DarkFoxKit: Alright, the next chapter came out fairly quickly, so I hope you guys appreciate it! I got some complaints how people didn't care about the episode because it didn't mean much to them storywise- well, I'll have you know that this is an important arc to the story.

Key2DestNE: Agreed. It may not seem like much at first, but trust me, it's gonna mean a LOT very soon, just you watch! We gave this race a lot more of a purpose this time around!

DarkFoxKit: This is where we introduce more than just Dustin and Jayden as being a part of these elite Team Rocket members. Well, I hope you guys enjoy~ Key, wanna do the disclaimer?

Key2DestNE: Sure! *grins* We don't own Pokemon, that's the Pokemon Company, Nintendo and Game Freak. We don't own the anime or the characters, either- just copies of the games and any original characters we make! Now have fun~

Chapter 19: Mysterious Duo

Around evening, Laura had her arm wrapped up in a cast, but she was still more than happy to show Ash and Blue around the festivals. Storm was just in awe, admiring all the people, Pokemon… And most of all, the tasty treats in the place. Mew, still disguised as a Meowth, was just delighted as she leisurely walked beside the human child she raised. "As you can see, we take a lot of pride in raising many different species of Pokemon and using the various products given to us by them as Ranchers- without Ranchers, you wouldn't have clothes, you wouldn't have meat… heck, we might not even have some of the tools we have today that were inspired by one Pokemon or another's biology!" Laura smiled, gesturing to various booths as she spoke.

"You really know your Pokemon stuff. It's really a lot of work to raise Pokemon, especially the naturally wild ones." Blue said, looking around curiously. "So I take it you're really proud with all you've done."

"Of course." Laura smiled, nodding. "Some people are nice enough to bring in Pokemon from other region to help expand Kanto. We're actually expecting some Miltanks by next week so we can actually make our own Moo-Moo Milk instead of having to get them delivered from far away!"

Ash smiled as his eyes brightened excitedly- new Pokemon from different regions are coming here to Kanto? He's only known about a 150 of them here, but if more are coming… "That's awesome! More Pokemon are going to roam in Kanto now?"

The ranch girl chuckled, though, shaking her head. "Not exactly- the Pokemon are going to be released into specific areas, so they won't be nearly as free to roam in Kanto, not until we know for sure that nothing will go wrong with it."

"Yeah, moving Pokemon into different regions isn't always easy. The first to do this were the Unova region, with the Poke-Transfer. Unova's overflowing with a lot of different Pokemon from different region, apparently they wanted to see other Pokemon that they couldn't see outside of their region." Blue explained, most likely having heard or been there before himself.

"Hmm?" Storm's head lifted as he smelled something, and he began to sniff the air curiously. "That smell… that smell… is so familiar…"

"Huh? What's wrong Storm?" Ash asked, noticing the Pikachu sniffing around.

"..." Nya looked a little stiff and tense suddenly, and she quickly climbed into Ash's backpack. "I'll just… take a little cat nap."

Ash frowned- what was wrong with his Memma now? Then he saw Storm moving towards the corner of a shopping stand. "Uh, Storm? What're you-"

"...Ah-ha! I knew it! I knew that scent was a Pichu!" Storm suddenly said as he was face-to-face with his pre-evolved form.

"Huh?" The Pichu blinked curiously, tilting it's head and staring at Storm with wide and curious eyes. "...A Pikachu? Here?" It began to smile before suddenly turning and calling back, "Hey, come on out- there's a Pikachu here!"

Storm blinked as he looked up, seeing a pair of human feet coming out of nowhere. The Pikachu tensed as he sensed this wasn't a normal human. The young man looked to be in his teens or early twenties, but he gave a smile, kneeling down and gently rubbing the electric mouse's head.

"Oh, hello there little Pikachu, are you lost or did you come here with your Trainer?" he asked, beginning to gently rub Storm's electric sacs.

"Storm!" Ash ran over and stopped short at the sight of the young man, blinking in surprise. "Huh? O-oh excuse me, I guess my Pikachu must've smelled your Pichu's scent!"

The other human blinked, glancing up at Ash curiously before he smiled and stood up, picking up the Pichu and cradling it in his arms. "Ah, so this Pikachu's yours. I can't help but find him fascinating- the little guy seems to be as fit as a fiddle, almost better than my own Pichu!"

"Hey! No Pikachu or Raichu can stand up to me! You know that!" The Pichu in his arms pouted, one of it's ears lowering in disappointment.

"W-well, I don't know about that… but thanks for the compliment. Storm and I have been through a lot together." Ash chuckled in embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his cap sheepishly and Storm climbed up on his shoulder, watching the stranger curiously.

The young man nodded, still smiling at Ash as he ruffled his Pichu's fur. "In that case, I may as well learn such a capable Pikachu Trainer's name like your own- my name is Archie, and you are?"

"Oh, well I'm Ash, it's nice to meet you Archie." Ash smiled back, liking this guy's attitude- he seems like such a nice person, and yet… he couldn't help but notice how Storm was just watching him like a Spearow, and Mew wasn't coming out of his backpack, something wasn't right here, but Ash kept smiling anyway, not wanting to seem rude.

Archie then gently placed his Pichu on the table beside him and began ruffling in his bag, confusing Ash. "You know, your Pikachu certainly seems to be in wonderful condition, but…" As he spoke, he pulled out… a magnet? "I doubt he knows how to use his electricity with different polarities- give the little guy this and let him play with it for as long as he wants. In no time at all, he'll have new skills and his electric attacks will have more power to them!"

"Hey! That's supposed to be MY magnet to play with!" Pichu pouted even more as Archie just patted its' head.

"Hey, be nice and share." Archie said, rolling his eyes in amusement. "After all, we needed to get you a new magnet anyways- this one's too weak for you by now."

Ash blinked, wondering if Archie understood the Pichu just now or if he just interpreted the mood of it, in fact, he still couldn't tell if Blue could understand Pokemon either since the boy seemed to be a bit too accurate sometimes. "Uh… Thanks. That's quite a feisty little Pichu you have there, where'd you get it?"

Archie shrugged as Ash took the magnet, ruffling his Pichu's fur once more with a fond smile. "Heh… I raised him myself from when he was an egg- I did the same with all my Pokemon, and I let them work together as a family. After all, to me a Pokemon works hardest when it has something to work hard for."

"Yeah, that's probably true." Ash nodded as he gave Storm the magnet, who was still watching Archie from his shoulder. Storm blinked a bit before taking it, sniffing the magnet curiously.

"So Ash… how do you raise your Pokemon, hmm?" Archie asked suddenly, looking at Ash with an odd glint in his eye and catching the Trainer off-guard.

"Huh?" Ash blinked, surprised by the sudden question. "U-uh, well… I train them to the best of their abilities whenever I can, and we work hard to battle but also have time to play and just chat like friends- even though I can't understand them. … What about you?" Ash lied about not understanding, he didn't want to tell every person he meets he could understand Pokemon after all.

Archie chuckled to himself, pulling out another magnet and his Pichu began playing with it. "Well… I prefer to be specialized, myself. Thus, all my Pokemon are Electric types… but I also train them to overcome their weaknesses whenever I can- and anybody who underestimates them will pay dearly for their foolishness…"

Ash shivered a bit from how icy his voice sounded just then, but Archie kept smiling, and the icy aura around him disappeared as he looked back at Ash, who said, "Right… I see, you really like Electric types then, well, I won't question your way of training. So… are you here for the festival and to watch the upcoming Grand Prix?"

Archie shrugged, a small twinkle in his eye as he responded, "Oh, perhaps… I do plan to participate in the Grand Prix though, as I have just the right Pokemon for the job." He grabbed a black and white lightning bolt-themed Poke Ball from his belt and tossed it out. "Come on out and introduce yourself!"

Ash and Storm were a bit shocked that he suddenly threw out a Pokemon, so much so that they were blinded by the sudden flash as it came out and materialized. When Ash was able to see again, he was surprised when he saw what it was.

"That's… a Blitzle! But… you… did you go to Unova at one point?" Ash stared at it in shock and awe.

"I did some traveling before coming here." Archie shrugged, giving a confident smile. "Meet Blitzle, he'll be my racer, and when he gets going he's a bullet!"

Ash frowned and gulped a bit, looking at Storm who gave a bit of a frown himself. Greeeat, more competition, as if Dario and his Dodrio wasn't bad enough. "So uh… why are you running this race?"

Archie shrugged, beginning to brush his electric horse's mane. "I figured it would be a good way to test my Blitzle's abilities against the other Pokemon here- the others never really enjoy a good race, so Blitzle never gets to race…"

"Huh? Hey Ash, how long are you going to dawdle here?" Ash nearly jumped when he heard Blue's voice calling him.

"Oh, sorry Blue… I was talking to someone. His Pichu apparently led Storm here." Ash said, gesturing for the boy to come closer to Archie and his Pokemon. "And he wants to join the race with his Blitzle."

Blue frowned a bit, looking at the Unova region Pokemon. "I see… so you're here for a race- or are you here for something else?"

"Blue! Don't be rude!" Ash hissed, before turning and chuckling sheepishly as he rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "S-sorry about him, Archie, Blue's a bit… uh… headstrong."

Archie blinked, looking at Blue with an unreadable expression before it disappeared in the blink of an eye and he chuckled, shaking his head. "It's perfectly understandable… But I'd watch out if I were you- one of my other travel mates don't like people with your kind of personality, and if you gain his scorn… Good luck to you, that's all that I can say."

"And who is this travel mate of yours?" Blue asked, crossing his arms and glaring at Archie suspiciously.

"... Let's just hope you don't meet him, but beware of the pinkish red Minccino." Archie said with a sly smile before standing up and stretching. "Well I better get back to my room in the hotel, I'm sure my friends are getting tired of waiting."

"It was nice meeting you, Archie." Ash said as the guy stood up, giving a smile and waving after the young man. When Archie turned the corner, though, Ash turned back to Blue, frowning in confusion. "What's up with you, Blue? Archie was being nice- it wasn't like he had been calling me names or something…"

"... There was just… something strange about him." Blue said, frowning at the spot Archie was moments ago.

"Yeah, I felt it too. He had some weird electric pulse that isn't normal for any ordinary human." Storm spoke from Ash's side, looking down at the magnet in his paws.

Ash sighed, crossing his arms and looking away thoughtfully. "Well, yeah, he DOES seem weird… but we're not exactly normal Trainers either- I think we should at least give the guy the benefit of the doubt for now!" Although he DID seem to have a strange aura around him… I can't deny that.

"Your Meowth doesn't seem to think so- in fact, she seemed a bit tense." Blue pointed at the backpack, which was pretty quiet. Even if Mew was sleeping, she'd at least snore or move around a bit, she was completely quiet and still- but this wasn't like her.

"... Well… I guess maybe you're right about him not being an ordinary Trainer." Ash admitted. "But… well, if he doesn't do anything bad, then we'll just treat him normally, okay?"

Blue frowned, glancing back in the direction the Electric type Trainer had gone. "...Yeah… I suppose so…" He then looked back at Ash, seeming to have come to a decision. "Hey Ash, you'll be alright with doing this race without me joining too, right? I think I've got other things to do during that time…"

"But didn't you say you were going to watch?" Ash asked, frowning in confusion. Sheesh, what's his deal?

"Oh I'll be watching, just not in the crowd. I don't like crowds." Blue shrugged.

"Oh… well okay… but we should go find Laura, I still need to learn how to ride Ponyta. This year competition is going to be rough." Ash gave a sigh as Storm was still fiddling with the magnet in his paws before sparks came on his cheek sacs and he blinked before giving a small playful smile.

"Heh- this isn't so bad, actually!" The Pikachu grinned, beginning to fiddle with the magnet even more. "I have to admit, despite being odd, that Archie guy really knew what he was talking about- I already feel like my electrical control's getting better!"

"H-hey, be careful Storm, you're still on my shoulder you know!" Ash yelped, worried about getting shocked.

"Laura said she'll meet us back at her ranch- she's feeding Ponyta and get her ready for your riding lessons." Blue answered with a shrug. "So you go on ahead and meet her there. There's… something else I need to take care of first." He looked back in the direction Archie went, still frowning.

"...Uh… alright, if you're sure…" Ash looked back at Blue again before walking off towards the ranch, still trying to get Storm to not shock him and leaving the brown-haired boy alone for a few moments.

As soon as Ash was gone, Blue looked over at the building Archie walked in. He huffed, giving a small glare before walking towards it himself.

Meanwhile, Ash walked towards Laura's ranch as the sun had set already and it was now night. The starry sky was always nice to see. Nya finally poked her head out of the backpack, looking back at the large building of the hotel before sighing in relief. "That was close…"

"Memma… mind telling me what's going on? You seem to know that Archie guy." Ash asked the Mew-disguised-Meowth.

"I'm telling ya, that guy wasn't normal. He might be a Child of Legendary." The Pikachu said as he chewed on the magnet a little bit, nibbling one end.

"... Is he, Memma?" Ash asked Nya, frowning curiously.

"... Sometimes it's hard for me to tell if someone's a Child of Legendary Ashy… but Archie… he… he actually... fought with me once." Nya answered with a small grin.

"...W-wait, he FOUGHT you!?" Ash's eyes widened, and he stared at his Memma in shock. "But he… he seemed so nice- why would he fight you?"

Ash and Storm stared at the Mew-disguised-Meowth in shock after what she just said. "Wait… you… FOUGHT with Archie before?"

"Well… more like he fought with me- I only defended myself." Nya said, looking down at her paws. "It might've been a test, but I don't know."

"Whoa whoa whoa… What happened, Mew?" Storm frowned, both confused and a bit worried… It was possible that Archie had just wanted to capture the legendary Mew, but the way she was acting suggested that there was more to it than that.

Nya sighed before shaking her head, giving both of them a slightly strained smile. "Just forget it. I rather not talk about it right now. You need to focus on riding Ponyta and winning that nice girl Laura her ranch back!"

"... Okay Memma." Ash frowned, but he still wanted to know what happened between Mew and Archie, still he also knew not to pry until she's ready to tell him herself.

Storm frowned, but he seemed to pick up on Ash's thoughts on respecting Mew's privacy of her life and he sighed, muttering to himself, "This is going to be eating away at me now."

Ash finally arrived on Laura's ranch, where he saw her feeding some apples and mixed berries to the fire horse. He gave a smile at the two, waving to get their attention before he began to speak. "As soon as Ponyta's done, I'll be riding on her- I just hope I can learn fast enough for the Grand Prix."

Meanwhile… Archie was in his room around the fifth floor of the hotel. He put Pichu on the couch after it had fallen asleep in his arms, and he chuckled as he petted it before he saw a teal-ish blur pass the window, making him blink. "...Huh?" He raised an eyebrow, opening the window and looking around in confusion. "That's odd… What the heck would-"

He suddenly heard the door creak open and he spun around, seeing a familiar brown spiky-haired teen leaning against the wall. "... Tell me something… do you happen to own a powerful Dragon type?"

"...Huh?" Archie frowned in confusion, glancing between the door and Blue. "But… how did you get in here? My door was locked, and the window-"

"I may have had some help getting here." Blue said as he put his hands into his pockets before walking towards Archie. "Now then, answer the question."

"..." Archie frowned, clenching his fists as he slowly reached for one of his Poke Balls. "And if I do, what are you going to do about it?"

Blue stopped at the entrance of the door, raising an eyebrow. "I was just wondering. You seem a bit… too friendly. And… I can smell a powerful Dragon type a mile away. Now I only want to talk, I didn't come here to start any trouble."

"...Hmph." Archie scowled, but he reluctantly put his hands down and sat on the bed. "Fine then- what is it you wish to…" He suddenly trailed off before a glimmer of realization appeared in his eyes. "Ah… I see… so you're…"

"Blue Oak, the former Champion of Kanto." Blue said with a shrug. "But that hardly matters. We're here to talk about you and what you're really after here."

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Ash groaned, feeling his muscles already protesting all the work riding a Ponyta took. "Ugh… this is so painful!" He flopped onto the ground, rubbing his poor arms. "I really want to help, but do I really have to ride bareback!? The flames are still slightly hot, even if not enough to burn me!"

"Come on Ash, you can't put a saddle on Ponyta- it'll just weaken the flames and make her too tired to run! You'll have to try and deal with it!" Laura sighed, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Okay… how about you try being closer to Ponyta? Feel her as though you feel yourself."

Ash raised an eyebrow at that- he's not sure how that's going to fix his butt cramps, but he might as well try. Storm was sitting on a nearby tree stump, watching with amusement while still playing with the magnet, and some sparks of electricity came out of his cheek sacs again. Nya herself was watching, but her mind seemed elsewhere.

"Okay Ponyta, let's try this again." Ash said, taking the reigns.

"Your body is not used to this, but I do hope we'll be able to work together before the big race." Ponyta said as she began moving around the field.

"Okay… that's it… faster!" Ash smirked as he began feeling more confident. Ponyta began picking up speed, going faster each time Ash gave her a small kick to the side, letting her know to go even faster.

Ponyta was almost at a full gallop… when suddenly something red ran out in front of them! Both Ash and Ponyta yelped in surprise as Ash pulled the reins back to stop and Ponyta herself had her hooves dig up dirt as she tried to come to a complete stop before she accidentally stomped over on the small thing!

"Hey! Who let that Pokemon run in front of them?" Laura snapped, rushing over to the three creatures currently at the field.

"Ah, Minccino, there you are! You silly little Minccino!" a voice spoke up that sounded like a childish boy. As if on cue, a young boy who seemed to be slightly older than Ash was bouncing up to them. "Hi! I was just taking Minccino out for a walk when I thought it'd be more fun to run instead!"

"...Uh…" Ash blinked, sweatdropping. "H-hi there… You're not even worried that we nearly STOMPED on your Mincinno, a Pokemon from UNOVA?" What kind of Trainer doesn't care for his own Pokemon? At least Archie clearly cared for his Pokemon, even if he did seem odd!

"Hey, he's not JUST from Unova! Notice the amazing and blazing red manly color of my Minccino! It's a super, special shiny!" the boy praised, apparently ignoring that remark about 'you're not even worried we almost stomped on the Minccino!?'. "Minccinos are AWESOME! They are stronger than anyone! People just think they're weak because they're small and cute, but they're not!"

"I'm strong! Your stupid little fire horse couldn't have hurt me anyway!" the shiny Minccino said in a proud way- obviously, like Trainer like Pokemon…

Storm scoffed, rolling his eyes as he rolled over on the log. "Please- I don't care how strong you are, if you're hit by 66 pounds of pure horse while you're barely a foot tall you're going to take a lot of damage!"

"H-hey uh… you really should be more careful with your Minccino, okay? Shiny, strong or not, I don't want anyone to get hurt." Ash said with a frown.

"... So what are you doing anyway?" the boy asked curiously, looking at the Ponyta and, of course, ignoring Ash's concern for his Minccino.

Ash sighed, rolling his eyes in irritation as he snapped, "I'm training myself and Ponyta for the Grand Prix tomorrow, what does it look like?" He was starting to lose his patience with this guy.

"Well, you're doing it wrong." The boy said matter-of-factly, causing Ash, Ponyta, and even Laura to begin to twitch in irritation. "You're all being so boring! Boring boring boring- where's the fighting? The action? The actual progress? This is just standing around on a fire horse and, ahem, 'preparing' for a race- not very awe-inspiring if you ask me!"

"Uh, excuse me, but I'm not the grandmaster of all things in extreme sports, so forgive me if I NEED some practice before going out there!" Ash glared, wishing the boy would just leave already so he and Ponyta could continue training.

"Oh come ooooon! You don't need practice- you just need to be awesome, that's all!" The boy pouted, crossing his arms like a child.

"Look… who are you? I'm Ash." Ash said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm down.

The boy puffed his chest out proudly as the shiny Minccino ran up to his head, doing the same. "I'm Matt- the greatest Minccino Trainer in the world! I like training unevolved Pokemon because I know they have greater potential and learn faster while unevolved! Although SOME people like to give me a big fuss about it…"

"Uh… right…" Laura sweatdropped, staring at the boy, apparently named Matt, in disbelief. "Listen, kid, this is ranch property, and we're busy training for the race happening here, so either you get outta here, or-"

"Oh yeah, I heard about that!" Matt smiled brightly, flowers practically appearing in mid-air due to his 'sunniness'. "I'm actually going to enter that race too!"

"...Wait, WHAT!?" Ash and Laura yelled as Ponyta gave a frown.

"He's so gonna win! Because he's the best!" Minccino smirked proudly, still puffing out his little furry chest.

"And unlike you, I don't need all that long and boring practice because I already know how to ride on a Pokemon, unlike you, derpy boy!" Matt smiled childishly.

"...You said 'unlike you' twice…" Ash sweatdropped before quickly shaking his head, trying to keep calm after Matt called him 'derpy boy'. I am NOT derpy- THIS kid's the derpy one! "O-okay, I'm interested- what Pokemon are you going to use?"

"Oh yeah, but since all of my Pokemon are too cute and small to carry me, I had to… borrow a Pokemon from a friend of mine's. It's an awesome Arcanine! Too bad it's already evolved, but it'll get what I need done." Matt shrugged, before sticking his tongue out and pulling down his eyelid. "I'll see ya at the finish line tomorrow then, derpy boy!" And with that, the boy and his shiny Minccino ran off before Ash could protest.

"... That… guy…" Ash's right eye twitched in annoyance. "Seriously… what… was… THAT?!"

"I think you just got trolled by a little kid, Ash…" Storm couldn't help but chuckle, but he stared after Matt curiously. "Still… something doesn't seem right about him, either."

"That one… is an interesting one." Nya said, watching the boy run off. "He may be childish and strange, but he's probably a strong Pokemon Trainer."

"And how do you know that?" Storm frowned in confusion, still staring after Matt. "I mean, he uses UNEVOLVED Pokemon for crying out loud, and he thinks they're BETTER!"

"... Well, you're the unevolved Pokemon of Raichu, yet you beat him anyway, did you not? Besides, it's dangerous to underestimate him- under that childish demeanour, I sense a strong aura…" Nya said seriously.

"Is it just me or are these strong and mysterious Trainers popping up everywhere lately?" Ash grumbled before shaking his head. "But we'll have to worry about that later. Come on Ponyta, we've still got a lot of training to do."

Meanwhile, back at the hotel room… "You're part of the Elite Rockets? Don't you mean Team Rocket?" Blue frowned, his arms crossed.

Archie glared cooly at Blue, his demeanor from before having flipped on it's head as he leaned back, shaking his head. "Don't go associating us with those grunts at the bottom of the chain… We're proficient enough to beat Red, the guy who beat you, to a pulp if we wanted- luckily for him, though, we're only after one Pokemon in particular."

"...And that Pokemon is?" Blue prompted, raising an eyebrow, curious as to why Archie was telling him this.

The Electric type Trainer scoffed, giving a small smirk to the former Champion. "Pah… You think we're just going to give that information away to anybody who asks? Nah… In order to know our target, there's only one way you'll ever learn."

Blue put his hands on his hips and sighed, nodding to himself. "I knew there was a catch… You want something in return from me, is that it? Sorry, but all I have is an Eevee, a Growlithe and a Spearow."

"Heh… That's utter Tauros, and we both know it." Seeing Blue pause at those words, Archie continued, seeming to be as cool as a cucumber now. "You have one last thing you forgot to mention… yourself. You see, because we're Elites, we don't have many members- in fact, we've dwindled down to just 5 because most of the other previous Elites turned out to be too weak to remain in their positions, but we're always recruiting and growing."

"...And you want me to help fill in the role because a former Champion would be the best thing to use in your little organization of thievery?" Blue said with a roll of his eyes. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in stealing from Trainers and making possible Shadow Pokemon."

"Oh?" Archie's smirk grew larger and larger as he leaned forward as if about to tell a big secret. "Well then, I suppose you didn't know that despite all the horrible deeds we've been forced to perform… we're not nearly as bad as you think- that this is all for a noble cause in the end."

"Right, because stealing Pokemon from their beloved Trainers and turning them into Shadow Pokemon fighting machines are all okay as long as it's for a good cause." Blue said sarcastically. "You shouldn't be trying to fight fire with fire, all you'll do is get a bigger inferno in the end."

"Ah, but that's just the thing…" Archie chuckled to himself, as if knowing a joke Blue was unaware of. "We're not trying to fight a fire… rather, we're collecting firemen because of the rarest and least seen Pokemon in the world. You know who that is, of course… After all, your pal Red has been searching for it ever since he became the Champion."

"... Mew…" Blue whispered to himself before looking back up at Archie. "But- but that's impossible! There's been no record of anyone seeing Mew for more than three seconds for centuries, and that's only if it wasn't a mirage!"

"And now you see, don't you?" Archie shrugged, crossing his arms confidently. "We're chasing a phantom… And in order to catch a phantom, you need the right equipment. Well… Trust me, we're getting the right equipment, alright- and if you joined us… perhaps you could save the world, and finally get a step up on your rival, one that he could never beat."

Blue frowned a bit as he turned around, back to the door. "... I don't know if you're just a bunch of crazy goons, or if you speak the truth and Mew really is out there. But…"

"I get it… it's not an easy decision to make after all. I'll give you some time to think about it, but I expect your answer soon- understand?" Archie said firmly as he stood up, looking at the boy in front of him.

"... Yeah, I get it." Blue said quietly as he walked out of the door and silently closed it. Blue soon passed by another familiar face, but he didn't seem to notice as he was too deep in thought.

"Hmm?" The guy opened Archie's door, frowning curiously. "Was… that Blue, Archie?"

"Yeah, it was." Archie said with a smile, looking up at the one in front of him. "Well, look who finally decided to return- and you complained about me being late."

The person rolled his eyes, scoffing. "Please- I'm better than Jayden can be, and we both know it." He then sat down in front of Archie, his features quickly growing serious. "...You told him about some of our plans, didn't you? Why? He's just a former Champion, a Swanna chase that doesn't need chasing like that so-called 'Child of Mew'. ...Which means you know something more than that, don't you?"

Archie just kept smiling as he gently rubbed the sleeping Pichu's head. "Let's just say I think there's more to the former Champion of Kanto then we initially thought, Dustin. The same could be said for the Child of Mew himself too."

The mentioned Elite Rocket frowned, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Not a chance, Archie. I know you still think the kid's hiding something… but he isn't. He doesn't remember me, he isn't a hybrid like us, and he isn't even that good a fighter compared to us."

"Oh? And yet who was it that said he was taken by complete surprise when a boy and his Pikachu actually defeated you and Dewott? Hmm? True, he may not have full trained, super strong Pokemon like we do right now, but I can tell he's getting there. You can't just call him off because he barely took out your Dewott- it's like calling a little Shinx that's new to hunting weak just because he had to pounce ten times to get his prey." Archie said with a shrug before holding up a strange stone that was pulsing with some kind of aura energy. "Besides… we can't use this quite yet ourselves."

Dustin's eyes widened in understanding, and he looked at Archie sharply. "...What… you think that he can use those stones? But even the brat couldn't access their power, and he's the closest to his Pokemon!"

"Oh, you mean Matt?" Archie gave an amused smile at Dustin's cringe of the name.

"Don't say that name! He might hear you and pop up here!" Dustin hissed at him, glancing around nervously.

"Well I know he's here somewhere, but he doesn't like being in 'stuffy hotels', so you don't have to worry about him for a while. But perhaps the secret of this stone lies deeper than just our strength and hearts- perhaps there's more we need to do with this and our Pokemon." Archie said, pocketing the stone once more. "But until then, it's best to keep an eye on the Child of Mew to find out more of what makes him different and why Mew chose him of all people."

Dustin sighed, putting his head in his hands. "...Fine- you can watch him since you're so sure about that sham of a Child. But I'm washing my hands of that boy- the less he knows about us, the better. Like you said, he could become a Luxray given time- but he won't need to go after us if we aren't a threat to him."

"Mmm… Perhaps." Then Archie frowned a bit as he said, "You seem a bit moody tonight… Is our Leader doing okay?"

The Elite Rocket sighed, shaking his head sadly. "No… she's the same as before- she claims to be okay, but it's clear something's causing pain to her… something more than her narcolepsy. I wish I knew how to help her… but she won't let me- so I'm stuck with being in charge of the Elite Rockets for now."

"I see… Don't worry Dustin, we'll find a way to help our Leader get well again soon. Just keep bringing her some Oran and Sitrus Berries for now." Archie looked down before he nodded to him. "We better get some sleep ourselves. I have a race to run tomorrow, you go make sure the Leader's okay and Jayden gets back safely soon after her mission on Cinnabar Island is over."

Dustin sighed again, slowly standing up and resisting the sudden wave of exhaustion overcoming him. "R-right… I suppose so…" He yawned, walking out the door and towards his bedroom… and yet something felt off to him.

"I'll see you in the morning then." Archie said, calling after his temporary leader. "Have a good night."

"Yeah… you too." Dustin said as he stretched out a bit. Everything should be going according to plan… so why do I feel like we've missed something vital to this entire operation?

Wow, so there are five of these Elite Rocket guys, and they're still growing from the sound of it- how is Ash ever going to get out of this one? And who is their leader they keep talking about? Keep reading more if you want to find out!

DarkFoxKit: Hey, looks like there's two more of these Elite Rocket guys- if you hadn't noticed, they are all very powerful Trainers. And what was that weird stone that Archie was holding?

Key2DestNE: Well, that's for us to know and for you to find out! *smirks* Anyways… SkywardKkalox, it's possible that Ponyta smelled Blue's Arcanine or Rapidash on him, but we won't give anything away juuust yet! Spacemarine64… Well, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter, but I don't think we can accept any OCs- especially super ninjas for the moment…

DarkFoxKit: Thor94, well I'm not going to give anything about Blue away yet, but there will be no Child of Arceus in the story- I hope that will at least ease your mind. And you're one of the many reviewers we have that wants Ash to be more special, and yes, I get that, but you people must wait- good thing comes to those who wait, and Ash, as you can see in the last chapter, has to EARN it, or he'd turn out spoiled like Storm said before. And I like what you said about Ash being like Naruto- he's stronger than an average Trainer, but he's still pretty weak to the more extraordinary ones.

Key2DestNE: AWESOME- yes, that is indeed his name, other reviewers- 'Gary' may find out about Nya being Mew next chapter, he may never find out. That's for us to know and for you to find out in time~ *winks* And as for you, Zenog… it isn't too bad, really- she's just very persistent in regards to ships. :P

DarkFoxKit: Wait, GARY? You guys do know he's a completely separate character from Blue, right? If not, please go back and re-read "Diggin' the Brotherly Brawl' chapter. Anyways, Zenog, I hope you're reading the story too and not just the AN- the main reason we stopped doing crazy mini-stories in the AN is BECAUSE people cared more about the AN then the story itself. And Briarfrost, yay, you got an account! Well I don't really think about shipping in my stories too often so I can't answer that right now. And yes, there will be another girl traveling with them, just not right now. And Tyra WILL call him back for that, don't worry about it, and thank you!

Key2DestNE: Let's see… the next one is… ChaosGoldie with two OCs. Erm… no offense, buddy, but we're not looking for OCs- we already have our list. Besides, they seem… a little overpowered- at least in how smart THEY are. An overpowered team doesn't help how powerful a Trainer is, but to me, the biggest part to their strength is how smart the Trainer is- and Alex Kovac is almost a literal walking database. Besides, a Charmander AND a Riolu on his team? We've said a lot throughout this story that Ash having so many rare Pokemon is an oddity, and you don't see other species of Pokemon in other regions apart from specific locations.

DarkFoxKit: BlackHeart, well now that sure sounds like an interesting dream you had, though I'm not familiar with Alduin. I don't think it's bad, it probably just means you have a lot of Pokemon on the brain! TimmyC, well as for why many know about Mew having a child was mostly because of Ash stopping a giant rampaging Tentacruel AS a baby Mew- that's bound to spread a lot of rumors, don't you think?

Key2DestNE: Precisely! So it's more like being seen on TV with a mask on rather than through rumors… Mark the haxorus, we didn't say that Rayquaza itself was necessarily a girl- just that Tyra, the Child of Rayquaza, is. That's up for you to decide! Llew444, Mew's sort of… vanished. *whistles innocently* But no, we aren't taking OCs- ESPECIALLY not Children of Arceus, since he's Mew's equal in power. I appreciate the thought, though- we may, note: MAY use him as another Child at some point, but it's unsure.

DarkFoxKit: *sighs in relief* That wasn't ALL the reviews, but that's all that we really needed to answer. I'm glad you are still enjoying the story and hope you look forward to more soon! Anything else to add before we sign off Key?

Key2DestNE: ...Well, not really- just that so long as you guys keep reviewing, we'll keep uploading chapters and sacrificing you all to Mew for her Ga- er, nothing.

DarkFoxKit: …. Ignore him. Erm… anyways, I am DarkFoxKit, this is Key2DestNE and we look forward to hearing from you!