*The chaos of the slumbering mind*

Iris training him in the last few days had led to strange dreams from his tired mind, and it would probably be better if they involved her being naked. That at least would make sense. Even though the shower and talk in the waterfall had been an awkward and embarrassing moment, Ash couldn't deny the fact that the image of a wet and very naked Iris had engrained itself into his memory.

"Everything lives. It lives before it dies, and we are judged by what we do during that time. Like a brilliant, life-giving star, we illuminate the universe, casting away the shadows. We celebrate life and then celebrate that creation. This is simply how things are. It cannot be contained. It never will. So we will not tolerate - we will not accept - the unnatural occurrence of an early end. Which is why I have summoned you here... to beat back the night... and to conquer death."

After all, dreams like these started with him giving a dramatic speech about life.

Or top hat stones, but that was probably a repeat from last time.

The him giving the speech was older, probably in the twenties somewhere. Twenty-three, Twenty-four, something like that.

He had grown taller, as Iris had said he was getting. How tall was he at this point? If he was over 180 cms, was this guy 200 cms? He probably should ask how tall that was for reference. He'd gained muscle mass too, not overly so though. He'd retained his current body type but filled out more, his t-shirt was tighter to his chest, hinting at the powerful muscles beneath.

That him was staring down someone, similar in stature but he couldn't gleam anything else from the dream. When he spoke, Ash couldn't really tell what he sounded like. The voice was noise, just random snatches of dark voices that sounded vaguely familiar but Ash couldn't place them.

"Are you so devoted to being good, needlessly good? I can appreciate your quest for self glory, declaring yourself the best who there ever was with trophies and badges, trials and symbols. Yet you spend so much time that could be spent expediting your show of yourself with meaningless diversions. What does taking medicine across a bridge for some Shellder get you?"

A pair of bikers were now racing between the manifestations of his dream….somethings. One bike had a Zapdos theme to it.

Memories of his past adventures, recently re-encountered.

"You act as if doing good for others diverts from yourself," Older Dream Him told the identityless.

"Doesn't it? Whenever you are doing something like that, you aren't bettering yourself. You aren't pushing your Pokémon to higher levels. You gain neither muscle nor skills running serums past delinquents, it is a waste of time and energy."

"You can't comprehend altruism, can you?" Older Dream Him used a word that Ash would probably never use. Generosity was perfectly serviceable without going into a word that even Professor Oak would avoid if possible.

"Altruism isn't in our blood."

"Your blood, perhaps. I have my mom's blood, can't say who's in yours," Older Ash declared as the identityless apparition of his dreams vanished, and Dream Him turned his way.

He was looking at him, and definitely not through him.

Dream Him could tell the real him was there.

"….Is this a time travel thing?" Ash felt the need to get that out of the way immediately.

"Are you asking if I'm you from the future?" Dream Him questioned before smiling. "I am certainly not. I'm merely an incarnation of your inner thoughts and concerns talking to you as you sleep," Dream Him explained.

"So, I'm talking to myself?" That wasn't healthy.

"You're a time traveler who has been thrust into a timeline very similar to your own, into an older body than what you most likely had originally, with several mental shocks since the return trip, not even factoring in the regular visits you get from an abomination coated in pixels. Frankly, I would say you are doing quite well, and you've actually been getting less angsty since Cerulean, and a bit less barby with your thoughts. Probably all that sorting itself out properly, and the initial shock wearing off. Plus if you do start going insane, I'm sure your friends would notice and get you help. Anabel may not be looking deep enough to find something unsettling or the truth of your origins, but if your mind started breaking she'd know before you did."

Good to know, Anabel could tell him if he was going crazy. That would be a fun conversation.

"So…who was the other guy?" he asked the Dream Him, who chuckled and stroked his chin. Oddly as he did so, it gained a thick black beard. Ash was torn if it looked good on him or not.

"Depends on what sort of over analysis and thought you want to put into it. After all if someone wanted to, they could say life itself is just a dream and everyone you meet is but a part of your subconscious. For example, Brock could be your sexual drive given a life of its own. But that would be silly," Dream Him ended with a chuckle.

"If you did have to give that person a subconscious identity, imagine yourself as light. As a good man, a hero perhaps, who travels from place to place helping those you see for no benefit to yourself. Someone who faces down threats to the world like Cyrus, threats to the person as Kodhai, and threats to the self like Damon's single minded pursuit of his goals. That, was the shadow your light creates. The question that bubbles up when you wonder if you are doing the right thing. The question of if people are generally good, or generally wicked and lazy. A question that always bubbles up when seeing J, or Paul, or even Team Rocket. However, when such a question comes up, I suggest that you, that is to say me, always recalls that pure evil is extremely rare. Team Rocket care for one another, at least among Jessie and James and Mewoth. You may disagree with Belladonna and Red's morals, but they do care for Aurora and Yellow and the others. Even Paul saved your life once for no obvious gain to himself, he just needs a kick in the pants. J of course is that rarity, a thing without any redeemable qualities whatsoever. Rarity, you should remember that word. Few people are truly, utterly, evil. Where there is good in people, you should work towards bringing it out, and where is already exists endeavor to make it brighter."

At that Ash woke up, and found himself alone but a sleeping Pikachu and the Pokédex, who was open and flashing a 'download complete' on its screen about some update or something.

"Man, I need to start having more normal dreams," Ash muttered aloud.

"Have you tried porn? That inspires dreams much more normal for a teenage male," the Pokédex offered.

Ash blushed at the suggestion.

"Well even if you wanted to try, I have a child lock. I could get rid of it if I really wanted to, but I don't. So I'm afraid your bizarre dreams are something I cannot help you with." The Pokédex actually sounded a bit apologetic about it.

"I do, however, have sound tracts that are proven to help induce sleep in humans. While Bloodliners are untested, I doubt there are differences in how you enter sleep. Shall I play them?"

"I'd like that." Ash smiled softly. Anything to not get more morality talks from his subconscious.

"Jessie, in what world is that considered training?"

James's question from their tree top perch led Jessie to look up from her more relaxed perch and into the clearing their query was mucking about in.

Specifically, where he was running around in circles, a Tauros following him at full gallop.

"And why should I know?" she snarked.

"I distinctly recall you said you were on a track team at some point," James reminded her.

"I say a lot of things," Jessie retorted. At James's long held stare she sighed and narrowed her eyes towards the Tauros. "Fine, if you want my two cents it's probably a combination speed/endurance training. You've got to be in front of the Tauros so you need to be fast, but you also need to have the stamina to keep up your distance from said Tauros in long term. Happy?"

"That depends, will you be willing to give your word that such a purpose is in fact in play when we report to the boss?"

"Yeah sure, whatever." Jessie waved him off before returning to her relaxed position, and thus her nap.

James sighed before returning to his post.

"I wonder how Meowth is having any better luck finding those berries I asked him to get. Growlie oh so does love Pecha Berries."

Meanwhile Meowth found himself stuck in a tree, surrounded by a hoard of angry Pikachu with sparking cheeks of fury, all the while loudly cursing James's ancestors, descendants, relatives, and the concept of bottle cap collecting in general.

…

Ash of course couldn't hear this, and was currently lying on the ground, panting heavily and exhausted.

The Tauros who had come along for this training mooed in contentment over the workout, even as he could just make up Iris in the corner of his eye nodding in approval. He could translate it, this was a Tauros he knew well enough, but all he really got from it was 'sigh of contentment'.

Glad that she approved, it would be a bit of an odd situation if it turned out he was running 'wrong'.

"If you add another twenty minutes to your time, you would earn the world record for longest length of time running in front of a charging healthy Tauros. That sounds much worse than it actually is, but you did better than many trained sprinters," the Pokédex chimed from his pants pocket.

His jacket itself was hanging from a tree, as was decided pre-running. He did wince when he found that hole.

And that tear.

And that stain that was probably from a burst pen or something. Said jacket had taken a bit of a beating.

While he wallowed in tiredness though, he could still hear the surrounding conversations quite well.

"Pikapi." 'That there is the mountain where we nearly froze to death.' Pikachu was pointing at a nearby peak.

"Rol?" 'Really?'

"Squir." 'Yes, we nearly did, but we got through it and were better for it. It built character,' Squirtle boasted.

Pidgeot squawked in disapproval, citing that if it had built character Charizard would have behaved himself afterwards.

"Rog?" 'We, aren't going to do that again, are we?'

The three Kanto Pokémon promptly burst out laughing at the idea of freezing themselves again.

…

After regaining feeling in his legs, it was back to training.

Training his Pokémon at least.

With Charizard up in the sky practicing aerial combat with Pidgeot, mostly in the art of efficient evasive actions and the like, he had the ground to his own.

"Rog!" Roggenrola called as her ear nob glowed white, before shooting several solid masses at Tauros.

Rock Blast, and without evolution this time.

"Alright Tauros, I already know you have speed going for you, let's try seeing how you can fight power on power!" Ash was curious to see how this would go. Tauros bellowed in agreement as his head flashed white.

The Rock Blasts clattered against the head of Tauros with little impact.

"That is Iron Head. Of course, I already told you the moves this Tauros possesses: along with Iron Head the Tauros you have on hand can use Horn Attack, Double Team, and Scary Face. I have all the moves in my databanks that your various Tauros can use, and I can tell you which Tauros you have. Why go through with this?" the Pokédex questioned from a nearby rock, partially covered by his jacket.

Said jacket still not ready to be put back on after all the running and sweat.

"Yeah, I know what they can do. That doesn't mean that I know how they'll use them," Ash reminded the Pokédex as the training continued.

"Now, show me how you'd attack!" With that declaration Tauros charged toward Roggenrola, who tensed as the horns of Tauros shined white.

"I see, you like to use Horn Attack." Ash took note.

"It would be more logical to use Iron Head," the Pokédex snarked from underneath the fabric, even as Ash knew it was also taking the same note for later reference.

"Logic isn't everything in a battle," Ash retorted.

"….Of that, I am painfully aware. I could write a thesis paper on that with you as a primary source." The Pokédex's snark predated the impact from the Horn Attack from Tauros, which Roggenrola took with a shimmer similar to that of Iron Head.

She was pushed back, but didn't seem to have taken damage.

"That would be Iron Defense, in case you didn't know," the Pokédex noted.

"Awesome!"

Roggenrola did something that was probably blushing, or the equivalent, in response.

"Now, speaking of move rosters, might I make a suggestion for the next time you train yourself under Iris's instruction," the Pokédex spoke up, catching Ash's attention.

The next day found Ash standing, shaking with exhaustion, in the middle of a field littered with holes.

Iris's idea for helping him gain better senses was working on avoiding Excadrill. Excadrill would come at him from underground, and he was to learn to pick up the minute hints of where Excadrill was coming up and avoid it.

That had taken a bit longer than he expected. Anabel's suggestion that he remove his shoes had been a life saver. Who knew his feet were that good for hearing?

Again as before Iris nodded his success.

"You will need to learn to do it with shoes, unless you want to stop wearing them," she did suggest. He nodded numbly in response as he tapped a green Pokéball at his belt.

It burst out into the Pokédex's suggestion.

"Chansey!" the Shiny Pokémon greeted, before noticing him and tapping her egg. The egg glowed pink and washed both himself and Chansey in a pink aura.

He could feel the pains wash away as he stopped shaking.

"Thanks," he told Chansey, who nodded.

"Huh, I had not thought of that," Iris admitted to sharing his oversight.

A terrifying thought of Iris declaring that they could 'do it even faster' went through his mind, but she didn't voice such an idea.

Perhaps she understood something he had long learned of, the fact that training could not be nonstop. You got the best results by having days of rest the same as days in practice.

Perhaps she worked under the assumption instincts could not be rushed, and were something that could not be rushed.

Or maybe she simply didn't think about it.

No matter what it was, Chansey would make training a lot less painful an experience.

BOOM!

A distance explosion suggested the training activities of Charizard and Goodra had ended just as it probably was always going to end.

"Chansey, you can help out, right?" he asked the healer, who nodded empathetically. With that determined, they both ran into the nearby woods, ready to heal the all too likely damaged training duo.

Behind him by a few minutes were Pikachu and Ambipom, the latter carrying his jacket which he had again taken off for the training.

…

"I should probably let you know, I've recently been updated with an additional program created by a tech intern working with Professor Elm now shared by all Pokédexes," the Pokédex randomly told Ash that night, the flashing light of the screen lighting up the Secret Base in the cliff.

In particular it made the large gaping hole in the back very noticeable, even as it Ash was well aware he could not see where it ended. Why did the Secret Base have an endless dark hole of doom in it?

Questions of that aside, the Pokédex's point.

"What sort of update?" Ash asked as the Pokédex continued.

"Should one of your Pokémon be found with an egg, I will automatically receive the data. I will then be able to inform you when it hatches, what it hatches into, and additional data from the hatching. Previously before this upgrade, you would not have found out unless you specifically looked for it or if I felt like telling you."

Okay, that was good. Still….

"What the odds that I'll just randomly find my Pokémon having eggs…." Ash trailed off as he noticed Pikachu, fast asleep right next to him.

Okay, so maybe better odds than he'd initially assume.

"Professor Oak, as he had shown you on your first day, has a wide assortment of eggs on hand. The now Professor Elm got his first papers on his work with the same eggs in his youth, fun fact. However with this system the eggs he ends up dealing with will be reduced, and you will be able to add Pokémon to your pool of options without having to do the work yourself. Given your habits, this will benefit you greatly."

"As long as I get to see the eggs hatch, or at least shortly after. I'd hate to miss out on them," Ash mused aloud. The Pokédex did not respond as a question came to Ash's mind. "Say, will you do that if my Krabby and one of Misty's Pokémon….."

"Misty will likely let you have it. I may have their data, but it will be better for your data to have them in your personal records and ability to boast to others about them at bars and semi-friendly gatherings," the Pokédex declared off handily.

Ash decided he'd ask Misty about it in the morning, though now he had another question.

"Okay, so what happens if one of my Pokémon, and one of Gary's….."

"I'd assume you would work it out amongst yourself like civilized men. Rock-Paper-Scissors, favor trading, the punching of the face, such and such."

With that confirmation the quiet night resumed, with only one more declaration from the Pokédex.

"Oh, and Gardevoir called. No new siblings, the six of them have been busy. Apparently Flygon and Altaria got lost and had spent the last week being chased by a flock of Fearow all the way to Mount Silver. That since has been resolved, and they will probably find another sibling of yours in the near future to report back on for cataloging. I myself have a file on them if you ever want more data."

Yay?

"That includes Red if you are curious. Are you curious as to where he is or what he is up to? Recently he obtained a Bu…"

"Goodnight," Ash told the Pokédex firmly, not really interested.

Another day of walking, and another day of training on all fronts, found Ash walking through the woods with Anabel, Pikachu trotting right behind them.

Anabel herself walking with a bit of a tired gait, and Ash had a theory as to what was the cause of it.

Said theory involved Iris deciding he wasn't the only one who needed training.

"I can get Chansey if you..." Ash offered as she held up a hand and shook her head.

'No no, I'm fine,' she declared. The fact she nearly tripped on a branch that was obvious enough that someone who wasn't tired should have noticed it did not help her case.

He grabbed her arm before her face could hit the ground, just around the point her body glowed with psychic powers that provided the same effect.

Huh, was he always that quick on the uptake?

"Pikapi," Pikachu commented as Anabel was re-righted on her feet. 'Clearly training has effects on humans beyond getting them larger muscles.'

"Sorry about that," Ash told her. At her confused expression at his apology, Ash continued.

"I didn't really hear the part about her also wanting you guys to get trained too. I was..." He and Anabel blushed in unison, the memory ringing in his mind and Anabel now seeing it.

He did not need to elaborate that he was not at the top of his negotiating game. Not that he was all that good at it anyway.

'No, it's more my fault than anything. If I was able to tell that Janine had weapons she'd probably be less concerned that we aren't as sharp as she is about danger. Take it from someone who can see inside a person's mind without trying, she's worried about us. I guess she's concerned that the next time someone thinks you are her brother, she won't stop being homicidal.'

Anabel's declaration was followed by her holding her wrist in thought.

'It's odd really. I feel sore and tired, but I can feel it. Not sure what it exactly is, but I do feel like it is doing something. Like my arm does feel stronger.'

She let go of her wrist.

'You know, of all the things I thought I'd see and do with you guys, never thought developing muscle mass would be one of them.'

Ash smiled back at her in response.

"That's the thing about journeys. You can go on them for one thing, and find tons of other things on your way. I mean, I always thought I'd be earning badges..." He reached into his bag for emphasis as he pulled out the shrunken form of Sir Aaron's staff.

He extended it as he finished his sentence.

"But then I also got this, for example."

Anabel smiled at his example, before a familiar set of words rang through the air.

"Prepare for Trouble!"

"Make it Double!"

Neither exchanged glance nor thought was needed to convey what was be done as Ash, Anabel, and Pikachu ran towards the sound of the troublesome trio.

"Meowth that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

The trio finished their motto, complete with blue Pokémon with a black tail, in front of an old man, wizened but with some strength still visible in his limbs.

His eyebrows were bushy and gray, his head bald, and his chin covered by a soul patch the color of silver. On his shoulder were a pair of Wingull, though both the Wingull had green strikes across their wings instead of blue.

"You know, back in my day criminals didn't give intros like something from a cartoon," the old man told them as Jessie rolled her eyes.

"Back in your day, I'm pretty sure criminals used those phones with the spinning dial...whatever they were called."

"Rotary Dial," James filled in for her.

"Yeah, what he said. Anyway, we aren't really on the take at the moment, but there is a motto that all Team Rocket members must follow old timer."

"Raid On the City, Knock out, Evil Tusks?" Meowth offered.

"The other one, the bit about never letting rare Pokémon go by when you think you can take them. Shiny Pokémon certainly count, wouldn't you say."

"You'd take my life's work? I spent decades finding Shinegully a mate just like her. I traveled the world, and braved the most dangerous seas for her! You think I'd just let you take them, when I didn't let rampaging Gyarados, Draconids, Rangers, Icebergs, and the Phantom himself stop me?"

"Win!" both birds squaked in response.

"Well stealing generally doesn't take into account what the person being stolen from did to get their stuff." James noted as the three took a step towards the old man, who glared back at them definitely.

"Team Rocket!"

It was on that cue that Ash and Anabel ran at them.

"Funny how work always manages to follow you around whatever ya do," Meowth snarked

"Hey, we're not on the clock right now. We're resume stalking you later, can you just go?" James waved the two off, a action that left Ash and Pikachu staring at them in confusion.

"I'd prefer you never resume it, but I'm not going to just let you attack people!"

"...The attacking part hasn't started yet. That's when I throw out Ekans," Jessie pointed out.

"But if you insist on joining in, we'll attack you too! Go, Yamask!"

James threw out the floating ghost Pokémon, who hovered between the trio and Ash.

Again, why did he have Yamask? He was supposed to get it in Unova, somewhere? Did they get blasted off all the way to Unova one time, and Kalos another?

He never did think to ask where they landed afterwards.

"Yamask use Return!" Yamask began to glow a solid white color, the power of friendship coursing through the ghost.

"Counter with Zap Cannon!" Ash called as Pikachu began forming the electric ball between his paws.

Yamask flew at Pikachu, friendship in full force, as Pikachu charged with the electric ball.

The ball collided with Yamask, sending the ghost flying back at the trio, static covering in paralysis as Zap Cannon left its lingering effect.

The three were hit, and were sent instantly flying into the air.

"Looks like Team Rocket is Blasting Off and possibly defying the laws of physics!" they declared as they flew into the sky above and out of sight.

"Pika." 'That was quicker than usual.' Pikachu declared as Ash silently agreed, walking over to the man to see if he was alright.

The man smiled as he saw the two approach.

"Why thank you. Not sure I could have gotten rid of them that well, not without putting my dear Shinegull and Shinegully in danger." He told them as both shiny Wingull squawked in thanks.

Ash could feel the Pokédex vibrating in his pocket, taking in the data. He'd ignore it for the moment. The only reason it was not blurting out random facts was probably because he had already seen Misty's Wingull and a repeat lesson wasn't needed yet.

"It wasn't a problem. They've been following me around for too long." And how long they actually had been was lost to the ages, same as however old he was before time broke.

"Well, it may have been easy enough a thing for you to do, but it was a great help to me. Hmm...oh yes that'll do. Tell me young man, you're still going to be around these parts come tomorrow?"

Ash looked at Anabel, who visibly responded to him with a shrug.

'We aren't in a hurry,' she reminded him.

"We should be, why?" The man gave a wizened grin.

"Well if you are, I insist you must come over to 3-14 in Stone Town. Tell them old man Masuda sent you. It's going to be a big party, free food and all sorts of party favors. True, you hardly need my recommendation to be let in, but you'd probably get the better stuff with my name attached." With that the man turned and began walking down the path, leaving Ash and Anabel to watch him hobble away with his two Wingull.

"Stone Town is a major source of Evolutionary Stones. 'The Good Stuff' likely refers to such stones," the Pokédex noted.

"I knew that," Ash told it. After all, this was not his first time at 3-14 Stone Town. This was where Mikey and his Eevee lived, along with his three brothers, and this was probably the Evolution Party again.

"You should go," the Pokédex stated.

He turned again to Anabel, wondering if she'd want to go to a party. She nodded.

'I'd go just for the food, same as the others I'd guess.'

"Well then, looks like we're going, at least as long as Iris and Misty are willing," Ash declared.

"One of these days, I am going to develop a program so I am not only getting one end of these conversations," the Pokédex muttered to itself.

….

He had sent Pikachu on a quick check out of the way while he and Anabel went to find Misty and Iris and let them know of their invitation.

By the time they were on their way to 3-14, Pikachu had met back up with them and confirmed that Eevee was not hidden away in a tree hollow again.

That meant that this could go in a variety of different ways, so Ash kept that in mind as they approached the walled garden of 3-14's large estate.

"Well, this is it," Ash declared as they saw the open gates of the place. Already inside he could see people mulling about, sipping colorful liquids in fancy plastic cups and chattering about many minor things.

He could see the old man, Masuda, notice them and wave their way as he continued to chat with a woman that Ash was pretty sure was James's fiancé.

Team Rocket was a bit early to return to cause trouble after all, and he was sure she had a Vileplume (or was it a Gloom?). Regardless, the woman looked like Jessie and had a Vileplume, so he was going to stick to that theory.

He'd also be sticking to the philosophy of 'avoid like the plague'. He would rather not end up in her basement. He may actually have a somewhat idea of what half those things did now, but he had no interest in dealing with any shade of it.

Behind Masuda was a Noivern, who was munching on a pile of fruit while the Wingull remained on his shoulder. However the Noivern was a different color than Alexa's, with a green coloration instead of black.

"Noivern…" the Pokédex began from his pocket.

"That is a Noivern. It is a Dragon that often lives in caves near large forests. They eat fruit and are rather territorial about it. They are very loud when they attack." Iris beat the machine to the punch.

"…All accurate," the machine admitted.

'A bit….high brow, but I don't think we'll be the most out of place here.' Anabel observed.

"What makes you say that?" Misty had audible disbelief in her voice. Anabel pointed, and Ash followed her finger to the side of the wall.

Where a motorbike was parked.

Said motorbike was as black as a Houndoom, with a pair of handle bars that resembled the horns of one. A side car stuck out from it. The wheels had an eye-popping yellow trim on the wheels that resembled that of an Umbreon's glowing circles, and its exhaust was covered by a pair of model Murkrow wings.

Whatever make or model it was, or if it was custom, was lost to Ash. Motorbikes were not his forte, along with vehicles in general.

"I see your point. We probably would stand out a bit less than the biker." Misty agreed as they entered the courtyard where the garden party was ongoing.

….

Ash didn't see any of the brothers immediately, it was just a sea of small talk and bantering. Though unlike last time, he felt like he was getting a read on what the people at the party actually did for a living.

Last time they were just 'people'.

Somehow Ash doubted that was a result of Iris's training.

He heard mention of the Grand Festival, about Indigo and something about the Pokéathlon expanding to Kanto. He heard talk of breeding suggestions and grooming tips, and he was sure he vaguely recognized some of them.

He didn't see Suzie or anything like that, but he felt he saw at least a few of them on Scissor Street with her the first time around.

He did catch that Coordinator/Breeder who got Brock to compete in that Pokémon Contest (what was her name? Yuya? Yugi? Yuuki….Oh, Yuma), talking to someone, with the girl who she took under the wing last time, Mollie if he remembered correctly, standing beside her with her Raticate out, looking a bit bored with the entire thing.

At a nearby table he noted someone who he didn't recognize, but who for some reason kept drawing his eye.

It probably wasn't' because of what she was wearing, despite what some might think at first glance.

The woman, who Ash wasn't sure what her age was (she didn't look young like Maylene or Flannery, nor older like Lenora or Fantina), had long silver-blue hair. She was wearing white pants with frayed edges, dark boots, and a yellow top that did not cover her stomach. Said stomach had a belly button piercing glistening in the center of it, one of those small round ones. Ash had no idea what it was specifically called, and he was not about to get the Pokédex to look up the exact term.

He couldn't quite see her eyes, as the way she was hanging her head obscured them with her hair. But he got the feeling she was well aware of what was going on.

"I see. You noticed too." He heard Iris as she walked by him, her own eyes not leaving her.

"You can tell she is the most dangerous person here. That is good," Iris complimented before continuing off in the direction he was pretty sure the buffet table was.

As she left the woman adjusted her head, allowing him to see a single eye, same color as her hair, look at him for a moment.

He noticed the eye go from his face to Pikachu, and back again, and then he was sure he saw a smile crack on her face.

The mysterious act she was putting on was suddenly broken by a rapid and clear thumbs up, before she returned to her former, more mysterious pose.

Okay…..so she approved of him. Approved of what about him specifically was yet to be determined.

A tap to his shoulder took his attention from the strange woman, and he found himself turned around to find several people about his age, maybe a bit younger. Just fifteen, maybe in the last stretches of fourteen, something like that.

All of them looking at him in amazement, like he was Fiorella Cappuccino or something.

His hair probably could use a trim sure, but it wasn't blue.

"Can I….help you?" Seemed the best way to start this.

"Are you Ash Ketchum?" One of them, a girl with an Oddish at her heels, asked nervously. Her hair was a dirty blond color and she was wearing a green headband over it.

"Of Pallet Town, yes," he confirmed as another girl, with a Poliwag at her heels, beamed a massive smile. She had brownish-green hair, wearing a yellow dress with pink sleeves covering her shoulders.

"That. Is. So. Cool! We saw your awesome battles at the Battle Dome, and at that Tag Tournament! You were great!"

Both were smiling his way with the grins of someone who had met someone amazing from T.V. It was, weird.

Normally this was May and Dawn's thing, and Paul's if one counted Barry. He never seemed to get fans like this.

The fact that Paul had a devoted fan while he didn't was one of the great mysteries of the old timeline, along with his age and whatever was inside the G.S ball.

"Is that the Pikachu that blew up that Alolan Pokémon with the field?!" A third girl who was holding a Cleffa in her arms pointed at Pikachu in curiosity. She was a brunette wearing a white blouse and blue skirt. Pikachu nodded in confirmation, leading to a series of impressed sounds that he could probably not translate into written words.

Pikachu appreciated the vocalizations, at the very least.

"Your battle against that Sinnoh guy with that powerful Torter-something, and that other guy he was with who didn't do all that much, broke my artists block. It felt so good to finally finish my last sketch before leaving this place." A fourth girl, a red head with an artist's hat (a burette right?), declared in sincere appreciation as she flipped a sketchbook in her hands around to show him the pages within, revealing a colorless sketch of Torterra staring down Servine and Red's Charmeleon.

The art was pretty good, at least as good as Tracey's work, though the lack of Gary in the art bothered Ash a bit.

A pink blur hopped up her shoulder as a Mime Jr. duplicated Pikachu's pose on his shoulder.

"If it isn't a bother though, do you think you could do something for us?" said the only male voice among them, and Ash liked to think he didn't flinch at the sight of who spoke.

He was the tallest of the five, dressed in a polo shirt and nice pants that he did not look all that happy to be in if Ash had to guess, and would ditch them as soon as possible. His hair was black, but it had a bit of a green tint in the light. Under the hair, which was wavy instead of spiky, were a pair of red eyes. At his side was a Machop, who gave a respectful nod to Pikachu.

He was another one who looked a tad too similar to himself (or Red, or John Archer, or Belladonna, or Ashley, etc etc) for comfort.

"We're all about to start on our own Pokémon journeys. We actually could have all gone out yesterday, but our parents thought we should attend this party before we go. If you are here though, I was wondering….could you give us some advice? I mean, not all of us are going to compete in the League, but do you have any sort of advice for us? None of our parents ever got as far as you did, if they even tried at all…" the kid asked. His tone was of genuine interest, a detectable yearning for advice from someone who knew what it was like.

And from someone he idolized.

Regardless of what awkward connection they may have, there was no way that Ash could say no.

As all five of them looked his way along with their partner Pokémon, as he gathered his thoughts for some advice giving.

Resisting the urge to fake cough before speaking, he began.

"First of all, no matter what you need to learn to work with your Pokémon. It doesn't matter if they are your first Pokémon," at this prompt Pikachu waved from his shoulder, which Mime Jr. mimicked once more, "or one you capture later. If you want to work with them to be the best you can be, you need to work with their strengths, not your own. Every Pokémon, no matter how powerful or evolved, has something special to them, and it is the job of anyone wanting to work with them to bring out the best in them."

"Next, never discount your instincts. If you think something will work, don't stop to think if it makes sense, or if it isn't normal. The smallest glimmer of inspiration can change the tide of anything: battle, Contests, even art, maybe?"

The artist whose Mime Jr. was still mimicking Pikachu nodded in a 'yes, art is like that', way.

"Art too. Third, never go into a battle assuming that you can win only with type. Pikachu here won me a Gym badge by defeating an Onix, with Thunderbolt."

"You used the Thunderbolt to send a Bide back at it," the Pokédex reminded him from his pocket.

"Moves aren't a simple case of 'hit your opponent'. They can be used in a wide variety of ways. There are also a lot more ways to have your Pokémon fight than just with their moves or abilities. Know everything your Pokémon can do. How high they can jump, what they can do with their tails, what their skin is like…..there isn't anything that can't be useful if you know your Pokémon well enough."

"When you travel, you will meet many different types of people, and go to many places. When you can, take in everything you see and everyone you meet. You never know where a source of inspiration can be found."

"Finally….know that you will meet people that you won't agree with," Ash told the five in a more solemn tone.

"There are people in the world who believe in the opposite of what you hold dear. Some of these people are criminals. Others, aren't, and that will bother you more any amount of criminals you meet."

"I could probably say more, but unless you want to know what not to do around Spearow…." Ash finished as they nodded in appreciation.

"We'll keep that in mind," the girl with the Poliwag said in complete honesty.

"Really, thank you. It's an honor to be given your advice. My name's Midori by the way, as weird as it sounds for a guy." The boy who looked like him gave his name.

"Hoshi," the girl with the Cleffa followed.

"Monet," said the Mime Jr. girl.

"Rana," the Poliwag girl told him.

"And my name is Kusa," finished the Oddish girl.

From there conversation continued, with additional questions coming his way.

"What do you do if you have a losing streak?" Best answer he could give was work hard and figure out what was causing it. If it was just bad luck, try and wait it out while not forgetting what you had managed before the streak began.

"What do you do if the weather is too bad to travel?" Wait it out, and try and keep yourself busy while it blows over. Training, studying, actually calling home, that sort of thing.

"What do we do if our tents are damaged?" At that point Ash introduced them to the idea of Secret Bases. They seemed quite interested in it, and were quite glad when the Pokédex will willing to download the TM instructions for Secret Power into one of their Pokénavs.

Their question about how to accommodate both badges and Contests into a journey did require him to fudge some details though.

"I heard from a couple of guys in Pokémon Centers the key to doing that is being willing to divert. If the path between Gyms has Contests, that is good. If the Contest is a bit of a detour, take it. The Gym won't go anywhere, and more time to train for the Gym is always good. Don't go out of the way to find Contests far from the Gym you want to go to next, but I've heard it is best to be willing to take a few extra days when there is a Contest around." Ash advised them as Kusa spoke up.

"That's great. We always planned to travel together, but I was always worried that we might run into trouble with finding enough of both Contests and Gyms. Now though, it seems so silly to have worried about that. We'll be able to stick together."

The response was said so earnestly, and followed by such in sync nods of agreement, that it gave Ash a moment of pause.

Something about the way she was saying that was bugging him….was it the idea of a possible half sibling of his sticking around with several other girls a la Belladonna or Cleff, or was he was just overthinking and it was simply friendship?

…

Meanwhile as Ash gave advice, Misty had gossip to overhear while she sampled the free food.

"Yeah, those five have always been close haven't they? What has it been, since kindergarten?"

"Something like that. They're always together, never that close to the other kids their age. It's kind of weird."

"Always eat a ton too, don't they? Do their parents ever feed them?"

"They'll be going soon, right? Most of the other kids around Mikey's age are off journeying, hence why they were actually invited. Wonder how long they'll last?"

"Those five or the rest of 'em"

"If any of them, those five or otherwise, actually get to a League I'll be shocked. Everyone hits that wall of failure at some point, last people around here to make something out of wandering about are Mikey's older brothers, and one's going to have to give it up soon."

"That's life for ya. You have to give up your dreams at some point or another. Pass the potato salad, would ya?"

'Aren't you pessimistic,' Misty couldn't help but think as she took a chunk of some Kalosian bread and bit it.

You never had to give up on your dreams. Sometimes you couldn't keep going for them true, but life making lemons didn't mean you couldn't keep at it. Even at her lowest point she never lost sight of her dreams.

She kept at it, and now she was closer to them than ever. Even if it did mean that crazy Unovan decided she needed to work her non-swimming muscles just because no one saw a ninja was armed.

Sure her calves seemed to be more functional, but it was still a bit much.

….Even if it did lead to Ash working out more, which was not the worst thing to see by any stretch. If she didn't know any better she would be sure Iris started this just to give him more muscles. Not that she could blame her, it was nice to see.

The space to her right was occupied, and she noted who had popped in.

It was a boy, a bit younger than her if she had to guess. He had a brown head of hair, was wearing a green shirt, and had an Eevee in his arms.

"Hey, isn't that the guest of honor?" she heard the pessimistic men over from her comment her way. Most likely about the boy who was currently next to her, eating some sort of imported cheese.

The boy turned to look at them with a look of awkwardness at being pointed out, before turning away from the crowd, hugging the Eevee tightly.

Misty observed the newcomer and his Pokémon with cursory interest, noticing how tense he was and how he continued to look around, while everyone whispered comments to each other, most likely referring to him.

A familiar shiver ran down her spine. That was a situation she found herself in more than once, the few times her family didn't or couldn't pretend she didn't exist. It was among the few occasions where she was the center of attention, with clear instructions to be as inconspicuous as possible, while her sisters made sure to eclipse her as much as they could, just like every other time. It was a hell of a way to spend her birthdays.

She placed the bread aside and inched closer to the boy. "Is everything alright?"

The kid flinched and gulped down the cheese as he perked his head up. He spied his surroundings briefly before he focused back on Misty.

"Yes," he said with a nod, then averted his eyes again. Misty wasn't about to let the conversation die there, however.

She smiled at him. "My name is Misty. And you are...?"

"Mikey." The boy continued to look away, towards the men of before.

Noticing that, Misty frowned. "You don't want to be here, right?"

Holding his Eevee tightly, Mikey grabbed another piece of cheese and observed it with an absent glance.

"I had no choice." He munched it slowly, still not watching Misty. "We had to all be here today. My brothers couldn't miss this event."

Misty blinked at that, before locking her gaze on Mikey again. Of course, it had to be that. She grimaced at the unwanted memories, and then shook her head.

"I know how you feel. Siblings can be terrible to deal with when you're the youngest."

Hearing that, Mikey finally looked back at her, head tilted. "What do you mean?"

"I've been a younger sibling too, once." Misty clenched her jaw at that, but quickly returned to a more neutral expression. "I bet there are times where you'd rather run away from everything and everyone, right?"

Mikey continued to look at her, remaining silent as he and Eevee stared on. And then, he shook his head.

"No, I can't." His glance went back to the cheese as he frowned. "Family needs to stick together in times like these."

At that reaction, Misty crooked an eyebrow. "Didn't your brothers force you to be here?"

"It's not like that." Mikey caressed his Eevee softly, as his frown morphed into a grimace. "And it's still better than being alone."

Hearing that, Misty didn't knew what to say. As far as she could remember, there was never a situation where she would've found time with her sisters 'better than being alone'. Being away from her family, while sad, was always a blessing. Why would anyone want to stick with relatives they didn't enjoy? It made no sense to her.

And with confusion creeping in, the discussion was left to die.

….

"So, you're a pretty popular guy it seems?" The question wasn't really a question, more of an observation.

After the five had eventually left him alone, Ash found himself turned around by the old man, who nodded.

"Apparently I am." Ash agreed.

"Well, seeing as you are both an up and comer, and nice enough to help an old man out, I'll be remembering that, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town."

With that Masuda hobbled off into the crowd, not elaborating on what he meant. However Ash didn't have all that much time to wonder what he meant.

"I don't know about that. I've seen people getting by and doing some amazing things without evolving." He heard someone mutter in the crowd, which caught his attention.

Last time he was here, this party was all about evolving. Good to see that there was some difference in opinion this time around.

"What? People succeed in all fields by making their Pokémon stronger and winning! It's the best for the Pokémon and Trainer alike. Evolution is the name of the mountain and the town by extension! Sure it's Stone Town, but it's short for evolution stone, not cornerstone. I don't know who gets by without evolving…." He heard a sort of familiar voice declare, though who was talking Ash couldn't pinpoint.

"Him."

The pointed declaration rang through the crowd, causing Ash to look around in curiosity.

Such a declaration was so vague it was hard to really know who it was for…

"The Pikachu guy from Pallet Town."

Okay, that was definitely him. He may not be the only Pikachu guy, but last he checked Gary never had a Pikachu.

And so he got an idea of who he thought he was hearing, as a blue-haired man darted through the crowd.

Ash wasn't sure if he was eighteen, twenty, or something like that….but he recognized the hair style and got a name for him.

"Pikachu Guy from Pallet, Ash Ketchum," Rainer, Eevee brother of Vaporeon, declared while pointing at him dramatically.

"Yeah, that's me," Ash replied in an unsure tone.

"Pika-Pikachu." 'And I'm the Pikachu in the titular 'Pikachu Guy' duo.' Pikachu didn't seem thrilled with the idea of the title 'Pikachu Guy' spreading.

Vaporeon made a motion that Ash suspected was sympathy for Pikachu's concern, but Rainer looked at him as one would do an unexpected irritant.

"Why are you here?" he questioned as Ash blinked.

"Uh….because it's an open party, and I saved an old guy."

"You are the guy who helped…" He stopped as his words devolved into an exasperated sigh, as the brother took a long, deep breath.

"Okay fine, I get it. Open party, additional invite for good samaritan work, I won't make you leave. However, stay away from my brother."

Ash was taken aback by the statement. Rainer was looking him in the eye as he made the statement. Said eye was ablaze with the upmost seriousness.

"Which brother, I heard you have…."

"My kid brother, Mikey. Brown hair, Eevee in his arms, no muscle shirt like the rest of us. I don't care what you do with the other two idiots, beat them up and make them give up their dreams for all I care, but I don't need you giving Mikey any bad ideas. Not now, and not today of all days. You see a kid with an Eevee, you stay the hell away from him."

Um, what? What on earth was he getting on about. His confusion was probably evident, because Rainer continued.

"He's about to start on his own journey, and that's hard enough. The last thing he needs is to think he doesn't need to evolve an Eevee with a stone today, because some guy does well enough without evolving his Pikachu."

Rainer seemed to be staring both him and Pikachu in the eye as he said this.

"You may be some sort of skilled, one-of-a-kind budding legend who can win against powerful opponents with just a Pikachu, or just a Yanma, or just a Squirtle, but my little brother isn't that way. "

"Look, what your little brother does or doesn't do isn't my doing. I win with the Pokémon I have, regardless of if they want to evolve or not. I'm not going to tell him he has to do anything specific to win, except maybe putting in hard work and ensuring his Pokémon are treated with love and respect. Plus, do I need to remind you of the Pokémon I do have that evolved, because I do in fact have a few." Ash countered, now annoyed.

This was just…..what was a word for it. Something fancy that Professor Oak or the Pokédex would probably use…..asinine?

Would that work here? If he said that Rainer was being asinine, would that be grammatically correct. It felt correct to him…

"Pikapik," Pikachu also added, to the benefit of only himself and Vaporeon.

'Are you counting partially evolved Pokémon or not? I'm sure Servine would very much like to know if she's part of your rant or not.'

Notably Vaporeon had a unsure expression of its face at the question. Did Servine count in this argument or not?

Rainer did not seem like he'd be giving clarification on that anytime soon.

"That's not going to matter to him. You can talk about how you have a Charizard or an Ambipom or a Butterfree however much you want, all he's going to see is Pikachu doing it despite all reason. Then he'll think he doesn't need to use a stone, and he'll lose and be miserable. Mikey will not be miserable because of you giving him stupid ideas and false hopes!"

….

"Come one, come all!"

After meeting the boy of the hour and finding themselves at an impasse, Misty had wandered into the party once more.

She eventually found herself in front of a crowd that had gathered on a nearby elevated area, a bit like a stage of some sort. Standing atop of it was some guy, older than her by a few years, with red hair that reminded her of a open fire.

Next to him was a Flareon, the Fire Eeveelution.

"Now, I know today's a big day and all. Today we get to see my dear little brother take his big first step into our great big world! If he wants to avoid the missteps that breaks you, he needs to make a choice. Fire, Thunder, or Water!"

The crowd cheered at the declaration, as Misty felt a tad lost.

'Interesting, he forgot all the other methods.' She heard Anabel distantly in her head. Misty didn't see the psychic, but she could clearly hear what was going on.

"Now, I'll admit it didn't help me win my first Contest. No, it took me a few tries, but evolving my Eevee into Flareon gave me an edge over my fellow newbies. With it, we had the raw potential and ability to win, we only needed time to temper it!" The red head continued as Flareon stepped up.

"Mikey, I'm not sure if you want to join me in the Contest world, but I'm sure this is a lesson you can learn and use for anything," the now identified older brother declared as Flareon reared its head up and began spitting out a spinning Fire Spin into the air.

"I'm lost," Misty declared as she heard the tell tale sound of Psyduck popping up, who immediately began quacking.

"Psy-sy-y" 'He appears to be a Pokémon Coordinator'. Psyduck began as the attack continued to spin over Flareon's head. Flareon's eyes then flashed purple, as purple light began to form around the Fire Spin.

A Reflect.

'Pokémon Coordinators bring out the beauty and finess of Pokémon in demonstrations of skill and technique. These aspects are split into purely aesthetic rounds, followed up by rounds combining aesthetic with battle techniques. The winner of both rounds are rewarded a ribbon, which allows for entry into grand tournaments called Grand Festivals for the title of Top Coordinator.'

The reflect was now bending inward, creating a glowing purple sphere with a narrow point of entry that Flareon was blowing the Fire Spin in. Said Fire Spin had narrowed a bit to enter it better, but the result was the light of the fire radiating out from inside the gem like a great light. The crowd around her was ooing and awing at it in amazement.

Misty stared at the duck in surprise at the fact he had just given her all that information.

"Duck." 'You left the T.V on during a late night special on Contest history. I wasn't tired and had nothing better to do,' he explained as the fire brother spoke again, Flareon taking a breather as the flames breathed continued to dance inside the gem Reflect created.

"This is what evolution can do for you! You can't do this without evolving. The world needs at least three of us to be happy Mikey, this beauty is for you! The Evolution Gem!"

"Do they always name their techniques?" Misty asked aloud.

Psyduck didn't answer, as he had wandered off and had taken an apple for himself from a nearby table.

….

"Hey you, have you seen Mikey anywhere? I was going to tell him that a preliminary Pokéathlon qualifier will be happening in a month in Crimson City if he wants to join me in the Pokéathlon and….wait what the hell is he doing here!"

Ash now had a second brother on his hands, the spiky haired Sparky, a Jolteon right on his heels.

Ash half wondered if that was a nickname. Were they really named Sparky, Pyro, and Rainer, or did they just call themselves that?

Did they change their names to them later?

"Look, this is why I said we should have a closed party," Sparky growled, though even as it was about him, it was aimed at Rainer.

Rainer rolled his eyes at the complaint.

"You were the one who said that we didn't have time to send invitations. Word of mouth was how we got the word out."

"We couldn't have sprung for a bouncer at least?"

"That would be a waste of money. I know you have to grasp the idea, but that would gain little for a lot of money spent," Rainer sardonically declared.

"If you are such a money expert, why don't I see you learn how to read fine print and then Pyro and I can resume our lives!" Sparky snarled at his brother, as the two were now fully focused at glaring at one another.

"Pikapi," Pikachu whispered into his ear.

'Ash, maybe we should back away while they are busy….' Pikachu suggested, to which their partner Eeveelutions nodded in rapid agreement.

Ash couldn't help but agree that might be best. While he would like to defend himself, clearly something else was going on and he probably should stay out of it.

However before he could begin to step back their attention swung back his way, wicked looks on their faces.

"Look, I know you are more interested in hurdles and lamps than battle technique, but perhaps we can solve our problem the simple way. We beat him, and Mikey won't even consider emulating him. Then he can choose a stone and…" Rainer declared.

"I hate to agree with you, but that does sound good. You may be the only one who trains like Ketchum, but don't underestimate Pokéathlon training. My Pokémon are just as fit as yours, maybe even more so. Certainly more than Pyro's anyway."

In the name of May and Dawn Ash felt like defending the fitness of Coordinator-trained Pokémon, but the brothers pointing and the Eeveelutions, if somewhat looking unenthusiastic about it, jumped forward threateningly.

As they did so the crowd parted around them, opening up an area for battling.

"Cool, a battle. I came for the food, and we get this too."

"That Ketchum kid's doing pretty good, but Rainer's actually been to Leagues. This is going to be a landslide."

"You can do it Ash!" He heard someone shout over the crowd. It sounded like Midori's group, which was nice.

'What is going on?' Anabel's voice rang in his head as she, and presumably Misty and Iris somewhere in the crowd, gathered around him.

Honestly, at this point he would like to know what was up too. He was battling, but for what purpose?

Anabel picked up on those thoughts, as well as a quick thought on what was in fact going on as far as he could tell, and thus she gave him an explanation.

'I've heard bits and pieces here and there. Apparently their mother recently died, and the three older brothers, who are triplets actually if you were wondering, had to go home and take over the family business and raise their brother for the last bit before he would go on his own journey. Mikey's actually their half-brother, if you are curious, their mother never married either of their fathers.'

'They don't mind the Mikey bit, but the idea that one of them will have to stay and take over the family business and stop what they love, has put them in a perpetual bad mood. If they didn't have that, this probably would not be happening.'

Ash mentally thanked Anabel for the info, though that didn't solve the problem of this fight.

It was two to one, and with their Pokémon using Charizard and Pikachu was not a good move. What would be though….

"Excuse me, I take it you wouldn't mind if Ash had a partner in this? Makes it fair and all."

A voice rang out, a voice that was warm, but in a declarative way.

The crowd parted as the woman from before, the one that he and Iris had noticed earlier, the one who probably owned the motorbike, stepped over to him and turned to face the brothers.

Standing up, Ash noted she was shorter than him, but that didn't seem to affect the confident grin that was on her face.

"In the little argument you've been having, even if it was mostly you yelling if I'd have to be specific, I side with him over you guys. Of course now it's fair, with the two of us against the two of you."

"No one asked your opinion hippie," Sparky growled.

"She's not a hippie. A hippie dresses differently," Rainer deadpanned.

"Oh whatever, you know what I mean!"

"Not really. Can't say I've ever been called a hippie. That's a first," the woman mused as she pulled a Pokéball from her belt.

A Luxury Ball, she enlarged it with a tap to the center and sent the ball flying. It burst into the air, revealing what Pokémon she'd be battling with.

"Murkrow!" the bird called as it landed in front of the woman.

"Seeing as this whole thing is about stone evolution, my friend here is only appropriate." The woman smiled as the Murkrow let out a call of agreement.

"Murkrow, the Darkness Pokémon. This Pokémon, given an ominous title for dramatic effect, is a thief of shiny objects. They like to cause mischief, pain, and bother to those around them," the Pokédex declared for Ash's benefit.

"I had thought I heard something about you having gotten a Pokédex from Professor Oak…" Rainer noted with a bit of respect, before regaining a game face.

"You are aware, Miss or Mrs, as I cannot tell…" The woman held up a set of ten ring-less fingers. "Alright then, Miss, you are in fact aware that your Murkrow is weak to not only my brother's Jolteon, but that it is very likely that my Vaporeon is carrying an…"

"Oh, I am aware that your Vaporeon has an ice attack. It was Icy Wind I believe, that your Pokémon used in battle at your top four finisher at the last Silver League conference, which you attended after two Indigo finishers of eight and four. Icy Wind, Acid Armor, Scald, Strength, Shadow Ball, and Mist I believe it used, or am I mistaken. You also used a Poliwrath, Exeggutor, Cloyster, Nidoking, and Mismagius at your League matches, though I feel I am missing a number. Perhaps it is simply their stone evolution basis that is sticking with me."

Rainer looked taken aback by the analysis, but he nodded.

"Yeah, I have other Pokémon. I just work better with stone evolutions. You may know a lot, but that doesn't change the facts that we have the advantage, regardless of what Pokémon Ketchum chooses."

"And he'll be choosing Pikachu, am I right?" the woman both questioned, and said with certainty.

Ash nodded in agreement, in part because he had no better ideas. Pikachu thus hopped forward, ready to battle as Murkrow took into the air in readiness.

The battle then began without preamble.

"You may not be a hippie, but listing off stats isn't how you win anything! Jolteon, Thunderbolt!" Sparky shouted. Jolteon yowled as electricity built up around it.

"Jolteon, The Lightning Pokémon. This Eeveelution is known for speed and electrical force. Parent Jolteon will use Pin Missile to defend their young from Drowzee dream predation," the Pokédex quickly read off as the bolt was fired right at Murkrow.

"Reflect it with Whirlwind!" the woman declared. Murkrow began flapping its wings rapidly, forming a whirlwind that rustled hats and hair in the surrounding people.

The electric attack hit right into the Whirlwind, and was completely negated.

"But how!?" Sparky declared in shock.

"Because it isn't a Flying-type move. Whirlwind is a normal type move," Rainer's response to his brother was deadpanned in tone.

"Now Icy Wind!" the woman called as Murkrow became surrounded in a chilly mist, before flapping once more. The resulting wind was tinged with icy cold crystals.

"Use your own!" Rainer responded as Vaporeon sucked in a large breath, before spewing out a matching cold wind attack.

"Vaporeon, the Bubble Jet Pokémon. Vaporeon are often used by well diggers to find springs. They are the most passive Eeveelution," the Pokédex chimed in the late information once more as the Icy Winds collided.

Murkrow's won, and the icy wind was blown back at the two.

"What!?" Rainer voiced his surprise as Sparky was at pace.

"Is that the attack that reduces speed? Just in case it is, Protect!" Jolteon nodded as a green energy bubble formed around Jolteon.

Thus only Vaporeon was blasted with the cold front, even as the people behind the brothers, and the brothers themselves, began shivering.

Murkrow, with a mocking call of its own name, landed next to Pikachu, looking none the worse. Clearly the Murkrow was a strong one.

He and Iris had been right on the money when it came to the woman.

"Alright Pikachu, Quick Attack on Jolteon!"

The Pokédex thankfully did not tell him that such a move was a wise one, as Jolteon likely had the ability Volt Absorb.

He knew that already, and did not need to be reminded of it like an idiot.

Pikachu sped forward, white energy surrounding him.

"Cover for the idiot!" Rainer growled. Vaporeon darted forward, if in a somewhat reduced manner, with a glowing red aura around itself.

The two charging attacks collided, both Pokémon being thrown back.

"For a up and comer without a full set of badges to his name, that was pretty powerful wasn't it?" the woman observed to Rainer, who was not amused.

"I can make observations too, a Raichu would have pushed my Vaporeon back. He's a good friend, but physical strength is not his strong suit. Also no Pikachu other than that….special one could have done that. Scald!" The burning water attack flew at Pikachu, who avoided it with a tail boosted jump.

"Also true, but you act like evolution is entirely gaining in strength. Pikachu could not have jumped like that as a Raichu, Raichu tails don't help boost jumps."

"Also my Sligoo was blind after it evolved from Goomy, and until it evolved again," Ash added.

"And a Caterpie can't move as a Metapod, does that make Butterfree not worth it? Charge Beam!" Sparky shouted as an electrical attack fired, faster this time.

The bolt flew at Murrow, who avoided it with a mid air dodge.

"Had I evolved my Murkow into a Honchrow, that dodge would not have worked. A larger body is a larger target after all, and more has to be moved to safety," the woman mused.

"And had you evolved it, that Icy Wind would have done more. Scald!"

"Dark Pulse!" The two attacks collided, with the Dark Pulse pushing into the burning water.

Hot water droplets were sent flying in all directions as the Dark Pulse pushed through and sent Vaporeon flying.

"Quick Attack!" Ash and Sparky shouted at once as both electric types sped at each other, clashing head on.

However Jolteon was pushed back, and sent tumbling back.

"Jolteon!"

"Iron Tail!" Ash called for a finisher as Pikachu swung himself around, steel tail at the ready to whack Jolteon.

As the Eeveelution was knocked to Sparky's feet, it wasn't getting back up. Jolteon was unable to battle.

Vaporeon was the same it seemed.

"Nothing that you said about evolution isn't true. Pokémon that are evolved are, overall stronger. They hit harder, take more hits, and can learn more moves. That isn't all there is to battling. Strength alone isn't what determines success," the woman told them as Rainer glared back.

"Lecture me on something that isn't obvious. I didn't get as far as I did without knowing that Vaporeon can avoid damage in water by dissolving. I know that Nidoking using physical force without a move is a technique as valid as any attack. Every Trainer knows that. However you have to learn that, and you two showing off that you've skipped the first steps and gone directly to that isn't going to help my brother. If he doesn't evolve his Eevee today he isn't going to have time to become you two. At this point I don't care what stone he picks, as long as he uses one."

The woman sighed as she took out another Luxury Ball. Tapping it, it let out a second Pokémon, who stood at her side and confused the two brothers.

"Um," the Umbreon greeted.

"Umbreon, an Eeveelution that evolves without a stone. It is a Dark Type, famed for defensive and indirect tactics. The bite of an Umbreon contains poison," The Pokédex aided in the woman's point.

"And yet he can't use Poison Fang, what a world." The woman noted the last part with a wishful tone.

"Without a stone?" Sparky questioned as the woman continued.

"Eevee can evolve without an evolution stone. You insisting that your brother has to evolve his Eevee the way you evolved yours is limiting, just like you think not evolving Eevee is. You just rarely see such evolutions in Kanto that you probably never heard of it. The stones you use are more common than in Johto, where I'm from."

"You guys want to help your brother. I get that," Ash continued for the woman. "However, you need to let him make his own choices. Forcing him isn't going to do him any good, especially out of the gate. Everyone has a certain type of Pokémon they are good with, regardless of what they go into. He needs to find that out on his own."

"Yes."

The young voice rang through the crowd as Mikey, Eevee in tow, stepped between the four of them with a look of sureness on his face.

"Mikey…." Rainer breathed as the little brother continued.

"I may not know what I want to do as a Trainer, or what Eevee and I want to become together. What I do know is, I'd like to find out on my own. I know how I want to find out though…..with my first battle."

At that declaration Eevee hoped out in front of Pikachu, baring cute little fangs.

"…" Ash could see the brothers tense, even Pyro who had only just gotten into his fringe of sight. Clearly they really did want him to have all the chances he could.

"Give me a sec." He told Mikey as he pulled out the H.O.P.E glove and placing Goodra's Heal Ball in the center, where it soon vanished from. At the confused look Mikey gave him Ash explained.

"This is a device that I use to get my Pokémon. Most of my team stays with Professor Oak when they aren't on hand with me. I have two Pokémon I think would be a good first match for you. One's a Vivillon….."

"A Kalosian Pokémon that is like a Butterfree, but coming in a lot of colors," the Pokédex answered the question that Mikey was likely going to ask.

"…The other's a Spearow. Which would you like to battle….." Ash wondered if there was some thematic choice at hand, and if so what he was asking.

If Mikey choose to battle Vivillon, did that mean he agreed with his brothers? That he rejected their opinion?

Was he giving a simple choice too much thought?

"Which one's stronger?" Mikey asked.

"Vivillon," Ash told him as Mikey gave a confident grin, one matched by Eevee.

"Then that is the one I want to battle first," Mikey declared as the Pokédex dinged in a Pokéball, instead of the Safari Ball Spearow would be in.

"Alright, let's go!" And with that Ash sent Vivillon out, a pair of purple wings flapping in the air, to several gasps of wonder from the crowd.

"Where did he get that?"

"I didn't see that Pokémon at the Tag Tournament."

"Is it normally purple?"

According to the Pokédex, no. Vivillon apparently came in many patterns, depending on their place of birth. Ash had no idea where a purple Vivillon was from, and really didn't care.

The Scatterbug he had saved from Felgrand had by now all become Spewpa, with the one he had used to help the boy in Crimson City having evolved around the time the others had, reaching the final form.

But that wasn't important now. What was, was Mikey's first battle.

"You can go first," Ash told Mikey, who nodded and pointed.

"Quick Attack!"

"Tackle!"

The two attacks were declared in quick succession, as Eevee sped at Vivillon.

Eevee hit first, which Ash expected. Quick Attack was called Quick Attack for a reason after all.

The fact that Vivillon was the one sent flying back, with Eevee taking only a bit of a blow from the colliding attack, was not what he was expecting.

"Vi?" Vivillon questioned, as one would question 'what hit me?'

"Mikey…." Sparky breathed in surprise.

"Interesting…." The woman observed.

"That Eevee is no average starter," the Pokédex declared.

"I see that. Okay then, Vivillon use Stun Spore!"

Vivillon began flapping, wings shedding a storm of bronze spores at the Eevee.

The spores collided with Eevee, failing to go past it and into Mikey. Eevee seized up before collapsing to its knees.

"Eevee!" Mikey shouted in worry.

"Tackle!" Vivillon flew right at Eevee, knocking the little furball back to Mikey's feet.

Ash could hear the brothers flinch like one would do at the sight of someone close to you losing a match, but Eevee got back up despite their concerns.

Eevee stared back at them, glaring at Vivillon as Mikey began mumbling to himself. Ash thought he heard Quick Attack, Charm, and Swift mentioned before Mikey's eyes lit up.

"Use Refresh!" Mikey called as Eevee struggled a nod, before shimmering white.

"Refresh, a move that restores a Pokémon's status from paralysis, poison, burn, and similar ailments. A young Eevee does not generally know the move," the Pokédex observed as Eevee stood up proud.

"Hey Mikey." Ash asked as the young boy, who looked back at him with a nervous expression. "You and Eevee had some practice before this, am I right?"

Mikey smiled weakly.

"We….did let him watch our partners while we had to go file government papers…." Pyro mentioned to the side.

"I guess he did more than just 'see how cool evolved Eevee are'," Sparky continued for his brother as the woman smiled their way.

"Swift!" Mikey called as Eevee jumped in the air, ready to swing for the Swift stars.

"Tie it up with String Shot!" Ash countered as Vivillon spat out a wad of string. The String snagged around Eevee's left paw, before Eevee was slammed onto the ground before the attack could complete.

Mikey cringed, but quickly made a counter call.

"Quick Attack!" Eevee glowed white as the speed attack was prepared once more.

"Roll with the hit Vivillon, then use Tackle!" Eevee jumped at Vivillon, striking with a solid hit that sent Vivillon spinning.

However Vivillon recovered, and slammed into Eevee from behind.

Eevee was sent flying as panic raced in Mikey's eyes, before they sparked with something else.

He heard the woman give a approving grin at the look in Mikey's eyes, and Ash could see why.

It was a spark of inspiration.

"Use Swift!" Mikey called as Eevee's body visibly twitched at the command. Still flying to the ground from the impact, Eevee turned around and formed stars around its tail.

The Swift were sent flying, even as Eevee hit the ground.

The Swift flew into Vivillon, exploding.

Eevee struggled up with a visible wince, as Vivillon hit the ground.

"Vivillon!" Ash shouted. Vivillon did not get back up.

The crowd was silent for a moment, before exploding into cheers. Mikey's face was layered in confusion, before his lips burst into a smile with wide eyes as Eevee mirrored the motion.

He could see Mikey's brothers stare in shock, and in the corner of his eyes he could see the woman nod in approval.

Ash smiled as he returned Vivillon.

"You did good," he told the ball holding the Kalosian bug.

Moments later all three older brothers darted forward and seized Mikey in a massive hug.

Eevee meanwhile had Flareon dart over for a victory nuzzle, followed shortly after by a somewhat recovered duo of Jolteon and Vaporeon.

Later

"Come for the food, stay for giving confidence and partially mending a damaged family," Misty surmised the entire evening as they left 3-14 Stone Town, the sun setting in the sky as night approached.

"Like I told Anabel earlier, that's one of the parts of a journey. You never know what will happen," Ash told her with a smile as Misty smiled herself.

"Yeah, I can sort of see that. I couldn't have imagined being involved in half of the things we've been up to."

"Agreed." Iris nodded before she tensed and turned around, a motion Ash did in turn too.

'She's….' Anabel rang out a warning seconds later, before her face winced at the slowness of her uptake. She and Misty also turned around.

There stood the woman, leaning against the bike that was probably hers. Her Umbreon was sitting in the sidecar, the glowing rings of the species lighting up the meeting more than the setting sun.

"You know, I came for the food too. Figured it would be just a slog to deal with all of the talk of throwing stones at everything the moment you can, glad to see that I wasn't the only one here to liven things up." She smiled at them.

"Who are you?" Iris asked as the woman smiled.

"Finally, someone asks me that. I thought everyone would just think of me as some random woman….maybe that's why Lance wears a cape. Name's Karen, of the Johto Elite Four."

Ash stared at the woman in surprise, an act that Misty and Anabel mirrored him in. An Elite Four member?!

…..Wait, Johto had an Elite Four? That was a thing?

"The thing Janine's father wants to be?" Iris inquired further, not sounding surprised about it.

Ash wasn't sure if that was a case of lack of surprise, or that Iris simply had no idea what an Elite Four was.

Either was likely.

"He did file the attempt paperwork," Karen noted. "And yes, the same as he wants to be. If he works in the Kanto or the Johto Elite Four is the question right now. We're close enough it's simpler to share a Champion and play musical chairs with who's in what position where at any given time. Bruno's done the dance at least three times, and I couldn't tell you where that Ninja would prefer to end up. But I doubt you want to know about the fun of paperwork…"

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"I'd give a speech about strong Pokémon and weak Pokémon, but you don't really seem to need to learn it. This is normally the part where a Elite Four member gives a young aspiring Trainer advice or something helpful, but I must admit to having nothing. Hmm…what is a girl to do…" Karen muttered to herself.

"We got these stones from some guy named Scott…." Iris began as she shook her head.

"You are asking the wrong Elite Four member. I don't have a Keystone," Karen offered apologetically. "Same goes for your ring. Odd that you have one, usually the Alolans hoard those things like a Murkrow does coins." Karen noted Ash's Z-Ring with a similar apologetic shrug.

"Um," Umbreon called from the side car as Karen had a flash of inspiration.

"Oh yes, that would work." She held up a hand just as Umbreon kicked something over to her. She caught it with both hands, before tapping it and throwing it Ash's way.

Ash caught it, and recognized it.

"It's a Moon Ball." Ash recognized the gray and blue Pokéball.

"That it is. I can tell you are well on your way, and hopefully this will help you." Karen explained as she walked over to her bike and mounted it.

"I'm sure this won't be the last time we meet. Good luck at Indigo." Karen gave a farewell as she started the motorbike and sped away.

Iris plugging her nose at the smell of the exhaust.