Well everyone, Congrats! This is the end of the Sinnoh Arc! :D

***I will be taking TWO weeks to organize and plan the Unova Arc. The List will be posted anytime during those two weeks. ***

Day Count: 117 (Before the Events of this chapter)

Thanks for your patience! Enjoy! :D

Ages:

Ash: 19

Misty: 19

Brock: 23

Gary: 19

May: 18

Max: 13

Drew: 18

Dawn: 18

Paul: 19

Cilan: 22

Cress: 22

Chili: 22

Iris: 20

Ritchie: 18

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Clemont: 18

Serena: 18

Harley: 24

Solidad: 25

Zoey: 19

Barry: 19

Kenny: 19

Nando: 25

Stephan: 19

Bianca: 20

Cameron: 18

Trip: 19

Georgia: 19

Burgundy: 19

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Various others:

Delia: 37 (based off her age of the novelization according to bulbapedia [29] + 8 years from the start of Ash's journey.)

Giovanni: (Unknown) but in this story: 58

Prof. Oak: 64

Redrick(Red Ketchum): 38

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Normal Talk

Thoughts

Lucario talking unless stated otherwise

Zoroark talking unless stated otherwise

Mienshao talking unless stated otherwise

Let the journey continue...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ash felt as if his body couldn't move and indeed, Pikachu and Ellie were the two to walk over and drag Misty's bag to Ash's feet after the Suicune had dropped it and fled into the shadows. Pikachu gazed up at Ash's face in sorrow, he could feel the pain pulsing through his friend's aura; however, Pikachu also knew they couldn't stand around. He placed his paw on Ash's leg and gave him a shock.

Ash flinched hard and actually gasped slightly since he had been so out of it. He glanced down and saw Pikachu looking up at him with determined eyes, even Ellie was giving him a hard look.

"Pika chu chu pi PikaPi chu PikachuPi!" Pikachu shouted and nudged Misty's bag towards Ash. Ash stared before he nodded and a look of anger and resolve replaced his shock. He swiped up the Spheal bag and took off towards the central plaza, with Pikachu and Ellie dashing behind, so he could find his way to the Baccer Stadium. The one behind this was too caught up with theatrics not to go there. On his way there he noticed the pinpricks of his friends' auras all showing confusion and distress as he passed them at their various places on the roads. They knew something was wrong.

Ash entered the plaza and glanced around slightly before he got his bearings and took off down the road towards the Baccer Stadium. Brock walked out from one of the bushes nearby and Ash almost ran straight into his friend. He spun to avoid hitting Brock before slowing afterwards.

"Good grief, Ash! Where are you off to?" Brock asked in confusion.

Ash panted slightly, "It's… It's Kodai. He has Misty."

Ash's other friends ran up behind the two at that moment. After they asked a similar question Brock had, he told them what had happened.

"It's a trap. You do know that, right?" Paul asked after everything had been explained.

"So!?" Ash grunted, "He has Misty!"

"Easy, Ash. Let's think this through okay? Preferably, I'd like to have both of you in one piece," Brock added.

Ash let out a small sigh of frustration.

"So what are supposed to do then?" May asked in worry, "What could he want?"

"Yeah! You sealed the Celebi away so that the corruption wouldn't alter them and effect time. Dialga is the only one monitoring it now, which makes it easier and harder at the same time, but that's besides the point," Max expressed.

"He might think you can still access them," Drew responded.

"He could've just snapped," Gary muttered.

"This doesn't help Misty," Ash supplied.

"No, but neither does you running into his trap," Dawn retorted, "We'll get Misty back Ash, no need to worry, okay?"

Ash looked at Dawn and let out a larger calming sigh, "Okay okay, what do we do then?"

"Well… I do have one idea…" Ritchie mumbled and then gave a mischievous smile, "I imagine he is expecting Ash to come looking for Misty."

Ritchie then started talking to each person in the group about his idea.

zzz-Misty-zzz

She was dreaming, maybe… she couldn't be certain. Was that Satoshi or Ash? Ash isn't that old yet… He actually looks like a full grown man. Was this some weird mix of her imagination? the past and the present? or… maybe the future? Maybe all the above.

Mommy? When's daddy coming home?

Will… will the child be okay? Will our child?

Goodbye… my love.

"Stop mumbling."

Misty's eyes opened at that and slowly the dark and blurry picture before her turned clear. She was in a large empty room; within the shadows, several Zoroark laid and slunk about along with a Pangoro sitting almost statue like and a Xatu staring blankly ahead.

"He'll be here soon enough."

Misty turned slightly and saw Grings Kodai standing in one of the few shafts of light. He wasn't facing her, rather the doors on the other side of the room. Misty went to stand up and found she was tied to the chair she was sitting in. Quite suddenly she remembered getting hit with something in the back of her head when she was walking earlier. She glanced back over at Kodai and growled, "If you mean Ash then no he won't. He may be dense at times but he's not that stupid."

Kodai finally looked her direction and smiled calmly, "I beg to differ, but to be fair, it's surprising how far one is willing pursue a goal. If I am correct, your Ash is willing to do just about anything for his pokemon, his friends, you…"

Misty felt her resolve start seeping away.

"Even… walk into something he knows most likely is a trap, or would you rather assume he does not care for you, that much?" Kodai hummed, "Either way you lose, hm?"

"You're sick," Misty spat.

"No dear, I'm not sick. I'm driven," Kodai mused.

"-to insanity," Misty retorted. She noticed Kodai's face turn icy.

"Maybe you're the stupid one in your relationship, you're starting to convince me of that," He growled.

Misty muttered something under her breath before trying a different approach, "Just what do you want with Ash? Are you going to hand him over to Team Rocket?" She would regret asking that question. A look of glee seemed to spring onto Kodai's face and a maddened glint danced in his eyes. He walked closer to her and from his jacket he pulled out a knife of great quality. He stroked his thumb over the blade's flat surface and began to speak.

"No, Team Rocket are fools for trying to rule the world. It's an impossible endeavor. Too many things, too many variables can go wrong. I have always seen more progress comes from ruling the world not directly but indirectly. You see, I'm a business man Ms. Waterflower. I've made millions upon millions and I've found it to be the only way to hold the world in your hand. It's the equivalent of having control over whether a person or pokemon's heart pumps life blood. Do you understand my meaning?"

Misty nodded silently but against her better judgement spoke out, "Ash told me how you made that money. It was unfairly and illegally, because of your ability from Celebi."

Kodai chuckled, "He did, did he? Well don't you get it? It's fair. It was a gift from Celebi."

"No it wasn't! You took it by force! It wasn't something you should've ever received!" Misty shouted back in anger.

Kodai stared at her for a moment, "Fate allowed everything to fall into place for me to receive that gift. Whether that meant others would suffer isn't my concern. If you haven't noticed, when people profit, others tend to suffer. Like prey and predator, for one to live the other must die."

Misty's face grew red with fury, "You're sick and twisted! Sure sometimes that kind of thing has to happen, but not in the way you mean! You treat it like it's always acceptable, like we shouldn't try to do anything else or try something better! There's a right way of doing things and a wrong way!"

-SLAP-

Misty tried her best to not tear up, but his strike to her cheek automatically caused a trail of water to leak from one eye. She suddenly felt his hand grab her chin and something sharp pricked her jaw. She realized he was holding his knife to her throat.

"That's quite enough. It's this simple, He's going to come, and I'm going to take back what is mine. If he won't give it to me, I'll kill you. If he can't give it to me, then I'll gut him and take it that way. Unlike most businessmen, I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty," Kodai smiled calmly and stuck the knife into the table beside her, "It would be a shame though to get my father's knife dirty. You have any idea how hard it is to get blood out of all the crevices? and to bleach it? Bah! Damages all the nice details in the carvings."

Kodai then walked away into the shadows to do Arceus knows what elsewhere. Misty turned her head and stared at the blade. Gut him? So many horrible thoughts started racing through her mind that she wanted to throw up. She hadn't even gotten the chance to ask where her poke balls were either, everything seemed to be going wrong at the moment. She felt like crying, but she wasn't going to give the creep the pleasure. Not only that but if Ash saw her crying he might not be able to think straight and that could lead to disaster. Kodai suddenly reappeared and started walking towards her, when suddenly, the door creaked open.

zzz-Together-zzz

Ritchie prepared himself for what he was about to do. It was pretty risky and more than a little stupid, but it could work just right. Sparky chirped nervously to Ritchie from his perch on his trainer's shoulder.

"Ready?" Ritchie asked his partner.

"Pik."

Ritchie took a final breath and opened the door and as he did so he spoke out, "Hey Misty!? Misty are you there!?"

Misty felt confusion flood her at the sound of Ritchie's voice, but Kodai seemed purely flabbergasted and probably furious.

"Misty!?"

"Ritch-"

"What are you doing here!?" Kodai barked as Ritchie came into view. All of Kodai's Zoroark started stalking towards Ritchie and Sparky's cheeks lit up with stored electricity.

"What am I doing here!? What are you doing here with Misty!?" Ritchie growled.

"I was expecting someone else," Kodai grumbled.

"Ash disappeared, the others went searching for him while I went to go and try to figure out where Misty had gone too. I didn't realize this had happened," Ritchie replied with slight worry.

"Disappeared?" Misty asked in fear.

"Sorry, Misty…" Ritchie murmured.

"ENOUGH!" Kodai barked, "So you're telling me… that Ketchum has vanished."

Ritchie nodded. Kodai roared and turned to one of his Zoroark, "I though you said you had shown him her bag!"

The pokemon's ears dipped in fear and he nodded vigorously to show he had.

"Very well then," Kodai smirked, "As soon as he is found by the others." The man glanced up and stared at Ritchie menacingly, "He will need to come for two of his friends."

Ritchie was about to ask Sparky to start attacking some of Kodai's pokemon, when something happened he wasn't expecting. One of his pokeball's snapped open and Kraken appeared in a bright light. He glanced around at the approaching pokemon and then up at Ritchie, before he turned back and roared at his enemies.

"Kraken, Use Water Gun! Sparky attack with Thunderbolt afterwards!" Ritchie commanded as he pulled out a third and fourth poke ball, "Fawn, Zippo, come out and help too!"

Zippo roared fiercely and started to lock his arms around Pangoro and wrestle with the fighting type. Fawn started running about using a hit and run tactic with Hidden Power. As she ran she evolved into Linoone and ran even faster. Sparky was electrocuting the Zoroark after they were doused by Kraken's Water Gun.

Kodai got nervous and started to back up towards Misty with his knife drawn. He heard Misty gasp, but didn't get the chance to even turn around before something struck his back.

"Gotcha!" Ash growled as he tackled Kodai to the floor. The knife spun across the ground and away from reach.

"Zoroark! Zoroark, Night Daze, Night Daze now!" Kodai almost screeched before noticing that his pokemon were being completely overwhelmed by even more additions. Pikachu and Ellie made quick work of Xatu with Thunderbolts and Ash's Lucario took out the remaining stamina from the other dark types with an Aura Sphere for each. Ash was busy pulling each of Kodai's poke balls from his belt and tossing them.

Gary ran up behind Ash and helped him to hold Kodai's hands behind his back. At the same time, Brock and Drew helped to untie Misty. Then Gary and Paul held Kodai in place as Ash turned to walk over to Misty once she was free.

"Ash… I thought…" Misty spoke.

"It was just our plan," Ash smiled, "Sorry to scare you."

Misty smiled and reached forward to hug him which he happily returned. She felt him sigh in relief. "I'm okay Ash."

Ash nodded his head, "I know." He reached up and placed his hand on the back of her head and froze.

"Ash?" Misty asked when she noticed something was up. Ash pulled his hand carefully away from her and looked at the tips of his fingers to see a bit of blood smeared there. He continued staring silently at his hand. "I guess that's where he hit me to knock me out. At least it didn't bleed too much." She looked back up at him and was going to smile to assure him, certainly he knew she was tougher than that, but she saw his eyes were blank. "Ash? Ash are you okay?"

Before she or anyone could actually check if he was okay, he was engulfed in a red aura.

Master! You must calm yourself!

"Lucario! What's wrong with him?" May asked worriedly.

He has all the power he could achieve, but not his emotion aspect to help control it. His anger has consumed him. It would be best to avoid him and- Lucario didn't get to finish his sentence before Ash turned and slammed Kodai into the wall behind him, ripping him from Gary and Paul's grip.

"You hurt her!" Ash roared as his hair started to float from the energy. His irises were blood red and contracted.

"I… I did. Sacrifices must be-" Kodai started before he felt his head crack against the wall after Ash slammed him into it again.

"You don't deserve to live!" Ash shouted. Misty started to move forward when a scream tore from Kodai's throat. Ash was draining away the man's life. Red energy sparked and flared out from Kodai's form and his skin started to slowly lose color and become pale.

Misty ran forward and grasped Ash's jacket, "Stop it! Ash stop! That's enough! Don't do this! It isn't you!"

Ash stopped a bit and turned to look at her with still red eyes. No one saw the knife before it was too late. Misty watched as Ash's eyes fade from red to brown. She also watched the blood start bleeding through Ash's clothes and down Ash's side and left leg.

"Ash…" Misty whispered. Ash started to crumple towards the ground as Misty grabbed for him. Gary's face darkened with anger before he jabbed Kodai's arm in it's joint and caused him to drop the small pocket knife that had been previously concealed. Paul and Drew helped grab the man and hold him back while Brock reached down to look at Ash.

"Ash, can you hear me?" Brock asked.

Ash grunted, "Yeah…"

"Okay good, I need to look at that wound," Brock responded.

"No… He… he deserves punishment," Ash mumbled and his eyes lit up again with new light. Brock ignored him and pushed up Ash's jacket and shirt to see something incredible. Ash's wound from the knife was sealing up and pulsing with blue until it was nothing but a scar. Ash sat up and reached for Kodai only for Misty to almost pin him to the ground.

"Stop!" Misty screamed. Everything seemed to turn deathly quiet. Misty slowly looked up and saw Ash staring at nothing and panting hard. "Ash?"

He glanced at her though he still seemed distant.

"Are you okay now?" Misty asked. She flinched when she saw tears start to stream down Ash's face. He started to sob loudly and laid his face against the cold floor where no one could look at him. Misty gripped him tightly, "What's wrong?"

Ash took a breath before he replied in an almost wail, "I liked it…"

Everyone was completely quiet as the policemen arrived since they had called them earlier. They all just looked at Ash sadly as Kodai was led away and his pokemon released.

zzz

Everyone but two members of the group rested on the deck of the small cruise ship they were now on. They had spent the night on the boat and were expected to arrive at the Resort Area later in the evening. The two that were absent weren't hard to guess. Ever since the Kodai incident, Ash had been very quiet. As soon as they had gotten on the boat, Ash had pretty much locked himself in his room and had only let Brock, Max, and Gary in and out when night had come the night before. Misty had been bringing him food, though everyone was still worried about her as well after being Kodai's captive. Being her suborn self, she had said she was fine and was more focused on making sure Ash ate. Pikachu and Ellie had been curled up in bed with him as well, though they didn't seem to have any effect. Even Pikachu's soothing and encouraging words seemed to not do any good.

They were all worried, for when Ash had cried out he had liked it, they weren't quite sure what he had meant.

zz

Misty walked towards Ash's room from the galley to give Ash some warm soup that seemed too delicious for even Ash to pass up on. She knocked on the door, "Ash, open up I have some food for you." There was no response and she sighed, "Ash come on, please?" She heard a noise on the other side of the door and the door soon swung open. Pikachu was at the bottom of the door with a frown on his normally cheerful face. "Hey Pikachu, is he doing any better?"

Pikachu sighed, "Pika chu chu PikaPi chu pi ka pi."

Misty frowned and walked in before shutting the door behind her and Pikachu. She walked towards the bed were a rather large lump was under the covers. She placed the soup on the bedside table and then sat on the bed. She shook Ash gently and saw Ellie's head pop up over from the other side. Her bow was disorderly and Misty thought she'd fix it before she left. "Ash, I have some warm soup. You need to eat some. You haven't eaten much of anything since yesterday."

Ash slowly pulled the covers down from his head and Misty could see he had obviously cried and dried his face several times, though he was keeping a hard face. He sat up and Misty placed the soup in his lap. He started eating it and yelped once from the heat.

"Dummy, it is still hot," Misty huffed and gave him a smile soon after. She could've sworn she saw a twitch from the corner of his mouth, as if he had tried to smile. He finished the bowl in silence before Misty placed it back on the table. She was about to speak and talk to him about telling her what was really wrong, when she was surprised to hear his voice first.

"Mist, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be like this, you were the one that was kidnapped. Are you okay?" Ash asked.

Misty shook her head to get over her surprise and smiled, "I was frightened, but I knew my friends would come for me. I'll get over it. Ash, what did you mean when you said you liked it? I want to help you with whatever's bothering you. Does it have something to do with you hurting Kodai?"

Ash let out a long and uneven sigh before his responded, "Remember the nightmares we had because of Darkari?"

Misty nodded for him to continue.

"Mine was facing… myself. He was very similar to Spiritomb's creation, but he had my aura. He talked about how he was my future and that at first he didn't like taking life from living things, but after enough time he didn't feel remorse anymore. When I said I liked it… I meant the feeling of Kodai's life energy flowing into me. I felt really alive, like I could run for miles and not grow tired. The adrenaline rush it gave me was like nothing I've felt before…" He trailed off, "I thought… I thought I wasn't like them… I though I wasn't a monster."

Misty reached up and placed her hands to either side of Ash's face, "Ash… You're not a monster. It's a trick, listen carefully okay? Just because you felt an adrenaline rush from something, doesn't mean you like it. Sure there are adrenaline junkies, but this is something different. Your body simply reacted to what it was given. You felt remorse and you didn't even finish the act. Do you know how I know? You locked yourself away. If you didn't feel remorse then you wouldn't have felt you did something wrong or you wouldn't have cared that you did something wrong."

Ash stared into her eyes and a smile started to finally come to his face, "What would I ever do without you Misty?"

Misty blushed before she put on a smug look, "You would be hopelessly lost in both mind and location."

Ash chuckled slightly before his eyes got big, "I almost forgot!"

Misty flinched as Ash got off the bed and went over to his backpack. He pulled something out and walked over to her with his hands behind his back. He pulled them out and handed Misty a velvet box. Misty looked at it in shock before she carefully opened in and pulled out the necklace Ash had purchased in Crown City.

"That's what I was up to… Maybe I should've forgotten it though. I would've been able to sense Kodai before he got you," Ash mumbled out before sitting back down on the bed.

Misty looked at the necklace with eyes that seemed glassy as if water was collecting.

"Mist, you okay?" Ash asked. Misty looked up at him and smiled.

"It's wonderful Ash," Misty whispered, "So wonderful." She carefully put the necklace on before scooting towards Ash. She surprised him by gripping his shirt and kissing him fully on the mouth. "I love you and I will keep you together whenever you try to fall apart."

Ash stared at the wall behind her as she kissed him more, until finally he grabbed her shoulders and started to reciprocate with more gentle passion than he had ever demonstrated before. In between the kisses he responded, "It's a promise then from the both of us to each other." Misty hummed in return to show she agreed. Ash then did something he hadn't tried before. Misty's eyes opened slightly in surprise when she felt Ash's tongue, but soon obliged by opening her mouth. Their tongues started to battle with each other as they leaned over onto the bed with Ash barely on top. They both sighed in pleasure until finally they parted to take in deeper breathes.

"You really are a good kisser," Misty hummed. Ash let out a sigh and rested his forehead on hers.

"I aim to please," Ash responded in a low voice and gave a tiny smirk.

"We should um…" Misty suddenly blushed and Ash's face got hot.

"Yeah fix our clothes, they got a little wrinkled and such," Ash stuttered slightly.

Misty laughed, "From cool as a cucumber liked you've done this sort of thing your whole life to hot and flustered."

Ash's blushed further with embarrassment, "I'm an emotional person I guess… They obviously have a tendency to take over, huh?"

Misty frowned slightly at Ash's meaning, "That isn't necessarily a bad thing, hm?"

Ash smiled as a more prideful blush replaced the previous one, "If you say so."

"I say so," Misty nodded in a very affirmative way.

"You were good too, ya know?" Ash smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, "Thought you'd like to know."

Misty's felt the blush return to her face again after she had finally made it go away, "Thanks Ash."

With that, they started straightening out their clothes. Once that was done, Misty retied Ellie's bow and the four of them finally left the room to go talk with the others. They needed to know what Ash had been upset about. To hide it would only increase Ash's fear that he would be seen as a monster. He needed to know that they didn't think any less of him.

zz

"I agree with Misty, even pokemon react to stimulus in the same manner. Just because your body reacts that way doesn't mean you liked it," Brock expressed as everyone gave their attention to Misty and Ash after they had explained Ash's behavior.

"I'll be honest, you did scare me some," Max spoke out and Ash turned to look at his young friend, "But I also wasn't thinking of you as you at the moment. I'm sure you'll be in control when you unlock your final aspect." Max finished with a smile.

Ash gave a smile back, "Thanks Max. That means a lot to me."

Gary gave a smile, "Alright then! Back on track, right? I say we have a beach day at The Resort Area! It's known for it's white beaches."

Dawn clasped her hands, "It does have some of the most beautiful beaches! I heard there's even ruins in the bay!"

Everyone agreed to the plan and patiently awaited for the boat to reach the shore.

zz

"Hey you think you could take me underwater to those ruins with your sea king's power?" Misty smiled as the group, now in their swimwear, walked towards the beaches, passing huts and other beach goers getting souvenirs.

Ash smiled, "We'll have to dive first so no one sees me."

Misty grinned, "Think you can handle that? I mean I know I'm good at diving."

Ash grumbled, "I've dived into three lakes, I think I've got it down."

Everyone laughed and talked as they made their way down to the beach. They spread out their towels and set up their spot as Pikachu and Ellie played tagged with the waves. Their joy was partially taken away by the sight of some certain people.

"Oh lovely," Paul mumbled and pointed everyone at the people down the beach. None other than Damien and his posse were sun bathing.

"I wonder if I could get away with splashing them or something," Max muttered.

"Eh, they aren't worth it. Just leave them be," May replied and settled on the towel she was standing on.

"Come on!" Misty laughed and grabbed Ash's hand to lead him into the water.

"Alright, geez!" Ash chuckled aloud as they entered the water and waded out far before disappearing under the surface.

"Frisbee?" Drew asked while he held up a green and yellow frisbee and glanced at everyone.

"Sure," Paul nodded.

"Yeah!"

"Okay!"

"Sounds great!"

Drew, Paul, Gary, Dawn, Iris, Chili, and Cress ended up participating in the game of frisbee, while the rest sun bathed or read.

"Hey whoa, what a throw!" Drew shouted and ran after the spinning disc that Iris had tossed a bit far. He happened to look down before he tripped over Dingo's legs; he adjusted and leapt over his legs and grabbed the frisbee out of the air. Drew's feet struck the sand between the people laying there and his momentum caused sand to spray into Damien's face.

"Ack!"

Drew sweatdropped, "My bad."

"You idiot!" Damien yelled. This woke up the others in his group.

"Hold up, it was just an accident," Drew grunted and started to walk back to the others, before Greg placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Where do you think your going?"

Drew glared at the taller boy, "Back to my friends. It's a public beach, blockhead."

Greg growled and started to move before Paul's voice came through.

"There a problem?" Paul grumbled as Dawn, Iris, Chili, Cress, and Gary walked up.

"Yeah! Your green-haired sissy, kicked sand in my face!" Damien snapped.

Drew immediately rounded on Damien, "Sissy!?"

Dingo snickered behind Damien's back, "Your a co-ordinator aren't cha?"

May suddenly appeared in their midst with her eyes alight with fire, "What'd you say?!"

Everyone sweat dropped at her rage.

"Let's just leave. If they wish to be uncouth, that's their fault," Cress muttered and turned as Chili nodded in agreement and turned with him. Everyone turned about and walked away with Paul and Dawn and May and Drew holding hands.

"By the way, where's your freak, Ash?" Ursula suddenly asked.

Gary froze and turned about, "Ash is not a freak. He has a gift, it's as simple as that. Of course those who are that fearful of the unknown, are fearful fools."

Shamus' face darkened in anger, "Really…?"

Gary nodded and turned, "Perhaps you all should try to show more compassion. I doubt you will but-"

Damien snapped, "Just get lost."

"Gladly," Iris huffed and stuck her tongue out after they had turned their backs, gaining a giggle from Dawn. They all walked back to their spot where the others were.

zz

Ash and Misty kicked their legs to swim deeper. Eventually Ash let gold light flood around him, before he transferred it to Misty as well. They spun about each other and surged towards the bottom of the bay. They started to enter some sunken and worn down ruins which bore marks that were quite familiar to Ash. The water pokemon swam about them in curiosity before quite suddenly a large group of Remoraid swam in a funnel about the pair, flashing silver in the sunlight. The two smiled at each other in amusement and joy as the water pokemon finished their show and swam off in a school. Ash held out his hand and Misty grabbed it as they shot towards the surface. Close to the top, Ash stopped his power and they swam to the top and took a breath.

"That was really awesome," Misty breathed out.

"No kidding. Those ruins… I think they were related to Samiya," Ash added.

"Really? I guess those markings did look familiar," Misty nodded before they both started swimming towards the shore.

"It might be where Samiya first was, then something happened and it started floating about the sea… You know… The kingdom of the Vale was like that. The king moved the castle to seal away the 'dragon force'. Maybe something similar happened to the People of the Water. I wonder if the king of the kingdom of the Vale was able to use aura…" Ash spoke as their feet struck the sand. They both walked up to their spot and dried off before they all enjoyed a small lunch with their friends.

zz-Together-zz

"Hmmmm… Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope-"

Everyone turned from their conversation to see a girl walking down the beach, pointing at people and saying nope to each of them. She wore a yellow v-neck t-shirt with a white zip up hoodie and dark blue shorts with grey tennis shoes. Her hair was light brown and short and curly; her light blue eyes were scanning each person carefully. She stopped in front of the group and stayed for a moment humming. They then noticed she had a Quilava at her feet. Pikachu waved with Ellie and they both squeaked happily. She smiled at the two pokemon. "I wonder if… you could be the ones."

"Quil?"

"Can we help you?" Brock asked politely.

The girl smiled brightly, "My name's Allison Grey and I'm trying to find a good home for an egg my pokemon has. First though… I need help finding my pokemon." She sweat dropped and everyone face faulted.

"What kind of pokemon is it?" Max asked as he readjusted his glasses on his face since they had almost left his face from his fall with the others.

"Oh my Lucario. He's the one we're looking for. He was kinda upset that I wanted to find a different trainer for his son, and well he ran off with the egg."

Ash smiled, "I think we can handle that. Even if we don't end up with the egg, you need some help."

Allison smiled again, "Wow thanks!"

"Quil la quil!"

"Oh this is Quilavo, by the way," Allison nodded and gestured to her Quilava.

With that, the group left the beach and Damien's group behind to change and then set out searching for Allison's Lucario. They also introduced themselves on the way.

"Where was the last place you saw him?" Cilan asked calmly.

"He ran into the deepest part of the forest that's north of here," Allison nodded.

"Okay we should be able to find him, pretty quick," Ash replied.

"Huh? How?" Allison questioned.

Ash chuckled, "My Lucario can sense the aura of yours."

Gary raised his eyebrow at Ash's plan. He was glad Ash hadn't volunteered himself. Ash released Lucario and the aura pokemon immediately got a hit and started to lead them. After passing what seemed like a few good stands of trees, Ash's Lucario came to a stop.

Master the other is ahead of us. He is alert to our presence and will be approaching soon.Lucario spoke to Ash through mental aura. Ash replied, Thank you.

"He's here huh?" Ash repeated and Lucario nodded before Ash thanked him and returned him. Allison's Lucario walked out from the forest, cradling a blue and black egg in his arms.

"Lucario," Allison spoke out and the pokemon whined slightly.

Ash smiled, "We just wanted to help her find you."

Allison's Lucario glanced at all the people and walked over to Allison, who squatted, "Lucario, I just want your child to have a good owner. I'm not sure I can care for it as well as maybe someone else."

Ash spoke, "Sometimes we have to let go some to help others grow."

Allison's Lucario looked into Ash's eyes and nodded. He had realized who Allison had found even if she couldn't sense Ash's title. She had found very truth worthy people, perhaps the only people he would trust with his child.

Ash nodded back and looked up and directly at Paul, "I think you should raise it, Paul."

Paul visibly flinched in surprise, "Me?" Riolu evolve from friendship between the pokemon and trainer… Is Ash trying to suggest another chance for me to improve further? I don't know though, what if he doesn't like me enough?

"I think you could really benefit from raising a Riolu!" Dawn smiled brightly.

Paul let out a sigh, "Alright, I'll give it a shot." Paul watched as Allison's Lucario looked into his eyes for a moment, before he closed his eyes and lifted his aura appendages. The appendages then dropped and the pokemon walked towards Paul after he opened his eyes and placed the egg carefully in his arms.

"I'll take good care of it. I swear," Paul nodded. He felt something within his chest burn. It was a similar feeling to when he really realized that his group had their trust in him. It was a mix of pride and maybe honor that flushed through his veins at that moment. He would keep his word to the pokemon.

"Wow thank you, I'm so glad I found kind people to take care of the egg," Allison nodded and Quilavo chirped. She glanced up at her Lucario as he walked to her side. "Time to return for now." Lucario nodded but never let his eyes linger from the egg and Paul as he was pulled inside his pokeball. A smile graced his face before he vanished completely.

"We were happy to help," Cress expressed.

Allison nodded, "Best of luck to all of you. I hope you all have success in your journey."

"Same to you," Chili grinned.

Allison waved as she ran back towards the Resort Area, while the group decided to start heading further north towards where Mt. Stark was. They would be able to cross the small desert area before night caused it to get too cold and they would get to Mt. Stark the morning after. Paul glanced down at the egg still in his arms and nodded before following everyone else deeper into the forest and towards the desert.

zz

"Dang… is Mt. Stark taller than Mt. Silver?" Max whined slightly as the group entered the town at the mount's base.

"I think they may be about the same height, just one is wider and not as steep," Drew replied as he took his own glance at the mountain that towered behind in the distance.

"We should stock up for the trip up the mountain and then get going. We may reach the caldera before nightfall," Brock nodded.

"Sounds great! Then we get our token and head for the airport in the Battle Area," Ash grinned as Pikachu and Ellie cried out in joy.

"Then off to Unova!" Iris laughed happily.

After the group stopped at the small convenience store in town, they started their way towards the mountain's path. They were a third of the way up, when something caught Ash's attention.

"Hey look, that Rhydon has been following us since we came close to the mountain," Ash muttered and nodded his head towards the pokemon that was behind the rocks and beside them, thinking it was hidden enough.

"You sure you just haven't seen a lot of them?" Misty asked.

"No it's the same one. It's aura hasn't changed," Ash replied.

The group continued but kept a weary eye on the pokemon tailing them. By the time they were halfway up, Ash had figured that the Rhydon had quit his pursuit, since he wasn't around. It was when they started picking up after having an early dinner, that Ash felt it's presence again. The earth started to rumble.

"What… what is it?" Max yelped.

"An Earthquake?" May asked.

"I'm not sure," Gary replied. Moments later, hundreds of rocks started raining down on them from the ledge above. They were anywhere from the size of a Charizard to tiny pebbles.

"Take cover!" Paul shouted and everyone ran and dove away from the rocks as they fell.

After Ash had gotten away, he pulled out a poke ball and released Cranidos, "Zen Headbutt on the cliff, see if there are anymore rocks loose!" Cranidos yipped before he rammed himself into the cliffside, causing no rocks to fall. Ash glanced up and saw the Rhydon sweat drop in fear before turning and running, "Oh no you don't!"

Ash didn't even turn when the light flared up around Cranidos' body, he jumped on Rampardos' back as his newly evolved friend then proceeded to bear him up the rocky slope in pursuit. Everyone pulled out a flying type or something similar and either rode it or shared with a friend to chase after Ash. They followed after his Rampardos that was scraping and clawing his way quickly up the mountain with the help of his sharp claws on his feet. It was sooner than expected that they reached the summit and they found an interesting surprise. A couple of league officials were standing before them while the Rhydon laid behind them.

"Congratulations! You've made it up the mountain and got past Rhydon's test!" One of them spoke and gave a smile, while the group sweat dropped. They wondered if they had any clue what Rhydon's chosen test was or how dangerous it could've been. Regardless, they got off their pokemon and returned them before walking up to the officials together. Their pokedexes had the card swiped through and that was that.

"Seems your group has only two more tokens to go! You all are about in tenth place, so you're making good time," The second smiled.

"Wow, tenth?" Dawn asked.

"Yep, some are having trouble finding the tokens or getting to them. You all seem to be having good luck or you're more experienced than some of the other groups," The man replied.

The group grinned at each other before nodding. They thanked them for their time before walking some distance and setting up camp since night was coming. They would have a great view of the stars from the edge of the caldera.

Later, everyone could be found sitting around the edge of the caldera and looking at the lava that bubbled at the very very bottom, which glowed in the evening darkness.

"I can't believe we're tenth while we're also trying to save the world," Chili expressed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"It does seem incredible that we are so far along," Cilan nodded.

"Maybe we're just that good," Drew chuckled and gave a large wry grin.

"Or maybe I'm just that good," Gary replied and gave a cocky smile.

"Of course you had to say that," Paul grunted and rolled his eyes before actually chuckling.

"I'm sworn to the truth," Gary joshed.

"Seems, legit," Ash snorted.

"Who would've thought that you'd be on a team with me of all people, the great Gary Oak, Ashy-Boy? It must be your dream come true!" Gary returned.

Ash smiled, "Uh-huh, I see."

"What's Unova like?" Misty asked with a curious smile on her face.

"It's a wonderful region! Big cities and large nature preserves… and of course, home," Iris grinned excitedly.

"I would say our home region is the perfect mix of two worlds, like salty and sweet," Cilan added.

"I wonder where the token is in Unova," Ritchie pondered aloud as he stroked Sparky.

"We'll check the clue once we land in Lentimas," Brock nodded, "It's the only airport that the airport in the Battle Area traffics to for Unova."

"Oh! A desert region, right?" Cress turned and asked Cilan.

"Yes, if I remember correctly. Maybe wasteland is a better term, not in a rude way however. It simply is more like red clay and sparse trees than a true desert," Cilan replied.

"Hey Ritchie, was Kraken actually obeying you?" Drew asked.

Ritchie looked up and smiled a bit, "I think so, but he still has a ways to go. I was happy he fought for us."

That brought a smile to everyone's face.

"Does this place need healing, Ash? I know Heatran typically roam here," Dawn asked.

"I've already done it. When we first sat down I pulsed my aura into the ground underneath us," Ash nodded.

After a bit more talking about their day and the road ahead, the group fell asleep to started traveling towards the Battle Area which would take a day to get to. Their flight to Unova would be during the nighttime.

zz

"Sir it's merely protocol."

"I don't have anything on me. No metal at all, not even a filling or a crown."

"Sorry sir."

"Gah…"

Paul groaned in annoyance as he was pulled aside to be scanned and checked. The group was going through security at the Battle Area Airport. Gary was trying his best not to laugh at Paul's misfortune, as everyone else was working to get their shoes and other accessories back on. being trainers, they only had to worry about their backpacks for carry on and they had had to make sure Pikachu and Ellie rode in Ash and Misty's laps. The security guard finished and let Paul through the metal detector again only for it to beep.

"For the love of Arceus!" Paul snapped.

"Step this way, sir."

"Right…" Paul sighed.

Evetually they let Paul through and the group walked down the walkway to find their gate out of the ten available in the small airport.

"We're Gate 5," Brock spoke out as everyone walked, "Right there. We're actually on time."

"Even with Paul getting X-rayed," Gary teased and got a snort out of Drew.

"Yeah yeah real funny. I always get pulled aside at those things," Paul muttered.

Gate 5 will be departing in two minutes. The intercom announced.

Everyone looked at each other before they started to run.

"I thought you said we were on time!" Misty snapped in aggravation.

Brock sweatdropped, "I was counting on a slight delay or something. What are the odds the plane's actually on time?"

Everyone sweat dropped at that before they reached the gate and walked to the back of the boarding line. After showing their tickets, they boarded the plane. They all went to their seats which were quite far apart, though several people switched with each other for various reasons. Gary moved to sit beside Drew and May instead of Ash while Misty took his seat. Ritchie moved to sit beside Brock and Max while Dawn got to move next to Cilan, Iris, and Paul. They put up their backpacks in the above-head storage and settled in for their flight.

Unova awaited them…

zzzz

"So Grings lost his cool."

"It was a long shot. He had obsessive tendencies."

"I see, so now he'll be in my territory?"

"Yes, on a plane bound for Lentimas."

"Understood, I'll set the Triad on their trail."

"And Kyurem, what's his status?"

"We've been tracking him for a while and he is starting to tire. He will be ours soon enough."

"Good... very good. I will check up again later."

"Of course, it's good to have someone else who understands my view on things. We will show everyone how the world should be run."

"Yes yes, indeed we will."

-call ended-

Giovanni leaned back in his chair, "And that's why you must build an empire and a company before you follow your ideals, lest you lack the power to fulfill them. I almost feel sorry for you Ghetsis, almost." Giovanni then glanced down at a notebook nearby to read it's contents. I will need to be careful with how I handle him though, Ghetsis isn't an idiot.

"Sir?"

Giovanni looked up to see a grunt standing nervously at his door. There was silence before,

"Yes?" Giovanni asked in irritation.

The grunt flinched, "Sir, Xerosic wishes to speak to you, about... the project?"

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Sorry if this chapter kinda wasn't interesting, other than finishing up the Kodai thing and concluding the Sinnoh Arc. There just wasn't really anything left for them to do in Sinnoh, lol, except have airport difficulties which I thought was fun to right about.

Secondarily, Thank you guys so so so so much! Last chapter we had a whopping 19 reviews! That's the most for one chapter that we've ever had!

ZZZ

Answers to questions:

Great: Sorry if I cant comment in AZ because I really follow the anime, even if I play the videogames.

NoSignal: It's fine. Bulbapedia can help you understand more about AZ and that background info. Basically, he's a king that been alive for 3000 years because he was given eternal life by the energy from Xerneas as was his pokemon that had once been dead. Hope this helps some.

I think everyone else's questions were answered through PM.

ZZZ

I've decided to give you guys a list of the new pokemon caught after each chapter so that new pokemon aren't spoiled but you also can remember which pokemon are new and aren't on the list at the start of the Arc.

Ash: Luxray/(Shedinja)/Rampardos/Hippopotas(male)/Ralts(male)/Absol(shiny)(female)

Misty: Tentacool/Buizel

Ritchie: Gible/Sneasel

Gary: Dratini/Sheildon

Brock: Anorith/Magnemite/Starly(shiny)

May: Luxio(female)

Max: Egg/Croagunk

Drew: Eevee

Paul: Stunky

Dawn: Glameow

Cilan: Turtwig(female)/Snover

Cress: Bidoof/Barboach

Chili: Magby

Iris: Cranidos

zzz

Serena: Starly(female)/Hippopotas(female)

Clemont: Rotom

Harley: Glalie

Solidad: Abra

Zoey: Houndour(female)

Barry: Munchlax

Kanny: Mothim

Nando: Azurill(sing)

Stephan: Heracross(female)

Bianca: Cherubi

Cameron: Skorupi

Trip: Rhyhorn

Georgia: Prinplup/Eevee

Burgundy: Yanma

So there you are I hope this helps some :) If you ever need the full list, minus the newest additions, it's at the beginning of the Arc.

Follow, Fav, Review, and most importantly, Enjoy! :D

NoSignal, out!