Final month, Kanto Region
After the evacuation of Kanto, many thought the place to be deserted of humans not yet infected. That was far from true. A ton of people weren't able to make it and as such were forced to fight and run for their lives. One such unlucky soul is Violet Jones, the young trainer from the Unova region who thought it best to start her journey in Kanto

Violet ducked down as a hyper beam almost hit her had she not noticed the rampaging infected Pokemon 'Why did I have to survive?! I should have died with everyone else!' the girl thought as she saw a pair of pitch-black eyes in front of her, causing Violet to scream and kick the table between them

Not allowing herself to freeze, Violet ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Green eyes darting back and forth as she looked for any other infected. Suddenly she tripped as the girl held her head and soon felt something grab her shoe. Violet screamed as she tried to make the infected release her by kicking, but nothing worked

Thinking this would be the end for her, the girl closed her eyes and hoped it would be death and not become an infected... however she suddenly felt herself get released since she landed on the ground and opening her eyes saw a teenager with a red poncho standing before her on top of the infected now lying dead underneath his feet

"You were giving up. Accepting that was it for you" were the first words out of his mouth to her as Violet felt herself become embarrassed at him seeing her give up like that "I don't blame you. I'm guessing you don't have any Pokemon with you otherwise you would have used one to help. Still, I don't think whoever sacrificed to save you would have wanted you to throw your life away like that. Don't let the sacrifice they made... die in vain"

Violet was quiet at his words, her eyes widened as she remembered how her partner had literally risked his own life just so she could live... the girl felt tears well up in her eyes at this as she realized how selfish she had almost been "You're right... that wasn't fair on me or my partner who sacrificed himself. I had other Pokemon... but they also had to risk themselves to save me. If only I had gotten onto one of the rescue ships or stayed in Unova, I might still have my team"

"Nothing would've prevented this from reaching Unova. It's spread everywhere. Regions such as Galar and Kalos, two of which require a plane ride from here to there have been infected. Trust me, no where would have been safe. Either way, we would all face this apocalypse" he told her as Violet stared at him for a moment before her eyes widened at who he was

"Y-you're Ash Ketchum! The semi-finalist of Kalos and champion of Alola!" Violet exclaimed in shock. She'd heard of him, who hadn't! To meet him in person though... now the Unova trainer wished Ash hadn't seen her acting this way... how embarrassing! "Hey! Where are you going?!"

Ash turned back to the girl, a sigh escaping "Y-you can't j-just leave m-me here a-alone! You're the first non-infected human I've seen so far" Violet shakingly says as Ash looks at her. He knows she won't last on her own much longer, can see she'd accept death if another infected comes her way

But he also can't go through the process of losing another person under his leadership. He's been doing fine on his own, not counting his Pokemon, as he traveled back to Kanto. Ash still doesn't know what brought him back home, there was nothing here after all. Only destruction and a region full of infected

"You have any sort of weapon to defend yourself against the infected?" Ash asked as Violet nodded rapidly, taking out a small army knife she'd taken with her from home "Alright new question, can you use the knife to defend yourself" at this Violet took longer to respond

Ash sighed. This girl was going to get herself killed if he doesn't step up. The universe really loved messing with him as he was sure to regret this "Stay close, don't engage unless you think you can take them on and follow my lead. I won't have your death on my conscious if I can prevent it"

Violet sighed in relief at having convinced him to allow her to join him. She wonders if he can maybe teach her to use her army knife against the infected. She'd like to be useful to him and not be a burden he has to worry over each time they encounter an infected

The duo was walking through the forest as Violet clung to Ash's arm. Any noise they encountered made the girl jump with Ash wondering how the heck she'd survived this entire time. She must either be the luckiest girl or she's had a guardian angel looking out for her

Suddenly a branch snapping was heard as Ash felt the familiar sense of infected nearby. He slowly peeled off Violet's grip from his arm as he placed himself in front of her. Reaching into his pocket, Ash took out a switchblade he'd gotten after helping out a few trainers in Sinnoh as a thanks and had been using it instead of his powers for the time being. Since May's death, Ash had been hesitant to use his aura for anything other than sensing his surroundings, in fear he might not be able to save others like May... so for now, he'd shut himself off from his aura and would only truly use it if the situation called for it

The two turned to see the infected surrounding them as Violet took out her own weapon and held it with trembling hands. She was so not ready to face infected after almost become one herself before Ash had intervened. Speaking of Ash, she ducked as she swiped her arm with her knife as it was able to cut the infected throat enough to kill it. The dead body fell as blood flew onto her clothing, Violet would have screamed at the sight of what she'd done, had she not remembered where she was. Instead she decided it best to look away and turned her attention at Ash, his skills and fighting style making her look on in awe

Although she hated the idea of killing, infected or not, she knew in order to survive she'd need to let go of her beliefs and become a warrior instead. Not the path she wanted for herself, but times have changed and if everyone else had done so, she didn't plan on being left behind. If she survives this, no when she survives this, Violet plans on asking Ash to train her in knife usage

Before Violet could react at the infected jumping towards her, before Ash could even warn her of the incoming danger, another figure dropped down and with a swing of their sword, the infected was decapitated. Both Ash and Violet look at the new figure, the former being cautious even though he knows whoever they are, aren't infected. Violet on the other hand was curious on who this could be. How was it this was the second person today she's met that isn't infected while before she thought she had been the only one left in the region

The figure slowly stood up, sword in hand as he looked at the duo behind him "Never leave your guard down. You never know what might be lurking in the shadows" they say, the mask on their face masking both their appearance and voice from them

Ash, without warning threw his switchblade, the new figure not even dodging as the knife barely scratched them. Both look behind to see an infected being impaled in the forehead by the weapon "Like you said, never know what's lurking in the shadows" Ash returned his words, making his way to the infected and removing his weapon

"Not bad. Didn't expect to see humans still here. Kanto was said to be deserted after the infected took over. So, imagine my surprise when I heard fighting"

"Who are you and why are you here?"

"What he meant to say was thank you for the save back there and we'd like to know the name of the person who helped us out and also why'd they'd be here of all regions" Violet translated what she hoped Ash meant to say as the raven-haired teen rolled his eyes at her words. The other teenager on the other hand chuckled at this as they slowly revealed themselves to be a male after taking off their hood and mask

"I don't think he meant everything you said. But to answer your question, my name is Azrael, but you might know me as the Grim Reaper instead. As for why I am here, well I don't know you well enough to share my reasons" he said with one looking at him in recognition and the other in confusion

Ash had heard about him. When he was heading towards Kanto, before leaving Sinnoh, there was talk about a teenager going on a rampage and killing all the infected when the breakout happened. Everyone thought that to be a legend, the Grim Reaper they started calling him. Now seems the legend might not actually be considered that anymore. The freaking Grim Reaper was standing right in front of him!

"Grim Reaper? What's that suppose to be your game username? Never heard of you" Violet said with an eyeroll. Boys and their silly made up names or titles. Maybe she should make her own up at this point "Anyway that's Ash Ketchum and my name's Violet, you might have heard of me by my other name; the fearless wonder!"

"More like suicide girl" Ash mumbled as Azrael chuckled at the duo before him. It was nice to interact with people again... made him remember the good old days before the dark times, before the infected came into their lives and ruined it for everyone

"Hey Azrael, you coming?" asked Violet as he looked back up to see Ash had started walking on ahead and Violet was looking curiously at him "We're a team now aren't we? Team's gotta stick together. Even if mister grumpy over there doesn't agree"

"I'm not grumpy!" Ash called out as Violet giggled at having gotten a reaction from him and Azrael weighed the pros and cons of joining up with a group. He'd been a loner for so long, he wasn't sure if he deserved to be part of a group

Azrael never thought he'd see another human again. Since that day in Sinnoh, he's trained like crazy, killing any infected that crossed his path without mercy. This is how he gained the nickname Grim Reaper, he leaves a massacre of infected behind him. However, what brought him to Kanto... he wasn't sure. It was almost as if he were being called to come here. Whatever the reason, he felt as if these two before him were the reason for his coming here

"Yeah, I'm coming. Someone's gotta make sure you stay alive and no offense kid, but you can barely fight as it is and Ash over there can't be doing all the heavy lifting"

Ash sighed, looking up at the sky. Maybe being part of a group again will help him move past what happened. He did save Violet from almost killing herself and he hates to admit it... but he's missed having others with him which don't include his Pokemon

So the meeting of the team that was introduced in the first interlude has started. Remember I added that Ash had saved two of them, well here's the first one he saved from death. Both Violet and Azrael were added first because I had reasons for them to be in Kanto at the time. The others will be harder, but you'll be seeing a few others in the next chapter. Till the next update!