About a couple of weeks had passed since Ash's rematch with Cress. Iris officially left the group, to continue her journey, and the group promised to cheer her on in the Unova League.

Early one morning, Ash was startled awake, yet again. His movement stirred May awake. She sleepily rubbed her eyes, "Ash? Are you still having that silly dream again?"

He shook his head, "No, actually… I… er… I felt something. Some kind of… pulse. Like, I could feel it in my head."

She mused, "Could be a Psychic Type? Maybe a Psychic Type was attempting to telepathically communicate with someone and accidentally locked onto you?"

He shook his head again, "No, actually it felt different from Telepathy or any other Psychic move. We'll wait for the others to wake up and get their thoughts."

A while later, Ash filled in the others on the weird pulse that he felt. However, no one else could offer up a decent theory. Misty replied, "Maybe it was just a coincidence. If it happens again, maybe we can talk to Professor Cerise and see if it's worth investigating."

In the lab, the Professor didn't have any work for Ash, but he did send Goh and Horace to catch some more Pokémon. Serena, Lillie and Clemont were off to Kalos for a research mission. In the end, only Ash, May and James were left in the lab with nothing to do. So, Ash decided to go do some training with his Pokémon, while May joined him to practice her Coordinating.

At some point, Pikachu was facing off against Quilava. He started off with Quick Attack, and Quilava dodged. The Pokémon then fired back with a Flame Wheel, that connected with Pikachu. The mouse was sent flying, but spring boarded back with an Iron Tail and nailed his opponent on the head. Ash was really getting into the battle, when suddenly he felt the pulse again.

Not a moment later, he heard Professor Cerise calling out to him. He yelled, "Hey Ash! Can I interrupt your training for a minute?"

Ash promptly halted the battle, healed his Pokémon and met with the Professor. Cerise directed him to the holographic display in the main lab, "So Ren has just picked up an unusual blip somewhere. If I'm not mistaken, the location isn't far from here. Ren, do you think you can triangulate the location?"

The blonde man grinned, "You got it, Professor!"

He typed away at his keyboard at then exclaimed, "Got it! It's somewhere in northern Kanto. In Rota, to be specific!"

Upon hearing that, Ash and May exchanged glances, and said in unison, "Aura! Should've known!"

Cerise stroked his chin and nodded, "That's a sound theory. Why don't you three check it out?"

Ash rushed back and gathered his Pokémon. Aside from Pikachu, he also took Quilava, the Blaze Tauros, a regular Tauros Absol and Palpitoad. When he met up with May and James, the former quipped with a smirk, "I wonder if Queen Ilene still remembers us."

After a few days of travelling, Ash, Pikachu, James and May found themselves in the beautiful kingdom of Rota. It wasn't as crowded as last time, as there was no festival happening. They wandered through the kingdom, and then Ash felt the Aura pulse again. This time it was much stronger. The closer they got to the palace, the stronger it was. Along the way, they happened to bump into Jenny, Queen Ilene's head maid. The old woman recognised them immediately. With a smile on her face, she exclaimed, "Well I never! If it isn't Ash and May! Welcome back to Rota! What brings you and your new friend here?"

Ash explained, "Ms Jenny, A few days ago, I felt an odd pulse. It happened again, later the same day, and then I recognised it as Aura. My friends and I traced the source of the pulse to here."

She started a little bit, as a thought struck her, "Ahh yes. I think I know what you are referring to. Follow me, you three. Stay close, because it is easy to get lost in these streets."

The trio followed her to the imposing palace, but it was surprisingly unguarded. Ash glanced backwards with confusion etched on his face, "Miss Jenny, I just noticed something. Where are the guards?"

The old woman just waved him off, "Nothing to worry about, dearies. However, if you do wish to know, Lady Ilene may have the answers. I am aware of the situation, but it is above my station. Now come, Lady Ilene is waiting."

Eventually, they entered the throne room, where Queen Ilene was sitting on her throne. It had probably been a few years since he last saw her, but the Queen was definitely looking a little older. Her eyes lit up at the sight of Ash and she stood up gracefully, "Ash Ketchum! It is an honour to see you again!"

Ash stepped forward and knelt, "Queen Ilene, my friends and I came here because I sensed something calling to me. Through my Aura."

The woman nodded slowly, "I know what it is. Walk with me, please?"

Ash, James and May walked alongside the queen, and she spoke, "This conversation never really cropped up with Sir Aaron's Lucario, not even until his untimely passing. However, for centuries, my ancestors have been raising his descendants. Now, I am the latest monarch to perform this duty. I believe the egg that I am raising, has sensed your Aura. Since it is similar to Sir Aaron's, I suspect that it reached out to you."

Eventually, she led them to a small dungeon that was set up to look like a Pokémon laboratory. Inside was a Nurse Joy, who was carefully monitoring a Pokémon Egg. Ash slowly walked up to the contraption holding the egg and pressed his nose against it, "Lady Ilene, do you really think I can keep the egg?"

She nodded firmly, "Indeed, young Ash. Ever since you arrived here and helped save my kingdom, I have been following your exploits in the various Pokémon Leagues. I am confident that you will be worthy of raising this young Riolu when it is eventually born."

Suddenly, it began to move a little and a glow pulsed a few times. Nurse Joy busied herself and opened the contraption, allowing everyone to see it. The pulsing grew more frequent, and then the glow grew brighter. Everyone covered their eyes to avoid being blinded. When it died down, they looked at the spot, to see a young Riolu sitting down on the cushion that the egg used to stand on.

Its eyes were closed, and it slowly opened up. At the same time, Queen Ilene backed away and did the same for May and James. She murmured, "Give them some space. It'll allow the Riolu to imprint on Ash properly."

The Riolu gazed at Ash and blinked a few times. Then it stood up a little unsteadily, and Ash had to resist the urge to reach his hands out and steady it. He softly spoke, "Hey there, little guy! I'm Ash Ketchum, and I would love to be your friend."

Ash slowly backed up a little and slowly held out his hand. The Riolu looked at his hand quizzically, before hesitantly taking it. The boy then slowly took out a Pokeball, "What do you say? Do you accept me as your trainer and your new friend?"

The Pokémon nodded vigorously, "Rio!"

On the side, Jenny observed, "That's surprising. Most trainers who received their Riolus in the past, have been very excitable. Their loud voices sometimes spooked a couple of the baby Pokémon."

May just murmured back, "Ash has had experience raising Pokémon from an egg. This Riolu will be his fourth or fifth Pokémon that has hatched from an egg. If I remember correctly, his Donphan and Scraggy evolved from an egg. He also was tasked with delivering a Larvitar egg to Mount Silver, and along the way, it hatched and he cared for it. He and another friend of ours, Misty, also cared for a Togepi egg. So this isn't his first rodeo."

Back with Ash, the new-born Riolu then tapped the button on the Pokeball and got sucked in, confirming the capture. Ash waited for a few seconds and then fist-pumped, "Yes! I just caught a Riolu!"

A jubilant May pounced on him and kissed him on the cheek, "Congratulations, Ash!"

James also grinned, "Good job!"

Ilene smiled, "Thank you very much, Ash. I am certain that you and Riolu will go far, together. If you all wish to leave, allow me to escort you back to the gates."

As they walked, Ash once again noticed the lack of guards. He asked, "Queen Ilene, if it is not too forward of me to ask, what's with the relaxed security."

The regal lady sighed as she walked, "I'm afraid the political situation in the world has gotten complicated. The kingdom of Rota is one of very few monarchies left in this world. Many of us have been aware of the change in governance in all of the regions. Now, some of the rulers from different regions, including myself, have chosen to slowly dissolve the monarchy and establish a more democratic ruling, with elected officials. As for myself, I shall be retiring to enjoy a more sedentary life. I've already given most of the guards their leave of notice and they are free to pursue any other occupation, if they wish to."

Ash wondered, "What's going to happen to the castle?"

She replied, "Most likely, it will be converted into a museum. It would be a shame to just leave it empty. Though, not to fret, I will occasionally return to the castle to continue to honour Sir Aaron's heroism every year. I hope we meet again someday. Take care of Riolu for me."

Ash nodded firmly, "I will, Queen Ilene."

As the trio exited the castle, they didn't speak much. Then James broke the silence, "Well… I did not see that coming."

When they neared the Pokémon Centre, a middle-aged man walked up to them. He spoke in a genial voice, "Hello there! Are you Ash Ketchum?"

Ash nodded, "I am. May I help you with anything?"

The man sighed, "I'm in a bit of a tight spot. My daughter's turning six next week and I wanted to get a Pokémon for her birthday. Preferably one that isn't scary-looking, so Ghost-Types, Dark-Types and Poison-Types are out of question. I made the mistake of doing a Blind Trade with another Trainer. I traded a Raticate and got a Houndoom instead."

James winced, "Yeesh! Houndoom can be a little scary, especially for a six-year-old."

The man nodded, "Exactly! Then, I saw that you put up a Tauros for trade. I think Tauros would be a great gift, because she can have fun riding on them."

Ash grinned, "Sure, Let's do it!"

They entered the Pokémon Centre and went straight for the transfer machine. Ash initiated the trade and successfully received the Houndoom's Pokeball. After the man left, Ash let the Houndoom out of the Pokeball. The canine Pokémon's horns were curved backwards, so it was clearly an alpha Pokémon. Surprisingly, it wasn't very bad-tempered, but it did start gambolling about very vigorously.

Ash returned Houndoom back to its Pokeball before they made the journey back home. As they walked, James slapped his back good-naturedly, "Well! I say this was a productive day! You got two Pokémon to add to your arsenal!"

Back home in Vermillion City, everyone was excited to see the Riolu and Houndoom. Goh finally managed to catch a Butterfree, and added a Cubone to his collection. Additionally, Scorbunny also learned Ember and later evolved into Raboot. Meanwhile, Horace bagged himself a Spearow and Rattata