Hello everybody! Well, here it is, the third installment. This is the longest chapter thus far, and I have to say it feels like it. I'm sorry I couldn't have it out earlier, but at least I followed through on my promise to get the fic updated by this Friday, right? It's actually three in the morning here in Italia, so I am very tired, and I'll admit I just finished this chapter a few minutes ago. It was kind of hard for me to write because it covers a lot, but I think I detailed it pretty well, and I sure hope y'all enjoy it. Well, no joke, I think I am falling asleep at the keyboard (I went to he gym today so I'm extremely sore as well as tired), so I guess I'll tell y'all goodnight. Please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.

Characters' Ages:

Ash: 16

Brock: 21

Misty: 17

Dawn: 13

Delia: 40

Oak: 55

Gary: 16

"Ash, wait up!" exclaimed Brock for the thousandth time that morning. Ash had originally said he didn't want to get up until ten, and knowing Ash that meant he wouldn't even be out of bed till at least eleven. However, he apparently had a change of heart during the night because at five-thirty that morning Ash had awoken him from a great dream concerning his and Nurse Joy's future wedding ceremony. They immediately left the Center in a hurry for some unknown reason, and began briskly jogging towards Pallet, which was about twenty-five miles away.

"Couldn't we at least get something to eat?" moaned Brock, once again for the thousandth time that morning.

"Something to eat?" Ash replied blandly, only half-listening to his friend's request. "Something to eat…"

"Yeah, genius, something to eat! You know, like food maybe. Or I could hunt us a Caterpie if that's what you want, but c'mon! I'm starving here!"

"Caterpie sounds good, but I'm gonna need a Weedle actually…" mumbled Ash, once again not thinking of what his friend was talking about.

"Ash! Will you please tell me why we're in such a friggin' hurry???"

"I told you," Ash replied, snapping back into reality for a moment, "I really can't tell you. At least not yet."

"Why?! I mean seriously, you're not that important. In fact, I really don't think you have a secret. You just want me to think you do so I'll think you're somebody special just because you're the Sinnoh champ! Well y'know what? I'm not falling for it! Don't tell me, I don't wanna know!" Brock proceeded to turn his head in the opposite direction, hoping that this would show Ash that he wasn't as important as he thought he was. However, Brock felt a pang of disappointment when he saw that Ash seemed not at all upset that his friend no longer cared about his little secret, but instead continued to speed-walk while staring at the ground, mumbling to himself like a lunatic.

"Okay, okay, I lied. I really, really want to know what's going on. PLEASE tell me!" he then got down on one knee, but Ash just momentarily glanced back with a look that showed he believed the breeder to be insane before turning around and continuing his journey south.

In his mind, Ash was going over the list of Pokémon he was going to need to catch. He quickly realized there were way too many. Why hadn't he caught more Pokémon throughout his journey? He had seen hundreds, yet only managed to catch about seventy, thirty of which were Tauros. Why didn't he catch that Pidgey he saw at the start of his journey, or that Rattata, or all those stupid Spearow Pikachu had managed to defeat? On his first day as a trainer, he saw three very common Pokémon, and yet failed to catch a single one. He had been mentally beating himself up ever since he read the letter, over his stupidity as a trainer. The Pokémon League's official motto was "Gotta Catch'em All!" for goodness sake! How much more obvious could they have made it? Yet he somehow managed to ignore that phrase for all these years, and was now paying the price.

Truth be told, he wasn't even sure he had an answer for Brock. There was no rush to get to Pallet town. In fact, he thought he probably should be going slower to look for any Pokémon along the way. However, he had someone in Pallet whom he believed had all the answers he needed, and that was encouragement enough to give him the energy to run a million miles if necessary.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Finally, we're here!" cried out Brock, instantly snapping Ash from his thinking. Sure enough, in the distance he could see the Professor's lab and the outlines of the sprawling community beyond it. Pallet had never been an exceptionally large town, but over the years it had grown. While it was still considered by many in the larger cities, like Viridian and Pewter, as "sleepy", it now had a large mall, and several nice restaurants and movie theaters.

"Let's go!" cried Ash as he broke into an all-out sprint. Brock kept up with him, feeling just as excited about getting out of the muggy heat, which had come full force an hour into their trip, and getting into a nice, air conditioned house.

About thirty minutes later, Ash and Brock arrived in front of his mother's house, perspiring heavily, but with large grins on their faces. As soon as Ash rang the doorbell, the door swung open, revealing a very happy Delia behind it.

"Ash, you're here already!" she cried happily. "I didn't expect you till this evening at the earliest!"

"Yeah, well something came up," mumbled Ash as he hugged his mother. He knew what she was going to say before she said it.

"What came up honey?"

"I'm sorry Ma, but I can't tell you that. At least not yet."

"Don't worry Mrs. K," interjected Brock from behind Ash. He then whispered sarcastically, "He's been like this since we left the Center at five this morning. He won't spill the 'big' secret."

"Oh my word! You left that early?" Asked a shocked Delia. She knew her son was not the type to get up early, or on some occasions, get up at all. Unless he had a battle, or something else Pokémon related, he was never quick to rise.

Rolling his eyes, Ash replied "Yeah Ma. Believe it or not, I can function before eleven A.M."

"Oh, I know dear. It's just so unlike you," Delia responded worriedly.

Meanwhile, Brock was dying to get inside the house. From his position behind Ash and Delia, who was still standing in the doorway, only his forehead was catching a slight breeze from the air conditioner, and it already felt like Heaven.

"Well whatever your reason for being so high-strung, I'm glad you're here with me. Why don't you and Brock go take a good long nap. You must have walked about twenty miles to get here!" Delia said in that overly-caring tone she used only for her son.

"Actually, it was more like thirty, but y'know, whatever," Brock mumbled agitatedly while wondering how much longer he could stand there before a heat stroke finally overtook him.

"Ma, I really can't right now. I have to go see the Professor. I wanted to come by here first so you wouldn't get mad that I visited him before you, but this is a very urgent issue," explained Ash in the most patient tone he could muster. His mom was wearing down his nerves, but he didn't want to upset her immediately after his arrival.

"Ash Ketchum, you're staying here for at least a few hours before you go see the Professor. I'm your mother for Pete's sake."

At this point, Brock didn't care who went to see the Professor. They could both take a quick trip to Johto if they wanted for all he cared. However, there was no way he was going to that old dude's house right now. The Professor's house was like two miles away, and he wasn't in the mood for anymore heat. As calmly as he could, practically with tears in his eyes, he asked Mrs. Ketchum, "Could I please come in?!"

Embarrassed at her lack of etiquette, Delia immediately said "of course". However, as soon as Ash entered, he leaned against the door, determined not to relax just yet. His mom was stubborn, but that was a trait she passed on to him as well, and he wasn't about to give in. "Ma, Brock can stay here if he wants, but I've gotta go. I'll be back in a couple of hours, tops, then we can all hang out and talk about how great I am. Okay?" He knew the old Ash-charm would win her over, and sure enough after what felt like an eternity of his mother sternly gazing at him, her features suddenly softened.

"Oh, alright, but you get back here immediately when you're done. I don't want you staying around the lab too long."

"'Kay Ma! So Brock, are you staying-"

He was immediately interrupted by the sound of Brock snoring on the sofa in front of the television. What a baby, he thought as he quietly opened the front door and stepped back out into the muggy heat.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

As Ash knocked on the door, he had only one question on his mind; did the Professor know about all of this? After all, Oak was one of the chairman of the Pokémon League Board, and was known to be quite popular amongst his peers at the PLB. Ash hoped he could ask the Professor a few questions the note lacked answers to, such as did he really have to catch all Pokémon, or was Cynthia just pulling his leg? However, there was an even more urgent question he needed to ask, and he prayed once again that the Professor could tell him what he wanted to know.

Suddenly, an aging man, about sixty years of age, opened the door with a toothy grin. "Why Ash! Look who's here already! Come in, come in."

As they walked through the hall to the living room, Ash glanced at some of the pictures on the wall and saw a few of him and Gary when they were younger. However, this was no time for a stroll down memory lane, and Ash felt he was about to burst from curiosity.

"-so I thought despite Pikachu's success, Swellow was probably the one who tipped the match in your favor. Don't you think so too?" asked the Professor.

Ash gulped. He didn't realize that Oak had been talking to him the entire time. "Uh, yeah, I guess. I-I-I mean I think everyone on my team contributed equally, but Swellow certainly did come through against, uh…" Ash couldn't really remember who his Swellow battled, truth be told.

"Against Gastrodon," affirmed the Professor.

"Yeah, against him," Ash replied, still not really recalling the battle.

"Ash, you're not here to just say 'hi', are you?" Asked the Professor as he motioned for Ash to take a seat across from him in front of his fireplace.

"No. No, I'm here because I know you're a high-ranking member of the Pokémon League Board and -"

"And you have some questions that weren't answered in that letter of Cynthia's, right?"

"Yeah, that's it!" Ash was relieved that Oak already knew why he was there. That probably meant he knew some of the things Ash wanted to know.

"Well go ahead and ask me. I've actually been waiting for this moment since the day you left Pallet. I mean, I knew Gary had great potential, but I saw before he did that his real passion was studying Pokémon, not battling them. However, that day you came to me and received that little runt of your's, I knew your life's passion was raising Pokémon."

Slightly embarrassed by the Professor's kind remarks, Ash decided to go ahead with the questioning. "Well, first I want to know about having to catch all these Pokémon. Is that true, or is it more like a figure of speech thing?" Ash once again prayed that it was the latter.

"I'm sorry Ash, but it is indeed true that you must catch all non-legendary Pokémon to attain Master Rank. Why do you think I've pushed you so hard throughout your journey to 'catch lots of Pokémon'?"

"I guess I never really paid attention," Ash mumbled, slightly dispirited once again by his naivety as an aspiring Master.

"Well, you have as much time as you need. As long as you remain Champ of Sinnoh, you are eligible for the title. So what're your other questions?"

Ash decided to ask the big one next. "Can I bring my friends with me?" He dreaded the answer because he feared the Professor would say that he had to keep his goals secret to everybody, and he didn't know if he could do this long journey alone.

"Oh, of course you can Ash. I was afraid Cynthia wouldn't explain that rule very well. The reason we at the PLB keep the rules for Master Rank secret until one becomes a Champion is because we believe if someone-"

"Really wants to become a Master, then they would naturally become a Champion to get closer to this goal," interrupted Ash. He didn't mean to be rude, but he had read the letter a thousand times by this point, and he wanted answers, not facts he already knew.

"Right, but we also have this rule because of the commercial problems."

"Commercial problems?" asked a confused Ash.

"Yes. You see, if we allow a trainer to go completely public with his Master goals, then suddenly catching all those Pokémon wouldn't be so hard. Companies would invest in a trainer's success."

"Invest?" Ash was feeling slightly more dense than usual, but he couldn't help but sound stupid. The Professor wasn't making any sense.

"Yes Ash. We at the PLB fear that certain companies, or Team Rocket, might give a trainer several Pokémon they need in order to get them to Master level sooner. They would then benefit because the trainer might agree to help them out by advertising their products for free, or they might give them a certain percentage of the money they reap in with the title. Therefore, we like to keep candidates for Master Rank secret until they finally battle the current Master. By that point, no one can interfere with them, even if they want to."

"Well, that does make more sense than Cynthia's explanation," Ash stated. He and the Professor then began to wean off the subject of the Master Journey and drifted more into small talk. After talking about the weather, and Gary's studies, and Ash's studies, and a little politics, Ash said he needed to get back to his mom before she got too angry. The real truth was however, that Ash really just didn't like small talk with Oak because he could ramble for hours about anything.

As he reached the door and was walking out however, the Professor suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around. "Ash, I almost forgot. I have taken the liberty of finding you a worthy opponent to battle to meet the requirement for the Master Rank."

"Really? Wow, that's great! I was wondering how I was going to find somebody. So who'd you pick? Do I know them?" Ash asked inquisitively.

"Oh, I'd say you know him very well. It's Gary."

"What???!!!" cried Ash as if in pain. He couldn't believe it; his childhood rival, one of the biggest stumbling blocks throughout his Pokémon career, had just become one of the biggest stumbling blocks in his Master career!

"What's the matter, Ash?" asked the Professor. "I thought you would have loved to battle Gary."

"It's not that. It's just…" Ash began to drift off in mid-sentence.

"Just what?"

"It's just that if he wins, he'll always have the pride of knowing he's what stopped me from attaining my dream, while he lives his."

"Oh Ash, you worry too much. Personally my money's on you," as he said this, he nodded at Ash, trying to give him some confidence. "Besides, you can battle Gary whenever you want, however many times you want. You only have to win once."

Although this was not very reassuring since he hated losing to Gary no matter what, Ash nodded and thanked the Professor. Suddenly what Gary had said that night when Ash called home after he became Champion made sense; But remember that you'll have to go through me to reach your dream.

As Ash bid the Professor goodbye, he decided a few things. He decided he would first grab a bite to eat from the fridge. He then decided to get a nice, hot shower. After this, he determined that he would sit in his room for a while and try and believe this was all happening. He had just become Champion, but he couldn't rest for more than a week? How was he supposed to beat Gary? True, he had beaten him at the Silver Conference, but Ash knew from his mom, Oak, and Gary himself, that the young man had never quit training. As a matter of fact, the last time they battled was when Gary battled his newly acquired Electivire against Pikachu, and won. This was not going to be easy at all, but at least he had a nice, quiet room to contemplate in.

He sighed as he reached the front door of his house, and began to take out his key. He then noticed something strange. The front door was slightly ajar. Ash started to worry a little, because he knew his mom never left the door open. What if someone broke in? Ash was growing more anxious with every millisecond that passed. In a rush of passion he burst through the door holding Charizard's pokeball in his left hand. However, as soon as his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he was in shock.

Over the living room was a banner that stated "Congratulations!" and he saw almost all of his friends and mom there waiting for him. All at once, they shouted "SURPRISE" and he was immediately overwhelmed with people shaking his hand, giving him hugs, and patting him on the back.

Well, I have all tomorrow to strategize, he thought, giving into the sudden temptation to procrastinate as he saw a giant Pikachu cake being carried into the room by none other than his greatest of friends, Misty. Tonight, I'm just gonna enjoy!

Author's Notes: Well, like I said above, I'm really tired, so I won't say much, but I do hope y'all review it if you like it, and cuss me out if you didn't. Just review, please! I'd also like to give a quick shout-out to my loyal readers, who've reviewed both chapters, and hopefully this one too: MoltresFeather (who's writing a great pokeshipping fic if anyone's interested), and SecretAgent99 (who wants to become trilingual). I also need to mention Shenguin, dbzgtfan2004, charmander-freak, and Dramione x3 for reviewing a chapter of my story too. Please keep it up you guys, and encourage any friends you have on here to read and review too, please! Thank you and good night!