Somewhere around the Rock Tunnel

From the skies, great beams of light emitted from an unseen clash.

A one-sided battle, from which the other side had absolutely no chance of victory.

One by one, they fell, but not to the earth.

Only one did so, and seemingly as if pushed out of the way by the sacrifice of another.

This other was only saved from a splat by the sound of a pair of releases.

Though the crash did cause a separation of sorts.

Elsewhere, earlier

"The Rock what?"

As it turned out, Ash had no idea where the Saint Anne would have ended up without any sort of hijacking, sinking, or stranding him on deserted islands filled with giant robotic Pokémon.

As it turned out, oddly enough the specific ticket that was being handed out by those hyper-active blondes whom Ash was sure were Team Rocket agents like last time would have caused the ship to dock at a port just to the east of Cerulean City, northwest of Lavender Town.

As Misty was not going to take a single step closer to Cerulean than she had to, that left only one route to Lavender Town as their trek.

But this was not a path that Ash had traveled before.

Normally, Ash would be all for a new adventure. However, the Rock Tunnel sounded oddly ominous, and Brockish.

There was also the matter of the loot.

Very much the matter of the loot.

Now, normally Ash did not carry that many Pokéballs on him at any given time. He was not a catchaholic, and thus did not have the desire to throw a Pokéball at every living thing he saw that interested him. Simply being able to see them and be around the Pokémon was enough.

If he did, Professor Oak would have had to buy the rest of Pallet Town to fit them all, particularly if Gary was still a big catcher of Pokémon this time around (200+ Pokémon if Ash recalled correctly).

However, Ash was quite fond of random competitions and tournaments, with participation in Pokémon Sumo, Pokémon Racing, Pokémon Ringer, Pokémon Firefighting, Pokémon Cosplay and numerous others. Any chance to have his Pokémon challenged in a new way Ash was all for it.

He wasn't a huge cooking contest person, perhaps it just had to have Poké, Battle, or Tournament in its name to garner his interest.

So, he might have gone a bit...overboard with the competition for obtaining Pokéballs, though in his defense Charmeleon had a lot of pent up energy from not being able to take over for Pikachu in the battle against Lt. Surge.

Then Squirtle wanted in...and after that he got so caught up in all of his other Pokémon, who he had on him, and called upon as well.

He only stopped when he lost all feeling in his face due to the exposure to cold water.

That still left him with fifty-one Pokéballs (and Ash generally preferred to only have five additional ones on hand at any given time), all of colorations he didn't recognize.

In his defense though, the kind of balls he had seen himself in the past were Pokéballs of various decoration, Safari Balls, some Apricorn made Balls, Park Balls, the very similar Lake Balls, antique Pokéball type artifacts, a giant stone Pokéball, Dark Balls, the GS Ball and a Master Ball. He was sure there were other varieties in the world.

He just happened to have gotten fifty-one balls of varieties he didn't recognize.

Thankfully as always, he had something on him that seemed to know everything.

"Pokéball identification for Noobs program initiated," the Pokédex started up. "The Pokéball is made from synthesized Apricorn material and is..."

Ash tuned out the resulting chemistry lesson.

"Now, for the fool who ignored my very intelligent chemistry description, this program is designed to tell you everything you need to know about Pokéball variants," the Pokédex continued. "Don't feel bad about Professor Oak not covering them in detail: variant Pokéballs are expensive and most people don't bother with them. They, in fact, only began to be produced in sizeable numbers within the last few years. So you not knowing anything about them is less about you being an idiot, and more about everyone being mostly uninformed idiots."

Ash couldn't tell if the Pokédex was being nice or not, so he held up the one ball he had obtained that was blue with yellow bolts across it.

"The Quick Ball. Developed by a scientist originating in the Johto region who wished to catch easily startled Pokémon before they can flee, the Quick Ball has a higher affinity for catching Pokémon before hostilities begin at the start of the battle. However, once the battle starts, the Quick Ball has little to nothing to differ itself from a vanilla Pokéball."

Ash rather liked the sound of it, but that did leave him with a question. How did that whole 'works best if hostilities haven't started' thing work?

Deciding not to pursue the question further, Ash noted a trio of balls who were white and black, with reddish-orange ridges on them.

"The Timer ball. Developed by Devon Corporation, the Timer Ball contains a mechanism in it that increased the balls effectiveness. This mechanism takes time to work, however, and thus manages to reach an immensely high catching ability after a period of charging that occurs at the start of battle."

A ball that got stronger with time huh...

"How long is a period of charging, exactly?"

"One hour," the Pokédex suggested as Ash and Misty exchanged startled looks.

What sort of battle against a single Pokémon took that long?

"The developer of this particular type of Pokéball wanted to create a ball that was capable of capturing Legendary Pokémon that was cheaper than the Master Ball," the Pokédex finished, with Ash looking briefly depressed at the reminder of his failure to get one such ball.

Moving his gaze onto a dozen white and red balls, Ash couldn't help but grin with what wonders these balls must have.

"The Premier Ball. These balls are a promotional item that was created to get people to buy more Pokéballs. When someone buys ten Pokéballs of any variety at any one time, the purchaser is given a Premier Ball for free. The ball is essentially the same as a regular Pokéball."

Really?!

Ash looked somewhat disappointed the balls didn't happen to do anything particularly cool, but he supposed not every Pokéball could be a Master Ball.

Noting another dozen Pokéballs that had their red replaced with orange, and a yellow chain dividing said orange part in half, Ash hoped these were more than just props.

"The Repeat Ball," the Pokédex began. "The first attempt by Devon Corporation to create Pokéballs with specialized use, the Repeat Ball's enhanced performance ties itself to the users Trainer Identification. When used on a Pokémon the trainer is shown to have already had, the efficiency spikes. The Repeat Ball is often used by trainers who seek Pokémon who can evolve in multiple ways, such as Kirlia, Poliwhirl and Eevee. "

Catch the same species of Pokémon...twice?

Ash sighed. What use would that be to him. Bar his Tauros, who were caught in Safari Balls, he never caught the same species twice.

Twenty-eight balls down, and twenty-three to go. Hopefully he'd get better than a one-to-seven ratio of good to bad there.

Another dozen balls, these with green and greenish yellow coloring, were now observed.

"The Nest ball was another early creation by the Devon Corporation to create specialized Pokéballs. These balls work best when used on much weaker Pokémon than the one being used to battle it. The Nest Ball is thus most often seen in the hands of vastly experienced trainers who have highly leveled Pokémon and want to capture much weaker ones without too much overkill."

The image of Charizard standing threateningly over his Sewaddle came to mind for some reason when the description was finished. Ash overall wasn't a hundred percent sure if that ball was 'good' or not.

He'll just have to wait and see.

The next three balls were pink with cream markings, and once more Ash had them checked over by the Pokédex.

"The Heal Ball. While in most respects a regular Pokéball, the Heal Ball has a built in Full Restore. The moment a Pokémon is captured, the Full Restore is released, healing the Pokémon back to full health."

A Pokéball that could heal a Pokémon the moment you caught it? Ash could think of several times in his travels that would have been useful, Tracey's Scyther in particular coming to mind.

That left eight balls, with two of them being regular Pokéballs, two being blue with a netting pattern on top half. "The Net Ball," the Pokédex began before Ash could even put it over the ball, as if it was getting impatient. "It was designed in Hoenn by a maniac who specifically wanted to capture a Surskit, therefore this ball is good at catching Water and Bug Type Pokémon. However the effectiveness of the ball does not quadruple due to the typing of both Bug and Water, there is no explanation as to why this occurs." Two colored black with red rings on them, "Luxury Balls, balls are more comfortable inside than regular Pokéballs and thus aide in the development of positive trainer-Pokémon relationships," and two that were blue with red ridges, "Great Balls, originally known as Super Balls, these Pokéballs have a 50% enhanced catch rate over regular Pokéballs."

All in all...well it was free stuff, and some of the stuff was rather useful (in theory).

"Well, look at it this way Ash. You'll have all the chances in the world to reduce your Pokéball supply while in that tunnel. I hear it's infested with Zubat. After that, we can stop briefly at Lavender Town," and hopefully not die again Ash thought, "and head on to Celadon City." Misty suggested, having herself picked up only ten, six Net Balls and four Dive Balls as she called them that apparently were for underwater dwelling Pokémon. "The closest Gym is there after all."

Shouldn't it be Saffron City first? While it was possible Misty only knew of that Gym because Professor Oak had mentioned it, there it was again.

A lack of information on the Saffron City Gym, and its Gym Leader Sabrina. Ash couldn't help wondering why everyone avoided the subject of the Psychic and her Gym.

Buster Boot Camp: Unova Region.

Georgia was a Dragon Buster, and this was not simply a title she gained because of a humiliating loss.

No, the Busters were the elite, the fearless, and the determined.

They were the ones who the Leagues called when a Gym Leader or Elite Four member lost their way.

Their job, to take them down to preserve the League's good name, to make the damage they would do to the League disappear before it even got out.

"Ready!"

Georgia adjusted her yellow cap as the attack began to charge.

"Aim!"

Pointing at the target, her mighty Beartic's attack was now fully charged and aimed at the target.

"FIRE!"

"Beartic/Vanilluxe/Abomasnow/Weavile/Jynx/Glalie use Ice Beam!" Georgia's voice intermingled with that of all the other cadets as their ice type attacks let loose straight at their targets.

Each target, showing a different Dragon Type Pokémon, was marked with their weak spots. Between the eyes, the throat, arm and leg joints along with a few others

All Ice Beams struck them for critical hits.

A smile crossed Georgia's lips as she noticed how her strikes got her Haxorus targets dead center of each of the weak spots it was marked with.

...

The highest ranked cadet in her class, Georgia could say with very little argument that she was going to excel here.

The role of a Buster was not a job someone took because they wanted glory. Firemen did not take their job because they want fires, nor Doctors because they want sickness. They took the job to do what needed to be done.

It was a job one took to ensure that everyone else was safe from harm. While the Busters had gotten rather few jobs in the last 40 years, there had been 6 Gym Leaders and 1 Elite Four member who had to be removed.

The buster's job was to do it quickly, and silently. They got no thanks for their job outside the chain of command, but in doing so saved the good name of the Pokémon League from scandal.

So far, no Dragon user had been involved in scandal, though other Busters had been deployed. As of the present time, the corrupt members had been, in order of the severity of their crime, a Flying-type Gym Leader in Sinnoh who had used flying types to be a peeping tom, a Bug Type Gym Leader in Kanto who had used Weedle to break into people's homes, a Normal-type Elite Four member in Kanto who had run up massive gambling debts and was involved in fixed matches, A Poison Type Gym Leader in Hoenn who was using his Grimer to sabotage restaurants whom were competing with his brother's own, a Ghost-type Gym Leader in Unova who was responsible for several murders and a Dark-type Gym Leader in Kalos who had used/was used by a few Malamar to create a cult who worshiped him like a god and tried to find the hidden Zygarde and create a doomsday scenario.

Of course, the sixth Gym Leader who had to be removed was not counted in her mental list for one good reason, a reason that was rather evident as she passed by the Buster's Wall of Valor.

Pausing her walk from practice to her barracks, Georgia removed her hat in a moment of silence for the three latest groups of entrees, among the eighteen-member strong team she had known five.

All killed trying to remove the rogue Psychic Type Gym Leader of Saffron City.

Back on the road to the Rock Tunnel

"Ekans, use Screech!"

Team Rocket...as much a part of his life as Pikachu, had gotten better at battling recently (said Pikachu not in battle yet, as Team Rocket had decided to show up, do their still bad motto, and attack during a training session between Charmeleon and Misty's Wingull), and had once more ambushed them.

So far, however, they were proving to be easier to fight than Lt. Surge, they were better, but not unstoppable.

However, the sonic blast that Ekans let loose right at them wasn't something that he was expecting, nor was it really anything a counter-shield would be able to block.

Not that Charmeleon would have done that anyway, so he just took the blast head on.

"Use Wing Attack!" Misty's Wingull was there to ensure it wasn't just a shouting match: it's glowing wings ready to impact right into the poison-type and stop it's sound blast.

"Protect!" James countered as Koffing popped up between the two Pokémon and formed a barrier.

Wingull's attack slammed right into it, and knocked it back.

"No, Wingull!" Misty cried out in worry.

"Ha ha ha, as you can see we've been working out!" James boasted "It's all in the name of stalking you more efficiently and taking your Pikachu for our wonderful boss!"

What, did Giovanni adore mice or something? Did he like to see them sing, pilot steamboats and electrocute people? Why did Pikachu matter so much to them?

"Charmeleon, use Flame Charge!"

An aura of flames surrounding Charmeleon, the recently evolved Pokémon proceeded to smash his way through the sound attack before smashing right into Ekans.

The Snake Pokémon was sent tumbling backwards, slightly roasted but alive, and right into Jessie, knocking her down as Meowth, James and Koffing were all that were left standing.

"Char!" 'Give it up you insignificant distractions. You are fools if you actually think you could ever hope to defeat us! You are even greater fools if you think you can defeat me!'

Charmeleon's dramatic statement and finger point were translated to James by Meowth, with said blunette looking rather incensed, as did Koffing (who normally was rather chill, like the rest of his species).

"Insignificant! How dare you, I am easily the 109th strongest Grunt in all of Team Rocket!" James boasted in a way that tried, and failed, to ignore the fact there were still 108 tougher Grunts "It is time you see the true power of the 109th strongest grunt! Koffing, Return!"

Return? So, his power was fleeing?

No...that wasn't actually it...seeing as Koffing was glowing a white aura and promptly flew right at Charmeleon.

"Block it with Metal Claw!" Ash shouted to Charmeleon, whose claws glowed white as it intercepted the attack.

Charmeleon was immediately overwhelmed and was sent flying into the air before coming crashing down, defeated.

Ash just stared at the defeated Charmeleon in shock.

Charmeleon was defeated...by Team Rocket!?

"Ha ha! What did I tell you twerps, 108th strongest!" James boasted.

"You know, I think you may have to go in for a retest, I say you are now at least the 71th strongest Grunt!" Meowth boasted, before noticing Wingull.

Unsheathing his claws, Meowth smirked. "Well now that it is two against one, I think we'll be defeating you now, and taking that Pikachu of yours for ourselves."

Ash returned Charmeleon, before having Pikachu jump down and join Wingull.

"Hey, you can't just send out another Pokémon if we defeat yours, we only have two Pokémon!" Meowth sharply pointed out.

"But you are a Pokémon Meowth," James reminded him. "So technically, we do have three Pokémon."

."..You do understand that you just helped them out, right?"

"I did?"

Misty and Ash exchanged 'really' looks, before pointing right at the trio (and the out cold duo of Jessie and Ekans).

"Pikachu/Wingull, use Thunderbolt/Water Pulse!"

As Pikachu glowed yellow, Wingull took off into the air and formed a massive blue ball in front of its beak. Both attacks were fired off at the same time and struck Team Rocket with a satisfying bang.

"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off in a way we really hope isn't going to be a thing!"

"Koffing!"

Twinkle.

As the voices of James, Meowth and Koffing faded off into the distance, Misty sighed.

"I know I said I wanted to perfect Water Pulse with Wingull, but I don't think we needed that. I mean, if they showed up all the time I admit they could make good practice dummies, but that motto of theirs..."

Ash nodded in agreement, before holding Charmeleon's Pokéball in hand.

It was worrying when Team Rocket put up a better fight that a trio of former Gym Leaders. The idea of Team Rocket getting stronger unnerved him in a way that Ash didn't think was possible with the Team Rocket Trio.

If they kept getting stronger...could the day finally come when they would succeed in capturing Pikachu?

Later, closer to the Rock Tunnel

"Return is a move that is powered by the bond between Trainer and Pokémon. The closer a Pokémon is to its trainer, the more powerful the move is," the Pokédex, with Ash's TM USB placed inside it, began to recite. "Training program is now initiated. The instructions on how to pull the move off are as follows..."

Charmeleon, currently looking absolutely furious with himself for allowing to be defeated by anyone (but Team Rocket of all possible foes?), seemed torn between wanting to learn the move, and wanting to understand how it worked so it could absolutely destroy the next Pokémon who tried to use it against him.

Across from him, Squirtle looked at him in annoyance "Squirtle..." 'Can you just get on with it, I don't know why I even agreed to help you with this thing in the first place?'

"Because Squirtle," Ash, who was a distance away and training Butterfree in converting the psychic powers of Confusion into Psybeam, "right now you really only have three moves, and thus you can learn Return."

Of the Pokémon Ash had on them now (Pikachu, Charmeleon, Squirtle, Pidgeotto, Butterfree and Aipom), all but Squirtle each had four moves on them. Pikachu had Thunderbolt, Iron Tail, Quick Attack and Zap Cannon; Charmeleon had Ember, Dragon Tail, Metal Claw and Flame Charge; Pidgeotto had Quick Attack, Gust, Steel Wing and Aerial Ace; Butterfree had String Shot, Gust, Sleep Powder and Confusion (to be turned into Psybeam), Aipom had Scratch, Power-Up-Punch, Swift and Astonish, and Squirtle had Water Gun, Withdraw and Tackle.

Pokémon, as Ash had remembered from one of Professor Oak's lectures, started off only able to know four moves. It was once a Pokémon was trained to a point it was close to being ready to compete with its trainer in the League Tournaments that it could start having more than four moves in their arsenal.

He could have sworn it was just four back in the original timeline...at least eventually, but regardless there was training to be done.

Lavender Town

With a smirk, Gary returned his pair of Nidoran, or more specifically now his Nidorino and Nidorina, his foe running off with tears in his eyes.

Yet another fool who thought he could find the only Ghost Pokémon in Kanto. No, those rare Pokémon would not be caught by a run of the mill trainer.

They would be caught by the one and only Gary Oak!

Placing Nidorino's ball in his H.O.P.E glove, the ball vanished in a burst of light, followed shortly by Nidorina. The two had battled enough for today.

Two balls came in their place: Pidgeotto and Growlithe. With that, his team was solid once more.

Wartortle, Pidgeotto, Kadabra, Exeggcute and Growlithe.

It was good practice for all his Pokémon, battling through this Tower of the dead and the worshipers. His Raticate, Spearow, Krabby, and the Graveler formerly known as Geodude...he was on a roll.

He knew that the Battle Dome was hosting a tournament for Rookie Trainers soon, and he'd be there. His skills would be at their best, and he'd make a name for himself, especially if he had a ghost-type on his side.

The Battle Frontier had to be made aware of the future legend that was Gary Oak after all.

Nothing could make him feel unprepared, nothing!

"Oh look Red, it's that Gary guy you easily beat back in Cerulean City!"

A shiver went down Gary's spine as he heard that familiar voice. Turning around, he once more found himself staring down that mute bastard who kept defeating him and seemed to always be around, along with his little cheerleader.

Red, the trainer who had beat him twice, was here.

Perhaps third time was the charm?

Yet closer to the Rock Tunnel, as Gary is once again the rival in a rival battle thinks he can actually win.

The town of Puerto Blanco was a small seaside community often passed by for Trainers going to Lavender Town from Cerulean City if they wanted to bypass Saffron City.

As such, it was but a small settlement. It had no Gym, leaving Ash to figure out where all the other Kanto Gyms that Gary and Otoshi were able to beat were another day.

However, it did have many amenities for the passing trainers: like food, water, and interesting gossip.

"Did you hear about that new Sinnoh Champion? I hear she's like a goddess of victory or something?"

"My Raticate is clearly in the top percentage of Raticate, you should trade me for your Kadabra...No it's not a rip-off!"

"Did you hear about Koga? They say he's going to be in this year, aiming for a spot on the Elite Four. Maybe I should take the year off and wait until he's done. I mean, I heard there will be at least two applicants fighting this year..."

"Cerulean finally closed down. Damn it, now I'm going to have to work for that final badge. Guess I'm going to have to cancel that trip to Cinnabar, damn the woman are hot this time of year..."

"Dude, there's a Gym on Cinnabar. You can multi-task."

"Really? What type?"

It was interesting what one could listen in on as one walked down the street, minding one's own business with a Pikachu on your shoulder.

Misty was off doing some shopping of her own. He had offered to tag along with her, seeing as he had nothing much else to do, but she had refused. Something about personal needs or something.

Was it a girl thing?

She did have her own money that was not Pay-Pal scanable from a Snarky Pokédex after all, meaning she didn't need him to do whatever she was doing.

Thus, his current wandering, not really thinking about where he was going. It was just a nice walk...

"Alright you old coot, you're going to hand over all your valuables to me or I'm going to get really mad, as will my little friends here."

And of course, it had to be ruined by someone being a criminal.

Ash froze in his tracks, Pikachu slipping off his shoulder momentarily as he did so, to note a home currently being blocked off by a big man and a duo of rather angry looking Mankey.

Ash happened to know what an angry Mankey looked like rather first handily, it was almost nostalgic if the Mankey were not being used for extortion at the moment.

"Mankey the Pig Monkey Pokémon. Mankey has a very hot temper, which is very easily brought to the surface by most anything. Mankey are known for injuring travelers and vandalizing cars that enter their territory." The Pokédex reminded Ash of what angry Mankey were capable of, rather unnecessarily really.

The sight of them made Ash remember his own Primeape and the trouble he had caused. Would Ash run into him again? If he did would he survive? Primeape wasn't exactly Ash's biggest fan to begin with.

The duo of Mankey turned around and snarled, causing the scarred face of their trainer to get right in Ash's face.

"Move along kid, this ain't none of your business."

Ash didn't 'move along', which made the thug rather angry.

"Alright kid, you asked for it! Mankey, Karate Chop the punk in the face!"

The duo's hands were glowing white, as Ash countered with a pair of his own.

Not Karate Chops though.

"Butterfree use String Shot! Pidgeotto, Aerial Ace!"

As the two emerged, they began their attacks immediately. Butterfree let loose a string of sticky fluid that bound around a Mankey, causing it to be restrained and fall over in a full body cast.

Pidgeotto slammed into the other Mankey, sending it into the air before it fell back to the ground, knocked out.

The thug gulped as the trainer and his Pokémon glared at him.

"Caw!" Pidgeotto let out as she took a spot on Ash's outstretched arm. 'That was too easy. I think that Poliwrath was more a threat'.

"Free." Butterfree fluttered next to Ash, somewhat less badass looking then having a bird of prey on your arm 'I think Gust would have worked better...we could have blown him away too.'

"Pi." 'And probably wrecked the home of the guy he was robbing?'

The thug could not hear what they meant, but responded in much the same way most members of the thief profession would when defeated, hightailing out of there and leaving his partners behind.

"What a coward...and now I'm going to have to call Pokémon Control, damn. You know, it used to be just okay to take Pokémon someone leaves behind or isn't watching properly...back even forty one years ago. What a bothersome bureaucracy, I could have repaid you in Mankey if not for all the unnecessary complications."

The voice in question was from the man who the thug had been harassing. Now that Ash could see him, the man was revealed to be an older man, dark hair peppered with gray. He sort of reminded Ash of the Johto Pokéball maker Kurt, if a bit younger. A non-bipedal Meowth was by its side, one Ash was pretty sure could not talk.

"Um, sorry?" Ash replied reflexively, not sure if he even would want to be repaid in Mankey. The Mankey would probably just harass either himself, or Professor Oak.

"Never mind that, you could call that nothing but an old man's musings. The name's Forge. Forge Smith the Blacksmit," the man introduced himself, extending a wizened hand.

"My name is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and this is my partners Pikachu (Pika-Pikachu), Butterfree (Free) and Pidgeotto (Caw)." Ash extended his own fresh hand, the two meeting and shaking in greeting.

"Ah, Ketchum the Pokémon Trainer. Glad to see that some people still follow the old ways. Last names really should define where one goes in life: your family of trainers, my family of metalworkers...it's all a bunch of pointless nonsense now. My barber is named Farmer, my grocer Teller, and my lawyer Forester. Names mean nothing anymore."

Ash personally wasn't for a caste system, but he respectfully let the old timer keep talking.

"But, enough about what is wrong with the world, come in, come in. I really must be thanking you..." he turned around towards the door of his old looking yet professional looking home. "Just do return your Flying-types, I dislike brushing up after feathers and bug dust."

As he and his Meowth entered the home, Ash returned the specified Pokémon and followed.

...

The room Ash found himself in was similar to that of Kurt's Pokéball storage, but there were no spheres here.

Instead, the room was filled with various items, the purpose of which Ash was trying to figure out.

They all seemed like armbands, helmets and similar things, for all types of Pokémon as far as he could tell.

The man was standing at one end of the room, his Meowth sitting at attention on his left side. In his outstretched right hand, pointed at Ash was a familiar green stone he had seen many times before.

"This here is a Thunder Stone," Forge bluntly stated. "This stone evolves Pikachu into Raichu."

"I know what it does," Ash replied. "I also know that Pikachu still has moves to learn it would not learn if it evolved now into a Raichu. I'm afraid that will not be acceptable as payment."

He had the oddest feeling telling this man he didn't want to evolve Pikachu might not fly well. Old people were somewhat not-understanding about gut instincts.

Forge however, smirked and pocketed the stone.

"I see, I had the oddest gut feeling you might say something like that. Evolutionary Stones are expensive, considering how rare it is for veins in the lay lines to rise up and convert stones," Forge began to talk in that long winded, old person way. "Yet they aren't even the rarest of stones. There are stones even rarer than they are, that form from evolutionary stones on very rare occasions, generally those that originate from meteorites. Those stones specialize in certain Pokémon species, and generally fall into the hands of only the most advanced trainers. In my long life, I've only had the honor of making holders for three such trainers." He was looking over Ash once more as he spoke this "I suspect you could possibly be my fourth."

"Um, thanks?" Ash wasn't exactly sure what this guy was talking about. "What is a holder, exactly?"

Might as well try and get this conversation to be a bit less cryptic if possible. Forge thankfully obliged.

"A holder is an accessory created by League approved smith or jeweler, such as myself, that a Pokémon is allowed to wear during official matches. These holders are meant to allow a Pokémon to hold an approved item safely during a match while the item is able to benefit the Pokémon in question."

Ash was reminded of Lt. Surge's Volty and Raichu in what they had "You mean something like an Assault Vest?"

"Correct," Forge confirmed "Though you do not need a holder for something like that. If you want to use a Type Gem, for example, you would need a holder. Holders do not adjust for evolution though, so I'd personally suggest not using one for any Pokémon you plan on evolving in the near future."

Turning to the shelves of finished product, Forge began sorting through them in a search for something "Primeape, Nidoking, Beedrill...oh yes, here it is."

Removing it, he turned to Ash. "Now, seeing as you can't pay you in Mankey, you can have this as a token of my gratitude. I'll also be sure to provide you with any holders you may wish obtain for yourself in the future, though I do expect pay for them."

He handed Ash an old but still decent looking armband, which appeared to be Pikachu scaled. The armband's edges were reflective metal, painted red in the middle. The center had a round indent that Ash was pretty sure could fit a variety of things, from spheres to gems to even a magnet.

Not needing any words Pikachu hopped off Ash. Ash knelt down in front of Pikachu, the armband in hand.

With a bit of fumbling the band was secured on Pikachu's right arm. Standing back up Pikachu was able to hop back onto his favorite perch, bothered little by the additional weight.

Forge grinned. "Well, glad to see that fit nicely. I made that in the possibility a Pikachu user might have found a Light Ball. Tricky thing to find, Light Balls are. Sadly, I don't have one of those for you"

'What's a Light Ball?', Ash thought to himself. He'd ask his Pokédex later, it was being oddly quiet at the moment. Perhaps it got an 'old people fear technology' vibe or something

"However, my Meowth does have the ability Pickup, making it good at finding things. Why else do I have the expensive paperweight like that Thunder Stone after all? Thanks to Meowth, however, I have a few too many of these."

Reaching into his pocket, he tossed a purple stone to Ash. Ash grabbed it, before looking back at Forge in confusion.

"That there is an Eviolite. That item boosts the defensive power of Pokémon who could still evolve. I have the oddest feeling you might be making use of a number of these kid."

The old man promptly began to merrily laugh, but before Ash could respond he was serious again.

"Now, give me your phone number, I can't make any damn sense of that inter-web thing and it's E-Post stuff, so that's the only way I like to be contacted."

Professor Oak's lab

"All three Starter Pokémon...I swear Ash must have the devil's luck, wonder if it is just a bloodliner thing..." Professor Oak muttered to himself while holding Bulbasaur up, not catching the Pokémon shiver at the mention of a devil he himself had met a while back. "And pretty impressive too...I certainly hope Ash continues to impress me like this."

Putting Bulbasaur back on the ground, Oak eyed his wide open estate with some pleasure. The Dodrio were singing, the Mankey howling, and the Sandshrew were digging.

All was right in the world.

"You know, if I'd have to guess based on how your trainer is moving, and Gary's attention to detail combined with his movements the two should be in Fuchsia around the time the Safari Zone is going to be thinned out. Between the two of them, and maybe even Misty as well, I think I'll have a good chance of having some particular Pokémon sent to me for the first time in ages! I've always wanted to study Tauros behavior up close."

"Bulba." 'Yeah, and you are probably going to find yourself studying thirty Tauros very up close when that happens. As will your fence budget.'

Professor Oak missed the dark humor that Bulbasaur was using due to not speaking Pokémon.

"Well, I'll come and look for you when Ash calls, why don't you go look for Ash's Krabby while you are here? I'd love to stay and soak up all this pristine peace and tranquility with you, but I have to publish a scientific paper so I can pay for my Tofu ration and my electricity. Both equally important, I know."

As the old man meandered off, Bulbasaur noted his old domain with a nostalgic smile as he meandered as well.

It was weird being back in time: a chance to amend past mistakes, see the wonders of the world once again, and maybe even make new mistakes. Hopefully he would be around to see these past mistakes amended (perhaps he could have that rematch with Erika's Tangela), and not be around to see some mistakes repeat themselves (that demonic Bellsprout might just come out when Muk wasn't available to smother it).

Bulbasaur liked to think himself as a battler second, and a peacekeeper first. While he was quite willing to battle, and having himself battled for Ash in two separate Gym battles in two differnet leagues (against Erika, Team Rocket, Danny and Rudy), four League Matches (He and Pidgeotto had battled in the second round match at Indigo before Squirtle won it, he fought in the fourth round to defeat Beedrill and Scyther, his loss against Electabuzz in the Orange League, and later bested the Magneton and tied Meganium in the Silver Conference), as well as against Pyramid King Brandon, he found that he personally enjoyed his role at the Lab more.

Bulbasaur the Negotiator. Bulbasaur the Peacekeeper. Bulbasaur the Ambassador. Bulbasaur the Sap Giver. He had gained many titles, and all but one of them he wore with pride.

The other made him regret that Ash ever took him to Johto. Already he was dreading the day that Heracross would rejoin Ash's team.

Contrary to what some may think, the Pokémon at Oak's ranch never felt it was abandonment to be left at Oak's lab. Ash called rather often, they were well fed and taken care of, could train on their own terms, and it was easier for Ash to get close to and train his newer Pokémon if he was not weighed down by the older ones who could not simply sit on his shoulder.

There was a reason Totodile, Cyndaquil and Bayleef did not evolve further in Johto after all, an unintended side effect of having himself, Charizard, and Squirtle around for a considerable period of time.

Of course, some Pokémon spent far more time at the Lab, in comparison to their time with Ash, and the Pokémon with the same original trainer here happened be one of the less exposed one, and currently was doing what appeared to be the human or Fighting-Type equivalent of weight training with large sticks.

"Koo! Ki! Koo! Ki!"

The crab continued to hoist them up and down, as Bulbasaur assumed had happened last time before his debut battle in the Indigo League (Which was followed by another battle with a Cloyster and Arcanine, a battle at the Whirl Cup against Misty, a near entry into the Silver Conference if not for some runaway Voltorb, and last a battle in the Lily of the Valley Conference, aiding Bayleef and Snorlax in the Second Round Battle.).

"Bulba." 'You know, that is making you like Charmeleon, right?' Bulbasaur wasn't so sure he wanted to share space here with an exercise nut.

Would he only be free of them when Ash had both of them here (or both on hand while Bulbasaur was at Oak's)?

"Kooki!" Krabby continued to do his weight exercises with his sticks. 'I happen to want to get bigger again. I enjoyed being a Kingler, and would like the experience of being one as soon as possible again. You can't say that all of the formerly evolved Pokémon don't want to evolve again, can you?'

"Bulba..." 'Yeah, but Pidgeotto and Aipom are not neurotic about it...'

Before Krabby could respond to Bulbasaur's point...

"Grrr...!"

"Slash!"

Hearing a loud noise off in the field over, Bulbasaur darted off, followed quickly by Krabby.

The conflict was quickly revealed, after some running/crawling to the captured Growlithe (whom had always been rather law-abiding Pokémon), and Sandslash (whom had helped him dig the lake in his first case as the Peacekeeper/Negotiator) feuding over something.

From what he could overhear (Grrr...Slash!) it was territory based. That was generally what it was not about food or who gets to be scratched behind the ear by the Professor.

Turning to Krabby, Bulbasaur noted the confrontation parties with a shoulder movement "Bulba?" 'So, ready to witness my grand return to the role of peacekeeping? I do request your help in ensuring I am not burnt'.

Krabby noted the fire dogs in question, then the sticks he still had in his pincers, which he promptly threw to the side "Kook." 'Well, I suppose they will make useful dumbbells.'

Near the Rock Tunnel, about where the chapter had started

The Dragonite was pushed back by the powerful Hydro Pump attack.

Skidding almost out of the ring, the Dragon type was panting heavily. Its trainer, the caped and red haired Lance of Blackthorn, gave an impressed look back at the origin of the attack.

"Well, I must say you have surprised me, Misty. To think you could become the most powerful of the Elite Four, to think you could challenge me for the title of Champion. Your Water Pokémon have proven truly superb, but do not think you have won just yet: the Dragon Type is the most powerful of all types. It domains over the founding elements of Fire, Lightning, Grass, and Water, and harnesses their power for themselves among with the other powers of the world. Their fists shatter mountains, their steps make the earth quake, and their wings sheer through the Fae as if by a sword. They will triumph yet!"

Misty, or more specifically the older form of Dream Misty, smirked, the Milotic curled up around her like a snake to an empress.

"Let's see shall we? Milotic, Dragon Pulse!"

"Counter with your own Dragonite!"

BOOM!

...

Poke...

Real life Misty's eyes opened to the sight of her personal and rather annoying alarm clock.

"Duck" Psyduck quacked, though Misty missed the meaning, as Misty pushed herself up from within her sleeping bag, currently in a secret base that was originally a bush.

Leaving the confines of the sleeping bag, clad only in her oversized Lorelei T-Shirt Misty sighed and began to remove said shirt.

Her dreams, honestly sometimes they jumped a little ahead of themselves. An Elite Four Membership was one thing, but going for the Champions Title?

Not to mention the Milotic. Her dreams could at least have used Pokémon she currently had on her.

Her T-Shirt pulled over head and promptly tossed to the floor, Misty walked over towards her bag where she kept her other pieces of clothing.

She could go through everything she had clothing wise and then spend a few hours color coordinating, but she didn't really have the clothing count to do that, nor th ewill. Having so many cloths you could go an entire year without having to reuse one was her sisters thing after all.

"Psy Psyduck?" 'You know, constantly changing clothes, cleaning them, and replacing them seems like a whole lot of bother' Psyduck spoke up just as Misty was about to reach into her bag for covering.

"Yeah, well that's what humans do Psyduck," she replied tersely, Psyduck looked at her oddly.

Misty realized that she had just called herself human...something she really hadn't done much of for quite some time. When wondering why, an image of her wandering the world with Ash came to mind.

She quickly banished the thought from her mind, not sure why she was thinking about some of those things. The land walking, sure, they had done plenty of that, but a Lapras?

She didn't have a Lapras….Yet.

It was nice, sure...but her imagination was a bit too active sometimes.

"We also need clothing to inhabit colder areas. If we didn't, we'd never have spread as far as we have." Misty insisted as she rummaged through her bag. Psyduck stared at her blankly in a way that would have been asking for a beating if he was human.

Psyduck, of course, did not have the same feeling as a human would in this situation. Psyduck was just thinking.

"Duck Duck..." 'So why not just not wear all that crud when the weather is warm?'

"Because!" Misty, who was pulling up her socks, snapped right back at him, as if that was the stupidest question Psyduck had ever asked.

And the Duck had asked some rather dumb ones in his time.

...

Clothed and with Psyduck quiet for now, Misty left her secret base to note Ash's backpack and Pokédex lying out in the open.

His secret base appeared empty, and neither he nor his Pokémon seemed to be around.

Picking up the Pokédex in idle curiosity, Misty wondered where he might have gone.

"If you are wondering where my foolish flesh-bag owner is, he is currently out relieving himself," the Pokédex answered her unspoken question.

'I did not need to know that.'

"I possess the ability to analyze a human's waste product to determine if they are getting proper levels of nutrients as well as check for micro-parasites. The boy is rather foolish in not wanting me to analyze him."

'I really did not need to know that!'

No wonder Ash left thing here. If Pokédexes were not so prestigious and generally useful, she couldn't imagine why anyone would want one of them.

They were so annoying!

"All he brought with him were his belted Pokémon, Pikachu, and that staff thing he's always trying to make work that clips onto his belt. Honestly, none of them can ensure he is not infected with Tapeworms..."

BOOM!

A loud explosion rang out from the forest behind her, causing trainer and Psyduck to rapidly turn towards the direction of the blast, from which smoke was emerging.

"Oh no, that is the direction Ash went to empty his bladder!" the Pokédex cried out as Misty's eyes went wide.

Ash?

Misty began to run in the direction of the blast, but a buzzing caused her to stop.

A Beedrill was flying right at her.

A Bug Pokémon.

Bugs...

BUGS!

Shivers went down her spine, the object of her nightmares was coming right at her.

But Ash...

No...she mustn't run away.

Controlling her fear, Misty pointed at the Beedrill "Psyduck, use Water Gun!"

"DUCK!?" 'You want to battle a Bug-Type? And use me...ah what the hell I want to run even less than I don't want to fight.' Breathing in deeply, Psyduck let loose a stream of water that struck the Beedrill head on.

It fell to the ground in defeat.

"Wild Beedrill Fainted," the Pokédex proclaimed as Misty prepared to charge forward.

A Beedrill wasn't going to stop her. Not even three Beedrill.

A trio of said Beedrill were themselves coming at her, but were blasted down by a surprisingly bold and upfront Psyduck.

She could conquer her fears, she had to go make sure Ash was alright.

She wouldn't run away, she wouldn't run away...

"Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokémon. Beedrill often appear in swarms. A swarm of Beedrill the size of what is coming at us could potentially level an entire village. Running is highly suggestible! I highly doubt anyone would hold it against you!"

The sky was now yellow and black, a hundred Beedrill flying right at her. Their stingers all dripping poison, their wings humming the heralding tune of death that humans had feared for centuries...

Run away, Run away, Run away!

?

One moment he had been heading back for breakfast, the next he knew nothing.

Silence.

Darkness.

He couldn't see anything, move anything, nor could he hear anything. It was, in a sense, a void.

Ash briefly thought he might have ended up in a Pokéball, but he had asked about Pokéballs before and was told Pokémon could still sense the world around them.

There was a reason one could shout 'Pidgeotto, Gust!' and Pidgeotto would do so the moment she was sent out after all.

Was this...death?

Did Time break again!?

"No no no, time is flowing just perfectly Satoshi. Or perhaps Ash? Might I suggest Casey?"

A voice echoed through the darkness, a sound he could suddenly hear.

A familiar voice.

A voice he didn't want to hear ever again, and it was taking shape in front of him in a surge of pixels, or at least what Ash was pretty sure was in front of him.

The pixels end shape was not the misshaped mass from before, MissingNo. Instead, it was that of Serena, if her edges were pixilated.

"So champ' in the making, how's life? Feeling a little...petrified?" The voice that came out was not MissingNo's alone. It was Serena's, with the voice of MissingNo underlying it. "What's the matter, lose your nerve? Your way? Your Goodra?"

What the hell was a Goodra?

SerenaNo massaged her chin thoughtfully, before a large light-bulb pixilated into existence above her. "Oh yeah I remember now, you got ambushed! Now you are here, alone but for your mind and me. What are you going to do about it, Hero?"

She had a flat look on her face the moment she finished, as if realizing something. "Oh yeah, you kind of can't talk back, now can you? That's no fun...it's hard to screw with people when they don't talk back to you."

Shaking her head, SerenaNo transformed into a shower of pixels and floated over, reforming into the familiar shape of a different companion of his.

"But no need to worry, am I right?" DawnNo grinned like a maniac, her smile probably humanly impossible. "You are the hero of this little story, aren't you? The champion of justice, the Chosen One, the Hero of Ideals...or was it Truth? Can't really recall." The moment she passed 'The Chosen One' she pixelated over into IrisNo. "Seeing as you managed to pull off some impressive feats when you were just a kid, I'd love to see what you can pull off as a teenager."

With that, IrisNo dissolved away. Apparently CilanNo, BrockNo, MayNo and the various other Nos were not on the menu for messing with him today.

Though what did it say about a situation where a Devil came to apparently give you a pep talk?

What was even going on?!

He felt a tingling on his side, a blue light glowing. While Ash could not move his head to see what was going on, the glow in question was something he knew from before.

However, before he could be excited about it, he felt a tingle in his eyes as well. Unseen to him, his eyes were now glowing the same brownish-orange they had when during the Gym battle with the Cerulean Sisters.

He could feel one of the Pokéballs he had on him was now rapidly shaking, as if it was just capturing the Pokémon inside it. The blue light from what Ash believed to be his staff dimmed away, as the shaking stopped.

Then his senses returned.

...

THUMP!

Ash fell to the ground, shattering glass as he broke through something.

Thankfully he somehow didn't end up with any glass impaling him.

A little uneasy, he stood back up, looking around the grey, metallic room he found himself in.

He could still feel the Pokéballs and Lucario's staff on his belt, but he didn't feel Pikachu's weight on him. He did, however, notice Aipom bouncing in front of him in excitement, apparently she had freed him.

Perhaps that power of his had powered up Aipom to let her escape her ball on her own. But, how did she get from that void to here?

Come to think of it, how did he?

Looking around, Ash was also sure he had seen this place before...

As his gaze turned to the shelf next to where he had fallen, his eyes widened as he recognized something that sat on the shelf in a glass case. Ash quickly figured out exactly where he had seen this place before.

For there was only one person he knew who would do it.

There was only person who would turn Pikachu into a statue and lock him up in a case.

J

"Ai!" 'Why is J here, isn't she just Sinnoh?!' Aipom questioned as Ash began fiddling with the nobs on the case.

From top down Pikachu was freed from the stone bindings, and with an unspoken look Aipom shattered the casing with Power-Up-Punch.

Pikachu collapsed just as Ash had when he was freed, but got up quicker and looked around, frantic.

"Pika!? 'Did we just get kidnapped by Hunter freaking J!?'

"It would appear so," Ash stated with a solemn tone. "We need to get out of here, and fast. I don't know why J would kidnap me as well...but I don't think I want to find out. There should be an escape pod or something on board, let's try and find it."

"Pom." 'That assumes that J would actually care to let her men escape from a downed ship? She never struck me as the type to be captured alive, or to care for the well-being of those under her.'

"I like to assume most people have escape pods for themselves and any subordinates, I like to be optimistic like that. Who knows, maybe Charmeleon can spontaneously evolve and fly us out of here?"

The last part sounded like Ash didn't really believe that would happen. Or perhaps he didn't want Charmeleon to think he could trigger evolution by jumping off the sides of airships or cliffs while believing he can fly.

That had never worked out that well for Bagons, and he doubted Charmeleons were any less likely to hurt themselves doing that.

...

Metallic hallway after metallic hallway was all that Ash saw as he ran through the ship, followed by Pikachu and Aipom.

He saw no guards, no security cameras, and no traps. Ash wasn't sure if she had them last time or not. Perhaps she didn't have the budget for them at the moment.

"Pika Pika Pika Pika..." 'Sealed door, sealed door, door labeled 'engine room, do not enter while in flight...think we should have gone in there and sabotaged it?'

"I think sabotaging an airship while you are inside it without a real escape plan is not really a good idea, even if there isn't some sort of security system in place to keep someone from messing with it while it is in flight" Ash pointed out as the hallway they were in met with a another, a perpendicular meeting with the new hallway stretched on to the left and the right quite a ways away.

On the opposite side of the hallway from where Ash and his Pokémon were currently at, was a door. This door, which did not appear to be sealed, had a fang marked on it.

Looking down the path, Ash noticed other doors marked by other symbols. To his left Ash noticed a leaf and a fire symbol.

To his right was a lightning bolt and a water drop.

"Pika..." 'I do not like the look of that lightning door.' Pikachu seemed to be getting a bad feeling about this.

Aipom hopped onto Ash's shoulder to get a better look at the door "Pom?" 'I wonder...think this might be where she keeps Pokémon?'

A fire, a leaf, a drop of water, and a bolt. Fire, Grass, Water, and Electricity.

It was a possibility. And a fang could only mean one thing.

A picture in his mind of flying off the ship with a Flygon, holding as many Pokémon as he could, followed by dozens of other winged dragons with their own Pokémon on their backs.

That could work. That could work quite well.

With that thought, Ash opened the Fang Door.

...

As Ash suspected, there were Dragons behind the door, but he didn't see any Flygon.

No, the dragons behind the door were virtually all one species, one that Ash was rather familiar with.

Dragonite. The room was filled with Dragonite. A dozen of them, all lined up and petrified behind the same screen door.

There was another Pokémon the room, a much smaller dragon petrified and caged on a table off to the side. It was an odd looking dragon, sort of circular blob with antenna on its head. But Ash was more focused on the Dragonite at the moment, Aipom was fiddling with the cage of the odd circular dragon.

"Twelve..." Ash said in horror. Seeing one Dragonite in the same place was a rarity, why did J have twelve of them?!

Pikachu was looking at one of the petrified Dragonite in particular, before stepping back in shock "Pikapi." 'Ash, you might want to have a look at this.'

Walking down a few Dragonite to the particular one Pikachu was staring at, Ash's eyes went wide.

What he was seeing was so shocking he released Charmeleon for a third opinion on the matter.

As the red fire-lizard appeared, the lizard's eyes went wide with recognition.

For all three knew this Dragonite.

After all, how many Dragonite scowled all the time?

Back down on the ground

They had outrun the swarm by now.

Misty was pressing her arm against a tree, tired but otherwise unharmed.

Psyduck was lying on his back, unable to move anymore.

The Pokédex was in her other hand, having grabbed the thing when she fled.

Fled...that was what it was.

She ran away, she abandoned Ash.

Did it really matter if a hundred Beedrill were chasing her? If she didn't fear them, would she have fought them?

"You are feeling guilty..." the Pokédex commented. "I would suggest you stop feeling guilty. No sane person fights a swarm of one hundred angry Beedrill, unless they are a Gym Leader with a super effective team of at least a seventh badge challenge caliber at the very least. You are not such a person, had you stayed you would have been impaled, poisoned, and quite possibly killed and eaten."

Misty shivered as the mental images of what the Pokédex was implying came into mind.

"The swarm should have faded away by now, and are probably off creating a new nest," the Pokédex noted as Psyduck got back up and looked ahead. "We should be able to go and check for Ash now..."

"Duck?" 'Who's that Pokémon?'

Misty turned in the direction Psyduck was looking, where a Pokémon lay on the ground. It was green, with a crested head and a pair of tusks on its face, and Misty had never seen it before.

It looked hurt too, as if it had fallen.

The Pokédex was in her hand, so Misty pointed it at the mystery 'mon, but nothing was said.

Really? Ash was missing, and a strange Pokemon was in front of them, out cold to the world, and it wouldn't cooperate. For all Misty knew, this Pokémon was responsible, or connected, to what happened.

It was too much of a coincidence.

"I don't have to say anything for you. You are not my owner," the Pokédex stated in its best impersonation of a 'stuck up, dirty lawyer'.

"Do you have anything better to do?" Misty countered. "And isn't it your job to record data on Pokémon around you, like the Pokémon I can't identify?"

."..Axew, the Tusk Pokémon and a Pokémon of the Dragon Element native to the Unova Region that should not be in Kanto. They mark their home territory with their tusks and are looked after by Haxorus mothers. Haxorus, their final evolutionary form, are very powerful with an axe for a head. You do not mess with the offspring of a Pokémon with an axe for a head."

"Unova? The distant region with its own unique Pokémon? Why would an Unovan Pokémon be here, particularly one that cannot fly or swim?"

What did that meant for Ash? Did he get attacked by Unovans?

"Don't know..." the Pokédex admitted a lack of knowledge on the question as the Axew opened its eyes.

It saw them...

"Axew!"

And it screamed in fright, it's call echoing through the forest.

"Psy!?" 'He's crying out for his sister! He's calling out for a freaky axe dragon of a sister while he sounds like he's in pain! Run, angry Axe Dragon inbound!' The terror was evident in Psyduck's voice as he started to run back and forth.

A sister? As in some sort of middle evolution, like Charmeleon or Dragonair?

She could handle that...then she had to get to Ash. Maybe if she got this sister she could get it to tell her Pokémon (who'd tell her) what happened to Ash.

No dragon was going to stop her...

No dragon was going to keep her from Ash...

"Axew!"

A human voice?!

Psyduck and Misty turned towards where the voice had come from, as a lithe shape burst out of the trees and landed on a tree branch in front of them with practiced ease.

The shape was humanoid, female, with a large mass of purple hair behind her like some sort of mane. Her body was athletic, less pronounced than Misty's own, but taller. Her skin was tan, her brown eyes boiling with fury, while looking like she too had had a rough landing and a tumble.

Green energy was also forming around her hands as the woman glared at them, forming what appeared to be claws.

Dragon Claws.

A Bloodliner...

"Get away from my little brother Human! Your kind won't take anything more from me!" The wild child snarled, even going as far as to hiss. "Not today!"

The wild Bloodliner attacked.

Omake

Non Canon

Pokémon Arc-V

Earth 040615

"The Fun has Just Begun!"

Gary Oak, the CEO of Blue Corporation and thus an influential figure at Blue Duel School, seemed amused as the spotlight focused on the young Battler below him, a tired but not defeated Azumarill standing ready to continue the battle.

Once a Water-type, the boy's Azumarill, along with much of the rest of his team, had gained a new typing previously known to him, the Fairy-Type, following the boy's battle and surprise defeat of all-star Dragon user Strong Ishijima. Since then, he had continued to surprise him.

Hopefully he could continue to. Sayaki Satoshi, son of the pioneer of Entertainment Battles Sayaki Sachio, the boy who became the creator of the Fairy-Type.

A worthy rival perhaps, and a key figure in the potential future defense of the world from his father's ambitions.

"Azumarill, use Play Rough on his Goodra!"

Show me your power Satoshi...show me you can help me save the world.

...