S.R: Okay, so this may feel a bit rushed.

M.R: That's because it is… Though in our defense, we want to hurry up and get on to Johto.

S.R: True, true. But yeah, we want to have the Indigo League done by the 35th chapter (meaning it officially ends in Chapter 35 and from 36 to 40 we'll deal with a few side stories, then 41 starts the Johto journey). So this chapter is probably going to feel rough compared to some of the other chapters.

PhoenixWyvern: Are we back yet?

S.R: Nope. Ash doesn't get to see you guys until the Indigo League… So maybe three chapters from this one?

PhoenixWyvern: You better hurry up and get there then.

M.R: Are you threatening us?

Cazzidy: He means the longer it takes the more chaos Carly causes as she throws a temper tantrum about us not being in the story yet.

PhoenixWyvern: Nooooooo….. Okay yeah, she's right. Unless you can bribe her with cookies, she'll be driving us insane.

S.R: Right, well while you guys handle that, I'm gonna get on with the story.

ASH'S POV

After spending the night talking my plans over with both Brock and my mother it was decided that we'd stick around in Pallet town for two and a half weeks, then spend a week and a half getting some final preparations done before facing Giovanni. With any luck I'd win and then have three months of time to devote solely to preparing for the Indigo League.

But the next morning when we got to the professor's ranch we ran into a familiar face.

"Oh, it's been a while Ash."

A small smile graced the face of Sabrina as she saw our group walk into the professors lab.

"Yeah it has. Nice to see you again Sabrina."

I responded as the professor joined us in the room. He hadn't noticed us yet and without looking up from the clipboard that was in his hands he spoke to Sabrina.

"I was only able to find out that the Abra you'd brought in was malnourished. There were no other medical issues. Were there any signs that the ecosystem was out of balance? Did you notice any other Pokemon showcasing similar symptoms or was Abra the only one you had noticed anything wrong with?"

"As far as I could see there was nothing wrong. Because it's been too weak to properly take care of itself I didn't want to risk using my psychic powers to communicate with it. Abra may be a psychic type but using mental power can still be taxing on your body, and without the proper care it can even harm our bodies if we push ourselves to use it. I don't see why the same wouldn't be said about a Pokemon."

She responded before the professor finally noticed that Brock, my mother and I had arrived.

"Oh good morning you all. Good timing, since Sabrina didn't feel comfortable using psychic powers to communicate with this Abra could I ask if you would use an aura link to do so Ash?"

Because it sounded like there was a Pokemon that was in pain I agreed without any hesitation. So after Brock and my mom offered to go check up on all the other Pokemon that the professor was taking care of, professor Oak lead Sabrina and I into the room he'd been checking up on the Abra in.

The poor Pokemon seemed rather skinny compared to what I'd seen of it's kind the one time I had helped the professor study a small group of Abra. Because of that I was even slower and even more gentle than normal with establishing an aura link.

'Hello there Abra. I'm Ash. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?'

'Not at all.'

Even though I was surprised to discover that it was a female Abra from the sound of it's voice through our newly established link, I hid the shock and responded happily.

'That's good. Since you're being so calm I assume you've realized we just want to help.'

Instead of responding with the newly established aura link she gave a nod in response. So I explained how the old man that was with us, the professor, was worried that something was wrong with the ecosystem. Understanding that we were trying to find out if she was the only Pokemon from the area it lived in that was suffering Abra answered all of the questions that we had.

Abra had hatched from it's egg with no one around, taking care of itself as best it could. But because of the strain of her powers, Abra needed to sleep a lot, which meant she didn't have a lot of time to find a source of food that would be constant, especially since like other Abra, she tended to teleport around a lot even while sleeping. She had gotten pretty weak simply because the last few times she'd woken up were in areas that she couldn't find any suitable food sources. Sabrina had just happened to find her in the spot she had ended up in before becoming too weak to teleport again.

Sabrina and Professor Oak were both please to hear that there wasn't something wrong in the actual environment that lead to Abra's weak condition though they both frowned when I told them what I had learned. Because Abra had opened up to me by telling it's story, I could feel the inklings of her curiosity bleeding into our connection, so once she had finished telling us about why she was so weak, I explained a bit about the three of us.

I told Abra how Sabrina was a Pokemon trainer that specialized in Psychic type Pokemon, which was probably why she personally brought it to the professor instead of having someone else do it. How the professor was devoted to studying Pokemon and learning all he could. I even told Abra about my dream of becoming a Pokemon Master like my dad was.

'Wanting to be like your father… That sounds like a nice goal.'

After that I promised Abra I'd stop by and talk some more before heading home for the day, since I still needed to visit with my Pokemon that were staying at the professors ranch. Since it wasn't her Pokemon in particular and she knew it was in good hands Sabrina left to return to Saffron after Professor Oak and I told her we'd take care of the Abra.

Over the next few days I visited with Abra after training with all of my Pokemon but before going home, easily becoming friends with her. After a week however we had another surprise. The egg I'd been given back when Brock, Cynthia and I had gone to the Grampa Canyon finally hatched.

Even though I didn't have any plans to allow the newly hatched Aerodactyl to do any kind of training I did scan it with my Pokedex anyway, just so I'd know where to begin when I felt it was time for him to start training.

"Aerodactyl. The Fossil Pokemon. A ferocious, prehistoric Pokemon that goes for the enemy's throat with its serrated saw-like fangs. This Aerodactyl is male. It's ability is Rock Head. It knows the moves Iron Head, Wing Attack, Supersonic, and Bite. It's Egg move Dragon Breath hasn't been activated yet."

Strangely, similar to Conan when he hatched Aerodactyl already had a name. I did ask the professor about that, since at least as far as I knew, Pokemon only had names when a trainer gave them a name. But Conan, Eira, and now Granite all clearly already had things they wanted to be called.

Professor Oak's response was that after talking with some other aura users in the past it was determined that all Pokemon have an actual name when hatched, but because they cannot normally communicate with humans Pokemon as a whole have slowly adapted to respond when addressed by their species name. He even mentioned how after after a few times of being addressed by their trainer when given a new name, they understand that their trainer has given them a name that suites them and so they accept it as their name and begin to respond to it as well. Because I wasn't sure I fully understood, I did ask my Pokemon about it as well.

They all confirmed that they were born with a name that they knew by instinct, but because of the fact they knew that outside of certain conditions they couldn't tell us humans about their names they also instinctively answered to their species name, so long as they knew they were being addressed. They also instinctively memorized their trainers voice so as to always be able to respond even if the trainer changed their name.

Aside from Granite the Aerodactyl, the Abra that the professor was taking care of, and helping Lapras recover, nothing else really happened. Not until the day before we were set to head out to Viridian City again. Abra had approached me.

'Since I do a lot of traveling thanks to teleporting around, I've decided I want to try traveling with a trainer.'

"That makes sense. Traveling alone isn't very fun."

'No, no it is not.'

Abra responded to my comment. I could feel the undercurrent of loneliness present in her words.

"Well I'm sure you're going to be a lot happier with whoever you end up traveling alongside."

At that Abra tilted her head. Even though the professor was satisfied that she'd recovered enough to be able to use her psychic powers, he had stressed that it should be for less than five minutes a day until she had both gotten stronger and healthier. So I was concerned when she used her powers, the tell-tale blue glow that encompassed her eyes telling me what she was doing. But it didn't last very long as suddenly a Poke-ball was floating past my head. The moment I saw it, Abra released her psychic hold on it, causing the Poke-ball to fall. Without thinking I reached out to catch the ball, accidentally tapping the button, activating it.

'Thank you, Ash.'

She said to me before moving towards the ball, taking it from my hand and tapping it against her head. Stunned I watched as she turned int a beam of light that entered the Poke-ball. It fell to the ground shaking once, twice, and then a third time before stopping as a ding sounded out signifying a successful capture.

"If I hadn't watched you forming that bond you and Abra have, I'd be shocked, but I had a feeling something like this would happen Ash my boy."

I heard the voice of the professor say from behind me. I slowly moved to pick up the ball that held Abra. As my hand wrapped around the ball I used my aura link to tell her 'I'm honored you chose me to be your trainer. Hopefully I live up to your expectations.'

The response I got was a feeling of happiness and contentedness, as Abra shared her emotions with me through our link.

"That's another Pokemon you need to scan now Ash."

Professor Oak said as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Abra, Rhydon, and Rapidash yeah."

"And one more."

He responded with a kind smile.

"Um…. who's the other one?"

"Lapras of course!"

"Wait, she's recovered enough?!"

I nearly shouted when he gave me the okay to use my Pokedex on Lapras.

"Well, she's recovered enough that I'm okay with her swimming around and doing light exercises. No training just yet, but if you want to take her with you for now it's fine."

As he spoke I wanted to say that he didn't really think she'd recovered enough if she couldn't train yet, but I didn't speak. Because the moment I opened my mouth I realized what he was suggesting. I had told him how Lapras asked if she could accompany me on my journey. So of course he knew about the promise I made. I told Lapras that I'd bring her along on my travels if she could stay here long enough to recover. Professor Oak was giving me a chance to prove my word was good.

So I nodded at his words and turned to move towards the pond Lapras had been staying in at the ranch. The moment I got there I let Abra out of her Poke-ball. All of my Pokemon had gathered nearby anyway so it was easy to get Rapidash and Rhydon to join us. Pulling out my Pokedex I started with Lapras, scanning her, all while telling her that she'd be traveling with me when we left the ranch the next day.

"Lapras. The Transport Pokemon. It ferries people across the sea on its back. It may sing an enchanting cry if it is in a good mood. This Lapras is female. It's ability is Shell Armor. It knows the moves Growl, Water Gun, Sing, Mist, Ice Shard, Confuse Ray, and Water Pulse. This Lapras does not have an egg move."

Turning I scanned Abra next.

"Abra. The Psi Pokemon. A Pokemon that sleeps 18 hours a day. Observation revealed that it uses Teleport to change its location once every hour. This Abra is Female. It's ability is Inner Focus. It knows the move Teleport. This Abra does not have an egg move."

"Rapidash. The Fire Horse Pokemon. This Pokemon just loves to run. If it sees something faster than itself, it will give chase at top speed. This Rapidash is Male. It's ability is Run Away. It knows the moves Tackle, Growl, Flame Charge, and Agility. This Rapidash does not have an egg move."

I had to nod at the move list that Rapidash had. Even though it hadn't been trained for battle it did have a few moves simply because it would naturally know at least one move upon hatching, and even if they didn't try to train it Rapidash would learn a few moves as it grew and evolved from Ponyta into Rapidash.

Sighing I turned towards Rhydon. Thanks to the fact I had Charizard, Gyarados, Blastoise, and Ivysaur out when I first let him free, he was begrudgingly listening to me. After explaining how he came to be entrusted to me I was able to create an aura bond in order to prove that I wasn't lying. Because of our newly established bond I was able to talk with him and I learned that he didn't hate me for defeating him, nor did he dislike me. Rhydon was just impartial to us, only listening to me because he didn't want to be beaten again.

"I know I still haven't earned your trust or friendship, but you did agree to give me a chance. If I'm going to prove myself to you I need to know what you're capable of. That means I need to scan you with this Pokedex. Alright?"

Rhydon rolled it's eyes but did slowly nod that it was okay.

"Rhydon. The Drill Pokemon. This Pokemon walks on its hind legs. It shows signs of intelligence. Its armor-like hide even repels molten lava. This Rhydon is male. It's ability is Rock Head. It knows the moves Tackle, Smack Down, Bulldoze, Horn Attack, Stomp, Rock Blast, Take Down, and Skull Bash. It's egg move Skull Bash has been activated."

"Well you really are a powerhouse."

In response to my praise Rhydon puffed it's chest out a bit acting proud.

"We can still help you though. You know some dangerous moves, but we can help you learn even more dangerous moves. Plus I have a couple ideas to increase the power behind your attacks. Give me the rest of today to come up with an effective training plan. Starting tomorrow you'll be traveling with us so I can get to work on earning your trust and friendship."

Rhydon just stared down at me for a moment before slowly nodding his head. Because I had his approval on my idea I moved towards the professors lab to find some notebook paper to start writing down my ideas.

The Next Day

"Alright guys, I'm going to call out who's coming with me this time. After that I'll do one final check to make sure I've got everything we need, I'll be leaving. Once we've gotten our eighth badge I'll be back and we'll prepare for the Indigo League together. Since changing our teams is acceptable I want to have all of you get a chance to show off, so we'll be working hard to give the best presentation we can."

They all cried out in excitement, though a couple of them used our aura bonds to express how much they were looking forward to it. Once the cacophony of sound died down I started speaking.

"First in my trainee field researcher slots, the Pokemon that aren't going to be taking part in battle. Eira, Conan, and Rapidash."

The three of them stepped forward. Eira and Conan were a little upset that they weren't going to be part of the battling team, but they were happy that they'd get to spend more time with me. I'd thought about bringing Granite along too, but Brock and the professor both warned against it. Because Aerodactyl eat a lot, especially after they hatch Brock and Professor Oak both thought it would be better for him to stay at the ranch where there would be more than enough food. Though Brock also told me it would be better for Granite to stay in one place until he got the hang of flying. After all I had already told them about who would be joining me for our trip to Viridian City, and none of them were flyers that could keep an eye on him after he got used to using his wings and flying around.

"Rhydon, Gyarados, Blastoise, Ivysaur and Lapras. You guys are the ones best suited for our eighth gym battle. Giovanni does specialize in Ground type Pokemon after all. And of course Pikachu is coming with us."

S.R: There will be a time skip at the start of the next chapter. Because the next chapter is literally going to be just the battle against Giovanni. Depending on how much editing happens it might also be the longest chapter of the story.

M.R: Yeah. We've been sitting on that one for a while. It's mostly written, but it's kinda rough.

S.R: Aside from that heads up I don't think we have another announcement so…..

ON HAND:

1. Pikachu (M) 2. Rhydon (M) 3. Gyarados (F) 4. Blastoise (F) 5. Ivysaur (F) 6. Lapras (F)

TRAINEE FIELD RESEARCHER SLOT ADDITIONS:

7. Conan: Riolu (M) 8. Eira: Alolan Vulpix (F) 9. Rapidash (M)

AT THE RANCH:

1. Pidgeot (F) 2. Beedrill (M) 3. Nidorino (M) 4. Muk (M) 5. Growlithe (F) 6. Golbat (M) 7. Apollo: Espeon (M) 8. Artemis: Umbreon (F) 9. Scyther (M) 10. Gengar (F) 11. Abra (F)

12. Albus: Amaura (M) 13. Charizard (M) 14. Granite: Aerodactyl (M)