Actually, now that I think about it, it might be easier to just get both of them to the same place, so please enjoy chapters 2-7!

It had taken the better part of three hours to introduce himself to his new Pokémon, and trust that they wouldn't kill him or King. None of them really trusted each other, of course they didn't, but he'd taken a deep breath and asked Gary and Paul to leave them alone.

It wasn't a surprise that none of them seemed comfortable, hell, he didn't either. Still, he had to figure this out. He had one Pokémon sitting on his head, King, one hiding behind, or perhaps in, the closet, one on under the desk, glaring daggers at him, and one perched on the bed post, just watching, waiting for something.

He was, in a word, clueless. How could all of them work together? Could they? All four of them were so different from each other, seeing as King had decided they were best friends after mirroring him for a few hours, while the other three were completely different.

Yet, it made him curious. Why were they all so silent? Rookidee, especially, were known to be both feisty and territorial, so why was she so intently watching him? Was she protective over the other two? Did the three of them know each other before they had been passed as a prize?

He hated it. He hated that Pokémon were traded like they were nothing more than tools by so many trainers. Was it hypocritical, since that was how he got King, yes, but the difference was that King was the product of natural birth. No one forced his parents Pokémon to breed, just like no one forced King to come with him. They had given each other a chance, and found that they could work together.

He probably wasn't helping things, just watching the two he could see, but he was helpless. He couldn't just leave them alone on a ship in the middle of the ocean. If they wanted to be free on land, that was one thing, but it would be irresponsible, and dangerous, for him to let the trio roam right now. He just wasn't...

Wait.

He was watching them. Now that he thought about it, they had to be uncomfortable with the attention. Carefully, he leaned back in his temporary bed, and moved his golden gaze to the ceiling.

King had been pretty awkward with him at first too, but they had been able to bond over mimicry, of all things. King like to watch him make silly faces, and liked to copy them until they were both giggling. Mom, he remembered, always bonded with her Pokémon through a battle. She was always saying you could never really understand your new team members until you fought together. Professor Oak was big on feeding them smaller meals more frequently for a while, until the Pokémon saw their human as a way to get food. His dad, from the little he remembered, was always looking at his teams stats on his own Pokédex, and reading it out to them, so that everyone was on the same page.

None of those felt... right though.

He wanted his own way of doing things that felt right for him and his team. What felt right?

As much as they might be uncomfortable with the situation right now, they were a team. They had no choice but to work together. At least for a little while.

Almost a if lightning hit, he suddenly under what he needed to do. He had never explained what he wanted out of his journey to King, outside of a few whispered conversations in the middle of the night. He'd been too afraid to be overheard, but now, he was alone, with his team, in a room only he had the key to.

"I'm sure you all have heard about Pokémon Masters, and League tournaments. That sounds like a stupid reason to be torn away from your families, for anyone not completely obsessed with winning everything at all times. Gary's been talking about being the champion since he could talk, and I know a lot of people want it too, but I don't. I'm not looking to have the strongest, most powerful team. I... I'm looking for answers." He told the ceiling, keeping his eyes up, even if he felt several pairs watching him.

Ash folded his arms under his head and sighed. "When I was three, I had a normal family, a mom, a dad, and a brother. A twin. When we were little, I got sick right before we were supposed to go on vacation. Mom stayed home with me, and dad took Salix to Alola. Except they never made it. Everyone else thinks they died. But I don't. I know my twin is still alive, but I can't prove it, and no one wants to listen to a kid. So, I promised myself that, when I grew up, I'd go on an adventure, and I'd learn how to be strong enough to keep myself safe. More than that, I wanted to build a team that can both keep themselves safe, and stay under the radar, because something isn't right. People don't just vanish into thin air, not like that."

It hurt to talk about, but he knew that somewhere, his twin was still alive and suffering. His brother needed someone to save him. So, if no one else would help, then Ash figured he would at least try.

"I've been secretly looking around for the last year, and so far, all I know is that they did make it to Cinnabar Island. But no one remembers them, since it was so long ago. No one really cares either. Oh, sure, they say they do, but when it comes down to it, no one is willing to do anything to find them. So I will. I want to build a team that is, at its core, deceptive. I need Pokémon that are smart, not necessarily strong. We can always make each other stronger. But finding Pokémon that are clever enough to help me sneak into places that we shouldn't be... that's a lot harder to find. Especially because the information I want can only be found in one place: The Indigo League mainframe. Which means we need to get strong enough to get there, and strong enough to keep eyes off of us. That's why King is my starter, the Mime Jr. line isn't common, but it is underestimated, for a psychic type. Depending on how King evolves, we'll have either a fairy-psychic, or an ice-psychic, either way, he's my King, the Black King, if you look at it like a chess game. Which means, I need to find both our other pieces, and I need to figure out who we're actually going against."

He took a long, slow breath and held it in his lungs for a few seconds. It was only because he could think of this like a game of chess that he could talk about it. He knew that he had been black, on the board, because white went first, and the white players opening move was to take hostages, or a hostage, he wasn't really sure just yet. He knew that he should just... give up, like everyone else. No one even mentioned his dad or his brother anymore, but that wasn't really strange. It had been like that since he could remember.

"I've looked by myself for years, you know. I've never stopped questioning anyone and everyone who came into Pallet Town. That was all I could do, but now, with your help, we can do more. I think the answers will be in the League databases, or maybe one of the gym leader's personal ones. The biggest reason I'm sure the League knows something is because of how we found out they were missing. Mom reported it, but no one ever came by to talk to her, no one bothered taking her statement. People go missing all the time, but dad was a researcher who worked for the League, you'd think they would want to investigate, but they never did. Either way... I need to get a team that is strong enough to fake the desire to win the Indigo League Championship. And, more than that, I need to figure out how to get invited to the Indigo Plateau to look. I know I said I don't need a strong team, because I don't, but I need a smart one. I need a team that can help me get into places im not supposed to. I need to find out what happened to them, and I don't care what kind of crimes I have to commit. Even if it means breaking into the mainframe of a police station, I'll do it. Not stupidly, but I'll find a way. That still means I need an alibi for being there, which is going to have to be you guys. I want to be looked at like an idiot with only winning on my mind, because then, people won't really notice what I'm actually doing." He hated saying this in a place he wasn't absolutely certain didn't have something watching him, but right now, he was just some lowly kid who didn't matter. Why would anyone bother bugging his room? "Which means, we have eleven months to get ourselves into gear. Eleven months to get all eight badges in a way that makes us, as best, forgettable. Its not something any normal Pokémon would be up for. I know its going to be tough, but I've been planning this for years, I know exactly where I want to start too: my dad's lab was in an abandoned sector of Mount Moon, which almost every trainer goes through. I don't know exactly where it is, but I know its somewhere thats almost impossible to get to."

The biggest question he had became: who knew what?

Did the gym leaders know something about his family's disappearance? Did the police? What about the mob? Was his dad taken by the Rockets? He didn't know, he couldn't know yet, but it didn't matter who had taken them, Ash had sworn to himself he would find them.

Honestly, it was one of the biggest reasons he wanted to get his hands on a Porygon. They were both great at hacking, and excellent at getting into places unseen.

There was a downside, though: they were rare. Extremely so. The easiest way to get one was to gamble in Caledon Game Corner. They were given out as prizes to experienced trainers who had at least four badges. Porygon was one of the main reasons he would go through the charade of trying to get a few gym badges in the first place. If he could get four badges, and enough coins, he could get his prize. If he could get all eight, though, he'd be invited to participate in the Indigo League Championship. From there, he could loose his first battle, and, hopefully, find what he was looking for during the finals.

He had just under eleven months before the next championship, which would be difficult, if not impossible to gain a place in. He knew that he'd have a better chance of getting into the next League, if he spent all his time for the next year just training.

As much as he wanted to, he knew that the key to winning a good game of chess was patience mixed with foresight. The other team had both, and he'd have to match them, beat them, if he wanted a chance.

"Did you know there's six main pieces in a chess game? Pawns are the most unpredictable, and usually the weakest, but you always need to have your eyes open around pawns because they can easily become another piece in the right circumstances. Rooks always move either horizontally or vertically, and an capture anything in their way. Bishops move diagonally, and like to sneak up on their prey because people think they are a weak piece. Knights always move in an L shape, but that doesn't mean they are predictable. With a good strategy, they can be some of the most powerful pieces on the board. The Queen is often considered the most dangerous piece on a field, because nothing can escape a Queen's wrath. Finally, the King. The King is often considered the second weakest, only stronger than pawns because they can move in any direction. If you loose your King, the game is over. If your King is checked, the game is over."

His starter had been named King, both for his seemingly weak appearance, and for his seemingly weak powerset. Psychics, as a whole, were treated as powerful Pokémon worthy of respect, but in the Mime Jr.'s case, they were a bit of a laughing stock. No one took them seriously in battle, which was common for a King in chess. But, like with a decent player, they would regret underestimating his King.

When he'd decided to go the route of a trainer, he'd made the decision to name his team after their piece, as a token of Fairplay. And maybe, just maybe, there was a hint of deception in it as well. Most people would name their Kingler, Slowking, Slaking, Seaking, or Kingdra as King. No one would expect it to be a Mime Jr.

He knew which pieces he wanted the newest Pokémon to be, but he didnt know them yet, so he didn't trust his judgment. He wanted Dreepy as his Queen, for several reasons, she would be adaptable, she would be a powerhouse, she could be able to sneak into plenty of 'accidental' places because of her typing, but because of her species, she would constantly be underestimated. He wanted Impidimp as his rogue Bishop, the one that sneaks around the board, while the others have all the attention, to do some serious damage to their backs.

The only one he hadn't really decided on yet was Rookidee. His instincts told him that the Pokémon would be an excellent Rook, but, she could also be a Knight easily enough. It would require a different move set, but she would be fine either way. She could fit into either role with ease, but the question of which would fit her best...

He didn't know. Not yet.

Few people would understand the references, since chess was a game mostly played by the oldest generation, not one that passed down very well. He didn't care though, he liked the game, and it helped him cope. No one else had to like it.

He risked a glance over towards the closet to see a pair of glowing yellow eyes, and turned his gaze away. He focused on King, who had gotten comfortable on his stomach, laying down in exhaustion.

Truthfully, all of his team was weak. The only one that might be able to battle something weak was Rookidee, but that would be a hit or miss, depending on how strong her opponent was. He considered going to the gym with his new team, but instead, he closed his eyes and let his breathing slow down.

He needed a nap. Moving from Pallet Town to Cerulean so early, even if it was by an Alakazam, was exhausting. That said nothing of the boarding process itself, which was both boring, and a lot of walking.

When he woke up, he could go explore for a bit and actually take in the sights a bit, before returning to his room after dinner. He did have plans, after all, to teach King how to play chess. Tomorrow, he'd start training, if they trusted him a little bit, otherwise, he'd spend the day alone with them again. There was no rushing a bond, not the kind he wanted anyway. No, he'd take his time, and meet them where they were. If any of them didn't want to help, he'd find a way to make all of them happy. If they did, then he needed to start planning on where to go once the cruise was over.

Maybe, he thought exhaustion weighing down on him heavily, the others would want to learn as well.

A few hours later, his team, and he used that word loosely, was eating a fancy specialty dinner while Aah scribbled like a mad man, trying to figure out what kind of team he could build with the Pokémon he had. Could he teach Dreepy and Impidimp to hack? Could they work together to get him into the places he needed to go? What other Pokémon would he need to build the team he wanted? He'd need at least two heavy hitters, to keep attention on them, and to keep the rest of them safe. He was pretty sure that Rookidee, if she wanted to come, would be one heavy hitter.

The other one would need to be something boring and common enough to make people not glance twice at it. He was a bit torn. Originally, he'd wanted Bulbasaur, Poliwag, Geodude, Machop, Rhyhorn, and Porygon as his team. All of them were common, minus Porygon, and none of them would really attract much attention. With four slots on his team taken, he needed to think carefully.

Unlike a lot of trainers, he wasn't going to have more than six Pokémon. He knew a lot of trainers had dozens, if not more, but he knew that with what he wanted from his team, he'd have to pick six and stick with those six exclusively until he either retired, died, or figured out what happened.

Now, just three days in, he'd lost all but two of his open slots. One of them would go to a Porygon, if he could manage to get his hands on it, but the other one would decide which way he'd go once the trip was over.

Rhyhorn, Geodude, or Machop would make the best tanks, but they all had their flaws. Rhyhorn were known to be stupid enough to make a pile of rocks look intelligent. Geodude had big attitude problems, particularly when it came to their pride. Machop typically had an addiction to training, and winning, that would get in his way eventually. Nidoran could be a good fit, but all of the herds were under Giovanni's protection, and he really didn't want to have to pass a test just to get his hands on a Pokémon.

Then again, he did have a Bulbasaur waiting for him that could be a great tank with some work. He was liking the idea less and less the more he thought about it. Bulbasaur may have been reserved for him, but that was before he had received his trio. He didn't like the idea of all of his Pokémon being handed to him, instead of searched for like a normal trainer would do.

He knew he should take advantage of Bulbasaur, it was a powerful Pokémon, an adaptable one, and a Pokémon who's calm nature would mesh well with King's. But, he didn't really think a Bulbasaur would be a good fit for his final team member. After all, he knew he wanted a Porygon, and he knew he only wanted six Pokémon, so that meant if he went with Bulbasaur, he'd be done collecting Pokémon. He... didn't want that. Not yet.

Part of him wanted to look for something rare, something not native to Kanto, but he couldn't. Even if he wanted to, this Pokémon would need to be something underestimated, and with the rest of his team being so exotic, he needed at least one Pokémon that could blend in with everyone else.

His head hurt a bit, trying to understand how each potential partner could work with his team. Luckily, his team had a decent spread of weaknesses and types so far. The only overlap he had was with King and Impidimp both being fairy types. Which would only be a continued thing if King was indeed a Kanto variation Mime Jr. If he wasn't, and was, instead, a Galar variant, he'd loose the fairy typing and gain ice instead. Either way, he'd be perfectly happy with his starter.

Though, admittedly, he had a feeling about King. He suspected that King was indeed a Kanto variation, but he wouldn't know for sure until he evolved. Which would be a long way away.

Thinking of, he glanced up, lips twitching in amusement as all four of his Pokémon were visible at the moment, all eating their food and seemingly getting along just fine. Sure, they didn't trust him, but they seemed to be fine with King. It was a good start, not perfect, but definitely better than a few hours ago.

He knew that his mom, Gary, and Professor Oak were all eating dinner at the formal restaurant tonight, with Paul and Reggie as their seat mates. His mom had invited him along, but he didn't want to stress his new Pokémon out too much, so he'd said no.

Besides that, his head was starting to hurt, and his eyes were one weak breeze away from watering in pain. No, it was best to stay alone right now. He could not handle Gary and his new rival. Not without some serious pain medication and a nap first.

As much as he was interested in trying the special fancy feasts, he was more interested in trying to figure out why he wasn't dead yet. Taking a nap in front of strange Pokémon, especially with the only one he trusted sleeping too, was normally considered suicide. He knew of many trainers, especially newbies, who had been too cocky with their lives, and had slept near a new Pokémon, or a stubborn one, and never woke up. It wasn't uncommon.

He easily could have been killed by any of his new Pokémon, and no one would have noticed until they found his corpse, probably a day later. Pokémon were dangerous, and needed respect in order to thrive. Napping, despite its stupidity, had proven that he both trusted his new teammates not to murder him and his starter in their sleep, and had shown that he respected them enough not to force interactions on them that they didn't want.

His head gave another pulse of pain, and he cringed. He hated this. Slowly, he packed up the notes he had been working on, since they were loose papers mostly, he knew he'd burn them later. He couldn't risk anyone finding out what he was doing. Even if he was almost positive no one cared, he was a bit paranoid on a good day. And this? With the sudden change of plans and the aching migraine starting? Was not a good day.

King seemed to notice him winding down, and hopped up in the bed, sitting on a pillow nearby and giving him a look. It seemed like his starter was not, in fact, happy with him. He hid a small smile. "Yeah, King, I'm going, I'm going."

He got up only long enough to change clothes and turn off the lights, before collapsing back on the pillows. This was, by far, the best bed he had ever slept on. It felt like he was laying on a cloud, like he couldn't possibly have a better bed. The only slightly annoying part was the size of the bed. Sure, he liked to stretch out when he slept sometimes, but a King sized bed was a bit... overkill.

He threw an arm over his head in annoyance. Why was he thinking kut a damn bed when he had so much to worry about? Hell, why was he thinking at all? He wanted to pass out, he was pretty sure his new teammates wouldn't murder him in his sleep, since they hadn't earlier. All was fine. So why was he so...?

It only took a minute for him to understand. He had been talking about his missing family earlier, and with a migraine now, the same 'sickness' he'd had that stopped him from going on the trip, his mind was irrationally terrified of sleeping.

He needed it, but he was terrified of what he could loose if he fell asleep this time. Logically, he knew the answer was nothing. Nothing would happen to him on this boat. Nothing could happen right now. But...

Nausea built in his stomach, and his ears felt like they would explode from all the noise. The one, almost silent, sounds of the boat, like the AC, were suddenly magnified by ten. His body felt the rocking of the boat that he had mentally tuned out. Unfortunately, this wasn't abnormal for him. He got dizzy, and sound sensitive, almost every migraine. The nausea could be a bit of a hit or miss, so could the light sensitivity, but he'd battled his way through them for as long as he could remember. He knew how to keep himself alive through them, and, more than that, knew how to keep them to a minimum.

No one knew why they had started, especially so young. He'd been a toddler going through extreme pain without the understanding of what this kind of pain was.

He took a deep breath. Yes, it hurt. Yes, everything hurt. But he couldn't just fall asleep like this. Not if he didn't want to wake up covered in his own vomit. On top of that, he was a trainer now, he had to look after his team, he had to finish at least a rough draft of plans for tomorrow.

As much as he hated having to work through pain, he didn't have a choice. Everyone had already been... a little hesitant about letting him go off on his own when he wasn't normal. His mom had been especially hesitant, but it was his promise to Professor Oak that made him slowly sit up.

He had to be able to take care of himself in order to get his trainer license. He had to be able to work past his discomfort. What would happen if he was in the wilderness and a migraine started? Would he just roll over and die?

The absolute truth was he could function with a migraine, just not up to most people's standards. He always needed a few extra things, sunglasses for light sensitivity, headphones for his hearing, and pain medication to help deal with the rest. Sure, he'd throw up a few times, and he'd feel awful, but he could do it. He'd done it hundreds of times before, just faking his normal interactions until it was finally time to go hide in his bed.

It was just... a thing he always had to deal with. And sometimes... sometimes he just wanted to sleep and not wake up. Sometimes, he wanted to have his head bludgeoned just to get the pain to stop for a few seconds so that he could breath. Sometimes, it was almost impossible to hold his tongue. But he did it anyways. No one was any wiser about just how bad they could get.

He considered his body for a few moments. He was currently, what, a four? He could function on a four if he needed to. A four meant he could, if he so choose to, get up off the bed and pretend he was perfectly fine for a few hours with minor assistance. He could more than handle himself on a four. Funny enough, it was only around an eight that he started loosing track of everything, including the ability to move. At nine, he couldn't think, couldn't breathe without pain, couldn't eat, couldn't move without agony.

Yeah, a nine in the wilds and he'd be screwed, but a four? Nah, he'd helped Gary with chores with a four before.

Being on a boat was messing up his pain scale settings. He wasn't honestly sure if being on the water was making everything seem worse than it was, or, if talking about a severely stressful topic had done the trick. Either way, apart from a few occasional flare ups where he'd want to dig something into his skull through his eye sockets, he could manage a four, now that he was actually aware of it.

How he was always stunned by the pain he didn't know, but here they were. One would think that he'd be used to it by now, especially since he rarely noticed the warning signs, but he supposed he was too much of an idiot to manage himself.

Oh well.