Thanks for the reviews guys I really appreciate you taking the time to write one.

This chapter took a little longer than expected due to me re-writing the entire chapter about three times.

I want to give a shout out to CharmedMilliE who has a story called The Guardian of Forever. It is an excellent story that deserves a lot more readers/reviews than it has gotten so please take a look at the story.

Here's chapter 20 I hope you enjoy.

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can get the gist of what his Pokémon are saying due to his close bond with them.

"- Human speech

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

After six days of walking and three days of training Ash and Salem were nearing the end of the forested area. They were both glad that they had chosen to go through the forest instead of waiting for Cycling Road to be repaired. Not just because Salem had caught Plusle and Minun but also because all of their Pokémon had made huge improvements. The most impressive ones being Eevee who had gotten a lot stronger and had accidentally fired a Shadow Ball at Ash. This had made Eevee feel extremely guilty for a couple of days however after a lot of hugs and reassuring words from Ash she stopped feeling guilty. Chimchar was the next one who had really impressed them as he had worked incredibly hard on Brick Break and could now make a large crack in a boulder. The final Pokémon to impress more than the others was Mareep who had to everyone's surprise been the first one of Salem's Pokémon to master the Counter Shield technique.

Suddenly five people leapt out in front of Ash and Salem. They were initially surprised when they saw six people wearing Team Firestorm uniforms however when they saw the man who looked to be leading they weren't really bothered.

"Oh look it's our old friend Echye. So what do you want this time?" Ash said.

"Give us the data." Echye replied.

"And why would I want to do that?" .

"Because I'm telling you too."

"You make such a compelling argument Echye but I think we're gonna have to say no." Salem remarked.

Echye glared at them and let out with he thought was a threatening growl. The look on Echye's face combined with his attempt to sound threatening made Ash and Salem burst out laughing. Echye turned bright red in embarrassment and then turned around to glare at one of the grunts who had started sniggering.

"How dare you laugh at me? I'll make you pay for mocking me!" Echye yelled.

He took all of the Pokéballs out of his pocket and threw them revealing a Machamp, a Mightyena, a Shiftry, a Manetric, a Magcargo and a Medicham. The five Team Firestorm members then did the same which revealed several Numel's, Machop's, Corphish's and Vigoroth's. Ash and Salem weren't fazed by the twenty Pokémon stood in front of and just grinned at them.

"Look Echye and his little minions are actually going to fight us." Ash said.

"You say fight but it would be more like flailing angrily at us." Salem mocked.

"That's it I've had it with you. Everyone attack!" Echye commanded.

All of the Pokémon launched themselves towards Ash and Salem. In response Raichu, Meowth and Pikachu stepped forward and got into battle stances. They were joined by Plusle and Minun who hadn't fully recovered from the beating they had taken at the hands of their former friends and family but they were more than strong enough to fight Team Firestorm. Ash and Salem weren't taking any chances though as they took the Pokéballs of their most powerful Pokémon off their belts.

"Charizard to the battlefield."

"Luxray come on out."

The dragon and the lion appeared on the battlefield. Upon seeing the two intimidating Pokémon in front of them all of he Team Firestorm Pokémon were frozen in fear. Their terror only increased when they saw Charizard shoot a massive Flamethrower into the air and Luxray fire a Thunderbolt at the ground in front of the Pokémon. Charizard and Luxray smirked when they saw the fear on the faces of the Pokémon in front of them. They took a step forward and all of the Pokémon scrambled back until the ran into their trainers. They looked at their trainers who were glaring at them which made them reluctantly turn back around and look at Charizard and Luxray.

"Charizard use Flare Blitz, Raichu Volt Tackle and Meowth use Quick Attack."

"Pikachu use Volt Tackle, Plusle, Minun and Luxray Wild Charge."

Raichu, Pikachu, Plusle, Minun and Luxray all became surrounded in electricity and charged at their opponents. At the same time Charizard roared loudly, he then became engulfed in flames and charged forward. Finally Meowth shot off towards one of the Vigoroth at an incredible speed. All of Team Firestorm's Pokémon watched in fear as their powerful opponents charged at them and were to afraid to even move let alone dodge the attacks. Ash and Salem's Pokémon rammed into their opponents moments later and he combination of the attacks knocked out all of Team Firestorm's Pokémon apart from Echye's who had stood behind the others to make sure they weren't harmed. Echye looked around at the fainted Pokémon and glared at them.

"You worthless morons. I'll do this on my own. Machamp Focus Punch, Mightyena Bite, Shiftry Leaf Storm, Manetric Thunderbolt, Magcargo Flamethrower and Medicham use High Jump Kick" Echye said.

"Charizard grab Manetric and use Seismic Toss. Meowth dodge Medicham and use Slash and Raichu match Machamp with Thunder Punch then use Iron Tail."

"Luxray charge through the Leaf Storm and use Ice Fang. Plusle and Minun use Wild Charge on Magcargo and Pikachu use hit Mightyena with Iron Tail."

Machamp's lower right fist glowed white and he ran at Raichu who's fist crackled with electricity. Their fists clashed and to Machamp's surprise the puny Raichu he was against was actually pushing him back. He hen swung another fist at Raichu who leapt over the fist and his tail turned metallic. Raichu then slammed his tail down on Machamp's head which made the fight types eyes roll into the back of his head and he collapsed.

Meanwhile Mightyena ran at Pikachu with his jaw wide open revealing his pitch black teeth. Pikachu watched him approach and her tail turned metallic. When he was close Mightyena snapped his jaws shut but was surprised to find that he had bitten thin air. He then felt a metallic tail slam into his jaw and he was skidding along the ground back to Echye.

A tornado of leaves then surrounded Shiftry and he shot them at Luxray who ran straight through the attack and was unaffected by the attack. Once he got through the attack Luxray leapt in the air and his fangs became encased in ice. He then bit down hard on Shiftry's body freezing him solid.

Manetric looked at his fallen allies and fired a bolt of electricity at Charizard however the dragon easily dodged the attack and then grabbed Manetric. He then flew high into the sky and when he was high enough he threw Manetric back to the ground. The electric type plummeted to the ground and slammed into Shiftry knocking both of them out.

Magcargo who had only just avoid Manetric opened his mouth and shot a burst of flames at Plusle and Minun. The Cheering Pokémon ran towards the flames as their bodies were surrounded in electricity. The flames hit Plusle and Minun but were easily brushed aside by the charging electric types who slammed into Magcargo so hard that he went flying into a nearby tree. Magcargo then slumped to the ground unconscious.

This left Medicham who ran at Meowth and leapt high into the air. She aimed a kick at Meowth however the cat quickly jumped back making Medicham land hard on her leg. Medicham hissed as she felt pain shoot through her leg, she then screamed in pain as she Meowth create three nasty gashes on her back. The pain was too intense for her to deal with so she fell forward unconscious.

"Well that was even easier than expected." Ash said.

"It's disappointing really. That wouldn't even qualify as a warm up." Salem said.

Echye ignored Ash and Salem and instead looked at his fainted Pokémon in disdain. He then realised that he had no support so he turned around and was about to run until he felt himself be stopped in place by some unseen force. He was bemused when he saw a blue glow surrounding him. He was turned around and saw that electricity was now paralysing the grunts who had come with him. His head was moved down and he saw what was keeping him in place. His eyes widened as he looked at his old Ralts.

"Ralts I didn't really mean what I said. Please don't hurt me." Echye begged.

Ralts responded by smirking and then throwing Echye into a tree which made him cry out in pain as he slumped to the ground. Echye was silently praying that Ralts was done but she wasn't as she picked him back up and threw him into the tree again. Ralts was about to do it again when she felt someone grab her. She looked back and saw her dad.

"Ralts stop. If you keep hurting him you'll be just as bad as him."

Ralts looked from her dad to her old trainer who was writhing on the ground in pain and decided that her dad was right. She turned around and smiled at her dad who picked her up and hugged her tightly. Ash had been worried when he saw this more brutal side of Ralts and was relieved that she had stopped. Ash placed Ralts on the ground and took out his Pokénav. After quickly calling the local Officer Jenny Ash and Salem sat down and waited for her to arrive.

Not too far away Anne watched Echye fail and smirked. She took out her Pokénav and dialled a number. The call was quickly received and Rethant's face appeared on the screen.

"Echye failed as we expected."

"That's no great loss."

"We also lost five new recruits who joined him."

"If anyone actually chose to follow him then we are better off without them. Now go to Mauville and wait for Ketchum to deliver the data."

"Yes sir. Anne signing out."

Anne hung up and placed the Pokénav back in her pocket. She then sent out her Unfezant and after Anne got on his back they flew towards Mauville.

After Officer Jenny came and arrested the Echye and his minions Ash and Salem finally walked out of the forest and looked around spotting a large building to the east. Ash took out his Pokénav to check were they where, after opening the map he found that they were indeed near the Daycare Centre. Suddenly Ash and Salem felt a few spots of rain hit them, they looked up at the dark clouds overhead and knew that they needed to find shelter. The spots turned into a heavy shower quickly which drenched Ash and Salem as they ran to the Daycare Centre. They got to the front door and rang the bell a few moments later the door opened revealing an elderly couple.

"What are you two doing out in weather like this? Never mind that come in and take a seat by the fire in the living room." the women said.

"Thank you. You're too kind." Ash said

"We really appreciate this." Salem added.

Ash, Salem and their Pokémon that choose to stay out of their Pokéballs entered the building and took a seat in the living room. They all sighed in content as they felt the fire warm them up. The scent of hot chocolate then filled the room as the couple walked in carrying a tray each. They placed the trays down on the table and proceeded to hand out mugs of hot chocolate to their soaked guests. The couple smiled as they watched everyone guzzle down their drinks.

"So who are you two and why were you out in that wretched weather?" the woman asked.

"I'm Ash and this is Salem. We had just travelled through the forest when the rain started. That's when we ran here."

"So are you two the Daycare couple?" Salem asked.

"Yes we are. My name is George and this is my wife Catherine. We've run this Daycare for over thirty years now."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you both.." Ash said

Ash and Salem looked out of the window and saw that the storm was getting worse.

"It's really hammering down out there." Ash remarked.

"You can stay here until the storm passes if you'd like." Catherine replied.

"Thank you that's very kind of you." Salem replied.

"Hey our Pokémon haven't eaten since breakfast so is there somewhere we can send them out?" Ash said.

"They can stay in the outbuilding with all of the Pokémon here. Follow us." George said.

George and Catherine walked out of the living room and were quickly followed by Ash, Salem and their Pokémon. They went through a door which led to a room filled with Pokémon eggs in incubators

"Wow look at all of these eggs." Salem said in awe.

"Yeah I've never seen so may eggs in one place." Ash added.

Catherine and George chuckled.

"As you can see we are quite successful when it comes to Pokémon breeding." George commented.

Ash and Salem just nodded and followed Catherine and George. They came to another door and opened it revealing the enclosure where they could see a building in the distance. However the rain was still coming down making Ash and Salem wonder how they were going to get to the outbuilding. Catherine and George saw the look on the young trainers faces and chuckled again.

"Politoed surround us with Protect." Catherine commanded.

Ash and Salem looked around wondering where this Politoed when suddenly it jumped out from nowhere scaring both of the young trainers. They quickly got over the shock and stepped into the barrier Politoed had created. The group walked carefully as the boggy ground squelched under foot but after a couple of minutes Ash, Salem, George and Catherine finally got to the outbuilding and entered it.

"This isn't quite what I imagined when you said outbuilding" Ash commented as he looked around the room.

"Well we've never really been quite sure what to call this so we just went with outbuilding."

The room was filled with a variety of Pokémon who were all either sleeping, chatting or eating. Ash and Salem sent out there Pokémon and all of them except for Eevee and Ralts who chose to remain on Ash's shoulder instantly went and joined the other Pokémon. However they were tempted to join the others when they saw the food being shared with their friends and family. Ash saw the look on Eevee and Ralts' faces and chuckled.

"Go on you two. Go get something to eat." Ash said.

Eevee and Ralts smiled and then nuzzled Ash for a moment. They then leapt off of his shoulder and joined the others.

"Hey we have a kitchen in here so why don't we leave the Pokémon to eat." Catherine suggested.

Ash and Salem responded with a nod and followed Catherine and George to the kitchen.

After a few hours of swapping ideas on Pokémon breeding, training and conditioning Ash, Salem, George and Catherine left the kitchen and entered the room the Pokémon were staying in. They looked outside and saw that the rain had stopped although the ground had several puddles of water that were the size of a small lake. Suddenly they all heard an explosion, they ran outside and saw smoke coming from the house or more specifically the storage room for the Pokémon eggs. Ash, Salem and their Pokémon immediately shot off towards the house ready for the battle that would inevitably happen.

As they approached the house Ash and Salem spotted a Scrafty, a Darmanitan, a Krookodile, a Haxorus and a Seismitoad blocking the way to the house. Ash and Salem's were about to give their Pokémon instructions when they heard the sound of glass smashing. That really worried them as the Pokémon eggs were being kept in glass incubators.

"Ash you and Raichu should get to the house and delay whoever is in there. We'll join you when we've beaten these five." Salem said.

Ash nodded agreeing with the plan and he ran to the house with Raichu by his side. Scrafty, Darmanitan, Krookodile, Haxorus and Seismitoad went to stop Ash and Raichu however they were stopped by Ash and Salem's Pokémon. Ash paid no heed to the battle going on behind and charged into the house immediately coming face to face with the intruder.

"Moukoko." Ash said.

"I remember you. You're the irritating brat who stopped me from capturing those Treecko."

"And now I'm gonna stop you from stealing these eggs."

"Do you really think I want all of these eggs? Half of these are filled with crappy worthless Pokémon like Zigzagoon's. No my real goal was this." Moukoko said as he pointed to a specific egg.

Ash looked at the egg and didn't really see anything that special about it in fact it was pretty plain apart from the slight pink hue it had. Moukoko picked up the egg he was talking about and then pushed past Ash and Raichu. Once he was outside Moukoko sent out his Hydreigon and got on it's back. Raichu fired a bolt of electricity at the dragon but it dodged the attack. The dragon then took off however before he could get too high Ash jumped and grabbed on to his tail. Hydreigon flew high into the sky and Moukoko returned his Pokémon. The dragon then growled angrily as Ash held on to his tail. This is not the best idea I've ever had Ash thought as he clung on to Hydreigon's tail. Moukoko looked down at Ash and smirked at him.

"You're stubborn boy I'll give you that. Hydreigon throw him at the ground."

Hydreigon started swinging his tail with all of his strength and Ash was finding it increasingly hard to hold on. With one final swing Ash finally lost his grip and was sent rocketing towards the ground. Hydreigon and Moukoko smirked and decided to stay and watch the boy fall to his death. Salem watched in horror and tears streamed down her face as Ash plummeted to the ground. Suddenly a roar could be heard as Charizard shot into the air. The dragon flew as fast as he could to his trainer and managed to catch him moments before he would have slammed into the ground.

"Thanks Charizard. I owe ya one."

Charizard gave Ash a nod. Ash looked up at Moukoko and saw that he and Hydreigon were now flying away.

"Charizard we have to stop Moukoko."

The dragon placed Ash on his back and then chased after Hydreigon. Charizard quickly caught up with Hydreigon who looked back with one of his heads and spotted Charizard. Hydreigon then sharply changed direction as he spotted some cliffs and was hoping to shake Charizard. However he had flown through the mountainous area near Charific Valley for so long that he was now an expert flyer.

"Charizard use Dragon Pulse."

A turquoise orb was formed in Charizard's mouth and he fired it at Hydreigon clipping the dragons left head. Hydreigon growled angrily and glared at Charizard who smirked in response. Charizard increased his speed and was now side by side with Hydreigon.

"You just don't know when to give up do you?!" Moukoko yelled.

Ash responded by reaching out for the egg but Moukoko saw it coming and lashed out with his right arm making Ash have to duck under the flailing limb. Ash kept trying to pull the egg away from Moukoko however he was able to block Ash's attempts. As Charizard rammed into Hydreigon again Ash had an idea is an object in his pocket bashed him. He opened the pocket and pulled out the G.S. Ball. Ash then threw the G.S. Ball at Moukoko and it slammed into the poachers face luckily rebounding back into Ash's arms. The impact shocked Moukoko and caused him to lose his grip on the egg which Ash quickly snatched.

"Let's get out of here Charizard."

Charizard nodded and turned around headed back to the Daycare Centre. Moukoko watched as Ash flew away and growled angrily. Hydreigon was about to chase after them however he was stopped by Moukoko.

"Forget the egg. It's not worth it."

Hydreigon nodded and flew in the opposite direction to Ash and Charizard.

As Ash and Charizard headed back towards the Daycare Centre Ash placed the G.S. Ball back in his pocket.

"It seems I've finally found what the G.S. Ball is useful for." Ash said.

Ash and Charizard chuckled as the dragon flew towards the Daycare Centre and after a few minutes they could see the Daycare Centre. Charizard descended until he finally landed in the field. Ash handed the egg to Catherine and George who frantically checked it and were relieved to find that it was okay. Ash then turned to Salem who still had tears trickling down her face, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. That was all it took for Salem to start sobbing, she returned his embrace and cried into his shirt.

"I-I-I thought you w-were g-going to d-d-d-die." Salem whimpered.

"I'm sorry I scared you Salem." Ash said softly as he held her tightly.

Catherine and George took the egg back into the house and the Pokémon decided to give the young trainers some time alone so they headed into the outbuilding. Ash and Salem were now alone in the middle of the field, Ash held Salem tightly as she cried until her cries started to die down. She pulled back and then to Ash's surprise she started to repeatedly pound his chest however she was quickly stopped when Ash grabbed her arms. After a short struggle she gave up and Ash released her arms. She then wrapped her arms around him again and he return the hug.

"Come on let's go inside and help George and Catherine. clean up the storage room" Ash said.

Salem nodded and pulled back, she then wiped her gloved hand across her face to dry her tears. The young trainers headed back inside and found broken glass everywhere. Some of the glass had come from incubators which had had eggs in them so George and Catherine were now putting the eggs into new incubators as quickly as they could. Ash and Salem wasted no time and started helping Catherine and George transfer several of the eggs into new incubators.

After about an hour or so the eggs had all been placed into fully functional incubators. Ash and George then picked up a couple of broom and started sweeping the shattered glass into dust pans. When the dust pan was filled they threw away the glass but groaned when they saw that there was still a lot of glass on the floor. Catherine and Salem also picked up a couple of broom and between the four of them the room was cleared in half an hour. Once the glass had been cleared George and Catherine then placed the egg Moukoko had tried to steal on a separate shelf. Ash and Salem looked at the egg and wondered what was so special.

"Hey why are you treating their egg different to the rest and why did Moukoko try to steal it?" Ash asked.

"Well we found this egg left outside of our door about six months ago." George started.

"We were baffled by the egg and we still are as we have no clue what Pokémon is inside this egg." Catherine added.

Ash and Salem were amazed that there was an egg that even the Daycare people couldn't identify.

"Have you tried showing it to Professor Elm?" Salem asked.

"Yes we did but not even he knew what it was." George replied.

"I guess all we can do is wait for it too hatch." Catherine said.

"It must be close to hatching if you've had it for over six months." Ash said.

"Well you'd think so but from what me and Catherine can tell it's nowhere near hatching."

Ash and Salem were completely confused by this egg. Most eggs hatch within a month but this one had been here for six months and was still nowhere near hatching. It made them wonder what could be inside as it must be something special if it takes this long to hatch.

They looked outside and saw that it was starting to get dark outside. Both of them started to wonder what they'd do now as the ground was still boggy from all of the rain earlier. Catherine and George saw the look on Ash and Salem's faces and quickly offered them a couple of rooms for the night. The young trainers gratefully accepted and after being shown their rooms they went inside and fell to sleep.

The next morning Ash and Salem woke up and after getting washed and dressed they went downstairs and found an all day breakfast ready for them. Their mouths watered as they say the home cooked meal before them and they wasted no time sitting at the table and demolishing the food. Usually Ash would eat more slowly but it had been so long since he'd had a home cooked meal that he couldn't resist falling back into his old habit. Catherine and George laughed as they watched their young guest practically inhale the food.

As soon as they finished their breakfast Ash and Salem helped Catherine and George clear the table. They went out to the outbuilding and returned their Pokémon, the only exceptions being Raichu, Pikachu, Meowth, Plusle, Minun, Ralts and Eevee. The former three stood in front of their trainers and the latter four jumped on to their trainers shoulders. Ash and Salem went to shake George and Catherine's hands but were surprised when they were pulled into hugs by the Daycare Couple. After they released their hold on the young trainers and smiled.

"Thank you both so much for saving the egg from that thief." George said.

"I'm sorry but we don't have anything we can give you in exchange for your heroism." Catherine added.

"You don't owe us anything." Ash replied

"Yeah you gave us and our Pokémon a roof over our heads while that storm raged outside so I'd say we're about even." Salem added.

Catherine and George didn't agree with Ash and Salem but could see that the young trainers minds wouldn't be changed. They exchanged a look a had an idea providing that Ash and Salem would return at a later point.

"Okay we can see that you believe that we are even so we won't argue with you on the matter." George started

"Just Promise us that you'll come back here when you head back to Petalburg to get your fifth badge." Catherine said.

"Of course we'll come back." Ash said.

The Daycare Couple smiled and then gave Ash and Salem one final hug. The young trainers then walked away from the Daycare Centre while waving at George and Catherine and headed towards Mauville.

Notes

Next chapter we'll get to Mauville, give the data to Wattson and then some other stuff will happen. #

The egg will reappear later in the story. So what's inside of it and why hasn't it hatched yet?

Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.

If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

Ash:

Kanto - Raichu, Meowth, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Kingler, Muk, Tauros(x26), Snorlax, Sandshrew & Eevee (Shiny)

Johto - Totodile, Meganium, Cyndaquil, Heracross, Noctowl (Shiny), Phanpy, Tyrogue & Sneasel

Hoenn - Marshtomp, Nincada, Treecko, Zangoose, Sableye & Ralts

Sinnoh - Chimchar

Pokémon on hand – Raichu, Meowth, Charizard, Meganium, Wartortle, Treecko, Sableye, Chimchar, Sandshrew, Tyrogue, Ralts & Eevee

Salem:

Kanto - Pikachu & Jolteon

Johto - Chinchou & Mareep

Hoenn – Plusle & Minun – Not officially caught yet.

Sinnoh - Luxray

Unova - Zebstrika & Galvantula

Pokémon on hand – Pikachu, Mareep, Chinchou, Luxray, Zebstrika & Galvantula + Plusle and Minun who haven't been officially caught yet.