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Chapter Text

Dusk was present over Cero Island. And the strongest Psychic-type was currently meditating after the day he just had.

He couldn't get the image of the two trainers, specifically the raven-haired one with the Pikachu. 'The legendary Chosen One,' Mewtwo mused to himself before almost chuckling. He was no stranger to the Chosen One… at least through some of the stories he has heard. Especially from his brother and sister.

He remembers how his brother had caused the Chosen One to perish before reviving him with the tears of the cloned and original Pokémon. And their little encounter on Mount Quena.

Then he remembers the tale of his sister mentioned in New Tork City, against the Genesects and displaying her Mega Evolution. She managed to become friends with the legendary technological-advanced insects.

POOF*

The Cero Island Mewtwo didn't need to open his eyes as he knew the one responsible for the teleportation.

'Hello, Mew,' he said.

'Hello, big brother!" the Ancestral Pokémon said, looping around the air. 'How was your day?'

'Eventful,' the Genetic Pokémon replied, still not opening his eyes, 'Two trainers were here today.'

'Two trainers?!' Mew exclaimed. She knew that Cero Island was near impossible to find but Mewtwo revealing himself to those trainers would probably make this a hotspot for catching Mewtwo.

'Relax,' Mewtwo said, placating his little sister, 'They agreed to keep this island and my presence a secret.'

Mew let out a breath of relief before asking, 'What were the humans like?'

'You should be familiar with them. One had a dream about catching you. The other was the Chosen One,' Mewtwo nonchalantly said.

'THE CHOSEN ONE?!' Mew telepathically shouted so loud that Mewtwo grunted from the telepathy.

'Yes..' Mewtwo reconfirmed as he finally opened his eyes, somewhat annoyed by his mediation getting interrupted.

'OOOHHHHHHHH! That's good! Because the legendaries are having a meeting tonight!' Mew said.

'I am aware,' Cero Island Mewtwo said, 'I was hoping to get some mediation before the meeting began.'

'Well we should head there right now! Keep up!' Mew said, before using Extreme Speed.

'She's so young,' Mewtwo exasperated before levitating and following Mew to the meeting. Reaching beyond the cloud, the Genetic Pokémon reached the Ancestral Pokémon before they both glowed yellow and disappeared to only a plane of existence Legendaries could go.

The Hall of Origin.

Descending down with his two sons and their guardians, Arceus was met with many faces of Legendary and Mythical Pokémon.

Although, a majority were either bickering, playing around, or simply silent.

The Kanto Elemental Birds were having their usual petty squabble, even after the Chosen One had quelled their rage. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres squawked at one another, saying how they should be allowed to rule over each other's island. The eldest Lugia had come, having known about the hall from all his years, but he was getting quite the headache.

The Legendary Beasts were in conversation, Suicene regaling about the human that was obsessed with her, much to Entei and Raikou's amusement. Ho-Oh was currently monitoring his revived children, making sure they weren't picking on one another.

Celebi floated around the other legendaries with the eldest Shaymin, in her Sky Form, behind her. Meloetta was singing, catching the attention of the younger legendaries, notable Manaphy -who was clapping along- Phione, and Victini.

Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion wordlessly shared a glance, keeping an eye on Keldeo who was chatting with an Urshifu, Deoxys, and Zeraora. Diancie danced around with Magearna while Volcanion and Heatran watched.

Landorus was keeping Thundurus in check while Enamorous was keeping Tornadus at bay. The Discharge Master had said something that sent the Cyclone Master off, but the older brother and sister managed to hold them off. In the shadows, Darkrai was brooding and Marshadow was doing his best imitation of the Nightmare Pokémon.

Cresselia talked with the Eon Duo, Latias being hyper whereas Latios was being protective still. Regigigas stood still but its creations were not as all five of them climbed over it. A Melmetal lumbered about while the Zygarde cells held a conversation with the four Tapus, Bulu being boastful. The Galarain Elemental Birds were immersed in their own talk.

Solgaleo and Lunala glared at Necrozma, the Prism Prince having been called but had no chance of reaching its final form. The Ultra Beasts were also present, all ten representatives of their species. Jirachi was dozing off but kept trying to pay attention before the meeting began.

Xerneas radiated her antlers with her Fairy Aura while Yveltal loomed on a pillar, somewhat cranky waking up from his slumber. Calyrex had both Glastrier and Spectrier by their reins, not trying to let them escape again.

Kyreum was sulking in a corner, his two 'other halves' having a heated debate with their opinions again. Rayquaza hissed and scolded Kyogre and Groudon for their behavior. Contained to prevent his power from going berserk again, Eternatus just squirmed about, still upset by his recent demise. Zacian and Zamazenta merely stood at attention, their royalty showing. The five Genesects hovered about, the youngest one drifting off shortly.

Three *POOF's* went off as three Mews and Mewtwos appeared before mingling with the other Legendaries and Mythicals. And finally, a dark portal opened with Giratina emerging with Uxie on his head, having picked up his guardian.

Dialga and Palkia descended with Azelf and Mesprit at their side before taking their seat at the table as Arceus announced, 'The meeting has begun.' And just like that, every legendary Pokémon stopped what they were doing and came to attention.

'I am sure you are wondering why we are having a meeting,' the Alpha Pokémon said, the question present on everyone's mind. A collective nod from the group brought Arceus to the answer, 'I believe it is time we put a suggestion on the table.'

'What suggestion?' Jirachi asked.

'Something we should have done sometime ago.'

'Which is…' Latios pressed.

'Gifts.'

'For who?' Kyreum spoke up.

'The Chosen One.' Arceus declared.

Silence was present in the Hall of Origin again before Volcanion spoke, 'You want to reward the human who saved the world over a prophecy?'

'Not just any human. This human is more important than you realize. Over the course of his journey, your encounters with him have made him who he is today,' Arceus informed.

Most legendaries nodded while some stayed quiet, since they have yet to meet the Chosen One. The more they thought about it, the more many agreed that the Chosen One should be rewarded for his deeds.

'Why should we?' the Pheromosa representative said, dismissing the idea.

'Agreed!' the Guzzlord representative shouted, 'This 'Chosen One' should not receive gifts!'

'He sealed me away in a Pokéball!' Eternatus roared.

A majority of the Ultra Beasts and Eternatus were the most outraged by the idea.

This made some of the legendaries growl. 'How dare you!' the Naganadel representative screeched, 'He was doing what was necessary. Your species invaded Alola only due to the mad woman! He was defending the world! Even my child has thought of rejoining him someday.'

Zacian barked in agreement, 'Yes. As for you Eternatus, you would have grown too strong for us to handle, had it not been for the Chosen One's interference.'

The Darkest Day muttered something, probably about being confined in such space and sealed away never to see the light of day.

'The Chosen One is not that bad,' the Xurkitree said, 'He just wanted to send us home.'

'Very true. After all, you Guzzlords caused a ruckus during the first league in Alola!' Stakataka reminded the glutton.

The Dark/Dragon beast shrunk down as did some of the other Ultra Beast. It was true, they had been sent back to their homeworlds. Even Necromza was considering to pinch in, despite the damage it had done to their worlds.

'The Chosen One only wants to help. The Ultra Beast invasion was not intentional and you were scared. He has always put Pokémon and others first. Now, are there any more arguments?" Arceus asked. The legendaries, mythicals, and Ultra Beasts ended their personal issues with the Chosen One before Arceus simply said, 'Then it is decided. Ash Ketchum, the Chosen One, should be rewarded for his achievements. Any thoughts?'

Some legendaries were thinking, others possibly planning. There were many possibilities given the length of their powers and abilities.

Soon they began to suggest their ideas, going on about what they could do. It caused an uproar with the suggestions until Arceus boomed, 'ENOUGH! I respect all your gift ideas but do not go overboard. Also, consult with me for your ideas as I do not wish to create a crisis. Meeting adjourned.'

Each legendaries left through their own methods, some swimming, some flying, other through portals from their own powers or Hoopa's.

Soon the Hall of Origin only consisted of Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.

'I am glad that went well,' the deity said.

'So father,' Dialga questioned, 'Are you sure about this?'

'Why would I not?' the Alpha Pokémon said.

'Well… not that we disagree with your choice,' Palkia admitted, 'But what if this backfires?'

'How would it be?'

'The idea of legendaries randomly appearing around Ash might cause some trouble,' the Spatial Pokémon reluctantly said.

'Yes, and given our status…' the Temporal Pokémon added.

'I think you may be overthinking it,' Giratina said and floated over, 'Ash has proven time and time again through his actions of protecting us. Even changing the views of our kind that don't trust humans like Volcanion and Mewtwo.'

The embodiments of time and space shared a glance then agreed with a nod. 'Right.'

'Is that it?' Arceus spoke.

'Yes. Farewell, father.' His children vanished into their specific dimensions.

Arceus floated up his stairs before viewing the well on the raven-haired trainer, who was currently sleeping. The Alpha Pokémon planned to watch over him while the legendaries gave their gifts.

Hopefully, this would not backfire for the Chosen One.

Chapter Text

In the night sky of Pallet Town, the stars were alight from the cloudy sky. If anyone was up, they would have seen a ring.

'Ashkan will enjoy gift!'

The ring began to grow and something appeared out of it…

The sun rose over the town, and Ash Ketchum let out a yawn. He decided to visit his mom after the last few hectic days with Goh, not that he told his mom that. He knew she would worry even more than the time in Shamouti Island.

Thinking back to that incident in his earlier adventures, he began to wonder if there were any more instances about his position as the Chosen One. Was it a one-time thing or was there more to the prophecy? He shook his head, ignoring what it and let his eyes drifts elsewhere.

Looking at his room, Ash saw his many achievements, which made him smile. And to his side, Pikachu was sleeping soundly. Not wanting to wake his partner, Ketchum quietly walked out his room before heading downstairs and greeting his mom.

"Morning, mom."

His mom, Delia Ketchum, had a smile on her face, "Morning, Ash. Pancakes are on the table."

Ash's mouth began to salivate before seating at the table and eating away at his breakfast. His mom just giggled to herself as Mimey continued to sweep away. After stuffing his face with pancakes and grabbing Pikachu, Ash went to visit Professor Oak. He had no new investigations or matches for the day, so he wanted to relax for the time being. Plus, he never really introduced his old teammates to the new members with Dragonite, Gengar, Lucario, and Farfetch'd.

Strolling down the path, Ash failed to notice that a pair of red eyes were currently watching him.

Almost at the door, he heard a ruckus from within and opened the door… to see Muk covering the professor.

"Oh brother," Ash and Pikachu sweatdropped before walking over and getting smothered by Muk now.

"Ah, Ash!" A recovered Professor Oak said and managed to get Muk off from hugging the trainer.

"Hello, Professor Oak," Ash said, once the Sludge Pokémon was completely off.

"How are you doing, my boy?" the regional professor asked.

"Doing fine. I don't really have much to do today, since Professor Cerise has no investigations for me and Goh, and I don't really have any matches." Ash answered, "I figured to take a day at the lab and introduce my Pokémon to my old teammates.

Oak nodded along and directed him to the corral where Ash saw his Bulbasaur using his vines to pry off Heracross for sucking his nectar. "Bulbasaur! Heracross!"

Both Pokémon dropped their antics and rushed to greet their trainer, the Seed Pokémon jumping into Ash's arms while Heracross received a back rub on his carapace. "I missed you guys too! Hey, Bulbasaur, can you call the others? I have some new team members for you guys to meet."

The Kanto Grass starter nodded and fired his Solar Beam into the air. Soon a rumbling could be heard as a huge dust cloud of Tauros was charging towards them.

"Hey, Tauros!" Ash greeted before realizing he was about to be stampeded. He braced for impact…

Only to be taken away.

Ash opened his eyes, surprised that he was currently in the air, and saw a face he thought he would never see again.

"Greninja?!"

The Ninja Pokémon croaked as the rest of Ash's Pokémon from Oak's corral appeared. Talonflame, Noivern, and Hawlucha recognized the ninja amphibian and rushed to greet him.

Ash, himself, was stunned and curious how Greninja even got here. He knew Kalos was miles away but he wasn't against the idea of having the Water/Dark-type on the team once again.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard two other cries, "Free~" Turning his head around, Ash saw his old Butterfree with his mate hovering above the trainer. Now Ash was more confused on how the Bug-type couple got here since he was sure he never sent Butterfree back to the lab. Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charizard, and Squirtle were shocked to see the Butterfly Pokémon here of all places.

Things continued to grow even more odd as more Pokémon returned.

Pidgeot flew down, crooning as she nuzzled against Ash. Ketchum couldn't help but feel bad after leaving her all those years ago before his Orange Island adventure then going from Johto to Alola with checking up on her. Noctowl, Staraptor, Swellow, Unfezant, Talonflame, and Hawlucha greeted her.

Haunter appeared, spooking some of the team with a smoke bomb that covered Ash in soot before laughing away. He was met with a Leer from Scraggy, who foolishly tried to Headbutt the ghost, only to phase through. This made the ghost laugh as the Shedding Pokémon continued to fight him.

Near the corral's lake, Ash was hugged by Goodra -again now confused on how he got here but as for now didn't mind-, the slimy Kalos dragon letting out happy cries. Gible tilted his head in confusion at the sight of the purple Dragon-type while the Kalos team members also greeted him.

Seeing Lapras in the lake was a shock to Ash. He knew Pallet Town wasn't exactly close to the coast but seeing Totodile dancing on her back made him forget any possibilities that could occur. The Transport Pokémon nuzzled up to her former trainer, Ash rubbing her nose as he chuckled, having missed the plesiosaur himself.

Feeling his hat missing, Ash saw a Primeape holding it triumphantly. Confused, Ash tried to remember and eventually recalled when he caught the simian before the Fighting Prix tournament. He began to sweat at not checking up on the Pig Monkey Pokémon but the simian was too busy getting along with Infernape.

His entire Alola team was also present, much to his surprise. Personally, he had been thinking about bringing them over to stay at the lab but Ash was too busy with the World Tournament and investigations. But he was glad to see the Alola Team getting along with his older team members. Rowlet snoozed on top of Snorlax's belly, Incineroar and Charizard sized each other up, Lycanroc was intrigued by Krookodile, and Melmetal chirped as it mingled with Boldore.

After seeing some of his formerly released Pokémon and Alola team, Ash began to have the original question in mind about how they could have gotten here.

"TYYYYY!"

His thoughts were put to a halt, as a roar was heard. The ground began to shake underneath as hard as the Tauros herd until Ash turned and made out what it was: a Tyranitar. Charizard, Sceptile, Greninja, Heracross, Incineroar, and Krookodile readied to defend their trainer from the incoming Johto pseudo legendary, but were pushed apart before the Rock/Dark-type gave Ash a hug.

This confused a majority of Ash's present Pokémon before Donphan had a suspicion.

"Why are you hugging me?" Ash questioned the Johto pseudo-legendary who released the boy. He held his stomach, never being hugged that tightly before. Not even Dragonite hugged that hard.

"Don?" The Ground-type Armor Pokémon questioned through PokéSpeech. Tyranitar turned around and slammed his tail to the ground in a happy attitude. Donphan trumped happily too before explaining to his 'dad.'

Ash then remembered something from his Johto journey. "Wait? Larvitar?"

"Ty!" the green saurian confirmed. Ash gave a hug of his own this time, "It's been ages! You evolved!"

Tyranitar then apologized towards the Pokémon he ran into, which was fine as they were impressed with his strength.

"NAGA!"

A familiar shriek was heard and a purple blur rammed into Ash. The trainer didn't need any validation for this one. "Naganadel!" The purple Ultra Beast nuzzled up to her trainer, having missed their time together.

"LEO!"

Out of all the currently returned Pokémon, Ash was not expecting Nebby the Solgaleo to appear and rush him down. "Nebby?!" the trainer yelled in shock before the legendary came to a stop and nuzzled against Ash.

Now Ash's question returned for the third time today: How did all these Pokémon get here?

"Ash, my boy, are you alr-" Oak said, having heard multiple roars, hurried out and saw Ash with Nebby, Nagandel, and Tyranitar now. The professor also noticed that Ash's Butterfree, Pidgeot, a Haunter, Primeape, Lapras, Greninja, and Goodra were also here.

"Oh… hi Professor?" Ash sheepishly said, unable to explain how some of his Pokémon made it to Kanto.

A ring disappeared and Hoopa just snickered as he saw Solgaleo nuzzle up to 'Ashkan.' The teleporting mischief maker left Pallet Town, having been satisfied with his gift.

And the Chosen One was in for a treat for his next gifts.

Chapter Text

"Huh, that's odd," Goh remarked as he ate breakfast at Professor's Cerise's lab. He was currently checking his Rotom Phone since he got a text from Ash.

"What is?" Chloe asked. Yamper and Cinderace were eating their fill.

"Ash said he can't help with whatever we are doing today," Goh said.

"Really?" Chloe repeated. She knew Ash was one to never be busy. She wondered what had come up for him not to be able to come to the lab today.

"Yeah, well it wasn't much," Goh informed her, "I heard about this eating contest where the winner gets to win tickets to Unova! I was hoping for Ash to join me but I guess not. I'll just enter with Skwovet."

Chloe rolled her eyes and just went back to eating cereal but couldn't help and wondered what Ash was dealing with to have him miss a competition.

Ash was currently dealing with a lot now. Since the appearance of his previously owned Pokémon, even with a Legendary and Ultra Beast, Oak was jotting down notes nonstop. Delia had come over and saw the many Pokémon herself before asking Ash the same questions, which he explained when and how he caught the returning Pokémon she never saw.

After Oak was done with his notes, he asked the same question to Ash, "How and where did all these Pokémon come from?!"

Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to explain where and when he both met/caught these Pokémon. He decided to break it down lightly, mentioning when he encountered/caught Haunter and Primeape in Kanto, Lapras in the Orange Islands, Tyranitar when he was a Larvitar in Johto, and mentioned the brief moment he commanded Nebby to save Lusamine.

He felt like he didn't need to explain where Butterfree, Pidgeot, Goodra, Greninja, or his Alola Team came from.

"As for how they got here… I'm not sure. But I'm glad to see them again," Ash admitted.

While he wouldn't mention it aloud, releasing his Pokémon was never easy. The one that probably hurt him the most was Butterfree, one of his first captures while Greninja was second since he was in Kalos but the region was in need.

Now with Oak and his mom occupied for the most part, Ash had sent out his current party and they were mingling with one another.

Dragonite had given hugs to every Pokémon on the corral, even the ones who resisted. Muk hugged back, the Dragon Pokémon not caring with the Sludge Pokémon on her. Now she was in the middle of a conversation with Goodra, Noivern, and Gible. At least the two fully evolved Pokémon, the mini land shark was just not understanding what was happening.

Gengar was learning from Haunter, the latter showing him some tricks he picked up from his years with Sabrina. Right now, the Shadow Pokémon was trying to do the smoke bomb trick that the Gas Pokémon used upon his arrival.

Lucario and Greninja were demonstrating their abilities to Charizard, Sceptile, Heracross, Krookodile, Lycanroc, and Infernape. The Aura Pokémon and Ninja Pokémon impressed the gathered group with their moves and were applauded for their strength.

Farfetch'd was in the middle of practicing with Hawlucha, Primeape, and Scraggy. They were in the middle of a 4-way battle with each other, the Wild Duck Pokémon doing exceptionally well as he deflected the Wrestling Pokémon's attack.

Meanwhile most of the returned Pokémon had gotten enthralled with their own conversations.

Butterfree and his mate chirped with Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Leavanny, the three Pokémon sitting down as they heard the many stories of their relationship throughout the years.

Pidgeot excelled in the air with the rest of Ash's Flying-type. The birds were having a race. Swellow and Staraptor were clashing for second-place, Talonflame in fourth and Unfezant in a steady fifth. Rowlet was sleeping alongside Noctowl, the Owl Pokémon watching on the sidelines since he was not as fast.

Incineroar displayed his Fire-type moves that impressed Quilava, Torkoal, and Pignite with a Flamethrower. The Heel Pokémon smirked and asked the other Fire-types to show him what they could do. Quilava showed his Eruption, Torkoal his Heat Wave, and Pignite his Brick Break.

Melmetal had impressed Boldore, Torterra, Snorlax, and many of the Tauros as some of the other bulls were grazing now. The Hex Nut Pokémon demonstrated some of its moves, its Double Iron Bash impressing its audience the most.

Tyranitar was ecstatic with Donphan, the two former baby Pokémon indulged in their conversation. Bayleef and Snivy were watching them.

Totodile was dancing nonstop on Lapras' back whilst the plesiosaur talking with Kingler, Corphish, Oshawott, Buizel, Palpitoad, and Glalie. The Transport Pokémon got to know the other Water and Ice-types of her former trainer's team.

Naganadel hovered with Gliscor, the Fang Scorpion Pokémon gliding steadily with the Poison Pin Pokémon.

Nebby yawned before snoozing in the shade of a tree, even though Professor Oak was jotting down notes of the legendary nonstop.

Ash could only sweat drop while the professor continued to write more and more about the Steel/Psychic-type. But he still couldn't fathom how some of his former Pokémon got here. The more he continued to think about it, the more of a headache he got.

He decided to just drop it for now, since despite Solgaleo being a Legendary couldn't use telepathy to speak to the trainer.

Then he had a theory, Ash pulled out a spare Pokéball and tapped it against Nebby. A red light swallowed the legendary before the ball rocked back and forth. Instantly, a ding sounded and Nebby reappeared and snoozed.

Ash and Oak were gobsmacked at what just happened. Ash Ketchum had just captured a legendary.

The mere processing almost broke them, Ash being more in shock. While he had Melmetal, a mythical Pokémon and only one in existence, and Naganadel, an Ultra Beast, Nebby was a whole new level.

Before Oak could ask, Ash instantly realized something: he needed to recapture all his currently returned Pokémon except for his Alola Team as they had their Pokéballs with them somehow. Racing about, Ash tapped everyone, asking about a few like Butterfree, his mate, and Tyranitar. They agreed and were now a part of his family.

Ash plopped down, exhausted from running all over the corral. Since he just caught/re-caught Pokémon, he was out of breath with a few. Haunter had decided to joke around, vanishing whenever Ash tried to get him until the Gas Pokémon finally was captured. Ash decided to rest for now.

That option soon ended as he was tackled by someone.

Dazed, Ash looked to see a face he thought he would never see again.

"Bianca?"

The girl from Alto Mare had tackled the trainer and nuzzled against him. But hearing the name, she shook her head.

Ash racked his brain, trying to understand why 'Bianca' was here but then he came to another realization.

"Latias?!" he whispered in shock.

This enticed an eager nod from the disguised legendary before she was pulled off by a boy. The boy had black hair covered by his yellow-black hat, a red jacket, black shorts, and red-white sneakers. The boy admonished Latias, who was embarrassed for her actions.

Ash drew a blank at the sight. Why was this boy scolding Latias like that? Then he had another suspicion. "Latios?"

The disguised blue Eon twin sighed before turning to Ash and gave a curt nod before leering at his sister. Latias just huffed in annoyance before speaking, 'Don't give me that look… It's been forever since I have seen him!'

'That is still no need for tackling him!' Latios retorted, 'Ugh, I'm only doing this to keep you out of trouble.'

'I can take care of myself,' Latias pouted.

"What are you doing?" Ash questioned since he could hear their conversation.

Latias just sweated lightly before Latios approached the Chosen One, 'She is thanking you and is offering to join your team.'

'Brother!' The Red Eon Twin scolded while Ash for the second time -or fourth time since Tyranitar, Nagandel, and Nebby returned- today had his mind blown.

Latias… wanted to join him? Why? And thanking him?

"Why me? And thank me?" Ash questioned.

'Yes for saving Altomare,' Latios said.

"Oh, it was no big deal," Ash dismissed, "I'm pretty sure anyone else would do the same."

'I would like to disagree on that,' the Blue Eon Twin told him, 'While yes, humans are selfless, we have never met someone as selfless as you. Thanks to your efforts, the Soul Dew is safe again.'

"Well, you're welcome," he said, blushing with embarrassment.

'And as a reward for your actions, I would like to join,' Latias said.

"But… Why me?" the boy questioned, "Are you positive that no one else should earn the right to capture you?"

'Nonsense,' Latias said, 'You have proven to be quite the capable trainer! At least in my eyes…'

'While I would normally disagree with my sister joining a trainer, she is right. However, you are going to need my approval,' the brother said.

"And how do I do that?" Ash questioned.

Latios, in his human disguise, smirked, 'In a battle. One-on-one.'

"A battle?!" Ketchum exclaimed and caught the attention of his mom and Oak.

"Ash? Who are your friends?" Delia asked.

Ash began to sweat profusely. He wasn't sure how to explain to his mom and the professor that he was being challenged to a battle by a Legendary Pokémon. Ash began to come up with a lie, "Oh, this is Bianca and her brother… Ethan! Yeah! I met them on my Johto trip." It wasn't too much of a lie, just the name Ash came up for Latios' human disguise.

'Ethan? Hmmm… I'm not against that,' Latios mused in his head.

'I find it fitting,' Latias giggled as her brother rolled his eyes.

"Ethan here was challenging me to a battle and I accepted!" Ash proclaimed and kept the reasoning behind the battle to himself. Having to prove himself to be a Legendary is something he's not entirely used to. He's done it time and time again but hardly through a battle.

"Oh! You can use the battlefield in the corral. I had it made in case trainers ever decided to battle right as they got their starters," Oak insisted.

"That will work! Now I just need to choose my Pokémon," Ash thought aloud. Recalling how Latios was speedy and excelled in the air, Ash opted for the most logical choice to be a Flying-type. He was considering Pidgeot but refrained since she just joined. Naganadel was a viable option but the Poison-type factor might make her susceptible to Latios' Psychic-type nature. Charizard had the strength but not the speed. And many of his Flying-types were not probably fast enough. That led him to thinking about Dragonite.

Sure, she was a Dragon/Flying-type but Ash figured she could take him. After all, he did want to show his previous teammates what his latest team can do.

"This match is a one-on-one between Ethan and Ash," Oak refereed. There was a small set of bleachers so his mom, Latias, and Ash's Pokémon were watching the fight.

"You ready, Dragonite?" Ash questioned with a grin.

"Broo!" the Kanto pseudo-legendary roared.

Ethan, on the other hand, wasn't exactly sure how he was supposed to battle. Would he have to reveal his true form to the other two humans?

Ash waited for a minute before realizing the same problem. "Right," he muttered before turning to his mom and Oak, "Uh, there is something you should know about Ethan…"

"What is it?" both adults asked.

'Ash…' Latias telepathically warned.

"Well, how else are they going to understand," Ash explained before turning to Ethan, "You, uh, might have to… you know?"

'Ethan' sighed, 'Very well. I hope they can keep this a secret.' He shined brightly before reverting back to his Pokémon form.

"Is… that… a…" Oak weakly gasped as Delia's eyes widened in shock.

Ash facepalmed, "Oh brother," as most of his Pokémon sweatdropped.

'Guess the jig is up,' Latias lamented before morphing into hers as well. Delia jumped in shock as the girl next to her was another Legendary Pokémon.

"Ash… why is Latios battling you?!" Oak shouted.

"A long story," the boy admitted, not sure if he could tell the Professor and his mom the situation before returning to the battle, "Right, Latios?"

The blue Dragon/Psychic cracked a grin, 'More than ready.' Latios blew a chartreuse colored breath towards Dragonite that Ash recognized as Dragon Breath.

"Dodge it!" Dragonite zoomed over the draconic air before the blue Eon Pokémon appeared in front of her. His head shined blue and rammed the dragon in the chest.

"Dragon Claw!" the Kanto Dragon Pokémon let her claws turn to teal, extending themselves before slashing Latios twice since he was close. The jet-like dragon broke off and fired a multicolored beam of draconic energy towards the orange dragon.

"Hurricane!" Dragonite flapped her wings, sending a strong current of wind that encompassed the beam before clashing. "Add more power into it!" Dragonite continued to pour the current, making her Hurricane stronger and stronger but she was merely struck as the Dragon Pulse hit her. But her weather attack managed to disorient the blue Eon Twin.

Ash clenched his fist, a little frustrated even though the battle had just begun. He only remembers battling one other Latios and that was Tobias'. And even then that was a tie between him and Pikachu. But he was quick to think, "Dragon Dance!"

Dragonite spun around, purple energy increasing her attack and speed to make her stronger.

Latios managed to recover and zoomed back in with blue psychic energy.

"Meet him with Dragon Claw!" Dragonite took her claws, fueled with draconic energy, and slashed the blue Eon Pokémon, disrupting the Zen Headbutt.

"Now Hyper Beam!" Dragonite charged a magenta beam and unleashed it at point-blank, hitting the legendary away with such force in the air. She stopped herself and had recharged her strength for the time being as Latios hovered.

'Not bad,' the blue Eon Twin noticed, 'But now it's my turn.' He began to fly all over the place, using various Dragon Pulses and Dragon Breaths to damage the Kanto Dragon Pokémon.

"Dragonite!" Ash yelled in fear. He knew battling Legendaries were tough but the ones he had battled had been owned by trainers. He was fighting a wild Legendary Pokémon, something he doesn't come across on a daily basis. And Latios was fighting with instincts.

Ash hoped Dragonite's recovery time was enough, "Use your Hurricane to surround yourself!"

The orange dragon didn't hesitate and whipped a strong current of air to cover herself. The draconic attacks began to stop their attacks, only bouncing off the windshield.

'Impressive,' Latios noted before charging a concentrated psychic energy ball and fired it in the shape of a beam.

The Luster Purge struck the Hurricane shield, the orange dragon began to strain a bit from the concentrated psychic blast.

"Hang on, Dragonite!" The Kanto pseudo-legendary continued to hold up her shield, straining but was able to hold up to the signature move of the Blue Eon Twin.

Latios grinned before firing another draconic energy beam towards the Hurricane barrier. The Dragon Pulse struck the air-compacted barrier before it rose to the sky and condensed into clouds.

"What's happening?" Delia asked the professor.

Oak thought for a moment before speaking, "Of course! Dragonites are known for their weather manipulating properties. And if I hazard a guess… Dragonite must have just learned a new move!"

Ash, having overheard what Oak had said, pulled out his Rotom Phone to see what new move it was. And he was soon excited. "Okay, Dragonite. Let's go with… Draco Meteor!"

Dragonite roared and summoned her strength and used the recently displayed Dragon Pulse to her advantage. The Dragon Pokémon began to rain down purple meteors across the battlefield with her weather properties. Latios zoomed all around the air before getting clipped by one that sent him tumbling into getting struck repeatedly. The blue Eon Pokémon hit the ground, kicking up dust before flying slightly off the ground. And he had a look of satisfaction.

Ash picked up on it and called Dragonite off, the Kanto pseudo-legendary nodded and flew down to her trainer.

'An impressive battle,' the Blue Eon Twin said as Latias rushed over and pressed her claws to her brother's scales, using Heal Pulse.

'Now do you see why I chose to join him?' his sister said.

Latios thought for a moment before nodding, 'Yes. I can see why. He is quite impressive. Having used Hurricane as a barrier is unexpected. And using my own attack to create Draco Meteor is nothing short of a feat.'

'So, now that is settled,' Latias happily said, relieved that her brother approved of Ash as a capable trainer.

'Yes… however,' Latios began.

"What is it?" Ash asked, coming over with Dragonite and his other Pokémon behind him.

'You have given me something to think about,' the blue jet-like Pokémon explained, 'If you are going to capture my sister, she can be strong under your guidance. That being said… I too would like to join you.'

And Ash was knocked off his feet for the third -or fifth- time today. One was great, two was awesome, but three Legendaries?! The boy needed a moment to process.

"Wait, they want to join you?!" Oak exclaimed as he heard the telepathic conversation while Delia just giggled to herself. "You can't blame them, Samuel. After all, Ash is an impressive trainer."

'Indeed he is,' Latios agreed, 'And I can also keep a better eye on Latias. Making sure she doesn't do anything rash.'

'Brother,' Latias rolled her eyes before Ash brought out two Pokéballs.

"A-are you two sure? What about the Soul Dew in Alto Mare?" Ash asked. He didn't want to take the two Legendaries away from their duties.

"Oh, no need to worry about that," Latias dismissed, 'We have more siblings, remember? We are one of the few Legendaries that have more of our species.'

Ash recalled the other Eon duo and black Rayquaza from the Hoopa incident and nodded, "Okay then… Welcome to the team!"

Both Eon Pokémon pressed the Pokéballs and were absorbed into the sphere. The captures were instant and both of them appeared out of the ball due to being in Oak's lab.

'Wow, that felt odd,' Latias remarked.

'Perhaps it will be something to get used to,' Latios said.

Ash just smiled wide. Today had been a bit hectic but he just gained more members of his family. And he was happy about it.

Oak coughed, "Now that is squared away, Ash I believe you owe me and your mother an explanation about why Latios decided to battle you."

Ash's sweat returned before going into detail about his trip to Alto Mare. His mom was shocked to hear such a tale and gave her condolences to the Red Eon Twin for the loss of her brother. Oak was shocked to hear everything about the boy's adventure before also giving his sympathy.

"Well, that's quite the adventure you had," Oak said, still processing that the boy had selflessly saved two legendaries and a town.

"It reminds me of the Shamouti Island incident," Delia added before addressing her son, "Just… promise me that you won't do anything like that again. Ok?"

Ash thought for a while before saying, "Sorry, mom. I can't just turn away from a Pokémon in need. If I'm going to be a Pokémon Master, I have to face every obstacle. Some may seem impossible but that's a challenge I am willing to take."

Delia heard her son's words and just nodded with a smile. 'Just like his father.'

Oak clapped his hands together, "Well, now that has been settled. How about some dinner?"

All the Pokémon and Ash agreed before heading off the battlefield and calling it a day.

"So you won the competition?" Ash asked over the Rotom Phone.

"Yep!" Goh beamed, "And as a plus, Skwovet evolved into Greendent!"

"That's great!" Ash congratulated, "So what did you win?"

"Tickets to Unova!" the capturer exclaimed, "I still have to fill up the Pokédex over in that region. So, it will be worth it!"

"Awesome! I'll see you tomorrow!" Ash said as they said their goodbyes and hung up. Ash had danced around the fact that his returned Pokémon, Latios, and Latias had been caught as he felt like that would overwhelm Goh.

But he just shrugged and went to sleep, excited for another trip to the Unova region.

Chapter Text

Go, Pokéball!"

The object bounced off a Sewaddle before entering the Pokéball. It rocked twice before dinging and was caught.

"Sewaddle was registered!" the Rotom Phone beeped.

"Alright!" Goh triumphantly held the ball in his hand. The capturer then looked at the recently captured Pokémon: a blue-striped Basculin, a Venipede, a Pidove, a Tympole, and now a Sewaddle.

He and Ash were currently running around, the former more so, Pinwheel Forest after their excursion in Castelia City. The tickets were given for a taste test on different Unovan foods. Both boys enjoyed them completely. After they finished their tasting, Goh ran off to Pinwheel Forest to capture some Unova Pokémon.

Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario were off to the sidelines watching their overzealous friend catch any Pokémon he didn't have in Unova. Latias and Latios were also there just camouflaged, watching Goh attempt to catch any new Pokémon.

After a recent discussion with Oak, Ash was now able to carry a total of eighteen Pokémon on his person. So, after finding out he was heading to Unova, Ash opted to change up his party once in a while for the World Coronation Series. He currently has the aforementioned Pokémon and more for some training while also using them in his World Coronation battles.

"Okay, Goh. That's your fifth capture," Ash reminded him as the wind was starting to pick up, "Don't you think it's time for us to find shelter?" He had checked his Rotom Phone for the forecast and it was supposed to be sunny in Unova but the sudden increase in wind was starting to concern him.

'Your friend has a very… one track mind,' Latios noted as he and his sister camouflage themselves. The Eon duo was doing their best to hover but the winds continued to pick up.

"Hang on, Ash," Goh stubbornly said, "I still need a few more Pokémon in this area."

Ash just sighed as the wind started to affect trees now. Pokémon began to panic themselves as the weather turned for the worst.

"Okay, Goh," yelled Ash, holding his hat from blowing away, "We should go now!"

"Cinder!" Even Cinderace was agreeing as she avoided a flock of Pidoves.

"Ah!" Goh was beginning to lose his balance from the wind, "Yeah. I guess you are right." He was about to run but then he saw a Cottonee. Immediately Goh changed his direction, "A Cottonee!"

"Goh!" Ash shouted as Cinderace chased after her stubborn trainer. Lucario held Pikachu tightly from the winds.

Latios and Latias looked up at the storm before noticing something.

'Is that?' Latias questioned.

'Oh boy,' Latios sighed.

Suddenly a large blue bolt struck the ground before Ash and his Pokémon. And from it…

Zekrom appeared, his red eyes gazing at the trainer.

"Zekrom!?" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu huddled in fear, remembering what the dragon did to him before, and Lucario posed himself in a fighting position. The Eon duo shared a silent look.

'Greetings, Chosen One,' the Dragon of Ideals spoke.

Ash caught on to what Zekrom said with the Chosen One phrase. "Wait a minute, Chosen One?"

'Yes,' the Deep Black Pokémon said, 'Has Latios and Latias not explained?'

'We were going to tell him,' Latias informed as she and her brother de-cloaked themselves. Lucario lowered his guard while Pikachu un-hid himself.

"Tell me what?" Ash questioned.

'It seems I must inform him,' Zekrom bellowed, 'You see, your role as the Chosen One is more than just a prophecy. It is destiny.'

"Destiny?" Ash repeated as the three legendaries nodded.

'While the role of the Chosen One is written in stone, it is more than that. The Chosen One's role is one that intertwines with every legendary known to mankind. Has that not been your experience with many of us?' the Dragon of Ideals informed.

When the Black Bolt said that last sentence, Ash started to recap on his many adventures with Legendaries and Mythicals. Yes, time and time again he has put himself in between legendaries and dangers. "Yeah, I guess so."

'And time and time again, you have proven yourself in all our eyes. Even saving the world on multiple occasions,' Latios mentioned.

Ash sheepishly rubbed his neck, "Well… as you mentioned before, I'm selfless. Probably the most selfless person in the world."

'And that is why Arceus has decided to reward you,' Zekrom revealed.

"Reward?"

'Yes. As you can see Latios and Latias have already gifted you. As well as Hoopa it seems since your previous Pokémon have returned. With Melmetal already joining you, it felt satisfied with its gift. Solgaleo or Nebby as you call him and Nagandel also wanted to join or rejoin,' Zekrom continued.

Ash soon got a lightbulb. Of course, Hoopa makes more sense with the recent appearances of his previous family members. "So if they have gifted me, I guess you're here…"

'To gift you,' the Deep Black Pokémon finished before holding out a claw. A surge of electrical energy began to appear before it condensed into a yellow sphere that electricity coursed through.

"What is it?" Ash asked in awe, followed by Pikachu and Lucario.

'It is a sphere with all the traces of every single Electric-type in the world,' the black dragon explained, 'I did not have an official name for it though.'

Ash thought for a second, "Maybe call it the Light Ball!"

'The Light Ball,' the Dragon of Ideals thought, 'A bit on the nose but I will accept it. It is for Pikachu.'

"It is?" Pikachu perked up at the mention of an item for him.

'Yes. Consider it as an apology for draining his electricity from our first encounter,' Zekrom apologized.

"Pika, pika," Pikachu said with a gaze.

'He says it's a start,' Latias giggled.

'The 'Light Ball' will be able to amplify Pikachu's Electric attacks, giving him newfound strength that may even rival a legendary,' Zekrom explained.

Ash took the Light Ball from Zekrom and gave it to Pikachu. The Mouse Pokémon began to feel electricity on a different scale, far different than before.

'Give it a test,' the Deep Black Pokémon said.

"Alright, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash wasted no time on wanting to see how the Light Ball would work.

Pikachu jumped and fired off a yellow bolt of electricity at a tree. Instead of leaving a burn mark, the Thunderbolt managed to completely zap the tree all together causing it to turn to ash.

"Woah!" Ash had stars in his eyes at seeing his starter's newfound power while Lucario was impressed at the sheer power.

'Isn't it impressive?' Zekrom said with a haughty tone, 'Now for a trainer match, Pikachu should tone it down. I wouldn't want him to fry the opposing Pokémon. Not that this does not make Pikachu's Electric-type moves effective on Ground-types still.'

"You got it!" Ash replied with a thumbs up, "Thanks for the gift!"

Zekrom nodded, 'Farewell, Chosen One. I bid you good luck in your future endeavors. And Pikachu, try not to go overboard with your new abilities.' With that, the Dragon of Ideals took off from a blue bolt and the storm disappeared.

Ash couldn't help but grin at Pikachu's new power.

"Ash!" Goh came running over and panted out of breath with Cinderace at his side. "I managed to get a Cottonee…" he breathed out.

"That's great, Goh," Ash sweatdropped along with Pikachu and Lucario. The Eon siblings cloaked themselves again.

"Looks like the storm went away," the capturer realized before being revignorated, "Let's see if there are any more new Pokémon nearby!"

"Nope," Ash put his foot down, "We are leaving Pinwheel Forest. Nacrene City is nearby. Let's rest for the day."

"Oh alright," Goh reluctantly said before the two trainers left the forest, one with many captures and the other with newfound power.

Arriving at Narcene City again, the two trainers headed towards the Pokémon Center. After getting a room for the night, Ash opted to do some training and Goh decided to watch.

Other than the four aforementioned Pokémon he had on hand, Ash also brought along Snivy, Oshawott, Pignite, Leavanny, Boldore, Krookodile, Unfezant, Scraggy, Palpitoad, Dragonite, Gengar, Farfetch'd, Haunter, and Pidgeot on his team. He wanted to bond with the last two members since he hadn't seen them in forever. After finding out he was heading to Unova, Ash opted to change up his party once in a while for the World Coronation Series.

Upon seeing the other Pokémon, Goh was in awe. "Wow! A Pidgeot! And a Boldore! And a Krookodile!" The capturer kept going on listing the names of each Pokémon. "You never told me you had these kinds of Pokémon!"

"Well, most of them are from my Unova journey," Ash scratched the back of his head, "I had Pidgeot on my first team through Kanto and Haunter I had for the Saffron City Gym. He liked Sabrina so I left him there for the time being. I, uh… picked them up recently."

It wasn't necessarily a lie since. Just leaving out the fact that Hoopa had brought back every Pokémon he once had, even with an Ultra Beast and a Legendary. "Yesterday, actually."

"Oh, that's what happened," Goh realized. "So I guess you went on a round-up trip yesterday!"

"You could say that," Ash said under his breath, "Plus I figured I would give my Pokémon at Oak's lab some much deserved battling. And it would surprise some of my opponents instead of me just using the same five for the entire Coronation Series."

"I guess that does make sense," Goh said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"You have been challenged!" Ash's Rotom Phone beeped and the trainer checked to see who it is. His eyes widened in shock.

"Hey there, Ash!"

The two boys and their Pokémon turned to see a boy with a red headband and a Lucario at his side.

"Cameron?!"

"Long time, no see," the youngster said. Cameron's Lucario gave a curt nod before seeing Ash's Lucario and Pikachu.

"I see you got a Lucario now," Cameron recognized.

"Yep, I hatched him when he was an egg a few months ago," Ash informed, "Since then, he's been on my team."

"Uh, Ash, who is this guy?" Goh asked as Cinderace walked over to the conversing Pokémon.

"Oh, Goh, this is Cameron, one of my rivals from Unova. We battled in the Unova League," Ash explained.

"And I won!" Cameron triumphantly said, "And with five Pokémon too!"

"Yeah, because you only brought that many and got yourself handicap," the Pallet Town trainer remained. Ash felt like that battle could have gone better and he was somewhat sour about his performance in Unova.

Cameron sheepishly rubbed his head while Goh was surprised. Ash questioned, "Anyway, what have you been up to?"

"Well, if you must know, I was in the Johto League recently!" Cameron claimed before dropping his head, "But I only got to Top 8. Weird how I did so well in my first League only to go down a rank."

"Yeah, odd," Ash muttered.

"But now, I'm competing in the World Coronation! And I challenged you to a battle, Ash!" Cameron exclaimed while pointing at his opponent.

"Oh, that was you?" Ash said in surprise before grinning, "Alright then! I accept!" He figured this could be one way to test out the Light Ball's power with Pikachu.

A Rotom Drone appeared on the Pokémon Center's battlefield, "This is an official World Coronation match between Ash and Cameron! It will be a three-on-three battle!"

"Just think. I'm in the Great Class now, but this victory will get me into Master Class!" Cameron dreamily said.

"Uh, Cameron," Ash called, "The next rank after Great Class is Ultra Class."

"It is?!" The youngster exclaimed before Lucario facepalmed at his trainer's thinking.

"You think he would know," Goh commented on the sidelines with Cinderace.

Cameron shook off his stupor, "Whatever. I'll just keep battling till I get to Master Class! And my first choice is Hydreigon!" The youngster sent out the infamous pseudo-legendary of Unova.

"Hydreigon!" the hydra roared.

"Starting off with Hydreigon," Ash murmured, remembering how badly he lost to the 'secret weapon' with Pignite barely pulling out a win. Shaking his head, Ash made his choice, "Krookodile, I choose you!"

The Intimidation Pokémon lumbered onto the field, flashing his shades, "Krook!"

"Battle begin!" the Rotom Drone deemed.

"Krookodile, start with Stone Edge!" The maroon reptile punched the ground, several stone spires erupting in quick session before colliding into the dragon.

"Shake it off, Hydreigon! Use Dragon Pulse!" The Brutal Pokémon took a deep breath and launched a multicolored dragon-shaped beam towards the Intimidation Pokémon.

"Dodge with Dig!" Krookodile burrowed underneath the pulse attack. "Crunch when you appear!" The crocodile leapt out from underneath and Crunched the pseudo-legendary's arm.

"Shake him off!" Hydreigon flailed arm, getting Krookodile off. "Now Double Hit!" The hydra's phony heads turned purple before striking the crocodile twice.

"Dragon Claw!" The Ground/Dark-type extended his claws, turning them teal and struck the Dark/Dragon pseudo-legendary.

"Tri Attack!" Growling, the hydra unleashed a fire-electric-ice trivumate that the crocodile endured, the ice doing the most damage.

"Stone Edge!"

"Use Earth Power!"

Krookodile punched the ground just as Hydreigon did. Both reptiles were on the receiving ends of the earth-based attacks, the crocodile hit with a glowing earth crack and the dragon with stone spires.

"Now Aerial Ace!" Shaking off the move, Krookodile increased his speed, plowing into the hydra where he fell to the ground.

"Hydreigon!" Cameron yelled as the Brutal Pokémon slowly got up. The Unova pseudo-legendary roared as the Intimidation Pokémon sharpened his shades.

"Alright! Now, use Outrage!" the youngster exclaimed.

Hydreigon glowed with a red aura, eyes gleaming the same, before rushing and bashing Krookodile nonstop. The crocodile was pounded relentlessly from the assault until the hydra stopped with a confused look in his eyes.

"Krookodile!" Ash exclaimed in concern. He had to admit, Cameron had improved with Hydreigon since the Unova League which was a problem. The Ground/Dark-type managed to stand, growling menacingly.

"Okay, Hydreigon! Finish with Hyper Beam!" Cameron said but his pseudo-legendary just waved his heads around wildly.

"Cameron! Outrage confuses the user after using it!" Ash explained before the youngster sweat-dropped.

"Oh, right," Cameron said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. His Lucario facepalmed at the idea of using the deranged move.

Krookodile roared before glaring at the hydra. "Our turn! Use Dragon Claw!" The crocodile extended teal claws before slashing at the dragon. "Now Stone Edge!"

Krookodile punched the ground and stone spires erupted and collided with Unovan dragon to the point he collapsed and had swirls in his eyes.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle! Krookodile is the winner-roto!"

"Amazing work out there, Krookodile!" Ash cheered and the Intimidation Pokémon flashed his shades. Ash himself was proud that it only took one Pokémon this time. He had wanted to use Krookodile for the next match but his battle with Sawk took a lot out of him during their match against Stephan.

"Return Hydreigon," Cameron said before apologizing, "Sorry. Guess I should have remembered Outrage causes confusion."

"Carr…" Cameron's Aura Pokémon agreed.

The youngster's attitude turned back to his fired up personality. "Alright, Stantler, let's go!"

The Big Horn Pokémon appeared and stomped his hoof, "Stant!"

Cameron rubbed his nose, "I caught him during my Johto journey! Stantler's as strong as they come. Get ready, Ash!"

Ash weighed his options before he returned Krookodile, "Thanks for your hard work out there."

The Alolan Champion turned to his party before selecting his next choice. "Oshawott, I choose you!"

The Sea Otter Pokémon triumphantly walked onto the field before tripping. He regained his balance and challenged the deer.

Stantler just huffed, Intimidating Oshawott surprisingly but the otter shook it off. He had a battle to win.

"Battle begin!" the Rotom drone uttered.

"Stantler, start with Stomp!" Cameron ordered. The caribou ran before raising his hoof up.

"Dodge, Oshawott!" The otter avoided the Stomp, letting out a breath of relief.

"Now Hydro Pump!" Oshawott expelled a torrent of water that collided with Stantler. The Big Horn Pokémon shook off the water before huffing in agitation.

"Use Tackle!" the mustelid charged, tucking in his head before leaping and Tackling the ungulate. It didn't do much to the caribou, who just bounced the attack off his body.

"Hypnosis!" Stantler's horns began to glow before releasing inducing lights that clouded Oshawott's vision to where he fell asleep.

"Oshawott!" Ash cried out as the otter lay there, sleeping away.

"Sorry, Ash but this match is mine!" Cameron claimed, "Use Zen Headbutt!" Stantler pawed the ground before charging with blue psychic energy around himself.

"Oshawott, wake up!"

The otter's body didn't move, just lazily rolled to the side as the caribou missed the attack completely.

"What?" an unison of Ash, Cameron, and Goh said as the otter avoided the attack in the most unexpected way.

Ash felt a sense of deja-vu when Corphish was confused during his first six-on-six match during the Hoenn League against that trainer who used her Golduck to confuse the crayfish but ended up defeated. Shaking that thought away, Ash went in with his move, "Razor Shell!"

A groggy Oshawott drew his scalchop into a blade before slashing aimlessly at air. Stantler was nowhere near the otter right now.

"Maybe I should have taught you Thunderbolt come to think of it," Cameron sheepishly said and the caribou just began stomping indignantly. He huffed before getting his next order, "Megahorn!" The Big Horn Pokémon's antlers turned to lime-green and charged the mustelid.

"Oshawott, Hydro Pump!" The otter muttered in his sleep before firing a gushing torrent of water but missed tremendously. The caribou nailed the otter before lifting him into the air.

Oshawott landed smack-dab on his face, still snoozing.

"Unless Oshawott wakes up soon, this could become a bad match-up," Goh commented.

Ash began to grit his teeth again and yelled again, "Oshawott! Wake up!"

This time the otter managed to hear his trainer and got up, albeit bruised from the fall. The Sea Otter Pokémon shook his head clear and growled.

Stantler had a smug look on his face, knowing that his opponent couldn't take much more.

And Cameron picked up on that, "Alright! Stantler, let's wrap this up! Zen Headbutt!" The Big Horn Pokémon snorted and charged with a blue psychic glow around his body.

"Aqua Jet!" Oshawott covered himself in a watery veil before jetting towards the charging Stantler. Both mammals collided with each other, meeting at a stalemate before an explosion occurred.

Both trainers guarded their eyes before seeing the outcome: both Stanlter and Oshawott KOed.

"Both Pokémon are unable to battle! This match is a draw!" the Rotom Drone declared.

"Great work out there, Oshawott," Ash praised. He felt like Oshawott could have won but a tie with him in the lead was not as bad. Cameron returned his ungulate before addressing Ash.

"Well, it seems I'm on my last Pokémon. But I have come prepared this time!" the youngster declared before pointing forward, "Lucario, let's go!"

Cameron's Aura Pokémon nodded before walking onto the field. The jackal got in a fighting stance. "Car!"

Ash grew a grin. He knew Cameron saved Lucario for last and now time for some payback for the Unova League.

"Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pika!" The Mouse Pokémon scurried onto the field, pumped for action. The rodent was excited to try his new Light Ball gift from Zekrom.

"Battle begin!" the Rotom Drone said.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash cried right off the bat. The Mouse Pokémon unleashed a yellow lightning bolt that struck the Aura Pokémon dead-on.

Upon impact, Cameron's Lucario felt the voltage stronger than it was the last time they fought. The jackal theorized perhaps it was the years of training becoming fruitful for their opponents. Either way, the opposing Lucario fell to his knees.

"Woah!" Goh and Cameron said in shock.

"When did Pikachu's Thunderbolt become so powerful?" the capturer asked.

"Well, lots of training from yesterday," Ash lied before getting back to battle. He was impressed with how Pikachu handled the Light Ball, even if it was toned down for now. "Iron Tail!"

"Match that with Power-Up Punch!" Cameron shouted. The jackal rushed forward with an orange aura while the mouse ran with a silver tail. Both attacks made contact and the fist did more damage than the tail.

Pikachu landed and growled as Cameron's Lucario returned to his original position.

"Electro Ball!" The Mouse Pokémon created a sphere of electricity and threw it at the Aura Pokémon.

"Bone Rush!" The jackal manifested an aura bone before spinning it and smashing it into the sphere. Unfortunately, the sphere was enhanced by the Light Ball and Lucario was skidding against the ground.

"Looks like Pikachu's been training!" Cameron complimented, "But I'll be going up a rank! Aura Sphere!"

Lucario conjured a compressed orb of aura and launched it.

"Thunderbolt again!" Pikachu gave another yellow bolt of lightning, striking the Aura Sphere and sent it towards the jackal.

"Pour it on!" Cameron shouted, surprised to see Aura Sphere struggling against the Thunderbolt.

Cameron's Aura Pokémon, with his palms forward, channeled his aura into the sphere, trying to hold it back.

"You too!" Ash shouted and the Mouse Pokémon pressed on the power with his own electricity and Light Ball. The Thunderbolt managed to send the Aura Sphere back and created an explosion.

Cameron's Lucario was sent skidding back before hunching over, panting from the sheer power.

"Oh man, you really have been training!" Cameron exclaimed before doing his infamous technique: stretching his headband. The youngster did his technique -still hurting- before getting an idea.

"Use Me First!" Lucario glowed with a purple aura before firing a Thunderbolt much like Pikachu's. The Mouse Pokémon was struck and sent tumbling before landing on all fours.

Ash hid his surprise, not expecting Cameron's Lucario to know Me First. It seemed to unleash a stronger variation of the move last used. But he felt it was time to wrap this fight up. "Get in there with Quick Attack then Iron Tail!"

Pikachu sprinted across the field with white trail tailing him before turning his tail to steel and landing a blow on Lucario's chest. Cameron's starter grunted before standing his ground.

"Bone Rush!" The jackal manifested a blue bone before swinging it downward, hitting the mouse.

"All or nothing Pikachu, Thunderbolt at close range!" Ash shouted. The yellow rodent unleashed yellow electricity, again with the combination of his natural charge and Zekrom's gift. At point blank, Lucario felt the electricity zap him completely before collapsing defeated.

"Lucario is unable to battle, Pikachu is the winner! Therefore Ash is the victor!" the Rotom Drone announced and flew away.

"Great work out there, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed and his starter chirped with excitement. It felt oddly satisfying for them to beat Cameron.

Speaking of the boy, he ran to the field, "Great work, Lucario. We'll have to get him next time." Cameron's Lucario nodded at the claim before returning to his Pokéball.

"Well, Ash," Cameron addressed his opponent, "Nice to have another battle with you! From here on out, you are my rival!"

"We were already rivals to begin with," Ash sweatdropped but shook it away, "But right back at you!"

Both trainers said their goodbyes to each other before Ash and Goh headed in for the night as Cameron said he had other arrangements.

That night at the Pokémon Center, when Goh fell asleep, Ash was in deep thought after what Zekrom had said.

The fact that Legendary and Mythical Pokémon were coming to reward him both made him nervous and excited. He couldn't help but wonder what awaits him and maybe even learn more about this Chosen One situation.

But alas, he would have to wait and see what would happen. And tell Goh and Chloe about this whole situation. Even though they had met a few together, Ketchum doubts that his new friends would believe the idea that he himself had interacted with tons of Legendaries before. Even Mew, Goh's entire dream.

He needed to sleep on this for a few days.

Chapter Text

With another day of adventures and battling yesterday, Ash retired at Pallet Town again. While he did have a place to stay at Cerise's lab, he felt he should visit his mother and Pokémon at Oak's lab more.

Which was the reason he was once again at the corral, this time training his Pokémon.

Thanks to Oak, Ash had devised various sets of his own Pokémon, old and new, to train with one another in order to help with new moves, techniques, and other attributes. All around the corral, Ash's Pokémon were putting in work.

Bulbasaur was squaring off against Bayleef, the sauropod swinging her head-leaf and sending multicolored leaves that the plant-toad hybrid dispelled with Poison Powder. The Leaf Pokémon then leapt in the air to use Body Slam but the Seed Pokémon avoided it and fired spurts of explosive seeds.

Charizard and Incineroar faced off with each other, the dragon with extended scaly claws while the feline had darkness shrouding his paws. The Flame Pokémon lunged before with Dragon Claw, leaving the Heel Pokémon to deflect with Darkest Lariat. Through a fierce exchange, the dragon managed to win the outcome as the tiger skidded across the ground and let out a disgruntled roar.

Squirtle spun around using Rapid Spin and landed a blow at Oshawott. The Sea Otter Pokémon got up and fired a Hydro Pump to strike the Tiny Turtle Pokémon down but the mustelid missed his mark. The terrapin landed and began to lecture the otter on where he needed to improve, making the mammal huff as he claimed he didn't need help.

Pidgeot, having gotten to know the many birds of Ash's team now, decided to train with Talonflame. The Kanto regional bird turned her wings to steel, copying the Kalos raptor's Steel Wing. Then the Bird Pokémon flapped her wings, creating orange-red waves which the Scorching Pokémon mimicked and made little embers of Heat Wave.

Butterfree and his mate decided to spar against one another. There was nothing that the two butterflies didn't know from one another. Ash was impressed as the pink Butterfree held her own against his, and even though Butterfree was released quite early in his journey, the purple butterfly still impressed him. His own Butterfree fired a multicolored zig zag beam while the mate sent silvery powdered wind.

Kingler demonstrated a new move to Corphish as they got along great. The Pincer Pokémon fired a burst of salty water from his large claw while looking at the Ruffian Pokémon. The crayfish nodded before trying a new move himself, his pincer developed a watery energy blade. Kingler clicked at the progress of Corphish's Razor Shell.

Despite being a loving, hugging mass, Muk was training hard. And with Nagandel around, the Sludge Pokémon picked up several new moves. The sludge practiced generating a charge before unleashing it. The Ultra Beast buzzed with joy as she managed to teach the sentient puddle a new move. She herself had managed to aim better with Sludge Bomb.

Within the herd, the leader Tauros -who has come to be named as Stampede by Ash- clashed with another bull in the herd with Horn Attack. Various members of the herd all wanted the chance to battle eventually but even then, it would be a hard choice on who gets to be chosen.

Snorlax swung a Mega Punch into Heracross' Focus Punch. The beetle was sent into the air before flying down. The sleeping giant lumbered over before going on about how the beetle could put more power in his punch. The Single Horn Pokémon nodded and tried again, this time putting more of a swing into it.

Lapras just watched Totodile do his little dance in the lake. And while she found the crocodile's joyful attitude contagious, she wanted to do some training. Living in the wilderness, she learned new moves. The Transport Pokémon started by showing a Hydro Pump that made the Big Jaw Pokémon out his dancing. Amazed by the power, Totodile tried to copy which he did.

Quilava evaded Gible's Rock Smash before flaring up. The Volcano Pokémon fired a torrent of flames from his mouth that got the Land Shark Pokémon covered in soot. Shaking it off, the Sinnoh pseudo legendary charged again, but this time in a silver aura. The weasel ignited his flames again before rolling into a Flame Wheel, making him a match for the landshark's Iron Head. After clashing in a stalemate, both Pokémon were skidded back and shook off their headaches.

While one was at a type disadvantage, Buizel liked the challenge. The weasel came in with an Ice Punch, but Snivy dodged with grace. She came down with a Leaf Blade but it was disrupted by a Sonic Boom. The serpent landed and gave a challenging glare towards the weasel. The Sea Weasel Pokémon took a deep breath before exhaling boiling water that the Grass Snake Pokémon deflected with a scaly, teal tail.

Noctowl watched carefully as Swellow streaked across the sky. The Owl Pokémon carefully tracked the Swallow Pokémon before predicting his trajectory. The shiny bird flapped his wings, sending Air Slashes towards the swallow. Nimbly avoiding them, Swellow began to build up more energy and was overtaken by a blue aura, showing that he learned Brave Bird. The swallow charged directly towards his opponent but was trapped in the confines of Noctowl's Psychic.

During their time together again, both former baby Pokémon had rekindled their friendship and were great battling partners. Donphan glowed with a brown aura and ran into Tyranitar. The Johto pseudo-legendary grunted before shoving the pachyderm off and roared. The saurian sent several blue stone spires towards the elephant. The Ground-type Armor Pokémon grunted himself before weaving through each spire with Rollout.

Sceptile dashed all over the field, making Torterra growl in frustration. The Forest Pokémon drew a dark green Leaf Blade and slashed at the Continent Pokémon but the tree tortoise picked up a few tricks since his time at the lab. The Grass/Ground-type roared and unleashed a golden crack towards the lizard, who stumbled from the Earth Power. Then with another roar, Torterra generated two rings of rocks around himself and sent them towards Sceptile. The lizard felt something burn inside of him and unleashed a Dragon Pulse that collided with the Stone Edge. Both Grass starters shielded their eyes before bellowing at the strength of their moves.

Torkoal took a deep breath and exhaled orange-red waves towards Pignite. The Fire Pig Pokémon took his own deep breath and exhaled thick black, noxious smoke. The Coal Pokémon held his breath, preventing the Smog attack from poisoning him. The swine walked over to the tortoise and gave him some indication about using Poison-type moves. Torkoal nodded and tried himself, hurling out poison globs to demonstrate Sludge Bomb. While not the ideal move, Pignite still congratulated the reptile on learning the move.

Being the two most mischievous members, Glalie and Haunter instantly hit it off. Though each of them were still training themselves, the Face Pokémon wanted to have a battle for a long time now and the Gas Pokémon had seen many challengers against Sabrina. Right now, the floating head expelled a series of dark purple spirals that the ghost dodged. Glalie had a triumphant look as he mastered Dark Pulse.

Staraptor and Unfezant were great sparring partners. The Sinnoh bird of prey and the Unovan gamebird zoomed across the sky, each trying to take advantage of each other. The Predator Pokémon drew near and prepared a Close Combat on the Proud Pokémon. However, just before the contact, Unfezant's eyes flashed green and she avoided the attack completely. Having learned Detect, Unfezant cawed at her success.

Both Infernape and Gengar threw air punches, both concentrating on different elements. Eventually, the primate developed a shadowy claw, showing he learned Shadow Claw while the ghost conjured some purple flames. The Shadow Pokémon placed his hands together and Will-O-Wisp became fruitful for him. Both previously abandoned Pokémon gave a thumbs-up at each other's achievement.

Gliscor swooped down and prepared a Steel Wing on his training opponent. Krookodile braced himself and caught the move in his claws. With a devious glint in his sunglasses, the crocodile wrapped his tail around the bat-scorpion hybrid's and swung him to the ground, displaying Foul Play. The Fang Scorpion Pokémon bounced into the air, chattered about the cheap move before flying in with X-Scissor, this time striking the Intimidation Pokémon.

Scraggy just watched in awe as Primeape threw some air punches. The Shedding Pokémon had come to admire the Pig Monkey Pokémon from their short time, making the reptile want to be as strong as him. He tried to impress the simian with his Focus Blast but failed as it was sent sailing away. Primeape proceeded to give pointers about using the range move.

Leavanny sharpened his gaze before making an Energy Ball. The Nurturing Pokémon fired it and Rowlet observed carefully. The Grass Quill Pokémon nodded before centering himself. Soon, the mini owl was made a green sphere that he fired. The Energy Ball was a success. The green insectoid congratulated him and critiqued a snoozing Rowlet, much to the former's dismay.

Palpitoad worked up a Sludge Wave before dispersing it. Goodra gave a nod before concentrating himself. He eventually developed a puddle that evolved into a purple wave. The Vibration Pokémon croaked happily at his lesson being successfully. The Kalos Dragon Pokémon agreed with a roar before firing an Ice Beam that he wanted the amphibian to follow.

While both being the same type, Boldore and Lycanroc had differences in training with the tripedal rock sticking to defensive moves and the orange wolf was equipped with speed. That didn't stop them from training with each other since Lycanroc developed a crimson paw and swung it downward whereas Boldore's crystals shined and unleashed a silvery beam from his ear.

Concentrating, Greninja drew a dark-imbued kunai as Lucario manifested a blue aura bone himself. With Night Slash and Bone Club in hand, they sparred with each other and occasionally threw an Aura Sphere or Water Shuriken that was cleaved in half. They even developed a friendly rivalry between each other due to their connection with Ash: through Bond Phenomenon and aura respectively.

Out of his four-way training Farfetch'd did two days ago, he liked Hawlucha the most. Scraggy was still immature and Primeape specialized in hand-to-hand combat. So the Wrestling Pokémon was the only one the Wild Duck Pokémon thought met his caliber. The duck swung his leek which the masked avian dodged before going in with a High Jump Kick.

High in the air, Noivern and Dragonite were going over some basics of their Dragon-typing. The Dragon Pokémon spun around, purple energy surrounding her as the Soundwave Pokémon worked on that himself. The bat-wyvern managed to replicate the sequence and fly faster than before. The orange dragon gave the wyvern a hug for success.

Melmetal took his time before firing a beam of bright steel energy. Nebby the Solgaleo saw the Flash Cannon, pawed the ground and ran forward, covered in silver energy himself. Using Iron Head, the Sunne Pokémon managed to plow through the beam until meeting the biotic metal hex to face. The Hex Nut Pokémon practically 'gulped' at the closeness but Nebby began to explain through PokéSpeech how to concentrate better with its Steel-type moves.

Pikachu, oddly enough, was practicing with Mimey. While the Barrier Pokémon was mostly used for cleaning the Ketchum household, he agreed on training himself. Ash had worked on an agreement with his mom that the Psychic/Fairy-type could be used for the World Coronation Series. The mime created a Light Screen that the Mouse Pokémon tried to mirror himself. Eventually the mouse managed to create his own Light Screen, squeaking with pride at learning a defensive move.

Latios and Latias were new to the team and trained well together. Latios was the most battle-oriented as he was overprotective but was kind enough to show his sister a Dragon Pulse. The Red Eon Twin nodded before firing off a work-in-progress version of the move but she still continued. If both legendaries planned to battle, they wanted to give it their all.

Ash encouraged each of his Pokémon to their best but also not push themselves to the point of exhaustion. He was proud of them for training and made him more excited for the chance to use them in the World Coronation Series. After all, using his typical strategy of six Pokémon might become a disadvantage for him, even though he only used five so far for some of the big matches.

During the afternoon, Ash decided to give his Pokémon a well-deserved break. They were relaxing in the corral, at least most of them, while others decided to train still.

The boy was sitting down, exhausted himself Sure, he has trained before but he hasn't trained all his Pokémon like this since the Lily of the Valley Conference. By then, he didn't have his current roster, let alone three Legnedaries, but now he does. He began to wonder if Tobias was in the tournament, but then again he would have known about the mysterious trainer through some rumors.

Ash was broken from his musings when he saw a streak of yellow in the air. Shortly after, three other colored streaks are seen: a pink, green, and blue.

The streaks flew erratically before all spinning and descending towards Ash. The streaks were bright which made Ash cover his eyes before the lights revealed the deities of Alola.

"Alola, Chosen One!" Tapu Koko announced.

"Hello again," Tapu Lele greeted.

"Chosen One! Great to see you!" Tapu Bulu boomed.

"It truly is," Tapu Fini agreed in a sincere tone.

"Wait, you four can use telepathy?" Ash realized. The four guardians just chuckled to themselves.

"Yes, we tend not to talk with the Kahunas. Amongst legendaries and mythicals, on the otherhand…" Koko admitted.

"But that is besides the point," Fini said, "We are here to bestow gifts and thank you for dealing with the Ultra Beasts and Necromza incidents."

"Yes, thank you," Lele agreed, "We were hardly ever aware of such unique Pokémon beyond our reach. Thanks to Arceus, he was able to negotiate with the beasts and earn their spot among us."

Fini nodded, "Now we shall give our gifts. They aren't much but we figured you could use some of Alola's powers."

"Me first!" Bulu interrupted the female guardians, much to their annoyance.

The Ula'ula guardian retracted to his shell before concentrating and revealed to have four Z-Crystals. "I present to you the Z-Crystals of Dark, Ghost, Bug, and Psychic!"

Ash was surprised to see Bulu gifting him with Z-Crystals. "Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure I can use Z-Moves for my World Coronation matches," he mused aloud.

"Of course, you can!" The Ula'ula guardian proclaimed. "I've seen a few matches of this game you and the other humans are partaking in. And I have seen Z-Moves being used."

Surprised again, Ash never considered that a Legendary Pokémon would be interested in the World Coronation Series. But he still took the crystals.

"Moving along," Lele chimed in, "I am next." She repeated the same process and had three Z-Crystals. "These are for Water, Incineroar, and Decidueye. If Rowlet ever decides to evolve."

Ash took them, now he was interested in how he would try to use them for battle.

"Now it is my turn," Fini announced and did the same before revealing her set of Z-Crystals. "These are the Dragon, Fairy, Ground, Poison, and Ice Z-Crystals." Ash began to have his hands full with the amount of Z-Crystals.

"And now, it is my turn," Koko said, going last and revealed to have Fighting, Flying, and the most surprising of all, Solganium-Z.

"Wait, Solganium-Z?!" Ash exclaimed before asking, "Are you sure, Tapu Koko?"

"Why not? You have used it before." The Melemele guardian remembered.

"But I-"

"Oh, you are thinking about your matches, correct?" Koko inferred to which the Alola Champion nodded. "Yes, sorry. I should have clarified. Use Searing Sunraze Smash more as… world-ending scenarios in case you come across them."

That made Ash relieved. He couldn't think about using such a powerful move against a common trainer.

"Hmmm, come to think of it," Koko mused, "You are perhaps one of the few trainers to have so many Z-Crystals."

"I am?" Ash questioned.

"Not many trainers search for all Z-Crystals. I heard that even Mew has one but she tends to cherish it." Bulu said nonchalantly. Dumbfounded by this information, Ash began internally deciding to tell Goh this information.

"But now we have given our gifts," Tapu Lele said before she and the three others glowed their respective colors. "Thank you for your help in Alola."

"Good luck in your future battles," Tapu Fini wished.

"You'll do great!" Tapu Bulu encouraged.

And finally Tapu Koko finished, "We Tapus wish you luck in your future battles."

With that said, the four Tapus retreated back to Alola, back to their duties. Leaving in awestruck Ash before the boy grinned. Now that he knew he could use Z-Moves in his matches, he was all for it. Though he made a mental note to use it for rank-boosting matches like against Elite 4 or Gym Leaders.

Ash asked Bulbasaur to gather his Pokémon which the Seed Pokémon did and Ketchum's Pokémon came running as usual. The trainer explained his latest gifts and all, except his Alolan and Legendaries, were perplexed at the mention of Z-Crystals. After explaining, his Pokémon understood.

"So now that we have all these Z-Crystals, I'll try to incorporate them into some of my matches. But given my stash, I think that I will have to limit each Z-Crystal to one of you. I can't decide so I figured I would let you guys decide," Ash said before adding, "Though, Pikachu, Lycanroc, Nebby, and Incineroar you have your own so I'll single you out. You too Rowlet, if you decide to evolve."

The selected Pokémon nodded, Rowlet now somewhat thinking about evolving. He had nearly been on the receiving end of Sinister Arrow Raid and had wanted to try it out himself. The small owl would have to think about it.

"Now then," Ash began, "Who wants to use Normalium-Z?" The rest of the afternoon was basically deciding which Pokémon got to utilize a Z-Move. Some were excited at the potential of using such a strong move while others dismissed it, wanting to be stronger on their own terms. After that was squared away, Ash headed home for dinner.

Before going to bed, Ash decided to place his Z Power Ring in his backpack for future battles and got a call from Goh who depicted his and Chloe's adventure today with an Eevee. The girl had decided to catch Eevee as her partner which made Ash happy. You never forget your first capture.

With plans for a dig tomorrow, Ash went to bed for the night.

Chapter Text

Ash had run for his life many times during his journeys.

Territorial Pokémon. Agitated Pokémon. Practically every type of Pokémon. Even sometimes from his own Pokémon.

But nothing exactly matches his current predicament.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"PIIIIKKKKKAAAA!"

"Visssssh!"

Ash and Pikachu were running… from a new revived Frankenstein creature. The Frankenstein creature was a blue fish head on top of a green tail with legs named Dracovish.

Ash, Goh, and Chloe were invited to a digsite and given the opportunity to dig up fossils and revive them. He and Goh accepted the chance, the latter thinking of catching a fossil Pokémon for himself while Ash was interested to see what Pokémon he could revive.

He had encountered many fossil Pokémon in the past but never caught one due to the fact he didn't find one he wanted. Aerodactyl would have been nice but he fell asleep when the dreaded Jigglypuff sang. Cradilies and Armaldos were under the protection while on Wales Island. He never came across any Sinnoh or Unova fossils to revive except those adventures he had with the prehistoric Pokémon. And Kalos had those laboratories to research Amauras and Tyrunts.

But this time, Ash and his friends were given the chance to evacuate fossils with some help from two scientists: Cara Liss and Bray Zenn. They found incomplete fossils and Cara insists that they can still be revived. After a quick meal, they restore the fossils into their true forms…

Which matched nothing in Pokémon history.

Besides Dracovish, there was a yellow raptor head in a large icicle with blue flippers and a tail that was called Arctozolt. Ash attempted to meet the Water/Dragon abomination but narrowly avoided its jaws and was chased around. Goh, on the other hand, readied his newly captured Boldore to battle Arctozolt.

Which brings us back to our current scenario.

Ash and Pikachu continued to run for their lives as Dracovish continued its chase. The trainer was thinking about attacking it again but after Pikachu's Electroweb mishap, he thought about just running for now. It was no surprise that the mismatched fossil was great at running with them being the only appendages to move.

Ash and Pikachu eventually caught their breath near a river before Dracovish crashed into them and knocked them in, landing in the river.

"Gahhh!" Ash gasped for air before realizing he was on the Fossil Pokémon with Pikachu. Both trainer and modern-day Pokémon flinched before realizing that the abomination was swimming peacefully.

"Oh, you just wanted to go for a swim?" Ash realized and Dracovish agreed through its cry, "Vish! Vish!"

A little while longer, Dracovish seemed to be at ease from its leisure swim. Getting out of the stream, Ash patted Dracovish on its… tail.

"Guess a nice swim made you calm down," Ash put together. It wasn't too odd for him, after all, revived Pokémon tend to not be adjusted to modern day.

"This is unexpected."

Ash and Pikachu heard a voice before trying to locate the source but Dracovish just swayed back and forth to its own rhythm.

"Who said that?"

"That would be me." A light brown blur appeared in front of the trainer and the Pokémon. It was revealed to be a light brown bear cub with a white ribbons on his head and a serious expression. "Chosen One," the cub greeted with a traditional karate bow.

"Umm… hi?" Ash said, confused. Could this be a Legendary?

"Forgive me," the cub said, "I know we have not officially met before but my name is Kubfu."

"Kubfu?" Ash tried to place where the Pokémon came from. He hadn't encountered one like this before.

"I have searched for you, in order to give you my gift."

Ash was puzzled, "But I never helped you."

"Yes, while true, you have accomplishments and feats that I would like to test."

"You know about those?" Ash said surprised. He never really considered thinking about how Legendaries or Mythicals viewed him. To him, he was just some trainer but with all the Chosen One talk recently, he felt as if he was revered as a legend among them. Even Arceus probably.

"Yes," Kubfu said, "An Articuno mentioned how your Charizard bested her, your Pikachu taking on Tapu Koko, your Battle Bond Greninja saving Kalos," the cub listed off before finally ending, "Which is why for my gift will be the one of a battle!"

"Oh, you want a battle?" Ash asked with a grin. Though he never encountered the Wushu Pokémon, he was always up for a battle.

"Yes! One of your mighty warriors to battle would be for my training!" Kubfu exclaimed.

"Uhhhh… okay?" Ash replied, "Though honestly I don't really have any major heavy hitters or warriors with me right now."

Kubfu comedically fell over, "Well, who do you have on you, then?"

Ash brought out his current party: Gible, Oshawott, Corphish, Glalie, Buziel, Quilava, Totodile, Butterfree, Donphan, Swellow, Talonflame, Rowlet, Muk, Haunter, Kingler, Scraggy, Lapras, and Pikachu (already on his shoulder.)

Dracovish, who had been swaying, stopped before announcing its arrival to the team. Ash's party -expect Pikachu- turned around before recoiling at the sight of the Frankenstein fossil.

"Vish!" The incorrectly revived fossil greeted Totodile, who shrunk back in fear. Even Buizel, Haunter, Swellow, and Rowlet back away in fear. Being met with fear, Dracovish sighed before hanging its head down at the sight of its appearance.

Kubfu saw the line-up before shaking his head. "None of your current team will match my strength."

"What do you mean?" Ash said, trying to contain his anger at the cub. Who was he to say that about his team? He was just praising them a few seconds ago.

"What I mean is I want a challenge," Kubfu explained, "Your mighty Charizard, your agile Sceptile, your headstrong Heracross, your fiery Infernape, even your Dusk Lycanroc! Not them. And your Pikachu wouldn't last a chance. Every Legendary and Mythical knows about how the mouse is practically on a power trip now with Zekrom's gift."

"Well, how about this then," Ash offered, "I battle you with one of my Pokémon of my choosing on my team. Not one of my powerhouses to prove to you that they are just as strong as those one you think are stronger than the rest." He never expected a Legendary to deem certain Pokémon worthy. Maybe it's based on the fact he hadn't had an adventure with the Wushu Pokémon yet.

Kubfu thought it over, "Hmmmmmm… Alright, I will allow it. I want a worthy opponent. After all, it is my gift. The gift of battle."

"Ok, then." Ash agreed before selecting his choice. Everyone had something to bring.

Then Ash saw how the rest of the Pokémon were weirded out by Dracovish upon its introduction, leaving the Frankenstein fossil dejected. And it pained Ash to see a Pokémon left out.

"Okay… Dracovish, I choose you!"

The mismatched revived Pokémon perked up at being chosen and was happy. "Vish! Vish!"

"The abomination?" Kubfu phrased before rolling his eyes, "Fine. I guess I can battle it." Kubfu posed in a fighting position as Dracovish stomped onto the field for a battle.

(PokéSpeech enabled)

"He's going with the fish-face?" Buizel exclaimed as Oshawott became colorless.

"I would have thought it would have been me at least," Swellow chriped, "I want to fight a Legendary again."

"We don't have as much experience when it comes to Legendaries but I would have been interested," Kingler clicked, mentioning him and Muk.

"I've never seen such a Pokémon like… it before?" Lapras admitted, trying to distinguish the gender.

"Great, the newbie is going to battle the martial artist," Talonflame said, "Kiss the world goodbye."

Pikachu vouched for the Frankenstein fossil, "Hey! Lay off them! Dracovish may not look like an ideal Pokémon but they are one nonetheless!"

Ash's team looked at the starter with uneasy looks.

"Just watch," Pikachu said with his arms crossed, "Dracovish will show you what they are made of."

(PokéSpeech disabled)

"My years of training on the Isle of Armor will show you how strong I am," Kubfu said to himself before blitzing forward with a brown glowing fist.

"Dracovish, dodge!" The Frankenstein fossil attempted to move but the cub was faster and struck the leg. Dracovish cried out in pain at the attack.

Ash couldn't help but feel concerned. He rushed into the battle headfirst and didn't consider what moves Dracovish had. He knew about Water Gun and potentially Bite but that was it.

The Frankenstein fossil growled before a faint aura surround him. It generated fossils around it and threw them towards the martial artist. Kubfu glowed with a faint aura himself before destroying the fossils with ease.

"That was Ancient Power!" Ash recognized before taking action again, "Use Water Gun!"

The Frankenstein fossil fired a stream of water but the Wushu Pokémon dodged with ease before charging with white streaks covering him. The legendary landed his Aerial Ace into the face of Dracovish before slamming a Brick Break into the tail portion.

"Vish!"

Kubfu landed before commenting, 'This is my opponent? A mismatched Magikarp? I'm almost insulted.'

"Cut it some slack! This is its first battle since it had been revived!" Ash growled at.

'This is rather pointless.' Kubfu dismissed, "I wanted a battle. A battle with the Chosen One. Someone who is revered by Legendaries and Mythicals alike. Whose bonds with Pokémon are so strong they can overcome anything. Yet I'm fighting something that is incorrect to the Pokémon world."

"Knock it off!" Ash snapped, his temper now noticeable as Kubfu glanced at him. "So what if Dracovish doesn't look like any Pokémon known to date? You wanted a battle, I accepted! And I'll tell you right now, even if I didn't choose Dracovish, I would beat you with any of my other Pokémon!"

"PIKA!" Pikachu cheered with his trainer.

The other Pokémon that were watching the fight began to feel bad. They had misjudged Dracovish through appearance rather than personality. The Frankenstein fossil may not look correct, but it's a Pokémon nonetheless. And Ash's Pokémon. Its apart of the Ketchum family regardless.

"OSHA!'

"BUI!"

"FLAME!"

"SWELL!"

"KOOKIE!"

"MUKKKK!"

"CORP!"

"HAUNT!"

"LAVA!"

"GIBLE!"

"DILE!"

"GLALIE!"

"DON-PHAN!"

"FREE!"

"SCRAG!"

"LAAA!"

"ROW!"

Dracovish heard the Pokémon cries and felt determined, its friends were cheering them on. The Fossil Pokémon let out a roar that even Kubfu felt.

'His encouragement even affected the fossil. And now his current Pokémon are cheering them on.' Kubfu thought, 'Maybe… maybe I don't need a perfect opponent, the Chosen One has taught me there is no such thing as the perfect opponent. Every battle, trainer, rival is worthy of his might.' And that made an idea spur with his mind.

"Alright, Dracovish, Ancient Power again!" Ash called. The Fossil Pokémon fired a cluster of fossils again and Kubfu avoided them again and planned to land a Rock Smash.

"Catch the fist with Bite!" Dracovish managed to Bite the fist of the Wushu Pokémon. "Now Water Gun!" With no way to dodge, the cub was hit with a stream of water from the Frankenstein fossil.

Kubfu landed on his feet, albeit soaked, before he had a grin.

'This fight has been quite nice,' the Wushu Pokémon said, 'But now is the time to end this. And if I can be honest… I have enjoyed this fight.'

Ash's anger faded and was replaced by his usual grin. "Glad to be of service. Dracovish, Ancient Power to Water Gun again!"

The Fossil Pokémon summoned fossils and threw them and Kubfu nimbly avoided them with Aerial Ace, closing just as the mismatched fossil fired a stream of water.

Pushing through it, the Wushu Pokémon nailed a ferocious Rock Smash into the face. The final attack from the Legendary was successful and the fossil fell over.

"Draco…"

"Dracovish!" Ash ran over to the Fossil Pokémon, the Water/Dragon-type weakly got up before slumping down. It felt like it didn't do well enough.

Ash comforted it, "Hey, it's alright. It was your first battle and you didn't have much experience. Plus, Kubfu here is a legendary, very difficult to match right now."

"Indeed," Kubfu approached before bowing, "Forgive me for my insolence. I was hoping for a worthy fight and I suppose I was a bit carried away. However, your… Dracovish is it? Yes. It will make a fine warrior of the Chosen One."

Ash nodded at that, "Yeah, it will! I promise to help Dracovish become stronger for a rematch." The other Pokémon began to crowd Dracovish, the Frankenstein fossil quite happy that it was accepted into a new family.

Kufbu agreed, "And seeing your Pokémon encourage your chosen warrior has ignited something in me."

"It has?" Ash asked.

"Yes. I wish to study under you."

"You want to join me?" Ash questioned before internally sighing, 'These Legendaries and Mythicals are going to be the death of me with these gifts.'

"Yes. To be a mighty warrior!" Kubfu exclaimed, excited for the chance to be a Chosen One's Pokémon, "I will be able to battle many opponents and become stronger myself. Even meet the Legendary destroying warriors themselves!"

Ash just shook his head, amused by the Wushu Pokémon's determination, "Okay, then." He pulled out a spare Pokéball and captured Kubfu. The Pokéball shrunk, signifying his limit capacity.

"Ash!"

The trainer turned to see Goh, Chloe, Cara Liss, Bray Zenn, and Arctozolt -who has calmed down- all out of breath.

"There you are! With Dracovish!" Goh let out.

"Yep, turns out Dracovish just wanted to go for a swim," Ash explained and left out the mention of Kubfu.

It pained him to lie to his friends, even after his Legendary encounters with Goh, but how was he exactly going to explain that he was the Chosen One, a title revered by all Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, and was receiving gifts from them. He knew one day that he would have to.

The rest of their fossil excursion ended with Dracovish being successfully caught by Ash and Arctozolt being caught by Goh. Cara and Bray admitted they had all the data they needed before the trio left. Ash, for one, was very thrilled. He had caught his first Fossil Pokémon and another Legendary.

This made him more excited for future ranking battles and what other gifts he would have.

Chapter Text

Farfetch'd gazed at the pond, looking at his reflection. He personally felt like a failure with his techniques.

Today, the Wild Duck Pokémon had partook in two matches with his 'sensei' as he viewed Ash. The duck was exceptional in his battle against a Gurdurr, managing to destroy the girder that the muscular Pokémon used.

He was listening to his 'sensei' for the first half of the battle before doing his own thing. The duck managed to win through his own techniques and secure his 'sensei' a higher placement in the tournament he was partaking in.

Then came the second match.

The Gallade was quick and struck fast. Farfetch'd wasn't tired from the earlier bout as he wanted a challenge. The 'sensei' of Gallade ordered a False Swipe that knocked him out. While he was unable to battle, the opposing 'sensei' words had hit him hard.

'He seems dejected.' Kubfu voiced to his trainer. Ash had spent the night at Cerise's Lab and brought his Pokémon out after his recent adventure with Goh.

Ash sighed, "Yeah. I've had a few Pokémon who sometimes don't take loss easy. Once there was Pikachu against Lt. Surge's Raichu, Charizard against a Poliwrath, Sceptile when he was a Treecko against Jessie's Seviper, Infernape against Paul's Electivire," he shuddered, remembering how much it took for him and his team to defeat the Veilstone trainer in a six-on-six battle.

Kubfu eyed his teammate, 'One loss cannot make one too dejected to continue.' As a warrior himself, he too had come across a few defeats in his time. Way before he left for the Isle of Armor, training in the mountains with his litter before coming of age, the Wushu Pokémon suffered some defeats at the hands of wild Pokémon.

He was upset at the loss, thinking since he is a descendant from the first Urshifus he was unbeatable but the real world hit him hard. His Urshifu mentor explained how a loss is a learning experience.

'A loss can be a learning experience. The duck will be able to rise from defeat to become a better warrior. I know he can do it.' Kubfu concluded before walking over to the leek wielding bird.

Ash scratched his chin in thought, "I suppose you are right. Farfetch'd needs to learn to get back up. And next time, we'll show that Rinto guy that we can be Leek Masters!" he declared. Ketchum saw the Wushu Pokémon walking towards the Wild Duck Pokémon and decided to sit back.

'Hello, Leek user,' Kubfu greeted with a traditional bow.

(PokéSpeech enabled)

Farfetch'd turned to see the cub, "Oh. Sup?"

"I see you are upset."

The duck immediately tried to deny it, "Wha-!? Me? Upset? You are mistaken. I am not."

"It is alright to lose."

The duck rolled his eyes, "I didn't lose."

"You did," Kubfu relented, "And it is okay."

The duck denied the accusation, "I am not upset and I did not lose. Is that all?"

Kubfu sighed, knowing this is harder than he thought. The duck was more adamant about denying his defeat rather than come to the terms he can learn from it.

"A loss is salvageable. You can learn more from it."

"Why would I?" the duck interjected, "I don't need to learn anything. I honed my techniques to my finest. There is nothing that needs to change."

"Really?" Kubfu said, "Then tell me how you defeated Gurdurr." The cub learned about the incident through his 'sensei'.

"Through brute strength," the duck said, "Like how I have done many times."

"Now the Gallade."

"Brute strength like before."

"Yes, but there is a difference between your methods."

Farfetch'd rose an eyebrow, "How so?"

"The Gurdurr line are known for brute strength, placing them in the Strength class, like you seem to expertise in. You managed to win through the same way and from what I've heard, you favor a good fight," Kubfu lectured.

Farfetch'd puffed up with pride at that mention, "That's right. I managed to break his weapon too."

"Now the Gallade," Kubfu continued, "More equipped with speed and specialized in the Blade class. Like a noble warrior. Not to mention the warrior himself is a Psychic/Fighting-type."

"Your point being?" Farfetch'd asked, annoyed by the Legendary's lecture.

I'm just saying, brute force doesn't always guarantee victory."

"That loss against the Blade was a fluke at best," Farfetch'd claimed. "I was just tired."

Kubfu raised an eyebrow before shaking his head, "Tell me something. When you battled the Gurdurr, how did you defeat him?"

"I was able to beat him with brute strength."

"And the Blade?"

"I used brute strength again. What about it?" Farfetch'd rolled his eyes.

"Did you listen to 'Sensei'?"

"Why would I have listened to 'Sensei' when I can just win through my own method?"

Kufbu shook his head again. "If you can win through your own method, why did you join Ash in the first place?"

The Wild Duck Pokémon was not quick on the response. Truth to be told, he had forgotten why he joined Ash before replying, "I wanted to become a Leek Master."

"And?"

"And what?"

"What's more after you become a Leek Master?"

Farfetch'd didn't make another quick reply. "I.. dunno."

"So, what's more?"

The duck looked down. "I… never considered what to do more than just become a Leek Master. It's all I've ever wanted."

"And do you think you could do it by yourself?"

Farfetch'd shook his head. "I thought I could but when Ash challenged me and won, I had some sort of respect towards him. I guess I just lost it after not being in battles."

Kubfu nodded. "So, you used to respect Ash. Why not anymore?"

"I guess… it's just I used to do things my own way so I never took into consideration about how a trainer can help me."

"'Sensei' helps all kinds of Pokémon. Heck, he's even helped Legendaries and Mythicals before so I'm sure he's been helping you become a Leek Master."

Farfetch'd nodded, remembering how the last few days have been. Kubfu began describing a few stories he heard from the other legendaries and mythical Pokémon from when Ash helped them.

(PokéSpeech disabled)

Ash watched his Pokémon go back and forth. While he couldn't understand what the duck had said, he knew that Kubfu was lecturing the duck to become better. The Wushu Pokémon was taking liberty to explain that one loss doesn't have to put a damper on your spirit.

Leaving his Pokémon, he was about to go to sleep when he heard faint traces of galloping.

'Man, this place is massive. Maybe I should of had Hoopa send me directly to him instead.'

Ash perked up at the voice, able to deduce it was another Legendary or Mythical. He peeked around a bush to see a familiar equine.

"Keldeo!"

The Swords of Justice protege turned around to see the Chosen One. 'Ash! Greet to see you again!' The Colt Pokémon ran over and was given a hug.

"How did you get in here?" Ash immediately asked.

'Hoopa's rings!' The horse said, 'They are quite helpful when you live in a region far away.'

"Then how did Hoopa know where to send you?"

Keldeo began to look sheepish, 'Well… Arceus has been monitoring you since the rewards have begun. So, I guess Hoopa knows too.'

Ash nodded along, a little embarrassed that the God of all Pokémon was watching his every move since the gift giving.

"So, let me guess," Ash said, "You're here to give me a gift?"

'I sure am!' The protege admitted with a smile.

"Well, what is it?"

'I would like to join your team!'

A normal trainer would have dropped their jaws in shock by the offer. Ash, however, wasn't exactly a 'normal' trainer. "Are you sure about that? What about the Swords of Justice?"

'Well, since you have been traveling, my training is technically complete.' Keldeo explained, 'Plus you taught me to take action for my mistakes and be brave. It's thanks to you, Iris, and Cilan that I managed to face Kyurem after my first match. Even though I lost, I earned respect from Kyurem and became an official member of the Swords of Justice.'

Ash smiled upon hearing that. He was glad that Keldeo managed to become a Sword of Justice and now he wants to become his Pokémon. "Well then, let's make it official!" Ash pulled out a spare Pokéball and the colt pressed against it. He turned to energy and the Pokéball instantly clicked. The Stream Sword reappeared before shaking his head.

'I guess that will have to be something to get used to.'

"Yeah, Latios and Latias said the same thing," Ash chuckled to himself. "Maybe you should get to know the team too."

'Who do you have on hand?' Keldeo asked.

Ash pulled out his on-hand Pokémon: Boldore, Pignite, Staraptor, Unfezant, Torterra, Torkoal, Dragonite, Lucario, Primeape, Noivern, Hawlucha, Heracross, Noctowl, Stampede the Tauros leader, Tyranitar, and of course, Farfetch'd and Kubfu. Pikachu had ran off to sleep for now.

Pignite and Boldore recognized the Colt Pokémon and gave a small wave. The equine greeted them back as the rest of Ash's Pokémon got affiliated with the protege.

Kubfu and Farfetch'd came over and saw Keldeo mingling with the others. 'Ah! Keldeo!'

The colt saw the cub, 'Kubfu!' The two Fighting types ran over and shook paws and hoof. 'Good to see you again!'

'You as well.'

'How's your training going?'

'Well, I have been doing exceptional and I have recently become Ash's Pokémon.'

'That's great! I joined Ash's team just now!'

'Excellent. We will now have many more chances to spar!'

Farfetch'd quacked and made the Wushu Pokémon introduce him. 'Oh right. Farfetch'd this is the swashbuckling Stream Sword: Keldeo!' Keldeo looked embarrassed at the title.

The Wild Duck Pokémon began to assess the Colt Pokémon. A warrior of the Sword, nonetheless and a rare one. He thought back to his battles today. Despite how his latest one went, he was confident in his ability.

"Far! Far!"

Both Legendaries stared at the duck's declaration. 'You want a battle?"

The duck cracked a confident smile. "Far… fetch'd!"

Kubfu facepalmed. 'Farfetch'd, this is a Mythical warrior who specializes in the art of the Sword. Why would you challenge…' The Wushu Pokémon's mind began to realize why. Farfetch'd wanted to be stronger and he believes a battle with a Mythical is the key. But Kubfu had another idea: perhaps there would be something more to this battle.

'What's the harm in a little fencing?' Keldeo shrugged and readied his horn as Farfetch'd brandished his leek.

Ash picked up on the squabble and realized. "Oh, Farfetch'd wants to have a battle?"

'More or less,' Kubfu informed.

"Alright then!" Ash ran over to his side with Farfetch'd and Keldeo prepared himself.

Both combatants shared a look, the duck's with a cocky look and the colt's with a stoic one. Keldeo remembers that look, it reminded him of his first battle with Kyruem.

Overconfident and cocky, thinking he could take on the Legendary Wuji Dragon. It led to his downfall, cost him the Swords of Justice getting frozen, and being chased by Boundary Pokémon to chase him across Unova. It was only when he told the truth and sacrificed himself, Keldeo earned Kyreum's respect.

Hopefully, he could teach the Wild Duck Pokémon some humility and what it means to be in sync.

Keldeo pawed the ground before firing an chakra-powered orb.

"Brutal Swing!" Farfetch'd swung his newly pink-covered leek and batted the Focus Blast away. "Night Slash!" The duck sprinted with a now darkened leek and slashed at the colt.

Keldeo was quick to parry it with his horn, a faint aura as his attack increased.

"Wait, what happened?" Ash said.

The musketeer's horn grew long and silver quickly, winning the lock up before explaining, 'Justified. My ability. When I'm hit with Dark-type moves, my attack increases."

That information nearly floored Ash. He never experienced this kind of ability before and Farfetch'd had two Dark-type moves. So, Ash called for a different move, "Fury Cutter!"

The Wild Duck Pokémon, however, ignored his trainer's command and went for a Brutal Swing. The attack had the same effect as Night Slash, so the Colt Pokémon gained another boost. As a result, the Stream Sword fired a gushing torrent of water that soaked the duck back.

Farfetch'd got up, steady and slow, and quacked with determination. "Farfetch'd, this time use Fury Cutter!"

The Wild Duck Pokémon mentally agreed for now and rushed with a red leak that swiped nonstop.

Keldeo parried with quick precision, blocking every strike the duck made. Farfetch'd began to become more ruthless and strike with strength instead of tactics.

'He's stubborn.' Keldeo thought. 'He wants to be stronger but doesn't want to listen.' The Colt Pokémon threw him off before his horn grew with a blue shine.

"Farfetch'd, use Focus Energy then Fury Cutter again!" The Wild Duck Pokémon didn't register what Ash said and rushed with another Night Slash.

"Farfetch'd, no!" Ash shouted.

The duck was about to strike when Keldeo's horn slashed the duck and effectively knocked him out.

'Sorry about that.' Keldeo apologized. 'I suppose our fight is over.'

Farfetch'd struggled to get up before quacking angrily.

"Farfetch'd… what's gotten into you?" Ash questioned as Farfetch'd didn't look his trainer in the eye.

'This reminds me of when I challenged Kyurem the first time.' Keldeo said. 'I felt confident in my ability and ended up losing the fight.'

'He wants to be a strong Leek Master. But he is caught up in strength than in sync with his 'Sensei'.'

Ash looked at the duck and remembered how this happened before. Multiple times. Charizard, Infernape, Lycanroc, Incineroar when he was a Litten and Torracat, Hawlucha, and especially Greninja to name a few. He was no stranger to this belief.

Ash took a deep breath and got to Farfetch'd level. "Farfetch'd, I know what you are going through. You want to be strong and you think you don't need a trainer to succeed. And I've seen some wild Pokémon achieve that, being strong and independent. However, when Pokémon are with trainers, being in sync is crucial. I've been through this many times."

"Car…" Lucario nodded as he remembered some of his battles when he was out of sync.

"But I can help you…" Ash declared. "If you are willing to accept me."

Farfetch'd thought about what Ash had said. Hearing the constant mentions of synchronization was true to him. He had always thought Ash was holding him back but his trainer…

Was willing to work with him to become better. It was his choice to be caught by him and he could have walked out whenever he wanted. Ash kept trying to help and he kept denying it.

It wasn't Ash's fault. It was his.

He thought about only battling worthy opponents. And he had been humbled twice today. One by trainer with the Blade Pokémon and a member of the Sword of Justice. Both battles ended with advice. And it was true.

He wanted it to change.

"Far…" The duck apologized.

"What did he say?" Ash asked the Legendaries.

'He says sorry for not recognizing or respecting you.'

'And he wishes to start anew and start working with you.'

Ash smiled at that. "I look forward to it." He flashed a thumbs up and the Wild Duck Pokémon had a confident look.

Chapter Text

Today for Ash, Goh, and Chloe wasn't anything eventful. It was more of a field trip to one of Professor Cerise's previous students, Laxton.

Laxton owned a farm that was seemingly overrun by Digletts and Dugtrios. Goh managed to capture Diglett and Dugtrio in the process of the chaos. More chaos ensued when Team Rocket was blasting music causing the moles to flee and uproot the farm again. A battle later and Laxton discovered that moles were helping the farm rather than destroying it. Goh decided that his newly caught Dugtrio would be best on the farm with Laxton to keep the Digletts in line.

After their trip to the farm, Ash went back to Oak's lab this time. He was interested to see how training was coming along with everyone, even his three new members.

Keldeo was fencing with Oshawott, the otter being completely outshined by the colt's horn. The Stream Sword had to admit that the Sea Otter Pokémon was in much need of work if he was to use his scalchop in evolution. Farfetch'd was also sparing, learning how to use his leek more efficiently and better swordsmanship.

Dracovish had been researched by Oak, the professor jotting down notes to understand how such a Pokémon could have come to be. Oak managed to develop a Pokédex entry that Ash managed to read and discover more about the Fossil Pokémon. Turns out that Dracovish has the ability Strong Jaw and knows Water Gun, Bite, Ancient Power, and Brutal Swing.

After being researched by Oak, Dravocish took to Glalie with pride. Due to not having limbs -or arms in Dracovish's case- the two trained with each other to the best of their ability. Both the floating head and Frankenstein fossil developed chilling energy fangs, demonstrating Ice Fang.

Kubfu threw air punches that Scraggy, Hawlucha, Pignite, Infernape, Heracross, Lucario, and Primeape copied. The Wushu Pokémon took the liberty in some training exercises with the fellow Fighting-types.

Ash was glad that his Pokémon were getting along with one another. With today, not being too eventful, he wondered what could possibly happen.

That's when a ring appeared out of nowhere and dropped two Pokémon. One landed with a massive thump on the ground while the other didn't cause much of an impact. The thump made a massive dust cloud that made Ash shield his eyes before it ended. Imagine his surprise at the two Pokémon.

"Volcanion?! Magearna?!" Ash exclaimed. He mentally face palmed. 'I just had to jinx it.'

The two Mythical Pokémon in their glory had dropped from what appeared to be a Hoopa ring.

'Hello again, Ash or should I say, Chosen One?' Volcanion greeted as Magearna approached and produced a flower from her arm.

"Just Ash is fine," Ash replied.

"Alright then." The Steam Pokémon nodded before kneeling.

"Uh, Volcanion? Why are you kneeling?" Ash asked as Magearna returned to her 'protector's' side.

"Consider it my apology." The Fire/Water type said before getting back up. "Before we met, I thought all humans were awful. But you changed my views on that."

"Well, I do have that effect on Pokémon, but there is no need to kneel. I'm just an average trainer." the Chosen One sheepishly replied. "Though I have been told I'm selfless."

Volcanion agreed, "Yes. And you are the Chosen One nonetheless. And I am sorry for not recognizing you when we first met.'

Ash waved it off, "It's alright. I tend to forget about the role I've had myself. Though with all you Legendaries and Mythicals coming around, it has reminded me of how big a role I played on Shamouti Island."

"And in our lives.' Volcanion added.

"Yep, that too." Ash said before putting his hands on his hips. "I suppose both of you are here to deliver your gifts?"

'That is correct.' Volcanion stated. 'Hoopa, if you please.'

The hoop wielding jester appeared, 'Hi, Ashkan!'

"Hello, Hoopa."

The djinn summoned another portal through his rings, this one closer to the ground. Volcanion peered into it -probably to make sure it was the correct location or something- before taking his head out.

'They are on their way.'

"Who's on the-" Ash stopped mid-sentence to see a massive herd of Pokémon pile out of the portal. "Woah!"

He was able to identify everyone one of them. Among the herd was: an Altaria, an Amaura, a Buneary, a Claydol, a Chesnaught, a Drilbur, an Espurr, a Gulpin, a Helioptile, a Hippowdon, a Litleo, a Litwick, a Marill, a Minccino, a Sentret, a Stunky, a Watchog, a Zigzagoon, a Pinsir, a Camerupt, a Banette, a Houndoom, a Swampert, a Beedrill, a Salamence, a Sharpedo, an Alakazam, a Steelix, an Aggron, and a Manectric.

Ash's current Pokémon, having heard the conversation, gathered around the new arrivals, all curious to why they were here.

'These Pokémon are from the Nebel Plateau,' Volcanion explained. 'And my gift to you.'

"All of them for me?!" Ash exclaimed. He was surprised by the offer the Steam Pokémon was giving. "I-I-I can't do this Volcanion."

'Why not?' The Steamer replied.

"It's just… well… Why me?"

'You have shown these Pokémon that they are kind humans in the world during our little… encounter, you could say.'

Ash wouldn't deny that. He's shown tons of times that not all humans are the same. But then another question occurred. "Wait? I remember only some of them from the plateau. But where did they come from?" Ash directed his attention to the Pinsir, Camerupt, Banette, Houndoom, Swampert, Beedrill, Salamence, Sharpedo, Alakazam, Steelix, Aggron, and Manectric.

Volcanion took a softer tone before explaining, 'They were the former Pokémon affected by the Mega Wave. After the battle and when the fortress went down, they fled and ended up hiding at Nebel Plateau. The current residents weren't exactly thrilled but the controlled Pokémon wanted to atone for their actions. During the past two years, everyone was able to forgive them.'

Ash remembered the Mega Wave battle and it was a painful reminder. Those Pokémon were forced to Mega Evolve through pain rather than bonds. All of the former Mega Evolved controlled Pokémon anxiously approached the Chosen One, each with uncomfortable looks on their faces.

Ash just smiled and scratched under Houndoom and Manectric's muzzles, "Don't worry. I don't blame you for your actions. Your trainers were bad people and forced Mega Evolution upon you, through energy not bonds."

Both canines barked happily at the apology. Steelix came around and coiled happily, Beedrill buzzed with joy, Aggron and Salamence gave a soft roar, Banette snuggled up, Alakazam gave a content nod, Pinsir and Swampert gave a combined hug, Camerupt let out a happy stream of fire from his humps, and Sharpedo snapped his jaws jovially.

'Which reminds me,' Volcanion said before turning to Magearna, 'Your gift?'

The Artificial Pokémon nodded before having Hoopa appear again. The trickster summoned another hoop but it was smaller than the one from before. Out came 30 unique looking Pokéballs that appeared to be all red.

"What kind of Pokéballs are these?" Ash asked as he picked one up.

The Artificial Pokémon made a noise that the Steam Pokémon translated. 'Magearna calls them Cherish Balls. She made a total of thirty for you.'

"How did she make them?" Ash didn't expect a Pokémon to know how to make Pokéballs but it made sense since Magearna was engineered.

'She received help from Kimia and Raleigh. They manufactured them to in their castle.' Volcanion added.

Ash nodded before addressing the Nebel Plateau residents. "Alright, everyone. I just want to make sure. You really want to join my team?"

All the wild Pokémon nodded and gave their respective cries with eagerness. Ash gleefully smiled and said, "Well, then welcome to the family!" Each Nebel Plateau Pokémon lined up and were captured by a Cherish Ball. Once the final Pokémon had been caught, both mechanical Mythical Pokémon were satisfied.

The Litleo and Amaura nuzzled up to Ash, who petted them both. The Minccino and Espurr climbed onto the Chosen One's shoulders, snuggling up to their new trainer.

'It seems they like you already.' Volcanion chuckled, seeing the former wild Pokémon already bond with their trainer. Magearna clicked something that made Volcanion give a deep laugh.

The Steamer took another look at all the former residents. He and Magearna would miss them but this is what they wanted. And personally, Volcanion knew they were in great hands with Ash, even if he wasn't the Chosen One. He had seen his compassion firsthand and his willing nature, far different from any human he had ever met. 'I guess it's time for us to get going.'

Ash heard this and gave a nod. "Thank you both for your gifts."

'It was our pleasure.' Volcanion said in a gentle tone and Megearna clicked with joy. Hoopa reappeared before summoning another portal for the two mechanical mythicals to leave.

"Take care, you two!" Ash waved goodbye.

'You as well, Ash.' Volcanion replied and the two left.

Ash bore a content smile on his face with the new additions. He had personally wanted a few of them himself but somehow never felt compelled to catch them. These rewards, despite how surprising they are, were more than he could ask.

After receiving the rewards, Ash's current Pokémon mingled with the Nebel Plateau former residents.

Altaria flew around with Swellow and chirpped between themselves. The Swallow Pokémon and Humming Pokémon accidentally touched wings and blushed at the contact before pulling apart. Talonflame and Noctowl snickered as the Hoenn birds got close to one another. Salamence was taken aback when Dragonite gave a hug. Unexpectedly, the Hoenn Dragon Pokémon's face reddened at the contact, something Noivern and Latias noticed.

Amaura saw Totodile dancing happily and joined in. She was shy at first but mustered up the courage to find her own rhythm with the crocodile. Squirtle eyed the two and smirked once he saw the blushes on their faces.

Buneary looked in awe of Infernape. She wanted to be like him when she evolved. The simian looked slightly embarrassed as the Rabbit Pokémon snuggled closer to him. Chesnaught was sized up by Incineroar. The Heel Pokémon flexed before the Spiny Armor Pokémon joined, showing their muscles and shared a fist bump.

Drilbur shined his claws, attempting to be menacing but Krookodile cracked a smirk before showing his teeth. The Intimidation Pokémon knew he would be a viable teacher for the Mole Pokémon. Hippowdon and Torterra walked with each other, both Sinnoh Ground-types enjoying each other's company. Claydol found itself hovering curiously around Boldore. The Ore Pokémon felt a bit flattered with the Clay Doll Pokémon around him.

Gulpin squirmed since he was the unfortunate victim of Muk's hug, but the Stomach Pokémon eventually relaxed his guard and embraced it. Stunky snickered before getting caught in the grasp too but didn't mind.

Helioptile was frantic, making Sceptile run nonstop to catch the Generator Pokémon. Eventually the Forest Pokémon captured him, though the green lizard was out of breath. Zigzagoon was running circles around Stampede and the herd. The Tauros watched their feet before Bayleef managed to catch the Tiny Raccoon Pokémon to prevent a potential stampede.

Litleo couldn't help but nuzzle up to Quilava. The Volcano Pokémon was red from the interaction and unintentionally ignited head flame as the Lion Cub Pokémon blushed herself. Marill was in awe of Buizel, the Sea Weasel Pokémon glanced at her and failed to deny the feelings of the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. With a look of embarrassment, the orange weasel also found the mouse attractive.

Litwick saw Gengar's display of Will-O-Wisp before trying it herself. The Candle Pokémon only managed to create three flames before the Shadow Pokémon clapped at her success. This made the phantom eager to help with training the spiritual candle. Banette was smitten by Haunter once the two phantoms met. The Gas Pokémon didn't understand the Marionette Pokémon advances until possessed puppet snuggled up making the prankster blushed.

Espurr was indifferent as Oshawott pulled out flowers to impress him. The Restraint Pokémon explained his gender, which made the Sea Otter Pokémon turn white and fall over comedically. Minccino and Snivy eyed each other, curious about their intentions. After what felt like an hour, they shared a handshake to acknowledge one another. The Grass Snake Pokémon figured the Chinchilla Pokémon wouldn't be cunning as a certain flying squirrel.

Sentret jumped up and down on Snorlax's belly, finding it fun. The Sleeping Pokémon didn't care much for the action as his stomach was often jumped on by the smaller Pokémon. Watchog raised an eyebrow at Scraggy's Leer. The Lookout Pokémon held a hand in front of him to stop the Shedding Pokémon's Headbutt. After minutes of struggling, the reptile eventually tired out and growled while the meerkat rolled his eyes.

Pinsir was timid but Leavanny managed to get along with the brown beetle. Beedrill and Heracross buzzed about with each other with the bee developed a small crush on the horned beetle. Bulbasaur saw this and snickered to himself.

Camerupt unleashed a Lava Plume while Torkoal watched in awe. The tortoise had been wanting to have a fight again and the camel had offered to teach him some new moves if he was called in to battle. Houndoom became slightly intimidated by Charizard's appearance. The dragon eyed the canine and understood why. This left the Flame Pokémon to show off a Flamethrower which the Dark Pokémon was amazed by, encouraging the canine to join in with a Fire Blast.

Swampert took a dip in the lake and swam with content. Goodra happily splashed with the salamander before Palpitoad joined in. The Mud Fish Pokémon never felt more relaxed and enjoyed the lake. Sharpedo hit the lake and Corphish dove in right after. Both Hoenn Water types began to race each other, the shark having a clear lead.

Steelix tilted his head at the sight of Melmetal. Having never seen such a Pokémon, the Iron Snake Pokémon began a deep conversation between him and the Hex Nut Pokémon. Aggron was introduced to Tyranitar and Donphan. The saurian and pachyderm welcomed the new addition with open arms and the Iron Armor Pokémon was satisfied with the two Johtonian Armor Pokémon.

Alakazam congregated with Greninja, Mimey, and Lucario. The Psi Pokémon was impressed with their abilities and wanted to test them beforehand. Manectric and Pikachu struck up their own conversation, the latter being very happy with the inclusion of another Electric-type.

After his Pokémon got officially acquainted with each other, Ash turned in for the night.

The day after visiting Laxton's farm -and the two mythical Pokémon gifts for Ash- the Chosen One and Goh headed back to Kalos. Their location, this time, was Kiloude City.

Ash had been recently challenged by another trainer and they wanted to battle in Kalos. The Chosen One didn't mind, looking for an opportunity to get some battling in and give his new non-Legendary members a chance.

Goh, on the other hand, had some more captures. On the way here, he caught a Skrelp, a Roselia, an Espurr, an Inkay, a Helioptile, and a Mareep.

"So do you know where your opponent is?" Goh asked with Cinderace at his side and Sobble in the backpack.

Ash shrugged, looking at his Rotom Phone. "I'm not entirely sure. All they said where to meet and not much else."

"Well, if it's the Kalos Savior!" A feminine voice said.

Both trainers looked to see a lass with blonde hair. In her right ear, she had a Keystone. She had a grin.

"Hey, I battled you in the Kalos League!" Ash recognized.

"Yep!" She said, "It's Astrid in case you forgot."

"Right!" Ash vaguely remembered. He also briefly remembers challenging her before his adventure with Diancie.

"Seems you got my challenge." The lass said.

"Oh, that was you?" Ash replied which the lass nodded.

"Yep! Saw you in the ranks and I wanted a rematch! Are you in?"

Ash eagerly accepted. "You bet!"

"Wait, Kalos Savior?" Goh chimes in.

Ash turned away, slightly embarrassed by the title while Astrid explained.

"Well, Ash here, the Gym Leaders, Diantha, Steven, and a few others saved the entire Kalos region from Team Flare and their massive Zygarde statue after the Kalos League two years ago. He and that special Greninja are truly a force to be reckoned with."

"YOU DID ALL THAT!?" Goh exclaimed.

Ash and Pikachu looked away, whistling to themselves while Lucario just sweat dropped. The jackal had been told of the Kalos adventure from Greninja.

"Why did you never tell me?!" Goh asked, intrigued by the story.

"Well, I guess it was a big deal but you wouldn't believe me."

"Ash, we both have seen Zacian, Zamazenta, and Eternatus!" The capturer emphasized.

Ash put a finger to his chin. "I suppose you got me there."

"Anyways, how about that battle?" Astrid reminded.

"You're on!" Ash said with determination.

They made their way to a battlefield and a Rotom Drone appeared.

"This is an official World Coronation Series match between Ash and Astrid. It will be a six-on-six match!"

Astrid enlarged her first Pokéball, "Aromatisse!" The Fragrance Pokémon appeared with a smirk on her face. "Tisse~"

Ash selected his choice, "Beedrill!" The Poison Bee Pokémon hovered then buzzed onto the field. "BZZZ!"

"Battle begin-roto!"

"Aromatisse, start with Disarming Voice!" The pink feathered Pokémon opened her mouth and fired heart-shaped soundwaves.

"Beedrill, use Pin Missile!" The pollinator pointed her stingers forward and fired off energy needles. Both moves bypassed each other and struck.

"Beedrill, Agility to Twineddle!" The Poison Bee Pokémon vanished with her increased speed before thrusting her stingers forward.

"Calm Mind then Moonblast!" The Fragrance Pokémon pictured a soothing drop of water before placing her hands together and fired a compressed ball of lunar energy. Beedrill swerved around the blast and stung Aromatisse, making the pink creature his in pain.

"Psychic!" Aromatisse's eyes glowed blue, capturing Beedrill in a blue outline. "Now, Thunderbolt!" The Fragrance Pokémon developed a yellow bolt of lightning and zapped the Poison Bee Pokémon into submission.

"Beedrill!" Ash yelled. The pollinator flew to the ground, looking charred but managed to stand albeit shakily.

"Alright, Aromatisse! Gyro Ball!" Astrid cheered and the pink Pokémon spun around, her leg turned to a silvery glow and spun towards the bee.

"Can you fly?" Ash asked. The bee flapped her wings somewhat and managed to get air, barely avoiding the spinning pink Pokémon.

"Try a Poison Jab!" The pollinator descended with a stinger dipped in a venomous shade of purple, stabbing the pure Fairy-type. The Fragrance Pokémon wailed in pain from the super effective attack and began to feel weak herself.

"Now, Aerial Ace!" Beedrill flew in with white streaks surrounding herself and nailed Aromatisse. "Finish with Sludge Bomb!" The pollinator cupped her needles and hurled a poisonous glob, finishing the Fragrance Pokémon.

"Aromatisse is unable to battle, Beedrill is the winner-roto!"

"Amazing work, Beedrill!" Ash cheered. The Poison Bee Pokémon buzzed at the praise.

"You were great out there, Aromatisse." Astrid returned her first choice and selected her second, "Trevenant!" The possessed tree appeared and wailed, "Treev!"

Ash decided to return Beedrill for now, "Return!" He swiftly chose his next Pokémon. "Watchog, I choose you!" The meerkat appeared and gave a salute. "Watch!"

"Trevenant, Forest Curse!" The ent concentrated before his hands took a violet glow. Pressing them into the floor, several purple vines sprouted around the meerkat before turning him to a Grass-type.

Ash was unfazed before giving his next move, "Crunch!" The Lookout Pokémon got on all fours and ran with a glowing incisor.

"Trevenant, Wood Hammer!" The Elder Tree Pokémon's claw gained a green outline resembling a log before swinging it. The meerkat managed to skillfully dodge it and Crunched the arm.

"Use Assurance while you're close!" Watchog compiled, gaining a dark hue around his body and slammed his fist into the ent.

"Horn Leech!" The ent's horned branches turned green and nailed the meerkat, siphoning health away before throwing Watchog away.

"Hidden Power!" Watchog created several green orbs and threw them in quick succession.

"Shadow Claw!" Trevenant's claws crew with a shadowy shade and slashed the orbs.

"Shadow Ball!" The Lookout Pokémon fired an orb of spectral energy that struck the Elder Tree Pokémon.

"Seed Bomb!" Shaking off the pain, the ent fired off several round explosive seeds from his claws and powdered the meerkat. "Wrap this up with Wood Hammer!" The tree spirit stormed across the field and slammed a green energy log into the Unovan rodent. Knocked away, Watchog fell and had swirlies in his eyes. Trevenant winced as recoil did its part.

"Watchog is unable to battle! Trevenant is the winner-roto!"

"Thanks for your help out there, Watchog." Ash praised. He selected his third choice, "Chesnaught, I choose you!" The spiky Kalos Grass starter appeared and flexed. "Ches!"

"Where did he get that Pokémon…" Astrid muttered before taking action. "Shadow Claw!"

The ent crept across the field with a shadowy outline around his claws. Primed to strike, he swiped.

"Spiky Shield!" The Spiny Armor Pokémon immediately placed his fist together and a green spiny shield appeared just as Trevenant swiped. The Elder Tree Pokémon wailed in pain when Chesnaught retracted.

"Pin Missile!" The shell of the Kalos starter glowed and fired several energy-like missiles that blew up against the tree spirit. The ent stumbled back for a bit before falling down.

"Treve…"

"Trevenant is unable to battle, Chesnaught is the winner-roto!"

"Thanks for your help, Trevenant." Astrid thanked and chose her third choice, "Pyroar!" Her male Pyroar appeared and let out a roar. "Pyroar!"

Ash decided to return Chesnaught, "Come back, Chesnaught." He swiftly made his next decision. "Houndoom, I choose you!" The black canine barked eagerly, "Hound!"

The lion growled lightly, feeling a boost in attack due to his Rivalry ability. Astrid had a thought before acting on it, "Flamethrower!"

The Royal Pokémon spewed hot flames from his mouth and hit Houndoom dead on. Once the flames ended, the Dark Pokémon revealed he was unscathed. Ash had a smile on his face, having scanned his new Pokémon the other day. So, he knew why Astrid did that.

"So he has Flash Fire." Astrid muttered. While it would be a problem, she had other options. Especially with Rivalry. "Hyper Voice!"

The lion roared, sending soundwaves across the field and hitting the canine.

"Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" The black canine cringed through the soundwaves before managing dark energy to manifest in his muzzle. Once ready, the Dark Pokémon fired a burst of dark-purple double-helix spirals towards the Royal Pokémon. The blast hit the lion dead on.

"Follow up with Feint Attack!" Houndoom took off with blinding speed and rammed Pyroar with his horns.

"Crunch then another Hyper Voice!" Pyroar Crunched down on the neck of Houndoom and threw him away. Taking a deep breath, the Royal Pokémon let loose more soundwaves that struck the Dark Pokémon dead on.

"Houndoom!" Ash yelled. The canine came crashing down, kicking up dust before it cleared. The Dark Pokémon was scuffed up and weakly glared at the Pyroar. The canine managed to stand but was clearly on his last legs.

Ash decided to give it his all with the Dark/Fire-type. "Sludge Bomb!"

"Giga Impact!" Astrid ordered. Pyroar roared and sprinted with energy spiraling around him. Houndoom spat out globs of poison, splattering against the incoming lion. The Royal Pokémon collided head-on with the Dark Pokémon. Houndoom officially landed with a thud and swirly eyes.

"Houndoom is unable to battle! Pyroar is the winner-roto!"

"Thanks for your help out there, Houndoom." Ash thanked his Pokémon. The Chosen One eyed Pyroar who now had a purple tint on his nose.

Astrid noticed purple bubbles popping from the lion and made a technical retreat. "Pyroar, return for now." Next, she sent out her fourth choice, "Furfrou!" The Poodle Pokémon came out with a Diamond Trim. "Fur!"

"Chesnaught, come back out!" Ash called. The Spiny Armor Pokémon re-appeared and pounded his fist together.

"Furfrou, Secret Power!" The trimmed poodle glowed purple and kicked up a spurt of mud. The armored mammal held his arm up, preventing the mud from getting in his eyes.

"Needle Arm!" The Spiny Armor Pokémon charged in with a green glowing arm. The spikes on his arm extended as he punched the Poodle Pokémon away.

"Bulk Up then Hammer Arm!" The Kalos Grass starter flexed, a red aura surrounding him. Afterwards, he prepared to slam his fist onto the Kalosian canine.

"Protect!" Furfrou quickly summoned a teal force field that prevented Hammer Arm from hitting. "Now Zen Headbutt!" The dog rushed with blue psychic energy around him, nailing the spiny mammal in the chest. Dealing its super effective damage, Chesnaught let out a grunt from the attack. Furfrou rebounded right afterwards and barked.

"Chesnaught, are you okay?" Ash asked in concern. The Spiny Armor Pokémon managed to give a thumbs up, making his new trainer relax before issuing his next move. "Fire Pin Missile!" Chesnaught's shell fired multiple green energy like needles, honing in on the trimmed poodle.

"Double Team to dodge!" Furfrou duplicated himself into many clones, each getting struck before disappearing. "Hidden Power then Sucker Punch!" The poodle threw several green orbs, exploding against the spiny mammal. Furfrou was prepared to nail Chesnaught in the face.

"Spiky Shield!" However, the Poodle Pokémon was caught off-guard when the Spiny Armor Pokémon crafted a spiky shield. Hitting the spikes, Furfrou yipped in pain.

"Hammer Arm again!" Chesnaught brought his glowing arms together and landed an uppercut against Furfrou, sending the latter across the field. While his Fur Coat ability softened the blow, it was still super effective. And this blow was enough to knock Furfrou out.

"Furfrou is unable to battle! Chesnaught is the winner-roto!"

"Thanks for your help, Furfrou." Astrid thanked before sending Pyroar back out. The Royal Pokémon let out a roar, his Rivalry ability giving him another boost.

"Flamethrower!" The lion spewed a torrent of fire that Chesnaught braced for. The fire provided more than effective since once it ended the spiny mammal shook his arms in pain from the heat. After the attack, Pyroar oozed from poison.

Chesnaught felt the heat on his arms and started flailing them to cool them down. Something that Astrid capitalized on. "Giga Impact!"

The Royal Pokémon charged forward with energy spiraling around him. He collided with the Spiny Armor Pokémon and knocked him out.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle. Pyroar is the winner-roto!"

Ash returned Chesnaught with a few kind words before selecting his fifth. "Claydol, I choose you!" The Clay Doll Pokémon appeared. "Clay…"

"Earth Power!" Ash took immediate action. The black clay figurine glowed with a brown aura, sending yellow cracks towards the lion, disorienting him since he had to recharge. "Now, Psybeam!" Thrusting its arm orbs forward, it fired multicolored zig-zag beams at the lion.

Pyroar managed to stand but dealing with poison and getting hit with Ground-type moves, he could barely stand.

"Wrap this up! Stone Edge!" Claydol spun around before slamming into the ground. Stone spires jutted from below and sent Pyroar back. The Fire/Normal-type fell and had swirly eyes.

"Pyroar is unable to battle. Claydol is the winner-roto!"

Astrid returned her lion before throwing out her fifth choice. "Meowstic!" The white feline appeared with grace and bowed, "Stic~."

"Claydol, use Shadow Ball!" The clay figurine generated a shadowy orb and launched it.

"Barrier!" The Constraint Pokémon threw a pink barrier. The Shadow Ball bounced off the shield, rendering it ineffective. "Now Disarming Voice!" Meowstic let loose heart-shaped beams, hitting Claydol.

"Claydol, Future Sight then Sand Tomb!" The Clay Doll Pokémon fired several glassy orbs into wormholes before glowing brown, causing sand to crawl up onto the Constraint Pokémon.

"Energy Ball!" The white cat summoned a green orb and threw it just when the sand got to her waist. The photosynthetic projectile hit its mark but the black clay figurine holds on.

"Ancient Power!" The figurine summoned several fossils and threw them.

"Dark Pulse!" The white cat clapped her hands together and unleashed dark purple double-helix spirals. The Dark-type move destroyed the fossils before nailing Claydol, causing it to grunt. Meowstic suffered from the Sand Tomb.

"Another move like that and Claydol might be down." Ash muttered. "Earth Power then Shadow Ball!"

Claydol emitted a brown aura and yellow cracks made their way to Meowstic, striking her before a spectral orb was launched.

"Barrier once more then Energy Ball!" The Constraint Pokémon erected another pink barrier, causing the attack to bounce off again then threw a green sphere.

"Psybeam!" The Clay Doll Pokémon pointed one of its arm orbs forward and fired a multicolored zig-zag beam that destroyed the photosynthetic sphere.

"Dark Pulse now!" Through the explosion, a dark purple double-helix beam hit the black clay figurine and resulted in it going down.

"Claydol is unable to battle! Meowstic is the winner-roto!"

"You were amazing out there, Claydol." Ash praised. "Beedrill, come back out!"

The Poison Bee Pokémon buzzed about, ready to give it her all. The white cat suffered from the Sand Tomb once more.

"Pin Missile!"

"Barrier!"

The pollinator's needles and stinger fired off lime-green needle-like projectiles, only for them to hit the shield again.

"Twineedle!" Beedrill tucked herself together and rushed in stinger first with a purple aura. With blinding speed, she managed to strike Meowstic.

"Disarming Voice!" The white cat unleashed heart shaped beams from her mouth, hitting the pollinator before suffering from Sand Tomb.

Astrid took notice and remembered how Sand Tomb only lasts for a few turns. She planned to take down Ash's Beedrill and free Meowstic at the same time.

Just before she got to say her next move, wormholes opened and unleashed glassy orbs, hitting the Psychic-type feline.

"While she's disoriented, use Assurance!" Beedrill hovered in close with a dark aura surrounding her stinger and struck Meowstic. "Now, Fell Stinger!" The Poison Bee Pokémon's stingers turned a vivid purple and stung the Constraint Pokémon, resulting in the cat's knockout.

"Meowstic is unable to battle, Beedrill is the winner-roto!"

"Thanks Meowstic, you gave it your all," Astrid praised before choosing her final choice, "Absol!" The Disaster Pokémon appeared with her Absolite collar. "Abo."

Ash figured that would be her last and although Beedrill had the type advantage, Absol was raring to go. "Beedrill, give it all you got!"

"BZZ!" The pollinator responded. In all her time serving Levi and Cherie, she never got the thrill of battling. "Pin Missile!" The bee fired multiple lime green needles.

"Dodge then use Psycho Cut!" With grace, the disaster seeker avoided each missile before her horn lit up. With a swing, a purple crescent blade that struck Beedrill in the abdomen.

"Flamethrower!" Absol let out a wave of flames, defeating Beedrill.

"Beedrill is unable to battle, Absol is the winner-roto!"

"You battled great today, Beedrill. Take a long rest." Ash told her fallen pollinator. And with that, he sent out his final choice, "Camerupt, I choose you!"

"Erupt!" The Eruption Pokémon slammed onto the field and gave a gleeful stream of lava.

"Let's end this, Absol!" Astrid declared. She placed her fingers to her Keystone earring, causing streams of energy to link with the Absolite. The Disaster Pokémon roared as she Mega Evolved into Mega Absol.

Ash couldn't help but wince as he knew that Mega Evolution would be a problem for him. He had been wondering where he could get a Keystone, let alone a Mega Stone for some of his Pokémon.

Camerupt looked a bit put off before shaking his head and remembering he wanted to make his new trainer proud. If that was what Mega Evolution looked like through bonds, he and the others would love to try it.

"Water Pulse!" Astrid commanded. The winged mammal hurled an orb of compressed water that hit the camel dead-on. Grunting as the explosion doused him, the Eruption Pokémon roared as the Water Pulse didn't do too much.

"Wait. How come that didn't do much damage?" Goh asked as Cinderace looked surprised.

"Solid Rock." Ash explained, "It lessens super effective moves. It hurts but not as much. Camerupt, Mud Bomb!"

The camel spewed several mud blobs at the disaster seeker. Absol hissed once the mud struck her. "Go for Iron Head!" Camerupt stormed across the field with a metallic aura surrounding him. He smashed into the winged Disaster Pokémon.

"Absol, Swords Dance to Shadow Claw!" The seeker did the attack ritual before her horn gained a shadowy outline. Running across the battlefield, Absol slashed Camerupt across the flank. The camel stumbled before snorting at his opponent, who pounced back to her side.

"Rock Polish to Lava Plume!" Camerupt bellowed, glowing with a silver aura, then unleashed an explosion-like wave that caught Absol.

"Now use Fire Blast!" From the smoke, a kanji-shaped fire shot out and blasted the white mammal. Camerupt had a brief smug look on his face.

"Psycho Cut then Water Pulse!" While the latter move wasn't as effective, it still had its perks. Absol threw a purple crescent blade from her horn, hitting the Eruption Pokémon. The camel shook it off and was doused with a orb of compressed water.

"Time to finish this!" Astrid declared. "Absol, Giga Impact!"

The Disaster Pokémon exploded with white energy and rushed towards the camel, intent on finishing the match.

"Camerupt, use Earthquake!" The Fire/Ground type reared up and used his full force to send a powerful tremor that stopped the Dark-type in her tracks and messed up her concentration. "Now, let's end this ourselves! Camerupt, Hyper Beam!"

The camel charged up a sphere of energy before unleashing a magenta colored beam. It tore across the field and hit Absol, a massive explosion occurring. Once it cleared, Absol reverted back to her original form.

"Absol is unable to battle! Camerupt is the winner-roto! Therefore, Ash is the victor!" The Rotom Drone beeped and flew off.

Ash ran onto the field and hugged Camerupt. "You were amazing, Camerupt!" The Eruption Pokémon had a proud look on his face, glad that his new trainer gave him praise.

Astrid returned her fallen ace before thanking her, "Thanks for your help out there. We may not have won this fight but you were still amazing." The lass walked over to the Alolan Champion and shook hands for good sportsmanship.

"Gotta say, Ash. You've impressed me with your team today." Astrid complimented.

"Thanks. You weren't bad yourself." Ash said back.

"Well, I hope we get the chance to battle again! See you around!" Astrid said and left.

Ash returned Camerupt before Goh was directly in his face. "Goh! What are you doing?!"

The capturer leaned in far too close. "Where did you get those Pokémon?" He asked. His tone was questioning.

"I've had them." Ash lied.

"Really? Because last time I saw your Unova team, you didn't catch a Watchog." Goh recalled.

Ash quickly retorted, "I caught him during my Kalos journey."

Goh felt like there wasn't something Ash wasn't telling him and Ash just sighed, "Look. If you are going to just drill me with questions, can we at least head to Cerise's?"

The capturer gave a reluctant nod, but he vowed to get to the bottom of whatever Ash was hiding.

Chapter Text

Heavy rains poured over the Johto region, affecting the natural aquatic life. The rivers and lakes became dirty, murky brown due to a man made accident and the runoff leading it. Aquatic Pokémon alike found it inhospitable and were going to migrate to a different body of water soon.

Lucky for them, the Beast of Rivers was on her way.

Suicune ran through the forest as agile and fast as she could. The blue Legendary canine came across a dirty river before splashing into it. Instantly, her purification began, spreading her cleansing down the stream and into the lake. The brown water returned to its natural beauty.

The Aurora Pokémon ran towards the lake and came to a stop to see that the aquatic life had returned.

'All done,' she said, 'Now to get back t-'

"Sludge Bomb!"

Suicune instantly glowed with a multicolored aura, redirecting the poisonous projectiles with Mirror Coat back at the assailant. The blue beast turned and growled at the intruder. Or rather intruders.

She saw several Pokémon hunters with Garbodor, Muk, Trubbish, Weezing, and Houndoom.

'Hunters. I should have guessed.' Suicune growled. Of course, only Pokémon hunters would take a chance like this.

"Lucky us, boys." A buff one said, "The Legendary Suicune right here and now. Knew that it couldn't resist a dirty body of water." The rest of the crew all snickered to themselves.

The beast bared her teeth at the cheap trick. Using her natural purification ability to lure herself out here. It made her sick.

"Now, you can come quietly or to this the old fashioned way," the boss offered with his Houndoom grinning maniacally.

Suicune refused to submit, evident as her crystal created a thick white cloud to obscure their visions. Her use of Mist allowed her to stealthily escape for a brief moment until one of the lanky ones caught her.

"There it is! Weezing, Toxic!" The conjoined purple heads spat two streams of poison but were stopped by a gushing torrent of water. Hydro Pump immediately pushed against it and hit the Poison Gas Pokémon.

Suicune made an attempt to move but Garbodor had ensnared her with his appendages. The Beast of Rivers whipped her ribbons, sending several Air Slash blades that made the Trash Heap Pokémon release her.

The blue legendary was quick on her feet, avoiding Trubbish and Muk and retaliating with Extrasensory. Suspending them in the air, the two Poison-types were slammed back into the ground as the Water-type faced the final opponent.

The lead hunter made his choice, "Thunder Fang!" The Dark Pokémon's fangs sparked as the black canine sprinted towards the Aurora Pokémon. Suicune glowed blue before creating a whirlpool and sent it towards her adversary. The whirlpool caught Houndoom, who began to struggle against the current and was thrown back at his master.

Suicune looked around to make sure that the wild Pokémon were safe and much to her relief, they were. The Beast of Rivers was about to run along again until she was hit with a Toxic, this time from the Muk. She received more pain when a Venoshock was discharged into her already poisoned body. The Aurora Pokémon felt her legs buckle and laid on her side as the hunters began to approach.

With the net in hand, the hunters threw onto the legendary before it was telekinetically caught and thrown back.

"We won't be having that today!"

Suicune's eyes widened as she knew the voice. 'Oh great, the nut job is here.'

A man dressed in a purple suit with a white cape descended from above with his Alakazam at his side. "You will leave Suicune alone!"

"Oh yeah?" one of the hunters said, "And who's gonna stop us?"

"That would be me: Eusine! Suicune's one and only partner!" The well dressed man introduced and claimed.

The Beast of Rivers rolled her eyes. 'As if. You don't know when to shut up. You make the same declaration everytime. *Sigh* Sometimes, I wish I could move to Sinnoh or Galar.' Deciding to buy her time, Suicune weakly pushed herself towards the lake.

The hunters shared an amused look before laughing heartily at the declaration. "Oh, that's rich! You think Suicune is yours?"

"It will be once I defeat you!" Eusine said before taking action. "Alakazam! Use Psyshock!"

The Psi Pokémon fired several psychic orbs that struck the Poison-types, causing the hunters to be shocked. Except the leader and his Houndoom.

"Houndoom! Crunch the Alakazam!" The canine prepared to lunge again to Crunch the intelligent creature.

"Grass Knot to Focus Blast!" The esper's eyes glowed green, tripping the approaching Dark-type. Concentrating, Alakazam fired a yellow energy sphere that hit Houndoom in the muzzle.

"Haha!" Eusine rubbed his nose triumphantly, "You are no match for Suicune's future trainer! My strength and willpower make me the only candidate!" The well dressed man turned his attention to the beast he had chased for so long…

Only to find Suicune had left.

"Where did it go?!" Eusine cried.

"Nice job, nimrod!" The lead hunter growled. "You just let our payload get away!"

"You were harming it!" Eusine accused.

"It won't get far," the lanky one said in a confident tone. "It's been poisoned, which will slowly drain its health away, allowing us to find it."

"Fat chance!" Eusine retorted and Alakazam Teleported them away to find Suicune.

"He won't find it," a hunter said as they all had greed in their eyes. The Beast of Rivers was as good as theirs.

Having pulled herself into the lake, Suicune resurfaced while oozing with poison. The legendary pulled herself out of the water and managed to hide herself the best she could.

'Great. So I'm poisoned, hunters are after me, and the 'fan' is here too.' She groaned. This wasn't how she thought her day was going to go. All she planned was to purify the bodies of water and meet the Chosen One to bestow his reward. Entei and Raikou were still deciding but she figured out a gift before her brothers did.

"Are you sure about what he said?" A voice asked.

"Professor Cerise said that with all the dirty water recently occurring, it's bound to be here!" An excited voice informed the other.

Suicune perked up at the voices and managed the to gather enough strength to peer out the hidden bush she was in. Her eyes managed to get a good look and let out a breath of relief at them.

Ash and Goh had been sent to Johto since there has been some recently polluted water. Prior to that, there have been rumors that Suicune had been roaming around the region since. So Professor Cerise insisted they go out for research.

So far they haven't found much, but that was about to change.

"But the chance of seeing Suicune, one of the few Legendaries notorious for running away, is pretty rare, don't you think?" Ash mentioned.

"Eh." Goh shrugged, "We've met a few Legendaries before. Who's the say that we don't have a chance."

Ash agreed with that. So far together, they've met Lugia (who was Mew but they didn't know that), Zacian, Zamazenta, Zapdos, and Mewtwo. But Ash had met all, but the Galarian Legendaries (except Paldea), before so he wasn't too surprised.

A rustling from a bush was briefly heard and Goh readied a Pokéball, in case it was a Pokémon he didn't have.

Ash carefully made his way over to it, parting it opening to reveal the poisoned Beast of Rivers herself.

"It's Suicune!" Both boys exclaimed.

Goh was about to throw a Pokéball but Ash held up his hand.

"It's poisoned." Ash explained to his friend.

'Well, that is true.' Suicune said, causing Goh to jump back in fright.

"It knows telepathy!" The capturer exclaimed before taking note of something. "It sounds like a female."

'Yes, I am a female." Suicune chuckled. She was no stranger to being thought of as a genderless Pokémon. Some legendaries didn't have such.

Back to the task at hand, the Aurora Pokémon oozed in pain from the status effect.

"How did this happen?" Ash asked, petting her. The Beast of Rivers let out a light comforting growl, enjoying it. Something that Goh noticed.

'Some hunters lured me out with polluted water. Using my purification ability, I was ambushed and was poisoned. I managed to escape but don't have much strength.' Suicune explained.

Ash's fist clenched at the thought of dirty play. This was Team Rocket level dirty and wanted the hunters to pay. "Is there anything we can do?"

Suicune thought before nodding, 'Yes, a few Pecha berries. Those will rid the poison and give me some strength.'

Ash nodded before sending out his 13 team members. He had Heracross, Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, Noctowl, Donphan, Tyranitar, Swampert, Steelix, Greninja, Goodra, Marill, and Sentret.

Tyranitar, Swampert, Steelix, Goodra, Marill, and Sentret were surprised to see the Legendary before them.

Ash took this moment to address them, "Alright, everyone. We need to find some Pecha berries so Suicune can restore her health. Understood?"

Each Pokémon nodded their heads and made noises before leaving to search. Pikachu stayed with his trainer. Ash then turned his attention to Goh, "I think you should help them out too."

"But it's Suicune!" Goh emphasized, "What are you going to be doing?"

"Someone has to stay here with Suicune." Ash clarified.

"And why should it be you?" The capturer asked skeptically. "Your Pokémon are just wondering the forest!"

"My Pokémon know how to defend themselves." Ash explained. Well, that wasn't entirely true since Marill and Sentret weren't exactly battle ready. Luckily, Swampert was guarding them.

Goh grumbled something before Cinderace tucked him along. There were more important things at stake so the capturer and rabbit left in a hurry.

Once they left, Ash pulled out four more Pokéballs and sent out the occupants.

Latios, Latias, Kubfu and Keldeo emerged and saw their fellow Legendary in peril.

'Lady Suicune! Who did such a thing?!' Keldeo shouted in concern and anger.

"Hunters." Ash replied and the Legendaries growled.

Latias hovered above, glowing pink and released a soothing heal energy wave. This healed Suicune to a degree but was still poisoned.

'What should we do?' Kubfu asked his 'Sensei.'

"I sent my Pokémon to find some Pecha Berries." Ash informed them. "Goh's out as well. But right now, I want you and Keldeo to stay and watch over Suicune while Latios and Latias track the poachers using their Sight Share ability." His fist clenched in anger at the thought of hunters.

The Legendaries nodded before the Blue Eon Twin took off and zoomed across the Johto sky, cloaking himself.

Swampert kept a careful eye on Marill and Sentret. The Mud Fish Pokémon spent time with them back at Nebel Plateau when they were starting to get along so he opted to stay with them during the mission.

Sentret was using his innate Keen Eye ability to find any Pecha berries while Marill was walking with Swampert.

Soon, the brown rodent came across a bush and picked a few. "Sent!"

His two friends came over and were relieved by the discovery. They were about to head back when two tendrils grabbed Sentret and Marill. Swampert balked as he saw his friends being held by a Garbodor.

"Well, well, well," the lean hunter from before said, "What do we have here?"

Swampert growled and prepared for a fight.

Goh was searching through some bushes for Pecha berries with Cinderace. The capturer was muttering to himself.

"What is up with Ash lately?" He asked himself. "I've never seen him with that roster of Pokémon before. He's taking charge when a legendary Pokémon is injured. And if you ask me, Pikachu seemed way stronger than before. Is it just me?"

Cinderace just shook her head and went back to searching.

"Not to mention, it's Suicune. One of THE Legendary Beasts!" Goh shouted in irritation. "There is something he's not telling me…."

"Did you mention Suicune?!"

Goh yelped as he realized Eusine was behind him. "Who are you?!"

"I'm Suicune's destined protector and trainer, Eusine!" The dapper trainer proclaimed with a flourish. "And you said you saw the mighty creature?"

"Uhhhhh…" Goh let out, taken aback by the lack of personal space and dedication the man had to Suicune. He wondered if anyone looked at him like that when it came to Mew. "Me and my friend saw her West-"

Eusine grabbed the young capturer by the wrist and demanded, "Take me to it!" He dashed away with Goh. Cinderace sweatdropped and ran after her trainer.

"There, this should give you some strength back." Ash said as he fed some of the Pecha berries to Suicune. His Pokémon had came back and returned them all except for Swampert, Sentret, and Marill. He presumed that they were still out finding a reasonable

'Thank you, Chosen One. I wish I had met you on better terms but faith was not that kind.' The Beast of Rivers thanked.

"I'm just glad you are feeling better." Ash admitted. Latias' eyes were glowing from Sight Share.

'Ash, Latios has found the hunters.' The Red Eon Twin informed. The Chosen One nodded before getting up.

"Can you lead me to them?" He asked. The female Eon Pokémon and allowed him to hop on. "Let's go, Pikachu." His faithful starter hopped on.

"Kubfu, Keldeo. I trust you can keep Suicune safe." The Fighting-types nodded before Kubfu remembered.

'What about your friend, Goh?'

"I don't want to explain to him," Ash muttered, "But stay hidden. No doubt Goh will be back soon and have more Pecha Berries. Suicune will you be able to flee afterwards?"

'I shall,' Suicune answered. Though she wanted to protect the Pokémon in the forest as well, Ash was plenty capable.

Ash nodded and asked, "Alright, Latias! Let's go!" The Red Eon Twin took off with the Chosen One and Pikachu whereas Keldeo and Kubfu stayed with Suicune.

Latias arrived not a minute too late as she hovered with Latios. The Eon Duo had their eyes on the group of hunters, who had cages of their captures all looking rather scared or unwell.

Ash growled at seeing this. He counted the odds, about four hunters at their camp and they looked rather bored. A perfect opportunity to strike.

"Ok, Latias, can you use Mist Ball to hide us?" Ash asked.

'I believe so.' The red Dragon/Psychic-type said and began to warm up a condensed ball of fog.

"Hey, fellas!" A fifth hunter -the lean one- shouted as he re-entered the camp with his Garbodor. "I found a really good score." The living pile of garbage held Sentret and Marill in his right tendril.

"Boring," one hunter said, "A Sentret and Marill are pretty common around here."

"Oh, but wait. There's more." The lean hunter said and the Trash Heap Pokémon pulled his left appendage forward and threw a poisoned Swampert to their feet.

"A Swampert!" A hunter whistled, "In Johto? Now we're talking! Think about the big bucks!"

Ash went wide-eyed, mirrored by Pikachu. "That's why Swampert, Sentret, and Marill haven't returned!" Ash realized. "We need to help them! Mist Ball, now!"

Latias wasted no time, throwing the condensed sphere of mist to the ground and blanketed the area.

"Hey, what's going on?!" A hunter yelled in frustration.

"Do you think Suicune is back?"

"Could be. It used Mist last time."

With the hunters distracted, Ash had Latias descend, cloaked before the Chosen One and Pikachu jumped off. He unclipped several Pokéballs and let loose his occupants.

The hunters were too busy blindsided until a series of Stone Edge erupted and rushed towards them. The hunters scattered and sent out their Pokémon to deal with whatever was attacking them. A Water Shuriken was hurled and collided with the Weezing, making the conjoined toxic heads reel in pain. Muk was caught in golden binds of Extrassenory before a combined blast of Flamethrower, Magical Leaf, and Hydro Pump hit him. Trubbish was subjected to a High Horsepower.

When the fog began to clear, the hunters were greeted with Ash, Pikachu, Tyranitar, Donphan, Greninja, Noctowl, Bayleef, Quilava, and Totodile glaring at them. Heracross and Steelix worked together to free the captured Pokémon.

"Let those Pokémon go!" Ash demanded.

"What's a kid doing here?"

"Don't you know better?"

The hunters taunted before shouting commands. "Muk/Weezing/Trubbish, use Sludge Bomb/Acid/Sludge!"

The three Poison-types recovered and fired their moves but Steelix held his tail out, nullifying the effects.

"Tyranitar, Dark Pulse! Greninja, Night Slash! Noctowl, Psychic!"

The saurian unleashed a series of dark purple double-helix, striking Muk in his mass. The Ninja Pokémon developed a dark kunai, rushed across the field and slashed Weezing down. The shiny owl held Trubbish in his telekinetic grasp before forcefully slamming the living trash bag down. All three Poison-types were effectively taken out of the equation now.

"Nice strong Pokémon you have there," the boss applauded, "Ever thought about selling them?"

Ash glared at the offer, "I wouldn't trade my Pokémon to men like you in a billion years!"

The boss snapped his fingers and his Houndoom growled menacingly. He pounced on the poisoned Swampert while Garbodor tightened his grip on Sentret and Marill.

"I'll tell you what, how about we take all your Pokémon and you or else you can kiss these three goodbye." The boss offered. Both of the hunters' Pokémon charged Hyper Beam at point-blank, ready to crucially injure them.

Ash growled, seeing his hands were tied. While he could free the Pokémon, he wasn't one to risk their lives. So he surrendered, much to the delight of the hunters. Ash's Pokémon stood down with defeat but still glared at their enemies.

"Smart kid," the boss taunted. "Lock up the boy and his Pokémon. Those starters, Tyranitar, shiny Noctowl, Steelix, and Greninja will make a good price."

Sentret and Marill looked ashamed of themselves. They used to have bad trainers who abandoned all because they couldn't win a single battle. When they came to the Nebel Plateau seeking refuge, they were accepted and viewed all humans as cruel beings. That changed when they met Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie. They showed a caring side of humans they had never seen before. And when the plateau was under attack, they fought back to the best of their abilities.

After being asked by Volcanion and Magearna about joining Ash, they stepped up, interested to see what Ash could offer them.

And here they were, captured and Ash had surrendered to spare their lives. The compassion he showed was enough for them to be happy Ash accepted them into their lives. Sentret and Marill began to glow from their confinements and evolve.

Sentret's body became longer while Marill grew in size, along with her ears. Once the light died down, Furret and Azumarill arrived.

"Would you look at that? People are going to pay much more for a Furret and Azumarill." The boss greedily said.

However, Azumarill puffed her cheeks up and unleashed a series of bubbles while Furret unleashed a series of stars at Garbodor, wincing at the pelting. The Trash Heap Pokémon blocked the attempt but his grip slackened and the two Johto rodents escaped before running over to Ash.

"I'm glad you two are ok!" Ash said as he was tackled by them.

The boss growled but then smirked once more, "Well, we still have your Swampert."

"Uh, boss?"

"What is it?" The boss groaned and saw that the Mud Fish Pokémon had been discreetly saved by the cloaked duo of Latios and Latias. Enraged, the boss shouted, "Houndoom, roast them alive!"

The canine barked and prepared a Fire Blast but a Hydro Pump was fired. Everyone looked to see Suicune emerge from the bush with Kubfu and Keldeo behind her.

"It's Suicune!" The hunters exclaimed. "And with a Kubfu and Keldeo! This might be our biggest score yet!"

Suicune glared at the accusation and released several Air Slash that bombarded the hunters, Houndoom and Garbodor.

"Let's not give them a moment to rest, everyone!" Ash shouted. All the Pokémon, sans Swampert, fired a barrage of elemental attacks that knocked the hunters out, leaving them groaning in pain. The Aurora Pokémon finished the fight by freezing the hunters' legs to the ground.

A while later, Officer Jenny arrived and took the hunters away. Ash returned all of his Pokémon before she arrived and Latias gave Swampert a much needed Heal Pulse, rejuvenating the amphibian. Once Officer Jenny left, Ash addressed Suicune.

"Suicune, I thought you would have left by now. Why didn't you?" Ash questioned the Beast of Rivers.

'While I was weakened, I am a guardian of Johto. I cannot sit idly by.' Suicune replied. 'Plus I need to bestow my gift upon you.'

"You have something for me?" Ash questioned.

'Yes,' Suicune nodded, 'I was on my way to deliver it to you but this little… occurrence may have been fate.'

Before Ash could say anything else, Eusine and Goh arrived on the scene. "Ash! There you are! And-" Goh started.

"SUICUNE!" Eusine shouted with starry eyes, "At last! You are cured from your poison and now I shall catch you!" The dapper trainer threw a Pokéball in his 'destined' partner…

But Suicune threw a single Air Slash that cut the ball in half, looking unamused. With her 'stalker' currently stunned by the action, she decided to speak again.

'As I was saying,' the Aurora Pokémon continued, 'I wish to join you.'

"You do?" Ash repeated.

"YOU WHAT?!" Goh and Eusine shouted in disbelief. Ash looked embarrassed at what was happening. He hadn't come up with a proper way to explain to Goh and Chloe about his Legendary adventures or better yet, the fact he was being gifted by several Legendaries now.

Ash decided to just break the tension and pulled out a Pokéball. Suicune tapped the ball with her nose, got sucked in, and was instantly captured.

Normally, Ash would be thrilled to have captured a Legendary but this is about his sixth so he was used to it.

And to mention, he had witnesses this time as both Goh and Eusine's jaws dropped at the action.

"Um... I caught Suicune?"