Traveler

by The Straight Elf

Ash Ketchum has been determined to become the best since he was a toddler. He has his eyes set on a charmander, but a twist of fate led him to the humble Nidoran. Note: Mix between anime and the games.

10. Chapter 10: Pallet Town

"So, how many pokemon did the League recover?" Ash asked from his chair. They were currently on the boat that was taking them back to Cinnabar Island. He was still sore all over, but most of his injuries were healed or healing. Nurse Joy had said he'd be fine to travel in about a week or so.

Infernus was back to normal. He was furious when Ash had released him earlier that morning. The fire-type hadn't seemed to realize how badly he'd been injured and thought he was still in the fight. Ash had calmed him down before he burned down the gigantic forest that encompassed Chronos Island, but it had been a close call. Right now he was in his pokeball, resting so that he could fight soon.

Despite having several full restores used on him, Nidorino wouldn't be battling for at least another week. Medicine was able to perform near-miracles in this day and age, but there were limits to what it could do. Being mauled by a rather powerful, cruel Umbreon was one of them.

Nidorino wouldn't have any lasting problems, but he wouldn't be back at his prime for about three weeks. He'd be able to battle soon enough, and Nurse Joy had assured Ash that Nidorino would heal faster if Ash used him in battles more. The poison-type's real problem would be getting all of his muscle back and working out some of the injuries.

All of his other friends were fine. Dazed had been slightly injured by Gengar's claws, but she had managed to escape before the ghost could do any real damage. Tangela hadn't taken any damage at all aside from a few broken vines. They had already grown back. Plume hadn't participated in the fight aside from taking out golbat, so she was more than ready to take up the slack Nidorino would be leaving.

Lance answered him from his own chair. They were sitting around the ship's shaded table, glad to relax after the hard day yesterday. Steven had been in a bad mood all morning for some reason, although he hadn't taken it out on Ash or Lance. He expressed it by constantly frowning and being quieter than usual.

"Three hundred and forty two." Lance recited from memory. "One hundred and five of the ekans line, one hundred and forty-six of the koffing line, four of the houndour line, fifty of the zubat line, twenty-three of the grimer line and fourteen of the murkrow line. Pierce's pokemon aren't being counted." He added. "Aside from those grimer, anyway."

"What's happening to them?" Ash questioned, leaning forward in interest despite the dull throbbing that erupted in his muscles.

Lance frowned, looking a bit remorseful. "No Team Rocket pokemon is normal. They are either broken until they work and will happily attack other humans and pokemon without provocation or are simply disturbed ones, much like the humans that make up Team Rocket. But Pierce's…Pierce's are something else."

Ash looked at Lance curiously. The red-haired Champion had an uncharacteristically dark look on his face. He seemed to be brooding as much as Steven was at the moment.

"Pierce's are in the second category." Lance explained. "Mostly, anyways. That Umbreon is vicious. We tracked its record through a DNA sample. Even before it somehow managed to find its way to Team Rocket it had a long list of assaults on trainers and pokemon. We'll probably have to put it down. It's not like we can use a psychic to help it."

He grimaced along with Lance. Ash could truly say that the Umbreon was the only pokemon he'd ever really hated. It had nearly killed his first and best friend and had tried to do the same to him. But he didn't want it to die, even if it was as deadly as Pierce. But sometimes he supposed there was no other way.

"What about the Gengar?" Ash questioned again. He didn't have to worry about Muk. That nightmare had been broken up into about twenty-six grimer, each of which were completely innocent of the crimes their progenitor had committed.

"We're still examining it with psychics." Lance replied. He took a long swig from a bottle whose contents Ash wasn't quite certain of before elaborating. "Remember the Ranger that teleported us?"

Ash nodded.

"Well, they've got that thing disabled for an indeterminate amount of time. It's quite vulnerable to the skill, so we're just making sure it doesn't get away. It's been cooperating with us thus far, but the Alakazam working on it isn't able to verify anything."

Lance's face suddenly twisted in annoyance. "As for that Metagross of his, Steven's taking it back to Hoenn with him."

Steven scowled. "Lance!" He snapped. His face was dark and stony. "That's enough."

The Indigo Champion glared at Steven, the first sign of discord Ash had seen between the two. He curiously watched the interaction, although he couldn't say that he liked it.

"He stopped Pierce. I think that you should let him know why you were so invested in taking him down." Lance growled, standing up from his chair. Steven did the same, meeting Lance's glare with his own flinty stare. Ash noticed that Lance positively dwarfed the slight build of Steven. "It's not that bad."

Ash just continued watching, doing his best to stay out of it. He had to admit that he was curious over what was going on. The Champions seemed to be very good friends. It was odd for them to be even the least bit hostile to each other.

The two Masters stared each other down for several more seconds before Steven relented. He sighed and sat back down. "Fine."

Lance didn't smile, but he relaxed a bit and followed suit. He kept a watchful eye on Steven.

"What's going on?" Ash asked confusedly, figuring that now was the best time to ask. Steven just frowned and glanced away.

"Well, Lance thinks that I should give you a bit of background on Pierce." Steven said calmly, face losing some of its tenseness. He still frowned, but he seemed less bitter. "Do you remember why I came to Kanto?"

Ash's mind flashed back to their first meeting. "Something about looking for rare stones, right? You mentioned the Moon Stone."

"That's right." Steven said with a smile before frowning again. "I told you the truth, just not all of it. You remember how I told you that Pierce was from Hoenn?"

The younger trainer nodded slowly, not seeing where this was going until a remark from Pierce came to the forefront of his mind.

"You should run while you can! My dear cousin is still occupied in the warehouse and won't be able to save you this time."

Pierce's haughty, aristocratic tones echoed in his mind, causing Ash to shudder as a wave of hatred rolled through him. He hadn't understood the remark at the time considering that he had adrenaline pumping through his veins and much more important issues to deal with – a powerful, murderous Metagross, for instance. But now he put it all together. The context made sense now that he had time to think about it.

"He said something about his cousin." Ash frowned, eyes narrowed. "He said that his cousin wouldn't be able to save me that time." He paused for a moment. "You're Pierce's cousin." Ash said flatly.

Steven's glance away from Ash was all he needed to know. Ash's frown grew. He wasn't really sure what to feel. Steven didn't mean any harm by it, and it wasn't like he was obligated to tell Ash that he was related to the man that tried to kill him after they first met, but the former Champion should have told Ash after they actually took the fight to Pierce.

"It's not something I'm especially proud of." Steven replied quietly, pulling his head up but still looking past Ash. "He's done terrible things, more than you could ever know. He's my blood," the Master spat, suddenly bitter ", but he's no family of mine."

Ash cocked his head and just silently watched Steven, waiting for the man to continue. Steven had a faraway look in his eyes, far from his usual determined expression.

He took the time to examine Steven. Now that Ash knew what he was looking for, it was easy to find. The former Champion had several similarities to Pierce, although nothing that would really draw attention. Both of them had silver hair, although Pierce had more of a blue tinge to it. Their faces had a similar bone structure, although where the aristocratic features made Pierce seem cruel and arrogant they made Steven look commanding, a Champion.

Lance leaned back in his chair, eyes watchful with an ambiguous emotion behind them.

"Let me tell you about him. It's about time it came out. I won't go into a lot of detail." Steven told Ash, frowning as he began. "I'll tell you the basics. He was never nice, even as a child, but he was polite and charming enough. Took to my family's status quite well. Better than I did, at any rate. Still, if I was ever around him long enough I was disturbed. There was just something not quite right about him. He lied just a bit too much; everything he did just seemed too well rehearsed. So I stayed away from him. We were never particularly close."

Steven's face darkened. "But he never did anything really bad as far as I know. Just took his jokes and pettiness just a little bit too far. It wasn't until we were both about twenty-three that he showed his true colors. That was just after I'd become Champion. About six months after winning the title from Drake, I got news. My family protects a beldum colony." He explained. "Every member of my family gets one as a starter, whether they're going on a journey or not. It's where I got Metagross and Pierce got his."

Ash noticed Steven's fingers unconsciously tap two of the pokeballs at his waist as he told him that. He quickly returned his attention to the Champion's tale.

"Anyways, I got news from my father that the entire colony had been taken." Steven said with a scowl. His fists clenched at the memory. "They were our pokemon, our neighbors and friends for generations. They would have swarmed anyone that came within a mile of their mine. Considering that Pierce disappeared the next day and had been acting strange for the past few months, we realized that he must have been connected to it rather quickly."

"I began my hunt for him. There was no League involvement until one of an agent tasked with stopping Team Rocket's advancement into Hoenn reported seeing Pierce attacking a League group with his Metagross. That's when I began my search in earnest." Steven sighed before continuing.

"It took me a year, but I finally managed to track him down to the Rocket's base in Hoenn. He'd taken control of the Hoenn branch and was promoted to Executive, I later learned. I led the attack on it and we permanently removed Team Rocket from Hoenn. We already had our own Teams to worry about."

The Champion's eyes darkened and he scowled. "We drove them off and arrested almost all of them, but what we found wasn't pleasant. Almost every single Rocket had a beldum or one of its evolutions. Pierce's second-in-command had a metagross, although it was badly trained. But we found what happened to the one's that weren't used for the Hoenn branch. Most were experimented on, forced to fuse into metang or metagross before they were even mature enough to know what they were. The results…weren't pretty. Most were permanently insane."

Ash sympathized with Steven. He'd never been in that exact situation, but he'd seen the experiments and drugs the Rockets pumped into pokemon. Just the memories made him furious. Infernus had almost been amongst their number.

"You've seen what a metagross can do." Steven said softly. "Even a badly trained or inexperienced one is capable of wreaking havoc. Before trainers, a single metagross could destroy an entire town in a day. Metagross are one of the two most powerful pokemon species in Hoenn. They are only matched by salamence in Hoenn and only a few other species in the entire world. When they were driven insane by the process, most of them dealt with it the only way they could: Rage. We tried to fix them, but Metagross told me that they were unfixable." Steven said sorrowfully, his fists white as he clenched them.

The younger trainer had a bad feeling about what Steven was going to say next. There was only one solution when dealing with frenzied pokemon that powerful. Locking them away wouldn't work since they could tear their way out of anything thanks to their immense strength and it would be cruel to entomb them forever. Metagross were nearly immortal, or so Steven had said. They were creatures of steel, living but undying until they were destroyed. And if Team Rocket discovered their prison and released them…

"You know what we had to do." The former Champion said tightly. "There was no other way."

Ash didn't say anything. He just sighed and looked away. There wasn't anything to say to that anyways.

Steven wasn't done, however. "As you might have guessed, Pierce escaped. I looked for him, but it was another year or so before Lance sent me word that Pierce had been spotted in Kanto. I always expected him to be in the Rocket homeland, but I never had a chance to look."

The Master leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. "I think you know what happened next. I gave my title to Wallace after he proved capable and came to Kanto. It was time for a vacation anyways. There are lots of rare stones in Kanto that haven't been swept up yet and a few legendary ones that I wanted to seek out. Pierce was my main objective, but the Rockets disappeared whenever I drew near."

"Until Mt. Moon." Ash interjected, the memories flashing through his head.

"Until Mt. Moon." Steven repeated with a smile. "It was actually pure chance that I came across him. I had been looking for the Moon Stone earlier, but I noticed something was wrong when the zubats disappeared. You can imagine my surprise when I found their operation. I called in the League and waited for a prime opportunity to strike, but Pierce forced my hand."

Ash nodded slowly. That would be when he, Jonathan and Amelia were being smothered by Muk.

"I caught him and had him locked up." Steven said with a slight smile, although it quickly shifted back into the frown he'd worn this entire conversation. "But his location was somehow discovered. He and other captured Rockets were all broken out of the facility they were imprisoned in. Considering that it was completely destroyed otherwise, we suspect that something extremely powerful did the work."

The trainer frowned as realized something. "You think that the thing that blew up the St. Anne did it?"

"Exactly." Steven smiled. Just as before, however, it returned to being a puzzled frown. "Unfortunately, I have no idea what it is. It's powerful, far beyond even the strongest of alakazam. But it can't be a legendary. From what little we know of them, none would ever help Team Rocket. There has to be another explanation."

Ash didn't say anything. Again, there was nothing to say to that.

Steven shook his head. "I apologize. I went off track. Anyways, after he was broken out of prison, Lance and I went on high alert."

Ash looked over at Lance.

The Indigo Champion nodded. "Pierce is dangerous. He was ruthless and had a metagross underneath his control. Even most gym leaders would be helpless against him and the police wouldn't be able to fight off the numbers and power he wielded. The St. Anne just proved my fears once and for all." Lance sighed, closing his eyes. "That's when I began fighting the Rockets in earnest. They'd never been much of a threat before. Dangerous, yes, but the police were containing them. The St. Anne proved otherwise."

"What did you do?" Ash asked with a quizzical cock of his head. He hadn't heard of any new measures taken against the Rockets.

Lance looked surprised. "You mean you never heard?" He asked incredulously. "The week after the St. Anne Tragedy I increased measures against them. Hypno and alakazam were authorized against anyone wearing a Team Rocket uniform, no permission needed. Rockets were officially terrorists."

"I guess I was on the road that week." Ash said with a shrug, although he was a little bit concerned about the psychics. "Couldn't those psychics be used to abuse people, though?"

The Indigo Champion fervently shook his head. "Sabrina and an Elite Four hopeful named Will – he won the League two years ago and has been training with us since – trained them personally. They're incorruptible and won't allow the abuse of innocents."

Ash nodded in understanding. That made sense. He actually did remember Will vaguely from the Indigo Conference a few years ago. Will had managed to beat Lorelei and Bruno, although Agatha tore him apart.

"Anyways, I think we should let Steven tell the rest of his story." Lance told Ash. Steven gave him a nod.

"Thank you, Lance. After you told me that Pierce was the one that led the attack on the St. Anne, I had a trail again." Steven said calmly. He seemed to have taken the reprieve Lance gave him and used it wisely. Most of his anger was gone. "I knew that he was still trusted and that he would probably be in hiding for a while. Of course, it was the second Rocket Executive you sent us that allowed me to get started."

He smiled at the praise. "Petrel?"

"Indeed. I spoke to him several days after he was captured. He was surprisingly helpful." Steven said with a frown. "He told me information on Pierce and another Executive named Proton. We're still looking for Proton, but Petrel did give us good information on Pierce. All that kept us from taking Pierce were the Sevii Islands themselves."

Steven took a deep breath. Ash figured he was probably tired of talking for now. He'd been going for the last ten minutes.

"It took a week for us to be allowed to bring the League into the Islands." Lance elaborated. He took another chug from his bottle before continuing. "After that we sent Lorelei with about a hundred trainers. Normally Bruno would have gone, but Lorelei was born in those islands. She knows them better than anyone."

"After the League managed to quarantine the spread of the Rockets and force them back to just a few of the Islands, we came in." Steven began. "I contacted Professor Oak and got him to give me your location since I assumed you would be strong enough to hold your own and deserved a chance to strike back at Pierce. I'm glad I was right about that." He said with a small smile. "After that we found you at Blaine's gym and you know the rest."

Ash sat back and thought. He'd learned a lot more than he'd expected, about Pierce and Steven's mission to bring him in. He wasn't really angry with Steven to begin with. A little annoyed, but even that was fading. Hopefully Steven trusted him enough to tell him important things like that in the future, though.

He noticed that Steven looked a little anxious. Lance seemed to approve of Steven's choice to tell him, though, and had a slight smile on his face. Ash thought on everything for a bit longer.

"I don't hold it against you." Ash finally admitted. "I wish you would have told me before I heard it from Pierce, but the past's the past. Nothing can change that."

The former Champion smiled, but Lance interrupted them and stood up, towering over both the trainer and the former Hoenn Champion.

"Good, good. Now everything's fine." He laughed. Lance took another swig of whatever was in that bottle. Ash thought he should probably lay off of it. "So, how about this. We've had enough dark and dreary events and stories for the past few days. We just hurt Team Rocket badly! We should be happy!"

Lance let out a boisterous laugh and regally sat back down into his chair. Ash couldn't help but grin at the display and ignored the slight burning in his muscles. Steven had an amused smile on his face as well.

The Indigo Champion suddenly reached underneath the table and pulled up two more suspicious bottles. He handed one over to Steven, who looked at it with a distasteful look on his face and left it sitting on the small wooden table. Lance smirked and handed over the much smaller bottle to Ash.

Ash looked at it suspiciously. He really didn't think that he should even be holding the bottle. Nevertheless, when Lance gave him a "go on" motion, Ash took the cap off and smelled the bottle.

He recoiled from the bottle with a disgusted look on his face, nearly dropping it. Lance laughed and took the bottle from him in an easy, smooth movement.

"I figured that would happen." The Indigo Champion laughed again as he placed the bottle under the table. "You do seem like a Steven."

"A Steven?" Ash asked curiously. Steven rolled his eyes and pushed his own bottle over to Lance, who happily took it back.

"Someone who doesn't do anything fun." Lance said as he leaned back in his chair, sending a joking smirk towards Steven.

"Someone who doesn't do anything stupid." Steven corrected drily. "And really, Lance? Trying to give an eleven year old alcohol?"

Lance shrugged. "Just a little bit. One celebration drink isn't going to hurt him. Besides, he needs to loosen up a bit."

Ash blinked and stared at Lance. The Champion caught him staring and laughed again. "Well, since Steven doesn't follow the traditional way to celebrate our victory, I guess we'll just have to pass the time a different way. Anyways, did either of you ever hear about that time I beat…"

He grinned as Lance went off into a rather entertaining story and relaxed. It was a nice day and Lance was right – he needed to loosen up. For today, at least.

The time passed rather quickly after that.

XX

The familiar volcano of Cinnabar loomed in the distance, the only part of Cinnabar Island that was actually visible. Ash stared at it for a moment before heading back to his chair. He'd gotten restless of sitting in one place for so long, but he wasn't quite sure if the pain of getting up and walking around was worth it.

Steven watched him as he walked back over to his chair on unsteady legs. The former Champion glanced over to Lance. "I think it's time that we give him his rewards. I've received a message saying that the crowds are going to be miserable on Cinnabar. It's simpler to do it now."

"Alright." Lance shrugged. "Sit down, Ash. I've got something for you."

Ash watched Lance pull a pokeball off of his belt with anticipation. Lance casually released his absolutely massive Dragonite, who caused the small ship to sink a little in the front.

Dragonite patted Lance on the back and cheerfully waved at Ash and Steven. They both returned it with a smile.

"Dragonite, remember what I told you this morning?" Lance said. Dragonite nodded and casually pulled a loose, awkwardly placed scale from its body and handed the scale to Lance. A new scale, bright and perfectly placed, was revealed to be underneath the old one.

"Here's your reward from me." Lance told Ash, handing him the Dragon Scale. Ash looked at it in awe. The scale was small compared to Dragonite's new one and it was still larger than his hand. It weighed about half a pound and was nearly an inch thick.

"I think you deserve a dragon of your own." The Indigo Champion grinned. "You've earned it."

Ash's eyes were wide and excited as he placed the Dragon Scale into his pack. He'd expected something like this, but actually receiving a gift from Lance was an honor in itself. The fact that it was from one of Lance's own prized dragons and would help him a lot was even better.

"Thanks!" He exclaimed, his grin as wide as it could be. Lance just smiled back and sat back down, motioning for Ash to look at Steven.

Steven didn't hand him anything, but remained sitting. "I have the same gift for you as Lance – something that will make you a better trainer and evolve your Nidorino."

"A moon stone?" Ash said, a bit confused as to why Steven wasn't handing him anything. The former Champion smiled.

"Not just a moon stone. A shard of THE Moon Stone." Steven said, smiling as he mimicked their first conversation about it. "Legends around Mt. Moon claim that the Moon Stone makes pokemon that live around it more powerful, pokemon that evolve from it or pieces of it even moreso."

The former Champion dug around in his suit pocket and handed Ash a tiny shard of stone. Ash took it carefully, noting its glossy, smooth texture before examining it more closely. It was impossibly black, seeming to suck all the nearby light into it. No light was reflected.

Ash placed the evolutionary stone into one of his storage compartments. There was no way he would just allow it to just be in his bag. A moon stone was rare enough, fetching thousands of dollars on average. It was a precious thing. But a shard of the Moon Stone? It was priceless.

"It's a little small, but it should be more than potent enough for Nidorino to evolve." Steven explained. "I only took a small sample. The Moon Stone is too important to the pokemon of the mountain to take any more."

"Thanks." Ash said gratefully, amazed that Steven had given him such a unique gift. He wouldn't be able to use it for another few weeks since it wouldn't be safe for Nidorino to evolve until after he had healed, but the fact that he had the shard was much more important.

He tried to extend his gratitude, but Steven just smiled and nodded. Apparently the man knew what the gift meant to Ash.

"You're welcome." Steven said. "By the way, I recommend that you pay a visit to Mt. Moon sometime during your journey. The journey to the Moon Stone is a difficult one, but it is nearly sacred to pokemon that evolve from it. It is a sort of status symbol, or so Metagross tells me."

Ash almost frowned at the mention of a metagross, but held it back. He wouldn't let a single bad experience color his views of the entire species.

"I'll be sure to do that." He commented. "Where are you guys going after this?"

Lance entered the conversation. He stepped away from the large dragon-type and Dragonite suddenly took off, the absence of its massive weight allowing the boat to rise up a few inches. It sped towards Cinnabar Island at an incredible speed, vanishing from Ash's sight after a few moments.

"Dragonite's just going to deliver a message to the harbor master at Cinnabar. He needs to know to prepare for the return of the League forces and Lorelei." Lance explained when Ash looked questioningly at him. "Anyways, I'm headed back to Indigo Plateau. We've got Pierce, but there are plenty of other Team Rocket cells. Perhaps Petrel will give us the location of their headquarters now that Pierce is out of the picture."

"I'm returning to Hoenn." Steven frowned. "Pierce's trial needs to be protected, and Wallace has other duties at the moment. In addition," he continued, his face darkening, "my family and I have some matters to discuss with Pierce. It wouldn't do for me to be absent."

Ash nodded, although he was a bit disappointed. He liked Steven. Even if he knew it was necessary, he didn't want the former Champion leaving.

"I'll be back in a few months." Steven assured him when he saw the disappointed look on Ash's face. He smiled. "I still have a vacation to catch up on, after all."

The trainer grinned. Lance suddenly looked over at the rapidly nearing Cinnabar Island. "Ash, do you have any idea where you're going now?"

Ash nodded. "I'm going home for a few days. Nidorino needs to relax and I'd like to see some of my other pokemon."

Lance looked thoughtful for a moment. "You live near Professor Oak in Pallet Town, right?"

He nodded slowly, not sure where Lance was going with this. The Champion glanced over at him. "Do you have transportation ready?"

Ash shook his head. He hadn't really thought about actually getting there. Since there were plenty of ferries that he could take, it hadn't seemed like it would be much of a problem. It would be quite expensive, but he was hardly strapped for cash at the moment.

"Well, you should thank me." Lance smirked, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "It's Cinnabar's tourist season. You won't find a ferry to anywhere other than the largest port towns and cities."

He cocked his head at the Indigo Champion, hardly understanding why he should be thanking him for that. It sounded much more inconvenient than anything else.

"The message Dragonite is carrying just arranged for a League ferry to take you wherever you need to go." Lance said with a wide grin. "It'll be waiting for you next to where we stop. Just head off of this ship and get onto that one. The captain will get you to Pallet Town as fast as he can."

Ash blinked, surprised by Lance's thoughtfulness. "Thanks! Do I have to show him any identification?"

Lance shook his head as he glanced back over to the growing form of Cinnabar Island. "No. All you need to tell him is that I sent you over."

"Alright, then." Ash shrugged. He leaned back into his beach chair and stared at Cinnabar. It would be nice to go back to Pallet Town. He needed a short break.

XX

"Welcome aboard, trainer!" A short, balding man greeted as Ash tiredly stepped onto the ship. He was very sore and the enhanced recovery had taken all of his stamina. "Champion Lance himself called and gave orders for me to take you wherever you want to go."

Ash grinned exhaustedly at the exuberant man. "Thanks. Could you take me to Pallet Town?"

"Of course!" The man cried out. "If I remember right, that's about a two day journey." The man scanned Ash over. "You look exhausted. Would you like me to show you to your room?"

"Yes, please." Ash responded. About two days of sleep sounded very good at the moment.

"My name's Taggart, by the way." The sailor said as he led Ash into one of the three cabins. "There's plenty of food in the pantries of your room if you ever get hungry, and if you need anything just come to me. You've got free reign of the ship, so feel free to wander around."

Ash nodded his understanding and thanks towards the man as Taggart showed him his room. Taggart slid a card key into the door in order to unlock it before handing the key over to Ash. He gratefully took it and placed it into his jacket pocket.

"And here you are." Taggart said jovially, waving Ash in. "Like I said, if you need anything just come and get me."

"Thanks!" Ash replied gratefully. Taggart just smiled and waved his gratitude away before leaving.

Ash closed the door and locked it before turning around and examining the room. He expected it to be like the ferry he had taken to Cinnabar from Fuschia: dreary, plain, and uncomfortable.

What he found was anything but. It was more like the lavish interior of the St. Anne than anything else, practically reeking comfort. There were several large, soft looking beds for pokemon and one massive bed for him. Four perches were spread throughout the room, each large enough to hold Plume. An absolutely massive aquarium dominated an entire wall. Torrent would definitely be glad to be out of his pokeball.

He grinned as he glanced around the opulent room again. Of course Lance would arrange for him to have quarters like this. Ash quickly released all of his friends except for Infernus. Even with the money Lance had given to him he wasn't sure if he could afford to replace all of this if Infernus burned it down.

All of his friends did what he expected of them by now. Nidorino loyally took a seat by his side and gently rubbed his head against Ash's leg.

Plume chirped and lightly nipped at Ash's hat before hopping over to where she could listen to him speak. Dazed cocked her head and blinked happily at him before standing perfectly still, staring blankly at the bright lights that illuminated the room. She still hadn't gotten out of that habit.

He walked over to the aquarium and released Torrent into the water. Torrent blinked in surprise at being released before his black eyes widened and focused on Ash. The seadra rammed up into the glass in his attempt to touch Ash. Ash just grinned at his friend.

"Hey, Torrent. You did great the other day. We couldn't have gotten that grunt without you."

Torrent puffed up in pride at the praise. He snorted a few bubbles out before ramming the glass again. The thick, powerful material held up quite well against the force. It didn't even show a hint of cracking. Still, Ash would prefer that Torrent not break anything.

"That's enough of that." He chided gently. Torrent cocked his spiky head and gently rammed again, keeping his head against the cool glass. Ash smiled and lightly tapped the area where Torrent's head was pressed. "I've got some good news for you, by the way. I'll tell you in a minute."

His friend snorted bubbles before pulling himself away from the glass. Ash smiled at him again before turning to the rest of his friends and releasing Tangela.

The grass-type blinked in confusion and looked around before settling its happy gaze on Ash. He yelped as Tangela pulled him into a hug with his powerful vines, but laughed and lightly returned it. Tangela tapped him on the forehead with one of his blue vines before letting Ash up.

"Hey, everybody." Ash said with a tired grin. His friends were all incredibly attentive to him, peering at him with loyal eyes. "You all did great fighting the Rockets. Pierce got arrested and the others won't be seeing the light of day for a long time."

Nidorino grunted happily from beside him. Dazed's eyes lit up at the mention of Pierce being arrested, as did Plume's, although the flying-type's sharp eyes also narrowed in anger. Ash glanced over at Torrent. He seemed particularly pleased as well, despite the hatred burning in his eyes at the mention of the Executive.

They were the pokemon that had been with him at Mt. Moon or during the sinking of the St. Anne. Plume hadn't gotten a chance to actually encounter Pierce outside of the battle on Chronos Island, but she hated him with a passion after he had first threatened Ash. Nidorino held the same hatred, although he had actually met Pierce before the Executive stole him.

Torrent only knew of him, but the water-type was just as protective as Ash of the rest. The fact that Pierce had tried to kill him on the St. Anne had made just as deep a mark on Torrent as it had Ash. He was actually glad that Torrent had never gotten a chance to battle Pierce. While he would have been useful Ash wouldn't have been able to keep him from killing the man.

Dazed was much the same. Although less outwardly emotional than the rest of his friends, Dazed held a dark streak when it came to protecting him. He was surprised that she hadn't attempted to attack Pierce during their battle, although he supposed that she recognized Metagross as a greater threat.

Tangela didn't even seem to know who Pierce was and just cocked his head at Ash in confusion. Ash smiled at him, causing the grass-type to make his odd, happy noise.

"Anyways, we're headed back home." Ash continued, unable to hold back a grin. He loved travelling and training, but it would be nice to see his mother and Professor Oak again. Maybe Jonathan and Amelia would be there.

But he noticed that most of his team just looked confused at that. He gave a mental sigh. Of course. Only Nidorino had been to Pallet Town, and even that was only for about an hour.

"Anyways," he repeated, "it's going to be a two-day journey. We won't be doing anything, so all of you can rest or do whatever you want. We've had a hard week."

Nidorino snorted in agreement. Ash rolled his eyes. "So, I'm going to bed soon. The rest of you are free to do whatever you want."

Plume chirped at him and lightly pecked his head. Ash stumbled back a bit, making him wince as his sore muscles screamed in pain. He didn't let it show aside from that, though, and just smiled at Plume. She chirped again and fluttered over to one of the massive wooden perches.

Dazed just blinked at him with an inscrutable expression and turned her focus back to the bright light, completely motionless in her concentration. Ash grinned at her as he slowly walked over to the massive, comfortable looking bed.

His thoughts suddenly flashed to his injured friend. "Hey, Nidorino, do you want me to just release you onto one of the beds?"

Nidorino snorted at him and shook his head. Ash watched sadly as his friend slowly hobbled over to the bed, keeping his head high despite his pain. Despite his pity for Nidorino, Ash couldn't help but be proud. His friend was tough and prideful. No injury would hold him back for long.

His friend carefully leapt onto the bed beside Ash. Ash smiled softly and patted his friend's head. Before he could lay down and took a nap, however, he realized that he'd forgotten to give Nidorino and Torrent the good news.

Ash glanced down at Nidorino. "Hey, buddy, I forgot to tell you something."

Nidorino twisted his head upward and stared at Ash curiously. The trainer grinned. "We got a reward from Lance and Steven. I know you won't be able to use it for a while, but I figured that I should tell you what Steven gave me."

The poison-type grunted questioningly, apparently a little annoyed by Ash postponing the question. Ash laughed. "Okay, I'll tell you. Steven gave me a moon stone, one of the fragments from the Moon Stone of Mt. Moon."

His friend snapped up, looking at Ash with awe in his eyes. If he wasn't so injured Nidorino probably would have tried to tackle Ash in excitement. As he was, however, he just nudged Ash and licked his face.

He grinned as the area Nidorino licked began tingling from the weak toxins in Nidorino's mouth. Ash gently patted Nidorino again before reaching into his pack.

"You're still too injured to use it yet, but when you've fully recovered I'll let you evolve." Ash explained. "But you can see it. Just make sure not to touch it."

Nidorino nodded excitedly, eyes locked on Ash's pack. When Ash pulled the glistening, inky-black stone from the storage compartment his friend nearly salivated. The poison-type just stared at the small sliver of black rock, enraptured in its appearance.

"I'll leave it out so that you can look at it, but promise that you won't get close to it." Ash said sternly. Nidorino nodded without a second thought, his ears twitching at Ash's voice. His eyes never left the shard. "Alright then. Make sure to rest a little."

Nidorino nodded again. Ash sighed and took the Dragon Scale out of his pack. The dragonite scale was heavy in his hand as he walked over to Torrent's aquarium, his sore muscles screaming in protest.

Torrent eyed the scale with barely restrained excitement. When Ash drew closer, Torrent suddenly rammed into the glass at full strength, futilely trying to get to the Dragon Scale in Ash's hands.

"Calm down, Torrent."Ash said softly. Torrent snapped out of his frenzy at Ash's words, suddenly becoming calm and complacent. "Thanks. Lance gave me this."

He placed the Dragon Scale up against the smooth glass of the aquarium. Torrent floated closer until his long snout was pressed against the wall. The seadra stared at the Dragon Scale in awe, shivering in excitement.

"Do you think you're ready to evolve?" Ash asked seriously. "I know that you're pretty young, but you're definitely strong enough. This is up to you."

Torrent didn't even hesitate before nodding. Ash grinned.

"Alright. I'll give you the Dragon Scale when we get to Pallet Town." Ash said. Torrent wriggled excitedly and began floating around backwards. He grinned. "It'll be nice to have you around more often."

Torrent snorted bubbles in agreement and continued to swim around the tank. Ash watched him for a while with a smile on his face as he thought of the coming evolution.

Seadra were almost unique in their method of evolution. They had latent genes that wouldn't be expressed until they came into contact with draconic DNA. The contact would cause the dragon-type DNA to transfer an activator, which would cause the latent genes to suddenly activate in every cell in a fast chain reaction and be expressed, resulting in the evolution into kingdra.

Technically they could evolve into kingdra from any part of a dragon-type or even when battling a dragon, but there was a reason the Dragon Scale was the most common method. Aside from the fact that dragon-types were incredibly rare, the simplest and most pain-free way was to simply get a scale. They were the only part that would be shed into the ocean by aquatic dragonair and dratini, and a mere touch in combat wouldn't allow the activator to work.

At least, that was what his pokedex said. He understood the gist of it, but didn't really dwell too much on the scientific aspects. All Ash needed to know was that he just had to touch the Dragon Scale to Torrent for a few seconds and then he would evolve.

He smiled at Torrent one last time before hobbling back over to the large bed. Nidorino had adjusted to a more comfortable position and was already asleep, his exhaustion overpowering his obsession with the moon stone shard.

Ash picked up the shard and placed it into the storage compartment along with the Dragon Scale. Both of his friends were completely obsessed with their respective evolutionary items and he would like to be able to talk to them over the next few days.

Once they were safely packed away, Ash looked over at Tangela. His newest partner was walking around and looking at each of the exhausted pokemon, confused as to what he should do.

Ash felt guilty for leaving his new friend like that. Tangela seemed lost.

"Tangela." Ash softly called out, careful to not wake Nidorino. Tangela gurgled happily and bounced over to him before tapping him on the forehead with a vine. He grinned and pointed at Dazed. She had turned the lights out and was now staring out the window, enraptured by the bright light of the sun. "Dazed could use some company, and I'm sure you'd love to get some sun. Most of us are going to be asleep."

Tangela made his odd noise and affectionately tapped Ash's forehead again before waddling over next to Dazed. She gave him a cursory glance before returning to her observation. The grass-type lightly prodded her with a curious vine before he gracelessly fell over and basked in the sunlight.

After Tangela was happy, Ash got underneath the covers and relaxed his head into the soft pillow. Exhaustion overcame him instantly, and he was asleep within seconds.

He had no dreams.

XX

Ash strolled through Pallet hesitantly, surprised at just how foreign the place seemed. It was his hometown, but now it seemed as strange and unfamiliar as any of the great cities he had visited.

He had just disembarked from the ship. Taggart had waved him goodbye and Ash had to admit that he was a bit sad to leave the man and the ship. The sailor was good company on the few occasions that Ash emerged from his room and his cabin itself was magnificent.

Of the two days they had sailed, Ash spent about a day and a half of it sleeping or resting. Any other time was spent eating or talking to his pokemon. It was the most he'd relaxed since beginning his journey and was certainly the most comfortable he'd been.

All of his pokemon had enjoyed the ride just as much. Dazed often left the room and explored the ship. She could never sleep, so there wasn't as much appeal in lazing about all day. Torrent wasn't quite as tired as the others, so he spent most of his spare time trying to break the glass of the aquarium, although he never even managed a crack.

The two days of rest did Nidorino good. He wasn't hobbling around anymore, although his movements were still stiffer and displayed obvious pain. Ash suspected he would be able to move freely within another two or three days.

Right now Dazed was shuffling alongside him, able to easily keep up thanks to him still being sore and weak. Ash wasn't sure what had made him weaker, the explosion that caused the damage in the first place or the healing that had drained most of his vitality.

He had his cap lowered over his eyes at the moment. Ash was aware of the curious gazes of Pallet's few inhabitants focused on him. Some of them probably guessed who he was, considering that not many new trainers visited Pallet. Professor Oak didn't hand out starter pokemon to just anyone, after all.

Ash wasn't sure what day it was, so he walked over to the restaurant his mother owned and operated. If it was a weekday she'd be working there. If not she'd be at Professor Oak's or working around the house.

Dazed attracted more attention than he did, Ash noticed. Most people looked at the psychic-type warily, fearful of the hypno. Ash frowned at that. Those stupid stories about hypno made everyone distrust them. Dazed wouldn't hurt anyone as long as they didn't try to hurt her.

It only took a few minutes to reach the restaurant, even with his slowed pace. Despite how strange and odd his hometown was to him, Ash could never get lost in it. He remembered every building and every road of the small town.

The restaurant was empty and dark. Ash smiled. That meant it was a weekend and he would actually have time to talk to his mother without her work getting in the way.

He made his way over to the housing section of Pallet, following the worn dirt path in a daze. It was a short journey since his mom wanted to have work close to home and he was there in just two minutes. There were a lot less people walking around when he neared the houses. Most were probably working at the small harbor or at Professor Oak's.

When Ash finally made it to his house, he just stared for a moment, barely believing that he was back here. It had been about four months since he'd left on his journey. He couldn't believe that he had actually come back to Pallet Town.

Dazed tapped him on the shoulder, yanking him out of his trance.

"Thanks." He smiled. Dazed returned the smile with her sleepy, expressive eyes before Ash walked up to the door. Ash rang the doorbell and waited to see if his mom would answer. While he waited he looked over at the large hill that Professor Oak's laboratory was located at. It overlooked all of Pallet, the dominant feature of the town. Its windmill sluggishly churned, barely visible from where he was standing.

He snapped his attention to the door as it was suddenly opened, revealing the familiar face of his mother. She looked at him oddly, clearly not recognizing him. Ash grinned and pulled his hat up, showing his face.

"Hey, mom."

Ash's eyes widened and he wheezed as his mother pulled him into a rib-shattering hug. He managed to awkwardly return the hug, despite the fact that his arms were essentially crushed. His mother didn't let go of him for another few seconds.

When she finally let him go, Ash took a few deep breaths and winced as he rubbed his ribs. It looked like he would be bruised even worse tomorrow. Nevertheless, he grinned at his mom.

She had faint traces of tears in her eyes as she looked down at him. "Oh, Ash! I'm so glad to see you again! Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have cleaned everything up and made you something to eat and –"

"It's fine, Mom." Ash replied, still grinning widely. He couldn't believe how happy he was right now. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

His mom wiped her eyes. "Of course. Come in, I'm sure you must be starving."

Ash's eyes lit up. He might have had plenty of good food onboard the League ship, but nothing measured up to his mom's cooking. The trainer nearly dashed into the house after his mother, pausing only to keep the door open for Dazed.

He thanked his mother before finding a place to sit. The house looked just the way he remembered it. Ash sighed and stared at everything that was so familiar, yet so foreign. It was going to be strange staying in Pallet Town.

XX

"So, who's your friend?" His mom questioned as he finished eating. Ash smiled and looked over at Dazed. She was staring at a clock, tracing its ticking hands with her lightly furred fingers.

"That's Dazed." Ash replied, still watching his friend curiously. "She's my fourth pokemon."

His mom hummed for a moment to signify her understanding. "I guess you never told me about your pokemon. I've met the ones at the Corral, but I don't know any of the others."

A grin split Ash's face. Now that he was done eating he was more than happy to show his friends off to his mother. "Do you want to see them?"

His mom's eyes lit up. Ash sometimes forgot that she was as interested in pokemon as he was. She had been studying to become a Pokemon Professor before she'd met his father, after all.

"Of course!" She exclaimed, quickly standing up and taking his clean plate. "Just let me clean everything up and you can show me."

Ash scratched his head. He didn't want to wait to show his mother his pokemon, but he didn't want to imagine what Infernus would do if he was released inside a house. Torrent wouldn't be too happy about it either, but at least he wouldn't burn it down.

"A few of my pokemon probably wouldn't be too happy inside a house." He explained. "Could we go over to the Corral? I want to see my other pokemon anyways."

His mom nodded excitedly. She seemed even more excited than he was. "I'll just be a minute!"

He smiled and relaxed in his chair. Dazed shuffled over to him, glancing at his mother curiously as she furiously scrubbed dishes and put them away.

"That's my mom." He whispered to Dazed. She nodded in understanding but continued to stare at the woman. "Can you make sure that Infernus doesn't cause any trouble? Nidorino isn't up to it at the moment."

Dazed nodded again, her eyes showing a bit of amusement. Ash shook his head and looked over to his mom. She had just finished getting everything put back up again.

"Let's go!" She said. Ash nodded and stood up, leaving the house after his mother exited. Dazed shuffled after them.

Ash had a smile on his face the entire time. It was nice to be around his mom again. Just talking over the videophone wasn't the same.

XX

As they neared Professor Oak's lab, his mom changed the topic. They'd been catching up a little bit. Ash informed her of how far he'd come, although he refrained from telling her about the Rockets just yet. Professor Oak's promise still weighed heavy on him, but he wanted to have a conflict free day with his mom before getting into the Rockets.

"So, where's Nidoran?" She asked him.

Ash frowned. "He got hurt a few days ago. He'll be fine, but he's not really up for moving around a lot right now."

"I'm sorry." His mother said comfortingly. "How'd he get injured?"

He glanced away. "Just a really tough fight."

His mom seemed to be a little suspicious, but left the topic. They'd just arrived at the laboratory and had rang the doorbell.

Both of them were quiet as they waited for Professor Oak. His mom seemed to want to touch upon a topic, but couldn't manage to get it out. Ash didn't want to force her to talk about something she was uncomfortable with, so he just remained silent.

Before that could happen, however, Professor Oak opened up the door. He had a friendly grin on his face as he saw them.

"Delia, Ash!" He exclaimed. "Come in, come in. Do you need anything? Are you hungry?"

"Oh no!" His mom replied, clasping her hands together. "Ash is actually here to show me his pokemon."

Professor Oak nodded and grew serious all of a sudden. "Ah, yes. I actually need to speak to you about your Golduck, Ash."

Ash inwardly groaned. He should have known that Golduck would cause trouble. "What did he do?"

"He's been attacking the other pokemon." Oak replied. He narrowed his eyes at Ash. "I know that you have difficulty with him, but you need to speak to him during your visit. If his aggression continues, I will either have to bring out dragonite or keep him in his pokeball for extended periods of time."

"Understood." Ash replied, his face hard. He liked Professor Oak. He wouldn't let Golduck cause any more trouble.

Professor Oak lightened up after that. "Anyways, I'll take you to see them."

The Professor led Ash and his mother to the wide fields of the Oak Corral. There were hundreds of different pokemon wandering around, playing or simply investigating the area. Most were grouped up with their own species.

Packs of growlithe – one led by an old, absolutely massive arcanine that Ash recognized as Professor Oak's – ran around, yipping and shooting small embers at each other. Rattata and raticate hissed whenever they came too close and some of the trees at the back of the fenced in area were completely filled with pidgey and several pidgeotto.

Ash grinned when he saw a large herd of nidoran congregating in the center of the largest field. They were led by a large nidoqueen. Members of both genders were present and several Nidorina sat in the midst of the group, playing with the young nidoran. Two nidorino guarded the group, eying the rest of the pokemon in the area distrustfully.

Oak noticed Ash's stare. "Ah, yes, how is your Nidoran coming along? I haven't seen him since you left my lab."

"He's doing great!" Ash grinned, happy to talk about his friend. Dazed rolled her eyes as she shuffled alongside him. He ignored her. "He evolved a few months ago, but he's hurt right now."

The Professor sent him a serious look, clearly asking him if Nidorino had been hurt against Team Rocket. Ash gave the man a guilty nod when his mother looked away for a moment. Oak sighed and shook his head.

"I suggest you keep him away from the herd. The two nidorino don't like newcomers. They barely tolerate the other pokemon at the Corral." Oak explained as they walked past the herd. Both nidorino growled and extended their barbs as they passed. Ash just snorted in amusement. Nidorino would easily beat both of them.

As it was Dazed's sleepy eyes widened in glee and her eyes glowed. Ash smiled as she used a weak psychic to kick up some dirt in the poison-types' faces. They sputtered and snorted before warily glancing around.

"What other pokemon do you have, Ash?" His mother asked as they passed a frolicking group of oddish. She smiled at them as the group passed. "I know about Nidorino, Dazed, Pidgeot, Zubat, Golduck and Machoke but you've barely mentioned any of your other pokemon."

"I've got Torrent, a seadra, Infernus, a magmar, and Tangela." He recounted. "Infernus is just a bit temperamental. He's the one I didn't want to release inside the house."

His mother nodded in understanding. Professor Oak frowned. "A seadra? In that case, let me take you to a pond. I'll have one of mine find the rest."

Oak whistled. The huge Arcanine that was playfully rolling on its side and letting three growlithe jump on top of it suddenly leapt up and gracefully ran over to the group. The growlithe yipped in annoyance but followed Arcanine.

Two of the growlithe ran over to Ash and his mother, playfully jumping on their legs. Both of them just laughed and scratched behind the fire-types' ears. The last tried to jump onto Dazed. She gave it a disdainful glare and caught it with a psychic, gently placing it onto the ground. Undeterred, the puppy tried again only to meet a similar result.

"Arcanine, go find that Machoke you like to play with and the Zubat he stays with. Bring them to the lake."

Arcanine barked loudly, a wave of heat carried by his breath. The massive dog disappeared as it ran quickly, its age not hindering its incredible speed in the least. Each of the growlithe ran after it as fast as they could barking and yipping as they futilely tried to catch the great canine.

Oak smiled at the disappearing dogs fondly before motioning for the group to continue. "Your Machoke has been staying around your Zubat ever since he got here. When he's not keeping Golduck under control, they're inseparable."

Ash couldn't hold back the smile that split his face when he heard that. He was glad that Bruiser was helping Seeker. She needed it.

Then he realized that Oak had forgotten someone. "What about Golduck?"

Oak's face twisted in distaste. "He'll be somewhere around the lake. That's his usual haunt when he isn't attacking any of the other pokemon."

"Has he hurt any of them?" Ash asked worriedly. Golduck had been disrespectful and haughty, but he hadn't seemed the type to attack other pokemon.

"No." Oak said stonily. "Not beyond the usual they get from their little mock battles. Most of the time your Machoke or Arcanine take care of him before it gets serious. If he had, I would have had Dragonite knock some sense into him a long time ago."

Ash nodded again, still frowning. He would definitely have a talk with Golduck. It didn't matter if the water-type liked him or not. There was no excuse for causing trouble.

After a few more minutes of walking, they left the rolling hills and entered a patch of light forest. Trees and vegetation were sparse, but what was there was completely occupied by pokemon. Pidgey, spearow and rattata were everywhere, although the rodents quickly scurried away from wherever they stepped.

His mother was uncharacteristically quiet the entire journey. Ash tried not to focus on it too much, but he couldn't help be a little nervous about it. If he had learned anything during his life, it was that his mom hated silence. It worried him, but he knew that she would say what she needed to sooner or later.

About a hundred meters into the forest, it opened up into a large lake. Ash had visited it several times before with Gary, but it had been awhile. He smiled fondly at the memories of the two playing while Professor Oak's Arcanine watched over them with vigilant eyes.

"Ah, there's our troublemaker." Professor Oak said. He pointed Golduck out to Ash. The water-type was quacking furiously on the other side of the pond, flanked by a confused looking psyduck and an abnormally large krabby. "That's his little gang. That psyduck just wandered in here one day and Gary caught the krabby a few weeks ago."

Ash frowned. It looked like the group was trying to intimidate a small, yellow rodent. Golduck menacingly stepped forward and his head began to glow, but the yellow rodent suddenly released an absolutely massive blast of electricity that dropped all three of the water-types.

"Ah, that's my Pikachu." Oak said proudly as he began to walk over to the nearly unconscious water-types. "I found him about two hours after you left. He was chewing on some cables. He's actually been quite good at keeping most of the pokemon in line."

Pikachu's ears perked up and he chattered excitedly as Oak walked closer. The rodent quickly scrambled over to Oak and climbed up the older man, settling contentedly on his shoulder. Oak smiled and scratched underneath the mouse's chin.

"Good job, Pikachu. Were they going after one of the squirtle again?" He asked. Pikachu nodded and chattered on. Oak smiled and turned to Ash. "This is Golduck's trainer."

The mouse cocked his head and glared at Ash. His small red electric pouches sparked dangerously, but a reprimanding tap on the head from Oak caused him to stop.

"He's here to help out." Oak explained. Pikachu narrowed his eyes at Ash and nodded. "Well, Ash, you should start releasing your pokemon. It'll be a few minutes before Arcanine and the rest get back."

Ash nodded and released all of his friends. Nidorino grunted softly and stuck close to him, although he grunted a greeting towards Professor Oak and his mother. Apparently Nidorino remembered them from all those months ago.

Plume shrieked out a welcome and hopped over next to Ash. She curiously cocked her head at Professor Oak and his mother before lightly nipping Ash's hat. He smiled softly and gently stroked her crest, making her chirp in happiness.

Torrent was released into the water. He kept his head above the motionless water of the lake and gave Ash a friendly rumble from deep within his scaled chest. Ash grinned widely at him and nodded, silently letting Torrent know that Ash was going to be keeping his promise.

Tangela was next. He took a moment to become aware of his surroundings, but quickly pulled Ash down into a hug with his vines. Ash laughed and patted his newest friend on his vine-covered head before Tangela let him go. When Tangela realized that there were other humans present, he waddled over and shook both of their hands with his blue vines. Both Oak and Ash's mom had much the same reactions Ash did, although their surprise covered it up a bit.

When Tangela was done greeting the humans, he waddled over to the fallen Golduck and lightly ran his vines over the water-types form. Although Golduck was conscious he was too weakened to do anything about the invasion of space other than quack in an extremely nonthreatening manner.

Last, but certainly not least, was Infernus. He roared when he was released and shot his powerful flamethrower high into the sky, disturbing a flock of pidgey resting in a nearby tree and causing them to fly away in a panic. Infernus seemed to snicker at the fleeing birds before he looked at Ash and nodded his greeting. Ash nodded back with a grin. It was nice to see Infernus again.

"Hey, everyone." Ash said. "This is my mom and Professor Oak. I just wanted to introduce you guys to them. We're going to be taking it easy for a few days."

Only Infernus seemed to have a problem with that. He snorted a great blast of fire and smoke and gave a deep rumble from within his chest. Ash just rolled his eyes as Infernus stalked over to Golduck and kicked him.

"Wait until he's able to fight back." Ash ordered. Infernus snorted again but did as Ash asked. He sat down and curled up on the sandy shore of the lake.

"They're all so cute!" His mom gushed. She immediately began to fawn over his pokemon, but made sure to keep away from Nidorino's dangerous horn and barbs. Tangela and Plume seemed happy to receive the attention, but Dazed just sat there vacantly and tried to ignore his mother. His mother didn't even try to go near Infernus, more than aware of his bad temper.

Ash just watched with a slight smile on his face. She didn't stop petting and complimenting them for nearly five minutes. As she stood up, Arcanine bounded over to them, Bruiser and Seeker coming close behind. Seeker was cradled in his large, muscular arms to prevent the sun from damaging her.

When Bruiser stopped in front of Ash, he gave the trainer a sort of salute and made a happy grunt. Ash grinned back. "It's good to see you too, Bruiser. Has everything been good for you?"

Bruiser nodded but pointed over at Golduck. The water-type was beginning to stand up, the immense damage from Pikachu's attack having healed a bit. He still couldn't move very well, but Golduck was making progress.

"I've heard about him." Ash said darkly. "I've heard that you've been doing a good job keeping him check, though. Thanks for that."

The fighting-type beat his powerful chest proudly, letting Seeker go in the process. Seeker suddenly launched herself towards Ash, slamming into his chest and making him take a step back at the unexpected contact.

"Hey, Seeker. I missed you too." Ash said fondly, lightly scratching behind her furry ears. Seeker clicked in excitement, digging her hooks into his chest. He didn't mind that much. He'd had much worse pain over the course of his journey. "You've been good, haven't you?"

Seeker chattered and clicked before crawling around him onto his back and taking her place. Ash grinned and looked over at his mom. "This is Seeker. I got her from…"

His voice faltered a bit, the pale face of the dead grunt flashing to the forefront of his memory. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts.

"I got her after Vermillion." He continued, making sure his voice stayed strong. "She was a lifesaver in the Seafoam Caverns."

"Thank you!" His mother said warmly, stepping closer to him and scratching Seeker's ears. "How did that go, by the way? You only gave me a few details. Samuel told me about his own experiences there. It must have been exciting!"

That was one word for it, he supposed. He almost said that he saw Articuno, but that immediately died. Even if Captain Stewart had said he would be fine to tell people he trusted about it, Ash just didn't want to tell anyone else. It was a private thing, something he would treasure his entire life.

"It was cold." He stated simply. The corners of Professor Oak's mouth twitched upwards as the older man's eyes became lost in memory. "There were really strong pokemon there that swarmed me, and I caught Golduck over there. Nothing too exciting."

Golduck quacked furiously at him from where he stood, but was still too weak to try anything. Infernus just snorted and lazily stood up. He casually walked over to the trembling Golduck and pushed him over. The fire-type's eyes glinted in dark amusement as Golduck toppled over, unable to keep himself standing.

Ash just sighed. He'd deal with Golduck later.

"How deep did you go down?" His mother asked curiously. Ash grinned. He wouldn't mind seeing Professor Oak's reaction to this.

"To the bottom levels." He smiled, sending an amused glance at Professor Oak. The Pokemon Professor looked stunned. His mouth was open in surprise, clearly not expecting that answer. Ash had left quite a bit out in his previous explanation to Oak. "I still had plenty of rations, but I got lucky and found a passageway that led to the surface."

His mother looked relieved at that. Ash wondered what kind of stories Professor Oak had told her. They were likely true, considering how vividly he remembered those brutal explorations, but he'd have thought that Professor Oak wouldn't want to worry his mother.

"Anyways, this is Bruiser." Ash said, changing the topic. He gestured to Bruiser as he did so. "I caught him on the way to Fuschia. He helped out a lot in the Caverns."

Bruiser grunted a greeting to Delia, who smiled and waved back. "It's nice to meet you!"

The fighting-type nodded in return, although he looked a bit uncomfortable with the conversation. Ash talked more to his pokemon than he did most of the people he came across, but he still didn't talk that much. All of them were usually so tired after travelling that they just didn't feel like making conversation.

"And I guess that's it." Ash shrugged. "I guess we can go back home now."

Professor Oak nodded. "Before you leave, however, there are a few things I would like to speak to you about. Will you be leaving now?"

Ash shook his head. "I'm going to talk to Golduck now. I'll meet you two later."

"Alright!" His mom exclaimed. "I'll go home and start cooking. That snack you had before you came here wasn't nearly enough! What do your pokemon eat, honey?"

The trainer frowned. He usually just fed them ordinary pokemon food or scraps of his own. Tangela didn't need very much pokemon food if he got enough sunlight for photosynthesis to augment his energy intake, but Ash just fed him the same as the others. It was what most trainers did. Feeding pokemon anything else could be prohibitively expensive, although thanks to Lance's gift that might change.

"Ah, you just use the trainer's diet?" Oak said amusedly. He turned to Delia and explained. "Feeding pokemon on the journey is expensive and difficult. There normally just isn't enough room in a trainer's pack or storage compartments to carry food for each pokemon. A few bags of general food is more than enough."

"Oh." His mother said with a frown. "I don't think I have any pokemon food. I usually just feed Pikachu normal food."

Professor Oak glanced at Ash. "I'll tell you what each of them would like to eat while Ash has his talk with Golduck."

His mother nodded and the two walked off with Arcanine elegantly loping alongside them. Ash watched them for a moment before turning back to Golduck with an annoyed expression. The trainer stepped towards Golduck, who had mostly recovered from the electric attack.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ash hissed. Golduck just stared at him with a sour expression, clearly annoyed with Ash. "I didn't send you here so that you could bully other pokemon and cause trouble. I sent you here because I thought it would make you happier and better-tempered."

Golduck just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Ash frowned and took another step forward.

"Get your act together!" He said sternly. "I didn't care that much when you disobeyed or caused trouble around me, but I won't let you cause trouble for Professor Oak. He has too much on his hands to bother with you."

The water-type quacked nonchalantly and looked away. Ash had enough.

"Listen to me." He commanded in a dangerously calm tone. Golduck slowly turned his head to him but kept his rebellious, haughty expression. "I've had enough of your attitude. I caught you, so accept it! Maybe I would let some of this slide if you actually had the power to back up your attitude, but you don't! Any member of this team could beat you in a battle, so shape up!"

Golduck's eyes and forehead glowed brightly with psychic energy as rage from his offended pride bubbled inside the water-type. He flashed towards Ash and spit a high-powered jet of water directly at the trainer's head. None of Ash's pokemon were prepared or ready to intercept the dangerous attack.

Ash's eyes widened as he saw Golduck move and he tried to duck to the side, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to dodge the water gun. It was fired at a force powerful enough to cut through steel, he had no idea what it would do to him.

He suddenly felt the light, furry weight on his back vanish and heard a high-pitched shriek before he felt a spray of water that left intense, stinging pain all over his exposed skin, but he didn't feel any of the horrible pain he'd been expecting. Ash slowly opened his eyes and suddenly grew furious.

Seeker was crumpled on the soft soil just a few inches in front of him, her small form bent inward from the force of the water gun she had taken for him. He could see blood oozing from her soft blue fur. Ash froze for a second before looking at Golduck with pure rage.

"Knock him out." He said flatly, too furious for any emotion to enter his tone. Ash knelt down and carefully picked up Seeker, cradling the small zubat to his chest. The trainer was gentle as he placed her back on the ground, taking care to leave her in a position that he could examine her injury.

The center of her body had a large, bleeding hole in it. It wasn't deep, but Seeker wasn't made to take a serious hit. She was fragile. Around the hole her blue fur had been torn off by the high-pressure blast, exposing leathery skin that was extremely light mix of purple and grey.

Ash calmly took one of his super potions from his bag and glanced over her bleeding wound again. Seeker was in danger. The super potions would stabilize her, but she needed serious help.

"Plume!" He called out as he sprayed the super potion onto Seeker's wound. The skin began to knit together at the edges, but the important thing was that her bleeding had mostly stopped. It would only be temporary, however.

His friend shrieked and gently landed next to him, taking care to avoid kicking up any dust. Her eyes were initially fierce, but they softened as Plume looked at Ash and Seeker.

"I don't have her pokeball." He explained to Plume. "I need you to find Professor Oak and give her to him. He'll know what to do."

Plume chirped sadly in response and raised one of her massive talons for Ash to place Seeker into. Ash gently put the unconscious zubat into the outstretched talon, making sure that Seeker was secure in Plume's grip before he let the brave zubat go.

His friend immediately took off, slower than she normally would thanks to the precious luggage she bore but still faster than he could have gone. Ash watched Plume go for a moment before he turned back to the scene of the battle with furious eyes.

Golduck was unconscious. Nidorino had his horn lowered to the water-type's throat, although he was completely motionless. Ash frowned at that, but knew that he was lucky Nidorino hadn't gone any further. If he had been hurt, Ash shuddered to think what would have happened.

Infernus looked down at Golduck with a disgusted expression. He placed a burning foot upon the water-type's chest and caused the earth around him to explode upwards, hurting the unconscious Golduck even more. The fire-type would have done more, but Ash walked over and shook his head.

"Leave him. Tangela, stun spore." He commanded in a stony voice. "Dazed, keep him hypnotized if he wakes up. I'm going to get his pokeball. The rest of you stay here."

Dazed nodded, her eyes blazing a bright blue. Ash nodded at her before he ran off, sprinting madly across the forest. Rattata skittered before him, leaping out of the way of the frenzied trainer as he tore through the woods.

His vision was a blur as he raced out of the forest and across the large, open fields of the Oak Corral. Ash was barely aware of where he was, only that he needed to get to Professor Oak's laboratory and make sure Seeker was safe and then get Golduck's pokeball.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, he arrived there. His mother was waiting outside for him with a concerned expression on her face. She caught him as he tried to run by and looked into his eyes.

"What happened?" She asked worriedly. "Pidgeot just brought zubat back! Professor Oak just sent her to Viridian City."

"I hurt Golduck's pride." Ash said bitterly, wheezing and breathing deeply. His bruises and sore muscles had decided to remind him that he was still injured. Dull, aching pain wracked his front. He'd known that Golduck was angry and volatile, but he didn't think Golduck was that dangerous, that sensitive about his pride. He had never said anything that would really offend Golduck before, and certainly not so bluntly, but this was unprecedented. "He tried to attack me with a water gun. Seeker flew in front of it."

His mother put her hand in front of her mouth, horrified. "But Zubat was badly hurt. How much power did Golduck put into his attack?"

Ash frowned. He knew that even as bad as the injury was for Seeker, it would have been far worse for him. Even the weakest, most fragile of pokemon could take attacks and damage that humans couldn't fathom. What was a bad wound for Seeker would have been lethal for him.

"All of it." He replied as a scowl twisted across his face. "Where's Professor Oak right now?"

"I'm here." Oak announced as he suddenly opened the door. He looked furious, although the Professor reigned his emotions in. The older man glanced at Ash with a frown. "What happened?"

"Golduck tried to attack me with a water gun." Ash said, repeating what he had said to his mother. "Seeker blocked it."

Oak sighed and looked down. "I've been afraid something like this would happen. Once I saw her injury I knew that Golduck was responsible." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Golduck's ultra ball. "I took the liberty of getting his ball."

"Thanks." Ash said shortly as he took the ultra ball. He clenched it tightly, causing the blood to drain from his fingers. "I've got to go get Golduck."

"I can help with that." Oak replied. He placed two fingers into his mouth and whistled. A few seconds later Arcanine came tearing up from the fields, his tongue lolling out happily. "Arcanine, take Ash to the lake. Go as quickly as you can."

Arcanine barked and licked Oak's face before he lowered himself to the ground. Ash quickly found a comfortable position on the great dog's back. A moment later Arcanine took off at an amazing speed. The rolling hills and large laboratory vanished in just a few seconds.

Ash had to duck his head to protect it from the wind buffeting his form. He wound his hands into Arcanine's fur and held on with his legs as best he could. The physical strain it put him through was brutal, but he didn't have to keep it up long. In just a more seconds they arrived at the lake, which was eerily calm considering the events that had just taken place.

The powerful canine barked as he slowed to a trot before finally stopping. Ash leapt off Arcanine's back and onto shaking legs. He scratched Arcanine's large ears and thanked him before turning to his friends.

He glared at Golduck's unconscious form before he returned the problematic water-type. Ash didn't even know what he would do with Golduck. There was no way he would use him again after this, but he didn't even want to own Golduck. No other trainer should be put in danger by the water-type, so giving him to the League was out of the question.

"Let's go, everyone." Ash said with a sigh. Most of his pokemon still looked furious, although Dazed seemed to have calmed down some. She normally had the coolest head of any of his friends, so he wasn't surprised.

Ash returned all of them, but frowned when he realized that he didn't know where Plume was. Only Bruiser remained out and seemed even more furious than the rest. He was eying the ultra ball Ash held with pure hatred, his huge hands clenching tightly.

"She's going to be fine." Ash said soothingly, although he didn't even know if that was the truth. Bruiser was probably the closest to Seeker out of all his friends. He knew that he needed to help calm the fighting-type. "Professor Oak sent her to the Viridian Pokemon Center. They'll make sure she's safe."

Bruiser calmed down a little at Ash's words, but still looked like he wanted nothing more than to snatch Golduck's ball from Ash's hands and snap it. Ash didn't bother rebuking Bruiser. He wanted to do the same thing.

He sighed again, feeling all of the weight from the past few days. They hadn't been easy, and as he stared at the ultra ball in his hand he felt that they wouldn't be getting any easier tomorrow.

XX

They ate at Professor Oak's house that night. All of his friends were quieter than normal, but didn't seem quite as furious or upset as they had earlier. Ash was happy about that. Bruiser remained sullen and upset, but Ash knew there was nothing he could do to help that.

About an hour after Professor Oak had sent Seeker to the Pokemon Center, Ash got some news. Seeker would be fine, although she would have difficulties flying for a few days. She also wouldn't be able to grow fur in the area that the water gun had struck. All in all it was better than Ash had expected and managed to lift his mood a bit.

Right now, however, they were eating. Ash had practically devoured every plate put in front of him, eager to taste his mother's cooking. It was just as good as he'd remembered.

Nidorino was eating from a huge bowl of vegetables and fruits and seemed quite happy from what Ash could see. Plume, who had simply stayed in Professor Oak's home while Ash went to the lake to retrieve Golduck, had a large amount of standard, albeit expensive, pokemon food. Ash supposed that his mother wouldn't want to prepare a caterpie for his friend.

Dazed simply stood in the corner, keeping a watchful eye over Ash. She got her sustenance from his dreams every now and then, so she didn't have much to do.

Torrent was in a large aquarium. Professor Oak had poured some sort of odd mixture of pokemon food and an unknown substance into it, which the seadra happily sucked in through his snout. The water-type was restless as the others ate. Ash assumed that Torrent was anxious to evolve and join the rest of the group on land.

Ash actually didn't know how Infernus ate. The fire-type simply took a bag of pokemon food from Professor Oak and went far away. He could usually go about a week without food before needing more, so Ash didn't have many opportunities to discover that information.

Bruiser had the standard pokemon food as well as vegetables, much like Nidorino. Tangela only ate a few of the dry brown pellets before becoming bored. He was going around and running his vines around everything, apparently fascinated by Professor Oak's home.

But he didn't focus on his friends that much. Ash talked and laughed with his mother and Professor Oak, but his real attention was centered purely upon the ultra ball that sat innocently in the center of the large, expensive table.

When Professor Oak saw him staring at it, he shifted the focus of their conversation. "What are you going to do with him, Ash? The League will take him if you have no other option, but I don't think Golduck would work well with another trainer."

Ash nodded. Golduck wouldn't work well with anyone. "I don't want to give him to the League, but I'll never use him again, not after this."

It was his mother who expanded upon one of the fledgling ideas he'd come up with.

"Why don't you send him back to the Seafoam Islands." She suggested as she began to pick up the plates. "Not many trainers go there, and the ones that do are capable of handling him. It works out for everyone."

Ash's eyes lit up at that. He'd had an idea like it before, but he'd focused on other solutions. "That's a great idea! Can you transfer it to the Pokemon Center there, Professor Oak?"

The older man nodded seriously. "Of course. I have to agree, this is the best solution. If we release a pokemon as temperamental and powerful as Golduck into the wilderness around Pallet, all sorts of problems might ensue. But he'll be balanced out in the Caverns."

Oak stood up and took the ultra ball off of the table as Ash's mother went off to the kitchen. "I'll make arrangements immediately. By the way," Oak said softly once Ash's mother was away, "I don't mind if you wait until tomorrow to follow through on your promise. You've had a stressful day."

Ash nodded in thanks as Oak left, carrying Golduck to his fate. He shook his head. He had actually forgotten all about speaking to his mother about some of his more dangerous activities. But he was still thankful to Oak for giving him some extra time. Like the man had said, Ash had had a stressful day.

He sighed and looked over at his pokemon. Most of them were finishing up their food. They'd gorged themselves and would probably be sick later. Ash had only given them a little bit more food than usual onboard the ferry. His mother had given them a feast.

Tangela suddenly pulled on his sleeve with one of his bluish vines. Ash looked down and smiled at the grass-type, although he noticed that Tangela's wide, friendly eyes held a touch of concern. He yelped in surprise as Tangela suddenly pulled him into a hug, but couldn't help his widening smile at his newest friend's display of affection.

When he pulled back from the hug, Ash realized that he should stop moping. Seeker was hurt, but she would be fine. Golduck was being released. The problem was mostly solved, even if he couldn't help but feel guilty over Seeker's injury.

But he had to look to the future. What was done was done. There was nothing he could do to change that, but he could make sure nothing like that ever happened to his friends again.

He smiled and glanced over at his friends, who were curled up or leaning back, completely sated from the absolutely immense amount of food they'd consumed. It was time for him to relax just like his pokemon were.

It was a vacation, after all.

XX

The next morning, he was sitting in his living room. He'd just finished breakfast. Professor Oak had brought Seeker over to him. She was still unconscious, but she was healed. Ash just had to wait for her to wake up.

Nidorino was comfortably curled up next to him on the couch, contentedly taking a nap. Ash just patted him every now and then as he kept watch over Seeker's tiny, unconscious form. She had been placed on a soft pillow on the small table in front of him.

"Are you okay?" His mother asked in concern. She was sitting across from him reading a book. Ash could see that it had a happy-looking Mr. Mime and Jynx on the cover.

"Yes." Ash replied, wincing at his stony tone. He really needed to start talking to people more often. After so long in the wilderness with only minimal contact with other people – mostly just challenging other trainers and either taking or giving money depending on the victor – he had a little bit of trouble with his tone of voice. "I'm fine."

His mother frowned and leaned forward in her chair, carefully placing her paperback onto the table. "Are you sure? I know you've been through a lot on your journey. The St. Anne…" She began, trailing off as Ash's fists clenched.

"I'm fine." He repeated. Ash wanted to end the conversation right then and there, or at least direct it into a less serious topic, but he realized that now would be the best time to follow through on his promise to Professor Oak. Despite his resolve, Ash still had a bit of trouble in actually saying the words. "But there's probably some stuff I should tell you about."

"What is it, sweetie?" She asked, her eyes wide and concerned. That seemed to be the emotion she expressed most for him these days. Ash couldn't say he blamed her. "Did something happen on your journey?"

The corners of his mouth twitched upward. Ash couldn't even begin to say how much had happened on his journey.

He'd made two friends and lost them in less than two months. He'd made the closest friends he'd ever have in the form of his pokemon. He'd witnessed the destruction of the St. Anne by an unknown entity with more power than he could imagine. He'd taken down an entire Rocket base on his lonesome. He'd encountered the legendary Articuno a scant four months into his journey. He'd battled an international criminal and won.

But he didn't say all of that.

"A few things, actually." He began somewhat nervously. "You know what happened on the St. Anne, but I guess I never told you about what happened in Mt. Moon, or in Celadon, or in the Sevii Islands."

His mother frowned, clearly not liking where the conversation was taking them. "What do you mean?"

"Well, did you ever hear about that Rocket hideout that got busted in Celadon City?" He said, scratching his head. His mother nodded slowly.

"Samuel told me about it. He heard something from his contacts in the League, something about a new tra—" She froze and turned furiously calm eyes on Ash. "You didn't."

Ash wished he could melt into the couch at her blazing glare. "I did."

"Why!" She exclaimed, not shouting but coming very, very close. Her face was turning an odd mixture of red and white from the fear and rage she was experiencing at the same time. "You saw what they did at the St. Anne! You nearly DIED!"

He shrank back even more, silently hoping that Dazed would come by. Then he could just have her put him to sleep until his mother's rage passed over. Despite his feelings, Ash still managed to reply to his mother.

"That's why I did it!" He said back, doing his best to keep his tone level and calm. "I found their hideout and alerted the police, but I had to fight them. I was strong enough and I couldn't let them keep on doing what they were doing!"

"That's what you called the police for!" His mother shouted, finally losing a bit of her control. She stood up and waved her arms furiously as she continued. "They would have handled everything. They didn't need your help, it's their responsibility to fight the Rockets, not an eleven-year old's!"

Ash frowned and kept his cool. His mom had the reaction he'd expected. He didn't want to make the situation worse. "But I did it and I was fine."

"But what if you weren't?" His mother hissed. She looked like she was going to say more, but suddenly paled as some of his words hit her. "Wait, what did you mean when you were talking about Mt. Moon or the Sevii Islands? Did you attack Rockets there too?!"

He nodded steadfastly. "Yes, I did. Well, in the Sevii Islands at least. We just ran into them at Mt. Moon."

"And why didn't you tell me about this?" His mother asked in an icy tone. Her arms were crossed and she was breathing deeply. Ash could tell that she was doing her best to calm herself down and it seemed to be working. Now his mother had regressed into her tranquil fury, not the rage from earlier. "Why didn't I hear about it from Jonathan or Amelia's parents?"

"Well, I didn't think about it." Ash confessed. His week of travelling with Steven had caused him to put the Rocket situation behind him, as had his first talk with his mother. "I don't know why they didn't tell their parents."

His mother sat down, her eyes still iced over with anger as she glared at him. Ash really wished that he could vanish into the air. What was worse than her shouting was the disapproval and disappointment plain in her eyes. That made him feel guilty and put a lump in his throat, much worse than the glazed, indifferent state that her shouting put him in.

"Tell me what happened at the Sevii Islands." She said in an eerily calm tone. Ash was well-aware of her unflinching, hard gaze as he began.

"I went there with some friends." He started, taking care to avoid mentioning the Champions. That wasn't a detail his mother would appreciate. "We went there and helped some fighters out. The Rockets got expelled from the Sevii Islands and I got away with just a few scrapes and bruises."

While that was a bit watered-down and he was stretching the truth a little, he hoped that it would be enough to please his mother. Well, she wouldn't be pleased by the news, but she'd be marginally less furious with him.

Unfortunately, she cut to the issue that he really didn't want her to breach. "Who were these "friends" of yours?" She questioned, fixing him with her hard stare.

"Just some people I met during my journey." He replied, trying to worm his way out of the question. Ash knew that he wasn't doing much more than postponing the inevitable, but at least it was something.

"Who are they?" She said again, clearly not fooled. Ash sighed and leaned back in his chair, trying to get as far away from his mother as possible.

"Lance and Steven." He said, hoping that his mother wouldn't realize just who he was talking about. While there weren't many Lances in the world, there were plenty of Stevens.

Unfortunately his mother did connect the dots for one of the names. "Lance?" She asked, surprise marring her fury for a moment. "As in the Lance? Champion Lance?"

Ash nodded slowly. His mother's right eye twitched. "And where did you meet the Champion, might I ask?"

"Steven." He replied, looking past his mother in order to avoid meeting her eyes.

"And who's Steven?"

"Former Champion of Hoenn." Ash said, still not looking at his mother.

She sighed and buried her face in her hands. "I'm going to have a long talk with Samuel about this." His mother said, voice muffled. She pulled her head up. Ash noted that she just looked tired and sad all of a sudden. Her anger had broken. "Ash, why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I was afraid that you'd make me stop my journey." He admitted. "I thought that you'd think it was too dangerous."

"I'm not going to make you stay home." His mother sighed, still appearing to be exhausted. "Travelling makes you happy, and you'd probably just run away the second I turned around."

Ash couldn't help a light smile at that. "Probably."

"Just…just try not to do things that dangerous again." She told him tearfully. Ash was surprised at the sudden mood change, but didn't to fight when she stood up and walked over to engulf him in a rib-shattering hug. "I worry enough without knowing that you're fighting Rockets."

He nodded and awkwardly patted her back. She just squeezed him tighter, making him cough a bit. His mother didn't relent however, and Ash was almost afraid that he'd have to get Nidorino to help him get her off.

She suddenly released him and held him by the shoulders. Ash met her eyes as she continued speaking. "We'll talk about this later. I just need time to think."

Ash nodded again and watched his mother as she stood up and walked to her room, regret for putting her through this welling up inside of him. He didn't regret what he did, though. He'd helped to strike major blows at Team Rocket and had saved many pokemon and humans in the process. It was worth it, even if he didn't like making his mother worry.

He collapsed back onto the couch again and just stared ahead, but a light chattering suddenly grabbed his attention. Ash's eyes widened as he stared at the shivering, terrified form of Seeker.

The trainer gently picked her up and nestled her in his arms, drawing his brave pokemon in tight to his chest. She struggled for a moment as she grew more aware, but Seeker stopped when Ash whispered to her.

"Shh, it's me." He said softly, doing his best to comfort his meek friend. She looked up at him, her attention drawn by his familiar voice. "Thank you so much, Seeker. You saved my life."

Seeker chattered something in return and struggled to get out of his arms. Ash gently placed her down and watched her tired, awkward struggle to climb onto his back. When she had finally managed it, Ash smiled and looked back at her.

"I'm sorry you got hurt." He said softly, moving his arm back so that he could gently scratch behind her furred ears. "It should never have happened."

The zubat chattered something in return and licked his cheek, causing Ash to smile briefly before it shifted into a frown. "I have some bad news for you, though."

Seeker whined and grew tense. Ash comfortingly pet her, taking care to be gentle.

"It's nothing too bad." He said soothingly. "You'll just have a bit of trouble flying for a few days and won't grow fur where you got hit. But you'll be as good as new soon!"

Ash smiled again when Seeker chattered loudly into his ear. He resumed his petting of her. "Of course, I bet you don't fly anyways. From what I saw you just have Bruiser carry you everywhere."

Seeker shrieked indignantly and lightly nipped at his neck. It didn't draw any blood, but it made Ash aware of her displeasure.

"Alright, alright!" He laughed. "I believe you. But you'll need him to do that for the next few days. You need to take it easy."

He glanced down at Nidorino, who had woken up during their talk. His first friend was still lazily laying down, but his ears were twitching with interest. "Hey, buddy, could you go find Bruiser? He'll want to know Seeker's awake."

Nidorino grunted a reply and stretched before lightly leaping off of the couch. He was still a little stiff, but he was moving much better. A few seconds later he had left the home through the open door, his keen ears guiding him to Bruiser.

Seeker chattered a bit more into his ear. Ash's smile held strong as she remained clutched onto his back. He didn't say anything to her, but was content with petting the meek pokemon that had taken a potentially lethal attack for him.

The calm setting was disrupted as Bruiser came in. His small, beady eyes were wild with joy when he saw Seeker awake and something Ash recognized as a wide smile split his reptilian face. Ash gently pulled a squirming Seeker off of his back and handed her to Bruiser, who took her and placed her onto his own back with gentleness unexpected from such a powerful pokemon.

Bruiser grunted something to Seeker, who chattered back excitedly. The fighting-type stared at Ash with respect and pounded his chest before leaving to another room. They couldn't go out into the sunlight. Zubat were sensitive to the sun at the best of times. At the moment she was in no condition to brave daylight.

Ash suddenly stood up as Nidorino plodded into the room. He gave his friend a smile before he walked into his mother's room. Nidorino followed slowly behind, still a tad unsteady.

"Hey, mom, I need to ask you something." He said as he walked into the plain room. It was perfectly neat, just like the rest of his house. Everything was well-organized and spotless.

His mother was sitting on her bed reading a book. She looked stressed and her face was a bit blotchy, although she was doing her best to hide it. Ash frowned when he saw the state she was in, feeling guilty for causing it.

"What is it?" She asked a bit tightly, as though there were something in her throat. Ash cocked his head at her in concern before he spoke.

"Do you mind if Bruiser and Seeker stay here while I'm gone?" He requested. "Seeker won't be able to fly and will need special care for the next few days. Bruiser won't be happy if they're separated, and I'm sure that he could do something to help you out."

"Of course!" She answered with a smile on her face, cheer dominating her tone. "I'm sure he'll be useful and I'd be glad to help her out. I owe her as much as you do."

Ash nodded thankfully at his mother before turning to leave. Just before he left the door, Ash glanced back. "Are you alright?"

His mother waved his worries away. "I'm fine." She said nonchalantly. "I just have to think for a while."

The trainer frowned again but left. His mother was strong. She'd be fine.

Instead of returning to the couch, Ash left his small home. He felt a little bit happier and smiled as he took a pokeball off of his belt and examined it.

He had a promise to keep.

XX

About fifteen minutes later Ash found himself at the lake. It was calm and placid, the water still and smooth. Dozens of pokemon were hanging around the lake this time of day, mostly just pidgey and rattata looking for water and shade. A few of the pokemon from the Corral were wandering around and playing, but he didn't pay them too much attention.

Only Nidorino, Dazed, Plume and Tangela accompanied him to the lake. Ash didn't want to disrupt Bruiser and Seeker's play and doubted that Seeker was really up for travel yet anyways, even if Bruiser did protect her from the sun. Infernus was lazing about in a small field that he'd turned into charred wood and ash.

He couldn't help the fond smile that split his face when he thought of Infernus. The fire-type had behaved himself quite well. Aside from spitting a few weak flames towards pokemon that were too curious or too close, Infernus hadn't even gotten in a fight.

That probably wouldn't last long. Ash had seen Infernus eying Arcanine with a measuring eye, apparently judging the old canine to be a worthy foe. He'd actually be interested to watch that battle. Arcanine had been on Professor Oak's powerful team many years ago, after all.

But right now he was focused on Torrent. The seadra was aggressively darting around in the lake, scaring away goldeen, magikarp and the odd staryu. Torrent didn't want anything disrupting his evolution.

Ash stared at the massive Dragon Scale in his hand. It was surprisingly light for its sheer size, but still held an impressive weight. He lightly rubbed his thumb over the rough surface of the dull yellow scale, taking care to avoid the sharp edges and tips.

He glanced up when Torrent gave an anxious rumble, impatient for his evolution. Ash grinned and walked over to the water, kneeling by the lakeside and offering the Dragon Scale to Torrent.

The seadra glanced at Ash with eyes full of gratitude and respect before he reverently touched his spiky head to the Dragon Scale. Ash watched with a small smile on his face as Torrent kept his head to the Dragon Scale.

Ash frowned after about ten seconds. Torrent still wasn't glowing or showing any of the tell-tale signs of evolution. He almost wanted to ask his friend if something was wrong when Torrent suddenly dived underneath the water, splashing Ash.

He coughed and spit up some of the lake water that had gotten into his mouth before watching the lake with worry. Ash wasn't sure if this was normal or not. He resolved to go to Professor Oak if Torrent stayed under for more than a minute.

Wide fingers suddenly tugged on his jacket sleeve. Ash turned his head only to see Dazed standing behind him, her eyes fixed upon the water. When she insistently pulled on his sleeve again, Ash knew that she wanted him to get back.

A little confused, Ash nevertheless followed her until he was a few feet away from the water's edge. He suddenly realized that the entire area had gone completely silent. No pidgey chirped or sang, no rattata squeaked or hissed, no pikachu nipped or squealed in their play.

He looked around and froze at what he saw. Hundreds of pokemon were surrounding the clearing, more arriving every second. Countless pidgey lined the trees, a few sparrow and fearow interrupting the unbroken group every now and then. Nidoran and their evolutions were flocking to the lake, guided by a silent, reverent Nidoqueen.

Arcanine silently leaped into the area with serene grace, leading two dozen uncharacteristically quiet growlithe behind them. The great dog lowered his head but kept his eyes on the water, the normally friendly eyes glinting with an emotion Ash couldn't decipher.

Ash glanced at the shore of the lake and realized that countless water-types were leaping out of the water. They all congregated according to species, a dozen staryu and a single starmie leaping back to give goldeen and a few isolated seaking space. Close to fifty horsea leapt out of the water, which had begun to tremble and vibrate. The horsea seemed as awed as Ash felt. Their small heads were lowered to the water, doing their best to see what was occurring within.

As the last of the pokemon arrived, the lake suddenly surged, small waves beginning to form inside of it, lapping the shore with slowly increasing force. Ash just watched silently, perfectly understanding the incredible awe that the pokemon around him felt.

He had to avert his eyes to the ground for a moment as a small glow lit deep within the lake, bright enough to penetrate from the very bottom. Ash managed to catch a glimpse of Nidorino staring at the water as well, just as enraptured as the others were.

But he almost immediately returned his eyes to the small, glowing form of his friend. It was growing more and more intense, the bright light slowly spreading throughout the entire lake. From the heart of the lake, the immense amount of energy Torrent was producing grew more and more powerful, causing the waves to grow larger and stronger, crashing into the shore with increasing force.

Ash ignored the water that was soaking him, keeping his eyes firmly focused on Torrent. By now the glow had spread through almost the entire lake, making the clear water seem as though it were made of molten silver. The light was almost too intent to look at, but Ash held on as long as he could.

Just as he thought he would have to avert his eyes once again, the impossibly white light vanished. Ash blinked a few times. He still saw stars, but they had regressed enough to where he could actually make out the world.

The waves slowly calmed down, no longer crashing against the shore with unmatched fury. It seemed that with the incredible power released by the evolution, the invisible storm that had swept the area vanished.

He glanced around, noting that the pokemon were still silent and motionless. Ash figured that he should follow their lead.

And then a vast whirlpool formed in the middle of the lake, a huge funnel forming in an instant. Ash's eyes widened as the water churned and swirled impossibly fast, the huge tunnel of churning, foamy water reaching all the way to the bottom of the lake.

Ash was aware that his mouth was open. He'd known that Torrent would become more powerful after evolving into a kingdra but this…this was beyond his wildest dreams. Torrent struggled to make an ordinary whirlpool before, let alone one that could engulf an entire lake.

The pokemon around him remained as quiet as before, even as the whirlpool suddenly died down and the lake returned to its ordinary state at an unnerving speed. He continued to stare at the newly murky water, its clarity marred by the dirt and sediment Torrent's whirlpool had pulled up.

He almost jumped back when a huge cyclone of twisting water erupted from the center of the lake, thousands of gallons of water swirling in the vortex. The cyclone sped towards him, but Dazed and Nidorino remained calm. Dazed even placed a calming hand on his shoulder, one of the few times she actually touched him. Ash was too stunned to notice.

Just as the perfectly maintained cyclone of water would have begun to soak the land and ravage the earth, it collapsed with perfect precision into the water, making a huge splash of water that was mostly maintained in the lake. Ash had to cover his head to keep from being soaked, but when he looked back up he was more than aware of the powerful new creature before him.

Ash examined the kingdra levitating above the calming water with a mix of curiosity and reverence. Torrent stared down at him in return, his expression inscrutable.

The kingdra before him was much larger than Torrent had been, standing at least two feet higher as he levitated above the smooth water. His body was streamlined and elegant, yet had not lost a bit of the power Torrent had possessed as a seadra. A crest-like fin lined the kingdra's cheeks, and the belly scales were far more compact, smooth and interwoven instead of the rough, overlapping scales of a seadra.

A large, beautiful fin erupted from the kingdra's back and his snout had become thinner and smoother. It was lowered at him as the kingdra continued to examine him. His tail was still curled up, but far less compactly than it had as a seadra. Instead it was long and sweeping and much more powerful.

Elaborate horns branched out from the back of the kingdra's head, giving him a wise, regal appearance.

All in all, the kingdra was beautiful, yet the beauty was balanced by the sheer power it exuded. Torrent was now regal and elegant, having grown out of the rough, brutal looks he had possessed before. A new wisdom and air of power engulfed him and glinted in his scarlet eyes.

Ash could barely believe that his little horsea had become this mighty beast of the sea.

Torrent slowly levitated until he was in front of Ash, looking down at him with an inscrutable expression. His eyes were narrowed and glinted with an emotion Ash couldn't fathom.

The trainer was nervous as the powerful kingdra inspected him, measuring him with his intense gaze. Ash had heard of pokemon that didn't respect their trainers after evolution, having grown too powerful for them to command. But he had a greater fear with Torrent. Kingdra were given wisdom when they evolved, knowledge that added a new air to the inspection.

He didn't know what he would do if Torrent suddenly realized that Ash had been a bad trainer in some way. Ash didn't think he had been, but kingdra were intelligent. Torrent would realize things that Ash would overlook.

Torrent suddenly puffed out his chest, proving that habits didn't die with evolution. Ash wanted to flinch as the kingdra grew even larger and more powerful, but he reigned the urge in. He wasn't weak, and he wouldn't let Torrent think that he was.

The tension was palpable. Torrent was inscrutable, and the silence was overbearing. Ash didn't let his gaze slip from Torrent's eyes though, his brown meeting Torrent's scarlet eyes. He could see a new air of regal power within them, accompanied by tempering wisdom.

Dazed's hand tightened almost imperceptibly on his shoulder as Torrent suddenly moved, actually changing his high posture for the first time since evolution. Ash didn't flinch and simply watched as Torrent lowered himself to Ash's level, remaining just an inch above the earth.

Ash noticed that Torrent was still almost a foot taller than him. He stopped focusing on that detail when Torrent closed his eyes. The trainer couldn't help but stare at his friend, now aware of even more details that had changed with evolution such as the lighter hue of his scales and the obvious hardness each possessed.

He clenched the Dragon Scale tight, barely realizing he still held it even as the edge cut into his hand. Torrent was still unmoving and Dazed's hand was growing tighter.

And then Torrent bowed, dipping his powerful body in front of Ash's. The trainer was breathless as Torrent remained prostrated before him, barely believing it. Only Dazed's light tap was enough to get him to move again. He touched Torrent's head and walked closer to the powerful form of his old friend.

"Thank you." He whispered to Torrent. The kingdra gave him a low, happy rumble in response before he pulled himself upward, pausing only to lightly headbutt Ash affectionately.

Ash stumbled back but laughed, making the first real noise since Torrent had began his evolution. The noise seemed to break the spell that had enraptured the pokemon around the lake. They all chirped or squeaked or howled for several seconds, creating a painful amount of sound.

He winced and covered his ears, but noticed that Torrent straightened up and held his head high, clearly appreciative of the roaring cacophony.

And then it ended just as soon as it had begun. The clearing once again became quiet, if not silent. The forest was full of soft noises and rustling as the pokemon returned to their previous activities. Rattata returned to their burrows, pidgey created howling winds as they flew away, the water pokemon created splashes as they returned to their lake.

Soon only Ash and his friends were left. He stood by Torrent and looked up at his new friend.

"Well, you can come on land now." He grinned. Torrent looked down at him with scarlet eyes, curious as to what Ash was doing. "So, no pokeball for you for a while. Let's go."

Torrent rumbled happily as he and the other pokemon followed Ash. Ash slowed only to put the Dragon Scale back into his pack. It was a trophy for him now.

He walked as fast as he could back to his house, a wide grin stretching his face all the while. He couldn't wait to show Torrent to his mom and Professor Oak.

XX

The next day he was walking around the Corral with a bored expression. He only had Dazed walking with him. Nidorino had gone over to the herd of nidoran. Ash noticed that he only had to growl and extend his barbs to get the nidorino guarding the herd to back off.

While he was concerned for his friend – he wouldn't be able to protect himself well if the nidorino decided he was a threat – Ash didn't stop him. Nidorino knew his limits. Besides, Nidorino needed to mingle with his own kind. Arcanine would intervene if things grew too intense.

Torrent was down at the lake. While he could easily live on the surface now, he still preferred the water. He was more powerful there, even with the incredible power he wielded on the surface. Ash couldn't wait to test him out in battle.

Plume circled high above him and Dazed. She had gone off alone earlier and seemed bored when she returned. Considering that her feathers were slightly ruffled and she had a few scratches on her, Ash assumed she had been searching for a battle. It certainly hadn't been fulfilling, though. Plume was more antsy now than when she'd left.

Tangela was lying out in the sun about fifty feet away. A few curious rattata had ventured up to them and nudged the grass-type with their heads. Ash grinned as Tangela suddenly moved a few vines, causing the nervous rodents to squeal loudly and scurry away, although Tangela caught them with his bluish vines and began to tickle them mercilessly.

Infernus was…somewhere. Ash hadn't seen him at his burnt field, so he honestly had no idea where the fire-type had gone. He knew that he would find him in a few hours, however. The fire-type never ventured too far from Ash.

Bruiser and Seeker were staying at his house. The machoke had taken it upon himself to guard Seeker from all threats while she recovered and refused to leave her side. Ash just made sure to spend about an hour with them whenever he went home.

Ash couldn't help but smile. Despite some of the unpleasantness that had happened with Golduck two days ago, he was happy. Everything was calm and peaceful, and nothing could ruin his day.

Even the weather was happy. The sun was bright but not too hot, there were just enough clouds in the sky to provide shade, and there was plenty of wind to keep everyone cool.

As he had thought before, nothing could ruin this. It was idyllic and perfect, and he was going to take the chance to really rela—

"What's up, Ashy-boy?" A snide voice suddenly asked from behind him. Ash froze and turned around with disbelieving eyes.

It looked like someone could ruin his perfect day after all.

A/N: Well, I hoped everyone enjoyed the chapter! Not nearly as action packed as the last one, but I'm going to take up some of the slack next chapter.

Anyways, I'd like to thank everyone that reviewed, favorited, followed, submitted a trainer, or read last chapter. I got tons of support, and it made me feel all fuzzy inside. Try and make me feel that way again (hint, hint).

Back to business. I've got all of the OC's I'll need, and they should be making an appearance in a few chapters. I'm sorry if yours didn't get picked, but I had a lot of really good submissions and there were some tough choices.

So, yeah. I hope you liked the chapter and make sure to review. PM me if you have any questions!

Next chapter should be out sometime next week as well, at least if everything goes according to schedule.