Ash said, "Good job girl," rubbing Lucario's head. Lucario then joined him on his way to the centre of the field, where the two siblings were walking slowly towards, thinking on what they had seen Ash do with Lucario, realising exactly how far the gap was between them. Lana moreso than Jayce. When they got there, Ash said, "Well done you two."

"You mocking us, huh?" Jayce demanded.

"No. Not at all," Ash said. "The two of you showed more guts today than any of the trainers that have challenged me in the last…Hey May! When did Lester challenge me?"

May said, "That was at the start of last year," as she came over with Nurse Joy.

"Ah right," Ash said. He turned back to the twins and said, "Then."

"So…this Lester beat you then?"

"No," Ash said. "But he did try to do so using Ditto the second time he faced me."

Jayce said, "So then…we can challenge you again?"

"Yes. But, next time, if there is one, it'll be an official battle, so you'll need to earn it first. That said, Jayce, you have a very long way to go before you can hope to even compete against Jaquelin. Quite frankly, Lana is far more qualified to try to scale the battle frontier. Speaking of which…" Ash said, turning to Lana. "Lana, can you please put out your hand for me?"

"Uhh…okay?" Lana half-asked, looking at Jayce apologetically.

Ash knelt down and covered her hand with both of his and Lana felt a strange draining sensation. When Ash moved his hands away, in her hand, was a pin that was made of a strange blue crystal that depicted a rock, a drop of water, and a jagged swirl, all appearing on the peaks of a triangle made of the strange crystal. Lana said, "Isn't this a…"

"It's not. It is the symbol of my facility though and it will act as your pass to the battle frontier, if you choose to make use of it. Also, if ever you are in trouble, or need help, just show it to someone connected to a region's frontier. They'll do what they can, shy of fighting your battles for you."

Ash then turned and started to leave. Seeing Ash basically bestow honorary membership of the Battle Frontier on his sister, leaving him with nothing, Jayce called out, "Hey! What about me?"

Ash looked behind and said, "Drop the attitude and stop relying on your sister to make up all the battle plans. Until you do that, you have no hope of realising your ambition."

He then turned back and started walking away as May was quietly saying, "Don't you think that was a bit harsh, Ash?"

Ash sighed and said, "Maybe, but he needs to learn it someday. I figure that it's better off if he learns that lesson early on."

Jayce's eyes narrowed angrily as Ash walked away. Lana, seeing the look, said, "Jayce, I…"

Jayce looked away and said, "I'm going to beat the hell out of him!" and stormed off without another word. As he did, Lana had a cold feeling rush through her as she watched her brother walk off. She shook it off though and started walking away herself.

That was when Ash came rushing back and said, "Oh! Right! Lana. Sorry, you were going to tell me what you found so funny before the match, weren't you?"

"I was…" Lana grimaced and sighed at the memory. She said, "I want to be a Nurse Joy. But before a prospective Joy can go to the academy, they need to find themselves a pokémon that can learn healing techniques and bond with it. Unfortunately, I've been through three regions now and I haven't been able to even come across one that wasn't already partnered to a fully trained Nurse Joy, and there is a cut-off point that a Joy can enter the academy."

"I see. Hmm…" Ash said looking up and to the right, considering something. He said, "You know. I might just be able to help you there…if you're willing that is."

"I'd really rather find one myself…but…what can you do about it, really?"

"Lucario can learn healing moves."

"Seriously!?" Lana exclaimed.

"Yes. Though this girl here doesn't know any, I left one back home that takes care of that when I'm travelling around."

"Uhh…no offence, but I'm not sure that a Lucario would meet the bill."

"I've no doubt," Ash said. "However…" he reached into his coat and held out a pokéball that was blue on the top, black on the bottom, separated by a yellow line with a red button and three white spikes pointing away from it, two on the blue hemisphere and one in the black. The hinge seemed, to Lana, to be made of the same crystal as her pin. "This guy here, is still just a Riolu. I was considering starting to train it whilst May and I are on our honeymoon, but I think that you'll be a better fit for it."

"Uhh…I…don't know what to say."

"Say yes," May said, hearing the last bit of their conversation. "You just saw how powerful a Lucario can become when it's trained right and, being a Joy, I've no doubt that you'll do that." May grinned and said, "Maybe even better than Ash here if Scrafty is any indication."

"Uhh…" Lana said, wanting to take it, but she sighed and said, "Sorry. I can't accept it," pushing Ash's hand away.

"Really?" Ash asked. "Why not? You clearly want to."

"I do…but you see, Jayce…"

Ash sighed and said, "Look. I know what I said, sounded…rather harsh…but it is a lesson that it took me quite some time to get into my head, and, because of that, I struggled quite a lot against the Final Frontier Brain when I was undertaking my Frontier Challenge."

Lana sighed and said, "But…why didn't you just say that?"

"Jayce didn't seem the type that would listen to reason. That was evidenced enough by his reliance on you for the battle strategies that were being used in the match."

Shrugging and nodding, Lana said, "Jayce can be like that, yes," she sighed. "Alright. I will accept Riolu," holding her hand out. As Ash put it in her hand, she said, "Who knows, with him, I might even be able to become a Roving Nurse Joy, like Aunt Paige."

"Paige?" Ash said. "Oh, right. You said that your name was Lana Frances Adele Joy. Didn't you?"

"That's right. Why? Is that strange?"

"If Paige is your aunt, that would make you and Jayce Marnie's children, wouldn't it?"

"That's right. Why? Oh! Come to think of it, she did tell Jayce 'n' I to tell you that she says 'Hi', before we came back from the pokécentre. Do you know her?"

"We've, uhh…met," Ash said, playing with his collar as May glared at him, already having come up with the same conclusion, based solely on the strategies that Lana had been coming up with during their battle. He said, "So, you should, uhh…probably go and see how Jayce is doing, huh?"

"Right!" Lana said, turning away and rushing off to see how her brother was doing, and, hopefully, settle the cold feeling that she had been unable to shake.

When Lana was gone, May said, "AAASSHH! Is there something you've forgotten to tell me? Hmmmm?!"

Ash said, "Not…that I know of…May…calm down…" seeing the fire streaming from May's eyes that was normally reserved for those that got in the way of her and her food. "Look! We'll just go to the pokécentre and call her. That will settle things…" Ash thought 'I hope.'

When Ash and May got to the foyer, they found that the crowd had coalesced once again, so they both sat down behind the table that Ash had been sitting at before the battle and started taking more questions. As Ash answered a question about where Raichu was, May whispered, "Just so you know, this isn't going to make me forget about it."

"I know May," Ash whispered back as May fielded a question about her break from coordinating.

About two hours later, after all of the questions were done with, Ash and May stretched as they stood up and made their way to the pokécentre. When they were there, May basically dragged Ash into the communications room of the pokécentre. Ash, wanting to be let go, quickly dialled the number of the pokécentre in Floaroma Town. When the image of Marnie Joy appeared on the screen of the vidphone, Ash said, "Marnie," nodding his head in greeting.

"Ash!" Marnie exclaimed. "When Lana told me that she and Jayce were battling against you, I thought that I'd be getting a call."

"So, are they?" Ash asked.

"Are they what?" Marnie said in a knowing tone.

"Are they mine?"

"Yes," Marnie said, seeing no need to hide it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ash said, a strange look coming over him.

"And what would you have done if I did?"

"I could have taken up my title whenever I wanted Marnie."

Marnie sighed and said, "Would you have been satisfied with that?"

Ash sighed, knowing that there would have been at least some truth to her claim. He said, 'Even so."

She sighed again and said, "So, what did you think?"

"Jayce should give up. Quite frankly, Lana has more chances of becoming a Pokémon Master than him."

Jayce, hiding behind the arch of the pokécentre gasped at what he was hearing, the feeling that he'd been having since running off, getting worse.

Marnie sighed. She said, "Did you tell him that?"

"Not in so many words."

"I'll grant you that Lana does have more natural skill than Jayce, but he's not exactly a weak trainer. He did come in eighth at the Alola League."

Ash sighed. "Raw skill can be overcome with hard work Marnie, but Jayce doesn't seem to possess the drive, or the will, in order to put in the hours that it needs to do so. As for his victories over Lana, if what I saw was any indication, his pokémon are stronger. That's all."

Marnie sighed and said, "You might have a point there. However…"

"I know. Lana told me that she wants to be a Nurse Joy, so, for her, coordinating is basically just for fun. Which is a problem in and of itself."

"I know," Marnie sighed. "She's been really distracted lately too, so she's not been putting in the effort that she used to either."

"I know. She told me."

"Really?!" Marnie said, blinking in astonishment. "I didn't think that she liked to talk about it."

"Apparently she doesn't, but I helped her out there."

"What do you mean?"

"I gave her one of my pokémon that I only just caught."

"What is it?"

"A Riolu."

"A…!" Marnie gasped, having heard about the relations between Riolu and Lucario and their trainers. "Why would you do that?! She can't…"

"She saw mine."

Marnie gasped, covering her mouth in shock, and fear. Jayce angrily ran off. She frowned and said, "You aren't going to try and convince her to give up her dream of being a Nurse Joy, are you?"

"Don't be absurd. All I've done is…inform her…that there are different paths, even for Nurse Joy."

"What do you mean?"

"I granted her access to the Battle Frontier."

"How could you!?" Marnie said. "Her pokémon are…"

"Nowhere near ready yet. I know. I told her that too." Marnie let out a sigh of relief. "In any case, she now knows that fully qualified Nurse Joy can be de facto judges for a Frontier Challenge."

"So then, she wants to be part of the Battle Frontier, like her father now, does she?" Marnie said, saddened she would need to find another assistant for the Floaroma Town Pokécentre.

"No. Actually, when I brought Riolu up, she said that with Lucario, she would be able to be a Roving Nurse Joy, I think she called it?"

Marnie sighed and said, "Well, to be fair, I suppose that she did always like my sister's tales."

"Then it's all the more reason why she should take up that challenge."

Marnie sighed and said, "Maybe. But she's going to have to start her training next year, so…"

Ash sighed and said, "Well, to be fair, there's no actual time limit that the challenge needs to be done by, and the access pass that I gave her lets her request help from Frontier Officials if she ever needs it."

"I see. Well then, in that case…if it ever changes, then I'll hop on over to the Hoenn Region and trounce you myself."

"Sure thing Marnie," Ash said with a smile.

"Before I go…just one more thing."

"What's that?"

"Don't endanger their lives. Please?"

Ash sighed and said, "I can't promise you that Marnie. You know that after everything I've done over the years I do have enemies, and I can't control how they act. That said, in so far as I am able, I shall do my best to leave them out of it."

Marnie sighed and said, "I suppose that I'll just have to be content with that."

"Yeah. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around then, huh?"

"I'm not sure how your new wife would take my coming around every so often."

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Ash asked, motioning for May to step into sight of the camera.

May did so and said, "So, you're the floozy that Ash knocked up then, are you?"

Marnie grunted and her lips twitched downwards, but she sighed and said, "I suppose I probably deserve that."

"That and more, if you ask me," May said.

"I wouldn't go quite that far. But just know this. I am happy that Ash has you in his life and won't get in your way. And, despite Jayce's attitude, and Lana's desire to know anything and everything about her father, she won't either. On top of that, I have made sure to convince them that their father was an itinerant trainer, trying to make waves in the pokémon world, whilst leaving out any mention of his name."

May sighed, the fire leaving her eyes. She sighed and said, "You don't have to do that. I suppose that even I can admit that I was overreacting there…" as she continued to talk with Marnie Joy, Ash slipped out, before going into the poketransfer room and dialling up his Frontier Facility. When he got a hold of someone, he said, "Hey, James. How are things there?"

"Everything is fine here," James said. "I put down a trainer from Blackthorn City yesterday. Why are you calling though?"

"I need you to send Mienshao over to me."

"Okay. Why? You barely got it a few weeks ago."

"I know. That's part of why I want it."

"Oh? And the rest?"

"It hasn't been with me very long, so it hasn't developed too great a relationship with me, and I haven't really trained with it that much, so it is the perfect pokémon to pass on to the Nurse Joy of this town."

"To the…why are you doing that? Don't Nurse Joy in that region traditionally use Chansey?"

"Yes. But I had to replenish the aura of a pokémon about two hours ago, and Nurse Joy expressed an interest in learning the method, and Mienshao, despite the limited training, has the ability to manipulate aura to a very high degree for its species, so knows how to teach others to do the same."

"I see. I suppose that's fair."

"So, get on with it."

"Right!" James exclaimed before searching for the correct pokéball on the walls of the pokémon transfer room. Finding it, he put it into the transfer device and pressed 'send', switching it out with an empty pokéball that Ash had put in on his end.

"Thanks," Ash said when the transfer had been completed.

"Yeah. Sure thing. When will we be seeing you again?"

"When we're done, May will head on back, but I'll be staying on here for about another week or so. So I'll see you after that."

"Alright, so long then, Twerp."

Ash smirked and said, "Yeah, whatever," and cut the communication off.

XXXXX

After Jayce ran off, he rushed straight to his room and started angrily shoving things into his backpack. When he was done, he stormed back through the hallways of the pokécentre until he saw Lana coming towards him. He said, "Lana," in a gruff tone.

Lana asked, "Jayce? What's wrong?" concerned as that cold feeling was even more intense than it had been before.

"Don't worry about it."

"You saying 'that', makes me concerned."

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."

Jayce sighed and said, "You're better off not knowing, trust me," before walking off, leaving his sister more confused than ever. Though she was glad that the cold feeling had somewhat lessened."

When Jayce was at the foyer he went up to the nurse joy and said, "Hey, I'm going to check out now."

"Are you sure? It's already two o'clock, and out here it gets dark sooner than it does up there in Nimbasa City."

"Yeah. I'll be fine, I just can't stick around here."

"I see, then in that case, I hope to see you again," the nurse joy said in a happy tone, having just finished talking with Ash and setting up a schedule where she could train with the Mienshao that she had just received.

"Yeah, well I don't," Jayce said, no less surly than he had been with his sister. He then turned around and walked off. When he left he headed west towards Route 4.

XXXXXXX

A/N

This story will pick up after Lana leaves the Nurse Joy Academy in Ketchum Family Joy, following Lana on her quest to conquer the Battle Frontier. This is because this was always intended to be Lana's story, but, as I wrote it, it somehow transformed into Ash's.