Key2DestNE: Hey guys, Key here! And we've got TWO special guests this time- come on out!

ConstructCritical: Hi. Hello! I know what all of you are thinking: 'Who are these two? Why are they dressed like hobos? Where's the snack bar?' Well, let me tell you, I don't know either! *grins gleefully*

Key2DestNE: ...Uh, yeah- that's Crit, he's been on once or twice in our other fics… And in the other corner is an old veteran! She's been in Child of Mew, made her own prequel to it- that's right everybody, IT'S FANFICTIONLOVER13!

FanFictionLover13: I DO NOT DRESS LIKE A HOBO- oh hi.

Key2DestNE: She… isn't the most observant of our current little group. So, guys, how're you both enjoying the fic?

FanFictionLover13: I'M DEFINITELY MORE OBSERVANT THAN YOU ARE-

Key2DestNE: Oh yeah? You missed her birthday, and guess who didn't~

ConstructCritical: Ooh! Ooh! Can Ash have a pogo stick? Or maybe a little dog? Ooh! Ooh! A Shitzu! I love Shitzu-

Key2DestNE: *twitch, twitch* F-FOX, HURRY UP AND GET OUT HERE! I CAN'T HANDLE THESE TWO BY MYSELF!

DarkFoxKit: *voice from offscreen* I'm busy, you can handle it yourself- you've got a lot of authors on the AN already, you don't need me.

Key2DestNE: What is she- oh no… Fiction, help me get her on, NOW! *rushes offstage*

FanFictionLover13: Um. Uh. Right. Get Fox on screen. The screen on Fox. …..Fox TV- *busts out laughing*

DarkFoxKit: *voice* You went the wrong waaaaaay~ That's the pitfall.

Key2DestNE: Wha- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! …. *THUMP!* O-ow…

ConstructCritical: Bye, Key! *fist pump* Yes! Now I can take over here at SoK. Now that Key is out of the picture, the show can go on! I can be Fox's co-author now! *grins excitedly*

DarkFoxKit: Nope. *pulls lever and Crit suddenly falls into another pitfall.* SEE YA BIRTHDAY CORN DOG!

FanFictionLover13: …..Fooooooooooox? *nervous* J-just remember that I was your first co-author- I'm special, riiiiiiiight…? No pitfall for me, r-right? *fidget fidget*

DarkFoxKit: *appears onscreen* … You? … You've practically disappeared for months, Fiction~ You left me here with these two insane boys for weeks and weeks at a time~ *a dark shadow stretched at the young girl*

FanFictionLover13: BUT I- *screams and runs away as the shadow follows her*

DarkFoxKit: *looks at the camera, smirking* Go on, enjoy the story~

Chapter 7: Diggin' the Brotherly Brawl

Ash and Blue were taking a break in the meadows. They put their bikes against a tree and just sat down to eat some lunch. Storm the Pikachu was eating some Pokechow.

"You think maybe we should release the rest of our Pokemon so they can eat too?" Ash suggested to Blue.

"Why do you need to ask? Isn't that common sense?" Blue grumbled as he took out his three Poke Balls and released the Spearow, Growlithe and Eevee.

Ash smiled, "Alright! Come out everyone!" He tossed up his five Poke Balls, releasing Remi the Rattata, Nidosaur the shiny Nidoran male, Luna the Clefairy, Trixie the Zorua, and Eon the spiky haired Eevee. "We've stopped for lunch, you guys hungry?"

They all smiled and nodded as Ash handed them all some PokeChow. Then the boy thought about Mew, who was still in his backpack disguised as a 'teleportation arrow device'. I wonder how I'm going to feed her with Blue around…

As Ash thought to himself wondering how to feed his Memma, his Pokemon were talking amongst themselves. Storm looked over at Trixie, frowning slightly. "Trixie, why'd you have to go all-out with that illusion? We didn't want to scare them THAT much!"

The Zorua giggled, shrugging. "Why not? It was fun! Besides, it worked, didn't it? You can't deny that my methods work~"

"But it was too much, you need to make it… less scary next time." Storm said.

Remi grumbled as she chewed on her food. "They must be wimps to be scared of a couple of illusions."

Nidosaur piped up, shaking his head. "I have to agree with Remi on this one- humans don't have the best hearts in the world, but to be scared of… uh… What did you scare them with, Trixie?"

She shrugged, pouting. "It wasn't much… Just-"

"Oh! Luna wants to know who this guy is. Luna's never seen him before!"

The Clefairy spoke up, interrupting Trixie and pointing at Blue.

Storm blinked as a few of the others murmered in agreement, before he decided to explain, "That guy's Blue. He looks a lot like Gary, who's Ash's rival… Huh… come to think of it, I hadn't seen Gary since that Beauty Contest on the beach…"

"Oh yeah… That Gary kid also has my brother with him. I hope he's doing well." Eon said with a hint of worry in her tone, her ears flattening against her head. "I mean… he's strong, but Gary seemed to only care ABOUT strength…"

"But what about Blue? He seems kinda cold." Nidosaur said, looking at him suspiciously.

Then the Growlithe spoke up, smiling "He's a great guy and he takes good care of us."

"But I wish he'd let us fight a bit more, I've been itching to battle with another Pokemon for ages." The Spearow groaned a bit, looking down in frustration.

"Blue's going through some hard times, cut him a break!" the other Eevee said, looking at the Spearow with a frown.

Storm raised an eyebrow, speaking up. "So you KNOW what he's been through? 'Cause Blue's been a mystery to us this whole time… Maybe you can shed some light on the situation surrounding him!"

"I'd rather not say… Blue wanted to keep a tight lid on it, and if I told you…" Eevee then looked at his Trainer and sighed, looking conflicted, before he shook his head. "I can't tell you, sorry."

Just as they were beginning to enjoy the food, there was a sudden loud booming noise and a tremble of the earth, causing the food and drinks to spill EVERYWHERE!

Blue frowned worriedly, barely keeping a hand on his drink to keep it from spilling as he looked around. "What the-? That sounded like an explosion!" He stood up, setting down his drink. "...I'm going to go investigate."

Ash popped up beside him, wiping some water from his vest. "Well, I'm coming with you Blue! Let's hurry, someone might be in danger!"

"Luna angry! How dare they destroy our picnic!" Luna was hopping around in anger, fists clenches. "They'll get hurt! They'll get hurt REAL bad!"

Ash sighed as he held up his Poke Balls. "Everyone but Storm, return!"

Blue also returned his three Pokemon as the Pikachu jumped on Ash's head. "We better hurry." he said.

The two boys rushed to where the explosion was heard, and when they came to a road, they saw trucks with supplies moving through. It's almost like a construction site here.

"What's going on here?" Ash wondered out loud, and a man was screaming as he ran up to them.

"IT'S THOSE DASTARDLY DIGLETS! THEY'RE SCREWING UP EVERYTHING!" he shouted in pure rage. Almost as if to prove his point, a large rock fell from the nearby cliff wall and holes appeared in the ground, causing the trucks to crash into one another, unable to move forward.

"But why are they doing that? They must have a reason." Blue said, thinking about it as he crossed his arms, resisting the urge to pace.

The man, who had a nametag that read 'Bob', shouted, "THEY HAVE NO REASON TO OTHER THAN TO JUST MESS WITH US! THEY'RE PREVENTING US FROM BUILDING THE DAM!"

"A dam?" Ash blinked, startled. "You're building… a DAM!?"

"Yes, over there." The man, presumingly named Bob, was pointing at an incomplete man-made dam nearby. "It's going to be called the Great Giva Dam- or at least, it WOULD be if we could GET IT DONE!" He started raging once more, stomping on the ground angrily.

Storm then jumped down from Ash's shoulder, pointing to some brown mounds coming out of the ground. "Hey Ash, look! I see the Diglett!" The Pikachu ran over to them, there were about five or six on this road, and they were constantly popping up and down.

"Diglett Dig, Diglett Dig, Diglett Dig~" Their words, if understood correctly, meant in this situation, "Have to Dig, Save our Homes, Have to Dig~"

One Diglett popped in front of Storm and smiled, speaking up. "Hello there! It's nice to meet you!"

Storm smiled, waving "Hey! So uh… why are you guys messing up these humans' work? I mean not that I care, but I'm just curious, that guy seems pretty angry. If he was a Voltorb he'd SelfDestruct ten times over already!"

The Diglett seemed to grow a bit angry at that, and it frowned, looking over at the man. "They're trying to destroy the environment! That big wall is gonna block the water, and flood so many Pokemons' homes! We're trying to keep that from happening!"

"I've heard from my Memma… stories about these walls the humans make to block out water. I think they do it to keep their OWN homes from being flooded." Storm said with a frown, looking at the incomplete dam.

Ash just let Storm talk to the Diglett while he and Blue tried to calm the raging worker down. "Look, sir, these Diglett are not mindless, I'm sure they have a good reason for doing all this!"

"Yeah, so just take a deep breath and calm down before you blow a blood vessel." Blue said.

"I've HAD it with these little monsters!" Obviously Bob was no longer listening to them, trying to hammer the Diglett into the ground with a sledgehammer as he ranted. "So I've decided to take matters into my own hands… I've hired many professional Pokemon Trainers to come here and destroy all these annoying Diglett once and for all! They should be arriving soon… And we promise them a big reward if they do this!"

Ash frowned and crossed his arms, confused. "Wait… you hired Pokemon Trainers to take them out? Why not Pokemon Poachers or Pokemon Exterminators?"

Bob looked at them, seeming a little scandalized by that. "Well we're not heartless, at least Trainers can just catch them in Poke Balls or something to get them out of here with no harm done. We don't want them DEAD, just outta here!"

Blue was looking at Ash and said, raising an eyebrow, "... You had a dark childhood, didn't you?"

Ash gave a sheepish chuckle, glancing away nervously. "You COULD say that…"

Bob then noticed the Pikachu next to the boy, who was done talking with the Diglett. "Hmm? Hey you, boy, are you two Pokemon Trainers too?"

Ash nodded, shrugging. "Well I am, Blue… I don't know, he says he's not but he does have Pokemon with him."

Suddenly the construction worker grinned, seeming to relax. "FINALLY! You guys are here! You act a little weird, but no harm done! Now get to work, we didn't hire you for nothing!"

He started pushing them towards the area where most of the Diglett were popping out from, before he paused, hearing trucks coming closer and closer. "Hmm?" He blinked, looking up as a certain red car showed up, with a certain arrogant teenage boy with spiked brown hair driving the car. He stood up when the car screeched to a halt, a bunch of cheerleaders behind him.

"Gary, Gary, He's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!" they cheered, waving their pom-poms in the air.

Ash groaned, facepalming as he muttered, "Oh no… he's back again."

Blue frowned, immediately recognizing his long lost twin brother. "I didn't think I'd see him again after I left home…"

The mentioned twin smirked, speaking to Bob and acting as if he didn't even notice the two next to him. "Sir, the invited Pokemon Trainers have arrived!" Then he pretended to finally notice Ash, and he turned to him, grinning cockily. "Well if it isn't little Ashy. I'm surprised to see you here. How many pokemon do YOU have now?"

The Trainer in question narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth. "Gary… You shut your mouth! Why are YOU here, anyways?" He then smirked, crossing his arms. "I thought the BEST Pokemon Trainers were supposed to be here- did I miss something in the memo?"

Gary hadn't noticed Blue yet, mostly because Blue was trying to hide himself behind some of the buses the other Trainers were in. He smirked, easily replying to the boy's taunt. "Exactly why I'm surprised to see that you're here. After all you're the worst Trainer by far."

Blue looked down and crossed his arms; he stayed hidden but he spoke up, "And why do you think Ash is the worst Trainer, Gary? From what I can see, he's a pretty capable Trainer, with loyal Pokemon."

Ash was honestly surprised that Blue spoke up like that, and he blinked, glancing over at the boy. Blue…? What're you doing?

Gary looked over, trying to find who spoke; the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't place on who it was. He eventually shook his head, responding to the question. "Oh, simply because he was the last trainer to leave Pallet Town, and he's also the last ranked Pokemon Trainer of our town. Pretty major if you ask me!"

Blue frowned, speaking up once more. "Oh really? Because if you would recall, Gary, Red, the current Kanto Pokemon Champion, was also the last to leave home… Well, him and another, but they both DID eventually make it to the top of the Elite Four, unlike the rest of the Pallet Town Trainers, who left a week before them- didn't you hear? They had to wait until Prof. Oak got another set of starters for them."

Gary, spotting who the speaker was, clenched his fist in anger. "...Blue… What are YOU doing here? I thought you just disappeared from the face of the earth, you coward!"

Blue, still having his arms crossed and leaning his back against a bus, said, "It's nice to see you again too, brother, but I see you haven't lost that cocky attitude that I once had myself; instead, it looks like you made it grow… I never ONCE drove in a shiny red sports car full of cheerleading girls! AND you're too young to drive in the first place!"

Ash frowned, looking between the two in confusion. "...Blue? You never told me how you and Gary got along… but I thought it'd be better than THIS…." What's going on? Do they… hate each other?

"Just sit back and enjoy the siblings' show, Ashy~ Now THIS is what I call a Bitter Brotherly Reunion~" Mew spoke in his head, giggling in amusement before he heard some crunching. "Want some popcorn?"

"Ugh… Memma, this is serious!" Ash mentally groaned, rolling his eyes at that.

"I know! … We're out of butter! What's popcorn without butter? It's so stale!"

Ash would facepalm if he didn't want to look like a moron in front of the two Oaks and everyone else around them.

Blue sighed, glancing over at Ash. "Gary's just mad that I never tried to face Red again after he-" He stopped, remembering that he denied he ever fought with Red to Ash. "What I mean is, he's mad that I left the family and never returned."

Ash frowned, catching the elder Oak's mistake, before Gary shouted in anger, "YOU SHOULD'VE TRIED TO GET YOUR TITLE BACK! But nooo,you just wanted to run away like the coward you are!"

Again, Ash frowned, growing more and more lost. Blue… had a TITLE? Why didn't he TELL me this stuff!?

Blue sighed and looked away, before eventually saying, "...Maybe I am a coward, but I have no use for such a meaningless 'title'. Tell me, Gary, is the reason why you became a Pokemon Trainer is to be the very best? Or is it to show me up? Or maybe it's for revenge? Perhaps it's also all of the above, am I wrong?"

Gary jumped off of the car, stomping up to Blue and glaring all the way. "YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, BLUE! Gramps is still upset with you! Do you realize that!?"

"Yes, I realize that. The last words he said to me was that I didn't care about my Pokemon; that's why I…" Blue then looked over at Ash again, before shaking his head. "...Look, you're here to take care of some Diglett, right? Why don't you just ignore me and go after them so you can get paid or whatever the heck this 'reward' is."

The younger Oak started to raise his fist, before regaining control of himself, turning and storming towards Bob. "So you just want me to get rid of those Diglett, right!?" The construction worker nodded slowly, surprised. "Alright, fine! I'll show you all what the best Trainer Pallet Town has this year can do!" He smirked, pulling out his Poke Ball.

Ash frowned as he looked over at Blue, walking over to him. "Would you mind telling me what was that about?"

Blue sighed, shaking his head. "... It's complicated right now." He looked at his brother, faintly frowning. "...But… let's just say I have a spat with my family right now."

Before Gary could do anything, though, three familiar Team Rocket members ran up to Bob, grinning eagerly. "S-sir!" Jessie started, "We're Pokemon Trainers! We'd LOVE to have this reward! ...What IS the reward, again?"

Bob cleared his throat, trying to regain control. "U-uh… It's seven days and six nights at the Skyva Hot Springs and Resort."

Ash blinked, startled, as he looked over at James and Meowth. "You three? What are you guys doing here?" He hadn't expected to see them again so soon.

James glanced over at Ash, scoffing. "Do you think we WOULDN'T have felt that tremor? We're here for the reward, of course!"

"... And that's to soak in a hot spring?" Ash frowned.

Storm giggled in his paw. "Some reward; besides, I thought Meowths hated water."

The cat glared at the Pikachu, huffily responding, "We need some relaxation, brat! Besides, where there's a free stay, there's FREE FOOD! And it's also in a RESORT!"

"Must be some resort then if every 'professional' Pokemon Trainer was so eager to come here just to soak in some hot water." Storm rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out cheekily.

"That's enough Storm, don't rile them up." Ash said to the Pikachu on his shoulder before turning back to Blue and Gary.

Blue was just watching his brother as he gathered all the people's attention and the cheerleaders cheering him on. That cheering is so annoying, how could anyone CONCENTRATE like that?

Gary smirked as he kissed his Poke Ball, before tossing it out "Now go!" He threw it, grinning in anticipation. The Poke Ball landed on the ground and opened, but as the energy was taking shape, it suddenly turned red and went back into the Poke Ball! "W-what!?" The Poke Ball then started moving back to him. When it stopped, he picked it up to see that a Diglett brought it back to him. "Huh… Thanks!" He grinned at it before freezing. "...Wait, THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" He growled, stomping at the Diglett as it went back underground with the speed of lightning. "Hmph! I guess I'll have to use my STRONGEST Pokemon then." He huffed, pulling out his other Poke Ball.

Blue shook his head, speaking up again. "If that Pokemon didn't want to come out of its Poke Ball, what makes you think that even your STRONGEST Pokemon would come out?" I KNEW there was a reason why those Diglett were trying to stop the dam from being built… and even the other Pokemon knew about it, that's why they don't want to fight.

Gary growled in annoyance, turning to his older brother. "What do you know, anyway? You're not even a Pokemon Trainer anymore! I don't need to listen to you!"

Blue sighed, rolling his eyes. "Just because I'm not a Pokemon Trainer anymore doesn't mean I don't have knowledge of Pokemon. Obviously your Pokemon don't want to fight these Diglett and that's why that one didn't come out of it's Poke Ball."

The other Trainers began to murmur amongst themselves, and the three Trainers at the front could hear questions being tossed around left and right: "What could this mean?" "Who IS this guy?" "Does it really matter?" "But he looks like that Gary Oak!" "True… Maybe he's a clone?"

Blue did an anime fall at that last remark. Of all the assumptions they could make… and they think I'm a CLONE!? I'm TALLER than him! Seriously, that's just… How did THAT one even get asked?

Ash chuckled at that remark. Okay… THAT was pretty funny. I gotta admit, I sort of thought that too when I first saw Blue on TV… so I have no room to talk, but it's still hilarious.

Gary tossed one Poke Ball after another, but none of his Pokemon came out. The other Trainers began tossing their Poke Balls as well, but like with Gary they all stayed shut. Each one was being carried back to their rightful owner by the Diglett, but it was still a hassle.

Ash crossed his arms, "Blue is right… none of the Pokemon want to battle the Diglett."

Storm sighed, "It's because they know that the Diglett here are only trying to protect the wild Pokemon's homes."

"Yeah, I can see that, but… without the dam… wouldn't people's houses nearby be flooded?" Ash asked the Pikachu on his shoulder.

Storm nodded and said, "That's what I thought too and asked the Diglett about this. And… he told me that he and the rest of his family, including the Dugtrio tribe, are working together to make it so the water doesn't ever flood the valley, that includes the human's cities and villages, but they can't do that if that dam is built."

Ash nodded, quickly understanding the situation. "Ah, I see… but shouldn't we tell them?"

"Eh… let them get it out of their system first." Storm shrugged, not really caring.

"Now it's Team Rocket's turn to shine!" Jessie suddenly announced, pulling out a Poke Ball.

"Oh no…" Ash groaned, facepalming. "I forgot about them… They may not really be part of Team Rocket anymore- at least, as far as we all know- but they'll STILL be a huge pain… They never know when to give up."

Jessie and James both tossed their Poke Balls… but once more, neither of their Pokemon came out of their Poke Balls, and were instead returned to their rightful owners. The two of them growled in frustration, turning to Meowth and picking him up. "Meowth…!" James grunted. "You really ARE gaining weight! But you have to fight those Diglett for us!"

"I can't fight ALL of them by myself!" Meowth snapped, struggling to break free. "Besides, the Pokemon doesn't want to fight the Diglett anyway, and neither do I!"

Gary, eventually growing frustrated, just stopped tossing Poke Balls and turned around. "This is pointless! No respected Pokemon Trainer should stay here anymore, it's as entertaining as Whack-A-Diglett!" He pointed at Bob who was trying to hammer the Digletts with a mallet again, but failing.

"Good, maybe then you can continue and actually learn something. But I would advise you to lose the car and the girls, they're more of a distraction than anything else." Blue said dryly to his brother. "Not to mention there's less of a chance to actually explore, as you should if you're a Pokemon Trainer."

"What do you know!?" Gary snapped, once again barely restraining himself from hitting Blue. "You LOST to an extremely strong Pokemon Trainer! You wouldn't have done that if you had kept your eye on the prize!"

"So? It's a crime to lose every once in a while?" Blue said calmly, shrugging. "Losing is what helps make you grow as a Pokemon Trainer, it doesn't mean you're a failure."

"Says the guy who just gave everything up and ran away from home!" Gary snapped back, losing even more of his patience.

"I have my reasons, and it wasn't just because of a simple loss." Blue said, still keeping calm.

"...Yeah." Gary nodded stiffly, narrowing his eyes dangerously. "For once we agree- it wasn't a simple loss. You were the former Champion- anything involving that loss wouldn't be simple."

Blue's eyes widened when Gary said that, he then worriedly glanced over at Ash. He didn't hear that did he? Ash's expression just gave him the answer. Oh crap… He totally did.

Gary smirked when he realized just why Blue looked so worried. "So you two are traveling together, huh? And I guess you lied to Ashy-boy too, huh? Figures you'd lie to him just to keep your loss a secret!"

Blue gritted his teeth, beginning to grow angry himself as he began to lose his cool exterior. "This is none of his concern, Gary! You KNOW why I kept this a secret, and it's not because I lost to Red!"

"Oh really?" Gary shot back. "Considering how much your reputation meant to you, I'm sure that's the ONLY reason! You sicken me, you realize that? You reached the top, and in less than an HOUR, you lose it! And then you had to go and disappear instead of facing it like a true Oak!"

"Blue…" Ash spoke up quietly, looking at the ground. "Is… is what Gary said is true?"

Blue didn't look at him, instead he said, still looking at Gary, "Believe what you want to believe Ash." He glared at his brother, but Ash wasn't done talking.

"...Why didn't you tell me?" he quietly asked. "I… we're traveling together… s-so I thought… that you trusted me."

"How long have we been traveling together? Not very long, so why would I have told you anything? Besides, I've kept it a secret for a reason." Blue said, glaring at Gary, but revealing it to Ash wasn't the only thing that made him angry… There were people nearby that heard this and already they were murmuring amongst themselves.

"You don't think he's that same boy that fought with Red, right?"

"He does kinda look familiar now that I think about it… And I don't just mean he looks like Gary."

"Blue… but I thought the former Champion's name was Green?"

Blue growled, completely furious now, as he got up in Gary's face. "Now look at the spot you put me in, Gary! What did you hope to accomplish for this? Petty revenge?"

The Pallet Town Trainer smirked, shrugging. "Maybe. After all, you deserve it, Blue. You know just as much about revenge as anyone! How many times did you challenge Red before the Championship? Huh? How many times?"

The older brother only glared more, his hand curling into a tight fist. "I must've lost count, perhaps as many times as you insulted Ash here; but we're rivals and that's what we do, it wasn't about revenge."

"You're no brother of mine!" Gary finally snapped. "You're just a coward! Why don't you get out of here, like you did after the Championship!? I doubt you could even fight me and win anymore!"

Blue and Gary fought before? And Blue… was Red's rival? THE RED!? All this information was a lot for Ash to take in, and he was barely able to keep up.

Blue balled his hands into a fist. "... Are you challenging me, brother?" he hissed angrily. "Because you KNOW how well that's going to turn out."

Gary merely smirked, pulling out a Poke Ball and forgetting all about the reason he was there. "Then prove it- show me what you've got!" Gary threw the Poke Ball and it released a Blastoise!

Ash's eyes widened; he remembered Gary saying that his Squirtle evolved into a Wartortle… way back when he first met Kooper! Wow… my own Pokemon STILL haven't even evolved yet… I feel out of the loop…

Blue glared, narrowing his eyes dangerously. Oh great, he uses his starter first and… wait a minute… "What the heck Gary!? You're using the same starter I chose when I started out!"

"You chose Squirtle?" Ash blinked, surprised. Guess that's the least surprising thing I've learned of Blue so far though… But seriously- I probably would have wanted Squirtle, Gary got Squirtle, BLUE had Squirtle…

"Actually Ashy, you wanted a Charmander, remember?" Mew mentally said, giggling.

"Well… yeah, but if I wasn't raised by you I probably would have wanted it."

Blue grumbled, "Yes Ash, I chose Squirtle." He glared at his brother again, waiting for an answer. "Well, Gary? Why did you choose Squirtle!?"

"Why do you think?" Gary snapped in response. "So I could prove that I can handle Squirtle better than you! Mine even evolved before YOURS did!"

Blue grumbled, facepalming, "Gary, you didn't know when my Squirtle even evolved and I never told you when he did." This is bad… his Blastoise is strong… none of my current Pokemon can take him on, not even my Eevee who's the strongest one I have right now… He had to resist the urge to groan, realizing what this meant. Oh no… I have to bring in one of MY Pokemon… This sucks… this really does… and unless I want to lose to my brother, I'm going to have to do this… My Pokemon probably hate me… but I don't have much of a choice here. If I lose to Gary he'll just have more reason to ridicule me, this is one battle I DO NOT want to lose.

Blue took out his Pokedex; Ash blinked and looked over… he remembered Blue having a Pokedex, but he couldn't recall where and when… but he did remember him taking it out but putting it back without doing anything… This time, though, the elder boy pushed a white button and a Poke Ball materialized in his hand.

Gary smirked, crossing his arms arrogantly. "So you're finally going to use one of your teams against me? But aren't you worried they won't listen to you anymore?"

Blue frowned, gripping the Poke Ball tightly before he enlarged it. "...Perhaps, but we won't know that until we battle." And with that, he tossed it out in front of him, revealing a Ninetales. It gracefully flicked it's tails, ready for battle, but not before it gave it's Trainer a happy glance. "Ninetales…. We're going to have to fight Gary this time; are you ready?"

"Yes, I am! I've been waiting for the day you finally use me again, Blue!" Ninetales spoke happily with a nod.

Blue looked at it in confusion before shaking his head, sighing. I must be imagining it… There's no way…

Gary was laughing by now. "Are you serious!? You must be awfully rusty! Because why would you use a Fire type like Ninetales to battle against a Water type like my Blastoise? That's like putting a Caterpie against a Pidgeotto!"

Blue only smirked, shrugging. "Well if you're so confident, then you shouldn't have any problems taking my Ninetales out, right?" He folded his arms, still smirking. "In fact… you take the first attack. Consider it a veteran's gift."

Ash was shocked at Blue's confidence, it's like he's a different person. Before he was so hesitant to battle, but now… I guess he really wants to win this one.

"Yeah, go Blue! Beat that insulting, porcupine prick up the wall!" Storm cheered from Ash's shoulder, shaking pom-poms he… got from nowhere.

"Storm… don't yell in my ear… and where did you get those poms-poms?" Ash asked as Storm just grinned.

"Your backpack." he said with a wink, pointing to it.

"What? But I never-... Memma…" Ash groaned, facepalming in realization.

Gary blinked before growling in anger. "W-why you…! ARE YOU MOCKING ME!?" When Blue didn't respond, he turned to his Blastoise. "Use Bubblebeam, KO that stupid fox!"

"Really? Bubblebeam? That's the best water attack you could come up with for a BLASTOISE? You could've used Surf or Hydro Pump, but BUBBLEBEAM?" Blue shook his head. "Ugh… Ninetales, use Extrasensory to stop those bubbles in their tracks."

Ninetales didn't hesitate as its red eyes glowed and easily stopped the incoming Bubblebeam; she looked back at her Trainer before nodding and sending the Bubblebeam back at Blastoise's face.

Gary's eyes widened, and he hastily called out, "SKULL BASH!" Blastoise quickly ducked it's head into it's shell, dodging the Bubblebeam aimed right back at it, before slamming directly into Ninetails, "Now bring your head out and use Bite!"

"Bite? Just Bite? Not Crunch or even Body Slam?" Blue sounded less than impressed, and he rolled his eyes. "Ninetales, use Dig."

The fox went underground faster than Blastoise could catch it, and easily dodged its Bite attack.

Gary then smirked, crossing his arms as well. "I was only warming up, I wanted to see how you battle nowadays, you coward." He closed his eyes as he cried out, "Use Flash Cannon, aim it into the hole!"

Blue frowned, closing his eyes as well. Flash Cannon, huh? ...Interesting choice… Trying to blind my Ninetales, eh Gary? Well, I won't let that happen. "Ninetales, use Fire Spin now!" he hastily commanded.

Out of the hole came a tornado of fire! It trapped Blastoise right into the vortex, making him unable to move faster than he could react. Ninetales quickly followed it's flames out of the hole, glaring.

"And now use Confuse Ray." Blue said, smirking in triumph.

Ninetales smirked,nodding. "Gladly." Its tails spread as it flashed brightly in Blastoise eyes, confusing it. "Anything else, Blue?"

Gary gritted his teeth, shocked. "W-what!? No way… You're cheating somehow! That can't be!" How am I LOSING!? It's a Water type versus a Fire type!

"I'm not cheating, Gary- you of all people should know that it's the one with more experience and higher level that wins, not the type advantage." Blue explained calmly, shrugging. "I told you to get rid of that cocky attitude, it's not going to get you anywhere."

The younger Trainer gritted his teeth, clenching his fists in anger. "N-no… No, I'm going to beat you, Blue! I'll beat you and show just how much of a disgrace to the Oak family name you are!"

"Maybe I am a disgrace, but you're losing to a disgrace; that's just sad, don't you think?" Blue asked, shrugging. "Now come on, why don't you come at me?"

"Blastoise! Stop hitting yourself and use Hydro Pump NOW!" Gary snapped at his confused Blastoise.

Blue watched carefully, as the Blastoise finally snapped out of it's confusion. It quickly gathered water inside it's cannon, and fired it, straight at the Ninetales. NOW! "Use Extrasensory again, redirect the water into the hole!"

Gary blinked in confusion; he had expected Blue to have his Ninetales fire the Hydro Pump back at Blastoise… not at the ground. ...What's he planning?

"Three… two… one…" Blue snapped his fingers and the water came blasting from under Blastoise, causing it to get blasted into the air and landing on the ground… HARD! Everyone, especially the cheerleaders, gasped at this as the Trainer of the Ninetales calmly explained. "If you give a small, enclosed space more water than it can hold… What do you think will happen?"

Gary gritted his teeth, already knowing the answer. ...It'll explode…! Why didn't I realize that!? "Blastoise! Get up!" he desperately cried out to the unmoving Blastoise.

Blue shook his head, frowning. "I think you better look at your Blastoise… he doesn't look ready to battle any time soon. I suggest you get him to the Pokemon Center now." Gary ignored him, though, continuing to try and revive his Pokemon.

"That was fun, Blue!" Ninetales smiled at him, it's tails swirling around it happily.

Blue looked at the smiling Ninetales. … I can't really tell but… is she planning to kill me now? "Why… are you so happy?"

The yellow fox chuckled at that, yipping. "Well, I'm with you again Blue! We've all missed you so much… We've been worried for a long time! So why wouldn't I be happy to be with my Trainer again?"

Blue just groaned, rolling his eyes. "I have no idea what you're saying, but stop looking at me with those eyes! I get it! I was a bad Trainer to you and the others and that smile is just a mask and you're really plotting to kill me. Sorry, but not today." Ninetales blinked, about to speak, before he continued. "Look… You've gotta go back home." He pulled out his Poke Ball, and tried to retrieve her, but she quickly dodged the red beam. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"I don't want to go, Blue!" She huffed, looking at him angrily. "You FINALLY call one of us, for the third time in FOREVER, and this time I don't have to leave as soon as you're done battling! We're not done talking, mister!"

Blue grumbled angrily, facepalming. I knew this would happen if I brought one of them back again! It was only a matter of time before they wisened up! "Look, Ninetales, I can't tell why you're angry- but I can figure it out later! Just return already!"

"Stop talking like that Blue, you know why!" Ninetales snapped, her tails whipping around like an angry storm.

Ash ran over to Blue while Gary was still too busy trying to get his Blastoise up. "Hey uh… Ninetales is saying she doesn't want you to take her away after using her… um… You have a powerful Pokemon… why not use it more often? You… you said all you had were those three before."

Blue growled, turning to Ash in frustration. "I do… those three are the only Pokemon I have! This isn't even MY Ninetales! It's my grandpa's and I was only borrowing it for this battle!"

"LIAR!" Ninetales shouted, beginning to growl. "I'm YOUR Pokemon, Blue! What is with you!?"

Ash frowned, looking up at the Oak twin in confusion. "She said she's your Pokemon and asking what is with you."

Blue grumbled, still trying to return Ninetails. "Nothing's with me! I-"

"You don't have to lie, Blue, I know you're the former Champion and battled with Red. You couldn't have with just those three Pokemon." Ash interrupted, frowning gently. "You HAD to have strong Pokemon by your side."

Blue shook his head, looking away. "Not anymore… I've given them all to Gram- I mean Professor Oak." He quickly tried to cover up his mistake with a cough, but one look at Ash's shocked expression proved that to be a futile battle.

"Wait, wait, wait- h-he's Professor Oak's grandson too!?" Storm blinked in shock, his jaw nearly touching the ground. "T-then… why is he here of all places!?"

"Really Storm, if he's GARY OAK's twin brother, it should be OBVIOUS that he's Professor Oak's grandson." Mew mentally said to the clueless Pikachu, giggling. "Oh come on Ashy, you can't tell me you didn't see this coming!"

Ash mentally shrugged, trying to recover. "I… I might've been distracted by everything else, okay? L-like the fact that Blue FOUGHT RED! How come I never heard about that!?"

"Because society is quick to forget a Champion who's only been a Champion for like… what, an hour? Nobody really talks about Blue." Mew answered simply. "It'd be like if someone saw me for a second, while someone else caught another Legendary- which do you think would be in the news more?"

"I guess I can kinda see that." Ash thought before speaking to Blue. "Why would you give them all to Professor Oak?"

Blue sighed, shrugging, as he looked away bitterly. "It's obvious that I'm not raising them right, so it's better they live with someone who will. Besides, I went on this journey not as a Pokemon Trainer for a reason you know. Ninetales, stop being stubborn and get in the Poke Ball! People are watching!"

The fox shook her head, huffing. "NOT UNTIL WE TALK, YOU STUBBORN BOY! Sure, I'm your Pokemon- but you haven't even USED us until lately! So until I get answers out of you, I'm not leaving!"

Blue grumbled while he put a hand over his forehead. This is going to take a while… Stubborn fox.

"She said-" Ash started to say.

"Look! You're not MY Pokemon anymore, got it? You belong to Professor Oak, not Blue Oak, but Samuel Oak! So stop assuming you're MY Pokemon, because you're not!" Blue yelled in frustration.

Ninetales only huffed, as if hearing this speech before. Ash and Storm were staring at Blue, before Ash finally spoke up. "Did you just-"

"No Ash, I don't understand Pokemon. But we've been through this before and I already have an idea what she's saying." Blue grumbled, narrowing his eyes in frustration at her.

Ninetales scoffed, tossing her head to the side. "Please, that's not the ONLY reason he knows what I'm saying! Stubborn Trainer that he is…"

Blue looked around and noticed people were watching and some were murmuring… again.

"Is he… playing with that Ninetales?"

"I think he is…"

"But he talks like he knows what it's saying, that's just weird."

Blue's face was red, and he facepalmed in frustration. "Ugh… why does this always happen to me… Ninetales, enough of this! Just return already so we can move on with our lives!"

In response, the yellow fox turned her head with a huff. Ash sweatdropped, shrugging. "...You might wanna promise that you WILL talk with her about this, later. Otherwise… I think she'll still be stubborn."

"What's there to talk about?" Blue grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance. "I've already said all I needed to say to her and the rest of my- I mean Prof. Oak's Pokemon! I told them that I needed to go on my own journey and leave them in better hands!"

Ninetales growled at that, and Ash shrugged. "Sure, sure- but maybe she didn't feel like it's resolved. Just promise her, okay? It'll be for the best!"

Blue crossed his arms and gave a very annoyed sigh, eventually nodding. "... Fine, if it'll keep her from acting up every time I need a favor, then I promise to talk to her and the others about this; happy now?"

Ninetales's demeanor instantly changed, and she turned to him with a smile, nodding. "Very, thank you Blue! You didn't give us much of a chance to respond before, and now that you will I think you'll hopefully see the truth!"

Blue looked at Ash who frowned and translated, "She thanks you and glad you're giving them a chance to show you the truth."

"The truth?" Blue raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "Oh whatever." With that, he returned the Ninetales back into her Poke Ball. "At least I can send her back." I just hope I never have to use her again or I'd have to make good on that promise…

Ash blinked in surprise, startled. "W-wait, you're not letting her talk to you tonight or any time soon?" Blue shook his head, scoffing. "Well, why not? That was your promise, right?"

"I promised to talk to her, I didn't say when." Blue said with a shrug, smirking.

"Ooh, such a sly one aren't you." Storm said with a sly smile.

Ash groaned, facepalming. "Blue, didn't you say you wished to have a better relationship with your Pokemon? Then talking to them is a good way to go about it!"

"I told you already Ash… they're not my Pokemon anymore." Blue said seriously.

"You see Ash!?" Gary suddenly spoke up, standing up and pointing at Blue angrily. "You see what a coward my so-called brother has become? He can't even face his own Pokemon anymore!"

The elder Oak gritted his teeth in annoyance, before speaking up. "Gary, I JUST SAID they aren't my Pokemon anymore. They're Professor Oak's Pokemon, so your argument is wrong- now go bring your Blastoise to a Pokemon Center!"

"You can't even call Gramps 'Gramps' anymore, you're just pathetic." Gary said, crossing his arms. The cheerleaders were all crying that Gary actually lost one.

Blue looked at Gary and said in annoyance, "Gary… I'm going to say to you what I've always said to Red since we started our journey together… Smell ya later." With that, he turned around and began walking away, doing a wave to the boy behind him. "I'll see you tonight, Ash- stay in the area, I have some business to take care of!"

Ash blinked in surprise, before crossing his arms in thought. "...Storm, what do you think? What could Blue's business be? It's obviously important…"

"... Maybe he needs to take a leak?" The Pikachu shrugged helplessly at Ash's incredulous look. "I mean, that's what you humans .. say whenever you have to take a leak."

Ash sighed before turning to Gary, crossing his arms and tilting his head curiously "Gary… what are you going to do?"

"Forget my so-called brother. I'm going to continue my own journey and one day I'll be strong enough to take on his real team. I won't ever admit this to him, but Ash… my brother is a strong Pokemon Trainer; remember that." Gary said as he went into the car, turning on the ignition. "Let's go ladies." And with that, he drove off

Ash was shocked that Gary actually admitted that his brother was strong; seeing how those two were at each other's throats like that he never thought Gary would admit to it! But… why tell him like that?

He continued to stand there in thought before turning to Bob, raising an eyebrow. "So… what should we do? I gotta stay around the area, and you still need to have some work done, right?"

"THESE STUPID DIGLETTS JUST WON'T STOP!" Bob screamed, still trying to hit the Diglett with a sledgehammer.

"Yeah… I'm gonna go find that hot springs now." Ash said as he quickly left the deranged man to his… work.

To Be Continued...

Key2DestNE: *gasp, gasp* I-I made it out…! *appears onscreen* Uh… what happened to our guest authors? *looks around worriedly* ...H-hello? Anyone?

ConstructCritical: *runs up sobbing* She-she… SHE ATE A CORN DOG AND DIDN'T LET ME HAVE A BITE! *cries*

FanFictionLover13: *tackles Key* SHE WENT CRAZY AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO KILL ME!

Key2DestNE: …..Uuuuh… *blink, blink, blink* I… am somehow not surprised. *sweatdrops* ...A-anyways, you guys wanted to talk about something on here, right?

ConstructCritical: *stifles back a sob* Y-yeah… You guys told us we could be on here to explain 'A New Beginning'... but I didn't know you would do unimaginable, terrible things...

Key2DestNE: *he facepalmed, grumbling* Trust me, this is one of her off days… As Fiction can testify to.

ConstructCritical: SHUT UP! I'M BUSY DROWNING MYSELF IN SELF-PITY!

FanFictionLover13: I THOUGHT THAT SHE WOULDN'T DO THAT CAUSE I'M HER FIRST CO-AUTHOR *SOBS*

Key2DestNE: … *sigh* Well, she seems to be gone for now- so let's hurry up and tell the readers about the new story before she comes back!

*there was an odd beeping sound…*

ConstructCritical: *alarmed* O-okay… W-well, in 'A New Beginning', a figure is in an airport. Nothing is really explained. No gender, no name, nothing except that they wear a hoodie. I suppose one could also infer they're a runaway, or a petty thief. That's where you - the readers - come in. We're doing our version of a

choose-your-own-adventure. We'll give you choices of where you want the character to travel, what starter to choose, whether you want the character to join the 'Team Something' of each respective region, and so on.

Key2DestNE: That sounds cool! And how many authors are working on it, again?

ConstructCritical: Oh, so we're playing ignorant, are we? Well, there's you, Fiction, me, a-and… Fox… *gulp*

DarkFoxKit: Did somebody say my naaaaaaame? *pops up beside the three*

FanFictionLover13: *SCREAMS* HOLY FRIGGIN' DEKU STICKS, WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!

ConstructCritical: Nope! Nopenopenopenope! In case the camera randomly cuts to static now for no apparent reason, the story will be going up to Key's profile. Also, you won't see Fiction in the AN, because she only joined up with us afterwards. Now, please, SPARE MY LIFE! I DON'T WANT TO DIEEEEEE!

DarkFoxKit: Who said you're going to die? Hmmmmm? *smirks evilly at them*

Key2DestNE: …. *begins backing up slowly* U-uh… yeaaaah, it's pretty clear. Bye now! *begins to run before Fox grabs his arm* Erk!

ConstructCritical: So, Key, w-what was that about an off-day? *gulps and dives behind some boxes in fear*

FanFictionLover13: *tries to tug Key along* PINKYYYY-!

DarkFoxKit: They'll never learn. *Crit and Fiction both got trapped in a cage.* Now that I have all of you where I want you… *smirks, thunder rolled in the background, her shadow cast over the three.* I believe it's TIME.

Key2DestNE: ….T-t-time for what? *gulps in fear*

ConstructCritical: *tries to pull on the bars, shaking in fright* Please let us go! I won't even throw that month-after-birthday party I was planning! Please!

FanFictionLover13: Foooooooooox! *whines, rattling the bars* C'mon, lettuce go!

DarkFoxKit: Noooo, I have been waiting far TOO long for all four of us to get together. *holds out paw and gave… tickets to a movie?* Let's all go the movies together! Ya'll kept running from me so I had no choice but to capture you all just to TALK, geez, you all kept thinking I was Mew and going to kill you or something.

Key2DestNE: …Heh… *sweatdrops* Yeaaaah… weird… *cough, cough*

ConstructCritical: Uh, maybe it had something to do with, uh, you dropping me into a pit for just being happy to have a chance to be a new SoK author? D: *gulps*

DarkFoxKit: Actually, that was for taking away my manga, I wasn't too happy about that.

ConstructCritical: Well, you know I haven't tried Yu-Gi-Oh! I wanted to see what it was like!

DarkFoxKit: And Fiction, you of all people should know I just wanted to talk. But you ran! … Okay, maybe the special darkness effects was a bit much, but I didn't think you'd react like a scared kitten.

FanFictionLover13: ... I... knew what you were doing the entire time. I was just... going along with it...

ConstructCritical: What gave it away? I couldn't even tell she hadn't gone completely berserk! *innocently*

DarkFoxKit: *rolls eyes as the cage door opened* Let's go. We've wasted enough time here. *looks at camera* Please review and check out the story these guys were jabbering about, we kinda NEED reviews for it. See ya'll next time! *shuts off camera*