Archive of Our Own

Work Text

Prologue
It was a dark night of a new moon. Clouds covered the starry sky and the land below it in a blanket of darkness. There was a certain tension in the air. It felt as though something dark and heavy was in the vicinity.There was frantic movement in the forest outside of Pallet town near route 1 causing the slumbering Pokémon to wake and when they saw the cause they all ran and hid as a figure was seen speeding though the forest in high speed trying to get away from the shadowy pursuers that chased it relentlessly.The figure was hidden by the darkness of the night but one could notice the bundle, if it could be called such, in its arms and the fact that both it and the bundle were floating, gliding though the air with levitation. The figure was fast, so fast that it already left its chasers behind but it knew that they would find its location if it stops after all they only have to follow the blood trails from the wounds it possessed. It knew it wouldn't live long because it could feel its body aching with so much pain and it's slowly getting hard to keep its speed but it would not rest, it would not rest until the bundle in its arms is safe.The figure eventually reached town but it knew that even here it would not be safe so with the remaining strength it possessed it sent a massive psychic wave to search for a place that would accept the bundle and keep it safe. Then it sensed a mind and soul that was pure and strong and knew that here was the only place the bundle would be safe but it had to do it discretely to avoid its pursuers from knowing the bundle's location.With one last look at bundle in its arms, the figure cried softly as it rubbed its cheeks against the cheeks of the big infant in it. The bundle was unaware of the fact that it would lose its remaining parent and the said parent was crying at the loss of being unable to raise its child. The figure raised its head using its psychic powers sent the bundle in front of a house. Using its power it picked up rocks and tossed it at the door three times before it left in the opposite direction of the house to lure its chasers.It took one last look at the house that the bundle was laid in front of and it used its very life force, as it already exhausted its reserves, to place a powerful illusion on the bundle. The figure smiled when it saw that its pursuers and their master approached it at the edge of town. The figure closed its eyes knowing its baby was safe and when its chasers had finally arrived and shown light with his/her flashlight it saw a red and white dragon Pokémon that had jet like wings lying peacefully unmoving with a smile on the ground.Delia Ketchum is a world renowned breeder and was once powerful trainer. She won many competitions and leagues before she finally retired and opened a breeding facility next to her house in her hometown of Pallet.That night she was finishing her work inside her office in the breeding facility when she heard something impact the door to her main house. She frowned because she knew that almost everyone was asleep in this hour except those who worked until this late at night like her or those on night shifts.She got up, brought out a pokeball and released the Pokémon inside which was a Mr. Mime to accompany her. She was cautious as this was not the first time some thugs like team Rocket attacked her home for the Pokémon she bred. She went out of her office and into the main part the building and went to the door on the opposite side of her office.You see, Delia wanted her workplace to be close to her home so she had the breeding facility built right next to her house. The house and building are connected through a door just across her office through the main room on the first floor. It was connected to her living room. She passed the door and into the living room where she went directly to a small hall that led directly to her front door.She looked through the small eyepiece on the door and frowned to see that there was nobody there. Just as she was about to return to her office she heard a sound, a baby's cry. She opened the door and found on her porch was a baby in a bundle of cloth. She picked the infant up and looked around to see if there was anyone there or at least a clue to whom the baby belonged to but there was nothing there. She searched the bundle to see if there was a letter or something but nothing was there until she heard the baby laugh at her searching for clues. She looked at the infant. It, no, he was such a small cute thing with some kind of zigzag marks under his eyes, messy black hair and reddish maroon eyes staring at her."What beautiful eyes." She murmured as she looked into those reddish eyes that seemed to fit with the infant and made him seem mysterious and Delia knew he would be quite the handsome young man when he grows up. The infant then smiles at her and makes some cooing noises that made Delia giggle at how cute he was."What am I going to do with you?" Delia said, as she thought of what to do with the infant. It would be hard for her to raise him as she had to work to keep the Pokémon that trainers left to her care healthy and strong and she would have no time to watch him but it seemed cruel for her to leave him or give him away and there was also a mysterious force that told her to keep and raise him or she would regret it. She thought about it and came to a decision when she looked back at the infant who looked back at her with those big reddish eyes."Welcome to the family Ash Ketchum." She said as she looked at the baby who merely smiled and laughed at her.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Chapter 1
Ash was 5 years old when he first learned that he was not normal.He was smarter, stronger, and faster than other kids his age and even some older kids. He could somewhat read the intentions of people and could tell when someone is lying. He would sometimes hear the thoughts of the people around him. And the most important thing is that he could understand Pokémon, not the charades the Pokémon do to tell their trainers something but he could understand PokeSpeech. But it wasn’t just that that alerted Ash that he was not normal.When Ash wanted something to come to him it always resulted in the object floating with a faint blue outline towards him and Ash saw that no other kid was able to do it because they all move towards the objects to pick it up while he just wills them to him. Heck he even levitated at one point.Now Ash wanted to tell people what he could do but there was always something stopping him and he didn't know what it was but Ash trusted the feeling so Ash kept it to himself while he played with his best friend Gary Oak.Gary Oak is the grandson of the famous Professor Samuel Oak. They first met when they were 3, when his mother Delia, who in Ash's opinion is the best mother in the world, visited the professor for some documentary on some rare Pokémon she bred.At first Ash didn't know how to approach the other boy but it turns out he didn't have to cause Gary came to him and asked him to play. Since then they were always seen together playing.Right now we see Ash and Gary playing tag with some other children in the Oak corral. It was a field trip by the trainer school Ash and Gary attended and every year they always bring the students for an up-close encounter to Pokémon at the Professor’s lab where it was deemed safe.It was break time and the kids were allowed to play in the corral while the parents, who were there as chaperons, were at the side watching them and exchanging gossip with each other.As usual Ash was the winner since he can't be caught and always caught other children easily with his speed."It's not fair Ash always wins no matter what," A boy said as he looked at Ash who just tilted his head to the side a bit."But what else can we do? It's not like we could ask him to slow down," The girl next to the boy said as she sat on the grassy field of the corral for a short rest."Then let's just play hide and seek," The one who suggested that was Gary who after losing to Ash so many times could relate to what they were feeling because playing most games with Ash always ends up with them losing. He looked at Ash to see if he minded the change of games."Sure I don't mind," Ash replied as he turned around looking for good hiding places.The other children agreed cause not only do they get to hide but they also didn't need to catch Ash just find him so with that the kids agreed to play and a random boy was given the role of seeker since he was last one who was it in the last game of tag.The parents watched as the kids went to find hiding places but before they could get far the teacher in charge of the trip called out to them."Kids I know you're all excited but remember to stay within the fence," The teacher said which was quickly replied with the kids all saying sounds of affirmation to the teacher who just shook her head as she saw that the children weren't taking her warning seriously.Now that the game started Ash quickly went to a woody area , just a good distance away from the field, with trees as high as a one story building. He quickly climbed the tree and hid in the leaves while also looking at the field where the other children are hiding from his perch. He saw Gary behind the rock near the pond that was south of the field and a few other kids hiding behind some things or in some bushes in the field.Ash watched patiently as the seeker finally counted ten and started searching and immediately found a poorly hidden kid who thought hiding behind the same tree the seeker used in counting was a good idea. Ash saw as the seeker slowly started to find the others until it was only him and Gary left.The seeker had just found Gary and Ash was about to go to a more obvious place to hide so he would be easily found find cause he knew the kid was irritated with him always winning but then Ash heard a sound from deeper into the woods.At first Ash wanted to ignore the sound but he heard it again and this time much louder. It sounded like a pained cry of a Pokémon cause he knew how a human sounded like and that was definitely not human so Ash immediately dropped from the tree but floated slowly to the ground and when his feet was firmly on the soil he ran to where he thinks was the source.As Ash ran he failed to notice when he passed the fence and was just thinking that it was a low branch and ducked under it. Ash normally would have called his mother or an adult but right now he felt that feeling that stopped him from telling people his powers to go to the source of the sound or he would regret it.Ash ran faster when he noticed that the sounds were now louder and he entered a clearing where he saw a brown fox with a bushy brown tail and a furry cream collar, an Eevee, on the ground covered in wounds surrounded by a group of 3 Raticate.When Ash entered the entered the clearing all 3 Raticate looked from the Eevee to Ash and all took positions to surround the 5 year old probably judging him as more of a threat than an injured Eevee. Ash heard the Raticate talk about territory and food which made Ash draw a theory that maybe the Eevee was hungry and entered Raticate territory unknowingly to get food.The Raticate closed in on Ash. When Ash saw the feral appearance the Raticate had, felt scared that he started shaking and stepped back a bit. That was when Ash saw the Eevee who had looked like it had give up hope of surviving the ordeal and with its wounds it would be true if it was not given help soon.Ash remembered before when a trainer's Pokemon died because of wounds got from trying to protect its trainer from Team Rocket. His mother tried everything she could to help the Pokemon but it was no use. The trainer cried so hard that day that Ash felt sad with him. Since that day Ash promised to himself to save any Pokemon in trouble and to catch all those who abuse and injure Pokemon.When Ash saw the beaten and bloody form of Eevee he got mad. So mad that he stopped shaking and stood his ground against the Raticate who seemed to have gotten second thoughts when the child looked at them with narrowed reddish maroon eyes."Why did you hurt him that much? He couldn't have done much against to the three of you so why didn't you just let him go?" Ash said with so much emotion that it seemed he almost yelled it in his rage but he knew that if he makes big noises he could attract more trouble so he kept control of his voice though the emotion was still carried out fine as one of the Raticate seem to cower under his gaze."He entered our territory without our permission and dared to steal our food we have the right to do what we want with him," The Raticate in the middle that seemed to be the leader said though he felt stupid soon after since he believed humans can't understand PokeSpeech so imagine his surprise when Ash replied to his answer."That doesn't excuse the beating he got. Sure you might rough him up but look at what you did, do you think he really deserves this just because he was hungry and didn't know that this place is your territory!? "Ash said with a glare at the middle Raticate who, like another one of its kind, seemed to cower under the glare Ash sent his way and the fact that Ash eyes were now glowing bright blue was not helping. the other two Raticate next to leader looked back at the Pokemon they attacked and had to wince at the condition the Eevee was in and they thought that they might have overdone it.The Raticate, after seeing the boys eyes glow, seemed to get his bearings back and said. "You're just a human you have no right to judge what a Pokemon does."Now that made Ash mad cause this Pokemon seemed to only care for itself and no one else and the fact that it said that made him think that this Pokémon might be a danger to others if left alone. Ash knew that like humans there are also bad Pokemon and it seemed he met one cause this Raticate through Ash's sensors seemed dark and corrupted though there seemed to light but its covered up unlike the other two who Ash sensed were maybe a bit prideful and has anger issues but were at least void of the dark and corrupted feeling he got from the leader Raticate.Ash had always been able to see if a person is good or bad. He could always sense something when near people or Pokemon like when he is near his mother he could feel a soft, fluffy, warm, and pure feeling that always seemed to calm him down or Gary who felt like bright, hot, a little spiky and like his mother pure. Ash later learned that those feelings reflect the personality of a person like warm is loving and spiky is prideful but pure is pure which meant not tainted by bad stuff like greed or hate.Ash then knew that he had to catch this Raticate but he also knew he didn't have a pokeball or anything to help him carry the mouse and he also had to get the Eevee help as fast as he could. While Ash was busy thinking what to do, the Raticate got impatient when Ash didn't respond and thought that the boy was ignoring him. The Raticate hissed and closed in on Ash.Ash, who was still trying to think of what to do, heard a hiss and looked up to see the Raticate he had been thinking of jump and the fang of the mouse glowed white signalling a hyper fang attack. Ash noticed that if the attacked continued it would no doubt hit him in the neck and Ash knew that if it did than it would be fatal for him.It seemed liked time slowed down and Ash saw in perfect detail the way the Raticate seemed to soar the distance between them, the way the other two Raticated faces seemed horrified at what was about to happen, the way the Eevee's chest rise and fall while still unconscious. When the leader Raticate’s fangs were so close that he could feel it contact his neck Ash thought about a lot of things like his mother, Gary, the Eevee, memories seemed to flash before him like a movie.Ash seemed to have accepted his Fate though he wished he could have saved the Eevee and stay with his mother longer but at that moment he saw a memory unfamiliar to him. It was bright and the first thing he saw was a red jet like Pokemon. He saw how the Pokemon ran from what seemed to be a poacher with two Weavile. He watched how to Pokemon despite the wounds it had fled to the familiar surroundings of a forest and saw Pallet town from the top of a hill. He saw the Pokemon's eyes glow bright blue and he was floating farther away from the Pokemon. He saw the Pokemon release an incredible amount of energy that went to him and wrapped him in a warm glow.Ash saw all that and at the last part he saw that he was being held by his mother, Delia. That was when Ash felt power well up inside him. He began to glow and a wave of energy was released that sent the leader Raticate flying and the other two were digging their nails in the ground to prevent themselves from being blown away while only the Eevee seemed unaffected by the released.The Raticate watched as the boy began to change shape. The boy's neck became longer and his head narrow with feather like ears, his body become now had jet like wings with his hands becoming claws, he no longer had human feet but ones that looked like fins and was now floating in air. The light eventually faded revealing a blue and white jet like Pokemon with a triangle on his face and chest that was in the color red and was 5 m tall in height.Now they might not know what this Pokémon is but all Pokémon have an innate instinct that tells them about the being in front of them. They knew they were in the presence of a legendary. The two Raticate took one look at the huge legend before they ran like hell was after them leaving the leader who was frozen in place.The Raticate could only stare in fear at the being it tried to attack. It knew that it would pay for the insolence and disrespect it showed to the legend in front of him. The legend then met his eyes and terrified black stared at blank reddish maroon. When the eyes of the legend glow bright blue it knew its end was near so the Raticate closed its eyes and it began to apologize for all the things it did to Arceus, all the memories of him attacking, bullying, stealing from other Pokémon and humans, all the misdeeds it done to other Pokémon and last forgiveness not from Arceus or the legend about to deliver judgement but to the Eevee that it attacked.The Raticate slowly opened its eyes when a few minutes passed and nothing happened. The legend was still there staring at him with eyes that seemed to pierce his soul and see every piece of him but the legends eyes were no longer glowing and was just staring at him."Why have you spared me?"The Raticate asked because it was really certain that it would die for the deeds it had done and the attack it made on the legend."You asked for forgiveness not just to me or The Alpha but the Eevee as well. Because of this I saw that you might be redeemed but know this if I learn of any similar incidents like this happen again with you at fault, well it won't be pretty," The legend said in an even tone in PokeSpeech and the Raticate took that chance to bow and run. It would never forget this day and it would take the legends words to heart cause the saying 'one does not anger a legendary' is there for a reason.Ash watched as the Raticate left with mixed feelings. On one hand Ash still wanted to catch the Raticate and take it to the Professor or his mother, on the other hand it showed it was sincere and that it could change if given a second chance. Well what's done was done now he could focus on the Eevee.Ash went to the Eevee and was about to pick it up when he noticed he no longer had hands instead claws and when he looked down at his body he froze. He saw that his legs were now fin like things and that he looked blue, then he turned around and saw the jet like wings. Thousand of thoughts ran through Ash's mind in a second. Most of the things he thought of were what happened to him? Was that the result of the energy he released? Will he ever turn back to normal? And the last but most important thought was that why did he look like that Pokemon he saw in his memories?Ash was drawn out of his thoughts at the sound of the Eevee groaning and shivering. Ash quickly shoved his problems for later and concentrated on helping the injured Pokémon to recover. Though he thought it would be easier in his old body because he was not used to this one. Once that thought crossed his mind he felt that similar feeling when he changed into this form and was once again covered in a light blue glow.When the glow disappeared Ash saw that he was back in his old human form again. He wanted to know if he could still transform into that blue jet like Pokémon but he put that at the back of his mind as he took the Eevee and placed it in his arms as he ran back to the direction he came from.Gary was starting to get worried.It had been 30 minutes since they started and there was still no sign of Ash. Usually Ash would have already revealed himself since break time was about to be over but there was still no sign of Ash.Gary got even more worried when the teacher called them all for a head count to see if everyone was still there and he knew that he would be the one asked where Ash was because they were always seen together."Is everybody here? Wait, where’s Ash?"The teacher asked and as one all the kids turned to look at Gary like they thought that he knows where Ash is."Don't look at me I don't know where he went to hide,” Gary said as he looked at the faces of the teacher and Ms. Ketchum turn more worried and the rest of the parents began to murmur at the back of the group. It was at that time they someone yelling at the woods of the corral. When they turned they saw Ash running with what seemed to be a Pokémon in his arms.The teacher and Ms. Ketchum quickly intercepted the boy."Ash what are you-" Ms. Ketchum wasn't able to finish as Ash showed her the Pokémon in his arms and Gary heard a gasp from his friends mother.
"I heard a sound from where I was hiding and found this Pokémon there. Mom you got to save him!"Ash said as he looked at the Pokemon in his arms before he gave the brown Pokémon, that Gary recognized as an Eevee, to his mother.Ms. Ketchum's face instantly turned serious and said. "I'll do what I can, right now go with your teacher and continue you field trip OK."
"But-" Whatever Ash was trying to say was cut when his mother gave him a look that said do as she said.
"OK mom," Ash said though his face told Gary otherwise.Ms. Ketchum flashed a smile at Ash before she hurried into the Professor's lab. During that time a lot of parents and their kids turned to look at Ash who just eyed the building his mother disappeared into. The teacher then tried to take everyone's attention back to the trip but Gary wasn’t listening only staring worriedly at Ash as the boy in question was staring at the lab.Gary then wondered how Ash managed to find the Pokémon and what happened to that Pokemon to be in that condition. The more Gary thought about the more curious he got but he decided to ask later because it seemed that Ash was out of it right now probably worried about the Pokémon.When the field trip ended Ash instantly ran to the professor's lab followed by his friend Gary. He knew Gary was curious about some things because Ash picked up his thoughts but right now Ash wanted to make sure the Eevee he found was safe.They reached the lab and went inside to find Prof. Oak and his mom talking with the Eevee on his mother's lap. The adults stopped their conversation to see the two kids enter the room. The Eevee, after seeing Ash, immediately jump of Delia's lap and into Ash's arms. Seeing the two children who looked like they ran a marathon from their panting which they most likely did to get here fast enough and the Eevee who snuggled into Ash's chest had the elderly Oak smile."Hello there Ash, am I right to assume that your here to know about the Eevee you brought in?" The Professor asked a he gestured to the Pokémon in the boys arms which was returned with a nod from the panting raven haired boy who looked at the Eevee in his arms and examining the number of bandages wrapped around it."Eevee will make a full recovery so don't worry," The professor said before Ash could even ask and with that Ash felt the tension ease from his body as he learned the Pokémon was now safe and on its way recovery.The professor saw the look of relief on the boys face and smiled at his care for Pokémon before turning serious."Now Ash I want you to tell me what happened and where did you find that Eevee?" The professor asked causing Ash to fidget a little as he thought about what to say. Ash knew he couldn't tell them the whole truth because one, they won't believe him and would think he is crazy; two, he transforms as proof and get experimented, not that the professor would do that but he would be supervised 24/7. So Ash told them a different version where he just threw rocks at the Raticate and made big noises to scare them away.He was scolded by his mother after he told them the tale and was grounded but it was ok for him because he saved a Pokémon though Gary complained about Ash not bringing him along and was scolded by his grandfather who told him that if he has no Pokémon of his own to protect him then going into wild Pokémon territory was bad."What's going to happen to the Eevee now professor?" Ash asked once the adults had finished their lectures. While the Eevee had somehow gotten on top of Ash's head and slept there when the adults were busy talking."Well it would probably be returned to the wild," The professor said. Though Ash was happy for the Eevee he couldn't help but think that the Eevee should be with him. He doesn't know why but there was something telling Ash that he should have the Eevee."Professor is it possible for me to keep Eevee?" Ash asked the elderly man who blinked but it was not him who answered."Sorry sweetie but you aren't a trainer yet so we can't get you Pokémon," Delia said as she looked apologetically at the boy, who instantly got depressed after hearing the answer. Looking at the boy's face the elderly Oak felt bad but then he remembered a little something the league just started to implement."Well there is a way for you to be able to keep Eevee but it won't be easy," The professor said then he was suddenly looked upon the hopeful face of the boy that quickly turned into a determined one."What do I need to do Professor?" Ash asked as he looked into the professor's eyes as he took the Eevee off his head and settles it into his arms."Hey, no fair if Ash can get to train Pokémon early than I do too," Gary exclaimed when he heard what his grandfather said.The professor smiled at the boys' determination and looked at the Eevee, who was completely at ease in the Ash's hold and Gary, who was looking serious. Gary always was competitive and seeing his friend possibly going ahead of him might've added fire to competitive streak."Well, the regional professors were given the right to have two kids below 10 years old as trainees. Trainees are people who the professors teach personally about Pokémon. Like trainers, trainees can get to raise and train Pokémon though unlike trainers, trainees can only train two Pokémon and also trainees can only challenge and battle other trainees. Another difference is that trainees can't go on a journey on their own like trainers can unless they are accompanied by the professor or their guardian," The professor explained to the two kids who were in the room."If you want to be my trainees then you need to show me you're serious. Let's see... if both of you get the highest grades in your next exam then I would agree to let both of you be my trainees. If not, well there are other students who would benefit from this," The professor finished and like he hope he saw fire in both boys' eyes though now that he saw it he may have been a bit too hasty but he could see the potential both boys possess and he wants to see how they would grow.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Thoughts'"HumanSpeech""PokeSpeech"'telepathy'Chapter 2It was a quiet morning. The sun was rising at the horizon bathing everything in its first golden rays. The sound of an alarm clock rang out in the quiet room before a hand stopped its annoying ringing. The hand came from a 10 year old boy in blue pajama pants and a light blue, button up, short sleeved shirt. The boy was sitting in a lotus position on the bed. This boy was Ash Ketchum.Ash opened his eyes after meditating. He always does it every morning since a certain day. This particular day was a very special day that got him to wake up even before the alarm rang. He decided to spend time in meditation to calm himself from his excitement. This was finally the day that Ash could be a trainer and travel the world after being a trainee for 5 years.Ash could still remember the time when he was a trainee. After Ash heard what the professor said he immersed himself in books about Pokémon and asked his mother about Pokémon care, health, and diet. He also included survival tips his mother told him about and he was glad to do so cause even if he knew how to take care of Pokémon he would have been helpless if he couldn't find the berries and other things in the wild.He remembered training his Eevee which he named King because he had the King genes that the professor taught them about. King genes were a special kind of genes that made 2-3 times stronger than their normal cousins. One way to spot a Pokémon with King Nature was that the Pokémon would be 3 times bigger than normal of their species. That was proven when he saw his Eevee was actually 3 times bigger than normal with him being 0.9 m.Ash's musing of the past was interrupted when a lilac, cat-like Pokémon with a split tail enters his room after opening the door with psychic. Speak of the devil and he will appear. In came a majestic Espeon who walked in even steps. It was 2.7 m in height and the way its fur shined told people how well cared and healthy it was."You're already awake! I was having fun thinking of ways to get you out of bed," King said as he walked up to Ash, who just glared at the mention of the Pokémon's methods for getting Ash out of bed.'I don't want you want you to wake me up. Not now! Not ever!,' Ash replied telepathically as he stared at the cat-like Pokémon in front of him.King merely fluttered his lashes at Ash who just sighed and ignored the Espeon in favor of changing into travelling clothes. King, even when he was still an Eevee, was mischievous and always had a prank prepared. He even got the professor by switching the sugar with salt when the Oak made coffee. Though the professor just laughed at the Pokémon and Ash's apologies, the old man got back at them at training by trashing them in a mock battle.Ash had just finished changing into a blue, zip up, long sleeved hoodie with white lines at the side and around the zipper with pockets at the bottom. It was zipped up only to his mid chest with a black undershirt that hugged his fit body, a pair of blue gray jeans and completing the image was a red hat (Kalos outfit except it's a hoodie). A sound like something hitting glass was heard and he turned to the corner of his room to the second Pokémon that he caught during his trainee period in a large aquarium.The Pokémon was a seahorse-like Pokémon with bluish purple scales and long snout and a two fin-like ridges curving over either side of its head. Its belly is covered with rough, pinkish-colored scales. It had lower pectoral fins that were sharp, pointed, pinkish-colored tips that could exude venom. It also has a large, coiled tail.The Pokémon, a shiny Seadra, seeing that it had its trainer's attention immediately leapt out of the aquarium and floated closer to Ash. Shiny Pokémon like his Seadra were similar to those that have King nature that they were 2-3 times stronger than their brethren but unlike King natured Pokémon, who were worshipped by their species, the shiny Pokémon were outcasts of their species because of their unique and different coloring."Are we finally going to start our journey master?"The Seadra asked looking at Ash with eyes full of reverence.'Yes, we are and how many times have I told you don't call me master Mael,' Ash said looking exasperated that his Pokémon would call him master."I have lost count already master but however you saved my life and gave me a home for that I will serve you forever," Mael said in response which had Ash groaning.Mael or Maelstrom, as Ash named him, was a Pokémon saved by Ash who at that time was 7 years old. Ash could still remember that day. It was also the day King evolved into an Espeon.***FLASHBACK***Mael, who was still a Horsea then, was a loner which was most likely because of his shiny nature. A fluther of Tentacool and Tentacruel were in the area near the beaches of Pallet town because it was mating season. It was in this time of the year that the jellyfish pokemon were very aggressive.Ash, King and his mother were there at the beach documenting and observing the Tentacool line breeding methods when they heard a pained cry and saw a Horsea being attacked by the Tentacool. There were also other Horsea and a few Seadra as well but they ignored it and just swam away. Ash, being who he was, of course swam to save the Horsea and while he succeeded in reaching the Horsea he was surrounded by Tentacool who did not look happy to see him. At that time he heard his mother's yell of terror and his Eevee's cry and he turned to see a Tentacruel behind him who proceeded to wrap and squeeze him.The Pokemon's hold on him suddenly loosened and then released Ash when he was about to pass out. Ash while confused took the chance to take the Horsea and swam back to the shore. It was then he noticed that there was no longer an Eevee at the shore but an Espeon whose eyes glowed bright blue. Ash looked back and saw that the entire fluther of jellyfish Pokémon were covered in the glow and were immobile. It wasn't until he reached the shore that the glowing ceased.***FLASHBACK END***That day Ash got the worst scolding from not just his mother but from King who pounced on him hard into the ground while growling about suicidal idiotic kids. Ash was grounded again and wasn't allowed outside his house but it was ok because he learned that the Horsea wanted to stay with him. Ash of course accepted him into his small group. It wasn't until later Ash found how annoying it was that the Horsea was practically worshipping him like a he god for saving him. It wasn't until later Ash learned about how shiny Pokémon are treated by their brethren and thought that Horsea was probably never shown kindness in his group. Though Ash understood that, it didn't stop him from trying to change the Horsea's view of him and so far no luck.Ash named him Mael after he caught the Horsea in a pokeball. Ash trained with him until he evolved into a Seadra. Though it wasn't until recently they stopped training near the river or any kind of body of water. Seadra normally can't float in land until they turn into a Kingdra but it was said that if you train a Seadra right they would be able to levitate and move around on land though slower than their speed in water.Learning more about his Pokémon was one of the greatest things that Ash experienced in his time as a trainee but the most important lesson was the one where he learned about Pokémon from other regions.***FLASHBACK***It was another day of learning for the two trainees. As trainees the two get personal lessons from the regional professor, which was Professor Oak, and most of the time the lessons were lectures. Ash didn't know about the other professors but he did wish there were more practical lessons.Their lessons with the elderly Oak were mostly about the behaviour, habitat, types, and moves and the effects of said move on the environment and other Pokémon. There were also lessons of the different species of Pokémon found in Kanto. Though learning of the different species was fun and all, the lessons were beginning to get repetitive and that made Ash bored. The only practical lessons were when they tended to the Pokémon in the lab that the professor's sponsored trainers caught and the few mock battles against the professor and the Oak's Dragonite.The practical lessons were what Ash excelled at especially when he could understand any Pokémon. Though he almost got caught one time when the professor asked how he could understand Pokémon that well. He was relieved when King, who was always with Ash in his lessons, suggested telling the professor that King was learning how to do telepathy and because of their close bond only Ash can hear him for now. Ash and King had to really train in telepathy after that to make to believable though.When the professor heard what he said the old Oak was delighted and asked to translate what the Pokémon said and pass it to him so he could use it in his research about the bonds between trainer and Pokémon. The professor also wanted to see if forming a close bond with a psychic type would result in the said psychic learning telepathy and promptly asked his sponsored trainers to try it out.The experiment of bonding with psychic types so that said psychic would be able to use telepathy was a success and Ash gained some credit on the paper the professor published. Ever since then many trainers have been looking for psychic types to help them understand their own Pokémon. Though if they only wanted that, the psychic type won't bond with them since they can hear thoughts of trainers and the thought of just being a translator didn't sit well with the Pokémon. Not to mention that psychic types were notoriously hard to find when they wanted to be. There was still a low amount of trainers with telepathic Pokémon.Though Ash was happy to help the development of the professor's research it led to Gary being quite jealous at him. For a while and they slowly started to drift away from each other as Gary wanted to prove that he was just as good if not better than Ash is. Gary since then was studied harder and was trying to form his own theories; Ash not wanting to be left behind did the same much to the pleasure of the professor that his students were becoming interested in research.Though they tried, they couldn't discover anything new. The professor told them if it was that easy to make a breakthrough than there wouldn't be a need for researchers. Ash knew what the professor said was true but he couldn't help but feel disappointed that he couldn't find anything new and judging by the face Gary made he thought the same.Since then Ash paid attention to the lectures in hopes of finding out more about Pokémon and to see if there was anything he could learn about what he really was as well. Ash knew that since the day he transformed that he was not human but he also knew next to nothing about what he really was. Since he didn't know what could happen he didn't try to transform since the day he saved King. The professor had already covered all native Pokémon and no Pokémon matched what he turned into. He also thought that he might he a Ditto but that was quickly scrapped when because he could only transform into that one Pokémon and he tried but he just couldn't. So his best bet was foreign Pokémon.The professor, at the time, had just finished Johto and most of Hoenn and Ash had almost given up and thought that maybe he was a new species when the professor showed the images of two Pokémon. One was the one he saw in his memories, the red jet like Pokémon, and the other was nearly identical to him in his transformed state."These two are Latios and Latias. The blue one is Latios and the red one is Latias, they are both called eon Pokémon. Latios and Latias are respectively male and female species only. Not much is known about these two Pokémon as they are rarely seen and they are legendary Pokémon but the info we have of them suggests that they're both dragon and psychic types, they're extremely intelligent and can use telepathy to detect locations and the emotions of others, and can understand human speech, and are considered to be one of, if not, the fastest Pokémon," The professor lectured.Ash almost didn't catch the lecture as he was having a hard time comprehending the fact that he was a legendary Pokémon. Legendary Pokémon were Pokémon people and Pokémon alike would consider as gods and he is one of them. He doesn't know what to think. He doesn't feel almighty and godlike. Ash was snapped out of his pondering when Gary asked a question that he did not feel like knowing at the time."Hey gramps how can the two Pokémon breed if they're male or female only?" Gary asked and Ash had to exert effort not to lose composure and on the outside he succeeded but he looked stiff though thankfully the two other occupants did not notice because he was panicking and spluttering on the inside. He of course wanted to know more about his own species but he did not need the lesson and image the professor gave them about his species' known mating habits."Hey, Ash why are you red? Are you-"Gary didn't say the rest but the way he raised his brow and his tone was enough for Ash to get the message and he promptly turned redder when Gary laughed at him.***FLASHBACK END***Ever since that day Ash had thought about what happened in his memories and the info he got from the professor. So far he only got more questions like how did he get here? Who was the one chasing the Latias? Was that Latias his real mom? Why did a legendary like Latias run instead of fight? And many more questions that Ash wanted to be answered.Ash decided to search info of everything concerning the eon Pokémon to see if it would help but sadly, no luck. He took all the info he got from the professor and some books he read and compiled it into his own personal little notebook that he keeps in his pocket. So far all he got was that both eon Pokémon had a very large movepool, they use levitation to move at high speeds through the air, they could breath underwater and survive the underwater pressure, they are normally found in herds though it's still rare to find them, they were extremely intelligent that they could understand human speech.Ash questioned the professor on how could understanding human speech mean intelligence because all Pokémon understand human speech like when a trainer orders an attack. The professor's answer boggled him because the old man said that most Pokémon only understand the feelings or emotion the trainer gives to them from the tone of their words and that the Pokémon had an ancient instinct that a word means an attack they had and the tone and sound from the word gives them the specific attack.Ash was naturally sceptical of the answer and asked King and Mael and to his surprise only King answered and said that yes they could only guess what he was trying to say and that King, himself only begun understand Ash after he evolved into an Espeon cause Psychic types naturally have a powerful mind that could learn human speech and create contact and that was telepathy. Ash, after learning his Pokémon couldn't really understand him when human, made a decision to tell his Pokémon of his situation and the results was one he did not expect though from the way his Pokémon acted he should've expected it from them.***FLASHBACK***He got both of his Pokémon to a seclude area near a river for Mael which was very far from Pallet town before asking King to alert him if he sensed someone getting close or nearing them. Though both Pokemon were obviously curious and a tad bit suspicious as to why they didn't question their trainer and because they just trusted him, after all he saved both of their lives. So imagine the surprise of both Pokémon when Ash revealed his other or should he say true form.King was the first to snap out of it as the observed the figure in front of him. The legendary in front of him was 6m, which was damn big. It began to wonder if it could be seen from Pallet but he quickly dismissed those thoughts in favour of asking one thing."Ash, is that really you?" King asked in which he reserved an eye roll from the massive legend."Of course it's me who else transformed in front of you," Ash replied in pokespeech which was surprisingly easy. Ash noted that he can't use pokespeech in human form and vice versa."Wow, you really are a legendary. I thought I was hallucinating that day," King said and Ash instantly knew which day he was talking about cause there was only time he ever transformed with King in the vicinity. Ash turned to Mael because he hadn't even said a word yet only to find him frozen in place and was staring at his new form with a revering look that Ash dreaded."Mael, are you ok?"Ash asked though he ignored the snort of laughter that came from King."..." Mael failed to respond and was still stuck in a shocked expression. Ash was getting worried cause all he felt from the Seadra's mind was blank then suddenly he felt a huge amount of reverence from the Seadra before him that made Ash a tiny bit afraid of the feeling."Milord, I am sorry to have not noticed I was in thy presence. Please punish me for doubting you for even one moment," Mael said as he attempted to imitate a bow though all it seemed to do was get Ash to pale at the thought of his Seadra even worse than before."You should've seen this coming. After all you are a legendary and your typing makes you even more special to the dragon and psychic type Pokémon, isn't that right milord," King said in which Ash just sent him a glare before going back to stop Mael from practically grovelling in front of him. King just watched and laughed from the sidelines.***FLASHBACK END***Ash at least got Mael to treat him to the way he did before though any more than that was practically impossible. The good thing that came out of it was that he would train together with King and Mael in his Latios from. The two Pokemon quickly taught Ash how to battle and they would have spars. Ash quickly learned how to fight and would easily beat both King and Mael though being a legendary and having the King nature was a bit too much even for special Pokémon like his.Ash was taken out of his trip down to memory lane when his mother called from downstairs. "Ash get down here and eat your breakfast or you going to be late." Ash just smiled and quickly went downstairs with King right behind him after returning Mael, who while a bit depressed that he still couldn't float down a stairway, into his pokeball.Even before he entered the dining room he could already smell the heavenly aroma of the meal his mother cooked. One word that Ash could describe his mother's cooking is Godly. There was nothing Ash tasted better in his life than his mother's cooking. They went to a five star restaurant before and still his mother's cooking was better. If there was anything Ash was going to miss on his journey it was his mother' cooking.Ash entered the dining room to find stacks of pancakes and waffles. Ash immediately sat down and tried to eat a pancake before a spatula hit his hand. When he looked at where it came from he saw his mother with a frown. Ash almost forgot that his mother enforces manners like Officer Jenny enforces the law."Now, Ash, what have told you to do when eating?" Delia asked sternly."Never eat like a slob and enjoy your meals by eating in a slow but well paced manner," Ash answered as he took off his hat."Good, I don't want you to give the wrong impression on people because of the way you eat. Remember first impressions are important so always be in your best behaviour no matter who you're dealing with," Delia said as she allowed the hungry preteen to eat after she gave a bowl of full PokeChow with a poffin, as a dessert, to King who happily said its species name which Ash caught as thanks before devouring his meal.PokeChow are pellet like food for Pokémon. They come in differently depending on who made it and its flavour and nutritional value depends on the ingredients used and how it was made. Pokemon normally eat what their diet contains like fish or meat but since a lot of people didn't like the idea Pokémon eating other Pokémon the Pokémon League's breeder's developed PokeChow. Breeder's make their own PokeChow with their own recipes while trainers and coordinators buy the regulated PokeChow the Poke Marts sells. Of course the breeder's special PokeChow are much better and filled with more nutrients than the regulated PokeChow.Ash being the son of Delia, a famous and renowned breeder, of course had been thought by her and has his own recipe for PokeChow though not as great as his mother's was still better than even a veteran breeder's PokeChow. Though his mom told him not to be content and always try aim better something Ash took to heart.Another thing Ash learned besides making his own PokeChow was making poffins and Pokeblock. Some might think they're the same but it isn't. Poffins are pastries and are usually desserts for pokemon to eat with a meal while Pokeblock were candies and were used to give treats to Pokémon who did well or a small snack, something Ash' mom made him understand.As Ash ate more slowly Delia asked." Now, Ash, are you prepared for your journey? Have you packed your extra clothes? The PokeChow? And berry case? What about you und-""Mom, stop it, I've already got everything in my bag," Ash said as he was starting to get embarrassed. He already finished eating and was now walking towards the front door with his mother and King right behind him."Oh, you know I worry dear after all you're my precious little boy," Delia said as she rubbed Ash's messy hair which Ash quickly tried to get away and put his hat back on while King just snickered at the sidelines."Mom I'm not little anymore. I'm already going to be a trainer," Ash said as he put on his shoes and then quickly picked up his green backpack and sliding it on his back. He then returned King to his pokeball. "I'm going to be fine so there's nothing to worry about.""I know but to me you'll always be my baby boy," Delia said which caused Ash to blush and promptly yell that he was not a baby before going out the front door.Delia watched her son's back as he went out the door to face the world and its challenges and she knew that when he comes back he would no longer be the innocent boy he was now even so she would always be here to welcome him home.As Ash walked the way to the professor's lab he noticed the smiling faces the people of the townsfolk that greeted him though he could sense that they were wary and scared of him. He couldn't blame them tough especially after what happened.***FLASHBACK***It was in the middle of the night when an 8 year old woke up heard noise downstairs. Being naturally curious Ash got up and quietly made his way out of his room to avoid waking King and Mael who were asleep in his room.Ash quietly went downstairs. He paused because he didn't know where to go before he heard more sounds coming from his mom's breeding building. At first he was having second thoughts of going in there cause it might just be his mom and if she found out that he was out of bed at this hour...let's just leave it at that.Ash heard another sound that seemed like something feel and cursing. Wait, his mom never cursed. Sure she got angry at times but Ash never heard her swear even once. He then listened more carefully and heard a male voice. Wait, male. Now Ash was curious but he had a bad feeling that he shouldn't go spy on what was happening. Ash had always followed what the feelings he got because it always seemed to help him and this time he wanted to hit himself cause for the first time Ash didn't follow the feeling.Ash slowly went to the door that connected the two buildings and turned it slightly so he could peek. What he saw made his blood froze. His mom was tied to a chair with a gag, things and files were scattered everywhere across the room. He saw a man in there too but he couldn't make out anything because it was dark except a big red R on the man's clothes. Ash recognized that R as his mother always told him to run if he ever met or saw someone with that on their clothes.As Ash was busy watching the room he failed to notice the person who crept behind him."Well what do we have here?" a voice said from behind him. Ash quickly turned around to see another man who wore the same clothes as the other man. "A brat out of bed in the middle of the night, what shall I do?"Ash had to take a step back as the man closed in on him. He then hit the door and caused it to open revealing himself to the other man inside. The occupants of the room instantly turned and Ash heard the muffled voice of his mother as she saw him."Hey, what are you doing Sil? You became a pedophile or something?" the man with his mother said as he cackled while Sil, the man behind Ash, just scowled at him."Shut up Fin. The kid was spying on ya and I don't need problems even with a kid. Anyway you got the files needed?" Sil asked his companion as he caught Ash by his shirt when the kid tried to run back to the house."Its right here," Fin said as he as he put a hand on a sack on a table. "I even took some of the Pokémon here as a bonus.""Good let's hurry up before anything unexpected happens," Sil said as caught Ash who tried to escape while the two men were talking. "The last thing we need is someone else to come here like this brat.""Wasn't the brat this chick's kid? Then don't worry about it no one's awake at this time anyway and what kind of people would even come here at this hour?" Fin replied nonchalantly to his partner's worries. It seemed that Sil was the cautious type of person while Fin was the carefree type though Fin should've listened to his partner."The kind of people who have a lot of research, planning and teachings to discuss about," a familiar voice said by the door to the entrance of the facility. The lights were then turned on and all the occupants in the room turned to see professor Oak, with his Dragonite right behind him, glaring at the two men from the entrance of the facility. Ash later learned that the professor was there to talk about Pokémon breeding and healthcare with his mother for their next lesson as trainees.Ash finally got to see the appearance of the two men. Sil was a thin and tall man who wore all black except for the white gloves, boots and belt. Fin had a bulky build but average height. Fin also wore the same clothes as Sil and both men had a big red R on the chest of their clothes.Sil, who was obviously frightened if his shaking and shivering was anything to go by, loosened hi hold on Ash in his terror. Ash took that chance break free from Sil's grasp and to run to the professor before he could be captured again. That seemed Fin out of his stupor and he quickly took a knife from his belt and placed the blade near Delia's neck."Now old man how about you step aside and let us through cause if you don't well you wouldn't want the kid to be an orphan would you?" Fin said as he pressed the knife to Delia's neck cutting it a little for blood to come out to strengthen his threat not knowing that he just made a terrible mistake.When Ash saw the blood he froze. Thousand of thoughts and emotions raced in his head as he felt the emotions of everyone in the room. His mother was bleeding. Precious red blood was dripping from the wound. He felt his mother's fear and the professor's hesitance and doubt. He felt the two rocket's anxiety. And the biggest emotion he felt came from Ash himself. He felt rage and anger with a tint of fear. He felt angry that because of these two he might lose his mother and fear for the same reason.Ash didn't know what he did cause one moment Fin was holding the knife to his mother's neck, the next moment Fin was at pinned to the wall unconscious with his entire arm bent in an unnatural angle. Ash turned to see that Sil was on the ground in a similar state but it was his leg that was bent. He looked around and saw that his mom was now free of her binds.***FLASHBACK END***Ash later learned that he was the one who did that to the two Rockets. It seemed that he got so emotional that he lost control of his psychic powers. He also learned that some townsfolk saw the rockets while Officer Jenny took them and overheard about how he was the one who did that to the Rockets with psychic powers which instantly got spread across town. Though the way townsfolk treated him was still the same, he could sense they were scared that he might go berserk seeing as young psychics tend to have that problem.The professor himself was a bit wary of Ash, probably because the old man saw firsthand what Ash could do. Ash, while sad that his teacher was wary of him, couldn't blame the man. It was public knowledge that children who had psychic powers have a high chance of going berserk from emotional turmoil or similar things. That was probably why everyone was still nice even though they heard what he could do.His mother on the other hand just accepted his powers like it wasn't even there, like Ash hadn't just smashed two full grown men into unconsciousness. It was his mother's support that Ash was thankful at that time. But he got a surprise from the professor which was much like his mother's support.***FLASHBACK ***Two weeks had passed since the Rocket incident. His mother now always had her Pokémon out and hired guards who took shifts watching the facility at night. No more eventsAt that time Ash was at the professor's lab in the lecture room with Gary for the trainee lectures. Ash was thinking about the mysterious feeling he always got when something happens. He remembered that feeling he got he got before that always told him not to reveal his powers. He started to think because maybe people would be afraid of him that the feeling told Ash not to use it in front of anyone.Ash was pulled out of his thoughts when the professor entered the room but the old Oak wasn't alone. Coming in after the professor was girl who looked to be around 19. She had strait, bluish gray hair and wore a maroon suit. Ash recognized her. I mean, who wouldn't recognize Sabrina, the girl who was dubbed as the strongest human psychic. Ash watched as she entered the room and he couldn't help the pull that he felt to her. (Note I used Pokémon Origins Sabrina so if you want an image search that)As soon as she entered the room Sabrina's eyes instantly went to Ash who stared right back. The two continued to stare for 5 minutes before Sabrina's face turned into a smile."You were right to call me professor," she said. "This boy's psychic potential even surpasses my own."And with that Ash gained a psychic instructor.After every trainee lesson by the professor Sabrina would teach Ash about his psychic powers and control. The lessons with Sabrina lasted a month where she stayed at Ash's house. Ash learned a lot about psychic powers and Pokémon from Sabrina who also included King in their lessons. Sabrina said that human psychics need a partner in which they could form a psychic bond to help them master and control their powers.Human psychics, from what Sabrina said, are people who have a deep connection to psychic Pokémon. Human psychics were born when a psychic type Pokémon decides to bless a human. The stronger the Pokémon doing the blessing is, the more powerful the human psychic would be. Human psychics can't exist without a psychic Pokémon to help temper the power in them. If a human psychic were to be unguided without any other psychic guiding them then the said psychic would lose control of their powers and go berserk.A psychic bond was based on the bonds used by Aura Guardians in the past. A psychic bond allows the bonded to help each other use their psychic abilities to their full potential. If you pit a psychic type trained by a human psychic and a psychic trained by an ordinary trainer most of the time the winner would be the psychic trained by the human psychic the only exceptions are if the opponent is more experienced.Ash also got many tips on training psychic type Pokémon from Sabrina. In their lessons Sabrina told Ash that the more powerful the psychic Pokémon he bonded with is the more control he would have on his own psychic powers. To train psychic type energy is to meditate and temper the mind. You don't lift heavy objects with your mind because that only works for physical development.After a month Sabrina had to return to her hometown, Saffron City, to become the gym leader there. Ash had known there was already a gym in saffron and if Sabrina wanted to be the gym leader there then she would have to defeat the current gym. On the day Sabrina left for Saffron she gave Ash a present, the TM calm mind.TM's were expensive and when Silph Co. and Devon Corp. made a joint project that created TMs that could be used over and over again instead of the onetime use like before it practically got the prices of the things to skyrocket. Right now only elite trainers could get a hold of one of them and even then it costs a fortune. So Ash was naturally stunned when Sabrina gave him the TM.But before he could ask Sabrina if she was really going to give it to him, the girl had already disappeared and, if Ash had to guess, used teleport. Seeing the TM Ash couldn't help but feel giddy but he noticed there was something else on the TM. There were two tickets with the Pokémon Ash had connections to printed on them, tickets to Alto Mare in Johto.***FLASHBACK END***The TM is something Ash treasures and Ash even bought a TM case, which was surprisingly cheap compared to the TM itself, and kept it there after he used it on both himself and King. Calm Mind is the type of move that boosts attack and defense of mental attacks like psychic and for some strange reason would also increase the power of ranged attacks like flamethrower.Though the TM was great it was nothing compared to the stuff he learned in Alto Mare.***FLASHBACK ***After Ash saw the images printed on the tickets he immediately went to research about the place and what he found surprised him. It seemed when he researched about his own species he didn't bother to search locations of importance to them which he promptly face palmed at the mistake.Alto Mare is a city where it is believed that it is guarded by a pair Latios and Latias. During ancient times Alto Mare was a desolate land with almost no Water and was constantly terrorized by an evil trainer using an Aerodactyl and Kabutops until a Latios appeared and summoned enough water that made the town it is today. Because of that history the people believed the Latios and Latias were guardians of the city.When Ash learned of the city's history he practically dragged his mother there, though his mom just thought that he just wanted to take a break from being a trainee. That is why Ash is now here in the watery canals of Alto Mare. It had already been an hour since they arrived. His mother first went to the hotel they were staying to place their luggage before they explored the city in one of its famous gondolas.Ash watched the city and saw many images depicting the eon Pokémon including statues, pottery, and even plates. It was obvious this place was connected to his species in a major way. He even felt a connection to the place even though this was the first time he came here.Ash knew he couldn't just wander around on his own though. This was a foreign city and his mom would never allow him because he could get lost and in a city like this getting lost would be easy. Ash and his mom had just finished the tour via gondola and were now walking around the parts they didn't see from the tour.They had just entered the museum when Ash felt a pull towards a certain contraption. It was a strange looking machine with pillars and something similar to a seat. Though Ash could feel a pull it wasn't a good one as he could sense something ominous about the machine."Does it interest you child? What this machine is?" a voice said from behind a surprised Ash, who immediately turned to see an old plump and bald man. Ash wordlessly nod and turned back to eye the machine again."This is the Defense Mechanism of Alto Mare or DMA," the old man said as he eyed Ash. "It was used to protect the city from danger centuries ago."Ash had finally turned away from the machine to face the old man when he saw a girl. The girl had brown hair shaped similar to a Latias' wings. The girl turned her head, as if she knew Ash was looking, to his direction. They're eyes met and Ash felt something like a jolt or shock run through his body. For a moment his transformation seemed to flicker but settled down after a second. That was enough to put Ash on edge though but that thought was shoved away when he saw the girl's from flicker into something he'd only seen in his memories. It was only a second but Ash saw it and he knew what she really was, a Latias.Ash was stunned. So stunned, that he actually found one of his species, that he failed to notice the old man that talked about the machine took hold of his and the girl's hands and dragged them somewhere across the city. When Ash finally snapped out of his trance he noticed that he was in a garden. In the garden was the old man and a girl that looked like the one Latias had turned into but wearing a beret but the ones that caught his attention were the two eon Pokémon eyeing him. One looked at him with curiosity while the other with suspicion.All of them were staring at Ash who only met the eyes of the two eons. Ash didn't know what to do or think. Here was two of his species and the very first he met. Ash wanted to drop his transformation so that they could trust him but there were others, humans Ash doesn't know of anything about of, with them. But then Ash felt that feeling again, telling him to transform, to show them even if he doesn't know them. Ash learned to really trust the feeling and did as it wanted.Ash transformed into his Latios form and the reactions he got were interesting. The two humans in the group were openly staring in shock from what Ash read from their thoughts were 'too damn big' ,'how did he even fit in the garden?' and 'was the garden itself getting bigger?' which Ash had to agree that when he transformed the garden did seem to expand.The two eons remained calm though Ash could sense the eagerness of the Latias and the slight apprehension of the Latios. A couple of seconds passed before the girl, who the Latias took shape of, snapped out of it."Do you grow to be that big?" the girl asked to the other Latios, who looked at her then shook his head. That seemed to be a signal that made the two humans in the area go full throttle at their questions and discussions to the point where all three eon Pokémon just waited for them to stop.When they finally did, Ash telepathically explained his situation because he learned that while he is in his Latios form he can't speak human. The two humans, whose names he learned were Lorenzo and Bianca, (if you can't tell who is male and female in those names then you need help) were a bit surprised that he knew how to do telepathy though they quickly got over it and listened to his tale."So your that big because of the King nature?" Bianca asked which Ash just nodded while he rolled his eyes inwardly because the girl still couldn't get over his size."Latios, do you know anything about what's going on with Ash?" Lorenzo asked the other blue eon. The Latios wore a thoughtful expression before he nodded.The other Latios went in front of Ash and said. "I have a theory but to confirm it will you allow me to do a psychic scan?"Ash was surprised at the request but he nodded. A psychic scan is a scan that uses psychic energy to look into the mind and soul of another. Allowing a person to perform a psychic scan is basically letting the other have a chance of learning everything about the individual because it allows the other to have access to every part of their mind including memories. If a psychic is strong enough, like a legendary, they could even see into the soul of the individual.Sabrina told Ash before that you should only allow a psychic scan to be performed by a person you really trust because while the psychic scan is performed the other could possibly implant false memories. Ash knew the dangers of doing so but he got the feeling again that said to do it and that it would be fine and Ash once again followed the feeling's advice.Ash got ready and lowered his mental barriers, something he gained while training with Sabrina, while he relaxed and steadied his breath. He nodded to the other Latios who nodded back and the other eon's eyes flashed a familiar bright blue. Ash felt a presence in his mind but let it be. The scan only lasted a few minutes to those outside but to Ash it felt like a lifetime.When the scan was over both Ash and Latios were a bit out of it before they regained focus. The other Latios looked certain of something while Ash anxiously waited for the verdict. Ash didn't have to wait long as the other Latios focused back to Ash."I can say one thing and it's that you're more special than you think and it's not just having the King nature," the Latios said."What do you mean?" Ash asked."You've seen in your memories that the Latias gave off a big amount of energy. That energy was her life force which she gave to you making your transformations stronger than normal. Usually when we lati transform it's just shape shifting and not an actual transformation. We don't gain human speech organs and the like. We only take the shape but you on the other hand can because of the massive amount of energy in you," the Latios explained where Ash was stunned. He thought since the Latias was able to take human form that it would be similar to his own."Not only are your transformations stronger it also gave you abilities to create illusions at the same class as that of a Zoroark. You're psychic powers too are more powerful and you have enough raw power to match even major legends. That's not even counting that you have the King nature," the Latios continued looking amused at Ash's face which grew more and more comical as he continued the explanation."But that's not all. You see when an eon dies releasing its life force something gets created. Something very powerful at the same time fragile that only we eons and pure hearted people are allowed to touch," the Latios said and Ash knew what his fellow eon was talking about and he felt sadness well up inside him. "That's right a Soul Dew is created and I can tell that one is right inside of you."Ash knew what a Soul Dew is because it was in the books he read about. Inside the book it was written that a Soul Dew is a powerful stone that only affects the eon Pokémon and increases their abilities and powers to an unprecedented height. But it was what the Soul Dew is made of that Ash sad. A Soul Dew is the crystallized form of an eon's soul that was why it only affects eon Pokémon. The eons who've become a Soul Dew have their souls trapped and unable to pass on.Ash closed his eyes and began to exert psychic power. He used his psychic power to search his being and he found something that proved what his fellow eon said was true. He could feel the Soul Dew pulsing energy. He could feel the soft feeling emanating from the stone. He could feel warmth, acceptance and most importantly love, unconditional love. All doubts he had on the identity of the Latias in his dreams vanished. He knew it was his mother and knowing that she gave up on passing on just to protect him, guide him even as a Soul Dew. He felt grateful and happy but at the same time sad because he couldn't do anything for her.When Ash opened his eyes he saw sympathy in the eyes of the fellow eon in front of him. The Latios turned his head to a spot in the garden which has followed and saw a fountain. Ash felt the same feeling he got from his mother's Soul Dew and knew that there was A Soul Dew there too. Ash instantly knew that the one in the Soul Dew was one of the parents of the two eons with him.Ash turned to look back at the Latios and said. "Thank you. I wouldn't know anything about my situation or my mother if it wasn't for you.""It's ok. There's no need to thank me. I know how you feel and even if it wasn't me you would've figured it out sooner or later," the Latios said."Even so thanks for helping me um-" Ash trailed off realising he didn't even know the other eon's name."Oh, excuse me. I haven't had to tell my name in a long time that even I almost forgot it. My name is Marco and the one behind who can't seem to stay still is my twin sister, Marzia" the Latios, Marco, said as turned to point his head to the direction of the Latias, who looked miffed."I can introduce myself you know," Marzia said as she went next to her brother. She then looked to Ash, eyeing him up and down. Ash felt strangely conscious of her gaze. It was like he was being examined and it made him uncomfortable. Marzia then looked Ash in the eye, an action, which got Ash to have those jolts run through his body again."Can you help us learn telepathy?" Marzia asked which got Ash to stare at her while Marco just shook his head at his sister's antics.***FLASHBACK END***Ash at that time remembered that he lost his mom and when they met up again she was furious but with Lorenzo's help he managed to avoid punishment though a long distance bathroom trip was kind of pushing it. His mom accepting said excuse made him worry about her since he could tell that she actually believed it.During the duration of his stay in Alto Mare he spent it most in the garden talking and training with the twins after he managed to convince his mom with an excuse which once again was formed by Lorenzo. Ash thought the twins how to do telepathy and psychic exercises and training he got from Sabrina. The two in exchange thought Ash about his abilities as an eon like turning invisible and sight sharing. Ash even learned Luster Purge, his species signature attack.When Ash returned to Pallet they continued to communicate with sight sharing. Usually sight sharing would only work if the other eon is within range which was equivalent to they're psychic output but with Ash's psychic power as high as it was, he only needed to find the twins' psychic signature and connect to them. Though only he could start the exchange and they could only write messages on the ground as they couldn't really talk with telepathy seeing a the distance makes conversations unstable and unreliable.Ash had gotten close to the twins especially with the Marco who Ash considered as a brother. That didn't mean that Ash's relationship with Marzia was bad, in fact they're best friends but he was kind of awkward around her at times. He doesn't understand but he always feels like he should show his best around her. Ash told Marco this and said Latios just looked at him for a while and said it was just hormones which made Ash even more confused.Ash just pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind when he noticed that he was already in front the professor's lab. He saw other trainer's that were going to start their journey that day but his gaze went to a boy with brown hair and wearing a black jacket and brown pants(blue's clothes in the game). The boy, Gary, met his gaze and suddenly Gary's pokeballs opened and Gary's Pokémon, an Umbreon and Dragalge, appeared. In response both of Ash's own pokeballs opened and King and Mael stood next to Ash.The Pokémon and their trainer's stared down. Ash and Gary were looking at each other coolly but if one looked closely they could see sparks and fire in their gaze. King just looked at the Umbreon with a mocking if not arrogant look which made the Umbreon twitch before it looked away with humph which just made King smirk. Mael and the Dragalge were eyeing each other with such fierce intensity that one would think they'd have a grudge on each other or something."Looks like you made it on time. I thought you'd oversleep and come late in your pajamas," Gary said to Ash as the other kids near them seem to have teleported far away from the two former trainees."And miss seeing you go down the road of second best. Please, that would never happen," Ash said and the two looked at each other once again before both laughed and just shook hands.Gary in Ash's opinion grew as much as he did. After Ash got King has his Pokémon Gary searched for his own partner and one day he came in with an Eevee of his own. Gay wouldn't reveal where he got his Eevee but it was clear that the Eevee liked Gary. But it seemed that Gary's rivalry over him got passed on to his Eevee. It was a one sided rivalry though cause King always wins. When King evolved into an Espeon, Gary's Eevee trained hard at night to become an Umbreon to combat King's typing and it succeeded though it still couldn't win because Ash taught his Pokémon moves to counter type disadvantages.Gary's Dragalge was caught when a swarm of them appeared one day in the waters near Pallet. Ash had just got Mael that time and Gary wanted to get a second Pokémon to even the scales. Gary's answer to Mael was Dragalge which was at that time a Skrelp. The two were both Pokémon that were going to evolve into a dragon type so naturally a rivalry was formed. Mael had won all competitions but when Skrelp evolved into a Dragalge it became quite even until Mael also evolved and it was back to losing for Dragalge though there were rare times it actually won. Draglage though would brag that it was now a dragon to Mael who still was a Seadra being a pure water type and that was a sore point for Mael.Ash wanted to evolve Mael to his final form but cant because he doesn't have a Dragon Scale and Latios have feathers like Altaria not scales like other Dragon type Pokémon so Mael was stuck as a Seadra for a while. Not that Ash minded, since he could train Mael to be stronger as a Seadra. There was some truth in the fact that the stronger it was pre-evolved then the stronger it will become when evolved.Ash and Gary on the other hand were still friends though they now always make things into a competition. They would go and insult or bait each other then laugh it out and then make some sort of competition. They would try to one up the other whether it would be studying or battling. Though battling is something Ash wins the most at. Gary would complain about his Pokémon being special and that he was collecting Pokémon that were going to be all special though there was no real heat to his words but there was a bit of envy in them. That was the current status on his and Gary's relationship.After the two boys let go of each other's hand, the door to the lab opened and professor Oak stood at the entrance with a smile. The professor called everyone in his lab. Ash and Gary quickly returned their pokemon went inside and when everyone was in the professor closed the door and led them to a big room with three pokeballs that had stickers on it. One pokeball ha a sticker of fire, another had a teardrop, and last one had a leaf."Now, today is the day all of you would become official Pokémon trainers. In these three pokeballs are the starter Pokémon you'll receive," the professor said but Ash and Gary knew it was only for the others that weren't in the trainee program so they just waited until all the other kids left after they were given their pokedex's, starter Pokémon and pokeballs."Both of you didn't listen to a thing a said, didn't you?" the professor said as he turned to look at his two trainees.The two boys just smiled innocently at the professor who shook his head at the boy's actions. The professor then took out a pair pokedex different from the one he gave the other kids. The pokedex looked like a mix between a phone and a touch pad(its a smart phone only bigger with an automatic cover function). It also had a port big enough for a pokeball to fit on the back."Now because both of you were trainees before becoming a trainer you gained access certain things. First is the pokedex this is a special pokedex that allows you to switch your Pokémon anywhere and anytime, well mostly anytime if the Pokémon is in the ball and not playing in the corral. It also automatically covers itself when not in use. It can do all the things a normal pokedex can do like show info on seen Pokémon but it will only show the moves and abilities when you catch it," The professor said as he gave the boys the item before he took out another item this time it looked like a small wrist watch with a four transparent stones at the sides."Now this is a XCaster. This was made by the combined effort of Unova and Kalos while I'm giving you this note that this is still a prototype. Both of you will be test runner's. Also you might wonder whose managing the calls and to answer its Silph co. And with this you can use holograms to communicate up to 4 people at the same time though you still need to get their number. This will also give you the latest news and updates including contest dates and swarm appearance. This also gives you access to the maps of different regions though it's set to Kanto for now," the professor said as he gave the item to the two stunned boys."Now about the other things you gained from being a trainee. You can now carry up to 9 Pokémon a time but you can only use up to 6 in battles. If you can't follow your right to carry 9 Pokémon will be revoked. There are other things but that's all for now. Now boys I want you to know that not all Pokémon have been found and recorded and I want you to see observe and if possible catch any new species. I would like to do so but I'm already old and there are more mysteries in the world around us. I would like you to do this in my behalf," the professor finished and he looked at both pre teens with an emotion Ash and Gary weren't able to identify but they nodded nonetheless."Don't worry old man. If there's anyone who can do it then it would be me." Gary said which Ash had to snort making said boy glance at him. "Got a problem Ashy-boy.""No, it's just you really need to tame that arrogance of yours it makes you sound like prick sometimes," Ash said with a teasing smirk which Gary just rolled his eyes.Ash was now at the outskirts of Pallet town near route 1. He looked back at Pallet town before he turned back to the road and began his journey, a journey of discovery, and a journey to decide the fate of the world even if he didn't know it.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Thoughts'"HumanSpeech""PokeSpeech/pokedex"'telepathy'movesChapter 3Route 1 the route where most if not all new trainers of Kanto cross to begin their journey. In the route were a variety of Pokémon from a Rattata to a Spearow. The route is mostly inhabited by low leveled Pokémon which is why we see Ash lying under the shade of a tree, eating a sandwich while his partners had lunch.Ash so far had already spread out his psychic senses and tried to see if there were any interesting Pokémon who might want to go with him and so far no luck. Ash unlike some trainers could understand Pokémon being one himself so he won't go catching them because he wanted to. He would catch them if the Pokémon themselves wanted to go with him. Though he would try to convince some he really wanted."What are we going to do now?" King asked as he and Mael had finished their bowl of PokeChow.'What do you mean?' Ash asked back as he took King's and Mael's bowls and placing them back in his bag."Well a goal of course like taking the league challenge or aiming for the grand festival," King replied back to Ash who had a thoughtful expression. Ash just wanted to find out about his origins that even the twin eons of Alto Mare weren't able to provide info. Sure they taught him about his species and all but they didn't know who his mother was or who those people who were after her were either. But what King said was also true that he needed a goal other than trying to find info that might be anywhere.Now that Ash thought about it battling seemed the most probable solution. If they ever run into his mother's poacher or if said poacher was actually part of a group then being a battler would be the best path to choose from. Then Ash thought about contests. Being raised by a breeder Ash could say contests interest him because they show off how healthy and well raised a Pokémon is. Not to say battling didn't showcase how healthy and strong the Pokémon is but contests appeal to him just as much as battling is.Seeing his trainer was having a hard time deciding King made a suggestion. "Well we could always do both."Ash looked up to King and said intelligently. 'Huh?'"I mean we could so both gyms and contest. There's no rule that said a coordinator can't also be a trainer or vice versa," King said as he lay on the grass while lazily opening an eye to look at Ash when he spoke.Ash thought about it and realized that he could do both though that would mean that he would also add contest training to his schedule. That would mean he would have to cut some of his other training exercises. Ash also realized one thing. He hadn't scanned his team yet. Sure he trained with them and knew most if not all there is about either of his friends but there might be stuff he still didn't know about.Ash took his pokedex and pointed it at King, who tilted his head, first. The pokedex's covering lowered to show the screen where a mechanical male voice spoke in monotone. "Espeon, the sun Pokémon. Espeon is extremely loyal to any trainer it considers to be worthy. It is said that this Pokémon developed its precognitive powers to protect its trainer from harm. The orb on its forehead glows when it uses psycho-power. This Espeon is Male with the ability of Synchronize and the Hidden Ability: Magic Bounce which is active. Known moves: Helping Hand, Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Bite, Confusion, Quick Attack, Swift, Psybeam, Future Sight, Psychic, Morning Sun, Psych Up, Signal Beam, Growl, Baton Pass, Covet, Dig, Trump Card, Double Edge, Refresh, Hyper Voice, Round, Echoed Voice, Light Screen, Reflect, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Calm Mind, Heal Bell, Return, Dazzling Gleam."'Wow. I knew you learned a lot of moves from our move tutoring sessions but this much is really an eye opener,' Ash commented in which King just moved his head as if saying 'of course! did you expect anything else'. Ash rolled his eyes at his first friend then moved to point the pokedex to Mael, who looked eager to see his know his stats.The pokedex, once again, lit up and spoke. "Seadra, the Dragon Pokémon. It is known for its powerful disposition but possesses both strength and speed. It is a clever Pokémon that can swim backwards while facing forward. Fainting may result from a jab of its sharp spikes. Seadra generates whirlpools by spinning its body. The whirlpools are strong enough to swallow even fishing boats. This Pokémon weakens prey with these currents, and then swallows it whole. This Seadra is Male with the ability of Poison Point and the Hidden Ability: Damp which is active. Known moves: Smoke Screen, Leer, Bubble, Water Gun, Twister, Bubble Beam, Focus Energy, Brine, Agility, Rain Dance, Return, Scald, Double Team, Bounce, Signal Beam, Whirlpool, Water Pulse. It has the Egg Move Aurora Beam which is Unlocked."Ash just nodded at the info. While it was smaller compared to King's moveset it was still great, especially considering that Ash teaches his friends moves to overcome typing disadvantages. That is why both of his friends know moves like Signal Beam to overcome grass or dark types. Ash thoroughly researched how to teach moves of different kinds to the point that he could be considered a move tutor. Though compared to official move tutors Ash doesn't just teach how to do the move but master it.Mastering a move means using the move with less energy and able to use it in unique ways. An example would be like using a hyper beam that moves with to the users will rather than a straight line, or a flamethrower used like a fire spin. Plus mastering moves mean less chance of failure in using moves like protect and also less time recharging after moves like hyper beam.Ash looked at Mael who while looked proud at the assessment of the pokedex probably because he already knows most of the moves he can learn as a Seadra. Mael only needs to evolve and he can learn even those difficult dragon type moves Ash tried to teach to him before. The problem was where to get a dragon scale."Master, aren't you going to scan yourself?" Mael asked.'No, it only gives info on moves of the Pokémon I caught and I can't just capture myself either. The professor can see what kind of Pokémon I catch and if I caught myself then it would raise questions that I can't afford to answer right now,' Ash replied. Ash still didn't know why but his mother's soul dew always says that now's not the time to reveal himself."Master I sense a powerful force of the sea," Mael said as the Seadra looked at the sky. King also looked up with his tail quivering."Ash a storm is coming and it's a big one," King said.Ash looked at the sky and saw black clouds quickly coming in and soon enough they were in a storm. In the storm light flashed before something blue was seen speeding through with a lilac cat-like Pokémon on his back and a dark blue seahorse-like Pokémon right after them."This is a good shower," Ash said as he flew past the woods slow enough that Mael could follow. King just shook his head at his trainer's choice of action though he too liked the rain. Mael was just as happy of the rain because he was able to use less effort in floating and was able to move close to his normal speed in water.The storm eventually ended and Ash and his partners were now near the road to Viridian though they didn't go out of the forest yet as Ash was still in his Latios form. As Ash was about to turn back to his human form they heard a cry. A majestic, ancient and powerful cry up in the skies. As they looked up they saw a beautiful rainbow but that wasn't the one that caught their attention. It was an avian Pokémon resembling a phoenix and a peacock. Its feathers are predominantly gold and red, with yellow tail-feathers, a white underside, and green feathers at the tip of its wings. It had a green stripe on its neck, a yellow beak, black rings around its red eyes, and a feathered, yellow crest on its head."The guardian of the skies and master of the three beasts, Ho-Oh," King said almost reverently as Mael did to Ash though Ash could understand why. Even though he, himself, is also a legend and met Marco and Marzia he never felt this type of presence or power from the two or himself. Ho-Oh had this presence that you could instantly know as ancient, powerful and divine. The phoenix's appearance also giving a regal look just upped the feeling even more. Ash only felt this feeling in one thing and that was his mother's Soul Dew. Ash then did so something impulsive that later made his partners scolded him to end before forcing him have at least one of them around at all times to prevent similar stuff happening. He flew toward the phoenix at top speed."Honestly, who in their right minds would just go full speed towards a legendary of Ho-Oh's class without warning? Even though you're a legend in your own right what made you think you had- ," King continued to rant though Ash didn't mind it one bit cause it was true.We find Ash in his human form with King walking through Viridian City. After meeting with Ho-Oh and hearing what the phoenix said Ash was naturally anxious and worried. In fact he was given a message to pass to the humans though he didn't know what to think. He absently placed a hand near his chest where a necklace with a feather was hidden from view. He was given a feather, the rainbow wing, from Ho-Oh as proof that he did meet the legendary bird for some skeptical people.Ash was headed to the Pokémon Center to make a phone call to the professor about what he learned. As he was walking he saw the wanted posters that Officer Jenny showed him when he first entered the city. Team Rocket, a group of criminals who steal, abuse, poach and force Pokémon to do crimes for their agenda of world domination. Thinking about the time when he was young when his mother was taken hostage, he knew that the organization had to be dealt with but he also knew that chasing after them at his current state was suicide. That doesn't mean that he won't try to catch the rockets he finds.Ash had just made it to the Pokemon Center and gave his pokeballs to Nurse Joy for a check up while pointedly ignoring King's look of don't do anything stupid as he returned him. Even though he was an experienced breeder, thanks to his mother, having his partners checked by a professional was the best care he could give. Ash then asked the nurse where the phones were at and went there after thanking her.Ash quickly typed the professor's number and pressed call then he waited. He didn't have to wait long as the call connected and he saw the back of the professor's head. He ignored the professor's mumbling of 'that's strange I swear I picked up that call'."Professor you got the wrong camera on, again," Ash said. The professor quickly turned around to see Ash. The professor typed something on his computer before the screen showed the old Oak. Ash just had an anime sweat drop. "You could have just turned around you know.""Ash, are you calling me from the Pokemon Center in Viridian? You got there quite quickly. Though you could've have just called me through your XCaster," the professor said as he pointedly ignored Ash's last comment."Yes, I'm in Viridian and I could've called you through the XCaster but this needs to be a private conversation and from what you said about the XCaster, calls are monitored right?" Ash said and seeing the professor nod Ash knew he made the right decision, if unrelated people hear what he was going to say it would cause panic. He had to thank the Pokemon Center video phones that they connect directly to the receiver and no one can spy on the calls."Why?" the professor asked. Ash just took the necklace out of his clothes and showed the old researcher the rainbow-colored feather. Then he took his pokedex and turned it to a certain part and a picture of the rainbow Pokémon with its height and weight statistics displayed. As the professor was busy gaping at the item and info he was given Ash thought back to what Ho-Oh had told him.***FLASHBACK***"What is a young eon such as you doing in Kanto of all places? Your kind usually stays in the humid lands of Hoenn," the phoenix's voice was as regal as his appearance with warmth that made you feel like you bathed in the morning sun while being held by your parent. The voice was androgynous that Ash couldn't place if it was male or female, not that it mattered."What about you? You haven't been seen for about centuries or even a millennium if what I've been told was true," Ash responded the question with one of his own."Answer my question and I'll answer yours," was Ho-Oh's witty answer. Ash somewhat got the feeling that Ho-Oh is somehow similar to King in personality with being wise and likes to mess with people's head. But Ash answered nonetheless and told the bird his history. He learned enough about legends that they were trustworthy though he would soon question even that."I see you have quite the past young eon. I wish you luck in your search for the truth though you might be given some part of that truth from me," the phoenix said which got Ash's full attention. What did Ho-Oh mean by that? Does the bird know about the people who hunted his mother? He soon got his answer. "You see, we major legends as humans call us have been asleep for since ancient times to balance the energies of the world."That startled Ash, so the legendaries like Groudon, Kyogre and Ho-OH were sleeping all this time. That was why nobody seen them because they hid themselves in special places to sleep. Balancing the energies of the world was something Ash didn't understand though and Ho-Oh seeing Ash's confusion explained."You see, the world before was still young and it was still not long ago since the Alpha created it. The world before was not stable yet and there was an imbalance in the world's flow of energy and we Legendary Pokémon were the cause. We had too much power that it affected the natural order of things like me reviving the three Pokémon which should not be done because it went against the natural order but I didn't regret it. Another is Kyogre and Groudon's fights resulted in the change of weather patterns of the world that it almost lead to the complete destruction of the ecosystem. To prevent any more of this happening we decided to sleep until the world is stable," Ho-Oh explained."Wait, so does that mean that you're awake now because the world is finally stable? And does that also mean that the other legends are going to wake up?" Ash asked as he got over the small shock at the information overload Ho-OH gave him."Yes, the world is finally stable but that's not why I awoke. There is something dark in this era and I can feel its influence. Something or someone has corrupted a legendary Pokémon, thankfully not one of the major legends but still it is a grave matter," Ho-Oh exclaimed in an angry tone and Ash had to agree. Legendary Pokémon are guardians of the world and to corrupt one such being is a great sin. Not to mention that a legendary even a minor one is powerful."The others are probably about to wake or are already awake. I will inform all the legends that I know of but I only know of the major legends I know not of the minor legends locations or status so can I ask you to deliver the message to all minor legends you can find. You may inform humans, the humans you trust but listen to this warning. Do not trust legends you do not know of though you may still trust major legends but be wary of minor legends as their corruption has spread," Ho-Oh warned. Ash who couldn't believe what was happening right now. If what Ho-Oh said was true and this was somehow connected to his mother than those corrupted legends were searching for other legends to spread its corruption."How can you tell which legendary is corrupted and which ones are not?" Ash asked."The corrupted legends will have a dark aura surrounding them. They would also have black streams of lightning racing across their bodies. The corrupted legends would then try to corrupt other legends for it is in their nature to do so and once all legends are corrupted the world would become the stage for the legends to battle on who would rule. The resulting battle would eventually destroy the world," Ho-Oh said and Ash paled at the thought."What's going to happen now? You're going to prevent that from happening right?" Ash asked not sure what to do with the situation."The best case scenario is we could purify the corrupted legends which mean that we have to remove the taint in them via signature move or strongest move. The worst case scenario would be us also getting corrupted…no, the worst case is if it were to become a war between legendaries even before all legends become corrupted," Ho-Oh replied his tone grave. Ash shuddered. A war between legends could possibly destroy the world. The fights between Kyogre and Groudon were bad enough and if every single legendary fought against each other than it would be catastrophic. Ho-oh seeing Ash's reaction nodded."If war ever happens among legendaries than it would be the end of the world as we know it especially because the legends are able to use their true forms in that situation.""Wait, True forms?" Ash asked confused."Oh, you're young so of course you don't know. I'm sure other legends of this age don't know either. You see we legends have our power bound and sealed up by the Alpha and only when we legends battle other legends that power is unsealed and we legendary Pokémon revert to our true forms," Ho-oh said. Ash tried to imagine the true forms that Ho-Oh spoke of and then Ash recalled the conversation until now and he came upon something he did not want to consider."Wait, how do you know all this? If you had just woke up then you shouldn't be able to know about corrupt legends," Ash said with a sense of trepidation."So you've noticed, clever child," Ho-Oh said and Ash was about to say something before he was interrupted by a flamethrower from Ho-Oh headed his way.***FLASHBACK END***"Ash, what on earth happened? How did you get a rainbow wing? Did you really see Ho-oh?" the professor asked rapidly. It seems like the old man finally stopped gaping. Ash was taken out of his reminiscing and told the professor his edited version of the encounter which had Ho-Oh approach him rather than him flying towards the legend and said legend using telepathy to pass a message for humanity as a whole. He also didn't say anything about battling the legend himself though he did include info on legendaries and their true forms.As Ash continued to tell his tale the professor's expression became more and more grave and when Ash finally finished his explanation the professor was quiet though looking t his face Ash knew that the professor was thinking about the possibilities that Ho-Oh spoke of. Finally after a few minutes the professor looked up."Ash, this is big and I don't want to doubt you but after everything you said it seems too far-fetched to be true," Ash was about to protest, having already thought of this happening even before he told the professor, when the professor continued. "But I'll believe you.""Huh!" Ash was surprised. He thought it'd take maybe an hour before he could finally convince the professor he was telling the truth."I know you Ash. I know that you're not the type to lie about these things but this is very concerning. You didn't tell anyone else right? Did no one there overhear our conversation?" the professor asked, worried, and Ash answered with a nod. The old man sighed and mumbled 'I'm getting too old for this'. "I'll see what I can do and thanks for telling me first Ash and I don't need to tell you not to reveal this info even to your mother or the gym leaders.""I know professor. I don't think they would even believe me in the first place," Ash said while the professor just nodded."Just enjoy your journey and leave the problems to the adults. Oh, I almost forgot. I heard there's a swarm of Scythers in the Viridian Forest right now," Ash eyes almost popped out at the info the professor just provided. Scythers are extremely rare and one could only get them in the Safari Zone or through breeding these days. To hear that a swarm of them were this close, though Ash dislikes bugs because he's a psychic type that doesn't mean he doesn't acknowledge them or rejects them and a powerful bug type like Scyther is just a Pokémon Ash wants on his team. The professor, seeing the childish glee on Ash's face, chuckles. "They're going to stay for at least a week in the forest so if you want one now's your chance."Ash and the professor exchanged a few more words then Ash sent the info he got about Ho-Oh to the professor before he said goodbye and hung up. Ash was about to call his mother when an alarm in the Pokémon Center sounded and a crash was heard near the front desk. Ash quickly went to the front desk area and arrived just in time to see the smoke fade away to reveal a man with bluish violet hair, a woman with magenta- colored hair and a Meowth. Both of them were wearing white version of the team rocket uniform. Ash didn't know what the uniform represents but when he saw the R in their clothes Ash knew he would have catch them and throw them in jail.The duo soon recites their motto, in which Ash just stared at them and mentally filed them as idiots in his head, and when the Meowth spoke in human language and not by telepathy but really speaking in human tongue made Ash stop and stare at the Pokémon."Wait, did that Meowth just talk? I mean really talk like a human?" Ash asked to everyone in the room which he got a nod from all the trainers that had the same reaction as he did."Of course I did. Now, how about you be a good trainer and hand over your Pokémon," the Meowth said and the two rockets with the cat Pokémon said their own two cents. It seems that even though the Meowth was special it was rotten if the small amount of dark aura surrounding it was anything to go by, probably because of Team Rocket. Ash glared at the two rockets and felt a bit of sadistic glee when the two flinched and shivered at his gaze."You think that we'd just give you our Pokémon just because you said so, look at all the trainers here do you think you could handle every single one of them," Ash said as he spread his arms to emphasize the number of trainers in the room. The scared looks on some of the trainer's faces, which Ash deduced to be newbies, faded as they realized that they had the advantage in numbers and soon joined the other trainers in glaring at the idiots.The rockets, Jessie and James, could only stare in fear as the trainer's closed in on them, pokeballs in hand. They were now cursing themselves for not thinking their plan through.The duo tried to look for escape routes but stopped when pressure surrounded their bodies. They looked at the boy who talked first and saw that the kid's eyes were glowing. The other trainers noticed this and stopped just watched the scene with a bit of awe and fear. The duo and trainers realized that the boy was probably a psychic and when they couldn't see a psychic Pokémon they felt fear. It wasn't exactly a secret that psychics could go berserk when they didn't have a psychic Pokémon to help them... well it wasn't at first but after Sabrina became the gym leader of Saffron she released info on human psychics so the public would know the truth and so they wouldn't fear human psychics and it worked though only on human psychics with psychic type Pokémon.Then they saw that something seemed to catch the boy's attention because he turned around. They followed the boy's gaze and instantly felt relieved when they saw an Espeon, which was probably the boy's Pokémon, next to Nurse Joy, who they thanked for bringing the Pokémon here. The Espeon walked to where the boy was at and used its tail to touch the boy's hand. The boy and Pokémon stared at each other for a while before the rockets felt the pressure leave their body. The duo sighed but noticed that they still couldn't move."Don't think I'm dumb. Even though I can't do what I wanted with you crooks I won't allow you to escape. You're going to pay for all the crimes you committed including corrupting that Meowth. I can tell it has lots of potential and that if trained well would be a great Pokémon and that's not including that it learned how to speak human," the boy said as he looked at them with those eyes still glowing blue.The rockets sagged and gave up hope of escape though they could see that what the boy said had surprised Meowth and the cat a strange expression on his face that the duo couldn't read. Then something happened. The boy's eyes widened as his expression became hard as if he was fighting something. The last thing the rocket's saw was the angry expression on the boy's face before they were covered in a flash of light and the next thing they saw was the angry and disappointed face of their boss.Ash was in the Viridian Forest using his draconic senses to search for any Scyther that was compatible to him while simultaneously trying to keep a ball of draconic energy from blowing in his face. King was right beside him muttering about evil bug types and migraines.It had been two days since the incident at the Pokemon Center. Two days since Ash lost to a psychic in a tug of war for the criminals. Ash was sure that Team Rocket had a psychic type legendary backing them up. Why was he sure you ask. That's because that even in human form Ash is as powerful and skilled as a Metagross or Alakazam. When Ash is in human form his powers are limited because the human body can't handle too much power it but it can handle psychic powers up to pseudo legendary class. If there was anything that can take control of something he has power over in his human form then it has to be a legendary.Ash wondered if the legendary helping team rocket was one of the corrupted ones and as soon as he thought about it he shakes his head. Of course it had to be corrupted, what legendary Pokémon would help team rocket other than corrupted ones. Thinking about legendaries reminded Ash of his battle with Ho-Oh.***FLASHBACK ***Ash frantically dodged another flamethrower from Ho-Oh. Ash didn't know why Ho-Oh attacked him but he knew that at this rate he would lose if he doesn't fight back and he didn't want to think about what would happen when he lost. Ash tried to think of his chances. He was a dragon type so Ho-Oh's fire type attacks aren't as effective and he also knew water type attacks from training with Mael. All in all Ash thought he had a good chance but then again Ho-Oh probably has more experience in battling than he was, being so old the phoenix probably has a lot of strategies and moves for any situation.Ash dodged another flamethrower but this time he turned around and used water pulse. The orb of water shot towards Ho-Oh who countered with a weather ball. The two attacks collided and there was a short shower of water before rocks were shot towards Ash by Ho-Oh's ancient power. Ash used his superior speed and dodged all the rocks before turning invisible and flying behind Ho-Oh then used dragon pulse.The multicolored dragon-shaped beam of energy shot from Ash's mouth and straight to Ho-Oh's back. The phoenix screeched in pain before its eyes narrowed. Ho-Oh screeched before it waved its wings, causing a strong gust of wind. At first Ash was confused because if that was gust attack but it was too weak. Ash quickly realized what the move was when Ho-Oh was moving two times faster than before. It was tailwind.Ho-Oh quickly flew up and when the phoenix was above the clouds it used the only move it had that could track invisible opponents. Electricity started to gather in the bird's feathers and he released it in the form of multiple blue bolts. Ash saw the electricity heading his way and he tried to dodge but the attack kept on following him it was then he realized that this was a Shock Wave attack. Shock Wave is a move that targets electromagnetic signature of the opponent and since it's impossible to hide such a thing this attack never misses unless the target is hiding underground.Ash, seeing the attack was unavoidable, stopped and used protect. A blue force field surrounds Ash's body effectively negating the attack. He knew that Ho-Oh used the attack to try and damage as well as track him and now that he knew Ash's position the phoenix would try to deal as much damage as possible while Ash was still recovering from the attack. He was right as he saw Ho-Oh's body surrounded by a white aura and was heading right toward him. It was a sky attack, the strongest flying type move.Ash, still invisible, waited until Ho-Oh was just about a few feet away before he dodged to the right then attacked with a point-blank thunderbolt. The phoenix screeched once again in pain at the super effective move. Then Ho-Oh started to glow gold and all the injuries and damage it sustained disappeared. Ash groaned at the use of Recover. Recover is a self healing move that restores health of its user and unlike other recovery moves its concept is regeneration. When using recover, even if the user had lost a limb it can still be restored and that's because recover allows cell regeneration.Ash knew recover himself and had seen how annoyed his Pokémon were every time he used it in their battles. Now, Ash finally understood how his partners felt whenever he used the move and with recover not that energy consuming to use, it was a cheat among recovery moves.Ash then felt heat coming off Ho-Oh in waves. The phoenix started to change appearance. Ho-Oh became enshrouded in crimson and vermillion flames, its tail feathers lengthened by the flames made it appear longer (search vermillion phoenix for images). Ash watched as Ho-Oh truly became the bird of fire as flames covered every part of its body and then Ash felt the sun became harsher and the air warmer and more humid. Ash realized that this must be what Ho-Oh meant as true forms when legends fought one another.The moment Ash thought about true forms he felt a certain change in him. He felt more powerful like something that had been locked away was returned, like a lake and ocean finally being connected and became one. Ash noticed that he started glowing light blue. His claws lengthened, he gained fangs and his feet grew and gained sharp talons all done by the glowing light surrounding him. His wings spread out and looked like wings of a bird and the glow left a tail like light when he moved (for image search blue feathered dragon). Ash was soon shrouded completely like Ho-Oh by the light blue glow. Ash felt the atmosphere became infused with draconic and mystic energy. Ash also noticed that he couldn't turn invisible anymore but he didn't care. Ash's eyes met Ho-Oh's and once again they battled.Ho-Oh releases a gold-rose-colored flame from its beak at the Ash. Ash instantly knew it was Sacred Fire, the move most associated with Ho-Oh that it could've been its signature move if only Entei couldn't use it as well. If Ho-Oh was going to use it's most prized move then so would he. Ash opens his mouth and white sparkles form and gather in front of it, forming together into a pink ball of energy. Ash then fires a massive pink beam from the ball at the opponent but he was surprised to feel a different sort of energy in the attack other than normal psychic and draconic energy. Sacred Fire met Luster Purge in a battle to overpower the other. Both attacks created a huge explosion and damaged both Pokémon.Ho-Oh was older and had more experienced and that showed when the phoenix was the one to recover first. Seeing its opponent still stunned Ho-Oh flies towards the eon and its body becomes surrounded by yellow-orange streaks. Then, Ho-Oh's body becomes surrounded by a purple aura and it slams into the Ash with full force. Ash felt the giga impact slam into his body forcing the air out of his lungs. Ash saw that Ho-Oh still needed to recharge and knew that he had to attack now or else he' be in a disadvantage but he was still suffering the effects of giga impact so Ash decided to do a mental attack.Ash first used calm mind to help him ignore the pain and calm down. Then he opened his eyes and they glowed light blue like his body and Ho-Oh, who at the moment just finished recharging, was caught in Ash's psychic attack. Ash used his mind to compress Ho-Oh's body causing the phoenix to cry out at the feeling of being squished and the pain. Ho-Oh's eyes glow gold and it opens its beak, releasing a multicolored circular beam with white crescents around it at Ash but the extrasensory didn't even reach Ash. Though Ash had to give credit to the plan, Ho-Oh using its own psychic energy to disrupt his own but even if Ho-Oh had the experience, Ash had the raw power from him having the King nature and the Soul Dew. The fact that Ash had more psychic power than major psychic type legendaries meant that a psychic type attack from a non psychic type like Ho-Oh wouldn't be a problem.Ho-Oh though showed its experience yet again as it used punishment and letting its wings get covered in dark type energy which nullified the psychic hold Ash had on the bird. The phoenix quickly flew to Ash, who had to deal with the backlash of the psychic connection he had being abruptly cut, and slammed its wings at Ash. Ash cried out at the pain and it also cut off Ash from his psychic power.You see psychic type energy is very delicate as it is powerful, so when bug, dark, and ghost type energy make contact with it creates a distraction or a loose end that makes gathering and maintaining psychic type energy harder.The reason why these three types are bad for psychic types are that one, bug types have hive like mindset that are somehow all connected and when a psychic, who relies on mental power, encounter a bug type they are overwhelmed by the amount of minds connected to that one bug and the bug type energy seem to reflect that as thoughts of hundreds of bugs are transferred when the attacks hit a psychic type even if the user isn't a bug type causing a major headache to the psychic.Two, dark types have a special physiology that negates psychic energy. It was said that before in ancient times that dark types were extremely weak against psychic type energy but then they began to evolve and resist until they created a special organ in their body that generates a type of energy that nullifies psychic type energy and that was the birth of dark type energy. Since then some Pokémon even some psychic types developed the same organs though not to the scale of Dark type Pokémon and they couldn't nullify psychic energy but they could summon and use dark type energy.Three, ghost types are technically dead so they have a special type of energy called spectral energy that is the bane of mental energy. Spectral energy is special as its unknown and can't be measured by the mind and because it can't be measured it overloads the mind of the psychic causing major headaches and disrupts psychic control when it hits though psychics can still hold ghost types in their grasp since the spectral energy is only used in ghost type moves and the ghost types body is not made of the energy.Ash lost control of his levitation seeing as its mostly psychic type energy allowing him to move and now just relying on his draconic energy to float was hard. Ash was berating himself in his head. Ash got so overconfident in his psychic prowess that he didn't train his draconic energy, a mistake that could cause him to lose this match against Ho-Oh who just watched him struggle to stay afloat at a distance."It seems the winner has been decided," Ho-Oh said as the air around the bird became even hotter. Ash closed his eyes as the phoenix glowed and the heat became unbearable. Ash thought he was going to die so he was surprised when the heat suddenly disappeared and he felt some kind of flakes showering him. Ash opened his eyes and saw that Ho-Oh was back to his normal form and that Ash felt his body was healed even the discomfort from the dark type energy was gone. Ash then noticed some kind of flake was falling. No, it wasn't flakes it was ashes then Ash made the connection. An ash connected to Ho-Oh was sacred ash, an item that had mysterious healing abilities.Ash looked at the bird silently asking why as his form turned back to that of a normal Latios."Are you asking why I attacked? Or are you asking why I healed you?" Ho-Oh said. "Though it doesn't matter both questions have the same answer. I wanted to see the level of skill the legends of this age has and what better way than to make you think I was hostile though I got to say while you have the power to overwhelm even me you lack the experience and control of that power. Now, for your earlier question I have already been awake for years before you found me.""So you just attacked and battled me all to see what level I am compared to you?" Ash asked incredulously and when the phoenix nodded Ash exploded. "What the hell! I thought you were really trying to kill me here! There were better ways to do it rather than just attacking and driving me to think that this was a death match.""True there are better ways but this was the most effective way without you holding back on me. That and I wanted to teach you about your true form and the effects of your signature move," Ho-Oh replied and seeing Ash's confused face Ho-Oh decided to explain in detail. " You already know about how you need to battle a legendary to go into your true form but to really transform you need to think about going into your true form and it needs to be in battle and only then can you learn how to truly transform into your true form.""Now for the signature moves. You noticed how it seemed different when using your signature move in your true form right?" Ho-Oh asked to which Ash nodded, obviously remembering the time he fired and an unknown energy was in the attack. "That's because signature moves have a certain purification effect and legends without signature moves has their strongest moves with purification effect. The energy you felt was the energy that is used to purify corrupted Pokémon."Ash nodded at the explanation but then a question popped out and he had to know to prevent more of it happening."How do legendaries get corrupted?" Ash asked."A Pokémon, who after spending or being in the presence of one with malicious nature starts to be influenced and later thinks the same way as the one who influenced it. Legendaries and even normal Pokémon are not safe from corruption. Then the corrupted Pokémon will spread its thoughts to influence other Pokémon and the process repeats itself until the Pokémon is purified." Ho-Oh explained to a wide eyed Ash."Purification is basically removing the influence or memories from the Pokémon in question and it is usually done via signature move and if one does not have a signature then their strongest or most well known move," Ho-Oh continued. "Usually, it's only normal Pokémon that gets corrupted and then legendaries and some special Pokémon go to purify them but this is different. Now that a legendary has been corrupted we need to purify it immediately but the problem is that the legend in question is hiding.""There will always be corruption, wont it?" Ash asked though he already knew the answer.***FLASHBACK END***Ash was taken out of his thoughts when he heard he heard King curse and yell."F***! Stupid bug types take this!" King screamed at the Kakuna before he surrounded the bug with psychic lifted it high and threw it far away. Ash just sweat dropped at the scene.Since they were in the Viridian Forest, home to many bug type, Ash decided to train with King on how to use psychic on bugs. You see, moves like psychic, confusion and the like involves the psychic controlling the opponent's body and mind to cause damage. Bug types minds are harmful for psychics so they are practicing in using psychic only on the body and not including the mind. They trained by picking the bug types on their path using psychic and sending them away. So far Ash got the hang of it as he gently used psychic on a Caterpie and placing the bug on a tree a foot away from them. King on the other hand..."Sh*t! You motherf***er!" King wailed as he lifted a Metapod with psychic and throwing it far away again. Ash just shook his head. If there was anything King hated it were headaches from the three terrors as King called the weaknesses of psychic types. King normally loved mischief and pranks but as soon as he's hit with an attack of the three terrors he instantly becomes a cranky cursing cat with the temper of a Gyarados. Ash added 'accidentally entering a bug types mind' into the list of triggers King had to his personality change as he watched King launch yet another bug type to orbit.Ash still had 5 days until the swarm leaves but for his life he couldn't find a good enough Scyther. While Ash used his draconic powers to find the bug types, he also used his draconic senses to see the potential of each bug. Dragon types like Ash are always competitive and prideful. Dragons respect power and because of that lifestyle they could sense the hidden potential of others. The reason why dragon types are hard to train is that they could sense the potential in their trainers and if that trainer failed in their eyes then training or even getting its respect would be nearly impossible. Though there were cases that the dragon would change their mind once they see and get to know they're trainer better but those cases were rare.Ash found at least 5 Scythers and none of them called out to his draconic senses. Ash wanted the best for his team and finding that special Pokémon is the best choice but he won't force the Pokémon to go with him once he found it though he would try to convince it. Ash sighed and decided to think of something else as thinking about the failing Scyther hunt would just stress him out.Ash thought about the battle with Ho-Oh again and tried to see where he went wrong. In terms of raw power and ability he definitely got the upper hand but he lacks the battle experience and he focused too much on one aspect, power. It was exactly like Ho-Oh said. He had the power but no control. He also focused too much on psychic training that he didn't train his dragon aspect. He was happy about the battle with the legend even though he lost cause it gave him a lesson that power isn't everything.Ash just laughed a bit at the thought that even though he didn't train his dragon aspect he still had the dragon type thinking of just overwhelming the opponent with power. He was also thankful that even though he was a trainee turned trainer the Viridian gym still wouldn't accept trainers without seven badges. Ash didn't think he could win with all the stuff going through his head at the time plus if the gym leader was like the rumors about him suggested, he would've been given the same lesson again and this time from a human.Ash then thought about the next town Pewter city. Since the Viridian gym was a no go, the next gym was Pewter though they were other gyms in the area Ash wanted to battle the eight original and strongest gyms. Each region had lots of different gyms but there were only eight main gyms and usually those gyms were the oldest and strongest in the region. The other reason that Ash chose Pewter is because the next Pokémon contest would be held there from the announcement given by Ash's XCaster. Ash already had his mind set on using King for the appeals round and they both had the routine planned and were practicing it in their breaks from travelling.Thinking about the contest which was about a week from now Ash still had time. If he spent five days in the forest and one day to get to pewter he would still have a day to relax and register for the contest. That also gave Ash time to train Mael on contest moves and their own routine for when he uses the water type. Ash had to train Mael to move faster and gracefully on land since the Seadra was going to be used for the battle part of the contest.That didn't mean that Ash didn't train himself. After he lost to Ho-Oh Ash never wanted to lose like that again so he began training for control with the bug training he's doing with King and also connecting and training his draconic energy. Ash learned that the balance he has within himself wasn't as balanced as he thought. His psychic power is much greater than his draconic one and now his trying to fix that. He isn't trying to increase his psychic power anymore but rather learning to control it. He also discovered that the training he does in his human form gets transferred to his Latios form when he transforms which means that if he trains in control while still in human form by doing the bug exercise the control gets passed to his Latios form.While Ash trained in psychic control via bugs, he also trained his draconic energy by trying to summon it in the form of a ball the size of an orange while he is still in human form. He forms a green ball similar to a dragon pulse in ball form. It was quite hard to keep the ball stable as it keep on blowing up in his face but he eventually got it and the next step is that he ate the ball. By eating the ball of draconic energy he increases the potency and power of the energy already in him and by summoning and turning the draconic energy into a ball trains his control of the energy. He loved the training method and always does it even while he walks though he also hates it for exploding in his face at times.Ash continued walking through the forest looking for Scythers while ignoring the cursing cat next to him as he absently makes a another green orb of draconic energy and swallowing it. He had gotten so used to his training exercise that he could now do it while focusing on other stuff. Ash had to stop training as he sensed a human near his location. From the info he got from his senses it was a boy and said boy was looking for trainers from Pallet town so he can challenge them to a battle.Ash decided to avoid the kid because from what he saw the kid was still quite weak and Ash already battled so many bug trainers here that he got sick of it. So with that in mind Ash changed course and told King telepathically the reason why though all he got was more cursing from said cat. The two eventually arrived at a very large clearing in the forest which would've almost looked like grasslands if there weren't trees.There Ash saw Scythers and not just one or two but if he counted them all there would've been at least a hundred. Ash just had enough time to mentally say 'oh crap' as all Scythers turned and looked at them. Ash really needed to up his dragon aspect training if he missed this many Scythers from his senses.The Scythers closed in on the Ash and King. The two of them got ready to fight with King's orb glowing bright and Ash prepared to release Mael and transform right after. Just as it seemed like the battle would begin a cry stropped all of them in their tracks. Ash looked at the direction of the sound and saw a Scyther but this one was a little different. It had more battle scars and the blades were very sharp and it was a good size bigger than normal but still wouldn't be considered as King Nature. Ash guessed him to be the leader of the swarm.The Scyther leader and Ash stared at each other for a while before the Scyther leader turned and made a gesture to its swarm. The swarm of Scythers left the clearing until there was only the leader and a single Scyther left. The leader then looked at Ash then gestured to the other Scyther in the clearing.Ash looked at the other Scyther and felt his dragon senses screaming. The Scyther before him while not as impressive as the leader had huge amounts of potential. It didn't have any scars but its blades look just as sharp as the leader's. It was a bit smaller than usual Scythers but Ash could still see potential growth so this one was probably still young, maybe a year old. The look on its eyes though told Ash everything about the mantis Pokémon. In its eyes was fire, the desire to be the strongest and greatest of its kind.Ash, before, just wanted to learn of his origins but now found a new goal. He would rise to the top as a Pokémon, a trainer and a coordinator. He was a dragon and even if his species was peace-loving they were still dragons and dragons always were on the top, the apex predator. Ash felt something in him changed like when he first learned of his psychic essence. He felt his draconic energy sing and he knew that he found his draconic essence. If his psychic essence was a tempered mind then his draconic essence was his pride and will of being the apex predator, the top contender.The Scyther made a gesture and while King was already out Ash wanted to use a dragon though Mael was still a water type the Seadra already had the will and mindset of a dragon. Ash released Mael who instantly turned to face the mantis. The two pokemon eyed each other before the Scyther leader released a cry and the battle started.Meanwhile in Rocket HQ..."Why did you rescue those idiots of yours?" A man said as his appearance was hidden in the dark."If they were captured then the league would know where the rocket bases are, even if they're idiots the risk of such information leaking is far too great to ignore," the Rocket boss, Giovanni, replied."You could've just left it to us. We could've handled that easily," the man said."And get Team Rocket in your debt, no. Your group may have helped in the formation and funding of Team Rocket but I won't allow my group to be in more debt to yours and don't think I don't know about your groups support to other teams in different regions," Giovanni said as he exited the room they were in."Oh, but Giovanni your little group is already in our hands," the man said before he vanished without even a sound or flash.
Ash (Latios) (M) Ability: levitate, Hidden Ability: None, shown Moves: Water Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Protect, Thunderbolt, Recover, Luster Purge, Calm Mind, Psychic.

Ash's team

King (Espeon) (M) Ability: synchronize, Hidden Ability: Magic Bounce (active), Moves: Helping Hand, Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Bite, Confusion, Quick Attack, Swift, Psybeam, Future Sight, Psychic, Morning Sun, Psych Up, Signal Beam, Growl, Baton Pass, Covet, Dig, Trump Card, Double Edge, Refresh, Hyper Voice, Round, Echoed Voice, Light Screen, Reflect, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Calm Mind, Heal Bell, Return, Dazzling Gleam.

Mael (Seadra) (M) Ability: Poison Point, Hidden Ability: Damp (active). Moves: Smoke Screen, Leer, Bubble, Water Gun, Twister, Bubble Beam, Focus Energy, Brine, Agility, Rain Dance, Return, Scald, Double Team, Bounce, Signal Beam, Whirlpool, Water Pulse, Aurora Beam.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Thoughts'"HumanSpeech""PokeSpeech/pokedex"'telepathy'moves
Chapter 4
Sounds of slashing and a few explosions could be heard from the Viridian Forest and its source was in a clearing that while quite small was enough for a bigger than normal Espeon, a different colored Seadra, a smaller than normal Scyther and a boy to train in. Ash decided that training in the Viridian forest was better than just going directly to Pewter to wait for the contest to start. Though Ash thought of going to the gym first, he quickly rejected that thought especially since he had to work on the team's dynamics now that they had a new member.The sounds of a blade cutting through the air made Ash smile a bit as he looked at the newest member of his team, a Scyther he named Lee and the reason he gave the name Lee to the Scyther was..."I'm going to perfect my moves and if I can't I will fly around the clearing 200 times!" Lee shouted and Ash who was watching had a sweat drop. The Scyther is exactly like the kid in green he saw in a show about ninjas on TV once except that he doesn't shout about flames of youth or some other weird stuff. The Scyther was a training nut and while normally that was good since Ash didn't need to convince the mantis to train but Lee trains himself to exhaustion. He also keeps on challenging Mael and King and when he loses he goes through another training spree that Ash had to stop before he causes permanent damage to his healing body.Ash himself also got challenges from Lee but it was less than the amount Mael and King got. Ash remembered when he revealed his Latios form to Lee that the mantis challenged him right away and immediately attacked that he didn't give Ash the chance to reply though the mantis was later beaten quite easily. Ash was thankful that Lee was willing to help him in his goals though he can't help but feel exasperated that Lee keeps on challenging him and he felt similar emotion going through Mael and King.Ash now got the reason why the Scyther leader seemed eager to let Ash catch Lee. It seemed that Lee was like this even when he was still with his swarm that were probably sick of his antics to the point that they allowed him to get captured by a trainer namely him. Though Ash too was getting sick of the mantis' lack of concern for his own health and training addiction, he still wouldn't have any other Scyther than Lee because Ash sensed that Lee was one of the purest Pokémon he's seen.It had been 4 days since Ash caught Lee and 4 days of non-stop training. The first thing Ash had Lee do was learn a move to counter weaknesses or defensive move like protect and the like. Right now they're at the final day of training in the Viridian Forest. Ash also used this time to practice the contest moves and maneuvers with Mael and King.Ash took his pokedex out to see if Lee had improved from their 4 day training session. The pokedex's mechanical voice said in monotone. "Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Its claws are sharp as swords, and it is a powerful flyer. This Pokémon is rarely seen by humans and almost never captured. It is blindingly fast and its blazing speed enhances the effectiveness of the twin scythes on its forearms. This Pokémon's scythes are so effective that they can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke. It very rarely spreads its wings to fly. Its movements are like a ninja's. This Scyther is Male with the Ability of Swarm and the Hidden Ability of Steadfast which is locked. Known moves: Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, False Swipe, Agility, Wing Attack, Detect. It has the egg move Bug Buzz but is not unlocked."The fact that Lee had vacuum wave even before Ash had got the mantis spoke of the Lee's potential and proved that Lee had learned it by himself instead of the normal where trainers had go to move tutors or reminders. The fact that Lee had got bug buzz as his egg move was just the cherry on the top. Ash decided that with Lee's natural speed detect would be a good move to learn and unlike protect, which makes the user stand still while the attack is absorbed and nullified by the shield, detect is predicting the opponent's moves by watching the breathing patterns and muscle tension of the opponent and dodging them. By using detect, Lee is able to dodge and counterattack right away. So far Lee had gotten detect down pat and is now trying to master the move.King and Mael attacked with water gun and swift respectively while Lee barely dodged with glowing eyes that signified the use of detect. Swift is an attack that never misses because it tracks the energy of the target that the user locked on. There is energy in everything and everything has a unique signature and that's what swift uses to track its target.If Lee could maintain detect long enough until the stars starts to disperse while dodging another attack then detect would be considered mastered in Ash's eyes. Ash watched as Lee dodged star after star from the swift attack while simultaneously avoiding the never ending water gun but eventually the glow in Lee's eyes vanished and then the mantis was hit by both attacks.Ash quickly told his partners to stop while he checked on Lee but it didn't seem like he needed to as he saw the mantis stand up and looked eager for more. Ash just shook his head and allowed the session to continue. As the training session continued Ash thought about what he discovered. Thanks to Lee, Ash discovered his draconic essence and because of that Ash wants to repay the mantis and if becoming the most powerful Scyther or Scizor, if Lee ever wants to evolve, is what Lee wants then Ash will train him to be one.Ash and King had just arrived at the outskirts of Pewter city after a day of walking or maybe invisible flying. He looked at Pewter City from his position and while it wasn't as big as Viridian it was still bigger than Pallet. It was all rocks and stones in Pewter with the buildings almost all made of bricks, stones, and cement but there were two buildings that stood out even from the distance and those were the gym and the contest hall.The two buildings were easily the biggest. The gym was easily seen with the league symbol on its roof and the badge symbol just below it while the contest hall had a big billboard on its flat rectangular roof. There was also a third building that caught Ash's attention because it was quite big too but not a big as the gym of hall. Ash guessed was the museum that pewter was famous for.While Ash was busy looking at the view, he didn't miss the presence near him nor did King. Ash trained so he wouldn't be caught off guard again and always had his psychic senses out and the only time he didn't is when he's at a place where there are lots of bug, dark, and ghost types. So when the presence was in a certain distance Ash quickly turned to face the individual and said. "You know you shouldn't try to sneak on people or try to scam them."The man was wearing a red beanie, yellow sleeveless shirt, dark green pants and had a straggly beard. He was surprised and Ash could see that the beard he had was fake. Ash then scanned the man with his psychic senses and felt that the man had a lot of guilt, shame, regret and other similar feelings. Ash also found a huge amount of perversity surrounding the images of Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny in the man's psyche but the man didn't have any bad intentions so Ash just ignored it.'Great a pervert with a lot of negative emotions bottled up,' thought Ash who just stared at the man. Ash psychic scanning doesn't include reading thoughts or memories because that's rude and Sabrina helped Ash to control his powers so that he won't accidentally read thoughts of people or see their memories. Ash's scan is really just to see the emotional state, the intentions, and a quick overview of what kind of person the one being scanned is.The man finally snapped out of it and said. "What are you talking about kid those rocks your steeping on are my property and merchandise."Ash, in response, used his psychic powers to lift a rock. The man seeing that panicked a little until he saw a bigger than normal Espeon near Ash."You sell this," Ash said with a deadpan tone and expression as he looked at the rock. Then he looked back at the man and raised a brow as if mocking the man. The man while mad and embarrassed didn't say anything because it was stupid to call a bunch of rocks on the ground his and making people pay for it.Ash normally wasn't this disrespectful to people he just met but as a dragon he subconsciously measures a person potential or presence and the like and if the person gave a bad impression then his first instinct was to ignore , insult, and show no respect. Ash tried to curb this and most of the time succeeded in doing so but there are times where he fails and things like this happen.Ash was mentally berating himself. The man in front of him was powerful but the man's attitude and emotional state had made his dragon instincts judge the man as unworthy and Ash once again failed to curb his instinctual response. Ash thought that if his mother was there then she would no doubt give him a good scolding and lessons about impressions and what-not again."Sorry about that," Ash said as he quickly took a few Poke and gave them to the man. The man was reasonably confused and Ash just turned around and headed towards the city.Ash and King arrived at the Pokémon Center and immediately went to the counter. Ash was worried that maybe even though he checked many times that Lee might have over trained and did something to his body. So he a bit was surprised when he arrived at the counter it wasn't nurse joy but a girl in a wheel chair. The girl was maybe around 17 and had silver hair and forest green eyes. She wore a Scyther printed green t-shirt with blue jeans and black and green hikers that somehow matched with her brown skin tone. "Hello. How can I help you?" the girl said and Ash shook away his surprise mentally."Who are you and where's Nurse Joy?" Ash asked instead because even though he felt nothing bad or evil from the girl, he was still cautious because his Pokémon are rare."Cautious aren't you, that's good. Trainers need to be alert so that thieves like team Rocket wont trick them," the girl said and when she reached team Rocket her expression briefly turned into a scowl before she smiled again. "My name is Crystal, Crytsal Mathews. I help Nurse Joy most of the time. ""Ash Ketchum," Ash said as he took out his hand to which the girl took and shook. Ash decided that the girl could at least be trusted when he felt no lie in her words. "Could you get Nurse Joy? I need her to check my Pokémon for me. He's kind of a training nut and I want to make sure there isn't anything wrong with him.""Sure, just wait a bit," she said as she went inside the door behind the counter.Ash waited for a few minutes in which he spent by talking telepathically with King when a boy who looked about 17 walked into the Pokémon Center and headed towards the counter. Normally Ash would just leave the boy be and go back to conversing with King but the boy had a certain something that made Ash feel a bit wary of the boy.The boy had eastern appearance with red spiked hair. He wore a light blue t-shirt with dark blue jeans. His sneakers had an image of Darkrai depicted on them.Ash didn't sense anything bad or evil from the boy but he felt that this boy was someone he should watch out for and that confused him. Why would his instincts tell him this boy was dangerous?Ash was then surprised when he felt King tense and then the cat-like Pokémon's mind connect to his.'Ash, I sense ghost and dark type energy coming from this boy in waves,' King said telepathically. King normally just uses PokeSpeech to converse so if the espeon used telepathy then it must be serious.'What do you mean?' Ash asked.'It means that he's either blessed by a dark/ghost type legendary or he has a deep connection with ghost and dark type Pokémon and developed a link,' King replied.Ash was surprised to hear that. Blessings from legendary Pokémon are special because when they bless a human that human would be able to understand the PokeSpeech of any Pokémon of the same type of the Legend who blessed them and not only that but they might get some special powers similar to psychics or aura guardians.Linking on the other hand is the result of a deep connection of trust and friendship between a human and any type of Pokémon. Basically having a deep bond between the two that enables the human half to understand the PokeSpeech of any Pokémon of the same type of the Pokémon that they linked with but there are no special powers. The Pokémon on the other hand would be able to understand human speech.Ash felt himself get impressed even before he could get to know the boy. Linking or getting blessed is no small deal and is very hard to do and the boy is still quite young. Though Ash couldn't sense energy Pokémon give off when he is in human form but if he went into his Latios form then he would be able to sense and know the answer to whether the boy was blessed or bonded.Ash then sensed that nurse Joy was approaching so he pushed the thoughts about the boy and turned to face the counter door which opened to reveal the pink haired nurse and Crystal."Hello young man. Crystal told me you needed to have you're Pokémon checked up," the nurse said as she smiled at Ash."Yeah, you see Nurse Joy my Scyther, Lee, is a training nut and he trains to the point of exhaustion and even when he has injuries. I tried to curb that but so far…" Ash trailed off, not wanting to continue and remember the embarrassing moments but King's laughter in his mind didn't make it easy. Nurse Joy though understood and that probably meant that she dealt with similar cases before but Crystal on the other hand seemed surprised then excited the moment she heard the word Scyther."Wait, you have a-" Crystal didn't get to finish as the boy Ash saw before approached them."Crystal!" the boy said loudly. Said girl turned to face the voice and a huge smile formed on her face."Jake," Crystal said cheerfully. "Here for the contest?""Yup," the now named boy, Jake replied. "I can still register right?""Yes, you made it though you need to go to the contest hall to register but you already know that," Crystal said and then she and Jake entered into a conversation completely forgetting or ignoring the other people near them.Ash stared at them for a second before turning his attention back to nurse Joy."Sorry about them. Whenever they meet they forget about other people in the vicinity. Now how about we start that check up and how about I do it to your other Pokémon as well," Nurse Joy said.Ash nodded and handed the nurse his pokeballs but when he was about to return King, who was still eyeing Jake warily, the nurse stopped him saying that from what she saw King was as healthy as can be. Nurse Joy went into the door again and Ah waited for about 3 minutes before the two teens, Jake and Crystal, finally ended their conversation but they were now eyeing Ash which made the said boy nervous."Sorry about ignoring you," Crystal said. "But you have a Scyther right?"Ash nodded and the girl's eye shined and she quickly took out a pokeball and released a Scyther which Ash stared at for a while. The Scyther was big though, like the Scyther leader in the forest, was not to the point of having King Nature. Its scythes were looked very sharp and it had some scars. In its eyes was experience and silent strength. Overall Ash had to say that the Scyther was quite good and powerful if what he saw in its eyes was an indication."His name is Reaper. My dad gave him to me. He's my first Pokémon," Crystal said with a loving tone as she looked at her Scyther."So he's your starter?" Ash asked."No, my starters this guy," Crystal said as she released another Pokémon from a pokeball and Ash almost couldn't believe what he's seeing. In front of him is a black Charizard. Crystal just seemed to be amused by Ash's expression. "His name is Chark. Surprised weren't you? Shiny Pokémon are rare after all but you also have a rare one too. Your Espeon definitely has the king nature right?"Ash was a bit surprised Crystal knew that. Because of their rareness, shiny and king natured Pokémon were not really known and most just thought that king natured Pokémon had a special diet or that shiny Pokémon different coloring was dyed or something."You look surprised but don't you think that if I have a shiny Pokémon then I would know stuff like that?" Crystal asked though it seemed like a statement as well. Ash nodded at the logic. If she had one then she would definitely be informed about shiny Pokémon and their other counterparts."Hey Crystal, are you going to make me stand here listen to you talking or are you going to introduce me to your new friend," Jake said. Ash had almost forgot the boy was there and if it weren't for his psychic senses telling him that someone was nearby then he would've been surprised."Oh sorry, I almost forgot," Crystal said. "Jake this is Ash and Ash this is-""Jake Raptorian, Dark and Ghost type enthusiast at you service." Jake said cutting off Crystal who didn't seem to mind."Ash Ketchum," Ash said taking out his hand and, like Crystal, Jake took and shook it. "I'm a psychic but I don't really specialize in one type like others.""A psychic like floating and mind moving objects psychic?!" Jake asked with enthusiasm and when Ash nodded the redhead quickly got close to him and started babbling about this and that and some other stuff that Ash couldn't catch up with. Ash looked at Crystal with an expression clearly saying help.Crystal was able to pick the silent plea and was able to help pry the overbearing redhead away."So Ash, are you going for the league challenge or the grand festival?" Crystal asked once her friend calmed down. Jake looked interested in Ash's answer, probably because he was entering the contest and wants to know his rivals."Both actually," Ash answered and both teens looked surprised. "I couldn't decide between the two and King, my Espeon, recommended that I do both and I thought why not."The teens stared at Ash for a bit before both smiled.Ash flopped onto the bed of one of the rooms in the Pokémon Center. It had been a tiring day. After talking some more with Crystal and Jake who Ash, Ash went to register for the contest and received his Kanto contest Pass. He later returned to the Center and was greeted by Nurse Joy who gave him his pokeballs back and told him that nothing was wrong and that both were completely healthy.Ash also received a package sent from the nurse saying it was from Delia Ketchum, his mom. Seeing as he told his mother in Viridian about his choice of being a coordinator and a trainer, his mom promised to send him outfits for his contest. Ash was right about the outfit and while it was a bit too much it would do great for what he had in mind for the contest.Thinking about the contest Crystal would also be competing. Ash though about his chances now that he knew some of the competition. From what he saw both Jake and Crystal are experienced and strong trainers if his draconic senses are anything to go by. The thought of facing either that Charizard or Scyther had Ash both excited and worried and he doesn't even know what Jake would use, though since Jake said he was a Ghost or Dark type specialist then he would probably use Pokémon of those types, but he knew that Jake's Pokémon would probably be in the same league as Crystals or maybe even more since Crystal doesn't seem to be an active trainer or coordinator anymore.Ash saw and felt the guilt and regret appear on Jake's face when the topic of Crystals early retirement from being an active trainer came. Though Ash had a hunch on why he didn't press on the issue and left it at that. It wasn't his job to look into other people's pasts."Ash, I know your excited and all but go to sleep. You need to rest and your thoughts are echoing disturbing my sleep," King said sleepily on the floor by the bed.'Sorry,' Ash said telepathically before closing his eyes.The day of the contest arrived and Ash was now in the waiting room with the other contestants waiting for the event to begin. Ash had a cloak on that covered every part of his body except for his head when heard someone calling his name and turned to see Jake and Crystal heading towards him."Hey Ash ready for the contest... what are you wearing?" Jake asked as he finally made it to Ash and saw his appearance."A cloak," Ash replied nonchalantly."Well you are a psychic but it isn't really..." Crystal trailed off trying to find the right word to say without sounding rude."My real outfit is underneath this. I'm only wearing it because it attracts too much attention," Ash said in explanation."Why would you do that? Were in a contest we have to attract attention. I mean look at me," Jake said and Ash now really looked at the teen. He was wearing a dark suit that looked like it would be used for a visiting a funeral or attending a burial with how much black there was. Though when Ash looked closer it seemed to shift to purple at times and it also seemed to glimmer with a dull light like in one of those haunted houses."Well it does attract attention. The fact that your clothes seem to shift colors and glimmer and you look like someone just died, sure it attracts attention," Crystal said teasingly as Jake sent a glare at her. Crystal herself was wearing a gown with a white top and a black skirt that almost reached her heel. She also had a white scarf that went to her back. Though she was still in the wheelchair, Crystal had the look of a frail but beautiful rich girl."I can see the point of attracting attention part but trust me I don't want to reveal this yet," said Ash."Fine, your choice," Jake said. "What number did you get anyway? I have 5 and Crystal has 6 so I have to wait for a while before I get to perform.""I have 3," Ash said knowing that Jake was asking about the number he drew from the box when he got into the Contest Hall today. The order of who performs is decided by drawing from a box with numbers. The one with the number 1 is the first followed by 2 until the last.Crystal was about say to something when the music stared and the lights in the hall were turned on. All the contestants turned to the monitor in the room that showed the stage and the audience that were here to watch the contest.***Stage***"Ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Pewter City Pokemon Contest," A woman who had blue eyes and orange hair said. "I'm your host Lilian Meridain and here are our judges.""The director of the contest committee, Mr. Contesta" Lilian said as she waved her arm over to a man in a red suit and a spotlight hit the man's position."Thank you. I am glad to be here," Mr. Contesta said."The president of the Pokémon fanclub, Mr. Sukizo" Lilian said as she waved her arm again over to a man in a normal blue suit and a spotlight hit the man's position."Remarkable," Mr. Sukizo said."And last but not the least, Pewter city's very own Nurse Joy" Lilian said she waved her arm again over to the nurse and once again a spotlight hit the nurse's position."I can't wait to see all those healthy Pokémon," Nurse Joy said."And now without further ado let's begin the Pewter city Pokémon contest" Lilian said as the crowd screamed in approval. "To start thing off lets welcome contestant number 1..."***Waiting room***Ash watched the first contestant and saw that the appeals while great did not seem to get the judges to have any more reaction other than some polite words. When it was finally his turn next he felt his heart beat so fast it would burst but a hand from Jake and an encouraging smile from Crystal set his nerves straight and Ash went to the backstage.Ash waited until the second contestant left the stage and Lilian started to talk and when he heard his name being said he dropped his cloak and used his psychic powers to throw three small balls on the stage.***Stage***"And that was our second contestant. Now let's see if the third contestant can give us something more." Lilian said as she slowly raised her left arm and lowered it while saying. "This is also his debut into contest stage so let's give it up for Ash from Pallet town."The moment she said Ash Lilian, the judges and the audience heard a popping sound and smoke suddenly appeared on the field. The smoke was gone after only a few seconds and they saw a boy standing in the middle of stage. The boy wore a blue suit with black linings and a cape. The boy was staring down so they couldn't see his eyes but was able to see a monocle and his left eye. (Kaito kid outfit but blue with the sides black.)They watched as the boy flicked his hand and a small pop with a bit of smoke and out of nowhere a top hat with matching colors to his outfit appeared in the boy's hand. The boy put on his hat while raising his head and smirked a bit. The boy's eyes glowed and a pokeball rose from the boys back."King, its showtime," Ash said as the pokeball opened and released confetti from the seal on it. The pieces of colourful paper slowly fell from the release point and to the ground. The confetti then stopped falling and was outlined by a blue glow before it became a twister and the audience saw something in the middle of the twister. The confetti was ripped apart into little sprinkles that fell into the stage there the audience saw what was behind the wall of the confetti twister and they gasped. It was an Espeon but that was not why they were surprised. They were surprised at its size and that its fur was almost shining under the spotlight and it looked really silky and soft."Wow folks what a great entrance," Lilian said as the crowd got over their surprise and started to cheer.Ash relished the cheers and called the next step of their performance. He could've have just used telepathy to King but since the contest needed the audience to fully understand the performance he needed to call it out. "King, let's get this party started with light screen."King followed Ash instruction and with a whip of his tail and a turning of his head to the side light screen came into effect. The transparent, shimmering, rectangular panels surrounded King from a distance and created a sort of dome. The Audience was getting excited at what was to come next and Ash used his psychic senses to see the point where the excitement was at its peak before giving the next command."Dazzling gleam," Ash said and King released a flash of light. The fairy type attack hit the panels of light screen and created a light show that looked like the rising of the sun. Everyone was awed at the beauty of the lights that reached their seats and were more mesmerized by King who was bathed in the light and seemed to glow, fur looking even shinier.Ash waited a bit before calling the last combination and last part of their performance. "Echoed round."King opened his mouth and started to sing. As King sang multiple green, red or blue rings come out of its mouth but instead of the rings going straight in a line like a normal round attack, it expanded and continued to expand until it hit the light screen and the lights changed from a rising sun to an aurora of red, blue and green.Echoed round is a combination of round and echoed voice. Round is an attack that gets stronger if there are more than one Pokémon using it while echoed voice is an attack that gets stronger the longer it is used. By combining the two, Ash made it into an attack that gets stronger the longer it goes and if there are more Pokémon using it then the power gets doubled but it was the color effect that Ash wanted from the attack in this contest.Ash had to stop his expression from going exasperated or embarrassed because the audience might not understand the song but he did and what King was singing was definitely not appropriate."I love to prank and trick people and if you give me a female I like then I'll f-" King sang and Ash really had to stop himself from going red as the cat-like Pokémon continued its song.Ash felt the emotions of the audience and was happy that they found it great but the judges on the other hand don't seem to think so. When it was still the rising sun light effect the judges looked really impressed but when it became an aurora they seemed to deflate. Ash didn't know why because the appeal is great and the audience loved it but the judges seemed to think it was lacking or something was wrong judging from the emotions Ash felt from them.Deciding to think about it later Ash ordered the finisher. "King, wrap it up."King listening to Ash increased the power of echoed round to the point that it destroyed the light screen. The panels became sparkles that fell onto the stage and once again emphasizing King's great fur. King slowly and gracefully went to Ash's side and sat on his hunches before both he and Ash bowed with Ash taking of the top hat and swinging his arm dramatically to the side.The audience clapped and screamed in approval and delight. Lilian waited for a moment for the audience to calm down a bit before doing her job. "What a performance! And this is Ash's first time in a contest. We know you loved it but let's hear it from the judges.""The lights brought out Espeon's marvelous fur and its voice was simply great. I have to say I enjoyed that." Mr. Contesta said and Ash had to hold back laughing. If only the judge could understand what that wonderful voice sang."Remarkable." was Mr. Sukizo's comment."The way that Espeon's fur shined showed how well raised and cared it is. It warms my heart like the lights it showed," Nurse Joy said before Lilian took back the spotlight."What a great feedback and now let's see what Ash's score is," Lilian said as the screen started to randomize numbers before stopping on 27."27, let's give Ash one last applause," Lilian said as the audience said their farewell to Ash who moved to go back to the waiting room not bothering to return King who followed him.***Waiting room***"Good job out there," Jake said as Ash had just entered the room. "It was great for a first timer but you realized that something when you got a lower than expected score right."Ash nodded. Once again thinking about what he did wrong but before he could contemplate more on the problem Jake put a hand on his shoulder. Ash turned to look at Jake who just had his head staring straight ahead and walks out the door."Watch my performance and you'll know why," Jake said not bothering to look back as he entered the backstage. Ash was still looking at the spot where Jake stood quickly turned his head when he felt something tug his cape. He turned and saw Crystal but it was the candle on her lap that caught his attention though he quickly realized that it wasn't a candle but a Pokémon, a Litwick, a ghost and fire Pokémon native to Unova and Kalos if he remembered correctly.Ash was about to ask Crystal if the Litwick was hers before he heard Jake being called and when he looked at the monitor he saw his new friend in the middle of the stage.***Stage***Jake kept his head low before he took out a pokeball. He raised his head and threw the ball into the air and when it opened black smoke came out and from the smoke they saw a silhouette of a Pokémon with a scythe-like tail, and a sickle-shaped horn on the side of its head. The smoke cleared to reveal an Absol. The Absol moved its head a bit and it looked like its fur released sparkles when it moved."Nost, let's show them what a dark type can do. Start things off with Future Sight then use Faint attack," Jake said.The Absol's eyes glowed blue signalling it used future sight before it disappeared before reappearing on the other parts of the stage and disappeared again all while its eyes were glowing unnerving and scaring a few in the audience. This continued for a short time before the audience sensed a shift in the air of the hall and after a little bit of time passes, the wind blows strong and a sphere of rainbow colored energy comes out of nowhere heading for Jake."Razor wind," Jake said.The Absol then reappeared in front of Jake and the scythe on Absol's head glows white and it swings its head, sending out white crescent blades of energy. Rather than being destroyed the ball of energy and the razor wind combined into a tornado of multiple colors.While the tornado was still there, Jake called his last command. "Perish song."The audience was shocked by his order but the Absol still carried it out. Nost sang crimson sound waves coming out of its mouth as its heart-wrenching voice reached every corner of the building. The tornado slowly died down as the song continued and as it was fading it released sparkling particles that rained down on Nost. Everyone heard its voice and couldn't help the tears that fell from their eyes even though they couldn't understand what the Pokémon.***Waiting room***Everyone was crying but Ash. Ash listened. He understood every word of that came out of the dark type's mouth.It was about disasters. Tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tornadoes, storms but what really hit Ash were disasters that were caused by humans. Floods, landslides, acid rain and the like that were caused by actions of humans. Being a Pokémon Ash is in tune with nature and hearing this made him mad but most of all sad.Ash then realized something. Absol is considered the disaster Pokémon for being able to predict natural disasters and for always being spotted when one happens. Jake played on the fact that Absols are known for disasters and made it into inspiration for a performance. He had Absol create a tornado out of the future sight which made it seem like premonition. He also emphasized on the dark typing by bringing out scare tactics like when Absol was using faint attack with glowing eyes because most think dark types as scary, ruthless, dangerous or brutal.Ash finally understood what Jake was trying to tell him. It wasn't about how beautiful or flashy the show is but how you portray the uniqueness of the species, type and the Pokémon performing. Ash now knew that while flashy it didn't bring out King's essence. Espeons are considered the sun Pokémon and while the rising sun effect from the dazzling gleam portrayed that, the aurora that came next had no relation whatsoever to King's species or typing.Ash looked at the screen and saw that Jake got a score of 29 and was now exiting the stage. Even though knowing that Jake was coming, Ash was still looking at the screen because the next performer was going to be just as good and was looking to see if he could learn some things from the former trainer.***Stage***Crystal was there in the center of the stage with her eyes closed. On her lap were both her hands and a pokeball. She slowly opened her eyes and raised both her hands and threw the ball. It sailed up before opening and releasing white smoke. The moment it opened the halls temperature dropped considerably and from the smoke they saw glowing blue eyes.The smoke was still there when Crystal called out a move. "Jackie use hail."There was a light blue glow in the white smoke before it darkened above the stage and a thick fog forms. Snow starts to fall from the smoke turned cloud and unlike a normal hail it didn't have the big shards of ice that goes with the snow.On the stage Crystal hadn't moved but merely closed her eyes again and said one word that had made the audience gape and worry for her wellbeing. "Blizzard."The slowly falling snow turned into vicious as winds picked up the ice and snow and then curls around and circles around the stage. From the cloud that hung over the field a figure was seen exiting the cloud. It was a humanoid Pokémon with a hollow torso that resembles a kimono. Its body lacks feet and its arms are connected to the sides of its head, and flare at the wrists. Its hands consist of three small fingers. Its head is shaped similar to a sideways water droplet, and is topped with two ice crystals that resemble horns. Its head has several holes on it, resembling a mask. Through two of these holes, crystal blue eyes with yellow sclera can be seen. It was a Froslass.The Froslass went behind Crystal and hugged the girl who leaned back against the wheelchair and the pokemon. Soon the two were enveloped by the blizzard and hidden from view. A few moments had passed when everyone got worried and the judges was about to stop the contest to check if something was wrong when they heard Crystal's calm voice cut through the loud blizzard. "Ominous wind."A cyclone of purple wind stopped the blizzard and let the people finally see behind the veil of ice and snow. The Froslass's head was held down and they could see the tears in the Pokémon' eyes and the white scarf in its hands. Then the Pokémon blinked before it spins, creating a cyclone of purple winds that once again concealing the area of near Pokémon. The winds died down and then they saw that it was only Crystal in the middle of the stage with her eyes closed.Crystal opened her eyes and bowed while still in her wheelchair as the Froslass once again revealed itself from out of nowhere and bowed with her.The audience was still stunned before one regained his senses and clapped his hands. The others soon followed and a huge cheer was heard.***Waiting room***Ash was once again taken by how deep and meaningful the performance was. It portrayed the legends surrounding the Froslass species. The way people believed that Froslass used to be women who got lost on icy mountains. It depicted the history of the Pokémon and now Ash understood that there is more to contest performances than just flashy moves.Ash saw that Crystal got a score of 29.5, the highest given by the judges."So do you finally get what went wrong?" Jake asked from Ash's side with the ghost and fire Pokémon on his shoulder.Ash nodded and said. "It wasn't about how good and flashy the performance was but the meaning and thoughts behind it. It's about showing the uniqueness of the Pokémon's type, species and history. ""Exactly," said Crystal who just got back."Wonderful performance as always," Jake said."Thank you but that was mostly Jackie, who I have to thank you for," Crystal said."Oh it's nothing I just thought that it might suit you after Jackie was drawn to you the moment she saw you," Jake said."Wait a minute, what are you guys talking about? And whose Litwick is that?" Ash asked completely out of the loop."Oh, you see Jackie was originally Jake's Pokémon but Jake gave her to me when Jackie didn't want to leave me and that Litwick is Jake' he just got it when he went back to Kalos," Crystal explained. "Jake is a Kalos naive but he has relatives here so he usually comes to visit or travel around Kanto and Johto to participate in contests."Ash nodded, showing he understood, Crystal then turned to Jake and said. "Nostradamus looked quite stunning now compared to before. You really broke him out of his habit now didn't you?""Yeah, but it was a hassle," Jake said and once again Ash felt left out which the two teens immediately noticed. "Sorry about that Ash. Nostradamus is my Absol, you know the one I just used a while ago. I named him that for fun but it was kind of long and he refuses to change his nickname so I just shortened it to Nost."Ash was about to say something when the monitor in the room blurted out Lilian's voice saying that the appeals round was finished. The three realized that they must've been talking for quite a while and turned to the monitor to see Lilian announcing the people who were going to the next round. The number of people that would get to the second round varies for each contest. Some contests have 4 while others have 8. It looks like this one has only 4 that could go to the next round.The first was obviously Crystal seeing as she got the highest score followed by Jake and some unknown guy that Ash couldn't remember but mostly he was worried if he wouldn't be chosen, though those worries seemed to be for naught as Ash saw his face appear on the board with the others. The cards with their faces were shuffled before the pairings were announced and when he saw who he was paired with Ash knew he might not win this.***Stage***Standing in front of Ash was Jake and Ash felt that the confidence he had was quickly dispersing. Before Ash thought that winning contest would be easy after all his friends are strong and knew how to be flashy but now he learned being flashy is not all there is to contests.Jake seemed to sense Ash's feelings called out to the boy. "Ash, no matter what happens let's give our best."The moment Ash heard the word best something in him resonated. Ash then remembered his essence. He wasn't one who just gave up when things got hard. He was a dragon with a mind that can match major legends. He felt stupid forgetting this and that even if the odds weren't in his favour he would fight to get to the top because that is his calling as a dragon. And he won't just do it through brute force, no, he is psychic and he would keep his emotions and ego in check to obtain victory in an efficient way without relying on brute force alone.Ash turned to look at Jake who was surprised to see the look and Ash's face and shivered. Ash had the look of predator about to eat his prey. Ash nodded at Jake before a pokeball appeared hovering, orbiting around Ash. Jake cast a look near the judges to see Ash's Espeon sitting calmly on its haunches next to Nurse Joy."Let's get this contest battle underway," Lilian said "You have 5 minutes to battle it out. Contestants release your pokemon."Ash didn't need to be told twice as his pokeball opened and released a surge of water that quickly turned into a whirlpool before dispersing to reveal a dark blue and pinkish Seadra. The audience didn't seem to mind the different coloring but the judges and Jake thought otherwise.'A shiny and a king natured one both under the same trainer...' Jake thought a bit uneasy and jealous seeing a kid, who just started his journey, have such Pokémon. Similar thoughts were going through the judges' mind. Jake shook his head. 'Even if it's shiny it isn't invincible.'Jake then took out a pokeball and released it. The pokeball released a lot of flower petals which was then immediately cut into extremely fine pieces that made it looked like powder. The Pokémon, who appeared, had Ash mentally cursing. It resembles two swords sheathed on a plaque. Each sword has a pink eye with a black, linear pupil on the hilt, as well as a pink, tassel-like arm emerging from the handle. It was a Doublade and it is a Pokémon that had one of the most troublesome abilities.Doublade and its evolutionary line with the exception of Aegislash only have the ability No Guard. Unlike what its name suggests, No Guard is an ability that makes every move that both the opponent and the Pokémon having the ability never miss. If a Pokémon having No Guard battles its opponent gets an invisible mark that attracts the attacks of the ability holder. The same happens when the opponent attacks the holder. It's an ability that disregards dodging and is perfect for Pokémon with great stamina, endurance and power. While the Doublade line is not known for its stamina, it has the largest amount of resistance and immunities and also has high physical endurance which would make it a troublesome opponent.Ash decided to call out the first move. "Scald.""You're going down rusty,"Mael didn't waste a moment in releasing a stream of scalding hot water surrounded by steam from its snout at the opponent.Jake instantly countered. Though No Guard made dodging useless it didn't include blocking, intercepting or deflecting. "Excalibur, counter that with swords dance."The two floating blades started spinning rapidly and when the water hit it was deflected. The Doublade stopped and was sparkling from the water that was still near it."If you want to win then you have to do better than that young wanna be dragon," The floating blades arrogantly said and Mael was beginning to get irritated."What a counter and that takes points from Ash," Lilian said as the points around Ash's picture on the scoreboard got shaved a bit.Ash winced, that was a bad opening move. If he wanted to win then he would have to get Mael to bombard the Doublade with attacks to prevent it from striking back and because of that swords dance the opponent just got even stronger.Even though Ash didn't want to use this move it couldn't be helped because Mael needed every advantage he could get. "Mael use rain dance."Mael moves and spins its body around. Then it points its snout up and an orb of water went up. Mysteriously rain clouds start appearing above the stage before starts to pour. Summoning and using rain dance was easy but maintaining it was hard. The energy required to keep the rain going would be tough to handle for normal Pokémon. Even Mael, who was a shiny, can only keep it up for 45 minutes and that was only when he wasn't using any other attack. Ash didn't want to use this because it would tire Mael easily but for them to win it was the only choice."What does Ash have planned with this rain dance?" Lilian said as she stood near the Judges both which was covered in a thin psychic shell that kept the area dry.Jake was thinking the same thing and he knew that it would be dangerous to just charge in without knowing what Ash's plan was so he choose to use a ranged attack. "Excalibur use flash cannon."A silver orb of energy forms in front of Excalibur's body, and then fires a silver beam from the ball at Mael.Knowing that dodging was useless Ash decided to intercept it and Mael seemed to get the idea cause even without Ash ordering it Mael fired brine just when the attack was about 3 feet away from it. The two attacks met and were equal for a moment before the flash canon was overpowered and brine continued and hit the sword Pokémon. It also had the effect that the salt from the water that was from the evaporated with the heat of the flash canon when the attacks met fall on to Mael while looking like sparkles."Take that! Who's the wanna be now huh, you ugly second hand toy sword. You think you're all great because you have the same name as a king's famous blade but you're a sham Excalipoor. hahaha," Mael said and Ash tried to keep a straight face and not start laughing. Mael is normally quite reverent and polite but when he gets into battle he becomes a trash talking seahorse."And the blades were washed away along with Jake's points." Lilian said as Jake's points were taken and visibly more than what was taken from Ash's. Jake himself was wondering if Ash telepathically ordered his Pokémon or not. Ash seeing Jake's questioning look easily knew what the teen was trying to ask."I didn't command Mael or used telepathy," Ash answered the unspoken question. "Mael has been with me for three years and we know each other well enough that he would be able to tell what I am thinking and what move I would say next. Also I've trained my partners to use moves and dodge on their own and while they do that I analyze the opponent and then I take command for the finisher."Jake an 'o' with his mouth before the teen smirked a bit and relaxed. Ash was a bit unnerved with the change of emotion within Jake. Before he could ask why he saw the Doublade was heading towards Mael with its blades glowing with dark energy, a night slash attack. Ash was a bit surprised but he quickly shook it off, if he who was a beginning trainer can get his Pokémon to do things independently then an experienced trainer like Jake would have been able to do the same.Mael looked at Ash and Ash knew what Mael was trying to say. He gave a nod and Mael used whirlpool. Mael's body glows a bluish-white color and it raises head and snout to the air. A huge whirlpool comes out of it and forms above Mael but instead of throwing it towards his opponent. Mael shot the whirlpool towards itself and made it into a defensive ring with him at the middle that made any who enters would be at the mercy of the water.The Doublade who was charging tried to stop but was unable to because it was already too close and was promptly swallowed by the swirling waters."Incredible! Ash's Seadra used its whirlpool, an offensive move, as a defense instead," Lilian exclaimed. Jakes's points once again lowered on the screen."Excalibur, you know what to do," Jake said and then something was shining from inside the water.Ash saw sparks and knew what was about to happen. Sparks were signals that an electric type move is about to be launched and the only damaging electric type move Doublades can learn is Shock Wave."Mael use protect!" Ash shouted urgency in his voice. Mael, just in time managed to create a green force field surrounding its body as a beam of light blue electricity struck. The attack completely destroyed the whirlpool and Ash was really glad he finished teaching Mael that move when they were still in the Viridian forest. Even though Mael had this worship and obey personality, he is still a Seadra and Seadras are naturally aggressive. Making them learn defensive and evasive moves outside their natural moveset is hard. It took weeks to make to make Mael learn double team and protect."That was such a lame attack can't you do anything else rusty edge," Mael said though inwardly he was a bit worried. That attack would have done massive damage if it reached him."Oh there is more where that came from and I'll assure you I will have you on my blade," Excalibur replied looking eager to attack. Ash sweat dropped. It seemed that Mael's comments made it madMael and the sword Pokémon were glaring at each other. Ash was thinking about what he learned about Jake's Doublade. It had a variety of moves and is able to use its ability to the fullest with all the counter moves it has. To win they would have to use an attack that is hard to counter at the same time appealing and great to look at or take advantage of his point lead and try to last it until time runs out.As Ash was thinking he felt ghost type energy gathering but he couldn't see any sign of Excalibur performing an attack and that was when he noticed the shadow that was creeping towards Mael."Mael watch out for the shadows and if possible use protect again!" As cried out to his partner. Mael finally stopped glaring at the Doublade who seemed to be grinning, if a sword could grin, to see that the swords shadow had almost reached him. Mael tried to put up protect but didn't make it in time as the sword's shadow came out of the ground and the shadow sneak scored a direct hit."Mael, if you can use twister for cover," Ash said trying to stop any other attacks so he could make a plan.Mael was about to do so but was stopped as Excalibur waa now directly in front of it, blades glowing with dark energy. Both Ash and Mael were caught off guard and Ash noticed a slight red glow coming from the sword Pokémon and the move that could increase speed with a red glow for steel types like Excalibur came to his mind, Autotomize.Ash could only watch as Excalibur became a blur as it struck home with night slash and just in time for the buzzer to signal that time was up. Ash and Jake both looked at the screen and it showed who the winner was."We are now in the final round of the Pewter City contest," Lilian said. "On the right we have the local Pokémon Center volunteer, Crystal Mathews." The crowd cheered as the spotlight shined on Crystal who waved back from her wheelchair. "And on the left we have the ghost and dark type specialist from Kalos, Jake Raptorian."***With Ash***Ash was in the hallway heading towards the stands. Since he was out of the competition he wasn't allowed back to the waiting room. Even though he lost Ash didn't feel that bad. Sure he was disappointed that he didn't win but he more than that he felt excited.There was still more he could learn and most of all there were lots of strong people. He knew that there would always be someone higher but facing one of them here made his blood boil. He was a dragon type and dragons loved to fight and prove dominance and Ash was no exception. Rather than wallow in defeat all he felt was the need to prove himself.Beside him King just looked at Ash a bit before grinning. He saw the look in Ash's eyes and knew that whenever Ash made that look then there would be a lot of interesting things that are going to happen which would involve battles. King is always ready for a battle and in that battle he gets to screw his opponent's head.Ash made it to the stands to see that there was only 2 minutes left and both Crystal and Jake had half their points gone. Seeing as that you can't change Pokémon for the battle stage Jake had his Doublade, Excalibur, out. Crystal's Pokémon on the other hand was very familiar with Ash after all it is the same species as King's self-proclaimed rival. The yellow rings around its black fox-like body were an immediate give away."What a battle folks. Both sides keep going back and forth while maintaining grace and beauty. This is truly what defines a contest battle," Lilian said as the crowd agreed with cheer.Crystal and Jake eyed each other and their Pokémon did the same. Ash saw that while Lilian said they had a back and forth exchange it looked like both sides didn't take that much damage though there were some scrapes and a few cuts on the Umbreon and a some small dents on the Doublade ."You gotten good Jake but like all those times in the past you still won't beat me. Night use dark pulse!" Crystal commanded. The Umbreon opens its mouth and a light purple orb surrounded in black and purple circles appears inside it. It then fires a beam of black and purple circles from the orb inside its mouth at the Doublade."Don't think all our battles would end the same. Excalibur use swords dance then quickly charge in with fury cutter!" Jake ordered. Like what happened in Ash's battle the dark pulse was repelled by the spinning swords and quickly, with a red shine signalling the use of autotomize, the sword Pokémon instantly got near and slashed with bug type energy at its blades.Ash was quite confused about the relationship between the weaknesses of psychic types. Dark, ghost and bug types are all super effective against psychic types and they all have a certain strange relationship that makes researches interested.Bug types are super effective on dark types for some reason which is still being debated by researchers but the most probable answer was that bug types can instinctively locate the special organ that creates dark type energy and disrupt the flow with their bug type energy and when a none bug type user uses a bug type move that hits the bug type energy in the attack would infiltrate the dark types body and travel to that special organ and do their job of disrupting the flow. Dark types still do normal damage to bug types though.Dark types are super effective against ghost types and the reason is that dark type energy has a special property that rejects supernatural energy like ghost type energy and their spectral energy. That dark type energy also protects them from the spectral energy ghost types use in their attacks.The relationship between ghost and bug types is another strange one. For some reason bug type energy is ineffective against ghost type and would deal minimal damage. Researchers believe that bug type energy is effective on those that have a physical body and against ghost types being ghosts who have a non physical body would deal minimal damage.Seeing that Night is a dark type, the bug type attack did major damage and it was even strengthened by swords dance which increases the physical damage of attacks. The Umbreon cried out in pain when the attack hit and was thrown on the last slash back towards Crystal."Night, can you still continue?" Crystal asked in worry as Night tried to steady himself. When Night managed to stand properly he sent a glance at Crystal which she understood."All right let's even things out, Payback," Crystal said and Night was covered in a really dark aura.Seeing the build up Jake tried to make Excalibur counter but was to slow as Night instantly crossed the distance between the two Pokémon and hit the Doublade with a vengeance. Payback is an attack that gets doubled in power when the user was hit with an attack before using this move. Being part ghost type, Excalibur felt extreme pain when he was hit.The sword Pokémon struggled to keep afloat but was able to stabilize itself and gave a glare at the smirking dark type."Can you keep going?" Jake asked and he received a snort like rumble in response. Jake smiled a bit before issuing his next command. "Ok let's end this right now, Excalibur get close and use sacred sword."Ash was surprised. Sacred sword is a special fighting type move that ignores the opponent's defense completely. Not only that it is a move that the legendary Pokémon Cobalion, Terrakion, Virizion, and Keldeo, the swords of justice from Unova, cherish and is their favourite move as well. Unknown to everyone else from Ash knew that the move has the power to purify corrupt Pokémon and can only be learned when the Pokémon is pure of heart. To learn that move signifies that Jake's Doublade is at an extremely high level and is pure and that would mean that Jake is pure-hearted as well.Crystal saw that the move would definitely end this battle if it hits and made a decision to issue the only move in Night's current moveset that might be able to counter the sword Pokémon assault."Night counter with foul play!"The two Pokémon quickly met in a clash. When the swords attacked Night, Night grabbed one of them, turns them around, and throws them to the ground. The remaining one quickly hit him and Night was hit with a barrage from the one remaining sword. In the end the two Pokémon were on their last legs when both were thrown back to their trainers when they're attacks collided and exploded because of the fighting and dark energy clash.The two Pokémon looked at each other before both tumbled down. While Night got swirls in his eyes, Excalibur struggled a bit before it got back into the air."And the winner of the Pewter City Pokémon Contest is Jake Raptorian!" Lilian shouted and the crowd released a loud cheer.
Ash (Latios)| (M)| Ability: levitate| Hidden Ability: None| shown Moves: Water Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Protect, Thunderbolt, Recover, Luster Purge, Calm Mind, Psychic.

King (Espeon) |(M) |Ability: synchronize|Hidden Ability: Magic Bounce (active)| Moves: Helping Hand, Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Bite, Confusion, Quick Attack, Swift, Psybeam, Future Sight, Psychic, Morning Sun, Psych Up, Signal Beam, Growl, Baton Pass, Covet, Dig, Trump Card, Double Edge, Refresh, Hyper Voice, Round, Echoed Voice, Light Screen, Reflect, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Calm Mind, Heal Bell, Return, Dazzling Gleam.

Mael (Seadra)| (M) |Ability: Poison Point |Hidden Ability: Damp (active)| Moves: Smoke Screen, Leer, Bubble, Water Gun, Twister, Bubble Beam, Focus Energy, Brine, Agility, Rain Dance, Return, Scald, Double Team, Bounce, Signal Beam, Whirlpool, Water Pulse, Aurora Beam, Protect.

Lee(Scyther)|Ability: Swarm | Hidden Ability: Steadfast(locked) | Known moves: Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, False Swipe, Agility, Wing Attack, Detect, Bug Buzz (egg move:locked)

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

'Thoughts'
"HumanSpeech"
"PokeSpeech/pokedex"
'telepathy'
movesChapter 5It was finally time for Ash's first gym battle. Ash was standing in front of the Pewter gym in his normal travel clothes with King by his side. Just as he was about to enter he heard voices or rather the loud excited thoughts of children.Normally he won't hear the thoughts of others unless he wills it but in some cases, where the mind would be off guard and that is usually the case when people are excited or having other high emotions, he could do so without meaning to as while he was powerful his control was somewhat lacking.'The mystery Pokémon... I wonder what it is,' a boyish voice was heard in Ash's head.'The mystery Pokémon is definitely a legendary I just know it,' another voice enthusiastically said.'An unknown Pokémon that can turn invisible... I just got to catch it plus its blue my favourite color,' another voice this time girlish echoed in his head.Ash had to stop sending out his psychic senses and used his draconic ones instead.'You know this is your fault right,' King telepathically said. 'If you had just walked instead of getting lazy and flying we wouldn't be in this mess.''I know don't remind me,' Ash replied grimaced as he replied. It seemed that someone in the Viridian Forest saw Ash's Latios form when he flew to Pewter and, with Ash's psychic sensors down, he didn't even know until it was too late and rumors of a blue pokemon that can turn invisible spread like a wildfire in Pewter and Viridian heck Ash would bet that after a month the whole region would know. 'I'll walk next time no matter how long and boring it's going to be.'King just rolled his eyes at that and stared at the gym's entrance. Ash decided to put the problem at the back of his mind for now to focus on the incoming gym battle. The Pewter Gym is one of the original eight gyms of Kanto that specializes on rock types with its gym leader Brock. Rock types are known for its high defenses and endurance with decent physical power plus adding the fact that its super effective on bug and flying pokemon, which are common on the road to Pewter and resistant to normal type attacks, makes it hard for newbie trainers with pokemon having no type advantages.Ash steeled his nerves and took a deep breath before he opened the gym's doors and went inside.In a loud voiced he announced. "I am Ash Ketchum from Pallet town and I'm here to challenge the Pewter City gym."The inside of the gym was shrouded in darkness as the lights were off but Ash could sense people inside some on the sides but the one that caught his attention was the one in the middle who had this aura of authority."I accept," A voice said and then the lights were turned on and the field was finally revealed. It was rectangular had lots of boulders and rocks on the rough and rocky terrain surrounded by seats like that of a stadium at the sides with railings separating it from the field and at the end of the field there stood a teen.The teen was at least 14 to 16 yrs. old. He wore a loose orange long-sleeved V-neck with a black undershirt and baggy green pants with brown shoes. The teen was obviously Brock as he was on the field and was emitting a certain feel of authority. (Brock's heart gold/soul silver outfit)Ash was about to say something when Brock held up his hand."Before we begin first we need to do this," Brock said as he gestured over to a corner near the seats the left of Ash where there was something that looked like one of those restoration machines in the Pokémon Center. The only difference was that it had a slot in the center."Put all your pokeballs and no, you don't have to return your Pokémon just place the balls there and then place your Pokedex in the slot," Brock said. "It's something new that the league just implemented."Ash was a bit wary but mostly curious and, sensing no lies or abnormalities in Brock that he could feel, went to the machine and did just that. It started to make computing sounds from those sci-fi movies he watched as a kid and finally stopped when underneath two of his pokeballs glowed red and the last one blue."That machine is something the league set up to make matches between gym leaders and challengers more even," Brock said amusement clear in his voice after seeing Ash curiously poking his pokeballs. "It will select random Pokemon from your team and how many are selected and their color determines the rules of the battle. Because 2 are red and 1 is blue, this would be a double battle between you and me first after that we will have a one-on-one battle with the remaining pokemon."Ash's eyes widened a bit at that and couldn't help blurting out. "Wait! Random, you mean I don't get to choose my partner!? And what do you mean by different rules.""It's something the league introduced to help really test both the challenging trainer's and the gym leader's skills. A lot of times there are some skilled trainers that have a low amount of badges or bad ones that have a lot because of that this was implemented," Brock explained as suddenly there was a flash and another machine similar to the one on Ash's side though this one was on the opposite side and near Brock could be seen. It didn't have the slot and had three pokeballs glowing in the same manner as Ash's."You see, it's not just you that gets random selected Pokémon but the gym leader as well. We don't know which of our pokemon gets selected or what battle were going to have and that forces both challenger and gym leader to think of strategies and counters on the fly," Brock further explained as he took the two pokeballs that were glowing red. "The machine checks your record and scans the pokeball to know the current level of the pokemon and then it picks a pokemon from the gym leader's side with a similar level."Ash nodded as he heard that. It was true that a lot of trainers went to minor gyms and battled there because the level of battles was said to be lower than the main ones and that became the reason why there was an excess amount of trainers in each conference and most of those were awful trainers. Ash can see why the league put this in action to stop those who tried to get into the conference via shortcut. Ash also knew that a gym had lots of pokemon with different levels to test the challengers though the minor gyms usually picked the weaker pokemon for the challenges."What are the new rules?" Ash asked curious and also somewhat worried. This really ruined his plans on how to conquer each gym in Kanto."Glad you asked," Brock said. "It's all in the color you see, of course the number of pokeballs is important too but it's mostly the colors. Blue means normal rules concerning gym battles. It means that it's just the good old who knocks out the other first with the challenger being the only one to able to make substitutions and if there are more than one blue than both gym leader and challenger discuss on what kind of battle they want it to be. Red is about restrictions. You are going to be stuck using only pokemon that have been selected and if there is more than one red than that is going to be multi-battle format where for example if two then its doubles. The last is yellow and it concerns trials or maybe games. You are going to have to do things like racing or crafting with your pokemon and by 'with' I mean doing it together like sculpturing, not only will your pokemon do it but you too have to help in forming it. The rules differ on the chosen game and you can only use the pokemon selected but you can use them again or switch unlike in red and that's about it."The first two Ash could understand but the last one was an interesting concept. Rather than battles, it's like games from game shows that his mom likes to watch. His mom said that while battles and contest were a good way of judging how well raised a pokemon is and their relationship with their trainer it's a bigger challenge for those in the show she watches because not only the pokemon but the trainer must work together in a way they aren't used to and that really test their compatibility and teamwork."Would you like to start now or maybe think about a bit first," Brock said. Ash looked and saw that he was already on the field with the two pokeballs in hand.Ash shook his head and took the two pokeballs that shined red. "No I'm good let's start."Ash went to his part of the field and looked at Brock and wasn't surprised when he heard a voice to his left and saw a boy younger than Brock but definitely looked like him. "Both trainers release your pokemon."Ash and Brock released their pokemon at the same time when the flash ended it revealed Mael and Lee on Ash's side of the field and Ash felt relieved. He was worried for Lee because, even though he was strong and Ash thought of himself as a good trainer and strategist, gym leaders were strong and with Lee being both bug and flying type this would be the worst gym for him. That instantly went away as he saw the opposing pokemon.On Brock's side of the field were two really rare, if you think about it, pokemon that were basically the bane of his current lineup. One has a half-moon, disc shaped head, with two small, forward facing eyes. Its body has a light gray chest plate with a brown shell resembling a visible backbone, containing three ribs protruding on each side and a thick pointed tail. It does not have hands, but large, sharp, gray scythes. Its legs are brown and thin, leading into small feet with two large gray claws.The other has ten tentacles and a pale yellow, helix spiraled shell on its back. The shell's hem has two circular indents, from which its large saucer-like eyes protrude. They were the thought to be extinct prehistoric pokemon Kabutops and Omanyte. Ash had heard from Prof. Oak about how some people successfully revived ancient pokemon from fossils but he didn't think that it became so common that now even gym leaders have them.This was bad because both Omanyte and Kabutops are part water types Mael's attack aren't that effective anymore and he was counting on Mael to finish of the two with minimal support from Lee.'Well there goes that plan,' Ash bitterly thought to himself. The referee, who Ash dubbed in his head as mini-Brock, shouted. "This is a battle between the Pewter City gym leader Brock and the Challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet town. Are both competitors ready?"Ash looked at Mael who looked back and nodded. Mael understood that most if not all of Ash's attention would be focused on guiding and commanding Lee. Mael would have to fight on his own without any input from Ash.Ash and Brock nodded and then mini-Brock raised his hand and slowly lowered it while saying. "Begin!""Lee use agility," Ash said. Lee needed all the help he could get and by using agility Lee should be able to at least move fast enough to dodge. On the side Mael also used double team then used agility making almost thousands of shiny Seadra's on the field. Then the copies plus Lee started to disappear and reappear randomly around the field."Let's see if you idiots can even find which one of me is real oh wait you're idiots so you can't. Hahahaha," Mael taunted as he and his copies circled the two fossil pokemon which were trying to find the real one and follow the green mantis and failing quite well."Keep up with me! I desire a good battle to test myself with and you better be strong," Lee said, unknowingly just insulted both fossils with his words."When we get our hands on you..." the Kabutops muttered though was still heard by all which got Mael to snort. "You catch us, ha! You old geezers are better of trying to race a slowpoke."Both of Brock's pokemon looked confused, bit panicked but mostly pissed as they looked around. Seeing this, Brock had a thoughtful and curious expression on his face before saying his commands. "Kabutops use metal sound then when they are immobilized Omanyte use rock tomb."The Kabutops had a certain gleam in its eyes as its scythes gained a metallic sheen which it quickly and hardly rubbed against each other causing a horrible noise which caused everyone to hold their ears. Ash grit his teeth as he held his hands over his ears though his pokemon got it worse as they didn't have hands to cover their ears with which caused them to stand still just to be buried under huge rocks that were summoned by Omanyte.Ash was quite worried. While he knew Mael could withstand that he knew that Lee couldn't and he could only hope that the mantis was still ok.The rocks moved before being blasted apart as a green shield came into view and in it were Mael and Lee which caused Ash to smile realising what happened."It that your best well it was hardly effective," Mael said with a bored tone of voice that was quickly followed by Lee saying. "Your strength is great. I will enjoy this battle!"Ash sweat dropped a bit at the contrasting words coming from his pokemon. Similarly Brock had once again a curious look while he eyed his pokemon who looked really mad and irritated. Ash shook his head before once again saying orders. "Lee use agility again followed by a vacuum wave on Omanyte."Brock instantly called to counter knowing that if it hits it would be bad. "Omanyte use withdraw and Kabutops aqua jet on Scyther then follow it up with slash""Please accept my attack and judge its power," Lee more liked shouted than said which made Ash want to bash his head on something, preferably the wall. Both fossils on the other hand had incredulous expressions and Ash didn't need to read their minds to know they thought of Lee as an idiot or maybe a lunatic.Lee instantly disappeared from sight even faster than before and then suddenly appeared above Omanyte with its scythes crossed and surrounded by a light blue wind. Then Lee slashed and a shockwave of wind came down. Omanyte having heard the command instantly hid in its shell reducing the damage but still got hit hard.Lee on the other hand, after launching the vacuum wave, received a nasty hit from Kabutops' aqua jet sending him flying to Brock's side of the field but before Kabutops could finish up with a slash attack it was rammed in its side by Mael who proceeded to use scald on Omanyte blasting it with water so hot it was steaming sending the fossil to the right edge of the field. Both Omanyte and Scyther collided with rocks sending up dust which obscured the view."Lee!" Ash shouted in worry. Ash could tell easily as well as anyone else that Kabutops was the higher level of the two fossil pokemon that Brock sent out and that Kabutops as a species were thought to be powerful physical fighters even if its build suggest otherwise.The dust slowly cleared and there stood Lee looking like he would drop dead faint but was still determined to battle even without Ash using his senses he could still see it in his eyes. Nearer to Ash Omanyte slowly moved out of the smaller crater in the ground but it stopped and winced. Both Ash and Brock noticed how Omanyte's body had a red hue signaling it got burned."You still ok to go on?" Brock asked Omanyte who quickly looked back at the gym leader waving one of its tentacles. Brock took that as yes and Ash definitely heard Omanyte say a string of cusses mostly centered on his team.Mael and Kabutops were mostly in full health and at their partner's sides but it looked like their partners might drop out early. Ash was expecting this kind of thing to happen since this was Lee's first true battle against another person's pokemon and a gym leader to boot. In fact Ash was impressed that Lee was still standing.Ash knew this might be the last move Lee could do and was about to announce his order when Lee's body got surrounded by a light green aura. Lee's eyes lost focus and before he disappeared in a burst of speed and appeared before two surprised fossil pokemon and swung his scythes, which were larger and were glowing red, repeatedly. Each strike looked stronger than the last and Ash quickly deduced that it was fury cutter and that Lee had just activated his ability swarm.Ash was a bit stunned and surprised but not Brock. "Kabutops grab Omanyte and aqua jet away."Kabutops did just that and was about to shoot into the air when Mael suddenly appeared above them and used water pulse sending the two fossil pokemon right back to Lee, who was slashing at anything in range even the surrounding rocks. Ash narrowed his eyes at this. It seemed that Lee had gone berserk. They would have to do something about that later but right now they had to take advantage of the situation.Lee was still on a rampage though this time it was focused on Kabutops who fought back. Lee slashed sideways which was blocked and then Kabutops tried to counter but was quickly forced to defend another slash from the other scythe. They were in a stalemate for a while before Kabutops stepped backwards a bit causing Lee to stumble forward right into a slash attack. Kabutops tried to continue but stopped and lost its breath a bit when a scythe from Lee, who looked was unaffected by the pain, hit its abdomen causing a few rocks of its rock-like armor to fall."This has gone long enough," Kabutops said as he started going more offensive than defensive. The exchange went on and it was scythe against scythe as they furiously slashed at each other. One scythe covered in a red aura and another in white. At the sidelines Omanyte tried to assist Kabutops with a water gun when Mael appeared in the line of fire and tanked the hit before it shot another scald.Ash saw that they had the advantage but that changed when he saw Kabutops get faster and faster as more of its armor fell off. Kabutops was now easily avoiding, blocking and countering Lee's attacks. Ash tried to tell Mael to assist Lee but it was too late as Kabutops landed a slash that knocked back Lee and finished it with an ice beam.Ash realized that Kabutops had an active hidden ability and it was definitely weak armor. Weak armor is an ability that makes them faster in exchange for the pokemon becoming more susceptible to physical attacks when hit physically. With its current speed, Kabutops was the fastest on the field which spelled trouble for Ash and Mael."Scyther is unable to battle," mini-Brock said as Ash returned Lee back to his pokeball. It was a two on one or would've been if it weren't for Mael using brine on a very injured Omanyte causing it to faint from the pain of the salty waters on its wound but it didn't go without hitting Mael with one last mud shot that while wasn't very damaging slowed him down a bit."Omanyte is unable to battle," Was announced as Brock returned Omanyte back into its pokeball. Ash and Brock stared at each other as Mael and Kabutops did the same. It was now a one on one match and Ash knew that Kabutops had the advantage. Kabutops could do well on both land and water while Mael is handicapped on land. Normally, Seadra were faster than Kabutops but that was on water and with Kabutops' speed now that weak armor activated...hitting it would be the least of problems.Ash also suspected that it knows some grass type moves, notably mega or giga drain but didn't use it because Lee was still in the battle. They were in a bad spot and there was only one thing Ash could think that could even the playing field. He looked at Mael who must've felt the stare because it broke his staring contest with Kabutops to look at Ash. The two stared at each other for a while before they both stared at their opponents again for the final round."Well then let's see if the old fossil from a retirement home for idiots and morons could keep up with me, right master?" Mael said in his most condescending voice. Ash normally would've been exasperated or something similar but if making the fossil angry, which it was, so it would make mistakes then he would play along."Yeah, let's see. Mael, how about we have soothing drizzle to help the old man unwind?" Ash said which got Brock to raise a brow but made Kautops more angrier if its trembling was anything to go by."I may have been a revived from fossil but I'm not old! I'm still young by my species' standards," Kabutops raged as Mael just snorted and shrugged making it angrier.Mael quickly followed the order and sent a blue orb staright up without hesitation and unnecessary movements. This wasn't a contest so there was no need to show off. Ash knew that using rain dance right now could potentially backfire on him but it was the only way he knew that could help Mael counter this current situation. If Kabutops had swift swim as its ability then he was screwed.Rain clouds quickly gathered and then heavy rain fell. Both pokemon felt the rain empowering them, more so Mael than Kabutops. Ash and Brock stared at each other for a while before they made their move."Mael use whirlpool and then follow it up with a barrage of water pulses" Ash said at the same time Brock ordered. "Kabutops use aqua jet to get close then giga drain"Mael quickly summoned a giant whirlpool and like in the contest made it into a defensive ring. Then Mael fired in rapid succession blue orbs into the whirlpool rather than its opponent making the orbs revolve in the water and made it even more dangerous. Kabutops on the other hand went into the air and the spines on its back were already glowing green as it tried to find a path of attack without being caught in the whirlpool. Ash noticed that its speed hadn't changed and felt a bit of relief that it had a different ability.It remained airborne for a bit before suddenly one of the water pulses from inside the whirlpool launched itself at it. Kabutops and even Brock was shocked at the seemingly mysterious and impossible feat that it couldn't react fast enough. Kabutops went down directly into the whirlpool and was battered by the harsh moving water and, more times than not, hit by the water pulses in it.This attack was a combo that Ash and Mael thought of together. It was only supposed to be defensive but one time while training for it Mael lost control of the whirlpool causing some parts of the water to spike and when one of the orbs in it hit it flew up at a certain angle making both Ash and Mael realize its potential and since then Mael trained to learn how and when to cause spikes in the whirlpool to get the right angles.Ash and Mael were quite proud of it though it wasn't mastered yet as it only worked 3 out of 10 times. In fact they were really lucky that it worked when it did now. Ash also thought of naming this move as aqua revolution because the orbs revolve similar to the way planets revolve around the sun.At first Kabutops was getting battered by the water and orbs but it didn't last long. Kabutops quickly adjusted to it and was now swimming in the water and expertly avoiding all the orbs and there were beams of green energy coming from its back and it branched into the water. Ash realized that it was indirectly absorbing Mael's energy through the whirlpool.Ash was about to issue a command but stopped as Mael had a multicolored orb in its snout. The orb grew a bit before Mael launched it and it changed into a dragon-shaped beam. Ash was stunned. It was dragon pulse, a move Ash tried to teach Mael and failed every time and now it was swirling along the whirlpool before it reached Kabutops and hit causing an explosion that destroyed the whirlpool and made steam and dust to appear on the field.The smoke began to clear and Mael was the first one to be visible. Mael was still levitating though barely and it was obvious that he was exhausted as he keeps dropping to the ground every now and then but then Kabutops was seen and it was clearly knocked out."Kabutops is unable to battle. The winner of the double battle is Ash the challenger," mini Brock proclaimed and Ash felt all the tension and stress he had on the battle disappear and replaced with extreme feelings joy, accomplishment and pride."Yes! We did it!" Ash happily shouted out as he ran to Mael on the field and proceeded to hug the seahorse keeping in mind to avoid its spikes."Of course, liked I'd lose to a retired old geezer," Mael said though Ash could see some grudging respect from the seahorse's eyes when he mentioned geezer. Ash rolled his eyes then he took out Mael's pokeball and returned him."Well that honestly surprised me. How did that water pulse flung itself on Kabutops?" Brock asked naturally curious."It was just Mael spiking the water," Ash said and seeing Brock still confused he elaborated. "Mael has almost total control of the whirlpool and by suddenly making the water spike underneath a water pulse orb it made it rocket upwards at certain angles. Honestly we were just lucky this worked because this move usually failed."Brock nodded slowly trying to process what he was told. Brock's expertise lied in rock types and while he knew a lot about other types of pokemon he wasn't all that knowledgeable of them. In fact Brock wanted to examine Ash's pokemon. Brock wanted to be a Breeder one day and to become one he needed knowledge and experience. While Brock handled many different kinds of pokemon before he hadn't had an encounter with those that were shiny or had King's nature.Speaking of those rare pokemon, Brock didn't see the big Espeon with the kid anymore. "Hey, Ash where's your Espeon?""Huh, what are you talking about he's right..." Ash looked to his side where he expected to find the troublemaker only to see nothing. Ash searched for his cat-like friend. He was actually worried because King hadn't said anything throughout the match. He didn't notice it before because he was too busy with the battle but now that he thought about it he hadn't heard a word from him even before the start of the battle.Ash began to use his psychic powers to try and search and was surprised to find King's aura at the back of mini-Brock. He walked towards the area and saw King there SLEEPING. Ash's eyebrow twitched and he saw buckets of water near the corner, probably used to clean up after battles. Ash gained a glint in his eyes as he lifted a bucket with telekinesis and made it hover over King.Brock and his mini had an awed but a bit wary look, well mostly the mini. Brock just looked at Ash. Brock had noticed that Ash seemed to react every time his pokemon said something and found that somewhat odd. Of course he had his suspicions but he was happy he was right. Brock knows Sabrina from meeting her at the gym leader meetings that happened during the conference so he knows that unlike most psychics he battled who tried to read his mind, which was hard to do so when Sabrina trained each gym leader how to resist it even if they weren't psychics, Ash fought him fairly without relying on his powers.Brock watched as Ash poured the water on the Espeon and it jumped an impressive height before landing again. The Espeon looked around before it found a bucket and Ash smirking as at him and instantly put two and two together.King glared at Ash and vowed to prank him hard as revenge.'No one pranks the prankster,' King thought to himself as he gained an evil look that had Ash gulping.Brock smiled a bit before he went back to serious. "Since you found him let's start the last match."Ash and King both looked at Brock before they hurried to their corner as Brock got the third and last pokeball from the machine. Without prompting Brock released the pokemon. It was a turtle-like bipedal Pokémon with plated, grayish rocks as its shell. Its head was protruding out of the center of the shell, short arms that have three claws, and two legs with five-clawed feet that have four claws in front and one in back. It has red eyes and a flat snout with two pointed teeth in its lower jaw."Golem," The pokemon cried though only Ash and King could understand that it said. "Finally I get to battle.""You don't get to battle much huh?" King asked."Tell me about it. There are hardly any challengers with pokemon at my level in fact you're the first this season." Golem replied and then the two quickly went to conversing with each other leaving Brock and his mini confused while Ash nodded as they continued to converse and at times joining in to give his input.Brock stared at the scene in front of him a bit before he shook his head. "Are we going to battle or not?"The trio quickly stopped and looked at Brock a bit before Golem returned to its battle stance. Seeing that conversations were over King gone into a crouch that made him look like he was about to pounce with his left paw at the front and right in the rear.Mini-Brock looked at the two before announcing. "Begin!"Brock wasted no time calling his first command. "Golem use rollout!"Golem immediately curled into its shell and began to roll. Ash and King were impressed, the speed of Golem's roll almost left blurs though rather than hitting King it continued to roll in different directions but never actually hitting him.Ash and King looked at each other for a while before King went back to see that Golem had gotten even faster. Knowing that getting hit by that would now be bad but leaving Golem alone would be worse as rollout's a move that gets stronger the longer it's used, King made his move.King used confusion and got rocks in the arena to spike beneath Golems path causing it to go airborne though interestingly enough it was still curled into itself rather than not like most pokemon do to counter while in the air. King instantly used psychic as soon as Golem was launched into the air.Ash saw that at first it seemed like the pressure was doing good damage. He looked at Brock and saw that rather than looking worried Brock a bit of smirk and then it happened. Golem spun its body rapidly and released a white glow that would change to green from time to time. King instantly released his hold on it and as he staggered back Golem slams into King from above causing a cloud of dust to appear.Steamroller was what Ash though the attack to be. 'No wonder King cut off the connection.'Psychic attacks like well psychic and confusion were attacks that connect the user and target with a psychic link. While powerful it leaves the user prone to damage if the connection was disrupted by bug, dark or ghost type attacks via link since the energy could travel through it too. To prevent it the user has to abruptly cut the connection causing them to get a bit of backlash from doing so, leaving them open.Ash smiled which confused Brock as the gym leader looked to see the boy's expression. With Golem's weight plus the power collected from the rollout steamroller would be quite damaging in fact it could possibly win the match. When the dust began to clear Brock understood why Ash smiled as a hole in ground was scene where the Espeon was.'Well it seems that this won't be as easy as I thought' Brock smiled a bit with excitement, if this was like the last battle then Brock would be in for a treat. He hadn't had any good challengers apart from a select few but Ash was really making him work for it. "Golem he's underground, use earthquake for double damage."Golem smirked and said as he jumped. "You better resurface or your toast.""Oh I will do more than that," King said as he jumped off the ground behind Golem out looking a bit worse battered a sign that he didn't completely avoid the attack. With a ball of black and purple in front of his mouth, King launched the shadow ball to where Golem would land and then quickly jumping back up as the ground shook from Golem's earthquake.Golem was hit back shook it off and then went back to using rollout this time aiming for where King was about to land. Seeing no way to dodge, King braced himself as he landed and was hit full on by Golem knocking him back up. King righted himself in midair and used reflect making rainbow-colored round barrier appear in front of him. Golem came back for a second hit but most of the force was taken by the barrier giving King enough time to use confusion again to launch the hulking ball of rock into the air.This time rather than using psychic King used shadow ball. King launched the shadow ball but it was moving slowly. Brock wondered why and was answered when King launched swift from his tail into the ball bathing the stars in spectral energy. The stars quickly impacted Golem before it could start spinning for steamroller. Golem was blown away from King and out of range for a steamroller."Golem use earthquake," Brock called as Golem was nearing the ground. Golem righted itself at the last moment and crashed into the ground causing it to shake again. King was too late to jump braced himself as the barrier absorbed more of the damage but King was still hit from the brown and orange energy coming from the ground."I have to admit that you are quite the battler Ash. This is one of the best battles I had this season," Brock said letting their pokemon get a bit of rest for a moment after the barrage of attacks and commands that they did.Ash seeing King was a bit winded from the intense exchange decided to buy some time for his partner too. "Thanks. It's quite the compliment coming from a gym leader.""But you're still holding back," Brock said which had Ash widen his eyes in surprise. "I know Sabrina and she tells us fellow gym leaders some of the powers you human psychics possess. What I'm telling you is stop holding back. While some might call it a cheat I don't think so. Also it would even the playing field after all look at Golem, he's hardly took any major damage from your attacks."Ash thought about it. Brock is asking something that would be a huge deal to any psychic. Most of the time psychics only use it in battles against other psychics or in emergencies but Brock was asking something normal people would never ask psychics. But there's also the battle to be thought about. Brock was right after all, Golem still looks really good and full of energy while King looked ok but was definitely banged up a bit.Ash continued to ponder when he felt King reach to his mind and turned to his partner.'It's ok Ash let's do it. After all it would be rude to hold back against an opponent who really wants an all-out battle. Besides let's make them regret making us use it, ' King telepathed which had Ash smile a bit before Ash went to face Brock again."Ok Brock but don't say we didn't warn you," Was all Ash said before he closed his eyes and a visible blue aura leaked from his body and connected with King's aura which was purple that leaked as well.Brock watched as the two auras melded together and become one before disappearing. He knew that he just dug his own grave with this but he wanted to see. He wanted to see Ash's full power, his potential. He saw Golem tense and looking into the megaton pokemon's eyes all he could see was anticipation and excitement. Golem almost never battled due to the opponents almost always being low levelled but with this he could also go all out.Brock knew what was going on. Sabrina informed all gym leaders of a powerful technique that only special people could do like those who were linked or blessed by pokemon as well as aura guardians. Sabrina called it the Soul Pledge because the process of using and doing it was like a pledge. It involved fusing your aura and your partner's aura to achieve amazing feats and to do that is to focus on the special bond between them. The special bonds mentioned weren't how well they get along but rather things like the psychic bond or blessings.The users no longer needed to use commands because their partners already know what to do. It was like they could read each other's mind and predict each other's move. They could also share senses if the connection was strong enough. Not only that but by doing it they power up every move they use for the duration and what's more is that it wasn't limited to one pokemon in fact if a human psychic had six psychic types that he made a psychic bond with then he could do the Soul pledge with all of them.Though the power was great it also caused uproars. Most if not all of the normal trainers who couldn't use the technique called it cheating because of its gains but it also had failings like both trainer and pokemon would be exhausted at the end due to the strain of keeping the connection active which made it limited and couldn't be used more than once even if it was possible and had a time limit. Because of that psychic and other special people don't use it unless the opponent could also use it or in emergencies.'Though if what Lance and the others said were true then the unofficial ban of the technique would be removed.' Brock thought to himself as he remembered Lance raving about a pair of stones in the champion's joint call with all the gym leaders and important figures in Kanto and Johto.Brock shook his head fondly remembering the fascinated and excited looks of his fellow gym leaders at the news before he returned his attention to Ash who finally opened his eyes which were glowing blue.Psychics could do the Soul Pledge easily with enough practice and seeing as Ash was definitely not a novice when it came to using his powers Brock knew he could use it. Though Brock wondered what was Ash's time limit seeing as Sabrina could only keep it up for 15 minutes at most and that's with one pokemon. He didn't have time to wonder though because without warning the Espeon leaped into action.King instantly knew what Ash wanted him to do and what his partner had planned. First King jumped back and used morning sun healing some of the damage as well as recovering a bit of strength and stamina before he closed his eyes and used calm mind and to increase his non-physical attack power and to help get both him and Ash more focused on the battle.Brock seeing the succession of moves didn't hesitate to use his own set of power-ups. This battle he would definitely have to lead and command if he wants a shot to win now that his opponents were serious. "Golem use curse and then rock polish and immediately follow it up with rollout."Brock knew the stakes were high and using curse which increases Golem's physical strength in exchange for speed would be good but something told him speed would be a deciding factor so to negate the speed loss rock polish was used though he hoped it would be enough.Golem rolled toward King with obviously more force and speed than before. King still had his eyes closed as he continued using calm mind and waited. 'Now,' the combined voices of Ash and King reverberated in their psyche.King jumped above the rolling Golem before sending orbs of psychic energy above into things that looked like warp holes. He then used confusion to lift Golem up and forced him out of his ball and hit the rock type with a signal beam directly in the face. The combination of confusion and signal beam successfully got Golem confused as it began to hit its head against the field before the orbs of future sight returned and rained hell on Golem.The field was covered again in a cloud of dust though it was obvious who won as Ash's eyes stopped shinning and the boy and his partner staggered like they were drunk. Both Brock and his minis jaws were on the floor. Brock knew that the Soul Pledge was a powerful technique but he didn't think it would be this great. Golem couldn't react on time to the successive attacks and King did all those attacks without hesitation.'I think I understand why many other trainers think this is cheating' and 'holy crap' were the only thoughts along that were inside Brock's mind.Ash chuckled a bit as he tried to steady himself. Brock's mental defences were down an Ash could hear his thoughts as if he screamed it. Ash looked at the field as the dust started settling and saw that Golem was indeed knocked out. Ash couldn't help but feel a bit bad for it as Golem wanted to battle so much but when he did it was over quickly but that feeling was quickly overwhelmed by the fact the they won. They won the gym battle."YES! WE WON," Ash screamed into the gym as he ran to King which looked more like a wobble and proceeded to hug the living daylights out of him."Ash let go you're choking me... Help!" King screamed though the two other people in the gym just stared dumbfounded at the two. Slowly Brock got over his shock and shakes his head fondly at the scene as his mini announced the battle over. Brock gut was right, speed won that one and the lightning fast execution was flawless.Ash noticed Brock approach and stopped celebrating for a bit even if his footing was a bit shaky. Even though he was a legendary in his human form he has the same limitations as that of a real human so using something like Soul Pledge would drain him quite a lot especially since it was a technique for humans and pokemon and not between two pokemon."Ash as a sign of your victory over the Pewter Gym I present to you the boulder badge," Brock said as he handed Ash the gray octagonal badge.Ash looked at the badge and couldn't help the childish glee escaping him. "I got the Boulder Badge!" Ash announced as he started to hop around or well tried to while King slowly lowered himself to the ground with a groan as he looked at his partner."Also accept this as thanks for that great battle," Brock said as he handed Ash a disc after the trainer stopped being hyperactive. Ash could only stare at the disc that was clearly a TM if the label Rock Tomb was anything to go by."But," Ash began but stopped when Brock held up a hand."It's ok the league also allowed gym leaders access to extra TM's and if we find a good trainer we have the choice to give it to them so it's yours now though it probably won't be of use anytime soon as no one on your team can use it. Sorry about that," Brock said to the gaping trainer in front of him."No, it's ok. TM's are valuable so even if I won't use it now it doesn't mean I won't ever use it," Ash said gratefully as he placed the TM in his TM case.Ash was about to say more when the door of the gyms opened again and the person who entered shocked those inside... well to Brock and his mini, Ash on the other hand just felt their emotions run amok.It was a nice sunny day on route 3 where Ash, King and Lee were travelling in peace... well trying to without problems."Lee finish it with fury cutter," Ash ordered as Lee slash one last time at the opposing Raticate resulting in it fainting."Oh man. I thought we had a chance," the opposing trainer a young boy said as he went to Ash and gave him his winnings before making himself scarce.'That was a seventh battle today and it's still early noon,' King complained as Ash sighed but wholeheartedly agreed.It wouldn't be a problem if they were skilled or high levelled trainers who could give Ash a real challenge and maybe tips and lessons but all the trainers here were mediocre at best. Ash looked at Lee, who he hadn't returned yet, once again training by practicing his slashes. The only good thing about this was that it gave Lee some experience working with him."Lee that's enough return for now," Ash said trying to imitate his pokespeech with success as he returned Lee who saluted at him before being sucked into his pokeball.'Note to self. Don't leave Lee alone with Mael. It would make things a lot more troublesome,' Ash thought as King looked at Ash in alarm who quickly reassured him that no one was nearby. With route 3 having almost no bug types Ash freely allowed his psychic powers to scan the area, of course he also used his dragon senses as a second scan in a shorter range."You better be sure cause I don't want us mobbed by people thinking you can talk directly and understand pokemon and make us translators," was King's wise words that Ash just rolled eyes at.It had three days since he left Pewter city and said goodbye to both Jake and Crystal. Crystal would stay in Pewter while Jake decided to go to Vermillion via Diglett's cave then make his way towards Lavender town to visit the Pokemon Tower and see if there were any interesting ghost types there.It had also been four days since he got the boulder badge and sucked into that strange situation at the Pewter City gym.'Man that had been rough,' Ash commented mostly to himself as he took his backpack of and took his portable bike out.'Yeah tell me about it,' King joined in as they both thought about what happened in the gym.They were about a half a day away from the Pokemon Center mostly because Ash travelled as fast as he could by using his bike but even that couldn't stop other trainers from challenging him.There about to take a rest on a clearing near the road when the bushes near the path rustled before a round, pink ball with pointed ears shot out from the bush. It turned and they saw the huge blue eyes. It had small, stubby arms and somewhat long feet. On top of its head is a curled tuft of fur. It was a Jigglypuff but it was obvious that something was wrong as they saw the frightened and horrified look in its eyes and the fact that it had burn marks on its body and bruises in some parts that looked nasty.Though it looked miserable and hurt Ash couldn't help but freeze up. Jigglypuff were part fairy type which were the bane of dragon types everywhere. Dragon types always prided themselves as the most powerful type well until they cross fairy types. Fairy types were similar to dark types in origin and they developed a special organ that grants them immunity to draconic energy of the dragon types as well as counter it.Ash quickly got out of his mini panic attack from his instincts that told him of the threat Jigglypuff could pose when another figure walked out of the bushes. This time it was a purple, serpentine Pokémon. Its eyes, underbelly, the thick stripe around its neck, and rattle are yellow. It had three pairs of black lines encircling its body, as well as another line that connects each slitted eye and curves toward its nose. Its large mouth has a round, pink tongue and no visible teeth. It was an Ekans."There you are. Think you could escape huh?" said a man who also came out of the bush and Ash's eyes widened when he saw the black outfit with a big red R on the chest. The man had a baton that was surging with electricity.The Jigglypuff looked extremely frightened and before Ash knew it he was in front of the Jigglypuff with King and both their eyes were glowing.The man stopped and trembled a bit as he saw the boy in front of him. He heard what happened to some rockets that were unfortunate enough to come across a psychic and knew this might end badly for him but he kept a facade of being pissed to try and see if that would threaten the kid.Ash growled in anger. He knew now what happened. It was easy to see as the burns and bruises in the Jigglypuff's body and the baton sparkling electricity in the rocket's hands and no fire type nearby only just an Ekans. Yeah he knew.Ash showed no remorse and so did King in beating the rocket. Though King merely used confusion on the Ekans and gave it a thrashing by crashing it into trees and the ground, Ash had the rocket in his psychic hold and the anger he felt against this scum who harmed pokemon was not something that was healthy. The Rocket had his legs broken and hands practically crushed by Ash's psychic powers and just as Ash was about to do more when King stopped him. The Espeon pointed at the Jigglypuff that was now unconscious behind him.Ash looked at King who nodded and Ash breathed in and out, trying to calm himself. He grabbed his backpack and pulled out ropes which he then he proceeded in tying the rocket to a tree and taking the man's pokeball and returned the Ekans and placed it in one of his bag's pockets.Ash glared one last time at the rocket before he looked at the fairy type it was obvious the fairy type was in bad condition as he saw that it wasn't just burns and bruises but judging from the purple hue on the fairy type's face, poison. Ash didn't have any antidotes with him right now as they were out of the Viridian forest so he thought he would be ok without some. Looking back at the Jigglypuff Ash cursed a bit. It wouldn't make it if he tried to run to the nearest Pokémon Center that was at the foot of Mt. Moon seeing as it was half a day away and judging by its condition it wouldn't last 3 hrs if not given medical attention fast.Ash briefly considered transforming and flying towards the Pokémon Center but quickly shot it down if this rocket was not alone then he would be exposed and then he and his family would be targeted and he would hate himself to be the reason his mom, Delia, got hurt. Of course he knew the possibility of that happening was low since he scanned the area but he wasn't sure if the rockets had some gadgets that would help them against psychics. There was one solution and he didn't want to do it without the fairy types consent but this was an emergency.Ash took a spare pokeball, enlarged it and caught the Jigglypuff. He immediately pressed the button on the ball to put the pokemon in stasis to help buy more time as he got on his bike after returning King and sped off to the Pokémon Center.A few hours later the rocket would be discovered not by other trainers or the police but by a woman with red hair with pink highlights.
Ash (Latios) | (M)| Ability: levitate | Hidden Ability: None| shown Moves: Water Pulse, Dragon Pulse, Protect, Thunderbolt, Recover, Luster Purge, Calm Mind, Psychic.

King (Espeon) | (M) |Ability: synchronize | Hidden Ability: Magic Bounce (active)| Moves: Helping Hand, Tackle, Tail Whip, Sand Attack, Bite, Confusion, Quick Attack, Swift, Psybeam, Future Sight, Psychic, Morning Sun, Psych Up, Signal Beam, Growl, Baton Pass, Covet, Dig, Trump Card, Double Edge, Refresh, Hyper Voice, Round, Echoed Voice, Light Screen, Reflect, Shadow Ball, Double Team, Calm Mind, Heal Bell, Return, Dazzling Gleam.

Mael (Seadra) | (M) |Ability: Poison Point | Hidden Ability: Damp (active)| Moves: Smoke Screen, Leer, Bubble, Water Gun, Twister, Bubble Beam, Focus Energy, Brine, Agility, Rain Dance, Return, Scald, Double Team, Bounce, Signal Beam, Whirlpool, Water Pulse, Aurora Beam, Protect, Dragon Pulse.

Lee (Scyther) | Ability: Swarm | Hidden Ability: Steadfast (locked) | Known moves: Vacuum Wave, Quick Attack, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, False Swipe, Agility, Wing Attack, Detect, Fury Cutter, Bug Buzz (egg move:locked)