The Blue Spirit

by silentplayermc03

A vision has been seen by Arceus; a world covered in darkness, corrupting both humans & pokemon alike but it also showed two heroes fighting against it. Plans are formed, old & new friends meet, relationships are made, emotions run high, secrets are revealed & an inevitable world war engulfs them all against the darkness…

53. Chapter 52 - Decisions

THE BLUE SPIRIT

CHAPTER 52 – DECISIONS

"Just who the fuck does he think he is?!"

The Sinnoh Elite Four member and fire type trainer Flint was in a rage. He was fuming over what happened earlier on with the Aura Guardian. He had been holding it in all day before finally exploding during a card game with a few of his fellow elites in the evening of that same day. They jumped at his outburst and made the others around them snap their attention onto him. All of the elite members, from each region around the world, were staying on the thirty eighth floor of the Indigo Plateau hotel. It was reserved specifically for them and had the space for them all.

One of his close friends started gesturing him to relax. "Hey, calm down," advised Aaron calmly.

"No I will not!" shot Flint as he stood up and slammed his cards against the table. "Are you telling me that you didn't get pissed that he thinks he can take us on with just one of his pokémon while we use our strongest against him?!" he asked his team mate and the others angrily.

Letting out a sigh, his teammate shook his head. "Whether I am or not, you acting like this doesn't help at all," remarked Aaron but Flint just let out a growl of frustration and threw his hands up into the air.

"You know," started Drake, making them all look at him now. "Flint has a point. I have to admit that I am a little insulted that he challenged us like that. No respect."

Some murmured their agreement with the dragon trainer and Flint crossed his arms. "See! I'm not the only one!" snapped Flint at Aaron.

Before Aaron could say something to Flint, another person spoke up. "How was his condition without respect?" All eyes landed onto Bruno who was meditating in the corner of the large living room until Flint's outburst. "He asked for his condition to be considered and even gave his reasons behind it," reminded the abnormally large and muscular man.

"That's right," continued on Karen. "There is no denying that Ash has become strong. And he wishes to see if he has the same level of strength as the current Master who no one has seen for a long time. Though I don't like to admit it, doesn't the Master have the capability to do what Ash wants to do?" she asked them. Several looked at her with curious expressions over what she said while others just scoffed.

Many from the group glanced at one another. Flint lowered his arms but an agitated look formed on his face. "So what? Just because the current Master could do that, and we're not even sure on that either, doesn't mean that he can too!"

"I have to agree with Flint," spoke up Caitlyn, making everyone look at her now. She took a sip of tea from her cup before continuing on. "To just blatantly declare such a challenge…it's downright insulting and makes us look like pushovers. I did not work so hard all my life for someone like him to just walk up and say he can take me out along with my fellow elites at the same time." Several of them commented and remarked that they're in agreement with her. The rest just stayed quiet as they were lost in their thoughts. They wondered if the way the guardian challenged them was disrespectful, or if he thought he was better than them. Or if he does just wants to see if he is as strong as the current Master...

After some time passed with multiple conversations going on between them all over this topic, one of them stood up from her seat and let out a loud whistle. The rest of them covered their ears and let out annoyed sounds before glaring at the perpetrator. Seeing that she caught their attention and ignoring their glares, she began speaking. "I know and understand what you're all thinking and feeling," started Malva as she walked a bit forward to be in the middle of them all in the room. "But I don't believe he challenged us that way to be disrespectful or to make us look like pushovers."

"Are you honestly saying that you believe that he just wants to test himself?" asked Glacia slowly to make sure she understands what she's getting at.

"I do," answered Malva calmly. Flint, Caitlyn and Drake all gave her looks of disbelief as Will, Glacia, Marshal and Siebold crossed their arms and glared at the Kalos Elite. Most of the others however didn't react to her words since they were still thinking but a few agreed by nodding their heads. "I believe he wants to test himself against us to see if he is at the same level of strength as the Master. And though he could have worded it a little better, it came from his heart. I have fought beside him back in Kalos and have seen the way he is. He didn't mean any offense by it. I'm sure of it."

Hearing her words some, the ones who felt insulted and that their pride was hurt began to calm down. However, they still wouldn't let go. "I think I understand what you're saying," started Glacia, making everyone look at the ice trainer. "Let's say he has reached that level of strength. But even so, having us battle against him in a handicap match with the odds stacked in our favor? If we win, people will say that it was unfair. If we lose, people will say that we are weak. No matter what angle you look at it, we are worse off no matter what happens," she said, bringing into light what none of them had thought about yet.

"That's true!" added Marshal as he started to voice his opinion as well. "And don't forget the condition that Goodshow placed on the matches as well; that he can only use our own region's respective pokémon against us. No other time has there been a rule like this." Remembering that condition made almost all of the elites let out groans over that because that also would be a basis for unfair criticism no matter what happens. "With all these things set, it really looks like we're stacking everything against him. Win or lose, the public will cry foul against us no matter what! And that's just not fair! We all worked hard to be where we are to just allow this sort of thing to happen to any of us," he finished saying heatedly.

They all thought about that for a bit with many agreeing and some even starting to come up with plans to stop this from happening. That is until the eldest out of them all decided she heard enough and to say her two cents worth. "Let them say what they want to say." All went quiet and every single elite's attention went onto the ghost trainer Agatha. She was one of the few still seated but her cane was in front of her with both hands clasped on top of it. "You are missing the bigger picture and what we can get from this."

Confused looks formed on almost all of them. "What do you mean?" asked Ethan, the youngest out of all the Elites.

Agatha allowed a smile to form on her face as she began to raise herself to stand. Lorelei moved to assist her but she held up her hand to stop her. "Thank you, but I think I can still move on my own." Understanding her and nodding with a smile, Lorelei watched her close friend slowly stand up and the rest waited patiently for her to do so and continue. When she was finally standing upright, she looked around the room at them all. "Alright, let me ask you all this; when was the last time any of us were challenged?"

Many glanced at one another while the rest merely stayed quiet and didn't move. Agatha waited for someone to answer her but nobody did until the ninja master spoke from the corner of the large living room. "Looks like I have to answer for you all. Not since Sarah Wiseman defeated us, the Johto Elites, some months ago were any of the regions even challenged," answered Koga in a curt tone of voice.

Remembering that, the other elites murmured that was right. "Other than her, it's been a while hasn't it?" Agatha asked them and half of them nodded. "I for one have been waiting a long time now to have a grand battle. And as fun and challenging as it is to battle with and against my fellow Elites…" As she said this, she looked at them all with a respectful look that made them all feel proud of themselves. "…we are all more or less equal to one another in terms of power and strategy. To have someone step forward who can give us a run for our money…one who can cause our blood to pump…one who can make us question our own level of strength…that is someone I will gladly battle against. Not since the last Master, who hasn't been seen for so long, have the Elites and Champions been challenged. I for one, finally feel alive again and cannot wait to have my battle with him. Even if it is in a handicap battle, for if someone has the…" She trailed off, not finishing and the rest gave her worried looks until she started speaking again. "How would the kids say it today?" Now giving her confused looks, the other Elites had no idea where she was going with this. "Ah, I remember. As I was saying; even if it is in a handicap battle, for if someone has the balls…" The other elites gasped as she said that while some had their eyes widened. They weren't expecting that to come from her at all. But Agatha didn't pay attention to that and kept going. "…to challenge us like that, even after knowing who we are and what we're capable of, then that means that person must be powerful themselves. And after seeing what our challenger is capable of and who he is, I know he's not all talk. Instead of getting riled up, I advise you all to start preparing for what will most likely be one of the most incredible battles you will take part in." And with that final statement, everyone was silenced and no one said a word. Seeing that, Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four bade them a goodnight and made her way to her room. Lorelei, who shared that room with her, also decided to call it a night and went with her.

After the two left, half of the Elites decided to go to bed so they can think in peace over what was just said and discussed but some stayed up. Among those who stayed, a few went out into the balcony. Malva, Bruno, Pheobe, Karen, Koga and Bertha enjoyed the cool night air while talking and joking with one another about what they thought could happen in their upcoming matches. Though one from their group would stay quiet mostly who was the ninja. Sudden loud music was heard from above them and they all looked up towards the penthouse suite. "Looks like the party is still going. I thought they ended it when the music stopped the first time," mused Karen.

The karate master nodded with a smile on his face. "He deserves it. I bet it's going to last a while though," remarked Bruno.

The ghost trainer had her eyes lit up. "Hey, why don't we go join them? I haven't been to a party in a long time and I wanna dance! Who's up for it?" asked a suddenly energized Pheobe.

They chuckled and shook their heads over that. "I know how much you love to dance and party, but I don't think that's such a good idea dear," said Bertha with a small smile before anyone else could answer.

Pheobe felt a little down but before she could argue her case, the fire trainer beat her to it. "Why not?" asked a curious Malva.

"Because that will be inappropriate," answered Koga dryly for Bertha.

"Why do you have to be such a stiff? Can't ninjas have fun too?" asked Pheobe quietly with her arms crossed and glaring at him.

He did not falter under her unusual stern gaze. "He is your opponent. Instead of partying with him, you should be studying his past battles and what you know of him so you can be prepared for your battle with him," explained Koga at once.

Understanding him and knowing that he's right, Pheobe hung her head in defeat. "Party poopers."

Except for Koga, the others chuckled as Bertha wrapped an arm around her shoulders and massaged her shoulder. "He's right hun. We need to stay focused. We can always have a party afterwards," she said to her soothingly.

Letting out a sigh, she nodded her head. "Alright, party afterwards then. But I'm holding you all to it!" she told them. She then pointed at one of them. "Especially you Koga!" Koga didn't say or do anything until a moment later. He merely smiled a bit and left the balcony. "Hey, what was that smile for?" He didn't answer her and Pheobe was beginning to get annoyed. "Hey, don't ignore me!" Still he didn't answer her. "That's it! Come here you!"

As she went after the Kanto elite, the other four started laughing out loud. Hearing the commotion from inside, which was mostly from the Hoenn elite, Bruno decided to go and try to calm things down. Malva, Karen and Bertha continued laughing for a bit before finally calming down. "I might have to make more trips with you guys. I haven't had this much fun in a while," remarked Karen with a smile as she brushed away some hair that fell in front of her face from her laughing.

Malva nodded her head as she leaned against the rails with her back with her hands placed on top of the rails at her sides. "Agreed. It's much more fun being here than back at home. And I have to admit, I can barely contain my excitement for the battle."

Bertha smiled at the two elites who are younger than her. "Too true. I can't wait to be pushed to my limits once more. I remember when the Master battled us and the older Elites who some of you replaced. To see such power from a single person. The things that man was capable of. And so handsome too. And chivalrous. And wise. And tall. And..." The ground type trainer kept going and started reminiscing about the Master.

Karen and Malva glanced at one another with slightly reddened cheeks as they thought about him too. Soon afterwards however, devious smirks formed on their faces. "Hey Bertha, you want some time alone to yourself?" teased Malva.

Bertha snapped out of her stupor and her cheeks flushed with color. "No no, I'm okay." The two women giggled while shaking their heads. "Sorry, it's just been a while since I've seen him. He left such an impression that it's hard to forget him. I wonder sometimes what he's been up to and where he's been," admitted the older woman. Nodding their heads, the two women couldn't blame her. Even though no one has seen him in over ten years, the Master was a very hard person to forget. He had that uncanny ability to make people remember him easily.

Malva started thinking about what Bertha just said. That's true. Even though it's been years since anyone has seen him, everyone still remembers him. Kind of like someone else I know. But I wonder, how much does Bertha know about him. Wanting to know more, Malva tapped Bertha's shoulder and she looked at her. "Were you close with the Master?" asked the red haired fire trainer from Kalos.

Bertha shook her head. "No, I wasn't. I only know his name and his home town; Red and he's from Pallet Town." Both Malva and Karen simply nodded and didn't react over that because that was what they and the other Elites knew as well. Not much is known about the current Master except for those two details. "Very few knew him personally. I only know that Goodshow knows him personally as well as wait…there might have been another person too…"

Raising their eyebrows, both women became intrigued. Who else knows Red? I haven't heard anything from anyone about that. "Is that so? Who is it? Who else knows the Master?" asked Karen with her curiosity rising.

Bertha began thinking heavily, trying to remember an old memory. "Hold on…was it one or two…" Their eyes widening, both Malva and Karen wanted to know more and were telling her to come out with it. "Be patient!" she snapped at them and they went silent immediately. Bertha thought for a bit until she let out a sigh. "I can't remember all the details exactly. But if I'm remembering correctly, there were two. One who was his best friend since birth and the other was an old Kanto gym leader…"

Before either of the two could say anything, another person showed up in the balcony behind them out of nowhere. "I think that is enough for tonight." The three women whirled around at the sudden voice and saw Agatha standing there with her cane in front of her and leaning on it with both hands. She locked her eyes onto two of them. "You should get your rest," she told Malva and Karen in a kind but serious tone of voice. Without protest, even though they were a little annoyed that they were being dismissed like that, both women began heading inside. They knew not to anger Agatha as they had heard rumors of her rage and what she could do with her ghost pokémon. As they passed by her, she said another thing to them. "Whatever you just learned, as little as it is, keep to yourself. No need to spread it around." Understanding her, the two didn't argue and just nodded their heads before heading inside.

After they left, Agatha and Bertha locked eyes for a moment until the old woman made her way towards the railings and looked out into the horizon. Bertha turned around and also faced the horizon. "I thought you were sleeping."

"I was just about to fall asleep," replied Agatha. A purple floating ball of gas appeared in front of them before a large maniacal grin formed along with two red eyes. It stayed there for a moment before fading away. "Gengar told me that you were saying some interesting things to others that not many know of. And so that was when I decided to put a stop to it. How do you know this?"

Bertha glanced at her from the corner of her eyes before moving them towards the horizon again. "Goodshow. Why do you ask and why shouldn't we talk about it?"

Agatha stayed quiet for a moment before answering her. "Should've known. You and Goodshow were close weren't you?" Bertha didn't say anything but Agatha continued on. "Because the Master doesn't want certain things to be known," she revealed with a sigh.

Her eyes widening, Bertha was unable to prevent herself from turning to face Agatha. "You're in contact with the Master?!" she asked her but she wasn't given an answer. Waiting a little, she saw that she wasn't going to let her know if she was. Deciding to move on, she asked another question. "Fine, don't tell me. But at least answer this; why doesn't he?"

Agatha took in a long breath before turning to face her friend. "Because if certain people started asking certain questions, a lot of things will happen. Many truths will be known that the Master doesn't want the public to know at all. And it may cause a particular person unneeded anguish if the truth is learned."

Understanding now that there were some dark secrets being kept, Bertha wondered who else was in on it. "Who else knows? Who could it hurt? What is he hiding? Where is he hiding?" asked Bertha.

Agatha shook her head slowly. "I cannot answer those questions for I don't know and even if I did, I couldn't. All I can say is that he is trying to keep a promise to a friend from what I understood."

Tilting her head over that, Bertha became confused. "What do you mean? And how do you know this?"

"I cannot tell you. But you'll find out one day. Maybe. I suggest you go rest." Bertha said nothing but glared at the older woman for a moment before heading inside. Letting out a long sigh, Agatha looked towards the horizon and thought a bit. I wish I knew what he was doing and where he is. But the truth is Bertha that I saw him right before he vanished. And what he told me then and made me swear to secrecy, I cannot tell others. Master, when will you come back? She shook her head after a while of thinking and decided to head back inside to rest. As she made her way back to her room, she had an odd feeling that something was coming and something was going to happen. But she had no idea what it could be. And she also wondered if the President knew the reason why the Master was gone as well…

Speaking of the President, in the Pokémon League headquarters, an elderly man was sitting at his desk in the middle of the night. He was finishing up preparations for the extended battles for the tournament that were decided on earlier on. After Goodshow completed the last one, he leaned back against his executive chair and let out a sigh to relax. Ever since the small little ceremony where he handed Ash the winner's trophy and took up the offer to battle against the Elites and Champions of the world there, Goodshow was swamped with things to do to get everything ready. From making the necessary broadcast adjustments and deals, to making sure vendors could stay longer, it was just one long business deal after another. But now he was completely finished with it all and he could finally rest.

Enjoying the fact that he was doing nothing, Goodshow just sat in his desk chair while thinking about everything that had happened so far. Ever since he came up with the idea of the Spirit Tournament decades ago, he never had one be as entertaining, as nerve wracking or as dangerous as the one he was still hosting now. Oh man, never have I been so tired because of a tournament. Not even the current Pokémon Master's match against the previous one had so much happen and I thought that was the match of the century. He then remembered the battle between Tobias and Ash and how incredible that one was, with legendary pokémon losing against regular pokémon. Well, we may have a contender to take that spot now. He shook his head as he started chuckling. If he knew that his most incredible match would have the title of battle of the century challenged, he would be pissed. I wonder, do I still have the video or pictures for that match?

Goodshow sat up straight and took out a key from his pocket. He unlocked his bottom right desk drawer and began rummaging through it. "It's not here?" he asked himself in shock. He took out everything from the drawer to find the DVD and pictures but found nothing. "What the heck?! Where is it?!" The president was about to start worrying that someone might have been going through his private and personal belongings. But then his hand hit the bottom part of the drawer and a hollow sound was heard. He instantly remembered that he had a secret compartment made into his drawer. "Oh right. Forgot about that. Haven't used it for so long." He chuckled to himself again before he opened it. He pulled out a box and placed it on his desk. He opened it and took out the DVD and a folder before placing them on his desk. He opened the folder and immediately several photos were seen. He picked one up and looked at it as memories flowed through his mind with him starting to smile.

The photo had four people in it and each had a happy expression on their face. The president was one of them while the rest were his old friends, though they were much younger than him. On the very left was himself, standing shorter than the other three who were around the same height. I've forgotten how much taller they are than me, thought Goodshow. His eyes moved to the very right and found the Saffron gym leader David Natsume before his daughter Sabrina took charge of the gym. He was dressed in his green track suit. I remember how he would almost always wear that! Unable to control himself, he laughed out loud a bit before calming down and looking at the two in the middle of them.

Both of them were slightly taller than David. The one in the middle left had a red long sleeved jacket with black jeans and shirt that had a red poke ball symbol on it with a red cap and red shoes. He had black hair and red eyes that were intimidating yet he had a kind smile on his face. The one next to him, in the middle right, was wearing black dress pants, a white long sleeved button shirt, a blue vest with a black and blue tie along with a black tuxedo jacket. He too had black hair but had blue eyes that seemed to shine with life along with a large grin on his face. I almost forgot how they looked…it's been over a decade since I last saw Red and Satoshi. He looked at their images closely, trying to keep the memory of them alive in his mind. Those two were inseparable…the closest of friends, practically brothers. And they were the strongest trainers I've ever seen…

As he looked at their images, Goodshow remembered how that was the day that Satoshi told them of his big decision. How he had a different dream to chase now and that he was going to ask the love of his life to marry him. I can't believe he gave up his dream. He proved himself stronger than Red but gave it up to be with his love. But, it's weird how practically very few, almost no one, remember Satoshi. No information on him at all on the internet, media or even his home town. Why is that? And just where has Red been all this time? Starting to fill up with sadness, Charles thought how it had been a very long time since anyone had seen or heard of the two. Not since the day that one of them disappeared and the other followed soon afterwards. No note, no message, no clues, nothing whatsoever was left from either of them. He himself had many people search for them in secret and even Scott of the Battle Frontier was asked to use his expertise but even he had no such luck. "Where in the world are you two?" he asked in a whisper. He looked at the one in red. "If only you were around, then you'd know that a very powerful trainer has emerged and has the spirit to take your crown and become the next Pokémon Master…" He trailed off as his eyes then moved onto the one in blue. "…and if you were around, then you'd be proud to know that the challenger is none other than your son." Quietly looking at the photo for a bit, he then placed it back down onto the desk and turned his gaze out the window. A thought then entered his mind with his eyes on the moon in the sky. Red…Satoshi…what happened that caused you two to disappear? What could've been so important to pull you away from your family and friends? He shook his head slowly and looked at his desk. His eyes found the DVD case and he reached out to it. Realizing that he wasn't tired at all even though it was late night, he decided to watch the recorded match. Taking it out and inserting it into his computer, Goodshow soon watched the amazing battle between the two for the title of Pokémon Master and what happened afterwards…

Two people were wide awake in their hotel room early in the morning. The man of the two was sitting on his bed with his head in his hands while the woman was on the phone speaking with Giovanni. As Domino continued speaking with their boss, John was thinking about everything that he saw the Aura Guardian do earlier that day. He remembered how powerful his pokémon are, going toe to toe with the legendaries of the world. Throwing himself in front of the league official to protect her from the rampaging titan. He just couldn't believe it. And he couldn't believe how Natasha was looking at him throughout the match. After finding where she was sitting with his binoculars, he saw how her eyes were alive as she kept her gaze on him. He also noticed how they had fear fill them when he was in danger.

It maddened him and he wanted nothing more than to kill him with his bare hands. He thought that the titan would end him during his rage and hoped for it, but luck was not on his side. As he thought, his mind formed the images of Natasha's expressions as she kept her eyes locked onto him. How it showed fear on her face for him. How it showed happiness for him when he won the match in the end. How it showed respect and some other emotion. Why was she looking at him like that? What was she feeling? He thought furiously for a bit until he struck him hard and made him widen his eyes. No! It can't be! She can't have fallen for him! His mind formed the image of her expression when he took the trophy. There was no question about it; it was the same look that a girl would give to the man she loves in movies. Fuck! Damn him! How the fuck did he get Natasha to look at him like that?! I've been trying for years to get her to look at me like that! Damn him! Damn him to hell! I'm gonna…

"Hey dumbass!"

Jerking his head upright from his hands over the sudden shout, he looked at Domino with both an annoyed and slightly scared look since she sounded pissed. "What?" he asked her, barely trying to hold back his emotions.

She gave him a blank look, placed the phone onto the dresser and then answered him. "You're so fucking pathetic." He glared at her before growling. "Oh? You disagree? Then prove me wrong. Beat me in a fight." John continued glaring at her for a moment before he just hung his head. He knew that he couldn't take her on. No one could. She was their most highly trained agent. "That's what I thought. You'll never get any woman like that."

"Just…drop it okay?" pleaded John sadly while shaking his head. "What did Giovanni say?"

"Don't say his name out loud you idiot! That's boss to you!" she chastised him angrily and he covered himself up while saying he was sorry. She rolled her eyes as she scoffed at him. "Fuckin pussy. No wonder that whore never paid attention to you. Or any woman for that matter." John kept himself covered but also whimpered a bit since he was stung by her words. "Ugh, why me?" Domino asked herself as she rubbed her temple with both hands before calming down. She let out a sigh before continuing on. "Anyway, he said that the guardian is priority number one when we launch our attack. We have to take him out," revealed Domino as she went to her pack and started rummaging through it.

John slowly recovered, seeing she wasn't going to do anything to him and nodded his head. "Okay. But, how are we supposed to do that? Even using our secret weapon, he has pokémon who are stronger than legendaries, the world's most powerful psychic pokémon who is a legendary himself, an army of pokémon, he has many strong friends and he is the strongest Aura Guardian we have ever seen." He was wondering how in the world they were supposed to kill the most famous and possibly one of, if not the, strongest opponent they had ever faced in the world.

Domino glanced at him with a scary look that made him gulp before she faced her pack again. She took out a couple small metal boxes that were about one square foot in size and placed them on the corner desk. She then took out her laptop, turned it on and connected it to the metal boxes. "He's sending back up. Oakley and Annie are on their way with some supplies and tools that will even the score when we attack."

"I see. But what supplies and tools can help us against him?" asked a confused John.

She didn't answer him immediately because she was focused on what she was doing. Some mouse clicks and some typing later, a progress bar appeared on her laptop's screen. Smiling to herself, she looked at him and replied back. "Use your damn brain. Do you honestly think that we won't know how to counter an aura guardian's powers and abilities after capturing one and studying him for over a decade?"

Understanding dawned on him. "Oh. Right. So Oakley and Annie are bringing specific equipment for us to use against him." Domino nodded and glanced at the screen since the progress bar was full. "But, what about the psychic? This so called brother of Mew?" he asked her as she worked. "And all the other things I mentioned?"

"That's what these are for," she said, pointing at the metal boxes without looking away from her screen and continued working. "They send out a particular signal wave that affects psychic users, which will prevent them from being able to use one of their greatest abilities; teleportation. That will greatly hamper their fighting ability, especially this Mewtwo since he relies heavily on that from what we've seen. And we have our new batch of pokémon ready to go," explained the deadly woman.

"I see," said John, getting up and moving towards her. He was about to grab one of the boxes but then his hand was smacked away by Domino who gave him a warning look. Deciding not to say anything so she wouldn't get angrier, he let it go. "Okay, so when are we launching the attack?"

"Immediately after his match with either the Elites or the Champions, depending on how he does. That way, they'll be tired out. Not only that, but they won't know what's happening until it starts," she informed him and he commented that it was a good idea. "Of course it is. And those two are done." She unplugged the metal boxes from her laptop, went to her pack and took out two more metal boxes. She connected those now and started working on them. "We're going to have to set these up in the stadium before the matches begin. And we're also going to…" Sudden ringing on her phone interrupted her and she looked at it. Seeing the number on the caller ID, she picked it up. "What is it Oakley?"

The other executive replied back but it was a little difficult to hear her. She was inside a helicopter and the whirling blades were masking her voice somewhat. "Domino, we're on the way. But before we left, we got word of something that you might want to know about," she said with barely contained glee.

Able to barely hear her since she was speaking loudly, Domino could sense that she was happy about something that made her curious. "Is that so? What is it?"

Oakley was about to answer her when the phone was taken from her and Annie began speaking. "We got word from our mole in the board of directors of the Pokémon League. He was at the Indigo Hospital and just so happened to see the Aura Guardian there in the middle of the night. And guess who else is with him?" she asked her.

Domino understood immediately and growled her answer. "Natasha." John glanced at her and saw her eyes narrowing.

"That's right. That bitch is with him but here's the kicker…" Annie quickly explained what they found out to her.

After learning the new information, Domino smiled evilly. "Perfect. We'll take care of it. You know where we are right? Good." And with that, she hung up and looked at John. "Looks like you lucked out John. You may actually get a chance to get your way with that slut."

Though he didn't like that she insulted the woman he was obsessed with, he said nothing about that. Instead, he tilted his head at her. "What do you mean? What did they say?" he asked her.

"Well, let's just say that Natasha won't be able to say 'no' to your advances anymore." John became even more confused and seeing him like that, made her laugh out loud. When she calmed down, she explained. "Somehow that bitch fell into a coma." John let out a gasp. "She's at the Indigo Hospital right now. So here's your chance. Go get what you want from her and get over your little obsession. And then, when you're done, you need to kill her."

John's eyes widened and he took a step back. "K-Kill her? Isn't that…much?" he asked her.

She stood up from her seat abruptly and he took a step back in fear. "That's what he wants. Or are you disobeying an order from our boss?" she asked him calmly and without emotion yet he winced over her tone as if she struck him. "He wants her dead. He saw the last match and how she was looking at the guardian. You saw it too didn't you?" John said nothing but the look on his face answered her question. "Exactly. She's jumped ship and turned traitor. He wants her dead. And this is the perfect opportunity to get what you wanted from her for so long and to make yourself more than just a pilot in our boss's eyes. So you have two choices; grow some balls, go down there, get what you want and do your job or just be the pathetic pilot you've always been for the rest of your life." After saying that, Domino sat back down and continued getting their equipment ready.

John just stared at her without really seeing her as he thought about what he was told to do. After some time, he nodded his head. "Alright. But how will I be able to do that? She'll probably be protected or watched over in some way," he told her.

Domino glanced at him and thought about what he said. "You may actually have a point there. Alright, this is what you're going to do and what you're going to use so you can get past even the guardian. Using this, even he won't be able to sense your intentions." And with that, Domino went back to her bag, took out a small box and opened it. She started explaining what was inside, how to use them and what they could do for him to get his mission done.

A young man was found sitting on a chair in one of the hospital rooms with the sun's light already shining through the window. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together while supporting his head with them. His eyes were locked onto the red head who was lying unconscious in the hospital bed. He had brought her here late last night after she just mysteriously became comatose. He sought Doctor Lilit Swanson and Nurse Adrine Johansen the instant he arrived since he knew she would be comfortable with them only. Luckily for him, they had the graveyard shift that night. Without a word spoken, the two took one look at the unconscious girl in his arms and they knew something was up. After taking her to an empty room, Swanson and Johansen began working quickly as they attached a heart rate monitor to her, took a blood sample, checked her file and other things. They were surprised to see that all of her bruises, cuts and injuries, except for the carved word on her back were completely healed and gone. Yet they didn't stop to ask questions then.

As the two had worked in the room, Ash waited impatiently in the lounge. But he wasn't the only one there. His mother had come with him as well since she was still awake at the time and was sitting right beside him. His girlfriends had also come in the beginning when he first arrived in the middle of the night but when Ash saw that they were falling asleep, he told them to go back and rest. They didn't want to at first, but were convinced by their beloved in the end. And so, the girls said their goodnights and byes and told him that they would tell the others when they woke up and keep an eye on things. Ash thanked them and told them how much he appreciated what they do for him before they were teleported back to the hotel.

During their agonizing wait, a million things were going through his mind as he kept quiet. He thought about everything that had happened so far while he was at the tournament. And so, he hadn't said a single word besides telling the doctor and nurse that Natasha just fell into her current state out of nowhere. Every now and then, Delia would get up and go check on what was going on or if there was an update. But each time she did, she came back with no news. And so both mother and son waited for hours.

After what seemed like an eternity, Doctor Lilit Swanson told them what they figured out so far while waiting for other test results to come in. She told them that Natasha had fallen into a coma and they had a dozen different theories as to why but couldn't tell for certain the exact cause yet. It could be anything from stress to internal conflicts in her mind, to being emotionally broken to even missing another health problem that their tests didn't pick up. They had absolutely no idea what the cause could be from. And they were even more stumped because she seemed to be in a healthy state from what their tests showed, and that all of her minor injuries had healed so soon. That is until they were informed of how aura took care of those problems except for three of them. Understanding how she recovered so quickly, Lilit told them that all they could do now is just observe and wait while waiting for the other results to come in.

And that's what they did after the doctor left. They waited even more in the lounge until Nurse Adrine Johansen told the night crew that they were allowed to stay with Natasha in her room because of who they are. At that point, it was now slowly becoming morning. Though she was tired, Delia would keep herself awake by making herself stay busy. From adjusting Natasha's blanket for the umpteenth time to reading a large book she found in the lounge area. As she did that, the raven haired guardian just sat on a chair and kept his eyes on the comatose girl. While he did that, his mind was buzzing as he kept thinking about many more things. Each one made him scrutinize everything and anything. Whether or not he missed things, if he should've noticed certain things, what he should've done and what he should do now.

While mother and son were inside the room, the nurse and doctor were taking a much needed break to rest. After doing what they could for the red head and their other patients, as well as speaking with a few visitors and guests, Lilit and Adrine were drained. Needing to relax and get a breather, the two were drinking some coffee in the staff's private quarters as they tried to relax. "Our shift is about to end. Remind me to thank the new hire for taking over for a bit since she came in early," commented Lilit as she leaned back against her chair while Adrine merely nodded her head. "Hey, who was that person you talked to earlier?" she asked her nurse.

Adrine finished her coffee and placed it onto the table. "Oh, that was one of the board members of the league," she said nonchalantly.

Lilit cocked her eyebrow. "Oh? He's been here a lot lately. What kind of health problem does he have? Or is his problem more of the…personal sense?" she asked her friend with a smirk.

Adrine reddened slightly but did grin a bit. "Well, if you must know, I'm seeing him."

A large smile appearing on her face, Lilit felt really happy for her friend. She wasn't able to go out much, and neither did she because of their hectic work schedule. But to have someone giving her closest friend attention and making her happy was a good thing to know. "That's great!" exclaimed Lilit without any envy. "I hope things work out well for you."

"Thanks, me too. I hope you find someone great too," replied back Adrine and Lilit thanked her for that. Glancing at the clock in the room, the nurse stood up after finishing her coffee. "Our break's almost done. I think we should head back. Should we go check on the guardian's girl?" she asked her.

Lilit nodded her head and she too stood up. "Yea we should. The test results should be in soon too. And how do we know she's his girl? Nothing was said about her in the news. Not like the others," remarked the doctor as the two headed out the room after throwing away their trash.

"You have a point there," replied the nurse as she opened the door for both of them. They began walking down the hallway towards a room at the end of it. "Can you imagine being in a relationship with a guy who is also with several other girls at once? How do they make it work? I mean, it just boggles my mind," she said quietly as they walked.

Lilit just shrugged. "I have no idea either. Maybe the girls are bisexual," she mused and Adrine laughed. "Or maybe he's great in bed," she stated calmly afterwards without embarrassment.

Her friend nudged her side a bit. "Is somebody fantasizing about a one night stand with the Aura Guardian?" teased Adrine and Lilt just laughed at that. "Well, I don't blame ya. The girls being that way or not, he must be incredible to keep them all from leaving. Maybe you should give him a personal check up if you know what I mean," she suggested to her with a wink while nudging her in the side with her elbow.

Laughing even harder, it caused her to let out a violent snort all of a sudden. Lilit smacked her friend against the back of the shoulder because of it. "Damn it, you know not to make me laugh so hard!" Adrine however just laughed harder. "Bitch…anyway, you know I'm not like that."

"Yea, yea, I know. Take a joke why don't ya." They continued walking and soon were within arm's reach of the door.

Grasping the door handle, the doctor knocked on the door before turning it and entering the room with the nurse right beside her. Delia turned their attention onto them but Ash's sight remained on the red head. "Hello, just checking in," stated Lilt as she and Adrine began observing the monitors and making notes after walking in.

"Thank you," replied Delia quietly but also tiredly and the two nodded in reply. Even though Ash had told her to take a nap at least, she had refused, saying that if he stayed up, so would she. Knowing how stubborn his mother could be, Ash dropped the subject and continued his silent vigil. Delia stood up from her seat and moved to Lilit, who turned around to face her. "Doctor Swanson, did the results for the tests come in yet? And do they show anything? Is there anything at all that might explain her sudden condition?" she asked her quietly.

Shaking her head sadly, Lilit let out a sigh. "No, unfortunately nothing came up at all on the initial tests and we're still waiting on the others. We've had them run it a few times to make sure. Like I said before, it could be one of a dozen reasons as to why this happened to her. We might as well just chalk it up to magic or something as of now," she finished saying. Nodding solemnly in understanding, Delia thanked her again and sat down on the bench couch that was up against the wall.

Hearing that final sentence from the doctor made the young man start thinking about other possibilities as to why this could've happened to her. It can't be health reasons since I healed her with my aura. Well, mostly. She didn't seem like she was ill or anything... It was then that he remembered something from what the Skull Brothers' leader mentioned before he was ultimately erased from existence. He then also remembered what Natasha revealed to him before falling into her coma. His eyes widening all of a sudden, he thought up of something. "Doctor Swanson?"

Hearing him speak made both the hospital staff and his mother look at him. "Yes Mr. Ketchum?" replied back Lilit.

"Please, just Ash," he reminded her and she nodded. "I just thought of something; did you happen to do X-rays too with the tests?" he asked her.

She nodded before replying back in words. "Of course; along with other standard tests we do in these kinds of situations, such as MRI's. The results on those are already in and there is nothing unusual. Why do you ask?"

Hearing her answer made him feel deflated. So no microchip...Damn, I thought I was on to something. Ash thought a bit as to how he should word what he wanted to say. He hadn't told anyone about Natasha yet or about the microchips he found out about from Edmond. And he knew that Clemont wouldn't say anything for now either. After a moment, he figured out what to say to throw them off for now. "I didn't know what kind of tests you do during these kinds of situations. So I just wanted to ask cause I was curious and wanted to know if there was something that was weird or out of the ordinary that could have caused this to her. Sorry for bothering you with such a stupid question," he apologized to her sincerely.

Lilt both nodded and waved her hand to show she wasn't offended. "No worries Ash. It's alright. You're just worried about your friend and we understand," stated the doctor as Adrine smiled and nodded before returning to the clipboard she had picked up. Ash thanked them and went back to his silent watch over Natasha.

Finishing up with their checks, Doctor Swanson and Nurse Johansen were about to speak when the door opened and another nurse walked in. As she walked over to the doctor, she drew all eyes onto her as she handed over the test results. After being thanked for delivering the results, the nurse left the room. The doctor looked through the results and let out a sigh. It's as I thought, she told herself before facing the rest in the room. "I hate to say this but the results were inconclusive. As far as we can tell, she shouldn't be in this state. The only thing we can do is keep her here and wait to see if and when she'll wake back up," she informed them.

Nodding at her, Ash merely said his thanks for all they had done and so did Delia. After the two left the room, Delia turned to her son and saw how he looked stressed out. Making a decision, she stood up, went to her son, sat down beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder when she reached him. "Ash," she started quietly and didn't continue until he looked at her. "There's nothing more we can do here unfortunately. You should head back to the hotel and rest. You have to get ready for your matches against the Elites and Champions."

Ash said nothing for a moment as he turned his gaze back onto Natasha. Understanding that she was right, he nodded his head quietly. "I don't want to leave her like this but you're right Mom. But I know what you're planning, and you're not going to do it." Delia was taken aback at what he said and was about to reply back when he cut her off. "No Mom, you should go and rest too. I'll have Greninja and Blissey stay with her again for the time being." He turned his gaze to his mother's. "Okay?" Knowing there was no way to change his mind and feeling tired herself, she agreed to it. "Thanks for listening Mom. I'm going to have Mewtwo teleport you home. I'll come soon afterwards after letting Greninja and Blissey know the situation," he told her and Delia nodded her head with a small smile on her face. A couple seconds later and his mother disappeared in a blue glow.

After she left, Ash faced the comatose Natasha. Getting up from his seat, he moved to stand beside her. Looking at her, though she was in a coma, she looked so peaceful. He thought of what she confessed to him before falling mysteriously into this state. I'm so sorry! Please don't tell me to go! Her words rang out in his mind and it made him let out a sigh as he remembered her crying and saying that to him. I really don't know what to do at all. I feel as if she wasn't lying and sensed that she was being genuine in her apology. But can I trust her still? Do I risk my family and friends? Do I tell her to go if and when she wakes up? Do I allow her to stay and atone for what she's done? Do I turn her in? Running a hand through his hair, he wondered a bit until he was sent a mental message. After responding back to it, a blue glow appeared on the other side of the room and Mewtwo appeared. "I did ask for a moment."

"True," responded the psychic feline. "But I wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine," answered Ash but was met with a disbelieving look. For some reason, that just made him let go and he burst out what was on his mind. "Look, what do you want me to say?! That I was an idiot for falling for her lies?! That I was oblivious to everything again?! That I invited and took care of a dangerous criminal as if she was just a child and in the process endangered everyone I care about?! That I was blinded by my need to help others because of their sob stories?! That I endangered my family and friends?!" he asked his friend with his emotions so close to the edge.

Mewtwo gave him a blank look that he couldn't read and he didn't reply back until a moment later. "Yes, you have made some mistakes. However, wallowing in them won't change a thing. And I don't think you've made a mistake in doing what you did because that's who you are. But I would be a little more cautious in the future if something like this happens again," advised his friend.

Ash calmed down a bit but shook his head. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just…I don't know what to do regarding Natasha. What do I tell everyone? Do I turn her in? Do I let her stay? Do I tell her to go? What do I do?" he asked the legendary.

Mewtwo looked at the comatose girl and thought for a bit. He then faced his friend. "I cannot read her mind for some reason. It's being shielded." Ash had a startled look on his face from that revelation. "This is very peculiar. This shielding could be the cause of her coma or a consequence of it. It could be Team Rocket. It could be her. It could even be the darkness affecting her like it affected the others through Team Rocket's meddling. I don't know the cause yet. However, even though I do know that she hasn't done anything bad since she's been with us, I won't be able to help you on this without more information. We need to know exactly who she is, what she's done and what she was trying to say about…" His face darkened before he said the next word. "…Giovanni."

Ash nodded his head solemnly. "I see. I guess…I guess you're right. Without more information, we won't be able to make a decision about what to do with her. And there's nobody else who we could ask about h-her…" He trailed off as he suddenly remembered three particular individuals and his eyes widened. "Mewtwo! We can ask them!" Mewtwo gave him a bewildered look at that. "The trio!"

Understanding now, Mewtwo had his eyes widen. "Of course! They might know something. I'll go get them after teleporting you back to the hotel."

"Alright. But first I got something to do." Ash brought out two poke balls with his aura. Next second, Greninja and Blissey appeared. He quickly explained what he wanted them to do and asked them if they were alright with it. Both pokémon agreed to his request without issue and Ash thanked them. He then wrote a quick note for Doctor Swanson that explained the situation and handed it to Greninja. Ash then turned to take a last look at the red head. Please let them know something that will help me make a decision. Glancing at Mewtwo, Ash gave a curt nod and both he and the feline vanished from sight.

Ash reappeared in his bedroom of the hotel suite. The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't the only one there. His girlfriends were in the room but they were all fast asleep. Turning his surprised gaze around the room, he saw that some were on the bed, a few were on the couch and a couple had even slept on the floor. He was touched by what he saw, thinking that they wanted to be close to him somehow. He quietly went to the two sleeping on the floor who were Sabrina and Cynthia. He knelt down beside them and saw they were resting with their backs up against one another and heads resting on a very long, rectangular couch pillow. Seeing that some hair had covered part of the dark haired girl's face, he gently moved it away from her eyes. Sabrina let out a small hum over his touch but remained sleeping. He turned towards the blonde and Ash saw that Cynthia's blanket had slipped down some. Raising it back up to her shoulders, Cynthia grasped the top of the blanket in her sleep and cuddled with it. Ash just looked at the two for a moment before standing back up.

Walking towards the couch, he saw that the three girls there were sleeping in semi seated positions while leaning against one another. Or more accurately, Sarah and Anabel were curled up while learning their heads against Leaf's shoulders who was in the middle of the two. The brunette from Pallet had her head on top of Sarah's and had her legs extended out onto a chair that was in front of the couch. Noticing that the blanket the three were using was barely covering them, he silently looked for a larger one. Finally finding one in the closet, he took it out and covered up the three with it. Somehow feeling the extra weight and warmth from the extra blanket even through their sleeping states, the girls adjusted their positions a bit before they stopped.

After gazing at the three for a moment, Ash walked towards the four on the bed. May and Dawn were on the left while Misty and Serena were on the right. The four were lying on their sides and facing the middle of the bed where there was a spot left open for their beloved. Looking around them, he saw that they needed nothing and were sleeping comfortably. He glanced back at the three on the couch and then towards the two on the floor at the foot of the bed. Slowly turning his face back towards the four, he took in a silent breath through his nose and let it out the same way. They're all such wonderful girls. But…do I deserve something so great? Standing up, Ash made his way to his room door and grasped the handle but stopped. Glancing back at his girlfriends, he took in the sight of them sleeping peacefully. I hope you're all seeing good dreams. Turning the knob, he stepped out and closed the door quietly before heading towards the balcony.

Walking through the silent suite, Ash was glad that no one was awake yet. He really didn't want to talk or deal with anyone at the moment. When he stepped out into the balcony and reached the railings, he leaned against it with his hands placed on top of it. The sun was barely up in the sky so it was still morning. Glancing at his Poketch, he saw it was just 9am. Though he hadn't slept a wink all night, he was not tired at all. But there was much on his mind. Letting out a sigh, he faced the horizon and his mind began bringing up everything that he had thought about during the long restless night once more.

He thought about his girlfriends. What they had done for him and how they loved him beyond anything else. He thought about the six other girls. How they could possibly have feelings for him as well because of what they've been through together and he them. He thought about his family and friends. How they were there for him and helped him stay on the right path. He thought about his pokémon. How they pushed past their limits and trained hard for and with him. He then thought about his life and what he's experienced. All the suffering he's been through. That for some reason, he was in the center of every major catastrophe that had happened throughout the world and how it was almost always up to him to save it. Thinking about that led him to remember his mission and what was on the line. What Arceus had asked of him and Mewtwo to do in order to fight the darkness. The bizarre dreams he would see of the temple and the white light that was giving him cryptic clues of what he needed to do.

Thinking about all that made his mind eventually land onto Natasha and what she revealed to him. How she was sent to gather intelligence on him so an evil organization can exploit his weaknesses because they saw him as a threat to their goals. But then her plans back fired on her and the thugs she had hired turned on her. How they violated and beaten her to within an inch of her life. How he found her, brought her home, took care of her and made promises to her of always being her friend and that he'll never tell her to go. How she practically couldn't function without him by her side at first. The things she told him in private, from her wishing to die or that she wasn't worth anything because she had lost everything precious. How she tried to come clean to him a couple times but wasn't able to. How she pleaded with him to forgive her and to not tell her to go. How she revealed that she was all alone and had nobody and nothing. That he had shown her a world that she believed didn't exist. How she couldn't be strong on her own anymore.

All of his thinking was weighing heavily on the raven haired guardian. The euphoria he had felt from his victory and happiness he felt for Brock's proposal to Lucy had vanished when Natasha had confessed. And as the night dragged on into the morning at the hospital as he waited, as his mind spiraled around and around with all of his thinking right now, his feeling of self-worth that he had gained from winning the biggest tournament ever was gradually fading because he had begun to doubt himself once more.

He began doubting himself again because of everything and he was fully realizing it all now. He wasn't cautious. He didn't think of consequences and just acted. He didn't question as to why the Skull Brothers were here or why Natasha was with them. He pushed his pokémon dangerously past their limits when they shouldn't have. He scared and shocked his family and friends with Edmond's execution. He kept bringing danger to all he cared about, whether because of his actions or not. Half the public turned against him because of finding out about his vengeance. How he had trouble controlling his emotions and caused his childhood friend and crush Leaf to cry and made him fight with many of his friends. This feeling of doubt made him feel unworthy once again. Unworthy of the love his girlfriends consistently show and give him. Unworthy of his pokémons' loyalty and power. Unworthy of Mewtwo's friendship and guidance. Unworthy of having Lucario as his combat and aura instructor. Unworthy of being able to use aura and being called an Aura Guardian…

He was doing all he could to not break down again like he did when the people turned on him. Natasha's confession had opened his eyes to how naïve and ignorant he was being. That he didn't think of the possibilities of what could or couldn't happen because of his actions. Or other people's actions. How people could be playing an act around him to use him, betray him or take advantage of him. How he was causing his family, his friends, his loved ones to constantly get in harm's way. He hung his head and shook it while taking in a staggering breath. I'm such a fool. I can't do it. I'm not strong enough or smart enough. I keep making mistakes. I don't deserve any of the good in my life!

Ash couldn't stop thinking about all that until he finally snapped. "Damn it!" He slammed his fist against the railings and it bent from his strike. "Why?! Why is that every damn time I take a step forward, I end up taking two back?! Why am I constantly failing?!" He took in several deep breaths to try to calm himself down. It was at that moment that he was sent a mental message from Mewtwo; I found them. We'll be there in a minute. "Shit. I can't let anyone see me like this." Ash composed himself the best he could and turned around in time to see them arrive. Several blue glows appeared around him and four individuals emerged from them. "Thank you for coming. I wanted to…" He stopped talking because of what he noticed.

The red haired woman of the group gave him a sly smile. She was sporting a noticeable bump on her stomach. "That's right. I'm pregnant twerp," she said happily as the man next to her also smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Are you kidding me?! Momentarily stunned, Ash soon got out of it and allowed himself to smile a bit. "Wow, congratulations you two. I'm happy for you," he told them sincerely.

"Too bad they're all lovey dovey now. It's so annoying," remarked the beige cat pokémon.

"Shut up Meowth!" snapped the woman before she slammed her fist against the top of his head and he let out yelp of pain.

"Jessie, you have to stay calm. Think of the baby," advised the purple haired man softly.

Jessie took in a breath and nodded. "Okay. You're right James. I'm sorry." The two then shared a simple kiss and smiled at one another before facing the young man. "What?" they asked him together.

Ash was staring at the two before shaking his head. "Nothing. I'm just not used to seeing you guys like this," he admitted.

"Yea, I guess you could say that," remarked James with some embarrassment.

"Well, ever since you gave us a chance to do something else with our lives, we've realized some important things since we had the time to do so," said Jessie with a happy smile.

"And one of those things is that we finally realized how much we care for one another and why we've always been together," continued James.

Jessie walked forward and smiled at Ash. "So thank you for that," she finished and gave him a thank you peck on the cheek, that made him become embarrassed a bit before taking a couple steps back. "But don't think I still won't call you twerp."

Ash rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled. "Alright."

"So," began Meowth, getting everyone's attention. "Not that I'm not enjoying our little reunion. But why did you want to meet with us?" asked the talking cat.

The raven haired guardian glanced at the purple feline. "I didn't tell them much," revealed Mewtwo as he began speaking. "Only that you needed their help with something important."

The trio locked their eyes onto Ash who nodded. "Right. There's a reason I wanted to see you and talk to you. Though I should've kept in touch with you but I couldn't. I'm sorry for that," he told them.

"It's no problem. You told us you would be busy with your training," replied James.

"So what is it that you need?" asked Jessie as she looked at the psychic feline for a second before facing Ash again. .

"Well," said Ash as he moved a bit closer to them. "I need to know anything and everything that you might know about a Team Rocket executive whose name is Natasha Dobrev."

The three had their eyes widen. Both Ash and Mewtwo instantly realized that their reaction could only mean that they do in fact know her. "Did you say…Natasha Dobrev?" asked Jessie and Ash nodded. "You want to know…about that fucking bitch?!" she asked him, with her anger rising.

James immediately began trying to calm her down. "Jessie, remember the baby. You have to stay calm."

"Yes I do," interrupted Ash, wanting to know. "What do you know of her?" he asked the two.

Jessie took in a deep breath to calm herself. Usually she would just explode but she was doing her best for her unborn child. James gave her a worrying look that Jessie caught. She grasped his hand to let him know that she'll be alright and she began explaining. "Natasha Dobrev…is the biggest bitch you'll ever meet in your life. She would walk around with her nose stuck in the air like she was the queen of the world or something. Always looking down on the rest and flaunting her unbelievable gorgeous looks." She started shaking a little from her anger rising again and James tried to calm her down once more but wasn't having much luck. "She was so sought after from everyone in the organization, both men and women and she knew it. Using it to her advantage and having people do things for her with promises of returning the favor but she never did. There were even rumors that Giovanni wanted her. Whether they got together or not, I don't know. But Natasha was an absolutely horrible person. I hated her more than even Cassidy. That's how bad she is," revealed Jessie before stopping to take a breather. She didn't continue because she was starting to lose her composure and didn't want to endanger the baby.

James wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to him. "It's okay Jessie. We don't deal with her anymore," he told her gently and she nodded before hugging him. James locked eyes with Ash, who kept his expression neutral but inside he was feeling horrible over what he was learning about the red head. "Natasha…had done many bad things. To us and to others, both in and out of the organization. She always made fun of us, gave us shit assignments and didn't care about anyone but herself. She's hurt people, blackmailed, lied, cheated, stole and many other things. We did that too but there were certain lines that we didn't cross. If you thought we were bad for just trying to steal Pikachu…" He scoffed and shook his head. "She's much worse because of what she's done." He stopped talking and checked on Jessie who was trying to calm down. She was remembering the horrible things that they had gone through because of Natasha and it was angering her.

Ash and Mewtwo looked at one another with shocked expressions before facing the trio again. "How long has she been with Team Rocket? What other things do you know about her?"

Seeing that Jessie couldn't talk and James was consoling her, Meowth took over for the two and explained further as he answered the guardian's question. "Natasha was with Team Rocket since she was a teenager, just like us. But nobody knows anything about her other than she doesn't have any family as far as we know. She rose through da ranks quickly with her skill, intelligence, ruthlessness and how she would finish her assignments without trouble. She soon became da boss's personal assistant and da top executive," revealed Meowth, making both Mewtwo and Ash glance at one another again before facing the cat pokémon again. "Well almost da top. Da only person who has a higher position than her is agent double-oh-nine, Domino. And that was because of her being even better than Natasha…or worse, depending on how you look at it. It didn't hurt either that Domino is obsessed with da boss and is with him. But everyone does know that Domino hated Natasha's guts because Giovanni wanted Natasha too. And that there was a bet in the organization to who could get Natasha into bed first," elaborated Meowth.

"A bet?" repeated Ash with confusion. "Why?" he asked them.

Before Meowth or James could answer, Jessie did, having calmed down enough. "Because everyone was obsessed with her and wanted a piece of her. But she rejected them all, saying she doesn't mix business with pleasure and that just made them want her more. She had wrapped everyone around her finger and did what she pleased. The only people that weren't used by her or she couldn't get to do stuff for her were Domino and Giovanni." Jessie separated from James and gave him a reassuring look, she then locked eyes with Ash. "That's all we know of her. But, why did you want to know this?" she asked him.

Ash looked at Mewtwo who gave him a neutral look. Letting out a sigh, Ash faced the horizon. "Because she's with me," revealed the raven haired guardian.

"WHAT?!" yelped out Jessie, James and Meowth together.

"Why is that horrible bitch with you?!" asked a stupefied Jessie.

Keeping his head facing the horizon, he explained everything to the trio of how Natasha ended up being in his group. What she went through, what he did for her, how she eventually came clean to him and how she just ended up in a coma when trying to reveal what Giovanni was planning. Turning his gaze back to them, he saw that the three former Team Rocket members were sporting astonished looks along with some sadness, if he wasn't imagining it. "So you see, that's why I wanted to talk to you about her if you knew her and see if I could learn more about her. I wanted to know if I should forgive her or not. If I should give her a chance to atone for what she's done if and when she wakes back up," he told them quietly.

The trio was quiet for a while as they thought about what they just learned. That is until the purple haired man broke the silence. "Natasha…was raped and beaten? And she's in a coma now?" whispered James in disbelief.

Jessie started shaking her head. "As much…as much as I hated her…as much as I wanted to get back at her…I wouldn't want her to go through something like that. No one should," commented Jessie whose voice was starting to crack from her emotions. Her pregnancy hormones were really affecting her. James wrapped his arm around her again and she felt some comfort from his action.

"Yes, what she went through was a horrible ordeal," remarked Mewtwo and the guests looked at him. "But with this information, we can decide what to do with her if and when she wakes back up. Also, we must ask this as well; do you know of what Giovanni is planning or heard of any rumors?"

The three shook their heads. "No. We haven't heard anything about Giovanni, Team Rocket or any of our old team members. Honestly, we've been staying away from them all since you gave us da money to open our own business and start new lives," revealed Meowth.

"Very well. Thank you for your time," said Mewtwo.

"I'm sorry for bothering you with this but I had to find out more if possible," said Ash.

James however waved his hand a bit. "It's alright. You gave us a chance to live normal lives after all we've done to you and we are eternally grateful for it. If you ever need anything, please feel free to contact us. Or better yet, stop by our souvenir shop we opened up in Celadon City."

"Thank you and wow, so that's what you've been doing," said Ash with a small smile.

The trio nodded. "Yes. After chasing after you all over the world for Pikachu, we knew which vendors to contact around the world to ship us region specific items to our shop in Celadon. Business has been steadily growing, allowing us to stock up on more variety little by little," said James with a slightly proud tone of voice.

"I'll definitely drop by one day after the tournament ends," promised Ash and the three said that they were looking forward to it.

"Hey Twerp," started Jessie all of a sudden, making them all look at her now. She took in a breath and continued. "Look, about Natasha…though I hated her guts more than Cassidy…no one deserves what she went through. And if it's true what you said about her…how she felt so scared and uncomfortable around everyone… how she was asking for you to forgive her and would do anything to fix her mistakes and everything else. I think…I think you should give her a chance," she finished saying, making James and Meowth to have dumbfounded looks form on their faces.

But Mewtwo and Ash were also surprised but the legendary kept his expression stoic. "You do?" asked Ash and Jessie nodded slowly. "I see. But…why?"

Jessie turned to face James with a slight smile. "If it's also true that she lost her voice and her capability to have children…" At that point, Jessie looked down towards her abdomen and placed her hands on stomach. "…I think she's been punished enough. Losing that is worse than anything else I can imagine for a woman. Even though she's done a lot of bad, from what you've told us about her, it looks like she's changing. And it's because of you and giving her a chance." She looked up at James with a happy smile before facing Ash. "We never would have changed either if you didn't give us a chance. And we never would have this blessing either. Whatever made you decide that we were worthy of a chance to live a different life…if it leads you to believe that she deserves it too…then you should give it to her."

Ash was frozen by what Jessie just said. He never thought he would see such a side of her. But then again, with her expecting and living a new life because of him, it looks like she changed for the better too. He recovered soon enough and nodded his head. "Okay Jessie. Thank you for telling me this," he told her. The red haired woman nodded at him with a smile.

"Are you ready to go back?" asked Mewtwo.

"Yea, we are. I have to prepare for da morning rush!" yelped Meowth, realizing the time.

"See ya Ash. Good luck with facing the Elites and Champions. We'll be watching the match as usual on the TV," said James, raising his hand.

"Thanks," said Ash as he shook it. After their handshake, Jessie gave him a hug and he returned it. Mewtwo's eyes then glowed blue and the three were teleported back to their souvenir shop in Celadon. Seeing the look on his friend's face made him let out a sigh. "Don't tell me; you read their minds just now didn't you?" he asked the purple legendary who didn't deny it. "What did I tell you?" he asked the feline who just shrugged in response. "Well, what did you find out?"

"They weren't lying about what they said about Natasha or that they don't know what Giovanni is planning," revealed Mewtwo before he gave his friend a concerned look. "And that was a pretty good act you did just then, hiding what you're really feeling now."

Ash turned away from him. "I see. So nothing new on that and that shows we can trust them at least," said Ash as he went towards the railings again.

Mewtwo followed beside him. "You are right about that. But don't ignore me. Tell me what are your thoughts? Are you alright? And what do you want to do?" asked the legendary.

Taking in a deep breath, Ash let it out slowly. "I'm sorry Mewtwo. It's just…I really don't know what to do. I…I know I have to do something. I know I can't keep this a secret. They should know about it. I…I have to protect everyone I love and care about…" He raised his gaze and looked his friend in the eye. "…but how do I do that when I can't even notice a threat when it's right under my nose? If and when the time comes, do I sacrifice others in order to do so? Can I live with myself if I do that? Would it be better if I tell them to stay away from me so that they're safer?" he asked with a heavy heart.

Mewtwo had a sad look appear on his face. He raised his three digit hand and placed it on Ash's shoulder. "If I was my old monster self, I wouldn't hesitate to answer some of your questions. But now? I understand what you're coming from. But we also knew that we would eventually have to face something like this and if what we do is enough. Do we put the needs of many above that of an individual? Or do we risk it all for the sake of one? Or do we push everyone away for their own safety?" Ash didn't know how to respond to that and hung his head. Mewtwo removed his hand from his shoulder before facing the horizon. "The only thing I can say for certain is this; we can only make the best decision we can with the information we have and make decisions that involve those kinds of hard choices on a case by case basis." Ash looked up at the psychic and started thinking about what Mewtwo just said. "That is the only way we can do what needs to be done. And whatever choice we make, we must deal with the consequences of our actions." The purple feline turned to face his best friend. "Whatever you decide, I am with you. I do suggest however that you tell the others of what is going on. Both about Natasha and what you're going through. I also suggest preparing for your matches against the Elites tomorrow before resting as we still need to follow our plans," advised Mewtwo.

Ash heard what his friend was saying and slowly nodded in understanding. "You're right. Thank you Mewtwo." After giving a curt nod, the legendary teleported back to their island home, leaving Ash to his thoughts. Spending some time there alone in the balcony, his mind was racing again. He wondered about everything that he was thinking about before along with all the new information he had learned just now. After some time, he finally came to a few decisions about several things and decided he had no other reasonable choices. I have to do what is right…for everyone. Not just for me. With that, Ash headed back inside towards his bedroom.

Entering his room, Ash saw that the girls were still asleep. They must have slept late. He walked quietly towards the two on the floor and knelt down beside the blonde girl. He leaned down closer to her face. "Cynthia…wake up please," he whispered. She let out a low grumble but didn't wake up. Placing his hand onto her shoulder, he gently shook her a bit. "Cynthia, I need you," he said in a whisper.

Finally hearing him, the Sinnoh Champion began waking up. She groggily opened her eyes and raised her head a little off the pillow. "Whozzair?" she mumbled. Her vision blurry at first, she had to blink a few times to clear her sight. But when it finally sharpened, she saw who was waking her up and had a smile form on her face. "Ash," she said softly. Sitting up, she hugged him tightly and he returned the hug. She felt something was wrong however and so separated from him and gave him a worried look. "Ash? Is everything alright? Is it Natasha?" she asked him quietly.

Hearing the concern in her voice and the way she was looking at him made Ash feel bad for worrying her. "I'm okay Cynthia and I'll tell you but I'll tell everyone at once," he told her and she understood. "But I do need your help with something."

Sensing the seriousness in his voice, Cynthia sat up straight. "What is it?" she asked him. After explaining what he needed from her, she understood and nodded. "Alright. Leave it to me."

"Thank you Cynthia," he told her. After helping her stand up, she gave him a reassuring look before she left the room. Ash watched her leave before he turned to face the girls who were still asleep. I hope they don't hate me for waking them up. After waking them up, with some protests let out from the girls, he told them why he woke them up and what he wanted to do. Understanding him, the girls agreed to his requests and got out of bed and left the room. After they left, Ash went into the bathroom to take a shower and to try to relax and organize his thoughts.

A couple hours later, everyone in the penthouse suite was up and gathered round in the dining room along with some guests. They were all waiting with concerned expressions on their faces. From his family and friends, to the Champions and President who Cynthia had contacted for Ash. They were all there with their attention on the raven haired guardian who was standing in front of them all with Pikachu on his shoulder. "Thank you for coming. There is something that you should all know that I just recently found out about thanks to Clement…" All eyes snapped onto the gym leader from Kalos, who reddened from their stares. "…who broke through the encryption on this…" Everyone's eyes moved back onto Ash in time to see him pull out a small black device from his pocket.

"Impressive," remarked Lance as he faced Clemont once more. "None of my top guys were able to." Clemont went even redder but nodded his thanks over the compliment. "So who does it belong to?" asked champion after facing the guardian again.

Ash placed the smart phone onto the dining table and let out a sigh. Here goes… "This phone belongs to a high ranking Team Rocket executive whose name is…Natasha Dobrev." As Ash expected, the entire room was filled with shocked yelps and surprised gasps. Nobody could believe that the red head who was with them these past several days was part of the sinister Team Rocket. Taking advantage of their silent states, Ash continued on. "Not only that, she came clean to me herself about why she was even here in the first place right before she mysteriously fell into a coma..."

"What do you mean? What did she confess?" asked Cynthia for everyone.

Ash glanced at her before facing everyone. "She told me that…" The raven haired guardian began explaining everything he learned about the red head. What the former Team Rocket members had told him about her. What she had confessed to him about herself.

When he finished explaining, everyone was at a loss of words. Several people were lost in their thoughts over what they just heard. Even the champions didn't know what to say at first until Lance snapped out of it. "So Team Rocket was behind the stadium attack and those mutated pokémon. And from what you're saying that this girl told you is that they even have another trick up their sleeves? A secret monstrous weapon?" Ash confirmed it and Lance shook his head. "This isn't good. And she didn't tell you when the attack will be other than that it will be soon?" he asked and Ash shook his head, making Lance slam his fist against the table in frustration, startling many from the group. "Damn. Then that means we must be prepared for the worst. We should even cancel the extended battles for the tournament and send people home."

"That's a good idea," agreed Diantha and so did several others.

"It may not be," started Steven, drawing everyone's attention. "Canceling the battles may make things worse. It will lead to questions being asked by the people and if someone lets something slip, it may cause a panic. It may even make Team Rocket launch their attack in the middle of people leaving. And it will be much harder to contain the situation if that happens," reasoned the elegantly dressed champion and some voiced their agreement on that as well.

But one of the parents decided to say what was on his mind who, along with the other parents, was feeling extremely worried. "Well, what if they attack after or during the battles like they did before? How can we fight back if we're all trapped in the stadium like before?" asked Norman before glancing at his children. Ash looked at the concerned man and inside he felt some guilt and shame.

But then one of the champions spoke up. "Our security measures are much stricter than before. And this time we know that someone wants to attack sometime soon," replied the Unovan champion to try and quell their fear. "And if they do attack during the match, the stadium will be much easier to defend, especially with all of our pokémon at our disposal. And with our Elites here, they won't stand a chance," said Alder confidently.

"Even so, I don't want to risk my daughter's safety," said Johanna, voicing her concern. Ash looked at the frightened mother and then at Dawn, who was trying to console her.

"No one will be put in harm's way," stated Steven and those words made Ash glance at him.

"How can you be sure?" asked Grace, who hugged Serena as if she was in danger at the moment. "There's no way you can guarantee that!" Ash looked at her now, seeing the way she was holding Serena, who was trying to tell her mother to relax.

Soon, everyone in the large group began voicing their own thoughts and opinions on the matter of what they should do. Some thought it would be better to stay and defend the place if they did attack. Others thought it would be better to quit while they were ahead. Ash didn't know what to do or say. He could sense the feelings and emotions of everyone and he too wondered what the best course of action was. Until he thought that it would be better to cancel the battles and have everyone go home. He was about to say something when a sudden voice was heard. "That is enough." Everyone went quiet at once and looked around to find the speaker.

"Who said that?" asked Caroline, looking around frighteningly while half the group clutched a poke ball in their hands.

"I did." And with that, a large image of the face of Arceus, the Original One, appeared before them all in the air.

"Arceus!" yelped many from the group.

"Ar-Arceus?" stuttered Ash, surprised like the rest. "What are you doing here?"

Arceus moved his eyes around the room as he spoke. "I have come to tell you this. I have seen what is coming and Team Rocket is not targeting the tournament and they will not be attacking any time soon. You can relax and continue the tournament," he informed them.

Several relieved breaths were let out from most of them before glancing at one another. "Thank you Lord Arceus for the good news," said Goodshow with a bow and the others followed his example and did the same.

"But…I thought you said you can't tell me what's coming and what's not?" asked Ash as he took a step closer. "I thought I had to face the unknown."

Everyone looked at Ash before moving their gaze onto the floating head of Arceus. "That is true but I wanted to make it up to you after our last conversation in the stadium." Understanding him, Ash nodded as Arceus locked his eyes onto the Champions. "Tell your Elites to not go easy at all against the Guardian tomorrow. And do the same yourselves if he does defeat them. This is another test for my Knight." The Champions understood what he was saying and nodded at the Alpha Pokémon. Arceus then faced the young man. "Good luck Guardian," he said as the image of his head began to fade away.

"Wait!" shouted Ash as he extended out his hand, startling the rest. "What about what Natasha was saying?! What is Giovanni up to?! And do you know why she just fell into a coma?! Why can't Mewtwo read her mind?! What's going on?! What should I do?!" he shouted out to the disappearing god.

Arceus answered him as he disappeared from sight with his final spoken words. "All I can say is that all of this is because of the darkness and Ragnarok. But you're doing well. Just stay on the path you're on and do not lose focus." And with that, the room was silent once more.

The president stood up from his seat, catching everyone's attention. "Looks like there is nothing to worry about right now. We will continue the tournament and relax since Lord Arceus told us so. But, we will have our agents be on the alert still. Ash, thank you for letting us know what is going on." Ash gave a curt nod in response. Goodshow then faced the five champions. "I suggest you go to your Elites as soon as you can and get them prepared for tomorrow." Agreeing to that, Goodshow began to leave but stopped when he reached Ash on the way. "It will be nice to crown another Pokémon Master in my life time. Good luck and do your best."

"Thank you Goodshow," replied back Ash. The two shook hands before the president left.

Lance stood up next and everyone looked at him now. "Ash, before I leave, I wanted to ask you; what do you intend to do with Natasha?" he asked him.

Everyone wanted to know the answer to that as well and Ash let out a sigh. "I…I don't know. I was going to ask you," he admitted to them.

"I see." Wondering what he was going to say, nobody made a sound and soon enough, he formed words. "I won't be making the decision on this. You will."

That shocked everyone and most of all, it stunned Ash. "W-What? B-But I don't know…"

"And that is why you will decide," interrupted Lance and Ash stared at him. "Usually I wouldn't hesitate to make a decision regarding someone like her. However, this is a special case. Though you don't know what to do, you know her better than us all here. Whatever you decide, you have my support." Ash didn't know what to say to that and so remained quiet. Giving him a nod, the dragon champion began walking out of the dining room. "Alright. With that settled, I must leave to get my Elites ready. Be prepared Ash for they've been hungry for a great battle for a long time," he stated. "I suggest you guys do so as well," he called out to the other champions who got out of their seats.

"Hold up, I'm coming with you!" called out Diantha as she hurried after him. Alder and Steven glanced at one another and just shrugged before saying their byes.

After those two left, the Sinnoh Champion walked up to the Aura Guardian. "Ash, I'm gonna go get my Elites ready as well. Don't go easy on them as they won't go easy on you either. I expect the best out of you for they will be ruthless. And so will I if we battle," said Cynthia as her grey eyes looked into his brown ones.

Ash could sense both seriousness and excitement from her. Usually, that would've made him feel the same way. But it didn't. "I promise Cynthia." The two nodded at one another before the blonde woman left, saying she'll come back later. Ash then faced the others in the dining room. "I'm gonna go get prepared myself. I will return in the evening. Hopefully by then I'll know what to do about everything else." His gaze turned to his girlfriends who gave him supporting looks. "I'll see you later," he told them before he and Pikachu vanished from sight. After he disappeared, the rest of them separated into smaller groups and began doing their own things.

One of those groups headed into Ash's bedroom and just sat around on the king sized bed. "What do you think should happen regarding Natasha?" asked one of the blunettes.

"I don't know Lizabeth," replied Shauna. "To think that she was from Team Rocket and had done many horrible things…" She trailed off, unable to finish what was on her mind.

"I know," remarked Misty. "I can't believe it. How could she have been such a cold hearted person?" she asked them and the girls shook their heads in sadness.

"But is she still the same?" asked the brunette from Hoenn and the girls gave her their attention. "We've all seen how she is now." Realizing that she could have a point, the rest started thinking about that. May faced the brunette from Pallet Town. "Didn't you see her condition back at the cabin?" she asked her.

Leaf visibly shook from that. "I don't like to think about it or remember it but yea, she looked like she had gone through hell," she replied in a low voice.

Nodding their heads in understanding, the girls went quiet for a moment. "Hey," started the dark haired girl and they faced her. "How do you think Ash is taking this?" asked Sabrina. "I thought I could sense that he was conflicted inside while he was explaining things to everyone. Kind of like when he was about to vaporize the three idiots at his eight match," remarked the gym leader.

"There's much more to it than that," stated Anabel before anyone else could say something, drawing their attention. "I may not be as powerful as you Sabrina with my psychic abilities but I can sense emotions far better," she revealed and some of the girls had impressed looks form on their faces.

"What did you sense?" asked Shauna in concern.

Anabel let out a sigh before answering. "It is true that he's conflicted like Sabrina said. He's angry and sullen. But I even felt some shame and despair…"

"Shame and despair?" repeated Daisy quietly.

Anabel nodded. "Yes. More than likely it's because he thinks that he messed up again. Taking in someone with no questions asked. He must be thinking that he made a mistake in doing that."

"But why?" asked Giselle, unable to control herself. "Why would he feel that it was wrong to help someone out?" she asked them but no one could answer that.

"He never did think that way until now," answered Serena sadly as she stood up and leaned against the wall since she didn't feel like sitting anymore.

"And that's probably why he's conflicted now," continued Dawn as she drew her legs in close to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Imagine you helped someone out, did everything you could for them and you're getting closer to one another. But then you find out that person was originally bad and was even sent after you to learn your secrets and then leave with that information to give to the bad guys." Unable to control herself, Dawn started trembling from that and Sarah gave her hug to help her calm down. "Thanks," she said quietly.

"No problem. We're here for each other remember?" replied the Johto native before giving her a slight smile. After a moment, Dawn too nodded while giving a smile.

"And we're also here for you and Ash," stated Giselle with a kind look.

"That's right. Don't forget about us. We're in this too," chimed in Shauna as she wrapped an arm around Lizabeth and both blunettes smiled.

But one of the girls was feeling a little uneasy. "Hey, I don't mean to bring us down…" started Clair.

"But you always do," interrupted Liza with a smirk.

"Shut up," said Clair as she elbowed Liza who grunted and a few chuckled from their actions. "Moving on, I was thinking that maybe we shouldn't let Natasha be with us…"

"Jealous are we of her looks?" cut in Liza again with her teasing, trying to hide her own insecurities with jokes.

Once again, Clair elbowed her friend. "I know you are and are you ever serious?!" she asked her friend though she did blush slightly. And she wasn't the only one; a few of the newer girls in the group also had their cheeks redden. They were jealous of the red head's looks, knowing that she was very beautiful. Though they were accepted by the girls, they were still not accepted by the man they had feelings for. Ash's girlfriends however, didn't feel anything like that towards Natasha for they knew with absolute certainty that their beloved didn't go for just looks alone and would never cheat on them. And neither would they. "Anyways," said Clair, continuing on afterwards. "What I'm trying to say is that perhaps it won't be a good idea to let Natasha stay with us. I mean, I know we talked about this and that she's been through a lot. And even though Ash told us that she apologized to him and said she'll do anything to make it up, how do we know that also wasn't an act?" she asked them.

The girls became worried at that point. They hadn't thought of the possibility that perhaps Natasha could still be playing an act and hiding her true intentions. Each of them began thinking if it's possible based on what they knew and what they've seen of the red head. Sudden knocking on the door startled them and made them jump before it opened. A purple haired girl stood in the door way, leaning against one side with her shoulder. "Hey, so that's where you all are. Just letting you know that lunch is made. Come eat," she told them.

"Okay, thanks Iris," replied Shauna as she and Lizabeth stood up.

"C'mon. We'll talk about that later," suggested Misty as she started moving towards the door.

The rest of the girls began heading out as well and after Daisy, who was the last to leave the room left, Iris closed the door and followed from behind. She took her time, walking slowly for she was lost in thought. She was at first in her own room, thinking about what Ash had revealed to them all and wondered what she could do to help him. Until Delia had come to her room and told her that lunch was ready and if she could tell the others for her. She agreed to it without delay, wanting to help her out. She told some of the others that their meal was ready, but when she went to the girls' room, she found no one there. She searched until she found them in Ash's bedroom. She wasn't surprised to see his girlfriends there but was a little shocked to see the six other girls with them.

That caught her off guard but didn't show it. Noticing their facial expressions, Iris had a feeling that they were talking about something serious. Making her way into the dining room, she kept thinking in silence as she sat down among her friends and began eating. Little by little, everyone else joined in too and soon many conversations were happening at once. They were talking about Natasha or Ash's upcoming matches against the Elites tomorrow. Though she didn't have much of an appetite all of a sudden, she didn't want anyone to think that something was wrong with her so she still ate. Why were they all there together? Don't they know that the six might be hiding feelings for Ash? She looked up from her plate and found the girls talking with one another. But there was a difference. Iris couldn't place her finger on it but there was something else between them all now. She jabbed a piece of pancake with her fork before eating it. Why do I get the feeling that something happened between them all? She thought some more before suddenly her eyes widened. Could it be?! Could they have confessed to them?! And…could they have accepted them?! Her sudden thoughts made her swallow her food without chewing properly and it became stuck in her throat. She coughed out loud, drawing everyone's attention to her. She coughed even more loudly but couldn't get the stuck object out from her throat. Shit! It's stuck! I'm choking! She looked around the group with wide eyes as she started making choking sounds and pointed at her throat.

Someone lifted her up from her seat all of a sudden. Two hands wrapped around her abdomen, clasped together and then slammed into her upper stomach. Pressure shot out the stuck food piece from her throat and landed onto her plate. Iris let out relieved heavy breaths as she tried to calm down while leaning against her chair. "T-thank you," she gasped out to her savior.

"You're welcome and are you okay?" asked Delia with concern.

Iris nodded and straightened out after catching her breath. "Yea, I'm fine now. Thank you again."

Delia smiled at her. "No problem, I'm glad I was able to help. Don't rush eating your food anymore okay?" she advised the young girl.

Blushing from embarrassment, Iris just nodded. She couldn't tell the real reason why she started choking and figured this was better for her. Sitting back in her chair, the group went back to their talks seeing that Iris was alright and nothing happened. A short while later, the purple haired girl excused herself and went to the bathroom. She washed up and looked herself in the mirror. That was close. But what I was thinking before…could it be true? Before she could dwell on it, a knock was heard on her bathroom door. Iris pushed it to the back of her mind and opened the door. "Yea?" asked Iris as she opened it and was surprised to see who was there.

Misty, Dawn, Serena and May had come to check on her. "Hey, are you really okay?" asked the honey blonde haired girl with concern.

"Y-Yea, I'm fine," replied Iris.

"Are you sure? Because we have a feeling that something's up," admitted Dawn.

Iris couldn't believe it. I thought I kept it hidden. "What do you mean?" she asked them as calmly as she could.

"Hey, don't be like that. We're friends aren't we?" asked Misty and Iris nodded.

"Good. Because as friends, we should know when one of us is down and one of our jobs is to help each other. So what's wrong?" asked May. Iris was at a loss for words. She didn't know what to say or do. But she was filling up with emotion. Though she was good friends with the four girls, she didn't believe or think that she was as important to them as each other. That they would notice that something was off with her because of what she's going through. Not knowing what to do and being overwhelmed from what she was feeling, she just let go. Iris began letting out tears before crying heavily and that startled the four girls. "Hey, what's wrong?!" repeated May as she immediately took the crying girl into her arms. Misty, Dawn and Serena also joined in quickly after.

Not wanting to spill all of her secrets now but not knowing if she could keep it all in, she didn't know what to say or do. Until she just burst something out. "We broke up!"

The four girls gasped in shock. "What?! Why?! What happened?!" asked Serena.

Revealing that made Iris feel a little better, that she didn't have to hide it anymore. But she still couldn't stop her crying and was unable to form coherent sentences. "Cilan…I…using…not real…lost…gave up so I…scared…I-I…mistake!" sobbed Iris into the girls' embrace.

"Don't worry Iris. I'm gonna go kick his ass," said Misty as she turned to leave. But then Iris grabbed her arm and kept her from leaving. "Iris?"

Shaking her head, she slowly raised her tear streaked gaze to her friend's after forcing herself to calm down. "It's not his fault. We both decided this," she informed them as tears continued falling from her eyes that just made the four become sullen. "For many reasons…that we just came to realize…" She couldn't continue anymore, lowering her head and sobbed away.

Misty, May, Dawn and Serena became so concerned over what they heard. Misty returned to the group and hugged her once more and the girls began rubbing her back and arms to try to help her calm down. "Sshh, it's okay, we're here for you," said May soothingly.

"We'll help you no matter what okay?" added Dawn softly.

"Cause that's what friends do," finished Serena gently.

"We promise," said the four girls together before going quiet to allow their friend to just cry it out. Iris hugged the four tightly while crying and thinking a million things.

A raven haired young man was walking through the arena of a large stadium with a yellow mouse and purple feline. Dozens of pokémon were around him. Some were in the field, some were up in the stands and still others were perched at the top edges of the large oval structure. Many were resting and just enjoying the good weather. Some were having mock battles between each other. Several others were having different competitions between them such as who could lift heavier items or who could jump higher or run faster and many other things. As he walked among them large group of pokémon, Ash wondered who he was going to choose to battle against the elites in the handicap battles. "Man, this is gonna be harder than I thought," he commented.

"Pika," agreed Pikachu.

"You're the one who suggested the battles be this way. You could've just faced them the way the president first said," commented Mewtwo with a smirk.

"I know," said Ash as he rubbed the back of his head. "But I didn't want to waste time and thought this would be a good way to further test our strength."

"True," agreed the psychic as he nodded his head. "Any ideas so far?" he asked. "Or is something preventing you from thinking clearly?"

Ash saw the look he was given. "Are you talking about Natasha?"

"Yes but that isn't the only thing that's keeping you from focusing is it?" Ash gave a surprised look and Mewtwo chuckled. "I don't have to read your mind Ash to know something is up. We have become very close these past three years. I know when something is wrong and it doesn't take my vast powers to notice that," commented the purple feline.

Ash smiled a bit. "We really have become good friends." He shook his head as his smile faded away and he let out a sigh. "You're right buddy. I don't know what to do. Lance told me to make the decision. I've never made a choice like this before…"

"You're mistaken. Have you forgotten about giving Jessie, James and Meowth a chance already?" interrupted Mewtwo.

Ash shook his head however. "They're different. As bad as they've been, they weren't the level as Natasha. And after she confessed everything, it made me realize how naïve I've been. How can I protect everyone when I can't see a threat? When I can't see someone for who they really are? How Mewtwo?" he asked him. His questions made the electric pokémon droop his ears as he had a sullen expression form on his face.

Mewtwo didn't reply at once, as he thought about what Ash said and asked him. "You want to know how?" asked the legendary after a short while and the guardian nodded. "By doing your best, learning from your mistakes and never giving up. That's how," answered the psychic before he stopped walking and Ash stopped next to him. The two faced one another and the legendary went on. "And you should come to terms with whatever you're dealing with. I know you've been thinking about what to do and what's right. But don't let it consume you. Come clean to yourself about what you want to do. Come clean to your girlfriends about what you're going through. Come clean to your girlfriends about the other girls." Ash had his eyes widened as he froze in his spot. Mewtwo gave his best friend a kind look. "Like I said, I don't need to read your mind to know what you're going through. I've noticed it and sensed what you're feeling. Don't keep making the same mistake over and over. Either go for it or end it before it starts otherwise you'll go crazy. You cannot do what's needed if you're attention is all over the place. And you cannot move forward with part of you still in the past," warned his friend. He then levitated up to the top of the stadium so he can speak with Lucario who was meditating there.

Ash stayed rooted to his spot as he thought about what he was just told by the legendary. Mewtwo is right. I can't keep doing this. I can't keep acting like I don't know what's going on. I can't keep expecting to have others make my decisions for me. I can't keep letting myself wallow in despair. I need to take control. Just like I do whenever I battle. I cannot let things happen when I can change it, even if it is a little bit. His mind then landed onto the red head and he thought about her situation. That made him remember what he promised to May and his mother when he took Natasha to the hospital the first time. Didn't I swear that from now on I will only give second chances to those who deserve it?

That thought lead him to think about what Natasha went through, how she acted and what she told him, how he thought that she was punished enough and that helped him come to a decision. Even if she has done awful things in the past, she's willing to atone for them and do anything to make it up. If someone is genuine about that, then I can give them that chance. But I won't be naïve about it. I'll keep my eye on her when I tell her if and when she wakes up. Ash took in a deep breath through his nose before exhaling it out of his mouth. He looked up towards the sky. And I have to tell the girls about what I've been feeling for the others. And I have to tell them what I'm feeling because of this revelation and to let them know that this won't work. If they get angry…then I guess I deserved it. With his head still raised, he closed his eyes and tried to relax. I just hope that they don't hate me in the end…

A pokémon suddenly slammed into his side that made him stumble awkwardly to the side a few steps and Pikachu let out an annoyed sound. He looked down to see Lopunny hugging him. He was about to say it wasn't a good time but then stopped himself. Seeing the look in her eyes, he could tell that she wanted to spar with him. "Okay, Lopunny, let's go. But it'll be a short one okay? I still have to decide for tomorrow's matches," he told the bunny pokémon and she nodded in agreement. Separating from him and getting into a fighting stance, she then taunted him. Unable to help himself, he chuckled while getting into a fighting stance himself as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and eyed his pokémon. "Ready?" he asked and Lopunny nodded. "Alright then. Begin!" The two shot forward and began their practice fight.

Later on in the day, after the sun had set and the night sky had taken over, the people inside the penthouse suite of the Indigo Hotel were feeling very tired. Having slept late the night before for several reasons and then waking up earlier than they liked in the morning, they wanted to just to sleep. But they were forcing themselves to stay up at least until Ash returned. They wanted to know what he decided about Natasha if he did come to a decision and if he was ready for tomorrow.

One of them was in a smaller group with her closest friends. Cynthia had returned earlier and was wondering what was taking him so long. The Sinnoh Champion was speaking with the Saffron gym leader, the caretaker of the valley and the Blackthorn gym leader. Three of them were trying to get the fourth to spill the beans on what her Elites have planned for tomorrow. "Look, I already told you, I can't tell you because then that'll ruin the surprise," she said with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Ah come on! You know we won't tell Ash so tell us!" demanded Liza but Cynthia shook her head.

"Let it go Liza," suggested Clair after the green haired girl let out a whine.

"Ugh! Fine!" snapped Liza while crossing her arms over her chest. She then thought of something and looked at the psychic. "Say, Sabrina…"

"I'm not reading her mind," cut across the Saffron gym leader, making Liza huff. "Ash was right. You are as moody as a Charizard," stated Sabrina, making both Cynthia and Clair howl with laughter while Liza had her jaw drop.

Lizabeth, Shauna and Giselle turned to face the four. "What's so funny?" asked the black haired girl.

"Don't worry about it!" snapped Liza heatedly.

Lizabeth rolled her eyes as Shauna gave a glare. But Giselle knew how the caretaker of the valley could be, so she just shrugged it off. "Okaayyy…So, Cynthia, are your Elites ready for tomorrow?" she asked the champion.

Cynthia nodded and had a prideful smile appear on her face. "Yes they are. Ash better be ready."

A hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere that grasped the blonde girl's shoulder before a voice was heard. "They better be Cynthia."

Cynthia jumped in her spot from his sudden appearance and so did everyone else. "ASH! Don't do that! That's the second time you startled me!" she chastised him, panting while trying to calm down.

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, didn't mean to."

Catching her breath, she then shook her head. "It's alright. I'm just glad you're back."

Ash gave a small smile before he looked around the room. That was when he noticed that though they looked tired, everyone was still awake and had their attention on him. "I guess you were waiting for me huh?" he asked them.

"We were," said Brock as he stood up from his seat. "We wanted to know if and what you decided to do about Natasha and tomorrow."

"I see." Ash walked towards the middle of the area and everyone gathered around. "Well, I've decided a few things while I was with my pokémon. About tomorrow's matches, I know who I'm going to have battle." Max was about to open his mouth to ask who but Ash silenced him with his hand. "Sorry buddy but you'll find out tomorrow. Don't want to spoil the surprise now do we?" he asked rhetorically with a smile and Max let out a sigh. Bonnie patted his back while telling him to stop being such a downer while a few chuckled. "About Natasha…" started Ash, catching their attention. He took in a breath before continuing on. "After a lot of thinking and considering the facts, if and when she wakes back up, I'm going to give her a chance to atone for what she's done."

Most of the group stayed quiet while some voiced their agreement. They too thought that she deserved a chance to change. Some others however, just weren't sure if that was the right call. "Do you really think that she deserves a chance?" asked Chili.

"What about all the things you said she's done?" asked Cress in addition.

Ash nodded before he elaborated his reasoning. "If anyone does, it's her. I think what she's been through at the hands of the Skull Brothers is punishment enough. Also, the fact that she wanted to come clean and was about to until Clemont got involved shows that she wanted to tell the truth herself. That show's that she's changing or is trying to at least. That's what I think." Several commented that he made sense and he nodded. "But that doesn't mean that she'll just be allowed to do as she wishes. If and when she wakes up, she'll be carefully watched to see if she tries any funny business until we know for sure if we can trust her or not," finished Ash.

Unable to find anything wrong with what was said, nobody argued on his decision anymore regarding the red head. "Alright Ash. We trust you and your judgment," revealed Violet.

Ash rubbed the back of his head again in embarrassment. "Thank you for that. I just hope this is the right call."

"Hey, even if it doesn't work out the way we want it to, we won't hold it against you since you gave us your reasons why," stated Lily seriously.

Looking at her and then everyone else, he saw that they were on the same page as him. "Thank you for that." He felt a little better, glad that they understood him and were not holding it against him for what he had decided.

"Anything else you need to say sweetie?" asked Delia.

Ash glanced at his mom before facing everyone else. Though there was something else he needed to say, he couldn't say it now in front of the whole group. Not until he spoke with a particular group of girls first. "No. I don't have anything else to say right now," he informed them.

"Alright then. If that's the case, you should go rest for tomorrow," replied Delia and Ash didn't argue. Saying his goodnight to everyone, he turned to head towards his room but not before he sent a mental message to his girlfriends. The group dissolved as they headed towards their own rooms to sleep since they were so tired.

When Ash entered his room, he walked into the attached bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up. He looked into the mirror as he readied himself for what he had to do. It's now or never. I have to tell them. He exited the bathroom and saw his girlfriends sitting on the bed waiting for him. Not surprised to seeing them there since he asked for them to come, his heart still began beating faster and he was doing his best to stay calm. "Thanks for coming. There's something I need to tell you all," he said as he moved towards them.

"Okay. Well, we're here so what's up?" asked Leaf.

Ash walked towards them until he was standing in front of his nine girlfriends at the foot of the king sized bed. He took in a deep breath before he spoke. "What I need to tell you is something that I've been thinking and feeling about for the past few days. It also regards what's happened recently. And that all made me come to a few decisions about a few things," he told them, making the girls glance at one another before facing their beloved again. The way that they were looking at him was making him feel many different emotions. He never wanted to hurt them in any way and feared how they would take it. But he promised them that he would never play games and would always be honest with them. And that was one promise, among several, that he could never break. "What I'm trying to say is this…I've been feeling something strongly…for other girls besides you. Six others to be exact," he revealed to them finally. He braced himself for their reactions.

He was expecting them to yell at him, to get up and hit him, to throw things at him, threaten him and other things. But what he didn't expect was for them to not even make a sound. Instead, the girls didn't react at all and even stayed still in their spots. Becoming filled with fear, Ash had absolutely no idea what to do. He wanted to say something, anything really, to get rid of the eerie silence of the room. But he couldn't. Fear of what the girls were going through inside had rooted him to his spot, unable to do or say anything.

After what seemed like an eternity to him, signs of life were seen. Getting off the bed, his girlfriends slowly made their way to him with their eyes locked onto him. Ash had a feeling of foreboding fill him and wondered if tonight would be his last walking the earth. His mind was telling him to run for it, to escape while he still had a chance. But his heart was telling him to stay and to take whatever they dish out like a man. When the girls finally reached Ash, they stood next to one another in a half circle in front of him. Wondering what they were going to do was driving him insane but he kept quiet. He knew that he had to be patient.

And his patience paid off when one of the girls began speaking. "Why do you have feelings for them? Who are the six that you speak of and have you told them this yet?" asked a strangely calm Serena.

That too calm tone of voice coming from her frightened him and made Ash immediately answer her. "I haven't told them anything yet. The six who I've also developed feelings for are Clair, Liza, Shauna, Lizabeth, Giselle and…" He locked his sight with the red haired mermaid before he finished. "…Daisy Waterflower." None of the girls visibly reacted to his words and that scared him even more but he kept going. "And the why behind having feelings for them is because…" He began explaining the reasons why behind it; from their interactions, their behavior, their personality, what he heard them mentally say accidently, what they did for him and them during his eight match, what he thought of them during his travels around the world and everything else. As he explained everything, the girls patiently listened to him. When he finally finished, he couldn't bear looking any of them in the face anymore because of his shame for developing feelings for them too and so he hung his head as he took in a breath. "I'm so sorry for having these feelings for them like I do for you. But I had to tell you because I can never keep secrets from you. If you want to rage at me, hit me or even leave, I understand."

It was quiet for a while as each girl thought about what he revealed to them. Though they knew that the girls had feelings for their beloved, and also had suspicions that Ash may have feelings for them too, they wanted him to realize things first. They wanted to see if he would take the initiative and tell them about it or if they had to. And they already had decided amongst themselves how they would react if this situation ever came to be. After some time, eight out of the nine girls faced the ninth and nodded at her. Knowing what she was supposed to do, Cynthia moved forward and stopped in front of Ash. "Hey," she said calmly. Ash raised his gaze to face the champion and she continued. "What did I tell you before?" she asked him and he tilted his head. "I told you before that you are the Champion of my heart didn't I?" As he slowly nodded his head, Ash kept his eyes locked onto hers. "So do you think you telling me this is going to push me away and make me leave? Push any of us away? Do you think we're going to not help you with this?" she asked him kindly with a small smile on her face.

Ash had a dumbfounded expression form on his face. He wasn't expecting this at all. He moved his eyes onto the rest and found they were sporting the same looks as Cynthia. "Wait…what?"

Letting out a small chuckle, Cynthia turned towards her sisters. "Looks like we need some help too in making him understand. What do you think?" Without a word said back, the other eight girls headed out of the room. Ash was absolutely confused over what was happening. He was about to ask what was going on when Cynthia placed a finger on his mouth, signaling him to stay quiet. "Just wait here," she told him before she too left.

Ash waited in his room, taking a seat on the bed with his heart beating madly and his body shaking from anxiety. He was lost in a flurry of thoughts, wondering why his girlfriends were so calm about this and what in the world was going to happen. Sometime later, the door opened as his girlfriends came back. But they weren't alone. Coming inside with them were the six girls. Having been told by the nine that Ash was revealing his feelings, they knew what this was about. Yet they too were feeling nervous with their hearts beating a little faster. Ash stood up from the bed but couldn't move or say anything. Seeing them now made his heart thump loudly. Not knowing what to expect, he felt that he would rather face Regigigas again while he's on a rampage than this. But he forced himself to stay focused and to pay attention to what was occurring. But he had no clue what to do and so asked a question. "Um, what's going on?"

May stepped forward and looked in his brown eyes with her sapphire blue ones. "We want you to tell them what you just told us."

Ash had his heart skip a beat before it started beating even faster. He couldn't believe what she was saying. "May?" His Passionate Princess however said nothing, keeping quiet. Moving his gaze onto his girlfriends, they all were sporting the same look. Having no other choice, he moved his gaze towards the six. He swallowed the salvia that had collected in his mouth first though. "I told my girlfriends just now that I had developed feelings for other girls because of what happened between us…" Each of the six had their hearts skip a beat over his words and began filling up with hope. "…and those girls are you; Shauna, Lizabeth, Giselle, Clair, Liza and Daisy." As he said each of their names, he moved his gaze onto them. Seeing him say those words directly to them made each of the six have their hearts beat faster and fill up with such happy emotions that they couldn't explain it. They gave big smiles at him that made him fully realize that his suspicions of them having feelings for him as well were true. But that wasn't good because how could he say the rest now? You must make hard choices and this is one of them. You know this is the right call, he told himself to force him to say the rest. "But I'm sorry because I must also say that I will not and cannot pursue it, even if you want it." Each of the newer girls felt horrible over what he just said, with their expressions turning sullen. It was as if somebody had just punched them in the stomach since they suddenly felt like they couldn't breathe. The nine were also surprised, not expecting that to come from him at all. But before any of them could say anything, he went on. "I'm so sorry to you all but there are many reasons behind that and among them is that I will not betray my girlfriends and there is no way I would be able to take care of all of you properly." Understanding him a little, the girls had concern show on their faces. He couldn't bear looking at them and so hung his head again and stared at the floor. "I'm so sorry for my feelings. For being unable to control them and for telling you this but I had to tell you the truth," he said, apologizing to them all.

The six girls were filling up with sadness because of what he was saying. They wanted to tell him that it could work out if they gave it a shot. But before any of them could say something, one of the nine spoke up. "Ash," started Misty in a fierce tone, making him look up at her. She walked up to him while talking. "Don't ever be sorry for how you feel since I will never feel sorry for loving you," the mermaid finished saying, having stopped in between Cynthia and May.

Ash was about to open his mouth when the mischievous blunette moved forward. "Don't even think for a second that you're betraying me or the others because you're not," said Dawn with an unusual stern tone of voice and she took up a spot next to May.

"You are a gentleman, a pure hearted person and the love of our lives. No matter what, we will always love you. Understand?" said Serena softly yet with force behind it as she maneuvered to the area besides Cynthia.

Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing them say. This may not have been the first time they had a talk like this but he thought it would be crazy now if it wasn't before. He just didn't get it and didn't know why things were becoming like this. But that wasn't important right now because he had something far more important to tell them. He had to tell them what was on his mind that gave him great worry otherwise he would never forgive himself if he didn't. "I understand what you're saying. I really do. But…" he looked at the five in front of him before looking at the four behind them and then at the six girls on the side. "In all honesty, I don't know what to do. Though I have great feelings for each of you, I don't know if that's enough. How can I take care of all of you? How can I make sure each of you is happy? Safe? Content? Satisfied? Feel that you're loved? Respected? I don't know how to do all that where it will be fair," he told them truthfully from his heart.

Now knowing the reasoning behind his words, the girls understood him and his worries. "Hey, we'll think of something," answered Leaf, moving closer to him.

"We always do," added Anabel, stepping forward.

"Don't you remember what we told you before?" asked Sarah as she followed after the two.

"We will never leave you no matter what," finished Sabrina for them all as she joined her sisters in standing near him.

Ash felt the stirring feeling inside of him suddenly from their words and the looks he was given. But he fought his emotions to stay logical. He had to tell them what he thought about all day. "Maybe we're able to make it work somehow with just us ten right now. But even so, I still think and worry that I'm not doing a good enough job and that I don't deserve any of you. How could I after everything that's happened? All the crap we went through? And how will it be if somehow you all agree to this?" he asked them. He didn't let them answer and faced the six girls. "And I don't want you to be with me, in the group, just to say you're mine, just because I have feelings for you. And I don't want you to do that if that's not what you want or not comfortable with it. I don't want you to give up a chance in finding the right guy just because you're with me, waiting for your turn or time or whatever," he finished telling them. He hated himself for sounding so pathetic by saying all of his doubts and fears out loud but he had to make them understand what he was saying.

He was about to say more to explain his reasons but then one of the blunettes cut him off. "Hey…" Ash moved his sight onto Lizabeth who closed the distance between the two and stood beside his girlfriends. "We understand how you're feeling and what you're saying. I won't say that you're not saying some valid points. But you should know that each of us have strong feelings for you too. And do you want to know what you're missing?" she asked softly. He stayed quiet, not knowing what she was trying to say.

Instead of Lizabeth saying more, her friend took over. "You're forgetting that we can make our own decisions," said Shauna, stepping forward and Ash looked at her. "We've been thinking about you and this for a long time and this is what we want."

The valedictorian gained some courage from her friends' words and followed their example. "I've never stopped thinking about you Ash," admitted Giselle, coming closer to him and he faced her. "Ever since you opened my eyes when I was a conceited brat at the Pokémon Academy, I changed for the better and my heart belonged to you."

Ash was about to say something when the caretaker of the valley chimed in. "You say how can you take care of us all?" asked Liza, moving to him as well with his sight turned to her. "You forget that we can take care of ourselves. Like we did when we faced those three retards during your eighth match."

Ash remembered how he saw them all come to his aid when he was unconscious and they took them out while working together. He felt the stirring feeling grow even stronger inside of him and it was becoming much harder to control but he was able to for now. He wanted to say something to make them not be so rash about this but before he could, the Blackthorn gym leader decided to say her two cents worth. "You say you don't want us to give up a chance to find the right guy?" repeated Clair, moving to them now and Ash locked his eyes on her. "Well, I'm happy to say that I've already found my prince charming. We all have. He's caring, handsome, unique, chivalrous and everything else that's good. And that person is you Ash."

Ash was having his resolve waver and his control was fading. Why wouldn't they just let him speak and listen to him? "But I'm…" he started.

But Daisy interrupted him, preventing him from saying anymore. "Please listen to me Ash," requested Daisy and he went quiet, unable to say a word back. "All the things you just said…" she started as he turned to her direction since she was the last to move to him. "…prove that you are the right guy for each of us. You want the best for each of us. You don't want us to be with you just because and you don't want us to miss out on other chances or to feel like we're left out. But I have to tell you this that will hopefully open your eyes." She organized her thoughts, took in a breath and looked him in the eyes. "I've been through too many dates to even count and every single one of those guys tried to just use me, to get me into bed. I've never felt anything for any one of them. But you…you're completely different. Ever since you gave me the Squirtle doll as a gift…" She raised her hands and placed them against her chest as she remembered that and smiled a little. "…it made me realize the type of man you are. You care more for another's happiness than your own. You can have dozens of girls in the palm of your hands, use them, string them along, but you don't. You want true feelings, true love. To have it mean something more. This is one reason among many to why each of us want you, need you, have feelings for you and you alone. And if it was any other guy in the world, it wouldn't work out. But with you, it will because we feel and believe that it was always supposed to be this way. And you are a pure hearted gentleman, which is the type of man each of us has wanted to be with. We know that you will do all you can for us and that's all we truly want from the man of our dreams. And you should know that we will do the same for you Ash," finished Daisy. She and the rest of the girls in the room were all smiling over what she said because she pretty much hit the nail on the head about how they truly felt.

When Daisy finished up, Ash was trying to process everything that he just heard. Is this truly happening? Are they all really okay with this? He slowly turned his gaze, looking at each girl who was smiling at him. The feeling inside of him was right at the breaking point. Ash was feeling very conflicted over what he wanted to do and what he should do. I want to be with them all for the rest of my life. But it's not fair and I'll be putting them in danger. You must make them see reason! "What you told me means a lot to me. It really does," he began, making the girls feel happier. "But this won't work…" The girls became startled over his words but he wasn't finished. "…because after Natasha's confession, it opened my eyes to how naïve, oblivious and ignorant I've been. I've made many mistakes, both big and small. I'm like a magnet that attracts trouble everywhere I go and because of me, you've all been in harm's way. I don't realize things sometimes. I overlook things. I act rashly and impulsively. I don't think about the possible consequences to my actions." He let out a sigh and the girls felt themselves filling up with despair over his words, their smiles and happiness long gone. "I cannot do that to any of you anymore. I'm just no good for any of you. I'm not worthy enough for any of you and don't deserve such incredible girls to be with me. I realize that now. You're all better off without me," he admitted to them, making the girls feel great sadness.

But it wasn't just sadness that they were feeling. Anger was also filling them up. And one of them couldn't hold it in anymore. Moving swiftly forward, she didn't hesitate in delivering the hardest slap she had ever sent. The sound of the strike shot through the room like a crack from a whip. Ash's head turned from the force and he stumbled back a couple steps without a sound made from him. He slowly straightened out and faced his attacker with an astonished expression along with a red hand print on the right side of his face. "Don't you dare…" started Misty, fuming over his words. She was so angry that she was shaking and her eyes were filling up with water from her rage. "…don't you dare say that you're not worthy, that you're not good enough or that you don't deserve our love! My love!" she yelled at him with her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "You are the only who is everything that we want and need! The one who did so much for us! No one else can compare! You are the love of our lives! Of my life! So how do you think it makes us feel when you talk like this about yourself?! Why don't you think about us for once before you sprout this crap huh?!" she yelled at him.

"Mist, I…" Ash was at a loss of words over what just happened. His heart rate had shot through the roof and he was trembling so much that the girls noticed. But it did not calm them. He took in a staggering breath and tried to say something. "I am…I am thinking about you. I just…I just want the best…for each of you," he replied back quietly.

Misty shook her head violently as angry tears dropped to the floor but was unable to move from her a spot. The brunette from Pallet Town then moved, unable to control herself anymore either. Within a second she was in between the two and hit his chest with the side of her fists while shouting at him through her crying. "And that's why you are worthy Ash! Why can't you see that?! You just need to stop doing this! You keep thinking that you're not good enough when you are! You mean everything to us! To me!" yelled Leaf as she continued hitting him against his chest and he kept letting her. After a final strike and leaving her fists against his chest, she raised her gaze to his before she sobbed out a few more words. "Isn't that enough?" she asked him.

Ash looked into her teary green eyes for a moment before raising his hands. He cupped one side of her face with his right hand and wiped away her tears from her cheek. With his left, he wrapped it around her waist and made her come closer to him. Leaf tilted her head against his hand and leaned into his one arm hug, enjoying it greatly. He held that position for a moment before letting go and lowering his hands, making her miss his touch. "Now was that enough?" he asked the brunette sadly.

Her breath caught in her throat. Slowly, Leaf shook her head as more tears escaped from her eyes. "No, it wasn't," she admitted in a whisper but everyone heard her.

"I thought so," replied Ash, before taking a step back. "Now, imagine if that moment was cut into a much smaller time. How would you feel then? Would you still wait? Would you still love me then?" he asked her. Leaf didn't say anything. He moved his gaze back to Misty's. "What about you Mist?" The red head said nothing but kept her watery cerulean blue eyes on his. Though her hands were no longer clenched into fists. Ash turned to look at the rest of the girls. "What about you?" he asked them. None of the girls said a word. "Do you see now?" he asked them quietly as his eyes began to water. He slowly turned around to not face any of them anymore. He hung his head and started shaking in his spot. They could hear him trying to keep his breath steady. "What we were doing before between just me and you four…Misty, May, Dawn and Serena…was like a fantasy dream yet it worked somehow. And then, more joined in little by little until there was nine; Leaf, Anabel, Sarah, Sabrina and Cynthia. That was a stretch and it seemed crazy but yet again, we somehow made it work. And now, I'm telling you that I had developed feelings for six more girls…Clair, Liza, Daisy, Lizabeth, Shauna and Giselle…and it's clear to all of us that they also have feelings for me too." Every single one of the girls in the room with him was filling up with a whirlwind of emotions that was causing them to let out silent tears. They were slowly beginning to understand what their beloved was trying to say. Ash was not done yet though and kept going with his speech. "Normally, something like this would never happen. It's rare for someone to be with several others like Bruno and his three girlfriends. But we've passed that and gone into something far above. It's already borderline crazy but with them too, it'll be almost impossible to keep everyone on the same page. For everyone to stay happy, content, safe, feel loved and everything else." He couldn't help it anymore and allowed tears to fall from his eyes now as well since his emotions were so on edge. "And what would your families think? Your friends think? You're lives will become even more complicated and people will talk behind your backs about this. And I know that each of you want to get married one day and have kids one day. How could that work between us all?" None of the girls were able to say a word back since they didn't know how to respond to what he was saying. "I can't do that to you, no matter what. I can't stop my feelings for any of you. But it won't be fair for any of you and I cannot be the cause for any sort of pain or suffering that you might go through because of that. I have no idea on how to make it work out and have us all live happily ever after. Especially with what's coming in the future. I have to be the one leading the charge against Ragnarok and the darkness and there's no way in hell that I'm going to risk any of you for any reason. And that's going to limit my time even more with you all." The girls took in staggered breaths over his words and their hearts hammered strongly. He slowly turned around and faced them with a crestfallen look that was marred by many tear streaks. "Do you get it now?" he asked them with a heavy tone of voice. "I've come to realize this after Natasha's confession that made me open my eyes and think. I've thought about this throughout last night and all day today. Almost all of you were in harm's way because of me or went through some crap because of me. No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, in the end it'll never be enough. Because even though I love each of you with all my heart, want the best for you and will do anything for you all, I cannot ask or let you do this to yourselves anymore. That's why…that's why I'm not worthy for any of you. I don't deserve any of your love." He turned around again, unable to look at them anymore because if he had, then he wouldn't be able to finish what he was trying to say. What he had to say so they can be safe and…dare he think it…possibly find happiness with someone else. "So please just…just..." But he couldn't finish for some reason. After everything he said, he just couldn't say that one final word; 'go'. He hung his head and just shivered from his crying.

Having listened to him quietly and allowing the words to wash over them, it was then that the girls finally understood what he was trying to say. That he was doing this because he loved them so much, cared for them so much, wanted the absolute best for them and for their lives to be filled with happiness. He didn't want them to suffer or feel any negative feeling because of this, not even for a second. That he didn't want them to wait for him just for a turn, to feel anything other than love, happiness and all the other good feelings. That he believed it would be better for them if they stayed away from him since he didn't want them to get hurt because of him for any reason. And it was because of those words, these actions that he was taking for them, that their love for him not only didn't waver, but somehow intensified greatly even more while making any doubt or fear, if they had any at all before, to completely vanish.

With their hearts guiding them, each girl moved quickly towards him. Before he knew it, the raven haired guardian was wrapped up into a large group hug by the fifteen girls. Somehow, in some way, each of the girls was able to grab a hold of him. Absolutely astonished over their actions, he didn't know what was going on with them or what they were trying to do. "Wha-What are you d-doing?!" he asked them in surprise.

"Just shut up Ash. Please for the love of Mew, just shut up," requested Misty with a kind yet fierce tone, silencing him at once. "Whether you're done or not, it's our turn to talk now. You must know that we can never find somebody as wonderful as you. So even if my time with you is split up, I will gladly wait for my time with you over and over. For you are the one who showed me how to become stronger, to believe that I can become a water pokémon master and view the world with wonder."

As soon as the Mystic Mermaid finished speaking, the Princess of Hoenn continued on. "We get it. We understand what you're saying and what you're feeling," remarked May softly. "But you need to understand this; our feelings for you will never die. You helped me find my calling in life to be a coordinator and just that alone is worth more to me than anything and everything else that anyone could possibly offer."

"And we appreciate the fact that you're placing all of us above your own needs and happiness," stated his Lucky Star. "But don't you see that we'll do that for you as well? Because you are the one who encouraged me to never give up on my dream of being a top coordinator," remined Dawn.

"The fact that you don't want us to feel any bad things is admirable," started his Divine Angel. "But you have to realize that the only bad thing is if we're not with you. I've thought about you for years ever since you helped me out when we were kids," finished Serena.

After Serena's words, it became quiet in the room once more. Astounded over their words, Ash was momentarily frozen in the middle of the embrace. His heart was beating rapidly and his mind was racing. The stirring feeling inside of him was becoming stronger by the second. His emotions getting the better of him, he opened his mouth. "Could…could this really work? Do I…Do I really mean that much to you?" he asked them in barely a whisper.

"That's something that you don't even have to ask. But yes Ash," replied his Frontier Beauty Anabel as she and all the girls tightened their hold on him. "It will and we do. We will do anything for you. Because you are the one who made me not feel alone anymore."

"But the one thing we can never do is leave you or forget about you," admitted his Psychic Wonder Sabrina. "For you are the one who saved me from a horrible future as a monster."

"Not once did you ever treat us inferiorly like objects," stated Cynthia. "You treated me like another person the first time we met and never stopped doing that instead of something for you to have like everyone else."

"Because you are what kept us going through everything," explained his Faithful Fighter Sarah. "For you inspired me to never give up and to keep marching forward through all the crap in life."

"And you never stopped helping us whenever we needed it," said his Exotic Flower Leaf. "You were always there for me no matter what."

Leaf's words brought an end to those statements and the only things that were coming out from them were the sounds of their emotional breathing. The stirring feeling inside of Ash had become so great that it felt like something was trying to break free from inside of him. But he still had doubt in his mind. "But what about…everything else that I…that I mentioned?" he asked them in the same low tone of voice as before.

"Ash," started the blunette Lizabeth, speaking into the embrace. "It is true that the world is a cruel place and we've all experienced it in some shape and form. But you helped us to see the good in life. It was because of witnessing you sacrificing yourself for May, Manaphy and everyone else that allowed me to realize that there are good people in the world with pure hearts and that gave me hope for the future."

"She's right," agreed the fighter Shauna immediately afterwards. "But not only that, you helped us see that we don't have to lie or boast about things in order to achieve our goals. You helped me get back onto the right path and that is something that I could never forget."

"People will always talk and look down on others because of pride, ego, their abilities or whatever else. But you taught us to not be like that and to not let others who are like that affect us," said the gym leader Clair in a serious tone. "You taught me that when you humbled me after you challenged and beat me for the Rising Badge and then helped me get over what I went through in the past."

"Many give up when the going gets tough," started the caretaker Liza as she began speaking. "But you showed us that when life tries to put you down, that's when you should stand tall and face it head on. I learned that when we first crossed paths years ago, when you beat me at my own drinking game and how I found out that it was your Charizard who completed the gauntlet."

"There will always be people who treat others badly because they don't like them or because they made a mistake or that they believe them to be wrong," spoke up the valedictorian Giselle. "You however don't do that to anybody and showed how everyone should be respected. You taught me that and helped me open my eyes to how horrible I was in the past and that made me change."

"Everyone in the world goes through something. And sooner or later, they eventually come to terms with it, find the reason why or become crushed by it. That's how it normally works," commented the eldest Sensational Sister, wanting to say what she just realized after the other girls' words. "But not with us. We weren't able to break through or get back on track until we crossed paths with you. Until you were able to help us 'see' what we were looking for, we were lost. Nothing else matters. Not what our families or friends would say. Not what others would say. Not what trouble or hardships we may face or come across. Not the bad stuff that we experienced or the darkness that is coming. Nothing matters but this. Because what we have is something special and unique. Every single one of us was helped by you, connected with you, felt that feeling that we've wanted to feel with you and know that you will do anything and everything for us. And that is why we want you, need you, cannot be without you, will do the same for you and love you with all our hearts," finished Daisy and none of the girls said another word because once again she had said what they were all feeling.

Ash felt such emotion fill him that he never felt before. It was then that the raven haired guardian finally, absolutely and completely understood. Each girl truly cared for him, truly had feelings for him. Each of them was willing to sacrifice something for him. Each of them understood him, respected him and wanted him to be happy as well. They would never leave him no matter what. That they would wait for him until the end of time. None of them had any doubt that this can and will work. That they would do anything for him and always be there for him. His feeling of unworthiness that had returned after Natasha's confession didn't just fade; it was completely wiped clean. Just like when he won the tournament, he felt worthy of everything. Worthy of them and their love. But there was something different this time. For the first time in his life, ever since his father had left him, he not only felt worthy, but he also believed it. And having that belief in himself finally after so many years, it caused the stirring feeling inside of him to become so powerful that it caused something to break inside of him…

Ash's eyes glowed blue suddenly, catching the attention of the girls hugging him. Before they could ask him what was wrong, his body was outline in a blue glow before his aura began to move out from him. Like a wave traveling, his aura washed over the girls around him and it caused them to glow as well. The girls felt such warmth, such comfort, such emotion fill them that they were lost in it, loving every second of it. For his aura was allowing them to feel his feelings for them as it connected his heart with theirs. Their sadness, anger and any other bad emotion that they were feeling was fully gone. The aura around them all began to glow so brightly that it would've blinded someone if they were to walk in then. A short time later, the glow dimmed down until they were visible again once more. The aura around them all faded away until the girls and their beloved remained with glowing blue outlines around them. But then that faded away too but it left behind something peculiar. A glowing blue circle was visible on each of the girls' abdomen on the left side with a glowing blue circle on the guardian's chest on his left. Those glows too faded away and they were all left with confusion on their faces.

"What just happened?" wondered Anabel out loud.

"That's what I'd like to know too," chimed in Sarah, looking at everyone to see if anyone went through a change.

"Ash? What was that?" asked Sabrina after facing him.

He wondered about what just happened until he shook his head, trying to clear it. "I have no idea. But for some reason I feel so much better now." The girls commented that they too feel better as well. He touched his chest on the left side, looking down at it as he did so. He didn't feel anything wrong and there was no pain. But he did feel completely content and the area where the glow was felt very warm. He pulled his shirt a bit from the neckline and his eyes widened when he looked down. "What the hell…" Taking off his shirt suddenly, it made the girls go crimson red at once at the sight of his chiseled body. However, they all gasped after noticing something else. Right below his diagonal chest scar, covering his entire left pectoral, was a blue circle. There were also seven dark blue lightning bolts in the middle of it. Inside the blue circle and on top of the dark blue lightning bolts, was each girl's name written with pure white lettering and spaced out evenly within the circle. "What is this?" asked a confused Ash. He glanced at the girls who were just as stunned as him.

"You're asking us?" asked Giselle and Ash gave her a 'c'mon' look. She chuckled and so did a few others too.

"Well, I don't know either, but I've never felt as good as I do now," stated Leaf with several of the girls voicing the same.

"But why did we glow as well? Did we get something too?" asked Dawn, raising her top a bit to look at the area it glowed. "HOLY CRAP!" They looked at her to see almost the same tattoo as Ash; a blue circle with seven dark blue lightning bolts. The only difference was that only her beloved's name was written in pure white lettering in the middle of it. The rest of the girls quickly checked their own bodies and each of them found the same thing on their bodies on the left side as well. Their jaws dropped and looked at one another's mark before looking at Ash who was rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, I'm as clueless about this as you are," admitted Ash.

"When aren't you clueless?" quipped Leaf, making them chuckle a bit.

"Haha very funny," replied Ash sarcastically. "Maybe Lucario knows what this is all about." He summoned the aura canine's poke ball.

The next second Lucario appeared. He glanced at his master and friend, immediately noticing the aura tattoo on him. His eyes widened and stepped closer to look at it. He turned to the girls. "Did you get one as well?" he asked them and they nodded, each of them showing their aura tattoo as well to the pokémon. He was a little surprised at first to see the other girls besides his Master's mates involved in this with aura tattoos too. But then remembered what his Master had revealed earlier that day to him and Mewtwo back at the island. Looks like he's finally overcome some of his inner conflicts. This is great news. Lucario was silent for a moment before he took a few steps away from them. He turned to look at the guardian and his girlfriends again and had a happy expression form on his face. "Master, this is no cause for alarm. In fact, I should say this is a cause for congratulations and celebrations." Ash titled his head and so did the girls.

Ash and the girls had confused expressions on their faces. "What do you mean?" asked the raven haired guardian.

Lucario began explaining in detail what they meant. "Only an Aura Guardian from the ancient bloodlines can have that aura tattoo appear on them. And even then, only a handful ever experience this for it will only appear on an Aura Guardian when they have no more doubts inside, truly understands their feelings, their emotions and believes in themselves fully. The seven lightning bolts represent the seven major beliefs of a true Aura Guardian; Love, Will, Loyalty, Faith, Confidence, Respect and Compassion."

Ash and the girls glanced at their tattoos again as they thought about what the aura canine just said. "But why did we get them? We're not Aura Guardians," asked Serena.

"I'm getting there," replied Lucario and the honey blonde haired girl nodded. "Those aura symbols, or tattoos if you will, will only appear on you as well if you and the guardian are truly meant for one another. They represent that you have those same seven beliefs that are so important to an Aura Guardian, that there is a connection between you two, you have no doubts about it either and that your love for one another is true and pure. For an Aura Guardian's mates, only the Guardian's name will appear on yours. But on the Aura Guardian, every single true mate's name will appear on theirs," elaborated the pokémon and they all had understanding dawn on them. Ash and the girls looked at one another and smiled happily until Lucario continued explaining and they faced the pokémon. "But it also means much more. For you Master, it means that your power will no longer be restricted because of your previous insecurities. As a result, you'll continue to grow even stronger now," explained Lucario to Ash who nodded before the pokémon turned to the girls. "For all of you, besides showing that you and Master are together, that mark will also benefit you in many ways. It will allow you to communicate together mentally with no issues, across any distance. Both to him and to each of your sisters. Not only that, but your own physical limits have been raised slightly because of Master's aura being connected with you fully now."

"A tattoo with benefits huh?" asked Lizabeth with a small smile, though her heart was beating rapidly since she was scared of what her mother would think of the tattoo. Looking at her own tattoo she then touched it. It glowed at her touch, making her name on Ash's chest glow as well. "Whoa."

Something then happened to Ash; he didn't sense Lizabeth's fear but felt it and knew it was coming from her. "Why are you sacred Lizabeth?" asked Ash in concern immediately after.

The girls looked at her and the blunette had her eyes widen as she gasped. "How'd you know I was feeling scared?!" she asked him.

Ash just shrugged and Lucario chuckled over that, making them all face him again. "That's another benefit of the tattoo. That will happen whenever your emotions are high and you touch the symbol. Doing that will cause both yours and Master's to glow and it will allow him to know what you are feeling. It is a way for Master to know if you need aid when he is away. It will act as a beacon, drawing him to you," explained the blue and black pokémon and the girls understand. He then faced Ash once more. "It works with you as well Master. If you want to check on them, when you touch your tattoo, it will make each of theirs glow as well and they will feel what you're feeling. And if any of them are in trouble, their name will glow red and you will know who needs help."

"So many perks," remarked Leaf with grin. She looked at her childhood friend. "Ashy…when did you become more useful than a Poketch?" she teased him.

He couldn't help but laugh and shake his head and so did the rest. "Okay, that one was funny." He looked at the girls in the room. "I hope you're not mad about the tattoo," he said while rubbing the back of his head.

"Mad? Are you kidding?" asked Sarah with a grin. "I've always wanted one that meant something. And this did just that, it looks badass and it actually does something for you and me! How can I complain?" she asked rhetorically. The girls all voiced the same thing.

"Cool," said Ash with a grin before he looked at Lucario. "Thank you buddy for taking the time to explain things to us."

"It is my pleasure Master," replied Lucario with a bow. "If that is all, I wish to return home to be with my mate."

Ash nodded. "No problem buddy. Tell Gardevoir we say hello." Lucario promised to do so and Ash returned him. Facing the girls now, he then formed his trademark goofy smile that made the girls smile back at him. He was taken up into a group hug with Misty, May, Dawn, Serena and Leaf who each shared a passionate kiss with him. After they separated, Cynthia, Liza, Clair, Sabrina and Daisy walked up and did the same with him, hugging and kissing him too. When those five finished, the last five, Giselle, Lizabeth, Shauna, Sarah and Anabel took their turn to do that as well. After that last group had their turn with their beloved, Ash and his girlfriends couldn't help but smile at one another. "I want to say that I'm sorry for what I said before," apologized Ash from his heart.

Cynthia however waved her hand. "Hey, don't worry about it. It's no good to bottle things up inside. Besides, if we hadn't gone through that, then this wouldn't have happened," she replied back and her sisters said the same thing in their own words.

Ash nodded with a smile on his face and he felt such happiness and love for them. "Thank you. But before we call it a night, I just want to say…wait…better yet, let me show you." He touched his tattoo on his chest. Instantly both his and the girls had their tattoos glow blue and they could feel what he was feeling right then. It made them smile happily, feel incredible and that made them react to it. Once again, Ash was taken up into a large group hug by his loves and they just stood like that for a while as they thought about how everything turned so much better than they even dared to dream.

Far away from that wonderful event going on in the Indigo Plateau penthouse suite master bedroom, Arceus was in the middle of an argument with his three sons, the reality dragons. After taking care of their duties to keep the world spinning, the reality dragons had gathered there recently to discuss with their father what they were going to do when the second attack started and why he lied to the guardian. Arceus had told them that they would not get involved at all, no matter what happened for it was Ash and Mewtwo's ultimate test and the prophecy must come true. The dragons didn't agree fully and countered back with their reasons why. Midway through, Arceus sensed something. "Wait!" Going silent immediately, the dragons wondered what happened because of what their father's expression changed into after a moment; it went from annoyance to happiness. "You want to know why we won't help and why I did what I did?" he asked them and they nodded. "This is why," he replied back and opened up a viewing portal in front of them all.

It showed Ash in a hug with many girls but what caused the dragons to become wide eyed was what they noticed on him and the girls; the aura tattoo. "No way! He's ascended?!" asked a shocked Palkia who was unable to believe it.

"Then that means he's getting closer to making the prophecy come true," remarked Dialga with an impressed tone of voice.

Arceus nodded with a happy look on his face. "Exactly. As I said, the prophecy coming true is the only thing what will save the world. And that is why I had to intervene twice now to make sure it does."

Giratina however shook his head. "I still don't believe that was the right call. Lying to him so blatantly! He's done everything you asked and done so much for the world in the past. And this is how you treat him?! The last true Aura Guardian…your warrior of light and you manipulate him like a puppet. I don't want to be a part of this and I will help him during the attack!" declared the anti matter pokémon angrily.

Arceus's red eyes glowed as he too began to become angry. "You don't understand the magnitude of the horror that Ragnarok will unleash upon the world!" roared out the Alpha pokémon, his voice booming like thunder as his power radiated out from within him. Dialga and Palkia took a few steps back but Giratina stood his ground. "It took an incredible amount of power to just seal Ragnarok away in the beginning! To defeat him once and for all will demand even more power! And this is the only way!"

Giratina growled at his father, not caring anymore. Both Palkia and Dialga grew worried over what was happening but couldn't move from their spots. "So that's what you're going to do then? Our father, who was the one to shape the universe and everything in it, is a big coward and has to use petty schemes to manipulate his last remaining Knight to defeat an enemy that he himself should be facing," insulted the dragon.

Arceus snapped over that and launched a Dragon Pulse at Giratina. It came so quickly that there was no time for any kind of reaction. It struck the anti matter pokémon squarely on the chest and sent him sailing through the air before he crashed against the wall of the hall. He slid down the wall and landed against the floor in a heap. He was gravely hurt and barely conscious from that single attack. Though they were deities in their own right, both Palkia and Dialga shook in their spots from what they just witnessed. It was such a long time since they saw their father strike someone with his power that they forgot that he was on an entirely other level than them. They didn't even move or make a sound as Arceus made his way towards his defeated son. "That was only a fraction of my power," stated Arceus when he reached Giratina on the floor, whose eyes widened as did the other two's. "Ragnarok is the same way. I told you before that his power rivals my own." His eyes glowed again and Giratina was outlined in a white glow for a moment before it went away with him fully restored. Giratina slowly stood back up and locked his gaze with Arceus. "Only by becoming one with Aura can the Guardian stand a chance against Ragnarok and his darkness. And he has come one step closer to making that a reality."

Having been beaten so effortlessly by his father, Giratina had his rage die down now. Yet he was still not happy with what was going on and wanted to know why. "But even so…even if he does, he still won't have power rivaling either of you. How will that help?" asked Giratina in a calmer tone of voice.

Arceus moved away from Giratina and went towards his throne, passing Dialga and Palkia. "When the prophecy comes true, not only will the Guardian reach his full potential, he will become even more than just a guardian. Though he may not reach the same level as myself, it will be sufficient enough to combat Ragnarok." Arceus thought for a moment and wondered if he should let them know more but then decided against it. "That is why I must make sure the prophecy comes true. No matter what. Even if it requires sacrifices to be made," he said as he reached his throne. He turned around and faced his sons. "I don't do this because I want to be cruel or that I don't care. I do it because it must be done. There is no other choice if what is present now to survive in the future."

Seeing the seriousness on his face, Palkia and Dialga bowed their heads in agreement. Giratina looked into Arceus's eyes for a bit. "I…understand," he said before he too bowed his head.