*A tired looking DarkFoxKit comes on screen*

DarkFoxKit: Hey readers. I'm glad that you all stuck around for so long despite the major flaws in this story. Um... I feel I should explain... My original Child of Mew didn't have its own plot, when I wrote it, I was just messing around with each episode with Mew. So its why I focused more on Ash and his Pokemon than I did with the story itself. But since the sequel started, the story developed its own plot, and the more Pokemon Ash captured, the more tedious it became to focus on them. And it wasn't favorable to squeeze in Mew Games as much anymore either. So yeah, for those of you wondering why this story didn't have as much character interaction as the first one did, there you go. Anyways, on with the story. I'll answer the reviews at the bottom.

Chapter 44: Melody of Home

Pallet Town. It's a very small yet peaceful town, filled with the cleanest air in all of Kanto. People lived with Pokemon in peace.

Ash walked out of Route 1 and stepped foot into the town, with a Pikachu by his side.

"Well buddy, we finally made it back home," Ash said, taking a deep breath of the air.

"Yeah, hard to believe how long it's been," Storm said. "I wonder how everyone's been doing? And… I'm curious if Professor Oak's gotten any new starter Pokemon."

Ash raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Oh, no reason! Just… curious is all. I mean where do professors of each region get those Fire, Water and Grass type Pokemon anyways?" Storm asked.

"... You did get that speech about the Pidgey and the Beedrill, right?" Ash asked his Pikachu.

"Don't be silly Ash, what do Pidgey and Beedrill have to do with starter Pokemon?" Storm asked.

"Uh… maybe you should ask your Memma about that when we visit Professor Oak," Ash answered sheepishly.

Storm gave Ash a funny look, before he said, "I could ask her right now. Professor Oak's lab is just over there."

"Yeah, I wanted to ask Prof. Oak about upgrading my Pokedex. Since Dexter left the system, I can't exactly scan new Pokemon without him there. Thankfully I could still use it to transfer my Pokemon," Ash said, looking down at the red Pokemon encyclopedia. "And I wanted to tell him in person that I won all eight badges."

With that said, Ash and Storm walked up to the house, ringing the doorbell. "... I sure hope he's home."

The door opened quite suddenly, and the Professor looked at Ash, surprised at first, but then seemed to brush it aside. "Listen, Ash, this is important. Did you see a large white Pokemon fly overhead just now?"

Ash blinked and said, "Huh?" he was taken by surprise by that sudden question.

"A white, winged Pokemon with reddish scales. Did you see it or not?"

"O-oh!" Ash smiled sheepishly as he remembered Andreas flew over Pallet Town. "Uh… no?"

"Seriously?" Storm gave Ash a deadpanned look.

Oak frowned. "I can't have just been seeing things," he muttered to himself. He walked back into the house, seeming to completely forget that Ash was there.

Ash ran into the house after the confused professor. "Um… Professor Oak, what do you think that flying thing was?"

Oak looked back, seeming surprised again. "Ash? When did you get back to Pallet Town?"

Ash and Storm both did an anime fall.

"I just got back, Professor Oak…" Ash grumbled as he stood back up. "And I wanted to tell you in person that I finally won all eight gym badges!" he unfolded his jacket to show the eight gym badges he won. "See?"

Oak smiled at this. "Fantastic, my boy. And you chose to conquer the Elite Run, no less. Only two other trainers from Pallet did that."

Ash sheepishly chuckled, "I actually didn't know about the Elite Run until I got my sixth gym badge… but who were the other two trainers?"

Memma… I'm starting to think she lead me to those gyms on purpose. Ash thought to himself, remembering they mostly took the routes she pointed at.

"Red and Blue. True prodigies, both of them." He let out a wistful sigh. "But it's been ages since I've seen either of them."

Ash blinked when he heard Blue's name. It shouldn't be much to his surprise since Blue did say he knew those gym leaders, but it was still surprising nonetheless. And then there was Red, the current Kanto Champion.

"Those two must've been really great Pokemon Trainers," Ash said. "But I've heard Gary got ten badges already. What about the others?"

"The others haven't returned yet, but they should be finished soon enough."

"How were the Pokemon I caught doing, Professor Oak?" Ash asked as they sat down.

The Professor smiled at him again. "They're faring very well. They are getting along quite well with the rest of the Pokemon on the ranch. Although, I'm a bit surprised that you would capture a Raichu and another Pikachu."

"Ah well… they were Storm's family, so I decided to capture them for him," Ash said sheepishly. "So is Gary here too?"

Oak nodded. "He got here just before you did, actually. Although he looked rather disappointed in something."

"Huh?" Ash frowned. "What's he disappointed about?"

"I don't know. He went straight to his room without saying a word. It was very unlike him."

Oh… it must've been when he lost to the Viridian Gym leader. Ash thought to himself.

"I guess he's disappointed that he lost a battle for a change," Ash said. "Ever since we left on our journey all I've ever heard from him was how good he was with his Pokemon."

Oak sighed. "I suppose some humility will do him good then. He's always overestimated himself, especially after Blue left."

Ash thought about Blue. Blue had told him it was okay for him to tell Professor Oak that he met up with him before he left to scour through Kanto.

"Hey Storm, why don't you go to the back of the lab? I'm sure you'll find your old friends and family there," Ash said to the Pikachu on his shoulder.

Storm looked at him, "Are you sure I should go now?"

"Yeah, go ahead buddy. It's been a long time since you've interacted with them. I'm sure they missed you," Ash said.

Storm nodded and said, "Alright, but be sure not to forget me when you're ready to leave!"

"I won't, I promise," Ash said quickly.

The Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran off to the back of the lab, where Professor Oak kept all the Trainers of Pallet Town's Pokemon.

Ash turned back to the Pokemon professor and said, "So about Blue… you said that he's Gary's older brother? How come you never mentioned him before?"

Oak sighed. "He left a while ago on his own journey. It's been quite a while since I've even heard from him."

"You hadn't heard from him, at all? It's like he disappeared from the face of the planet?" Ash asked.

Oak shook his head. "Oh no, nothing like that. I think he just didn't want to be bothered. Although there was a period of time where his Pokedex stopped sending me updates."

Ash gave a small chuckle as he remembered his first meeting with Blue. "What if I said that I actually ran into him during my journey?"

Oak blinked. "Did you really? I'd have thought he'd left the region for another one by now."

"Well if he did, he came back," Ash said. "We traveled a bit together, but he wouldn't talk about his past much."

Oak nodded. "That makes sense, I suppose. He's never been one to dwell on what can't be changed." His eyes lit up for a second. "I don't suppose he's with you now, is he?"

Ash shook his head, giving an apologetic look, "Sorry, but we parted ways before I came back home. I guess he's not ready to come back yet."

Oak sighed. "Oh well. Wishful thinking I suppose." He smiled. "Say, why don't you come over for dinner tonight? You can tell me and my assistant all about your journey, and compare your stories with Gary."

"Yeah, that sounds like a nice idea. Actually, Professor Oak, I was hoping to stick around and see all the Pokemon I've captured on my journey too if you don't mind," Ash said.

Oak smiled. "Not at all! That's what the ranch is here for, after all."

Professor Oak lead Ash through the back, passing by endless shelves of different types of Pokeballs, but most of them were the standard red and white Pokeballs. Ash figured this is where Professor Oak keeps everyone's Pokeballs while he allows the Pokemon to roam free in the ranch.

"Don't you have an assistant or someone helping you maintain the lab and all the Pokemon?" Ash asked curiously.

Oak nodded. "I do. She's out on the ranch settling a small dispute between a few Pokemon. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she stopped to draw a few pictures. She's an artist as well as my assistant, you know. In fact, her sketches have actually helped my research quite a bit."

"Sketches?" Ash asked. "You mean she draws everything he sees or just certain things? Like the landscape or Pokemon?"

"Mostly Pokemon, although she will occasionally include the environment in his drawings."

"Ah, so what's her name?" Ash asked as they were opening the door to the ranch.

"Alicia. She came here about to months ago looking for an internship. But after a few weeks, she'd done so well that I simply decided to hire her as a full time assistant in the lab. She may even take my place as Professor one day."

"She's that good, huh? I'd like to meet her," Ash said before he looked around the large, open ranch.

The place was beautiful and it was like a Pokemon paradise. Each place had different environment to suite different species of Pokemon. A single Krabby walked over to them.

"Hi Ash, long time no see!" The Krabby waved.

"Huh? Oh hi! Uh... Krabby?" Ash waved, though he didn't remember spending any time with a Krabby.

"Confused? Perhaps you'll recognize me better if I took off this illusion!" The Krabby gave a mischievous smile before its image blurred and reformed into a Zorua.

"Trixie!" Ash smiled as she jumped on him. "You really had me fooled!"

"It's what I do~" Trixie chuckled. "You should've seen the old professor's face when he saw me. I used my illusion to look like Mew, and his reaction was so hilarious that I wished I could've recorded it!"

Oak sighed. "That one has been causing me headaches from the moment she arrived. She certainly seems to enjoy causing trouble. I wouldn't be surprised if the mess that Alicia is cleaning up was her doing."

"Heh… well, she is a Zorua… they're known to be very mischievous," Ash chuckled sheepishly. "Although I don't know what one was doing here in Kanto."

"Ah, that's not important Ash. Come on! Everyone's waiting to see you again!" Trixie said as she was pulling Ash's sleeve with her mouth.

Oak chuckled. "Well, she certainly seems eager about something."

"Yeah, she wants me to see the old gang again," Ash chuckled. "I'll talk to you later Professor Oak!"

Ash went with Trixie to find the Pokemon he had trained with up until he decided to just train a team of six. He waved to Flutter the Butterfree and Gale the Pidgeotto. The two were flying around.

"Hey guys! Long time no see!" Ash called.

"Ash!"

The two half Flying types dove at Ash, happy to see him again.

Ash smiled as he had missed these two, and they still have a lot of potential to help him with a lot of battles. Perhaps these two months of training will pay off if he trained more than just the six he's been on a journey with.

"Ash is here?" Remi the Rattata slowly came out of the bushes and smiled. "Yes he is!"

"Luna wants to see Ash too!" Luna the Clefairy ran after the Rattata.

"Ah finally, I was wondering when we'd see him again!" A Vulpix named Foxfire came running in as well.

A blue Nidorino came out as well, yawning a bit. "Hey Ash, it's been a while."

"Hey everyone, it's been a long time hasn't it?" Ash smiled as he greeted all the Pokemon he had worked with in the past.

"Why did you stop training us?" Remi asked.

"Ah, sorry about that you guys, but after catching so many Pokemon I had to set a limit to just six at a time while on my journey. I was spreading myself too thin," Ash explained. "But now that I have all eight required badges, I can spend this time training all of you again. I want us to be in tip top shape for the Pokemon League coming up."

"Good, because I want to become stronger and maybe even evolve!" Gale said excitedly.

"Yeah, we'll be sure to all work extra hard to make up for lost time," Ash said with a smile. "Maybe I could train the other Pokemon I've captured too. This Pokemon League isn't going to be easy."

"Where's Storm? Isn't he usually by your side?" Flutter asked.

"He's probably enjoying himself with his family right now, it's only fair I give them some time alone," Ash said.

"You don't mean you released him, did you?" Foxfire said in shock.

"No, no, nothing like that. I just caught his Memma before coming here, and just let him go to her for a while," Ash explained.

"So if we are going to train again, are we going to have to go through Mew Games to train?" Nidosaur asked nervously.

"Yeah, it's probably the most effective way to train," Ash said sheepishly.

From the forest nearby, a soothing music flowed, one that called to all of the Pokemon that heard it, prompting peace and relaxation.

Ash listened to the music and felt a lot more relaxed. "Hey, who's playing that music?"

Nidosaur's ears perked up as he said, "There's a human woman that came here a few months ago. She always likes playing soothing music."

Luna smiled, "Luna thinks the music is very nice. Luna wants to learn how to sing like that."

"It's beautiful," Ash said. "Hey guys, if you don't mind, I'd like to see who's playing this music."

"We don't mind. Why don't you follow me? I'll take you to her. I know her favorite spot when she takes her lunch break," Gale suggested as he flew around Ash.

"Alright, I'll follow you there!" Ash said.

Flutter flew up after Gale, and the two Flying types flew ahead. Ash stood up with Remi on his shoulder and followed the two into the forest.

Sitting on a stone in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by various Pokemon, was a young woman with soft tan skin and flowing black hair. She had an ocarina in her mouth and was playing it expertly. Every Pokemon in the clearing had it's eyes closed, listening intently to the soothing notes.

Gale and Flutter landed next to each other as they too began enjoying the song. Remi closed her eyes and twitched her ears as she clutched on Ash's shoulder.

Ash slowly walked towards the young woman playing the ocarina. She had a picnic basket next to her, showing she was indeed on her lunch break. She stopped playing when she noticed someone was approaching.

"A-ah, sorry for interrupting you," Ash apologized. "I was just wondering what music you were playing."

The young woman smiled. "It was a song that was taught to me by a woman in Sinnoh when I was studying abroad. According to her, it reaches out and resonates with the hearts and souls of Pokemon, calming even the most hateful and unruly of them. It's called Oracian."

"Huh… I feel like I've heard that legend before," Ash said. "Oh, hi, I'm Ash Ketchum. I'm a Trainer from Pa- well from here actually."

The woman chuckled. "So used to traveling that you don't realize when you're home? I know the feeling." She extended her hand. "I'm Alicia."

"It's nice to meet you, Alicia," Ash said as he shook her hand.

Remi smiled before she said, "Out on another lunch break?"

Alicia looked over and smiled. "I am, although I also came out to settle a small dispute. So I take it this is your trainer? The one I've heard so much about?"

Ash blinked, looking at her and Remi, "Did… did you just answered my Rattata?"

Alicia smiled at Ash. "I did," she said simply.

Ash tensed a bit. Usually when a human is able to talk to Pokemon it could mean they were raised by Pokemon, learned their language or they're a Child of Legendary.

"Oh… uh… how did you understand her?" Ash cautiously asked.

"The same way you can. I'm a Child. The Child of Meloetta."

"You're a Child of Legendary?" Ash frowned. "Why tell me this?"

"Part of the reason I'm here is to search for you. I have a test for you, you see." She reached into the satchel on her hip and pulled out an egg dotted with red and blue triangles. "My close friend mated and had this egg, but she isn't confident in her ability to raise a child. I want you to prove to me your kindness by raising the child yourself."

"Huh?" Ash blinked as he looked at the precious egg. "But I've never raised a Pokemon from an egg before. I'm not sure how to do that…"

"If you were raised well, your heart will guide you."

"As cheesy as that is, I still need some kind of guide on how to take care of a baby Pokemon," Ash said somewhat sarcastically. "Sorry, Memma's kinda sassy too sometimes… and so is my Pikachu. No, especially my Pikachu."

Alicia chuckled. "Ask the Professor. I'm sure he'll have a few tips for you. And your Memma might have some insight into this as well."

Ash nodded before looking at the egg, "Are you sure this is okay to just give me an egg? I mean I promise to do my best to look after it, but wouldn't it upset the mother who uh… laid it?"

Alicia shook her head. "It was her that came up with this idea. I'm just following through with it."

"Well… if you think I can do it, then I'll try my best to raise this young one," Ash said as he gently took the precious egg.

Alicia nodded. "We'll see how well you do once it's hatched and grown."

"Oooh, lucky Ash! I can't wait to see how you'll fare as a Memma!" Remi chuckled.

"Shut up, Remi," Ash grumbled.

Then Ash looked at the big notebook the young woman had beside her, "Professor Oak told me you liked drawing Pokemon too. Are you a Pokemon Watcher?"

Alicia smiled. "Indeed I am. Another was supposed to join me here, but he got stuck on assignment in the Orange Islands."

Ash sat down next to her, still carefully holding the egg. "What kind of Pokemon do you have? I'd imagine you mostly use them to help you find certain Pokemon to draw."

Alicia smiled. "I do. She's a Togekiss, and her name is Aoela."

"A Togekiss?" Ash's eyes widen. "Whoa, I heard those are really rare in any region! They also say they bring happiness to pure hearted people."

Alicia nodded and smiled. "It's true. And she's been a very close friend for a long time. She grew up with me under my Memma's care."

"Heh, sounds like you're really close," Ash smiled. "Storm and I didn't start out very well. In fact Storm pretty much hated me when we first met. I just hope this little one that hatches wouldn't be as difficult. Speaking of which, when do we expect the egg to hatch?"

"I've been incubating the egg for a good long while now. The little one should hatch within a week or so."

"Alright, I'll be sure to take extra good care of it," Ash said. "But for now I should get to training my team. I'll talk to my Memma about how to take care of a child."

Later that day, Ash headed back home while carrying the the new egg. Storm was walking beside him, looking much more alive after visiting his Memma and former Leader.

"I still can't believe you were intrusted with a Pokemon Egg. Considering how much of a trouble magnet you are, I'm not all that confident you could keep it safe," The Pikachu said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that I wouldn't be the best Memma around, but this is a good chance to get another recruit on our side, Storm. And besides, I have always wanted to know what it's like to raise a baby Pokemon," Ash said, still carefully holding the egg.

"And you're going to ask Mew's advice? Dude, she got you eaten and trampled in your childhood." Storm cringed.

"And I lived," Ash grumbled.

"That's not the point! Why not ask Andreas? He raised Amara on his own, didn't he?" Storm suggested.

"Sure, let me call and ask Andreas to drop everything and help me take care of a baby that I should be taking care of myself," Ash said sarcastically.

"You could just ask him for his advice, you don't have to ask him to come and play Dada," Storm said, intentionally using the human baby term for Dad.

"Fine, fine, I'll call him up and ask him about it, happy?" Ash grumbled as he took out his Pokegear and put in Andreas' number. "Although if he's still flying in his Lugia form, I have no idea how he's going to answer since his clothes and by extension everything else on him disappears when he transforms."

The gear rang for quite a while before Andy picked up. "Seriously? It hasn't even been half a day, and you're already in trouble?"

Ash noticed that Andreas was talking in English, so he's human again. "Well… you've raised that Espeon of yours from an egg, right? See I met someone today and she gave me a Pokemon egg to raise, and I'm not sure how to raise one, so I was hoping for some advice."

Andy nodded. "Really? Who was it that just decided to give someone like you an egg? You don't exactly exude an aura of responsibility."

"H-hey! I can be responsible!" Ash grumbled while Storm was silently chuckling beside him. "A-and anyway, the person who gave me the egg's name is Alicia, she's a Pokemon Watcher… and uh… she's also the Child of Meloetta."

"Meloetta has a child? She never told me that. But still, why give you an egg?"

"She wanted to test me, I guess. She said if I could raise this Pokemon, then she'll join Mew's side for this war," Ash answered.

Andy nodded. "Makes sense, I guess. You can tell a lot about a person by the way they raise a child. So let me guess. You're calling because you're hopelessly lost as to what to do with a baby mon?"

"Y-yeah… well I was going to ask my own Memma when I got home, but Storm suggested it's probably better I asked someone who isn't… overly playful," Ash chuckled sheepishly.

Andy chuckled. "The first thing you'll need to do is have food ready when it hatches. It'll be hungry after expending so much energy breaking the egg. And you'll also…"

For another half hour or so, Andy dispensed several bits of advice on raising a newly hatched Pokemon.

"For anything more, you'll have to ask a Pokemon professor. The kind of care you need to give to a hatchling usually depends on its type. I've just given you general advice. I've had to use some specific tools techniques since I'm raising a Psychic type, although she started as a Normal type, which was significantly easier to deal with." He sighed into the gear. "I love Amara to death, but she can really be a handful."

"Well… she said her partner is a Togekiss, so I'm guessing this will be a Togepi, which will make it a Nor- I mean a Fairy type," Ash said, remembering that since Mew went back in time and made the Fairy types, Togepi were no longer Normal types.

Andy took a sharp breath. "Dang, you really pulled a short straw there. Fairy types are tricky to raise. Oak might not really know much there, but he can probably give you Professor Sycamore's number. He's the foremost expert in the Fairy type."

Ash sighed and said, "I'll figure something out, thanks." He hung up the Pokegear.

"Well?" Storm asked.

"Well apparently a Fairy type is going to be tricky to raise," Ash said.

"Heh, looks like you got your work cut out for you," Storm chuckled.

"Oh hush. I almost wished that Amara evolved into a Sylveon so Andreas would have a better idea on how to raise a Fairy type," Ash grumbled.

They finally reached his house, to which Ash opened the door to a big, castle wonderland. Storm was taken back by how big it was on the inside while it just looked like a normal house on the outside.

"Well Storm, welcome to my home," Ash said, chuckling at the Pikachu's shocked look.

"Are you serious? You live in a freaking MANSION!" Storm practically shouted.

"Actually, it's a castle. But what'd you expect? I'm pretty much living with the creator of Pokemon itself," Ash laughed.

"Ashy! Glad to have you home, dinner is almost- … Is that… a Pokemon Egg you have there?" Mew stopped short when she saw her child was holding the egg.

"Yeah… it's uh…"

Mew shushed him and began scanning his mind for the full story. After about a minute, she nodded. "Wow Ashy, can't believe I'm already going to be a grandmon!"

Ash gave a sweatdrop, "Heh… well… I'm just not sure how to raise a young mon. And I also have to focus on training."

"My, my, my, what a predicament. You can still focus on training, but now you have to make sure the egg is taken care of, and once it hatches, that's when the real work begins," Mew said.

Ash gave a sigh, "Maybe you could put it in something to keep it nice and warm while I'm training?"

"I could do that, but then what will you do once it hatches? You only have about a week, if not shorter, before it hatches," Mew giggled. "It feels like a feisty one."

"Well… take care of it, what else can I do?" Ash said sheepishly.

"Maybe it'll be a nice break from training," Storm chuckled.

Mew flew beside Ash and said, "And don't worry; we'll help you raise this little cutie~."

For the next few days, Ash had been working hard to train his Pokemon, even the ones in Professor Oak's lab. The boy wanted to be ready for anything; the Indigo Plateau and possibly the war. Mew used her reality bending powers to help train Ash's Pokemon in different environment.

Remi, Flutter, Gale, Nidosaur, Luna and Foxfire were team 2. Trixie was back up, and Spooks was in his own dimension, so it was best to leave him be. They were who Ash trained more on since they were lagging behind from the team he was using before. They've gained a lot of experience and learned new and better moves. Before Ash knew it, almost a week had passed.

DarkFoxKit: There's a chance I may have forgotten someone from Ash's team, and if so I apologize. So now Ash is training his Pokemon for the upcoming tournament. Anyways, on with the reviews.

KaliAnn: Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it and awaiting for things to come.

otah to order: Vulpix? For what?

pikachucat: Thanks.

penguinfan28: Ah, yeah, I guess they are books in a way.

JadeKnight: Nah, it's fine. I hope the third arc is better, this one hadn't been my greatest, mostly due to the constant change in co-writers, it really messed me up.

ultima-owner: Thanks... I guess...?

ST4RSK1MM3R: Yeah, hopefully the war isn't as disappointing as this arc had been. And sorry about the long wait with Ash turning into a Mew, it had always been my intention to wait until the movie to transform Ash. And yes, don't worry, Brock and Misty will return in the next arc. And I didn't really want to show the Elite Rockets much, especially with the complaints about the hybrids. Mew's backstory will probably not be mentioned again until the true sequel, or at least that's the current plan, because it takes place in the Orre Region.

PsychicEevee0103: Yes, don't worry, they won't be gone for long.

Zenog: Ash will be using Aura, just not as he is now. Actually, at the end of Child of Mew, he was going to learn how to use Aura in this arc, but after a certain someone had left, the idea was scrapped. And yeah, it's impossible to please everyone, so there will always be someone who has something to complain about.

11JJ11: It's more than a small reference. Though you can thank Aegis Dragon for that, I wasn't going to have the Mr. Mime appear at all.

xAmethystFox: I'm not ending it yet, but I will soon. There's just a few things I need to tie up first.

Night Koopa: You mean Dexter? Maybe, I do like Porygon myself.

TobyFreshCut: Oh hey, if you see Mew anywhere, be sure to let me know, alright?

The shadows only want to play: Yeah, probably.

thor94: Well I've read in the manga you don't necessarily have to win the Gym Battle to get the badge. It's up to the Gym Leader if you're worthy for a badge or not. And yes, everyone went their separate ways and Ash is back home, training his team. I know you want Ash to turn before the war, but I have my reasons for this. And if he's just cannon fodder, I guess he has no business being in the war. And yes, it would be bad for the main character to be a helpless bait while others fight for them.

Pamela Mae670: Yes, yes it is.

Arathix2002: A competition? I've never held one before. And what kind of competition?

Pokemon Guest: Orre, definitely.

SonicLozDPLove: Yes, thank you. Ash shouldn't be a Mew during the war, besides he wouldn't know how to use his powers before then and he'd still be a sitting duck. And Ash being a 'defenseless' human during the war will definitely up the suspense, especially since he could easily be used against Mew. And I am aware that Ash can use Aura in the canon universe, but they kinda forgot about that after the Sinnoh League. We never really see it develop, it's like it just stopped existing. But I do plan on Ash learning Aura, just not in this series. Yeah, Mew has been leaving Ash to defend himself more often now, and it shows he's growing and still learning. Although some people rather have Mew there.

WhiteMantle: I've had it where Ash just use a team of six of the same Pokemon. After all, it's easier to train a team of six rather than having to keep switching back and forth. And as I said in my AN above, it's gotten a lot more tedious to have to do so different Pokemon. I'm sure you'll have your answers by the time the third arc comes around with Mewtwo. And thank you for enjoying this story so far, I hope I don't disappoint.

Foreman88: ... Sorry, I will try to have more interaction with the Pokemon, but this arc had mostly been about Ash's interaction with other characters. It was hard to keep going with the plot without more interactions feeling like filler space that wasn't needed. And Ash IS getting better, I thought his battle with Team Rocket and Giovanni proved that, but I guess not. Heck, Ash's Pokemon can even react without needing a command input from him like how Blue's and Dustin's Pokemon did in past chapters. And the OP characters are supposed to be obstacles Ash has to overcome eventually, but I'm sorry if it made him seem no better than his canon counterpart. I guess I'm not as good with characters as I thought I was. And Noivern? Ash never got a Noivern, unless you mean the Shadow Noibat, in which case, it's not forgotten, there was just no real reason to mention it. And if this Ash is dense, then I don't know what to say. He's ten years old, he's still naive despite his teachings from Mew, and he's still learning. Mew's just been guiding him in the first book, while here he has to make choices himself. And anyways, it's hard for me to see if you actually liked this story or not, but here's another chapter, sorry if it's not so good.

Mark the Haxorus: I'm going to have people vote for whether or not Kooper (Squirtle) should evolve, since in the canon, Squirtle goes back to the SQUIRTLE Squad. So that's really hard for me to decide if he should evolve or not. As for Konoha (Bulbasaur), I've already decided.

Slaezzior: I didn't mind Lucario, but I did get sick of him after a while. And the Mewtwo Ash talked to in his dreams was Giovanni's. And yeah, I guess people are going to complain no matter what you do, especially if it's popular. I guess that shows how people care about it and want it to improve, or at least written in a way that's better for them. I can understand that feeling, it's why I got into fanfiction in the first place. And I'm glad you enjoyed this, despite the mess.

Joltik12: I don't get what does Ash getting absorbed into an egg have to do with Blue's transformation. Blue's transformation has nothing to do with Ash's. I guess I should make it clear that not all Legendary transformations are the same.

DarkFoxKit: Um... you guys might notice my answers are a little more negative than usual. I just haven't been in the best mood today. I lost my cat, I think something's wrong with me, and I feel like Shadows of Kanto is one big mess. I'm not saying this to gain any pity, I just want you guys to understand why I've been so negative today. So try not to take everything I said to heart, okay? I love you guys and your reviews, but I'm just going through some rough times right now. I am DarkFoxKit and I look forward to hearing from you.