**If you're being harassed by these ******** google ads, turn on Reader View. Activating it and results vary by device.

I am so sorry that I cannot offer any help beyond saying that**

Omega: *flips page before frowning* Yeesh. This Melvin guy sounds like a real piece of work.

Pike: *sweat drops* Oh, right … him.

Gem: He was, uh … well, it was a fun carnival.

I don't own Pokémon or Ben 10.

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The Magical Mystery Of How The Yvel Melvin Got Hired By The Carnival

.

"GAH!" Squirtle cried out as he tumbled back and landed on his stomach. He rolled back over while panting heavily, "crag…" He slowly got back to his feet, glared at his opponents, and got back into his fighting stance.

"Wow." Soot said with a smirk and a raised brow, "I have not been giving you enough credit, Water boy."

The other Bite Pokémon sat down next to her and frowned, "We can take a break if you want."

Squirtle smirked, "I'm still conscious, aren't I?" He glanced back and forth between the pair, "I'm actually asking. Everything's blurry."

Ash chuckled before smiling sadly, "Well, you were right about that."

Squirtle raised a brow, "Were?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

Squirtle jerked and turned around before getting a face full of blue powder.

The Water-type stumbled back out of the cloud with his eye lids drooping and pointed ahead, "Dude … not cool." He fell back.

Bulbasaur looked down at him, "I said I was sorry."

Soot snickered.

"Misty, wait!"

The trio perked up in surprise and looked over at Ash's pool. A vaporeon could be seen running from it with tears streaming down her face.

.

*Misty and co.; Moments before

"Aw man!" Horsea whined, "I can't believe we missed all of that."

Goldeen sighed, "It's times like this I wish I could levitate." She looked at the Bubble Jet Pokémon with a smile, "So, first real battle, huh? How was it?"

Misty smiled sadly and her ears drooped, "It, uh … hurt. A lot." She looked around her team with a frown, "Is that really what you all feel when you get hit in a battle? That much pain?"

Horsea tilted his head, "Kinda, I guess." He shifted to a happy expression, "Though, you get used to it."

Misty tensed up and her eyes widened fearfully.

Starmie made a snickering sound, "Yeah. And you pretty much have to for the super effective moves." They looked at the others, "Once, back at the Gym, I had to face this trainer with a magneton. It was basically Spark after Spark after Spark. They even shot Sonic Booms into the water to get everything wet. I couldn't hide or dodge or anything."

Misty flinched and looked at Starmie in shock.

Goldeen chuckled, "You think that's bad? I got put up against a magmar once. We thought it was in the bag until they jumped in the pool. And evaporated it!" She laughed, "The entire pool. Gone. I was defenseless."

Misty grimaced and started trembling.

Staryu laughed, "Geez. But that probably doesn't even compare to the time I had an electrode blow up in my-"

The team jerked when a splash erupted from where Misty was and they all looked over.

The vaporeon could be seen sprinting away from the pool.

"Misty, wait!" Horsea shouted.

After their trainer disappeared into a bush, Ash, Soot, and Bulbasaur ran over. Squirtle was unconscious on Soot's back.

The male Dark-type looked around worriedly, "What happened?"

Psyduck wandered around behind the non-Water-types as he held his head.

.

**Short Skip**

Ash ran through the forest as fast as he could and called out, "Misty! Come on! Say something!" He stopped in a clearing and looked around, 'Crag. Where the Yvel could she-'

He perked up upon picking up a scent and looked towards a bush, 'Daffodils.' He ran through the foliage immediately.

"Mist-" Ash called out before skidding to a halt.

Misty was sitting on the ground and looking out at a field of grass. She had her legs pulled up to her chest.

"How'd you find me?" Misty asked monotonously without looking back.

"The perfume you got from Celadon." Ash said before chuckling sheepishly, "I guess Soot was right about using it to track you."

Misty didn't respond.

The Omnitrix user sighed, walked over, and sat down next to her. He looked at her worriedly, "Misty, what's going on?"

"Ash." Misty said before pulling her legs closer into her chest, "Am I a bad friend?"

Ash jerked and put a hand on her shoulder, "What? Misty, of course you're not."

"Oh, really?" She said sourly before pushing his hand away and glancing to the side, "So it's supposed to be normal for someone to hurt the one's they care about? To make them suffer and have them think that that's just fine?"

Ash gave her a confused look, "What are you-" He perked up in realization before looking down sadly, "Oh."

"Yeah. 'oh'." The Water-type trainer grumbled. She took a deep, shaky breath and looked ahead sadly, "How could I have been so blind? Every time they got hit and cried out. Every time they were knocked out. How could I have never known that I was hurting them so much?"

Ash shook his head, "Misty, that's-" He stopped and took a deep breath, "Look. I know exactly where you're coming from. When I started training as a Pokémon, it hurt. More than I could've imagined. After feeling what battling was like and realizing that I'd be doing that to other Pokémon, I wanted to give up on ever becoming a trainer."

Misty jerked and looked at Ash in shock.

The boy smiled softly, "But someone told me something that helped."

Misty frowned, "What?"

"Pokémon are violent." Ash said; still with a soft smile, "Naturally, instinctually violent."

Misty stared at Ash in shock, "Wha-" She shook it off and glared, "That isn't-"

"true." Ash jumped in, "I said the same thing." He looked ahead with a sad smile, "But she was right. Just not in the way I thought she meant. Pokémon battle in the wild all the time and have been since before the League or any Gym existed. They battle for food, territory, mates, strength, or even because they just want to. Pokémon live to battle. Their instincts drive them to seek it out in one way or another and they enjoy it." He frowned, "But the wild doesn't always have rules and regulations to keep a Pokémon safe. It can be cruel and unforgiving. Especially outside of a tribe."

He turned to face Misty and smiled softly, "And that's part of what it means to be a trainer. It's why some Pokémon look forward to getting captured and join battling trainers willingly. We give them a way to battle without the fear of something worse than a knockout." His smile saddened, "I know it's not as black and white as I'm making it sound. Some people just aren't fit to be trainers." He went back to the soft smile, "But, at its core, training and trainer battles are about giving Pokémon a safe outlet."

Misty stared at Ash in surprise. After a moment, she frowned again, "Still. I don't want to hurt my friends."

Ash put a hand on her shoulder, "Which is what makes you a better trainer than most. You're seeing them as equals and caring about them as such." He frowned, "But they're not humans, Misty. You can't keep them from battling if they want to and expect it to be okay. You'd be forcing them to push down their instincts."

The Cerulean girl groaned, "So, what am I supposed to do? Keep making them battle and letting them get hurt? Pretend I'm fine with seeing them get hurt?"

"Well, there is something else you could try first." Ash said.

Misty looked at him and perked up when she saw him holding out a Lens with the vaporeon silhouette.

"Tell them how you feel and ask what they want. Not as their trainer, but as their friend. And if they want to battle, let them. Make sure they're ready and be there to comfort them when they get hurt." Ash's smile softened, "Because, in a battling Pokémon's eyes, that's one of the most thoughtful and kind things a trainer can do."

Misty stared at the Lens before smiling sadly. She nodded, "Alright."

.

*Campsite

Staryu paced around on the grass while looking downward. Everyone else was still in the pool. Soot and Bulbasaur sat by the pool and were looking at where Ash went. Squirtle was snoring on the ground. Psyduck was still … being Psyduck.

"I hope Misty's okay." Horsea whined worriedly. He looked at the Goldfish Pokémon, "Why do you think she ran off like that?"

Goldeen frowned, "I'm really not sure." She looked down worriedly, "Could it have to do with us talking about our old Gym Battles?"

"Wish I knew." Starmie said while drooping sorrowfully.

Soot and Bulbasaur looked at the Water-types worriedly before sharing a look.

Staryu noticed something, perked up, and turned to face it, "They're back!"

Everyone jerked and followed the Star Shape Pokémon's gaze. Ash and Misty were walking back into the clearing. Misty looked towards her team and smiled sadly. She ran ahead towards the pool.

Ash motioned for Soot and Bulbasaur to move away from the pool. Soot picked up Squirtle and the pair ran over to Ash.

Horsea, Goldeen, Starmie, and Staryu started rambling wildly.

Misty waved her hands defensively and smiled softly, "Hey. Calm down." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the active Change Lens, "Give me a second to change, first."

Misty placed the Lens on her chest and slapped it. The green flash shrouded her and faded to reveal the viridian-eyed vaporeon. She jumped into the pool. Staryu followed soon after.

Horsea looked at his trainer sadly, "Misty, what happened? Why'd you run off like that?"

Misty frowned, "First, there's something I need to ask you all." She took a deep breath and looked around the group, "Do you like battling?"

The four Pokémon perked up and Goldeen and Horsea blinked in surprise. They all shared a confused look.

"And," Misty continued, "I don't want you to just say 'yes' because you think that's what I want. Be honest with me."

"Uh…" Starmie said in an unsure tone, "I've never really thought about it."

"Yeah. Me neither." Staryu followed.

Goldeen bobbed down for a moment; her version of a shrug, "Same."

Horsea nodded with a confused look, "Yeah."

Misty sighed, "Okay. How about this?" She looked at them sadly, "Are any of you mad at me for letting you get hurt in battles? Do any of you regret joining me for making you battle?"

Goldeen flinched and her eyes widened in shock, "Wha-" She frowned and raised a brow, "Misty, why the Yvel would you think that?"

"Yeah. I mean," Starmie followed, "it's battling. Of course, we're gonna get hurt. Who doesn't?"

Staryu spoke up, "Where's all of this coming from?"

"I-" Misty stuttered as she started tearing up. She closed her eyes, looked down, and cried out, "Because I never listened!" She took a breath before continuing, "I never listened. When I got hit in Dark City, I was in more pain than I could've imagined. I hated it."

The Water-types perked up in surprise.

Misty continued, "When I heard that Pokémon feel the same thing, I was terrified. You've all been going through that so much just because I- because of me." She sniffled, "I don't want to hurt you. I never wanted to make any of you suffer."

"But you never have." Staryu stated.

Misty's eyes shot open and she looked at them in shock, "What?"

Goldeen frowned, "Well, yeah. Misty, you're making it sound like you abuse us. We're just battling. That's not something to get upset over."

Misty looked at her in a daze, "B- but-"

Starmie shrugged, "So we get roughed up every now and then. So what? It happens to everyone. We've never been mad at you for sending us into a battle."

Staryu nodded, "Plus, you always rushed us straight to a Pokémon Center after a really bad challenge. You've never given us a reason to regret joining you."

Horsea nodded happily, "Yeah. I couldn't've asked for a better trainer or friend."

Misty stared at her team in shock. She started tearing up again and looked down. The quartet flinched and moved closer to crowd around her.

Goldeen looked at her worriedly, "Misty, please don't cry!"

Starmie nodded and spoke in a worried tone, "I'm sure we can work out whatever's going on!"

Staryu nodded, "If you really don't want us battling anymore, we can stop! Promise!"

Horsea looked up at her sadly, "Please don't run off ag-"

He was cut off by the Bubble Jet Pokémon reaching out her forepaws and pulling him into a hug.

Misty sniffled with a sad smile, "I won't."

Horsea glanced at Misty before nuzzling her happily. Goldeen smiled softly before she and the siblings moved in closer to the pair for a group hug.

After a moment-

"So …" Staryu started, "does this mean we can still battle?"

Misty chuckled softly, "Hey, if you don't mind it." She moved back and looked around the group with a soft smile, "Still, if you ever feel like you want to stop, don't ever be afraid to tell me."

Goldeen smiled, "Deal."

"Alright!" Horsea cried out happily. He cocked his head curiously, "By the way, do you think I could try learning that Dragon Rage move like Charmander?"

Misty raised a brow, "I'm actually not sure if you can learn-"

"Hey! We're back!" Brock called out.

Everyone flinched and looked over as Brock walked out of the forest while carrying a basket of fruit. Pikachu, Clefairy, Electra, and Geodude stood around him.

"We managed to gather a bunch of-" Brock said before noticing everyone's expressions. He sweat dropped with a nervous smile, "I just interrupted something meaningful, didn't I?"

Soot snickered, "Well, you almost did."

.

*Night

Misty sat at the set-up picnic table and watched as Ash's, hers and most of Brock's teams trained.

Ash was helping both Pikachu and Horsea with Signal Beam. Something the little Water-type had to begrudgingly settle for after finding out Ash didn't know any Dragon-type moves he could teach him. Bulbasaur was currently holding him with Vine Whip since the pool wasn't available.

Staryu and Starmie were having an Ice Beam-off on a tree. Goldeen was practicing Aqua Ring in the pool. Psyduck was really making Misty wish that Ash would hurry up with that Calm Mind.

Primeape was excitedly breaking in his new form on Muk. The big difference this time was that Muk started hitting back. Both voluntarily and through the use of his Impact Repulsion. Though, the Fighting-type didn't seem to mind in the slightest. If anything, he seemed even more excited.

Almost everyone else was sparring in the clearing. The odd ones out were Geodude, Electra obviously, and Soot. Geodude stayed by Brock to pass him utensils, Electra watched the pair curiously and acted as their taste tester, and Soot was …

Misty perked up and blinked in surprise, "What the-" She looked around the clearing for any sign of the Bite Pokémon.

"boo."

Misty flinched slightly and turned around to find Soot grinning from the other side of the table.

Soot snickered, "What's wrong, Mist?" She shifted her eyes to their Inherent state, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Misty chuckled before raising a brow, "Was your sense of humor always this bad?"

Soot smirked and shifted her eyes back, "Hey, I got you to laugh." She jumped down from the table, walked around, and jumped back up to sit next to Misty.

"So," Soot said in a kind tone, "Dad told you about the 'violence instinct'."

Misty jerked and looked at her in surprise. Her eyes narrowed, "How much did he tell you?"

Soot smirked, "Hey, don't worry. All he said was that you got upset and he told you that." She glanced to the side, "Also, I overheard you and your team's entire conversation." She smiled softly, "Are you feeling any better after talking to them?"

Misty looked back at everyone training in the clearing and smiled sadly, "Yeah. A little." She frowned, "Still, it's a little hard to digest." She looked at Soot, "Do you Pokémon really feel like you have to battle? You're actually that okay with getting hurt?"

Soot raised a brow, "Well nobody likes getting hurt." She stopped and glanced to the side, "Okay, nobody who's mentally stable." She looked back at Misty, "But when you're born to a species whose instincts force you to fight, you don't really have a choice but to build up a pain tolerance." She grinned, "Just another thing that separates us from you humans, I guess."

Misty chuckled, "Yeah." She looked back at her team and smiled softly, "Still. Despite what happened, I think I still wanna start training for real."

Soot blinked in surprise, "Really? You know that's gonna hurt Yvel of a lot more than one little Brick Break, right?"

Misty flinched slightly and moved a hand to her chest. She stopped, took a deep breath, and put her hand back down, "Yeah. I bet it will." She smiled sadly, "But, I wanna be able to help my friends."

Soot smiled softly.

The pair sat in silence for a moment and just watched as the others trained. Up until Misty perked up and blinked in surprise.

She looked at Soot with a raised brow, "Wait a second. If Pokémon are driven to battle like that, why doesn't Electra?"

Soot shrugged, "Eh. The rule's not exactly written in stone. Though, I'm pretty sure her thing's more of a preference."

.

*Ash, Pikachu, Horsea, and Bulbasaur

Ash nodded with a determined glare, "Whenever you're ready!"

Pikachu took a deep breath and held out a paw, "Signal Beam." A ball of rainbow-colored energy slowly formed in his paw.

The Electric-type smiled brightly when it finished forming, pointed his paw at a tree, and shouted, "Fire!"

The sphere erupted into a beam of rainbow energy and shot towards the tree. It exploded on impact and left a large scorch mark in the center.

Pikachu threw a paw into the air triumphantly, "Woo! Bullseye!"

Horsea stared in bright eyed awe and Bulbasaur frowned uncomfortably from seeing the Bug-type attack.

"Nice job." Ash said happily, "All we have to work on is the charge time. Think you can handle that on your own?"

Pikachu gave a thumbs up and smirked, "Easy." He turned towards the tree and started charging the attack again.

Horsea looked at Ash excitedly, "So, that means it's my turn now! Right?!"

Ash took on a cocky expression, "If you think you're up to-"

He was cut off when the symbol on his head started beeping and flashing red. He blinked in surprise and looked up towards it.

Horsea drooped sadly, "Aww."

Ash sweat dropped and chuckled nervously, "Sorry." He flashed red, reemerged in human form, and looked back towards Brock, "It looks like dinner's almost ready." He looked back at the Dragon Pokémon with a sad smile, "We can pick up where we left off another time."

Horsea slumped forward sadly, "Fine."

Pikachu looked back at Ash, "He said 'fine'."

.

**Time Skip**

Electra and Clefairy looked around in bright-eyed awe, "Wooooooooahh."

Pikachu blinked in surprise, "No kidding." He raised a brow, "What the Yvel am I looking at?"

Soot smirked, "This, my friend, would be a carnival. Games, rides, snacks, and shows as far as the eye can see." She looked up at the colorful paper raining down, "Also confetti."

Ash looked around at the rides before smiling, "And, thankfully, the rides are up to code. We won't have to worry about any accidents."

Brock looked at Ash in confusion, "Wait, really? How can you tell?"

Ash put a finger to his temple; still smiling, "Technopathic Clairvoyance, remember? I can tell what's working with just a glance." He looked at and pointed towards a large tent, "By the way, stay away from the" He squinted, "second to last whack-a-mole from the left." He shook it off, "It's not counting up scores correctly."

Misty sweat dropped, "Noted." She perked up and smiled, "Still, nice to know about the rides." She looked around, "Which one should we go on first?"

Ash pointed ahead and smirked, "Ferris Wheel!"

Brock pointed elsewhere, "Merry-Go-Round!"

Soot pointed a claw upward, "Wave Swinger!"

Everyone stopped and shared a look.

Brock sweat dropped, "Um…" He glanced around at the shoulder riders, "What do you guys think?"

"Pika Chu!" "Chu Pi!" "Fairy!" The trio said excitedly while all pointing in different directions. They all stopped and looked at each other as well.

Misty raised a fist, "Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide the order?"

"Deal." Everyone else said.

.

**Time Skip**

After riding nearly everything in sight, the group made their way through the carnival grounds; most with some sort of fair food … well, more or less. Clefairy was happily tearing into a cotton candy as big as her, Misty had a triple stacked ice cream, Brock had popcorn, and Soot was walking around in Marionetter state with a candy apple in her forepaw. Pikachu was the odd one out with a ketchup packet.

Ash glanced at his Electric-type with a raised brow, "Are you sure you don't even want something to put the ketchup on?"

Pikachu smiled happily, "Nope." He went back to sucking the red liquid out of the plastic bag.

Ohirume: … I probably could have worded that better.

Nuevo: *sweat dropping* Wishing you did.

Soot snickered, "Starting to think he's addicted." She glanced at Ash, "Dad, can I get another bite?"

Ash moved his hand and brought Soot's paw up to her muzzle.

Soot smiled, "Thanks." She bit down on the apple and started chewing happily.

"Can we please not talk about food, right now?" Electra grumbled as she laid on Brock's backpack with her ears drooping.

Brock glanced at Electra with a sad smile, "Maybe going on that many rides in a row wasn't the best idea." He looked at the others, "How about we go find a stage show to relax for a bit?"

Misty smiled, "Sounds like fun."

"mm hm" Clefairy said while nodding.

Ash smiled before looking around. He pointed ahead, "Over there. There's a sign for a magic show."

Clefairy perked up in surprise, swallowed, and looked at Ash, "Wait, magic? Like my Magic Guard?"

Ash chuckled, "Not that kind of magic. We're talking about stage magic and close-up magic." He looked at Soot, "Mind if I get my hands back?"

"Nah, go ahead." Soot responded before glancing at the candy apple, "Mind giving me a stand for this, though?"

Ash smiled and nodded before moving his hands around.

Soot moved the apple to her right arm before removing it and phasing the zipper-toothed end into the ground. Ash closed the zipper on her back and she fell back down to all fo- uh … all threes. Soot moved closer to her foreleg and bit down on the apple again.

Ash reached up to grab his backpack strap before perking up in realization. He glanced back and forth between Pikachu and Clefairy, "Could you jump down for a minute, please?"

The pair nodded and complied.

Ash removed his bag, placed it on the ground, and reached into it, "Anyway," He pulled out his deck of playing cards, started shuffling, and turned to face the others, "Stage magic is about set-up, props, and showing off. You want to entertain everyone with tricks and fun gimmicks." He stopped shuffling, drew a card, and held it up in his right hand; revealing an Ace of Clubs, "Close-up magic is built on deception and prowess."

Pikachu blinked in surprise, "Like ninjas?"

Electra perked up and looked at the other Electric-type in surprise, "What about a ninjask?"

Ash chuckled while pocketing the remaining deck, "In a way. Although," He snapped with his left hand and flicked his right wrist. Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra jumped when the card vanished on the spot.

Ash smirked, "it's more about getting a reaction."

The two Mouse and Fairy Pokémon stared in wide-eyed shock, "WOAH!"

Brock looked at Ash with a raised brow, "You can do close-up magic?"

Ash shrugged, "More like a few card tricks. Though, I have an unfair advantage thanks to Power Integration. Y'know, enhanced perception and speed. It also helps me see through other tricks."

Misty sweat dropped, "There isn't a lot you can't do, is there?"

Ash chuckled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Well, I-"

He was cut off and everyone flinched a bit when a loud ding rang out. They all looked and found a little kid jumping around happily in front of a large 'test your strength' game. The attendant just stared up at the bell in shock.

Ash blinked in surprise, "Huh. Strong kid." He looked back at the others, "What were we talking about?"

"Close-up magic." Electra said before raising a brow, "Where'd the card go?"

"Yo." Soot said; catching everyone's attention. She smirked and stuck out her tongue to reveal the Ace laying on it.

The other Pokémon all stared in shock, "WHAT?!"

Misty and Brock frowned, 'ew.'

Ash grinned, "It also helps to have an accomplice in the crowd." He went back to a normal smile, "While it pales in comparison to real magic, it does take a lot of effort and practice to perfect."

Misty blinked in surprise and looked at Ash, "Wait a sec. Real magic?" She smirked and raised a brow, "You're kidding, right?"

Soot spat out the card and looked up at the Water trainer, "No, he's really not. It's pretty much the reason golett exist." She smirked and raised a brow, "You didn't actually think ancient civilizations had biological engineering and science that advanced, did you?"

Misty and Brock looked at Soot in surprise before sharing a look.

"I, uh," Brock said while scratching the side of his head, "I never really thought about it."

Ash chuckled, "Yeah. The idea can seem weird." He perked up and smiled, "So, what do you say? Wanna check it out?"

Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra smiled brightly, "Yeah!"

Misty grinned, "Alright, then."

Brock smiled, "Let's hurry before it gets too crowded."

Ash's Pokémon jumped back onto his shoulders and everyone ran towards the tent.

.

*Tent

"Excuse me."

The ticket booth attendant moved the hat off his face, sat up, and looked out the window with a bored expression.

Ash smiled, "The show isn't sold out, is it?"

The attendant raised a brow, "You're joking, right?"

Brock, Misty, and the Pokémon perked up in surprise.

Ash blinked in confusion, "What?"

The man groaned, "Nothing." He looked around the group, "So, that'll be three tickets-"

"Four actually." Ash jumped in before reaching down to pet Soot, "I wanted to get a seat for my mightyena."

The attendant sweat dropped, "You don't have to pay for Pokémon."

Misty blinked in surprise, "But wouldn't we be taking up an extra seat without paying? What if it gets too crowded?"

The man blinked with a deadpanned expression. He reached down under the counter, "Three tickets come out to forty-five hundred."

Brock stared in surprise, "But that's only fifteen hundred each."

"Uh huh." The attendant said. He brought out and held up the tickets, "Cash only."

Ash, Brock, and Misty shared a confused look before reaching around and pulling out their share of the payment.

The guy behind the counter took the cash, placed the tickets on the counter, and pointed a thumb to his side, "Entrance is over there, and we only allow refunds up to nine hundred." He sat back in his chair and put the hat back over his face.

The group stared in mild surprise before they started walking over to the tent flap.

"That was weird, right?" Pikachu asked.

"Very." Soot responded.

The group made their way into the tent and jerked in surprise. Among the hundred plus seats available, less than five were currently filled. Two people looked like they were asleep, and the rest looked annoyed.

Misty sweat dropped, "Small crowd…"

They found a row of chairs around the middle and got comfortable. Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra looked at the stage excitedly. Ash, Brock, Misty, and Soot glanced around the room warily.

Everyone perked up when the lights went out and a drum roll started. A trio of spotlights started moving around the stage before stopping on a pair at the center.

The man wore a red button up undershirt, green ringmaster vest, an orange bowtie, white slacks, a top hat with a green stripe, and black shoes.

The woman next to him had orange hair and wore a red leotard, a red bowtie, and a headband with vulpix head curls and ears on it.

Electra's eyes lit up and her tail started wagging.

The man had his arms outstretched and spoke in a happy -yet somehow dull- tone, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Melvin the Magician Magnificent."

Soot gave a light groan, her ears drooped, and she muttered, "That's the name he chose?"

Misty sweat dropped, "I'm more concerned about his voice."

Brock blushed with a goofy smile, "But look at his assistant…"

Everyone else shot him a deadpanned glance.

Electra looked at Pikachu, "Does Brock do this a lot?"

"Oh yeah." Pikachu responded monotonously.

The man gestured to a small table next to him, "Please allow me to present my magical Pokémon, Exeggcute."

The hextet making up the Egg Pokémon hopped onto the stage and over to the table. "Exeggcute!" The Grass/Psychic-type called out happily as they jumped on to the table; some doing a flip as they did so.

Ash smiled and put a hand to his chin, "Exeggcute, huh? Gotta admit, that's not a bad choice for a magic act."

Misty looked at him in confusion, "Huh? How so?"

Ash smiled at her, "Well, think about it." He raised a finger, "They're Grass and Psychic types capable of learning a decent selection of telekinetic, barrier-based, and spore-based moves. With the right training and move set, you can set up a lot of acts without needing to include wires or spend money on safety nets."

Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra stared at Ash in bright-eyed awe. They looked back at the stage excitedly. They stopped and blinked in surprise.

Soot sweat dropped, "Doesn't look like we're getting that."

Ash and Misty looked back ahead and deadpanned when they saw Melvin juggling the Egg Pokémon.

"Now it's time for some Exeggcute juggling." Melvin said; tone unchanging.

Brock sweat dropped, "That's supposed to be magic?"

Pikachu pouted, "That doesn't seem very special."

"We don't want juggling!" Someone in the crowd shouted.

"We want to see some magic!" Someone else heckled; making Melvin flinch.

"Yeah!" A third person shouted, "Do a trick, will ya?!"

Melvin waved his hands defensively and started sweating, "Hold on. The best part is coming up. My Pokémon and I are going to do some great tricks now, which will summaze and apprise you."

His assistant groaned and facepalmed.

Clefairy tilted in confusion, "Summaze and apprise?"

Soot sweat dropped, "I think he meant to say amaze and surprise."

Electra looked at her in surprise, "Huh?" She pouted and crossed her forepaws, "I was hoping those were fancy human words."

Melvin moved over to a podium, pulled out a cane with a blue orb at the tip, and took up a pose with the cane. After a moment, he smiled and pointed the cane forward, "Raging Fire!"

A small flame and a puff of smoke appeared at the tip of the cane.

Melvin blinked in surprise, "Uh…"

Everyone in the group and the assistant sweat dropped. Everyone else in the crowd-

"That was pathetic!"

"You're the worst!"

The magician waved his hands defensively, "Please. Just give me a moment." He started hitting the cane while muttering, "Come on. Work."

Misty glanced at Ash, "Any idea what was supposed to happen there?"

Ash stared at the staff intently before saying, "It's a flamethrower."

Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra grimaced.

Soot sweat dropped, "Guys, calm down. It looks like the thing's broken."

"Well, not exactly." Ash continued while staring at the cane; catching the others' attention, "It has enough fluid and the firing mechanism is working fine." He pointed at the stage, "The problem is that there's a safety mechanism that's acting like a stopper. It's like he's trying to floor it while the emergency brake is still-" He stopped and his eyes widened in shock when he saw something shift in the device.

Soot's eyes narrowed warily, "Dad, what's wro-"

Ash jumped out of his seat and shot towards the stage immediately. Before anyone could react, he snatched the cane out of Melvin's hand and threw it upwards. It shot through the top of the tent like a javelin and left behind a small hole.

The assistant looked up and blinked in surprise, "Woah."

Melvin looked at Ash sorrowfully, "Hey. What was that for?"

Ash looked at him and pointed up at the hole, "I just saved your tent from burning down."

Melvin's assistant flinched and looked at Ash, "Wait, what do you-"

She was cut off and everyone flinched when a loud explosion rang out from above. Everyone -minus Ash- looked up in shock.

Ash sweat dropped, "That."

.

**Short Skip**

After the … "magic show" abruptly ended and the accidental threat of a fiery explosion ceased, everyone in the audience started throwing whatever they had at Melvin while demanding a refund. To the surprise of literally no one.

Ash and co. decided to cut the guy some slack out of pity and turned down the refund. They were currently walking away from the tent.

"Well," Misty said, "that was …"

Soot sighed, "Bad."

Electra sighed in relief, "Oh thank Arceus, I wasn't the only one who thought that." She frowned, "I was really hoping to see something like what Ash did."

Pikachu sighed, "Yeah. Me too."

Clefairy pouted.

Ash crossed his arms with a frown, "Still. I can't help but feel sorry for that Melvin guy."

Brock nodded, "Yeah. Same."

"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!"

Everyone flinched upon recognizing the assistant's voice and looked back towards the tent. They shared a look before running back over to it and looking around the corner.

Melvin was on his knees in front of his assistant with his head touching the ground. The assistant was currently wearing a blue jacket over her stage outfit and had her arms crossed. Exeggcute watched worriedly as they laid on a suitcase.

"Please don't leave me." Melvin begged, "I promise to pay you as soon as I can."

The woman glared at him, "Money isn't the issue, this time! I almost got barbequed because of you! We might not even be here right now if that kid didn't jump in when he did!"

Misty, Brock, Soot, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra jerked and glanced at Ash. He scratched his cheek and chuckled sheepishly.

Melvin looked up at her sadly, "Please don't go, Darla. I can't do my act without an assistant. I'll even start paying you more."

The woman, apparently named Darla, put her hands on her hips, "And how exactly do you plan to do that? By actually having people watch your lousy show?"

The magician crawled closer and … ugh. He started rubbing up against her legs, "They'll come, I promise."

EVERYONE: *cringe*

Darla glared furiously and shouted, "Get off me!" before kicking him back.

Exeggcute flinched and jumped out of the way as Melvin crashed into the suitcase. His hat flew off to the side in the process.

Darla groaned and shot the man a harsh glance, "I've heard your promises before." She turned and started walking away, "Goodbye."

Melvin looked at her sadly, "Please don't leave. I need you."

The group looked at him sympathetically.

"Should we?" Misty asked.

Brock shrugged, "We should at least check on him."

They all nodded and started walking over to the magician.

"Excuse me." Ash said, "Are you alright?"

Melvin perked up and looked at the group. He blinked in surprise, "Oh, it's you again. That boy from my show."

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry about interrupting like that."

Melvin sat up with a small smile, "Don't be sorry. You saved me from getting fired again."

Soot jerked and blinked in surprise, 'Again?'

Brock and Misty sweat dropped.

Ash chuckled nervously, "Um, yeah. I just have an eye for technology." 'Literally.' He perked up and gestured to himself, "My name is Ash." He gestured to his Electric, Fairy, and Dark-type, "And this is Pikachu, Clefairy, and Soot."

"Pika!" "Fairy!" The shoulder riders said happily while raising a paw.

Soot grinned, "And I can talk." She gestured to Pikachu and Clefairy, "They said 'Hello' and 'Hi there,' by the way."

The Pewter Gym Leader gestured to himself, "My name's Brock." And gestured to the Pokémon on his backpack, "And this is Electra."

"Pi!/Hi!" Electra said happily.

The Cerulean Gym Leader gestured to herself, "I'm Misty." She sweat dropped, 'and I'm the only one without someone else to introduce.'

The magician picked up his top hat and put it back on, "I'm a magician. Melvin's the name." He held out a hand to Misty and clenched a fist, "For you, miss." A small puff of smoke appeared, and a pink flower appeared in his hand.

Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra perked up, and their eyes widened in awe.

Misty smiled and took the flower, "Aww, thank you."

"I'm not very famous yet," Melvin said as he pulled his hand back; leaving behind small flags with Pokémon on them extending from the flower, "but I'm working really hard on my magic act."

Pikachu and Clefairy watched in awe as he did this.

Electra started trembling excitedly, "Insane."

Melvin looked up dreamily, "My dream is to have my own Broadway show in Hollywood and perform my magic act before thousands of cheering fans."

Omega: I'm sorry, what?

Ohirume: Hollywood canonically exists in the Pokémon world's Kanto Region and the Japanese version said Broadway instead of Las Vegas. I just added them together for this.

Mizuro: *raised brow* But isn't Broadway in New York City?

Ohirume: *sweat dropping* I worked with what I was given, alright.

Clefairy and Electra tilted in confusion, "Hollywood?"

Pikachu raised a brow, "He wants to perform on a wide road?"

Soot snickered.

The man looked down sorrowfully, "But with how things have been going I might as well just give up."

Exeggcute looked at his trainer sorrowfully, "Melvin…"

Ash frowned and kneeled down in front of the man, "Hey, come on. You can't give up that easily."

Clefairy nodded with a determined glare, "Yeah! You can't give up on your dream!"

Melvin looked at Ash sadly, "But what am I supposed to do? You saw my show."

Misty smiled, "Well, what if we helped you out?"

Melvin perked up and looked at her in surprise, "Would you really?"

Brock smiled and nodded, "Sure. Ash might even be able to help you learn a few new tricks."

Ash perked up and looked at Brock in surprise, "Wait, what? What would I be able to teach him?"

Misty smiled at him, "Well, you could teach him that card trick from before."

Ash frowned, "That trick wouldn't work in a tent setting."

Brock stared in surprise, "What? What do you mean?"

Ash sighed, "Okay, look. All of that was just slight-of-hand and a load of distractions." He reached back into his bag, "I'll show you."

He pulled out the deck of playing cards and a bottle cap.

Pikachu blinked in surprise and looked back at the bag, "Wait, what?"

"First," Ash started, "the set up. I used removing my backpack as an excuse to get Pikachu and Clefairy to jump down and pulled out a bottle cap in secret." He placed the cap between his fingers in his left hand, grabbed the deck with the same hand and started shuffling, "The bottle cap was hidden under the deck like so. I had Pikachu and Clefairy jump down so that they would have a harder time seeing through any of the trick."

The Mouse and Fairy Pokémon jerked and shared a surprised look.

"Second," Ash continued as he drew and held up a card; a queen of diamonds this time, "the card disappearing." He put the deck in his pocket, held up his left hand, and snapped. He flicked his right wrist and the card vanished like before, "The snap was to draw your attention away from the card for a split second. More than enough time for me to slip it between my glove and watch." He rotated his right wrist to reveal the Queen poking out of the sleeve and sitting on the device.

Everyone -except Soot's- jaw dropped. Soot snickered at their reactions.

Ash smirked, "Trust me when I say that took a lot of practice." He perked up and smiled normally, "Finally, passing it to Soot." He held his left hand in front of him with his palm facing forward, "While I was scratching my head, I flicked the cap at the bell on that 'test your strength' game. Which is why this won't work in the tent." He quickly brought the card back to his palm and threw it to Soot. She opened her mouth and caught it effortlessly. Ash smiled, "The resulting distraction gave me enough time to throw the card to Soot unnoticed."

Soot grinned, "You all fell for it hook, line, and sinker."

Ash smirked, "I originally planned out the head scratch as a modesty ploy from people complimenting the trick. But acting embarrassed from Misty's comment worked just as well."

Misty blinked in surprise, "huh…"

Pikachu and Clefairy stared at their trainer in total awe.

Electra smiled brightly and her tail started wagging, "So insane."

Brock raised a brow, "So that kid didn't actually win that game?"

Ash shrugged with a smirk, "Well, the attendant thought he did."

Melvin frowned, "That trick seems like an awful lot of work."

Ash looked at the magician and nodded, "Well, yeah. I had to practice card throwing and hiding small objects in my hand in addition to lodging the card like that. It took a lot of time and effort."

Soot sweat dropped with a sly smirk, "Yeah. And what makes that statement all the more confusing is that fact that you did all of that out of boredom."

Ash shot her a glare, "Hey, it was a rainy week and I didn't have anything to do."

Misty looked down thoughtfully with her arms crossed, "Okay. So, I guess that trick really is off the table." She perked up and pointed at him, "But there has to be something else you can think of. Even if you're not an expert, you probably know more about this kind of magic than any of us."

Melvin looked at her sadly, "Hey…"

Ash frowned and put a hand to his chin, "hmm."

Melvin perked up and smiled brightly, "What if you all helped with my show?"

Exeggcute started jumping around excitedly while cheering.

Everyone else looked at him in surprise, "Huh?"

Melvin nodded, "Yeah." He pointed at Misty, "You could be my assistant." He looked at Brock and Ash, "Your pikachus and clefairy could help with effects." He looked at Soot excitedly, "And a talking Pokémon is sure to draw in a crowd."

Electra smiled brightly, "We're gonna be a part of a human magic show?!" She started bouncing excitedly, "Awesome!"

Soot sweat dropped, 'But do we really wanna be a part of this show?'

Brock glanced at Electra before smiling softly, "I mean, it couldn't hurt."

Misty nodded and raised a finger, "Just for today, though."

Ash glanced around at his friends before smiling softly. He turned to face Melvin and clenched a fist, "Alright, Melvin, it looks like you have yourself a crew."

Melvin smiled brightly and put his hands together, "Thank you all so much."

.

*The Next Show

The lights went out in the tent. The audience perked up when a dazzling rainbow glow appeared from behind and they all looked back. The glowing sphere sat on top of the tent's entrance.

A small explosion rang out before the sphere shot across the top of the tent. The glow stopped over the stage and faded. The audience watched in awe and started applauding.

Clefairy shot a thumbs up over to Brock. The squinting Electric-type gave a thumbs up back before dispelling the Brick Break. He started zipping across the rafters with Agility as he headed backstage to meet up with Ash.

The audience flinched when a rainbow beam of energy and a bolt of lightning shot down and collided on the stage. A large cloud of white smoke covered the stage; obscuring a small green flash from behind the curtain.

The smoke slowly cleared to reveal Misty, Soot, Pikachu, and Electra on stage.

Misty wore a white leotard with goldeen tail fins attached to the back. Pikachu wore a blue vest with a red bowtie. Electra wore a red vest, her necklace, had her hair tucked back into the vest, and had an excited smile bright enough to light up the room singlehandedly.

Soot wore an all-white version of Melvin's coat and a black eye mask to hide her banette feature. Ash stood behind the curtain as he pulled Soot's strings.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Soot called out with her forepaws outstretched; causing everyone to perk up in surprise. She gestured to her side, "Allow me to introduce, Melvin the" She cleared her throat and sweat dropped, "Magician Magnificent." 'Seriously wishing he'd listened to me about the name.'

Melvin pushed the curtains aside flamboyantly as he walked out to the center stage. The crowd erupted in cheer. The man couldn't help but smile brightly.

Soot shot him a glance and smiled softly, 'Alright.'

"For our first trick," Misty called out while gesturing to her side.

Brock appeared -back in human form- as he started wheeling a large box on a table to the center of the stage. He was dressed like a clown from head to toe and wore a simple smiling mask.

The Rock-type user sweat dropped and frowned from under the mask, 'Why'd I have to get stuck with the clown suit?'

Misty continued, "we're going to make our lovely mightyena vanish into the shadows." She smiled and raised a finger, "Figuratively, of course. Afterall, her kind can't learn Phantom Force."

Soot put a paw to her cheek and pouted, "So unfair. Ghost-types get all the fun tricks."

The crowd laughed a bit.

Misty smiled with a raised brow, 'What do you know? I guess Ash had a point about that kind of humor.'

Brock moved the box to the center of the stage before running back from where he came.

Misty opened up the lid on the box and Soot moved over to one end.

"Alley oop!" Soot said before lifting herself into a handstand on the rim of the opening. She fell forward and landed in the box with a thud.

"Oof!" Soot grunted before looking at the audience with a smirk, "Y'know it's stuff like this that makes me envy whimsicott."

The crowd started laughing again.

Misty smirked before closing the box and attaching a padlock. She reached forward to grab a cloth hidden behind the box, "Now we-"

"And now," Melvin called out happily in his usual tone; interrupting Misty in the process, "to spruce it up a little."

Misty and Soot looked at him in confusion and flinched slightly when he pulled out a massive blade. The girls shared a worried look.

Misty moved closer to Melvin and whispered, "Wait a second. This is supposed to be a disappearing trick."

Melvin smiled at her, "Don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Soot sweat dropped, "Um … if you're sure."

Melvin placed the blade on the box with a thud. Soot perked up in surprise when she saw something fly off the box. She looked over and her eyes widened at the sight of a small splinter on the ground.

The Dark-type looked back at the box and grimaced upon seeing a small crack under the blade, 'It's real?!'

"Now behold." Melvin said as he pulled out a large mallet.

Pikachu and Electra jerked and stared at him in shock.

Misty flinched and held out a hand, "Melvin, wait!"

Melvin smiled brightly and swung the hammer down on the blade, "A La Kazam!"

"AH!" Soot cried out before going intangible and falling through the box; leaving her outfit behind.

The blade tore through the box and threw splinters everywhere. The audience went silent.

Soot sighed in relief as she laid on the stage, "Oh, thank Arceus. That was too close for comfort."

Everyone flinched when the table broke in half and the blade landed in Soot's abdomen.

Soot shot the prop a deadpanned glare, "Seriously?"

A woman in the audience screamed.

.

**Short Skip**

After a round of frightened crying, refund demands, and even a few boos from people who were at the last show, the group and Melvin moved to the back of the tent again. None of them were in a good mood.

Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra sat off to the side and glared at Melvin angrily. Two of Exeggcute were looking at his trainer worriedly. The other four were glancing at the group worriedly.

Misty glared at Melvin, "What the Yvel was that?! You nearly cut Soot in half with that stunt!"

Soot glared as well, "You were lucky I was able to turn my waist intangible when that thing fell!"

Melvin frowned, "I was trying to spruce things up a little. I thought a more impressive trick would help me get to Broadway faster."

Brock glared as well, "So why didn't you tell any of us that before we started the show?! You can't just spring this kind of stuff on people!"

Melvin waved his hands defensively, "I'm sorry. It was a mistake." He perked up and smiled, "But I'm sure I'll get it right on the next show."

Misty's eye twitched, "You-"

"Actually," Ash said sourly, "we're done here."

Melvin flinched and looked at Ash worriedly, "But, you said you'd help me with my act."

Ash glared back at him, "Yeah. And you nearly gave my daughter a new zipper around her waist. You crossed a line, Melvin. We're done." He turned away and started walking, "Find someone else to help you with your act."

"Please, wait." Melvin called out before running over, grabbing Ash's arm, and dropping to his knees, "Please help me with my act. I can't give up. Magic is my passion."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is." Ash said without looking back, "You probably saw a lot of magicians as a kid and wanted to be just like them. I'm sure you enjoy putting on your shows and want to improve. I'm not arguing any of that and I believe that you can achieve that dream."

Misty and Brock perked up and looked at Ash in surprise. Soot huffed.

Ash sighed, "Y'know, at first, I wanted to help because I felt bad for you. You seemed down on your luck and a little clumsy." He pulled his arm away, "But now I see that you're not unlucky, you're just lazy. You're trying to jump into this headfirst without any practice or preparation and expecting it to all work out. Sound about right?"

Melvin looked down shamefully, "W- well…"

Ash sighed, "I thought so." He turned away, "If you ever want your career to advance beyond this, put in the freaking work instead of trying to take whatever half-baked shortcut you have in mind. If you try and do this without any practice or try to pull another stunt like that, you're going to hurt someone." He shot him a harsh glare, "Something I'd hoped you realized by now."

Melvin just stared at Ash sadly.

Ash turned away again and started walking, "Goodbye."

Soot shot the man one more glare before following Ash. Clefairy stuck her tongue out at Melvin and Pikachu hissed at him. The pair ran after Ash as well. Misty followed soon after without giving the magician so much as a glance.

Brock shot Melvin another glare before he started walking, "Come on, Electra." He stopped when he didn't feel her jump on and looked back, "Electra?"

Electra was staring at Exeggcute with a tired expression and her ears drooping.

Brock crouched down and put a hand on her head, "Are you alright?"

Electra jerked and blinked rapidly, "Huh?" She looked up at Brock and blinked in surprise, "What happened?"

Melvin looked at her in surprise before looking at Exeggcute.

Brock smiled sadly, "Sorry, Electra. Soot isn't here right now. We'll catch up so she can translate."

Electra blinked in confusion before nodding slowly, "Um … sure."

She jumped on Brock's shoulder before he ran after the others.

Melvin watched as they left before looking at Exeggcute. He took on a small smile, "aha."

.

*Group

They made there way through the carnival grounds again. Ash led the way with a somber frown the entire time. Soot looked up at him sadly. Pikachu and Clefairy nudged up against him in an attempt to cheer him up.

Misty sighed, ran up front, and turned to face the others with a smile, "Hey, come on. Let's not let Melvin ruin the rest of the carnival for us." She looked at Ash, "Didn't you say something about a whack-a-mole earlier? That means that was an arcade, right?"

Brock smiled and patted Ash on the back, "Yeah. Let's have some fun."

Electra perked up in surprise, "Arcade?" She smiled brightly, "I wanna go to an arcade! What's an arcade?!"

Clefairy smiled happily and raised a paw, "Yeah! I wanna go too!"

Pikachu looked at the Fairy Pokémon in confusion, "You know what they're talking about?"

Clefairy looked at him happily, "Not even a little!"

Ash and Soot shared a look before smiling and shrugging.

Ash looked back at the others and smiled softly, "Sounds like fun. And thanks."

Soot grinned, "Race ya there!" She ran off in the direction of the tent from before.

Everyone smiled and ran after her.

After a while, they came up to the large tent again. They all stopped and looked towards the entrance in surprise when they heard rumbling and shouting. Annoyingly familiar, monotonous shouting.

Everyone groaned slightly when they saw Melvin holding on to an exeggutor and shouting fearfully. Exeggutor looked just as scared.

The pair stopped in front of them. Exeggutor was panting heavily.

Melvin climbed down and ran over to the group, "I need your help. Please."

Ash glared at him, "Forget it, Melvin. You're not talking me back into helping with your show."

Misty and Brock nodded, "Yeah."

Melvin shook his head, "Not that." He pointed back the way he and Exeggutor came, "That."

They all looked at him in confusion before looking back towards the entrance. The all flinched and grimaced at the sight of a massive stampede of exeggutor approaching.

Brock took a step back in shock, "What the Yvel?! Exeggutor?! What are they doing?!"

Melvin frowned, "I think they're all mad because I tried to capture all of them."

Soot looked at him in shock, "What?! Why the Yvel would you try and capture a forest's worth of exeggutor?!"

Melvin looked at them sadly, "I thought I could use them to hypnotize everyone in the carnival into coming to see my show."

Everyone jerked and stared at him in shock.

Ash deadpanned, "And you wonder why I gave up trying to help you."

Melvin slumped forward sadly.

Ash sighed before looking back at the forest, "Stay out of the way. We need to stop them from trampling the entire carnival."

Melvin smiled, "Then, I'll be able to catch-"

Ash glared at him furiously with Intimidate, "If you catch even one of them, I will crush the ball along with the hand that catches it!"

Melvin fell back and stared at Ash fearfully. The three forward faces of Melvin's exeggutor stared at Ash in shock. Two of the heads closer to the back glanced at him warily out of the corner of their eyes. The one on the back gulped.

Misty moved her hand away from her eyes and looked at Ash, "Feel better?"

Ash took a deep breath and looked back at the stampede, "I will after this is over with." He pulled out three pokéballs and tossed them immediately, "Charmander, Pidgeotto, Primeape! Enter the fray!"

The Lizard, Bird, and Pig Monkey appeared in a flash. Charmander and Pidgeotto flinched slightly at the sight of the stampede.

Primeape stared ahead with an unreadable expression, "Ash…" He clenched a fist and glared excitedly, "I literally couldn't've asked for a better trainer."

Clefairy translated for Ash. Soot did as well for the others.

Ash sweat dropped with a nervous smile, "You might wanna hold on to that for a moment." He glared ahead at the Grass/Psychic-types, "Listen. We need to stop them from getting past us or else a lot of people here could get hurt." He pointed ahead, "But keep in mind that they're still wild and acting out of anger. Don't take it too far. Our goal is to scare them back into the forest."

Primeape slumped sadly, "Oh." He looked back at Ash, "Can I still Seismic Toss one of 'em."

Pikachu and Soot translated.

Ash frowned and glanced to the side. He looked back at his Fighting-type and raised a finger, "Okay, but just one to try and scare them off. No chasing them if they run away on their own."

Primeape gave a thumbs up with a determined glare, "Deal!" The Fighting-type shot forward without another word and disappeared into the horde of Coconut Pokémon.

He reappeared a moment later when he shot into the air while holding on to a screaming exeggutor. A few of the stampeders stopped in their tracks and looked up in shock.

Soot sweat dropped as she watched Primeape, "Y'know, I kind of feel sorry for that one."

Ash held out a hand, "Charmander! Get in there with Flame Charge and start throwing around Flamethrowers! Pidgeotto! Back him up with Gust!"

"Right!" The pair called out while nodding.

Charmander erupted in flames and shot forward. Pidgeotto lifted off and sped after him.

The ensuing battle ended up being much more one sided than expected. Namely because none of the exeggutor threw an attack back. But they just kept coming.

Ash's eyes narrowed when he saw a handful slip past and charge toward the entrance, "Soot!"

"Got it!" She responded. She inhaled deeply and literally spat out a Shadow Ball with a large orange core.

The attack shot forward and collided with the ground in front of the exeggutor. The ball erupted into a massive fiery explosion. The exeggutor were thrown back and crashed against the ground. Some of the others stared at the explosion fearfully and started running back into the forest.

"WOAH!" Misty cried out in shock.

Brock perked up in realization and looked at Soot, "That was your more dangerous Will-O-Wisp, wasn't it?" He smiled brightly, "You combined Shadow Ball with Fire Fang, right?!"

Soot grinned, "Yup." She sweat dropped, "Though, I'm starting to think comparing that to Will-O-Wisp is a little misleading."

Pikachu gulped, "Yeah. Agreed."

Clefairy and Electra just stared at where the attack erupted in shock.

After nearly twenty minutes, the group managed to drive the last of the horde back into the forest. Charmander, Pidgeotto, and even Primeape let out a breath and slumped forward tiredly.

Ash fell to his knees and sighed in relief, "Oh, thank goodness. It's over."

Melvin threw a hand into the air triumphantly, "Alright. We did it."

Everyone shot him a harsh glare. Melvin flinched slightly.

Ash sighed and looked around at his Pokémon with a smile, "Nice job out there. I'm proud of you guys."

Pidgeotto sweat dropped with a tired smile, "Thanks, but that really was tough. I was almost afraid it wouldn't end."

Primeape crossed his arms with a proud expression, "I didn't mind it."

Charmander laughed, "I'm just happy it turned out ok-" He stopped and jerked slightly when he felt … something.

Ash frowned and held out a hand, "Charman-" He stopped and his eyes widened in shock.

The Fire-type's eyes shot open when he felt whatever it was pass. He looked around in confusion, "Wha- what just-" He flinched and put a claw to his throat, 'My voice.'

"Hey!" Primeape cried out; startling the Fire-type and catching his attention.

He blinked in surprise, "P- Primeape?" 'Why does he seem shorter?'

The Pig Monkey gave a thumbs up with a determined glare, "Not bad, kid! Followin' in my footsteps, I see!"

The Fire Starter blinked in surprise, "What are you-"

"Yeah." Pidgeotto said happily, "Talk about well deserved. Congratulations, Charmand-" She flinched slightly and put a wing behind her head sheepishly, "Right, sorry." She smiled happily, "Congratulations, Charmeleon."

Charmeleon flinched and his eyes widened in shock, "Wh- what?" He held up a claw and his eyes widened in further shock when he saw long white claws and red scales.

"Charmeleon." Ash said in a kind tone.

Charmeleon turned to look at Ash; the shocked looked never leaving his face.

Ash smiled softly, "You did it. You evolved."

Charmeleon's eyes widened further, and he looked at his new claws again; still in shock, "I-I-" He started tearing up and trembling.

Ash flinched, kneeled down, and held out a hand worriedly, "Charmeleon, what's wro-"

Ash was cut off when the Fire-type rammed into him and pulled him into a hug. Tears streamed down his face, "I did it. I'm really not weak."

Pikachu smiled softly and whispered the translation to Ash.

Ash smiled softly and hugged Charmeleon back, "You never were. I always knew you could do it." He smirked, "Hey, and now it's only one more until charizard. You'll be soaring in no time."

The Flame Pokémon smiled softly, sniffled, and hugged Ash tighter, "Yeah."

Brock, Misty, Soot, and Electra all watched with soft smiles. Pikachu and Clefairy shared a look and nodded happily before jumping off Ash's shoulders and running over to the others. Primeape and Pidgeotto followed suit.

Melvin stared in surprise and looked at the others, "What's going on?"

Everyone except Ash and Charmeleon shushed him.

.

*The Next Day

Ash and his friends' journey brought them to the small town known as Mossgreen Village.

Misty put a hand on her head as she looked over the ridge, "So, this is Mossgreen, huh? Looks like a nice place."

Electra pouted, "But there still aren't any skyscrapers."

Soot snickered before translating.

Brock chuckled and reached back to pet his Electric-type, "Don't worry. We're only here to stock up on supplies."

Ash nodded with a smile, "Yeah. We can be in and out in a few hours."

Soot smiled, "Well, let's get a move on, then." She started running down the trail.

Everyone else followed.

.

*In the Village

The group approached a large tent with a sign that read 'Mossgreen Pharmacy.'

Illavera: Oh, that's what that said.

Ash, Pikachu, Soot, and Electra perked up in surprise when they heard rustling and looked over. Without warning, a Persian sprang out of the bush and landed in front of them.

Brock stared in confusion, "A persian? What are they doing here?"

Persian smirked and crouched down into a fighting stance.

Soot glared and crouched down as well, "Right now, it looks like he wants a battle."

"Stand down, Persian!" A green haired girl called out as she ran over and pushed the Normal-types head down. She glared at the feline, "I keep telling you not to scare away customers. Go inside, now!"

The Classy Cat Pokémon groaned and made his way into the tent.

Cassandra sighed before looking at the group, "I'm sorry about-" She stopped and perked up in surprise. She smiled brightly, "Mr. Hayate! You're back!"

Ash jerked and blinked in surprise, "Huh?"

Omega: Oh … right.

Wait, when did she start calling me that?

The girl stopped and raised a brow, "Wait, why do your clothes look so different? And where's everyone else?"

Ash waved his hands defensively, "I'm sorry miss, but I think you have me confused with someone else. My name is Ash Ketchum."

Cassandra blinked in surprise and looked closer, "But, you look so much like him." She put a hand to her chin and mumbled, "Maybe a little younger, though."

Ash rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Trust me, I've had this talk way more often than you'd think possible."

Misty smirked, "We've been told he has a very common face." She perked up and gestured to herself, "I'm Misty, by the way."

The girl perked up and smiled, "My name's Cassandra."

Brock ran up to her while smiling, "My name's Brock. You wouldn't happen to be doing anything tonight, would you?"

Ash, Misty, Soot, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra sweat dropped.

Cassandra frowned, "Um, I wouldn't-"

"PARASECT!"

Brock jerked and looked over right before he got hit in the face with a swarm of yellow spores. The Rock-type user tumbled back drowsily, "Wha-"

Brock fell back and started snoring. Electra landed on his stomach and started snoring as well. An annoyed looking parasect ran over and glared at Brock. Misty flinched slightly at the sight of the Bug-type.

Cassandra sighed, "Again, I'm sorry." She reached over to pet the Mushroom Pokémon, "Parasect has been pretty clingy ever since it evolved. It's acting so differently now."

Ash smiled sadly, "I'm afraid that's natural for the paras line. They more than often get a new personality after being taken over by the mushroom."

Cassandra smiled sadly, "I suppose." She perked up and smiled happily, "Still, Parasect has been a lot of help ever since it evolved. I can't thank Satoshi and his puppets enough for helping train it."

Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy perked up in surprise, 'Satoshi?'

Ash and Soot tensed up and their eyes widened in shock, 'Puppets?!'

Ash took a step forward, "Wait. What do you mean puppets?"

Misty raised a brow, "And the uh …" She glanced at Ash, "Satoshi thing."

Cassandra looked at them with a smile, "Oh, sorry. I meant Satoshi Hayate. The man I was talking about before. He didn't have any Pokémon, so he used this really cool puppet thing to help me train Paras."

Soot grimaced, "Did it look like a jester? And if so, did this guy use silver strings to control it?"

Cassandra looked at her in surprise, "Woah." She shook it off and raised a brow, "Well, no actually. The one he used looked a lot more like a regular person and was really lifelike. He called it 3XK." She looked up thoughtfully, "I think he said he had two more named Ghost Killer and Olsen." She raised a brow, "He also said something about a Merry-Go-Round, which I thought was kind of weird."

Ash frowned, '3XK, Ghost Killer, and Olsen?'

Soot stepped forward, "But, what about the strings?"

Cassandra blinked in surprise, "Um … they were metallic green. All of Satoshi's clothes were too."

Soot looked down thoughtfully and mumbled, "Metallic green?"

Ash perked up in surprise before looking down as he thought back to their time at Pokémon Land; namely the hitmonchan, 'It couldn't be. Could it?'

Misty glanced at the pair worriedly before running over to Brock and pulling out his medicine bag. She ran over to Cassandra, "We're actually here to restock on medicine and potions. Could you help us out?"

Cassandra smiled and nodded, "Of course." She turned towards the tent and motioned for them to follow, "Right this way."

Misty smiled and waved, "We'll be in there in a moment."

After Cassandra and Parasect left, Misty frowned and looked at Ash and Soot worriedly, "You don't really think this guy has to do with those things at Maiden's Peak, do you?"

"Arlequin Yin and Arlequin Jin." Soot said with a frown, "And … maybe."

Ash frowned, "Still, even if this guy isn't the one who gave Gastly the Arlequins, it shows that there really are more of those things. And after the way Yin beat us and practically threatened us with that-" He stopped and took a deep breath, "It's just … unsettling."

Pikachu patted Ash's head, "Which is why we're not backing out of the next one. If they come after us again, we'll fight 'em off alongside you and Soot."

Clefairy nodded with a determined smile, "Yeah! Those Arle-pawns and that X3K thing won't stand a chance against all of us."

Misty smirked and clenched a fist, "If they just said something supportive, I agree completely."

Ash and Soot smiled softly, "Thanks."

Ash perked up and motioned towards the tent, "Let's hurry in before she think's something's up."

Everyone else nodded and made their way towards the pharmacy.

Brock continued snoring on the ground with Electra curled up on his chest.

.

.

Nuevo: *glaring at Omega* I told you we should have had Seishin alter that girl's memory.

Omega: *sweat drops* Starting to wish I'd listened. Now we really can't show our faces around Trix. Much less my puppets.

Mizuro: *pouts* How come Cassandra only mentioned Ash? We helped too.

Illavera: *Pats Mizuro on the back sympathetically*

…

*****Pseudo-Comment Response*****

From Guest (Trix Chapter 49):

(Given the length of this comment, I split it up as follows)

(Full response will be posted in next regular comment response)

…

As for your reasons for Soot's origins, they are mostly logical and over all respectable. Although I do have 2 problems with them. Nothing major just something worth pointing out.

.

1. I can understand not wanting to use I's, as you want to try your hands on new ideas to make your writing feel fresh and new. However, I's themselves aren't a bad thing, it all just depends on the execution of said I's. Like you said it yourself, there are some fan fictions that execute I's well. So why am I telling you this? Because sometimes it's good to just use a I and make it your own thing. Now I'm not saying to not come up with original ideas, because that would be absurd, but I fell like a good writer should know when to use a cliche and when to make something new (says the non-writer). Also, and this is just me, but I rather have a cliched story that was told really well, rather then a story that takes its original ideas to far, thus failing to subvert our expectations (Insert obvious Star Wars reference here).

Ohirume: Okay, fair. Clichés aren't Inherently bad.

I mean, technically Faux's a cliché.

Faux: Wait, really?

Yugo: Really.

Ohirume: But the thing with Soot is just something I wanted to try. Like how Ash got the Omnitrix at the age of five instead of ten.

By now, I can't take it back without doing a rewrite.

…

Faux: My concept can't really be that common. Can it?

Ohirume: Well, part of it is. Namely your identity and species. I can name seven stories with that premise. Four of which are in my Favorites.

The only original thing about you is your Inheritance and Aura Transmutions.

Faux: … geez.

.

2. As someone familiar with Antithesis' "The Honeymoon's Over", your comparison is kind of flimsy. In that story, both Ash and Misty become human, eeveeloution hybrids,

Yugo: Actually, that wasn't until the fourth chapter. It was full-blown Eeveelution each time before that.

meanwhile in your story, it's indicated that Ash boinked a mon...when he was 5 (unless I'm missing something)…

Ohirume: *ashamed groan* That is … accurate. And literally nothing I ever say will even begin to start justifying that.

But here we go anyway.

Omega: First, we will verify that Trix was in Pokémon form(s) when he kissed Yena. And yes, her name was Yena. That was revealed (sort of) back in the second chapter.

Yugo: Second, kissing. Omega may have just said it, but I'm clarifying anyway. Pokémon reproduce through a mouth-to-mouth kiss. As in every species.

Ohirume: Don't ask on the ones that don't have mouths. Because I'm still figuring that out myself.

Yugo: Be it intentional or accidental, it doesn't matter. Compatible lip contact equals egg. This also means that Pokémon don't view kissing in the same regard that humans do.

Ohirume: That concept rightfully belongs to Colb-a-nater's "Inner Strength." Difference is, I expanded it to every Pokémon species.

Gem: Third, there's the thing that Ash and Electra's brother talked about in the Pikachu Tribe Part 2 chapter. Pokémon mature really fast. As in, some species are usually meemas before they turn two.

Faux: *raised claw* Fourth, Power Integration hadn't happened yet. Trix had no idea what the Yvel kissing meant to a Pokémon.

Ohirume: He was a canon personality Ash Ketchum at the time. He was dumb.

Faux: *glares at Ohirume* That's not the point I was trying to make!

Ohirume: Finally, Trix mentioned back in Butterfree's goodbye chapter that Soot was an accident from training. He was serious about that and the fact that he is clueless when it comes to romance.

Laura: *chuckles* Yeah. He still hasn't realized Pidgeotto's crush on his braviary form.

Seishin: And when Brock freaked out a bit in response to Ash saying that Soot was an accident, Soot followed with *Deadpanned; Soot's voice* "Oh, please. It's not that big of a deal for Pokémon. How do you think daycares work?"

Illavera: *looks at Seishin in shock* Okay, that is just creepy.

Seishin: *Looks at Illavera; Illavera's voice* What do you mean?

Ohirume: *glares at Seishin* Dude, cut it out.

*Looks back at readers* Anyway … that's it.

Trix and Yena accidently kissed during a training session.

I'll explain the details of how Soot's Inheritance came to be another time.

.

From Just Some Guy (Trix Chapter 49):

(Full response will be posted in next regular comment response)

Me: *Realizes that Inheritance and Soot's powers mostly comes from the Omnitrix*

.

Also Me: *Yells every Sr. Pelo screams because he feels like an idiot*

.

Still, I can't believe I didn't put the pieces together sooner…

Ohirume: *blinks in surprise* Um … yeah. I mean, Trix has a mightyena and banette form.

*raised brow* Is that why you had such a problem with Soot being Ash's actual hatchling?

Seishin: *looks up at response to previous review* If that's the case, we might have gone a little overboard.

Omega: *following Seishin's gaze; sweat dropping* More than a little.

.

From lionel (Trix chapter 3):

Type your review here. Where is the ben 10 part punk

Omega: *sweat dropping* You actually typed in a fake default text? Dude, just … why?

Seishin: *angry pout* I'll have you know lionel-

.

From Just Some Guy 777 (Trix chapter 49):

lionel treat this more as a what if scenario rather than an actual crossover. The author is still brainstorming ideas for how to actually crossover the franchises together. This is more Pokemon than Ben 10 for now.

Seishin: *smirks with a clench fist* YEAH! You tell 'em Just Some Guy 777!

*perks up and blinks in surprise* Wait … Just Some Guy? As in the anti-me one from the in-depth review?

You have an account?

Ohirume: *Pulls up screen and blinks in surprise* Um … yeah. Apparently, they made one on May 19th.

Yugo: *raised finger while looking at Just Some Guy* To clarify, everyone's profile includes the date they joined the website. You probably already knew this, but still.

Omega: *blinks in surprise* Huh. What do ya know? *Looks at Just Some Guy 777* Well, now that you have an account, you're free to Private Message the ideas you were talking about before.

This'll have the added bonus of getting a response a **** of a lot sooner than two or so weeks.

Seishin: Though, be warned that the Private Message text box only allows up to 8000 characters(spaces included) per message. So you'll have to split up the ideas into multiple posts. 😋

Ohirume: *smirks and rolls eyes while glancing at Seishin* Hardy har. Very funny, Headache.

*perks up and looks at readers with kind smile* But we are serious about the Private Messaging thing. Feel free to send over what you have in mind.

All you have to do to send one is click the 'envelope' symbol with the PM next to it. It's in the upper left on my profile.