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.

36. Chapter 36: The Delivery

Hey, Ashy! I hope you're doing well…I know you said you'd be a while in the Cave but I just wanted to check in on you. I never know if you'll remember to change your underwear without me reminding!

Things are great here in Johto! I'm at Goldenrod and it's fantastic, although the best part is seeing Spencer and little Molly again! She's so cute! I think you would really like her…really! And don't try to pretend like you didn't just have a face like you ate one of those sour candies Gary tricked you into eating when you were younger!

I wish you could be here, but I know you're going to have a great time in Hoenn.

Professor Elm's helped me learn so much! There have been so many advances in his field since I last studied it's crazy. He's discovered things I can barely imagine – there's so many more discovered mechanisms behind evolution than were known about just a few years ago. I wish I was good enough to explain just how amazing the chemistry and biology behind it is!

But I don't want to bore you with that. What have you been up to? Anything interesting happen inside the cave? Samuel told me that you met Daisy in Sootopolis and you're traveling with her now – that's great!

Daisy's a sweet girl…she helped change your diapers you know! She was such a joy around the house when she was little and I hear she hasn't changed that much. Tell her I said hello again and that she should tell me when she's in Pallet next. I'd love to catch up with her.

Well, I don't want to take up too much of your time, Ashy. I know you're busy, you big Elite Four trainee!

Take care and stay safe! I love you!

Love,

Mom

Ash smiled as he finished reading his mother's letter, although he wrinkled his nose at the thought of Daisy changing his diapers as a baby. That was something he didn't need to know – hopefully Daisy had managed to forget about it herself.

Still, he was glad to hear from his mother. She'd sent the message his first day in Granite Cave so he figured he'd best respond as soon as possible. She tended to worry about him a little too much, even though Ash couldn't really understand why – sure, he got into a bit of trouble now and then but unless a Legend was involved he and his friends were more than capable of handling just about anything.

Besides, he'd managed to avoid telling her about most of his encounters thus far.

"Thanks for helping me out last night," Daisy started as she left the bathroom, hair wet from her morning shower. Ash nodded, although he was too focused on reading some of the message to pay much attention. "It was really sweet of you to bring me breakfast too!"

"You looked like you needed it," he shrugged. Ash neglected to mention that the food she'd eaten was supposed to be enough for both of them. From his admittedly little experience he couldn't see that going in anything resembling a good way. Girls could be weird like that. "Feel better?"

"Loads!" She chirped. "It's almost enough to make me forget about not getting my hat back!"

Ash put the PokeNav down. "What happened with that anyway? No offense, but you looked terrible."

"None taken!" Daisy giggled as she plopped down onto her own bed. "Well, after I saw the Sableye I ended up chasing it down with my team…or trying to, anyway. It was a fast little thing and knew the caves way better than I did – if it didn't leave little marks for us to find we would've lost it in a few minutes, even with Gardevoir and Ninetales helping."

"So it led us on a chase for a few hours…" the Oak grumbled and folded her arms underneath her chest. "It actually caused a few cave-ins to block our path and led us straight into an angry Hariyama and Aggron that didn't take too kindly to our presence."

"Sounds fun," Ash grinned.

Daisy just shook her head. "You're a weird kid, you know that?" She smiled at Ash's frown and reached over to teasingly tug on his cheeks. "But if you weren't you wouldn't be so cute, would you, baby Ashy?"

He stared at her. She pouted and finally let go, although she still snickered for a few seconds.

It looked like being down in the caverns for two days hadn't done much to improve her sense of humor.

"Anyways, that's how the first day went," Daisy continued. Gardevoir, who elegantly sat next to the girl with almost unnervingly perfect posture, frowned at the next part. "We were almost about to get the stupid Sableye – like, Ninetales could literally smell it – and then an Onix bursts up out of the floor from nowhere! The whole tunnel collapsed – if Gardevoir wasn't so quick I might have been a little more scuffed up. We were trapped down there for the rest of the time before I finally gave up and let Gardevoir take me out. That was no fun."

"I'd imagine," Ash commented drily. He absentmindedly thrummed his fingers against the bed's iron railing, a small smirk playing over his features as he ran Daisy's story through his head.

"Oh you think it's funny, do you?" Daisy grinned evilly. Ash felt a sinking sensation in his stomach at that. Whatever she had planned, it wasn't good. Considering that Gardevoir had a full-blown smile on her face he felt that his fears were justified. "You know, I took the liberty of asking Grandpa to send me some of the old pictures I had in my room back at Pallet."

Ash frowned. He didn't like where this was going.

"You know that I used to help your mom take care of you when she needed some extra hands," she gave a smirk almost disturbingly reminiscent of Gary's. "You were so adorable back then! Just this chubby little baby with the cutest little tuft of black hair!"

He sat very, very still.

"But once you got older you got a bit crazy!" Daisy recalled fondly, idly toying with her PokeDex. She had an upgraded version, it seemed. The base model didn't come with messaging or similar features. "You know, I remembered this picture your mom took of you running around naked in the fields chasing a baby Growlithe! And one of you dressed up in this adorable little Squirtle suit with Gary in a Charmander one. And then there was this great one of you crying at your first birthday party with so much chocolate cake all over you I couldn't even tell you were a little boy! But I think the king of them all is –"

"I get your point," Ash said resignedly, cheeks just the slightest shade of red. Considering what it usually took to rattle him he'd give this round to Daisy.

"Good to hear!" Daisy giggled and put the PokeDex away. "It's too bad – I really wanted to take another look at those!"

"Well I don't," he rolled his eyes. "Actually I'd appreciate it a lot if you could delete those."

"And give up this kind of gold?" Daisy scoffed. "Yeah right! I'd have to be totally stupid to let go of this! You know, I wonder how much the tabloids would pay for this…you're still their golden child right now."

Ash just sighed and shook his head. He knew Daisy was just teasing. She might like messing with him but Daisy was about as far from cruel as could be.

"I guess I'm too nice for that. I wouldn't do that to you," Daisy sighed, attracting Ash's attention again. His eyes narrowed as her face lit up and a manic grin fell over her face. "But I bet my little baby brother would appreciate them even more…well, maybe not the one of you naked!"

"I would hope not," Ash grit out. His fists clenched until his knuckles whitened under the strain at the thought of Gary with that sort of blackmail material on his hands – Ash wouldn't let him get anything out of it, but he'd literally never hear the end of it. "You do realize if you do that I'm pretty sure I'm legally obligated to have my Magmortar incinerate your PokeDex, right? I'm pretty sure I could get away with it too."

"Hey, I have important stuff saved on here!" Daisy pouted. Ash had to admit she had a very real talent for making herself seem cute and innocent. Most guys might even fall for it – Daisy was a very pretty girl, although Ash wouldn't go so far as to say she matched up to Karen or the Sisters. Her gentle features lent themselves more to soft smiles than the haughty arrogance of Karen or the casual beauty of the sisters.

Daisy cocked her head at him as the last part of his words hit her. "Wait, what do you mean you could probably get away with it?"

"Well I am an Elite Four member," Ash grinned. "A trainee, anyway."

"Aww, that's so cute!" Daisy surprised him by giggling and reaching forward to tug on his cheeks again. "Big bad Elite Four Ashy Ketchum! It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Definitely," Ash rolled his eyes. He didn't know what he expected – he'd hoped to at least surprise Daisy out of the topic at hand, but then he should have expected that Daisy wasn't one to be impressed by titles or privilege. She was an Oak, after all. "I'll call up Lance to have my ID changed."

Daisy snorted, although she smiled at the mention of Lance. "Okay, that's actually kind of cool to hear you name drop the Champion like that."

Ash grinned, although he stopped when Daisy suddenly giggled to herself.

"Say," she fluttered her long eyelashes at him, "you wouldn't happen to mind giving me his number, would you? I promise it wouldn't get you in trouble!"

He pretended to think for a moment and tapped his chin thoughtfully. Ash stared at Daisy just long enough to make her a tad uncomfortable before he gave his reply.

"I could," he allowed. Daisy actually squealed before he continued. Ash had to stare at her for another few seconds until she calmed down and waited patiently, PokeDex already in hand. "But I think you might be a little young for his tastes."

"Wait, what? No! That's totally not – I mean that's ridiculous!" Daisy sputtered, all of her usual serenity lost. "I mean, sure he's really good looking and strong and he has pretty hair but I mean I totally wasn't after that even though it would totally be legal –"

Ash snorted and even Dazed and Gardevoir joined in with a mental chuckle. "You might as well just stop now. You're embarrassing yourself."

"I really wasn't!" Daisy flushed. If she got any redder she might give a Charmeleon a run for its money. "…and you know his type?"

"I have an idea," Ash shrugged. He'd heard a lot of stories from Lance during their time at Knot Island, some that his mother, Professor Oak, Steven…actually anyone with a normal sense of decency wouldn't approve of. Not at his age anyway. There wasn't anything too risqué but Ash was smart and knowledgeable enough to read in between the lines.

"Do tell!" Daisy leaned forward and listened raptly. "Please? For me?"

Ash smirked. "Sure. I want to watch you delete those pictures though. And you can't use them against me again."

"Fine," his companion sighed. She wiped an invisible tear from her eye. "I guess all good things must come to an end."

"Drama queen," he muttered, although it was about as affectionate as could be. "Well, this shouldn't take long. Lance isn't a complicated man…"

XX

"Did you get anything out of the trip to the caves?" Ash asked as he saddled up Plume. She patiently waited for him to tie the straps and affectionately cooed at him as he stroked her plumage as an apology for his slow progress.

"Well I got these really cool scrapes and bruises!" His companion laughed, playfully modeling the collection of yellow and purple skin for him. She eyed the faded burns on his arms and the thick rope of scar tissue underneath his eye. "They don't quite match up to yours, I'm afraid."

Ash smiled at that. "You sound jealous."

"What can I say? It might get me some extra points this season if I show up looking like I just walked out of a forest fire…not that I'd need them, of course!" Daisy giggled as she hopped up onto her own Pidgeot's saddle and started strapping herself in. She glanced at him as she adjusted the forest green goggles that would protect her from the high speeds. "Then again, I might not wear them as well as you do. They fit better on a guy, I think."

"Oh?" He asked as he caught up to her and hopped onto Plume, grinning as she let out a fierce scream that cut its way through the heavens. She always did like to announce her presence to the world.

"You've got the whole rugged look going on…give it a few years, though," Daisy explained. A devious smile slipped onto her face. "Then all the other girls might like them as much as Lisia does!"

Ash groaned at the joke and shook his head. "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yes, yes," Daisy brushed his impatience off with practiced ease. "We can head out now if you want."

He nodded and prepared to have Plume head off when Daisy suddenly interrupted him. She grinned sheepishly at him and brandished a few dull grey rocks he instantly recognized as Everstones.

"All jokes aside, I forgot to mention I found these when we were trapped by Onix!" The corners of her lips curved upwards. "They're a great find! You probably wouldn't expect it, but Everstones are really valuable for Coordinators!"

And giant, millennium old Rhydon. Ash couldn't help but think back to the First's Rhydon, who required a full five of the stones just to prevent its unnatural strength from forcing an evolution.

"Glad to hear it," he grunted. "Plume?"

In a second they were off, blasted off into the sky like a tan comet. Ash was just barely able to hear Daisy and her Pidgeot's annoyed screams before Plume's greater speed carried them just ahead of his companion.

XX

Ash,

Hey, how are you? It's been a while. I just wanted to check how you've been doing in Hoenn. I know you won't be meeting Steven for a while yet but I figured I should get a basic report of what you've done. From what I've heard you've made a good impression on everyone you've met so far – not that I expected otherwise. You are my student, after all.

Sorry I haven't been in touch. Everything's stable here in Kanto. The Elite Four rankings have been decided – did you watch those battles yet? – Karen and Koga are having all sorts of fun stabilizing the underworld, Mewtwo has been silent, the Orange League situation has been revolved, and even Moltres hasn't been in contact.

It's actually a bit suspicious. Are you sure you weren't the cause of it all? I guess I'll just have to wait and see if anything strange pops up in Hoenn while you're there.

Just kidding, of course. Regardless, keep me up to date on anything that transpires in regards to Legends. You have a closer connection to them than most.

Anyways, I hope you're having a good time in Hoenn. You deserve some time off and I know that Hoenn's a good place to relax, especially when Steven isn't there to mess up your fun.

With any luck your goal should be to have as good of a time as I did – and by that I mean grow the strongest you can, explore, meet some interesting people, do Indigo proud, and do some things you'll probably regret but will get great stories out of.

I would give a few of my own so that you'd have something to aspire to, but I'm pretty sure Bagon just found the way to Chinatsu while he was wandering around and I need to go save him.

I'll be in touch.

Lance

Ash read over the message and snorted at the rushed end – hopefully Bagon got out with minimal burns. Chinatsu was a fickle creature at the best of times and she didn't favor the current Champion or his team.

He looked down at the ocean below. They were about thirty minutes from Littleroot, maybe a bit less. It was a rather short flight from Dewford to the small town that housed Professor Birch and his research laboratory.

Plenty of time to get the report done. He didn't have too much to mention. It wasn't as if he'd accomplished anything fantastic in Hoenn.

Mostly it would be a brief overview of the locations he'd visited, what he'd done, and the addition to his team.

All that would really stand out was his report on the Legendary influences he'd encountered at the Cave of Origin and Granite Caverns. Ash wasn't sure if he should mention the strange effect he'd run into with the Thunder Stone in the official report or not.

Eventually he decided against it. He'd speak with Lance about it in their next correspondence. He didn't know if that was something he wanted to have on the record.

Besides, it would probably be better to speak with Sabrina about this. He'd have to check in with her next time he was in Kanto, although if it looked like he wouldn't be going there for the next few months he might just access the League databases and get her information.

Unlimited access to the League archives and profiles was one of the nicer perks granted by his position in the Elite Four, only outranked by his ability to permanently carry his full team with him.

There were still a few documents he couldn't view, but almost everything was laid bare to him. He hadn't used that privilege too often yet but he planned to in the near future.

Those were the main privileges of being in the Elite Four in his opinion. The most practical for his situation, at least.

Ash didn't see himself commandeering too many ACE or Ranger squads in the future. Or taking control of police operations, given access to literally anywhere with his ID being the only qualification required, or the other nigh unlimited legal powers afforded to him.

He very nearly was the law, even as a trainee.

There were other useful perks, of course.

Free access to League safehouses and requisitions facilities was very convenient. He could literally ask for almost anything he wanted. If they had it, it was his…to a point, anyway. Ash could be refused if he seemed like he was abusing the privilege.

Other than that he had to say that the high-tech medical technology was incredibly useful as well. It was only in close proximity to civilization or in League outposts, but those facilities housed the same technology that could take a mortally wounded pokemon and have it on its feet in a day. Even Pokemon Centers were primitive in comparison, although they did their job very, very well.

Ash would have to see what else would apply in Hoenn. Steven would be a great help on that – he seemed like the type to memorize manuals and guidelines. Everything Ash knew about the former Champion pointed to him being as by-the-book as could be.

He frowned and took a moment to look down to the great blue ocean, although he had to hold back a grimace as his stomach reflexively lurched at the sight. Ash wasn't worried by the sea itself anymore – the calming Song running through his spirit had seen to that – but he still had a long way to go until he was comfortable with being up at these heights.

Sure it was fun and exhilarating and brought him closer to Plume than he'd ever been, but he was quite literally higher than most mountains right now. That realization didn't do much for his sense of safety.

Ash shook his head at that and grinned at Plume, whose soft coo was lost in the winds as he stroked the back of her head. He supposed he really had nothing to worry about.

If he couldn't trust Plume with his safety then who could he?

He clutched the PokeNav tightly as Plume slowly started her descent – she must have picked out Daisy doing the same. They were basically flying alongside her with a few thousand feet between them…Ash could only just barely make out a tan dot in the bright blue sky.

It was a short flight so he couldn't say he was surprised. Daisy had said it would only take about two hours before they'd left, although it looked like they'd managed to make even better time than she'd hoped for.

Well, at least Plume and Daisy's Pidgeot's rivalry had some sort of benefit.

Rivalry might be a bit too much, he mused. They really just liked to compete against each other. Technically that fit the definition of a rival, but after his experiences with Gary he'd picked up his own interpretation of the word.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and started typing up the report once he'd gotten a few straps wrapped around it so that he didn't have to worry about his PokeNav falling into the great expanse of water below.

That might put a dampener on his day.

Still, he supposed it was good that he was finally getting to Littleroot. Ash didn't think he'd taken too long considering the number of unnecessary days he'd spent exploring or relaxing amounted to less than a week. Honestly he wasn't going to be in too much of a rush until Professor Oak personally called.

The data was important, sure, but from what Oak had let slip all of the Pokemon Professors had plenty on their plates already. It wasn't as if they got to ignore their normal duties for the League and their own personal research just because they'd gotten the Legends dumped on them. Ash figured they might delegate a bit more but considering the enormity of the task unraveling the Legends' mysteries entailed that drop in the workload was minimal.

With those musings out of the way Ash finally decided to get a head start on his report. He'd really rather get it done with so he could focus on things that were actually interesting.

Like training and spending time with his family. Or exploring. Or fighting.

Ash frowned thoughtfully at that. Maybe it was about time he added another activity into the mix.

His thoughts drifted off to the otherworldly instrument in one of his storage compartments. Even if he didn't have a musical bone in his body and his voice was mangled from his and Lance's battle with Moltres he could at least try – what was the point in giving up before he even began?

At the thought of the Flute his brown eyes habitually flickered down to the ocean they passed over in a blur. Ash found himself entranced by it as the Song echoed ethereally between his ears and for just a moment he could have sworn he saw a flash of white in the water before it vanished.

He gripped his PokeNav tightly and turned to it, although a slight smile drifted across his face at the reminder of the Great Guardian.

Lugia was one Legend he wished he could have spent more time with. It was just as helpful as Mew – even moreso considering it warned him of the Awakening – and it hadn't even killed him. He supposed that automatically gave it a few points in his book…and his team's.

Oh well. Maybe he'd meet it again someday…

XX

Ash grimaced as he stepped onto mainland Hoenn for the first time. His legs had started to lock into the position he'd been in riding Plume and it was an annoyance to stretch them back out.

"So what do you think?" Daisy called out from behind him as she slipped her goggles off and did her best to smooth out her hair. "It's a cute little town, isn't it?"

He nodded as he examined his surroundings with a practiced eye.

Littleroot was hardly even a town. More like a few neighborhoods and a small row of businesses built around Professor Birch's lab. Like Pallet Town it was mostly composed of researchers and others working at the Pokemon Professor's facility along with a small group of people that came to sell goods and provide services to the scientists.

The difference was that while Pallet Town existed relatively autonomously due to its isolation Littleroot was only a few miles away from Oldale Town. If the Hoenn Professor hadn't elected to have his workplace built where he could do fieldwork from home it probably would've been right outside Oldale proper.

Still, it was nice. It was simple, the largest building was Birch's lab, and it felt like it merged perfectly with the wilderness around it. Littleroot might be close to Oldale, but it was still rather isolated from any centers of civilization.

Its air was clean, there was plenty of shade, and he could hear plenty of pokemon crying out from the woods. Honestly, Littleroot was more of a clearing than anything. He could walk half a mile and be in thick, dense forest.

As thick and dense as Hoenn would allow, anyway. The trees seemed sparser here than in his native region, and thinner too. While they still looked sturdy and strong they appeared just a shade more delicate and didn't form the imposing walls Ash had come to love over the past year of his life.

That would take some getting used to. Combined with the light humidity that was still worse than almost anything he'd dealt with in Kanto, the heat that made him seriously consider going shirtless like most of the islanders he'd seen, and the unfamiliar pokemon calls he was well aware that he was a long way from home.

"Guess we should probably get a move on," Daisy remarked as she returned her Pidgeot. Ash nodded and glanced to Plume, who picked up on his plan and took to the skies. That two hour trip was nowhere near enough exercise for her. "Professor Birch is probably in his lab…you can head in and talk to him if you'd like. I'm going to visit one of my friends while you're busy with that – she's the wife of the Petalburg Gym Leader, Norman."

Ash frowned thoughtfully. He'd read the profiles on Hoenn's Gym Leaders. No reason to go in blind, especially since there was the possibility that he'd be working with them during his time in Hoenn.

Either Norman liked women a lot younger than him or Daisy had a few intergenerational friendships…not that he could say anything. Now that he thought about it he could pretty much count the number of friends he had that were his own age on one hand.

He inwardly shrugged. It wasn't important. At least he'd made friends – even if he would be more than content with just his team. They were all he really needed. The rest were just bonuses and greatly appreciated.

"That sounds fine," he agreed, bringing his focus back onto the conversation. Daisy had been staring at him expectantly. "Which house?"

"That one," Daisy pointed to one of the homes in the small neighborhood by the lab. "Professor Birch's house is actually the one right next to it on the right. Norman and the Professor are pretty good friends so they stay here in Littleroot instead of Petalburg."

Ash nodded, showing he understood. An idea suddenly struck him. "You think Norman'll be here or at the Conference?"

"Conference," his friend said without a second's hesitation. "He has way too much of a stick up his butt to play fast and loose with the rules like you said Brawly did."

"Thanks for that mental image," Ash grimaced and was rewarded with a bright smile from Daisy. "Well, I'll be off then. You said you'd have a place for us to stay?"

"Probably with Caroline," Daisy confirmed. "We haven't seen each other in forever and I'd love to spend some extra time catching up."

She turned to him fully and he braced himself for whatever was coming. "You know, Ashy, when I was talking to her earlier I mentioned who I was traveling with."

"Is that so?" He ground out, eyes narrowed.

"It just so happens that her son is a huge fan of yours!" The Oak sang. "She said he watches your matches so constantly she's actually getting worried about him! Apparently he knows your stats and all that other boring battling stuff of yours by heart."

Ash blinked. He didn't even know his official stats. There wasn't really a point…all he cared about was his ability, not how well he did in a tournament. Sure, the success was determined by his ability, but that wasn't what he really cared about.

"Huh," was all he could mutter. Ash felt like this wouldn't be nearly as relaxing for him as it would be for Daisy. His fans were something he'd managed to avoid up until this point…after the Conference, anyway. He still remembered very well the feeling of being ambushed or feeling all eyes upon him as he did something as trivial as walk down the street. It wasn't exactly something he was fond of.

"Also, I might have promised that you'd sign an autograph!" Daisy said very quickly as she trotted away. "Bye!"

He just sighed and watched her for a few moments before focusing. Ash had a job to do.

XX

The inside of Professor Birch's lab was almost a perfect replica of Oak's. Most of the important equipment and materials were in the sealed rooms to the back and sides, so this was just the atrium.

It wasn't quite as large, but it mimicked Professor Oak's lab well with its white, sterile atmosphere and general air of sophistication in contrast to the simple town around it. There were a few people out in the open, eating lunch or staring at some sort of device that was probably filled with data.

"Can I help you?"

Ash glanced on the speaker, who halfheartedly smiled at him. The man who looked to be in charge of greeting visitors was short with black hair, a patchy beard, and terribly dark bags under his eyes. Still, he appeared almost unnervingly alert and watched Ash with intensity that set the boy on edge.

"I have a delivery for Professor Birch," he said after a moment.

"I can take it," the assistant offered, stretching out a hand. "I'm not sure where he is at the moment but I can hold onto it until he returns."

He frowned. "I'm not giving this to anyone but Professor Birch. It's a delivery from Professor Oak."

"Oh?" The man leaned forward, much more interested now. "Well, I can understand your hesitance then. Professor Birch shouldn't be back for a while…he always runs out to visit his family or explore after lunch. To be honest it's getting a little excessive…we're going to have to put a leash on him if he doesn't start spending more time here."

Ash cracked a rare smile at that. Seemed like Birch's team had the opposite of Oak's. Whereas Oak obsessively remained in the lab and had to be reminded to eat and drink if he was working on something that interested him, Birch seemed to prefer fieldwork much more.

He supposed that might be a consequence of their pasts…as a trainer strong enough to be a Champion Oak must have gotten traveling and field research out of his system decades ago. Working in a lab and enjoying complete oversight must have been like a vacation for him.

"Do you know where I can find him?" Ash inquired once he'd snapped out of his thoughts. "This needs to be delivered as soon as possible."

"Like I said, best to try his house first," the assistant replied. He absentmindedly stroked his beard. "His son should be able to point you in the right direction if the Professor already headed out into the field. He at least tells him these things."

"Thanks," he said. "I'll come back here and wait if I can't find him."

The assistant just nodded and waved him off before returning to typing on the large computer in front of him. Ash just shrugged and headed out. He knew what he needed to do now.

XX

"Hello?" A boy probably two years younger than Ash answered the door with a lazy scowl. "Can I help – oh crap, you're Ash Ketchum."

"Yeah," Ash nodded, just barely holding off an irritated frown of his own. He took a moment to examine the boy more closely. He wasn't anything too special, not at first glance anyway. Tan skin, brown hair that just barely peeked out beneath an odd, knit white cap, and a red and black shirt that was surprisingly tight for someone who lived in southern Hoenn.

The boy recovered fast and threw the door open, inviting Ash inside. He followed, just a bit annoyed at all this unnecessary interaction. He had a job to do.

"I'm Brendan Birch and it's super cool to meet you, man. I've got to admit it gets really annoying when Max doesn't shut up about you but I checked out your battles in the Indigo Conference and wow!" Brendan rambled, after practically tearing Ash's arm off when he shook the trainer's hand. "Like, that Magmortar of yours is crazy strong! It took down a Salamence, that overpowered Jolteon, and needed a Snorlax to take it down…you totally should have won that battle, man. I know Salamence and I could tell that was a tough one."

Ash blinked. "It would've been nice to win. And Infernus is pretty strong – probably my strongest in raw power."

"I'd hope so," the boy snorted and turned around to face Ash again. "It literally destroyed the field. I was watching a recording of the live commentary and they said if it was much worse they would have had to relocate the Final since the field would have collapsed out from under your feet."

"Guess we would have had to do that if I rematched Michael," Ash commented drily. "Don't know how much Lance would have appreciated that, though."

"From what Drake told me he'd have loved it," Brendan smirked and crossed his arms. "And anyone who managed to beat Hoenn's Dragon Master is going to be someone that can appreciate large-scale destruction anyway."

"You know Drake?" Ash raised an eyebrow, a bit curious at that. Curious enough to entertain Brendan, anyway.

Brendan scoffed. "Do I know him? Dude, I'm the son of Hoenn's Pokemon Professor. I've spent more time at Ever Grande and the Gyms than I have in this backwater, what with my Dad and Mom being so busy."

Ash nodded at that. It was reasonable enough.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Brendan asked. "I mean, it's super cool to meet you and everything and I'm totally going to rub this in that little brat Max's face, but it's not every day someone like you shows up in a place like this."

"I have a delivery for Professor Birch – your dad," Ash corrected himself. "It's from Professor Oak and it's urgent that I deliver it as soon as possible."

"Alright, cool," the boy nodded. He walked over to one of the counters of the small home – Ash had been distracted enough that he didn't even take the time to examine his surroundings, which was a bit annoying to him – and slung a green pack over his shoulder. "I'm not going to pry if it's from Professor Oak. But I can take you to him. He should be just outside of town."

Ash smiled and followed the boy out the door.

"Normally I wouldn't go out on my own since I only get to help my Dad with fieldwork when I've got one of the lab pokemon, but I'm guessing you'll be plenty tough enough to handle the odd Poochyena or Zigzagoon," Brendan smirked, holding the door open for Ash. "If not…well, it's a good thing I've got a few pokeballs on me 'cause that's one Zigzagoon I'd be interested in picking up."

He nodded and lightly let his hands dance over his pokeballs, grinning as he felt each of his friends shake their containers in turn.

If something out in these woods could pose a threat to him…well, Brendan wouldn't need to worry about catching it. Ash wouldn't let something that tough get away without good reason.

XX

"He should be somewhere out here," Brendan said as he led Ash out of the town and off the small path. "Dad likes to hang out and watch wild pokemon for a while most days. Says it keeps him focused. Personally, I think he just likes taking a few hours off every day without anyone else being able to say jack."

Ash snorted at the boy's bluntness.

"You don't say much, do you?" Brendan looked back over his shoulder to Ash.

"Not really," Ash shrugged, a slight smirk playing over his lips as Brendan rolled his eyes. He might not be quite as good at it as Gary or Daisy, but it really was a nice bit of fun annoying people like this.

"Very funny," Brendan rolled his eyes and focused on pushing past a few branches that had grown into the beaten dirt path. "What's up with your voice anyway, dude? Sounds like you've been gargling sandpaper or something."

The Feather burned at that, Fire and Lightning coursing throughout his body as the memories surged. Ash winced as his lungs and throat seared with scarring heat, the feeling just as intense as it was when he'd first faced the Bird of Fire with the Dragon Master at his side.

"I spent a little more time around a volcano than I should have," he said after a moment's pause. "Not everything appreciates a fight there and I paid for it."

"Note to self, do not piss off volcano pokemon," Brendan recited and pretended to write down a few notes. "Any other words of wisdom?"

"Not really," Ash shrugged. "I'll let you have the fun of figuring it all out on your own. Where's the fun in learning from other people's mistakes?"

"Not tearing up my vocal cords, for one," the boy shot back. His tone softened a little bit, just enough for Ash to know his words had been meant in jest. Not that it would have bothered Ash anyway. He had thicker skin than that. "Not that it sounds bad, or anything. Just makes you sound like you're gonna punch someone out all the time."

Ash couldn't help but grin at that. "Considering some of the people I know that's not a bad thing."

"Considering the average person I'm not gonna argue that one," Brendan smirked back. "Some people make Slowpoke look like me compared to…oh, I don't know, everyone? Present company and a few notable exceptions excluded, of course."

"Aren't you just brimming with confidence?" Ash snorted. It almost felt like he was talking to Gary again. Brendan Birch and the youngest Oak had more than their relationship with a Pokemon Professor in common, it seemed.

"At least you didn't call it arrogance," the boy smiled. "Because it would only be arrogance if it weren't true."

Just like Gary, then. Brendan was just a bit more mellowed out than his friend.

"Anyway, he should be just up…oh, come on!" Brendan groaned. Ash tensed and stepped up beside him, only to snort as he realized what had brought on the boy's sudden attitude change. "Really, Dad?"

"Brendan? Is that you?" The deep voice of a tall, broad-chested man Ash immediately recognized as Professor Birch called out. It easily rang out over the light growls that came from a diminutive striped creature that leapt at the tree playfully, claws carving small gouges into the soft wood.

Ash raised an eyebrow. A Zigzagoon had treed the Professor?

"Yes, it's me! Got another son I need to know about?" Brendan snarked back. "Don't know if Mom would appreciate that one too much."

"Will you just help me?" Professor Birch cried from his position high up in one of the skinny trees of Hoenn. Ash eyed it warily. He was half-surprised it hadn't collapsed under the strain. Birch wasn't fat, but he was a large man.

Brendan smirked as he watched his father. "I don't know…you look pretty comfy up there. Besides, a Zigzagoon? Really? This is worse than that time with the Poochyena!"

"It's surprisingly mean!" Birch defended and pointed down at the small creature. It looked back with its tongue lolling out of its mouth before it growled at the man and started pawing at the tree again. "See that bag down there? The new batch of starters are in it. I dropped it before I could let them out to chase off the Zigzagoon. I was going to give you one for your birthday anyway, but if you get this thing to leave me alone you can have it early!"

"Now why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Brendan grinned. "Alright, pops. You've got a deal. Ash, watch and learn."

He snorted and watched as Brendan casually found the large sack and pulled three pokeballs out of it, examining each for the elemental sticker on it before finally selecting the one with a large drop of water. "This'll do."

The boy released what Ash recognized as a Mudkip then, bending down and muttering a bit to it as the Zigzagoon turned around to focus on the new arrival. Mudkip seemed to grin up at Brendan and squared itself as the Zigzagoon growled and darted forward in a zigzagging motion that almost gave Ash a headache.

Ash just sighed and let go of Aron's pokeball. He'd planned on giving the steel-type some real combat experience.

Guess that was a bust.

That didn't stop him from watching the proceedings with some small amount of interest, however. Brendan was surprisingly comfortable commanding the Mudkip as they prepared themselves for the Zigzagoon which soon barreled into Mudkip and knocked it on its side – it didn't escape unscathed, though.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun!" Brendan shouted and pointed at the Zigzagoon as it spun around to resume its attack on the water-type. Mudkip squinted and shot off a jet of water, surprising Ash. He supposed Mudkip was a bit better than he'd thought. "Mudkip, hit it again!"

Zigzagoon whimpered as the high-pressured blast slammed into it and knocked it onto its side, and as Mudkip reared its head back to deliver another Water Gun it scurried off into the safety of the woods with a blur of motion.

"Aww yeah!" Brendan cheered and leaned down to pat the gleeful Mudkip on its head, rubbing around its fins. "That's what I'm talking about! We're awesome!"

Ash snorted, a bit amused at that. It had been a long time since he could take that much pride in as small a victory. It was nice to see again – nostalgic, he supposed. Times like this almost made him wish he hadn't been quite as obsessive about training and battling as he was. If he hadn't pushed past his barriers with the determination Lance and Steven had seen in him he'd have been able to enjoy small wins like this a lot more.

Almost, of course. He wouldn't trade his experiences for the world…and he supposed that would have been quite a literal deal as well. If he hadn't gone through everything he had Ash doubted the world would be quite as stable or existent as it was now.

Mewtwo would currently be ruling from its throne of New Island, the Leagues would be obliterated, and overall Ash thought he much preferred this current state of affairs.

A leaden pressure expanded in the back of his mind and Ash had to retain a wince as it grew to uncomfortable levels.

I would prefer the alternative.

Ash scowled and forced the presence away, ignoring the mental smirk he could feel projected. His fists clenched to the point slight dots of red seeped out from his skin and he forced himself to look at the reunion of father and son to distract himself.

"Good job!" Professor Birch grinned as he clapped his son on the shoulder and shook the boy affectionately. "I knew you and Mudkip would get along famously!"

Mudkip croaked happily at that and nuzzled into Brendan's shoe, content. Ash watched with the slightest smile as Brendan reached down to stroke its damp skin again, already armed with a basic knowledge of what the water-type liked.

"Of course!" Brendan said, crossing his arms with a wild grin. Mudkip did its best to mimic his pose, although its trainer had to nudge it back after it nearly toppled over. "Mudkip's awesome, I'm awesome…couldn't ask for a better match, right?"

The water-type nodded quickly in agreement and its fin-like tail wagged almost frantically.

"Of course," Professor Birch chuckled with his deep voice, before turning to look curiously at Ash. "And who is – oh."

"Ash Ketchum!" Brendan smirked. "He decided to grace us with his presence. He wanted to see you for something. A delivery."

He decided it was time to speak. "It's from Professor Oak. I'm guessing you know what it is?"

"I do," Professor Birch said quickly, hoisting the large bag Brendan had pulled Mudkip's pokeball out of over his shoulder. "Let's hurry back to the lab then. You arrived much earlier than I'd expected."

Ash nodded and followed the father and son pair as they led the way back to Littleroot.

"Brendan, head back to the house," Professor Birch instructed. "Get to know Mudkip a little better. I know you've got a year before you can be a real trainer but getting started early can't hurt. And try to finish those reports on the data you found last week before dinner, alright?"

"Sure, pops," Brendan shrugged. Mudkip tried to copy the motion but once again failed miserably. "Gonna be a late night for you?"

Professor Birch nodded firmly. "You probably won't be up when I get home. This is League business."

"Gotcha," the boy nodded as they reached Littleroot's gates. He turned to Ash and offered out a hand, which Ash shook after a moment when he realized what he was supposed to do. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Ash. How long are you gonna be sticking around Littleroot?"

"Just today," Ash shrugged, judging the information to be harmless. "My friend and I are leaving for Petalburg in the morning, I think. We just needed to stop here for me to make my delivery."

Brendan nodded. "Guess I probably won't see you again today, then. Have fun, I guess. Stop by if you ever come to Littleroot – it's been cool, man."

He nodded. "Will do."

With that Brendan and Mudkip walked off in the direction of Professor Birch's house. Ash only spared them a moment's glance before he fell into a comfortable walk beside the Professor.

"We can talk about the delivery in my office," Professor Birch said, looking down at Ash. "It's sensitive information. From what Samuel's told me you understand the value of that quite well."

"You can say that," Ash nodded.

Professor Birch smiled lightly at that. "Ah, a man of few words I see. But enough of that…what do you think of Littleroot?"

"I like it," he replied as they circled around the research building to find the doors. "Not too big, not too small. It reminds me a lot of Pallet, actually."

"The Ever Grande League and I actually developed it from the model of Pallet Town!" Birch smiled. "I never studied under Samuel like Professor Elm, but he did have a great degree of oversight in my research before I was Hoenn's Pokemon Professor. I thought I'd pay a bit of homage…besides, the design seems to have worked out quite well for him!"

Ash nodded. He could agree with that. Pallet was small, but for what it lacked in quantity it more than made up for in quality. That was his view, anyway. It might be just a bit biased.

"Your specialty is pokemon habitats and distribution, right?" Ash asked after a few moments of silence. They'd entered the sterile environment of the laboratory and he wouldn't mind breaking the silence…strange as that sounded in his own mind.

"Yep!" Birch grinned. Ash inwardly sighed. That look and tone reminded him enough of his mother to know that he'd get hit with information overload soon enough. "Mostly my focus lies in wild pokemon. I observe their behavior and how differences in their habitat and unique environmental pressures cause them to adapt."

"I'm sure you probably think all the scientific mumbo jumbo is boring, but I promise it's actually quite fascinating!" The Professor continued. Ash paid rapt attention, even if he knew he'd probably end up with a headache soon. "It's amazing to watch how sentient creatures like pokemon adapt to external influences in ways that most humans would never expect! It's actually allowed me to work extensively with several other researchers that have taken up residence in Littleroot about pokemon psychology in the wild, and the differences in the ways humans and pokemon – wild and domestic – think and address challenges."

Ash nodded – he was well aware that pokemon thought rather differently from humans. They were all people, but their biology and evolutionary history left them with worldviews that could sometimes seem alien. Pokemon and humans lived in a different world and it showed.

It was one of the biggest challenges as a trainer, especially when one was just starting out. Many young trainers thought of pokemon as either humans or tools and both perspectives were deeply flawed.

Pokemon were equals. They were people. Almost all of them were sentient, although intelligence ranged all over the place. Some were smart, some were dumb. They were like humans in that way.

But they weren't human, and it was foolish to ever consider them as such. They were very, very close in many ways but there was a massive gap in others. They thought differently, processed information differently, acted according to instincts no human could command.

They had all the intelligence of a human – or, considering the massive population advantage and variety pokemon had globally, humans had all the intelligence of a pokemon. But they applied that intelligence in different ways according to their instincts, their culture, and whatever was going on in their environment.

Ash had gotten around it, mostly. Unlike many of the younger trainers he'd observed he understood his team very well…their personalities, their desires, everything. They were as close to him as his mother. Closer, even, considering how much time they spent together. Their bonds were deeper than blood.

Their bond was what made them work so well and it was that bond he attributed the great strength of his family too.

"…and Brendan helps to gather data, of course. He's been surrounded by pokemon his whole life and I wanted to get him started early," Birch rambled on, distracting Ash. The large man smiled when he realized they'd reached the door to his office. "Ah, here we are."

With that Birch swiped a clear plastic card through a scanner next to the doorway. Ash stepped in as the Professor ushered him through and turned to watch the man as he secured and locked the door.

"Here's the data," Ash handed the tiny disk to Professor Birch. It was a bit humbling to realize just how important that information was. He doubted it would change anything regarding the Legends, but it could very well at least help the League to understand them. "Delivered safe and sound."

"I'd expect nothing less from the newest associate of the Indigo Elite Four," Birch loosed a bellowing laugh. "But seriously, thank you. You've done a great service for the League, Mr. Ketchum."

"It's my job," he pointed out drily. "But you're welcome. I'm always happy to help."

"Great!" Hoenn's Pokemon Professor grinned and pulled out a grey case remarkably similar to the one Ash had literally just given him. Ash had to hold back a resigned sight at that. "In that case you won't mind taking this to Roxanne, right? She's the Gym Leader in Rustboro."

Ash nodded after a moment and took the disk. He tapped it to the storage compartment he kept important objects in. A moment later it dematerialized and vanished. "Fine."

"Thanks a lot! I know you're probably tired of being treated like a Camerupt so don't worry – this'll be worth your while!" Birch smiled at him. "This isn't required by your League duties – it's a personal favor, really – so I've allocated C-rank pay to your Trainer ID."

He just raised an eyebrow. More money was always nice, although he supposed he wasn't really scrounging for it anymore. To be honest it hadn't been an issue since Lance gave him the forty thousand for assisting against Team Rocket in the Sevii Islands.

"Oh, I forgot Indigo doesn't do that," Birch said sheepishly at Ash's blank expression. He turned and sat down at his desk, sighing in relief at finally being off his feet for the day. Ash followed suit. "Alright, well you know Hoenn's League is a bit smaller, don't you?"

Ash nodded. He'd remembered Steven mentioning that a few times. If he remembered correctly it was actually supposed to be why Team Rocket could set up shop in Hoenn in the first place.

"Well, the size difference is a bit more severe than you probably think," Birch admitted. "We're the newest League – barely thirty years old at this point, actually – and we don't quite have the resources Indigo or Lily of the Valley have at their disposal. Not much of Hoenn is developed anyway thanks to our prior history and expansion regulations put in place by the League, so we've got a lot of wilderness and barely explored areas out there."

"With how little manpower the Ever Grande League has we tend to stick to the cities and nearby areas," the Professor continued. "Our Rangers patrol, of course, but when it comes to duties League personnel aren't required to perform the League likes to work with trainers. The Gym Leader or other authorities in the area post things they need done and trainers in the area get it done."

Ash dipped his head to show he understood, but frowned. "Wouldn't it be easier to just train more Rangers?"

Birch snorted at his words, though Ash didn't detect any bite in them. "Give me a second."

With that the burly man typed a few things into his computer before a massive holographic map of the world materialized on his desk. Birch carelessly swept a few stacks of paper and assorted knickknacks off the massive piece of furniture and Ash winced at seeing the mess.

"Oh, don't worry about that. That's what interns are for!" Professor Birch belted out another booming laugh before he calmed down and looked down at the map. "Pretty cool, right? This is brand new technology! Cutting edge! The Indigo League developed it last year, apparently."

"I've seen better," Ash said after a moment's contemplation. Loath as he was to say it, Mewtwo's holograms were much, much more advanced. And took up less space and energy if the low roar from the power source was anything to go by. It was probably easier to develop technology like that when physical laws were more of a suggestion than fact, of course.

He'd done his fair share of research on cloning thanks to learning about Blaine's involvement with the field and the events of New Island and he could say that what Mewtwo had done with the clones – developing fully-grown, perfect clones in minutes rather than years – outstripped its holographic work by far. That was supposed to be impossible and Mewtwo had done it with hardly a hint of effort.

A cold smirk filled his mind and Ash barely noticed it before he banished it away.

Now was not the time.

"Oh, really?" Birch raised a disbelieving eyebrow. Ash eyed it interestedly…the Professor's eyebrows were thick enough he should probably keep Plume away from the man. She might mistake them for oddly colored baby Caterpie and try to get herself a snack. "Indigo's keeping the good stuff for themselves, then? And here I thought we were friends!"

Ash just shrugged, not sure if that was really something he should be answering. Birch didn't seem to care that much, though. He was just messing with him.

"Something like that," he replied as he examined the map. It was actually impressive, even if its quality wasn't quite as good as Mewtwo's holograms…then again, the League didn't get to cheat.

It showed everything quite clearly, although the constant hum of the power source really was annoying. The edges were a bit soft but considering what little he knew he couldn't fault the designers for that, especially with how new the technology seemed.

Ash frowned in concentration as he traced his finger over the hologram, mapping out every bit. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a world map, obviously. Far from it. This was just a much more interesting way of viewing it.

The Eastern Continent – more commonly known as the League continent since the League had come to dominate it after the last war – held his focus, of course. He could easily pick out Indigo dominating the south, split in two by the Ore Mountains. There were the Orange Islands to the southeast, the archipelago barely visible as a series of dots. If the territory weren't noted he would have had a much harder time.

The Sevii Islands were to the southwest of Cinnabar and he definitely needed the territory marked for them…they were so tiny he couldn't even actually see them.

Hoenn was even further to the southwest than the Sevii Islands. It was always surprisingly big to him. Its mainland was nearly as large as Johto.

The Southern Continent, largely unmapped and unkind to humans thanks to the viciously territorial pokemon that made it home, was situated even further southwest than Hoenn. It was only a little south of the region – probably by three or four hundred miles – but it was about a thousand to the west if he remembered correctly. It stretched out for what seemed like the entire globe, dominating from the southern pole up. Technically it was the largest continent, although barely anything was known about it even with modern technology.

Not to say there weren't any pockets of civilization on it, of course. Orre was the major one, although it was circled by several other minor regions that were constantly on the edge of collapse and anarchy from what he'd heard.

Those regions were built on the backs of immigrants from the Western and Eastern Continents and what few native humans had managed to survive the pokemon that had not adapted to their presence nearly as well as pokemon had elsewhere. They were unique in that whatever the pokemon's first experience with humanity had been was bad enough to leave its mark on almost the entire continent.

It was only in the worst areas of the Southern Continent, within the wastes and deserts few pokemon would ever call home, that they had survived. They were trapped inland, however, until the first settlers arrived and managed to claim the coasts.

Ash smirked as the knowledge he'd gathered from Cynthia's chapter on Hoenn's neighbors left him with the realization that Orre was actually the jewel of the Southern Continent. It was by far the most modern, with access to up-to-date technology and relatively few wild pokemon for the most part. In some regions they'd apparently made a comeback, but those were supposed to be far tamer than the ones the immigrants and native Orrians had first driven away so they could stake their claim on the land.

Still a cesspool of corruption, crime, and strife according to literally everyone he'd ever heard mention it, but he hoped that Michael might be able to make it a little better.

He turned his eyes to the north of Indigo, not really wishing to pay more attention to the Wastes.

Rota's long, thin strip of territory just to the north of Indigo and the Ore mountains was clearly colored a bright green, contrasting with Indigo's…indigo. Whoever designed this certainly hadn't earned marks for creativity.

North of that was a harsh, almost deserted strip of land almost five thousand miles long from east to west and six hundred north to south. Ash didn't know much about it – nobody did, really. A series of mountains at Rota's northern border marked the boundary and from there it was a mountainous, treacherous land.

Dark forests said to be so thick as to be impenetrable dominated it. There were supposed to be sudden drops around every corner, waterfalls that fell thousands of feet into empty trenches of the earth. Great stretches of scarred desert in the midst of endless trees…lakes that appeared at the desert's edge, or in its center.

Water that flowed up, giggles in the shadows and strange phantasms that led explorers to their doom. Trees that came alive to devour hapless sleepers whole in the night. Fierce screams and sobs and keens of rage that refused any possibility of sleep.

Volcanoes spewing their contents for an eternity, night devouring the sun at high noon, hail and snow falling over wastes of sand and magma, spots where the moon shone with the intensity of the sun or the air grew thick and heavy with unearthly energies…that was the reality of this land.

Or so he had heard. After a few thousand years of trying only the most stalwart and bold of trainers went exploring in that strange, unearthly strip. The others had finally come to understand that whatever lived there didn't take kindly to intruders, and some swore that the land itself rose up against whatever dared to breach its borders.

It had many names: Land of Gods, World of Contradictions, Unearth, Dark World, Scarred Strip, Desolation, and a thousand others. It was land of mysteries and strangeness and no humans had ever survived.

Or so he had heard.

But one thing kept it out of the public mind was that it was so far removed from the civilized world and possessed such a terrible reputation that few attempted to enter it anymore. Scientists tried to push into it even now, but he'd never heard of anything approaching success…not that the League even allowed many people to come within a hundred miles of it anymore, regardless.

Satellites couldn't penetrate the forests, couldn't pick out the apparently unending deserts. Couldn't find the inland oceans and seas what few explorers had succeeded spoke of when they staggered back to the civilized world, half-mad and spouting gibbering nonsense.

Technology sputtered and died. Electronics were sapped of energy, even gears would grind and grit until they were stuck. Only pokeballs seemed immune, and even those took seconds or minutes or hours to work.

Teleportation failed. They found themselves a few hundred feet into the blackness and few had returned, speaking of claws and teeth and shadow.

Fliers crashed, seeing up as down and down as right and left as all of the above. Or none.

No, there was only one way to travel once one passed the towering mountains that guarded the Dark World on all sides. Once one trespassed and ignored the warning the Shields of Mew – so named by an ancient sage who saw them as a divine gift protecting the world – blatantly gave: on foot.

It was a wild land, and one that Ash would rather ignore. So long as one didn't enter it the Dark World was harmless, just a nightmare given form by the fears of man.

But he possessed knowledge now, had been touched by the influences of entities far greater than any other in this world.

He knew the basest Concepts of Fire, Ice, and Lightning. Had become them, in a sense. He had touched the mind of Mew and its Shade, felt the enormity of their presence drown him. Lugia had embraced him, given him a piece of itself to call his own.

And if he knew one thing after his encounters with the Legends, it was that something was terribly, terribly wrong in the Dark World.

There were many places in the world humans hadn't touched – many more than they had, certainly. Places where the land was destroyed by titanic battles between powerful pokemon and species, ravaged and left poisoned by Muk and burnt until nothing was left save charred glass by some titanic creature.

Few wild pokemon could match a trained one, but over the course of millions of years it was a given monsters of such a caliber that they could lay waste to the land itself would arise independent of Legends…although armed with his experience, Ash suspected that the Legends had more than a little involvement.

He'd even met a few of the ancient, wonderful creatures possessing of unearthly power: the Clefable that acted as Guardian of the Moon Stone, the First's Rhydon that could tear down mountains, old Chinatsu who bore Fire on her back, the Slowking of Shamouti.

Others had to be out there somewhere in the wild places of the world.

But yes, there were many of those wild places. Places humans could find no value in, where even pokemon fled from as though there were a wound far greater than the mere physical damage gaping. Places where pokemon had learned to hate and fight the strange interlopers in their affairs who cleared away nature for their own use.

The Dark World, however, was unique. Though it bore traces of the lands humans had reached and balked from, it was strange and unearthly and wrong in a way no others were.

And Ash would rather avoid that if possible. He had enough trouble with the natural forces of the world, let alone whatever had decided to make the Dark World its home.

He sighed and glanced up from his troubled thoughts. Birch was content to let him examine the map to its fullest. Probably eager to see him marvel over the shiny new technology and eat his previous words.

Not that he would. Mewtwo's technology really was better…even if it had probably achieved its success by toying with the laws of physics like a Meowth with a ball of yarn.

Still, he took advantage of the opportunity to keep glancing over the map. It really was…cool. Ash found it incredibly interesting to see what looked like a real-time map of the world, judging from how there were great masses of white cloud all over the screen. It was still simple to pick out the land, especially since most political regions were filled in with color superimposed over the landscape, but he liked watching the clouds crawl across the seas and lands at a pace so slow it was almost impossible to notice.

Since Birch looked to be busy – he was playing on his own PokeNav and considering how fast his fingers were moving he was either typing frantically or playing a game – Ash continued his survey.

From the northern edge of the Shield of Mew a line of short mountains jutted up in a straight line until they met their greatest at the mighty shape of Mt. Coronet, which towered far above almost any others on the world map. It was incredibly easy to pick out, and not just because he knew where it was unlike some of the other important locations he'd found on the map.

Most of the mountains that shot north from the Dark World were claimed by the Ranger Union, which acted as the last barrier between the southern regional Leagues and the northern League of Sinnoh.

The Ranger Union was made up of the regions of Oblivia, Fiore, and Almia. Ash didn't know much about it – they were rather secretive and although there had been a fair amount of trade with them in decades past, they'd closed off their borders in the recent years.

Mostly he just knew that they didn't use pokeballs, had a highly successful relationship with their native pokemon, possessed a relatively small population with an overall high level of technology, had harsh laws in place for people that tried to abuse or poach pokemon, and were content in their relative isolation.

Not that they had a hard time keeping it that way. Their northern border with Sinnoh they'd essentially allocated to pokemon preservation, leaving it incredibly difficult to get through since the land was entirely untamed. They were only exposed to their east and west thanks to the shores of Almia and Fiore, respectively. Oblivia just consisted of an archipelago off the west coast of Fiore.

Fiore and Almia were divided by the mountains that linked the Shield of Mew and Mt. Coronet. Almia was to the east and claimed a volcanic island and another medium sized landmass that looked completely undeveloped except for a few dots of civilization on the west coast marked by the holographic map.

The Ranger Union wasn't very large – altogether the three regions were only about the size of Kanto or Johto. It was only six hundred miles east to west as well as north to south according to the map…although he supposed counting the rest of the landmass it owned off the coast of Almia would probably bump it up to a thousand at least.

Next he looked to Sinnoh, isolated from most of the world except for Oblivia, Fiore, and Almia for almost its entire history thanks to the Dark World carving the Eastern Continent in half for time immemorial.

It dwarfed the Ranger Union, just its mainland being almost half as large again as the alliance of the three smaller regions and the small landmass where the League was focused in Sinnoh adding another few hundred square miles on top of that.

Sinnoh had been mostly unified for thousands of years and had a rich history and culture as a result. Mt. Coronet was capable of being navigated on the lower levels without much danger and it didn't completely cleave the region in two like it did Fiore and Almia, granting much easier travel between the east and west.

He actually knew a decent bit about Sinnoh's history, myths, and legends…and not just of the Legendaries, either. His mother always had an obsession with them and had always loved lulling him to sleep with stories of its greatest heroes and infamous children: the God-King said to have pierced the Shield and conquered his way down to Rota before stopping or the Knights of Uxie who safeguarded the Great Library of Canalave before it was seared away in a razing of the city centuries ago.

Those were old, very old.

His personal favorite however – the one he vaguely remembered badgering his mother about all the time so he could hear them again, although that had been so long ago it took effort to recall – was probably of Calanthia.

Calanthia was the first Champion of Sinnoh, the woman who gathered the region together during one of its brief periods of internal strife about eight hundred years ago according to his mother. She cast aside the old kingdom and, inspired by stories of the Indigo League, shaped a government in its image that still stood proudly today.

She was the Lily of Sinnoh – the one who the Sinnoh League was named after – and his mother had instilled her fascination with that history into her young son, although as Ash grew up he got bored with the stories and much preferred pokemon instead.

He smiled slightly at that and focused back on the map.

Sinnoh was the northern edge of the Eastern Continent so he glanced to the west. Thousands of miles to the west of the farthest reaches of the Dark World stood the Western Continent, home to Unova and Kalos and a handful of other minor regions that hadn't amassed the same level of power.

Ash really didn't know anything about it. Just a little about the troubled history between the East and West before their current good relationship had come about and even that hadn't been focused on in school. Pallet Town's schools stressed science and practical knowledge mostly, with geography and history being an afterthought.

He wouldn't even have been able to find Unova on the map if it weren't shaded a light brown. It didn't stand out like a lot of the other major regions – it wasn't on a peninsula, or a piece of land that jutted out. Unova was tucked quietly into the Western Continent's southeastern coast and was only marked from the rest by its huge, dividing rivers that reached hundreds of miles inland.

Kalos was easy to find with its distinctive shape. It was almost two thousand miles away from Unova, although thanks to Unova and Kalos' pasts there were plenty of minor regions connecting them. The star-shaped region was actually closer to Indigo than Unova – they were actually believed to have been connected at one point since Kanto faced east to the great sea and Kalos faced west.

That was one interesting geographical fact he'd learned in Pallet. They'd been studying the surprising similarity in pokemon population as well as fossil finds. He'd even gotten to see a computer model about how it all worked.

"Okay, I think it's decided that this map is way cooler than anything Indigo has!" Professor Birch interrupted with a grin, tapping the Hoenn portion of the map with his pointer and middle finger and pinching, pulling the region into focus. "I could practically see the gears turning in your head…far be it from me to say anyone can think too much, but I think you were getting there."

Ash smiled slightly and shrugged. He leaned forward onto the table and examined the map with interest…it was fascinating to see just how much detail had been revealed.

He traced his fingers above the two massive mountains that jutted out noticeably from the holographic representation of the small continent that was Hoenn. Both dominated one side of the landmass: Mt. Chimney claimed the west, Mt. Pyre the east.

Neither could match the great peak of Mt. Silver, which split two regions each a bit larger than Hoenn's mainland in twain, but they stood out quite a bit on Hoenn's landscape. It was rocky and ridged in most areas, but it didn't have too many mountains.

There was the subaquatic range that clustered to create the archipelago, but the mainland didn't have claim to that many.

Those twins had quite a bit more significance than the minor bumps and crevasses that dotted the rest of the region, of course.

Mt. Chimney basically dominated the mainland's climate, with several of the main cities circling nearby it or the mountain range that trailed the volcano like the spine of the earth. Cynthia had said it was the only volcano for hundreds of miles, the nearest ones existing isolated in the great oceans, Orange and Sevii Islands, and Kanto.

Of course, given what he knew about Mt. Ember and the Shamouti volcano now, Mt. Chimney might be the only natural volcano for a much larger range. He was just a bit spotty on geography.

Mt. Pyre was mostly a cultural force. He'd heard a lot of weird things about it and the ancient site was known to be home to one of the largest concentrations of ghosts outside Lavender. It was to the point that psychics had trouble distinguishing the past, present, and future and could have some very strange expression of their power.

Naturally he wanted to visit. He'd wanted a ghost for a long time and if he couldn't find one at Mt. Pyre then he clearly wasn't meant to get one at all.

"Okay, so the mainland's relatively similar in size to Kanto or Johto. It's where most of the cities are based," Professor Birch pointed out. Ash nodded as the Professor then waved his hand at the absolutely massive archipelago surrounding the mainland in all directions, although most of it was focused to the south and east. "With the outer islands and the archipelago we're actually the largest political region in the world, even bigger than Indigo!"

"Obviously a lot of those islands aren't inhabited by humans," the Professor stated. Ash saw where this was going but stayed silent so the burly man could make his point – from the wide grin on Professor Birch's face he was clearly enjoying this. "Which makes it a little easier to govern our people…but when most of our territory is unclaimed by anyone it means that we've got a lot of issues to deal with out in the isles and it takes most of our resources to root out fugitives and criminal syndicates that want to try and make it big…that's not even mentioning the poachers that come in from pretty much everywhere to seek out pretty unprotected targets."

He glanced at the map…it really was mostly islands. The mainland and the primary islands that the League based their Gyms out of dominated but there were so many tiny dots that he could see where the trouble came from.

"So basically it's easier to just get trainers to do the boring stuff," Ash commented. Birch grinned and agreed with a thumb's up.

"Exactly!" Birch cheered. "I mean, maybe a quarter of those islands are inhabited. Maybe. So we put most Rangers there and rely on helpful trainers that want to make money to do the rest…well, anything that isn't too important. And even then we make exceptions from time to time if they're proven trustworthy. Or a League member who wants some extra cash can pick it up. We aren't very picky. We don't have enough recruits to protect every bit of our own region so we can't really afford to be."

The burly man eyed Ash. "From what I've heard, you basically got into that position with Indigo. You know how profitable it can be."

"Well, it got me a job," Ash shrugged. "So I guess it's alright."

"Alright, he says," the Professor shook his head. "Guess we've got different opinions on the pay check, then. Oh well! Guess you won't care at all about my job then!"

"I really don't care that much about the money," he shook his head. "I have plenty of that as is…not that I'll turn down more. So why is it you need me to give this disk to Roxanne?"

"Normally I'd just send it digitally or entrust it to a League courier, but this has more information on the Legendaries," Birch explained seriously. "We try not to leave any evidence of this research existent except for secure servers…we've probably got half the world's Porygon protecting these files while they're in use. So no digital transmission is allowed."

Ash signified his understanding with a quick dip of his head. That attitude reminded him quite a bit of Blaine's paranoia. He idly wondered if the old Fire Master was involved – it wasn't like he had much else to be doing since he was just holed up in his inn the rest of the time.

"So what's on this one," he asked, curious as to what Birch had managed to find.

Birch frowned for a few moments before relenting. "Nothing too important – Samuel's a slave driver with this project, so it's pretty much anything out of the ordinary I detected. I really just needed to give the old man something and I thought that Roxanne's people might get at least some use out of the data…maybe not anything to do with the oncoming apocalypse, but maybe real science."

"What exactly are you doing with the project?" Ash cocked his head curiously, staring at the Professor. He remembered a little bit of what Oak had told him but he'd like to hear it from Birch himself. Might be a bit more interesting.

"Not much, all things considered," Birch shrugged. He relaxed, ready to talk freely now. "I'm basically looking at what the Legendaries have done to the environment and the pokemon around him. It's not like I have that much to work with – Champion Lance requisitioned almost all of our Castform to run damage control and restore weather patterns back to a stable state after the Zapdos, Mewtdwo, and Shamouti incidents. It's not perfect, but at least we won't have too many issues in the upcoming years."

"Really all I'm doing right now is investigating reports of unusual pokemon migration and going over accounts from each of the previous incidents – I've actually read quite a few of your statements," Birch grinned at Ash. "Fascinating stuff. It's like reading a movie script!"

Ash frowned slightly at that, not really liking that for obvious reasons. The Professor seemed to pick up on Ash's darkening mood – his slight scowl might have had something to do with that – and coughed awkwardly before moving on.

"Anyways, I mostly see how their influence on the weather has affected pokemon," Birch continued a bit more quickly than before. "It's not too surprising – electric-types went to Zapdos and fire and ice-types congregate around Moltres and Articuno, respectively. The increase in power and mood change is more interesting to me, but I don't really have anything concrete on that as of this moment!"

"The Mewtwo and Shamouti incidents are a bit more interesting, though!" Birch chirped – Ash almost recoiled at the noise that a man as huge as Birch really shouldn't make. "There was an incredible migration from all over the world to Shamouti – pokemon of all types started moving there. Well, psychics tended to avoid it like the plague but they're the exception."

Birch frowned and tapped a pen to his bearded chin – Ash decided not to say anything when he realized that Birch mixed up the sides and was basically scribbling all over his face with black ink.

The interns that would have to clean up his mess might appreciate it.

"I was actually a bit surprised with the migration reports from some of my researchers working in Kanto at the time of the Mewtwo incident," the burly man sighed. "I'd hoped to see that psychics would attempt to rush to the scene as they had with Zapdos. I can't fathom why they wouldn't."

"Really?" Ash raised an eyebrow as he stared at Birch. A great power smirked in the back of his head. "None at all? You can't think of a single reason why they wouldn't want to be there?"

"No!" Birch complained and idly spun around in his chair, still tapping his pen to his face as he fell deep into thought. "Mew and Mewtwo, two of the most powerful psychic Legendaries that we have confirmed the existence of, should have drawn psychics there like a Dustox to flame."

Ash sighed and opened his mouth to explain why exactly psychics wouldn't want to be around the maelstrom of fear and hate and power that was Mewtwo but thought better of it.

It probably wouldn't matter anyway. Professor Oak understood and could explain it to Birch if he really didn't get it for whatever reason.

He smoothed out his features once he noticed Birch looking at him oddly and managed to relax.

"Everything alright?" Birch frowned at him. "You looked pretty weird there for a minute."

"I'm fine," Ash grunted,. "Just thinking is all."

"I never thought I'd say this but you might need to stop thinking so much," the bearded Professor snorted. "If you keep it up you might bust an artery before you're thirty. You might want to check in with Indigo and see if they have a psychic that could help you chill out."

"I'm fine," Ash repeated. His fingers itched towards his team's pokeballs – they were the ones he wanted to be with right now. "Is there anything else you need? My friend's probably wanting to know where I am."

Birch shrugged and slipped back into a more professional demeanor, which Ash was grateful for. "Not really. Thanks for helping out, Ash. I'll get the payment into your account once the job's done."

Ash nodded and turned to leave when the Professor spoke up. "Actually, can I see your PokeNav? I'd like you to be able to contact me if you need anything or find anything relevant to our research on the Legendaries."

"Of course," he quickly handed his PokeNav to Professor Birch, who simply scanned it with his own before he gave it back. "I'll be sure to contact you if I find anything."

"Thank you, Ash," the Professor nodded. Ash watched him – it was odd how easily he drifted between his two demeanors. "The Ever Grande League greatly appreciates your help."

Ash dipped his head back before he turned to leave.

He really, really needed to relax.

XX

Later that night he realized he really, really should have stayed with Professor Birch if he didn't want to clear his head.

Oh, he didn't mind the family they were staying with that much. Caroline was a nice woman and reminded him a bit of his own mother, if a bit calmer and about a decade older. She was probably nearing her forties at this point if the slight lines and the beginnings of wrinkles on her face were anything to go by.

The daughter, May if he remembered right, was polite, although she didn't really talk to Ash much. She was much more interested in Daisy, who seemed to know her pretty well already if the way they carried on an animated conversation he could barely keep track of was anything to go by.

No, the reason he wasn't able to relax was the very, very enthusiastic six year-old that had basically been attached to him since he'd stepped through the door. Ash didn't mind that much but it would have been nice to relax.

"—so why did you release your Kingdra to take down the Dragonite? I bet you could have won if you'd done that!" Max questioned. Ash barely listened to him at this point and took a few moments to answer what must have been the hundredth question the boy had asked him in the two hours he'd been here.

"At the moment I wanted to take down Dragonite first and foremost," he explained tiredly. Aron, who'd crawled up in his lap and settled down quite comfortably, warbled up at him and licked his shirt, easily wearing through a patch of it with his rough tongue. Ash grinned and ignored the damage to his clothing so he could pat the steel-type. "With hindsight I would have done it different, but I thought Torrent would handle Dragonite with no problem and be able to match almost anything that came out next."

"Huh," Max looked at him for a moment behind his thick glasses. "So why'd you do it if you know you shouldn't have now?"

Ash blinked and decided not to address the boy's odd logic. "Well, it's different being in a battle than watching one. What seems right at the time might seem dumb later, no matter how good you are. It's easy to make stupid mistakes when there's that much attention on you."

Max squinted at him. "I don't get it."

"Think of it like a test," Ash pat Aron's head and steadfastly ignored the fact that he couldn't feel his legs anymore. He could address that in a few minutes. For now he just enjoyed being close to his newest brother-in-arms. "You're in school now, right?"

"Of course I am!" Max declared. "I'm the smartest in my class!"

"I bet you are," he muttered under his breath. "Well, I'm sure you've looked back on a test and seen something you got wrong that you knew how to do."

"Not really," the boy grinned up at him. "I get everything right!"

Ash frowned. "Well, it happens. Think of a time when you thought you did something completely right but it turned out to be wrong."

"Oh, like that time I pet my daddy's Slakoth the way Brendan showed me but it still bit me!" Ash's self-proclaimed number one fan exclaimed. He quickly showed Ash the scar that hadn't completely faded from the angry red it had originated as. "See! Isn't is cool?"

"Yes," Ash allowed as he glanced at it. That really was a nasty wound, although the fact it was on a small boy definitely made it look worse than it was. And that was probably just a nip from the Slakoth too. If Max had actually made it angry he'd more than likely be missing a hand or not speaking to Ash right now. Slakoth were very lazy, but they had a nasty temper if something managed to actually infuriate them. "What'd you do?"

"Well, Brendan said I should get down and blow in its face and pet its nose and stuff if I wanted to be friends with it!" Max pouted. "Slakoth didn't like that and I didn't see Brendan for a while after that."

Ash blinked. "You probably shouldn't listen to Brendan."

"That's what my parents said," Max agreed. "But he's really smart! He knows more than anyone!"

"Even Professor Birch?"

"Especially Professor Birch!" Max told him seriously. "I saw Professor Birch get peed on by a Poochyena once when he was taking a nap. Nobody smart would let that happen!"

That got Ash's attention. He turned to actually look at Max and raised a black eyebrow curiously. "Oh really?"

"Yeah!" Max grinned. He glanced over to the table where Daisy, Caroline, and May were all sitting. Ash snorted when he watched May flush red and bury her face in her hands from something Daisy giggled out – it looked like Daisy and Caroline were teaming up on the girl. "My mom doesn't like me telling people but if you showed me one of your pokemon…"

Ash rolled his eyes and picked out Tangrowth's pokeball. He was definitely the friendliest – well, maybe now he was tied with Aron, who was eying the nearby lamp hungrily – and definitely had the patience.

Dazed or Bruiser would probably be his next choice but they'd either be irritated by Max after a few minutes or just get bored and ignore him. Bruiser wouldn't want to be released unless Seeker was out as well, which he would rather not do in the home. Seeker would just be stressed out, especially since only Aron and Sneasel were released.

"Oh wow!" Max exclaimed as Tangrowth materialized, drawing in the whole room's attention. The girls just smiled at his exuberance and Daisy introduced them to the grass-type, who sent a few friendly vines their way to happily shake their hands. "I watched all of your battles! You have a 5-3 record in the Indigo Conference and always took down at least one opponent each battle! James Sage said he counted you as one of the strongest members of Ash's team and integral in each battle you fought in when he was reviewing the Indigo Conference!"

Tangrowth blinked and stared at the boy, obviously having no idea about anything he'd just said. His big round eyes turned to Ash, who just shrugged. The grass-type gurgled in distress at that, having almost never encountered something that Ash couldn't explain to him.

"Can you show me your Ancient Power! Apparently Tangrowth are really well-adapted for that and I want to see it in person!" Max rambled on, inching closer and closer to Tangrowth until he was almost on top of the grass-type. "You're obviously an impressive specimen and we don't really need that neighborhood anyway! It's perfect! What do you think?"

Ash grinned and held one of Tangrowth's vines as it raced over to him, hoping to feel better if he was holding onto the trainer. Another brushed over Aron affectionately. The steel-type warbled happily and gently headbutted it.

It looked like Tangrowth had finally met his match.

Tangrowth himself leaned back from Max, who'd begun to inspect the grass-type with a critical eye and muttered to himself every few seconds. A constant whine emanated from deep within the shell of vines and his eyes were narrowed in discomfort as Max roughly grabbed one of his arms and examined it.

"Huh, it really is rubbery. Would it hurt if I yanked it off?"

At that Tangrowth actually bounced away from the boy and huddled close to Ash, who patted his friend affectionately before he handed Aron off to Tangrowth. By that he meant he politely asked his friend to hold onto Aron for a while since Ash wasn't anywhere near strong enough to lift the young steel-type off of him with his own strength.

"Alright, that's enough," he sighed as he stood up, looking at Tangrowth gratefully when his friend kindly supported him with a few vines when it looked like he was about to fall thanks to his bloodless legs. "He needs a quick break."

"I just wanted to know," Max sulked.

"And you found out," Ash replied. A slight grin fell over his features and he cocked his head at the boy. "If I remember right you were going to tell me about Professor Birch and that Poochyena…"

"Oh yeah!" Max's eyes lit up. "Well…"

XX

"So how'd you get that scar on your face?" Max poked the length of ropy tissue. Ash winced and lightly pushed Max's finger away before Tangrowth could do it instead. "You didn't have it during the Conference. It's not on those magazine pictures I have on my wall."

Ash blinked and decided to just avoid the whole issue of Max having pictures of him on his wall altogether.

Wait, there were pictures of him in magazines?

"So where'd you get it?" The boy asked again, looking like he wanted to poke Ash again. "It looks really cool!"

"I got a little too close to a temperamental ice-type," Ash scowled at the memory of rushing through the subzero temperature of the Blizzard on Plume's back. The shield breaking, the razor of ice that carved through his skin until it scratched the bone, that sensation of his gut rising as he fell through the snowstorm…it wasn't something he enjoyed recalling.

"Which one? You must have been in Kanto…wait, don't tell me!" Max cut Ash off. "Was it a Seel? Dewgong? Jynx, maybe? No, they're usually friendly. Wait, was it that Sneasel of yours! Their claws can punch through a half-inch of steel if they're trained right! It would cut through your face no problem I bet."

Sneasel, who was currently purring on Daisy's lap while she rubbed his soft belly – Ash still wasn't sure how she did that without losing a finger – snapped to attention and snarled at Max then, not taking kindly to the accusation.

"I mean it totally wasn't your Sneasel!" Max cried as he tried to run and hide behind Tangrowth, who leaned away from the boy as far as he could. Tangrowth still eyed him suspiciously and tucked his arms underneath his cloak of vines. "It would never do anything like that!"

"He," Ash corrected as Sneasel simmered down. Moments later the dark-type was reduced to a puddle of purring fur as Daisy calmed him down with just a well placed touch.

Max frowned. "Why does it matter?"

"Because Sneasel is a he," Ash said firmly. "Not an it."

"Huh," Max frowned, looking like Ash had just unveiled some sort of ancient knowledge to him.

"Sweetie, I think that's enough," Caroline suddenly stood over them. She smiled softly and picked Max up despite his protests and glanced over to Ash. "Thanks for spending some time with him, Ash! Thank him, Max."

Max finally gave up on trying to wriggle his way out of his mother's vice grip and nodded. "Thanks, Ash!"

"You're welcome," he nodded and plastered a slight smile on his face. "I'm happy to help."

"Well, I think it's about time for this little guy to go to bed!" Caroline cooed at her son, who protested about being treated like a baby in front of Ash Ketchum. "Nuh uh, no whining! I won't give you your night night kiss if you act up!"

Ash grinned as Max blushed a bright red and tried to hide face in his mother's shoulder. "Mom!"

"Let's go get you all tucked in," Caroline kissed Max's forehead with a slight smirk. "I don't my little Wurmple acting all fussy in the morning!"

At that Max just gave up and looked like he was doing his best to curl up and collapse into a singularity of embarrassment and Ash snorted softly. Tangrowth gurgled happily as Caroline took Max out of the room, winking before she left.

She really did remind him of his own mother, although Ash wasn't sure if his mom would be quite that cruel.

"All better, buddy?" Ash grinned at his friend. Tangrowth finally let his arms out and wriggled them around wildly, like he was checking to make sure they were still there. At last he bent his whole body forward in a nod and gurgled happily before he bounced over to Daisy and May, carrying a delighted Aron in his vines along the way.

"Ash, get over here!" Daisy grinned as she summoned him. Ash sighed and walked over. He crossed his arms and watched Daisy warily, not sure what she was up here. "Take a seat."

He took the one closest to Tangrowth, who was considerate enough to pull the wooden chair out for him with a quick shift of his vines. Ash grinned at his friend and patted one of the extensions affectionately, which got him a gleeful gurgle and Aron elevated into his face as a reward. Ash took a moment to pat his new friend before he turned to an amused Daisy, who looked to have started brushing Sneasel.

"Okay, this is a very important issue. I think it'll do you a lot of good to hear this," his friend smiled angelically at him. Ash stared at her, not sure where she was going with this but relatively certain he wouldn't be a fan. "You see, May here is conflicted."

He spared the brown-haired girl a glance. She looked distinctly uncomfortable under his stare and Daisy's grin and shifted awkwardly in her seat.

"May is standing at the crossroads of her destiny," Daisy continued solemnly. She clasped her hands together and stared unflinchingly at May, who seemed like she was about to crawl under the table. It probably didn't help when Tangrowth joined in with his saucer-like eyes or when the grass-type decided to move Aron to where he was less than a foot away from her cheek and watching her every move curiously.

"Oh really?" Ash raised an eyebrow, going along with Daisy's antics. "And what would the roads lead to?"

"A good question. Thank you, Ashy!" Daisy winked at him. Ash just snorted. "May has decided to embrace the true, sacred path of a trainer and join our ranks. But she is conflicted. Her spirit is uncertain."

Ash decided to keep playing and stared unblinkingly at May. She blushed when she saw him looking and instantly turned away, refusing to meet the eyes of any of the people staring at her.

Tangrowth moved Aron closer – Ash had to quickly reach over to tap the steel-type before he could lick May's cheek and probably leave quite the mess for Ash to deal with.

He doubted she or Caroline would appreciate a few layers of her skin getting ripped off by a tongue evolved for stripping rock away from metal.

His mother certainly wouldn't have.

"What is she torn between?"

"Though she walks the true path, this young one finds herself tempted by the uncultured brutes that take the Road of Battle," Daisy sniffed imperiously, sparing Ash a smirk as May steadfastly refused to look at either of them to show she was just joking. "Terrible influences surround her and she knows not the appeal of Coordinating, though I have done my best to show her the true way tonight. She finds it beautiful, but has refused to follow my fantabulous example!"

"Maybe she wants to be strong instead of putting on fancy light shows," Ash smirked. Daisy rolled her eyes at that. "It's worked out pretty well for me."

Daisy sighed sympathetically, as though she pitied Ash. "Oh, you poor soul. I shouldn't have left your life when I did. You were corrupted into a poor, fashion-challenged barbarian when you could have been walking in my footsteps as a proud Contest Champion."

"Yes, I'm sure my life would be perfect if you'd let me tag along with you on your journey," Ash rolled his eyes. He almost wanted to tell her that they'd all be the slaves of a psychic clone if he had but figured that might take a bit more explaining than he cared for…and Lance probably wouldn't appreciate it. "I think getting to be on the Elite Four just about makes up for it, though."

"You pulled that card early," Daisy rolled her eyes. "Don't know what else I expected."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just say that you're a Contest Champion?"

"Shush!" Daisy put a finger over her lips. "I'm a girl. I don't have to make sense to you. But you…" the Oak shook her head in faux disappointment. "I expected better, Ash. I mean, arguing with a girl? I know for a fact your mother and I taught you better than that!"

He snorted. "Maybe if you'd stuck around longer those lessons would have sunk in."

Daisy gasped and put her hand over her heart, bowing her head silently. Her shoulders started shaking and Ash had just started to feel a tad guilty for thoughtlessly throwing that at her before he realized she was actually laughing.

Annoyed, he sat back and folded his arms as he waited for her to stop.

"Gotcha!" Daisy crowed, looking up before she relaxed again. "Oh, don't look at me like that! You know it was funny…that really was a low blow though."

Ash just shook his head and sighed.

Sometimes he wondered which of them was really the twelve year-old.

"Anyways, if you decide to focus on battling instead of being a beautiful, graceful Coordinator you'll turn out like baby Ashy here," Daisy redirected her focus to May, who'd been staring at Ash nonstop since she heard his announcement. "No, don't be impressed by him! Join me! Aside from having way better hair, I can show you how to be friends with your new family in a way that doesn't involve blowing stuff up."

"Now where's the fun in that?" Ash challenged, grinning at Daisy. She rolled her eyes and mouthed something that looked suspiciously like 'boys' before she turned back to May, who'd hesitantly made some strange squeak that might have been an attempt at initiating conversation.

May finally spoke. "…please, can I wait? I still have a whole year left."

"Well, I guess so. I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable," Daisy said pleasantly. Ash winced – he could practically hear the honey in her voice. She was way too good at that.

"Thanks," May said gratefully, finally looking like she wasn't going to pass out from embarrassment. Of course, she did yelp when she turned to look at Ash and found Aron inches away, staring at her curiously with his big blue eyes. Ash just barely hid a smirk before the surprised girl regained her composure. "Well, it's getting late and I think my Mom wanted us to go to the Conference to meet my dad pretty early so I'll just be leaving now –"

"No, please stay for a little longer," Daisy smiled softly. May froze and looked at Daisy, who'd leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands as she examined the girl closer. "Ash, can you step closer to her?"

He did as she asked, mentally preparing himself for whatever little bout of embarrassment she was going to try to leave them with as a parting shot. Ash had spent enough time around Daisy this past week to know her that well.

"Hmm, I was right," Daisy muttered to herself. She whispered a few more nothings as she glanced between the two and finally said something to Sneasel under her breath, causing the little dark-type to snicker.

"Right about what?" May asked clueless. Ash had just enough time to groan, "No, don't!" before Daisy let a mischievous smile play over her lips.

"You two would make an adorable couple!" She giggled and flipped open her PokeDex, smiling beautifully at the unfazed Ash while May stammered and blushed. "Should I tell Lisia she has some competition?"

May blinked. "You know Lisia?"

"Yep!" Daisy winked, letting her joke fade away. "Perks of being a Coordinator, you know? I could introduce you to her if you want…"

Ash let himself smile slightly as May leaned forward, star-struck.

Looked like Daisy had found her opening.

XX

"Now that we're on the mainland, do you want to start walking?" Daisy directed to him as they stood together at Littleroot's gates. She had her pack shouldered and looked strangely chipper for the early hour. Ash didn't exactly hate getting up early, but he was out of the habit. "We've just got two days together after this and I think it'll be fun! That's plenty of time to get to Petalburg."

"Sure," Ash shrugged. Plume would be a bit disappointed but he'd release her so she could stretch her wings regardless. The rest of his friends would appreciate it, though, so he supposed it balanced out. "It'll be nice to stretch our legs for once."

Daisy agreed with a soft smile and set off, leaving Ash to sigh in annoyance before he caught up to her.

"I've missed this," Daisy said quietly to herself. Ash let his eyes glance over to her but otherwise didn't acknowledge her. "Feels like it's been forever since I just walked on my own two feet…I'm going to have to do this more often!"

"Will you get a chance anytime soon?" Ash asked after a few moments. He idly traced his friends' pokeballs, trying to decide which he would release first…he'd rather not have all of them out so they didn't squabble amongst themselves too much. "What are you even doing in Petalburg? You said something about your Coordinator friends if I remember right…"

"Yep! It's been ages since I've seen some of them and it's going to be great!" The slim girl beside him chirped. "Lisia can't make it, unfortunately, but a lot of the other Hoenn Coordinators I know will! We're just getting together for some practice before the Contest season starts next month…plus we get to scout out the competition, of course."

Ash smirked. "Not that you need to worry about any of them, of course."

"Of course!" Daisy agreed easily. "I mean, I am one of the most accomplished Coordinators in the world, after all. I'm a bit rusty after rummaging around in Sinnoh last year but my team's only gotten better! This upcoming season's going to be a blast!"

"Naturally," Ash snorted at her enthusiasm. "I just hope mine will be half as good."

"I'm sure it will be," the teenager smiled. "I mean, my second year was probably my favorite year of training. Everything was still pretty new, but I knew the basics and could actually have fun! Plus that was when I got into Coordinating seriously and figuring all of that out was a blast!"

He nodded. Well, that made sense at least.

"You know, you could stick around for a bit longer if you want!" Daisy glanced over him. "I'll be in Petalburg for a few days and I could introduce you to some of my friends. They'd probably be interested in meeting you. Maybe not interested in sticking around once they get to know you, but meeting you would be fine."

"Thanks a lot," Ash smiled slightly at her jab. He took just a moment to release a few of his friends – Nidoking, Plume, Torrent, Dazed, Tangrowth, Oz, and Aron – so they could get some fresh air. "But no, I'm afraid I can't. I need to spend the next two weeks training before I meet up with the League member that's going to hammer me into proper shape."

"Oh! Of course!" The girl gasped. "I always forget you have an actual job now…wow, that's a weird thought. Even I don't have a real job."

Ash shrugged as he reached over to pat Nidoking's shoulder – his friend let out a pleased grunt and nudged into the touch. "At least I know I'm not a deadbeat like you."

"Ouch!"

"I learned from the best," he let a soft smirk twist onto his lips.

"That you did," his friend agreed before she cast her gaze up into the sky and frowned. "Should Tangrowth be doing that?"

Ash followed her eyes and sighed when he saw what Tangrowth was doing: the grass-type decided that now was a great time to pick Aron up, extend his vines almost as far as they could go, and throw him up as high as he could before he caught the heavy steel-type with almost careless ease.

It looked like it was going to be one of those days.

XX

"What do you think of Aron?" Ash asked as he leaned back against a hard tree. Nidoking was curled up beside him, eyes fierce as he scanned the surroundings for any potential threats. They'd been travelling on foot with Daisy for over a day now, but since they had made great time and were only a few hours away from Petalburg they'd decided to stop for the day and walk there in the morning.

He'd taken a much needed rest from…well, everyone. Every human, anyway.

Actually, he'd just count it as everyone that wasn't part of his tight-knit family. That was probably more accurate.

Ash laughed when Nidoking's heavy shoulders rose up in a slight shrug and watched raptly as his first friend set his eyes on the steel-type. Nidoking actually looked interested, which was a much better reaction than he'd had for the last member to join their team.

Currently Aron was charging Sneasel, who hissed and blurred away before he cast a gust of frozen air to further antagonize Aron. Not that Aron seemed to mind – he just warbled happily at the cold and shook his whole body to cast off the slight film of frost.

He couldn't help but grin, the urge growing even stronger when he saw Tangrowth leap from a tree he'd climbed for whatever reason and snag Sneasel out of the air, wrapping the protesting dark-type close to him before Aron joined moments later.

"He's certainly fitting in well," Ash smiled. He eyed Oz, who was watching from the slight cover of the sparse trees that decorated the areas. She hesitated for a moment before slowly stepping toward the group hug Tangrowth had initiated. "Aron's good for Oz. I think Sneasel likes him too."

Nidoking chuffed lightly at the mention of Oz and eyed her warily. Ash had long since broken him of his blatant dislike for the Electabuzz but with the massive amounts of hormones pumping through his brain he was still having trouble letting go of the protective impulses that dominated him.

Honestly, Ash was just happy he'd managed this much. Deeper work could be done in time, just as all progress was.

He turned his eyes from the scene and turned back to Nidoking, who shifted his whole head to watch Ash. "It'll be nice with it just the team again. Daisy's nice, but it's not the same."

His friend grunted softly and tapped a blunt claw to Ash's knee in agreement with that. Nidoking was paranoid enough already without counting in their companions.

"We're going to have to make the most of this next two weeks," he said seriously. Nidoking nodded and his ears twitched softly. "We have a lot of work to do before we can meet Steven – we won't disappoint him."

Nidoking's eyes narrowed and a soft growl came from deep within his throat at that. The sound made the earth around them ripple like liquid and windy cracks emanated from where the poison-type's claws tapped irritably.

Ash grinned and scratched behind his friend's leathery ears, glad Nidoking was on the same page. They both had great memories of the week they'd spent with Steven on the way to Cerulean and the thought of disappointing the man who'd helped them so much was repelling.

"I have a few plans for all of you," Ash continued. "Not a lot of specifics, but a few tactics or techniques that I think will be a huge help. I want you to complete Triad – I picked up the Flamethrower TM when my mom took me to the Department Store so I'll get it to you once we head out to find a safe place to train."

Nidoking nodded, eyes alit with glee as he pondered the possibilities. Ash had originally planned on getting Nidoking set up with Lance's Fire Blast, Thunder, and Blizzard Triad technique, but he'd decided against it.

While that kind of firepower would be fantastic for his friend, it wasn't necessary right now. Ash had plenty of raw, overwhelming power in the form of Torrent, Infernus, and hopefully Bruiser in the near future. Nidoking certainly wasn't a slouch in that department – Ash thought he was right behind the two juggernauts of the team in power, ahead of Dazed and probably on par with Tangrowth.

No, Nidoking's true strength rested in his versatility. He was prepared for any eventuality and could deal and take serious damage. His hide had only grown thicker since the Conference. His toxins were coming into their final maturity. His elemental abilities were rapidly growing in power.

He wasn't more skilled with ice than Torrent or as maneuverable as Infernus or Dazed, but his jack-of-all-trades style worked wonders for him.

So once he was armed with his own version of Triad composed of a mixed Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, and Flamethrower he'd be set against almost any threat. Not much could stand up to even two of those and the combination of all three would be devastating.

They sat there pondering their future for a few moments, each trying to think of where to start. They had some time to think but Ash wanted to waste as little time as possible once they managed to find a training ground that could withstand the immense forces his team would unleash.

Nidoking interrupted him with a slight grunt and a jab of his horn at Aron, who looked to have managed to catch and tackle Sneasel after Tangrowth let them down. Sneasel was hissing furiously and slashing his claws in every direction he could as the steel-type contentedly laid on top of him, his great weight more than enough to lock Sneasel in place.

"General training," Ash said, grinning at the scene. "I don't even know where to begin with him…I just want him to be in decent shape by the time we get to Steven. He'll be nowhere near the rest of the team, but at the very least he'll have a solid foundation for Steven to work with."

His friend nodded and let his black eyes shut, content to just lay there with Ash and listen to their surroundings.

Ash let Nidoking relax and withdrew his PokeDex. He almost wanted to slap himself for not scanning Aron sooner – that was just idiocy on his part. It had been much too long since he'd added a new member to his team if he'd slipped that much.

He discretely aimed the PokeDex at the content Aron, not wanting to disturb all of them as they played. Oz had even sat down next to the steel-type, growling at him every now and then and creating small showers of sparks once Aron warbled at her a few times, getting a delighted grunt from Aron and a groan from Sneasel.

"Aron, the Iron Armor Pokemon," the PokeDex droned. Ash smiled at the cool, emotionless tones. It had been much too long since he'd heard it. "A pokemon that is clad in steel armor, it has a diet heavily composed of metal in order to form its shell. When it evolves it grows a new set of armor and eats the discarded set. Aron is known to eat from railroads in order to supplement its diet."

"This Aron knows the moves: Mudslap, Metal Claw, Rock Tomb, and Protect. Its ability is Rock Head, which prevents the pokemon from taking serious damage from techniques that cause recoil."

Ash nodded slowly at that, seeing plenty of ways he could work with Aron from there. Rock Head was just a little bonus from Aron's physiology, which had evolved to withstand the serious force that it could carry in a charge. Otherwise it would get a serious concussion every time it hit something.

That's all Abilities really were anyway: quirks of a pokemon's biology that had developed in response to their evolutionary pathway. They just tended to have a lot of varied, unexpected use in battle and even civilian jobs if they and their trainer were clever enough.

Aron would primarily be a defensive fighter. He had a lot of offensive potential, of course, but that was generally focused on close quarters combat. If he was fighting a mobile or ranged enemy he'd need to have a lot of defensive abilities in order to draw them in close or wear them down.

He wouldn't be winning any battles for speed – he was a lot like Nidoking in that way. When he got going he was surprisingly fast, but that was only good for a straight line. Aron wouldn't be able to change direction fast enough to catch up to something fast like a Manectric, Mightyena…anything that wasn't focused on charging, really.

But he didn't need to be mobile. He actually fit perfectly into what Ash preferred in his fighters:

Environmental control.

Ash felt that if he could be said to have a specialty that would be it. That was what he favored in almost all of his friends' combat styles. They were all great fighters, of course, but it was when they turned the environment itself against their opponents that they truly harnessed their potential.

Nidoking destroyed the earth with Earthquake, slowing them and letting him control their paths. He could open up chasms and rifts and leave them falling into a fissure if he so desired.

Torrent dominated the entire battlefield with Ice Storm and Draco Meteor, which made the entire area dangerous and sapped away their strength with frozen winds and sharp shards of ice.

Infernus…well, that was obvious. When he unleashed his power the area around him was almost uninhabitable, and that was before he started spewing flames from his cannons everywhere or calling up lava to leave the battlefield incredibly inhospitable to most opponents.

Tangrowth's Ancient Power and vines left him the ultimate controller of the environment in Ash's team. Infernus could just destroy everything – Tangrowth could shift rock and earth to prepare defenses, walls, weapons…anything he wanted. Then with his vines coming from almost every side to suck strength and bind limbs it made Tangrowth a truly dangerous foe.

Ash thought he'd showed that best in his battle against Grey's Scolipede, where he'd managed to overcome the incredibly dangerous bug-type with creative use of Ancient Power.

Those were the strongest examples in his mind. The others either didn't have the capacity to alter the field on that level or simply hadn't reached that point. Or their styles had evolved to where they didn't really need it.

Plume would reach that level eventually. Hurricane was a good start – hopefully she'd reach the same level of air manipulation as Lance's dragons one day. She'd started work with it with Tailwind and mastering it, but she was just a learner at the moment.

Dazed was certainly an ideal one-on-one fighter, at least for regulated battles. In real fights he considered her more valuable as a sort of behind the scenes operator…one who could raise shields, alert him to what was going on, and teleport to wherever she needed to be at the moment – there was a reason psychics were so heavily used by the League.

Bruiser didn't really have the elemental capacity to twist the environment to his advantage. He had overwhelming physical strength as his specialty and Ash was still working on ways to incorporate more extensive elemental use into his style, though he felt that he'd have to evolve first. The extra two arms and greater neural capacity required to maneuver them properly should give him a huge advantage in that department.

Seeker might be able to get to the point of Lance's team's abilities one day if she ever decided to train. With Plume helping her it was almost a certainty. She just had to want it.

Sneasel…well, Ash had been working on that for months now. He felt Sneasel was almost ready to start that training. Ash just wanted to check with Steven to see what his new mentor thought.

Oz didn't have the power output she needed right now. Ash was thinking about incorporating some sort of environmental control – maybe Rain Dance – into her style once she'd evolved but she needed to increase her power first. It would be useless until that point.

It really wasn't easy to perform techniques like Sandstorm, Rain Dance, and Sunny Day. Oh, the theory behind them wasn't too hard. Almost any pokemon could accomplish it on a very, very small scale or for a short period of time.

But to actually bend the weather to your will took an incredible amount of raw energy that most pokemon couldn't give.

That was why he hadn't had Torrent use Rain Dance much. He'd essentially phased it out entirely at this point, although Ash felt like he was at the point where his friend could use it without much strain.

Really the only reason Torrent had ever managed to use it was because Kingdra were obscenely powerful pokemon. The moment they evolved their abilities increased exponentially, shaping even the youngest like Torrent into some of the strongest pokemon the ocean had to offer. Even as a young Kingdra Ash thought Torrent had more raw power at his disposal than almost any of his friends now – only Nidoking, Infernus, Tangrowth, and Bruiser in Rampage could harness that much energy if he was correct.

It wasn't every water-type that could go head-to-head with a Gyarados and have an even chance of succeeding, after all.

Well, not quite even but close enough. It really came down to whether the Gyarados was able to get in close and swallow them or not. Even that was pretty excessive since they only really got into conflicts over territorial disputes and only the most stubborn or vicious of pokemon would consider death an acceptable end to that squabble.

He shook himself out of his distraction and came back to the topic at hand.

Torrent would probably make good use of Rain Dance at this point, especially with all of the water and humidity of Hoenn. If he was on the coast it would be child's play to call up a storm and Ash made a mental note to try it out sometime soon.

Ash would be blatantly lying if he said he didn't want to see Torrent at his most powerful – with the water behind him, not having to focus a good quarter of his strength on levitation, able to use all the power he had gained in the time since the Conference with impunity.

Friend-Trainer, I believe you will begin to experience increased an increased rate of salivation if you don't restrain yourself.

"Thank you, Dazed," Ash grinned as she stepped out of the shaded woods behind him, eyes raised upward into a smile. She idly polished her crystal pendulum and it flashed a bright blue before Ash felt a slight pressure brush his face. "What would I do without you?"

I dare not consider the thought.

He grinned at that and closed his eyes, relaxed. Nidoking and Dazed were beside him and he feared nothing with them at their side. Most of the team were happily playing, Plume circled lazily above, and Infernus was safely in his pokeball and away from the many, many flammable materials around them.

"Where's Torrent?" He asked after a moment. Ash didn't open his eyes and just waited for Dazed to answer, resting an arm on Nidoking's leathery hide as he did so. It had been much too long since he'd gotten to relax out under the sun with his family and he'd prefer if one of his oldest friends were with them.

She was silent for a moment and he imagined her eyes shut in deep contemplative focus.

I have gleaned from the Sentry that the Torrent rests in a pond not far from here. I believe he grew weary of…Its…pestering and decided to rest. The Torrent's mind is giddy and I believe him to be basking in the adoration of the pond's inhabitants.

Ash snorted and let a slight smile twist over his lips. "I imagine there's quite a few there to see him. I still remember how many turned up to watch his evolution back in Pallet."

Nidoking raised his great head and nodded slightly at that, eyes cast months back into the past when they'd only just been coming into their strength. Torrent's evolution was a milestone for the team and they all remembered it.

Indeed. I expect his vanity will outstretch the Sentry's if he continues to meet so many admirers.

"Plume's not that bad," Ash countered breezily, eyes still shut. "You should have seen her when we first started out…I'm pretty sure she thought the mirror was the greatest invention of all time."

You cannot hear her thoughts as I do.

Ash opened his mouth and closed it at that. Point taken. "Bruiser, then? I doubt he's strayed too far if Seeker's not with him."

Meditating. His mind lies deep in thought and I would not disturb him. He ponders many things.

He nodded and did not pursue the matter. Bruiser would have his peace and his privacy.

They were quiet for a long time yet, content just to be in one another's presence. Nidoking's mind was calm and Ash grinned at that – his friend could use that peace well. The gentle rise and fall of his friend's brought a little surge of warmth to his chest, one that had nothing to do with the Feather bonded to his skin.

A slight drowsiness fell over him, growing stronger by the second. He saw a red glow, a familiar mental pressure that he gave into all too willingly.

Sleep, Friend-Trainer. Rest your weary mind. I shall wake you when you are needed.

XX

"I guess this is it," Daisy muttered and kicked up some of the dust that had drifted onto the sidewalk in front of the Contest Center in Petalburg. Eevee whined at that and leaned forward to lick Ash's face, which he allowed with an easy laugh. "You sure you don't want to stick around for a few more days? I've really enjoyed this past week, you know. It's nice getting to see the man you've become, Ash."

Heat surged in his chest at that and he had to struggle to avoid grinning wide enough to leave his face sore for the next day. "Thanks…it's been fun, Daisy. I hope we run into each other again."

"Yeah," Daisy said softly. She reached out and squeezed Ash into a crushing hug and it was at that moment Ash realized that his friend really had learned everything from his mother. "Don't go all crazy isolated elite trainer on me, alright? I'm expecting to hear from you at least once a week. I need to make sure you don't get in too much trouble – I know you too well to expect you to stay out of it entirely!"

"I will," Ash grinned and finally returned the hug a bit, feeling distinctly uncomfortable with this much contact. He wasn't sure he liked being this close with anyone but his team. Daisy just seemed happy he hadn't pushed her away, though, and squeezed him tightly one last time and made sure to get one last try at cracking a rib before she let him go. "I'll try and come to one of your Contests."

"Tell me if you have anything come up!" Her eyes lit up. The Oak's voice slanted into a teasing lilt. "I want to see the big, bid Ash Ketchum in his element! I've got to admit that your Championship match was pretty impressive!"

"High praise," he smiled lightly. "But thanks, Daisy. I appreciate it."

She nodded back. "You're welcome! But who knows? Maybe you'll expand a bit beyond blowing stuff up, hmm?"

"I might give it a shot," Ash grinned back. "But my specialty really is blowing stuff up. Or burning it. Or –"

"I think I get it," Daisy giggled. Eevee's tongue lolled out happily and he yipped at Ash, eyes flashing back to watching some of Ash's team train. "Don't worry, you've got Daisy Oak to help you out! I'll make sure you don't embarrass yourself!"

"We'll see," he smirked. His eyes caught a flicker of movement and caught a few teenagers around Daisy's age pointing to her and trying to wave. "Looks like you have some admirers."

"What?" She asked, turning around. "Oh! Well, those are my friends…guess I'd better go on in."

Ash nodded, not really pleased to see her go. On one hand he was happy to be alone so he could do what he loved, but he'd enjoyed traveling with Daisy. It was nice getting to forge a connection with someone he should have known a lot better. She was kind and smart and if he was going to have to pick a human to travel with for longer she'd be pretty far up on the list.

"Bye, Daisy. Hope you have a good year."

"Bye, Ash," Daisy said quietly. She turned around before glancing back and pulling him into a quick one-armed hug that he returned a bit quicker this time. Daisy brushed a few strands of brown hair away from her slim face. "Take care of yourself, alright? I can't know what all you'll be up to, but I'm sure you'll find trouble one way or another. Just make sure you come back to all of us at the end of it, okay?"

"I'll stay safe," Ash promised. He paused for a moment as Daisy nodded, satisfied, and favored him with one last smile before she turned to leave. "Steven Stone will be my teacher."

She froze. "Huwha?"

"You heard me," Ash said. "Don't worry about me. I'm in good hands."

"I think a former Champion leaves you in hands better than good," Daisy shook her head, giggling a bit at the absurdity of it all. She turned around to beam at him, looking like a thousand pounds were just taken off her shoulders. "Thanks for telling me, Ashy. Okay, bye for real this time! Keep in touch!"

"Bye," Ash waved her off, watching her go the one last time. Once she got to her friends he left, walking the streets of Petalburg on his lonesome.

He barely paid attention to his surroundings, not really in the mood for it. Ash avoided the people in front of him and that was it.

He wouldn't be here long enough for it to matter.

XX

"Everyone listen up!" Ash said softly, still managing to silence each and every one of his teammates. He glanced over the row of pokemon, nodding to them in thanks for their patience.

It had taken a long time to find a suitable training spot even in the isolated Petalburg Woods. Plume had spent the better part of an hour searching before she'd reported back with an area deserted enough for them to inhabit without affecting the native pokemon.

Instead of treading through the Woods he'd decided to just fly on Plume's back instead – he'd have time to explore in the upcoming two weeks, but it was too important for them to get started right now. They'd lost a week thanks to traveling with Daisy and he wanted to be at his best by the time they faced Steven.

"We've got a long two weeks ahead of us," he began. Most of his friends looked eager at his pronouncement and Infernus' fierce smirk very nearly made the part of the Feather that was Moltres recoil. "I'll be working with all of you personally to start on your individual training regimens, but for today we're going to just focus on getting back into shape."

More shows of excitement and Ash couldn't help his own grin from forming. Nidoking, who stood to his right, let out an amused chuff at that and let his massive tail pound lightly into the ground to return their focus to Ash.

"Thanks," he nodded to his friend, who just dipped his head before returning to glance over the team. "For today, you'll be working in pairs. I'll have you cycle out to rest or work with another of us when necessary."

Ash raised a finger for each pair he called out, helping to recall the list he'd memorized as he went over various scenarios.

"Nidoking and Aron, Plume and Torrent, Dazed and Oz, Infernus and Tangrowth, and Bruiser and Sneasel," Ash counted off. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the different reactions he got – Sneasel looked terrified and furious and all sorts of miffed, Infernus just looked annoyed, and Tangrowth had an uncharacteristically dark look in his saucer-like eyes. "Pair up. Spar for now. It's just a warm-up – I'll come around to talk to you about what I want from you for the rest of the day."

He paused for a moment to stroke Seeker's silky fur, grinning as a shiver ran down her tiny body. She was stuck nestled up to his chest for now, too sensitive for the noon sun in which they were starting in.

Ash took just a moment to glance over at a few of the other members of his team before he waited for them to find their own isolated areas.

Aron trotted up to Nidoking with his tongue lolling out, icy blue eyes aimed up at Nidoking with pleased interest. He had no doubt that the little steel-type was really, really looking forward to this. He hadn't really gotten to train at all yet thanks to their tight schedule.

"Assess him," he told Nidoking, who nodded steadfastly. Even his friend couldn't help but look a little bemused as Aron sat down in front of him and panted, head wagging side to side as he waited for Nidoking to start. "Take it easy, of course."

Nidoking dipped his head in acknowledgement before he grunted softly to Aron, who shot up from his resting pose and followed the powerful poison-type like a young Growlithe behind its mother as Nidoking led him far away from any of the others.

With those two out of the way he glanced at the rest of the pairs. Bruiser looked like his birthday had come early and cracked his knuckles, smiling disconcertedly wide down at Sneasel as the dark-type looked ready to dart away the moment Bruiser twitched.

Plume and Torrent seemed happy enough. They'd known each other longest out of almost all of his friends and had a strong bond as such. It didn't hurt that both were relatively calm and focused most of the team and generally much more mellow than almost any of the others. Each preferred to simply observe and act only when necessary.

Dazed and Oz were fine with one another – he hadn't expected anything else. They were both fairly similar in personality, though Dazed was calmer. They'd get along well together and he hoped the next two weeks would bring them closer together.

That wasn't the only reason he'd paired them, of course. Dazed needed to work on increasing her raw power and redirecting attacks and Oz needed to increase the level of strength she could harness as well. It would be a good workout for both of them to hammer away at each other, gradually increasing the intensity until they were working as hard as they could.

Really everything was fairly expected except for Infernus and Tangrowth. Ash usually kept them fairly far apart since Infernus was one of the few things Tangrowth didn't love within five seconds of meeting. They didn't really fight, but there was a grudge held by Tangrowth that Ash wasn't sure had ever been aimed at anyone else.

But he had his reasons. And, as he called out for them to begin, Ash felt that he had made an excellent decision on that match up.

Both were powerful – Tangrowth deceptively so considering his personality – and each had the potential to work very well together. And if Tangrowth could temper Infernus and Infernus draw out a bit of fire in Tangrowth…well, he couldn't see anything wrong with that.

XX

He made his rounds after about thirty minutes of nonstop combat between the pairs. They weren't exhausted but they could use the rest and he took the opportunity to give them a detailed report on what he wanted them to focus on.

Nidoking and Aron were the exception. His first friend seemed pleased enough with the steel-type's progress but he'd need Dazed there to give him specifics. Ash could communicate extremely well with Nidoking but Dazed would make it much, much faster.

And with a deadline of just two weeks time was of the essence.

Plume would be taking a break from her speed training for now and instead would be trying to increase the power of her attacks to the point she could break through Torrent's Twister with an Air Slice or take down Ice Storm with Hurricane.

Torrent needed to work on facing fast opponents as well as aerial fighters. He was best underwater or against terrestrial fighters, but after the Conference Ash knew he needed extensive training against pokemon that attacked from above.

Their training with Lance had led him miles down the right path when it came to that, but there was always room for improvement. Torrent could predict fliers fairly well, true. But if he could learn to track the tan blur that was Plume then he could hit anything.

Dazed had already picked up on what he wanted from her and Oz so he only stopped by for a moment to check in. Mostly he just wanted to see how they were feeling after their break and to make sure they'd be able to accomplish what he had planned for them…not that he really had concerns. Neither of the pair were keen on failing.

With Bruiser and Sneasel it was basically just letting them know that it was going to be a day of Catch the Sneasel – Bruiser had flashed him a reptilian grin and Sneasel had practically wilted.

But he needed Bruiser to be faster and it would give plenty of time working on low-level Rampage and it was probably the best motivation for Sneasel to get better at predicting strikes and improving at dodging that he could imagine.

Sneasel really, really hated getting hit. So getting hit by even a half-powered punch from the Machoke was basically his worst nightmare.

Ash had the strange feeling he'd be using a disproportionate amount of his stock of Potions and Revives on Sneasel over these next few weeks.

Now he found himself in front of Tangrowth and Infernus, both of whom looked a bit more banged up than the others…not that it bothered either of them. Tangrowth could tank blows that would stop most of the team in their tracks thanks to his shell of vines and Ash was pretty sure getting hit by an attack just made Infernus even more eager to crush his opponent under his heel.

"Infernus, don't try and light him on fire when you aren't sparring," Ash sighed. The Magmortar grinned at that and let some of the tongues of flame escaping from his cannons die, though there was still the ominous glow deep within the tubes that bespoke of the fire's presence. "Thanks. So I'm guessing you two are wondering why you're paired up?"

Tangrowth nodded eagerly, a vine rushing over to pat Ash on the shoulder for asking. Ash snorted but had to nudge the appendage out of the way when it started brushing over the Feather, which was currently flooding his body with an intense heat that was almost painful as Infernus stepped nearer – flickers of gold and red could be seen under Ash's thin grey t-shirt and they grew ever greater in intensity.

"You two are going to specialize in lava," Ash began, grinning just as widely as Infernus. Tangrowth just looked confused. "That hot orange liquid you were playing with when we were at Moltres' island."

The grass-type cocked his whole body in confusion before his eyes lit up and he started fiercely nodding, all the vines covering his shapeless form wriggling happily when he realized what was going on – Ash noted one even tried to hug around Infernus, though the Magmortar snarled and flared his heat just enough to reduce it to a shriveled, blackened branch.

Ash winced as a few sparks drifted onto his skin, searing it and becoming an extension of the trainer. In the time it took to blink it felt as though the tiny bit of flame had been part of him for an eternity, although the odd feeling thankfully flickered and died once the spark cooled.

"Anyway," he said as much to distract himself as it was to direct Infernus and Tangrowth, "for the rest of the day I want to see you two working on manipulating magma. Nidoking will come by in a few minutes to clear an area so you two don't burn down the whole forest."

"And Infernus, no Earth Burn!" He said sternly. Infernus growled at that, not happy with the restriction, but gave in. At least he understood why. That might be a bit harder with the childish mentality of Tangrowth. "Dazed and Torrent will be training around you, so if the situation seems to get out of control they'll be more than ready to step in."

Infernus nodded at that, though he seemed disappointed. Ash had no doubt his friend would be more than happy to burn this whole forest to the ground, especially if he got to start off his path of destruction with an Earth Burn.

The Magmortar always did enjoy unleashing that technique…though Ash had to admit he enjoyed watching it just as much. There was something beautiful in that level of barely controlled power and destruction to him.

"Tangrowth, I want you to raise walls around the spot Nidoking clears," he instructed. Ash reached out and grasped one of Tangrowth's vines, which cheerfully wounds its way around his arm until the end reached his shoulder. "Listen, I need you to take this seriously, okay? Don't try and play with the magma or you might hurt yourself or someone else."

He gurgled and recoiled at that, eyes wide at the thought of doing real harm to any of his friends. Ash nodded, glad to see that it had the impact he'd hoped. Tangrowth was a gentle soul and hopefully his urge to avoid hurting one of the team would be enough.

Still…

"Can you dig out a pit for Infernus?" Ash asked Tangrowth, who closed his eyes and nodded cheerfully, earlier fears forgotten. An instant later an orb of silvery light shot from one of his vines and struck a spot a few feet away from them. A few seconds later and Tangrowth had shaped a deep hole in the earth, more than enough for the Magmortar to fit into. "Thanks, Tangrowth."

He walked about fifty feet away, leery about being anywhere near magma without serious psychic protection. Ash felt that he was in enough danger unintentionally without throwing stupidity in the mix – if he wasn't careful he'd probably get himself killed otherwise.

"Bring up some lava!" Ash shouted to Infernus, drawing the nervous attention of most of his friends. Most eyed the situation warily, with Nidoking, Torrent, and Dazed ready to step in at a moment's notice if they deemed it necessary.

Infernus smirked and teleported into the pit, disappearing in a crack and flash of light. Ash watched with a savage grin on his face as superheated air overflowed from the hole and the edges began to glow a cherry red as Infernus let loose. The hole's rim seeped and melted back into the pit, unable to maintain form in the face of the enormous power unleashed by the Magmortar.

A few more moments past before Infernus clawed his way up the stone walls of Tangrowth's pit, covered in molten stone that ran off his powerful body in sluggish rivulets before falling back into the pool from which they'd came.

The Magmortar shook himself off, grinning as he cast some more droplets back into the makeshift magma pool. He was almost indistinguishable from the glowing red of the pit thanks to the air that warped and twisted around him thanks to the immense heat he put out, though he appeared as though from nowhere as he walked a bit beyond the reach of the magma pit.

Ash always enjoyed watching Infernus work. The power, the sheer joy that the Magmortar took in his strength…it was never a disappointment.

Of course, what made this special was that Ash was fairly certain that Infernus hadn't even really used a technique. He'd just dropped to the bottom and flared his natural body heat to extreme levels, forcing all of his power into maintaining a cloak of energy intense enough to melt even rock.

It was that ability that made Magmortar into the truest expression of the fire-type, at least in Ash's eyes. The heat and fire was almost a part of them – they couldn't help but warp their surroundings to accommodate them. It was a quirk of their physiology that made them enormously effective and dangerous in any form of combat.

Any pokemon adapted to not just live but thrive in the extreme environments provided by volcanoes were to be reckoned with, if only because they had to be extraordinary to exist in their homes for even a few seconds without succumbing to the insane levels of heat and toxins.

He sighed and focused. Now wasn't the time.

"Tangrowth, I want you to try to touch the lava with just one of your vines," he said, glancing to Dazed to make sure she was ready to step in if needed. "Keep your body really far away from it, though. You don't have shields like you did last time."

Ash could barely hear Tangrowth's gurgle of confirmation and watched as a long vine snaked its way to the pit, though the grass-type almost stopped and whined as the ends became alit by orange flame long before they even touched the magma.

His friend kept pushing, though, until at last the surface of the vine – a blackened, shriveled wreck of what it had once been – touched the magma by virtue of the extension primarily taking place in the areas closest to Tangrowth's body.

He imagined most of the vine had charred away, with barely any of it even existing once it breached the superheated gates of the pit – that was generally where the vine started to sear away and the flames had started to overwhelm the fire-retardant nature of Tangrowth's vines enough to start to burn their way up the extended appendage.

Well, it did until Infernus casually ripped it off and cast it into the pit at least. Tangrowth gurgled and tried to reach another vine down to catch it, though a word from Ash stopped him in his tracks.

"Enough," he cut in, sending a nod of thanks to Infernus for stopping Tangrowth before the grass-type allowed the flame to progress even further up the vine. "See what that did to your vine, buddy?"

Tangrowth nodded, still staring at the pit.

"It can do a lot worse to pokemon not like you or Infernus," Ash explained slowly, taking care to ensure Tangrowth took in every word. "Do you remember when your arm got torn off in the Conference?"

His friend shook the regrown arm in an affirmative, gurgling down at it as though he expected it to communicate back.

"It didn't feel good did it?"

At Tangrowth's affirmative full-body nod, Ash continued. "Well, hitting most things with that magma would hurt a lot worse. They might die if you aren't careful."

Ash felt a little bad as Tangrowth recoiled but pushed on regardless. This was necessary so Tangrowth didn't see lava manipulation as some kind of game – it was deadly and he didn't even have to score a direct hit to do serious damage.

"So be careful, you understand? I don't want you to hurt anyone on the team," Ash finished. Tangrowth nodded almost frantically and for a moment Ash thought he'd scared his friend off from even trying to work with the molten stone, though he was comforted once he saw Tangrowth extend a single vine about twenty feet above the pit and fire a barely visible orb of silvery power in.

It didn't look like anything happened – the cock of Tangrowth's body helped him confirm that – but he smiled at Tangrowth anyway. "Keep at it! You'll get there soon! I believe in you!"

Tangrowth happily waved a few vines back before he returned to his task, carefully trying to harness the material before him.

Ash smiled at the wariness his friend was exhibiting before he turned back to watch the rest as they sparred, honing their bodies and their powers.

They had a day to get back into shape. After that, it was just raw improvement.

He grinned and folded his arms, scanning each and every one of the dueling pairs with an air of interest.

Steven might be stronger than him for a long time yet, but he knew the former Champion wouldn't be disappointed with what he found.

And here it is! A little late but I decided to release it on Christmas and spend the day working on a few parts. I'm still not entirely happy with this chapter – there's probably more exposition in it than the last several combined – but I hope it was interesting enough to keep everyone from just skipping past. I've wanted to include a look at my view of the Pokemon World at large for a while now and I felt this provided the best opportunity.

If you don't like what I did with the world then you don't need to worry. It was mostly just to give everyone an idea of where the regions were placed and a hint at the relations between them. The content I made up won't have a real role except as a greater part of the backstory…I doubt I'll be visiting it for a very, very long time, if ever.

But if you did like it then great! I tried to weave a lot of my random ideas into it and make a relatively realistic sense of the Pokemon World's geography. It's not complete since I didn't want to completely drown all of you in exposition, but it should be sufficient for now. If you have any questions about the Pokemon World, cultures, or any other of the chapter feel free to PM me or leave it in a review – I'm more than happy to answer it once I get through the backlog of feedback I've received while I worked on this chapter.

Next chapter should be a lot of fun – Ash will finally meet up with Steven and the real story of Hoenn will finally begin.

Anyways, I'll wrap this up. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and make sure to review! Happy Holidays!