaced by obedience for the elder. A readiness befitting of a warrior.

"Look who's here" came the nasally voice from high up. Ash twisting his head upwards to see the scrawny Scyther perched atop a tall tree trunk that had been beheaded of all its branches. Forming a makeshift pillar upon which the Pokémon could gaze at its surroundings.

"I'm going to the hive" Scyther said, eliciting a snort from the sentry.

Who waved his blades in a lackadaisical manner and said "I didn't know you had a home"

"I do." Scyther replied stiffly, "and I'm going."

"No you're not" came the response as Scyther had moved one leg forward.

He twisted his head to gaze at the sentry, "and why's that?"

"Because you don't have a home over there" Scyther growled.

"Who are you to say that I don't have a home" his blades began to shake and Ash could tell that that Scyther was holding in his anger.

"The one who's on orders from our dear Patriarch" the sentry drawled, "sibling"

Ash was shocked at the revelation, and Scyther swayed a little on his feet at a strange sensation that washed over him.

He composed himself, "I'm sure that your dear Patriarch though the best of you when he sent you to this waste of a duty. I am grateful that I have the role of a warrior in my errands, as pretending to be a human wouldn't fit me." And began to walk away.

"I wouldn't go that way" the sentry cried.

But Scyther marched on, barking "Break your blades!" to his brother, as Ash obediently followed him.

…

…

Ten minutes later Scyther returned to the tree pillar where the Sentry sat, tilting his head at an angle that had Ash later attempting to mimic to see if he could duplicate it.

"I told you not to go that way" the Sentry said smugly.

"Keep your head like that and it'll fall off" Scyther replied as he began to walk the correct way to his hive.

It was a feeling of utter oppression that overcame Ash as he walked into the haphazard clearing that contained the hive, littered with tree stumps, and decaying branches that had not been cleaned up.

Several structures were placed in the clearing consisting of a greenish-brown substance, with branches thrown into the construction in an attempt to, what Ash guessed was make it stronger. They all looked strange, neatly placed into two rows to form something of a road in the middle. The houses themselves made in the shape of a deformed cube that had suffered from the marks of several attacks; at the end of the road there was a large hollowed out boulder.

And all around the hive there were Scyther. Paused in their everyday routines. Some children, some adults, playing and sparring respectively (although the difference was very slight). All frozen and glaring at the two newcomers.

Ash's companion walked onwards down the road and Ash felt a growing dread build up inside of him. The feeling of fingers claw around his neck. Then squeeze, choking him, tighter and tighter. Then he was free of it's grasp, left exposed to the void. Like he could hear the ground roar at him, outraged with his filthy presence, daring him to take one step out of line. Making him want to run. To run and never come back.

Then it all washed away, and he looked to find himself inside a stone building. He realised that he must have walked in here during his hallucination, then took it upon himself to study the room he was in.

It was filled with Scyther. Most of them dotted around the edges of the room with eggs besides them. In the back sat one male. Ash didn't know how he knew that the Scyther at the back was male compared to the others who he now realised were female. Perhaps his stoic aura or his posture or even some new sixth sense that was bought alongside Ash's new insectoid form.

But he knew that they were all watching him from the moment he had stepped in. Not with the same piercing gaze as those outside, but with a confidence that made Ash feel small. Eliciting feelings that screamed at him to run away or surrender and apologise for whatever slight they thought he had committed.

His companion began to walk forward, prompting Ash to follow until they both stood in front of the Elder warrior.

Yes, that's what the male was, an Elder warrior. Ash knew it by instinct.

Then the Elder warrior, taking a glance at Ash turned towards Scyther and asked in a smooth voice, "How's it hangin' cool cat"

Scyther groaned a little, but replied in a curt manner, "I've found an apprentice to take on Patron."

But the Elder intervened, "Hush now kiddo. Is that how you still talk to your daddy-o." Ash was beginning to get confused "The castanets are blue and you're blasting away the vibes of a Pi-ano."

Scyther stared, bemused for a few seconds before admitting, "Patron, I have no idea what you just said."

The Elder sighed, before standing up and walking towards Ash.

His voice became gruff as he looked over the transformed boy and told Scyther, "You used to love it when I talked like that, son."

Ash saw Scyther wince as the Elder turned Ash's face from side to side in order to examine him from all angles, "I'm no longer newly hatched, Patron."

The Elder stopped his examination of Ash and walked back to his original position and sat down, telling Scyther, "you'll miss it when I'm dust. I know I miss my Trainer using those very words on me."

"Of course" Scyther said, hoping to move the conversation on.

But the Elder continued on as if oblivious, "I remember the first time I saw a human, heck, I wondered if… well that doesn't matter." The Elder chuckled in that way that reminded Ash of a cartoon dog he once saw "he he he" and made Ash wonder if it was possible for himself to laugh like that in this form as well. "And there was this one time he put super glue in someone's shoes. HA!"

"Elder?" Scyther intervened.

"Huh?"

Scyther pointed to Ash, snapping the Elder out of his reverie.

"Oh! Well, I didn't know you were able to get a Femme of your own. You always did have a thing for the boys, what with all the carcasses you ended up making."

Ash looked at his companion in confusion, but was ignored in the face of the conversation, "He's not my offspring"

The Elder raised an eyebrow "you sure, he looks a lot like you… a bit feminine, but"

"He's not mine." Scyther interjected.

Silence stretched for a few seconds before the Elder asked his question, "Then why's he with you?"

"I wish to take him on as an apprentice"

"That's a first!" the Elder barked, his tone turning jovial once more "never took you as the social type kiddo. What with you going after the ways of your mom, heck, I thought that you'd turn feral and do the whole 'lone wandering warrior' thing." Then he became serious once more "but I gotta ask, why the change of heart?"

Scyther hesitated a moment before looking at his father and telling him without hesitation "He's a part of the swarm."

The Elder looked at his son condescendingly before telling him, "boy, I know every egg that's been hatch inside these walls, and I know about them all until they choose to leave. He has never been a part of my swarm"

Scyther continued, "He's a part of my swarm"

"You do not joke about things like this kid. None of my females are disloyal-"

"You do not understand." Scyther interjected, "My Swarm."

"But you said he's not your so- oh! Oh!" The elder gasped, eyes wide open along with every female that lined the walls of the cave, "your Swarm." Then paused, his eyes sharpening their gaze on Ash who had until now been more than comfortable remaining unnoticed whilst they talked about him, "But how?"

The Elder glanced over to a female lining the edges as she stood up, carefully stepping over her egg and walked out of the cave whilst Scyther explained.

"It happened."

"Just happened?" The Elder asked.

"Yes."

"Did you have a fight?"

"Yes" a pause "but it was an easy win." Ash felt a little insulted.

"Did he beg for your aid?"

"No" Scyther glanced briefly at Ash, "he can't talk"

"Mute? But then… what makes him special? Does he have unique ancestry?"

"Not that I can tell"

"Not that you can tell?" the Elder echoed for Scyther to elaborate.

"He seems incapable of advanced attacks."

At least two females snorted at the assumed joke, before being silenced by several sharp glares.

"Is there anything special about him, other than his incompetence?"

"He's a quick learner" Scyther admitted, "he's determined" the Pokémon glanced at Ash who felt proud of these attributes, "and he's my apprentice."

Silence reigned in the cave once more as Scyther's words sank in to all those around, especially Ash who was hit with a mix of pride, and confusion at Scyther's words and proposition.

The Elder tool a long look at the two, shifting between Ash and his son until his head tilted to the side in a manner that Ash understood as their form of a smile.

"You know kiddo" he began, "I'm proud of you." Scyther tried to ask a question but was cut off by his father telling him, "For all your dislike of human culture, you behave just like one." Scyther began to frown, "Seeing potential that others don't see, doing what you have to do to help those that need it. Making Swarms that are impossible." The Elders eyes were dancing, "Get out of here cool-cat, take your boy with you. Things, expect from you, I do."

And with that Scyther bowed to his Patron, Ash mimicking him and walked out of the hive, mumbling something about how the Elder didn't even bother to ask about the Beedrill like he usually did.

When Ash walked outside, it felt as if he had inhaled a breath of fresh air. The dark walls of the cave having crumbled. The judging eyes of the Scyther were off of him, and the dark walls of the cave, were behind him.

He looked around to see the Scyther going about their day, no longer paying him any heed bar occasional, half hidden, curious glances. Ash guessed that the female who had been sent out had alerted the rest of the… tribe? Swarm? Is that what they called it?

"Snap out of it kid!" Scyther shouted already several steps ahead, and calling for Ash to follow him.

Ash rushed over to him, walking away from the row of makeshift houses and towards the edge of the clearing.

But they were blocked by the presence of a female cutting off Scyther's path and looking at him in amusement.

"Heya big boy, I heard you have a new apprentice"

Scyther just walked around her.

"Hey, you just gonna ignore me?" and Ash followed until they were a distance away from the strange female.

They soon reached the edge of the clearing to what looked like a cocoon of brownish material attached to the side of the tree and covered in vegetation to make it appear as if it was a part of the scenery.

Scyther then turned to Ash, "This is my home. I presume that you don't know how to make your own, so until you do learn, you're free to stay here. Just remember to do your business in the forest because I don't want to wake up to a pile of steaming fertiliser in the morning."

Ash felt a little outraged, and was about to protest with several exaggerated movements to tell his new mentor that he was potty trained, but was stopped by Scyther's sharp glare.

"Just remember, no matter what happens, my home is always open to you and I'll always be by your side should you ask me for help."

He inhaled a sharp breath of air before readying a lesson for his new student "Because, I don't know if you've noticed yet, but there is a Swarm between us. And that is something special even in the greatest of-"

"Big boy" the female screeched from a distance, causing Scyther to groan.

"Why is she back again?"

But then Ash saw a blur of yellow, the sight of Pikachu emerging from his forest. A sight that filled his heart to the brim with joy.

Then time seemed to freeze as Pikachu looked straight at him, eyes marked with fury, cheeks dancing with electricity. Then a beam of white "PI KA CHUUU!" the Thunder struck like a tidal wave, tearing apart every one of his nerves in searing pain.

And he felt his heart crash, his spirit tear itself asunder at the sheer savagery of the strike, as he was sent flying through the air, his body convulsing from the waves and waves of sheer pain that coursed through him, burning him from the inside. A thousand needles piercing every piece of his skin.

The heavy thud of his landing after what seemed an eternity. Somewhere in the forest, away from the fighting if his shredded eyes and ears were to be believed.

The feeling coursed through him, growing warmer, hotter, tearing and torturing his body, like a thousand ants had crawled on top of him and were biting with a bloody single mindedness. Ripping him apart. His head, his body and his fingers.

Then it was over. He could hear little more than the clamour of battle in the distance, his friends fighting amongst themselves over him.

Himself, helpless. Lying down spent on the forest floor, falling unconscious.

Into darkness…

Into darkness.

Ash woke up to the sight of a white ceiling, and soft comfort all around him.

It didn't take him long to discover that he was in a bed, but the 'why?' and 'how?' still rung in his mind.

But then he began to feel a string of sensations that he had been void of for what seemed like an eternity. The softness of the bed covers, the soft warm sensation of a ray of sunlight hitting his cheek. It was all so familiar, all so human. And that was when he realised that he could feel his fingers again and feel his toes. He touched his chest and knew that he was back, he was back, he was-

"PikaPi!" cried his joyous Pokémon as a small bundle of yellow crashed into him, squealing in joy at the waking of his trainer. And when he did manage to get Pikachu to relent, he was greeted by the sight of Sceptile looking on with the widest smile he had ever seen his Pokémon muster.

Ash smiled back and noticed how Sceptile held himself back, the stoic demeanour that the Pokémon had used since they met returning to cover up the camaraderie they had found in the last two days. He put Pikachu down to the side, and opened his arms to the grass type who stood for a moment, looking in confusion. Then burst forth and wrapped his arms around his trainer, in what seemed like the first time ever.

And they didn't let go, Pikachu just looking on with a heart-warming smile, as barriers built up by days of indifference, and distance in order to maintain an aloof image broke down in the face of sheer joy.

Sceptile felt his heart melt, and knew that even if Meganium didn't choose him, there were others who would always be by his side.

Always.

Eventually the three of them had to break up their moment by the familiar sound of the door creaking open to reveal their friends entering. All of them harbouring reactions of joy when they saw Ash awake, Max jumping in the air, May squealing in glee and Brock just looking at them from a distance, nodding his head in approval.

They all quickly found chairs and began to retell tales of their respective adventures. Ash omitting any portions about Ditto's in his dreams and transformations into a Pokémon as he wasn't exactly sure that his little adventure was at all real.

The nightmare of Pikachu raining down lightning onto him.

He hoped that it wasn't real and that look of sheer anger was just a nightmare. That he could return to his normal life where his loyalties weren't divided, where he wouldn't have to fear turning into a puddle of goo, or being assaulted by alien senses of whatever Pokémon he had transformed into. And eventually filled in the gaps in his story with the words, "I don't really remember" to his friends understanding.

But then they began to relay their story to him. How they had met Scott who told them about the Beedrill hatching at this time of year, and how they were usually very violent to protect their vulnerable young.

How they had found Pikachu in the care of a man named Spencer.

How they found him and Sceptile under attack from the Scyther, eventually leading to him falling into the river with his attacker. And their subsequent taking down of the Scyther nest in order to stop them from harming the Beedrill…

Ash zoned out for a moment as they described their fight, feeling outrage and fear, fear that it may have happened. All those horrible impossible things that would have shattered his life into pieces.

The feeling that he was being ripped apart by the wrath of his best friend. His heart breaking.

Trying to forget about the pain.

Trying to think about something else.

Because how dare they! How dare they attack Scyther who was only protecting the forest from those- those... No! His mind screamed, insisting that the Beedrill were not monsters, just another living creature.

Then remembering the face of the Sea serpent with jaws powerful enough to crush boulders,, who was vulnerable to the attacks made by the Beedrill. Eventually forced to accept help from Scyther.

His mind was spinning. Visions of Scyther. The creature that had attacked him for no reason at all, who dared to hurt Sceptile.

The Creature who was as alive as any of them, who had a family and reasons of his own, who had given a home to Ash when he didn't have to.

Who was now alone.

Ash snapped out of his thoughts to glance at the faces of his worried friends who asked him if anything was wrong.

The trainer just shook his head and said that he needed some rest, prompting his friends to leave the room, Scepile returning to his aloof attitude, and Pikachu nuzzling his best friend before scampering out and closing the door behind him.

Ash sighed. Feeling the weight of the world falling onto his shoulder once more. His heart tearing in two, screaming to the heavens for someone to save him from this impossible situation.

"What's going on?" he asked the world, before collapsing onto the bed and closing his eyes.

Hoping for visions of Scyther, A piece of that strange otherworldly bond that they had formed with one another. The sensations that he felt in those brief moments he spent in the Scyther camp. Like a thousand heartbeats beating with the sound of one drum.

Then he thought of the friend that he had forgotten. That little Ditto who he had overlooked thinking about during his brief insane adventure.

He felt ashamed of himself for forgetting a friend before remembering that it was the Ditto that had started all of this.

He snapped open his eyes and felt his head, realising that his hat was no longer there, but soon discovered that it was by his bedside, along with a note from the resident Nurse Joy about how she had found it on the ground near to the training grounds and her hopes that he would get well soon.

He pulled at his hair and winced at the pain. Knowing that the Ditto wasn't there any more by the fact that his hair no longer had the consistency of goo.

He sighed and lay down in bed once more and closed his eyes to let rest take a hold of him, in hope that he would have another vision of Ditto in his dreams.

To his hearts despair, he saw nothing but darkness as sleep began to slowly take him.

His head wondering if it was for the best. That any more insanity would just be too much to take.

He hoped with his final thoughts that all of these problems would just go away, that he could just forget.

And as the calm black sea of sleep took him into its silent embrace he heard in the distance a child's giggle.

A flash of two innocent blue eyes.

And when he woke up the next morning, it was all forgotten.

Like amnesia.

Butas all of this was going on no one noticed another viewer. Scyther who looked on at Ash from outside the window. Standing tall and unmovable as the tempest of emotion raged and roared inside of him, twisting his gut into a series of knots.

It made sense, all of it.

The reason that the boy couldn't talk, the reason he didn't know even the simplest of things. Why he looked just like him, the face he thought he may have seen on the face of the offspring that evaded him in his dreams. A family that he knew he would never have.

It may have been that the boy was a Ditto, but that thought didn't placate the bug type. He'd never seen a Ditto reach that level of intellect that it took to grow beyond simple mimicry, and the way in which the boy had controlled his Sceptile, was a trait he had only ever heard of from the stories of humans that his Patron had entertained him with when he was just out of the egg.

The boy had even managed to beat him. With the help of others, yes. But still, it was he who had dragged him into the river. Scyther had to offer the boy respect for that feat if nothing else.

Yet the logical part of him, full of fire and anger, hardened by years of swinging scythes and shattered abdomens. The part that had been forged by that harsh life of the neglected runt screamed at him to take his righteous vengeance against the human that dare play with his heart.

To kill and take him as he had done to many arrogant males before him.

He couldn't.

Because the boy was still his boy. A human yes, but still his human as the swarm had dictated. The swarm, the part that made him one of the Bugs. Considered inferior my many, but, in reality far superior to most. All because of the swarm and the unbreakable bonds that it forged between hives, lovers, lineages and friends. A trait that was as valuable, if not more so than any form of elemental control.

The swarm had taken him to this boy who had hidden his true intentions, and he, no matter how hard the world-worn parts of him raged could not deny the will of that which his heart knew was right.

The boy was his apprentice, and Scyther could never harm him. The swarm had seen to that.

He spoke to the boy, the only words that he could. Knowing that the boy was asleep, that the boy couldn't hear him, and if the boy could, he probably wouldn't understand.

"If you need a home, you are always welcome with me."

And with that he flew away, back to the swarm that, now he realised, was only a swarm by name.

Returning to the lonely lost life at the edge of their place, to take on the worst of duties. Duties that he would have to shoulder on his own, until they wore him down to a shrivelled hulk of a Scyther once more, devoid of all but the desire for battle.

He did not know that a pair of innocent blue eyes besides Ash had heard his promise, and promised in turn to come back for him.

Scyther looked on at his Patron sitting at the edge of the river, feet lightly dipping the water, head sunken, defeated.

It was strange that his father had chosen this place of all places to mope. As it was here that he was defeated by the human who dragged him into the river. The human who would later make a swarm with him.

Scyther walked up to his Patron, purposely taking short, even, non-threatening steps. Until he was able to sit down besides his Patron who had not moved an inch.

Deciding to Start the conversation Scyther sighed, "I understand now."

His Patron gave Scyther an inquisitive eye, "about why you were always going on about the humans, trying to copy them, trying to be like them and why you couldn't stand to be near them."

"Good" his Patron responded, "I was wondering when the day would come. If it would come. I just wish that I didn't have to lose everything in the process... Your siblings, they never understood. Always more than happy to let me decide the winds for them, never flying in the other direction, never looking for hidden treasures, never asking why?"

The Elder mourned "Why couldn't they see?" beseeching some unseen force in the heavens for an answer.

Scyther's Patron looked at him, eyes dancing with the shadows of a sad smile, "But it doesn't matter now, I've fallen to the… attackers, and the hive is broken. I don't think I could rebuild it all." He barked a laugh "I think I saw your brother and sister run off together. The scrawny one who's always on sentry duty, and the arrogant one who struts around like she owns the hive."

"A match made in the clouds" Scyther quipped.

Silence returned.

"Hey kiddo?"

"Yeah?"

"How'd you figure it out?"

"I met a human, and it all became clear to me."

"Oh" his Patron sighed, "the bo- your apprentice's trainer?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

"Ah" he sighed, knowing something of what had gotten his normally rebellious child almost as sad as he was. Then asked "What was the Trainer like?"

Scyther took a moment to process his thoughts and feelings for the boy before admitting, "He was... he was stupid. An absolute idiot."

"Like Pokémon like trainer"

"Yeah, but battling with him... It was like, like having someone by your side, do you know?"

"I know." His Patron admitted, "Did you know that their female's stay with the male's even if they're defeated." Scyther's eyes widened in surprise, "and if one male defeats another they don't kill and mate like we do."

"Are you sure?" Scyther asked sceptically, wondering if his father's stories of his time as a battler had become romanticised by age, "next you're going to tell me that they don't keep multiple mates." The Elder's eyes twinkled in amusement before he decided to change the topic of discussion.

"Did you know that they affect all Pokémon?" the Elder began. "To those of fire they feel like an eternal blaze. The ones of grass say they feel like the warmth of the sun, and to us they feel like, just being with them is like having the warm wind under your wings, lifting you up; the swarm and its ten thousand heartbeats." He looked sad.

"We are warriors by birth, it is our place in the world. But we do not realise that being a warrior is nothing, if we have nothing to fight for." The Elder continued and for a moment his offspring could see years of anguish in his eyes, attempts to shape their society to become more like that of those he admired only to be met by wall after wall by those who cared more for the mindless life of any other wild creature, "I hoped that I could have told him that, that he would have understood" and now it was too late.

"What'll you do now kiddo? Find a trainer of your own?" Sadness mixed with hope for the future.

"No." Scyther admitted to his Elder's surprise. "I don't think anyone else will compare."

"You'll never know if you don't try." his father probed.

"If I tried, I wouldn't be myself." Scyther admitted to his father's joy.

"So you'll follow this mystery man?"

"Yes" Scyther admitted, "but not yet, he hasn't exactly got the best impression of me, I don't think."

"so..."

"So I'll travel, and learn, and maybe meet him again in the future."

"ahh"

"and you?"

"I…" his father stopped, finding himself lost for words.

"Because you're not following me" Scyther joked, leaning his head to the side, hoping that his father would pick up the joke.

"Like some Father-son thing?"

"Because that would be horrible"

"Oh, I'm not sure. We may meet some females along the way. Or even better some males."

Scyther just groaned in response, "Whatever you say… daddy-o"

"No" his father responded.

"But"

"Never ever again call me that"

"But" and just like that, even if only for a moment, things were all right again.

"Never call me that. Ne-ver!"

In case you were worried that this may be the end… let me tell you it isn't, there's still more fun to come with my patented DNA blender.

All in all, this massive 4 chapter arc was a surprise for me because I had originally intended all of this to last for just one chapter worth around two thousand words and you all can see just how well that panned out? Heck, I didn't even intend for this to be the start of the story, I had something much more cliché/obscure in mind… and Scyther was supposed to be a through and through baddie. But it's been fun to write about the theme of friendship, a first for me, but a rewarding one to discover Ash's bonds build and break between the lines of friend and foe whilst he tried to take control of his new 'gift'.

Then there was the culture of the Scyther which I fell in love with building. I also fell in love with writing Scyther's character and couldn't help but give him a proper send off. Although I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Ash had stayed with the clan… perhaps I'll just leave that to your imagination.

So I'd love to hear your reviews as to how it all went down for you, they're like food for my meme and, more importantly, ensure that my ego doesn't implode with the force of seven thousand party poppers.

Next chapter: We discover the answer to the greatest secret in the universe… Why is Ash so thick?