AAAANNND Here it is! The long awaited Sequel to the Rogue!

I'm pumped.. are you pumped? You better be pumped!

...well not that pumped... anyways, let's get this show on the road!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN POKEMON!

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One month.. The first month of two, in which the second would come at a later time.

One month training with one of the best trainers in the world, a champion no less. For most it would be a dream. For Ash.. it was hell..

Getting up every day at 4:30 AM sharp with the threat of missing breakfast if even a minute late..

Running multiple laps around the Indigo Plateau until you collapsed..

Lifting weights until your arms gave out...

Military type drills with almost no breaks..

Climbing mountains, crossing rivers, hauling bags and bags of supplies..

And that wasn't even the 'special' stuff..

That started with the Hand to hand combat, in which Lance himself was teaching Ash the finer points of martial arts. Needless to say, the boy had a few bruised ribs afterwards. He also showed him how to use all of his senses in a fight, be in hand to hand or a pokemon battle. That wasn't too tough...Ok it was tough at first, but it got better...

Then there was the computer and hack-..err, technology lessons, which always left the young trainer's head hurting and spinning. And it was just the basics, according to Lance anyway..

Lance also showed him how to be more efficient with his weapons of choice as well as broaden his knowledge on other types of weapons. Ash soon found a new love in the crossbow. It's medium to long range and practiced deadly accuracy suited him perfectly. With enough practice, he became a pretty good shot. Of course, he understood the lethal potential of the crossbow and promised himself to only use that potential in an absolute emergency. He made the same promise with his twin blades.

Ash's pokemon also received much of the same treatment as they were coached by Lance's dragons. Afterwards, they pretty much felt the same way their trainer did.. sore...very sore..

Still, as hellish as it was, it was somewhat fun and very rewarding. The most fun, in the young trainer's opinion, was something that Lance introduced him to, Storm riding. And it's just what it sounds like.

Whenever there was a major storm in the area, Lance would take Ash and ride through the currents of the storm using a flying type, typically Dragonite and Charizard. It was all about being one with the wind current. Despite the obvious dangers, it was a huge thrill and was dangerously fun, granted that you didn't lose control. It would also come in handy if Ash and his pokemon ever had to travel through a storm, or battle a strong flying type.

Other than the training from hell, may other things happened in a month's time.

For one, the fiasco with Professor Oak was for the most part kept quiet. All the media and the world knew was that the once renowned man was 'temporarily' removed from his position for 'guarded reasons.'

In reality, the corrupted man was now in a League cell preparing to be sentenced for his crimes. Chances are he would be sitting there for a while as more evidence was brought in against him.

In a way, the chosen replacement researcher was a type of Poetic Justice. Who else but Dr. Igneous, the true pioneer of the Pokedex, can take the position, even temporarily. Granted that he was warned that his research would be strictly monitored for any less that legal actions, but the Doc was cool with it...mostly..

Mrs. Ketchum decided to stay with her son for the time, to make sure that the champion didn't take their training too far. Despite Lance's position, Delia didn't hesitate to rip him a new one if her baby boy got seriously injured... which only happened once, thank goodness, when Ash got a concussion from a nasty punch.

That was the good news, now for the bad.

The world did not stay quiet when they heard that Professor Oak was removed from his position. Despite how crooked he was, the man was still a well loved individual with a huge fan base that included gym leaders, teachers, trainers, and other professors and researchers. Very few were happy to see him go, and there was a huge outcry for justice and information. What happened to the beloved Professor Oak? Was he sick? Had he been hurt? Was the League keeping him hostage?!

It was a nightmare, especially for the champion and the few others that knew the truth.

It was decided at a meeting that once all of the evidence and necessary data had been gathered, which would take some time given the volume of files they had sift through in the old man's archives, they would hold a press conference to explain what had happened.

Another issue that would need to be resolved were the whereabouts of Professor Oak's grandson and Ash's former rival, Gary Oak. Despite sending alerts to the Police stations and Pokemon Centers in Kanto and Johto, the boy seemed to have all but disappeared. No one had seen a trace of him since after the Indigo League. Had the boy followed his father's footsteps and disappeared after a disappointing performance? Lance didn't think so, and neither did Ash.

They would more than likely have to broaden their search to Hoenn and Sinnoh, but it would take some time to get a permit to do so, since it was overseas.

Still, they would do whatever was necessary. Gary had to be found, not only to ensure that he was ok, but to assess what all Oak had done and said to him. Despite the familial relation, the boy could be a key witness into Oak's everyday behavior and illegal activities. If he cooperated anyway..

For now though, that would have to be put on the back burner, because today was an important day.. for Ash anyway. The month of training with Lance was over, and they would be able to start their new journey in the Johto Region. In a way, it would be the boy's first official League journey since the Orange challenge was comparatively small and lesser known.

He looked over his team proudly, with Lance standing nearby. Although he didn't make any new editions to his team, the ones he had had grown by leaps and bounds.

Pikachu was near bullet-speed now with his attacks. He could take more hits and had better defense. He had also perfected grass knot and learned the move Slam, which combined with his other attacks, made his tail near deadly.

Onix finally got his act together and started taking his training seriously. It only happened when the rock snake realized how much he had missed out on due to his behavior and not being able to swallow his pride. That and some humbling losses from one of Lance's younger pokemon. After that, the rock type threw himself into every training session, determined to get stronger. As a result, not only did he grow physically and mentally, but he learned some new tricks as well, such as sandstorm and the beginnings of Iron tail.

Electabuzz and Magmar had become even fiercer rivals as well as best friends. They battled all out daily and it was never the same outcome. As a result, they were two of the strongest of Ash's team.

Magmar's flamethrower could make a water type boil in seconds, and his Lava Plume could practically ruin a grass field. He had also learned sunny day, which only made his fire type attacks stronger.

Electbuzz's thunder could turn a tree into ashes now, and crumble rocks in a single strike. He had upgraded his discharge to a shock wave attack, and received the TM Brick Break, after begging for it for three days.

The others also grew stronger as well, including Charizard, who was already a beast. Gyarados wasn't far behind, wanting to remain in the running for one of the team's strongest.

Mewtwo had also improved during the month, though he was a little more than reluctant for several reasons.

For one, he did not like the idea of wearing the monitoring bracelet. Although the clone understood what it was for and why, that didn't mean he had to like it. It felt like he was at the lab all over again, being watched and observed constantly. Fortunately, Ash was able to calm his temper for the most part, by reminding him that not only were the bracelets only temporary, but he would have one on as well, so the mew clone wouldn't be alone in his feelings.

Another reason, strongly related to the first, was that he didn't like Lance... at all. Although the man had helped in clearing his friend's name and putting the Professor behind bars, it still irked him at how the champion flaunted his power to force him, a Legendary, to wear a binding contraption and be robbed of his privacy and freedom. Even though he had been captured already, he still felt free as Ash let him come and go as he pleased. Now, he didn't have that luxury anymore..

Still, As Ash said, this was only temporary. Once it was proven without a shadow of a doubt that Mewtwo wouldn't harm another human (unless they deserved it), the bracelets would come off. He was already looking forward to that day.

But today was a special day, the last day of training and hopefully the start of a new journey. Ash stood at attention, lined up with the rest of his team. Together, they all looked strong and intimidating, like an unbreakable wall. On either side of the trainer was his psychic friend, Mewtwo, and his black fire starter, Charizard.

Just coming off from their most recent training session, the young League trainee looked disheveled and tired, but still held in his excitement as Lance entered the room. In his hands was a large, rectangular white gift box, which made the raven-haired boy look on curiously.

"Ash," Lance started, "you have certainly exceeded my expectations during this past month. Not only have you grown stronger as a trainer and a fighter, but as a person as well, showing unwavering resolve and maturity throughout this whole ordeal, on and off the training ground."

Ash couldn't help but smile at the compliment. All of his pokemon roared in agreement.

"Now.." the champion said as he stepped forward, "it's time to draw our month together to a close. In this box are some gifts for you as well as some of your strongest pokemon who need some help getting to their final stages."

When he opened the box, everyone was stunned at what was inside...

The first thing that caught their attention was the thunderstone, which made Pikachu squeal with excitement. There was also a Magmarizer, which made Magmar smirk.

Another object Ash noticed was a bracelet with a strange, yet familiar stone in it.

Underneath all of this were what appeared to a new set of clothes and.. a badge?

"I saw that you already had a Electralizer and a metal Coat for your Electabuzz and Onix, " Lance explained, "So I pulled some strings and got you a Magmarizer for your Magmar. The Thunderstone was easy enough to get."

Ash smiled and nodded, deciding not to comment that he already had a thunderstone, "thank you very much." He then picked up the bracelet, "but, what is this?"

Lance smirked, "that is the stone that Igneous has been studying. Turns out that it's a megastone. Now, not much are known about these stone except that, when paired with another stone, they can cause a miraculous change within certain pokemon, like a temporary evolution!"

"Woah..!" Ash said with a hint of excitement

Lance smiled, "More than likely you'll find more stones like this on your journey. It's said that they attract the pokemon they work with, though I don't know for sure."

"Right!" he said as she slipped the bracelet on, right over the tracking bracelet. Not only did it cover it up, but it also looked cooler.

"Now for this," Lance said as he pulled out the garments, the last items in the box. It was a black shirt, black cargo pants with blue lining the pockets and edges, a sleeveless blue jacket that seemed like it would end just as his hip, and a new pair of shoes to match. Topping it all off was an official League badge, showing that he would indeed represent the Pokemon League.

"nice.." Ash said as he looked it over.

"one thing though.." Lance said as he put on a serious face, causing the young trainer to blink, "what is it?"

Lance said, nothing, except pull out a pair of pointed scissors and a comb from some pocket no one ever sees. It only took Ash a few seconds to catch on and back up in a panic as he grabbed onto his growing pony tail, "oh no... no no no no no... Lance come on.. i-is that really necessary?" he said with more than a little apprehension in his voice.

The champion just nodded, "We actually should've cut it at the beginning of the training, but I decided to put it off." he said as he approached the slowly retreating Ash, "think of it as another step from your life as a rogue. New life, new journey, new clothes, and new hair cut!" he said with a happy smile on his face.

Ash just groaned. He had grown attached to his pony tail and didn't want to cut it, but he knew he couldn't get out of it. Despite how fast he was, he was no match speedwise for Lance or his blasted dragons, so running was out. With a heavy slump of his shoulders, he nodded.

Lance just chuckled as he reached him and began to comb through the tangled mess, "be happy I'm not giving you a military style cut. That's what most of the other League trainers have to get when they start their training." he said as he began to snip away at the boy's hair. Within a few minutes, he was done, a six-inch ponytail now resting in his hands. A few more snips here and there, and he was done.

"Something's still missing though.." Lance said as he brought out something else from his cape.. a hat. It had the same design was similar to Ash's old League hat, but with a different color scheme. Where the original was red, this one was black, the white area was not blue, and the green 'L' was now black as well.

As soon as it was placed on his head, Ash felt a strong sense of nostalgia, which only got stronger once he was handed a mirror. To his surprise, he looked almost exactly like he did when he had left Pallet Town for the first time, only slightly older and more mature. All the young preteen could say was "woah.."

Lance could only chuckle as he put his grooming supplies away, "not bad at all, if I do say so myself," he said with a smile, "Oh, and I've also taken the liberty of updating your X-tranceiver. It now shows your real name along with your current title."

The dark-haired trainer blinked before looking down at his X-tran, which was now on the opposite wrist of the mega brace and tracking band. He pushed the info button..

'This X-tranceiver belongs to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Indigo.

Titles: Pokemon Trainer, Kanto/Johto Pokemon League ACE trainer, Orange League Champion.

Age: 11 years, 6 months.

This trainer has level II clearance and has permission to carry up to 12 pokemon.

Ash nodded slowly at the information, then raised an eyebrow as he turned to Lance, "what did it mean by 'Level 2 clearance?' "

"Well, there are 4 levels of clearance when gaining access to League files and information, as well as certain areas and resources that would be off limits to most regular trainers," Lance explained, "Level I is the regular every day trainer and has the most restrictions. Level II are League ACE trainers such as yourself, and Gym Leaders. Level III is reserved for League sanctified Professors and researchers, as well as a few other chosen individuals who work for us, but you don't need to know about that," he said with a small smirk, "And lastly, Level IV is strictly for Elite Four members, champions, and the members of the board themselves, and gives practically free range to whatever information or resources the League has."

Ash nodded as he absorbed the information. By this point, all of his pokemon had gathered around him, looking somewhat anxious. Pikachu was jumping up and down at the concept of finally being ready to evolve. Poliwrath was bashing his gloved fists together, itching for a fight. Charizard and Nidoking were swishing their tails impatiently, while Electabuzz whirled his arms around, making his body spark. They were all waiting for the champion to finish with the formalities and let them travel again. Get the show on the road, damnit!

"Alright then!" Lance smiled, "I believe that's everything.." he then smiled at Ash, "tomorrow, you head to Johto to begin your new Journey. Now, as per tradition, I insist that your first stop be New Bark Town to visit Professor Elm, the regional professor or Johto." he said, then frowned, "just a heads up though, Professor Elm is a former student of Professor Oak, so I don't know how he'll react to you."

"How would he even know me though?" Ash asked curiously. His name had been kept out of the media other than the league clearing him of all crimes he had been accused of.

Lance just sighed, "like I said earlier, as a regional Professor, Elm has Level III clearance, which unfortunately included access to the initial Police reports. While most of the information is now Level IV, those first reports slipped through.."

Ash retorted with his own sigh, 'It's fine, Lance..I think I remember Dr. Igneous telling me that Professor Oak and Elm didn't see eye to eye." That's when another thought.. a scary thought.. came to him, "wait, does this mean that Dr. Igneous has Level III clearance?" he said with a touch of fear in his voice. He could only imagine what the slightly deranged doc would do with that kind of information.

The Champion chuckled, "Not at the moment, no. We know about Igneous' past. Even though he was severely wronged by Professor Oak, his record isn't exactly clean. Right now, we're keeping him at Level II until we can deem him trustworthy."

The young trainer sighed in relief. He loved the doc, truly, but the man can be scary when he got a hold of some new, possibly 'world changing' information.

"Now, I think its best that you get yourself ready and get a good night's sleep to prepare for tomorrow," Lance said, "and keep in mind your new duties as a League trainer as well as our deal. Depending on how you do in the Johto Conference, we will have another month of special training."

"Right!" Ash said as he looked over his team, "already looking forward to it."

The boy then took the Thunderstone in his hand and looked to one of his smallest team members, who was still jumping up and down in excitement. Ash and Lance couldn't help but chuckle at the little mouse's behavior.

As Ash bent down to Pikachu's level, he held out the stone and asked, "are you ready?"

Without hesitation, the electric type touched the stone, causing his body to light up brightly. As his body grew about a foot in height, his tail also lengthened considerably, still keeping its lightning-like appearance at the end. As the light died down, a powerful looking Raichu now stood in Pikachu's place, smirking as it made its now golden cheeks sparkle, "Rai Raichu!"

"excellent job, Raichu!" Ash said proudly as she stood up, "let's test out your new power," he then pointed to a nearby training target, "use thunderbolt on that target!"

The large mouse smirked and nodded as he powered up, "Rai...CHUUUU!"

The huge bolt of thunder rocketed towards the target and hit it with deadly accuracy, effectively smashing it into pieces. Everyone looked on at awe at the power the little rodent now had. Electabuzz grunted in respect and jealously. He would have to work harder to keep up with his electric rival until the day came that he could finally evolve. It was only a matter of time, they just needed to make a mock trade. Same with Magmar, who had the same thoughts.

As everyone congratulated Raichu on his evolution and power, the two trainers bowed to each other in respect, a sign of a job well done and that their meeting and time together had come to a close for now.

Later that night, Ash looked at himself with his new items and clothes while he was in his room. He had to admit that the clothes looked very nice on him, and he could tell that they were made of a durable material that would allow them to last against pokemon attacks.

He then stared at his new Mega Bracelet and the stone inside of it. The key stone. He then looked at the stone that had been found with that one, a Mega stone. According to one of the League experts and Lance, a Mega stone will attract whatever pokemon it reacts with. Apparently, this particular stone was for a pokemon that Ash didn't have yet, a Tyranitar. It was a rare, and sought after Pseudo-Legendary pokemon that only lived in select places in the Johto region. It was also notoriously hard to train due to its terrible temperament and destructive streak.

Still, with this stone in hand, and with all of that information, it only made Ash want to catch one that much more. He was determined to find on during his time in Johto. Hopefully he would find some more Megastones during his time as well.

Then boy then let out a small sigh as he spied the tracking bracelet hidden under the silver Megastone holder.

'What fun to be watched like a hawk 24/7.. no better than at that damned lab..' A familiar voice said in his head, making Ash groan.

"Mewtwo, come on. We've talked about this.."

'Yes yes, I know.. it's only temporary.. doesn't mean I have to like it..' the clone pokemon grumbled, making Ash chuckle softly.

"Yes I know.. I don't like it anymore than you do. Just remember, we're in this together"

"...right..." was the last thing the young ACE heard before the connection was cut. Ash could only shake his head in amusement as he finished packing his things.

'Food..check. ..clothes..check.. back ups..check...' Ash smiled notstagia, as he remembered that this was the same thing he did the night before he became a trainer. ..before the storm hit.

With a slight frown, he idly wondered what and how Professor Oak and Gary were doing. While the young grandson was MIA, the old man was being held under lock and key until further notice, and probably still sporting some bruises, thanks to yours truly.

As he finished packing his bag, he looked over his pokeballs. According to the information on his X-tranceiver, instead of no limit, Lance had allowed him the capacity to carry up to twelve pokemon, which is what he had been carrying around anyway, so no harm done.

He had already decided to leave Poliwrath, Electabuzz, Crobat, and Gyarados here, and take the rest with him. He would switch them out later as needed and to keep their training up. Mewtwo had his own special slot, and since he wouldn't be used in regular Pokemon battles ,he was not counted among the twelve.

But for now, he felt he was ready.

They had trained with the best, now it was time to truly show Johto, and hopefully the world, who Ash Ketchum was ..

Not a thief, and no longer a Rogue, but a Pokemon League accredited ACE trainer with enough strength to wreck an entire Team Rocket scheme and come away smelling like roses.

Oh yea, he was definitely ready. But the question was.. was the world ready for him?

Only one way to find out. Tomorrow, Johto awaited.

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AAAAAAANNNNDD DONE!

For some reason, this was a tough one to write. Hopefully it turned out ok.

It's mostly just a prep and hype chapter to get you guys ready for more.

If I left anything out, please let me know so I can fix it! :/

Reviews and comments appreciated. Flames will be struck down with Thor's hammer.