The next morning, after having breakfast the group decided to go see professor Sycamore before heading out for the next gym. While they were there Clemont met a Chespin that formed an instant connection to him, and decided to travel with him.

After they left, professor Sycamore got an unexpected visit. When Team Rocket walked into his lab, to say he was surprised would be an understatement. He stood there with his arms crossed and a glare focused on the three. "After what you did to Garchomp last time, you had better have a damn good reason for stepping foot in my lab again."

The three raised their hands to show they meant no harm. "That's part of the reason we are here. We wanted to apologize for what happened. We never meant for any harm to come to him. It was an accident." James said. He shared a look with the other two. "Do you have somewhere private we can talk?"

The professor looked at them suspiciously, but nodded and led them to his office. Once they were seated. He looked at them expectantly.

"I guess we should start by asking how much you know about Aura Guardians." Jessie started.

Professor Sycamore scowled at them. "You don't honestly expect me to believe that any of you are an Aura Guardian."

"Hell no." That came from Meowth. "We are however the trial keepers for the Aura Guardian. That's why we are here. We would like you to become the guide for the Kalos region."

"What is it that I would be doing exactly, and who is the Aura Guardian?" The professor asked, still not totally sure he believes anything they are saying.

"As trial keepers, it's our job to keep track of the trials that have been accomplished, and prepare him for the trials to come. Our way of training may be a bit unorthodox but it works out well for everyone. But, because of the role we play, we can't steer him back onto his path when he strays to far, or have him go to where he is needed the most. That's where you come in. How you choose to guide him is entirely up to you, though there will be times we will have you help out with his training." Jessie explained.

"As to who the Aura Guardian is." James says with a smirk. "Well the answer to that should be fairly obvious, don't you think?"

It only took him him a second to realize who it was. "Ash." It made sense. How else would he have survived a fall from prism tower.

"Yeah." Said Meowth. "But he ain't the only one. There are three guardians now, only the other two just found out."

Professor Sycamore thought for a moment. "I'm guessing the other two are Clemont and Serena." The three nodded. "Okay, I'll be your region guide. I already have a few things in mind. One of them being The Summer Games I host every year. I could give you three a job."

"Oh, we'll be there." Said Jessie.

"But, you won't know it's us." Said James.

"We are masters of disguise." Meowth finished before they got up and walked out, leaving the professor alone with his thoughts.

He actually knew quite a bit about Aura Guardians, after all, he and Meyer had been best friends since they were 10. It's why he studies Mega Evolution. They were two sides of the same coin. One who keeps the origins safe, the other explores the possibilities. Balance is key.

If there are three Aura Guardians for the first time in 1,000 years, then something big is about to happen. And he now has a significant role to play in order to make sure Ash and the others are prepared for what's to come. I hope they are up for the challenge. Me too, for that matter.

Back on the road, Serena had her navigator out trying to find the fastest way to Cyllage City.

"So if we go this way, we can get there in 2 and a half days." She says pointing at the screen.

Ash doesn't even look. "Okay, but where's the fun in that? If we take all the main roads we will never see anything. If we take a scenic route you'll get to do a lot more. We have almost an entire year for me to get 7 more badges, and all of Kalos to explore. Besides, it's better to train your aura out in nature. Helps you focus better."

Serena suddenly stops and the others turn to look at her. "Wait, so you mean like, camp out?"

"Yeah." Ash says hesitantly. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, when I left home I figured I would just stay at the Pokémon centres. I didn't bring a tent with me." She said looking embarrassed.

"You can share mine, there's plenty of space." Bonnie said.

"Okay." She said, glancing at Ash, who had an odd look on his face, then smiled at her. "Thanks Bonnie."

Ash cleared his throat and shifted. "Alright, now that that's settled, why don't you find us a route to take." Serena nodded and they continued walking.

When Serena had first said she didn't have a tent, his first thought was that she could just sleep with him, but that was stupid. He was such a light sleeper that the smallest sound or movement would wake him up. If he had someone else in bed with him, he would never get any sleep. Even Pikachu had his own bed. There was a time he could sleep like the dead, but after all the shit he's seen and been through, sleep didn't come easy these days.

After about ten minutes Serena had a route planned out. They continued walking for another few hours before stopping for lunch and letting out the Pokémon.

Clemont was rummaging around in his bag. "Where is it? Where is it?" He muttered to himself. "Ah-ha. Found it." He turned around with a triumphant grin, holding a small square box, about 3 inches big.

"Okay..." Ash said. "And what is that?"

"It's a pop-up kitchen in a box. One of my inventions." At their blank stares he shook his head and walked a few feet away before placing small objects on the ground in different places. Then he pressed a button on the box and the objects got bigger. One was a picnic table, one was a stove/oven combo and the last thing was a fridge. Clemont then walked to the fridge and opened it revealing it was fully stocked.

"Huh." said Ash. "Well the pop-up kitchen in a box will definitely come in handy."

"The name needs a little work." Said Bonnie. Clemont just rolled his eyes and began to make lunch. While he worked, Ash got the Pokémon food ready. All the food was made from a book of recipes that Brock had given him before going off to become a Pokémon Doctor. And Serena and Bonnie set up the table.

After about an hour they were all finished packing up, and putting the Pokémon back in their pokeballs. "Ash, why doesn't Pikachu ever go in his pokeball?" Bonnie asked, the others were curious as well.

Ash looked at Pikachu and he nodded his consent. "I told you before that Pikachu was abandoned. It's more the how that has had lasting effects." Ash sighed and they began to walk again as he told them about Pikachu's past. "It wasn't to long after he evolved that his trainer decided he didn't want to take the time it would need to build up his strength and stamina." Ash shook his head, muttering "idiot" under his breath. He pulled out Pikachu's pokeball. "Instead of just releasing him, he kept Pikachu locked in the ball. It's a special pokeball so he couldn't get out on his own. Then threw it in a river. He was stuck for months in the ball and barley survived. It was luck that the river just happened to go through the sanctuary and one of the wild Pokémon found it and brought it my dad."

"Wait." Serena said. "What do you mean dad. I thought you didn't have a dad."

Ash scratched the back of his neck. "Right. Well, it turns out that Professor Oak is my dad. They decided to tell me when I turned 16. Oh and that they had been dating for the two years prior and that he was moving in with my mom, since he lived in an apartment above his lab."

"Holy shit." Serena breathed.

"So you're telling me that THE Professor Oak, is your father." Clemont said, just to clarify. Ash just nodded. "I guess there is a lot we still don't know about each other."

"Maybe not yet." Ash said. "But we will in time."

They walked for a few more hours before stopping to set up camp for the night. Before dinner Ash would do battle training with his Pokémon, then after dinner was aura training with everyone. With the exemption of Ash, everyone turned in early that night.

After a few hours of bonding with his Pokémon, Ash went to bed, then was up again by 6 the next morning.

Their first day may have been uneventful, the next week was a different story. With a new adventure every day, getting to meet new people and Pokémon, and of course Team Rocket doing what they do best. It had been anything but boring.

They had been travelling through a forest and just finished having lunch by a waterfall they had come across, and Ash figured it would be a good place to train with Froakie.

They were running through a few combinations when Ash, Froakie and Pikachu felt a shift in the air right before a voice said, "You still have much work to do." Both voice and aura had been thrown to bounce around the trees. Even with how much they had improved it the last week, Serena and Clemont couldn't follow it, hell even Pikachu couldn't track it, but Ash and Froakie could. With a slight nod from Ash, Froakie threw his frubbles, hitting the person's hiding spot. The camouflage sheet fell away to reveal a young ninja. "So yo you found me eh?"

"Oh cool." Bonnie said. "A ninja."

What do you want? Froakie said, landing in front of the group.

"Ninja leaf shroud." He said, touching the ground and a tornado of leaves surrounded him before quickly falling away, revealing he was gone.

Ash and Froakie followed the shift to a bush. "There." Ash said, and Froakie threw his frubbles.

"Use your frubbles." The ninja said, and another glob of frubbles came flying out of the bushes, hitting Froakie's. He came out of the bush with his Pokémon, Frogadier. "I'm impressed. No one has ever been able to track my movements before, yet you and your Froakie seem to do it with little effort. Now, why is that, I wonder." He says with a smirk.

"You're not the first ninja I've met." Ash said. "I'm sure you know exactly why I can track you."

"What do you mean Ash?" Serena asked.

"It's not a well known fact, but the reason ninjas can do the things they can is because somewhere in their past, they were trained by an Aura Guardian." Ash explained, not taking his eyes off the ninja, watching his reaction. "While they can't do even a fraction of what a guardian can, they can mute and throw their aura, as well as harness the aura of nature, to a small extent."

"So, I was right then. You are an Aura Guardian. All three of you are, if Frogadier is to be believed." The ninja said and Ash nodded. "My name is Sanpei. I come from a line of ninja that can be traced to the first Aura Guardians. It is an honour to meet you."

That surprised Ash. Until now, the only time he had heard about the firsts was the day he learn he was an Aura Guardian. "Besides Lugia, I've never met anyone who knew about the Firsts. The honour is mine."

"Well in that case, why don't we have a Pokémon battle." Sanpei said. Ash was hesitant, he could feel Frogadier's power. He probably wasn't far off from evolving. But Froakie was all in, so Ash reluctantly agreed.

The battle went just how Ash thought it would. For everyone of Froakie's moves, Frogadier's were stronger. Ash could hear the others talking behind him.

"Is Frogadier so much stronger because it's the evolved form, or because of better training?" Bonnie asked.

"I think it's a bit of both, to be honest." Was Clemont's reply.

Ash couldn't fault them for their thoughts. Even after a week, he and Froakie hadn't quite figured out the best training method for them. They were having a hard time getting in sync if they weren't in a battle. After Frogadier unleashed a quick attack that could rival Pikachu's, that just barely hit yet did a lot of damage, Ash called the match, much to the surprise of everyone else.

Froakie wasn't happy about the battle being cut short, but he understood. They weren't ready. Not yet, anyway, but they would be. After Ash tended to wounds they went to talk with Sanpei. He explained the issues they have been having with their training, Sanpei and Frogadier agreed to show them how they trained.

After a few hours of training, and an interruption from Team Rocket where Froakie learned an impressive Double Team, they found that Sanpei's training method work really well for them. Ash thanked him, and after joining them for dinner, Sanpei and Frogadier left.

Since it was late, they decided to set up camp by the waterfall.

Serena woke up in the middle of the night and was having a hard time getting back to sleep, so she decided to go get a drink. As she stepped out of the tent, she saw a figure sitting against a fallen tree by the water. Ash. She thought. She walked over and sat down next to him.

"Can't sleep?" She asked. He just shrugged, not taking his eyes off the waterfall. "What's wrong?" She tried again, putting her hand on his arm. This time he looked down at her hand, before lifting his eyes to her face. He studied her for a moment, then turned back to the water and sighed, but grabbed her hand in both of his and held it. Serena moved closer and laid her head on his shoulder and waited.

"I'm not that same kid you remember. The things I've seen and done would give most people nightmares. Hell I was turned to stone and back before I even found out I was an Aura Guardian. People have lost their lives because of my actions." Ash put his head back looking at the stars.

Serena took a minute to put her words together right. "There might be more to you now, but at your core, I don't think you have really changed. At least not in anyway that matters. I still see everything I love about you. Your unshakable determination, the way you're always willing to help a person or Pokémon in need, your sense of adventure, the way you make me feel safe." She said the last one so quietly Ash almost didn't hear it. She kept her eyes on their joined hands in his lap.

Her heart nearly stopped when he let go of her hand, but picked up double time when one arm went around her back and the other under her knees and he picked her up and put her on his lap. She curled up, with his arms around her and relaxed. It didn't take long for her to fall back asleep.

Ash stood with her in his arms and went back to camp. He hesitated for a moment by Bonnie's tent before continuing to his. He laid her down on his bed and took off her shoes, then covered her up. He quickly got undressed before putting on a pair of sleep shorts, and getting in on the other side, all without making a sound, so he wouldn't wake up either Serena or Pikachu.

As soon as he was in the bed, Serena rolled over and tucked herself up against his side. After a moment he relaxed, and within minutes he was drifting off towards the best sleep he,d had in years, not even stirring the following morning when Clemont came in his tent to see if he had seen Serena, only to find them still sleeping. He turned around and left them to sleep.

A/N: In case you are wondering about the height difference between Ash and Serena, Ash is 6'3 and Serena is 5'2, so quite a big difference. I wanted her to be tiny, but pack a punch.

Hope everyone is enjoying it. Sorry for the long wait on the update.