Everything about this meeting confused Lance. Why had all the elders and dragon masters been summoned? Why had his parents, who had been journeying through the Unova region, returned to the Dragon Shrine? And most of all, who was this young woman? Of course, his grandfather had introduced her as a fellow Dragon Master and lore keeper of the Draconid Clan, but the girl sitting Across from Lance was far too young for either title, if Lance's past experience meant anything. Yet, here she was, sitting in the shrine with a whismur in her lap. The clan elder, Lance's grandfather, cleared his throat. "If everyone would sit, we will begin shortly." Everyone in the room sat down, joining the young woman and the elder. "This is Zinnia, Lorekeeper of the Draconid clan of Hoenn. She has urgent news to share." He nodded at the girl, and she stood up, bowing to him before turning to the congregation. Lance caught sight of a keystone on her wrist when she turned to them. She must be quite the skilled trainer in order to use mega evolution. "Thank you. I have journeyed here at the behest of my grandfather in order to deliver important news. The Titan of the Sky, Rayquaza, is on the move. It was recently spotted in the Alola region, far from it's usual home in the skies above the mountains of Hoenn. I went to investigate and found no trace of it. Eye witnesses say that it appeared over the trainer school there, before vanishing into the sky once more." the young woman smirked, sitting down. Lance was stunned. While the Blackthorns did not worship Rayquaza like the Draconids did, they still respected it's immense power. For it to have left it's home region was most odd. He gazed down at the floor, thinking about the reports that had flooded his department the last few months. Tales of Lugia and Ho-oh, the dog trio, the legendary birds. Most unusual, however, were the other reports. News of never before seen pokemon, of strange alien- like creatures. Reports of purple sneasel and odd looking scythers. Lance had brushed most of those reports aside, writing them off as so so much more nonsense. The most frightening thing he had heard, however, was the news from Cynthia. Apparently Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, known as the Creation Trio, had all appeared throughout the Sinnoh region. The last time any of those pokemon had confirmed sightings was almost five years ago, and now all three had been sighted just flyingabout the region. They had since vanished, but even so, the fact that all three had appeared simultaneously was not something Lance could write off quite so easily. And now this draconid was reporting that Rayquaza had suddenly appeared in the skies about the islands of Alola. How had he not heard about this? Was Gladeon not reporting such a thing to the rest of the champions? He had not heard of this! And now that he was thinking about it, shouldn't such a thing have been all over the news? Why have I not heard of this? "Is this why you have called us here today, Clan Elder?" someone asked. Shocked, Lance looked up to find that it was his cousin who had addressed his grandfather. The elder's eyes almost seamed to twinkle. "No, Clair, it is not, at least not solely." He turned to Lance, and the champion felt a chill run down his spine and sweat began to build on his forehead. It didn't matter that Lance was the Champion, any time his grandfather looked at him like that, he felt like he was standing in the shadow of the Great Dragon itself. He wasn't sure if it was his presence, or some magically ability, or the untapped ancient wisdom that lay dormant in his eyes, but Lance's grandfather always held a commanding presence to Lance. Obviously that didn't apply to his cousin, the ever petulant Clair. "Yes, Clan Elder?" Lance's grandfather almost seemed to chuckle. "As Champion of both Kanto and Johto, you are privy to info that most are not. Is there anything you can add?" Everyone in the room turned to Lance. He cleared his throat before standing and bowing to the assembled tamers. "There have been reports from both Kanto and Johto of odd sightings. Many have claimed to see the Legendary pokemon Lugia, Mewtwo, and even Ho-oh recently. While these rumors are not uncommon, and reports unverified, the number of people claiming to have seen legendary pokemon has been on the rise in the last month. Also…" Lance paused, hesitating. There was no reason to tell them about Ash, right? Maybe Riley's dream was important after all. If Arceus really told him what he said it did, it may have something to do with these sightings. He briefly thought to himself. Noticing his hesitation, the Clan Elder cleared his throat. "Do you have more to add, Champion?" he asked. "One of my contacts is the Aura Guardian, Riley, of Sinnoh. He believes that these occurrences may have something to do with The Lost Champion, Ash Ketchum." This drew gasps and murmurs from around the room. Ash Ketchum wasn't one of them, per say, but he had two dragon type pokemon within his repertoire, as well as numerous pseudo dragons, and even a dragon type ultra beast. As a trainer Ash had gained the respect of both Lance and Clair, something veryfew people were capable of. Many of those assembled in the den had heard of a draconic prophesy that spoke of a hero that would one day tame a dragon from another realm, one who would unite the world. This hero would befriend a legendary dragon, going on to change the world. As far as Lance knew, there was only one person who fit that description, and it was Ash Ketchum. And the fact that he was apparently on the move couldn't be a coincidence. "Why would any of this have some connection to Ash?" Leon turned, once more incredulous, as it was his cousin who once again spoke up. The old Clair would never have spoken her mind at a meeting of the masters. Things had obviously changed in the last four or five years. "I can't say that it does. I'm not sure that there's any connection to Ash, but…" Lance glanced at the floor at his feet once more. "There has been a substantial uptick in the rumors around Ash. Many have claimed to have spotted a trainer that fit his description within Kanto the last few weeks. Last week I talked with an ace trainer that claimed to have spotted a young man fitting his description near the Cinnabar Islands. Just yesterday I spoke with a gym trainer who claimed to have witnessed a battle in Pewter City between Brock, the gym leader, and a challenger that also matched his description. The pokemon used in the battle on the side of the challenger line up with the list of missing pokemon from Professor Oak, as well." Lance explained, watching with hidden amusement at the surprised and shocked looks of those around the room. "Why would Ash challenge a gym in the Kanto region?" Clair said, staring past Lance and into open space. She appeared to be reminiscing. "If I recall correctly, he has obtained all eight gym badges in the region, as well as the Johto region. Why, then, would Ash be retaking the gym challenge?" She asked, refocusing her gaze on the champion. Lance straightened once more, aware that all eyes were again on him. "I couldn't say. I was on my way to Mt. Moon before this meeting was called." The Clan Elder's head immediately darted back to Lance. "Why would you have done so? Of what interest is this matter to you, Lance?" Lance felt sweat dripping down his forehead. His grandfather had used his name that time, which meant that the formalities were off. "As a fellow champion and a member of the Eight, as well as a member of the party responsible for bringing the criminals who killed Delia Ketchum to justice, Ash Ketchum is of utmost importance." His grandfather didn't appear convinced, but thankfully the others in the room, sans Clair (of course) seemed to have taken what he had said at face value. He had told the truth, after all. Just not the whole truth. His grandfather stared at Lance, likely gauging what he had said, before eventually nodding. Lance sat back down, and barely paid any attention a the meeting commenced from there. It wasn't until all the tamers besides Lance, Clair, their parents, and their grandfather, had left that Lance refocused. He had been wondering if there was something more going on.
The last time pokemon had gone wild en masse was at the Lake of Rage, and that had been caused by Team Rocket. Then there was that situation in Hoenn, with those two teams waking the Titan of the Sea, Kyogre, as well as the Titan on the Earth, Groudon. The fools had believed that they were helping humanity, but the ensuing battle would have destroyed the region had Steven Stone not intervened. Apparently, Ash and his friends had also intervened, personally fighting the admin of both Team Aqua and Team Magma, although there was no proof that Ash and his friends had been in the Hoenn region at the time of the disaster. Then there was the situation with Team Galactic. Cynthia had personally confirmed that Ash and co had been in the middle of the fighting with Team Galactic almost from day one, protecting the Adamant Orb from a multi pronged assault by Team Galactic Admin members. Then, at least according to Cynthia, Ash and two of his friends, one of which was Brock, the Pewter City gym leader, had encountered and thus bonded with the Lake Guardians, and had all gone on to rescue the trio when they had been captured. If Cynthia was to be believed, Ash and his friends then faced the leader of Team Galactic, Cyrus DeAstra, a man who had been a widely influential and successful businessman in the Sinnoh and Kalos regions. He had supposedly used the Lake Guardian's powers to ensnare Dialga, Master of Time, and Palkia, Master of Space, bending both to his will. Ash and friends had bravely stood up to Cyrus, even with the insurmountable odds completely stacked against them. Now that I think about it, almost every major occurrence that had to do with an evil organization or a legendary pokemon within the last decade has had something to do with Ash or his friends. It just can't be a coincidence that all these legendary pokemon have been stirred up and Ash is on the move. "Did you hear me, Lance?"
Whattoname here! Thank you all for your support thus far! Just wanted to answer some questions. First of all, as I've stated before, the matter of shippings will be decided by a poll found on my page. As of this moment, there is a three way tie between Serena, Lille, and Misty, which I did not see coming at all. I figured Misty would be popular, but a three way tie? Now, I put May back in the running originally due to popular demand, but she's kinda falling behind. Another week without more votes and I'll remove her as a choice entirely. Second, I will not be giving Ash any pokemon from the Paldea region, nor will any characters be making a cameo any times soon. We still have eight regions to get through, and yes, Ash will travel ALL eight regions in this story so buckle up for a long ride. And finally, I want to address a comment that I received on my main page. This is my first time writing anything non academic. I am aware that my chapters are short and somewhat lacking in details sometimes, and I am attempting to work on that. This is an experience that will grow and evolve over countless chapters, so join me for the ride!