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.

35. Chapter 35: The Fighter

"So, what's first?" Daisy chirped as they rested in their room at the Dewford Pokemon Center. Her hands were clasped together and her heels tapped against the metal frame of the bed in a constant rhythm. "I know you said you wanted to fight Brawly. Do you want to get to that before or after we head into Granite Cave? I don't really care either way."

Ash fiddled with his PokeDex, which he'd pulled up to the entry on the Granite Cave, and frowned. "Granite Cave first, I think. I'd rather not go in with any of my friends tired and I don't want to wait…it's been way too long since I've really gotten to explore someplace new."

Or maybe not long enough.

He had to hold back a grimace at that. While he felt that familiar itching under his skin that had always driven him towards the unknown he had to admit his track record with caves wasn't very good.

There wasn't a huge sample size to draw from, admittedly. Still, the last real cave system he'd been in were the Seafoam Caverns and that had led to far more complications than he'd ever wanted.

It all started there, he supposed. The Third of Articuno he'd encountered there hadn't managed to end his life with talons shaped of razor-sharp ice or the blizzards summoned by its wings but it had Branded him and bound him to the Legends forever.

Ice hadn't killed him, but it had left its mark regardless. Perhaps one even more permanent than his frozen corpse buried under a tomb of snow and frost.

"Ash?" He became dimly aware of a slender hand waving in front of his face. The trainer shook himself out of his morbid thoughts and focused on his companion. "You there?"

"Yeah," he shrugged and tried to play it off as best he could. "Just a little bit distracted."

"I can tell," Daisy said drily and pulled her hand back. "So Granite Cave?"

At Ash's nod she smiled. "Great! It's not even noon yet so we can make some good progress tonight! I figure we can stay in Dewford for about three days before we really need to get moving so that should be plenty of time to explore!"

"When do you want to leave?" He asked. Personally Ash would rather head into the caves as soon as possible so he would have a little while to let his team rest before they challenged Brawly…if the fighter was even here, anyway.

Ash seriously doubted he'd find anything in those caves that could actually push his exceptionally skilled family but travel could be mentally exhausting. The darkness, the chill that seemed to pervade the caverns' air…it wore on the mind far worse than it did the body.

Daisy bit her bottom lip. "Hmm, how about in two hours? That gives us time to prep and let our teams know what's happening…plus this way we can send some last messages to people before we go off the grid."

He nodded. That was acceptable.

"Fantastic!" Daisy cheered and rose from the bed, shouldering her small pack in a quick, elegant motion. "Well, I guess I'll see you here in an hour or so…there are some things I need to pick up before we head off. Is there anything you need?"

Ash shook his head. "I'm well stocked."

"Of course you are," Daisy smiled and left him with a small wave. "See ya, Ashy!"

He sighed at the name only his mother had called him before but waved back regardless. Ash finally sat down on his own bed – Daisy had sprawled out on it before he could rest his legs – and released several members of his team.

Seeker, Sneasel, Dazed, and Nidoking all stared him down.

"We're in Dewford," he announced. His team listened raptly and even Sneasel didn't try to interrupt. "In two hours we're going into Granite Cave and I want us to have a plan. Nidoking, Dazed, Seeker: you all remember last time we were in a cave this big."

Seeker whined and fluttered over to him, snuggling close into his neck as though the far, far below freezing temperatures had reappeared anew. She'd been invaluable during that journey but Ash knew she had had a very difficult time surviving in there…even curled up inside Ash's jacket she was essentially a furry block of ice the entire time. The tiny Zubat would have entered a hibernation-like state if it hadn't been for the warmth Infernus had brought with him.

Dazed's eyes drooped as she recalled the vicious few days they'd spent fighting to the bottommost levels of the Seafoam Caverns. Those had been some of the hardest days in their time together, Ash knew, and Dazed had suffered during it due to her relatively short fur.

Nidoking's eyes just flashed purple and Ash knew he was far more concerned with the memories of their encounter with the Titan of Ice. Ash had recalled him before beginning his mad rush for survival but the Nidoking had felt Articuno's power permeating the air around them in frost and a heavy stillness he had felt only once since.

"Exactly," he nodded. He ran his eyes over his family. "While I doubt we're going to run into another Legend down there – it's much better documented than the Seafoam Caverns – I want all of us to stay cautious regardless. With our Brands we might draw the attention of something we'd prefer to avoid."

His friends had differing reactions to that but at the core of them all was a wary agreement.

"Like I said, there should be nothing to worry about," he continued. "But if we find something better off asleep then we run. Dazed, I don't care what we have to do – you get us out of there. Daisy and her team too."

Of course, Friend-Trainer.

He nodded, satisfied. A tempest swirled within him moments later and he met her eyes. "Use it if you must."

Dazed's eyes fell shut in consternation but the bond they shared flooded him with understanding.

He tried to focus on that instead of the cold trickle of amusement that filled his gut.

Nidoking let out a deep growl and shuffled close to Ash, laying his great head upon the boy's lap in an effort to comfort his trainer. Ash felt some of the tension flow away and lightly rubbed his friend's leathery skin. His starter's eyes shut in relaxation at the practiced motions and the two's breaths almost instantly began to mimic one another's.

"Sneasel," Ash started even as Seeker fluttered over to the cozy scene and buried herself in the nook between Ash and his covers, "you're going to be out almost constantly in the caves. I think it'll be fun for you."

The mischievous dark-type seemed to grin at him eagerly, allowing his razor-sharp claws to slip from their sheaths in an instinctual motion. A light scraping noise filled the room as he rubbed the lengths of bone against one another and he almost looked as though he were about to salivate at the prospect of finally getting to explore once more.

"But you will listen to me," his voice cut past Sneasel's glee. The dark-type visibly wilted but listened regardless. "You will not hunt without my permission. You will not attack. You will not endanger another member of the pack. Is that understood?"

Sneasel glumly nodded and his hooked claws retreated into his velvety soft paws. Ash let the message sink in and patted the soft blankets beside him…on the opposite side of Seeker, of course.

He really was pleased with Sneasel's development. Perhaps it was because one of his many hormone surges had begun to settled down or perhaps it was because the dark-type had finally realized he couldn't be such an insufferable brat without consequence anymore, but he'd been much more manageable lately and Ash wanted to reward him somehow.

Ash preferred positive rewards to negative punishment. He didn't want Sneasel to behave simply because it was a way to avoid pain – although that was a vital part of the process at the moment in order to get through the thick-skulled pokemon – he wanted him to behave because it was rewarding. Maybe even develop a sense of morality outside of "don't kill pack" one day.

One day.

For now he was content to lightly scratch Sneasel's feather while alternating his attention between Nidoking's heavy head and Seeker's fuzzy body. He caught Dazed's eyes – rarely warm – and smiled.

She might not have a mouth, but Ash knew that she had actually smiled back this time.

XX

"Okay, let's do this!" Daisy pumped her fist and stared determinedly into the gaping maw of Granite Cave. Pinpricks of light managed to escape the shadows – lanterns set up deeper in, he supposed. The League would want to keep the upper levels as safe as possible. "You ready, Ash?"

He nodded.

"Ugh," Daisy groaned at his nonchalance. She gestured grandly out at the cave entrance, ignoring the bored Dewford Gym member watching them half-asleep. "How can you be so calm? Where's your sense of adventure? We're venturing into the great unknown, aren't we?"

Ash blinked. "Didn't you say that you've been here before?"

"That's not the point!" Daisy sputtered, annoyed. "It's the great unknown for you at least."

He looked into the cave again.

"I've seen worse."

"You're impossible," Daisy rolled her eyes fondly. He sighed when she affectionately flicked him on the forehead and stepped forward. "Who knows, maybe we'll find something really interesting in there! Something nobody's ever seen before!"

Ash let her get a few feet ahead of him before he vocalized his true thoughts.

"I really, really hope we don't."

XX

The guard was there only to keep a registry of people who entered the caves and ensure they had a trainer's license. Liability on the Dewford Gym's part, of course.

It wasn't as if there was anything truly dangerous in the caves besides the odd powerful pokemon. Even they tended to avoid killing or seriously attacking humans, if only to avoid the wrath of the humans who didn't take kindly to such provocation.

While the League was very tolerant and would generally only attempt psychic communication at first, there was a limit to their generosity. Humanity had fought hard for its right to exist and the harsh lessons the League was founded on still hid at its core, desperately waiting for the terrible moment in which they were needed.

A pokemon could even kill a human without much of a fuss being raised. There would be an investigation, of course – specially trained teams of League psychics and trackers treated it just like any human crime, although a jury of one's peers was obviously an impossibility. But if the wild pokemon was found to have acted in self-defense or under extenuating circumstances they would essentially be free to go wherever they would.

If not…well, Ash preferred not to think about that. The League fought hard to coexist with pokemon and favored them as best they could – they had more rights than most humans oftentimes, at least in being protected – but they knew all too well how much havoc a single pokemon could wreak if left murderous. Even a Rattata could kill a human easily and any pokemon that had any kind of control over its power was a terrible, terrible threat.

Coexistence worked almost perfectly. Humans didn't interfere too much and protected pokemon from technological and other human threats and the sleeping giant that were wild and even trained pokemon didn't awaken and annihilate the human world in a bloody clash that would devastate both sides.

Humans had begun to move away from their natural bonds with pokemon as technology and industry arose centuries ago and they had learned many painful lessons for it. They had thought themselves beyond the threat outside their cities but it only took a few years for them to realize that the abuse would not be tolerated.

And, as pokemon were sentient, albeit without an actual government, they tended to understand why every now and then some of their more violent neighbors had to be hunted down and slain as humanely as possible…especially since most pokemon mad enough to willingly kill humans for sport wouldn't hesitate to attack them as well.

It was a delicate balance, but one that had been essentially perfected over the years.

"Don't you love these caves?" Daisy asked him as Seeker flitted overhead, undetectable aside from the slight displacement of air. Sneasel stalked somewhere ahead, silent and invisible in the cover of darkness. "They're peaceful, aren't they?"

"That they are," Ash agreed and kept an eye on Ninetales, who seemed to glide by Daisy's side. Were it not for the unnatural scarlet that glowed within her beady eyes he would've had an almost impossible time picking her out of the shadows. They'd decided to forgo light in favor of making the explorations more "interesting" in Daisy's words. He went along with it since they had Sneasel and Seeker to warn them of any dangers.

Besides, he felt a little more confident knowing that he would have a chance of picking out any threats with his own eyes now that they'd adapted quite well. It really was nice being mostly blind though…in a sense. Having to rely on his friends, barely aware of whatever haunted these ancient pathways.

It was freeing in a sense. Added a nice bit of tension he'd missed for much, much too long without overpowering him as his last true adventure with the Birds and Lugia had.

"Ninetales has always loved caves," Daisy brought up a few minutes later. Ash thought so, anyway. It was almost impossible to accurately track time when he was almost completely deprived of his senses. "She says it helps her remember her youth."

"She speaks to you?" Ash inquired, interested. He'd heard it wasn't uncommon for Ninetales to develop the skill – they possessed strange powers and were only surpassed by ghosts in their manipulation of otherworldly energies and true psychics in their mental prowess – but they were prideful to the point that deigning to communicate with humans was something very, very rare.

Ninetales' eyes flared and twin spots of red stared back at the two humans as she listened in interest. His eyes just barely caught Daisy's figure leaning down to stroke the silky fur of the fire-type before she continued.

"Okay, so speaking might be a bit generous," Daisy admitted with a short laugh. Ninetales huffed and the shining red eyes raised up with her head. "Mostly I get…impressions. Little flashes of emotion, maybe a glimpse of an image. Sounds, smells even."

Daisy was silent for a few moments. "Sometimes it gets a little worrying. I'll look up and see people that can't be alive today…or houses that are rotten and decrepit as they once were in their prime. It's like I'm living in a whole other world some days."

Ash nodded and hid his grimace at that out of habit. Not that it mattered considering he could just barely make out her outline as they aimlessly wandered through the tunnels Daisy had assured him she knew "really, really well".

He knew what it was like to feel out of control of his own mind after all…and he had also gotten rather good at ignoring the flood of ice that rushed through his veins and the booming chuckle that rattled his bones.

"I'm guessing this isn't intentional?" He asked, keeping a close eye on Ninetales. Ash would rather not offend her, even if they would only be traveling alongside one another for a week or so.

Not to mention that Ninetales tended to make for dangerous enemies. They were patient and cunning beyond what most humans could conceive. Why wouldn't they be when they had all the time in the world?

Chinatsu might be the oldest Ash had ever heard of – she had lived for at least a millennium, possibly more – but most Ninetales managed to reach at least a few centuries before vanishing, either killed or simply so bored with their surroundings that they decided to see what else shared the world with them.

His wariness bore fruit. Ninetales visibly stiffened even in the blackness of the cave and there almost appeared to be a thousand tiny glows buried in her white fur, a shower of sparks kindling in response to his words.

A single delicate touch from Daisy left them blind once again…even more so than before now that their eyes had to readjust to the inky shadows of Granite Cave.

"She can't really control it," Daisy said with an air of indifference. "And I mean it's not like it's a bad thing, you know? It's interesting! There was some weird stuff when I was exploring Mt. Coronet a few months ago but other than that it's like I'm living history all over again sometimes!"

Ash nodded, genuinely interested now. He could see how it would be interesting, even if he himself was a little bit too protective over his own mind to accept that existence.

"What did you see at Mt. Coronet?" He asked. Ash knew that name well – the great mountain of Sinnoh divided the massive region in half with its many peaks and the famed caverns that thousands had used to travel between the cities erected in Coronet's shadow were practically legendary for their depth and complexity. Nobody had ever explored all of Coronet, despite hundreds and thousands of adventurers seeking to achieve that goal. Some vanished, most gave up when they realized the enormity of the task.

The many caves used by travelers were well documented…and for good reason. Coronet could be treacherous at the best of times and stories of terribly powerful pokemon and strange apparitions as one ventured into its depths or climbed for its peak had dissuaded most from the idea.

Daisy was silent for a few moments and when she spoke her voice was unsteady. "It's hard to describe. Everything was so…vivid. Ninetales says she's never been there before so it wasn't her memories I saw. But when she was with me I could see and that's not always a good thing."

He nodded, even if she couldn't see it, and let the subject go. Ash could tell she wasn't really anxious to talk about it and he wasn't about to push it. It wasn't as though he couldn't understand her feelings – indeed, he was probably the person in the world best able to sympathize with her.

So he fell silent and they continued through these ancient halls of winding stone and blackness for what felt like an eternity before he finally raised his voice to ask the question that had been nudging him ever since they'd started talking.

"You said you could see in her memories places that were old?" He inquired, eyes gleaming. "If you don't mind me asking, just how old is she?"

Ninetales' eyes didn't turn toward him and he took that as not quite a bad sign…if not an especially good one either. She seemed uninterested and that meant it was up to Daisy's discretion.

Daisy just laughed. If he could have seen her face he'd have imagined she was smiling. "And here I was thinking your mother raised you right, Ashy! Don't you know you should never ask a lady her age?"

He sighed at that and ignored her quiet giggles – it seemed Daisy had well and truly amused herself this time.

XX

Ash sat around the dim lantern – still almost blinding relative to their surroundings – with his eyes rapt on the shadows that fell just outside the light's dominion. Sneasel was huddled to his side, almost asleep aside from the brief flutter of his eyelids as he fought valiantly to remain aware.

Seeker was a bit more active, however. She fluttered to and fro in the high arch of this particular part of the Granite Cave network and seemed to greatly enjoy her new freedom here. Dazed kept an eye on her at Ash's request. If anything with even a modicum of hostile intent was nearby she'd have Seeker retreat to Ash immediately.

He wasn't seriously worried, but there was no reason to not be prepared. Ash wasn't willing to bank on skating by challenges on chance, after all.

But he'd been on watch for nearly three hours now and aside from a few Zubat shooting past there hadn't been any contact with the resident pokemon…or fellow explorers. It was rather boring, all things considered.

Still, he couldn't complain. It gave him the opportunity to relax and rest his legs after a long, long day of treading through the absolutely massive tunnel network. Today had certainly proved he was out of shape after several months off the road and he honestly couldn't wait until he adjusted again. It wasn't as brutal an experience as his first day on the road more than a year ago but that didn't mean he wouldn't be feeling the hard trek in his legs tomorrow.

A small grin curled its way onto his face as he thought back to how young he'd been back then. He might be just a year older but he'd lived enough for several lifetimes. Not all of those experiences were what he'd classify as good, perhaps, but all were important. Ash wouldn't trade them for the world.

In fact, he supposed he'd already made that choice.

The soft velvet of Sneasel's paws kneading on his forearm made his smile soften and he affectionately rubbed the thin fuzz between the dark-type's eyes, which always served to put his little friend to sleep.

Sneasel had earned it today with how well he'd listened. He hadn't even antagonized Seeker beyond a few hisses when she got too close and Ash hadn't even found it necessary to rebuke him once.

He was proud of Sneasel. And it wasn't in the way he'd grown accustomed to recently. Sneasel hadn't perfected a tactic or mastered a technique. He hadn't won a battle or surpassed some limit in combat.

No, this was like when he watched Sneasel hatch. When he took his first toddling steps out of his egg to find his trainer, still wet with amniotic fluid. When he first met the team or sat down to listen to Ash's stories with rapture.

It was nice. Made him remember how things used to be before puberty hit Sneasel like an avalanche of moodiness and mindless aggression.

Ash figured he would enjoy it while he lasted. The harsh discipline he'd been enforcing since the end of the Conference had certainly helped somewhat, but he half-expected this sudden burst of compliance by Sneasel to fade away as another surge of hormones rushed through his veins.

Some might see it as a pessimistic view on his youngest teammate. Ash preferred to see it as realistic. That's what had occurred before and he felt it was what would occur again, although Daisy's presence and her near magical ability to reduce Sneasel to a puddle of inky fur and contented purrs might make things a bit more interesting.

He sighed and tore his thoughts away from the matter. No use thinking about it. Ash would just have to wait and see. For now he'd just enjoy being able to really connect with Sneasel again.

When the little dark-type had finally succumbed to the allure of dreams Ash looked to Dazed, who stood silent in the shadows. She had edged out of the light and he wouldn't have known where she was if it weren't for the subtle glistening of her crystal pendulum.

"Be nice to him tomorrow, will you?" Ash requested and smirked when he could almost feel Dazed's internal grimace. "Don't be like that, Dazed. You know he's been good."

Perhaps.

Dazed allowed, although her voice was indistinct and echoed in his mind due to his proximity to Sneasel. Her eyes flashed and he felt their connection overpower the energies bled into his body by the dark-type.

I will allow him a day's respite. It would also be difficult to find anything to discipline him with in this cave. I suspect you would not allow me to propel mineral formations at him, Friend-Trainer.

"You'd be right," he rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to let you throw rocks at Sneasel. I don't care if you knock him around when he's being bad, but there is a line."

Unfortunately. Perhaps I could persuade you to erase it? Or remark it?

Ash didn't dignify that with any response greater than a snort. Dazed's eyes flashed in the dark and he could see them turn up in a smile.

He was silent for a while as he fished out his PokeNav. While he couldn't actually communicate with it this deep in the caves – the Granite Cave network was fairly massive, even if it wasn't supposed to be as large or complex as the Seafoam Islands – he could look at the videos Lance had sent him of the Elite Four's matches.

This was what he'd been waiting for all day…and night, he supposed. It was a little hard to keep track of all that in the dark caves. Exploring with Daisy was great, but he'd been positively itching to watch these.

Ash wished he could have been there to watch the battles in person. Elite Four battles were rare, happening only once a year usually. Every now and then former Conference Champions would come back to challenge them in a massive spectacle that practically the entire world would watch, but for the most part they only had the current Conference Champions to contend with.

But those were usually against the first member of the Elite Four…the overall weakest. Not that that made it any less incredible to watch a truly powerful Master reshape the entire battlefield with individual attacks and dismantle the Conference Champions that could only very rarely keep up, but the monsters that ensured the League was always the dominant force only saw an exhibited match every five years or so.

Lorelei had been ruthlessly efficient in filtering out challengers. She was overcome maybe half the time, and Ash got the feeling that she didn't always push as hard as she could have. Maybe the others actually wanted to get to show off?

He'd have to ask Lance about that sometime.

In his decade long reign as Champion Lance had only seen challengers three times, and those bouts were over almost before they started. Dragonite alone was enough to utterly annihilate anything but the strongest of fighters. Ash had learned that in their long, brutal month together.

Lance didn't believe in pulling his punches. He was brutal, unforgiving, and ruthless in battle.

He was also an excellent teacher in Ash's opinion.

But the videos on his PokeNav would open his eyes to a whole new side of battling. He'd seen Lance battle – experienced it literally every day and every night for a month – but he'd never been enough of a challenge to actually push Lance.

Magnus, Mael, Lev, or even Saph…all of them he could take. They'd take down at least four of his teammates back then and could probably do more if they weren't concerned with actually hurting his friends, but as opponents they were just barely manageable.

Dragonite or Dov were enough to tear their way through his whole team. They were just fast on a level only Plume could match and boasted far more firepower than his friend at the moment.

But he hoped that the new Indigo Elite Four would be good enough to actually take down one of Lance's legendarily powerful Dragonite. They were Masters, some of the most skilled trainers in the world. And as the Elite Four they tended to be a bit stronger than the average Master.

The League would only accept the best, after all.

So he really, really, really hoped that one of them would prove to have what it took to deal even that blow to him.

…Ash supposed that losing so badly had stung his family's pride just a little bit.

Still, even if they did disappoint him at least he'd get an idea of how Will and Karen actually fought. He'd seen glimpses of their ability when the Elite Four had arrayed to apprehend Giovanni, but calling that a fight was like saying the camping Samurai Kid from the Viridian Forest was on his way to becoming a legendary trainer.

Something of an overstatement in other words, although he supposed a complete lie would be more accurate.

With that in mind he reclined against Nidoking's hulking chest and watched. It was as good a way as any to end the night.

XX

His eyes fluttered open as he heard the clink of hard feet tap their way across the ground. Even in his sleepy state he could tell that it was slow, cautious. If this was an enemy then it was a wary one.

It was close, though. Too close.

Ash opened his eyes in full, although he was careful to avoid moving suddenly. He'd rather not wake Nidoking…who would in turn wake up the entire Granite Cave complex with his furious roars and attacks when he realized that something had the audacity to get within ten feet of Ash without his permission.

If the unsleeping Dazed didn't deem it a threat then he wouldn't either. Ash trusted her opinion on these matters more than anyone else's.

It wasn't as if any of his other friends could see into the hearts and minds of almost everything that came close.

The dim light of his PokeNav – apparently he'd dozed off watching the battle between Karen and Bruno, judging by the frame the video was frozen on – irritated his eyes just a little bit but proved to be quite the allure to the heavy creature inching ever closer.

He could hear small chuffs and scrapes coming from the darkness. Whatever this was it certainly wasn't stealthy.

Sneasel's eyes snapped open at a particularly loud movement and narrowed into deadly slits. Razor-sharp extended from their velvety sheathes, ready to rend and tear into whatever creature was foolishly brave enough to approach.

Just as a terrible rumbling that would've set almost any human's nerves on edge rose up from the dark-type's throat and his fiercely territorial instincts demanded that Sneasel make the newcomer bleed – to establish dominance and perhaps a meal for the pack as well – he disappeared in a flash of scarlet light.

Not today, Sneasel.

Ash sat frozen. He could just barely see the small, rounded shape of whatever was lumbering in the shadows as it brushed the edge of the lantern's light. It was large and seemed perched on four tiny legs, although the figure was almost entirely devoid of detail.

Whatever it was – his groggy brain just didn't want to remember where he'd seen that rounded shape – glinted in the light. Aside from a few odd spots of darkness it seemed to reflect light rather well, although the shadows managed to shroud its finer features.

Ash cocked his head with interest and cautiously leaned forward as it stepped forward with a light thud, just soft enough to avoid waking any of the others. The little creature – the highest spot of its shiny skull he could see appeared to be just a little over a foot from the cave floor. It had a surprising amount of mass for such a relatively small pokemon.

It was only when it uttered a soft, curious cry that had the barest edge of metal scraping metal that the facts clicked together in his head.

Aron. Juvenile of the Aggron line. Diet primarily metal in order to provide it with the necessary materials to grow its metallic armor, but omnivorous otherwise in order to provide energy for the muscles required to bear that burden. Well-known for its high defense and the use of its large, hard head as an effective weapon. Could become a nuisance when it set up in human cities so the League oftentimes placed excess scrap metal in the wilderness for wild Aron to eat from instead.

"Well hello there," Ash murmured as the Aron hesitantly stepped into the lantern's light. Its wide, sky blue eyes squinted up at him. The little Aron started to back away when it saw the rise and fall of Nidoking's heavy chest but a proffered hand from the trainer made it pause. "Don't worry, there's nothing to be afraid of. We won't hurt you."

The Aron warbled at him and decided to stick around, although it was still more tense than when it had first come over to investigate. Ash just smiled at it and reached into his pocket – he knew he had a few treats hidden away in there for his family.

As he tried to find something to keep the steel-type around he sent Dazed a mental command to keep the rest of their companions asleep. Nidoking was the obvious subject of that request, but Dazed was quick enough to pick up on Ash's desire to interact with the Aron in peace.

"It's okay to come closer," Ash reassured the newcomer. He held out one of his hands placatingly, offering his scent to Aron as a gesture of goodwill. "Here's some food if you want it. I bet it's not easy finding food down here."

That tempted Aron and the tiny creature inched closer, its blue eyes fixated on the handful of food. It still eyed Ash every few seconds but its true wariness was saved for Dazed, who stood silently in the corner.

Not that Ash could blame Aron for its suspicion of Dazed. She could cut quite the intimidating figure to others, he imagined.

I am the definition of innocent, Friend-Trainer. I would never inspire fear in another.

If Ash could have he would have snorted at that. As it was he had to hold his amusement to himself so as to avoid scaring off Aron. It might approach him now, but he was perceptive enough to realize that it would bolt off as fast as it could if he made just one wrong move.

Not that the top speed of an Aron was anything special. They could get up to a decent run, which translated well considering their basic strategy was to hit things with their hard heads, but any of his well-trained friends could subdue it almost immediately.

Ash would just rather not have it come to that. He'd like to befriend the Aron, as it were. He wasn't sure he wanted to take another member of his family by force, even if he had to admit it'd turned out rather well for them all so far.

A wide grin wormed its way onto his face as Aron's tiny body finally stepped close enough to gently nibble on the food he held in his hand, although the steel-type was still ready to bolt at a moment's notice.

He shut his eyes and let the tension flow from his muscles as Aron's rough tongue scraped against his hand in search of the last few crumbs – the little creature had practically devoured the food, leading him to believe it didn't find much in the way of sustenance down here.

While in this stage of its life cycle Aron needed massive amounts of ore in their diet in order to supply the raw material for their coat of armor they still needed quite a bit of food to provide energy and grow the muscle required to carry that heavy load around.

Ash did end up wincing a bit as Aron's tongue – it was so rough it was almost sharp thanks to evolution demanding the Aron line be able to tear mineral layers from the ground and break apart metal in their mouths – started to tear through his glove and cut up his hand.

Aron warbled sadly and pulled back to lay on its haunches as it realized the food was gone but didn't try to flee. It cocked its head and stared at Ash's bloody hand, blue eyes narrowed in confusion. Finally it nuzzled Ash curiously and reached out with its sharp tongue again, although it quickly withdrew once it tasted his blood.

The steel-type lightly tapped Ash with its large domed head before it sat back on its rear legs and looked up at him expectantly. He had to smile at the little creature as its tongue lolled out of its mouth.

He really did like this Aron.

"Don't worry about my hand. I've gone through worse," he shook his head. "But I have a proposition for you, if you're willing to listen."

Aron cocked its head at him, icy eyes wide.

I suggest you utilize simpler diction with the little one, Friend-Trainer. He emerged from his egg mere moons ago.

"Is he old enough to come with us?" He asked sharply. Ash kept an eye on Aron to make sure he didn't flee at the more demanding tone and was pleased to see the curiosity inspired by his food apparently outweighed the steel-type's timid nature.

Certainly. His kind grows quickly, or so he says. He is already a capable combatant for this area, although I estimate it will require several months of intensive training for him to be an acceptable fighter in your eyes.

"Less of an investment than Sneasel then," Ash muttered as he idly patted the Aron on his domed head. Aron warbled happily at that and leaned into the contact, as though he wasn't used to touch.

Dazed's eyes turned up.

I would not be so bold as to call the brat an acceptable fighter, Friend-Trainer. Despite the Caretaker and I's best efforts he doesn't seem to comprehend the subtleties of combat.

Ash snorted, willing to let the sudden sound slip now that Aron was comfortable around him. He wouldn't call Dazed and Bruiser's actions in Hunt the Sneasel their "best effort" to teach Sneasel combat. It was a reward for them and motivation for Sneasel to better himself. They couldn't care less about Sneasel's improvement.

Well, Bruiser might. He was like that. Dazed on the other hand…

You wound me.

He grinned and turned back to the rather important object of their discussion. Aron was content to sit on his haunches and be pet right now but he wasn't sure how much longer it would last. Ash would really rather try and see if Aron would want to come with them now before he got distracted.

"Aron," he said quietly. The little steel-type turned his light blue eyes that looked almost painfully wide with curiosity up on him and listened. "What would you think about coming with me when we leave the caves?"

Aron cocked his huge head and let his tongue hang out of his mouth with what Ash thought to be confusion.

You would be correct. The Iron Child possesses a strong will and a braver heart, but I suspect he would find himself a kindred spirit with the Binder.

"Ah," Ash commented. Well, he could use another friendly member of the team. So many of his family members isolated themselves…interrupting their dynamic might be a good thing. Especially since Dazed did seem to like what she saw in Aron, despite her comments on his mental state.

"Well then, I guess I should explain it a bit better right?" He asked. Aron blinked at him with his bright eyes. Ash decided to take that as a yes. "My group isn't from the caves here."

Aron started at that and almost fell over as he swung his massive head back and forth in surprise, although a quick flash of power from Dazed stabilized the creature. The steel-type stared at Ash with renewed interest, as though he'd never even considered that these tunnels weren't the whole world.

My previous observation stands.

"Yes, yes, thank you," Ash rolled his eyes. "We're just visiting, you know?"

Aron scrunched his eyes shut and looked like he was concentrating for a few moments before the icy blue reappeared in a snap and he frantically nodded.

"Soon we're going to leave the caves," he said slowly. "There's a whole world out there to explore and I was wondering if you'd like to join us. It's a lot bigger than these caves so we could use all the help we can get."

Another cock of the head.

He is making sense of it right now.

Ash nodded to Dazed, grateful for the help. Telepathy really was a boon, even if Dazed still had a long way to go before she could count herself the equal of the most skilled telepaths. It was a difficult skill to master, especially for pokemon that wished to speak to normal humans – it was much simpler to make a mental link with another psychic or pokemon than it was most humans.

But she was progressing rapidly and he had no doubt she'd find herself amongst their ranks soon enough. Besides, even now it was still incredibly useful.

Finally his focus was broken when Aron…barked? He hadn't expected a steel-type to make such a noise, but even if the sound of grinding metal accompanied it that was the closest approximation he could think of.

"So you want to come with?" Ash grinned and patted Aron's hard head again. The little steel-type leaned in and nodded happily, tongue still hanging out of his mouth. "Great! You're going to love it, Aron."

Aron's head bobbed up and forth, although he pulled away after a while. He warbled something at Ash but didn't seem to realize that the boy couldn't understand him.

He decided to take the easy way and looked to Dazed for an explanation.

He says he wishes to bid farewell to his chosen-kin before he departs with us. It is an errand I believe he wishes to perform alone.

"I understand," he told Aron, who barked at Ash again. "Get back in a few hours, alright? I'll wait as long as I can but my partner might not be so patient."

Aron nodded before he cheerfully wandered off, barely able to keep his massive head off the ground. Ash smiled as he watched the steel-type go. He liked him already.

XX

The pleasant haze of Dazed's Hypnosis was torn from him.

Friend-Trainer, the Iron Child has returned. And judging from the void in the shadows he has brought one of his friends.

"Fantastic," Ash grunted as he pulled himself off Nidoking – who was still asleep, thankfully. Finding not one but two foreign pokemon by Ash? That would be a nightmare…and not just for everyone in the vicinity, either. With how strong Nidoking was right now the whole cave system might quake. "Think it's a threat?"

No. I cannot sense its mind, naturally, but I do not believe the Iron Child would have friends capable of true malice. He certainly does not believe that to be the case, although I may admit that his perceptions may be colored by bias.

"True," Ash frowned. "Wait it out and be sure to keep the Hypnosis active on the rest of the team. I'd be very impressed if it could even hope to match you."

Agreed. I do not believe the Monarch would take kindly to their intrusion.

"No he would not," Ash smiled. Nidoking could be a little too overprotective sometimes, but that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the sentiment. "Just keep an eye on it."

Dazed nodded and allowed her eyes to shine brightly in the darkness of the corner she stood on, almost completely overwhelming the dim light of the lantern.

"Come on, Aron," he called out in the direction he heard the soft thuds of Aron's small feet hitting the ground and what sounded like…snickering? "Don't worry, it's safe. Are you going to introduce us to your friend?"

Aron's figure emerged from the shadows and he gave a happy warble at seeing Ash again. The trainer grinned at Aron and gave him a short wave, but his real attention was focused on the luminescent, gem-like eyes that haunted the cave behind the steel-type.

It slunk closer, giggling to itself all the while. Every few seconds it would scrape its short, sharp claws against the rock wall and its bright eyes would pulse erratically with a strange, unearthly energy.

Ash had a practically encyclopedic knowledge of the Hoenn region's native pokemon at this point – and he was working on Sinnoh's thanks to the National Pokedex upgrade he'd received from Professor Oak – and knew exactly what this was: Sableye.

They were known to haunt the Granite Cave system, although they weren't commonly encountered by the cave's explorers. Not directly, anyway – many had returned to the surface and suddenly found dirt in their bags, or vanished items, or strange scratches carved deep into their clothes and possessions.

Sableye weren't truly dangerous, although they tended to combine the worst of both dark-types and ghosts when it came to defending themselves. If they thought they were in real danger they'd suddenly assault their attackers with ferocity nearly unheard of and often leave the shredded remains around their territory as a warning.

Not that that happened often, of course, and only very rarely with humans – usually poachers that were after their precious eyes and whatever hoard of rare gems and minerals the Sableye had managed to collect. Just about everything else knew well enough to leave Sableye alone.

They preferred pranks and mischief to violence, despite how well-equipped they were for it considering their deadly claws, cunning mind, and mysterious powers.

Honestly they weren't even a threat to anything that didn't act with aggression towards them first. Their claws were evolved for digging and they preferred to eat their gems and subterraneous mushrooms – not that meat was out of the question.

Sableye were well-documented to devour certain parts of those foolish enough to make enemies of them – their eyes in particular, although researchers thought that was more of a ritualistic insult to their victims than anything they enjoyed eating.

In other words, he wasn't worried. Not when he had his family ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"Hello," he said in as friendly of a manner as he could. Ash sat in as open a manner as he could, hoping to keep the Sableye happy. "So you're Aron's friend?"

Sableye giggled and emerged from the shadows, revealing its purple body to his eyes. It was hunched over and Ash could just barely see the bottom of the smooth red gem that grew from its chest. The shade's hips swayed back and forth as though it were dancing – or getting ready to leap at him.

Of course, that wasn't the most interesting thing about it. Just tiny little details Ash instinctively perceived while his main focus lay on the wide, tattered, floppy hat the Sableye wore. The accessory was caked with dirt and a few precious gems – Ash recognized rubies, sapphires, and emeralds haphazardly embedded – but a simple green band of cloth woven into the fabric was kept clean enough to be recognizable.

He didn't say anything, but a genuine grin so wide it made his cheeks hurt tore its way onto his face as he looked at the Sableye that had stolen Daisy Oak's hat years ago.

Sableye smiled with its multiple rows of jagged teeth and even waved a clawed hand at him as it watched Aron wobble over to him. Its eyes shone and its grin faded as its friend walked over, but Ash could see that it had accepted Aron's departure. Seemed almost happy, if the giggles and waves to Aron that were returned in the form of warbles and the closest thing the steel-type could get to a hop were anything to go by.

Then its faceted eyes found Daisy's sleeping form and the grin returned a hundred-fold. The teeth almost glittered in the light of Dazed's power and Sableye just let out one last call of farewell to Aron before it retreated into the shadows, giggling madly to itself all the while.

Sensing that he'd found Sableye's approval – and a follower in the shadows, if its reaction to Daisy was anything to go by – he looked down to Aron. The steel-type sat on his back legs looking up at him interestedly, idly nibbling on one of his front legs.

Ash smiled and affectionately rubbed the segmented underside of Aron's metal carapace, marveling as he felt the deep lines on the dark grey body.

As Aron's tongue hung out of his mouth and his eyes shut in bliss Ash idly dug around in his pack for the storage compartment containing his pokeballs and – there.

Aron whined when Ash pulled his hand away and tried to nuzzle into his knee, but looked up when the trainer tapped him on the head and pointed to the red and white sphere in his other hand.

"Do you know what this is?" He asked seriously. Aron shook his head and headbutted his knee, which would probably leave a nasty bruise tomorrow. The steel-type didn't quite know his own strength…or weight.

A problem for another day.

"This is a pokeball," he explained. Aron nodded along, eyes locked on the device and Ash noted the small pink-grey tongue that flitted out. "It holds pokemon when it's easier for them to be there than to walk around. You won't get hungry or cold but you can still know what's going on outside if you want. If you want to come with me you'll need to stay in this every now and then, alright?"

Aron shook his head in understanding and Ash smiled. "I'm happy to have you, Aron. Just touch the pokeball and don't fight it. It might feel weird but just go with it, alright?"

With that he primed the pokeball and held the sphere out for Aron, waiting for its future inhabitant to activate it.

Which Aron did…by trying to take a bite out of it. The satisfied look in the steel-type's eyes followed by the raw surprise as the ball opened and sucked him in actually made Ash laugh, a feeling he relished in for as long as he could before he naturally sobered up.

Unconventional, but effective.

Dazed noted as Ash picked the now-still pokeball up. It had shaken a bit at first, but after the surprise had worn off it seemed that Aron managed to remember Ash's instructions enough to avoid struggling.

Aron would be fun to have on the team, Ash grinned. He might be just what they needed.

With all of that over with he hooked Aron's pokeball onto one of the empty slots on his belt and relaxed back into Nidoking's heavy body. It was nice to return to his pillow, even if he was rather pleased with what he'd managed to accomplish while he'd been startled awake.

Normally he'd let Aron out to sleep with him, but he'd really prefer to avoid the possibly literal explosion that would occur when the others woke up with a strange pokemon in their midst. Dazed could try to explain, but she might not be fast enough thanks to his friends' reflexes.

That is enough thinking, Friend-Trainer. Your body demands sleep. Rest.

Ash welcomed the red haze that filled his mind and knew no more.

XX

"Oh Mew!" Daisy cried as Aron appeared in a flash of scarlet light. The little steel-type blinked and had to balance his head before he fell over, although it seemed to be quite the struggle. "He's so cute!"

Sneasel growled at that from his position in Daisy's arms – he wasn't too happy with Ash after being recalled to his pokeball last night and so had practically rushed over to Daisy when released in the morning. He whined and squirmed in an effort to reclaim her attention, to no avail.

Ash wasn't sure whether to laugh or snort when he saw several of his teammates staring at Sneasel with smug satisfaction painted all over them.

"This is Aron," he introduced as he knelt by the steel-type and pat his head. Aron warbled his own greeting and looked around the group curiously, although Ash could feel how nervous he was as he tensed under his touch. "He wandered over last night and decided to come with us. Say hello, everyone."

By the time Nidoking – who Ash was relatively certain hadn't blinked once since Aron had appeared – grunted a half-hearted greeting Aron squeaked in surprise as dozens of vines suddenly snatched him from Ash's grip and brought him over to hover right in front of Tangrowth's face.

He sighed and wandered over to try and reclaim Aron before Tangrowth's complete lack of understanding the concept of "personal space" frightened the steel-type but it turned out he didn't have anything to worry about.

Aron relaxed almost instantly and warbled to Tangrowth, whose eyes got even wider if that was possible. Tangrowth happily bounced up and down on his massive feet as his coat of vines danced around him, although a good bit had already rushed to envelop Aron in a very, very strong hug.

Thankfully Aron's carapace would take a lot more than that to dent it and he seemed to enjoy the attention, if anything. Aron bleated happily at Tangrowth before suddenly growing very quiet in the face of Torrent.

The Kingdra stared Aron down, scarlet meeting icy blue as the two locked gazes. Aron didn't move an inch and refused to even squeak, well aware he was being judged.

Finally Torrent snorted and levitated away to rest by Nidoking, who Ash was about to command to blink – either that or have Dazed telekinetically pull down his eyelids. Either or, really.

With Torrent's decision made, the others started filing in to examine their new brother. Dazed and Nidoking stayed by Ash, of course. Torrent eventually hovered over to Ash's left to watch the proceedings while Dazed brought up the rear.

Daisy and her team stayed a respectable distance away. They knew just how important this little ritual was for the team and weren't about to interrupt it. Many watched with glazed eyes, as though they were remembering a similar experience themselves.

He just crossed his arms and waited, careful to keep an eye on the proceedings. It would be nice to understand the basis of his team's relationships with the new arrival so that he could hope to work with it in the future if necessary.

Most were just about what he expected – Bruiser and Seeker were first in line, eager to make a new friend. They seemed to get along well enough from what he could tell. Aron barked a greeting, Bruiser bowed, Seeker flitted over to land on Aron's ridged back and sniffed him, they made a few noises and finally parted, although they stayed nearby.

Tangrowth always kept a tight hold on him, as expected. Ash couldn't say he was surprised. As Dazed had said, both of them were friendly and would get along. Not to mention it seemed like Tangrowth had missed having a younger friend to cuddle and play with. Sneasel, while not fully separated from Tangrowth, had become aloof enough that the grass-type was feeling a bit lonely.

It would be good for the both of them, Ash thought. Tangrowth would get a new, devoted friend to keep him company and Tangrowth would keep Aron busy and help to keep his mind off what he left behind.

Homesickness wasn't easy to deal with, especially for someone as young as Aron.

Aside from those three, Oz seemed to like him quite a bit. She let him sniff her sparking fur and Ash thought she was happier than she'd been in a long time.

A bit of guilt gnawed at his chest. Oz might have grown stronger in his care but he felt that she hadn't truly connected to any of the others. Not like she had her old herd. Sure, she might be polite and relatively friendly but the only relationships she had with any of his friends was her fierce rivalry with Infernus and her polite regard of Dazed.

The rivalry seemed to be all that was driving her most of the time.

Ash didn't think Oz was unhappy, but she certainly wasn't bouncing with joy.

Maybe this might change that. Aside from Tangrowth none of his team had really tried to reach out to her in the months they'd shared together, despite his best efforts. And although she didn't rebuke Tangrowth and even seemed to find his company soothing, Oz certainly didn't go out of her way to interact with the loving grass-type.

Who knew that a baby was what she needed? Maybe she'd been more to her herd of Electabuzz than just a protector – she wasn't old enough and didn't bear the thicker arms and fur of a mother, but perhaps she'd taken care of Elekid?

Regardless, her and Aron seemed to get along well enough. He might be the key to bringing her closer to the rest.

Aron certainly liked her, judging from the constant warbles and light taps with his domed head. Tangrowth, who was still holding him aloft with his vines, was gracious enough to move him closer.

After giving them a few minutes to get to know each other he went ahead and released Plume. It took a few seconds to get the basics of the situation to her and then Plume was gone, hopping over to the new addition as quickly as she could.

Ash snorted at that – he'd forgotten how involved Plume had been when Sneasel was still growing up. That was before his first bout of puberty had left him with a nasty disposition and she'd spent almost all her time with Tangrowth playing with and raising him.

Her influence had definitely been left on the dark-type if his infrequent attempts to fly were anything to go by. Ash had only been lucky enough to watch Sneasel jump off a limb and frantically flail his limbs once, but that memory was still enough to leave him giggling if he thought about it too much.

Infernus obviously stayed in his pokeball. Ash didn't want to traumatize the little Aron and Infernus would most certainly see an opportunity to do so with the timid steel-type.

Besides, Ash had the feeling that Infernus and enclosed spaces didn't really mix. Wouldn't do to have him burn up all the oxygen in the cave, after all.

With a sigh he turned to watch the others interact with Sneasel. It really was fascinating to watch the new web of relationships develop…it felt like it had been years since there'd been a new addition to their family.

There was only one more to introduce…he wouldn't even bother with Nidoking right now. His first friend certainly wasn't hostile to Aron, but it would take him a few days to get used to him.

Sneasel wasn't the only one going through puberty, after all. Nidoking might be farther along and a bit more developed, but he was still incredibly young to be a Nidoking. Most only evolved from Nidorino in the wild after at least a decade of living and even most trainers waited until their Nidorino was around three or four years old.

Nidoking evolved when he was about a year and a half as far as Ash could tell. From everything he knew about the Nidoran line – which was more than just about anyone else that wasn't a scientist – Nidoking had been about a year old when they'd first met in Professor Oak's lab.

Their adventures up until the point where Ash had felt confident in allowing Nidoking to evolve with the aid of the Moon Stone's shard had felt like a lifetime – as though his existence before his adventure was just a few months in comparison – but it had taken them less than six months to circle around Kanto the first time.

So Nidoking had to play catchup when it came to hormones…and that was just his normal puberty, not counting the influx that came with such rapid evolution and the physiological changes of becoming a Nidoking.

He would probably stabilize in a few months or years, but until then his protective instincts were in overdrive as his body sorted everything out…of course, seeing Ash die probably didn't do wonders for his stability either.

Hopefully that wouldn't happen again for a little while, he snorted. That would be a bit inconvenient.

I don't believe most sentient organisms consider their death a mere inconvenience, Friend-Trainer.

He grinned at that and could almost feel Dazed's eyes quirk up in her own semblance of a smile.

"I believe Infernus would beg to disagree," Ash directed quietly to the psychic. His heart ached as he thought of Infernus falling from the sky, limp and unmoving as he crashed into the peak of Mt. Ember, but he forced the feeling down. The Feather pulsed and he remembered the rainbow flames that had revived his friend. No need for dismal thoughts after that particular miracle.

I would be surprised if the brute understands the concept. He seems to go seeking his own often enough.

Ash could almost hear the sneer in her voice and shook his head. That was one relationship he might never be able to change.

Still, he turned his focus back to Nidoking. His friend needed him to keep him calm at the moment and he wouldn't disappoint.

All he could do now was stay close to Nidoking and lay a hand on his friend's armored shoulder. "Give it a few days. I'm certain he'll fit in well. He'll be a member of our family before you know it, Nidoking."

Nidoking's nostrils flared and Ash sighed as a rush of warm air brushed his face. "Just be patient, alright? I know it's not easy for you, but I promise this'll work out just fine."

His friend nodded slowly and returned to staring.

Ash just shook his head and decided to get this over with. "Sneasel, come say hello!"

Sneasel hissed and tried to burrow deeper into Daisy's embrace, although she just laughed, stroked his feather in a way that made him go limp with bliss, then set him down onto the cold cave floor.

The dark-type snapped back to reality in an instant and whined pitifully up at Daisy, who giggled and knelt down to pet Sneasel's luxuriously thick black fur before she pointed over at the small crowd around Aron. "Go on! I bet you two will be the best of friends, right?"

Ash's eyebrows very well might have been hidden under his hat as Sneasel whimpered and forced himself to nod to keep Daisy happy. He was rewarded with a short round of scratches and a cheerful bout of high, clear laughter before Sneasel was forced to wander over miserably to Aron.

In a flash Tangrowth reached out with several of his vines and wrapped around Sneasel, who was resigned enough that he barely struggled and let out just the slightest semblance of a hiss at the sudden movement.

Tangrowth gurgled and danced with all the erratic cheer Ash had come to expect from his friend as his vines moved to hold the two young pokemon face to face – Ash's eyes widened and he barely had time to watch Sneasel twist in displeasure at being forced so close to the unfamiliar steel-type before the claws came out and carved through the thick vines easily, dropping Sneasel, Aron, and nearly a dozen wriggling vine segments to the ground.

Sneasel's ears laid flat against his head and he lunged at Aron as his instincts took over, claws out and icy mist swirling around the tips prepared to find any crack in Aron's armor and scoop out the soft bits –

Aron leapt forward and headbutted Sneasel in midair.

Knocked onto his back with a heavy thud that made everyone listening wince, Sneasel snapped back to reason. He pulled himself up slowly, stunned by the powerful force and hard impact, and stared in surprise at the much younger Aron.

Aron looked back, blinked his blue eyes, and tackled him again.

Sneasel sputtered and yowled at that offense, finally irritated past his surprise. Just as his claws were encrusted in ice Ash was there, followed by Nidoking and Torrent. Dazed had teleported to his side, ready to pelt him with a few pebbles she'd picked out specifically for how jagged they were.

"That's enough," he said to both of them. Ash gently picked Sneasel up by the scruff, although he was careful to keep him away from his body until the dark-type had finally been brought back to earth. Once he'd calmed down from his surge of hormones he stared back at Ash and whined until the trainer set him back down. "Behind me, Sneasel."

The formerly youngest member of the team nodded dully and stood behind Ash, peering out at the newest addition with slit eyes. Ash could tell that Sneasel knew he'd messed up – and after he'd made so much progress too.

No matter. Ash knew that it was honestly more Tangrowth's fault than Sneasel's – the dark-type might have been the one to attack, but it was more out of surprise and reflexes than true malice.

Besides, he'd more than paid for his aggression. Ash had to mask a smile at the thought of Aron's quick response – and the look on Sneasel's face, of course.

There was no doubt in his mind that Sneasel was a far more capable combatant than Aron. Sneasel was very well trained if he did say so himself. After their months together he certainly possessed far more speed and strength than what Aron was capable of.

No, Sneasel had been angry and stupid. In the heat of his anger he'd underestimated Aron and paid the price in the form of the bruises Ash expected him to feel tomorrow.

Aron might not be very strong right now, but that head of his hit hard.

"Now that that's over with," Ash sighed, "let's calm down shall we? There's no need for violence."

Sneasel whimpered again and hugged Ash's leg. He rolled his eyes as he looked down at the little dark-type. His friend wasn't that good of an actor and it was beneath him to try and play the victim.

"We have a long day ahead of us," he announced. His friends watched on raptly. Aron just sat back on his haunches and blinked, eyes firmly on the trainer. "This will be our last full day in Granite Cave and I'd like to explore as much of it as possible before we return to the surface and face Brawly. Which of you want to travel outside your pokeball?"

Only a few stepped forward, and for the most part they were the ones he'd expected to in the first place: Dazed, Bruiser, Seeker, and Sneasel.

There was one surprise for him, though.

"Glad to have you, Oz," he grinned. She nodded back, the movement causing a crackle of electricity to burst through her fur. That wasn't enough to distract him from the fact that she had eyes for only one person right now: Aron.

"Aron, I'm guessing you'll want to be outside with us?" He knelt to make the little steel-type more comfortable. Aron nodded, his eyes squeezed shut cheerfully.

Tangrowth gurgled to attract Ash's attention, then. Ash nodded in acknowledgement to let him walk with them just as the grass-type did a little jig and wrapped Aron up in a fierce hug, a hug that the steel-type happily accepted.

Dazed really was on point with that prediction – he could already see that Aron and Tangrowth were going to get on swimmingly.

"Anyone else?" He surveyed. When the rest of his friends confirmed their willingness to be recalled he did so, leaving him with just a motley crew of his allies. "Well, if Daisy is up for I suppose we can head out."

"I'm always ready!" Daisy chirped, appearing by his side as if from nowhere. "I mean really, Ashy? What kind of question is that?"

He smirked. "Well, you are getting kind of old? I mean, you're what? Thirty? Forty?"

"Eighteen!" Daisy playfully smacked the back of his head, gasping as though truly offended. "The nerve of you children nowadays…"

"Not helping your point," Ash grinned as he absentmindedly straightened his hat. If this was how Gary felt all the time he could see the appeal.

She stared at him oddly. He frowned before he realized her eyes were locked on his hat. "Seriously, why are you wearing that in here? Do you have some sort of freaky reverse vision that makes you see better in the dark? Is it too bright in here for you?"

"Force of habit," he shrugged. Daisy rolled her eyes and scoffed at that. "It's not as if I can see much anyway."

"Boys!" Daisy scoffed. "Honestly, you and Gary are so weird. I just don't get you sometimes."

"Not going to argue that…" Ash muttered. He almost reached up to remove his hat before he thought better of it.

No, even if he was willing to give Daisy whatever minute satisfaction she'd get out of winning their mock confrontation Ash would never give the known hat-thief Sableye following them around the chance to take it.

This hat had seen too many apocalyptic events to risk. Who knew, maybe it was the reason he'd survived at all. It was a very nice hat.

He almost laughed at that – he could just see Mewtwo and the Birds stopping their assault on the world, too awestruck by his hat to control their power.

"Hello?" A hand waving in front of his face distracted him. He almost missed the ice that rushed through his veins. "Earth to Ash? You in there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly – maybe a bit too quickly if Daisy's frown was anything to go by. "Just got a bit distracted."

"That seems to happen a lot," Daisy noted. "You should really work on that. I wouldn't anything to happen to you because you spaced out, Ashy."

"I'm fine," Ash insisted, more interested in Mewtwo's sudden appearance. He felt a smirk take over his face that was not his own and quickly clamped down on the invading presence, a jolt of fear overpowering the subtle mental jab.

Then he noticed Daisy staring at him. Again.

"What?"

"I think your Hypno's trying to steal your hat." Daisy giggled and pointed at his head. "Guess she agrees with me!"

Ash froze as he felt the snaps on his hat fall apart and the item itself gently float away as gravity ceased to affect it. He looked up and saw the hat cloaked in a thin film of icy blue power, mocking him from above.

He snatched it out of the air immediately, grateful that the blue energy suffusing his hat dissipated immediately. Ash gripped the hat until his knuckled turned white and had to stop himself from staring.

"Please don't do that again, Dazed," he said quietly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her nod, going along with the act. "Well, since all that's over with we should probably get a move on. Right, Daisy?"

"Right," she said unsurely, unnerved by his suddenly perky façade. "Come on, everyone! Let's go explore!"

Ash and his team fell in line beside the remainders of Daisy's team. Sneasel stuck by Ash, faithfully wrapped around his neck. He knew what to do by now if he felt that kind of power – Sneasel couldn't stop Mewtwo's influence if the psychic really wanted to take over or play with Ash's mind, but it would take some of the pressure off.

Dazed took a defensive position by his side, eyes luminous from the momentary touch of Mewtwo's powers. Ash could see her clutching her pendulum closely in order to hide the icy blow that emanated from it, although he could still pick out a bit of the glow from between her long, dexterous fingers.

He, on the other hand, just stared at his hat and nodded as needed while Daisy chattered beside him, ignorant to what had just occurred. Ninetales and Gardevoir – who actually looked quite a bit better than yesterday – seemed to have more of a clue.

All of that didn't really affect him, though.

No he was more considered with what just happened. Or, rather, who happened.

Was that…was that a joke?

XX

"So, have you ever thought of Coordinating?" Daisy asked after a few minutes of silence. Ash, who'd been paying rapt attention to the surprising development of Aron and Sneasel walking side by side, barking and hissing to each other every now and then, grunted in response.

"What?"

"Coordinating. Or even just trying your hand at a Contest?" Daisy prompted with a small smile. "Who knows, you might be good at it! Your team is very talented!"

Ash frowned. "I'm a little interested – it seems very different than battling."

"Yes and no," the Oak shook her head. He could see her rather well thanks to the Will-o-Wisps that Ninetales had conjured and there was a delighted gleam in her eye that put him on edge. It reminded him a bit too much of his mother when she got on the subject of research for his tastes. "Sure, Coordinating emphasizes different aspects of a pokemon's abilities – aesthetics are prized more than functionality, naturally – but many Contests have some sort of battle round and control over one's abilities is prized."

"For example, I know your smaller team would crush my team in combat," Daisy explained. "We're no slouches and can take care of ourselves, but I don't like fighting and neither do many of my friends. I don't put them through the same crazy training I bet you do, but I would say that my team's control over their abilities far surpasses yours."

"Probably," Ash nodded. He wouldn't argue that, although that didn't stop a small grin from crawling onto his face. "Age and experience will overcome youth and brashness, right?"

Daisy's head bobbed exuberantly at that. "Exactly! You're better fighters, but we've got our own concentration. We –"

"Have a lot of age in your favor," Ash jabbed. "Won't be too long before you catch up to the Professor."

"Brat," she grumbled and cuffed him in the back of his head. He just shook it off and grinned. "Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, my teammates can do things you'd probably never believe. We're a lot flashier than you are – putting on a show doesn't matter quite as much in the kind of battles you favor."

"I'll give you that," Ash allowed. "But I doubt you're flashier than some of my friends."

Daisy arched a slim brown eyebrow at him. "Oh really?"

"Really," he confirmed.

After a few moments passed Daisy sighed. "Seriously? Will you just tell me how? It's like pulling teeth with you!"

"Just watch the Final of the Indigo Conference," he said airily. "That should explain everything."

"Ooh, ominous!" Daisy giggled. "But yeah, I'll check it out. Guess I should see what you're capable of anyway, right? I didn't even really get to see any of the highlight reel they were blasting all over the news – I was still investigating some interesting spots in Sinnoh when all that happened."

Ash nodded at her explanation and waited a moment before he next spoke. "I will say that I don't know if I have the same flair for it you do. Or my team."

"What're you talking about? You'll do great!" Daisy cheered and pumped her fist. "Okay, so you might not be outgoing…or remotely friendly…or as good-looking as I am, but your team is! They're the ones you've got to have faith in."

"Thanks for your endorsement," Ash snorted. Not that he'd argue the first two points she'd made. Or care much about the last. "But yes, I trust my team. I trust them with my life. I'm just having a hard time seeing many of them performing in a Contest Hall."

Daisy paused as they plodded down the winding cavern, trusting their teams to guide their way. "Okay, so maybe they aren't very outgoing either. The team reflects the trainer and the trainer reflects the team. I mean, I wouldn't expect Nidoking or that crazy Magmortar of yours to enjoy it, but you're taking the narrow view."

"You have a good-looking group," she continued. "Sure, they've got their scars and you can tell that they aren't being prepared as a Coordinating team, but that doesn't matter much. They're fit, healthy, and just entering the prime of their life."

Ash grunted, waiting for her to keep going. He could tell when Daisy was about to go on one of her long-winded spiels. Coordinating was her passion and he wasn't about to interrupt that.

Why would he when he could learn something from a Contest Champion?

"Think about Plume, or Torrent, or Dazed!" Daisy exclaimed, pointing at the Hypno as the only one out of her pokeball. Dazed pointedly stared straight ahead.. "You would be amazing, wouldn't you?"

Naturally.

Ash rolled his eyes as he felt Dazed's amusement, more clear to him than ever before thanks to the boost Mewtwo's brief appearance had granted her, brush his mind. He should have known she'd take this opportunity to throw some fuel on the fire.

"See!" Daisy crowed. "Now you're, like, obligated to enter her!"

Please don't.

For some reason Ash felt that Dazed didn't bother projecting that into the Oak's mind.

"Can't you see her making art with her power? Weaving light and painting minds?" The older girl grinned with stars in her eyes. "Plume blurring through the air, dancing with wind. Torrent sculpting glaciers, Oz combing lightning…I could go on, but I think you understand my point. Isn't it beautiful?"

"It is," Ash admitted. He'd give her that much – Daisy had a way with words and the passion with which she spoke outstripped anything he could do. She, like the rest of her family and his mother, had that glow about her that lured people in like Teddiursa to honey.

He had to admit he was a little jealous. Ash knew he would never that way with people, that appeal.

Ash had never connected with words. They were irritants to him, lacking the kind of power he used and understood. No, he forged his bonds with others through other methods: battle and accomplishments.

Words could be toyed with, played like an instrument. The intent behind them might be there, but with humans it was too often shrouded behind endless veils of lies and half-truth.

He didn't care much for deception. Sure, it was necessary sometimes, just as many unpleasant things were. That didn't mean he had to like it.

You couldn't really hide who you were in battle. He could understand people that way, through their strategies and orders and the way they met their opponent. Cunning, intelligence, motives…they could all be discerned if one was observant enough. It was all about their personality and history in the end.

Actions told him who others were. It wasn't what you said that defined you, but what you managed to accomplish. If he knew someone did something, they couldn't lie about it.

Unfortunately not everybody had accomplishments to tell him about and fewer still would battle him. So he was stuck with words, with all the trouble that implied.

"Yeah it is!" Daisy grinned before she bit her bottom lip and watched him raptly. "You'll have to come watch me perform sometime! Might give you some ideas, get you to join us Coordinators for a while. I could even help you – no, never mind."

"What?" Ash frowned. "Why not?"

"Well, I'd hate to steal you away from Lisia," Daisy giggled. "She's got her eye on you and I wouldn't want to come between young love!"

Ash sighed. He had the strangest feeling that Daisy wouldn't let this go anytime soon. "We both appreciate it very much. Thanks for your consideration – I'm sure with your many, many years of experience on her Lisia wouldn't stand a chance."

"Oh, shut up," Daisy snorted. It was rather unbecoming on her, although Ash had to admit she almost made it look dignified. Almost. "You're no fun, Ashy. Can't you just let me tease you a bit?"

"I'm not exactly looking for a Gary replacement," he shrugged. "I had to deal with that last year and I'd rather not go through it again."

Daisy playfully wrapped an arm around him and hugged him closer to her side, swaying side to side to keep him off balance. "Oh, you really think I'm as bad as Gary?"

"No," he retorted as he struggled to keep himself from stumbling. Daisy was a slight girl, but she still had a few inches on him and enough weight to nearly knock him over – not to mention he really hadn't been expecting her to grab him. "Well, almost. You're moving in the right direction."

"Please," she scoffed and hugged him tighter to the point that he was almost having flashbacks to his mother's painfully overzealous embraces. Ash supposed Daisy had learned from the best – and that was only emphasized when she leaned down and whispered into his ear, "I am much, much worse!"

Unfortunately the whole effect was ruined when she broke down in a fit of giggles and gently pushed him away – he was actually caught off guard by that and stumbled for a moment. Ash just sighed and caught himself before he tripped over his own feet.

"Just keep in mind I did basically raise Gary," Daisy pointed out once she'd stopped snickering. "Not like Grandpa had the time. Don't you think he turned out great?"

Ash surveyed the girl in front of him – everything from the impish smile to the impeccably straightened hair (how did she get that done in the cave?) to the faithful team of pokemon arrayed about her.

"He could be worse," he allowed.

"High praise indeed from the runner-up of the Indigo Conference," she smiled. "Speaking of which, do you mind signing an autograph for me once we get back up to the surface?"

"…What?" Ash stared, genuinely caught off guard. That was the last thing he'd expected.

"Well, there's this cute girl, about your age, who I think would really appreciate one," Daisy started. Ash shut his eyes and shook his head. He knew where this was going. "She's got kind of light blue hair, short, unhealthy obsession with Altaria? Ringing any bells, Ashy-boy?"

Ash really didn't want to dignify that with a response but he just couldn't help himself.

"You're never going to let this go, are you?" He groaned and stared straight ahead – he didn't want to look at Daisy right now. "Also, please don't call me that. I'll deal with Ashy, but you're reminding me way too much of Gary right now."

"Fine, fine," Daisy snickered. For someone who looked so innocent she really enjoyed pressing his buttons. And what was worse he could tell his team was getting a sort of sick amusement out of it – Dazed was radiating satisfaction and even Bruiser looked like he was struggling to hide a reptilian smirk. "And no way. This is just too much fun!"

Ash nodded. "I thought so. Just…please never bring that up around my mom."

He didn't even want to know what would happen if his mother got that in her head. Ash wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to see his mother again without her harassing or poking fun at him. And knowing her she'd try and get Professor Oak in on it too.

"Huh, no promises," Daisy's eyes lit up at that. "I mean, it has been a long time since I've talked to her…and I'm sure she'd appreciate me for telling her about your new girlfriend."

Ash just ignored that. He knew that Daisy just wanted to get a rise out of him – she really must be where Gary got it from. He couldn't imagine his former rival inheriting that particular trait from Professor Oak.

"Come on," Daisy playfully flicked him in the back of the head. "Do something! You're awfully hard to mess with for an eleven-year old…I even thought I had you there for a minute."

"Twelve," Ash absentmindedly corrected. "And you're a little late to that party. I don't know if anything can get under my skin after dealing with your brother for so long."

An evil smirk came over Daisy's face. "Is that a challenge I hear?"

"No!" He said a little bit too quickly.

"Well, I guess I can't let my baby brother have all the fun," she mused. "We have what, four days left together? That should be plenty of time."

"Assuming I stick around for that long."

"Please! You're stuck with me!" Daisy grinned over at him. "I mean, look at me. I'm awesome. And don't you want to reconnect? I haven't really gotten to see you since your mom was taking care of Gary and I after – what?"

Ash straightened and a hand flickered down to Nidoking's pokeball at the surprise in Daisy's voice. Sure they had a veritable army surrounding them, but he always felt safer with his first friend at his side.

"What is it?" He asked, all business. His eyes hardened to stone and all of his team reflexively prepared for battle.

"Gardevoir's just told me something's up ahead," Daisy's mouth straightened into a line. "A Sableye."

And just like that all the tension flooded from his shoulders and he had to hold back a smirk at what he knew was following them. His team followed suit and started plodding, low growls and hisses fading into their usual chatter.

He kept an eye on Daisy though, well aware of just what this particular Sableye meant to her. Not that she knew this was coming.

"How'd Gardevoir pick up on that?" He queried. "Dazed is improving, but she still has some trouble detecting ghosts and dark-types."

"She's sensitive enough that she sort of picks out their 'holes' in the world," Daisy explained absentmindedly. "She can't detect their minds, but with her psychic sense she can feel out where the world disappears to it and know that there's something there she can't find directly. Think of it as picking out an invisible thing by their shadow, if that helps. I'll have her help Dazed with it, if you'd like."

Ash nodded. That was about what he'd expected – Dazed's explanations hinted as such. Just because psychics couldn't directly feel the minds of ghosts and dark-types didn't mean they were impossible to track. He'd heard of plenty of psychics doing something similar, he just wasn't sure how to go about training Dazed to pick out on something so subtle.

Daisy thankfully seemed to have lost her playful attitude as they continued through the cave. Most pokemon seemed to have fled or hidden from the massive party as they made their way through the tunnels, wary of what such a large group would want. Anything that lacked that fear was bound to attract her attention.

He just did his best to keep a straight face – he knew what was coming and it would more than make up for Daisy's recent teasing. It was too bad he wouldn't be able to take a picture.

Normally he'd be even more on edge than Daisy – he'd run into enough mysterious wild pokemon to make him a bit paranoid when dealing with unfamiliar creatures – but he knew exactly who this Sableye was and that it would never attack anyone Aron was with.

But it was more than happy to play a prank. Ash just hoped it knew what it was getting into with Ninetales about.

Then the group stopped and he heard the tell-tale scrape of razor claws against the harshly carved rock of the tunnel.

The ethereal blue light of the Will-o-Wisps flared brightly and he could see the faceted reflections of Sableye's precious eyes in the shadows between a fork in the cave.

"Is that it?" Daisy whispered to her team, her face twisted in surprise. She started at the high-pitched giggle that carried through the darkness and scowled. "Guess it wants to mess with us."

"I'd say," he agreed. Ash folded his arms and watched his companion eagerly as the gem-like eyes grew brighter and brighter, swirling with strange powers as the Sableye stepped closer. "Hmm, what's that on its head?"

"Huh?" She frowned and peered closer. Sableye was essentially in the open, although its body shifted strangely in the light of Ninetales' Will-o-Wisps. It distorted and twisted into nothingness, as though its shape were more of a suggestion than a defined structure.

The only constants were its glowing eyes and wide, toothy smile.

"What is that?" Daisy muttered as the collection of gems on her hat shifted and glinted in the darkness. "It almost looks like…wait…"

"YOU!" She jabbed a finger at the Sableye. Its grin widened and the shade took a mocking bow, its eyes never leaving Daisy's. "You're that stupid Sableye that stole my hat!"

The specter shrugged and splayed its hands in the air as though declaring, "So what?"

"I don't care if it's filthy, I'm getting that hat back," Daisy declared with steel in her voice. She eyed the gems woven into the tattered fabric. "With interest, it looks like."

"Good luck," Ash grinned. "With that Sableye you might need it."

"Don't I know it," Daisy growled. Her fists whitened and her eyes flattened into slits. "This might take a while. I'll meet you back at Dewford – follow the markers to get out or just have Dazed teleport you. Gardevoir will take care of me."

He nodded. Daisy could take care of herself and Gardevoir was protective, if nothing else. "Have fun."

"Oh, I will!"

"Then you might want to get started," Ash pointed out with a smirk. Daisy started and looked down the tunnel to the left, where only the slightest glitter of diamonds and a faint giggle hinted at Sableye's presence.

"Oh you brat!" She declared and took off as fast as she could. "Ninetales, all of you – let's go get him!"

Ash shook his head in exasperation as the vastly overpowered force of Daisy's teams rushed after the Sableye. That was a bit more than he'd expected – apparently Daisy really liked that hat.

He took a quick head count of his friends and frowned. "Sneasel, get back here!"

Seconds later Sneasel sulkily reappeared from the tunnel Daisy had rushed down and whined pitifully at Ash. He took his seat next to Aron, Tangrowth, and Oz, who seemed willing to put up with him so long as she could stay with the new steel-type.

"Believe it or not, you're part of this team," Ash rolled his eyes. "As much as you like Daisy, you don't get to run off chasing ghosts with her, no matter how much you'd like to."

The dark-type hissed and nodded. Looked like he wouldn't put up a fight now that he'd been caught.

"Well, I guess we'd best be on our way," Ash grinned and started heading down the right passage. "Who knows what we'll find down here now that it's just us?"

XX

He wasn't sure how long they'd been wandering through the caves without any real goal in mind before he felt a rush of fresh air.

Ash frowned and paused, motioning for his team to follow his lead. That was more than the gust of wind drawn up in the cold tunnels by a passing Zubat – even a Golbat or Crobat wouldn't be able to mimic this.

A way to the surface maybe? That didn't seem right – they were at least several hundred feet underground, although it was admittedly hard to keep track of their elevation when the tunnels routinely dipped and rose at random.

There could be a hole or something along those lines. Just an odd line to the surface dug out by some random wild pokemon. Still, he would have assumed there to be some hint of natural light if that were the case.

But there was something else in the cavern ahead as well. Nothing living, he was sure – Dazed or Sneasel would have alerted him if there was, but something.

Aside from the fresh air that did not even remotely belong in this labyrinth, there were two other scents that grew stronger and stronger as he took another cautious step toward the opening that he realized was just a bit too well-cut to be natural. Even the effects of erosion over however many centuries it had been since the mason had completed their work couldn't hide the even lines chipped away by time.

Sea salt and the heavy, cloying scent of earth – he supposed he should have been used to the latter after spending so much time down in the Granite Caverns, but it struck him more than it had when he first stepped in.

Ash frowned at the oddity and folded his arms thoughtfully. "Feel anything?"

…Something. An echo, perhaps? The Three – they elude me. There is history here, Friend-Trainer.

"Great," he sighed. No avoiding it now. Well, at least they didn't find this place with Daisy. If there was "history" here then he'd rather the girl not see it with the vision granted to her by her bond with Ninetales. Depending on what it was that might bring up more questions than he'd like to answer. "All of you be cautious – I doubt anything's in there but it won't hurt."

He paused and looked to Aron, who was happily held aloft by several of Tangrowth's thick vines. The steel-type stared back at him from his perch expectantly.

"Do you know anything about this place?"

Aron loosed a keening whine, which Ash didn't take as a good sign. He turned to Dazed, hoping she would provide a better translation. Ash hadn't gotten to know Aron well enough to divine much meaning from the cry.

It is not frequented by the inhabitants of this complex. There is a weight here that dissuades explorers. Even the Shades shy away.

"Wonderful," he muttered. Ash frowned and stepped forward. No point shying away. "Fan out, all of you. Be careful and tell me if you find anything interesting."

With that he stepped forward, Dazed following mere inches behind. They were so close he could almost feel the static built up in her fur brushing him.

"Light, please," Ash called out when his lantern flickered on and off dozens of time in a second before it died for good. He stared at it with a furrowed brow and put it back into its storage department just as Dazed summoned an orb of deep blue light that effortlessly illuminated the entire room. "Thank you.

He sniffed again. The sea salt and almost nauseatingly powerful odor of the earth was clearer, if that was possible. A gentle breeze still danced across his skin, heedless of the intruders' presence.

"Where's all this coming from?" He frowned and glanced around the massive cavern, eyes falling upon a gigantic mural carved with inhuman precision into the great rock wall before him and painted over with a thin, glossy material that looked unevenly dried – wet on one side, flaked away in the other, and freshly dried to the top. "Ah."

Three beasts were etched into the flat expanse of stone, each bringing with it a weight that sank into Ash's stomach like a stone.

The one to the left was brought to life with crumbling paint, showing a terrible creature that breathed infernos, pumped the heart of the earth to bring its lifeblood to the surface, and focused the sun in the mural so intensely as to leave nothing but endless devastation in its wake. Under Dazed's light it almost seemed alive.

To the right was a massive leviathan trailed by stormclouds and lightning – the thin liquid that filled in the ancient carvings so damp he could have sworn the painters had left the room mere moments before he came in. Despite that there were no streaks – the paint was contained in the stone's wounds, unable to mar its perfection.

He eyed the – Leviathan – again, frowning as he focused in on the great creature. Idly he thought it seemed less that it was riding the waves and more as though the ocean was following it, trailing it like an obedient child.

But that wasn't what demanded his attention. There was an echo in this mural, just as Dazed had said. It was indistinct, but grew clearer and clearer the more he thought about it until –

The Song. Lugia's Song.

With that revelation the echo deepened in his mind and he grimaced as it practically wailed and screamed and crashed with all the force of a wave into him – it did not pull at him as the Song did, but did its utmost to pull him under itself until he drowned.

He looked away.

Whatever that was, it wasn't the Song. Similar, perhaps. It was older, less a Song than a Roar, the clashing of waves and a hurricane's fury rather than the gentle push and pull of the tides.

Ash frowned and shook his head, struggling to get the overpowering salty scent out of his nose. He really didn't want to think about that right now.

Before he looked to investigate the last of the beasts he glanced at the center of the mural where the creatures' wrath met.

Little stick figures were all he could see, sent flying by the clash. They were powerless in the face of the creatures and though most cowered or were sent flying across the rock wall, some looked to the sky, to two opposing objects dashing through the air.

Meteors. The Iron Child says the Shade that guided him told him stories, although he was too young to make sense of them. That is what I surmise "falling-fire-stars" to be, at any rate.

Ash nodded his thanks to Dazed and continued studying the mural. It fascinated him, he supposed. This was the history of some people – even if it wasn't necessarily the true way things had happened, this had shaped them.

This mural and the story it embodied molded their culture, their beliefs.

Was this what Cynthia felt like when she investigated ancient sites and dug up the entombed knowledge of a civilization or dug through records untouched for centuries?

If so, he understood her more than he ever could have imagined.

Ash frowned and stared at the little stick-people.

Who were they?

He sighed and looked up at the last of their traces in this cave. Ash knew he'd find nothing here.

A towering serpent stared down at him, maw gaping. The wall around it was clear of any sort of cataclysmic power of the kind its two siblings brought to bear – it was tranquil, in stasis. It was simply a passive observer, although it was coiled in such a way that it seemed as though it would spring into action at any moment.

Ash turned from the mural to Dazed with just the slightest hint of a scowl. He didn't like this.

Land and Sea, Behemoth and Leviathan…they breathe.

A shiver ran down his spine as he considered Lugia's parting gift of advice. Were these Land and Sea?

He wasn't an idiot. He'd researched what myths and legends he could, assuming many to be true.

Groudon and Kyogre weren't foreign names to him. Even his mother had told him the stories once, when she couldn't think of new tales of the First Champion or Sinnoh's God-King or Indigo's native Legends.

She didn't know them by heart, but she knew them well enough to tell him about their furious battle and the clash for dominance. He knew it was said they'd summoned deserts and drowned cities before their wars had ceased, feats of power that were admittedly not so impressive in comparison to the Legends he'd personally faced.

He'd suspected, once he read the tales again, but he hadn't been sure.

Still, how powerful were they if Lugia had been nothing but a pest to them in their prime? Fire, Ice, and Lightning…he knew them well. He had become them, in a sense. Their Truths laid unfolded to him in a way words would never describe thanks to his mastery of the Spheres.

Lugia and Mew represented something more complicated in his mind, and they were so much more powerful than the Birds it was almost incomparable. It was like comparing him when he had first challenged Bruno to the Ash he had become after his trials and training.

Moltres could summon an inferno to raze the earth all around it. Zapdos could shroud all of Kanto in vicious storms. Articuno's wings conjured vast blizzards as if from nowhere.

Impressive, but ultimately simple.

Mew and even Mewtwo – though he was loath to include the psychic that seemed to take pleasure in toying with him – could do so, so much more.

Mewtwo had manipulated the weather to the point of telekinetically creating and directing hurricanes powerful enough to seriously damage an entire region as relatively inexpensive weapons. It could easily split the entire ocean in half all for the purpose of trapping an enemy that could easily sear cities away permanently – all of this as it controlled a storm that would eventually shatter human civilization like glass.

And that was just the beginning. Even after all that it had still beaten Mew – should have, if Mew hadn't killed Ash while he and Mewtwo were merged as one. Mewtwo had torn its way out of a black hole, thrown around power Ash couldn't even fathom, and managed to use its psychic power to heavily wound Mew in a form Ash could reasonably suspect to be to dark-types what Mewtwo was to psychics.

And Mew was certainly no slouch either – it had shown itself capable of creating and controlling a genuine black hole, after all. It had quite literally created matter dense enough to create a singularity – Ash certainly didn't have the knowledge required to calculate the energy required for that out, but he was well aware it was on an absolutely ridiculous scale.

Combine that with its incredibly powerful techniques and you had a very, very potent entity on your hands. Ash wasn't sure if it even qualified as a psychic at that point – its powers were to the point that it almost seemed to be on the level of warping reality rather than manipulating it.

Lugia…well, he assumed it was on a similar level. It had easily levitated what he'd imagine to be at least billions of gallons of water to drown the Birds, if not trillions. Not to mention it had quite easily held the two of them off.

Ash frowned. Mew was called the Guardian of Life by many psychics and others informed of Legends and Lugia the Guardian of the Seas. But what exactly did they represent? The others embodied a very specific Concept.

He sighed. Maybe he'd get the chance to ask them eventually.

Still, what could Land and Sea do? Such simple Concepts, but so enormous…

Ash shook his head. It wasn't worth thinking about. All he knew was that Lugia was certain of the threat they possessed and that he trusted the Great Guardian. If possible he'd make sure Land and Sea never got the chance to show him that impossible strength.

"I think it's time to leave," Ash called out to his friends, most of whom seemed uneasy and nervous under the oppressive weight that filled the room. "I doubt we'll find anything here…"

XX

Stepping out into the sunlight after days in the black caves was a pleasure unlike any other. It wasn't exactly freezing down there, especially with Nidoking and the rest of his friends to keep him warm, but the chill was always noticeable.

There was something about not having to provide his own heat and light that would never get old. The constant feeling of his body heat leaking out of him and leaving with him with little other than what he and his friends could produce on their own was just exhausting.

Not to mention this meant he'd get to battle soon.

A savage grin carved its way across his tanned face at the thought – it had been too long since he and his little family had gotten the blood flowing. Even the battle with Tate and Liza hadn't been much more than a warm up for Sneasel and Oz.

He lightly stretched and turned to his left, grinning as Aron and Tangrowth plodded at his side. Dazed wasn't much a fan of the sun's overpowering light and Sneasel would be overheated in no time if he brought him out at noon.

Bruiser was on his right, a gentle smile on his reptilian face as he felt the heated sand brush his feet. Seeker wasn't with him, of course – she could scarcely bear twilight, so high noon wouldn't really agree with her.

Ash had made sure they enjoyed their day after finding the mural, though. They'd spent the rest of their time exploring to their hearts content and seeing if they could track Daisy through the tunnels, although they hadn't found any luck.

She moved fast but it seemed that Sableye had exploited its knowledge of the terrain to its advantage, slipping ahead of the annoyed girl with contemptuous ease.

He couldn't help but smirk imagining how annoyed Daisy would be. If he found that Sableye again he'd be sure to bring it some shiny presents – they loved little trinkets and anything that would glitter in the dim light of their homes.

And if Daisy caught that Sableye it might appreciate a few presents. Daisy might be one of the kindest people he'd ever met – despite how much she enjoyed teasing him – but even she wasn't perfect.

Not that she'd ever hurt the mischievous Sableye. All it had to fear from her was the loss of what seemed to be its prized possession and maybe her pokemon being a little rough capturing it.

But at the end of the day they'd realized Daisy had gone too far and they relaxed. Sneasel went off exploring with Bruiser and Seeker as his chaperones while the others stayed alongside Ash, eager to let their weary feet relax.

They'd spent one last night in the tunnels – he really didn't mind, especially since it gave him the opportunity to bask in the isolation with his family – and when they were all woken up he'd recalled his team and had Dazed teleport them to the surface.

It was a rough ride and he suspected she'd drawn on some of the latent power left in her from Mewtwo's influence the day before to compensate for her lack of control, but she did it.

That was Dazed's first time teleporting him long distance and she was still better at it than Will.

Ash made a mental note to mention it to his fellow Elite Four member next time they met.

But now they were on the surface, they were pent up, and they were ready.

Brawly wouldn't know what hit him.

XX

The Dewford Gym matched the town around it quite well. It wasn't overly large – it was quite small for one of the eight major gyms of Hoenn, in fact – it was rather utilitarian, and much wider than tall.

Dewford as a whole was quaint. It was certainly a city, albeit a tiny one, but it had held a prominent position in Hoenn's history for hundreds of years.

He thought back to Cynthia's Arbok-scaled book. Ash had managed to catch up on his reading last night, allowing Dazed to follow along in his head. She'd certainly enjoyed learning Hoenn's history as much as he did, if not more.

Although a minor city now, Dewford has a long and fascinating past. It is suggested from numerous historical records and maps that Dewford was once far more prominent and massive than it is in the modern era.

Recently, archaeologists discovered maps sealed away for more than two thousand years that reveal what is now Dewford was once a sprawling city for the times. More than that, however, is the revelation that Dewford and its nearby islands were once connected to mainland Hoenn as a peninsula.

This claim fits with prior evidence, speaking of walking to what experts have suspected for years to be Dewford's former name before the fall of the Volumo Empire and the revolutions that swept through the land in its wake. It also explains the traces of civilization and towns found on the ocean floor between mainland Hoenn and Dewford Town, although that also raises into question how such a vast amount of land was disconnected – there are several theories I will discuss in the next chapter, although none are currently substantiated.

After the revolutions Dewford came into its own as an impressive naval power rivaling Mossdeep, although it could not compare to Sootopolis' supremacy. For several centuries after the fall of the Volumo Empire it was a trading hub and important stop on the way to Slateport and held an impressive amount of influence for its size.

Although primarily taking advantage of its key location between Rustboro and Slateport, Dewford also found influence by mining the iron veins in its famed Granite Cave and mountains. This trade made them invaluable, although the infrequent invasions by other towns in the region in the hopes of securing the ore for themselves left them with a firm martial tradition. In the months before the formation of the Ever Grande League, Dewford's defensive forces inflicted a staggering amount of casualties on the Unovan task force sent to secure the island. Although ultimately the defense crumbled, their example rallied their fellow city-states on the brink of defeat and caused the first alliances to form. Even today citizens of the Dewford Archipelago make up a disproportionate amount of the Ever Grande League's Rangers and agents.

While with the advent of widespread teleportation, spacial manipulation and storage technology the trade routes that were once its lifeblood have dried up, Dewford remains an important part of Hoenn that survives due to its key position in Hoenn's southern sphere, tourism, and the many rare pokemon that can be found within it.

Now –

Ash shook himself back to earth. With Dazed essentially repeating the words back to him over and over again he'd memorized much more than he would have usually. It was as if he'd read it dozens of times rather than three or four.

That was only the beginning of the chapter, too. Everything Cynthia outlined there and more were expanded on for what seemed like an eternity before she moved onto her next topic. The Sinnoh Champion was meticulous if nothing else – Ash couldn't even imagine how long it had taken her to compile this information.

He focused on the Gym and put all thoughts of history out of his mind. Ash could always read more later.

But he still had to admire the simple, practical nature of the Dewford Gym. It certainly didn't possess the elegance of the Mossdeep Gym or the ostentatious presence of Sootopolis' but it was more than enough to do its job.

To be honest, it reminded him of the Dojo he'd challenged in Saffron. He just hoped that it would be more of a challenge, even if his team was far superior to what they'd been when they won the Black Belt.

"Dude, what's up?" He heard from behind him, towards the cliffs the Dewford Gym overlooked. After Ash stiffened in surprise the mellow voice continued. "You lookin' for something?"

"Just a battle," Ash grinned and turned to face the newcomer, eying the man curiously. He was shirtless and wore only loose, light blue shirts, sandals, and black gloves with orange accents. Around his shorts several pokeballs were belted, securely clasped on. "Think you could give me one?"

The lightly built man smiled and ran a gloved hand – Ash could see that it was torn in some places, with spots of blood oozing out from the ripped material – through his wild, wind-swept blue hair. "Well, I did just get done climbing the cliffs, but as the Dewford Gym Leader Brawly, I can't turn down a challenge like that!"

Ash nodded and his savage smile only lengthened. He paused to adjust his hat farther over his eyes – the midday sun pounded on these cliffs with all the intensity he'd come to expect from Hoenn and the spray of water crashing against the cliffs reached even to this high point.

"What's your name, kid?" Brawly drawled. "I don't like Trainer IDs. Kills the connection a good name has."

"I'm Ash Ketchum," he replied, taking a bit of pleasure at seeing Brawly's eyes widen. Maybe he didn't want to get swarmed, but Ash had to admit that having a powerful opponent like Brawly know who him by reputation was more than a little gratifying.

Brawly glanced him over. "Well, Ash Ketchum, it's nice to meet you. You're making waves around these parts, you know. Can't tell you how many Dewford kids have come up to the Gym with a passion for training I've never seen after they watched you battle – and anyone that can inspire so many people like that is someone I can appreciate!"

Ash nodded, taken aback at Brawly's words. He hadn't expected something like that – never expected to really inspire anyone. All he'd been there to do was fight and prove to the world just how far he had come since he set out from his little town with a little Nidoran at his side.

"I was a little tired, but you've got my blood pumping now!" Brawly folded his arms confidently. "Nothing like a good battle to wrap up the day! Nic!"

An Alakazam appeared as if from nowhere, its relatively small mustache marking it as female. She waited patiently for Brawly – evidently her charge as a member of what was probably Hoenn's Teleportation Squad – to speak.

"I'm thinking this battle might make too big of a splash for my Gym to handle!" The Gym Leader smiled. "Take us to the beach!"

The Alakazam nodded, although she didn't bother to broadcast her response into Ash's head – it made Brawly flinch at first, though. She did offer him enough courtesy to glance at him before her eyes flashed and space warped around him, depositing them on a long stretch of sand with nary a flash.

She did allow the edges of her mustache to quirk upward and gave him a nod once they were safely deposited, her eyes flashing a bit with curiosity.

ENJOY YOUR BATTLE, STORM-TAMER! BRAWLY WILL RELISH AN OPPONENT SUCH AS YOU!

Ash nodded quickly, although he squeezed his eyes shut as the Alakazam bellowed into his mind – that wasn't what he'd expect from any of her breed. Ever. No wonder Brawly had twitched.

FAREWELL!

And with that she vanished with scarcely a ripple...only to reappear on an outcropping of rock that jutted out from the cliffs that towered to the side of them. Her spoons were held out in front of her, lined with psychic energy.

She'd be maintaining their safety, then.

"She's a passionate one," Ash muttered.

"Yeah, she's got a spirit most Alakazam can't match!" Brawly shouted from where he stood across the beach. "She's trained with me since she was an Abra. My team and I trained with her in the harsh waves of Dewford's beaches and in the blackness of Granite Cave! We have trained our bodies relentlessly to become the best that Dewford has to offer, so I hope you're ready!"

Ash nodded, the slight shake of his hand as it moved to Bruiser's pokeball the only indication of his own excitement. His blood pumped and he felt his mind kick into overdrive, analyzing everything around him in preparation for the battle.

The sand would slow most of his friends down. Nidoking would have trouble using most of his techniques – the earth was buried beneath endless tons of the fine grains and all Earthquake would do was kick up a massive wave of the stuff. Useful, but he doubted Nidoking would make an appearance.

Bruiser had little experience training on sand, so he would need a moment to adjust his footing. He'd have to compensate a bit to make sure his strikes wouldn't be weakened but it shouldn't take too long.

Sneasel would be a good addition, although he too lacked experience fighting on a beach. The waves crashing down on the shore would make it simple to transform the beach to his advantage. It would be child's play for him to freeze the water and create a thin layer of ice on the shoreline, not to mention if Torrent was released to spray down the entire beach.

Oz would be relatively neutral – she was mostly a stationary fighter, and if they fought correctly Brawly's close-quarters team would be defeated before they could touch her. If they did make it she'd focus less on physical blows and more on using her electricity to its utmost.

He glanced to the sheer cliff face but ignored it. Ash would rather not tear the cliff to the ground – Dewford might not appreciate that very much. Maybe he would if he actually knew where this beach was, but as of now he only knew it was probably somewhere on Dewford, although technically Alakazam could have teleported the two of them anywhere within a radius of at least a hundred miles.

THIS WILL BE A TWO-ON-TWO BATTLE. BATTLE WILL CONTINUE UNTIL A FIGHTER IS UNCONSCIOUS, SURRENDERS, OR IS RECALLED. BEGIN!

Ash didn't react to the psychic bellow this time other than to release Bruiser. He wanted to see where Bruiser stood next to Brawly's expertly trained team – he hadn't had the opportunity to match him against many fighting-types since they trained with Bruno, let alone ones of the tier of Brawly's best warriors.

Bruiser dipped his head to Brawly in acknowledgement of the Gym Leader as an obvious fighter, and eyed the massive Hariyama that materialized moments later. He cracked his knuckles and squared himself, allowing his feet to grind into the sand.

"Hariyama is my most powerful brother!" Brawly shouted. Hariyama assumed his own stance, with a single massive palm – it was almost as large as Ash's torso – facing outward and another thrown out behind him to balance the bulky creature's huge weight. "We have trained together for years, honing our strength to new heights!"

Hariyama's eyes never left Bruiser's. The giant fighting-type slowly stepped forward, arms held perfectly straight. There was a clear-cut technique to its movements that Bruiser clearly lacked – this was an ultimate example of the fighting-type, all raw power delicately tempered by control and discipline borne of countless hours training.

"Careful," Ash warned his friend even as he reached down to his belt to release Aron – he wanted the little steel-type to watch this. "Hariyama's all muscle. I doubt he's as strong as you, but he's as close as you're liable to find."

Bruiser nodded and took his own step forward, accepting Hariyama's challenge. He dipped his head once and then the battle was joined.

Ash folded his arms back and remained silent as Bruiser shaped a single massive Focus Blast in his hands and hurled the sphere of energy at Hariyama's bulk, although the fighter's stance left as little of him open to an attack like that as possible.

Personally, Ash would have had Bruiser use Multisphere to kick up some sand and then charge Hariyama. But Bruiser wasn't Ash. He fought in a much more straightforward manner, relying solely on his own strength when possible rather than twisting the environment to his advantage as Ash loved to do.

But he wouldn't interfere. This was Bruiser's fight, Bruiser's test. It wasn't his place.

Then Hariyama surprised him quite a bit by simply slapping the sphere away from his body with a swift, well-practiced movement. Hariyama's eyes narrowed in amusement at the deflection and quickly squared itself into a position but at that point it was too late – Bruiser was almost upon him.

Bruiser didn't bother to slip into any of his techniques yet – there were no swirls of flame or wisps of frost traced in the air. No, this was a test.

Heavy blows powerful enough to knock most pokemon back a dozen feet and punch through both weaker pokemon and human like wet tissue paper were slugged around with casual effort, each a mere test of Hariyama's defense.

Hariyama didn't disappoint. It was not blessed with especially great movement speed, but it had trained its reactions beyond what Ash would have thought possible for such a massive creature.

Every blow it dodged by an inch or redirected with that same effortless grace that it had managed with the Focus Blast. Not a single time did it actually move to strike, seemingly content for its role in the battle to be limited to slight shifts in footing and leans to whatever direction he needed to avoid to.

It continued like this for a while, Bruiser never losing his cool as he slowly picked up his speed and forced even more power into his strikes. Hariyama continued to dance expertly, discipline clearly overcoming Bruiser's superior physical capability in this case.

"Alright, bro. That's enough play time!" Brawly shouted over the din of the crashing surf. "Time to make him feel the crash!"

Ash swore a grin that reminded him far too much of Infernus for comfort flashed onto Hariyama's face before it was wiped away. The next moment Hariyama moved.

Bruiser could barely even attempt to dodge before Hariyama's front arm jutted out and shoved him with an open hand – in that instance it seemed like all of Hariyama's bulk tightened into a compressed line with density almost comparable to Bruiser's.

The Machoke flew, his path marked by a deep gouge in the sand.

He gaped at the sheer power behind the blow – he knew Hariyama was notoriously powerful, but that was something else. Something more than brute force. Strong as they were, they weren't the equal of a Machoke.

Bruiser landed with a harsh thump but almost immediately climbed to his feet. He stared at Hariyama with a bit of surprise but just rolled his neck to work out one of the kinks.

Hariyama hadn't budged. It had settled into its former stance and patiently awaited Bruiser's return. For all of its obvious ability, Hariyama wasn't a mobile fighter.

Ash's eyes weren't on that – no, he was more interested in the deep gouge carved into the sand. That wasn't from Bruiser. His friend had been sent flying carelessly through the air. That sand was moved by something else Hariyama had done, something that wasn't immediately obvious.

He watched.

Bruiser fought seriously this time, although with an air of caution that had only been hinted at previously. His blows were quick, precise. Flames exploded in furious gouts and ice shards encrusted the sand.

Hariyama was harder pressed now, although he still avoided all but the traces of the elemental attacks that remained in the air. He was constantly adjusting his footing, now moving with that same impossible speed as before.

It wasn't just discipline and training now, it was a technique.

Still, whatever it was wasn't perfect. Hariyama struggled to keep up at times and still hadn't managed an attack yet, although Ash was certain he was just waiting for the right chance.

He was faster than Bruiser somehow, but Hariyama was still limited by his reaction time. It was a physical alteration, nothing more.

Ash wouldn't wound Bruiser's pride by infringing upon this battle, but he could understand what was going on.

It was only when he looked to the sand again, curious to watch Hariyama's perfect footwork as he danced across the beach, that he understood. There were similar rings of sand piled up wherever Hariyama moved, which was to be expected.

What was a little more interesting were the gusts that seemed to form with every enhanced movement. More than just the wind from quick movements, but something that appeared even before the muscle coiled. Instinctual.

Bruiser was too busy fighting to notice it himself, but Ash hoped he'd picked up on it. Not that he really needed to – he just had to defeat the Hariyama, Ash supposed.

His mind raced over some of the techniques Hariyama could learn according to the PokeDex. Obviously the ones listed weren't the limit, but they tended to be what the fighting-type could learn relatively easily. Other techniques tended to be outside of Hariyama's abilities or just incredibly difficult to teach without the use of a TM or special tutoring.

Ash frowned. It looked as though wind was somehow implemented and he couldn't think of any air-based speed techniques Hariyama could easily learn. Tailwind wasn't much of an option.

To try and get a bit more information he watched the battle for a bit longer, although his eyes widened when he saw Bruiser's foot slip on an imbalance in the sand created by Hariyama's enhancement technique.

In the split-second the opening was available, Hariyama stepped back, gathered power, and pushed.

Hariyama struck and he winced on Bruiser's behalf. That blow was especially vicious, and the dangerous smirk reappeared on Hariyama's face as Bruiser was smacked straight into the cliffs, only saved from an especially painful impact by a quick manifestation of Alakazam's shields.

But that had given Hariyama's secret away…or so Ash hoped.

Wind had followed Hariyama's strike. Sand was blown everywhere by the especially powerful blow, the force only increased by the air's aid.

Whirlwind. Not a use for it he'd ever heard and it had undoubtedly taken months, if not years, of dedicated training for Hariyama to master it to the point of enhancing his body, but it was a potent tool. The speed it granted was incredible and its help could vastly increase the power of Hariyama's attacks as well as let it hit targets that might escape otherwise.

And without the absolutely crippling effects of Rampage, which was an admittedly appealing bonus. This Whirlwind-based technique didn't give nearly as drastic of a boost, but it was certainly much safer.

Bruiser finally stood up, just a bit wearily this time. It was still swift enough to avoid Hariyama taking advantage of his stunned state but noticeably slower than last time. The Machoke wouldn't be able to take many more blows – Hariyama hit impossibly hard, quite possibly as hard as Bruiser with the help of Whirlwind.

He nodded to Bruiser when the Machoke looked to him for guidance. Hariyama had too much of an edge on Bruiser. As things were, Hariyama wasn't merely better than his friend, but stronger as well.

Over his year as a trainer Ash had learned that skill and experience would almost always triumph, but not always. No, a fire to win that surpassed any other could force its way to victory.

But more than that, the only thing that beat something far more skilled was raw, overwhelming force.

And that was something Ash had ensured his team had in spades.

Bruiser squeezed his eyes shut as his muscular body tensed. Muscles bulged and the red veins that popped out from his massive arms almost glowed as more and more blood pumped through them – his eyes opened to slits and a fearsome grin appeared on the Machoke's face.

Every blood vessel on his body stood out like red lines, creating a web of interlocking strands that left Bruiser's body with a light red tint which imparted an imposing presence his gentle personality generally lacked.

This was Bruiser at his most powerful, and this was only a pale shadow of what he would become.

"Watch out! That Machoke's different!" Brawly roared, eyes wide at the sudden change. "Superpower!"

Hariyama grunted and its whole body flexed, slightly reducing its size but making it all the more imposing. It had thrown off its physical limits just as Bruiser had and the two warriors met each other's eyes.

Their previous scrap was all but forgotten, just a warm-up for the opponents.

Bruiser tensed – Hariyama had just barely begun to move – and was on the much bulkier fighting-type in an instant, the force behind his impossibly fast blow enough to knock Hariyama onto its back.

The other fighter grunted at the punch and stood up wearily, brow furrowed as it surveyed the fighter it had previously handled like an annoying child. Bruiser let it regain its footing and allowed it a moment of rest before he moved again, his body exploding into action like a coiled spring.

This time Hariyama dodged the strike, albeit barely. Wind whistled around Hariyama as its movements blurred and the two danced.

Bruiser was a whirlwind of attacks, fear of his own strength tossed aside as he did his best to pound Hariyama into oblivion. For his part, the Hariyama managed to avoid almost every attack – he was brushed by Bruiser's fist every now and then, but by slipping into a steady retreat he was able to stay just barely ahead with the aid of Superpower-enhanced muscles and Whirlwind propelling his movements.

But Hariyama finally slipped as Bruiser slipped even further into Rampage, boosting his raw physical capabilities beyond anything Hariyama could have anticipated.

Hariyama stumbled as Bruiser's fist missed its target and smashed into the sand, blasting up a vast curtain that irritated Hariyama's eyes. But more than that, so much sand was displaced that Hariyama literally sunk into the small pit that formed.

He managed to escape the sinkhole with a bit of fancy footwork Ash couldn't even have hoped to track, but that was enough of a distraction for the even faster Bruiser to rear back a punch and smash it into the splayed palm Hariyama just barely managed to put up in time.

The massive fighting-type groaned as he was sent crashing to the ground on the shoreline. It laid still as the tide gently lapped at its thick skin, but finally pushed it up.

Bruiser struck the moment Hariyama was prepared. Hariyama did its best to avoid the blow, but the previous attack had shocked him out of Superpower and Whirlwind on its own wasn't enough to counter the ridiculous speed that came with Bruiser's enhanced muscle.

Hariyama crumpled to the ground after Bruiser punched it in the gut. It slumped and fell unconscious even as Bruiser stumbled backward from the force of his own punch slamming into the literal wall of stone-hard muscle that was Hariyama's stomach.

The Machoke grinned at him and lightly beat a powerful fist against his muscular chest, bringing up a smile of his own. Ash mashed his fist to a spot above his heart and nodded in congratulation even as Bruiser released Rampage and collapsed, the strain on his body too much to keep up for long.

"You did great, Bruiser!" Ash cheered and raised the pokeball to give his friend some well-deserved rest. Bruiser had improved vastly since his use of Rampage at the Conference – this was far longer than he'd been able to maintain it previously, even if it wasn't a full-fledged Rampage. "Rest."

With that Bruiser vanished in a flash of light, followed moments later by Hariyama.

"That was impressive," Brawly laughed, a wild sound that belted across the beach. "It's been years since Hariyama's been hit like that – we'll have to double up on our training to make sure we don't fall behind! You guys are making an even bigger splash than I hoped!"

"We've still got one more battle," Ash said, leaning down to lightly pat Aron's head. The little steel-type had gone completely still watching the battle, like he'd never seen anything like it before.

Actually, he might not have. Ash had the tendency to forget just how strong his team was compared to wild pokemon – even one of his least flashy friends like Bruiser was still capable of doing things that would leave most pokemon in awe.

Ash grinned as he imagined Aron's reaction to Infernus, Torrent, Tangrowth, or Nidoking. Those were his most powerful elemental fighters by far.

They were the ones that tended to reshape the landscape with their every technique.

"Relax, buddy," he whispered. Aron warbled to him and leaned into his touch, just a little more relaxed than before. "You haven't seen anything yet. Just watch, alright?"

With that he straightened and watched Brawly, curious to see what the Gym Leader would do.

"Well, you won that round!" The fighter casually ran his fingers through his wind-swept hair. "So I'll start this off next! Go, Medicham! Show them what we can do."

A strange pokemon appeared suddenly, blurry and warped as though it were a mirage. Ash stared at it, focusing, until the lines of its body straightened and snapped into their proper position.

The creature cocked its grey head at Ash, lips puckered thoughtfully as it regarded him. It gave a quick nod of recognition and raised its long, thin arms in preparation for a fight.

Ash ran his eyes over the Medicham. The short top bulb marked it as female. It was clearly expertly trained, as he would have expected. Every slight movement it had made was full of grace and purpose, as though it were a dancer. Even the large, pants-like flaps of skin that covered its incredibly muscled legs didn't twitch.

It was an oddity in the world of pokemon and one that Ash had looked forward to meeting in combat. Medicham were a strange mix of fighting-types and psychics, bringing the best traits of both types together in an incredibly potent mix that made them some of the most dangerous and skilled fighters there were.

Medicham's body looked thin, but there was no doubt that it was all highly compact muscle. It didn't possess the brute strength or bulk of Hariyama and would fall quickly if given a few solid hits, but it was all the more dangerous for it.

The Medicham was lithe and quick, able to land quick blows augmented with psychic power that could easily crack almost any defense. It didn't have full-blown telepathy or mental skills, but it could read intentions from an opponents mind and counter perfectly – combined with its "sixth sense" that resulted from what Ash suspected to be a general psychic awareness it was notoriously difficult to hit and track.

It might not be the strongest pokemon in the world, but it was one of the most difficult to fight if you weren't prepared. He'd seen a few videos where Medicham's battle precognition had allowed it to take down technically superior opponents with so much as a scratch, although it tended to have much more difficulty with attacks that weren't precision based.

He released Sneasel.

The little dark-type eyed Medicham speculatively and hissed, allowing his razor-sharp claws to slip easily from their velvety sheathes. Sneasel's hackles raised and he leaned forward, ready to launch at the strange creature at a moment's notice.

Ash had considered using Oz – she needed a good work out – but in the end Sneasel was a far better choice. Besides, he needed to let some stress out too after being so good the last few days. Even after Daisy had left he'd still behaved, so he might as well reward that.

Aside from that, Sneasel was a better match-up. Oz's electricity was generally based around precision, with the exception of Shock Wave. While Medicham would never be able to actually avoid her electrical strikes, the creature was no-doubt adept enough at sensing the environment and intentions of those around it to dip and weave out of the way of such attacks.

Oz might get lucky, but for the most part she'd be unable to hit the quick, agile opponent that was trained to essentially see the battle a second or two in the future.

Sneasel would be put in a riskier position thanks to being forced to fight up close and personal with the close-combat specialist, but the otherworldly energy flowing through his body would at the very least make it much more difficult for Medicham to use the abilities that made it truly formidable, although Ash hoped for Sneasel's presence to subdue it entirely.

All psychic abilities could be cancelled to some extent with the alien power wielded by dark-types and ghosts, but techniques requiring fine control were most vulnerable. If the user relied enough on psychic power then the introduction of something like a Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse into the battle could completely throw it off.

That's what he was banking on. Medicham was almost certainly a more capable combatant than Sneasel – it appeared to have trained with Brawly for years if it was on his best team and probably had a better grasp of combat than Sneasel did at the moment.

Besides, he couldn't hide Sneasel from high-level combat forever.

"Interesting choice!" Brawly shouted, eyes focused on Sneasel with an intensity bordering on the manic. "Medicham, I trust you on this! Take this battle at your own pace!"

Medicham nodded. She dipped her head to Sneasel, although she never took her eyes of the wily dark-type.

Sneasel hissed back and scraped his claws against each other threateningly. His fur was raised, making him appear quite a bit bigger than usual. A deep growl rose from his chest that Ash almost found unsettling, although he was more concerned with comforting Aron – the steel-type had huddled up to Ash's leg at Sneasel's intimidating rumble.

"Same for you, Sneasel," he said. Sneasel dipped his head and tensed, ready to shoot forth at a moment's notice. "I trust you. Remember your training and remember to be careful. Medicham'll hit hard."

The two combatants stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up.

Then in a black blur and swirl of ice battle was joined.

Sneasel's Quick Attack took him right up to Medicham and almost let him get a good strike in immediately – Medicham twitched to the left just in time for his claw to avoid carving into her side. She instantly retaliated with a swift blow wreathed in fire, although Sneasel had already put enough distance between them that it struck nothing but air.

Say what you want about Sneasel, but after a month of playing Hunt-the-Sneasel he knew how to avoid a hit.

With the initial rush of combat out of the way both watched each other with interest – both had already figured out their opponent's general strategy, or they thought they did.

Medicham took its stance once more, readying itself for Sneasel's next attack. She was clearly a defensive fighter, as Hariyama had been. Ash had no doubt Medicham was swift and agile enough to go on the offensive if necessary, but it was obvious that she preferred to draw her opponents in and make them pay for their aggression with a quick flurry of expertly-aimed strikes.

Sneasel might fall into her trap, but his dark-type attacks just might make her tactics backfire.

He hissed at Medicham and bared his fangs at her – a Shadow Ball formed in a suddenly outstretched paw and shot at Medicham, whose eyes widened an instant before it materialized. She dodged this attack with a wide berth, although was hard pressed to avoid the next.

Then, as she executed a flip so perfect it seemed almost staged, Sneasel struck.

In a blinding flash of white a powerful beam of jagged, arcing beams struck the soaked sand beneath and around the fighting-type and froze it. Medicham landed easily enough, taking only a second to stabilize herself, but by the time her feet were suffused with a soft psychic glow that protected them from the cold and provided traction Sneasel had blurred forth once again.

Medicham's eyes squeezed shut as Sneasel's claws slashed across her bare grey chest, leaving thin marks of red behind. Shadowy energy clung to the wounds and Sneasel had a confident grin as the fighting-type shook.

With his trap he'd managed to essentially poison her with toxic dark-type energy. It would cause her quite a bit of pain and greatly reduce her ability to enhance herself with her psychic sixth sense, although Ash doubted that would end her.

No, Medicham wouldn't be so easy to defeat. Ash just hoped Sneasel would realize that.

Medicham quickly put quite a bit of ground between herself and Sneasel, easily shaping a ball of glowing white energy and hurling it at the dark-type despite the distraction caused to her by Sneasel's slash.

Ash had to admit he was impressed with how easily she shrugged it off. It was clear Brawly trained his team in more than physical toughness.

Sneasel took a moment to regain his composure, careful to avoid rushing into one of Medicham's traps now that it was clear she wasn't entirely defenseless. He paused and shot off another Shadow Ball, but Medicham avoided it with even more ease than before, if that was possible.

Once she'd regained her footing – she stayed far away from the ice now that she didn't have access to her psychic powers to make it a mere nuisance – Medicham quickly tapped a glowing finger to several points of her upper and lower body. Ash tried to follow along but her movements were so fast they were barely even a blur.

When that was over a slow smile spread over Medicham's face and she began to advance.

His friend squared himself at the sudden change in tactics, more than a bit wary. After all, if Medicham had shied away from aggressive strategy when she was at her peak why would she use them now?

Medicham made that clear several seconds later.

In a flash she put her hands together and formed a swirling sphere of rainbow-hued energy in an instant, giving Sneasel only a split-second's notice to dodge to the right before what Ash recognized as a Signal Beam speared through the air and still managed to nick Sneasel, leaving him tumbling to the ground.

As Sneasel swiftly pulled himself up from the sand Medicham shot to the right, forming dozens upon dozens of illusory clones of itself with Double Team and firing several more Signal Beams in order to distract Sneasel.

With the dark-type off balance most of the clones shot forward while roughly a quarter sat down and assumed a meditative pose.

Sneasel was a blur of swirling claws and fierce blasts of ice and Shadow Balls – it did its best to attack the real one, but couldn't find it amongst the overwhelming number of clones that converged upon it. He knew they couldn't hurt him, but Ash could tell he was still too rattled from the Signal Beam's impact to detect which of them was real by smell.

All Sneasel knew was that if the real Medicham did strike there was a good chance he was finished.

Ash was more interested in the Medicham that were mediating. Odds were that the real Medicham was hiding in there somewhere, trying to do something to give it the proper edge in battle.

Most of them were suddenly shrouded in a soothing cloak of blue-green energy that seemed to restore vigor to its limbs. The scratches on each of the Medicham slowly knit together, although traces of Sneasel's dark-poisoned claws remained.

He smiled in understanding.

Recover. It wasn't an especially common technique, but Medicham was one of the rare pokemon that could learn it incredibly easily due to their methods of training. Much of a Medicham's psychic capability was discovered through meditation, and such deep introspection had granted a control over their bodies few pokemon could match.

While control over their psychic abilities allowed for them to do things almost unheard of – releasing limits on their muscles similar to Superpower, although more controlled, or even slowing their heartbeat and metabolism to a point where they could exist for months or years without eating – the most practical application they could perform even without psychic powers was to increase their metabolism and cellular processes to the point that they could heal minor wounds in seconds and more grievous injuries over the span of minutes or hours.

But that wasn't all. Medicham and its clones sat stock still for as long as they could before Sneasel finally decided that those attacking it were false and moved towards the meditating ones.

Just as his claws carved harmlessly through the first of the meditating clones, each Medicham stood with a swiftness Ash could hardly believe.

The clones dispersed in a massive blur of color and light that hid all of the battlefield from Ash's view – they almost seemed to meld together for an instant before the refracted light that made them up vanished.

What was left was a single Medicham staring down Sneasel with an impassivity that must have galled the little dark-type.

But Medicham was different. It was cleared of its wounds, and it seemed as though even the flickering tendrils of shadow that had licked at the scratches were banished.

Instead of shadow, it now stood in an aura of white that shone even beneath the eye of the sun. Medicham's face was clear of all emotion, intent only upon Sneasel.

Power flooded from it and the glow of its eyes confirmed that it had regained its psychic powers…if the sand drifting away in a circle around it hadn't tipped him off before.

Sneasel hissed and fired a Shadow Ball, but it was pointless. Medicham darted to the side, appearing less as a blur and more as though it simply appeared a few feet over before the Shadow Ball had even left Sneasel's paw.

Ash grimaced – this was bad. Medicham appeared to have quite a number of tricks for boosting its abilities and he doubted Sneasel would be able to tangle with it as he was.

From what little he'd seen Ash would think Medicham was at least an equal challenge for Dazed, probably even Bruiser with Rampage considering her sixth sense would let her at least somewhat nullify his raw speed.

The dark-type was fast but Medicham was faster. He was smart but Medicham could read his intentions before he even began. He was poison to Medicham but it appeared that poison had an antidote.

Sneasel didn't surrender, however. No, he hissed and blurred at his opponent.

Medicham moved swiftly, meeting him mid-charge with a blur that smashed Sneasel into the ground. She was away from his Ice Beam the moment it formed and brutally kicked him into the air, where she leapt with a surge of psychic power and grabbed his leg – Sneasel wildly clawed at her and actually managed to nick her, but he yowled in shock as he was slammed into the sand he'd frozen previously, shattering it.

His friend didn't move for a few seconds, stunned from the heavy impact. Ash would definitely have to get him checked up later – that might have cracked some bones on his delicate friend.

Unfortunately for him, the second he made to stand up Medicham surged forward and planted a flaming fist into his fur, and this time he didn't get up.

Ash sighed and recalled Sneasel. "I'm proud of you, buddy. You did your best."

BRAWLY AND MEDICHAM WIN THAT ROUND! THE STORM-TAMER'S BRAT IS STRUCK DOWN WITH THE FURY OF A HURRICANE!

THE MATCH IS TIED! IT IS UP TO GYM LEADER BRAWLY'S DISCRETION AS TO HOW TO CONTINUE!

The trainer snorted at Alakazam's mental broadcast.

He was going to have to double up on Sneasel's training. Sneasel wasn't going to take this loss well and Ash knew it was time he started work seriously on the technique he hoped would bring Sneasel up to par with the rest of the team.

Not that the new technique would be all he trained Sneasel in, of course. Sneasel certainly needed to focus on general combat experience, along with a bit of versatility…he needed something to hit a wider area. He was pure precision when it came to ranged attacks, with his only other variety being his ability to quickly close distances.

But he'd still done well…Sneasel would have been knocked out in an instant against an opponent at Medicham's level just a month ago. Given time he'd be able to match even that sort of enemy and one day he'd truly surpass her.

Sneasel had only just scratched upon his potential, after all.

He was more concerned at the feeling bubbling up inside of him – loss. Ash certainly wasn't going to be beating himself up over it, but it was worth noting how it felt.

Ash had never really lost when it came to battling. When he was just starting out he'd been able to catch people off guard or face rookies of similar skill. He'd certainly had his fair share of losses, but it was usually to older trainers who had challenged him. It was almost expected for him to lose to them, like a rite of passage.

But after his first few months he'd managed to get to a level where he'd beat the average random trainer. He could sweep past the campers who tended to hang around the major cities for the most part, overwhelm specialists with his variety, and rely on his most powerful fighters like Torrent, Nidoking, and Infernus to crush those with teams as diverse as his own.

By the time he'd trained with Bruno and increased his team's abilities as a whole to the point where they could at least contend with a Gym Leader's true team loss wasn't something he'd faced very often.

Sure, there was still the odd powerful trainer who'd manage to beat at least one or two of his team soundly, but generally the trainers of his caliber were doing something besides traveling the roads.

Snatched up by the League who watched rising trainers with eyes like a Pidgeot's, employed as high-level security by private corporations, retired, following their own paths in a city, or just gone to explore the dangerous places of the world…that was where most truly powerful trainers went.

There weren't many with the dedication, talent, and bond with their teams to reach that level in the first place. After the ones who reached that level were found by people who would put that ability and destructive potential to a more official use or they found themselves on personal quests their were hardly any at all on the roads.

So losing was an odd feeling, even with one of his comparatively weaker fighters. The last time he'd actually lost was at the Conference, and while he wouldn't demean Michael's skill, he felt that a large part of that was Michael's huge variety compared to his own. It had let the older trainer prepare for him much better than he ever could have for Michael's small army of pokemon.

But he had to commend Brawly for that – the Gym Leader had soundly beaten one of his teammates, even if technically they'd tied for the match.

Still –

"Dude, that was awesome!" Brawly grinned as he strode up, Medicham standing stoically at his side. She'd lost the white aura that accompanied her mediation, although she still seemed ready for battle. "I haven't been pumped like that in ages! Totally worth my training grounds getting a little roughed up, man."

Brawly happily grabbed Ash's hand and shook it in his own, the wild grin never leaving the muscled man's face.

"It was a good battle," Ash smiled. "Not often one of mine gets thrashed like that."

"Tell me about it!" Brawly pumped his fist. "Hariyama's gonna be in a fit the next few days. Our next training days are going to be totally sick. He's going to come down on his training like a tidal wave!"

"Sneasel's going to be about the same," he snorted, eying the pokeball fondly. "Medicham, you're really powerful to handle him like that."

Medicham actually smiled at the compliment, nodding respectfully.

"Yeah, man, she's awesome!" Brawly affectionately cuffed Medicham on the back of her head, although she twitched out of the way at the last second. "Her and Hariyama…they're my best, both as fighters and friends. We've been together more than a decade and now and trained together the whole time! Hariyama might be my strongest, but she's my most skilled."

Brawly nodded sagely at that and folded his arms across his muscular chest. "That Machoke of yours is a tough dude. Bruno showed me the video of that crazy technique you've got but seeing it in person's totally different. You change it up a bit since the Indigo Conference?"

"We've been working on reducing the strain on his body. Less payoff, but how much does he really need? It lets him stay in Rampage for a lot longer, plus it lets his body acclimate to it!" Ash rambled, glad to talk to someone who actually understood what Rampage was. Even the Professor saw it just as a potent technique with potent drawbacks…although he admittedly never spoke with Oak about it in-depth.

"Aww yeah, sweet!" Brawly nodded again. "I gotta give you props for coming up with that, man. That's not even just a combat technique. You actually figured out how to physically train your Machoke! I don't have one so I haven't thought about it, but Bruno was seriously impressed!"

Ash blinked. Then fought the urge to sigh.

Bruno had noticed something from just a bare-bones explanation he'd barely thought about.

Normally the Machoke line had to go to enormous lengths to train their bodies. It was easy enough for them to train in combat, but to actually grow stronger they had to find massive boulders or trees and essentially devote massive amounts of times for minor returns. It was more efficient for them to just find the ridiculous amounts of food for them to get the necessary calories and protein to support their natural muscles than push for anything greater.

But Rampage, since it essentially shut down the limits on one's body, made training just a matter of using one's muscles to a level that would push past their normal breaking point. Not to the point of causing serious injury like the imperfect Rampage he'd used in the Conference was, but just by using levels of power the body's limiters would normally restrict.

Given time Bruiser's physical might could potentially rival that of a weaker Machamp…Ash made a mental note to seriously up the amount of food and protein that Bruiser got each day. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford it.

He decided to get off this topic before he felt any more foolish. "So you know Bruno?"

"Yeah, man! We're pretty close. I mean, once he decided I was good enough he taught me everything he knows!" The Gym Leader stared off into the horizon fondly. "We spent a few months in the Sevii Islands before he had to leave to go knock some sense into those Rockets."

Brawly eyed Ash. "Guess that makes us students of the same Master, doesn't it? Nice to meet you, bro."

"Nice to meet you too," Ash said drily. "And yeah, I guess it does."

"Don't get me wrong, I know you're Champion Lance's! Guess you did only get to spend a week with Bruno, after all." The man barked out a laugh. "Apparently Lance tells everyone about you, too."

"He does?" Ash raised an eyebrow, a warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the Hoenn heat or the Feather bonded to him.

Brawly nodded eagerly. "Oh yeah! And people listen, man. When he picks out a student heads turned your way fast. The Conference just kept them there."

Ash's grin widened, if at all possible. Normally he wouldn't be too fond of the attention, but if it came from Lance…

"But yeah, Bruno told me about you. Not too much until he heard you were coming to Hoenn, but a bit," Brawly shrugged. "Think he was telling me about that Machoke of yours to get me jealous more than anything, but what can you do?"

He snorted at that and nodded his assent.

"Speaking of that Machoke, Bruno wanted me to assess him," Brawly began. "I think I got plenty out of that battle. I figure you've probably figured most of this out on your own, but I'll go ahead and give you the rundown."

Ash nodded again and leaned forward, listening intently. Brawly might not have reached the level Bruno had yet, but he was still a highly skilled fighting-type specialist who knew much, much more than Ash on the topic. He'd be a fool to disregard this.

"Your Machoke's tough. He's got the guts he needs to be great and he's a physical monster – even without Rampage he's stronger than almost any other Machoke I've seen, even if he's still got the low mobility and too much bulk slowing him down."

"My Hariyama is probably the only thing that'll give him a run for his money strength-wise in the region…even other Hariyama and Machoke aren't gonna beat him there…and he's only going to get stronger if you keep training him like you have. And get him a proper diet, but he's doing well on that count."

"Technique wise he's sloppy. Can't really avoid that unless you're a fighting-type specialist or have a specialist-trained fighter instructing him. I wouldn't really call him a fighter – a brawler is more like it. Nothing really wrong with that if you can make Rampage more feasible, but if he faces a fighting-type physically on his level he's toast unless you can pull something else out to even the odds."

"Personally I'd say your best bet is for him to master Rampage and maybe give him a few other techniques to rely on if he faces a really good fighter. I mean, Rampage let him face Hariyama head on and that never happens…once he evolves I wouldn't want to try and match Machoke. He's gonna wipe the floor with just about everything he touches…I mean I'd pay money to see him face some of Bruno's team, even if he'll probably have a Rampage equivalent of his own worked out by then."

Brawly paused for a few seconds. "That's the gist of it. How long are you gonna be in Dewford, man?"

"Until tomorrow," Ash shrugged. "I've got an urgent delivery for Professor Birch. Dewford's my last stop."

"Gotcha. Well, in that case let me give you this."

With that Brawly withdrew a gleaming badge from his pocket and handed it to him. Ash gently took it and examined the glossy metal, which was shaped like a blue boxing glove with a small orange circle in the lower-center.

"Figured you've earned it, even if we tied. It's up to my discretion anyway," Brawly laughed. "Besides, I know you could beat me if you came at me with your best! I watched the Indigo Final…seriously impressive stuff, bro!"

"Thanks," Ash grinned at the older man. "That was probably the toughest fight I've ever been in…but probably the best too. Can't imagine the cleanup crew was too happy about it."

"Nah," Brawly carelessly wave his concern away. "They were probably stoked! I mean, how often do they get to clean up lava?"

"Not enough," Ash smirked. He paused for a moment as he placed the badge into its case. "Since I'm an Elite Four trainee am I even supposed to get this?"

Brawly shrugged. "Doesn't matter, man. It's, like, a recognition think I guess. Doesn't have to be used, does it?"

"I guess not," Ash murmured and watched as the badge case disappeared into a storage compartment.

"So, you want to head back to Dewford?" Brawly suggested. Nic materialized next to him an instant later. "I enjoy talking with you, dude, but I'm super hungry after climbing the cliffs, you know? We can go get something to eat."

"I'd imagine," he drawled. "Yeah, it's fine with me. I'm pretty hungry too."

He had just enough time to recall Aron before Nic the Alakazam warped them all away.

XX

Later that night, after he'd spent another hour or two talking with Brawly, he found himself laying in bed in the Pokemon Center. Aron idly munched on a hunk of metal Ash had caught him eying at one of the shops which he'd later bought. Dazed still kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't try and take a bite out of the metal railing on the bed but so far he'd been good.

Nidoking was resting to the side, both eyes shut. If Ash didn't know him so well he'd think he was actually asleep.

Right now he was skimming over Cynthia's book, his eyes flashing with a warm blue as Dazed interpreted the words through his mind.

He steadfastly ignored the icy fire that did the same.

…as such, Petalburg is noted as a minor historical power. Rather than a power in its own right it is generally noted as a buffer state between Rustboro and Slateport in a historical context.

Although it was successful in acting as a stop on the trade route between those two cities before storage technology and teleportation essentially eliminated those links in the modern era, Petalburg's greatest success was found in remaining independent from the two trading powers.

It often balanced whichever of the two were stronger, and though it might be allied with one or the other it never submitted. Petalburg often paid for this fact, and thus spawned a martial tradition that produced some of the finest trainers in Hoenn. Though that tradition has died in the modern era, in contrast to Dewford, Petalburg still remembers their history and the Petalburg Gym has held a reputation for difficulty since its founding.

Still –

"Ugh…"

Ash frowned and closed the book, trusting Dazed to remember their page. His friend psychically activated one of his storage compartments to remove the book from space and watched the door with him, although she was curiously silent on the matter.

Moments later Daisy stumbled in, appearing absolutely terrible compared to her usually pristine good looks. Whether as a result of her Coordinating focus or just her personality, Daisy was usually meticulous when it came to making sure she looked presentable at all times – and, if he was being honest with himself, Daisy's presentable was most people's excellent.

The Oak family had to have rigged the genetic lottery somehow.

So seeing her with scrapes, caked with dirt, dark bags under her eyes, and a general air of exhaustion was rather new for him.

"You okay?"

Daisy grunted. She shuffled over to her bed and steadfastly collapsed face-down into it, not even bothering to take off her shoes or change out of her absolutely filthy clothes.

"Did you get your hat back?" He asked, struggling to keep a straight face.

She groaned again and laid still.

Ash decided to take that as a no. "That's too bad."

Her head twitched slightly. He thought that might have been agreement.

"Well, good night," he said quietly. When she didn't say anything for several seconds he looked to Dazed curiously.

She is asleep, Friend-Trainer.

Ash nodded and pulled himself out of bed, careful to avoid stepping on Nidoking or disturbing Aron. He walked over to Daisy and began by removing her pack, followed by her dirt-stained headband and the thin jacket she'd worn down in the caves.

He wrinkled his nose as the smell hit him – Ash certainly didn't mind the scents that came along with traveling, but Daisy had done a very good job of pushing these to their limit. Ash wasn't sure what was on these besides dirt and sweat and he was pretty sure he didn't want to know.

"Put her under Hypnosis," Ash sighed as he unclipped the belt she kept her pokeballs on. "She needs her rest."

Dazed nodded and focused. Scarlet tendrils emanated from her pendulum and wound their way over to Daisy, caressing her skin briefly before it suffused her mind and caused her slow breaths to deepen even further.

"Lift her up – I'm going to put some covers over her," Ash instructed. Dazed easily held the girl aloft with her psychic power – Daisy might be taller than Ash but she was still a small girl. Once Ash had pulled the white sheets back Dazed put Daisy back so Ash could cover his friend up. "Thanks, Dazed."

His friend nodded and let Ash get to work.

Ash watched Daisy peacefully slumber for a few more moments before he breathed and picked up the accessories he'd removed. The pokeballs he carefully placed onto her bedside table – he knew those were what she'd be concerned with in the morning.

Once he'd gathered everything up he brought the storage compartment containing his own laundry and took it with him – it looked like Daisy had had a rough time, so the least he could do was make sure that some of her things were clean by the time she woke up.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered to the Oak's sleeping body before he stepped out of the room, followed quickly by the Hypno's shuffling steps.

With how rough it seemed Daisy had had it, she needed them.

A/N: And there it ends…sorry about the long wait, but I hope all of you enjoyed it. I know that I said after the last update that this one would be out in probably a month or so, and I'm very sorry it wasn't. School got in my way, as always, but the big factor in this wait time was a car accident I was involved with. I wasn't able to write for quite a while, and I've only been back at it for about two weeks now. I'm fully recovered, thankfully, but it was definitely a roadblock for Traveler.

While I have realized that I can't promise updates at a certain time, no matter how much I'd like to, I will say that over this break I've been able to seriously rediscover my passion for Traveler and I want to write it in a way I haven't for a while. I've never disliked writing this story – I love everything about making the story in my head into a reality – but I feel what I haven't in a long time and it's going to push me to update much more frequently.

With that out of the way, I'd like to thank everyone for your support of Traveler over my very annoying breaks! Once again I'm sorry for the long delay but I will promise to push for updates much harder than I have in the past.

Thanks again, and make sure to review!