POKESPEECH/THOUGHTS:

"Normal Speech"

'Normal Thoughts/Normal Telepathy'

'Pokemon Thoughts/Pokemon Telepathy'

'Subconscious'

"POKESPEECH/Abilities"

DISCLAIMERS: I DON'T OWN POKEMON, IF I DID ASH WOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE LEGENDARY.

-RUBY CIEL GARNET IS PROPERTY OF "CR0553"

-MICHAEL KRAMER ('half-breed' "shiny" Gallade from my Pokemon Platinum game) IS MINE.

-JESSICA KRAMER ("shiny" Gardevoir from my Pokemon Sapphire game) IS MINE.

WARNINGS: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE.

Eleven hours later...

Gary's POV

I got dressed in a hurry after receiving a text from our Tech Specialist, Max Maple, marked as "URGENT!"

The short raven-haired boy had only been part of BoE for just over a year, yet I could trust his judgement calls with my life if I had to. It also didn't hurt that he was incredibly skilled at hacking into computers, mainframes, security cameras and all other manner of electronic devices with a secondary entry port. As a result of this he had been invaluable in intercepting our enemies communications, video feeds and data storage. I couldn't even begin to describe his worth to BoE at this point, nor did I have to.

I reached a set of double-doors with heavily-tinted glass panels and punched in my Administrators Key Code, allowing me to bypass the numerous safeguards and security questions only Max would have known. It was a sign of trust from, arguably, Hoenn's greatest computer guru that I was the only one allowed in so easily besides Max himself.

The doors opened for me and I could see the short raven-haired boy punching keys with his fingers at a lightning-fast clip, all the while never taking his eyes off of the numerous monitors displayed along the wall in front of him.

"Max! What's the deal with the text? You never send me something marked as "urgent" unless its so something you can't fix yourself. What's going on?" I noticed the smaller boy had stopped typing and his head had been lowered to face the machine in front of him. I had never seen the younger brother of May Maple so stoic, or give off the chilling aura he currently was. "Max...what happened? Whatever it is the Shadows can handle it.

i truly began to panic when I saw him shake his head and say the three words I never wanted to hear. "No...they can't..."

For some reason this awoke a nameless fear deep inside of my heart, which was unusual as nothing ever got to me. "How bad is it?"

"P.A.I.R...they captured Moltres..."

My heart suddenly felt as heavy as stone and my breath wouldn't come without a fight. The only thing worse than a Pokemon consumed by Hell Evolution was the fury of a legendary Pokemon. If P.A.I.R. had captured the legendary fire bird it could only mean they were planning on exposing it to Hell Evolution. 'If they succeed in corrupting Moltres...' I began to grind my teeth harshly before leaving the room posthaste.

"Max! Deliver an emergency edict to all Shadows, Blades and recruits! I am having a full-attendance meeting with every member of our organization in exactly 4 hours. The matter of P.A.I.R. and Hell Pokemon has been elevated to an 'L' Level Crisis!"

"Yes sir, Master Oak!" I heard Max shout at my retreating form while I pulled out my Pokenav and began speed-dialing a few contacts.

"Gran'pops, we have an emergency down in Viridian City. Contact the G-Men and have them send their most capable agents to the Viridian City Gym within the next four hours. No, I can't explain it over the phone, i'll inform you when I get to the lab! JUST DO IT! Fucking hell, old man, don't you recognize urgency anymore? We have a-...look, gramps, this is neither the time or place to question my actions, I wouldn't ask this of you if it wasn't something of dire importance to the fate of the Kanto region. I'll be at the lab in fifteen minutes."

I scratched my head and breathed a heavy sigh as I ended the call quickly, pulling up my contact list again and making my second of many phone calls to come...

Pallet Town- Ketchum Residence

Normal POV

Latias was nuzzling her mates neck affectionately in an attempt to get the raven-haired teens attention. She momentarily succeeded when Ash planted a soft kiss on the Eon's nose. 'Ash? What's troubling you? You were so full of energy before we got here and now you seem so down. You can tell me, you know...whatever it is that's on your mind.'

Ash gave a soft smile after hearing Latias attempt to cheer him up, running his right hand over the Eon's head. Ash could always rely on four things to bring him out of a depressed stupor- Latias, Pikachu, battling and food. Ash continued rubbing the former Altomere Guardian affectionately and earning a soft coo of pleasure for his efforts.

Delia, oblivious to the hidden nature of the gesture, interrupted the moment.

"Ash, dear, aren't you even concerned about Michael or Jessica in the least bit? He stormed out of here in a rage yet you haven't so much as lifted a finger to check on him or his friend." Delia Ketchum said with an obvious hint of condescension in her voice. Ash suddenly stopped his mentrations and lowered his head somberly again.

She had not seen her son this out of it since before he started his Pokemon journey. Seeing him so drained of energy came as a tremendous shock to the vibrant woman, who couldn't even manage to keep him in her own house for more than a few days out of the year while he was gone.

"It's nothing, mom, really...can we just drop the subject already? I don't...feel like talking about it right now. As far as what happened to the Gallade and his Gardevoir its their problem, not mine. Besides, they can handle Hell Pokemon just fine, I watched the Gallade prove that in front of me and the Gard-"

"ASHTON KETCHUM!"

Ash immediately piped down and let his mother speak. Whenever she used his first name like that it meant she had something to say, and it usually wasn't going to be pleasant. Latias kept her head buried against the side of her mates neck and cooing softly to calm the boy down. Ash, though grateful fthesis mates efforts, refused to take his eyes off his mother, she demanded his full attention when she was like this.

"You may not be here but a few days of the year but I'm no idiot when it comes to my own flesh and blood! Now, tell me why you stopped addressing them by their names and, more importantly, why you haven't bothered checking to see if they are alright. This isn't like you to not care about the well-being of a Pokemon, much less a friend."

Ash merely sighed with frustration as he lifted his head and turned to face his mother. Latias, sensing Ash's discomfort, wrapped her paws around his waist and hugged Ash gently. Tears were threatening to spill from gold-tinted eyes as the Kanto Champion struggled with the internal conflict raging inside his heart. Delia could sense this and wrapped her arms around her son tightly, pressing her chest against Ash's. The raven-haired teen always managed to find comfort and strength in his mother's arms despite how infrequent he was around. This would be no exception as he felt the stress and anxiety lift quickly from him, combined with having Latias here only made the process more manageable for the Kanto Champion.

"Thanks mom, it's just that...I'm tired of being involved in problems that go beyond the needs and demands of a Pokemon trainer. I'm tired of having to fight against criminal organizations with the sole intent of taking over some part of the world or the other! I'm tired of having to do things I shouldn't have to! Most of all, though..."

Ash sighed again and took a deep breath to think about what he was going to say.

"I'm tired of having to keep secrets from the world because nobody understands what Pokemon mean to me."

Delia looked at her son oddly but allowed him to continue.

"I'm sick of keeping my love for Pokemon a secret. I have the best thing going for me right now- I'm Champion of the Kanto region and I have someone to love- and can't even share it because of the laws put in place." Ash looked to the side at Latias and gave her a sad smile. "Thanks to Latias I finally found what I had been missing in the form of love but...now that my name is in the public spotlight I can't even express myself around others like I want to...like I used to..."

Delia and Latias both gave affirmative nods as Ash pulled away from the two of them and wiped a few tears from his eyes.

"All I want is to live in a world where humans and Pokemon can live in harmony, without the need for stupid laws or criminal organizations trying to control what we as trainers can and cannot do for our Pokemon. We rely on them everyday, whether its through battling, household chores, heck, even just a hug when you really need it...why restrict the bond between us when all its doing is limiting our way of expressing ourselves with Pokemon?"

Delia went to answer but was interrupted by the ringing of the house phone. "Hang on, sweetie, I'll get that." Ash watched as his mother skipped off into the kitchen to grab the phone while Latias, still hanging on Ash's words, hopped onto his lap and kissed him on the lips.

'I always knew you loved Pokemon, Ash, but that was probably the most touching speech I've ever heard you make.' The Eon dragon cooed into the boy's left ear as she went in for another kiss, only to be interrupted by Ash's mother yet again.

"Ash! Telephone! He says its urgent that you speak to him!"

Ash bolted out of his seat and grabbed the phone out of his moms hands, only to hear a panicked Gary Oak on the other end. "Gary? What's wrong? You sound like you're out of breath-"

"Cut the small talk! We got big problems, Ashy-boy!" Ash grimaced at the use of his old childhood nickname given to him by Gary when they were rivals. "Meet me down at gramps lab in five minutes! I'll explain everything there!" Before Ash could respond he heard a loud beeping on the other end, signaling the call had ended. This worried Ash as Gary always used the video feed during phone calls. He could only surmise that whatever it was that had his former rival frazzled was cause for serious concern.

"We'll continue this talk later, mom. I have to meet Gary down at Professor Oaks lab, something major is going down I think." Delia and Latias both looked at Ash with a hint of worry etched on their faces. The raven-haired teen simply flashed one of his characteristic goofy grins before grabbing his bag and hoisting it over his shoulder. "Come on, 'Tias, we're off."

Latias loved hearing her mate call her that.

Pallet Town- Professor Samuel Oak's Lab. (3 hours, 40 minutes until BoE meeting.)

Ash's POV

I closed the door gently behind me and ran off towards Professor Oak's lab, hitch wasn't that far of a run to me after all the traveling I had under my belt. As I got closer I saw my former rival Gary Oak waiting for me outside the main entrance of the lab along with the Professor. I could tell they were incredibly anxious, for what I wasn't sure but I knew Gary would explain everything once I arrived.

"Hey Gary, Professor Oak, hope I didn't keep you guys waiting too long."

"No, you're right on time, actually. Please come inside, my grandson tells me there is big trouble on the near horizon." The aging Professor from Pallet Town gesture towards the entrence as the three of us made our way inside.

"Ashy-boy, what I am about to ell you does not leave the Kanto region nor does it make it to the other region Champions, got it? I understand you have powerful connections but this matter requires a delicate but thorough handling. If too many people get word of what is happening in Viridian City it could prove disastrous for the Pokemon involved."

I gave a curt nod and waited for Gary to continue.

"First off, gramps, I have not been entirely truthful with my dealings as of late and its time for me to come clean." I saw Professor Oak balk slightly but kept his gaze firmly fixed on Gary. "For the past three years I have been working under the cloak of night as head of an elite organization bent on ridding Kanto, Johto and all the other region inhabited by Pokemon, of the criminal nuisance known as Team Rocket."

"Yes, I already knew that much, Gary, please get to the point..." Robeson Oak seemed like he was losing his patience so Gary obliged.

"For the past two years I have been tracking another organization, called P.A.I.R., otherwise known as Pokemon Against Immoral Relations. They spotlight their cause as just and worthy, fit in against pokephilia but that is not their true goal."

I looked at Gary with the same knowing expression as Professor Oak. I let him continue.

"Anyway, long story short- this morning I received an urgent text from Max Maple, our Lead Tech Specialist and hacker." I saw Gary pull his pokenav from his belt buckle and removed it from its chain strap before handing it to Professor Oak. "P.A.I.R. have been working secretly on a project called 'Hell Pokemon.' From what we have been able to gather through intercepted missives and hacked security footage, they intend on altering the minds of Pokemon o they are incapable of feeling any sort of positive emotion. The results they have produced are frightening beyond words..."

I saw Gary push a button on his Pokenav and fuzz video began playing. I recognized the content immediately. "Gary, isn't that-"

"Yea, Ashy-boy...I had Ruby scouting the P.A.I.R. headquarters when she reported a massive explosion coming from underneath the ground approximately two hundred meters to the north of a confirmed underground laboratory. That was because the Pokemon in the video, the same one you saw the Gallade fight, had been captured and experimented on for use in their project."

I saw Professor Oak's face twist with barely contained rage at what he was seeing, in particular the condition of the Gardevoir shown. "This is complete and utter insanity! No good can come of turning Pokemon into machines of war, can't they understand that simple logic?!"

Gary pointed to the Gallade in the video just as its motionless body was enveloped in a blinding light. From the light appeared its mega-evolved state- Mega Gallade. "It was only thanks to a miracle that the Gallade, who we now know as Michael Kramer, achieved mega evolution and was able to stop the Gardevoir, now known as Jessica Kramer."

"Wait...they have human first and last names? That doesn't make any sense unless..." I decided to help the Professor out and give Gary a breather.

"Michael Kramer was once a human that went by the same name, Professor. He was a loner in his early years with only a shiny Ralts to keep him company. As a result he soon formed a powerful bond with the Pokemon who, it turns out, was his only friend growing up. At some point the two became mates and even had two kids."

The video had finished and both Gary and Professor Oak were staring at me intently.

"Anyway, they are originally from the Johto region and had met a Professor names Langston. His noire career was dedicated on proving that the outbreak of the deadly disease Pokerus was not, in fact, a direct result of humans and Pokemon committing carnal acts with one another. In fact, up until two weeks ago, Professor Langston had made a huge breakthrough and it involved absolute proof that Pokerus was not only NOT a result of interspecies relationships, it had already been around since the earliest documented days of Pokemon research, almost two-thousand years ago."

I saw Gary and Professor Oak nod before letting me continue.

"It also turns out that the single grand of Pokerus that is fatal to humans, should they come in contact with it, has a natural antibody already found inside the DNA of all Pokemon. After performing simple tests on Rattata and injecting himself its the Pokerus strand that was lethal, followed by an injection of the antibodies, Professor Langston had discovered the cure to Pokerus in humans." I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts for a moment.

"But Ash, I was under the impression that Professor Langston had already delivered these findings to the Chairman of the Pokemon Science and Research Department. I knew that a few nefarious groups were after his research but-"

"That information never got to them because Professor Langston was murdered in cold blood...as was his wife and their six pokemon..." I interrupted the aging Professor, causing both him and Gary to twist their faces in disgust and anger. "Somehow P.A.I.R. got word of a rendezvous that was scheduled to take place two weeks ago in Saffron City between Professor Langston and the Chairman of the Pokemon Science and Research Department. They broke into the Langston's home at around 2:00 PM Kanto Time and brutally murdered both Professor Langston, his wife, Linda Langston and their six Pokemon, all of which had been documented cases he was going to bring to the boards attention."

I could see the look of conflict and pure rage on both Oaks' faces and they voiced their conflict.

"Why, though? Why murder a man and his wife in cold blood when it doesn't affect them in the least? What did they have to gain from this information?" Professor Oak said first. I noticed the wheels turning in my former rivals head and I knew he was already putting the pieces together.

"I think I know, gramps...in reality P.A.I.R. has everything on laying on the line by maintaining their facade of protesting interspecies relations between humans and Pokemon. It makes sense now what Ruby showed me in her report three weeks prior to Langstons murder..." I saw Gary pull out a pair of envelopes, which were opened to reveal letters recovered during a past meeting with a few members of P.A.I.R., before the murders took place, from his shirt pocket and handed both of them to Professor Oak. "The whole purpose of P.A.I.R. is to overthrow the bonds created between humans and Pokemon. By removing emotions essential to that bond it makes their project easier to duplicate until they can create a perfect result. The research Professor Langston was going to deliver proved that a stronger bond would benefit humans AND Pokemon as a whole. This would make P.A.I.R. and their whole purpose of existence, at least in the public eye, obsolete, thereby destroying any hope of creating Hell Pokemon."

I was shocked that Gary had figured it out so quickly. Then again I couldn't expect any less of the boy who nearly completed a Pokedex, ran his own Gym and worked undercover as leader of an anti-criminal organization. It really made me stop and think about what I had done with my life...

"This is very troubling news indeed, Gary...Ash..." Professor Oak rubbed his forehead and then his chin, deep in thought and trying to process all the information he was just given. "Given all that had transpired it would be unreasonable for me to assume you haven't planned more to stop them, correct?" I saw Gary nod.

"In exactly...three hours I am meeting up with my entire organization as well as the two Pokemon you saw in that video...which leads me to the worst part..."

Me and Professor Oak raised our eyebrows at Gary, wondering how it could possibly get any worse than it already was. We were floored by his response.

"P.A.I.R...has captured the legendary Fire Bird Pokemon, Moltres, and is attempting to invoke Hell Evolution on it. I don't need to tell you how bad that would be for us...no, all of Kanto, if they are successful in corrupting a legendary Pokemon, especially one of Moltres' disposition."

I looked at Gary with a look of utter horror and Professor Oak was already scrambling for the video phone. "Gary...what do you need me to do? I'll help in any way I can."

The look my former rival gave me was disheartening to say the least.

"Just stay on standby in case things take a turn for the worst, be ready with your strongest Pokemon and their mega-evolution stones. Something tells me we will need them..." I could only nod while clenching my fists in anger.

"Why do all this for the sake of or rusting Pokemon? the motive doesn't make sense- If this were about making Pokemon more powerful than why that that Gardev-...Jessica say what she said during that fight with Michael?" I noticed Gary look at me with a confused expression.

"what do you mean, Ashy-boy? What did she say?"

"She said something along the lines of 'Humans are the master race and Pokemon live Only because humans allow it.' it made it sound like their vendetta is with the Pokemon and not a lust for power using Pokemon as a means to their end...I might e over thinking this though..." While I was doubting what I had said Gary merely nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"We'll, we have...exactly two hours and fifty-five minutes before the BoE meeting is to take place. Ashy-boy I want you in attendance, its only right hat the Kanto Champion is there regarding an issue that involves Kanto. I want you to explain everything of just told me to the ones coming. There are many who recognize you and will put far more trust in your words than they will from mine as I operate in the shadows."

I gave a brief nod as I heard Professor Oak hang up the video phone and make his way back to us.

"Well, I have some good news as well as some bad news...which you do want to hear first?" Me and Gary both shrugged our shoulders and was met with a disappointed sigh from the aging Professor. "The good news is I contacted the the G-Men and they are sending us one of their most experienced fighters to assist us- Dragon Master Lance."

Me and Gary couldn't hide the grins on our faces, that was until we heard the bad news.

"The bad news is he is over in the Sinnoh region with the region Champion, Cynthia. Apparently they are in the middle of their own investigation and it will be at least a week before Lance can join us."

"ARCEUS-FUCKING DAMN IT! That isn't any kind of good news at all, gramps! By the time he gets here Kanto may be nothing but a charred husk of its former self!" Gary burst out at his grandfather. To be honest I couldn't blame him, Lance was one of the strongest Pokemon trainers in the world, having been a former member of the Kanto Elite Four as well as former Champion of the Johto region. He was known world-wide as having the strongest Dragonite around and his battle prowess was second only to a select few.

Not having him with us would put a major hitch in our combat effectiveness.

"Alright, Ashy-boy! Change of plans, I'm going to team you up with one of our newest recruits to get him prepared for the battle ahead. He happens to be the son of the Gallaxe you met, he goes by the name of Blade. I want you to train him and, hopefully, get him to the point where he can take on a Hell Pokemon like his father did."

"Gary...Michael only won because he was able to mega-evolve. I watched the entire battle! He was absolutely outclassed until that happened. One weeks time simply isn't enough to prepare a Pokemon that, one, I haven't ever trained before and two, how the hell am I supposed to find him?"

"Ashy-boy, one thing hasn't changed about you- you're still as clueless as ever~"

I shook my head and held up a purple pokeball with a large red "M" etched in the top-center.

"Did you forget I have one of the most powerful Psychic-types in the world?"

"We'll, did you forget who gave you the stone needed for that Psychic-type to mega-evolve?"

"Did you forget that I'm the current Pokemon Champion of Kanto?"

"Did you forget who was driving a car at the age of ten?"

"Did you forget who kicked your ass in the Johto League Round of 32?"

"Did you forget-"

Professor Oak had had enough.

"SHUT UP!, BOTH OF YOU! YOU ARE NOT LITTLE KIDS ANYMORE. We have to take care of business, right Gary? Ash?"

I rubbed my forehead as Gary was about to get the last word in even now. Oh we'll. it couldn't be helped now.

"Gary..." I waited until he turned to face me. "...Lets have ourselves the greatest battle ever after this is all said and done, sound good?" I extended my hand.

"Hmph! Sounds like a winner to me, Ash!" I smirked as I realized he didn't follow with 'boy' oh well, no point in looking a gift horse in the mouth.

Viridian City Gym- Second Floor, Private Bedrooms- Suite 14 (2 hours, 30 minutes until BoE Meeting)

Michael's POV

'Michael? Did you make sure to check with Gary? Actually...when were we supposed to meet up with him?' I heard my beloved whisper into my mind, our arms still wrapped tightly around each others waists.

I gave Jessica a tender kiss on the lips before, with much reluctance, rolling off and out of her grasp to take in the first rays of light for the day...even if it was four in the afternoon. 'He said to check with him after the last days of the sun had gone so we have another...three hours to cuddle-'

A loud banging interrupted the tranquil moment and I immediately had a terrible premonition. My gut feeling was confirmed when I heard the voice at the other end.

"Michael and Jessica Kramer! It is of utmost importance that you two come down to the main lobby within the hour!" it was Gary Oak, the leader of BoE.

'Well, so much for our cuddle time...oh well, we'll have plenty more on the way after the meeting, right my beloved?' I listened to Jessica's sweet words and couldn't help but nod my head absent mindedly.

'Yeah, plenty for us and the new life inside you~' I trailed gently while running my left hand over my mates stomach. Due to the fact I was now a Pokemon we would be having an egg within a months time rather than waiting nearly a year for pregnancy. I could only surmise it was due to the genetic change in my sperm...alas thinking of such thoughts wouldn't do anything except make me aroused which I could NOT afford to be when we were being expected downstairs.

Whatever it was it had better be worth cutting our alone time together...