Hello Nuggies! Here it is! The awaited sequel to 'A Different Start' is here! As usual with my fics this is a SLASH fic, and there will be more slash in this fic than its predecessor. I hope y'all are ready! This one is gonna be a long one! I hope y'all are as excited to be here as I am! If you want to join my Discord channel for my fics, the link is posted on every new chapter on Archive (A03).

Main Pairing: AshxPaul (Comashipping)

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Pokémon Franchise. It belongs to its rightful owner(s) and I make no profit writing this. This is just for entertainment purposes only.

Chapter Warning(s): None

Enjoy!

Ash would have said the first couple of weeks with Jangmo-o finally out of his egg was bliss, but he wouldn't be entirely truthful. From the research he had read Ash knew that the Jangmo-o line was loud, but he didn't think this small dragon was going to be this loud. The small dragon took to screeching at odd times of the night when he was hungry or wanted cuddles and with all the screeching the small dragon ended up waking everyone in the house. Softened scales that had hardened were clanging up a storm when Jangmo-o became more sure of his feet and started to run everywhere.

The only pokémon that tolerated being in the same vicinity as the small dragon when Jangmo-o begins to shriek and clang was, surprisingly Tyrantrum. The larger dinosaur had taken Jangmo-o under his claw and Ash didn't mind, especially if Tyrantrum took the small baby for a few hours so Ash could nurse the never-ending headache he had since Jangmo-o found his voice and scales. Oak, having seen and heard the ruckus the small dragon caused, contacted his cousin in Alola, where Jangmo-o originated from, to see if the man could lend some insight.

After a few tests, at Samsons' behest, it was discovered that Jangmo-o was born with deformities within his ear canals causing the small dragon to be fully deaf, and thus unable to control his volume. Ash, feeling a bit overwhelmed, sat down with Paul and Oak, along with Samson via video call, to go over the options with Jangmo-o, the little deaf, black-eyed leucistic. He didn't know how to work with anyone deaf, Jangmo-o being the first being he had ever encountered with the disability, and Ash didn't know if he would be the best fit to take care of the little dragon. There were reserves that Samson mentioned that could take in Jangmo-o in Alola if that was what he really wanted, Ash could take lessons in Kantonese Sign Language with a subset of Battle Signs, or if the reserve didn't want Jangmo-o or Ash didn't want to learn KSL/BS Jangmo-o would be transferred over to another trainer who knew how to work with pokémon with such disabilities.

Even after the long discussion, Ash wasn't any closer to a solution. At least he did not have to make a decision now. He did have until they leave Alola to go to Sinnoh to finalize it and even then there were a few months until Jangmo-o was old enough to start training. Ash had time.

At least everything for Charizard was done. All new tests were done, the physical was complete, and the albino was double checked for virility. All that was left was to actually leave for the Islands and get Charizard settled in the facility that was housing the fire-type for the breeding duration. That was some weight taken off his shoulders.

For now, at least for the rest of the week, Ash was going to focus on training with his partners before leaving for Alola. He wanted to get Snom evolved, the little moth, with the help of the rest of the pack, was fairly close to evolving. She would be going with him to Alola along with Rockruff, Persian, Ninetales, Gardevoir, Pikachu, Jangmo-o, Charizard and Krookodile. If Kingdra is successful the seahorse would be right off the coast and would join them when he was done bringing the total of pokémon Ash was bringing to nine. The others would stay at the pastures and rotate with the others after a couple of weeks as usual.

The last thing he had to do was-

"Do you have everything, dear?" his mother asked Ash as he was putting the last item he needed in his bag. The sudden question startled him. Ash hadn't heard his mother walking up the staircase or open his door. He turned to look at her and saw her holding a couple of books in her arms as well as a small white box.

"I think so," Ash said, "I need to look over it all and make sure. I also need to double check the paperwork again and my passport, but I'm fairly sure I have everything."

As Ash straightened up Pikachu dashed onto the bed with Ashs' watch in his mouth and Rockruff was just behind the mouse with his favorite toy in his mouth. It was just a simple rope toy, but the pup loved playing tug with whoever would play with him at the time. Ash snorted and grabbed the rope to put in the bag before taking the watch. He thanked the two and gave the mouse and pup a scratch behind their ears in thanks.

"Well it seems like your partners will make sure you don't forget anything," Delia said with a soft giggle, "I wanted to make sure you got these before you left. Seeing as you'll have a bit of downtime in Alola, I thought perhaps you would like these."

Delia handed the books she had in her arms and upon looking at the titles Ash couldn't help but smile. They were a beginners guide to KSL and a book a trainer had written and published about their own experiences with training pokémon with different disabilities.

"I also got this for you," Delia added once Ash had placed the book in his carry-on bag and handed Ash the white box. It had writing unfamiliar to him, but when he opened the box he was met with his reflection upon a dark screen. Carefully pulling the device out he found it to be lightweight and fitted comfortably in his hand.

"It's a smartphone," Delia answered the unspoken question when she saw the confusion on Ashs' face, "think of it as an amalgamation of the video call machines, the poketches, and the dexs'. This little device can do all they can and more."

"Mom, this must have been expensive!" Ash said as he tried to give the phone back, "I can't take it with me! I'll break it!"

"Ash, son," Delia said as she pushed the phone back towards his chest, "Don't worry about it, and take it. Think of it as an early birthday present since you'll be in Sinnoh by that time. It has my contact, Silvers', and Oaks' video call machine number in it and it still has your current call number attached to it. It'll give me some peace of mind that you have it. The watches aren't always reliable and are going out of date. The company that makes them has already put out a statement that the watches will become unsupported by this time next year."

Ash let out a soft sigh and nodded in acceptance as he pocketed the phone with a small smile. He gave his mother a hug and thanks before grabbing his bags to take downstairs and leave by the door. He and Paul would be leaving in a few hours to get to the airport to fly out to the Islands. His boyfriend was currently at the pastures getting all their partners before heading back so they could leave. Gardevoir was going to teleport them to the airport when Paul got back with them. Ash had just set down his bag when a shrill ringing came from the phone his mother had given him, making him jump a bit and pull it from his pocket.

Incoming Call: Riley

Ash cursed softly to himself to keep his mother from hearing him before dashing back up to his room. He would have answered it down there, but he felt a bit too exposed down there while talking about something so important.

"Riley!" Ash exclaimed as he answered the phone just as he shut the door.

"Ash, where are you?"

"At home, but I'm leaving in a few hours for work," Ash said, the rushed question from Riley and the tone from his voice caused his heart to skip a beat as if there were something wrong.

"Where?"

"Alola," Ash answered back, "Riley what's wrong?"

"I was only just able to read your messages and hear the voicemails you left me, but it sounds as though something very serious and dangerous happened. Explain it to me thoroughly."

Ash took a deep breath as he started to tell Riley what happened. How it felt. How he wasn't able to use his Aura at all, and how it felt as though he didn't have it any longer. He kept the instance with the pokémon and what it told him in his coma to himself as he didn't know if it actually pertained to Aura or just this 'Chosen One' business.

"Hmmm. You said you're going to Alola? I'll meet you there. I have an inkling about what's going on, but I need to look for a few things first just to make sure I'm right about it."

"Okay," Ash agreed softly, finally feeling some kind of relief that Riley may have the answers he needed, "and whatever you think is going on? Can it be reversed? Will I be able to use my Aura again?"

"Yes."

Ash held back the gasp that so desperately wanted to leave his mouth as the definitive answer his Mentor gave him. He thanked Riley and told him that he would see the older man in Alola before the call ended. Ash sunk down onto his bed and cupped his mouth with his hands as his emotions crashed down on himself. Hot tears rolled down his cheeks until they met his hands and left cooling trails in their wake. He didn't notice his door opening and closing, but he did notice the larger body kneeling in front of him through his tears.

Ash let himself be pulled off the bed and into Pauls' embrace as word vomit started spewing from his mouth telling Paul all what happened with the phone call. He felt Pauls' hand running up and down his back as the other hand cupped the back of his neck in a gentle gesture. Ash swore he felt Paul kiss the side of his head, but it was too fleeting of a feeling, but spoke more than actual words could say. He felt Pauls' chest rumble as his boyfriend spoke, giving him reassurances that things will be okay. And soon enough Ash had calmed down, tired from the emotional roller coaster he had just been on, and sipping some water Paul had given him. Once he was feeling better, and had cleaned his face of any evidence that he had been crying, Ash made his way downstairs and to his surprise Oak was there with Zoroark standing by him cradling something in his paws.

"Zoroark!" Ash exclaimed as he rushed into the room and stopped short of the dark pokémon as what the creature was carrying became clear to him, "An Egg?"

"Yes! Imagine my surprise when Juniper had called me earlier telling me that your Zoroark had come back carrying an egg!" Oak said as the older man settled down onto a chair, "Upon examining the egg, it appears as though it had been abandoned in the wild and your Zoroark had claimed it. Juniper, unfortunately, cannot take care of an egg at this time so she sent it over with Zoroark."

"So what kind of egg is it?" Ash asked as Zoroark leaned down a bit to receive some scratches. The egg was a shockingly bright white with what looked like an ink blot on the top of it. It was about average size with a bit of molding on the side, but otherwise it was a healthy looking egg and the monitor on it indicated that the heartbeat within was still going strong.

"Upon looking at its coloration, the size, and the Region it was found it, I can only assume it's an Absol egg," Oak concluded before sipping some coffee Delia had made for him, "When I tried to take the egg to look after it Zoroark refused to give it to me and left the lab. I followed the fox all the way here."

Zoroark took that moment to let out a snicker before walking over to Silver. Ash watched as Zoroark gently placed the egg in his cousins' lap before letting out a chuff at Silver.

"You wanted to give it to Silver?" Ash asked as he watched his cousin wrap his arms around the egg, "What made you want to do that?" Zoroark pointed at the small Eevee before gesturing to Gardevoir and then back at the egg and then to himself.

"You wanted to give me the egg because Gardevoir and Leafeon gave me theirs?" Silver asked as he looked up at Zoroark who only gave a sharp nod and bark before moving back over towards Ash.

"That's really sweet of you Zoroark," Ash said softly, "You must really see him as part of the pack, huh?" Zoroark snickered once more as his ears swiveled at the slightest of noise. It really was sweet of Zoroark to do that, but hopefully his cousin wasn't going to be run down with babies by the end if all his partners were going to try and give Silver an egg. After a few minutes of discussion and tips on how to care for the egg, Ash and Paul needed to get going. Zoroark opted to stay at the pastures for a bit to relax from his Unova outing and went back with Oak after the man had said the last few things he needed to.

Gardevoir, who had been waiting by the bags waved at his Mom and cousin before whisking the two humans away to the airport. It didn't take long to get through security and now it was just a small wait until they could get on the plane.

"Alola! Welcome to Alola!"

The robotic voice came from the screen as Ash and Paul walked past it as they came out of the tunnel and into the main airport itself. It hadn't been a too terribly long ride, but Ash was exhausted from the crying session he did earlier and hadn't been able to sleep during the six hour flight as he needed to make sure Jangmo-o didn't cause too much of a ruckus. Thankfully he had Paul there to help guide him where they needed to be and the first stop was to get their bags. It didn't take long for Ashs' red bags and Pauls' purple bags to come trundling down the conveyor belt and then it was to the service desk to get the rental car Paul had gotten for them.

Once they were outside, the sun shining bright with a cool breeze, Ash took a deep breath before releasing it slowly. The air smelt fresh, a bit salty because of the ocean, but clean and pure. He couldn't wait to get to the house Oak was letting them use as he desperately needed a nap before he needed to go meet the person in charge of the breeding program Charizard was going to be a part of. The car Paul had rented him was small and simple, and that was just fine as long as it was reliable and comfortable. With the bags in the car and their seat belts on they were on the way to the house with the help of the car's GPS system.

It didn't take long for the city they landed in to vanish and all that was around them was trees on one side and the beach and ocean on the other. Ash watched the waves crash against the rocks as they took a turn and enjoyed the way the sunlight glistened along the surface. He saw several Mantines jump out of the water with their entourages and saw many Wingulls diving down to the surface before flying off with their captures. Pink bodies of Slowpoke were stretched out on the sands while there were crab like pokémon Ash didn't know the name of scuttling across the sands.

"It's peaceful here so far," Ash commented, breaking the silence of the car, "Hopefully the rest of this trip is like this."

"We can only hope," Paul said with a soft huff, "Gotta admit, it is a lot prettier here than in the pictures people post on the internet."

"Very picturesque," Ash agreed as he pulled out his phone to take a few snapshots to send to his mother. He knew she would appreciate knowing that they had landed safely and he would message her with the pictures once they got to the house and got settled in.

"Are you napping with me?" Ash asked as Paul took another turn as the GPS told them to.

"I'm not tired yet," Paul said, "I suppose I'll go out to get some food for the house if Oak or his cousin hadn't had it stocked."

"Sounds good!" Ash replied with a small nod and reached down for his bag as Jangmo-o started to fuss. The dragon had some formula designed for baby dragons on the plane, but Jangmo-o was still a baby and needed to eat often. Jangmo-o's sharp teeth had started to come in and soon enough would be on a solids diet. Thankfully dragons were less likely to go through a teething phase as their teeth came in, but were more likely to bite things after they came in. Ash hoped he could prevent any permanent damage from occurring while they were staying at Oaks' house.

"Here we are," Paul said, cutting Ash out of his thoughts. The house was average in size, but two stories and had been built on thick sturdy stilts. Ash remembered something vaguely about houses being built on them in areas where the water could rise a few feet. He had seen a few houses in the city being built like this one so he assumed that during storms the waters rise. Thankfully they had arrived outside of monsoon season for the Islands.

"It looks nice," Ash said as he put Jangmo-o down on the ground and it was true, the house itself did look nice. It was painted a light blue with white trimming along the doors and windows while the roof was gray shingling. The stairs that went up to the wrap around porch were painted white like the porch and trim was. Ash was sure the inside would be just as good as the outside.

Grabbing his bags and making sure Jangmo-o was following him, Ash followed Paul up the stairs. The small dragon slowly took one step at a time as Jangmo-o hadn't had the best time with stairs so far in his short life. He hadn't quite gotten the hang of them and had tumbled down the ones at home when the small dragon had climbed a few of the steps. It scared Jangmo-o to the point that the few times Ash had gone up or down the stairs since the tumble, Ash had to carry him or the small dragon would stay at the bottom or top of the steps and clang up a storm until Ash came back to grab him. It wasn't until the last couple of days at home that Jangmo-o felt confident enough to try again on his own.

After a few minutes of Jangmo-o carefully going up the stairs did the two finally reach the top of them. Paul had left the door open when he had gone in so Jangmo-o walked in as if the small dragon owned the place. Ash followed and set his luggage down by Pauls' before venturing further inside to find his boyfriend. He didn't find him in the living room, but did find Paul in the kitchen.

"It's fully stocked," Paul said as he noticed Ash walk in, "I can't tell you how long I've been wanting to cook you a meal."

"Really?" Ash asked as a smile slowly appeared on his face, "That's really sweet. I've been wanting to bake you one of my favorite desserts for you to try too."

"Date night tomorrow? Picnic on the beach?" Paul asked as he gestured to the private beach they had. The beach really was secluded as it was a small patch of sandy beach that was surrounded by foliage. Ash could just barely see it from the windows despite it being so close and how high up they were.

"It's a date!" Ash replied, his smile turned softer, and his heart pumped wildly in his chest. Even though he had been dating this guy for almost half a year Paul never failed to make his heart skip beats in a good way. Ash couldn't believe it had already been almost half a year.

Time surely does fly by.

"-that should be everything," Haoa, the head breeder for the Alolan Islands, finished explaining as he showed Ash about the facility where Charizard was going to be staying. It was a simple building with a protected reserve behind it that had several pokémon Ash had never heard of, and it was beautiful.

"He'll be here for at least 2 weeks right?" Ash asked as the two stopped along the cat walk they were on and peered down to see a few Stoutland lazing about in the sun while two Lapras were drifting in the large pond not far from them.

"Yes," Haoa said, "At least two weeks and no more than a month. We have two females ready to pair with him, one at a time of course. They came all the way from Charicific Valley in Johto."

"Charicific Valley?" Ash inquired as he had never heard of the place.

"A Natural Reserve for Charizard. Most Charizard though use the reserve as a training ground to become stronger. My niece, Charla, works there and had two female Charizard volunteer to come here for the program." Haoa replied as the two continued to walk through the facility to where Ash would leave Charizard. It didn't take long to get to the natural rocky terrain that had spires of rock and a cliff with caves other pokémon had drilled into to make dens. There was a large pond where pokémon could bathe or drink and several berry trees that bore many berries, ripe for the picking.

The sound of the wind beating by wings greeted their ears before a large form swooped down from one of the caves. Dark black scales that stood out from cream colored belly scales, shone in the sunlight. The dark red under scales of the Charizards' wings flashed as the Charizard flapped her wings to slow to a stop.

"A shiny." Ash said softly in awe. Of course his own Charizard was magnificent in his own right, but there was something about seeing a shiny when a normal coloration was expected. The black Charizard preened as she noticed Ashs' expression and let out a deep grumbling.

"This one arriving was a surprise to everyone here," Haoa said softly as if hesitant to break a moment, "When she arrived to settle before the breeding season we were determined to find a mate that matched her beauty. After a bit of looking around and asking the right people we were pointed your way, the boy with all the special pokémon."

"I hope Charizard is up to her standards then," Ash replied with a gentle chuckle, "Am I good to release him?"

"Of course!" Haoa said enthusiastically while taking a couple of steps back as if to give Ashs' Charizard room to appear. Ash reached back to grab Charizards' ball and took it from his belt. The motion to release Charizard was quick, the press of the button and a toss into the air, and his albino Charizard greeted the world with a earth rumbling roar and a few beats from his powerful wings. The bright white scales, almost blinding in the sunlight, was a sight to see next to the black scales. Ash saw Charizards' nostrils flare as he sniffed the air and in a blink of the eye the two flying lizards were in the air and flying around each other.

"Wow," Ash heard Haoa say as the two opposite colored flew around, almost dance like in their flight, "I've never seen two Charizards take to each other so fast before, and to see a mating flight upon first meet. Stupendous."

"How about we give them some privacy," Ash said with a small smile. He was glad Charizard was getting on with the other pokémon so well. It was definitely a weight off his shoulders. Now he had other things to worry about.