A/N: Hello everybody! Welcome to the Orange Islands Arc! If you haven't read the Kanto arc yet, please do so! It was nice to take a small break from writing, but now I'm back! As expected, my writing is pretty slow going now, but I'm getting the chapters done little by little. I have a pretty good outline of the whole Orange Islands arc so hopefully when I do write, it will be a rather productive session. My goal is to be done with Orange Islands by the end of the year, but we'll see. My goal was to finish Kanto by the end of 2014, but I was a few months off. I'm looking at about 18 chapters total for the Orange Islands right now, but it may extend to 19 or 20 depending on how long the Pummelo Stadium part is. With that, please enjoy this first chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.

Chapter One: The After Party

Pallet Town was known as the town where the shades of one's journey await. It certainly lived up to that name, also. Many trainers came by every year to start their new Pokemon journey by receiving a starter Pokemon from none other than Professor Oak. He was known as the authority on Pokemon. No matter what the subject was, if it involved Pokemon, chances are Professor Oak knew the answer. Despite this, he was still learning new things every day despite his elderly age.

Speaking of the professor, he had just gotten back to his lab in Pallet Town from cheering on a boy he knew well who participated in the Pokemon League. Professor Oak gave a yawn as it was now late at night. The site of the Pokemon League, the Indigo Plateau, was quite a distance away. On the old bones of someone like Professor Oak, the trip was pretty tiring. He just didn't seem to have the stamina he once did which was quite a shame due to how much he used to love traveling to study different Pokemon. Sure, he may have driven, but even that was tiring now.

The elderly Professor had left the lab for a few days and left it in the care of his granddaughter, Daisy Oak. It was a blessing to have a family member who liked research as much as he did. Professor Oak didn't know what he would do without her sometimes.

Coming into the lab room with his main computer with a rice ball in hand, Professor Oak decided to check his email before heading to bed. Despite only being away from his lab a few days, he wouldn't be surprised if his inbox was completely full. He was always receiving emails from past trainers, fans who just wanted to say hi, messages from the other Pokemon professors in the world, but every once in a while, his inbox would be chock full of junk mail, which was quite annoying.

Professor Oak gave another yawn as he sat down in his wheelie chair before turning on his computer. As he waited for his email to come up, he took a bite of his rice ball before sighing in contentment. The beauty of rice balls was that they made a great, light snack for both the day and nighttime hours. They were so simple yet so satisfying. Professor Oak sighed as the page to his email finished loading. As expected, his inbox was quite full. That didn't always mean any of these were important, however. It just seemed to be a lot of junk mail.

"Hmmm…junk mail. Junk mail. Junk mail," Professor Oak muttered as he went down the list, deleting anything that didn't seem interesting. How many deletes did it take for some people to realize that he had no interest in the latest vacuum cleaner which could suck up dirt like no other, or how no camping trip was complete without these special gloves on sale? It was quite annoying.

The only other thing in here that seemed to be worth paying attention to seemed to be an email from Professor Elm of the Johto region. He was a brilliant, if not absent-minded, young man who specialized in the breeding and abilities of Pokemon. Professor Elm had once been a student of Professor Oak before being able to become a professor himself. It made the elderly Oak proud.

The email was clearly about a new theory he had in the abilities of Pokemon. That was one thing Professor Elm was always adamant about. Anytime he thought he came up with something new, he immediately rushed over his notes for Professor Oak's approval and wouldn't accept no for an answer. Professor Oak would get to that one tomorrow when he had more time and wasn't half asleep.

As Professor Oak continued to sift through his email, his mind wandered to the four children who most recently started their Pokemon journeys, particularly the boy whom he had gone to root for at the Pokemon League. That boy was Ash Ketchum, son of Red and Delia Ketchum. He was an eleven year old, raven-haired boy who showed a lot of promise as a Pokemon trainer. He had just done Pallet Town very proud by placing in the Top Four in the Pokemon League. That was no small feat from someone who had only been a Pokemon trainer for a year. He loved Pokemon like no other and was always putting others before himself. There was just something special about him.

However, that didn't mean the other three who started with Ash weren't special, either. In fact, the four of them combined showed the most promise out of any group of trainers in a very long time, probably since Red Ketchum, Blue Oak, who happened to be Professor Oak's son and champion of the Kanto Pokemon League, and Rose Green. It was almost natural that three of the next group of great trainers were their descendents.

One of the other three was a girl by the name of Serena Gabena. She had a pair of dazzling blue eyes with long hair the color of honey. To be honest, despite the promising group of trainers from last year, it had been Serena who worried Professor Oak the most at first. The poor girl had no idea what she wanted to do and only seemed to start her journey because all of her friends were. However, Professor Oak was pleased to be proven wrong as the girl competed in the fairly new concept of the Battle Chateau and conquered it, earning the title of "Grand Duchess".

The next one happened to be his own grandson, Gary Oak. The spiky, brown-haired boy had almost effortlessly collected all eight badges of the Kanto region and wasted no time in bragging about it. Gary always had a huge ego, and in the end, that ended up being his downfall. After suffering a crushing defeat from a cold boy by the name of Paul early in the Pokemon League, Gary went off on his own to do a bit of soul searching and private training. It upset Professor Oak a great deal to see his grandson leave on such a terrible note, and Daisy and Blue didn't fare too much better when they learned of it. Professor Oak couldn't help but wonder all the time where his grandson was. Hopefully, this departure would change him for the better. That's what Gary promised, anyway, and Professor Oak believed in him.

The last one of the Pallet Town quartet was a girl with long brown hair whose name was Leaf Green and was Rose Green's daughter. Not much of a battler, Leaf had taken up the task of filling up her pokedex with as many Pokemon as she could. The girl did an exceptional job at it indeed. She had captured almost every type of Pokemon in the Kanto region, and the only Pokemon she didn't have in her pokedex were a few key legendaries like Articuno, Zapdos, or Moltres. What really baffled the professor, though, is when he discovered Leaf had data on the elusive Mew, one of the rarest Pokemon in the world. Even more amazing was the other three in the Pallet Town quartet had data on it, too. Given their reactions when Professor Oak discovered that information, it was something he was supposed to know about. Professor Oak, of course, had inquired them about this, but they were pretty tight-lipped. Being a Pokemon researcher, he was extremely disappointed, but it must be a good reason that they weren't allowed to tell.

Professor Oak had just finished reminiscing of the four trainers when he reached his last email. Just like the many others before it, it was junk. Professor Oak deleted the last one before finishing his rice ball and standing up to go to bed. He gave a stretch before slowly heading towards his bedroom. That was when he heard another beep coming from his computer. Professor Oak turned around and saw he had just received another email. Really? At this hour?

Professor Oak sighed and thought about ignoring it for right now. That was until he noticed who it was from. The email had come from another Pokemon researcher who went by Professor Ivy. This was rather unusual. He was good friends with her just like all of the other professors, but she seemed to be in contact the least.

"I wonder what this could be about," Professor Oak mumbled as he went back over to his computer.

Why would Professor Ivy be emailing him so late? Actually, it wasn't too big of a surprise. She had a bad habit of staying up late because she was caught in her research and usually didn't get enough sleep at night. Professor Oak couldn't help but be worried about her health sometimes with her unclean lifestyle, too. He had been to her house before, and quite frankly, it looked like her closet blew up.

Even so, she must have a really good reason for doing this. Professor Oak's curiosity got the best of him as he clicked on the email and began to read it. As he went deeper into the letter, his droopy eyes began to get wider with each word until he almost felt quite awake. This was certainly something unusual, and it was very interesting, too! He definitely wanted to know more about this.

"Hmmm…how intriguing," Professor Oak said as he clicked 'reply' and hastily typed a message back to Professor Ivy.

Morning had come too soon for the likes of a few residents of Pallet Town. One in particular was Ash Ketchum. The eleven-year old boy knew that Pallet Town was throwing him a party in recognition of how great he did at the Pokemon League, but he couldn't find the strength to get out of bed. Despite vowing to get stronger and train harder, waking up was always his greatest weakness. Ash's alarm went off at eight-thirty sharp, but Ash merely hit the snooze button before rolling over to face away from the offending clock.

"Pika Pi! Pikachu!" Pikachu, his faithful partner, called as it leaped onto Ash's bed and began prodding him with its tiny fingers. They yellow rodent had been awake for almost an hour and was getting bored of waiting for Ash. That was the fifth time he pressed the snooze button!

"Five more minutes, Pikachu," Ash mumbled. "Competing in the Pokemon League can really take a lot out of you. I'm surprised you aren't just as tired as me."

"Piiiiiiiika," Pikachu sighed.

The only time Ash ever was wake early was when he had an important match, or breakfast was ready. No such thing existed today, however. Delia Ketchum, Ash's mother, didn't cook breakfast this morning as she wanted Ash to save his appetite for the party which started at eleven o'clock.

Pikachu could clearly see that Ash wasn't going to get up through normal means. The yellow rodent's first instinct was to shock him awake like it was used to doing. However, maybe that would be a little on the harsh side. As funny as it was to see Ash with the worst bed hair ever, Ash would sometimes merely just glare at Pikachu before going back to sleep anyway. Pikachu, however, now had another ace up its sleeve. It quietly hopped off Ash's bed before leaping at the door knob to turn it and left the room.

Inwardly, Ash was thankful that Pikachu didn't shock him as usual. Still, it had to be planning something to just leave him alone like this. Oh well, he was too tired to dwell on it.

Pikachu returned about two minutes later with the newest member of the Ketchum household, Red's Mr. Mime, which Delia affectionately referred to as "Mimey". The imitation Pokemon was wearing a cooking apron and carrying a duster in one hand and pulling a vacuum cleaner in the other. Pikachu had informed it of how messy Ash had made his room the second he got back to Pallet Town, and Mr. Mime could have none of that!

Mr. Mime took a quick look around Ash's room before putting on a look of resolve. It NEEDED to clean this room right now. It then pressed the on button for the vacuum cleaner and immediately went to work.

"Aaaahhh!" Ash cried as he practically jumped out of his skin as the loud machine turned on. It sounded like a jet had just taken off in his room.

The raven-haired boy then looked over and saw Mr. Mime diligently cleaning his room. It was using its hands to work the vacuum cleaner and using its psychic powers to levitate the duster and having it dust various surfaces of Ash's room.

"Come on, Mr. Mime! You couldn't wait until I was done sleeping?!" Ash exclaimed in annoyance.

"Miiiiiime," Mr. Mime shook its head in response. Any mess had to be cleaned as quickly as possible, no matter what the time.

Ash sighed before turning to look at Pikachu who had a cheesy grin plastered on its face that its plan had worked. "This was your doing, wasn't it?" Ash asked it.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu chirped in response with a smug look on its face.

"That's it. You're toast, Pikachu," Ash uttered as he narrowed his eyes.

Pikachu gave a mock of look of worry before sticking its tongue out at Ash. The raven-haired boy had enough of that and immediately jumped out of his bed to chase the rodent. The two exited the room quite quickly leaving Mr. Mime in peace to do its cleaning.

It was now eleven o'clock in Pallet Town, and many people were gathered at Professor Oak's ranch where the party was taking place. Almost a third of the population of Pallet Town had come for the party. Maybe it wasn't saying that much considering how small Pallet Town was, but there was more than enough people for the party to be a huge success. People were chatting animatedly about all sorts of things.

Standing on a podium at the very front of the ranch was Ash. He had Pikachu, Professor Oak, and Delia by his side. All of Ash's other Pokemon were standing a short distance away on the other side that the others weren't on. Professor Oak coughed lightly into a microphone to get everyone's attention. He was a little tired from staying up late last night, but he would get by just fine for one day. As soon as the conversations died down and all eyes turned to the group on stage, Professor Oak began to speak.

"Hello everyone. Thank you so much for attending this party to support Ash after his very first Pokemon League. He's done Pallet Town very proud and represented our small town excellently," he said, to which everyone began to clap their hands.

Ash looked around at all the people who came to attend. There were well over a hundred people who made it. It warmed his heart considerably at how many people supported or cared for him. However, the residents of Pallet Town didn't even come close to his loved ones that had attended the party. Brock, Misty, Leaf, Rose, and Grace were here. Yellow had come from Viridian City to attend the party, and even his Uncle Riley had come and appeared to be fully recovered from his injury. Lastl, there was Serena, the wonderful girl who was always there for him, and his girlfriend. The only ones who were missing was Blue Oak due to his duties as the League Champion and Red Ketchum.

Ash then felt the microphone pushed into his hand by Professor Oak. Ash looked up at the Pokemon Professor who gave him a nod to say something. Truthfully, there was a lot things Ash wanted to say. He could go through every single person at this party and what they meant to him, but that would take forever. Instead, Ash decided to just make his speech short and sweet.

"Umm…for everyone who supported me in the Pokemon League. I just want to say thank you all so much. It really means a lot to me for you all to be here," Ash said and gave a bow for emphasis of his appreciation. He then turned to Professor Oak, "And thank you for hosting, Professor."

"It's my pleasure, Ash," Professor Oak smiled while people applauded once more at Ash's short speech. He then took the microphone back from Ash before speaking once more. "I would also like to take this short time to recognize my grandson, Gary Oak, who couldn't be here due to certain circumstances. He worked very hard and was in the Pokemon League, too!"

The spectators nodded and gave an applause for the absent Gary Oak, too. Even Ash made sure to do so. He really couldn't help but wonder where Gary was right now. He gave a brief glance at his childhood friend, Leaf, to see if there was any strange reaction from her. Thankfully, there wasn't, and that truly meant she was back to normal.

"Finally, I just want to salute Ash for coming into the Top Four! Now let's enjoy the party!" Professor Oak concluded as he held up a glass of punch in his free hand. Everyone else raised their glasses, as well, before taking a sip.

Everyone then dispersed to do their own thing while Ash knelt down next to Pikachu while his other Pokemon came over to him, also. They all formed a small circle around Ash as he wanted to say a private thanks to them.

"Thank you so much, guys. I couldn't have made it this far without you. You are the best Pokemon a guy could ever ask for. I love all of you,and let's not forget Aerodactyl and Butterfree who aren't with us right now," he told them.

His Pokemon all smiled at their trainer's words before closing in for a group hug with him. They knew of their trainer's desire to get stronger, and they shared that passion, too. Every one of them was going to redouble their efforts and become more powerful just like Ash. Today, however, they would enjoy themselves.

The trainer and Pokemon broke their hug after about another ten seconds before separating and mingling into the party, as well. Ash smiled as he watched them go before going to find his other friends. He hadn't taken more than a few steps when a frightening mantis Pokemon stepped in his way. It was none other than Serena's Scyther. For some strange reason, this Pokemon had a strong dislike for Ash. The usual glint appeared in its eye when it was around Ash.

"Umm…hey there, Scyther. What's up?" Ash asked it trying to be friendly. He really hoped to avoid any unnecessary conflict with the Pokemon at his own celebrations.

Then, to his great surprise, Scyther held out one of its bladed arms for Ash to shake and nodded. It still didn't seem to have a friendly expression on its face, but it seemed even Scyther could set aside its dislike for Ash for at least a little bit so it could congratulate him.

"Oh. Thanks, Scyther," Ash said as he took the bladed arm and shook it. "Maybe this can be the start of a great friendship between us."

Scyther narrowed its eyes in response to that, and Ash gulped. It was pretty much telling Ash to not count on it. Well, he could hope, at least. Pikachu frowned at this, but Scyther merely gave an uncaring look at Pikachu in response. It wasn't afraid of that yellow rat.

"Now, Scyther. I don't want you causing any trouble for Ash during his own party. Do you hear me?" a girl's voice sounded to the side of them.

That, on the other hand, was something Scyther was scared of. The two Pokemon and boy turned to the side to see Serena Gabena standing there with her hands on her hips. Cubone and Togepi were beside her, mimicking her motions. Ash gave a smile once he saw her.

Yes. Scyther was all too aware of the wrath of its trainer if she was truly upset, and it didn't want to be on the receiving end of it. It gave a grumble before slouching off to the nearby fruit table where Grace and Delia were conversing. It then stabbed its right scythe through the apple and shoved the fruit in its mouth, causing Grace to gasp at the Pokemon's savage nature.

"What am I going to do with you, Scyther?" Serena sighed as she placed her hand to her forehead in frustration. She then turned towards Ash and returned the smile he was giving her. "Hey, you."

"Hey," Ash responded as he went over to her.

Togepi gave a happy cry and waddled over towards its daddy. Ash grinned and picked up Togepi before playfully tossing it into the air and catching it again, which the spikeball Pokemon loved. He then set it down on his shoulder, being careful to hold onto it.

"There sure are a lot of people here," Serena commented.

"Yeah. A lot more than I thought," Ash responded as he looked around.

"What makes you say that?" Serena asked as she tilted her head to the side.

"Well, before I started my Pokemon journey, hardly anyone knew who I was in Pallet Town. I still remember the very first day of our journey. Gary had a truck load of fans, and all I had was my mom," Ash said.

"That just proves how far you really have come," Serena replied. "I saw it in the Pokemon League, too. You had a really rough start, but by the end of the league, everybody loved you. You just have a magnetic personality."

"Heheheheh, yeah," Ash replied as he rubbed the back of his head and blushed.

It was true. In reality, Ash didn't know half of the people here at the party. They certainly knew who he was, however. It almost made him feel like some kind of celebrity, but he wouldn't go down the arrogant path. It wouldn't hurt to try to speak with everyone who came to the party. They did come here because they supported him, after all. Ash could show his appreciation by at least thanking them and getting their name.

"Hey, guys!" Brock suddenly shouted as he popped up between Ash and Serena, causing them both to jump. Vulpix came up with Brock before sitting down next to his feet.

"What's up, Brocko?" Ash asked as he saw the dark-skinned teen.

"Man, if there's one thing Pallet Town is good at, it's throwing a party!" Brock exclaimed as he took a huge slurp of noodles with some sort of orange powder on them. "These spicy noodles are the best! I have to get the recipe!"

"Wait a second, Brock. Are you okay?" Serena asked once she saw how much he was sweating.

"Of course!" Brock replied as he began panting from how hot the noodles were. "A little spiciness never hurt anyone. Woah!"

"Psy?" Misty's Psyduck piped up as it came up to the group.

"Oh. Hey, Psyduck. Why aren't you with Misty?" Ash inquired.

"Psyduck," Psyduck replied as it shrugged its shoulders.

"Do you want to try some of these noodles, Psyduck?" Brock asked as he gave a single noodle to Psyduck. His mouth appeared to be blistering now.

"Duck?" the duck Pokemon said as it took the noodle from Brock and looked at it curiously. It then slurped the noodle up and gave a contented sigh. No sooner had three seconds passed that Psyduck's face turned a beet red. It then began screaming and frantically running around in circles before blowing a huge burst of fire from its mouth.

"Woah. Psyduck used Flamethrower," Serena commented as the group watched the poor duck run around.

Cubone was really grateful that Psyduck had tried the noodles first so now it knew not to. It was just about ask Brock for some when Psyduck showed up. Sometimes, going first was not always the best option. It would remember that in the future.

"It can't be that bad," Ash said as he took a couple of noodles himself before he, too, started yelling from the intense heat of the noodles.

"Okay, Staryu and Starmie! Cool Ash and Psyduck down with Water Gun!" a new voice shouted to their left.

Two star shaped Pokemon appeared in front of the distressed person and Pokemon. They then shot a stream of water from their top part into the two's mouths. Ash and Psyduck then let out a sigh.

"Thanks, Misty," Ash said to the newcomer as she joined the circle.

"It's no problem, Ash," the red-haired girl replied before giving a disapproving look at Psyduck. "You see, Psyduck. This is why I can't let you out of my sight for one second. You always seem to be getting in some kind of trouble on your own."

"Duck?" it inquired as it looked at Misty in confusion.

"Never mind," Misty sighed before looking at Brock. "Seriously, Brock. How are you able to withstand these noodles?"

"Who knows? I guess it's because I cooked so much growing up, I've tasted all ranges of food so I'm used to it," Brock shrugged as he continued to slurp up the orange noodles like nothing was wrong.

"Well, you will certainly make a great housekeeper one day, Brock," Ash joked.

"Hahaha. Very funny, Ash. You know I'm still aiming to be a Pokemon Breeder," Brock said as rubbed Vulpix's head affectionately, causing the fox Pokemon to cry happily. "I think now that I've had a year to get my thoughts together, I can really start taking my breeder career seriously. I'd like to start competing in a few competitions like Suzy does. Only then will I know my skill level."

"I hear you. I guess that makes two of us. I now know the areas I need to grow in the most so I can really start training now," Ash responded.

"Count me in. I hear there are some great smaller competitions for me to compete in throughout the year. It would be fun to try them," Serena added.

"Me, too. If I know of a great spot to get some water Pokemon, I'm there!" Misty finished with a wink.

"It sounds like you all know how you're going to proceed," Leaf commented as she came up from behind the group.

"Yeah. So what are you going to do now, Leaf?" Ash asked her.

"Well, my pokedex is almost complete as far as the Kanto region goes. I'd like to try to search for a little longer around here to see if I can get lucky and get data on the ones I haven't seen yet. Either that, or try to find some Pokemon of differing patterns or colors. That would be fun," Leaf answered.

"Where would you find different colored Pokemon?" Ash wondered aloud.

"Come on, Ash. Surely you know that different areas have some type of effect on the Pokemon there," Leaf said.

"Guess not," Ash shrugged. "I was always into Pokemon, but never the scientific part. I would always fall asleep in class when Professor Oak would start rambling on about it."

"I guess that's why my grandpa always piled you up with homework as punishment," another voice giggled as she approached the group.

The five turned and saw Daisy Oak standing there with a pleasant smile on her face. Brock's face immediately turned red, but not because of the spicy noodles this time. Wow. Daisy, Suzy, Nurse Joy, and Officer Jenny were quite the women. Vulpix couldn't help but tilt its head in confusion at Brock's look.

"Well, yeah, but…," Ash stuttered as he tried to find the right words to say.

"Heehee. I was just coming by to tell you that Riley wanted to speak with you for a second. By the way, congratulations on doing so well at the Pokemon League" Daisy said as she swooped down and gave a light kiss on Ash's cheek.

Ash couldn't help but have his ears burn at the gesture. He knew it wasn't romantic, but there was just something about Daisy's small kisses that made him smile. Maybe it was because she was older, but he didn't really quite understand it. Brock, on the other hand, seemed to seethe with jealousy about how lucky Ash was with the ladies. Pikachu snickered while Vulpix. Togepi, Cubone, and Psyduck looked confused. Kabuto appeared behind Brock and prepared its claws, just in case.

The three other girls rolled their eyes at the boys' goofy expressions, particularly Serena. Leave it to Daisy Oak to stop every boy in their tracks when she passed. She always seemed to have at least one boy ask her out on a date every week, but she politely declined by saying she was busy with research. One thing was for certain, the one boy that would be Daisy's future husband is lucky indeed.

"Heh. Thanks, Daisy," Ash said as she walked off. He then turned to the others and returned to a normal expression. "I'll catch up with you guys in a little bit."

"Alright. We'll be right here," Serena said with a smile which Ash returned. She wasn't upset at Ash for acting like that around Daisy. She was used to it by now.

Ash then headed away from the group to look for his uncle. He passed by Rose and Yellow who gave him a quick hug as congratulations before he moved on. One would think it would be hard to find one person in such a crowd of people, but Riley always stood out like a sore thumb with his odd choice of wardrobe. All Ash had to look for was a cape and a big blue hat.

Ash finally spotted Riley talking with a woman he didn't know. From what Ash could tell, Riley was being rather flattering towards the lady as she was blushing and looked quite nervous. Ash chuckled lightly at this. He couldn't believe how his uncle could be so charming around women and still be single. Then again, Riley had told Ash that he prefers to stay single so he isn't tied down to staying in one place by marriage with as much as he travels.

"Hey, Uncle Riley," Ash greeted as he approached him.

"Ash, I was just wanting to speak with you, but I got sidetracked by talking to this lovely lady right here," Riley said which caused the other woman to giggle.

"Don't let me cramp your style," Ash replied with a smile.

"There's no way you could," Riley grinned back before turning to the other woman. "Pardon me, madam, but I must speak to my nephew privately. Could you leave us for now?"

"Oh, certainly. I'd love to hear more of your stories in the future. Bye now!" the woman said eagerly before hurrying off.

As the lady left, Ash didn't know what it was, but he felt that strange presence once again. He never used to feel it when he was younger, but ever since meeting with Riley on Cinnabar Island, he knew it was there. Did Riley always have this…presence…around him? Ash thought it might be aura-related, and he was really curious. It was like another living thing was right next to them, but it wasn't a human. Maybe a Pokemon? He couldn't see it, but he could sense it. The presence wasn't malicious so Ash wasn't worried by it. It was just different.

"Ash?" Riley inquired once he saw Ash's strange expression.

Ash shook his head. If this being or Riley ever wanted to reveal it, they would. For now, he had to focus on why Riley had called him over.

"Sorry. I was just thinking about something. So how are you feeling?" Ash asked.

"I'm fully recovered now and couldn't be better. Delia advised me to not push myself, but I had to deny her request. I can never stay in one place for more than a few weeks," Riley answered.

Ash was really relieved to hear that. He still remembered when Riley had been shot by Team Rocket while trying to protect his mom. Everyone was really worried for Riley once they found out and thought it might be the end of him. However, Riley's use of aura appeared to have really saved him when he needed it to, and the best part was Ash just heard Riley was fully recovered. Aura truly was an amazing thing.

"That's great, and I'm really glad you're here, too," Ash replied.

"Of course. I wouldn't miss celebrating my nephew's participation in the Pokemon League. Congratulations by the way. That was really something to make it into the Top Four. Both Delia and Red told me they were so proud of you, and of course, I am, too," Riley said with a nod.

"Thanks. Dad told me that when I win a region's league and learn to take care of myself, I'll be ready to learn how to use aura," Ash stated.

"I couldn't agree more with him. Aura will help you the most once you've become the best you can be without it," Riley replied before adding, "Red told me through our aura connection that you are really going to start taking your Pokemon career seriously. Just don't get so caught up in your training that you lose sight of why you are on this journey in the first place."

"I won't," Ash said automatically.

"I mean it, Ash. Too many times, there are trainers just like you who start out wanting to be the best and have fun, but they become so focused on their training that they work themselves and their Pokemon ragged. Ultimately, three things happen to them. They either become cold and angry, they quit because they think they're pathetic, or they go to the wrong side of the law," Riley explained.

Ash's eyes lit up as all of these scenarios were very familiar to him. He knew three different people who fit this criteria perfectly: Paul, Gary, and Giovanni. Paul became cold and angry. Gary didn't quit but he believes himself to be pathetic, and Giovanni was the leader of a criminal gang. They all started off as trainers just like him but lost sight of what their true purpose was as a trainer, and look what happened to them.

"Don't worry. I know the limits of myself and my Pokemon right now. I'll keep in mind what you said," Ash replied more seriously this time.

"Good," Riley replied with a nod before continuing, "Oh right! I wanted to tell you that I know you were looking forward to talking with me and help oversee your training for a while, but unfortunately, I'll be away for a few months. I won't be able to take any calls during this time because I'll be focused solely on this mission."

"Mission? Where are you going?" Ash questioned as he tilted his head.

"I can't reveal too much due to the confidentiality of it, but I'm going to the Orange Islands which are a bit south to the Kanto region. There's a young man who is said to own the largest collection of merchandise in the world. He is very wealthy," Riley explained.

"What's his name?" Ash wondered.

"Well, I can't reveal that," Riley replied as he glanced to the side.

"Why does that involve a secret mission?" Ash asked.

"Well, reports have said that this 'collector's', as they refer him, actions have been a really suspicious lately. Police have tried to inquire him about it, but he denies any wrongdoing on his part. They called me in to investigate the matter and keep tabs on him, in secrecy of course," Riley replied.

"So no one knows what he's trying to do?" Ash questioned.

"Right. I'll be gone until I can figure out what it is he is trying to do exactly. I don't know why, but I have a hunch that it isn't anything good," Riley said rather grimly.

"I see," Ash muttered. He was really hoping to get some training tips in from his uncle now that his dad had left again, but it seemed like he was going to be gone, too, to investigate this collector person.

"I'm really sorry, Ash. I was wanting to help you, too," Riley sighed.

"No. It's okay. I understand why they need you," Ash said.

"Yeah. The police had been trying to contact me for a while on this but I was always traveling so I never got the message. I was going to take Yellow with me, too, due to her psychic power, but the police explicitly told me to go alone as it would draw the least amount of attention to the collector. It has to be me," Riley whispered, worried that he was getting a little too loud with his mission.

"Okay, but nothing's stopping you from visiting once you're done, right?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Definitely not. I promise I'll make time for you when I come back to make up for the time I'm gone," Riley smiled.

"Sounds good, then!" Ash said enthusiastically.

"Pika Pi," Ash's yellow rodent said suddenly while tugging on the pair of his pants.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked curiously, wondering why the yellow rodent had called him.

"Chu," Pikachu pointed with its little right finger off to its right.

Ash followed the direction it was pointing in and put on a confused look. He saw his Charizard sitting away from everyone else at the party. Its wings were down and there was just the overall feel of melancholy around it, even from this distance. Serena's Charizard, Charla, was trying to tug at its boyfriend and roar encouragingly at it, but Charizard didn't seem to listen.

"I guess one of your Pokemon needs you right now, Ash." Riley figured.

"Yeah. I'll see you later, Riley," Ash waved before nodding in thanks to Pikachu and leaving the scene.

As Ash made his way over to Charizard, he wondered what could be bothering it. All of his Pokemon seemed perfectly happy earlier. Then again, Charizard has been acting a little different ever since It lost to Paul's Electabuzz. Normally, Charizard would have probably eaten all the food at the party so the fact that it wasn't means something was really bothering it.

Upon seeing Ash approaching, Charla gave a slight puff of smoke from its nose and nodded to Ash. Truthfully, it wanted to be the one to cheer up its boyfriend, but there are some things that only a trainer can help with, and the female fire lizard was fine with that. It stepped to the side to give Ash some room and watched the proceedings.

"Hey, Charizard. What's got you down?" Ash asked as he sat down next to it.

Charizard merely mumbled a low level growl in response. It was still thinking about its loss against Paul's Electabuzz. Out of all of Ash's Pokemon, Charizard had been the one to take it the hardest. It had trained so hard to be strong since it was a Charmander when its first trainer, Damian, called it a loser. Ever since joining Ash, it wanted to show how strong it was. Sure, it won plenty of matches, but that didn't change the fact that it lost in one of Ash's most important matches. Ash said it was strong, but it still lost. So who was weak? The trainer or the Pokemon?

"So it's your loss against Paul?" Ash guessed, receiving a nod before continuing. "It isn't your fault you lost, Charizard. You aren't weak at all."

Charizard rolled its eyes at Ash's statement and turned away. That's the same thing its girlfriend had said to it. Saying it isn't weak wasn't going to make it feel any better. Where was the proof that it was strong and not pathetic like Damian had called it?

"Really, Charizard. It wasn't your fault we lost. It was mine," Ash told it.

Once again, Charizard didn't turn to look at Ash.

"You did outstanding against Paul's Electabuzz," Ash continued. "We only lost by a hair, and it was because of my weak training rather than my Pokemon."

Charizard gave a light snort in response.

"So you want proof?" Ash asked. "Charizard, your endurance against Electabuzz's attacks was incredible. You took a multitude of electric attacks of various intensity. You took a Thunder dead on. You endured several Double Thunder Punches. Your determination to win was also great. I still remember how towards the end of the match how Electabuzz was hitting you with Thunderbolt. You didn't let that stop you, though. You pushed through it and continued to charge up your Flare Blitz. Electabuzz even started attacking you with two attacks, but you still pushed through and managed to hit it. That was amazing!"

Charizard finally turned to look at Ash. Okay. Maybe it didn't do terrible against Electabuzz, and Ash made some good points.

"As I said, we lost because of me," Ash muttered. "Remember what I said how we were all going to train harder? I've been holding all of you back from reaching your full potential. Let's start with you. I'm willing to bet had you been able to use two attacks at a time like Paul's Pokemon, we would've won, but I never thought of something like that. Not to mention, I haven't been using the pokedex to study my Pokemon like I should be. It would've revealed the areas needed to be worked in the most for all of you. That way, any weakness you had could be covered."

Charizard sighed. It didn't think of Ash as a horrible trainer. If it did, it wouldn't listen to him. It would've been one of those unruly Pokemon who took naps or attacked their trainer. Charizard couldn't imagine doing those things to Ash. He had saved its life as a Charmander, after all. Ash showed so much care to it and was always encouraging it and its comrades to do their best. Admittedly, it didn't think Ash was a perfect trainer. No one is. Still, it wouldn't prefer to be with anyone but Ash right now.

"My loss against Paul taught me a lot, and it finally opened my eyes to what I need do to be a better trainer," Ash said. "I'll use you as an example again. I now see that your left arm is nowhere near as strong as your right arm. We're going to work on that together. Before you know it, you'll be able to pick up a Snorlax because you have so much arm strength!"

Charizard gave light snort in amusement. Okay. Maybe it wasn't weak like Ash told it. There were just some things it wasn't able to do yet. Charizard hadn't reached its maximum potential yet. When it did, it would be unstoppable. With that, Charizard smiled before standing up and unleashing a Flamethrower towards the sky. Charla smiled and joined Charizard with a Flamethrower of its own.

"That sounds more like the Charizard I know!" Ash said with a nod. He then stood up, too. "Just you wait. You guys are already amazing, but when I'm done with you, nothing will bring you down!"

Charizard gave enthusiastic roar of agreement. Like Ash, it was going to try its hardest and work extra hard. Of course, it had all of its friends to help it, and in turn, it would help them in any areas they needed training in. They would work as a team and be unbeatable. It was then Charizard's stomach growled. It had been so down in the dumps that it forgot how hungry it was!

"Well, what are you waiting for, Charizard? Go help yourself. Just try not eat everything!" Ash told it with a laugh.

Charizard smiled mischievously. That's the key word. It would try not to eat everything. Whether it actually followed through with that was another matter entirely.

Ash gave a nervous smile as he saw Charizard and Charla head over to the noodles table where Professor Oak, Brock, Kingler, and Serena's Hitmonlee were. It appeared Brock still couldn't get enough of those spicy noodles. Upon seeing the two fire lizards heading in their direction, the two humans grimaced and began piling up as much as they could because it might be their last helping. Hitmonlee, on the other hand, merely sighed and walked away. It wasn't that hungry anyway.

Ash was glad he was able to help Charizard overcome its slump. It just needed to be reminded of how hard they would all work from now on. Ash then took a look around to see what his other Pokemon were doing. Hitmonchan and Primeape had just arrived at the noodles table at the exact same time as Charla and Charizard. The two fighting types then started an argument on who should get dibs first between them and the two Charizard. Muk had just found Professor Oak and Kingler moving away from the noodles table at the impending fight and smothered the professor in a sloppy hug while Kingler gave a nervous smile at its antics. Wartortle and Haunter were conversing with Misty's Shellder and laughing a whole lot in the process. Bulbasaur was trying keep up with Serena's energetic Eevee to keep it from hurting itself or someone else in its rashness. Pidgeotto was happily slurping up noodles in a tree. Tauros was with Brock's Onix and letting a few people or Pokemon take turns riding on it which rather surprised Ash. He would have to try that sometime with Tauros. Dratini appeared to be alone but was soon come across by Bulbasaur and Eevee, who happily started chatting with it.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu called as it climbed up Ash's shoulder and smiled at him.

"Hey, buddy. Charizard's much better now as you can see," Ash said as he gestured to the fire lizard, who finally seemed to be content on sharing with Hitmonchan and Primeape.

"Chu!" Pikachu responded it the positive.

Yeah. All of Ash's Pokemon had their own distinct personalities and he wouldn't have them any different than they already were. Each of his Pokemon had many strengths, but in turn had something they didn't excel in. They would discover and work on that together while at the same time improving something they already did exceedingly well. After today, Ash's true training with his Pokemon would finally begin. With that thought in mind, Ash headed back to where his friends and Serena were waiting for him.

The remainder of the party was very fun for everyone. It lasted well into the late afternoon when people started to trickle out slowly at a time. Pretty soon, the only ones left were the Greens, Oaks, Gabenas, Ketchums, Brock, Misty, and Yellow. Riley had already left for the Orange Islands.

"Hoooo! That party took a lot out of me," Professor Oak commented as he stretched his back.

"Thanks a lot for hosting the party for me, Professor," Ash told him.

"As I said, it was my pleasure, Ash. I'm willing to bet that the next party we throw for you will be because you won a League," Professor Oak told him as he began to clean up.

"Yeah. That would really be something," Ash agreed before adding, "Do you need any help folding that table cloth?"

"It's okay, Ash. I've got it," Rose, Leaf's mother, interjected as she took the other side of cloth to help Professor Oak fold it.

"That's right, Ash. This was your party. It wouldn't do if you helped clean up," Delia said with a smile.

"In fact, if you could go inside my lab and wait for us to clean up, I would greatly appreciate it. There is something I would like to ask of you," Professor Oak said.

"Really?" Ash asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Yes. All of you kids, actually," Professor Oak replied as he gestured to Ash's friends scattered around doing various things to help clean up.

"Well, okay. I'll see you when you're done," Ash shrugged before calling, "Come on, Pikachu."

"Pikachu!" the yellow rodent said as it climbed up on Ash's shoulder and they went inside.

There wasn't much to do once Ash entered the lab. He actually would've preferred to help clean so he would have something to do, but everyone was pretty adamant about letting him relax, so relax he would. Ash sat down on the large couch in Professor Oak's lobby, and it wasn't long before he found himself lying down. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder before curling up at the end of the couch. Upon seeing it, Ash figured Pikachu had the right idea. Maybe a little nap wouldn't hurt while he waited. Ash pulled the cap down over his eyes and began to think about all he had done in the past year, and soon, he was asleep...

XXX

Ladies and gentleman! We have ourselves a winner of the Pokemon League! Let's give it up for Ash Ketchum!" the announcer shouted as the crowd erupted into applause.

Ash was standing in the middle of the Pokemon Stadium holding his golden trophy high into the air. All of his Pokemon were standing by his side. He couldn't believe it. He had finally won the Pokemon League and was now one step closer to achieving his dream of becoming a Pokemon Master. Taking his dad's advice had really helped him. He and his Pokemon trained extra hard, and that work finally paid off.

"Does our winner have anything to say to the crowd?!" a reporter enthusiastically asked as she shoved her microphone in front of Ash.

"Well, the only thing I really can say is thanks to all of my friends for believing in me, and of course, thanks to all of my amazing Pokemon!" Ash replied as he turned and gave all of his Pokemon a thumbs-up.

"Ash!" a voice called to his right.

The raven haired boy turned and saw Serena running towards him as fast as she could. Ash grinned and opened his arms to welcome the embrace Serena was going to give him. Seconds later, she crashed into him with the force of hurricane, nearly toppling him over. She didn't stop there, however. Serena leaned forward and kissed him smack on the lips! Ash's eyes widened at her sudden boldness but soon found himself returning it.

Ash then felt a hand placed on his shoulder. He broke his kiss with Serena and spun around to find Brock, Misty, Gary, and Leaf there, with Brock the one who placed his hand on Ash's shoulder. They nodded to Ash before Brock embraced Ash in a brotherly hug. This came off as rather strange to Ash. He didn't know he and Brock were that close, were they? Noogies and high fives, sure, but this? He was soon joined by the other three as they hugged Ash, also.

Ash then saw his mom, his dad, and Riley standing next to the others. He grinned and felt his eyes watering in joy that his family was here to see this.

The biggest surprise of all was when he saw two girls who were rather unfamiliar to him show up next. One was a girl with brown hair in pigtails, and the other was a girl with long blue hair. It was then that it hit Ash. Was that May and Dawn? He hadn't seen them in forever! Only now, they looked older, closer to his own age than when he met them a long time ago. This was getting a little strange.

Despite these oddities, Ash decided to pay it no mind in the end. He had all of his loved ones and Pokemon here with him, and that's all that mattered. Serena leaned her head on Ash's shoulder as he continued to look at everybody cheering for him. That was when he felt something else strange, but it was a different strange, like something was out of place.

A thunderclap.

Ash looked up and saw massive storm clouds rolling in, and he unknowingly had his hands curl into gentle fists. Upon looking back down, Ash saw the huge audience had disappeared. He then saw his friends and family had lost their happy expressions and were now glaring at the ominous, black clouds above them. His Pokemon were also fixed upon the clouds and were all growling threateningly.

Ash then nearly jumped as he heard what sounded like booming laughter coming from the clouds. Wait. They weren't from the clouds. They were coming from someone who was cloaked in shadows that had suddenly appeared in front of the group. The booming laughter it was creating chilled Ash to the bone. It was so sinister.

Ash turned to the side and saw Serena clutching his arm in a death grip. She looked so frightened, even more so than he did! In fact, she looked more terrified than anyone else in the group.

"Serena?" Ash questioned.

Serena didn't answer. Her gaze was fixed solely on the figure in front of them. She then opened her mouth into a horrific scream, which really alarmed Ash. What was going on?!

The figure finally ceased its booming laughter before giving a malicious smile at the group. It was then a little more light was shed and Ash could make out the figure's features. It was very tall and burly, well over six feet tall. The clouded figure then finally spoke, confirming it to be human…probably.

"The world…is dying," it spoke in a deep voice.

XXX

Ash jolted awake after that. He then looked around and saw he was still in Professor Oak's lab, lying down on his couch. How long had he been out? It couldn't have been too long as his friends still weren't done from cleaning up from the party. The raven-haired boy then turned forward and saw Pikachu was curled up on the end of the couch, fast asleep. It looked so peaceful, a huge contrast to the dream Ash just had.

Speaking of said dream, it had been really weird. It started off as another pleasant dream with Ash winning a League before taking a dark turn rather quickly. It almost reminded him of several months back when he dreamt Team Rocket shot his mother and friends. This one was a lot stranger, though. Why were May and Dawn, whom he only met once, there? Why was Serena so scared? Who in the world was this person…or thing in his dream?

Ash shook his head. In the end, it was just a dream, right? People had all sorts of crazy dreams that were really creepy but never meant anything. This was no different, right? The best thing to do would be to not dwell on it so much. Still, why did he dream something like this now of all time? Was it right to just brush off something like this? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to let someone know who has probably had experience in these types of things.

Red Ketchum.

Well, nothing like starting off the arc with some fun scenes and a little foreshadowing. What was the purpose of that dream? Time will tell, but think back to Ash and Serena's conversation with Moltres. There might be a connection.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and show just as much support for this story as you did for the first one! I'll have the next chapter up before the end of the month for sure! Another one in May after that is unlikely, but you never know! Stay tuned!

Chapter 2: A Request from Professor Oak