A/N: Julie Togepi, thanks but I can't update everyday anymore and it is back to once a week for now. At this point, as we delve more into the geography of Galea, I'm once again at a loss since it is rather hard to describe a new region but I'll try my best. Also, release dates for Sun and Moon have been announced, and though this fanfic won't be over by then, I probably won't be adding new Pokemon from them.

Lady Freyja's domain consisted of a large collection of mountain ranges interrupted by vast stretches of Steppe in between. It nearly formed a complete semicircle around Ash's total territory, isolating it from the realms of the Fourth and Sixth Gym Leaders that lay beyond.

There were numerous small scattered towns and villages in the region, with Alamut and Kingshead being the only large settlements. Routes 206 and 207 were worn out and connected it with the realms of the Fourth and Sixth Gym Leaders respectively.

Very few people inhabited the mountains, but they had each been supplied at the peak with an observatory, though most of them were uninhabited until Freyja assigned a team to check them for some reason of the other.

It was to one such observatory that the outlaw slowly walked, making sure that her Pokemon were still with her.

It had been over thirty years since she had challenged Freyja to a Gym Battle. Thirty years when, just as she was about to lose, she had fled, and took solace in the mountains. She was well aware that if Freyja had wanted, she could have easily found her and taken her.

Luckily though, the mistress of the realm seemed to be interested in very little things outside herself and acquiring more wealth, and it seemed that she thought the outlaw to be nothing worth spending so much trouble for her.

The observatories had their roots in ancient history, they had been necessary during times when the threat of invading armies was tangible, for whoever had the Replay Badge would have to fend off attacks from the domains of the Fourth, Second, and Sixth Gym Leaders at any given moment and so were mainly meant for scouting, though in recent years they had fell out of use thanks to the Accord.

It was for the stored food that the outlaw had decided to risk entering one. As she combed through the inventory, a sound rang out through the empty place.

A phone was ringing.

She frowned, that was odd, the place was empty, after all. And the phone rang again. And again.

In the end, some sort of odd curiosity drew her to the ringing, and after a moment's hesitation, she picked up the phone.

A voice spoke out of the earpiece, one that she had not heard in a long, long, time, though she still remembered as if she had heard it only yesterday.

"Emily… sister, is that you?" the outlaw asked excitedly, but was soon disappointed. The voice crackled and seemed mechanical; it was a mere recording. It was then joined by the voice of three others, the voices of the rest of the Elite Four, those which she remembered less well.

The message wasn't meant for someone in Freyja's employment No, it was a message directed specifically for her.

Once it ended, she frantically made preparations to leave. She would have to intervene quickly.

Whoever this Sir Ash was, he had no idea what he was getting into.


Ash had had a conversation with Mr. Jennings about strategy.

"I think based on our options that you should go ahead and take her invitation," Mr. Jennings said. "Though I should also point out that if she wanted to surrender, she would just do so rather than go through all of this in a roundabout way. So she must be planning something. And do note that her Badge has the most peculiar ability."

"What?" Ash had asked. Pikachu looked up from the apple it was nibbling and began listening intently. He figured someone smart had to listen to stuff around the place.

"Do they have Technical Machines and Hidden Machines, or TMs, and HMs where you're from, sir?" Mr. Jennings asked.

"I think I've heard of them somewhere, yeah," Ash said.

"Well, as a refresher, they are objects that allow you to teach a move to a Pokemon instantly," Mr. Jennings said. "They are specially made within Lady Freyja's domain, and are the source of most of her income. Her Badge can let you teach a move to a Pokemon, similar to a TM, but you can teach a Pokemon any move, even one that it could not normally learn."

"So you could get an Oddish that knows Flamethrower? Or a Pikachu that can use Surf?" Ash asked, amazed.

"Yes, but power is never without price, as we say in Galea," Mr. Jennings said. "It is a bit like the Irresolute Badge. While it can evolve Pokemon, evolving them prematurely result in them becoming weak. In the same vein, the Replay Badge can teach moves instantly, and if you teach a Pokemon a move that it could normally learn, well, that's no problem, but if you teach it something that it couldn't, the Pokemon will know only that move, and forget all others."

"It sounds sort of cool," Ash said. "Though not really that useful in battle. I mean, if you wanted to open a circus with Pokemon that knew strange moves maybe that'd be helpful."

"Yes, but she doesn't run a circus," Mr. Jennings said.

"I've been asking around about her and it seems that she's really stupid or just plain insane based on the rumors I've heard. And that her Pokemon aren't that strong," Ash said.

"Indeed," Mr. Jennings said. "Her Pokemon are allegedly the weakest of the Gym Leaders, even weaker than Marley's. Which only makes this all the more dangerous as it means that Lady Freyja, who reigned for five years before Galea was ripped from time and space, managed to hold her throne somehow using weak Pokemon and whatever strategy she has concocted. She has clearly found some way to defeat stronger Trainers for that long, and not simply thanks to her Shedninja. She must know that Thomdolt probably used one against you and that you'd be prepared."

"None of the Gym Leaders I've faced seem to have been very good at battling," Ash said. "Except for Marley's Serperior."

"True," Mr. Jennings said. "The only real battlers among the Gym Leaders are Linnea, Wade, and Selena that I know of."

"What's her Badge's special rule?" Ash asked.

"Thankfully we do happen to know that," Mr. Jennings said. "She has to accept all challenges, of course, but she can choose whether the battle will be a Double Battle, Single Battle, Triple Battle, or Rotation Battle. She can even challenge you to all of them and demand that you beat her in every single one if you want to take her Badge, and say that a loss in a any one of them is a loss of the whole thing, though she will have to heal your Pokemon after every one."

"But if she isn't strong, what would that do?" Ash said. "It would make no difference."

"Yes, that is true," Mr. Jennings said. "Regardless, I would suggest that you the moment that you spot her, challenge her to a Gym Battle. That way her actions against you will be limited. And keep your eyes open, Sir Ash, because Lady Freyja isn't playing with a full deck. Do not eat anything without having it tasted first, as a matter of fact, though I believe it would be rude, you might want to refuse all food and drink offered to you."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Ash said and ran off to train. He made care to pay attention to Gastly, for he was the one who had won him the last battle against the Shedninja, and by the time the date for the dinner had come, Ash had a Haunter instead of a Gastly.

It was decided that Ash would go, accompanied by Gulliver and his friends who had been with him in his last journey. Mr. Jennings would be staying behind due to his health.

Before Gulliver left though, he had decided to ask Mr. Jennings for a few things he thought that they'd need.

Mr. Jennings was in his office, inundated in an unending fountain of reports and phone calls, which, despite the many people assigned to keep the room tidy, still looked like Thundurus and Tornadus had an all-out brawl inside of there.

Mr. Jennings ignored everything for a minute and said, "Ah yes, Sir Gulliver, just the person I wanted to have a chat with?"

"Really?" Gulliver asked.

"Yes, it is about you and your comrades recent, ah, escapades," Mr. Jennings said. Though Mr. Jennings believed that Gulliver and his friends would not take advantage of their newfound authority, he had the feeling that they were more likely to get into trouble now that they knew they probably weren't going to get punished for it. Several of these incidents included Gulliver deciding to take a helicopter out for a ride and crashing it, someone accidentally flooding part of Cinnamon City, a large amount of sweets suddenly going missing, and thirty-seven other incidents.

Gulliver blushed. "Look, we're sorry 'bout that and all."

"That is not all, young man, that I would like to talk about," Mr. Jennings said. "What I do want to say is that if you want to start helping Lord Ash more, rather than going around wandering like this, you should have spent time trying to figure out how to run things."

"But we do help him!" Gulliver protested.

"And do pray tell me what you did for him in the campaign against Thomdolt," Mr. Jennings said. "Something besides standing around and tasting his food for him, Gulliver. The point is that although Sir Ash is a fierce trainer, he has no experience running a domain. I cannot continue doing it for him as his territory expands, and being shot with poison has made me realize that my life might not last as long as I hope it does. If that comes to past, we need someone who will handle the governing of these territories. The burden will of course, eventually come up on Lord Ash in the end, but until then, and while the Gym Leaders are still in power, he will need help."

"I have been training my Pokemon too though," Gulliver muttered weakly.

"And how strong are they?" Mr. Jennings asked. "I know this may be a bit harsh, but the truth is that although you might- and most people would- dream of being powerful trainers, there is not enough time for you to reach a level that will be useful in the near future. And while sitting at a desk might not be anyone's idea of a glamorous or heroic life, it is necessary, and where you will most probably find yourself in."

"Alrighty then," Gulliver said with a long sigh. He decided that now would be the best time to start and picked up a piece of paper detailing things about the Gym Leaders and their general powers. "Golly… it must be great being one. Full power and all…."

There was more than a hint of longing in his voice.

"If you must know," Mr. Jennings said. "I don't envy the Gym Leaders. I pity them. In truth, and I've seen this myself and it is the conclusion I've drawn from whatever I've read. The Gym Leaders are in truth, prisoners who have forged their cells with their own hands. To be a Gym Leader is to have a Honedge hanging by a thread over your head constantly. Their powers make them paranoid and they no longer trust anyone, not even those who were earlier their family members. They wield absolute power, but refuse to leave their own territories and remain holed up in there and do not dare to leave them. Power turns the gentlest of souls into cruel tyrants. As a matter of fact, they cannot even die, as the Badges will not let them, and they are forced to endure till the end of time itself if need be or until they are eventually defeated. So very few of them lived happily." He glanced at his watch. "I do not have time though, for such philosophical musings. Lord Ash has to leave this afternoon and there are preparations to be made."

A/N: And that ends our chapter. I'd just like to say here that I've revealed enough information to show what Lady Freyja is planning. Basically, using whatever info I've mentioned, it is possible to create a near unbeatable strategy regardless of how weak your Pokemon are. I'd welcome all of you to try and guess what it is either through the reviews or through PM if you'd prefer.

Thank you for reading, and as always, please do review if you liked it.