It took some time, but they were eventually able to make it to some docks by Misty City.

There were very few people there, mostly rich people who owned their own boats.

One lady looked significantly different from the others. She wore an outfit not too different from the group's and was loading vegetation and produce onto her boat.

Dawn chose this lady to approach.

"Excuse me, Ma'am." She exclaimed when she reached her. The rest of the group trailed behind her. "We were wondering if you could help us out?"

The lady turned to them. "Depends what you need."

"Could you take us to Kalos? I know you need a special passport to get there, but we don't have enough money to get them and…"

"You're convicts, aren't you?" The lady interrupted.

The group froze. Brock was the first to recover. "Yes, ma'am. We were incriminated due to association to a friend of ours. Her name's May."

The lady looked them over scaldingly. "And what did this May girl do wrong?"

The entire group looked at Dawn, who still hadn't explained to them the reason May had gone off the charts.

"She was incriminated by association to someone else. Apparently, she registered with him and they went off the charts recently because..."

"Him?"

"Y-yes. It was a boy."

The lady sighed. "That boy should know better than to bring friends, any friends really, into his debacle. I'll take you there, but you'd better tell me the full story behind how you know him along the way."

Misty blinked. "Just like that? She didn't even explain who he was."

"Doesn't have to. He's gone off the charts multiple times over his lifetime. He doesn't usually bring friends with him, but I suppose it's possible he made an exception." The lady finished loading the boat. "Hop aboard. I'm headed to Kalos anyways. I should be able to get you through if you know him. He's pretty well known in Kalos."

The group looked at each other before getting on the boat warily.

The lady started the engine and they were off. "My name's Kassie, by the way. Mind tell me yours?"

"I'm Misty and this is Dawn, Brock, Tracey, Cilan, Iris, Max, and Mr. and Mrs. Ketchum."

"You can call us Delia and Aaron." Delia piped up.

"And how do you know him?" Kassie asked. "You related to the people in Vaniville Town?"

"I've actually never heard of Vaniville town." Brock mused. "So no, we're not related to them."

"We actually aren't a hundred percent sure who you and Dawn are talking about." Max admitted. "We just know my sister got in some trouble by association to someone and that the police in Pallet Town warned Dawn to take us all and get out of the system as quickly as possible. She's the one with all the answers."

"Ash is our friend, and their son." Dawn told Kassie. "You see, a few centuries ago, we were sent forward in time by a criminal organization and…"

"Dawn! That's not information you should be sharing with a stranger!" Iris snapped.

Dawn glanced at her. "She probably won't get us through to Kalos if I don't."

"Right you are. But now that you've told me that, your names make sense." Kassie glanced briefly at Dawn. "You fit the appearances described in the books too."

"Books?" Misty inquired.

"Vaniville Town has the oldest traditional library in the world, and a good amount of it is filled with Ash's life story and rare books he's collected and shared with the library throughout his lifetime." Kassie explained. "The library is maintained by someone known as the Keeper. They start training when they are young and dedicate their entire lives to the upkeep and continuation of the library. The Keeper is the most respected position in nearly all of Kalos, but especially in Vaniville Town."

"What's so special about Vaniville Town?" Tracey asked. "If Ash keeps going back there, it must be special to him."

"It's Ash's second home. About fifteen to twenty years after your disappearance, Ash was finally persuaded to leave Pallet Town and start traveling again. Vaniville Town is where a girl named Serena lived. She's known for being Ash's lover."

"His lover?" Delia gasped.

"Yes. Nearly all of Vaniville's inhabitants are consequently related to him through his descendants. He's known there as 'A Thousand Times Great Grandpa'. He stayed in Kalos for almost ninety years, until Serena passed on. At that point, he promised his children that he would always remember Vaniville Town and come back often. Then, he left to see how the world had changed. The time between his visits may vary, but he always comes back."

"Wow. I never imagined Ash to be so… so…" Misty began.

"Respected? Mature? Organized?" Kassie threw out some suggestions.

"Yeah. That." Misty amended.

"None of us did." Brock agreed. "But he was probably forced to grow up fast in the wake of our disappearances."

After a few moments of silence, Kassie instructed them to get comfortable and told them that the ride would probably be about two to four days depending on weather.

The feast that night was delicious and joyful. Everyone was excited to see Ash and they all wanted to meet May.

When Ash was asked how they met, he simply said that he'd met her a while ago and found her again recently. May did her best to answer just as vaguely.

When Ash was introduced to the candidates for Keeper, including Cici, he asked each of them some questions they would have learned the answers to by then, and then nodded his approval to Keeper Katherine. It was clear the candidates were delighted. Not every group of candidates got to meet Ash before the decision for which one of them would be the next Keeper was made, it seemed.

It was almost midnight when the last residents left to go back to their homes for the night. Ash and May were to stay in an apartment hidden in the back of the library with Keeper Katherine.

They had just gotten to sleep when a horn blown loudly startled them awake.

Ash leaped out of bed and ran into the library main. May followed him but soon lost him in the crowd of townspeople pushing their way into the library in panic.

"What's going on?" She asked several people, all of whom ignored her.

When she finally made it through the crowd and out the door, she found the town burning. Immediately, she called out Wartortle and joined those fighting the fires and rescuing those stuck in houses or other buildings. Explosions could be heard not too far off. May instinctively knew Ash was fighting the attackers.

Once everyone who could be rescued was rescued and all the fires that could be put out were put out, everyone hunkered down in the library, which it turned out was a sort of bomb shelter.

May worried for Ash. He was still out there fighting the attackers. In the library, children were crying, teens were huddled together, adults were comforting the children and teens, and the elderly were whispering amongst themselves.

It was nearing dawn when the door to the library finally opened and Ash entered.

His face was shadowed with anger and it was clear he was not happy with the results of his fight.

The town's leaders approached him and, together, they stepped outside to survey the damage and discuss their next moves.

Slowly, the townspeople trickled out of the library. Most of the buildings were burned to the ground and several corpses were laying in the street.

May lingered in the library, feeling every bit the outsider she was. Manaphy came out of its pokeball to comfort her.

Such was her position when Ash found her. "I'm going after the crooks who did this. I want you to stay here. Help the people rebuild and protect them. I'm counting on you to take care of Vaniville while I'm gone."

"What about Keeper Katherine? Can't she…?" But Ash shook his head before she even finished her question.

"Keeper Katherine's dead. She was one of the first killed in the raid last night. Please, May. Do this for me. I'll be back as soon as I can."

May hesitated a moment before nodding. "I'll be waiting for you when you return."

"Thank you." Ash surprised her with a peck to the cheek. "I need to go now. Take care of Vaniville. I'm counting on you."

Those words said, Ash left, leaving May alone in the library.