Okay, guys, this is a request from the core of justice. It features his OC Zyon paired with Dawn and May, as well as Ash with Mallow. Just like my one-shot Alolan Therapy, this does have mentions of Amourshipping in it. Unlike it, though, it'll also feature the rest of Ash's classmates as well as Professor Kukui and Samson Oak. It is going to be a bit more adult-oriented as well, so it has an M rating. Don't say I didn't warn you.

DISCLAIMER: Zyon belongs to the core of justice. Pokémon belongs to Game Freak.

Reunions

At the Hoenn region, all the citizens at of Mauville City were overjoyed. There was a Grand Contest happening there and many were attending. Even the Gym Leader Wattson was in the audience. The reason was that the 'Hoenn Princess' May Maple was participating after returning from the Johto region. Of course, another participant was a friend she made in Sinnoh, Dawn, who beat her at the Wallace Cup for her third Ribbon. This Contest was one they wouldn't forget, as it made the audience hoop and holler in excitement at the scene.

As the contest was going on, one young man ran towards the building, knowing full well he was late for the Appeals Round, but figured that he could make it in time to see the Battle Rounds. He was a 14-year-old African-American who was 5'8. He wore a red T-shirt under a dark grey vest, blue jeans, black sneakers, and red gloves similar to another Trainer May and Dawn knew, in addition to May's bandanas on his arms, the red one on his right, the green one on his left. His Raichu was following close behind, knowing that he didn't want to miss the battles. They ran by Officer Jenny, who had a look of recognition on her face. "Okay, where's he off to?" she asked, getting a small bark from her Growlithe. They then looked at the Contest Hall and figured out that he was heading there, smiling with knowledge of the fact that he was going to see May, not knowing about his relationship with Dawn as well.

The Trainer got into the Contest Hall and looked around for Wattson to see what he was up to. He spotted him in the audience, so he attempted to walk up to the Gym Leader. He stopped after seeing May and Dawn. He smirked and went with Raichu to the locker room to wait for them.

(Opening: 'Alola!')

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. My dream is to become a Pokémon Master."

"This is my partner, Pikachu!"

"Let's all go search for Pokémon with full force!"

(Ash and Pikachu are running towards the Pokémon School with enthusiastic smiles on their faces. Then a shot of the Alola region is shown with the SM logo appearing.)

(Ash is taking a breather due to the humidity as Mallow and the others appear to around him.)

We won't get anywhere if we just stand around and wait

The sun, the moon, Pokémon, that girl,

(The gang is shown with their Pokémon with Lillie getting frightened of Ash's Pikachu)

(Everyone is sliding down the sliding down the slide before crashing into an Alolan Exeggutor, then get up and dance. In order: Ash, Sophocles, Lillie, Mallow, Kiawe, and Lana.)

They've all had head-turning adventures

(Aye-yee-yah-yee-yah!)

(Ash is running as Litten spots him and uses Ember to burn his face.)

Shocking and startling, they're never ever gonna stop

Looking here and there and everywhere, I can't help myself

(Team Rocket is looking around as Bewear pops up and grabs them)

Come on, we can go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on

(Aye-yee-yah-yee-yah!)

In the heated battle, I choose you! (In the heated battle, I choose you!

(As they walk, Ash is in the lead, followed by Mallow, May, Dawn, Lana, Lillie, Sophocles, and Kukui. Zyon is on a Latios while Kiawe is on Charizard. Samson tries to join in the dance, but gets smacked by Komala.)There, get 'em. I caught it! (There, get 'em. I caught it!)

(Gooo!)

Heartbeats firing up, dashing on hot like the brilliant sun (Yeah!)

(The gang is shown giving commands with their signature Pokémon attacking. Lillie grabs her Egg.)

(Ash is shown attempting to catch a Grubbin as the others look on.)(Ash and Zyon are shown battling as the others, now including Brock, Iris, and Serena, cheer them on, Iris and Serena even wearing cheerleading outfits for Ash. Solgaleo even appears to interrupt the battle.)

Courage seething through, shining upon us as we aim for the moon (Aye-yee-yah-yee-yah!)

(Ash and Pikachu glimpse at Tapu Koko, who flies towards the moon. Lunala also appears flying past them.)

Come on, feel the maximum energy with your all

(Ash and Pikachu are shown using Gigavolt Havoc.)

(They are shown looking out of the classroom with an excited look on their faces.)

From the top of your lungs, Alola!

Meanwhile, on the contest stage, May had just gotten done with her battle, beating out Zoey to move on to the Final Round and hoping her opponent was Dawn. The blue-haired Coordinator looked and saw May encouraging her to try her best. She saw the same fire in her eyes that she saw in their mutual friend Ash's, only not quite as intense. The two of them shared a 'peace' sign as Dawn got ready to face her opponent, which was her childhood friend Kenny. "You really have changed, Dawn," Kenny stated before having a slightly dejected look on his face. "It was because of Ash, wasn't it?"

"A large part of it was Ash. A very large part," she said. "I still owe him, Zoey, and May quite a lot, Kenny, and I intend to pay them back, especially Ash! I still miss him dearly, so this contest is for him!"

"How touching. I've been hearing that name come from another contestant as well, Ms. Dawn," Mr. Contesta said, grabbing May and Dawn's attention. "Now, you both know the rules. The battles have a time limit of two minutes. Whoever knocks their opponent's points down to zero wins. You also win if you have more points when the two-minute timer is done. And...begin!"

"Okay, Empoleon, let's go!" Kenny shouted with fierce determination. Empoleon took to the field, ready to face what came its way.

"Quilava, Spotlight!" Dawn exclaimed. Quilava saw its opponent and knew that its trainer was just like her friend, who also had a Quilava.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Dawn..." said May, who had a bit of worry in her voice before smiling. "You're more like Ash than I thought."

"Empoleon, use Steel Wing!" Kenny exclaimed. Empoleon's wings turned a metallic color and charged towards Quilava.

"Quilava, Dig!" Dawn ordered. Quilava dug underground and dodged the Steel Wing, knocking some of Kenny's points off. Dawn smiled before giving her next order. "Quilava, use Flame Wheel!" A burning circle formed around Empoleon as Quilava repeatedly circled around it. Using Empoleon's own Steel-type element to even out the effectiveness of the attack, Dawn had Quilava burst out of the ground, knocking more points off from Kenny and forming a burning cage. The flames reached up to Quilava, who used it to form a sort of Meteor Flame Wheel and getting the crowd to cheer.

"Grr! Empoleon, Aqua Jet and Steel Wing!" Empoleon did as it was told and covered itself with water, shooting up and re-coating its wings in the metallic armor. It spun and dodged the Meteor Flame Wheel, slamming Quilava to finally knock some points off of Dawn. Because of Aqua Jet's super effectiveness against Quilava, it knocked enough points off of the bluenette until they were tied, which was at about three-quarters left. "Empoleon, Water Gun!"

"Quilava, Flamethrower!" In a mirror of Ash's battle against Gary at the Johto League, steam built up, but the audience could tell that more points were taken off of Dawn. Kenny could see from Empoleon looking around again that Quilava disappeared again. "Quilava, Flame Wheel!" The exclamation shocked Kenny, but he saw Empoleon get repeatedly slammed thanks to Dawn and Quilava taking advantage of the latter's speed and the Sinnoh Water Starter's size.

"Time's up!" Mr. Contesta shouted, ending the battle. They looked at the board and saw that it was close as usual. However, Dawn barely squeaked by with the win. "The winner is...Dawn! That means that you'll be facing May in the Final Round...as soon as we get the stage fixed up." Dawn fell backwards in exhaustion, happy that she had beaten Kenny.

"I can't...I can't believe...I just did something...that Ash would do..." Dawn said with a smile on her face. She stumbled off the stage, being caught by Zoey. "Thanks, Zoey."

"Hey, no problem," Zoey said. "I'd say you made him proud."

"I second that," May said, approaching them and handing Dawn a towel and a water bottle. "If there's one thing he did at the Contest we did after he beat the Battle Frontier, it that he treated the Battle Rounds like a Gym Battle. By that, you know that I mean that he cut loose. I'm sure Blaziken would like a rematch with Sceptile sometime soon."

"He had a fully-evolved Water Starter in the Kalos League. I think it was called Greninja or something like that," said Dawn. "The bond was so strong that it even took a form similar to Ash...at least, as far as appearance was concerned. I wonder if he still has it with him..."

"He made the finals in that one, didn't he?" Zoey asked.

"Yeah. That's more progress than he made traveling with me. In Hoenn, Johto, and Unova, he made the Top Eight, and in Kanto, it was the Top Sixteen."

"Why was it that low in his own home?"

"I can answer that," May said. "It's because he has a Charizard that wouldn't listen to him at the time. Those issues are no more now."

"Well that's good," said Zoey. "It looks like they got the stage repaired now. Go give them hell, guys." Both May and Dawn smirked and nodded, getting ready for their long awaited rematch.

As the audience awaited for the two finalists, Drew looked on, happy that May made it to the Finals for the rematch between her and Dawn. He saw the depressed Kenny, who just lost to Dawn like Zoey did May. He hated seeing Kenny moping about his loss, especially since Drew himself lost against Solidad in his first Contest. The green-haired coordinator felt the same way about May that Kenny felt about Dawn. The difference was that Drew kept it to himself while Kenny was more obvious. They did get a clue as to who they thought was keeping them from getting with them: Ash. Drew had enough of Kenny's crying, so he approached him, intent on silencing him. "Kenny!" he exclaimed, getting his fellow Coordinator to stop crying. "That is your name, right?" Kenny nodded to confirm it. "Just because you lost to Dawn doesn't mean that you can just sit here and cry. Do you want to know why you lost?"

"I already do know, Drew," Kenny said, drying up. "It's because Dawn got along with Ash a little too well. Like with him, type advantage didn't matter to her. I'm not crying because I lost to Dawn; I'm crying because it's like losing to Ash without him being here."

"Except Ash only participated in two Contests: Terracotta Town and the Wallace Cup."

"Why was he allowed to enter in those two?"

"Terracotta was because it was unofficial, meaning that Ash could participate as well. He and Sceptile tied with May and Blaziken in that one. As for the Wallace Cup, he was invited by Wallace himself along with May, Dawn, and Zoey." He saw the disgruntled look on Kenny's face, knowing that Ash participated in the Wallace Cup at Lake Valor and he didn't even see it. He did know that Dawn beat May, but had no idea that Ash even entered until Drew told him. The more experienced Coordinator was about to speak up again, but they saw an unfamiliar face heading to the locker rooms. It was the Trainer and Raichu from earlier. "Hold it!" Drew exclaimed, stopping the Trainer. "Unless you're participating, you're not allowed back here!" Drew knew he was telling a lie, since Ash, Max, and Brock frequently visited May backstage. Kenny knew that Ash and Brock did the same for Dawn as well.

"Actually, I was heading backstage to say hi to a couple of lovely ladies," the Trainer said.

"Rai Rai," Raichu said, speaking up.

"Careful, Drew," Kenny said. "That Raichu looks tough."

"Glad you noticed," said the Trainer, who had on a goofy grin on his face. "Now if you don't mind..."

"How about a battle instead. We'd have to take it outside, though," said Drew, interrupting his new opponent.

"Fine by me. My choice of Pokémon is a bit on the large side anyway." Drew and Kenny both knew that they didn't like this guy from the start. Drew could hardly wait for the battle.

The three of them went outside to a battle arena that wasn't too far from the Contest Hall. Kenny, being the only spectator, was also the judge. Drew grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt, pushed the button to expand it to normal size, and threw it. "Go, Roserade!" he exclaimed. Roserade appeared ready for battle.

"Roserade, huh? Haven't seen one of those in a while," said the stranger, who also got a Poké Ball out. "Garchomp, let's rock!" With the Poké Ball thrown into the air, a Garchomp popped out. The notch in its dorsal fin told Drew and Kenny that this Garchomp was a male. "What do you think? Garchomp's rough hide prevents him from being hit hard by most non-Dragon attacks. Of course, with it being a Ground-type as well, Roserade's Grass-type attacks would make Garchomp look like he was hit with an attack of neutral effectiveness."

"This guy's a bit of a nutcase, don't you think?" Kenny asked.

"Yeah, except he's right," said Drew. "You're from the Sinnoh region, Kenny. You should've known about Garchomp's stats."

"He's from Sinnoh?" the stranger questioned. "How come I never came across him before?"

"I wouldn't worry about it if I were you! Roserade, Petal Dance!" Roserade jumped into the air and fired pink petals at Garchomp. The Dragon-type, seemingly without being told, used Protect, blocking the pink petals and preventing him from reaching him.

"How'd he do that?" asked Kenny.

"I don't know, but I'm about to find out! Roserade, Solar Beam!" Taking advantage of the harsh sunlight, Roserade didn't take long to gather its energy. It fired at Garchomp, who tried his hand at Protect again. This time, the defensive move failed and Garchomp was hit dead-on. "Bingo!"

"Don't get too cocky," said the stranger. The smoke cleared and Garchomp was revealed to have barely a scratch on him, much to Drew and Kenny's shock. "You see, I spent some time working on Garchomp's Defense. I had no problem with his attack." Drew then noticed that his opponent looked like he was concentrating as Garchomp used Dragon Claw to attack Roserade, who dodged it.

"He's a Psychic!" The stranger smirked, glad that Drew figured it out. "You've been giving Garchomp orders through telepathy, haven't you?"

"Busted. It's sort of a habit of mine."

"But doesn't telepathy only work on Psychic-types?" Kenny asked.

"Actually, that's a common misconception. If the training is strong enough, a psychic connection is possible with anything and anyone you're close to." It was then that Kenny also noticed something else about Garchomp.

"Uh, Drew? What's that on Garchomp's neck?" Drew looked to see what he was talking about. It was a metal ring with an odd stone in it.

"Dammit," he cursed out, knowing full well what it was. "That, Kenny, is a little something Hoennites picked up from visiting Kalosians." The stranger, with a smirk on his face, pressed a similar stone on a ring he was wearing on his wrist. Four beams of light emerged from it with similar beams emerging from Garchomp's ring. As the stranger raised his arm into the air, Garchomp became encased in a glass sphere before breaking out, revealing a taller, changed version of him. The fins and claws on his arms were replaced with axes, his head and shoulders were angular, he had red spikes on each side of his torso, and red spikes on his knees. "It's called Mega Evolution, and only a handful of Pokémon possess them. In fact, May's Blaziken and Ash's Sceptile have this capability."

"Ash?" the stranger asked himself, a little bothered not knowing that name when he felt like he should. "I don't know who this 'Ash' person is, but he must be pretty important if he's mentioned by you two." This caught Drew and Kenny's attention as they looked back at their new rival. "You're good, Drew, but I'm afraid you just lost!"

"Maybe, but if there's one thing I learned during my first Contest, it's to never give up! Roserade, Razor Leaf and Petal Dance!" The two attacks came simultaneously, causing Garchomp to use Protect at his Trainer's command. The Mega Evolved Dragon-type sent the leaves and petals away and gathered energy, causing Drew, Kenny, and Roserade to brace themselves. Garchomp aimed upwards, alerting Drew and Kenny that the attack was Draco Meteor. "Roserade, Protect!" Roserade put the shield up as the Draco Meteor landed in several areas around them. It was protected, as were Drew and the stranger. However, Kenny wound up having one heading towards him. Before he could move out of the way, the attack hit near enough to him for Kenny to be knocked backwards.

The stranger uncovered his eyes as the dust cleared and saw Kenny knocked out. "Oh my Arceus, Garchomp! You hit that 'Kenny' kid!"

"You bastard! Roserade, Solar Beam!" The bipedal plant fired off another Solar Beam at Garchomp, hitting him dead on like last time. However, it did even less damage than last time. Garchomp responded with a Dragon Claw, this time, slashing Roserade and sending it out of bounds and knocking it out. "Roserade!"

"I told you you lost, Drew. Still, that was a good battle," said the stranger, who was about to walk away.

"Where did you learn to battle like that?" No answer came to Drew. "You must've been here or at Kalos long enough to know how to use Mega Evolutions."

"Kalos? No, I haven't been there. I'm actually a Hoenn native." The revelation shocked Drew to the core. "Now if you're wondering how I got a Garchomp, I did spend some time in Sinnoh. I also attended Professor Oak's Summer Camp in Kanto when I was a kid." Before Drew could respond, he saw something peculiar on his arms: a pair of familiar bandannas.

"Where did you get those?" The question confused the stranger to no end. "They belong to May Maple. Don't tell me you stole them!"

"'Stole them'? Don't be ridiculous, man. We've known each other as kids, so she gave them to me."

"Liar!"

"Actually, Drew," said a familiar voice. "It's the truth." They looked and saw May approaching them in her new casual outfit, which consisted of a red tank top with a black undershirt, white short shorts with black lycra mini-leggings underneath, yellow-and-black ankle boots, a new red kerchief with the tied-up part on top, and a green-and-yellow fanny pack. She had a stern look on her face as she approached. Dawn wasn't too far behind, wearing a green shirt with a black skirt. "Zyon and I did know each other as kids. If I were you, I'd leave him alone."

Dawn looked even further and saw that Kenny was still out cold. "What happened to him?" she asked.

"Ask Garchomp," said Drew, a hint of frustration in his voice. Garchomp, who was back in his regular form, responded by sheepishly scratching his head. That's when they heard some groaning and the stranger, now known as Zyon, decided that it was a good idea to return Garchomp to his Poké Ball so as to not scare Kenny. The younger Coordinator regained his bearings and saw the same sheepish smile on Zyon's face that his Dragon-type had earlier. "You're buddy there really ruined our day. The fact that Kenny wound up taking a Draco Meteor from a Mega-Evolved Garchomp didn't help much."

"Zyon!" Dawn said, giving a glare at her and May's friend, making him nervous. "I told you that Draco Meteor was dangerous! Piplup knows too well!"

"Well, yeah...but I didn't expect it to hit Kenny," said Zyon. What Zyon still didn't know was how Dawn and Piplup knew the dangers of the move before he did.

"Okay, you guys, that's enough," May said, breaking the argument before it could progress any further. "As it just so happens, Dawn and I are even now. Because of that, I won tickets to the Alola region for a vacation. I'm pretty sure all three of us can use one." Kenny and Drew, having heard what May just said, looked at each other, now having the same idea for payback against him. "We'll send you guys some postcards and souvenirs, so don't worry," she said to her and Dawn's rivals.

"See you!" Dawn added, not glancing back at the dejected, but determined rivals.

They packed their stuff and got on a cruise ship heading to Alola. As May's party boarded onto the main part of the ship, Drew and Kenny got into the cargo bay in a crate. None of them had any idea that they were there, nor that May and Dawn were going to reunite with an old friend. The ship made it to the middle of the ocean on its course to Melemele Island. Zyon was leaning on the rail, a certain name still lingering in his mind. Raichu understood his trainer a lot of times, but not in this case. 'Just who is this 'Ash' person that Kenny and Drew mentioned?' he thought. 'Why is it bothering me this badly? Did May and Dawn know him before me?'

"Something on your mind?" Dawn asked, approaching Zyon and Raichu.

"No. Just enjoying the scenery."

"Liar. I've known you for a long time, Zyon. And May's known you for even longer. Something's on your mind, but I don't know what. Is it something your mentor said before we got on this cruise?" Zyon hung his head low, knowing that Dawn was at least partially right.

"Something like that, but it's more like a mini-conversation Drew and Kenny had regarding someone named 'Ash'." The minute his name came out of Zyon's mouth, Dawn flinched, expression turning into dread. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this 'Ash' person, would you?"

"Um, no...n-not really," Dawn said, turning around so he wouldn't see the embarrassed blush on her face.

"You do know something, don't you?"

"I plead the Fifth!"

"Fine, but the truth is going to come out, Dawn. And who knows? This 'Ash' could be a one-night stand you had." Dawn still had the blush on her face, but she knew the truth; Ash was still her lifelong best friend despite being close to Zyon and May. As Dawn walked past the cabins, her and May's cabin opened up to reveal the latter coming out of it. Before May could say anything, the bluenette brought her into a huddle.

"When you talk to Zyon, don't mention a thing about 'him' to him, got it." May was about to make a crack about any lingering feeling Dawn had for their frequently-journeying friend, but saw the serious look on her face.

"Way to ruin a joke, Dawn," said the older Coordinator. "Okay. I won't even bring him up."

"Good, but Drew and Kenny already did and it's bothering him." After they broke apart, May went to talk to Zyon while Dawn was at the back of the ship. She opened up her PokéDex, which could also take photos, and pulled up an old picture she had kept of her, Ash, and Brock along with their Pokémon on their last day together. She smiled as she scrolled to another of her and Ash laughing together as Brock got pulled away by Croagunk. A third and final picture was of the two of them with Iris and Cilan in Unova. They did the rabbit ears gag on a disgruntled Iris while Cilan was trying to get in the picture. 'Ash,' she thought, thinking about her friend. 'I hope you're safe, especially after the Kalos crisis. But I have the strongest faith in the fact that you're still alive.'

After a few days, the ship had finally got to Melemele Island. The trio grabbed their luggage and got off the ship to have a look around. They were impressed by the view, including the unique Pokémon. Zyon was eager to try out a number of things that Alola was known for, including the Ride Pokémon. He and Raichu got a little too eager, in fact. "Okay, time to find out where they're renting out Ride Pokémon! C'mon, Raichu!" he said excitedly.

"Rai, Rai!" Raichu exclaimed with as much enthusiasm.

"Wait, you guys!" Dawn shouted. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears, as Zyon and Raichu had run off. "We have to get to our hotel rooms first..."

"We'll handle the hotel rooms, Dawn," said May. Dawn nodded as they went to the hotel to check in.

They got checked in and checked Zyon into the room next to them so as to not raise any suspicions of a 'party' going on, much like the way they did on the ship. May and Dawn changed into their bikinis, got their beach gear, and headed to the shore. When they got there, they saw Zyon and Raichu riding a Sharpedo with a seat and handlebars on it. "Is that safe?" Dawn asked as May got her PokéDex out.

"SHARPEDO: THE BRUTAL POKEMON AND THE EVOLVED FORM OF CARVAHNA. A WATER/DARK-TYPE. IN THE ALOLA REGION, SHARPEDO FUNCTION AS RIDE POKEMON, THUS TRAINED TO BE HARMLESS TO THE RIDERS."

"Well that's a relief," May said. "Zyon will be just fine. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to catch a few rays." Dawn nodded as she and Piplup stretched out. May put her headphones in, which left Dawn with no one to talk to but her Starter.

"No need to worry, Piplup," she said. "If it's just you and me, we can manage just fine." Piplup spoke up in excitement, amusing its trainer.

"Ash, I think Lana said it was over here!" exclaimed a voice, getting Dawn's attention.

"Ash?" She looked and saw a green-haired girl with tan skin and a smile that exuded confidence. She had on a pair of overall shorts with a pink tube top underneath, a pair of sneakers, and a cherry-like Pokémon on her shoulder. With her was a familiar face that Dawn was happy to see. Wearing a blue-and-white striped T-shirt, black cargo shorts, sneakers, and a red cap. Complete with the confident eyes, the smile that Dawn admired, and Pikachu close behind, Dawn knew that it was her best friend: Ash Ketchum.

"Only one way to find out," Ash said. The green-haired girl nodded and was about to use the metal detector that was in her hand when Dawn began running up to them.

"Ash!" she exclaimed, getting the attention of Ash and the new girl. As she waved at him, the Kanto duo knew who it was.

"Dawn!" Ash reached up for his usual high five with Dawn, but was immediately shocked when she hugged him instead. He was ecstatic to see her, but the one thing he'd be afraid of her doing was kissing him. This was due to his loyalty to a certain honey-blonde girl from Kalos. Luckily, they just kept it to a hug with Ash stroking Dawn's hair. The green-haired girl was starting to get impatient due to two reasons: 1) They still had something to dig up; and 2) She was about to remind Ash of his loyalties.

Zyon was still having fun riding the Sharpedo, but he happened to look and saw Dawn hugging someone else, along with that someone hugging her back. "Who the hell is Dawn hugging? And why does he look familiar?" he asked himself. He couldn't quite put it together in time since he was about to be sent back to shore by a Milotic.

Ash and Dawn finally broke the hug after a while, still happy to see each other. "It's so good to see you again, Ash," she said. "I'm sorry about what happened at Kalos. That was the closest you've ever gotten, right?" Before Ash could answer, Zyon and Raichu fell right next to them, with Sharpedo not too far. "Oh, and this is Zyon." Ash and the green-haired girl freaked out after seeing Sharpedo on the sand. They scurried to pick up the Brutal Pokémon and get it back into the water. They even took the time to clear its gills of the sand that got in, something of which the Pokémon was grateful for.

"That was close," the girl said.

"You can say that again," said Ash. They went back to Dawn and Zyon after that. "Sorry about that. I hate seeing a Water Pokémon on land when they have to be in the water."

"Nah, it's cool," Zyon said. "I'd have done the same thing. I'm guessing you know Dawn already."

"And May over there." Ash's explanation shocked Zyon, but he knew his conclusion came true. "By the way, my name's Ash Ketchum. I'm not a native from around here. I'm actually from Pallet Town in Kanto."

"And yet, you're the runner-up in the Kalos League?"

"Guilty as charged."

"You know, Ash, thinking about it makes me wish you still had your Sceptile with you. That Greninja of yours can only do so much," said Dawn. "Speaking of, can I see it?"

"Sorry, Dawn, but I'm afraid I had to leave him at Kalos to get rid of any more dark roots that Team Flare may have. He promised me that he'd go back to Professor Sycamore's lab to be sent to me once his work's done."

"That's understandable."

"Oh, and before I forget, this is Mallow. She is one of the natives.

"I was wondering when you were going to introduce me," Mallow said. "And this is Bounsweet. She and I helped Ash rescue Pikachu from Team Rocket the first day they were here."

"Don't tell me it's still those same three morons," Dawn said, astonished. "They followed you all the way here?"

"I wasn't that surprised, especially since they followed me to Kalos as well."

"Bummer. All I saw was the Lumiose Conference, the Kalos crisis, your incident with a Garchomp on Prism Tower, and this one girl's showcases."

"Is she talking about Serena?" Mallow asked.

"I believe so," said Ash.

"Well now that you guys got your little game of catch-up out of the way, how about a battle, Ash?" Zyon requested. "My Raichu against your Pikachu?" Ash looked to Pikachu as the two shared the same smirk on their faces.

"Okay, Zyon, you're on!" The two of them smiled as a battle was about to start. However, Zyon was ambushed in a hug by May. "Hey, May. I see you're finally up."

"It wasn't a long nap, Ash. Nice seeing you again," she said.

"I appreciate the hug, May, but now may not have been the best time. I was about to battle him."

"Sorry, Zyon." May got off of Zyon as he and Ash got to their respective sides.

"Let's go, Raichu!"

"Are you ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked, getting a confirmation from Pikachu as the latter ran along his arms before getting ready for battle. "I choose you!"

"This is going to be interesting," Dawn said, getting May and Mallow's attention. "Ash probably didn't tell you, but he and Pikachu have a history of defeating Raichu. First, it was the Vermilion City Gym. The second one was the one I witnessed. He beat this arrogant trainer named Sho. Both of them were rematches, though. However, since Pikachu's gotten stronger, I'm going to bet that Ash will be the first in a long time to give Zyon a run for his money."

"You may be right about that, Dawn," said May. Mallow remained silent, but she knew that Ash had a trick up his sleeve.

'Raichu, use only half your strength,' Zyon said telepathically to his mouse. 'I'd like for Ash and Pikachu to think they stand a chance. Plus, I'd like to find out just what kind of team these two make. From what Dawn said, Ash is supposed to be this incredible trainer.'

"Rai!" Raichu exclaimed in the affirmative.

"You're not the first telepath I met!" Ash exclaimed, shocking the others that Ash found out so quickly. Mallow was confused, though. "Seriously, you and Raichu might want to be more subtle about that!" Just as Mallow was putting the pieces together, an unusual PokéDex floated around Ash and scanned Raichu.

"RAICHU: THE MOUSE POKEMON AND THE EVOLVED FORM OF PIKACHU. A PURE ELECTRIC-TYPE OUTSIDE OF ALOLA. RAICHU'S SIZE ALLOWS IT TO STORE MORE ELECTRICITY WITHIN THE ELECTRIC SACS ON ITS CHEEKS. HOWEVER, IT'S SLOWER THAN ITS PRE-EVOLUTION IN TERMS OF SPEED, MAKING PIKACHU THE SUPERIOR SPEEDSTER IN ITS EVOLUTIONARY LINE." It was then that the floating PokéDex let off an alarm in shock at this particular Raichu's data.

"What is it, Rotom?" Ash asked.

"THIS RAICHU...IT'S...IT'S...RELATED TO YOUR PIKACHU!"

"You mean he's Pikachu's brother?" Rotom's screen had a check mark on it, showing Ash that he hit the nail on the head. Ash and the others looked down at Pikachu and found that he was angrier than he normally is at a Raichu. "I knew Pikachu hated his evolved form, but this is ridiculous." Pikachu surprised the humans, Raichu, and Rotom by letting out his electricity.

"Okay, this Pikachu's obviously more powerful than I thought it was," Zyon said. 'Since Ash is living here, I guess I count as a guest. Raichu, start with Volt Tackle!'

"Pikachu, dodge and use Iron Tail!" Pikachu did as he was told, dodging Raichu's attack first. When Raichu came back around, Pikachu had a bit of a surprise for his brother. After all, Ash didn't say exactly where to hit. As Raichu tried to attack Pikachu again, he received an attack square in the face. This caused the larger of the two to stumble and fall on his stomach. "Nice shot, Pikachu!"

'That was a tough Iron Tail. Not bad for a little rodent. This won't be very effective, but...Raichu, Thunder!' Ash figured out what Zyon's next move was since Raichu fired electricity in the sky. He just had to time it right so Pikachu could use his tail for a lightning rod.

"And...now, Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed. Pikachu raised his tail and absorbed the electricity, powering itself up.

"How did Pikachu do that!?" Dawn asked in shock, sharing the same expression as Mallow. "I know Ash can come up with some complex strategies that usually work, but I thought Pikachu's ability was Static, not Lightning Rod!"

"He did something similar when he faced Winona back in Hoenn," May explained, the only one not shocked at the sight. "Pikachu and Swellow were covered in a metallic armor thanks to Pikachu's Thunderbolt being used in an unorthodox way." The group had no idea that there were two extra pairs of eyes watching: Ash and Mallow's teacher, and an old traveling companion of Ash, May, and Dawn.

"Now I know you didn't screw up, Zyon!" Ash exclaimed to his opponent, knowing he was up to something else. "What now?"

"Caught me red-handed, Ash!" Zyon said, shrugging. Ash knew when to relax and when not to. 'Raichu, Hyper Beam!' Raichu did as he was told, charging up a Hyper Beam to fire at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" The two attacks collided, with Pikachu's Thunderbolt getting a power boost thanks to the electricity he absorbed. Suddenly, a flash of light forced Ash and Zyon to cover their eyes as visions came into their sight.

Within the vision was a sight that was familiar to both of them for some reason. It was Professor Oak's Summer Camp. There, a younger Gary was leading a reluctant group of kids in a march. They were reluctant because they always liked Ash for his personality and Gary would pick at him, even though they were friends. A younger Zyon was among them, not too fond of Gary himself. It was then that they saw Ash come out of the woods with a young girl with honey blond hair. It was there that Gary noticed Ash's handkerchief on her knee. "Well would you look at that?" he said, snickering at the two of them. "Ash, it's no wonder you stink at trying to catch a Pokémon! You're too busy flirting around!"

"How about you can it before I box your jaw off, Gary!" Ash warned.

"Leave him alone, Gary," Zyon said. "He helped her out of the woods, so you have to give him that one."

"Alright, alright," Gary said. "It just puts me ahead of my Pokémon training." After that, he went into the cabin for a bottle of water.

"Jerk..." the girl said.

"He's like that," said Ash. "Here, let's sit you down." The girl complied with Ash's suggestion, blushing up a storm. Zyon merely smiled at the sight, as did Professor Oak, the girl's mother, and Gary.

Back in the present, the collision between Pikachu's Thunderbolt and Raichu's Hyper Beam was over. Both of them had several scuff marks as well as tired expressions. "A-A vision...?" Zyon asked himself.

"More like a memory!" said Ash, who was smiling. "It's been a long time, Zyon."

"Too long if you ask me."

"You two knew each other!?" May and Dawn asked at the same time.

"Yep, a long time ago. We met at Professor Oak's Summer Camp," Zyon explained to the girls before turning to Ash. "Sorry, Ash! That was my biggest light show! With Raichu, anyway!"

"That's okay, but I still have one more trick up my sleeve!" said Ash, who brought his arms to his front, causing the device on his wrist to glow yellow. He brought his arms to his right side before swinging them to his left, then connecting them, his left hand at his shoulder and his right hand at his left elbow, palms out. This supplied Pikachu with a surge of electrical energy. "This is everything we've got!" he exclaimed, stating his motto for this particular type of move. Ash and Pikachu brought their fists back and surged them forward. The electricity charged on Pikachu's fist and fired at Raichu. "Gigavolt Havoc!" When the attack hit the larger Pokémon, Raichu fell on his back, knocked out. Pikachu was happy that he won, but Ash and Mallow figured something was up.

"That was a good battle, Raichu."

"It was," said Ash. "But something doesn't add up. Raichu was fighting at half his strength, wasn't he?"

"You really do have a battle instinct. He wasn't fighting at full strength, that much is true. I originally intended for him to fight at half to make things more interesting, but Pikachu really did turn out to be tougher than I thought, so I had Raichu up the ante a little. They both must've gotten hurt during that little trip we took down memory lane."

"If that beam struggle was any indication."

"You've really grown, Ash," said a voice that was familiar to Ash, May and Dawn. Approaching them was a figure with squinted eyes, tan skin, brown hair, a green-and-orange vest, khaki cargo pants, green shirt, and white sneakers. "You're battler's intuition must've improved while I was gone."

"It's Brock!" exclaimed Ash, May, and Dawn, getting their older friend to smile.

"That's the guy who used to be the Pewter City Gym Leader, Ash?" Mallow asked.

"Yep," Ash answered. He's journeyed with me since then. The exception was the Orange Islands. He stopped journeying after Sinnoh, but I met up with Dawn again in Unova for a little bit."

"Wait, you were in Unova?" Brock asked, getting a nod from his old friend. "I actually came across someone from there. Striaton City, to be exact."

"Wait, was he dressed like a waiter?"

"And had green hair and eyes?" Dawn added.

"And a Pansage and Crustle?" Ash finished.

"That sounds just like him," answered Brock.

"His name is Cilan. Last I checked, he and his brothers had to shut down their Gym because of new ones being put in place in different parts of Unova."

"I'm guessing that their Gym wasn't your ordinary one."

"Nope. I'll explain later."

"You know, I actually have a cousin in Unova who's very fond of Dragon-types," Zyon said.

"This sounds familiar," Dawn said to Ash. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Iris. Why?" That's when Ash pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned before heading back upstairs and back in the direction of the house he was staying at.

"Ash, where are you going?" May asked.

"I think I'm going to lie down," Ash groaned out, carrying Pikachu.

"Ash, if you need to lie down, you can use my towel to sleep on!" Dawn offered.

"Thanks for the offer, Dawn, but I'll pass." After that, Ash was out of hearing range.

"What did I say?" Zyon asked.

"Iris' name," Dawn answered. "You see, Zyon, Ash and Iris traveled together in Unova. It was after Ash beat the Striaton City Gym that they traveled with Cilan. During the whole damn thing, Ash and Iris argued frequently, almost as much as he did with Gary."

"I'll go check up on him," Mallow said, forgetting about the possible treasure that Lana had sent them for.

"Same here," said Brock. "I've never seen Ash get an instant headache before."

"We'll catch up!" May shouted, also concerned for her friend/mentor. As she, Dawn, and Zyon made their way back to the hotel room with their stuff, May felt a strange, but familiar sensation, knowing that another one of Zyon's Pokémon was near. Pikachu looked to the sky as well after his ears twitched. Another one who sensed it was in its throne at the Ruins of Conflict. A yellow avian Pokémon with an orange crest and wings that double as shields also looked to the sky, wary of what was going to happen next.

TO BE CONTINUED...

CHAPTER 1 END

Okay, that was a long chapter. This one may have my longest chapters yet if the core of justice keeps supplying his ideas. Not that they're not appreciated.