Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or the concept for Aura Bond. Pokemon belongs to Satoshi Tajiri and Aura Bond I believe was first used by dragonwolf12 on his story 'The Chosen One's Journey'. I only own the plot.


It had been a week since he left Cerulean and Ash was deep within the forest between Cerulean and Saffron. Not a lot of interesting things had happened since there because all he did was train with his pokemon and battle every trainer he could find but what did happened was that his pokemon were continuing to grow by leaps and bounds.

Pikachu and Riolu had continued to increase their output of power and getting more experience by battling as much as they could and sparring with the rest of the team. Scyther and Pidgeotto had also gotten used to their new moves and could implement them in tandem with their older techniques. They were both working on air slash but they were having a little trouble with the control but it wasn't something to worry about. Gyarados was still struggling with using her Aura to fly and was taking her frustrations on unlucky trainers that attempted to try their luck with her.

The one that took the cake was Nidorino, however, with how much he had advanced in the past week. After he got used to his new body and mastered the moves that he learned upon evolving, Ash had given Nidorino the TMs for Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, which he was still working on mastering. They had also developed a fighting style revolving around Toxic Spikes, Nidorino's long range attacks and misdirection. They would start with toxic spikes and begin attacking the foe from afar, goading them to think that they didn't want them to get in close, which would made their opponents want to go in close, only for Nidorino to show them his prowess in close range combat. It was a sound tactic and they were still easing into it and trying to incorporate all of Nidorino's skill set into it but that was the basic idea of the fighting style.

Ash and his team were currently on a clearing, a pong big enough that he could release Gyarados without issue. They were taking a break from training and battling this afternoon because while it was good to train hard, training too hard and without rest could be as bad as not training at all. Pikachu, Riolu and Nidorino were playing by the lake, pretty close to Gyarados who was napping. Pidgeotto was roosting one of the threes and Scyther had a pile of berries at his side, eagerly enjoying them one by one.

Ash himself was currently leaning against a tree as he thought about anything non concerning pokemon and battles since he wanted to give himself a break too. He had a permanent dust of pink on his face as he thought back to the three sisters that ran the Cerulean Gym. He didn't know why but he was certainly going to come back there. As a matter of fact, he was going to do the gym circuit twice. And then…

Ash shook his head and groaned as his thoughts drifted right back to Pokemon but thankfully his face was back to normal now thanks to that. He looked up towards were he last saw Pikachu, Riolu and Riolu on the pond and he blinked when he saw an oddish sneaking past the sleeping Gyarados and lowering its body to the pond to start drinking water. Ash's frowned when he saw that its body looked pale and the leaves on its head were not standing as high as they should be. This Pokemon was clearly sick and there wasn't a pokemon center soon. The closest one was three days away.

Ash stood up and slowly walked up to oddish. "Hey there little guy," he called softly, announcing his presence to it. It turned sharply to look at him and it had a mild surprised expression on its face as it prepared to run. Ash raised his hands, showing it that they were empty and that he meant no harm. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just noticed that you were looking a bit sick and I might know a way to help you. Would you mind if I try?" Ash asked, stopping a few feet away from it.

The oddish looked at Ash for several more seconds before sending a glance to Ash's Pokemon, who weren't paying attention to them. Oddish nodded hesitantly and Ash smiled as he step towards it and knelt before touching him. He began to send Heal Pulses through the oddish's body, not stopping until Oddish looked as healthy as one of its species were supposed to look.

Ash removed his hand and gave Oddish a kind smile. "There you go! Are you feeling better?" Ash laughed when the oddish nodded its head and began to jump happily. After his laugh ended, Ash was about to link their minds so he could ask Oddish if he wanted to be a part of his team but he heard the bushes rustling and he turned towards them only to see a bulbasaur stepping out that began to walk towards them.

Ash raised an eyebrow when Bulbasaur began to give him and Oddish wide eyed looks as he approached. When he reached them, a green vine extended from beneath the bulb on its back and pointed between him and oddish repeatedly. Ash cocked his head to the side before shrugging and connecting their minds with a tendril of Aura.

"Speak in your mind. I'm an Aura Guardian in training so I can use this to communicate with Pokemon as if they could speak the language with human do," said Ash, chuckling when Bulbasaur jumped slightly and gasped.

"How do you heal his illness?" Bulbasaur asked in smooth, male voice that sounded very surprised.

Ash shrugged his shoulders. "That's another thing I can do with Aura. I can heal almost everything by using a technique called Heal Pulse. It's actually pretty easy and the amount of Aura it consumes is so small that by the time I use the second one, the amount of Aura I spent on the first one has been already replenished,"explained Ash nonchalantly as it was not big deal, which to him it wasn't.

Bulbasaur was looking at him in awe and it was making him a little uncomfortable. "I know that we just met but would you mind coming with me to a villa a few miles away from here? It's full of ill Pokemon and while the human lady to do her best to take care of and cure them, they just don't heal. Would you mind giving us a hand?" Bulbasaur pleaded and his eyes were giving Ash a hopeful look.

Ash smiled at him reassuringly as he stood up. "Sure! Why not? I'm always up to helping pokemon whenever I can," said Ash before he went back to retrieve his bag and pokeballs and recall his friends after explaining them what was the issue. He completely missed the wide eyed look that was being sent his way by Bulbasaur.

Ash, with Pikachu and Riolu the only pokemon of his that were outside of his pokeball, like always, began to follow Bulbasaur and Oddish through the woods. As they walked, he spotted many traps that Bulbasaur explained were used to stop humans from going or getting near to the village. After the passed a wooden bridge that made Ash and his pokemon uneasy, and after walking for a few more minutes from there, they arrived at a clearing that had a similar pond to the one he had been previously but it was bigger and it also had a wooden cottage at the edge of it.

Ash noticed the many Pokemon that were all near the pond, most of them grass types and bug types but they were a few normal types too. All of them looked pale and their movements weren't ass graceful and steady as they should be. It seemed like they were suffering the same illness as Oddish and he deduced that it was due to something in the air. He looked down at Bulbasaur and wondered why he wasn't affected. Maybe he had to something with him being partially a poison type.

Ash looked up when the door of the cottage opened and walked out a pretty teen with blue hair wearing a red overall over a pink shirt. As she walked up to him, he noticed that she had a slim, yet fit figure and that she had defined muscles on her arms. It seemed like she was one of those girls that liked to thing with their own hands.

Melanie looked at the human with wide eyes and then at Bulbasaur. "Why did you bring him with you? This is not like you Bulbasaur," she wasn't accusing him of anything, she just sounded curious as Bulbasaur's strange behavior. He was always harsh when dealing with other humans that got to close to the villa and she knew that he liked her just because she took care of the Pokemon the best she could.

In response, Bulbasaur pointed at Ash with an extended vine and then picked up Oddish and presented it to her. Melanie's eyes widened as she noticed that he looked very healthy and the symptoms of his sickness were nowhere to be seen. She immediately got what Bulbasaur was trying to say and she gave Ash another wide eye look after she gasped. "Did you heal him? How?"

Ash shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know if you have heard of them but I'm an Aura Guardian in training and I can do a lot of things, healing Pokemon from virtually anything is one of them. Bulbasaur saw me healing Oddish and he brought me here and I see that he wants me to heal the other pokemon here too," said Ash as he looked at the dozen or so pokemon that were looking at them curiously now. "My name is Ash Ketchum by the way."

Melanie, while still confused, accepted his answer and bowed. "My name is Melanie. I'm sorry for Bulbasaur troubling you but these pokemon had been sick for a while and Bulbasaur was desperate to help them, so am I. I don't know how would I repay for doing this but you have my most sincere thanks," she said, smiling brightly at him.

Ash blushed and ignored the snickering of his pokemon as he rubbed the back of his head. "Eh? Don't worry about paying me or anything. Being able to help a pokemon in need is more rewarding than anything else," said Ash softly, getting smiles from Riolu and Pikachu.

Bulbasaur gave Ash an impressed and wide eyed look and Melanie was also looking at Ash like that, but there was a blush on her face. They watched as he approached the pokemon and, as if it was magic, they began to heal slowly, and steadily, with just his touch. Weepinbell, paras, gloom, rattata, caterpie; all of them healed by just the touch of this mysterious and kind trainer named Ash Ketchum.

As he finished healing the last Pokemon, a caterpie that began using crawling away in happiness, Ash took a deep breath and as he brushed some sweat away from his forehead. Heal Pulse wasn't a taxing technique but using Aura continuously in such a manner was straining, but, as he looked at all the happy Pokemon that began to celebrate and play around, he smiled. A little of discomfort for a while was more than worth if he got to see this in exchange.

Ash walked back to Melanie and Bulbasaur to see the girl with tears in her eyes as she looked at the now healthy Pokemon. She ran towards Ash and enveloped in a hug, saying thank you as she buried her face into his chest. They both blushed as Ash felt the soft but tight curves of her body and Melanie noticed just how tall Ash was and how compact and defined were his muscles.

Bulbasaur, Pikachu and Riolu gave them strange looks as they quickly separated from one and other and refused to look at each other in the eye. Melanie had a shy expression on her face as she found her feet very interesting. "Um, Ash, would you like to come inside and get some tea? Is not much but I would like to give you something for doing all this or I would feel guilty," she said, still refusing to look at him.

Ash smiled nervously and nodded his head slowly. "Sure. Just let me release mi pokemon," said Ash before releasing Scyther, Pidgeotto and Nidorino on the ground and then Gyarados on the lake. Incredibly, she was still napping. "Don't worry. She just get angry when woken up suddenly,: assured Ash once he spotted Melanie's nervous look at having Gyarados so close.

They only took five steps towards the cottage when suddenly, it exploded in a show of debris and smoke as a orange being impacted it and they were forced to cover their eyes. When the ringing on their ears passed, they uncovered their eyes to see a completely destroyed cottage, with only burnt wood remaining. Melanie felt to her knees dumbly as she regarded the cabin she built with her own hands destroyed. Tears, this time of sadness, horror and incredulity, began to leak down her eyes.

Ash saw this and turned his head sharply towards where the beam had come from and his red eyes began to glow as he saw a black truck destroying some trees as it jumped into the clearing. Five Rocket grunts stepped out of it once it stopped and the one that have been driving looked on smugly as he smirked evilly. "See? I told you guys that there were some grass type and bug type pokemon we could take back to the base. This way we won't have to tear down the entire forest in order to get some." He then took Notice of Bulbasaur, Riolu and Scyther and smirked further. "There are a few rare pokemon we can take four ourselves too!"

The grunts nodded in agreement with smirks of their own on their face but they turned towards Ash when they heard him chuckling in amusement. They glared at him and the apparent leader, the one who was driving, took a threatening step forward. "What's it that you find so funny, runt?" He asked with a growl.

Ash's hat cast a shadow over his glowing eyes as he kept chuckling. He raised his head and his angry smirk widened when they all took step back in fear, obviously unnerved because of his red, eerily glowing eyes. "You pieces of trash just made the worst mistake in your pathetic lives," said Ash with another chuckle at the end.

And that's when they noticed the rising, massive form of Gyarados behind Ash as she glared at them with similar eyes to that of her trainer, only that hers were glowing with anger. She roared, paralyzing everyone before she charged her own Hyper Beam in less than three seconds and fire it at the grunts. It passed above Ash and Melanie, who was still looking at the remains of her home in shock and tears.

The grunts however were agile enough to jump out of the way but their truck got hit instead and it was destroyed. The evil members of the criminal organization jumped to their feet and released their Pokemon. Ash grimaced when he noticed that all of them were on their last stage: A Golem, a Hypno, a Crobat, a Weezing and an Arbok. This wasn't going o be easy.

Ash picked up Melanie and retreated as he called back to his Pokemon. "Gyarados! Stay back and protect the pokemon and support the others from afar! Pidgeotto, the Crobat! Scyther, the Hypno! Nidorino, Riolu and Pikachu! Work in tandem to take out the others! Don't hold back anything!" He shouted at his pokemon who quickly went pass him in order to keep the rockets from reaching them. Ash noticed that Bulbasaur was running with his pokemon to meet the Rocket's too.

Ash watched the battle royal unfold in front of him, knowing that he couldn't give orders to his pokemon since in this kind of situations it was better to let them fight on their own. He looked down at Melanie, who was also watching the unfolding battle with worry and sadness as she slightly got over her shock at seeing her house destroyed. "Don't worry. Me and my pokemon are going to take care of them and they will pay for this," he told her in a tight, steely, yet assuring voice. Melanie could only nod.

Ash watched as Bulbasaur took on the Golem head one. He was skillfully dodging rollouts attack by jumping away from them and retaliating with strong looking vine whips and razor leaf. They seemed to do some damage to the golem but it still wasn't enough to knock it out. Bulbasaur suddenly, instead of jumping, shot two vines into the ground and used two more vines to stop Golem from reaching him, albeit with a lot of effort. They both began to glow green as Bulbasaur apparently sapped away its energy and it then got hit by a powerful Hydro Pump from Gyarados and it got blown away and certainly knocked out. Ash was extremely impressed by this.

He then turned to Riolu who kicked the Weezing away with a flaming kick and then the purple Pokemon that was composed of two heads exploded when it was hit by a powerful thunderbolt by Pikachu, making the gasses inside of it ignite due to their flammable nature and instability. This, however, gave the Arbok opportunity to coil its long body around Pikachu tightly, making the mouse cry in pain. The arbok was about to bite Pikachu with flaming fangs but it got hit in the back by an Ice Beam that Nidorino shot from his mouth, making the arbok give a hiss of pain as it body uncurled slightly giving Pikachu enough leverage to uppercut it with an Iron Tail that sent it flying into a double blaze drop kick from Riolu that knocked it out.

Scyther was jumping from side to side as he avoided the powerful psybeams that the Hypno was firing from its pendulum to try and hit him but he was too fast for him. Scyther suddenly used Aerial Ace to get in close but it was stopped by a very powerful Reflect barrier that sent him flying back with some scoff marks on his body. Scyther growled before his eyes lit up and he used Pursuit and broke the barrier easily and rammed into the Hypno shoulder first, cloaked in dark energy. Scyther then slashed Riolu with slash and fury cutter attacks until the hypno was rendered unconscious.

Ash looked up, expecting to see Pidgeotto dominating the fight, but he was surprised to see that the Crobat was keeping up pace with her. It seemed like it was using a constant supersonic to keep her from using her most powerful combinations and she was forced to fight regularly. She attempted to hit the crobat with an Aerial Ace but she missed as Crobat used the same technique to evade the attack. Ash's eyes widened when and he held his head when Crobat focused its supersonic and amplified it. If this was causing him a headache he could only imagine what it would to Pidgeotto and her extremely sensitive ears.

She screeched in pain as she fought to not cover her ears with her wings and keep flying. That was made impossible when she was hit by various poisonous needles in the chest that injected powerful venom into her. Then Crobat used quick attack to get in close and get enough momentum to hi her hard with a powerful steel wing. Pidgeotto screeched in pain again as she began to pummel into the ground. Ash cried in desperation as he was about to recall her but that turned into awe when she began to glow as her body grew and her crest elongated.

Pidgeot gave a horrible and powerful caw as she spread her wings, which now had a span of four meters, and dispelled the light that indicated her evolution. She flapped her wings powerfully once again and rose into the air, keen eyes zeroed on the shocked crobat who had stopped using supersonic the moment Pidgeot had begun to evolve and she capitalized on this. She opened her beak and fired an absolutely humongous twister attack that buffeted the Crobat away. Pidgeot then raised a glowing wing and slashed it down, firing a blade made of wind and energy in a perfect slash attack that collided with crobat in a explosion. It pummeled into the ground, unconscious and Pidgeot cawed in victory as she gave another mighty flap.

Ash grinned at her before he pointed at the Rockets who were trying to run away. "Pikachu! Thunder wave!" The yellow rodent fired off the weak arc of blue electricity and he paralyzed them, making them all fall heavily into the ground as they twitched and groaned in pain.

The black haired aura user grin's widened when Pidgeot landed in front of him. She towered over him with her impressive height of a bit more than two meters and he laughed when she nipped at his hat, almost snapping the bill in half. "Congratulations Pidgeot! You evolved and you mastered Air Slash!" Ash said as he stroked the glossy feathers of her chest, sending Heal Pulses through her just in case her evolution didn't take care of the damage done to her.

Pidgeot puffed up her chest. "Of course I would master such an easy technique with the power boost of evolution. That was the only thing I lacked but now I feel, and know, that I can do everything," she said to him through the bond with her slightly arrogant tone. She was a prideful one and while she didn't let that be her main trait, it was still a main part of her personality. Besides, she had the right to brag and even more now that she evolved.

Scyther rolled his eyes as he approached her and looked up at her since he was just a tad shorter than Ash. "I expect that you help me with my own Air slash now that you mastered yours."

Pidgeot nodded her head gracefully. "Of course. Can't have any of my teammates making me look bad, can I?" She said with a teasing glint on her eyes and Ash knew that if she could, she would've been smirking in amusement.

Pikachu and Riolu looked at Pidgeot with wide eyes before exchanging a glance and then turning towards her in excitement. "You are so giving is a ride through the air sometime!" Theu said in unison, with Nidorino nodding in agreement.

Ash smiled as Pidgeot began reprimanding them for considering her as an instrument for their amusement but frowned when he noticed Melanie standing up at his side. He helped her up to her feet and she gave him a sad smile. "At least something good happened from all of this," she said as she admired Pidgeot before turning towards Ash and hugging him tight. "Thanks for keeping the pokemon save."

Ash nodded and returned the hug but he was still frowning. He looked at the destroyed cabin and then at the pokemon that lived here, all of them were looking at them with sadness. He got a determined glint on his eyes as he ended the hug and he began to press buttons on his X-Transceiver, much to Melanie's confusion. It ringed for a few times with the screen black and grew even more confused when a brown haired woman appeared on the screen.

"Ashy! It's good to see you!" She greeted happily but soon got a curious look on her face. "Is there something wrong? You don't usually call at his hour," she asked, slightly worried as she noticed her son's slightly ruffed appearance.

Ash gave her a serious look. "Mom, something happened in the road. I came across a girl that lived in a cabin in the woods She took care of sick pokemon and I helped her heal them with some knowledge a got from one of those books you got me. We were attacked by Team Rocket and her home got destroyed. I was hopping that you could take her in as one of your assistant. She is very knowledgeable in natural methods of healing pokemon and there are more pokemon that are going to go with her to fill up the ranch," said Ash in a pleading tone.

Melanie's eyes widened, along with that of Bulbasaur and the pokemon that she took care off as Delia smiled kindly. "Of course she can Ash. I always welcome people that are willing to help pokemon and more pokemon for the ranch means that I can study more of their behavior. Tell her that she is more than welcomed here and the she would have a place to stay and a steady salary."

Ash nodded his head with a smile on his face. "Thanks mom. Oh! Pidgeotto evolved and she is Pidgeot now so I'm going to send Melanie, that's the girls name, with her and I'm going to send the Pokemon through the X-Transceiver. Pidgeot should arrive with her before sunset" said Ash, getting a slight glare from Pidgeot but she relented when he looked at her pleadingly and she nodded slowly. She could always get him to feed her as payment anyways.

Delia's eyes shone. "Give her my congratulations! I'll be expecting her. I got to go now Ash because I'm busy right now! Love you lots!" She said before the screen went black.

Ash sighed before he turned to Melanie with a smile of his face. He opened his mouth to say something but he was shocked when Melanie wrapped her arms around his neck and closed his mouth with his in a kiss. She pressed her incredibly soft lips into his and Ash reciprocated in instinct, grabbing her hips to steady her. This was his first time kissing a girl so he was just imitating her movements. Something stirred within him when she heard him moan but before he could explore that feeling more, she separated from him.

He groaned. "That was awesome," he said excitedly as he looked at her with a blush.

She also blushed and giggled at him. "It was but I noticed that it was your first kiss. You felt like a natural at it but you got to work on your technique. Maybe…" she trailed off as she looked down and peered at him from behind her bangs with a dark blush across her cheeks. "I could help you with that."

Ash nodded his head eagerly and he leaned his head but he felt something tapping on his forehead. He blushed and he turned towards his pokemon, all of them smirking at him and looking at him with amusement. He noticed that Bulbasaur was the one who tapped him and he pointed at himself, then at his team and finally to one of his pokeballs. Ash didn't need to speak with Bulbasaur to understand what he wanted.

"You want to be a part of my team?" He asked and Bulbasaur nodded before tapping his forehead again and then his own. Ash understood and connected their minds with a tendril of Aura.

"I want to come with you because I want to get stronger so I can keep protecting Pokemon that are threatened by others. I noticed that your team is strong and that they care much for you and that only confirms to me that you are a good and fair human, like Melanie. I wish to become a part of your team," said Bulbasaur with conviction as he looked at Ash in the eye with his red eyes.

Ash ended the hug with Melanie so he could kneel before Bulbasaur. "I'm more than willing to bring you along with me as one of my team members. I noticed that you are very skilled and can hold your own against powerful opponents but you most know that I bond myself with my pokemon. That way, we can speak to each other as if we spoke the same language," said Ash before he looked back at Melanie, who was giving Bulbasaur a wide eyed , but pleased, look. "Don't tell my mother this, please. She doesn't know I can do any of this and I don't want to worry her."

Melanie just nodded. She watched as Ash pressed a empty pokeball to Bulbasaur forehead after he nodded in acceptance. The ball absorbed him and it dinged three times indicating the successful capture. Ash then released him and touched his forehead and Bulbasaur shook his head slightly after Ash stepped back. The black haired trainer brought out his pokedex and pointed it at Pidgeot and then at bulbasaur.

Pidgeot: The evolved form of Pidgeotto. This pokemon has a dazzling plumage of beautifully glossy feathers. Many TRAINERS are captivated by the striking beauty of the feathers on its head, compelling them to choose pidgeot as their pokemon. Upon evolution Pidgeot has learned the moves Air Slash and Mirror Move.

Bulbasaur: The Seed Pokemon. Bulbasaur can be seen napping in bright sunlight. There is a seed on its back. By soaking up the sun's rays, the seed grows progressively larger. t can go for days without eating a single morsel. In the bulb on its back, it stores energy. This Bulbasaur is male and has the ability Overgrow. He knows the moves: Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Sleep Power, Poison Powder, Razor Leaf, Ingrain, Giga Drain and Synthesis. Note: Ingrain and Giga Drain are egg moves. He also has Leaf Storm as an egg move but it has not been unlocked yet.

Ash nodded at his two Pokemon and showered them with praise before they were pulled away towards the rest of the Pokemon. Ash turned to Melanie with a grin on his face and approached her and wrapped his arms around her, making her blush and squeal as she looked at him with wide eyes.

Ash had a glint on his eyes. "So… about that help you offered…"

Melanie could only blush more deeply and blink before she and Ash were kissing again, the knocked out Pokemon and the still twitching Rocket Grunts forgotten for the moment.

-AM: KOI-

Three days later Ash was running through a rocky path as he tried to reach the Pokemon Center that was nearby as it was raining heavily. Pikachu and Riolu were both flanking him as they ran alongside him. The rain had started practically out of nowhere a few minutes ago in the idle of a training session, and that was the reason why Ash was so annoyed at the downpour right now.

In the three days that passed Pidgeot got used to her new body and the massive power boost. Her speed was unmatched and she could tear into any opponent given she had enough momentum built up. She had finished teaching Scyther Air Slash and she herself got started on learning Hurricane, modifying the technique to use it with Aura instead and Hyper Beam from Gyarados. It would be a while before she mastered those but she was patient, even if she liked to complain about it.

Gyarados was working on building up her output of power and Aura reserves and using Aura to be able to fl and she was making decent progress on it but that was still a few good months away from them. Pikachu, Riolu, Nidorino and Scyther just worked on making their attacks stronger and getting more experienced on using their battle styles without Ash commanding them. They were not going to focus on learning more techniques until they evolved, and that wasn't going to happen until they reached their limit on their current form, or in Riolu's case, felt that they were ready.

Bulbasaur simply astounded Ash. They had only time to get a general feel for his level, which was just under his older team members, and his already set battle style, which Ash actually felt really comfortable with. Bulbasaur fought like nimble tank, using moves like Synthesis, Ingrain and Giga Drain to keep his energy at the max and attacking with Razor Leaf and Vine Whip, mixing it up with the effect spores. They had also discovered that with the use of ingrain an Aura, Bulbasaur could actually grow little plants from nothing but it wasn't anything useful at the moment so they were waiting for Bulbasaur to evolve to explore that ability. Ash thought that he only needed the move Energy Ball before he was set since a long range, focused attack was always needed.

"Hey Ash! There's a cave in there!" Riolu shouted as he pointed towards a small rock formation that was a good two dozen or so meters away from the main road.

Ash nodded at him in thanks before they changed direction and quickly ran into the cave. They made their way inside and Pikachu and Riolu began ruffle their fur, trying to get as dry as they could. Ash shook his head and took off his backpack so he could pull out a towel and he handed it to the two pokemon, who thanked him before they began to dry themselves with it. Ash pulled out another towel and removed his hat, vest and shirt and started to dry himself.

It was a few minutes later when both Pikachu and Riolu perked up and began to look towards further into the cave. Ash noticed this and he also began to look towards there, one hand reach towards his utility belt just in case it was a very unruly Pokemon that Pikachu and Riolu couldn't handle, which was very unlikely since the teamwork those two displayed was very impressive.

Slowly, the cave began to get laminated by an orange hue and Ash noticed that it was steadily getting warmer. Ash tensed when the orange hue stopped getting brighter and he got ready to release Nidorino to help deal with the obvious fire type, when it simply walked around the corner and revealed itself to them. It was an orange colared lizard that stood on its hind legs and had stubby arms with small, sharp claws. It had a reptilian, rounded face and wide blue eyes and at the tip of its teal was a flame, which was the reason behind the orange light and the warmth.

Ash relaxed when it merely looked at them with curiosity and weariness. He smiled kindly at him. "Hello there little guy. Would you mind helping us getting warmer?" He asked, removing his utility bell with his pokeball and set besides his backpack and pushing then further away from him, to show the charmander that he did not have ulterior motives.

Charmander relaxed a little when he saw this and nodded his head before he walked towards Ash and his two pokemon. He greeted them with a wave of his paw before he sat next to Ash, but far away enough that he could run and escape but he doubted that this human was a bad one, unlike his last trainer. The Riolu and the Pikachu looked very happy and healthy and there was no sign of mistreatment on them. It made him a little jealous.

Ash noticed how Charmander's head dropped after he stared at Riolu and Pikachu for a few seconds as he let out something akin to a sigh. He noticed how his eyes got sad and there were a few tears gathering at the corner of them. He frowned as he regarded Charmander and he finally noticed long scar that ran across its back and the other one, shaped like an x that was on its chest. His frown got deeper as he connected their minds with a tendril of Aura.

"Hey Charmander." His frown lessened when Charmander gave a surprised cry and turned towards him with wide eyes, tears and bad mood forgotten. "Excuse me if I'm intruding too much but I noticed how sad you were and also those nasty scars on your body… did you have an abusive trainer?" Ash asked, doing his best not to let the anger he felt slowly rising be heard on his mental voice.

Charmander looked at Ash for a few seconds before dropping heavily on the floor and letting his head hang. He nodded. "I did. Yes. His name was Damien. He bought me because apparently, he's got a rich family. The guy didn't know how to train Pokemon in the least so he only made us fight against each other and pumped us with TMs. I got the scar on my back from a Rhydon and the two on my chest from a Victreebel. When I failed to use a proper flamethrower because I still don't have the energy to do it, he just stepped into this cave, released me and destroyed the pokeball before calling me worthless and week and he left. That was a week ago and I've stayed here ever since, training on my own to get stronger," said Charmander with a growl and angry tears trailing down his face.

Ash gave his own growl of anger. He hoped to one day find that Damien guy and give him a piece of his mind, first with his pokemon and then with his fist. But that wasn't the issue right now. It was obvious that Charmander was hurt, more emotionally than physically, and he was not going to let it continue like this.

Ash shook his head as he gave Charmander a kind smile. "You don't look weak and worthless to me," said Ash, conviction on his voice. Charmander's head shot up and looked at him with wide eyes. "You don't have to blame yourself for having a stupid trainer who couldn't raise you properly. But you are still young Charmander and you can fix whatever wrong your previous trainer did with you. I'm sure of it."

Charmander looked at Ash and then his two Pokemon who were giving Ash looks full of love, loyalty, respect and care. He got a determined look on his face as he looked at Ash. "Would you help me fix those mistakes?" When Ash's eyes widened he elaborated. "I know this is sudden and everything but I noticed the way your pokemon look at you, which means that you are a very good human and they look strong, which also mean that you are a very good trainer. I want to know how having a good and caring trainer feels like," said Charmander softly.

Ash's eyes widened before he smiled softly and went closer to Charmander and patted his head, making the fire lizard look up at him. "I would love to have you become a part of my team Charmander. I only ask for your complete dedication to training and battling when I ask you and that you get along with the other members of the team. You also must know that I perform a bond with and each one of my teammates so we can speak like this at every moment. Do you accept to be a part of my team?"

Charmander had wide eyes before they settled in determination and his tail flame got a little brighter. "I do."

Ash's smile widened before he sent a pulse of Aura through Charmander and it was returned, the form formed. He pulled out his pokedex and aimed it at Charmander.

Charmander: The Lizard Pokemon. The flame that burns at the tip of its tail is an indication of its emotions. The flame wavers when charmander is enjoying itself. If the pokemon becomes enraged, the flame burns fiercely. Charmander is male and has the ability Blaze. He knows the moves: Ember, Fire Spin, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Flamethrower and Dragon Claw. Note: He has the egg moves Dragon Dance and Flare Blitz but they have not been unlocked yet.

Ash looked at Charmander with wide eyes as he pocketed his pokedex. "I don't know what your trainer was thinking when he let you go. You have the potential to become the strongest of your kind if you are trained correctly, don you think so guys?" Ash asked through the bond.

Charmander's eyes widened when he felt other presences entering his mind and he got the feeling of acceptance and kindness from then. He began to smile. It certainly felt good and if the Aura Bond was permanent, then this feeling was going to go with him for a long, long time.

"He does have the potential to be great, Ash. With your training methods and the way you treat us he will be very, very strong," said Riolu as he looked at Charmander with a hint of a smirk and a glint on his eyes that spoke of how much he wanted to fight him once he was up to par.

"I think about the possibilities and it's kind of scary actually," said Pikachu nervously, but giving Charmander a thumbs up nonetheless.

"I was getting tired of being the only one with this kind of potential. Welcome to the club little one. I won't let you surpass me," said Gyarados with a competitive tone on her mental voice.

"Oh shut up you scary napping freak. You just have all that untapped power because of your size. We all will get strong as you… eventually. But serious, were your parents a Dragonite and a freakishly strong Charizard because your potential is insane, bud," said Scyther and there was an undertone of excitement on his voice at the possibly of battling charmander the moment he caught up to them.

"I hope he becomes a Charizard soon so we can have beautiful battles in the air, but he will never be as beautiful and graceful as I am," said Pidgeot arrogantly, but strange enough her voice was warm and welcoming too.

"I'd like to fight you soon Charmander! I know that it will be exciting," said Nidorino, bluntly.

"Oh is true. He does catch every pokemon he reveals he can speak to them! I owe Pikachu and Riolu those berries. Anyways, welcome to the family Charmander. Ash is a very kind and good trainer, even if he makes us work hard but it will be worthy and with your potential, I'm sure you yourself won't even believe how strong you'll be," said Bulbasaur in a assuring voice.

Ash grumbled as he shot a glare to a sheepish looking Pikachu and a smug looking Riolu.

Charmander began to cry. "Thank you guys… so much." But this time, they were tears of happiness and hope.

-AM: KOI-

Two days later Ash was nearing a minor town halfway to Vermillion that had a PokeMart and a Pokemon Center in which he could restock on supplies and also get the TM he told his mother to send him there a few days ago after he got Bulbasaur. In these two days Ash managed to get a feel of Charmander's level and get him used to their schedule.

Charmander was just behind Bulbasaur skill and power wise but that was because he couldn't use his most powerful moves, Dragon Claw and Flamethrower, and just didn't know how to apply the moves he did know how to use in battle. Charmander had resolute on catching up to his others team members as fast as he could and Ash doubted that it will take him long. They had also discovered that with his Aura, Charmander could mix draconian energy with his own fire. They wouldn't try that until Charmander got a little stronger, since they wanted to get him set on a fighting style first.

Ash stopped walking suddenly when he saw that the soil in front of him was covered with leaves and twigs in a circular fashion. He snorted at the obvious trap and walked around it only for a group of five squirtles to pop out of some bushes. He raised an eyebrow in amusement when he saw that all of them were wearing shades, four of them wearing round ones and the apparent leader was wearing triangular ones. The leader walked up to Ash and began to say his name and point at him angrily.

Ash looked at Pikachu who had an amused look on his face. "What is he saying?"

Pikachu chuckled in amusement. "He says that you were not supposed to not fall on his awesome trap. That you were supposed to get, erm, awesomely pranked by him and his squad and then get all of our food stolen and then left behind to starve in that hole."

Ash chuckled, along with Riolu, and that only made Squirtle and his squad angrier. Ash stopped chuckling before he got a serious expression on his face. If this squirtle were doing this just to get some food then that meant that they were in extreme need of this.

He connected their minds with Aura. "Squirtle, I am an Aura Guardian in training and I can use Aura to speak freely to a Pokemon's mind and you can do the same with me. Tell me, do you have a problem with getting food?" He asked seriously, ignoring how Pikachu and Riolu, along the rest of the team, were chuckling. They weren't laughing at the situation, they were laughing instead at how Squirtle had worded it.

Squirtle at first was surprised but he soon accepted that Ash could speak on his mind. Holy crap this is awesome! And yes, we, the Awesome Squirtle Squad, are having some issues at getting food since the towns people refuse to give us any because of the awesome pranks we used to do on them," said Squirtle sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Ash hummed in thought at this. He couldn't get angry at the townspeople for refusing to give them food since they were wild pokemon and the Squirtle had pranked them a lot apparently but he couldn't help to take advantage of this situation either. "Tell you what Squirtle. I can send you and your guys to a place where you be given an steady income of food as long as you behave and you let some people study how you behave. There is a big lake too."

Squirtle gave Ash a suspicious look behind his glasses. "And how can I know you are trying to pull my tail?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Ash shrugged his arms. "My Pokemon can tell you about it and you know they won't lie of the place is not good for Pokemon. Also I can make a bond with you so you can use Aura, which would allow you to make an Aura Bond with your squad which would let you be in contact with them at all times. Keep in mind that if you make a bond with me you'll have to become my pokemon and train with me and my teams at all times."

Squirtle nodded his head before he went back to speak with his friends. Ash, Pikachu and Riolu exchanged amused look as they formed a circle and occasionally one would turn to look at them as if to assure they weren't eavesdropping. Their antics were very funny.

The leader squirtle walked back towards them. "We will take the second option. My awesome squad will go to this place after we make this Aura Bond and test it to see if it works. Also, if I'm going to be your awesome pokemon I expect you to make me awesome strong and teach me awesome stuff so I can teach my awesome squad how to become even more awesome. Deal?" He extended his hand towards Ash.

Ash knelt down and shook it, using the contact to form the bond with Squirtle. Riolu then spent a few minutes teachingSquirtle how to use his Aura to perform an Aura Bond before Squirtle went to perform it with his friends. Ash pulled out his pokedex and pointed it at Squirtle.

Squirtle: The Tiny Turtle Pokemon. Squirtle's shell is not merely used for protection. The shell's rounded shape and the grooves on its surface help minimize resistance in water, enabling this pokemon to swim at high speeds. Squirtle is male and has the ability Torrent. He knows the moves: Water Gun, Withdraw, Bubblebeam, Rapid Spin and Aqua Tail. Note: He has the egg moves Water Spout and Mist but they have not been unlocked yet.

Ash shared a look with Riolu and Pikachu as they saw the Squirtle Squad beginning to exchange 'manly' hugs with 'manly' tears of apparent happiness and sadness. He grinned nervously as he scratched the back of his head. "That was certainly easy, wouldn't you agree?"

-AM: KOI-

Ash stood on a clearing as he looked at his Pokemon, who were all arranged in a line before him. It had been two days since he captured Squirtle and Ash decided that he wouldn't be capturing any more pokemon till he beat Surge and got his third badge. He was going to focus solely on the ones that he had at the moment so he could make them as strong as they could for the battle.

"Alright, look. Lt. Surge is on a whole other level than the trainers and leaders we have faced and I don't think he will be pulling his punches so in this to weeks I'm going to make sure that we work extra hard." Ash then pointed at Riolu, Pikachu, Scyther and Nidorino. "You guys will work on upping your output of power, speed, endurance and reaction time by constantly firing your attacks and sparring and battling. Scyther, you won't be battling in the gym since it is an electric type but that doesn't mean you get to slack off." They nodded in acceptance.

Ash then turned towards Gyarados and Pidgeot. "You two will also work on your output of power and endurance. Gyarados I want you to keep trying to learn how to fly using you Aura and also upping your reserves. You do the same Pidgeot and work on using your Aura to perform Hurricane. Obviously you won't be battling on this gym. That would be nasty," He said with a grimace and they nodded their heads too.

Ash then turned towards Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. "I will help you three develop your own fighting styles, or in your case Bulbasaur, get me adapted to yours, as I train you to get stronger. Bulbasaur I want you to perfect Energy Ball as fast as you can so we can integrate it in the way you fight. You are going to fight at the gym. Charmander, we will work on getting your output up and developing new ways we could apply the moves you know in battle. Squirtle, I want you to perfect Water Pulse and Ice Beam by the end of the week. When you get that done, work on that Aura ability of yours to pull water out of the environment and manipulate it. It will become your biggest asset." The three of them nodded their heads, determined to catch up to their new teammates.

Ash watched as his pokemon began to work on their assigned tasks, and he grinned when his eyes landed on Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.

Oh how much he loved irony.


And that's it for the fifth chapter of this fic. Pidgeotto evolved into Pidgeot, mastered Air Slash and Learned Mirror Move upon evolving. Ash caught Bulbasaur (He also got his first kiss! Yay!), Charmander (I admit that this was cute and 'awww' inducing) and Squirtle (I was chuckling the whole time as I wrote this part). You can already tell that Ash and his pokemon are going to be beasts when they fully develop and reach their peak but that won't happen for a long time.

I will also put the special ability that Aura gives each of Ash's Pokemon once they learn how to manipulate it in its raw form.

-Riolu (M): Quick Attack, Foresight, Counter, Force Palm, Blaze Kick, Aura Sphere, Low Sweep, Double Kick and Brick Break. Riolu can use Aura to enhance his movements and keep his techniques activated for longer periods of time.

-Pikachu (M): Quick Attack, Agility, Double Team, Iron Tail, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave and Electro Ball. Pikachu uses Aura to increase his storage of electricity at a steady pace that lets him always stay in control of his attacks.

-Gyarados (F): Hyper Beam, Hydro Pump, Dragon Rage, Twister, Crunch, Flamethrower, Ice Beam and Thunderbolt. Gyarados can manipulate water using Aura and will eventually be able to fly due to her typing using it.

-Scyther (M): Quick Attack, Agility, Double Team, Slash, Fury Cutter, Wing Attack, Pursuit, Aerial Ace, Steel Wing and Air Slash. Scyther can makes his attacks stronger than normal and enhance his body to move at unparalleled speeds on the ground.

-Pidgeot (F): Quick Attack, Agility, Gust, Twister, Tailwind, Steel Wing, Aerial Ace, Air Slash and Mirror Move. Pidgeot's Aura lets her manipulate the air currents around her and she can use that to completely nullify wind resistance as she moves, making her Ash's fastest pokemon.

-Nidorino: Horn Attack, Fury Attack, Double Kick, Poison Sting, Poison Jab, Toxic Spikes, Thunderbolt and Ice Beam. The still haven't found out what special ability Aura will give Nidorino, but Ash's suspects that it will be ground based and it will manifest fully once he evolves.

-Bulbasaur (M): Leech Seed, Vine Whip, Sleep Power, Poison Powder, Razor Leaf, Ingrain, Giga Drain, Synthesis and Energy Ball. Bulbasaur can grow plants out of nothing as long as his vines are in direct contact with the ground. At the moment it isn't a very useful ability so they are hoping that with evolution it will grow to be something powerful

-Charmander (M): Ember, Fire Spin, Smokescreen, Dragon Rage, Flamethrower and Dragon Claw. Using Aura as a medium, Charmander can mix draconian energy with his fire to make his attacks more powerful but they are waiting a bit to explore this ability.

-Squirtle (M): Gun, Withdraw, Bubblebeam, Rapid Spin, Aqua Tail, Water Pulse and Ice Beam. Like Gyarados, Squirtle can also manipulate water with his Aura but he can also use it to pull water out of the environment.

Okay so next chapter is going to include the gym battle in Vermillion, another evolutio, another member for Ash's team and the St. Anne stuff which is going to be way too different and it is what is going to make Ash famous along with making him known to Team Rocket as a threat.

See ya next time!