Professor Samuel Oak was what you could call a man of intelligence, but he often became distracted, forgetting details and going off on tangents that even he didn't always fully understand. However, sometimes those tangents often led to his greatest discoveries oddly enough. No, he did not have answer as to why this happened.

Though as eccentric as he was, Samuel was pretty sure that he didn't have a video meeting scheduled today.

Still, that didn't mean he wasn't pleased to see his old pupil reach out.

"Professor Oak."

"Ah, Cerise! Good to hear from you!" Samuel greeted cheerfully, "I hope everything is going alright in Vermillion."

"Vermillion is going fine...however we have had certain development recently."

"What has Ash done now?" Samuel said, finding Cerise's surprised face rather amusing.

"How did you know it was related to Ash?"

"I've known the boy since before he was a trainer. He has a knack of having 'certain developments'," Samuel explained, the incident with an Entei coming to mind.

"This happens regularly?!" Cerise looked to the side nervously.

"More or less," Samuel shrugged, "You're not regretting hiring him, are you?"

"No, I just think I need to get better insurance."

Samuel bellowed laughter, "That would be a good idea! So, what has the boy done now that warrants you calling me?"

"It's a long story..."

And true to his word, Cerise explained the more recent discoveries made at Vermillion. Samuel listened with great curiosity, knowing this was something worth his undivided attention. Samuel had watched the boy grow up since he was a baby, and Ash had always been special. Even before he was born Ash was far from usual.

Samuel felt sad whenever he thought how Delia came to live in Pallet town, he wished he could forget about that day. But it isn't easy to forget when a young woman wanders into town in the middle of a thunderstorm, a bump on her head and all memories missing. Samuel had been the first to house her, after finding Delia crying on the side of the road the old man couldn't just leave her where she was. Especially when he saw that she was nearly six months pregnant. Besides he had the room in his home, it was just him, an infant Gary and little two-year-old Daisy-May in the house at the time. The war effort at the time required every abled adult and trainer to participate, meaning all that was left in Pallet were the elderly and young children. Until Delia came along.

Deila had been very quiet those first few days. Sleeping mostly. The Ketchums, a nice older couple who owned (at the moment shut down) a restaurant in Pallet and close friends of Samuel, were over at his home almost every day to help with the children already, so they started to care for the young expectant mother as well. Arceus bless their souls. Delia had nightmares, poor thing couldn't sleep for weeks, and seemed frightened about everything, flinching when lights were turned on or when someone started to use running water. Mrs. Ketchum and Mr. Ketchum had all but claimed Delia as their own after a month, even taking the younger woman to live in their home and turning one of their guest rooms into a nursery.

Still many questions remained after Delia was finally settled, and sadly she couldn't answer them. Poor woman couldn't remember anything beyond her name and that her home wasn't safe anymore. The latter wasn't all that hard to believe, the Tri-Team War was waging around the globe at the time and many small towns were caught in the crossfire.

As for the matter of the boy's father...

Well, the possibilities weren't favorable. Delia had no memory of the man leaving all options open. Meaning, at best he was drafted to fight and died, or at worst he ditched. And no one ever came looking for Delia. Frankly, considering how what was wonderful contribution to the community of Pallet Delia became, if the man was still alive, Samuel hoped he had a very good explanation for his 16-year absence.

Despite how his mother came to Pallet. Ash was born a healthy, strong baby boy. The Ketchums fully accepting him as their grandson, and Delia as their daughter by that point.

When asked why Delia chose the name Ash, she answered, "A. I don't know why, but the letter A seemed important and ashes may be what comes after disaster, but then they become the foundation we rebuild on. He's my future, my new foundation, I'll rebuild my life with him."

The Ketchums sadly didn't live very long after Ash's fourth birthday, but they left everything they had to Delia, so she wouldn't struggle after their sudden deaths. So, Samuel made sure he was there if the mother and son needed anything, though Delia rarely needed others to help her. She turned out to be a very determined and independent person once she felt safe again. Quickly taking over the Ketchums' old restaurant and running the business in a way his old friends would be proud of.

As Ash grew, his adventurous spirit flourished and clear love for Pokémon bloomed. Samuel had the pleasure of watching Ash grow. The old professor had tried to foster a friendship between Ash and Gary as they were close in age, but as they got older, the less they could get along. Actually, Ash didn't get along with many of the children in Pallet. Not that Ash didn't like the other children, he just didn't want to play their games. Preferring to explore the nearby forest, or play with the Pokémon in the lab's yard.

At first Samuel was concerned for the boy's safety, not all of the Pokémon in the lab were tamed enough for a young child to be with unattended, however, Ash quickly proved that his worries were unwarranted. Even the most aggressive and stubborn Pokémon would eventually break, and allow Ash to befriend them. Sometimes with just a touch the boy could win them over. Samuel had never seen anything like it.

Ash was special. No doubting that.

This was why, when Cerise told him about the knight from the 1300s, who was supposed to be dead but wasn't, had been sent by Mew to help Ash stop a group of terrorists who were trying to destroy the world, he wasn't all that surprised. Weird things happened in the Ketchum household.

"So, that's what has been happening at my lab. Are things still normal in Pallet Town?"

"Not since you told me about this!" Samuel laughed, "But in all seriousness, this certainly is a situation. Does this Team Rocket really believe that they can summon Arceus themselves?"

"Sir Aaron has confirmed that such a ritual existed with in the Aura Guild, whether or not it works is still unknown however. While I haven't talked to a member of Team Rocket, Ash has a history. He told me about the plot to use Meloetta's power two years ago."

"Meloetta? As in the mythical Pokémon of melody? No one has seen her in years."

"Ash did, he told me Meloetta went back into hiding after the incident."

"Probably for the best. The power of mythicals is something that should be respected, and if such power could create much destruction if in the wrong hands."

"Sounds like you've had personal experience."

Samuel rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "I might have had a run in with a Celebi when I was younger."

"What happened?"

"Oh, nothing you need to worry about. It's all sorted now."

Cerise on screen nodded, "So, will you be able to help us?"

"Of course! I won't leave one of my favorite former students to flounder in a situation like this one. Now, what can I help you with?"

"Right now, we're looking for the fourth Aura User that Mew told Sir Aaron to find."

"Another user? I didn't realize there were so many of them left. Most people believe they're merely fables."

"I have to agree I didn't even know what an Aura user was until Sir Aaron explained it, and even then, I had a hard time believing it. It all sounds like it's straight out of a story book."

"All myths have some bases in truth or they would never have existed. Now regarding this fourth user, I'm guessing that you are asking my help in locating her."

"If it's no trouble."

"No, it's no trouble at all. Do you know anything about them?"

"Her name. Amanda gen."

"Amanda Gen," Samuel tapped his chin in thought, "Can't say the name is familiar. How old is she? Do you have any idea what she looks like? If she was one of the trainers that I gave a starter too I might be able to get in touch with her."

"I don't think you'll find her in your trainer database. We don't know anything else about her, really. Though we do have a lead we think you can help with. Do you remember Lorelei?"

"Lorelei?" Samuel hummed, "Lorelei...Oh, yes, I remember her! Bright mind, dark hair, and very determined...But what does she have to do with the girl?"

"Lorelei goes by Professor Gen, now. What we're theorizing is that she's a relative to the girl. Do you know how we could get in contact with her?"

Samuel sighed deeply, "I'm afraid not. I haven't talked to her in at least a decade. Last I heard she has her own laboratory now."

"Do you know where her lab is?"

"Ryme City. However, I don't think you'll find her there. Rumor is that she's always traveling to expand her funding and resources. It's nearly impossible to get an in person meeting."

"Well, that's just our luck. I guess this means you don't know if she had children or not."

Samuel shook his head, "No, sadly. I did a get a wedding invite, but I couldn't make it," The elder professor, "I might have an old number of hers somewhere in my older files and databases, but it would take some digging to find it."

Cerise sighed, "Well, I guess that's a dead end."

"Not, necessarily. We'll see if it is when you send them over."

"Wait what? Send who over?"

"Why the boys, and you're not dead knight! I'm sure Ash wouldn't mind a trip home, and I have a lot of files to go through. It will take me and Tracey much longer to go through them all by ourselves. Besides you said they shouldn't stay in one spot for too long. Don't worry I'll foot the travel bill if needed."

"Well...I'll let them know I have a new assignment for them."

"I'll expect them in here in a few days."

Cerise nodded and cut the call.

Leaving Samuel with his thoughts. The professor hummed, processing the newly given information.

"Tracey! We have a new project to work on!"

"Alright, steady," Sir Aaron murmured, his hands at the ready in case something went wrong.

Ash had proven himself to be good student, curious, but very different from Lucario. Lucario had been eager, but it was more of a quiet, cautious eager. More inclined to listen then speak. Ash on the contrary was far more vocal with his enthusiasm. The knight quickly figured out that he would have to give Ash something to do to keep the boy engaged. Finding that the lad learned better through doing, rather than lecture. A blizzard would storm inside a volcano before Sir Aaron could get Ash to even attempt meditation.

However, once Sir Aaron knew how to teach Ash properly, the boy made great advancements in his training. Hence the reason as to why after just two days Ash could successfully summon a small Aura sphere in his hands. The small glowing ball of collected energy in Ash's hold was jerkily spinning rather than a smooth twirl, and the usual quiet hum it gave off was also rough. Clearly unstable, but it was a good start. With some refinement, Ash would be summoning proper Aura Spheres in no time.

"I'm doing it," Ash said with some glee in his voice, and a smile on his face despite sticking his tongue out in deep concentration.

Sir Aaron chuckled, "Yes you are. Now careful not to drop it."

"Hey Goh! What's this thing look like through your thingamabob?!" Ash called out.

Professor Cerise had been gracious enough to let them train in the sanctuary, though he did ask if one of his assistants could document Ash's training. Sir Aaron had no issues with this, as long as they observed from a safe distance. Lessons with beginner users could go from calm to explosive in the blink of an eye. So, now Miss Chrysa and Goh were sitting top one of the sanctuary's hills, with devices that Sir Aaron couldn't understand. Pikachu, Riolu and Raboot, were perched at the edge of hill's incline, watching intently.

"It's called an inferred camera!" Goh called back, "And surprisingly no! Aura does not give off a heat signature."

At least not to your machinery. It feels warm when you hold it. Lucario communicated, from his guard post next to the modern scientists. Just in case.

"Really?" Goh said.

"Yeah!" Ash said, swiveling his hands, "It's like holding warm water but not touching it. It kind of feels like," Ash made a noise that vaguely resembled the sound of a beedrill, "like its buzzing. You know?!"

Goh looked at Ash, with a very confused, but not at all surprised face, "No, I don't."

The knight tried not to laugh at the lads' banter. Descriptions were not Ash's strong suit, but Aura Guardians weren't known for their prose. So, it didn't matter much.

Ash shrugged, before turning back to Sir Aaron, "Okay, what do I do now?"

"We're just working on summoning and dissipating aura at the moment. This will help strengthen your connection to it, allowing better control. You'll have an easier time learning other techniques if your connection is forged beforehand."

Ash nodded, "Okay so how do I turn this off?"

"Well, it depends on the user. Some can dissipate aura by mere thought, others need to combined physical motion in order to connect at first," Sir Aaron explained.

"I'm thinking. It's not working!"

"Alright, you're going to want to drop your hands to your sides, but do it slow-"

It was a beginner's mistake, but honestly Sir Aaron felt he should've talked faster. Ash dropped his hands to quickly, which let the unstable sphere go wild instead of making it dissipate. The tiny collected blue bundle of aura zipped to the side at an alarming speed. Whirring and buzzing as it sparked and flew through the air. Dashing straight for the viewers on the hill.

Lucario was quick to block it with an aura field, but the gleaming orb oddly bounced off the field and hurled back towards the two users. Reflexes kicking in, Sir Aaron pulled Ash behind him and summoned a field of his own. Only for the orb to bounce right back like a pinball, this time Pikachu intercepting it with a metal tail attack, sending the aura sphere soaring towards the glass crystal ceiling. Ricocheting between the panes a few times, before striking one at just the right angle and sending the gleaming orb plummeting downwards into a tree. The leaves and branches blowing up in a plume of flames and smog. The burnt skeleton of a maple, it's limbs still smoking, was the only thing remaining.

"Holy Shit!" Goh swore, while everyone else gaped. Still trying to process what just happened.

"Pika Pika!"

"Olu!"

"Is everyone alright?" Sir Aaron called out.

Miss Chrysa and Ash nodded, neither of them taking their eyes off the tree. The younger Pokémon only seemed startled. Pikachu and Riolu running over to Ash, the mouse jumping into his trainer's hold, and the pup clinging onto the lad's leg. Raboot didn't appear disturbed on the outside, though the knight could sense small flares of shock running through the rabbit Pokémon's soul. Goh was letting his stress and disbelief out through wide eyes, and quiet swears. Lucario was both impressed and surprised from the sudden attack.

But overall, everyone seemed to be unharmed.

Sir Aaron sighed in relief.

"Sorry about the tree Chrysa!" Ash called back.

"Don't worry about it!" The assistant called out.

Ah, yes that damage did need to be taken into consideration. The training fields had always needed to be cleaned and revived after the beginners' class. Sir Aaron started towards the smoking husk, setting his palm aglow with a cyan light. Reaching out to the thin trunk, but not yet touching the bark, the glow traveled from the knight's hand and spilled on to the dead tree. Flowing up and down the rough bark and bare branches, until the tree was fully enveloped in the light, shimmering like sunlight on an empty seafloor. The burning and ash were washed away, replaced with living wooden flesh, and newborn leaves sprouted from the branch tips until lush with life once more.

Sir Aaron pulled his hand away, smiling at his work.

And that was very the moment the sanctuary's fire sprinklers went off.

Goh scowled at the homework on the table in front of him. Honestly, the world was endangered and of course he still had to complete his school work. But if he didn't do it, he would have to face Chloe and Goh knew how much she cared about his education. She went through all the trouble to get him the homework after all.

"Mime Mime!" Mimey said, putting a cup of hot chocolate in front of the human boy.

"Thanks, Mimey," Goh said.

"Mime!"

There was a mild growl coming from a lump of towels on the floor next to the couch. Mimey poked the lump with his foot before putting another steaming mug next to it.

"You okay, Lucario?" Goh asked the lump.

There was another displease rumble.

"Don't mind him," Sir Aaron chimed from where he sat on the sofa, nodding thanks to Mimey as the Pokémon handed him his own mug, "He's always like this after getting caught in the rain."

After being tortured.

"You were not tortured," Sir Aaron said flatly, "Do you honestly think that you would be allowed in the manor covered in mud?"

When you grow your own fur coat master, you can tell me what torture is. Lucario uncurled from his mound of blankets and towels, taking the mug with what almost looked like a smile on his snout.

Sir Aaron sighed through his nose, shaking his head lightly, before sipping the beverage. A small smile of surprise and great approval sneaking on to the knight's own face, as he swallowed looking at the contents remaining in his mug. Goh didn't laugh at Lucario's smug look, just hid his smile behind a sip of his own cup.

Mimey once again had out done himself. This was the best mug of hot chocolate Goh had ever had. Vaguely the young trainer wondered if it was Miss Delia's recipe. That woman seemed to always know how to either spice or sweeten something perfectly. It wouldn't be surprising if she had a special hot chocolate recipe. He might need to ask for it. This was just what he needed after the fire suppression system went off.

Apparently, the sprinklers at Cerise Labs were really, really, really strong. Not two minutes after the turned on, everyone was soaked through with water and the ground became nothing but a deep muddy puddle. Needless to say, once they managed to get back to the lab's doorstep, they were all a mess. Chrysa went home to clean herself up. While Mimey didn't even let the smaller Pokémon walk through the house as they were the muddiest, Pikachu and Raboot were washed in the kitchen sink, before they were allowed to roam around again. Riolu would've joined them, but the baby aura Pokémon ran off and Ash spent the next hour and a half chasing him down.

Everyone managed to already clean themselves by the time Ash had finally gotten ahold of the run away.

"Riolu! Get back here!"

Speak of Giratina and they will come.

There was a loud crashing sound coming from upstairs, and less than a moment later a flash of wet blue darted down the staircase. Quickly followed by Ash running, and then tripping and falling, down the stairs. Pikachu jumping off of Ash's shoulder and landing on the stairway rail, right before the trainer tumbled.

"Pikapi!"

Ash groaned into the floor.

Ash?

The dark-haired trainer gave a thumbs up, "I'm okay!"

Ash picked himself up and walked towards the kitchen, where Mimey had stopped Riolu's escape. The baby Pokémon struggling in the hold of the older Pokémon.

"Alright," Ash said, "We don't have to use the hair dryer, but you have to towel off. You're literally dripping all over the floor."

Riolu whimpered.

"Don't give me that look. It doesn't work on me anymore."

The wet fluff ball then growled.

"Mime Mime Mime!" Mimey said, shoving a red mug into Ash's hands, before marching the wet Riolu upstairs.

"Yeah, yeah I'll go sit down," Ash mumbled, walking to sofa. Pikachu jumping off of the railing and running along the back to the cough to snuggle with his trainer, and try to steal sips from Ash's mug.

Goh turned back towards his homework, just as footsteps could be heard coming down the nearby hall and into the room.

Professor Cerise, sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I just had the most interesting conversation with the fire chief."

"Sorry," Ash mumbled.

"Don't apologize, accidents happen," Professor Cerise said, "I still don't know what triggered the sprinklers though."

"That was me," Ash said.

"What? How?" Professor Cerise raised a brow.

"I blew up a tree," Ash said.

At this professor Cerise looked more confused, and Goh couldn't blame him. The sanctuary just looked wet after Sir Aaron magically brought the tree back to life.

"Where?" Professor Cerise said.

"One by the water pond," Sir Aaron chimed in, "Do not concern yourself, I repaired the damage."

"Yeah, the tree was burnt to a crisp then Aaron zapped it and it looked fine," Ash said, "How did you do that?"

Sir Aaron paused to swallow before answering, "Aura isn't just used for attacking and destruction. The life force of Arceus can be used for healing and creation as well."

"So theoretically you could fix items with a wave of your hand?" Professor Cerise asked.

"Only if their living beings. If Ash had struck, say a stone wall there would be little I could do for that."

"But doesn't everything have aura in it?" Ash asked, "I mean you can see everything in aura sight, right?"

"You are correct about the aura sight, however just because you can sense something does not mean you can make use of it. If you were stuck in a stone pit and all you had was a sword, would you be able to get out using it? No, you couldn't. You have the sword, you know it is there, but you cannot use it."

"Back to the topic of healing," Professor Cerise said, "How does that actually work? Can aura effect cellular regeneration?"

"Uh...I'm uncertain what modern technical terms would be correct to use here, nor was I trained in healing beyond minor wounds and exhaustion, but my understanding is that concentrating aura in wounded areas of the body can help them mend."

"What about illness? Can Aura be used for that?" Goh asked, suddenly interested in this conversation again.

"Beyond supporting the body's natural healing by merging auras and suppression of minor symptoms, I don't believe so. But then again, I've only ever use aura on a head cold to get through council meeting when it comes to illness."

"Wait, merging aura? Is that what we did in the Tree of Beginning?" Ash asked.

Yes, though it wasn't the same as supporting a victim of plague.

"Lucario is correct. Even if I don't have the full story what happened, it was a form of healing that the two of your preformed," Sir Aaron said.

"So, wait if you can give your aura to support someone who's sick, wouldn't you just always support whatever is making them sick too?" Ash asked.

"Ash viruses aren't alive. You can't give life to something that's not alive in the first place. Right?" Goh said.

Sir Aaron nodded.

"So, this means we can't bring dead people back to life?" Ash suddenly asked.

"No, though it's not for a lack of trying. There are many accounts of the first users trying to raise the dead. None of the attempts were successful," Sir Aaron cleared his throat.

"So, we're technically descendants of people who wanted a zombie uprising?" Ash said.

"Pikapi..."

"I'm sorry?" Sir Aaron blinked confusingly.

Lucario's ear drooped and his head tilted. What?

"Oh, you don't know what that means," Ash said.

"You can show them the Walking Dead later," Professor Cerise said, "In the meantime, I finally managed to get a hold of Professor Oak."

"Does he know how to contact Professor Gen?" Goh asked.

"Not off the top of his head, sadly. There's a chance, he might have an old contact hidden away somewhere, but it's a long shot. While he was looking, he was wondering if you wouldn't mind a trip to Pallet Town."

"YEAH!" Ash cheered, jumping off the couch, "You hear that Pikachu! We're going back to Pallet! Where going home!"

"Pi! Pikachu!"

A/N:

Well, good morning, everyone. Did anyone know that Gary canonically has a sister? I was looking up what color eyes Gary had and stumbled across this knowledge. I couldn't find her official English name, as the wiki swapped between Daisy and May, so I just used the two of them. So, here's the unexpected cameo of Daisy-May Oak?

The Tri-Team War is something I was inspired to add in by MatPat's Game theory on Pokemon GO, because I really liked it. I totally recommend his video. And I will go into further detail about my version of it in later chapters.

Did all of the dialog make sense in this chap? I was a little worried it'd be confusing. However, here are a lot more head-canons.