"… I didn't even want to come to this camp in the first place… … … MOMMY!"

…

…

"Poliwag, are you there? … Oh, hey there! My name is Ash. What's wrong?"

"… I… I hurt my leg…"

"Hmm, this handkerchief should help once I tie it on your knee. … How's that?"

"Ow! It hurts…"

"It's also a good luck charm to help you feel better. And make the pain go away!"

"O-Ow…! It's no good. I still can't stand!"

"Here, don't give up until the end! Okay?"

…

…

"… H-Huh?!"

"Ha! You did it! Let's return to camp. This way, follow me!"

…

…

"… … Ash…"

"… Hey, Ash? … Wa… …p! … … Wake… up! … … Wake up!"

Ash felt his head throb in pain as he stirred from his slumber. His vision was starting to become clearer. He couldn't remember much of anything at the moment, at least not until he found Anabel seated at his side and looking at him with amusement. Pikachu was on his lap, seemingly asleep until he noticed a poorly disguised grin on his little face.

"… What's up?"

"I hope you had a nice nap because we'll be arriving in Lumiose City within the next ten minutes," Anabel explained. "You were so energetic earlier when the flight started, but I guess it wore you out for the next few hours."

"*Yawn* … That sounds about right," Ash mumbled, forcing himself to be awake.

"Did you have any interesting dreams?" Anabel asked.

"Nothing in particular, though it's kind of strange," Ash began thoughtfully. "I felt like I was watching some old movie or something."

"That's okay," Anabel responded. "Sometimes, it's hard to remember certain dreams unless they've impacted on us through some way or another. I won't push the matter any further, though part of me hoped that a clue to your memories would come in your dreams."

"Well, I remember who my mom is now, so that should be a start," Ash brought up, pulling out a Poké Ball. "Not to mention, I've got Sceptile with me now."

"Yeah, Sceptile has been your Pokémon for a long time," Anabel commented. "I can tell that even with your amnesia, Sceptile still holds a large amount of trust in you."

"Attention, passengers," the head pilot's voice started up over the plane intercom. "We're about to touch down on Lumiose City, so please keep your seatbelts on until the signs overhead turn off. Collect only your belongings as we will not be responsible of theft or misplaced items. In addition, here's an additional warning that the compartment contents may have shifted during flight. Thank you for flying with us this fine day and we look forward to soaring the skies with you once more!"

"The last remarks of airplane protocol really get repetitive," Anabel muttered disdainfully.

"You flew in airplanes before?" Ash asked.

"A few times when I was younger as part of some family vacations around the world," Anabel explained. "Flights seem to make me fussy because they're super boring most of the time, but I still wind up enjoying the trips afterwards."

"Well, you seem to be in good spirits right now, if nothing else."

"Thank you, Ash. I'd like to think that I'm handling flights better each time I go on one."

As directed by the pilot's earlier instructions, the passengers waited until their airplane had made a safe stop and the seatbelt signals over their heads turned off. Eager to see what the Kalos region was, Ash quickly rose from his seat and pushed through several other passengers with Anabel failing to pull him back under control.

Pikachu had leapt onto his shoulder and hung on until they reached the exit. The airplane door slid open and the duo was greeted by a fresh sight of Kalos scenery. In comparison to the places he remembered back in the Kanto region, Kalos just seemed to have a classier air about it.

Maybe it was because this region would be considered foreign to them, but nevertheless, Ash and Pikachu basked in awe of this new place. What was it called again, the city they landed in? Ah yes, Lumiose City.

"Hey, Kalos region!" Ash bellowed all of a sudden, prompting strange and concerned looks from the citizens around him. "I'm back! And I'm determined to find out where I left off!"

"Ash, what are you doing?!" Anabel scolded in a hushed whisper, catching up to him at the top of the boarding stairway. "You can't make a scene like that in public! What if someone recognizes you?"

"You said it's supposedly been five years," Ash responded, shrugging noncommittally. "What are the chances that someone from the past is here? Besides, I wanted to have some fun while I'm here."

"I'm all for fun and all, but you can't forget the real reason why we came back here," Anabel reprimanded before softening back up. "We can't be careless no matter what."

"Right, I'm sorry," Ash relented, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was hoping that seeing this place again would trigger something like what my mom's food did last night."

"We'll need to play this smart for now until we understand how to go about," Anabel advised, grabbing onto one of Ash's hands. "Let's go look around until we find a good lead."

"Got it," Ash agreed.

The Salon Maiden gently led Ash down the stairs from the airplane, careful not to trip over and start tumbling down like a maniac. It was only until reaching the bottom of the stairs that she actually realized something major going on.

We're holding hands?! Anabel screamed mentally despite keeping a relatively normal posture.

She was also fortunate that Ash was not looking at the current expression her face was making at the moment or she would really feel mortified. The sights of Lumiose City still captivated him and Pikachu that they didn't know or care which direction Anabel was leading them as long as it was to somewhere new and exciting.

"How interesting," a young dark-haired man mused, peering at the foreign couple from the corner of his eye as they traveled past him. "So that's what happened."

Ash and Anabel ventured into Lumiose City, though even as they wondered about, the realization soon occurred that they actually had no direction to head to at this point. Getting to the Kalos region was their main mission, but as for the actual locations, they were drawing a blank when it came to improvising.

And of course, it did not help that Ash still had no idea what was where. Though if he did, then they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

"We really should have thought this through," Anabel sighed, glancing about her to see nothing but buildings of the same design. "I think we're lost."

"It's like we've been going around in circles," Ash noted with him and Pikachu looking about in different directions. "You'd think we catch something out of the ordinary or something in a city like this."

"Out of the ordinary… Hey, wait… That's it!"

"What's 'it'?"

Anabel pulled out a Battle-Frontier-issued PokéNav Plus from her side pouch and had it connect into the wireless Kalos network. She was surprised that she had this device on her person as she usually didn't carry it around with her back at the Battle Tower. After all, she had no place to put it in, at least in regards to her more formal-like Salon Maiden attire.

Resuming course, she loaded up a map of Lumiose City in her PokéNav Plus.

"We'll be able to distinguish certain landmarks with this map," Anabel explained, scrolling gingerly on the screen in order to pinpoint their current location in the city. "Thanks to your reminder, Lumiose City has a couple of major points to visit for help. One of them is that the leading expert of Pokémon for the Kalos region, Professor Sycamore, lives here. Another is the Prism Tower, which is also the Lumiose City Gym. I'm sure that the local Gym Leader can help us out."

"What makes you think that?" Ash asked.

"Since you were previously collecting Kalos Badges, then chances are that you passed through this Gym and beat it. Hopefully, the Gym Leader here should remember you and won't be too shocked seeing you again."

"Oh, yeah… Good point. So do you propose seeing the Gym Leader and then the Kalos Professor after?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me."

As the two of them finalized their plans, they were unknowingly watched by a being hiding in the shadows of the trees nearby. Its eyes widened from seeing the boy with the Pikachu. There was no doubt it was him again. Action needed to be taken now before he would disappear again. These times had been hard and brutal. There was no option to give up. He never allowed that option. The watcher then used incredible leg strength to leap from tree to tree, hiding in their shade to avoid detection.

At the same time, two figures hiding in the space between two nearby buildings found their elusive quarry swiftly hopping out of the tree and promptly gave chase.

"Whoa… So this is Prism Tower?" Ash remarked, basking in the grandness of the large structure built at the heart of the city.

"The citizens here say that Prism Tower lights up at night, so you can see the fantastic illuminations pointing out in all directions," Anabel relayed. "It sounds really romantic."

"I don't know too much about lights, but I bet they'll be an awesome sight to see at night," Ash concurred.

"Pii-ka Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed.

His sensitive ears momentarily twitched. It was a strange feeling, but the Mouse Pokémon could tell that someone was approaching them and fast. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and engaged into a defensive stance posthaste.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash inquired.

"There's something coming towards us," Anabel clarified. "In a public place like this, it would be crazy if it turned out to be a threat."

"With all these people and Pokémon around, you're right," Ash added.

Hearing this, Pikachu relaxed a bit and ceased discharging static out of his cheek pouches. Ash and Anabel were also looking around to see what was heading their way. There were a handful of people and Pokémon around, minding their own business, so it was hard to distinguish who or what exactly to look out for.

Pikachu glanced at a direction with the others following suit. A small figure leapt overhead and landed several meters in front of them. This figure was blue and had the look of a specialized ninja. Though with the peculiar white mask it wearing on its head, it was unknown if this newcomer was a friend or foe.

"It must be a Kalos-native Pokémon," Anabel noted. "I've never seen one up close before."

"Hold on there, Pikachu," Ash recommended, gingerly approaching the mysterious one, who looked back at the boy rather expectantly. Anabel had a hunch of what was going on, based off of the aura radiating from the new Pokémon as it observed Ash. "Let's get to the bottom of this."

He took a few steps closer. Similarly to how Bulbasaur was back at Professor Oak's lab, this Pokémon carefully observed the Pallet Town Trainer's features until a perfect match was made in its mind. His face, manners, and personality reminded it of previous memories fighting alongside him.

There was no doubt.

Regardless of the cool and collected outer appearance this Pokémon bore, it felt truly happy for the first time. Just like the situation with Bulbasaur, Ash had no recollection of this sly Pokémon. But some unknown force from within was drawing him closer to the Pokémon. Once more, he was relying on this strange gut feeling with no memories to go on.

If this blue Pokémon turned out to be one of his missing Kalos Pokémon, then all the more better in progressing in their current quest.

If not, well, it would be good to befriend anyone that would come their way and help regardless.

As if on instinct, Ash and the Pokémon were gradually extending out a longing hand towards each other, reaching out to connect. Though just as the tips of their fingers were but mere inches from the other…

"I'm afraid that Pokémon doesn't belong to you, kid," a snide voice intervened.

Ash glanced at the direction from where the voice spoke while the blue Pokémon took a leap back and assumed a fighting stance. Anabel and Pikachu went to his side to deal with a couple of strangers that were dressed in even stranger clothing.

Rather, the strangers were a man and a woman dressed in closely matching red suits. Even their hair was dyed red and styled in an unusually similar way.

"What are you talking about?" Ash rebuffed, not liking the way the man addressed him.

"That Frogadier you're making friends belongs to our Leader," the man continued coldly. "Though to be truthful, I should say that one of our Leader's Pokémon is fond of it and has been upset ever since it ran away. That Pokémon has been persistent in eluding us, so do us a favor and let us recapture it."

"Dier-dier," the Frogadier croaked, shaking its head in disapproval.

"It sounds like Frogadier doesn't want to go back with you," Anabel responded, reaching for one of her Poké Balls.

"Little girl, don't try to pretend you know it all," the red woman spoke up, tossing up a Poké Ball and releasing a Liepard. "We're on a mission to recapture that Frogadier for our Leader. Kids like you shouldn't get in our way."

"Listen up," Ash interrupted, stepping in front of Anabel and Frogadier with Sceptile's Poké Ball on hand. "I don't know what's going on here, but if this Pokémon doesn't want to go with you, they I'm not going to let you force it."

The Frogadier looked at him in astonishment, wondering if he misheard him. Did Ash just refer to him as 'this Pokémon' and not by what he was called? Something wasn't adding up. Frogadier was sure this was him after all this time. Was he mistaken? Did the boy lose his memory or something? It felt like everything has been going wrong since the past five years he lost his Trainer. Anabel was able to sense his doubt and turned to him.

"Frogadier, you're confused about him, aren't you?" Anabel surmised, startling the Bubble Frog Pokémon out of his thoughts. "Once we get out of this, I promise we'll explain everything that's happened."

This young woman seemed sincere and trustworthy enough, especially since she has been in the boy's company. After all the struggles he had been through, Frogadier was still wary about trusting her immediately. However, she was coming to the defense against those goons chasing him, so she certainly couldn't be bad.

"I've had enough of playing around," the man growled, sending out a Mightyena to join his partner's Liepard. "I don't know why our Leader sent us on this ridiculous errand, but I suppose we won't be able to focus on our true objective if we don't take care of this now. I swear our Leader is… Whatever. Mightyena, get going!"

"You too, Liepard!" the woman commanded.

Before the two Dark-types could advance, a powerful Flamethrower stream flew in from the side and seared through the paths in front. The source came from a Charizard in the air, which then flew down to a dark-haired man wearing a white lab coat, presumably its Trainer.

"What's going on now?!" Ash demanded.

"Well, well," the man greeted with a sneer at the latest intruder. "I've heard your name and reputation throughout our organization, though I never would imagine actually meeting you."

"We've been members for a few years now, but we've been taught well on who you are, Alain," the woman continued, seemingly just as displeased as her partner. "Has returning to Sycamore's side as his lowly assistant been as exciting as you like?"

"Don't you dare speak his name in that manner!" the man called Alain threatened, accompanied by a warning roar from his Charizard. "If anyone's lowly, it's you two Neo Flare stooges finally crawling out of the ground and showing yourselves. I was wondering when you guys would finally show up here. You guys have just started trouble a few months ago in other parts of Kalos. What are you up to now since you made the effort to public attack both people and Pokémon in Lumiose?"

"You shouldn't worry about expecting us if you've been keeping tabs on us," the Neo Flare man responded. "We've already begun our counterattack now that our Leader has been ready to lead us to a new world of true beauty and perfection."

Alain frowned before darting his eyes to where Ash and Anabel were. At this point, he couldn't let anything happen to them, not until the full story would be shared. They needed to be safe. They need to be with the Professor now, even if he didn't fully understand the reason why at the moment. It just had to be done. That was why he intervened.

"You two over there, take Frogadier and go to Professor Sycamore's laboratory," Alain ordered. "There's no time to explain right now. I'll handle these two. Find Professor Sycamore, Ash."

"How do you know my name?" Ash inquired. "What's going on? And how are we supposed to get there anyway?"

"Ash, I got it over here," Anabel spoke up, showing him the map on her PokéNav Plus screen. "We were planning to visit anyway, so let's do what he says for now. He might know something about your case somehow. I think we should trust him for the time being and that he can take care of himself against those bad guys."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice then," Ash muttered grudgingly.

He didn't want to leave the young man that stepped in on their behalf, but there wasn't much else he could do at this point. He was still unfamiliar with everything around him, especially with the situation with the Frogadier, if it was really his Kalos Pokémon. Everything was just coming in at him from all directions. This was all too fast for him to comprehend and digest.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Alain shouted.

"Oh no, you don't!" the Neo Flare man retaliated, sending both Mightyena and Liepard forward. "Stop them!"

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"

The Flame Pokémon swooped in before either Mightyena or Liepard could scatter, slashing at them both with draconic-powered claws and rendering the both of them down on the ground. Anabel took it as a cue to flee, pulling Ash along to go find Professor Sycamore, much to his initial protest. Pikachu and Frogadier followed along. Alain saw them off and smirked to himself. At least they're safe for now.

"To think, we've been wasting our time chasing after one Pokémon, but now we have to tango with you," the Neo Flare man complained. "Not exactly the most productive activity for our plans of world purification."

"Don't underestimate us just because you're able to Mega Evolve your Charizard," the Neo Flare woman added. "We still outnumber you two to one."

"I don't need to Mega Evolve Charizard to send you two packing," Alain responded coolly. "Whoever your Leader is now, your plans will still fail regardless. I still remember how the old Team Flare operated years ago and you're no different."

"Such arrogance…!"

"You've asked for it now, boy! Attack and don't hold back!"

"Charizard, Blast Burn!"

The bystanders watching the impending clash were wise enough to quickly flee the area and alert the local authorities about it. If it was going to anything like last time, they must be stopped immediately as…

Team Neo Flare has finally struck upon Lumiose City.

Yep, Team Flare has been revived as Team Neo Flare… or Neo Team Flare. However it's supposed to be worded… After all, there's got to be an antagonistic organization for this story for the main characters to battle.

For anyone that isn't familiar with the Super Paper Mario plot, you can look it up on the Super Mario Wiki website. Just search for 'Mario Wiki' on Google, click on the first link leading to it, and then search for Super Paper Mario to read about its story. That is provided that you don't mind being spoiled if you have yet to play it, but wanted to.

Also, if anyone was wondering what Anabel's outfit is here, it's those casual clothes from one of her appearances in the manga (I don't read manga, sorry) where she appears as a photographer. Noticeable details include a white short-sleeve shirt, an orange neckerchief, and a green beret. Ring any bells? I'm not good with coming up with original designs, so you probably won't see me describing (or drawing) anything original anytime soon.

And so begins Arc 1.

Please review!

L-ater!