It occurs to me that I've fallen off of the bandwagon of replying to reviews; many apologies, and I'll get to as many as I can that require more than a simple "Thank you."

I've gotten a lot of reviews asking for a longer story, one where Ash's journey is detailed and every aspect of his life dictated, and now I might have... the plans I didn't think I would have... I'm going to go into more detail at the end of Wild Boy about my now budding plans for this story, but for now please just enjoy this chapter.

Lance hoped that the absence of any other team members would help him speak with Wyvern. The set of her gaze on him said otherwise. She had always been the most challenging of his Dragonite to train, not only due to her parentage but also due to how stubborn she happened to be naturally. Sometimes, her attitude exasperated Lance, but right now he appreciated it.

"Ash came back yesterday," he told her.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly before she quickly regained her composure. Interesting.

"So you weren't expecting him to?" Lance prompted.

Wyvern huffed somewhat irately.

"At least one of us knew he was going to leave to begin with," Lance said with a wry grin. "How did you swing learning about that, anyhow?"

Wyvern gave him a deadpan look before her eyes darted towards Bulbasaur, who was curled up under the bench Lance was sitting in. The Seed Pokémon had seemed overly cautious about reuniting with Ash, opting to continue shadowing Lance wherever the Dragon Master went. Lance hadn't wanted to ask the boy about him yet; Ash was still settling in the new room that Lance had designated for him (it opened to an enclosed courtyard that Bruno had been using to help train Amber) and there didn't seem to be any reason to hurry that reunion.

"I didn't know you two were friends," Lance said, looking to Bulbasaur himself. The Pokémon gave an almost contrite growl, lying down more firmly before fixing Wyvern with wide eyes. Lance would almost describe them as adoring if he wanted to irritate his Dragonite.

"All that being said, I have something important to ask of you. I'm sure you didn't tell any of the others about Ash's daring escape plan, and I didn't expect you to. You didn't tell me about them, even. I'm sure there are a few other things you've picked up on from being around him so often before he left."

Wyvern narrowed her eyes as she stared at him.

Lance examined Wyvern himself; she had been his final Dragonite, the one he acquired to form a full, perfect triad with Drakon, who had chosen him in Blackthorn's temple within Dragon's Den when he first started his journey almost two decades ago, and Coatl, who had been a gift from Drake after he first conquered Hoenn's Trainers' League. Wyvern had been a collaboration with Drayden of Unova, the result of finding two compatible dragons whose child could stand toe-to-toe with the ones he had been training for years as soon as possible. From the start, she had been serious about training, not inclined to relax as Coatl was or simply stern as Drakon could be. Wyvern had wanted to be the best immediately and didn't take being second-place for anything. Ironically, because of that, she was probably Lance's least-used Pokémon; he didn't want to dishonor her work with an unworthy opponent, and if a Pokémon couldn't crack through Coatl's trickery at the very least, it wouldn't stand a chance against Wyvern's craftiness and raw power. She had tamed fire almost completely by herself, the draconic almost as an afterthought. Strength ran through her veins. To not acknowledge that was foolish.

"Wyvern, you've been one of my most reliable partners throughout the years," Lance said. "As I have proven many times, I would trust you with my life. As such, I have a mission that only you can carry out.

"Above all other things, ensure that Ash is safe. "

Wyvern stared at him with blatant incredulity. She clearly hadn't expected such a request, and Lance could already see mutiny forming in her eyes.

"You have been the most proactive in defending him already," Lance said. "You refused to join us in battle if it meant leaving him unprotected, and I need that instinct serving him more than ever. This doesn't mean I am removing you from my team. It doesn't matter if it means being slightly less protected, there will always be a space for you. However, I have the feeling that there will be a time during which you may have to choose between my own safety and Ash's, and I need you to choose him. I have your brothers-in-arms to assist me, and I have no doubt that you will be able to return should you choose to. I need the same certainty when it comes to his life."

Wyvern growled quietly, slashing furrows into the ground. She looked at him unhappily. Lance had the feeling that she felt cornered, pressed between her loyalty to him and her pride in being trusted with so huge a task. Finally, she slowly nodded her head, a curl in her lip to show that she wasn't happy with this.

"You are greater than many before you," Lance said quietly, holding a hand out that Wyvern quickly took with a surprisingly gentle claw. "May you never have to act on this order."

Wyvern took on her role as Ash's protector with a grave sense of duty that Lance had expected but still found amusing. She would slink after the boy, somehow never quite garnering his attention with her persistence. More interestingly, at least to Lance, Bulbasaur had begun tentatively tagging behind Wyvern as much as he did Lance. Mewtwo had noted the Seed Pokémon first; it took Ash a few days to realize that the blue creature that trailed Lance's Dragonite was one that he had first befriended in Lavender Town. Lance hadn't been present for that particular reunion; what he gleaned from the others later was that Wyvern had sat Ash down and admonished him for close to half an hour about how hurt Bulbasaur had been at their departure and how team members relied on each other, no matter when they met. It was a subdued Ash that came to dinner that evening, Bulbasaur not quite tailing him in particular but still doggedly following behind with Wyvern bringing up the rear. The golden dragon snorted in Lance's direction, nodding to the two of them. Lance said nothing, just smiling at Wyvern briefly before turning his attention back to Ash.

Meanwhile, outside of the small bubble within the League building, something was shifting in the world. The Masters reported new occurrences almost daily, incidents as small as an entire population of Oddish that once lived happily just outside of Celadon retreating so deeply into the woods that Erika feared she would never meet them again to, most troublingly, the main island of the Seafoam Resorts having to shut down due to sudden freezing temperatures along its hiking trails. Lance wasn't too concerned by the loss of revenue- Kanto had never been built on tourism, and he knew that the family who ran the Seafoam Resorts rarely let themselves idle for more than a second before moving onto their next big business venture. Johto was perhaps even more insular than Kanto but still received its share of troubling news; Lance quickly scanned a report that Pryce, Johto's Ice Master, had sent him about a budding gang that tried to lay roots first at the Lake of Rage and then within a building in Mahogany Town. The old Master had easily driven them out of town, backed by his entire team.

He opened the next email, this one from Duplica. At first, he was confused; the House of Imite, which served as Duplica's home, performance hall, and Gym, was close enough to Saffron City that he expected Sabrina to take over the major purview of the area. Unless something happened in the house itself, Lance couldn't think of what sort of disaster would merit Duplica's report and not Sabrina's. He glanced through the email, the tenseness in his shoulders fading as he relaxed.

No bad news. Actually, rather good news, if what she reported was true.

Before he could reply to the message, Lance's doors opened and a young boy popped his head into the room. Ash's expectant gaze was soon followed by Mewtwo's; the purple Pokémon had stuck his head into the doorway much as Ash had. Egg was, as usual, balanced on Ash's head.

"Can I help any of you?" Lance asked, closing his emails and looking to them.

"We might have had an amazing, incredible idea? Could you come see?" Ash asked, extending the 'i' in 'might' for emphasis.

Lance chuckled before standing. "With a proposition like that, how could I say no?" Ash led Lance (tailed by Wyvern once more) down to a courtyard, where Amber and Fossil were quietly discussing something. Lance could see one of the Kabuto's claws flick almost nervously.

"What was your idea, then?" Lance prompted. "I assume it's whatever you've been refusing to tell anyone about for the past week."

Ash nodded almost solemnly. Lance managed to hold back a laugh at how serious he was trying to be despite physically vibrating with excitement.

"We've been training hard for a long time," Ash began, "and learned how to do a lot of things. One of those things is learning as many techniques as possible." He held up his Pokédex, already opened to Fossil's page of information. Lance raised an eyebrow as he saw the list of moves Fossil had access to.

"Fascinating how a couple of years can lead to so much development," Lance said. "He's learned practically everything that a Kabuto can learn, it seems."

"That's what we thought! Master Lorelei gave us a book with most of the Pokémon that a Trainer could catch in it. There're a lot of numbers and stuff in it."

'It's the basic encyclopedia on many known species of Pokémon. It's meant to be a comprehensive introduction so that Trainers can decide if they want to capture and train specific species. A combined attempt at conservation and encouragement, some may say,' Mewtwo added. 'I was the one who read it cover to cover. Ash might have looked at the pictures a couple of times.'

"I read some of it," Ash muttered. "I know the Pikachu one really well."

"So now that Fossil knows everything that he wants to, you're working on combination moves, I'm guessing? Is that what you need help with?"

Ash nodded fervently.

"So what were you thinking?" Lance asked, looking at Fossil, who was now scratching patterns into the ground.

"Well, Fossil's a li'l slow, right?"

"Kabuto aren't necessarily known for their speed, yes," Lance said. "I wouldn't say that they're the slowest creatures, I suppose, but I would generally agree with you."

"So! I thought that if he could go faster for a moment, he would be better at fighting. And then I thought that it would be cool if he could hang onto whoever he's fighting so that he doesn't have to think too hard about coming back to attack again. And- and! He could also smack 'em around while they're still trying to figure out where he's going or what he's doing!"

Ash was staring at Lance earnestly, his fists clenched by his face. He had at some point slipped into an excited squat. "Imagine how cool that would be!" he said, his voice squeaking in enthusiasm.

"Alright, let's break this down a bit," Lance said, maintaining a light professionalism for Ash's sake. "So, you want to develop a move with which Fossil will be able to move faster. You also want him to be able to cling to his enemies, as well as just hit them while still moving fast enough to avoid damage."

Ash nodded.

"Well, that's a pretty tall order, especially if he hasn't quite evolved yet," Lance said bluntly.

Ash's face fell dramatically. "So you don't think he can do it?" he asked.

"I believe he could try," Lance said. "What were you thinking he would travel quickly with?"

Ash consulted his Pokédex. "Well, he has Aqua Jet," Ash noted. "That lets you go pretty fast."

"It does let you go momentarily faster," Lance said. "How fast can he go with it?"

Ash shrugged. He turned to Fossil. "Hey Fossil! Could you-" he broke off to perform a series of whistles and chitters, waving his arms around for emphasis. Mewtwo rolled his eyes at the enthusiastic performance.

Fossil clicked back to him, scuttling to one side of the courtyard before cloaking himself in a stream of water and dashing forwards, straight towards Ash and Lance. Lance instinctively took a step back. Ash held his arms out; Fossil expertly disabled the coating of water seconds before he would have rammed into his Trainer and instead just landed in his arms, humming contently.

"Pretty good, right?" Ash said.

"It's definitely a good starting point." Lance noticed Amber watching them carefully. "Can Amber and Fossil have a quick race?"

Ash blinked. "Uhh..." He turned to Amber and shouted something over to her. She shrugged and stood up, brushing herself off. "She seems down," Ash said.

"Great. I need Amber to run towards us and Fossil to do exactly what he just did to you."

Ash cocked his head to the side. "You want him to Aqua Jet and then land in her arms?" he clarified.

"If he could, yes," Lance said.

Ash looked down to the Kabuto in his arms. "That sound good, bud?"

Fossil waved his legs in the air, squirming out of Ash's grip.

"I'll count down; start when I say go," Lance said.

On cue, Fossil re-cloaked himself in water and darted towards Amber, this time.

"Amber, try to get past the field before Fossil gets to the halfway mark!" Lance barked out. Startled, Amber darted forwards in a Quick Attack, easily outpacing Fossil and snatching him out of the air before he could gain too much momentum.

Ash's face fell.

"That's what I was afraid of," Lance said. "Aqua Jet gives Fossil a boost, yes, but if another Pokémon is already faster than him and has a move that similarly energizes them, he wouldn't have that advantage any more. Priority moves are common enough that it would be a problem."

"Aw man," Ash muttered. "It would have been so cool."

"You can still work on something similar," Lance said. "It would work as a one-time surprise move, for sure. Kabuto aren't known for their speed, after all; however, as soon as you've shown that off, your opponent would be expecting it. Fossil's entire battle style would have to reflect that. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Fossil's pretty high-level, at least from when he started."

"Hmm?" Ash looked at his Pokédex again. "I mean, I guess. He's level forty-eight."

"How many mock battles have you included Fossil in?" Lance asked.

Ash's face turned red. "Well, I uh... He doesn't like fighting too much," he mumbled.

Lance hummed in acknowledgement; Fossil was a rather laidback Pokémon generally. "It may help your strategy to have him battle a couple of times," he said vaguely.

"Huh?"

Lance walked over to the other side of the battlefield and flicked a wrist; his Pokéball bounced on the ground and released Deino, who crooned excitedly upon seeing where she was.

"Well, Deino's been needing a stretch," Lance said. "Why not have a nice spar? We're not going until exhaustion, just until... something happens, I guess."

Lance wondered if that was too suspicious, but Ash was gloriously clueless to any of Lance's ulterior motives and immediately sprang up, excited to battle one of his mentors, calling Fossil to his side.

Deino hopped back and forth on her feet, chirring in anticipation.

"So Ash, a couple of things before we start," Lance said once Fossil had scuttled into position in front of Ash. "You've known Deino since you've been here. What you might not have known is that Deino had just joined my team right before you arrived. The Unova Champion gave me her egg, and that first time I met you was meant to be my first actual training session with her."

Ash turned wide eyes onto Deino, who was crouched and smirking at him.

"Are you ready to test how all of you have grown?" Lance asked. "Deino hasn't completely mastered combination moves yet, but she's been training hard to become the most powerful dragon she can be. Will you take the challenge?"

"Yes!" Ash burst out, stomping his feet on the ground. "Man, oh man, this is so cool! You got this, Fossil!" Fossil clicked back to him in response.

"Stand by, Deino!" Lance called out. "Ash, you may have the first move."

"Sounds good! Fossil, get to her with Aqua Jet and hit her with a Giga Drain!" Ash called out.

Fossil crooned in response before covering himself in water and streaking through the air towards Deino. Already Lance could see glowing green tendrils, roots and vines that burst and reached towards Deino with urgency.

"Dodge as best as you can; counter with Dragon Breath where necessary," Lance instructed. Deino barked in acknowledgement before shooting forwards, a light purple glow emanating from her throat. Deino herself wasn't too speedy but still managed to dodge half of the Giga Drain that flew towards her; the last few glowing vines wrapped around her foot, dragging her towards Fossil, but she snarled in response and blew an unearthly flame straight towards Fossil. The Kabuto screeched in pain, still managing to cling to Deino and sap some of her health away.

"Hang on, Fossil! Use Ancient Power to make a shield!" Ash said.

Lance furrowed his brow, trying to understand what Ash's command meant. Deino growled uncertainly as she noticed Lance's expression.

Fossil summoned a silvery orb of energy that he quickly split into multiple beams that shot into the earth. Clods of dirt and rock raised into the air and hovered around Fossil, as if an ill-formed armor.

Lance raised an eyebrow. He hadn't realized that Ancient Power had the finesse to summon earth to its user. "No matter. Deino, get the rest of those vines off of you with a Slam and let's boost you a little bit- Focus Energy and Work Up until he does something with the Ancient Power."

Deino grunted, leaping into the air and flipping, dislodging the final bits of Giga Drain from where it was withering on her leg. When she landed back on the ground, Deino crouched down, eyes fixed on where Fossil stood prepared with his Ancient Power-controlled rocks. After glowing red and then white, she slipped into a firmer position, muscles tensed and ready to move when she was told to.

"Throw them at her face!" Ash yelled.

Fossil clicked before sending the Ancient Power flying towards Deino.

"Dodge! Use Assurance on anything that you can't!" Lance barked out.

Deino snarled, leaping back to avoid the first mess of dirt and pebble. Immediately, she whipped around and threw her body at another that was zooming towards her, shoving it out of her way, before twisting back around and stomping at another, the point of impact glowing black against her claws. Deino wasn't quite agile enough to dodge the last collection of detritus that Fossil threw at her.

"Hyper Voice!"

Deino looked up, gave Fossil a baleful look, took a deep breath, and screeched out a single, pure note that visibly rippled through the air. It wasn't as flawless as Altaria's was, falling apart much more quickly, but Lance knew it was enough when Fossil seemed to shudder and take a step back, the note rattling in his shell.

"Now, quick-charge-release Dragon Pulse until I say to stop!" Lance said.

Deino chirped, a bead of draconic energy forming in her mouth. Before it was fully formed, she blew it towards Fossil, running towards him.

"Dodge it, Fossil! Use Aqua Jet if you have to!" Ash cried out. Lance could hear worry start to creep into his voice.

"Stay confident, Ash!" Lance called out to him even as Deino spat out another small burst of Dragon Pulse at Fossil, who frantically scuttled away. "Confidence might be all you have left. It may not grant you a win automatically, but losing your confidence will most likely lose you the battle."

Ash nodded, taking a deep breath to re-center himself. "Right, okay. Fossil, make a hole in the ground to hide in!"

Fossil scrabbled at the grass until he had himself a shallow furrow he could flatten himself into.

"Aim for him; full-charge this time," Lance said. Deino stood firmly as she allowed this Dragon Pulse to swell up to its normal size before spitting it towards Fossil.

"Squish down! Squish down! Harden!" Ash yelped. Fossil tried his best but didn't quite dodge out of the way enough, and the Dragon Pulse ricocheted him out of his makeshift trench and sent him skidding across the ground.

"Fossil! Are you okay?!" Ash yelled, forcing himself to stay in his Trainer's box while Fossil waved his legs frantically in the air.

"Deino, stand down for a moment," Lance said. Deino huffed before sitting where she stood.

Fossil was lying on his back, leg twitches getting weaker as he lost energy. "C'mon Fossil, don't give up!" Ash started muttering. "You can do it, I know you can. You're the best Fossil that I could ask for, and I believe in you! C'mon, bud, let's finish this."His voice had grown louder with every sentence, and soon he was shouting earnestly at his fallen friend.

Fossil gave a high-pitched whine as he tried to flip himself back over.

"I know," Ash said. "It's hard, yeah. But we can get through this! We can get stronger together- we always have!"

Fossil's next call was somehow even shriller than his last, followed by a much louder blare that had Lance wincing slightly. The Dragon Master wondered if he had pushed Ash and Fossil slightly too far, if this hadn't been what the boy and his team needed, but he didn't worry for too long as soon, Fossil began to glow with a bright white light.

Ash gasped. "Lance! What's happening?! Why is he doing that?"

Lance smiled. "He heard you, and he wants to be his best for you," Lance said, watching as Fossil's body elongated, as his front legs grew massive scythes and his body shifted into two parts. Ash watched with wild eyes as the Pokémon he used to hold as if it were a doll now stood almost as tall as Lance himself, a spindly, wily looking creature with a crescent-shaped head that hid black eyes that darted back and forth.

Ash's Pokédex activated as if on command. "Congratulations!" it said robotically. "Your Kabuto has evolved into Kabutops!"

"Kabutops..?" Ash said, looking from the machine in his pocket to the Pokémon that his friend had evolved into. "Is that you, Fossil?" he asked when the Pokémon turned, recognizing his species name. He nodded to Ash before clicking something to him. Ash seemed surprised but nodded all the same.

"Is something wrong?" Lance asked.

"No, Kabutops just asked to be known by his species name," Ash said. "Something about outgrowing the Project name. I kind of agree." He crouched back down. "Anyhow, are you ready to keep going? 'Cause we are!"

Lance chuckled. "Of course. Try and use this battle to figure out Kabutops's new skill set and strengths," he said. "Deino! Back to quick-charge, stay moving."

Ash had taken his Pokédex back out and was reading through something before he noticed something that made his face light up. "Kabutops, get up close with Deino with Aqua Jet and use Slash at her legs!" he said, pointing towards Deino.

Kabutops skidded into an Aqua Jet, water somehow materializing from beneath his feet as he neatly swerved and ran straight for the small dragon. He raised his scythes and cried out as he slashed downwards. He didn't quite hit Deino's legs exactly; Deino was so short in comparison now that the Slash attack threw her completely off-balance, smacking her in the side and sending her sprawling to the ground.

Deino snapped back up, snarling more ferociously now. Lance could see spittle dripping from her mouth; something had switched inside her, dulling her typical cheerfulness and encouraging the feral rage that her kind was known for.

"Deino, stay focused," Lance called out, but instead of calming down as she usually did, Deino let out a loud howl. She sounded desolate, infuriated, and eager all in one, the unearthly notes echoing through the enclosed courtyard. Kabutops took a step back, uncertainty pressing on his posture, but Ash didn't have any of that hesitation. Rather, his eyes glowed and a wide smile slowly spread across his face as he fixed his eyes on Deino's small form.

It came as no surprise to either human present when Deino started to glow.

While Kabutops's evolution had been as graceful as evolution usually was, Deino's was from the start violent. Her body grotesquely engorged in size, her head following close behind before growing even larger than it should have been. A split formed at her sternum, following the curve of her neck until it reached the tip of her head, splitting it in two. The scales on her back seemed to shift into feathery protrusions; her body stopped transforming for a second, form undulating slightly as a final minor adjustment was made, and the glow of evolution shattered off of her as though made of glass. Two heads drooped over clawed feet, panting from exertion. The two heads both looked up and stared at Kabutops for a second. She took a step forwards, growling lowly.

Lance stepped forward. "I forfeit this match," he said formally before leaving his Trainer's box to walk over to the newly evolved Zweilous. The two-headed dragon snarled at Lance before visibly double-taking and beginning to squabble with herself over almost harming her Trainer.

"What?! But- but that was so cool! Kabutops and... uh-" [Ash checked his Pokédex quickly] "- Zweilous could have kept going after evolving!"

Lance smiled almost indulgently at Ash. "You saw how quickly Kabutops moved after evolving, right?"

Ash blinked. "Uh, yeah. He got a lot faster, I guess?"

"Exactly. Any training the two of you did before he evolved will need to be fine-tuned to make sure he is as comfortable with his new form as he was his old form. And I'm afraid I would have called that spar no matter what, as Zweilous is in no shape to battle after that evolution."

Ash winced, looking at the dragon. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked, worried.

"I'm sure she will, after some rest," Lance said with a sigh. "I'm not exactly looking forward to her next evolution, but she'll be fine for now."

Ash gave him a confused look at that but didn't say anything. Lance merely put a hand on one of Zweilous's heads and carefully scratched at the base of her skull. The dragon gave a low hiss but didn't attempt to move her head away.

Lance recalled Zweilous thankfully without too much fuss. He turned back to Ash. "Well, do you think that Aqua Jet combination move idea might work now? You had Kabutops using it, as well as a few other unorthodox moves, in that match just now."

Ash cocked his head to a side. "I just used moves the way they could be used," he said, puzzled.

"You used them as they could be, yes," Lance said, "but not the way they usually are. A lot of Trainers learn from watching other Trainers' Pokémon, and because of that they're usually tied down to an ultra-specific way of using those moves. You aren't. You learned your Pokémon's capabilities by yourself, meaning that you've explored every possible use of a move's power. There's a strength there that even I can't master. You're a very intuitive Trainer, Ash; with time, you could be one of the greatest Trainers that has ever lived."

Ash's eyes glowed at the possibility.

"Are you telling me that you've been here for years and this is the first time you've had ice cream?"

Ash was too busy devouring the bowl of dessert in front of him to respond.

Mewtwo glanced at Ash's voracity and coughed out a snicker. 'It's probably not within the diet regimen that the Fighting Master wrote for us. He has become more lenient as of late, it seems.'

Lance remembered the low discussion he had with Bruno about teaching Ash how to protect himself. His own ice cream soured in his mouth. "Of course. He is rather strict on that, isn't he?"

Mewtwo just nodded, helping himself to another spoonful and visibly relishing it.

"Cynthia would be so upset if she knew that I kept this away from you," Lance said. "I swear, she must have been weaned on it, with as much as she consumes."

'Weaned?' Mewtwo seemed to turn the word around in his mind, trying to glean its meaning from that singular use.

"Weaning, literally, is when a human child stops drinking a mother's milk and eats more solid food. Pokémon generally don't need to wean; the equivalent there would be a younger Pokémon gaining its independence and leaving their mother's care. As a note, humans aren't normally weaned to ice cream."

Mewtwo huffed at that, smirking a little. Ash was still lost to them in his bowl of chocolate.

'We never had to be weaned,' Mewtwo said. 'We were raised on berries when we had our own facilities. No milk.'

Lance hummed, trying not to look eager at this tentative bit of information.

'Ash always liked the pechas. I was more of a fan of rawst berries then.' His brow furrowed slightly. 'I don't think I like them anymore.'

"I'll note that down," Lance said.

Mewtwo nodded at that. 'I don't think Ash likes pechas as much anymore, either,' he said, almost conspiratorially.

"Is there a reason why?" Lance asked.

Mewtwo's gaze went stony. Lance wondered if he wasn't in the mood to speak more, but before he could change the topic Mewtwo said, 'They were incentives. They had books, notes, observations on everything that the Projects liked and didn't like, and they put them through their mazes, goaded by the promise of something good and the threat of something bad.'

"Like lab rats? Carrot-and-stick?"

'Like lab rats,' Mewtwo agreed. 'There were scientists and there were tutors.'

"Buttheads," Ash piped up. Lance looked over, startled; Ash had long since finished his ice cream, it seemed, but he was still sitting at the table, listening in on the conversation in front of him.

'...that. The scientists actually cared for the Projects' well-being. They wanted them healthy, or smart, or functional. The tutors acted as though they cared as much, but they were easy to read and they didn't care. They wanted something else from the Projects. They wanted something else from only two of the Projects. The others were useful but extraneous.'

"Who were these tutors?" Lance asked.

'Idiots. Buffoons, all four of them. Serfs that fancied themselves equals to their lord.' Mewtwo's lip curled and he glared at the empty bowl in front of him. Before Lance could say anything, Ash reached out a hand and gently tapped Mewtwo's arm. He snapped out of it, closed his eyes, and seemed to recollect himself. 'There were only two at first. They did not tell the Projects what their names were but gave themselves childish nicknames as if it were a great favor. One said that he was to be called Mister. The one who the Projects saw the most often called herself Ari.'

"Ari? Was that the one with berry-colored hair and eyes like stars?" Lance said, reciting what Ash had stated years prior.

Ash nodded. "Cheri berry hair," he clarified, "and she would stare at- like lab rats. Like lab rats."

'Lab rats,' Mewtwo echoed again. 'Their first test was control. To tell the scientists that had nurtured them that they did not know why they were there, that they were to return to where they came from with only the knowledge that they were involved with a very big thing that had unfortunately failed. It worked. The tutors were shocked that it worked. They didn't seem to think it mattered if it could have been done or not.'

"It would have hurt them," Ash said. "Of course it mattered."

'It didn't until recently, and you know that,' Mewtwo said. 'After that there were two other tutors that would come. One fancied himself murderous but recoiled at blood. The other acted the fool but played his part to perfection. They taught their arts. They were useless at teaching their arts.'

"We learned," Ash said. "We got around it, somehow."

'Did we, Ash?' Mewtwo turned to Ash, radiating a deep exhaustion. 'We weren't ourselves when any of the tutors came to work with us. We buried ourselves as though it would protect us. We couldn't do anything against any of them.'

"Yes, we could," Ash rebutted. "And we did! When they brought the Bad Man, we were able to get them back and escape, like we always planned to!"

'The Menace didn't expect us to do that. Face it, we were just lucky, Ash. If the Menace had been any more cautious, we wouldn't have been able to leave and we would still be trapped there, still be doing whatever horrible things they wanted us to do, and not sitting at a table eating ice cream!'

"But we aren't!" Ash yelled, standing up and slamming his hands into the table. His bowl rattled. "We aren't, and you sometimes forget that! We did make it out, and we did find a better place, and we don't have to think about any alternative to that!"

There was a long pause then.

'The Menace fancied himself a kingmaker,' Mewtwo said quietly. 'And you were his crown prince. I was to be your prized possession. A weapon with no match, one that would ascertain your throne simply by existing. He would rule with your face as his mask. How is that not supposed to affect me?'

Ash was quiet, unwilling to meet either Mewtwo's or Lance's eyes. "I don't know."

Mewtwo gracefully disentangled himself from the chair he had been sitting in. 'I'll be in the courtyard,' he said quietly.

"Mewtwo, before you go, your speech is getting very good," Lance said. "It's much closer to Universal than the faux speech that Psychics use. Your improvement is astounding, honestly."

Mewtwo seemed taken aback by the unexpected compliment. 'Thank you, Master Lance,' he said.

"What is your current berry preference? I'll have some brought in for tonight," Lance said, looking at the melted mess in his bowl.

Pause. 'I'm partial to aguav berries at the moment,' Mewtwo said quietly.

"What?! Those are disgusting! How can you like them?"

'I'm sorry your taste isn't as refined as mine is,' Mewtwo said, sticking his nose into the air with a theatrical haughtiness.

"Ugh, gross. Nanabs are where it's at." Ash shook his head in disgust.

"Nanab berries are also very good with ice cream," Lance said with a smile. Ash's eyes widened at the possibility.

"Can you believe that there's only another year and a half before we get to go out and be actual Trainers?"

Gary was perched on Wyvern's back as she laid out in the sun. She had rather grumpily taken on the role of children's playset when Gary and Anabel teleported over, though she was much more welcoming to the young girl than she was to the firecracker that was Gary Oak. Even now, Anabel was perched by Wyvern's neck, gently leaning against her head rather than sitting upright. Lance was in a separate corner, quietly observing to make sure that Wyvern didn't snap at any of the children.

Wyvern was actually curled up around Ash himself, and he stroked one of her massive clawed hands before frowning and looking to Gary. "You're already thinking about heading out?"

Gary looked incredulous. "Well, duh. We're not all lucky enough to be able to start training early or have as many team members as you've got already. I'm psyched to go out and see the world! Catch some friends! Make some rivals! The list goes on and on, Ashy-boy!"

"Don't call me that, Gare-bear."

"Well," Anabel spoke up, cutting off the inevitable argument between the two boys. "I'm excited to see what's in the world. I'm probably going to end up working with Scott at the Battle Frontier when I grow up, so I want to find a team to help me do that."

"That's cool," Ash said.

Gary stared at him. "You told me off for just wanting to leave Pallet Town and complimented her on wanting a job when we're eight. You sure you don't have a crush on each other?"

Vehement denials followed. Gary snickered; Wyvern looked over to him with one lazy opened eye and lightly smacked the back of his head with a wing. The boy yelped and nearly fell off the Dragonite, grumbling as he managed to keep his balance at the last second.

"Why do both of you want to leave home, anyhow?" Ash asked, staring at the sky. "It seems... I dunno. Not scary, but not fun either."

"It would be exciting," Gary said. "I don't know if I'm gonna be a Trainer forever but it's- it's better than just sitting at home, doing my lessons. And Eevee's doing well for now but he could be growing so much more if we weren't stuck at home. There aren't enough other Trainers or Pokémon to test ourselves against in Pallet Town."

"It's the same for me," Anabel added. "I want to see the world that I see in photos. I want to meet more Pokémon to bond with and grow close to. I want to see more than just Saffron City and the Pokémon League."

Ash grew pensive over his friends' statements. "The world is so sad though," he said. "It's not as nice as it used to be."

Gary sighed. "I guess. But wouldn't it be better to have friends, to get better with others? I think I want to improve with others, instead of staying home for the rest of my life."

"Does that mean you aren't going on a journey?" Anabel finally brought up what she and Gary must have been thinking.

Ash stiffened. "I don't know," he said. "I want to. It would be fun. I'd love to meet new Pokémon and Trainers. But the world is so big and there are so many bad people in it. I want to get better and be better, but I don't want to have to meet the bad ones."

"That's the tricky part, isn't it?" Gary said. "There are bad people, there are good people, there are dangerous things, there are moments that your entire life builds up towards. How do you know what matters if you don't let yourself try out everything you can reach?"

Ash looked at Gary with wide eyes. "I didn't think about it that way," he said.

"Hmph! That's no way for my rival to be acting!" Gary said, sticking his nose in the air. Lance suddenly realized where Mewtwo had learned that gesture.

"Your rival?" Anabel repeated.

"Of course! Ashy-boy's going to be my number one rival and the person I'm aiming to beat. What do you say, Ash? When we go out on our journeys, we'll meet up time from time and test our skills out on each other, and our final battle will be at the Indigo League itself!" Gary's eyes were shining.

"Only if you stop calling me that," Ash grumbled, leaning against Wyvern's arm.

"I could be your rival too," Anabel said, "but what if we just traveled together, Ash? It would be more fun with more friends around, and Eevee likes you well enough."

"Is that the only reason why you'd want to ask him to travel with you, Ana-susannah?" Gary said, smirking widely.

"How did you even come up with that?" Ash asked, eyeing Gary as though he had lost his mind.

"It rhymes and sounds silly."

"Shut up, Gary!"

Gary fell silent immediately upon seeing Anabel's furious blush.

"You want to travel with me?" Ash asked, sounding doubtful.

Anabel shrugged. "It seems like it would be fun. Plus, Scott would probably feel more comfortable with me travelling with someone. I bet Mister Lance would feel the same."

Lance looked up from where he was sitting with his journal of moves. He had been looking to see where to start with Zweilous's training, though the dark/dragon-type had taken to napping under his desk still. "Don't point fingers at me, Anabel. It's Ash's choice." He noticed the panicked look in Anabel's eye. "That being said," he said hurriedly, "it may be more fun to start out with companions. You can gain a lot of confidence from just being around a friend." Ash grew thoughtful at Lance's remarks.

Gary snorted. "We're all whipped, aren't we?"

"Did Blue teach you what that means?" Lance flipped to a new page to continue with observations on Zweilous.

"Not really, but he says it a lot. Did I use it right?"

"You should ask him when he comes to pick you up."

The first sign that something was wrong was that nothing was wrong. Drakon had for some reason insisted on staying out of his Pokéball, which was rather out of character for him. There was a tension in the air, one that Lance thought was born from his own exhaustion at trying to keep up with all of the updates that Masters throughout every League-associated region were reporting.

The second sign that something was wrong was that Lance's office door was slightly open when he returned, Drakon close on his heels.

The third sign was that Drakon was starting to growl quietly.

Lance opened the door, wondering what had happened. His office seemed mostly untouched except for one package that had been neatly placed in the center of his desk. There was a note on it in an unfamiliar hand: "Open immediately. Time-sensitive."

"Drakon, do you want to take care of this for me?" Lance asked. Drakon immediately sprang forth, slashed the package open, and threw the box to the ground, the note and cardboard shredding from the movement. A ratty looking walkie-talkie fell to the ground, clattering loudly. It immediately began buzzing, unintelligible noises pouring out of it before settling into a much quieter, more consistent static.

"Lance." The voice on the other end was immediately recognizable.

The Dragon Master's eyes widened before narrowing as he snatched the walkie-talkie up.

"What is this?" he growled into it. Drakon echoed his words with a snarl, instinctively recognizing Lance's primal, roiling anger.

"Now now, that's not very polite," Giovanni's voice crackled, amusement somehow communicating through the outdated device in Lance's hand. "We were always so cordial. I would have even called us friends at one point."

"Be as that may, you are no longer welcome in any region that I serve," Lance snarled. "What is the meaning of this?!"

Lance could hear Giovanni click his tongue. "Shame, shame. Very well, then, we'll go straight to business. Judging by your demeanor, I assume that you know who I came from and what I am. I ask you for my property. I believe you have been hiding them underneath my nose these past few years?"

"What are you talking about?" Lance snapped. "I have nothing of yours."

"On the contrary, Mr. Champion. You have my most precious possessions hidden away in that maze you call the Indigo League building. My terms are simple: return them to me and I leave both Kanto and Johto forever, or I take them from you with whatever force I can muster."

"Go fuck yourself, Giovanni," Lance said before passing the walkie-talkie to Drakon. "Thunderpunch," he ordered while leaving his office.

Drakon smirked before taking the walkie-talkie from his Trainer, electrifying his whole arm, and smashing the device to pieces beneath his claw.

"Ah, Master Lance!" one of the League employees squealed as he accidentally walked into her. She quickly readjusted a pair of glasses that had slid down her nose, shoving it back up her face, as well as grabbing at a baseball cap, though not before a lock of dark pink hair fell onto her face.

"Apologies," he called over his shoulder, barely registering her. "Watch out for the Dragonite; he'll be coming along shortly." He whistled a loud, high-pitched note that echoed down the League halls before sprinting towards Ash's room.

"O-okay," she muttered as he hurried off.

Lance quickly dialed Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha. Only Bruno picked up. "Bruno, no time. Ash is in trouble. Prepare for a breach somewhere within the League building. Try your best not to alert anyone else."

Bruno simply grunted before hanging up.

When Lance burst into the courtyard, he noticed Wyvern once again curled up on the grass and around Ash. Mewtwo was calmly hovering nearby, legs crossed, as Egg, Kabutops, Bulbasaur, and Amber seemed to be idly smacking a volleyball around. Wyvern immediately whipped her head up, alert instantly. Drakon growled something to her. Ash's eyes widened; Lance cursed mentally as he remembered Ash's lingual abilities.

"L-Lance? What's going on?" he stuttered.

Lance was breathing heavily from his rush to the courtyard. "I'm sorry, Ash," he said.

"Sorry for what? What's happening?!"

"Mewtwo, I can't keep my promise to you. You can't stay here anymore. I don't know how, but Giovanni found out where you are and is most likely on his way here right now."

'What?!' Mewtwo stared at Lance with wide eyes, stock-still even while hovering.

"He sent a message demanding that I hand you over or he would come to take you. It isn't safe here for you. You have to go somewhere, anywhere."

Mewtwo seemed on the verge of panicking. 'Where?! Where could we go that he wouldn't know?'

Lance was silent in his helplessness. Desperately, he turned to Wyvern, whose expression had gone glassy and distant.

"Wyvern, you know your order," Lance said hoarsely. "I'm sorry to you as well. I should have known something like this could happen."

Wyvern gave a mournful cry before closing her eyes. When they opened again, they were stony and resolute. Lance quietly approached her, a bracelet holster containing only her Pokéball in his hand. He clasped it around her wrist and tightened it as firmly as he could.

"You are greater than many who came before you," Lance whispered to her, his throat closing in some combination of regret, guilt, and pride. "I will see you again." It was a promise that Lance clung to in his heart.

Wyvern nodded silently, staring at the contraption around her arm with undisguised hatred.

Lance's wrist communicator rang. He immediately activated it; Lorelei and Bruno were on the same screen, looking rattled.

"Lance! Bruno came to find me- we have a security breach at the south end. We've been able to hold some of them off but there are too many- some are probably heading towards you. Agatha went to try and slow them down at the very least." Something caught Bruno's attention; he tapped Lorelei on the shoulder. She looked off of the screen for a second and narrowed her eyes, throwing out another Pokéball without even fully registering what she was seeing. "Dewgong, freeze them in place!- We'll try and finish this here and come help you as soon as we can." The call cut off when Lorelei whipped around to command her Jynx elsewhere, slamming the screen of her communication device down.

"Shit," Lance muttered. "Shit, fuck, goddamn fucking bitch." He began to grab for team members, sending out Coatl to hide on the roof as a last resort and instructing Altaria to deliver a hastily scrawled order to the keepers of Mount Silver.

Wyvern had by then picked up Ash, Amber, and Egg and hurried them onto her back. Ash had returned Kabutops and Bulbasaur as neither of them could cling to the Dragonite very well, and Mewtwo hovered beside them. With a loud howl, Wyvern took off, gaining altitude as quickly as she could.

"Go!" Lance screamed at them, gesturing Wyvern off. She seemed uncertain, not quite wanting to abandon Lance to the situation, torn in knowing that his previous order would have her leaving as soon as possible.

Drakon had whipped around towards the hallway, snarling almost rabidly as he heard the murderous bays and pounding feet that were storming towards them. Lance immediately released as many of his dragons as he could, climbing onto Exeggutor's back when the peculiarly long-necked Pokémon knelt down for him.

Giovanni appeared in a swirl of sand and wind before any of his Pokémon made themselves known. Before the man could even say anything, Drakon fired a pinpoint Hyper Beam right at his feet, stopping him in his tracks. A three-headed Pokémon poked himself out of the ground to summon a Protect shield around his Trainer to prevent further sniping before glaring at the giant dragon that dare attempt to harm him.

"Lance of Blackthorn!" he roared. "You steal from me my property and my reputation and you expect no repercussions?"

"You would stoop so low as to claim ownership over a child?" Lance yelled back. "A traitorous bastard and criminal you may be, but I never thought you were an incompetent fool until now."

Giovanni's Dugtrio narrowed his eyes at the insult and dug forward as though to harm the human that insulted its master; before it could get even close, Wyvern swooped down and bathed it in a liberal sea of draconic flame, twisting back into the air immediately as Ash loudly whooped from her back. Kingdra followed the attack up with a powerful Hydro Pump that blasted the Dugtrio backwards, where he stalled to regain his breath.

"Foolish creature," Giovanni muttered, returning the tired Pokémon quickly. "You would keep a father away from his son, Dragon Master?" he called back, looking somehow victorious at this false trump card.

"I am more that boy's father than you could ever be," Lance growled. He grabbed as many Pokéballs off of his belt as he could and threw them all out around him. "No holds barred! Capture or eliminate!"

The handful of Pokémon that Lance had summoned to his side surged forward, each somehow weaving between the others' moves in an improvised unified attack. Almost immediately, each attack was cut-off by a member of Giovanni's own team, hidden in the Sandstorm that seemed to surround him like a cloak. Gabite had surged forward with a Dragon Claw only to be shoved backwards by a towering Garchomp with a ferocious underbite and dusky scales. Kingdra was being held by a massive Nidoking, while Haxorus's Dual Chop was countered by a claw that seemed to glisten with noxious fluid from a Nidoqueen. Charizard was circling a dangerous looking Krookodile, neither side willing to give in and neither willing to make the first move. Salamence's wings were being held within the claws of a Gliscor that had sprung from the ceiling to land neatly on his back. Drakon had gotten the closest to the corrupted former Master and was being firmly held in place by a massive Rhyperior, though Lance could see that he had refused to give in and was angrily pushing at his foe.

Giovanni took a step forward and around the warring Pokémon; when Lance's team attempted to leap after him, the corresponding members of Giovanni's team instantly moved to counter. It seemed like a stalemate.

"Give up, Lance," Giovanni called out. "Even with the rest of my compatriots distracting the others who could have helped you, I can conquer you. This didn't need to happen. All I wanted was to have my son back. A happy reunion- wouldn't that have been so sweet to witness?" His voice dripped with contempt.

"Funny how much you're insisting he's your son now," Lance spat. "I thought he was a plaything, a possession to throw a fit over like the child you are. Your days are numbered, Giovanni, and that's not only because you dared to step foot into the lands under my jurisdiction." His blood was pumping, a fierce howl echoing in the back of his mind. "You so dared to force a child under your will, to bend and break a living being to fit into your selfish plots, and for what? Power? What power would it be that you sought? There is no joy in conquest."

"And that's where you're wrong, Lance!" Giovanni crowed. "Power is a beautiful and exacting mistress. She demands more and more from us all- and finally, we are in an era in which we can twist everything to match what she wants! I created the Chosen One, and I created the tool through which he will exact his will on the world! Everything around us is waking up again, and we shall return to our most primordial as the world settles once more. I caused this, Lance. Without me, we would have continued on in mediocrity or consumed by the world. I have ascended mortality- I am no longer human- I am a god, a shaper of the earth itself." He took another step; the Pokémon around him shifted, Lance's dragons inching closer and closer with every agonizing step.

"Gods are never worshiped as they want to be," Lance responded. "They demand rites and sacrifice and all people have deigned to give them is an acknowledgement of their existence and ignorance. Why would you want that for yourself? What joy is there to be had there?"

"Through me, the world has a hero. The world shall turn to him, and he shall turn to me," Giovanni said. His eyes were wide, mad. "I have succeeded where generations before me have failed. I will be the inspiration to the sculptor, the voice that whispers into the ear of the artist, and you- you are merely a person who dares to stand in my way." Giovanni's face twisted into a mask of hatred. "Stand down, Lance of Blackthorn," he said, spitting out Lance's name as though it was the poisonous insanity that spilled from his lips. "Stand down, and watch the world be made once more."

"I would rather die than stand down to you," Lance said, his draconic aura flaring up and filling him with an undying warmth.

"Then you shall!" Giovanni leapt forward, flinging a Pokéball at Lance that opened to release a Sandslash. The Pokémon looked to Lance, eyes hooded. She seemed to have been briefed on her purpose.

"You would force one of your team members to do the most heinous task in your stead?" Lance asked, eyeing the Mouse Pokémon as she stalked towards him slowly, almost reluctantly. "You are a coward as well."

"Coward I may be, but fool I am not," Giovanni said with a maniacal smirk.

Lance noticed a shift in shadow behind the man, who was intently looking between his Pokémon and his quarry, undoubtedly savoring every moment. "I wouldn't be so sure," he said softly.

Giovanni's eyes flickered back to him; for a brief moment, true confusion crossed his face.

"Body Slam!" Lance called out loudly.

Zweilous snarled in discordant harmony before slamming fully into Giovanni and bringing him to the ground, recognizing him as the main threat.

Pandemonium broke loose as Giovanni's Pokémon turned to their Trainer, bewildered by the sudden appearance of yet another enemy and worried for the human that commanded them. Immediately, Lance's dragons were able to strike once more: Gabite slashed Garchomp across the face, Kingdra shot Nidoking into Nidoqueen, releasing Haxorus to leap after them with a Dragon Pulse forming in his mouth. Charizard leaped forward to slam Krookodile's head into the ground and immediately bathe him in flame, and Salamence flung Gliscor against a courtyard wall by wresting his wings out from her loosening grasp and slamming her head with a Steel Wing. Drakon had finally broken out of Rhyperior's grip just long enough to slip into Agility, dash over to where Zweilous had Giovanni momentarily pinned, and grab the man as he tried to stand, letting loose a Thunder Wave to further prevent him from escaping. Drakon somehow Wrapped his limbs and tail around the now barely struggling human and turned to Lance with his prize. Zweilous immediately took on the role of Drakon's bodyguard, pacing around him with one head snarling insults to the enemy Pokémon around them and the other's eyes trained on Giovanni balefully. Lance's other teammates moved fluidly to pin down their foes this time, their positions suddenly swapped as dominance shifted.

"Did you truly believe that this could work?" Lance asked softly. "You want to claim yourself a genius who deserves the key to the world, yet you decide to attempt to infiltrate a place guarded by four of Kanto's Masters with barely any back-up."

Giovanni was practically frothing at the mouth at his attempt to get free; Rhyperior looked murderously at Drakon, who simply moved Giovanni to be facing the enraged Pokémon in an unsubtle threat.

"Kill me, then," Giovanni snarled. "Make me into a martyr, oh great Master and Champion."

"You hide behind your own title and assume that the rest of us do as well," Lance said. "Even before you went mad."

"Mad?" Giovanni cackled; Drakon twisted himself even more firmly around the human in his arms as he felt the strain in the smaller body he held. "I'm not mad. The world may be mad, you and every other human may be mad. I am as sane as they come. I see the future, Master Lance. I know where we are headed: into war, bloodshed, and grief."

"You would revel in such a world." Lance looked at the man in Drakon's arms, a diminishment of his former self. Giovanni had once been suave, capable, admired even by both Trainers and the younger Masters who saw how resolutely he had clung to his station for decades. Now, he was forced into submission by Drakon, made a victim of his own malaise.

"Giovanni, you are officially under arrest by the Kanto branch of the Pokémon League," Lance said. "As Champion, I hereby forego all protocol to sentence you to life within Mount Silver. Your Pokémon will be stripped from you, along with any and all protective gear. You will be provided with only sustenance and a radio so that you can hear of the changing world you so desperately wanted to control."

The man growled, twitching only when Zweilous viciously tore his belt holster from him. Pokéballs scattered on the ground; Giovanni's Pokémon stared at them in a mix of horror and despair, going limp beneath their captors.

Lance tilted his head up. "Coatl, please reach Blue and bring him here. As the official Ground Master, he should know what to do with these displaced Pokémon."

"I'll come back, Champion," Giovanni sneered. "You can't stop me by walling me up in a mountain. You think I worked alone? You'll be proven the fool once my reach finds you again. You are nothing- nothing! I am a god!"

Lance walked forward, looking at Giovanni closely. "Drakon, we leave for Mount Silver as soon as we can," he said. "Zweilous, thank you for your help. If you could fetch me any of the other resident Masters, please do so. We will make haste once another Master can keep an eye on the Pokémon and carry out my request. Gabite, to me."

The mountain air smelled crisp as it rushed past Lance. Agatha had quickly arrived with one of her Gengar and immediately began returning Giovanni's Pokémon while waving Lance off with the man himself, saying that she would recruit Bruno to finish the task. Drakon was still clinging to Giovanni, who had long since stopped attempting to escape, though whether that was because he gave up or because they were flying hundreds of feet above the ground was a mystery to Lance. The official Indigo League building wasn't too far from Kanto and Johto's shared maximum security prison, hidden away in Mount Silver. That had partially been on purpose; the mountain range was vast and just hidden enough to discourage any Trainers from seeking either place out. Mount Silver also bore a reputation that protected it from nosy explorers and aspiring Trainers alike.

It was there that the League sequestered any dangerous Pokémon. Many of the Pokémon seized in raids to criminal bases weren't depraved enough to need to be euthanized, nor were they tame enough to be distributed to worthy Trainers. Those Pokémon were brought to Mount Silver to live out as normal a life as one could in the aftermath of such horrors. Native Pokémon had long since fled the mountain, and those released there didn't seem bothered to leave, as the League tended to the mountain as best as they could by providing manmade springs of fresh water and an abundance of berry bushes. The Pokémon had also invariably grown up valuing the absoluteness of power above all else, and the mountain was frequently fought over by its ever increasing number of denizens for the right to claim any and all territory. It was a futile battle, but one that engaged the hardened Pokémon enough to make their new lives rewarding.

Of course, the Pokémon weren't just left there to their own devices. Mount Silver had covertly been co-opted into a high-security prison. Each cell carved into the mountain itself was a small circle of a space with a high, arching ceiling that had a single hole for breathing and rain. A single oran berry bush grew wild, branches reaching desperately towards the limited light. A single hand-operated radio sat in the corner of the room, protected from the elements. The roaming Pokémon that sought to test their strength constantly would make sure that any criminal who managed to escape their confinement would step foot into a gruesome death. There was no room for the weak, and the Pokémon had long since stopped needing a human whose orders to obey.

"Drakon, give the man one last full-powered Thunder Wave before releasing him," Lance said, his voice echoing in the damp air of the newly opened cell. His nose wrinkled; it smelled of mildew and decay, even now, and the pool of water that had collected beneath the skylight was stagnant and stale.

The Dragonite, who had clung onto Giovanni and kept him sedated for the entire ride to Mount Silver, finally let go of him, letting the man fall to the ground as his limbs seized from the electricity coursing through his muscles. Lance returned his Dragonite and stepped out of the cell, where Zweilous stood guard and growled at any passing wild Pokémon that looked towards Lance with cool interest. Lance absently patted one of her heads before releasing Gabite.

"Gabite, Stone Edge and Rock Tomb. Seal this entrance as tightly as you can."

The dragon hissed before turning and jerking a claw upwards. A wall of rock burst from the ground, closing Lance off from the murderous glare that Giovanni was giving him. Lance reached out and tapped the stone. Satisfied with its thickness, he returned Zweilous and Gabite, summoned Drakon again, and returned to the League.

The flight was long enough that Lance knew that Lorelei or Agatha would have had the building cleaned up and somewhat put back together by the time he returned. Bruno would have wrestled Giovanni's Pokémon down; when Blue arrived, they would probably have to examine each Pokémon and see if the new Ground Master could persuade them to be loyal to him instead. If not, they would probably be released to Mount Silver themselves. Lance sighed at the irony; a Pokémon and its Trainer, separated by meters of rock, though they might never know of their proximity to each other.

Drakon heard the sigh and crooned up. Lance could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Drakon," Lance said quietly. "I've pushed you hard enough today. I should have asked Flygon to bring me back."

Drakon harrumphed at the idea that he was too tired to serve his Trainer.

Lance chuckled at this. "If you insist."

When they arrived, the building was abnormally silent. Despite being just past noon, none of the typical League workers were wandering around the halls or working quietly away in the kitchen. Lance had the feeling that someone, probably Agatha, had dismissed them all so that they didn't feel inclined to clean up the mess left behind. He wondered vaguely what rumors would come up about that.

Lance wasn't paying too much attention to where he was walking, so he was rather surprised to look up and realize that he was back at the courtyard. It looked as though someone attempted to clean the area up and given up; the sand from Giovanni's Sandstorm cloak had been swept into the grass, but the burn marks on the ground from Charizard were still there, and there were slashes in the walls and floor from where his Pokémon had wrestled for dominance. There was also a sealed case of Pokéballs against the wall where Bruno must have left them for Blue. His own team was in the courtyard, many simply lying on the ground to rest after the battle. Altaria looked over to Lance and sang out a single, mournful note before resting his head on Haxorus once more.

The evidence of the battle was the final sight that Lance needed before his mind finally comprehended exactly what had happened in the past few hours. He had received a strange package, realized that Giovanni was threatening to break into the League, and battled him to a standstill for long enough to capture him and lock him away. His eyes rested on the scorched rivets in the ground where Wyvern had blasted Giovanni's Dugtrio for threatening Lance. She must have flown off, far away, after that final, defiant attack, following the order that Lance had given her weeks before.

Lance could feel himself choke on something. Drakon patted his shoulder, worried eyes glancing at his Trainer's expression. Lance didn't really feel him. The man collapsed onto his knees, hand pressed on his mouth. Was he going to vomit? Was that all that the knot in his stomach was- nausea and stress? What was the feeling in his chest that threatened to tear through him, now that he was faced with the evidence of what had happened? Some tone echoed in his ears; he could tell that his entire team had sprung up and were running over to him, worried for him, but they appeared to be moving so slowly and by the time they got near him he could no longer see them through a blurriness that formed in his vision. He fought the panic rising in his gorge, squeezing his eyes shut as his ears rang and his emotions finally caught up with his logic, no longer separated by fury and adrenaline. Something wet streamed over his hands; he belatedly realized that he must have been crying. He felt his team members pressing against him on all sides, scaled and feathered bodies clustering to offer him comfort, but he couldn't make a sound, all he could do was crumple further in on himself and continue to silently sob.

Ash was gone.

This last scene has been one that has haunted me since the inception of this idea, as well as the entire next/final chapter! I have literally written this behemoth of a story for the sake of writing three (3) scenes and this is the second of them. I had to fiddle with this one so that it actually sort of made sense, so I hope it's somewhat intelligible.

If I can beat a Pokémon game in a month as a six-year-old, then Ash's Pokémon can easily get to some equivalent of level 45-50 in two years. Even if they go up by half a level a day, they would have gotten there in less than a third of a year. If Ash actively training in the anime (did he even train in the anime that much, let's be real) can get past one (1) round of the Indigo League, then Ash being taught by some of the most experienced Trainers in this Kanto knows at least the basics of how to train his Pokémon. Amber hasn't evolved yet because she likes being how tall she thinks she should be (and the official Pokémon heights are a little absurd, I'm going with my own instinct on how tall different species are).

As I mentioned earlier, the next chapter is the final chapter of Wild Boy. I know I mentioned some more plans in the beginning of this chapter; I'll give you the details on that at the end of this story. I'm sure there are many thoughts and comments you all have. Please review with any and all questions that you'd like answered about this world/story and I'll try and answer as many as I can with this last chapter.