Dissolution

Acolyte appeared from the flash of red light, hefting his club and looking at me expectantly. Then he let it fall slack at his side, looking around in a small measure of awe.

The cubone enclosure was almost identical to the area that I'd found his colony in. The soft, loose earth of Pallet was replaced by a hard, packed down layer of dirt. Rocks and boulders were strewn around, with a cave hollowed out in the largest of the boulders. More caves dotted the walls of the enclosure.

A few of the cubone peeked out to watch, curious at the newcomer who seemed so familiar. My marowak gazed around at them, the barest traces of tears beginning in his eyes.

"Acolyte," I said, working up the strength to speak. He turned to face me and I felt a sense of calm coming over me. I knew what the right words were. "when we met, you were just a cubone. Your mother entrusted you to me for training."

I looked away, at the cubone that were starting to gather. None of them had come out into the open, but more and more of them had appeared. They were peeking around boulders and out from the mouths of the many caves carved into the walls.

"I'd say that you've surpassed anything in my wildest dreams." I grinned and felt some measure of confidence fill my words. "You've become a powerful warrior and a true friend to me. You have fulfilled your obligations to your trainer and done your mother, and your clan proud."

Acolyte fought back the traces of tears that began to form. He looked around at the cubone, then back at me. I could feel the solemn resolve in his gaze.

"They need you," I continued. "Your family needs you. More than I ever did."

He held up a hand and I went silent. My marowak raised his club and drove it into the earth at his side. He stepped closer, gesturing to my ball belt.

I dropped my hand to my starter's ball. It wasn't easy for Luna to translate from mind to mind, but she'd been experimenting with her abilities since she'd thanked me after her evolution. She could, at the very least, relay a few messages back and forth.

My ninetales lifted her head proudly. She met Acolyte's eyes and I watched as both of them stood transfixed for a moment. Then the link between them seemed to break and both of my team members visibly sagged.

Luna turned towards me as Acolyte steadied himself on his club. I felt the familiar pressure of Luna's mental presence touch my mind, and the strange musical undertones that her presence brought with her.

"Marcus-Trainer has taught well. Acolyte is ready to be not-acolyte. Acolyte is ready to be Acolyte-Trainer for Clan."

I forced the tears to remain hidden. "You'll be a damn good one," I said proudly. "You're smart… you're brave… you're loy—"

He placed a hand on my arm and looked back at Luna. Her presence disappeared for a moment and then returned a few moments later.

"Clan need Acolyte. No sad. Acolyte always Marcus-Clan."

I nodded in reply, choking back a sob. No sad, Acolyte had told me. He deserved a happy farewell. "You're a damn good pokemon," I said as I finally found my voice. "I'm gonna miss you."

My hand dropped to my belt again, opening the remaining two balls. Curie and Artemis coalesced beside me and looked around warily.

"We'll miss you, Acolyte." I reached out and pulled my pokemon in closer. Not even Artemis resisted the hug. "We'll all miss you."

Curie sobbed and abandoned her hug with me, wrapping both arms around Acolyte. Luna curled her tails around him as Artemis snaked her own tail around Acolyte from the other direction. I joined my pokemon, abandoning my stoic façade and joining my team in the crushing hug.

Try as I might, the tears began to fall. My team wasn't used to happy goodbyes. Every one of our losses had been abrupt, violent deaths of beloved family members. For once, we got to say goodbye on our terms.

Oak's aide, a man from Sevii named Tracey, led me back from the cubone enclosure, down a pokemon after I handed Acolyte's ball over to one of the staff caring for the cubone. The aide led me around the lab, to another enclosure on the other side of the compound.

"Oak just had him transported in," he began. "He's been trying to get out of the enclosure since we let him out. We thought he'd tire out or learn his lesson, but…"

Tracey's voice trailed off as we climbed the stairs up onto the small platform that let us view the enclosure. I laid my eyes on my newest team member and knew I was in for the toughest task of my training career.

The tyrunt stood just over six feet in height, but stretched at least nine or ten feet from nose to tail. He was an oddity among the clutch, a giant that refused to stop growing. By rights, Vargas had thought he would have evolved by now, but the tyrunt remained a tyrunt.

His muscles were rippling, corded bands that were tensed in preparation. Reptilian eyes found me and lingered with calculated coldness, as though he was working out the best way to reach and kill me. "Seems like you'll have your hands full," the aide said. "He's smart, you can tell by his eyes."

I held the tyrunt's gaze for a long moment. "He's looking for ways to kill us," I replied. "Artemis, my aerodactyl, was the same way before I tamed her."

He looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. "How'd you manage that?" he asked.

"You go through the stomach," I said. "at least, I did with Artemis. Trained her to expect her meals for me." I paused for a moment as I doubted the effectiveness of that approach. "Although, she was mostly past her aversion to humans."

My eyes never left the tyrunt's gaze, and I got the sense that what I'd learned with Artemis would be far less helpful than I was hoping. Vargas' notes had detailed much more inherent aggression than any of his aerodactyl, and in this particular specimen, a desire to establish himself as the monarch of his own. He wanted to be the strongest and he was willing to do whatever it took to achieve that.

I turned to the islander, my mind racing through possible training methods. I had ideas, but I needed to get started so I had a chance to get him under control before I left Pallet. "Mind if I introduce myself?"

He shook his head. "He's all yours," Tracey replied, handing me the tyrunt's ball for the first time. "We don't even need the paddock for another week or two, so you can house him here as long as you need."

I grinned, feeling some confidence as I thought through my nascent plan. "I appreciate that," I said. "Because this might take a few attempts, and I'll need to space them out."

Tracey looked at me with a curious expression. "Mind if I watch?" he asked. "I'd been meaning to make a trip to Sawtooth, but I've just never managed to find the time. I've always wanted to sketch a fossil pokemon."

I shrugged. "Feel free to stick around. I want a look at any sketches of them though."

I raised Artemis' ball and released her on the outside of the paddock. In one smooth motion, I hopped off the viewing platform and onto my aerodactyl's back. I squeezed my heels into her flanks and felt her muscles tense underneath me.

We launched into the sky and I felt a surge of joy as the wind rushed through my hair. So long ago, I'd flown on the back of Gemma's fearow and felt utter terror. Now, flying was nothing but a source of happiness. I'd found my flight stomach, so to speak.

We banked as Artemis cleared the twenty foot fence, and I caught a glimpse of Tracey scrawling away at his sketch pad. I pushed the sight from my mind, resolving to ask about any of the sketches after. I needed my focus on the present.

Artemis swooped low and flared her wings. I slipped off her back and landed in front of my newest pokemon, praying that he wouldn't gut me without hesitation. I released Luna and Curie at my sides as Artemis banked back around and landed heavily behind me. With a third flash of light, Two appeared in front of me. I needed my team with me, needed to make an impression on the tyrunt that I was the one in charge.

Vargas' notes mentioned that he had displayed an understanding of human language, even if he had no inclination to listen. So I launched into an introduction.

"My name is—"

He launched into action, clawed feet carving furrows into the earth as he flung himself into action. He was charging straight for me with intent to kill.

I sighed as I raised his ball and returned him before he could close the gap. Of course this was going to be more difficult than I had first expected it to be. I quickly set the ball's release function to place him on the other end of the paddock and glanced around at my team.

"Luna," I started. "Get ready to pin him in place."

The tyrunt appeared a few moments later, facing the opposite wall. He looked around for me, snarling in frustration. Reptilian eyes settled on me and again I could see him working out exactly how to kill me.

Luna's eyes flashed with violet light and the tyrunt levitated off the ground by a few inches. He scrabbled with his clawed feet, but Luna lifted him just off. She shot me a sideways glance, as if to ask if I was satisfied.

"Artemis, show him his place in the pack."

She let out a feral growl and launched into motion. The tyrunt snarled and snapped, but Artemis hit him from above and tossed him with a swing of her tail. He slammed into the fence of the paddock and landed heavily on his feet.

Two shot forward, a reflective panel of glowing light slamming the tyrunt from the side. He was thrown across the paddock, flipping end over end and crashing to a painful halt. He slowly rose to his feet, clearly pained by the beat down he'd just received.

"Can you read him?" I asked Luna.

I saw the psychic energy billow around her, and wondered for a brief moment why she was considered a pure fire type. She could naturally use some ghost techniques as well as many psychic and fire ones, even a few stranger types if TM's were brought into play. I pushed the thought away, focusing on the task at hand.

"He is angry," came Luna's voice, as her mind touched mind. It was still difficult to communicate directly with words, but it was becoming somewhat easier. It still usually left me exhausted with a migraine, but I could tolerate short conversations. "Intelligent and savage by nature. He craves strength but was embarrassed in battle."

"Make sure he understands me," I said to my starter. "Because this'll go bad real quick if I'm wrong."

She shot me a long look, but then turned her attention to the tyrunt. I saw him stiffen and watched his eyes race between the five targets in front of him.

"Curie, I need an egg."

My chansey tried to whine in protest. I shot her a curt glance. I knew she didn't like our new team member's aggressive behaviour, but I needed her help to calm that aggression and win him over.

"An egg," I repeated. "this'll work. I promise."

She pulled and egg from her pouch and passed it to me. She had a sour look, but didn't make another sound.

"Thank you," I said. I nodded a thanks and turned to my newest pokemon. "We got this, Curie."

I stepped toward the tyrunt. His eyes stopped darting between the five of us and focused solely on me. I saw his mind racing, much like my own when I was in a bad situation.

"You want to be strong," I said, quickly forming a rough idea of my new pokemon's identity. "you are strong. But you could be stronger. You could evolve, become like Empress."

I glanced over at Luna, who nodded in confirmation. "We are strong because we fight together." I held out the egg and drew my knife. With a quick motion I sliced the top of the egg off and placed it carefully on the ground in front of me. "Fight with us and become stronger."

I stepped back and whistled for Luna. "Let him go," I said, my eyes never leaving the tyrunt. "Two, be ready if he attacks."

I took another step. His eyes glanced down at the egg and quickly back up to me. He be opened his jaws and hissed, lowering his head as he crouched. Artemis roared and the tyrunt paused for a moment. I stepped back again.

He launched, ignoring the egg and leaping up to pounce on me. The large claw on each foot extended to gut me with the opening attack.

Two's barrier slammed into the tyrunt and swatted him into the dirt. He rolled with the motion and came to his feet as Artemis hit him from the side and pinned him to the ground.

I sighed as my aerodactyl roared directly into the tyrunt's ear. This was going to be harder than I thought.

Oak lifted the pan off of the stove and poured the stir-fry mix into the waiting bowl. Delia was waiting, absconding with the bowl to the table. He turned off the burner and placed the pan into the sink as Delia put the bowl on the table and began distributing it to the waiting plates.

"Will the boys be joining us tonight?" Delia asked with a clear sadness in her voice. She paused, holding a full spoonful of the stir-fry over the fourth plate.

The boys hadn't been seen since Oak's big reveal. I'd spent the last few days training and trying to get a handle on Savage. It wasn't progressing half as well as I'd hoped, but at least he had stopped trying to kill me on sight.

Oak shook his head in response to her question and sat heavily in his chair. "I haven't heard from them, Delia."

She lowered the spoon and put it back into the bowl. Delia said nothing further, but looked intently at her food as she slid into her seat.

"Has Surge contacted you yet?" Oak asked. "I need to speak with him, warn him about Saffron."

I shook my head, picking up my fork. "Still nothing," I said. "I'm getting worried at this point. He should have at least returned my message by now."

Oak sighed heavily. "We aren't going to have much time. If—"

My pokegear blared angry tones at me. I pulled it out and flipped it open, the screen was already blaring a warning at me.

EMERGENCY ALERT — ARMED CONFLICT IN SAFFRON CITY. ALL CIVILIANS MUST CLEAR AREA. INDIGO NATIONAL ARMY DEPLOYED IN RESPONSE. INDIGO RANGERS DEPLOYED IN RESPONSE. ALL CIVILIAN TRAINERS ARE URGED TO STAY AWAY.

I looked up at Oak. "I guess that's why he hasn't answered." I went silent, realizing how pale he was going. "Professor?" I asked cautiously. "Are you alright?"

"We need to move. Quickly."

I looked down at the plate and shoveled a bite into my mouth. I wasn't likely to get a chance to eat until this was over, and I was going to need something to keep me going.

Movement at the door drew our attention. The boys were panting, as though they'd run to get back after getting the alert.

"Boys," Delia exclaimed. "You're—"

"We have to go," Oak said. "Right now, to Viridian." He rose from his seat. "If Rocket is making their play, then Viridian is empty and we won't have a better chance."

"I'm sorry, but we have to go to Saff—"

"No," Oak said with a hard voice, interrupting me. "We need to go now. Viridian will be empty. There is something that we need."

Both boys looked at him in silence. Neither protested. Leaf, standing behind them, didn't make a noise either.

"We go. We go now and we can still get to Saffron in time."

I couldn't help the nagging doubt in the back of my mind. We needed to get to Saffron, to stop Giovanni from getting his hand on the prototype ball. "Professor, I don't know. Time is of the essence here, if Giovanni—"

"Time is indeed of the essence. We will never have a chance at getting into Giovanni's lair like this, never have another shot at this."

I shook my head. "Oak, you gotta convince me. What's so important that it results in us delaying our arrival at Saffron?"

"I…" he trailed off and I caught the troubled look in his eyes. "It would be… far easier to simply show you."

Leaf and the boys didn't interject in the argument, simply watching as I cast doubt on the Professor. "That's not a lot to go on," I said. "I need something that can justify delaying us helping at Saffron."

He sighed. "You've come this far on faith, Marcus. One more step, what's one more step?"

"Oftentimes, the last step is the step too far."

We stared at each other for a long, tense moment. Nobody dared to speak. Oak held my gaze intently and neither the boys nor Leaf could tear themselves away.

"Fine," I said brusquely. Oak had placed faith in me by telling me what he had. I'd returned that trust by believing him and promising to help him turn Giovanni's plans against himself. "Viridian first, then Saffron."

We popped into existence directly in front of the Viridian Gym, the long shadows cast by the setting sun casting jagged lines on the Gym's face. Karen and Will flanked our small group, with Will's xatu and gardevoir spreading out after aiding in our group teleportation.

"Break it down," Oak ordered.

The front doors of the gym tore off their hinges and spun off into the loose earth of the gardens in front of the gym. No attention came to us, and I felt a sense of unease. The Viridian Gym was in a busy part of town, it should not have been as deserted as it was right now. I slipped my sidearm from its holster and felt the familiar weight in my hand.

"Move in, find Giovanni's office." Oak continued, unperturbed by the deserted street. "It should be on the second level."

Karen and Will disappeared with separate pops. Red and Blue disappeared a half-moment later with Leaf in tow, leaving Oak and I alone in front of the gym. I glanced at him. "It's empty, just like you said."

He nodded. "Giovanni's probably pulled just about everyone into his operation. If there is anyone in there, it'll only be a few people on the lower levels. Likely a couple support staff if anything."

"What is this place?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Rocket's base of operations. Or, more accurately, Giovanni's personal base."

I raised my eyebrow, but didn't ask anything else. Karen and Will appeared a half second later, both of the psychics reaching out for one of us. We disappeared with a small pop and reappeared in a darkened room with an oversized desk overlooking the city. The evening sun sat heavy over the skyline of Viridian, almost set for the night.

Oak sighed and shook his head. "Always the one for theatrics," he said in a knowing tone. He reached under the desk, tapping the secret button underneath. "Has to be the most insufferable prick he can be."

The bookshelf on the wall split open and slid apart, revealing a stark grey metal door.

"Giovanni has a love for dramatics," Oak said with some small measure of exasperation. "which extends to everything he does. A very select few people even know if this secret bunker's existence, of which I am not supposed to be one. If I'm right…"

I shot him a hard look. I wanted to trust Oak, but the constant deceptions and omissions of key information was making it hard. "If?" I asked incredulously.

He didn't answer, pressing the button on the elevator. It opened silently and Oak answered me with a confident glance.

We piled into the elevator, none of us speaking a word. It closed as Oak pressed the sole button on the panel. We trundled down into the earth, leaving the surface behind as the last vestiges of natural evening sunlight was replaced by harsh fluorescent lights.

"What is this?" Red asked, as we descended further into the earth. "You called it a bunker… a bunker for what?"

Oak sighed and the frown on his face told me that he was reluctant to reveal much. "It's more than that," he said calmly. "It was built to survive anything, so he stashed him here to make sure he was safe and hidden."

"Stashed who here?" I asked, taking over from Red's questioning. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The elevator ground to a halt and we all turned to face the only path. We'd arrived at a hallway that led to a lonely metal door with an obviously heavy lock in the centre of the door. There was only a single line of fluorescent tubes on the ceiling, leading to the lonely door.

"This is a prison," Oak said. "holding one of the most dangerous beings ever encountered on this earth."

He crossed the hallway and opened the door. The lock released easily and I had the terrified realization that it hadn't required any sort of key or combination. It was designed only to keep the door from opening from the inside.

Oak pushed open the door and stepped through.

I stepped through behind him, training my pistol on the young man seated at the table. He grinned and pulled a wide brimmed cap over his messy mop of jet black hair. He wasn't much older than myself, but I could see a world weary experience in his eyes.

"Well," he said with his gaze settling on Oak. "I was wondering if I'd ever see you again."

"Boys," Oak began with a scowl. "Meet Ash Ketchum, of Pallet Town." He folded his arms across his chest as the rest of us filed in after him.

"Who?" asked Blue. "I thought I knew everyone in Pallet,"

"You do," the man replied. "I'm just not from your Pallet."

I raised an eyebrow and glanced from the man to Oak. I wasn't the only one, Karen and Will mirrored me.

"I suppose that another explanation is in order," Oak said with an amused tone. He glanced over at Ash. "This man is not of this universe, but from another world much like our own."

"Did we walk into a bad sci-fi flick?" Blue asked incredulously. "Parallel universes?"

"Just over a year ago, Giovanni discovered and experimented with a being known as Hoopa." Oak's scowl deepened. "The creature was capable of opening portals to other worlds. Giovanni laid waste to the Kalosian Rivière using gods summoned by Hoopa." He turned and gestured to Ash. "He was transported to this universe as a byproduct of Giovanni's experiments."

Oak sighed and shook his head as he continued. "I had theorized on the possibility when I was younger, but the idea… I dismissed it as ludicrous. There was no way to even begin to test the theory."

"And then he found a way."

I turned and looked at Ash. The venom he had put into that word made it obvious who he was referring to. "Did you fight him?" I asked.

"Two of him," Ash replied. "once in my world… and then again here."

"Did you win?" I asked. Hope stirred in my chest. Perhaps this man was the answer.

Ash Ketchum turned to look at me. His face was thin and gaunt. I saw the pain and loss, the resignation in his soul. "No," he replied. "He always wins."

I glanced over at Leaf and the boys. Each of them wore the same forlorn expression. Karen and Will were slightly harder to read, but I saw a flicker of doubt cross the mercenaries' faces.

"We can beat him," I said calmly, trying to take charge of the tone. "we have the element of surprise." My gaze turned to Oak and I caught a glimpse of something akin to pride in his eyes. "But that doesn't matter if we don't stop him from getting his hands on that ball."

"We go to Saffron now," I continued. "to end Giovanni for good. If he falls, Rocket falls with him. They're a disparate network of barely connected cells. Giovanni is what holds it all together. If he goes, it all goes."

"He stopped me," Ash said suddenly and forcefully. "Me, who was chosen by the divine and fated to be the saviour of my world. He will—"

"No," I said, interrupting him. "he didn't stop you. You're still alive. You're still here." I turned back to the boys and I saw the clear similarity between Ash and Red. I knew then that there was truth in what he had been saying. He was Red, just a little different than the boy from Pallet was. "And you're going to help us stop him."

"How do you propose this?" he replied coldly. "My team is gone, my power absent in this universe. I am a shadow of what I once was. I am not the hero you seek."

Red stepped forward. "No, you aren't. But if you're the hero of your own story, then this can't be the end for you."

Ash glanced up at him.

"If it's not the end of you, then you're going to get through this. That gives me hope." He smiled warmly and I felt a radiant calm. "Hope that we can stop Giovanni."

I'd never seen this side of Red, only ever viewed him as a less cocksure version of Blue. The boy seemed to radiate the same hope that he spoke about now. He commanded the attention of everyone in the room. I saw the Champion that Giovanni had envisioned in the boy. A flicker of doubt crossed my mind, wondering why Giovanni would create a foe seemingly fated to destroy him.

"You're all going to die," Ash said morosely. "but I'll go with you." His eyes flitted to Red. "At least for a bit of conversation," he said quietly.

Oak grinned as the raven haired man got to his feet and strapped the skarmory feather blade to his hip. "Onwards, then. To certain death."

He strode from the room as if he hadn't been imprisoned within it, leading our group to the elevator. We piled in after him.

"So…" Blue started with an amused grin. "the multiverse exists?"

Ash nodded solemnly. "It does."

"So, since you're pretty clearly an alternate version of my friend here," Blue continued, gesturing to Red. "did you happen to know anybody that would have been me?"

"Yeah," Ash replied curtly. "He was an asshole."

Blue smirked. "That tracks," he said smartly.

"I'm pretty sure I knew a version of all of you," Ash continued. He looked over at me. "Except for you."

"I'm not important," I said. "Just a Ranger who was in the right place at the right time."

"Screw that," Blue interjected. "Certified badass over here fought Giovanni to a standstill with us. He's just being an embarrassed shit."

I let myself grin at the cocky young Oak. "I didn't know that you were capable of compliments."

Blue smiled mareepishly. "I am capable of being nice. I just choose not to be most of the time."

Oak coughed to interrupt him. "Are you—"

The elevator doors opened and I realized in a moment's breath that it had all been a trap. A dozen barrels were levelled with the elevator door, waiting for them to open. Whether Oak had been a willing participant or not, he'd led us into an ambush.

Will saved us in an instant. There was a flash of violet light as the dozen or so men waiting for us opened fire. His arm was up and his face was twisted into a grimace of effort.

Automatic weapons unloaded a wall of lead into the elevator. It would have been enough to kill us all a dozen times over. Will stopped every bullet in mid-air.

It felt like an eternity with the muzzle flashes flashing in our faces. Then it was over, and the Rocket grunts were staring at us in abject terror.

Will's eyes opened. They were a brilliant violet, blazing with psychic power. He cast his power out at the grunts with a wordless cry, spraying the room with all the collected bullets.

The closest of the grunts came to pieces under the barrage. I willfully ignored the gore and viscera painting the office as I forced myself out of the elevator behind Karen.

Karen vaulted over Giovanni's pockmarked desk, kicking one of the surviving grunts in the jaw. She came down on him with her blade, burying it up to the hilt in the man's shoulder.

I raised my sidearm, firing twice and gunning down the grunt that attempted to strike Karen from the side. He crumpled, holding his chest and gurgling for air.

I scanned the room as Karen dispatched the last surviving Rocket grunt. It was a bloody mess, the walls pockmarked with the bullets Will had returned to the Rockets. Giovanni's office looked like a warzone now.

Will staggered out of the elevator, head clasped in his hands. "That… hurt."

Karen wiped her blade off and sheathed it. She vaulted over the desk again, producing an energy

"He knew we would be coming," Oak said quietly. I could hear the fear in his voice. "he knew and he let us steal into his bunker anyways." He shook his head. "I don't…"

"Does he have enough men to hit Pallet?" I asked, my mind going to the obvious. "He lured you here and away from your lab. He could have hit the lab while it was undefended."

Red sucked in a sharp breath and seemed to deflate with that realization. "Mom…" he said. He glanced at Oak and then me. "We have to go now."

"Saffron," I said forcefully. "we need to go to Saffron. We need to stop—"

"No," Oak said. "You go."

"This isn't a conversation, Oak," I said. "you said it yourself. We go to Saffron after we hit Giovanni's gym."

"My mom is there," Red said, seemingly regaining some of the fire he'd spoken to Ash with. "and so are Tracey, Daisy and half a dozen other aides along with our pokemon." He looked over at Blue for support. "We need to help them."

"Take Will and Karen to Saffron," Oak said, taking over the conversation. "We'll catch up with you once we make sure Pallet is safe. Right now, we don't have any other choices. Too many lives in Pallet, some of them your pokemon's, depend on our return."

I stared in hesitation. Acolyte was there, Savage too. He was right, but we didn't have the option of dividing our firepower. "Professor…" I said, letting disappointment creep into my tone. "Splitting up… it's just going to get people killed."

Oak sighed with all of his world-weariness on display. "People are going to die no matter what, Marcus. It's a fact of war. This is it, we are well and truly at war." He scowled and reached out to put a hand on my shoulder. "Go to Saffron, Ranger. We will join you soon."

I kept silent for a moment. Every moment wasted more time. Every moment meant Giovanni was closer to his goal. I made the decision then. "Give me Leaf," I said. "Leaf comes with me to Saffron." I looked over at her, my mind lingering on the lightning yellow band wrapping her wrist.

Oak glanced over at her with a questioning glance. "Will you?" he asked.

She nodded. Her hand tightened around Red's and I felt my heart quicken. I'd be separating a young couple with no guarantee that they'd reunite. Red returned the squeeze of her hand before they separated.

"Then it's decided," Oak said with finality. He released his alakazam and Blue did the same. "Good luck, everyone. Gods know we're going to need it."

He disappeared with Ash and the boys in a pair of pops.

Karen, Will and Leaf looked at me expectantly. Like I knew what I was doing. I felt my heart pounding and let the false bravado that Blue had instilled in me swell up.

"Alright," I said as Will released a xatu and his regal gardevoir. "Saffron is under attack. We have no idea what we're walking into, so we're going to teleport outside the city and make contact with any Ranger forces in the area."

"Aren't we supposed to be killing Giovanni?" Karen asked. "We should teleport directly into the city and hit them from within."

"We'd never get more than a street without drawing every Rocket for blocks." I shook my head. "No, we need support. We need more firepower, more than my little pistol can provide." I flipped open my pokegear and tabbed over to the phone. "We need Surge."

Indigo League Classified File #693 – Ash Ketchum of "Pallet Town"

During Giovanni Sakai's experimentation with the creature known as "Hoopa", a man was transported into a location secured against all known manners of teleportation. He proceeded to attempt battle against the Rocket personnel within the facility before he was subdued and imprisoned beneath the Viridian Gym.

Giovanni claims the man to be from a parallel universe to our own. "Ash" appears to fully believe this claim, however no tangible proof could be found, only circumstantial conjecture. The subject seems to be delusional, believing himself to possess Aura powers (which have repeatedly been proven nonexistent by various scientific authorities) and naming himself "Arceus' Chosen".

Irregularities were found within the subject's genetic makeup unlike any ever recorded. He possesses an expanded parietal cortex, similar to that of powerful psychics, however the effect appears to heavily exaggerated in the subject.

Further exhaustive study discovered minute differences in the measurable background radiation when measured near the subject. This radiological signature matches to one of the seven distinct signatures recorded by Gideon Parker and Giovanni Sakai during their experiments.

In absence of more concrete methods to prove the subject's origin, he has been remanded to Giovanni's custody and placed under observation beneath the Viridian Gym.

During his captivity, the subject has displayed a voracious appetite for historical and mythological knowledge, recounting his numerous interactions with gods and legends, resembling many of their own appearances throughout our history. Most of these events are not public knowledge and have been redacted from official sources.

Intermediate Trainer KT#07996101

Indigo Ranger Corps, Special Task Group, "Zapdos" Squad,

Corporal SN# 109-512-6591, Marcus Wright, current team:

Luna, Ninetales

Artemis, Aerodactyl

Two, Porygon-2

Curie, Chansey

Savage, Tyrunt

AN: I revised chapters 10-27 with some new content and tweaks based off feedback I'd received. Nothing huge, but Marcus now wields a firearm once he joins the Rangers. Other tweaks revolve around ensuring that emotional weight remains throughout.

If you want more about this Ash/the Multiverse, then check out my profile (specifically "What We Do For Our Children, Nightmare, and The Hero, From Another Story")