Pokemon: The Roar of the Neo Battle Frontier

Summary: After leaving for three years, Pallet town's favorite son makes his way back to where it all started. But Ash comes back stronger and wiser than before as the leader of the newly opened Johto Battle Frontier. What does the future have in store for him? AshXHarem

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon

Chapter 4

"Alright, the reason I called this emergency meeting is in response to a growing concern the Pokemon league has." Scott started before continuing. "You see, as of late the cases of crimes involving Pokemon, namely Pokemon theft, Pokemon poaching and Pokemon smuggling has been on the rise. Usually, we would leave this to the police and the Pokemon rangers, but recently, both Pokemon and trainers have been disappearing left and right."

Once the words were spoken, they immediately caused a reaction from everyone, eyes widened and some even stood up from their seats. But as if already anticipating that this would happen, Scott had raised his hand to stop any verbal outburst, at least for now. "This is happening in all the regions, but after research from the Pokemon League, it was discovered that the disappearances had first started, and has the highest number in Johto." He finished.

"But how's that even possible, we haven't heard anything about that in the news lately." Bianca said as some of the others nodded with her. "That's because the Pokemon League is having this information kept from leaking out into the media. Can you all just imagine the mass panic that would occur if people were to realize what was happening?" He replied as Miki spoke up. "But then isn't it more dangerous for the trainers, the veterans are one thing, but new trainers will be next to defenseless."

"She's right, if it's such a big issue then isn't it better to put a region wide travel band, at least for the new trainers until the perpetrators get caught. I mean, it'll suck not to be able to travel for a while, but that's a whole lot better than getting kidnapped." Casey added, but Scott only shook his head. "That would be for the best, but it's a bit more complicated than that, Casey. First of all, we're not even sure what's happening in all of the regions."

"We don't know for sure if there is someone to be held responsible for the disappearances, to be honest. All we do know is that there has currently been a spike in missing person reports, with the police having no leads on what is going on." He said. "But then how are we so sure that it's not just a series of freak accidents, or something completely different from kidnapping or disappearances." Georgia asked, as she sat up a bit straighter in her seat.

"Well, at first that was what the Pokemon League thought as well, when the police force first brought it up, but it wasn't until they saw a pattern with the disappearances that they began to suspect that foul play was involved." He replied, before continuing. "You see at first, different kinds of trainers were disappearing, so they didn't see it. But it seemed that as time passed, the number of disappearances started to go down, and the time between each disappearance seemed to widen."

"But isn't that a good thing?" Stephan asked, but Scott merely shook his head. "No, rather, it's the opposite. It's more worrisome this way." Scott began before continuing. "You see, the first to disappear were mostly new trainers, which actually happens a lot, but then as time passed the ones who disappeared were mostly trainers with around, three to five badges, then it was trainers with six to eight badges." He said which startled everyone in the room as they saw where this was going.

"That had been two weeks ago…" Scott let his sentence hang as everyone in the room began to understand what he was implying. But it was Ash, who had been quiet up until now who asked the question that was on everyone's mind. "Then what's the current state of things now, Scott?" He asked and Scott's grim face managed to somehow become even grimmer. "As of last week, a trainer who's entered into a Pokemon league once or twice has been disappearing once every five days."

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence at that, but it was eventually broken by Paul. "So basically you're telling us that whatever is happening, somehow it's just coincidentally keeps going after higher targets over time." He asked, his incredulousness at the whole situation seeping into his tone. "Bu-But that can't be right, because if it is, it's just like something really is going after the trainers, so why won't the league do anything?" Cherry asked, and Scott sighed.

"It's because like what Paul said, while the 'targets are getting higher', the fact that other trainers who don't fit with that description are still disappearing. As of yesterday the total count of trainers who have disappeared for all five regions is one hundred and seven. But the League can't act carelessly because we have no concrete proof that there is something going after the trainers. Aside from the fact that the targets are going up in terms of the hierarchy, which could just be a coincidence, they got nothing."

"Bullshit, there's no way that it's just a coincidence, besides didn't you say that it was happening in all the regions? Don't tell me that they think a hundred and seven trainers just vanished into thin air?" Harrison asked his frustration evident in his tone as he stood from his seat. "You're forgetting that with those one hundred and seven disappearances you have to divide that number among five regions, and the number you get for each region is still apparently within the bounds of normal."

"So the League's not doing anything based on a technicality?!" Shauna cried out, as she too stood up from her seat. "Like I said the situation's more complicated than it seems, first of all it's hardly a technicality when it's based on statistics and recent studies, second of all the police themselves have attested that a lot of the trainers who have disappeared were last seen in places which are accident prone areas, so it is actually not that uncommon if people were to disappear there."

"Finally, the ones who disappeared were trainers." Scott said which brought pause to everyone. "Not children, trainers. There's a difference between those two, and I'm sure all of you are already know what makes the two of them different." He said and Giselle took it upon herself to answer for the group. "The difference between the two is that one is under the protection of their city, while the other has practically waived that protection upon the moment they leave their hometown."

"That's right, in other words, unless a trainer disappeared within his hometown, or where he/she has been living in for more than forty eight hours, it doesn't become such a big deal when compared to an ordinary child suddenly vanishing from his hometown." Scott told them with a sigh. "While the Pokemon League does have control over matters which have relation to Pokemon trainers and Pokemon, they don't have power over the cities and towns of the regions."

"The League does want to do something; they do want to declare a travel ban. But the Representatives of the Regions have gotten involved and they're hindering the League from enacting it." Scott said. "But why on earth wouldn't they want the League to do what needs to be done, don't they care about what happens to the trainers?" Sakura cried out, but surprisingly instead of Scott, it was Shingo who answered her. "It's not that they don't care, but it's a conflict of interest."

"Think about it, travel bans for trainers are only used in cases when there are great threats to trainers' safety and wellbeing, but right now the League doesn't have any proof that what's happening is a threat that is gunning for the trainers. At best, it's just possibility. So I'm guessing that unless something big happens, or the League gets concrete proof, the RoR will just keep on stopping the Pokemon League from enacting the travel ban." He said evenly enough, before adding.

"From the RoR's point of view, since what is happening is still within the bounds of normal, they think that the travel ban will just cause cons and has no merit." He told them and for a moment everyone began to think about what he said. "What kind of cons are you talking about, Shingo?" Chigusa asked, which brought all eyes back to the male teen. "Scott already mentioned that if the news of the disappearances were leaked, it would cause panic, right?"

"The travel ban would pretty much cause the same thing, because the last travel ban the League imposed was around seventy years ago. It happened in the Hoenn region, and it was enacted there because trainers of that time faced the risk of getting attacked, beaten within an inch of their lives, and having their money and Pokemon stolen during their travels." He said which caused many others to flinch, or cringe at what he had just said.

"Oh yeah, I heard of that from my grampa once. It was the then active Team Blast who was responsible for that, right?" Nicholai asked, and Shingo nodded. "That's right; the incident was actually called the dark days of Hoenn. People lived in fear, many wouldn't even leave their houses and in those days mass panic and hysteria were very common. It only ended when they managed to find Team Blast's hideout and apprehended most of its members."

"But since this is happening in all regions, could you just imagine what would happen." Barry jumped out of his seat. "There'll be pandemonium if they enact it within all five regions!" He exclaimed and everyone seemed to fall deep in thought. "Well, Shingo was partially correct with what he said, but there's also another issue that the RoR has to take in consideration." Scott said as everyone turned to look at the older man. "Aside from that, there's also the matter of taking the economy of each region into consideration."

"Unlike seventy years ago, we live in bigger cities and communities and the police are everywhere. So while it might cause mass panic and hysteria, it won't actually be as bad as it was seventy years ago and I'm sure that when the news first breaks it'll stir up quite a bit of fear, especially since it'll be taking place simultaneously within the five regions… But after a while, things will calm down and people will return to their normal lives." Scott told them which prompted another outburst from Shauna. "How on earth would they be able to do that with the travel ban?"

"It's simple, because in reality the travel ban only affects trainers. People who aren't trainers aren't restricted by the ban, because they most probably won't be targets, if ever. So after days pass and nothing happens people start to feel that nothing will happen, and they start to return to the lives they were living before the travel ban was enacted. So basically, the biggest issue here is the blow it will do to the economy of the regions." He explained, before his face turned thoughtful.

"Believe it or not, a region's economy is actually quite dependent on trainers. A good percent of a town's revenue is actually gotten from travelers and trainers. Inns, hotels, and those rest stops along the road, just to name a few places will lose a lot of money. Even Pokemon gyms; and the Battle Frontier won't have much to do once the travel ban takes effect." Scott said before adding. "The tourism will definitely go down as well, and if you combine all of that together, you get a region's worst nightmare."

"Wait! So this is just all about money?!" Sakura asked incredulousness in her tone. "Well, I guess you can say that, but at the same time, not really. If a region's economy was to take a nosedive, you can imagine how many lives would be affected by that. If for example, the yearly Pokemon League Conference gets cancelled because of the ban; that would be a huge loss in terms of both revenue and tourism. The economy will take a hit and it'll probably take two, maybe three years to return back to how it was."

"It'll take that long?!" Stephan squawked, and Scott nodded. "And just imagine what'll happen if the ban drags on to two or three years, I reckon Pokemon gyms, Contest halls and the Battle Frontier will have to be indefinitely closed and there'll definitely be an economic recession by then. You see the problem we're dealing with here is safety vs stability. So, the Pokemon League is actually in very delicate situation here." Scott confessed.

"Then what's the plan Scott? What did you want us to do, because I'm sure you didn't just call us out here just to tell us how precarious things currently are." Ash suddenly said, surprising the others with his words. "That's right, I didn't just call you guys out here for the sake of informing you. Doing that is just the prelude, the real reason I called you is to tell you about "Operation BASTIONS, which stands for Battle Against Scourges, Threats and Internal Oppressive Native Sects."

"It was the reached compromise between the Pokemon League and the RoR. Basically since the League thinks that this is happening within Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova, they've decided to broaden their range. This is where BASTIONS comes in; it's a new interregional organization that was created for the specific purposes of investigating the disappearances, and if ever, to find conclusive proof that what is happening is more than coincidences." Scott explained; which piqued everyone's interest.

"Region champions, all elite four members and all gym leaders will be automatically become part of the operation. But the Pokemon League thinks that's still not enough, so they've begun to recruit others like certain Pokemon Professors, the GMen, the Pokemon Rangers, and finally, the Battle Frontier. Now listen guys, I don't want to force anyone, but I'd appreciate it if you joined BASTIONS." He finished, before looking at their faces to gauge their reactions. He was surprised though when Bianca started to laugh with the others, even Paul, following shortly after.

In all honestly, Scott was completely bewildered by their reaction. He had said something serious after all, and not a joke, so he couldn't fathom how he garnered such a reaction from the teens. "S-Sorry, Scott, it's not that we think what you said was funny… I-It's j-just…" Casey began. "It's just that you totally built up the tension and had our heads swimming with ideas, and the finale turns out to be just the League asking us to help." Harrison continued, before doubling over in laughter.

"It's funny cause' it's really anti-climatic." Giselle added. "Scott, you should have just told us from the beginning, you know we wouldn't hesitate to help, especially not with a problem this big." Ash told him when he was able to stop laughing. But it seemed that it was everyone else's turn to be bewildered as Scott suddenly started laughing. "Scott, you ok? You haven't lost it have you?" Chigusa asked in a careful tone, but the man merely shook his head. "No, I'm fine Chigusa, both physically and mentally."

"The reason I was laughing just then was because I realized how silly I was being. I should have just told you guys from the get go that the League wanted you guys to help, instead of scaring you guys with politics. It seems that with how dire the situation had seemed, I had ended up forgetting how you bunch are." He told them, which caused a few grins to break out. "Well for better or worse, that's how the Johto Battle Frontier is." Paul said which caused some of the others to snicker.

"But what is it that BASTIONS wants us to do, Scott?" Shinji asked, which caused the snickering to stop and everyone looked at Scott expectantly. "Well as of now, not much. You just to keep a look out on your surroundings, if a great number of trainers start disappearing in your areas you should report it and try to investigate what's going on. Basically that, and to keep an eye out for any suspicious activities in your areas." Scott told them which caused Barry to groan. "That's it?!"

"Well BASTIONS won't really be able to mobilize unless we get concrete proof that something really is wrong. So, yeah that's all you guys need to do for now. Any other questions?" He asked and a few hands were raised. "Yes, Miki?" The woman sat straight in her seat before she relayed her concerns to the man wearing a Hawaiian shirt. "Is BASTIONS something that the police also know about, and since it's an interregional organization do we need to go to the other regions?"

"Yes, the top brass of the police know about BASTIONS, but unless the organization really mobilizes, the others in the police force won't be informed of its existence. But as for the matter of you guys needing to go to the other regions… You might need to, but only if the situation has took a turn for the worst, and there is no other viable option on the organizations part, otherwise your priority will be Johto." He answered, before turning and gesturing to Cherry who had raised her hand once he finished speaking. "Has BASTIONS already been active for a long time?" Cherry asked, and Scott shook his head.

"No, it was actually just started a little more than a week ago, and actually while the organization is already in existence, the information on it still hasn't been disseminated in the other regions yet." He replied and another hand shot up. "But why only Johto, then?" Georgia asked. "It's because to the League, Johto is a high risk region, since like I had told you guys, the disappearances is presumed to have started here and in terms of numbers, we have a bit more disappearance cases than the other regions."

Ash then took that opportunity and raised his hand. "Yes, Ash?" Scott asked as he turned to address the raven haired teen. "I kinda figured that BASTIONS need to be kept a secret, but do I also need to keep it from my friends who are gym leaders from Kanto?" He said and Scott's face turned thoughtful. "Well, I guess it would be alright to tell them about the organization since gym leaders have been automatically signed up into BASTIONS, whether they know it or not…"

"Of course, I probably don't need to say this but you can tell your Frontier Crews about the organization, since by joining, your respective crews have automatically become BASTIONS members as well. Which reminds me, since you have chosen to join the organization; the official list of its members will be sent to you all by the end of the week." He told them before asking. "Any other questions?" When no one raised their hand or said anything, Scott finally sat down for the first time since the meeting begun and happily said his next words. "Then this meeting is officially adjourned!"

Thanks for reading!

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As for who is in the Harem, I won't spoil who they are yet but I will tell you all that Giselle is in the Harem. Also, none of the gang will be part of the harem since they each have their own pairings.