Cynthia was sat behind her desk when the phone rang.

"Cynthia?" It was her receptionist. "There is somebody here to see you. Norman Maple, ex-Gym Leader."

Cynthia was surprised. Norman coming all the way to Sinnoh to see her? She didn't understand why. What could she have that he might want. He should know that she wouldn't try to give him a Gym; her place in Indigo had been tacit approval of 'Champions' actions. She could just have him sent away, she had plenty to do. Yet, then she would never know what he wanted. Making a decision, Cynthia spoke into the mouthpiece.

"Send him up."

The door opened, and Norman was there. He walked in, and took the proffered seat, before looking at Cynthia. The Sinnoh Champion didn't say anything at first, merely studied him. The man in front of her looked worn, like he had been overworked. Stress was written into his face. Cynthia didn't need to ask to know what caused that. Yet as he bore her gaze there was still a power in him, he had been tried by the recent events, but not broken.

"What can I do for you then Mr Maple?" she finally asked.

"I want your help" he said. "I want to be able to run a gym again."

"You know I can't give you that." Cynthia said calmly. "I've been removed from the Pokémon Masters staff, and there are no free gyms in Sinnoh, the new limits to my authority. But you know that. So why did you come to me?"

"Because you will understand." Norman said. "'Champion' is in the wrong from what he is doing. Replacing anybody who displeases him is not the way to run a nation."

"I will understand?" Cynthia asked.

"You were replaced as well." Norman said. "You have been on the receiving end of his actions."

Cynthia surveyed the man in front of her. In the time since she had reached Sinnoh, she had been able to conduct more research into the Pokémon Master. She had tracked down more records of aura users, since that was the only thing that she had found that could explain his eyes. There hadn't been a recorded sighting for centuries, but there was no conclusive evidence that they had died out. She had also found stories of what they could do, healing Pokémon and blocking attacks. All seemed similar to what 'Champion' could do. As a result, she had concluded that he was an aura-user. Such an ability made her inherently wary of the man, and now Norman seemed to be encouraging her to take a stance opposing his commands, something which had cost her a great deal when she did it first time.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"Simple." Norman said. "We would have to have him replaced as Pokémon Master."

Cynthia stared at Norman like he had just suggested they create a planet. She had seen first-hand how powerful the man's Pokémon were, as well as how flawless his strategies. Defeating him was simply impossible to consider.

"Norman." Cynthia said. "You know that I was considered the best in a generation and that I didn't even beat one of his Pokémon? How do you suggest we beat all six?"

Norman's face fell. "I was hoping you might have an idea" he said sadly. "I've faced his Charizard as well, it took out two of my strongest in a single attack. I can't think of anything that could stand against it."

Cynthia looked sympathetic. "I do understand where you are coming from Norman, and believe me, I know that I would benefit from having him replaced. But there is just no way that we can defeat him. He is too strong a trainer. And even if there were a way, I'm not sure that I would do it. What he has done to the Pokémon League has completely revolutionized it. Any trainer can now get better by simply training at one of the gyms. It's like he has taken my vision for the Pokémon League and forced it through in a few months, when I thought it would take years to get to where we are."

"Thank you for seeing me, Cynthia." Norman said, standing up. "It's a shame that we can't find a way to agree."

Cynthia watched the former gym leader leave the room, with trepidation. There was a lot of anger there and Cynthia wasn't sure how he would deal with it. She hoped he remained rational; there was no reason 'Champion' had to be replaced. Although, as she reminded herself; there was no reason 'Champion' had to be replaced yet. So far what he had done was strengthening the league, but if that changed, Cynthia knew that she might have to initiate action. She would be unable to challenge him herself, it wasn't against tradition for a previous Pokémon Master to attempt to take the position once again. What she had to do, was find somebody who could, if it was required. An idea crossed her mind, and she stood up, striding out of her office. She needed somewhere private for this.

The group had reached Cherrygrove City and knew May's first contest was a few days away. Since Misty wanted to move as quickly to get her badges, given that she only had a few weeks until the closing time for the Johto League, James, Gary and her were planning on heading off in the morning. They had gotten rooms in the Pokémon Center and headed out for a last night together before they split in the morning. After having dinner, the group had wandered along the coast, chatting quietly. Eventually they settled down looking out across the sea, in silence. It wasn't an awkward silence, merely one among friends. After a while James and Meowth exchanged looks and excused themselves, saying that they were going to head off into the city by themselves. As they walked off, they were chuckling that the scene was far too romantic for the two of them. Walking back into the city, James decided to take the opportunity to spend some time with his Pokémon and so released them from their Pokéballs. As he lay down against a tree, in his preferred comfortable way, his Pokémon played around him in the twilight. James smiled as he lay there, happy with how his life turned out in the end.

Misty and Gary wandered off shortly afterwards, leaving May and Drew together looking out over the waves. May was resting on Drew and he was absent-mindedly playing with her hair.

"Drew" May asked, continuing after she got a grunt of acknowledgement from the green-haired boy. "Thank you for letting me re-join contests. I know that you were enjoying the break, so it means a lot."

Drew just smiled. "It's fine May. I'm looking forward to watching you. And it will give us a reason to make Dawn shut up."

"But still I just want to say thank you. Are you sure you don't want to do the same?"

"I don't want to compete against you." Drew answered.

Surprised May sat up, before turning around to look at her boyfriend. "What do you mean? You used to compete against me all the time. You were really good."

Drew laughed lightly. "I only competed because I wanted an excuse to be around you. A rival is better than not knowing you at all. Now I have you, I have no reason to do so. Although, if you start doing badly…" he said as a mock threat, that drew a giggle from May.

"I won't." she promised. "Next season I will be in the Grand Festival final."

"Only in the final?" Drew said with a smirk. "Not winning?"

May lay back down, resting her head on Drew's chest. "I don't want to promise what I can't definitely do. And Dawn's good…"

Drew just chuckled once again. "And yet if you get that far, I'll be proud. You'll be great May. This will be good for both of us."

Misty sat next to Gary on a park bench. Pikachu had wandered off, and Misty trusted him enough not to worry. Gary had noted her subdued attitude all night, and was simply waiting. He knew that she would talk about it eventually, and he wasn't proved wrong.

"It's going to be a long few weeks." Misty said quietly. "I mean… challenging gyms… competing in leagues… it's what Ash did… Doing it without him… it doesn't feel right…"

Gary knew exactly how Misty felt. If he had been told ten years ago, just before his own Johto League competition that he would be here now, he would have predicted that he would be coming to watch Ash. After he had been beaten by his rival, Gary remembered had felt guilty about how he treated him. He had never been particularly good at showing respect, and he had respected Ash. The defeat made him realize that Ash not only deserved his respect for being a strong trainer, that Ash was also a stronger trainer than Gary himself. Gary had followed his old friends progress through Hoenn and Sinnoh closely. Gary remembered watching Ash's last battle in the Sinnoh League, where he fought against Tobias and his legendaries. Gary had been in awe of how far his rival had come, to beat not one, but two legendaries in battle was stunning. Ever since that day, Gary had a new respect for Pikachu. Whilst he had never dismissed the little electric mouse, he hadn't realized quite how powerful he was. Gary wanted nothing more than to discuss how Pikachu had become so powerful, but Ash hadn't been around for long enough. At the end of everything, Gary just missed his old friend. When he first became a trainer he lost that friendship as it turned into a rivalry, and he had never managed to get it back to what it had been. But travelling for a league without Ash… that was just wrong. Yes, Gary could definitely relate to how Misty was feeling.

"I always knew that one day, if I wanted to truly become the most powerful Water trainer, I would probably have had to face him at some point. I mean he was so determined to be the best, I just assumed he would get there…" Misty continued. "When Pikachu said he was dead, I couldn't believe it. I always assumed that he would burst back into our lives, grinning away… but he never did. And he would never leave Pikachu… Gary… what if he is actually gone? I mean… not even coming home for seven years?"

Gary moved across the bench and put his arms around Misty, drawing her close. Since they had set off, he knew that this was coming. The only times that Misty had gone on a journey to challenge gyms had been with Ash. Come to think of it, the only times he had gone to gyms had been as Ash's rival. This would affect them both. As they sat there, they mourned their friend. Gary had accepted that Ash wasn't coming back, as had many of the group, but he knew that Misty had still clung to the hope that he would. He knew Brock was similar. But then they had both known him the longest, except for Gary. Misty saw Ash as her best friend, whilst Brock saw him as a little brother. The years Brock had spent with Ash on his journeys had made the doctor unable to accept the loss of his friend. Misty was just too stubborn to accept it. Gary knew that Delia had also refused to accept that her son was coming back. She always kept his room perfect, for when he returned to her. Gary also knew that without any closure, Delia would never accept it. Misty, it seemed was just about coming to terms with it, and as he sat there, holding his girlfriend, he could feel the sobs that wracked her body. He knew how she felt. After all, he had gone through the same thing.

Agent walked into the room, to be met by the face of his boss once again. Giovanni was sat behind a desk, the usual arrays of screens in front of him. Agent was unsure of what to make of this meeting. He knew he had done well; he had managed to save most of Team Rocket. The only ones that been lost were the recruits at the training bases. Agent hadn't bothered to try to save them; they were replaceable.

"Firstly, I must congratulate you." Giovanni said. "You have done well since the attack." Agent acknowledged this praise with a bowed head, waiting for the real reason he had been summoned. "I have a new assignment for you. The progress on the base no longer requires your supervision, so you can be put to matters that are better suited to your talents. Before I do though, you have an explanation to offer."

Behind Giovanni a screen lit up. On it was the Pokémon Master, 'Champion' standing at a press conference. Agent groaned inwardly. He knew this was coming. He was surprised at how he had misjudged the Pokémon Master; he had never made a mistake like that before.

"As you can see, the man you assured me was 'broken' is quite the opposite." Giovanni said icily. "He has managed to keep the operation in Goldenrod quiet; something that is quite extraordinary given the number of trainers involved."

"Sir, when I left him, he was a whimpering wreck." Agent said, his eyes fixed on a point to the side of Giovanni's head. "I never believed that he would be able to recover like this, let alone be able to take control like he has. I can only assume that he was faking."

Giovanni looked at Agent, a look of surprise flashing across his usually emotionless face. "Faking?"

"Yes Sir. Faking. I did feel that somebody like 'Champion' would take longer to crack than he did. I just assumed in the immediate afterwards that the time spent in the cell had taken more from him that we believed. With his rapid recovery, I have a different theory."

Giovanni made a steeple with his fingers, looking at his subordinate. "Go on."

"You Sir. He was faking to get to you. We know that 'Champions' Pokémon were in the base when it was being attacked. And we know that they had teleported out during his attack. My theory is that he allowed himself to get captured. At some point you would personally visit a prisoner such as him. Logically at that time, his Pokémon would teleport back in and capture you. I must admit, a plan that I can only admire in its audacity."

Giovanni looked stunned. Everything his subordinate said made sense. Yet it was something he would have fallen for. In fact, he very nearly had. He had planned to go to his prisoner when he had been broken by Agent. If he had… The crime boss growled in anger. He had been played for a fool by a master. In front of him, Agent remained impassive, looking at the point over his boss's shoulder once again.

"How did he know?" Giovanni growled.

"My guess sir, is that he planned for both eventualities. If there hadn't been a trap, he would have had a different plan."

"And he knew he would be tortured did he?" Giovanni snapped, his anger mounting.

"Sir, I don't know. I'm just saying what I think" Agent said.

"Very well. You now have two tasks. One; track down Mewtwo. I want him here once again. He is too valuable to lose." Agent nodded quickly. "And secondly, find out everything you can about the Pokémon Master. I want to know how he could endure the wounds he did and be fully active. And I want confirmation of who he is. Look at trainers who have vanished over the last decade, particularly highly placed ones."

Agent nodded again. "Yes Sir. I'll get on it." He turned and headed out of the room, leaving Giovanni to his contemplation as to how close he had come to being captured. He now knew that he could never take the same risk again. Next time he encountered 'Champion' he had to flee instantly. He had previously toyed with the idea of a stealthed airship, just like Hunter J had once had. He had the technology to build one, but had always shied away from it. Despite the difficulty in finding it, the ship still had a major weakness; there was no way out. Giovanni returned to his screens with one overriding desire burned across his mind. The Pokémon Master had to fall, there was no alternative. Not if he, Giovanni, was to survive.

Cynthia walked into the Sinnoh Elite Fours training area. None of the elites were there, but she wasn't here for them. She strode through the main rooms, into a room at the back. As she walked through the door, the Pokémon inside stood to face her.

"Cynthia." Mewtwo said. "Thank you."

Cynthia nodded her head in acknowledgement. "You asked for aid Mewtwo, I'm not the kind to turn you away. However, now I have time to hear the full story about why you need my help, do you mind?"

"No. It is simple; I am in hiding from Team Rocket. They have repeatedly tried to capture me, and in the open I fear I won't be able to remain hidden forever. If I stay here, I know that I will be able to be safe until Team Rocket falls."

"Until they fall? How long do you envision staying here?"

Cynthia felt almost amusement down the mental link. "Last time he found them it took 'Champion' how long to locate their main base? I have confidence in him. He will take down Team Rocket for good."

Cynthia looked curiously at Mewtwo. She suspected something, and had thought about how to act on it. "Mewtwo, what do you know about 'Champion'?" she asked.

"Why?" came the response.

"Simple question. I want to know as much as I can about him."

"I don't know how much I can tell you. His privacy is of utmost import to him, I can't go against him like that."

"Why not?" Cynthia pressed. "Trust me, having been fired by him, I'm hardly going to go running to him am I?"

"You misunderstand. I owe him a great deal, my respect for his privacy is an extension of that debt."

"But how would he find out?" Cynthia argued.

"You mean he never knew things you thought he shouldn't?" Mewtwo asked.

Cynthia bowed her head in defeat. Mewtwo was right, throughout her working relationship with him 'Champion' had managed to find out several things that she had hoped would remain hidden. James being at Indigo was one, and that had gotten her fired.

"Isn't there anything you can tell me about him?" Cynthia asked.

"No." Mewtwo said. "He was already furious with me after Goldenrod, I don't want to incur his wrath."

"But you're a legendary Pokémon…" Cynthia said, somewhat confused. "What can you fear from him?"

"Haven't you noticed he is somewhat different?" Mewtwo asked. "I have seen the aftermath of people that get on the wrong side of him. What you saw in Goldenrod could have been so much worse."

Cynthia shivered involuntarily. She had been shocked by what she saw. She couldn't imagine it being worse, yet somehow she didn't doubt Mewtwo. He didn't really seem the type to make things up. "What have you seen?" she tried one last time. "Surely he won't object to that?"

"If only you knew." Mewtwo said sadly. "He's changed a lot over the years, I don't antagonize him anymore."

"Changed?" Cynthia asked. "Mewtwo, you know who he is don't you?"

"I do." the Pokémon confirmed. "But I won't tell you. I apologize for my inability to help Cynthia, but when I last spoke to him in Goldenrod, 'Champion' did give me some advice on dealing with humans. He said that every action has a reaction. If I tell you, I can't tell what the reaction will be. If you no longer wish to give me sanctuary, I will leave."

Cynthia stared at him like he was insane. "Mewtwo, don't be stupid. My protection, such that it is, isn't dependent on you giving me information. You came to me needing help, and I am willing to provide. I am curious though; if you are seeking protection, why didn't you go to 'Champion'? You obviously understand his capabilities very well."

"Simple." Mewtwo replied. "I fear him."

Cynthia was left stunned by the simple truth in the answer. Mewtwo retreated deeper into the room, and Cynthia turned, slowly walking out once again, thinking on what she had heard. It didn't make for particularly good thoughts, if a Pokémon of the power of Mewtwo feared the Pokémon Master.

Ash stood in front of his scouts, looking over them with a critical eye. Whilst the rest of the Pokémon trained, these three had rested, preparing for their next mission. They knew that Giovanni's escape meant that they would be sent out once again; Ash couldn't afford to leave somebody like that at large. His capture would bring a huge amount of positive media attention on his administration, something that could never hurt. Alakazam knew that his trainer was relying on him to succeed, and he had no intentions of letting Ash down. He never had.

Ash remembered when he first met Alakazam. He had meditated whilst his Pokémon trained around him. Espeon had stopped her training and started to focus on something, a lax in concentration that instantly brought Ash's attention. However, instead of being angry, Ash merely watched. As Espeon prowled around the clearing that they had trained in, until eventually Alakazam appeared in the middle of the clearing, firing a Psybeam at Espeon. Espeon had leapt out-of-the-way and retaliated with a Psychic attack. The other Pokémon had watched amused as the expression on Alakazam's face went from calm, to confused to worried, to shock as he realized the strength of his opponent. Alakazam had never met a Pokémon with a stronger Psychic then himself, and had never been detected like Espeon had detected him. After he had recovered from his mauling at the hands of the Sun Pokémon, he had asked to be trained. Espeon had at first refused, but Alakazam had persisted. When Espeon refused, Alakazam appealed to Ash, who promised to teach him what he could. After more than a month of this, Alakazam fought Espeon once again, this time pushing the Sun Pokémon so far, she agreed to train him. That was the closest Alakazam ever came to winning a fight between them, as Espeon had redoubled her own training in the aftermath. Ash was pleased for them; he knew that Espeon enjoyed having company with which she could communicate with her mind, and with Alakazam she could do so. He tried to do it himself, but he knew that it wasn't the same. Alakazam had felt indebted to Ash for helping him persuade Espeon that he was worth training, and as a result had no problems from joining the team.

It had been two years later that Alakazam was truly indebted to his trainer. Despite his strength, Alakazam had been run ragged in training. Whilst battling against a variety of Pokémon in a remote region, Alakazam had found that he was running out of strength. The Pokémon he had been battling, a very territorial group of Bug Pokémon had swarmed him, overwhelming him with sheer numbers. However, instead of stopping when Alakazam collapsed, they had kept attacking. Ash had been the one to notice the long absence of Alakazam, and he had gone looking for his Pokémon. When he found the Psi Pokémon, Alakazam was nearly at the point of death. Ash had simply stood over his body and thrown up an aura shield, shutting out the Bug Pokémon. As they battered furiously to get in, Ash then turned his shield into a surge of energy that had hit the entire swarm, sending them flying. The Bugs had retreated, deciding that this was a battle they didn't need to win, and Ash had been able to start to heal Alakazam, although he was exhausted from driving off the bugs. The two of them never spoke of those events. None of the other Pokémon even knew about it. Ash had gotten Alakazam into a sufficiently healthy state that none of the others ever realized what had happened. For that, Alakazam was grateful; he didn't want to appear weak to the other Pokémon. But it was the saving of his life that truly indebted him to his trainer. And for that trainer he would do anything he could to aid him. Spending a few weeks tracking across country was the least he could do.

The rest of the scouts stood proud in front of their trainer. Ninetales always took great delight in ruining her coat just before a mission, and cleaning it back to its usual pristine condition when she returned. She stood in front of Ash her once gleaming coat a mat of mud, looking like she had been abandoned. It seemed to work; the aura of strength that she gave off, coupled with her image was enough to persuade more than one Pokémon to look for a fight elsewhere and leave her to her business. She also claimed it meant she would never have to preen herself mid-mission, and could stay focused. Ash didn't mind, whatever she felt like doing was completely her business, he just found it unusual.

Beautifly was the last of the three. She was, unusually, totally and utterly unremarkable. That was her secret to her scouting; nobody ever gave her a second glance, because although Beautifly are beautiful Pokémon, they are hardly rare. Seeing one was not an unusual ocurance, so Beautifly could easily pass through almost any area, simply due to the fact that people never really gave her a second glance. It was a skill she used to great effect.

Eventually, Ash spoke.

"Giovanni is out there somewhere. What region, I do not know. I suspect somewhere remote. Your task is to find him."

All three of the scouts nodded their agreement. They knew that this was what they trained for, what they had spent so long working on their abilities for; so that when the time came, they could track down their trainers greatest enemy. Ash took one last look at them, before nodding his head and turning away. As he did so, Alakazam crossed his spoons and the trio of Pokémon vanished.

Cynthia stepped into the Elites training area once again. She walked straight through to the room at the back which Mewtwo had adopted as his own. When she reached it, the Genetic Pokémon stepped out from the shadows.

"Cynthia."

"Mewtwo. I have a suggestion that might interest you."

"Go on."

"'Champion' is furious because we ruined his plan to capture Giovanni, and he got away. If we could tell him where Giovanni is, he will be able to get another chance."

"And you want me to track down Giovanni." Mewtwo finished.

"Not quite." Cythia said with a small smile. "I'll be coming with you."

Mewtwos gaze fell on the Sinnoh Champion, who defiantly met his eyes. "Are you sure?" Mewtwo asked.

"Yes. I need to end this."

"You are aware that success in finding Giovanni will most likely not cause 'Champion' to reinstate your status as a teacher?"

"I thought as much. I still think it is the right thing to do."

Mewtwo looked at the woman in front of him, feeling a new respect. He had never expected her to do this, to try to undo her mistake. He nodded once in agreement. Cynthia's face broke into a tight smile.

"I can leave when you're ready." Cynthia said. "There isn't really much for me here."

Mewtwo nodded, before floating towards the door. As he reached it, the door opened, and floated through, leaving Cynthia to hurry after him.

"SHE DID WHAT?"

The sound of Lance's voice echoed down the corridors of the Johto League, leaving the workers who heard cowering in fear. The man who was stood in front of him stood his ground, but cringed visibly at the anger on the face of his colleague.

"She went off to chase after Giovanni." Steven said. "I only found out because Lucian sent a message to me outside of the League so that 'Champion' doesn't find out. Completely deniable from both parties."

"Is she insane?" the Dragon Master raged. "'Champion' is going to kill her!"

"I don't think she cares..." Steven said sadly. "I tried to speak to her three days ago, just before she apparently left. It lasted about five seconds. She claimed that she didn't have time to talk. She has never done that before."

"But still!" Lance growled, throwing his hands up. "What is she thinking?"

"I don't know Lance." Steven replied, an edge to his voice now. "I told you because Lucian asked me to, we are the only ones outside of the Sinnoh Elite Four that know. If 'Champion' asks, we have no choice but to deny it." Lance nodded slowly, calming down, despite the anger still evident on his face. "Now, I am aware that you have a lot of work to do to get the Johto League ready. A month till it starts?"

Lance groaned, his anger being replaced by depression at his plight. "Less. I have no idea how we are going to be ready. The Gym Leaders have no idea how many people will actually be competing, the week that they had to take off has really thrown them. If we get through this without a disaster we've done well."

Steven nodded sagely. "Alright. I'll leave you to it. However, I'm bringing Sidney and Phoebe in from Hoenn. They will be available to you to help with the planning, I'm sure the extra manpower will be useful."

Lance looked at his colleague gratefully. "Thanks. When will they arrive?"

"A couple of days. I'll try and track down Cynthia as well, so you can take your mind off it."

Lance nodded gratefully, then the phone rang. He looked apologetically at Steven who simply smiled tiredly and left the room.

As he walked down the corridors of the Johto League administration building Steven started to think of how he could track down Cynthia. The obvious way would be to find Giovanni and he suspected that she wouldn't be particularly far away, but that wasn't really practical. He could hardly go and do what he was trying to stop Cynthia from doing. He briefly contemplated asking 'Champion' but then decided that wasn't really viable either. He didn't want Cynthia to get into even more trouble. His alternatives weren't particularly great, not if he wanted to try to keep her whole disappearance quiet. He had people he knew throughout the regions that he could trust, but he wasn't particularly confident. There was no way that Giovanni would have hidden himself anywhere other than as remote a place as possible, and as a result Cynthia would have to search those places. He could ask some people to keep an eye open, but he knew that if he heard a rumor he would have to investigate it himself. He groaned. Cynthia had really messed this up. Steven was no longer in any doubt that something had happened beyond what he knew about in the aftermath of the events in Goldenrod City. Regardless, with the Johto League looming, and Lance having to spend his entire time working on its organization, security and everything else relating to it, and Cynthia being the problem, Steven knew that he was going to have to try to find out.

Although… something crossed his mind. Some years back, he had seen a young trainer move through Hoenn and compete at the Hoenn League. That trainer had been in the company of May Maple, the daughter of one of his Gym Leaders and somebody who had caught the eye of the talent watchers that Wallace had in the contest circuit. Steven had been impressed by him, and had chosen to keep an eye on him. Ash Ketchum had reached the last four in the Sinnoh League and then vanished. Yet his opponent in the semi-final had been a trainer of legends. If Steven could find Tobias, he knew that there was a chance that the man would be able to challenge Cynthia. Such a challenge would force her return, enabling him to prevent her leaving once again. Steven couldn't believe that Cynthia would give everything up; she had to return if a challenge materialized. And there was little doubt that Tobias would be able to face the Elite Four with ease, he had won the Sinnoh League so was eligible. All Steven had to do was find him. Doing an abrupt turn, the Hoenn Champion strode back down the corridor to the office he had been assigned. He had some calls to make, and an alert to put out. Tobias would not be hard to track down. He hoped.

Alakazam growled in exhaustion. The scouts had pushed themselves hard over the last ten days, there was no denying that. They had spent time asking all the Pokémon that Ash had befriended through the years. In fact, Alakazam was shocked at the amount of effort that most of them would be willing to go to for his trainer, since he hadn't been there for the befriending of some of them. Regardless, he was grateful for the help, there was absolutely no way that the scouts could have covered the area they had without the help of these Pokémon. They had quickly visited all of their allies around Kanto, all of whom promised to search the areas around their home. That covered all the areas relatively near to human civilization. Alakazam wasn't hopeful of a result there, but they couldn't afford to miss anything out. He had then spent the next four days searching across the remoter regions of Kanto. There was nothing. Alakazam had returned to Mystery Island after six days of constant effort. The scouts were ready to drop when they arrived. Ninetales had made several pointed remarks about the lack of a break, but Alakazam had ignored them, knowing that they weren't meant negatively. All the scouts would do anything for Ash. As they had teleported onto the Island, Ash was waiting for them, Espeon and Meganium by his side. As soon as they reappeared, Ash and Meganium stepped forwards. A vine wrapped around Ninetales and Alakazam, whilst Beautifly fluttered onto one of Ash's hands, the other gripping Alakazam's shoulder firmly. Energy poured from the human and the Herb Pokémon into the scouts, restoring their strength. Ash and Meganium had saved up their strength for this moment, fully aware that it would take a lot to restore the strength to the scouts.

As the other two went to work, Espeon cast her mind out and meshed with Alakazam. In a few minutes the Psi Pokémon managed to fill her in on the six days of scouting. By the time Ash and Meganium had finished transferring energy, they looked ready to drop. Ash held himself up for a few moments whilst Alakazam looked him in the eye and teleported out. Espeon had then seen Ash sag visibly, whilst Meganium fell to the ground, utterly exhausted. Neither of them had wanted the scouts to see their exhaustion, they felt it would degrade the teams honor. She shook her head disapprovingly, but knew she would have done the same thing.

That had been four days ago. Alakazam was now in the wild areas between the recognized regions of Johto and Hoenn, meditating. The scouts had found that when they reached these remote areas, they found it far easier to scout. Pokémon did exist out here, but despite their strength they had learned to fear any Pokémon that trainers brought out there. It was almost unheard of for any trainer to spend extended time in the wild, yet Ash had taken his team there for an entire year. By the time that he had finished the work, they had traversed almost every area outside of the four regions. The Pokémon there had learned that these Pokémon were not ones to get on the wrong side of. This meant that they could scout without having to worry about anybody. Beautifly flew high into the sky and searched across huge areas. Alakazam would teleport Ninetales somewhere else and the Fox Pokémon would use her smell to hunt. Alakazam then teleported even further away, and used his psychic strength to search further. In this way, they could cover the remote areas in a mere two weeks, although they would need time on Mystery Island to recover. They knew that their trainer would be ready to enervate them when they returned, but if they had been out for three weeks, they would need some serious time to recover, despite what Ash could do. Alakazam was determined to have cleared the remote areas first. If they managed that, a few days recovery would be enough to see them through the last few regions, and track down Giovanni. And this time, all of Ash's team knew, there would be no escape. Giovanni would finally fall.

A/N

Alright… Firstly, I think I should say sorry? This update is so late that I feel somewhat guilty. So sorry for not updating or actually putting up a chapter saying I wouldn't be able to do so for a while. My excuse? I've had some personal problems recently as well as a return to actually having to do things during the day, but the problems are nearly resolved so I'm hoping to settle into a system of a new chapter every week or so. Hopefully. I'm aiming to find a day that will be a regular update day, but I'll get back to you on that one…

Now, the usual authors note stuff. Thanks for those of you who have reviewed, and please keep doing so. As per the norm, I shall answer a few of your points…

Werewolf2300: Ash was 10. Cynthia is an adult with huge responsibilities. There is a difference! (Although as per, it is a valid point.)

Mr Anonymous who split his review in half: If you want to ask for tips on writing send me a PM (create an account for it, it's free!) I can't promise that I'll be any good, I've kinda just developed this writing style over some years, its quite natural for me. But I'll happily try. As for your suggestions, I accept criticism, it helps me to improve. I wasn't actually aware about the 'whilst' thing, but I reading back… I'll try to change that one. The 'Champion' thing is just a permanent reminder that 'Champion' isn't Ash's actual name, it's a pseudonym. And I'm so used to the quotation marks that I will probably keep typing them in half the time if I try to change it, so I'm afraid that one isn't going to change. But still, any more suggestions, I'll consider.

Noshadowone: Yes, you are indeed correct. Ash is put simply, an ass to many humans. I have often wondered the same thing about the dead children, but remember, there is a whole culture of letting kids go out. Taking them into a war is less acceptable. But it is very definitely a valid criticism. Ash was never meant to be Mr Perfect. (Also, to the others who mentioned similar stuff, this is also an answer to you, but noshadowone had his review posted last, so that's the one that I read last.)

s.k.f.f.f: I'm going to go against my own rule here and reveal the plot from later. Should Misty face Ash any time soon, trust me, there is absolutely no way that she will win. Equally, Pikachu will be one of the most powerful electric types around, but no match for Ash's Pokémon. So you're prayers have been answered. (I kinda like that, makes me feel like god!)

Also, as a general point, the timeline will be moving forwards slightly quicker now. If you hadn't managed to work it out, the Johto League is what we are heading towards, and whilst the majority of that will be skimmed, that is the next major 'event'. I'm aiming for one more chapter before we get there.

Alright, I think that's it from me this time around. Once again, I apologize for the huge delay in this chapter going up, I'm going to go out on a limb and aim for Sunday for the next chapter. I can't promise I'll meet that but I'll try… If I fail, I'll bust a gut to get it up by next Wednesday in a week. If I fail that I'll just be embarrassed. Till next time, keep reviewing, and try not to murder me should my update schedule collapse around me again.