G-Men Headquarters

Indigo Plateau, Kanto

June 17th

Aurian Borealis/Copland

I rolled my eyes as Ash hopped around our room in an attempt to pull his shoes on without untying the laces.

"Come on, we'll be late!" I groaned. "Not the impression we want to make on day one."

Ash grunted and pulled his last shoe on. "Okay, okay, I'm good to go!"

"Any way to tame your hair?"

He shrugged. "Nope. Believe me, mom's tried. A lot. She said I got it from my dad."

I paused. That was the first time he'd ever mentioned his father.

My musings were interrupted by Hiori knocking on the door and asking us to follow him to a room called "Training Area C."

We followed the lieutenant through multiple stone-hewn hallways and passed many men- some older, some middle-aged, a few a couple of years older than Ash and I- along the way. Most of them didn't consider us worth a second glance... until they noticed me.

Murmurs of "what's she doing here?" and variants of "a girl?" followed us as we turned towards the Training Area.

"Ignore it," Ash said. "You'll prove that you belong here during the Trials."

"Which start now, by the way," Hiori cut in after closing the door behind us. "I'll leave it to Chuck to explain everything. Good luck."

Chuck, the gym leader from Cianwood City, stood in the middle of a wrestling ring.

"Good morning, Cadets."

"Nice to see you again, Chuck," I said.

"Copland? Oh, and Ketchum! Welcome to the first stage of the Trials. We'll be testing your combat skills here if you haven't figured that out already."

"Any advice?" Ash asked.

"No Pokemon," Chuck said. "Little Pikachu's gonna have to wait over here with me."

Pikachu threw Ash an apologetic look and sat on a pole at the corner of the ring.

"Pi-kachu, pikapi!"

Ash signaled his starter a thumbs-up. "Gotcha, buddy!"

I shook my head as I climbed into the ring with him. "I still don't get how you two can understand each other."

"We're special like that," he said. Ash then tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face.

Hiori sighed. "This is going well."

"Indeed," a new voice said.

"Gah! Riley! Where'd you come from?" Hiori yelped.

The Armada commander smiled. "Thought I'd come see how these two handle combat."

Hiori nodded. "Good idea. Think they'll be all right?"

"Not sure. That's what the Trial is for, after all."

"Touche," Hiori said with a nervous chuckle.

Chuck called a few men forward.

"Ketchum and Copland, listen up. You'll pick two of these guys to fight so we can gauge what we need to teach you. Do anything you can to knock them out."

A brown-haired boy about three years older than I nodded. "We can't promise that we won't hurt you, sweet thing."

Chuck frowned. "Watch it, Reyn."

I steeled myself and looked way up to meet his eyes. "I'm here to earn membership, not to find a husband."

"Come on- I'll take you out to dinner if you win."

"No thanks."

He frowned and started to protest.

"Don't ask her again, okay?" Ash said, crossing his arms. "She's made her choice clear."

"Oh, little boyfriend's sticking up for you? Weak," the boy replied.

"I can deal with persistence but not with this," I said, fuming. "Come this way, there's a butt-kicking with your name on it..."

Ash held me back to keep me from slugging the agent in the nose.

"Whoa there! Save it for the Trials! I know I will," my friend said, keeping a careful hand on my shoulder as he readied to fight.

Chuck quickly motioned another man forward. This one looked older and a lot more experienced than Reyn. He mouthed "sorry" in my direction.

I shrugged and nodded towards Reyn and the other man smiled.

"We won't let you end up seriously injured, but there's a strong possibility that you could get knocked out. Do you accept this challenge?" Chuck asked.

Ash and I nodded.

"Go!" Chuck yelled, running from the ring as fast as he could.

"Ash, what do we do?"

"I dunno, I've never done this before!" he answered, unsuccessfully avoiding a hard punch to his chest. I winced as he yelped and retaliated with a quick chop towards the windpipe.

Ash and Reyn entered a duel. They circled each other, waiting for an opening.

"No way," I heard Riley mutter. "This can't be..."

"On your left!" I yelled, shutting Riley out of my head. Ash ducked a roundhouse kick from Reyn and slammed his foot where the sun doesn't shine. Reyn went down, hard, and struggled to land a blow on Ash's shin through his unfortunately placed pain.

I took the edge of a punch to my shoulder and cried out, ducking to sweep the older man's feet out from under him.

"Together?" I asked.

"Double or nothing," he grinned. I could tell he was really hurting, though. Sweat poured down his forehead and he breathed hard as he dodged. Ash yelped as Reyn's punch grazed his bad shoulder.

We both advanced forward. Ash was particularly successful with a few punches and I managed to slip a few careful kicks while dodging the other man's attacks.

I was doing well, I thought- until I took a fist to the face. I didn't cry out or yell or anything as I felt my left eye start swelling shut. Pain exploded through my cheek and I bit my lip hard.

Reyn aimed another vicious hit to Ash's chest and made a lunge for his ankle. He almost would've gotten away with it if I hadn't sprinted across the ring, tackled Reyn, and slammed him to the ground.

"Go for the head!" Ash yelled as he maneuvered the other man away from the two of us.

I ducked away as Reyn tried to pin me.

Ash's fist accidentally connected with the older man's temple and he dropped like a stone.

"Was that supposed to happen?" he asked.

Chuck nodded. "Yep! One to go- can you do it?"

"Hmm," I noted. I tried a spinning kick and miraculously made contact with Reyn's side and almost managed to take him down with an elbow to the face.

"You little witch," he hissed, spitting blood from his mouth. "You'll pay for that."

I started backing away and ran into a corner post.

"Nowhere to hide," Reyn muttered, a maniacal grin crossing his face and his split lip.

I shot a look towards Ash, who nodded frantically.

"On three?" he said, a single blue spark shooting from his fingertip.

I took one look at Reyn's face and shook my head, terrified of what he would do to me if we waited.

"Three!" I yelled. We both released a surge of aura into our hands and leapt forward.

Reyn could only stare in shock as my blue-coated fist made contact under his chin. Ash aimed for the back of his neck and looked on in stunned silence as Reyn hit the ground.

He didn't get up.

I looked at the mess we'd made- two unconscious guys, we both were scraped up and bleeding with a plethora of injuries... but we did it.

"Holy hell," I muttered.

Ash took a deep breath and put a hand over his heart. "Did we just..."

"Pass your combat trials? Yes," Riley said. "Chuck, I need to speak with these two immediately after they're cleaned up. Send Lieutenant Kai to the Armada division with Ash and Aurian once they're done. Clear?"

Chuck nodded as the head of the Armada left the room.

"That was impressive," Chuck noted. "Last two people who passed their combat trials this unscathed were Lance and Riley when they applied together."

"Really?" Ash winced.

"Yeah... you all right?" Chuck asked.

"No," Ash said. "I'm dealing with a previous injury..."

Chuck motioned for Ash to show him and hissed as Ash pulled up his shirt, revealing the huge bandage.

"Dear God, kid! Why didn't you mention this? We would've postponed the combat trial until this healed!"

Ash shrugged, his face paling. "Thought it'd lower my chances of getting in if I was... already hurt..."

"Hey, I gotcha," I said, giving him a shoulder to lean on. "Chuck, we really should get to the clinic or whatever you have so Ash doesn't faint on us."

"I'd like to avoid Riley's wrath, too," Chuck said, leading us out to the hall. "He'd kill me if I didn't take care of you guys after what just went down. Clinic's just down this way."

Pikachu hopped on my shoulder while I half dragged, half carried Ash out the door. I tried not to make eye contact as we walked but a few G-Men gave us encouraging smiles.

"How'd they do, Chucky?" one asked.

"Passed!" he replied.

A few people started cheering, strangely, and we got a few claps on the back.

Ash looked on in confusion. "This is a really weird place."

"One second they're questioning our placement, another they're celebrating for us," I said.

"You've proven yourself," Chuck said. "This organization's built on merit and honor and this is one of the more notorious stages of the Trial to pass. We're here- there's a nurse inside. I'll go grab him."

"Oy, Spenser! Two new patients!"

Ash stared as an older man appeared.

"Do come in and I'll see what I can do," he said. "Please come with me. Goodness, you two are torn up. What happened?"

"We passed our combat Trial," I answered. "Ash here is dealing with a previous injury..."

Spenser nodded. "What kind of injury, Mr. Ketchum? Ankle sprain or something like that?"

Ash shook his head. "Try a half-healed claw gouge in my chest."

The strained conversation trailed off into silence. Ash and I made eye contact and Pikachu shot a sideways glance at his trainer.

"Well then," Spenser said, eyebrows raised. "Not what I was expecting but I think I can help. Let me go find supplies..."

The old man moved off to rummage through cabinets.

"Hey, Ash," I said. "Should we help each other out here?"

He frowned. "Aura, right? Haven't we used enough of that today?"

"I heard aura," Spenser said, returning with an armful of supplies and a Chansey and an Audino at his side. "Are you wielders?"

I gulped. "Yes, sir."

"Unusual. No wonder Riley expressed an interest in you. He was the last wielder the Armada recruited."

Ash winced as Spenser removed his bandage and placed some sort of salve on it. "Damn, that stings! How long has Riley been here?"

"Let's see... he was recruited when he was nineteen and he's twenty-five now. He broke the fifty-seven year mark of no Guardians in the G-Men, you know. He'll be happy to have protégés," Spenser answered.

I frowned. "You're speaking as if we've already made it in."

"After that show you just put on?" Chuck laughed. "That was the best combat Trial I've seen in a very long time."

"Anyways- Ash, I'd like both Chansey and Audino to use Heal Pulse on you, if that's all right." Spenser frowned at Ash's chest.

Ash nodded. "Go for it."

The Pokemon released a soft pink light from their hands, covering my friend with their power. I watched as the claw marks receded a little and closed up a bit more. Bruises disappeared, scratches healed, and his ankle let out a nasty pop.

"That's unusual," Spenser noted. "Normally we would've been able to help more with a wound that size. Ash, what kind of Pokémon did this to you?"

He gulped. "A Darkrai."

Spenser passed a new bandage over to Ash with a worried look. Ash threw it on as quickly as possible while Spenser repeated his healing process on me.

Hiori poked his head in the door as the Pokemon finished their healing. I sighed in relief as my left eye opened again, my vision completely restored.

"Hey, you finished yet?"

The medic nodded. "Yes, just did. Cadets, it was nice meeting you. Hope I don't have to see you soon," he chuckled as we walked out.

Hiori led us down a long hallway, three flights of stairs, and a disguised elevator all while recounting our combat Trial.

"Man, I thought you were done for at first!"

I rolled my eyes. "We appreciate your support, Hiori."

"No, but then you came out of nowhere with aura and it was the biggest shock of the century!" he finished, knocking a specific pattern on a door that I'd nearly missed.

A ridiculously tall man in navy blue and red answered. "Hey, man, what's up?"

"Brought the Cadets," he answered, shoving his mop of brown hair out of his face. "Riley's back, right?"

The other man nodded. "Yeah, he's in his office. Welcome to the Armada Division..."

"Ash Ketchum," Ash answered.

"Aurian Borealis," I said. "Nice to meet you..."

"The name's Wes," he said. "Follow me."

We stopped in front of a navy door with faded gold decals on the front.

"Hey, boss! Cadets are here!"

The door swung open, revealing Riley minus his hat and jacket.

"Excellent, please come in! Thanks, Wes, you can go."

"Now," the Armada commander said, "about your combat Trial..."

I gulped. "We screwed up, didn't we? Were we supposed to use aura?"

Riley gave me a strange look. "You two hardly screwed up. Your Trial may have started rough- honestly, all of them do- but what matters is that you've proven yourselves in not only combat but quick thinking and aura, as well."

"Spenser mentioned that you're the only wielder here," Ash said.

Riley nodded. "Yes. I thought I was the last capable wielder left until you two showed up."

"Is this why you wanted to speak with us?" I asked.

Riley nodded. "Right, Miss Borealis. After word of what happened today gets to Lance, he'll be dead set on making you two official members. We need more people like you- smart, light on their feet, capable of planning ahead..."

I elbowed Ash in the shoulder when Riley mentioned intelligence and he shot me a glare that would've put a Mean Look to shame.

"When you two are inducted, I'd like to take you on as Armada members."

We both nodded.

"Before we fully accept, what would we be doing?" Ash asked.

"Reconnaissance," Riley answered with a grin. "Lots of small-group jobs across the regions that need to stay quiet. Armada agents are normally sent in to gauge the degree of the situation and call for the correct forces to get the job done if they're not capable of doing it themselves."

"Who would we be working with?" I asked.

"Each other," Riley said. "You need to stay together- not only because you applied together but because of your strong aura bonds."

"Pardon?" Ash said.

"Each aura has a specific signature- a frequency, if that makes it easier. Some frequencies work more efficiently and better with others."

I frowned. "So that means what, exactly?"

"Your frequencies are nearly identical, meaning that you two would make great patonai- sworn partners in battle dating back to the original Guardians."

"Patonai," Ash said, rolling the word around. "I like that."

"Certainly something we'll look into," I answered. "What happens when you're patonai?"

Riley smiled. "Over time, you can fight together- both with and without aura- like you've known each other your entire lives. You'll develop a bond closer than you ever dreamed possible with another person and they'll come to completely understand you."

Ash absentmindedly stroked a quietly snoring Pikachu. "Like family members?"

"That's the comparison that I normally make- like brother and sister, for the two of you," Riley said.

"You up for this, Aurian?" Ash asked.

I bit my lip. "I'll need more information but yes. Ash here is the only person that I'd trust with my life at the moment. Wouldn't want any other patonai but him."

"Excellent," Riley noted. A phone sitting on his desk erupted into a furious racket of vibration and an EDM remix of a song I hadn't heard in ages.

"Pardon me," he said, picking up the device.

"Hey, Lance. Hmm... yeah, they're here. Oh, okay. Gotcha. I'll send them up shortly."

I shot a look towards Ash, who grinned in response.

"Change of plans- the commander wants to speak with you."

Pikachu stretched and hopped on Ash's shoulder. Riley led us to a different door than the one we entered from and inputted a long string of numbers into the lock.

Ash squeezed my hand as we waited for Riley to finish.

"You okay?" I mouthed.

Ash shrugged. "I guess."

I peeked around Riley's shoulder as the door opened, revealing a stately office filled with bookshelves, photographs, and small portraits. Lance sat at a desk at the back of the room, engrossed in a Sinnohian newspaper.

"I brought the cadets," Riley said. "Should I stay?"

Lance refolded the newspaper. "I'd like to have a word with these two in private for a bit, if you don't mind. It'll be quick."

"Understood," the Armada leader replied, leaving in the same direction we came from.

My shaking hands betrayed my nervousness as we both sat down in front of the Champion.

Lance surveyed the two of us with a quiet gaze.

"You both used aura in your practical combat trial, did you not?"

We both nodded.

"Congratulations- you've passed with flying colors. I'd even go as far as calling you two prodigies considering how little you were scraped up after you finished."

"And the others?" Ash asked.

Lance notes the concerned look on my face at the mention of the guy I turned down and the older man.

"Both of the men you fought will be fine. Reyn will need a bit longer due to two broken ribs from Miss Borealis' last kick but he'll recover."

"Dammit," I muttered, bringing a smile to Ash's face.

Lance laughed. "And we've already spoken with him about his disrespectful behavior towards you today, Miss Borealis. He's on his second of three strikes now."

"Thank God," I said, sighing with relief.

"Riley's already told us we're not in trouble, so what's all this about?" Ash asked, propping his head on his right hand.

"Straight to the point," Lance noted. "Good, that's something we need more of here. I've met with the Council concerning your unusual abilities and we've all agreed that you need to be initiated as soon as possible."

"What?" I said.

Ash's eyes widened and Pikachu's jaw dropped towards the floor. "You can't be serious."

"Granted we'll still put you through the interview and battling portions of the Trials but you're pretty much guaranteed in unless you screw around and bring down the organization. Flint nearly danced around the room when he heard about this. Took Riley, Wallace, and Koga to hold him back," Lance answered with a chuckle.

I pictured the excitable Flint twirling around his room now, a pink tutu clashing with his red hair. "Anyone get photographic evidence of that?"

"No, unfortunately," Lance laughed. "It was definitely... something."

"How long should the rest of the Trials take?" Ash asked.

Lance frowned and checked a calendar on the wall. "The battles take two days, the interviews take three, and the preparations for the ceremony take two. We can make you full members in a week."

I'm taken aback by how fast things are moving. Just yesterday we were two kids with nowhere to turn- today we're prodigies enrolling in the most elite forces there are.

"Count me in," I said. "I'm ready for anything."

Ash nodded and took my hand. "Me too, Lance, as long as we stay together."

The Champion shot a quizzical look towards us.

"Did Riley tell you about our aura frequencies?" I asked.

Lance shook his head. "No, actually. Enlighten me."

"Apparently our frequencies are nearly identical, which is supposed to be really rare," Ash said. "That means that we can combine attacks and exchange our own auras with barely any resistance."

I nodded and took Ash's hand. "We'll work best together in the Armada as potential patonai."

"Patonai?" Lance asked. "I don't think the G-Men have ever had a pair of patonai in our ranks before. I feel the winds of change are about to blow our direction once again. Very well, I'll see to it that you two remain together when you are initiated."

"Thank you, Commander," I said. "We'll find a way to pay you back for this, for sure."

"Complete your first mission and then we'll talk," Lance replied.

"Also... I thought you might like to see this."

He flipped the newspaper around to the front page and handed it to Ash, who immediately paled.

My mouth dropped for the second time that day as I read the headline.

"Fugitives wanted for trial?" I yelped.

Lance nodded. "The League's moved a lot quicker than we thought. If you hadn't been so persistent in coming to headquarters early, the police would've found you in Pallet when they interviewed Ms. Ketchum. That's all for now. We'll meet again for the interviews starting in three days. You are dismissed, Cadets."

We stood and nodded. Riley came back in and escorted us to the Armada's main room.

"What'd Lance tell you?" he asked.

Ash smiled. "The League's already on our tails, but Lance wants us in as soon as possible."

"Define soon, Cadet."

I grinned. "We'll be members in a week if everything's on track."

Riley's eyes widened. "God, that's soon. I think he sees a bit of how he used to be in the two of you- kind of upstart-esque, talented at what you do. Anyways- would you like to meet the rest of the Armada?"

Ash and I glanced at each other and nod eagerly.

"Excellent! They should be back at headquarters now. This is one of those rare times when no one's off on a survey mission or anything crazy like that."

Riley knocks twice on the door and it opens, revealing Wes.

"Hey, boss- and cadets. The gang's all here."

"Ash and Aurian, I'd like you to meet the Armada. We may be small but we're easily one of the more powerful corps within the G-Men. You already know Wes and Hiori," the older boy waved and the younger one grinned at us.

"This is Eusine Kirigaya."

A tall man with slicked back brown hair and an unusually long cape smiled.

"Harrison Hazuki."

Ash gaped at the thirty-something who came and shook our hands with a friendly smile.

"Thomas Hiromi."

A guy with silver-blue hair rolled his eyes. "Call me Tommy."

"Mack Chiron."

A chubbier man with an untidy mop of brown hair waved from a couch in the corner.

"Sam Satoro."

A green-haired kid- not more than about eighteen- high-fived me and nudged Ash in the shoulder.

"Keith and Kellyn Smith, our Ranger agents."

A tall man with spiky red hair and a short boy of about eighteen waved from next to Mack and Harrison.

"Welcome to the Armada," Keith said with a smile. "Wait... how old are you?"

Ash shrugged. "Fourteen."

"And you?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Fourteen as well," I said with a wicked grin.

"Damn, that's young. You guys sure about this?" he said.

Ash sighed. "It's a long story, Keith."

The older boy nodded. "Ah. I understand. Where're you guys from?"

"Canalave City for me," I said. "Home sweet shipping center, right?"

Ash smiled and closed his eyes. "Pallet Town."

"Awesome, another Kanto native! Tommy's currently our only one."

Tommy gave a lazy wave from across the room. "We'll trade Kanto stories later!"

Harrison came over and clapped Ash on the shoulder. "Good to see you again, Ash."

Ash immediately lit up as he spoke with the older veteran. Most of the other Armada members surrounded the two as they traded battle stories from their travels. I smiled and watched from afar, happy that Ash found a few new friends.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and whipped around to face the guy.

"You doing okay?" Sam asked, hands up.

"I guess so," I said with a shrug. "It's been a lot to take in."

Sam smiled, his grey eyes glinting. "Bet so. Pardon my curiosity, but why are you here? Must've done something big to catch Lance's attention."

"Did pretty well in League competitions the past couple of years. Ash got into a bit of a scrape back in Sinnoh and we bailed each other out."

Sam raised an eyebrow.

I bit my lip. "We're here on asylum until we earn membership."

"Crap. That's not good," he noted.

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

Sam laughed. "Whatever it is, Lance and Riley can get you out... as long as it wasn't a serious crime."

"Wasn't a crime at all, actually- just a few unfortunate misunderstandings," I answered with a shrug. "What matters is that the two of us are here and we're safe for now."

"For now?"

"Yeah," I said. "Not sure if you heard about what went down in the Trial between Reyn and I but it wasn't pretty, to say the least. He kept trying to convince me of his "worthiness" and he had this... look... in his eyes that really scared me."

Sam's eyes widened. "He didn't try anything, did he?"

I shook my head. "No, he didn't. I know I can do what I can to protect myself and that Ash has my back but I'm worried that someone might go too far, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Don't worry- when you're inducted, the Armada and I will keep an eye out for you two. Shame on Reyn for being a douche and shoving himself onto you. Complete disregard for G-Men ideals."

"Really?" I asked. "Chivalry's not dead?"

Sam nodded. "Big time. Since we're based on the ideals that the ancient Aura Guardians fought and lived by we're expected to treat everyone, especially girls and ladies, with the utmost respect in addition to what's expected on our missions. We've shortened the rules into radio slang that I think you'd enjoy quite a bit."

I grinned. Sam was incredibly easy to talk to about everything. "I think this is the start of a great friendship."

"I certainly hope so," Sam said with a laugh.

Ash came running over and skidded to a halt in front of us. "Auri! Harrison's gonna be one of the people we battle tomorrow during Battle Trials!"

I couldn't help but smile at Ash's enthusiasm at the subject. "We're not supposed to beat him, are we?"

Harrison laughed. "Arceus, no. The goal of tomorrow is to show us what you and your Pokémon can do together. We've already sent for your full teams so you can choose from every teammate you've ever worked with tomorrow."

"That's awesome!" Ash said. "I can't wait to see everyone again."

I smiled, thinking of my teammates I'd left at Professor Rowan's house. "There're a few Pokémon I need to catch up with before tomorrow. Can we go see them now?"

Riley nodded. "Of course. Harrison, please show us to the holding room."

"Sir! Follow me, Cadets."

Harrison led Riley, Ash, and I through another long series of hallways. We stopped outside a navy door marked with the same symbol that adorned the Centers that I'd frequented along my journeys.

Riley opened the door, revealing a room filled with shelves marked by last names.

"Welcome to the Pokémon Stronghold- one of the most armored and protected rooms in the entire G-Men base. You'll find your Pokémon on the shelves closest to the back of the room- they're sorted by seniority, sorry about that," Harrison said. "Go find your friends."

Ash and I dashed off towards the back of the room, our hands interlocked.

"Look, there they are!" he cried, running towards his shelf. I didn't protest as he dragged me along towards my friends.

Our shelves were stacked on top of each other, marked with our last names in permanent marker. I collected the eight Pokéballs on mine and watched as Ash shoved all of his into his backpack with childish glee.

"We've set up a room for you two to train in preparation for tomorrow- three doors down on your left. Go prepare and we'll come find you when it's time for dinner."

Ash and I made eye contact and he grinned. We ran out the door and barged into the training area, which contained a few other G-Men working with their Pokémon.

"Battle?" Ash asked.

I shook my head. "We need to keep their strength up for tomorrow. A bit of inter-team sparring should do nicely."

Ash nodded. "I guess I'll work with the Pokémon I haven't seen in a while."

"Good idea," I added. "Eevee, come on out!"

I released my furry friend from her pokeball and she leapt into my arms.

"Vee!" she said.

"Hey, Asuna. Ready for a bit of training?"

Asuna jumped from my arms and sat on the floor, throwing me a "no, really?" look.

I laughed as I let my other friends out for training. Soon, my Altaria, Luxray, Arcanine, Empoleon, Serperior, and Staraptor stood in front of me, ready for action.

"Hey guys, it's training time. The rest of the team is here with me and we'll need to start pushing them towards your levels, okay?"

My team roared in approval as I let Pachirisu, and Shieldon out for practice. I caught the two of them on my first journey through Sinnoh and left them back at the lab while I went through Johto, Kanto, and Unova to strengthen my cornerstones. They could still hold their own but I worried about how they would stack up with the rest of my team after three extra regions.

I peeked over my shoulder as Ash debriefed his massive team on where they were and what happened. Half of them eyed me with suspicion- a Bayleef especially- and nodded at his words. When Ash told them to, they split off into pairs to work with each other.

"Everyone- split into groups of three and start working on accuracy," I asked. My team nodded and split off, my Sinnoh babies going with my more experienced main team.

Empoleon stayed at my side, which I appreciated. Ash came over and joined us, Pikachu on his shoulder and Bayleef at his side.

"Your team looks incredible," Ash said. "I've never seen a Luxray that powerful before."

I smirked. "You're one to talk. You've nabbed a huge variety and they're all in wonderful condition."

Ash blushed. "Aw, half of them chose to come with me."

"Even more impressive. Shows you have good character."

"Really?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, actually."

"Always saw that as a sign of weakness- if I couldn't beat them in battle, I wasn't worthy of training them."

I paused, unable to respond to the dejected honesty in his voice. I flashed back to how I'd crashed and burned in his arms last night and knew that he could trust me with his thoughts after I trusted him with mine.

Pikachu slapped his trainer at the back of his head. Bayleaf walloped Ash with a nasty Headbutt.

"See? They're protesting what you just said. Pokémon are incredible judges of character. Would they willingly go with someone they deemed unworthy?"

"Good point," Ash said. "How'd you find your team?"

"Empoleon's been with me from the start," I replied, hugging my starter. "Caught Pachirisu and Luxray, back when he was a Shinx, on the same day. Caught Staraptor a little after that, then two more in Sinnoh that I'm choosing to keep secret for now."

"Aw!" Ash protested. "You've seen my entire team!"

"You'll meet them soon. Shieldon came next, then I went to Unova, so... Serperior and Mienshao. Caught Altaria right before the League competition. Kanto brought Arcanine and Eevee, Johto brought Lairon. That's it."

Ash frowned. "Small team."

"We're close and work well together. More concentrated effort brings out our best."

"Gotcha..." Ash cut off as Eevee started rubbing against his leg. "Hey there, little guy."

Asuna bit his leg.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Asuna's a lady, Ketchum, just like her trainer."

Eevee detached herself from Ash's leg with an adorable smile. I picked her up while Empoleon and Pikachu laughed at Ash's misfortune.

And so the afternoon turned to evening, with our teams working out their kinks and beginning to learn to work together. Soon we were called to dinner and went back to our room, exhausted by the day.

I sat on my bed, wringing out my hair, as Ash occupied the bathroom. Pikachu hopped up by my side and curled up on my pillow.

"Hey, Pikachu?"

The little Pokémon turned towards me with a confused look on his face.

"Thanks for not electrocuting me awake this morning and letting me help Ash out earlier. He's lucky to have a best friend like you."

"Pikapi pichu pika, kapi."

Kapi- did he mean Auri?

Ash poked his head out the door with a lazy smile. "He said he's glad we have you, Auri."

"Good to know, thanks," I said. "I think Eevee took a shine to you, Ash."

"No, really? What clued you in on that?"

The three of us dissolved into laughter.

"Can I ask you something?" Ash said as he flopped back first onto my bed.

I nodded.

"Can I call you Ri instead of Auri? Less of a mouthful."

I shrugged. "I don't care. Ri would be quicker to hear during battle... call me Ri, Ketchum."

Ash grinned. "Great! You think they'll let us fight together tomorrow?"

"Not sure. We did make that patonai request so I think they'll consider that."

My friend trailed off, twirling an exposed chunk of midnight-black hair.

"Hey, Ri? Are you feeling any better about this?"

I blushed, remembering my emotional breakdown from the night before. "I am, actually. We proved ourselves today, Ketchum. Having a great friend like you to fight through this with makes all the difference."

Pikachu jumped up on the bed and curled up against my leg.

Ash sat up. "Never pegged you as the girly, flowery emotional type."

"I can express my feelings and still be a tomboy."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Your League file had a few pictures of you in Contests... in pink."

I elbowed him in the ribs. "Story for another time. For now- we will never speak of that again. Clear?"

"Crystal," Ash moaned. "Damn, you pack a punch."

"All in the elbows," I answered, resting my head on his shoulder. "I don't have much else going for me."

"I'll disagree there. I think that Sam guy might be falling for you, Ri."

"I might be the only girl they've seen since they enlisted. They don't have any other options."

The fugitive sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "You're a tough nut to crack. We'll figure each other out someday."

"We've got a good start, though. I think this is the start of something beautiful."

He laughed and the last thing I saw before I fell asleep was a sliver of a smile on Ash's face.

(A/N): Hey, I'm back! Thanks for putting up with the delay, hope this extra-long chapter made up for everything. My first marching band contest of the year is on Saturday so my free time's about to vanish completely, which is a total bummer.

Review response time!

darkrai6543: Thanks a million! The G-Men will be much more prominent here since this is Ash and Aurian's backstory.

SomeGuyOnline: Hope this update gets to you, wherever you are.

emosawa-13: Your reviews always make my day. Please keep giving feedback, I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

This chapter's theme song is "Set Me on Fire" by Flyleaf! That's all for now, folks- please please please please review and tell me what I can improve on!

PL, signing off!