Well, I wanted to let you know that the update has been posted, and I've put it up as a separate story so I can clearly see the feedback for the new version as opposed to the old one, but FFN doesn't allow author's notes as standalone chapters, so I've put together a little preview of the prologue here:

Time. Space

Threads woven together to create the world we live in. Together, it's a single, fragile thing. So easily changed, with but a single thought. A single word. It's never certain, destinies changing every moment, at every action.

A promise dances along the strings of time, and the reverberations cascade into the path of a young boy.

He looked up at his mum, saw the amused smile there, and knew that today was the day. Everyone in town knew about the famous pokémon Professor, Professor Oak, who lived in the big house with the windmill on top, and the endless fields full of pokémon behind that. But, his mum actually knew him. She was even taking Ash to meet the old professor, and more importantly- she was taking him to play with the pokémon on the ranch.

Ash came into consciousness with the perception of someone who knew they hadn't slept, but had no clear memories of the night. He shifted his leg, trying to stretch out a little bit, but froze when he felt something leaning against him. The world came into sharp focus in the moment he opened his eyes fully, and he absently noted the dim faint spots of light filtering into the hollow, the sap-streaked patterning of the rippled walls, and the lush green foliage that dominated the view outside.

But it was his silent companions that lit something bright in his chest.

(Something like hope and determination and gratitude but nothing less than devotion-)

"Professor, how do I become a good trainer?"

The professor paused. Looking at Ash, he noted his stiff, almost shaking posture, the single-mindedly focused gaze and the clenched fists. He hummed.

"Well, Ash… I would say that if you're able to understand your pokémon's needs, and know how to best use their individual qualities to help them become strong- and if you study battles that you encounter to understand how different trainers win, learn from your own mistakes, and work alongside your pokémon to grow stronger… Those qualities are what allow some trainers to stand out, above others."

"First, we talk to your mother. If you're going to be visiting the lab more often, she has to agree to it."

"Right!"

"Second, in exchange I want you to help around the lab on weekends. This means helping look after the pokémon, and helping with whatever other tasks the other lab assistants need to do."

"Right!"

"You don't have any problems with this, Ash?"

"Nope!"

"Well, then perhaps we should pack up here now. After all, you'll only be here for a couple more hours and I'm sure your friends are wondering why you're not out there playing with them." He said. This spurred the child into pushing himself off the floor, brushing himself off before leaning down to start gathering up the books.

With the professor's guide, they took care to put the books back where they belonged, leaving Ash to rush out to go outside when they finished.

"Thanks Professor!"

Before you go over to the new version, I want to thank everyone that was patient for the rewrite of this story. There were a lot of struggles to complete the new version, but with the kind encouragement from those that kept their faith in me helped me make it to this point.

And, of course, the latest guest review- I do wish that you'd used an account, I would have preferred to respond to you directly- well, beyond the kindness of other reviewers, I particularly wanted to thank you for pushing me this last step towards posting. Intentional or not, you reminded me of my determination to complete this, even though my struggles bog me down and often leave me feeling like I should just give up. You gave me the desire to prove to myself that I could complete this, regardless of the problems I was having. For a moment, I stopped saying 'it's too hard' and started thinking 'I'll do my best'.

However.

This is to everyone - do not harass any author on this site, or any other, for not updating. Of course, the actual occurrences of this are only a result of the minority, and not the majority, but this is still something highly important that everyone should keep in mind. The chances of someone saying just the right thing to encourage a writer instead of simply making them feel terrible is incredibly low, and it is not within anyone's right to assume that people who write free content, for free, owe the readers anything. You often cannot know the circumstances of that person's delay in updating, and it is utterly impertinent of a reader to try and make someone feel bad for things that may not even be within their control. This is not an acceptable way to treat other members of the community, and I'm sure that most people who do act in such a way can be better than that. I have been subject to this since the beginning of posting my work on here, and I must admit that when I was younger I mindlessly did the same thing. Please, do not make this mistake, in the interest of improving the online environment for everyone.

Now that that's out of the way, I'll see you guys on the other side. I look forward to seeing where this new path will take us!

Until next time,

Midnight.