"Who the hell is Ash Ketchum?" Willow asked as she looked at the clipboard an aid had just given her. Kite and Sky were sitting in Willows office, discussing options against the Advent of Ho-oh cult. She sighed and brushed a strand of her silver hair out of her green eyes. Kite could see she was pretty stressed out. He didn't blame her. With the loss of all the data that Callen had given them, the only thing that had any promise was the photo of the teenager.

"Ash who?" Sky asked.

"Ketchum, hang on". She fumbled with a small terminal on her desk. The wall beside her swung open to reveal a TV screen. It flickered on the reveal a picture of the Teenager, except this time he was standing with a Pikachu in front of a large canyon.

"This is what our identity programs came up for the person in the folder, Ash Ketchum, eighteen years old born in pallet town, Kanto"

Kite looked at the picture of Ash and his Pikachu "I swear I've seen this kid from somewhere"

Sky, who was looking through a file that Willow handed him spoke up, "You probably should, this kid's got a pretty good track record, Indigo league, Orange league, multiple minor tournaments…."

"Did he compete in the Terracotta Pokémon contest a few years back? Tie with umm…..April or something?" He asked.

Sky thumbed through the file, "Yeah, tied with a girl named May, not April. How did you know?"

Kite paused for a moment before answering "I think I saw it on TV"

Willow changed the subject "Why did Callen put his picture in here?"

Kite shrugged "Said he was their current focus at the moment"

"Why would a religion terrorist group with near unlimited financial and military power go after a kid who lives in the north?" Sky said, emphasizing the word north. Sky was born and raised Southlander. He looked down on people that lived in the northern more "civilized" continents. This irked Kite, as he was from Kanto originally, but he was used to Sky being a crappy xenophobe, he ignored it.

"Is he connected to any organizations that might have ties to the advent?" Kite asked.

"He's had run ins with…Team Galaxy, Team Magma and Aqua, a bunch of other corporations with no ties to the cult……oh my…"Sky sniggered" Pokémon G-men."

Kite let out a laugh "What's he doing around that bunch of glorified rescue rangers?"

"Taking imaginary bullets for them?" Sky said laughing. Neither of the two commandos had any respect whatsoever for that vigilante group.

Willow ignored the two teenagers and looked at the file again "You forgot Team-Rocket."

Sky didn't notice the dark flash that appeared in Kites eyes, but it was gone when he looked over.

"Those guys too I guess." He muttered "But they have no ties to the Advent."

"Team Galaxy was disbanded after Kite assassinated Cyrus, Magma and Aqua faded after they failed to bring Groudon and Kyogre into battle…Team rocket on the other hand…" Willow stopped and sighed

"Well they're not going anyplace anytime soon."

"And neither is this investigation as long as we don't know what this kid's connection is." Kite said.

Willow sighed and sat down "ok…so far, we know the Advent of ho-oh came onto the scene ten years ago and has since become the world's largest terrorism network. It's financial and material resources are near limitless yet its locations are unknown. The command elements are thought to exist in the Deep South. They are responsible for several terrorist attacks, many centered towards material loss, not personal." Willow stood up and began to ponder.

"For the past ten years we have tried unsuccessfully to shut this group down, with no success. And when our big break comes around, the only thing we can come up with is this kid, Ash Ketchum, Am I missing anything?"

Kite and Sky shook their heads.

"This is still not getting us any closer towards what we are looking for, who the hell is Ash Ketchum?" Willow was looking fed up at the moment. She had spent her entire time in the southlands working against the Advent of Ho-oh, and had nothing to show for it.

"Why don't we ask him?" Sky suggested.

"If he's involved in this and we 'ask him' he might run and make any relationship he has too the cult disappear" Kite said.

"Who said we were going to let him know? What if he had someone tailing him….if he pulls anything we grab him?"

"Tailing him?" Willow asked.

"I mean like a friend, says in the file he travels with friends. That can be our ticket in"

"Is he still traveling?" Kite asked

"I don't know"

Willow sat back down in her desk "Yes he is, financial records showed he bought a ticket to Lily Cove Harbor in Hoenn"

"So he's traveling in the north?" Sky asked.

"Not quiet, He also purchased a ticket for the S.S Cameroon; its destination is none other than Port Hope, Southlands"

Sky grinned "that makes things easier. Now all we need is someone to be his 'friend'"

Willow and Sky immediately looked at Kite.

"…….no"

"Yes" Willow said "I'm supporting this idea"

"No, I'm not doing it"

"Yes you are and that's an order"

Kite sighed and stood up "I don't make friends Willow, you know I'm not a people person"

"Kite you're the only person that fit's his age group" Kite began to open his mouth but Willow cut him off "Sky's busy with something else."

"Come on Willow, I'm like the least friendly person you know. Put me in a room with Ash and he would either want to hang himself or shoot me in the face"

"Kite, you're not…… that bad" Sky said.

"Kite, it doesn't matter what you say, you're going to be on that boat with Ash in a week, one way or another" Willow said. She stood up in her infamous 'decider pose' with her chin down, arms crossed and legs apart.

"Kite, you have a plane to lily cove to catch, and you're going to become popular very soon" She pointed at the door to her office "now get out and get ready, your leaving in the morning".

Kite stood up and shot her a look that could have set off an atom bomb. Luckily Willow didn't see it; otherwise he would be cleaning toilets for a month. He walked out and closed the door.

Sky watched him go and looked at Willow.

"You lied to him; I could have easily done this mission" He said carefully.

"I know….but you and I both know he's the best. And if this Ash turns out to be part of the Advent, he can bring him in"

"You send a veteran assassin to do a bounty hunters job? If we're lucky we'll be able to identify the remains" He said sarcastically.

Willow sat down and sighed "I'll admit, he has a tendency to shoot first and forget about asking questions, but something tells me this will be good for him as a human"

Sky scoffed "Now missions are suddenly about making people feel good?"

Willow didn't answer for a moment "How long have you known Kite?"

"Five years, why?"

"Have you ever…..noticed anything about him?"

"Kite is Kite; there are a lot of things about him that are weird" Willow stared at him. "Ok…he seems to be….tired most the time…not physically….what's this about Commander?"

Willow stood up again and looked out her office window. She could see one the runoff streams from the Grand River from her office. When it wasn't thunder storming, she could also see the ocean. But when was it not thunder storming in Delta City?

"Kite's saved our lives dozens of times over…Yet you and I both know that there has always been a part missing from him. I honestly don't think this Ash is a threat…he might be connected, but that's it. I sent Kite on this mission so he could possibly, against all odds, find that missing part."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"We have to babysit this kid?" Sange said while sitting on Kites bed. He was busy filling up a bag with clothes and other items he would need.

"I don't know that or nail his ass to the wall if he's part of the advent" Kite reached over and opened a locker beside his bed to reveal his weapon storage.

"You would think that we could be used for something more important than this…."

"Like?" Kite reached in and pulled out a compact submachine gun "too small…" He put it back in.

"Well we could be combing the South Wilds for the advents base, and then storm it and get all the glory" Sange punched the air a few times.

"I'm not one for glory Sange" He reached in again and pulled out a huge sniper rifle that was about the size of himself "hmmm….maybe for later" He put it back in.

"But I am! Hell, you know I want to be known. If I had it my way, I would be perusing my dream of being a fashion model!"

"Really?" He pulled out a bazooka "Wait why would I even need this…." He put it back in.

"Hell no, I would rather be getting hammered down the street and sleeping with all the lady Lucario's"

A yellow blur streaked into the room and hopped onto Kite's bed. Kite's Pikachu, Sun, watched Kite pack and then he turned to Sange.

"Pika pi cha?" He asked him.

"Naw, I wish, we're heading in the opposite direction, Hoenn"

Sun smiled "Pikapikachu!"

"What, it's not a vacation!"

"Pika!" He exclaimed before jumping onto Kite's head and nuzzling his neck. Kite scratched the Electric mouse's head before pulling out what resembled a leaf blower.

"I don't need a friggan lazor"

"Don't you know that all situations can be fixed by a lazor?" came a voice from behind him. Kite turned around and saw his MSC (Mission Support and Communications) advisor, Zach walk in.

"Evening Zach" He said before putting the Lazor back in to his locker. "You have my briefing ready?"

Zach walked towards him and handed him a brown folder. He then turned around and did some sort of complicated handshake with Sange. Kite ignored them.

"Anyways, it's all there, past acquaintances, Pokémon everything you can find except the person itself"

"Alright that works..."

"Now, I'm going to be flying you to Lily Cove…" Sange, Sun and Kite all let out groans "and dropping you off. Until you get back to the Southlands, I won't have any communication with you. So you won't have any backup in Hoenn, or the boat."

"Works for me, what's the worst thing that's ever happened on a boat?"

"S.S Anne"

"Oh…..right"

Zach began to walk out "I'll see you in a few hours in the hanger".

"Later Zach" Both He and Sange said.

Kite turned his attention back to his weapon cabinet, and pulled out a stick of dynamite.

"Wow really dude?" Sange said.

"There's so much shit in here I won't be surprised if there's a tank in here"

Sange's eyes started to gleam

"Ahhhh……no"

"We could use a tank"

"If I EVER get a tank, you're sure as hell not driving it"

Sange started to say something else, but Moon had just walked in. Sun immediately dashed over and jumped into her arms. He let out a small "cha" as she scratched his back.

"Moon do you think I can…?" Sange started to say, but Kite ignored him.

He surveyed the amount of gear he had in front of him. On his left was his weapon pile. He currently had Two Desert Eagles, a pack of C4, a case containing a small sniper rifle, a satchel of grenades, and a small knife. He wondered if he was going a little overboard, but thinking about his past operations convinced him otherwise. If shit decided to fly in his general direction, he would be prepared for it.

His other stack included his basic essentials he needed for recon. Binoculars, Night vision goggles, compact radios and wilderness survival gear. He considered losing the wilderness survival kit. He knew how to survive with his bare hand's if need be. Still better safe than sorry.

Then there was the last thing. His Katana. More of a good luck charm than a weapon. It was one of the few items he had from his past and he took it wherever he went. He wrapped his fingers around the black hilt and slowly pulled the old blade out. The light caught the strange reddish metal it was composed of, giving it a menacing shine. Zach had once said it reminded him of something called a blood sword, but then again, Zach says a lot of things. The edge of the blade was still incredibly sharp and had absolutely no blemishes on it. Kite stared at it for a few more seconds then put it back into the black sheath.

"Looks like just about everything" he muttered. He turned his attention back to his Pokémon.

"…so then like ten thousand ninjas came outta nowhere…." Sange was saying to both Sun and Moon who were pleasantly ignoring the rambling Pokémon.

Kite sighed; it was almost time to go. "Ok, who wants' to ride with me and Zach."

Sun, Moon and Sange stopped talking and started at Kite like he had grown a second head. At the same time, they all reached towards his belt and touched their respective poke balls, returning themselves.

"Sigh…..why do I keep them around in the first place?"

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Alright, so we'll be flying out of the Aeryn bay and on across the south ocean until we hit the Aeryn Atoll, then we got to fly through the riptide corridor, so it's gonna get bumpy." Zach said from the pilots seat. Farther back in the cabin, Kite sat, fearing for his life. Zach's flying style was different….from other's.

"Bumpy….that's great"

"I know, that were it gets fun" Zach said while laughing. Kite felt like he had better chances swimming across the ocean instead of flying. Zach began pressing down on some buttons and the plane's engine burst to life, and immediately started coughing.

"Piece of Johto crap…" he muttered. He quickly pounded on the dash board. The plane sounded much healthier.

"Ah there we go, let's get this show on the road!"

Kite groaned