Capítulo 2: 3,4,5
"We're lost," Misty complained.
Ash sighed. "I know."
"We're lost, in a forest," Misty continued, twitching. "A forest that's supposed to be an easy main road."
"You've mentioned this already, Misty," Ash pointed out.
"We are lost. In a forest. Full of Bug Types!" Misty finished. "I'm quite proud I haven't freaked out already, thank you very much!"
"This isn't freaking out?" Pikachu asked – though, fortunately for all concerned, Ash was the only human present who understood him.
"I get the point," Ash sighed again. "I'm sorry we're lost, Misty. I'm sorry we've been in here for a week. I'm sorry that the last of the other Pallet Town trainers went past four days ago."
He winced. "Uh… while I'm thinking of things to be sorry about, I'm sorry we didn't ask her for directions… and that I keep weirding you out whenever Pikachu and I practice."
"Can you blame me?" Misty replied. "You're trying to teach Pikachu to be a Fighting type, you're trying to teach yourself Electric type attacks… even for you, this isn't normal."
"No, it's Fighting and Electric," Pikachu said.
Ash did his best not to laugh at that. "Well, I am also working with Pikachu to improve his Electric attacks. That's normal for Pikachu."
"Yeah, about that," Misty said. "I don't know where the details are going, and frankly I'm not sure I want to, but you're trying to turn something into an electrical version of Hyper Beam! I'm a Water-type Gym Leader, so I'm not too happy with the prospect."
Ash sat down, because it was about the only way to be sure they weren't getting any more lost, and looked through the forest with Aura Sight – only to spot something blazing with grey-green light, off in the distance.
"Misty, I think I see something," he said. "It looks like another Bug-type, but it's lit up like you were or like the Rockets were."
Misty shook her head, then realized what Ash meant. "Oh, right, you think it might be your Caterpie? Or Butterfree, then?"
"I think so," Ash agreed. "So, let's go and find out!"
Misty thought about Butterfree. It had been a long while ago, now, but she did remember him. He'd been nice, for a… well, for a Bug. And he'd evolved quickly.
No reasonable girl could consider butterflies creepy, could they?
Yeah, she could handle this…
At that point, though, Misty realized a flaw in her actions.
"Hey, Ash, wait up!"
By then, Ash was confronting a difficult moral issue.
Well, most trainers wouldn't even think about it, presumably, if they were in a situation like this. Which they wouldn't be, because Ash's situations were absolutely absurd. But even then, Ash wasn't sure what other trainers would think.
Because they weren't him.
He might have been overthinking this.
What Ash was actually wondering about, though, was whether he should try challenging Caterpie to a battle, and if he should have Pikachu go all-out or not.
Ash had been proud of Pikachu since they'd got started… mostly… but even though he'd never forgotten Caterpie's strength and determination he still had to face the fact that Pikachu was a lot stronger now than Caterpie had been then.
Then an idea hit him.
"Hey, Pikachu?" he asked. "Can you hit Caterpie with a Thunder Wave as soon as I point him out?"
"No need, I remember his scent," Pikachu replied. "And what he looks like. It's enough to recognize him, or it should be."
"You can?" Ash asked. "I guess I didn't think about that."
"I was a wild Pokémon, remember?" Pikachu asked. "Most Pokémon have better senses of smell than humans, and for wild ones… it's a survival skill out here."
Ash felt vaguely uneasy. "I, uh… I don't really know what to say about that, Pikachu. The idea of you needing survival skills is… it's weird and I don't know what I think about it."
"I get what you mean, Ash," Pikachu replied. "But… if it helps, intelligence is a survival skill too. Most of the Pokémon that humans actually see are the smarter ones, who don't think that humans are… giants, if they're small. Or evil, or whatever."
He thwapped Ash in the back of the head with his tail. "But I'd rather be with you than anywhere else, Ash."
"Thanks, Pikachu," Ash said. "That means a lot to me."
"Yeah, and I need to remember to tell you, now that I can. Now… there!"
Pikachu's cheeks flared up, and he flicked his tail to send an arc of lightning at one of the Caterpie on a branch. The other two scattered, and Ash closed his eyes to check.
"Yeah, you're right," Ash said. "That's him."
He walked over to the little Bug-type, and gently touched his antenna.
A spark of blue flashed at the contact, light filled the clearing, and Butterfree flew off the trunk.
"Hello again, Ash," he said.
"Okay, what the heck?" Misty asked, coming to a halt and putting her hands on her thighs to recover. "I heard that!"
"You understood Butterfree too?" Ash asked. "I'm actually surprised I did at all, I had to train Pikachu in Aura a bit to get that working and I don't understand the other Pokémon nearby… and you can't understand Pikachu yet, either?"
"That's why I'm so confused," Misty agreed.
"I am a bit psychic, if it helps?" Butterfree said. "Lots of Butterfree learn it as they grow up, not sure why, but I worked on it to get stronger. Maybe that counts."
"It's not like we understand this stuff," Pikachu said.
"It's great to see you, Butterfree," Ash smiled, holding out his arm, and Butterfree landed on it. "Some weird stuff is going on again, so… I'd love to have you with me, but it's up to you. And it's up to you if you want to have a battle first or something."
"Oh, that would be great!" Butterfree said. "I haven't had a chance to show off in a year or so!"
"Let's see what you've got, old friend," Pikachu replied, cheeks sparking.
Butterfree took off again, and Ash glanced at Misty. "Okay, so… run for it, Misty!"
Ash ran for the nearest tree, and Misty decided to follow suit. A moment later, Pikachu's Thunder and Butterfree's Bug Buzz collided with a bang that shook the trees and sent a rain of leaves pattering towards the forest floor.
"I don't remember him being this strong, Ash!" Misty called to him from behind her tree.
"He's been protecting a swarm for years!" Ash replied. "I have no clue what he can do now!"
Overhead, Butterfree began weaving in a complex pattern, glowing with power as each motion went faster than the last, and back on the forest floor Pikachu began crackling with electricity as he charged himself up with both regular power and Aura.
"That's new," Pikachu said, as Butterfree charged up. "I don't think I've seen it before."
"Quiver Dance, it's nice," Butterfree replied. "I guess you've got new tricks too?"
"That's right!" Pikachu agreed, throwing out a ball of electricity, and lined up for a moment before using his tail to slam it upwards in Butterfree's direction.
Butterfree did a roll and wingbeat at the same time to climb suddenly, sending out a cloud of Stun Spore from his wings, and the Electroball attack exploded on the spores instead of connecting with Butterfree himself. Some of the side-blast still got through, though, and Butterfree's wings lit up as he switched from Quiver Dance to something else.
Pikachu wasn't sure what he was dealing with for a moment, until the clouds parted and the sky lit up with the light of the midday sun.
"That's new too," Pikachu decided.
"Agility!" Ash called, and Pikachu did just that – speeding up suddenly, making himself a harder target for whatever Butterfree had planned.
"Incoming Solarbeam!"
Pikachu jumped out of the way of the first blast, but Butterfree kept it sustained – sending down a continuous beam of intensified sunlight which came blazing across, tracking it in the direction Pikachu had dodged, and Pikachu put on an extra burst of speed before sliding to a halt.
"Take this!" he said, using Iron Tail, and diverted the Solarbeam right back up at Butterfree.
The attack itself didn't do much damage, but the sudden flash of light startled Butterfree and made him flap backwards – breaking the attack, and making it so he lost track of where Pikachu was for a moment.
Pikachu didn't waste the time, and darted over to the nearest tree before scampering up it to the lowest branch. Still moving fast, he jumped off it right at Buttefree, only for the Bug-type to hit him with Whirlwind and send him slamming right back to the ground again.
"Oof!" Pikachu said, rolling over twice, then surrounded himself in a Counter Shield of electricity just in time to avoid being hit by another smashing Bug Buzz. "Right, wasn't sure if that would work but I had to try it."
He turned to Ash. "Thanks for not giving it away!"
"No problem!" Ash replied. "Look out!"
Butterfree used Psychic, this time, and a pulse of energy hammered down where Pikachu had been a moment before.
"Thundershocks!" Ash suggested.
Pikachu liked the sound of that, and fired out a continuous barrage of Thundershocks. Most of them missed, Butterfree dodging and weaving with a cloud of Powder moves around him to soak up some of their strength, but that also meant that he couldn't focus on the other things he was trying to do as well.
Pikachu, meanwhile, was only trying to move at the same time as attack, and got to one of the bigger trees in the area. This time he went around the far side of it, breaking off his barrage of attacks just as he did so, and Butterfree made a humming noise.
Then used Solarbeam again, this time aimed at the tree itself.
The tree shook, but it didn't hit quite hard enough to either knock it over or force Pikachu out of hiding, and Ash started calling out. "He's opposite you… from there he's going left! Getting closer – now he's going right…"
Butterfree turned to Ash. "Is it cheating if you're only giving one of us advice?"
"Good point!" Ash admitted. "Force of habit!"
There was a voltage fizz from the far side of the tree, then Pikachu darted out with electricity flowing over his fur. He jumped again, this time spinning forwards with an Iron Tail, and Butterfree used Whirlwind again.
Just before the attack connected, though, Pikachu used his Counter Shield – and sent it out further than before, far enough to envelop Butterfree. Then it was dragged along with him, and Butterfree had to follow along or get hit by the electric attack.
"Smart," the Bug-type said. "I like it."
His wings glowed with psychic power, and Pikachu formed a second layer of Counter Shield over his fur.
"Ow, this is harder than I thought," Pikachu admitted, then checked his footing. "Hey, you haven't seen everything I picked up yet. Want to know what this one's called?"
Butterfree used Psychic, and the Counter Shield crackled as the attack hit. It sent Pikachu sliding backwards a little, but not enough to throw him off, and he smirked.
"Volt Tackle!" Pikachu announced, springing forwards, and an electric detonation filled the clearing.
"Okay, that was… impressive," Misty said, wincing as a stray bolt of electricity fizzed through the clearing. "Butterfree's really tough."
"Yeah, and I've got some great ideas about where to take his training!" Ash said, then had a sudden sense of foreboding. "Huh?"
He looked up just in time to see a paralyzed Pidgeotto land on top of him, then evolve to Pidgeot in a flare of white light.
"Wow," Misty sighed. "Sometimes watching Ash's luck unfold is really kind of astonishing."
Ash patted Pidgeot on her feathered back, both arms wrapped around the Flying-type. "I'm sorry for leaving you there so long, without checking on you."
He shook his head. "I wish I could say I was… but I just forgot. That's all there is to it."
"I don't have any hard feelings, Ash," she said, wrapping a wing around him in return. "You were busy, getting involved in all kinds of nonsense, and I was busy, keeping the flock safe from that Fearow."
"Actually, there is good news there," Ash replied. "I guess Gary caught him. As a Spearow, I mean, because of… you know, the fact we're in the past."
"Well, that's good," the Flying-type decided. "And being able to talk to you is good news as well. I've missed you, Ash."
"I've missed you," Ash replied. "Though I should probably go and make sure Pikachu and Butterfree are all right, they were showing off what they've learned to one another.
"Oh, should I do that too?" Pidgeot asked. "I've learned some very fun tricks over the last few years. Want to see a tornado?"
"I think that might be a bit much?" Ash said.
"What might be a bit much?" Misty asked.
"Pidgeot was offering to show me a tornado," Ash replied.
Misty didn't seem enthused.
"So, what now?" Misty asked, once Ash had officially caught both Butterfree and Pidgeot and was making sure neither Butterfree nor Pikachu had any serious scrapes from their battle. "You wanted to go somewhere near Pewter soon, right?"
"Yeah, I do," Ash agreed. "I don't think I've lost track of the date, we've got a bit of time… I want to make sure I actually can beat Brock's gym properly this time. It didn't go great last time."
Misty nodded. "That makes sense. I'm almost surprised."
"Hey!" Ash protested. "But yeah, I don't know if I'm going to battle Brock when he's reminded or not, but… I feel like it'd be a better challenge if he is. And his team's a lot tougher than it was then. So… we'll go in a couple of days, or when Pikachu's got the Aura trick down."
Pidgeot flared her wings. "I can take you both!"
"I know you can, Pidgeot," Ash said. "But even if you couldn't, just knowing which way to go would be great."
"Which Aura trick do you mean, Ash?" Misty checked. "There's so many you keep talking about."
"Force Palm," Ash replied. "It's a pretty simple Aura attack, it's just pulsing out the Aura when you're in contact, but if it's just electrically charged it won't really work. At all. Especially not on a Ground type. Unless…"
He shook his head. "No, that's not reliable enough – so, anyway, Pikachu's working on splitting his Aura to use it in battle properly. And at the same time, I want to make it so I can pull up more Aura myself… the better I get, the more useful it is, and maybe I can start understanding wild Pokémon."
That made Ash look puzzled. "Or, well, Pokémon that aren't mine? I couldn't understand Arbok and Weezing, it's weird."
"Oh, yeah, it has been nice not being bothered by them every couple of days," Misty admitted. "They'll show up eventually, right?"
"Probably," Ash shrugged. "Though I must be getting better, since I understood Pidgeot."
"What Ash isn't saying is how much of a pain the training is," Pikachu said, glancing over at Butterfree. "It's basically punching trees while I try to get to the point that one of them is being hit by blue Aura and it breaks."
"Huh," Butterfree mused, thinking about that. "That reminds me of that guy with the Sandshrew. Remember him?"
"Oh, yeah, him," Pikachu agreed. "Maybe that guy did have a point?"
"You!" a voice called, making them both jump. "Are you the fourth trainer from Pallet Town who was going to come through here?"
Ash looked at the Bug Samurai, then at his finger. Which was pointing squarely at Misty.
"No," Misty said. "I'm from Cerulean City."
"I'm the one from Pallet Town!" Ash introduced himself. "Ash Ketchum!"
"Aha!" the Samurai replied. "Then I must challenge you, just as I did the others!"
He reached for his sword. "Unless you have no honour?"
"I've got honour!" Ash replied quickly. "I just want to ask, are you sure about this?"
"Of course I am!" Samurai said. "I swore to myself that I would battle all four of the trainers from Pallet Town, ever since I met the first! And found out that one of them, he wouldn't say which, smelled."
"That's Gary, all right," Ash decided. "I'm just asking because I've got a Pidgeot right behind me and this clearing's covered with scorch marks from the Volt Tackle my Pikachu used."
Samurai shrugged. "That's irrelevant. Samurai do not retreat from battle."
"I don't know what history books he's been reading," Pikachu said.
"I call the Pinsir!" Butterfree declared quickly.
"I'll handle the Metapod, then," Pidgeot said, her cool translated soprano carrying a hint of steel. "I think it's Pikachu's turn to rest for a while."
"This is going to happen, right?" Misty confirmed. "I'll handle being the referee, then, I am a Gym Leader. How many Pokémon do you have, Samurai?"
"Two," Samurai replied.
"Then it's two Pokémon on each side," Misty said. "Both of you send out your first Pokémon on the count of three."
It would be best not to contemplate the scenes of carnage.
"I am ashamed by my defeat," the samurai said. "I have fulfilled my pledge, but all it has shown me is how much further I have to go."
He looked up. "Why is your team so much stronger than the other three trainers from Pallet Town? The Charmander and the Bulbasaur at least had to work hard… and the Squirtle one, his Spearow was a bit worrying… but your Pidgeot is amazing, and your Butterfree is as strong as any Bug-type I've ever seen."
"Well… it's kind of complicated," Ash admitted, feeling kind of bad. "But the best thing to do after a battle like that is just to improve and do better next time. And, maybe catch a few more diverse Bug-type Pokémon?"
"I see," Samurai decided. "Well. Then I hope when our paths cross again, we have both improved enough that our match is more even… even if that does mean I'll have to improve a lot more than you."
"You'll do fine!" Ash said.
"You'll probably do fine," Pikachu amended. "Might do fine."
He paused. "Actually I remember you when you got started, Ash. He's in with a good chance…"
"Left, right!" Ash said. "Left, right! Keep that separation going!"
The only thing delaying them going to Pewter Gym any more was Pikachu getting this right, and without any need to keep moving through the forest in the vague hope of finding Butterfree, Pidgeot or the exit that meant all their time could focus on training.
For Pikachu, that meant graduating to rock punching.
"I'm trying, Ash!" Pikachu said. Thwack.
"Then try harder!" Ash said. Thud. "You need to keep the separation up!" Thwack. "That's why you're hitting a rock now!" Thud.
"And it's not easy to concentrate on two things at once," Pikachu replied, sweating. Thwack.
"You think I don't know that?" Ash asked. Thud.
"Of course!" Thwack. "Concentrating on one thing is hard enough for you!" Thud. "So two things isn't much of a step up!"
Thwack.
"I'm trying to make it so we can earn the Boulderbadge properly!" Ash shot back. Thud.
"Or you could just use Butterfree!" Thwack.
"But I want to use you, Pikachu!" Ash insisted. Thud. "We can deal with this!" Thwack. "It's like the Vertress Conference!" Thud.
"What happened at the Vertress conference?" Misty wondered.
Pidgeot chirped, shrugging her wings.
It wasn't like she'd know. Trees famously didn't get cable highlights of foreign Pokémon leagues.
"Ash, I love you, but you can be so STUBBORN!" Pikachu said, his fist smacking into the rock.
Which cracked cleanly in two.
"Well, you – did that just work?" Ash asked, his tone completely changing.
"I think so," Pikachu said, staring at his paw.
The rock made a sort of creaking noise, then the halves fell over.
"Yes!" Ash cheered.
"Take that, Steel types!" Pikachu said. "And Rock-and-ground types! And Ice-types, too, if they're Ground type as well! And generally speaking a lot of the Pokémon that Pikachu are bad at battling!"
"I'm still not sure what Pikachu's saying, but he seems very happy about it," Misty decided.
"Basically he's happy he can punch things now," Butterfree provided. "Possibly that he can do it and it'll work?"
"All right!" Ash decided. "Now, when do you want to learn Aura Sphere?"
Pikachu didn't reply, mostly because he was already asleep.
"...right," Ash added. "I guess we have been working long hours…"
To the north, a cloaked shape passed through a sleepy village high up in a mountain pass.
The figure moved quickly, and silently, ducking smoothly underneath two men carrying a plank before dodging away from a moving vehicle, always moving and never slowing.
Nobody in the village recognized them, or the cloak, and when a Staravia sent after them came back an hour later without having even found the stranger it simply became another mystery.
4
"There you go." Pidgeot flared her wings, dismissing the altered air around her form, and gently glided to alight at Pewter city limits.
"Thanks, Pidgeot." Ash slid off the huge avian's back as she stopped.
Ash's Pidgeot was a marvellous specimen of the species, at least in part due to her years of training and experience having a chance to express right from the get-go in the evolution. It was easy for her to convey Ash and Misty to the outskirts of Pewter City at a mere hundred miles an hour, diverting the wind around them to make for a smooth and comfortable flight.
"Wow," Misty said, dropping to the ground as well. "I'm really impressed, Pidgeot."
"It's nice to make a good first impression," Pidgeot said, then returned herself.
"...huh," Ash said. "I was going to make sure she was okay with that, but I guess I don't need to now."
He stood back, and looked at the city he was visiting for the first time in years – the first time ever, in this timeline.
Pewter City had started as a mining town, something something, had a museum of science and nature he guessed, possibly a contest hall Ash couldn't quite remember that one, and it was on the main road? And all of those things were presumably important to someone, but there was something else, too.
It had a Pokémon League gym, so of course Ash was interested in that one.
"Let's go, Misty!" he said. "Come on, Pikachu, let's get started on the journey to the Pokémon League!"
Misty shook her head. "Some people…"
"All right!" Ash said, once he'd arrived. "I'm here to challenge the gym!"
"You are?" Brock replied, arms folded. "Well, challenger, how many badges do you have?"
"This is to earn my first badge," Ash replied. "But don't go easy on me just because I don't have any yet! I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and I'm going to be famous one day!"
"Hey, watch it, I'm the one he'd be going easy on or not," Pikachu protested.
"If you don't want a challenge, Pikachu, I could ask him to go easy on you?" Ash suggested innocently.
It wasn't very effective, and Pikachu hit Ash with a quick Thundershock just to keep him honest.
"...thanks," Ash coughed out.
"You understand your Pokémon?" Brock asked, with interest. "That's an impressive feat, especially from a new trainer like you."
"Thanks!" Ash replied brightly. "Oh, hey, since it is my first gym battle, can we shake hands?"
Now Brock looked surprised. "Are you sure you're from Pallet Town? The challenger from there with the Squirtle wasn't nearly that polite."
"Yeah, I know who you mean," Ash replied, walking over and shaking the hand of his old friend.
There was a tingle of Aura as Ash made the connection, and Brock did a double-take. "Ash? What happened?"
He looked down at himself, then around at the gym. "Wait… is this another time travel thing? Who was it this time?"
"Technically Dialga, but not the one we met before," Ash replied. "It involved Arceus though… I'll explain later, we've got a battle to do!"
"You've got it, Ash," Brock agreed, reaching down to his belt, then frowned. "Wait. When are we, exactly?"
"Back when we first met!" Ash replied. "Pewter Gym!"
"Ash, you visited Pewter Gym once," Pikachu replied. "Brock's lived there."
"...good point," Ash admitted. "Thanks, Pikachu… anyway, uh, you should only have the Pokémon you had when we first met, but they should be as strong as you remember. I think? I'm still learning the rules for this."
Brock nodded along. "Huh, that's actually really interesting for what it means about how Pokémon develop… In that case, if you're using Pikachu I'll start with Geodude!"
Geodude nodded. "Dude."
"I know what to do," Pikachu said, jumping off Ash's shoulder, and both trainers stepped back.
Pikachu squared off against Geodude, and the Rock-type met his gaze levelly.
They both knew what had happened last time they'd battled here. Last time, Pikachu had been drastically overloaded by a power station and had managed to shock Geodude, making it not much of a battle at all.
Not this time.
"Begin!" Brock said. "Geodude, Sandstorm!"
Pikachu had been hoping Geodude wouldn't do that, but he used Agility and vaulted into the air as an opening move regardless. A sandstorm couldn't blow in every direction at once, and no matter which way it was going there was a direction where the air wasn't moving at all… and moving this fast meant it was harder for Geodude to hit him anyway.
"Stand still so I can hit you!" Geodude called, clapping his hands together and reversing the direction of the Sandstorm. Pikachu skidded to a halt as well, reversing directions, and ducked underneath a rock that Geodude threw in his direction before using Thundershock.
It didn't affect Geodude, but it did distract him a bit.
"How big's the arena?" Ash asked. "I can't see the lines any more."
"Hmm," Brock replied. "Let's just say the whole gym is the arena."
"Then get to the corner, Pikachu!" Ash called.
Pikachu ducked another thrown rock, paws skating along the gritty stone floor, before skidding into a turn and making for the wall.
He hopped up from one paw-hold on the wall to the next, then scurried along to the corner. Ash's guess had been right – even though Geodude was making the sandstorm larger now, and directing it towards that corner of the building specifically, it couldn't get at the sharp corner formed by the gym walls and so Pikachu was mostly safe.
"Your move, Geodude," Pikachu invited. "Or if you'd prefer, I can start charging up and see if we can make history repeat itself?"
"This isn't getting anywhere," Brock decided. "Geodude, use Dig!"
"On it, dude," Geodude replied, the Sandstorm clearing. He vaulted off part of the arena's rocky terrain, slammed down his other fist on the ground, and dug straight into the ground with a kerrunch.
Ash frowned. "Huh, that's weird. How is that going to help Geodude?"
"Something's wrong, Ash," Pikachu warned. "Brock's not an idiot. Well, unless girls are involved I guess?"
Ash closed his eyes, and did a double-take, which would have looked weird to anyone watching the battle. "Pikachu, the walls are rock too – look out!"
"Sneaky!" Pikachu said, pushing off the wall just as Geodude came crashing through. The Sandstorm roared back to life, trying to push Pikachu right back towards the Rock-type, and Geodude reached for Pikachu's tail to try and use Seismic Toss.
Pikachu managed to snatch his tail away, then used Electro Ball – not aimed at Geodude, but just to give him something to push against. That was enough to get him a bit further from Geodude, and he landed before dodging away from Geodude's next attack.
"If you want a fight, you'll get one!" he said, using his paw to control his slide. "Iron Tail!"
"Mega Punch!" Brock instructed.
Rock arm and metal tail clashed with a resonant belling sound, and the recoil sent Pikachu flying. Geodude's Sandstorm pulled at him again, trying to control his movement, and he recovered himself with a burst of Quick Attack before somersaulting back towards the Rock type.
"Catch him in a Seismic Toss!"
Pikachu skidded and dodged to the side, but not quite far enough. He wasn't close enough to hit Geodude, but he was close enough that Geodude could snag him with a diving catch from behind before launching them both into the air.
Just like Pikachu had planned.
"Pikachu, look out!" Ash called, which reminded Pikachu that he hadn't let Ash know about his plan… but, then again, it's not like he could have let Ash know without warning Geodude.
Instead, Pikachu just got to work hitting Geodude with his Iron Tail over and over again. Geodude was a tough Pokémon, but being repeatedly hit in the face with a super-effective attack was a bit much, and he lost his grip.
Unfortunately for Pikachu, Geodude only lost his grip when they were already both plunging towards the floor.
Fortunately for Pikachu, there was just enough time to dodge out from underneath the falling Rock-type, and he spun around to shed his momentum before twitching his ears at Brock. "How's that, Brock?"
"Wow," Brock said, nodding. "Not bad, Ash, you and Pikachu have really improved."
"That was mostly Pikachu," Ash admitted, and Pikachu nodded.
"Well, you beat Geodude," Brock added, recalling him. "But let's see how you handle Steelix… no, wait, he's Onix still."
Steelix came out of his Pokéball.
"Steelix!" he clarified.
"Huh," Brock decided. "Not Onix then."
"Yeah, that happened to some of the others, too, like Butterfree and Pidgeot," Ash said. "It's convenient! But I think this is the first one who's been an item evolution."
"This would be so scientifically interesting if we could ever tell anyone about it," Brock mused. "It's a whole new development in Pokémon physiology… anyway, let's get back to the battle. Steelix, Dragonbreath!"
Pikachu formed a Counter Shield, which helped a little as he whirled the dense net of lightning bolts around himself, then ran away as fast as he could with Agility. He went for the wall again, this time hopping all the way up to the ceiling, and dropped down from there right into the middle of Steelix's coils.
"Are you sure that's what you want to do, Pikachu?" Brock asked.
"Pikachu, Thunderpunch!" Ash said.
Pikachu didn't know Thunderpunch, but he did know what Ash meant. Steelix was still turning to confirm exactly where Pikachu was and line up a Dragonbreath attack, and Pikachu took aim. "One-"
Electricity fizzled against Steelix's hide.
"-and two!"
The second blow was a flash of blue light, one that launched Steelix bodily into the air and sent him flying halfway across the gym.
"...hmm," Brock said, considering how Steelix looked, then at Pikachu. "That's not Thunderpunch, right?"
"Force Palm!" Ash replied.
"Well," Brock decided. "Obviously Pikachu could have done that against Geodude, but then it wouldn't have come as a surprise for Steelix. I'm impressed, Ash."
Steelix groaned something about how he'd rather the impressing didn't involve him getting beaten by a Pikachu in an improbable way again.
"Well, the good news is, if Brock does take lessons from Ash on this stuff you might be able to talk to him and have him understand you?" Pikachu suggested.
"Sounds good," Steelix mumbled.
"So," Brock said. "Are you still okay with a Gym Leader following you around?"
"I'd love to have you, Brock!" Ash replied. "Though… didn't your dad need to show up? I think he was already back in town last time, but we're ahead of schedule I think."
"I think he was around for a while first," Brock answered. "The tricky thing is finding him and getting him to admit it."
Ash closed his eyes, looking around, then pointed. "Found him, let's go!"
"Glad that's all sorted out, Brock!" Misty said, as they left Pewter on the road north. "It wasn't nice of your dad to leave you in the lurch like that, but… hopefully it's going to work out better now."
"Yeah, hopefully," Brock agreed. "He actually got on okay, last time around, and it's not like much has changed… I'll probably have to check back in at some point, to make sure, but that's not for a while."
"Oh, and just to check?" Misty added. "We are going the right way, right? I wasn't along when you went this way."
"Rota's a little out of the way, but not so far I don't know the route from my own home town," Brock assured her. "Any ideas about what that message was, Ash?"
Ash shook his head.
His Pokémon were all healed up again, and so were Brock's, after a trip to the Pokémon Centre. There'd been a satellite uplink from Professor Oak waiting, so that Ash's intelligent Pokédex could access the Pokémon Transportation System even out in the field, but there'd also been an anonymous letter addressed to Ash.
It was a string of digits, and the word JJMAW.
"It's not any Pokémon I've heard of," he said. "Though I guess there's Maw in it, so maybe it's something to do with a Mawile?"
He shrugged. "Anyway, uh… we're a bit ahead of schedule, so I think we can fit in the trip to Rota. Then we can get back on the road to Cerulean City… nothing's really been different yet about much of anything, even Brock's dad was still around, so we really want to make sure we can rescue Charmander."
"He's probably not even been abandoned yet," Misty said.
"Yeah, it wasn't for another couple of weeks I think," Pikachu replied.
"Pikachu says it's another couple of weeks," Ash provided. "So we should have enough time?"
He reached for Dexter. "Do you have any ideas?"
I can index based on when you first scanned Charmander? Dexter provided. Mostly I have Pokémon photos to work from though.
"Don't worry, Ash!" Brock said. "I know our trip to Cameran Castle will go great! There's chicks there!"
Misty sighed. "Hang on a second, Ash."
She sent out Goldeen, and the surprised Water-Type found herself used for the heretofore unknown move Fish Slap.
"Ow," Brock mumbled from the floor.
"Don't even start with that," Misty replied, helping Brock back up again.
"Wow," Pikachu said. "I think if we knew what type that move was we'd know what type Brock was."
"Hey, if it's going to be a problem, we could go to Sinnoh and pick up Croagunk?" Ash suggested, grinning.
He'd missed this.
Later the same week, they were already inside Rota and walking along the tree-lined road to Cameran Castle itself.
"It's weird that it's so empty," Misty said, glancing at the others. "Isn't there some kind of big event coming up?"
"I think the main road is a different one, but that would actually take us longer," Brock replied. "And we don't mind going through places where you might meet wild Pokémon."
"Yeah," Ash agreed, then stopped. "Wait, I think there's something nearby…"
He closed his eyes, and pointed. "There, there's a strong Aura… no, wait, it's two of them? I think? One of them just stopped, the other's still coming this way."
Pikachu's cheeks sparked. "Who's there?"
A blue and black blur dropped down from the tree overhead, landing with a blue flash, and rose from her crouch.
It was a Lucario.
"Hail, and well met," she said. "You are Ash Ketchum?"
"That's me!" Ash agreed. "How do you know my name, though? Were you looking for me?"
"I was," the Lucario confirmed. "The Lord Ho-Oh sent his Suicune with news of you, and I have come south to confirm the truth of his words."
"Uh," Ash began, startled. "Wait, are you from the Lucario Kingdom? I didn't… uh…"
He shrugged helplessly. "I didn't know there were Lucario there? But now I say it, it seems a bit obvious."
The Lucario smiled. "Perhaps," she said. "But yes, I am from the Lucario Kingdom. Lord Ho-Oh's message told of your skill, and that you have learned some of the ways of Aura. May I test you?"
"I guess," Ash said, and Lucario bowed.
Then punched him.
Ash saw it coming just in time to raise his crossed arms and manage a flickering Protect shield, but the impact still knocked him into a tree.
"Ash!" Pikachu yelped, springing free, and Butterfree came out of his Pokéball.
The Bug-type's wings began to glow, and Ash shook his head.
"No!" he called. "Both of you – I didn't know what she meant, but I'm going to give it a try!"
"In hindsight I probably should have explained better," the Lucario conceded, then approached again. This time she moved a little more slowly, but kicked out with one foot, and Ash ducked underneath the high kick before retaliating with a punch.
It didn't do much to Lucario, though she did take a step back, and Ash tried his best to concentrate as she attacked a few more times – once landing a blow, but one that mostly winded him, and the other two attacks that he was able to dodge away from.
She was faster than him, and stronger, and tougher. And – there was something Sir Aaron had said about fighting someone who was faster, stronger, tougher and had a better idea what you were doing.
Don't.
Which wasn't especially helpful at the moment.
Fortunately, there was something else that Sir Aaron had said, as well, and Ash raised both fists before focusing as hard as he could.
For just a bit of time, not long at all, he could make himself stronger and faster, and this time Lucario's attack was one that was telegraphed and wound-up. Ash knew, he knew, that it was one he was meant to dodge.
So he didn't.
He caught it, and his arm went crack, and for a moment Lucario was frozen in one place – partly in surprise that she'd actually hit Ash, he thought.
Blue light flashed up his broken left arm, around his back, and flooded his right arm as Ash counterattacked. With Counter.
The blow knocked Lucario sliding sideways, into a tree, and the tree itself shook and shed bark – along with a very annoyed Weedle.
"Ash, are you all right?" Pikachu asked, bounding over. "What just happened?"
Ash sank to the ground, hissing through his teeth. "Aagh… Sir Aaron told me about it," he said, pushing away the pain as best he could. "About what to do if you're fighting someone stronger than you. Hit them with their own strength."
"I think you broke my rib," the Lucario admitted. "That was far more than I was expecting… Chosen One indeed."
"Ash, you should probably splint that," Brock advised.
"Do you want me to pick her up and throw her into another tree?" Butterfree said. "Just saying, it's an option."
"No thanks, Butterfree," Ash replied. "And, yeah… I guess it just seemed important."
"It was, and is, though not that important," the Lucario replied. "First I assumed you knew what I meant, and then I assumed you didn't."
She shook her head. "But you have more than proven you are everything Lord Ho-Oh spoke of."
"Wait, hold on!" Misty said. "What's so important that you had to test Ash like that?"
The Lucario jumped back up into the trees.
"Hey!" Misty protested, then went silent as Lucario came back down a moment later with a bag.
"Ash Ketchum, of Pallet," she began. "Will you accept this charge:
To educate in the ways of Aura.
To keep morality, and to ensure the same of your charge.
To protect those weaker than yourself, with all the breath you have in your body.
If you so swear, then we beg you accept this scion of our noblest line as an apprentice and companion."
"Wait," Brock said, slowly. "You don't mean..."
Lucario opened the bag, revealing a Pokémon egg.
"Wow," Ash said, a few minutes later, once Brock had sorted out a splint for his arm and Butterfree had doused the arm in Sleep Powder to help dull the pain. "I just… I'm having trouble working out what to think."
"I know what you mean, Ash," Brock said. "A trainer having a Riolu or Lucario is one thing, but the Lucario Kingdom are really careful about what happens to their Riolu. For them to even consider it…"
"I can understand why she wanted to test me," Ash agreed, looking up at the Lucario – still waiting patiently, a little further away to give them privacy.
"I…" Pikachu began, then sighed. "I can, too," he admitted. "I don't like how she did it, but if all they'd heard was hearsay, even from a Legendary Pokémon…"
"So, just so I can check?" Butterfree asked. "Where is this on the normality scale for everyone who travelled around with the group for longer?"
"It's… weird, mostly because of where the egg came from?" Ash said. "And the connection to Aura, and stuff… it's like it's brought everything home to me because it's someone else making that kind of decision. About me."
Brock nodded. "About halfway up, mostly because of that."
"So, Ash," Misty said, gently. "What do you think? Want to accept?"
"Want to?" Ash replied. "Yes, so much it hurts… the idea of having a Pokémon like that, a cool Pokémon like that, is just so tempting. But at the same time… I feel like I'd be putting them in danger."
"That's-" Pikachu began, but Ash kept going.
"Like it'd be accepting for the wrong reasons."
"No way," Pikachu said, slapping his tail on the ground with a spark of electricity for emphasis. "Ash, she didn't ask for the Riolu to be safe. She asked for what was basically the opposite – for you to teach them to be brave, and just, in the same way you are. The way you always have been."
He nodded firmly. "Ash, you'd be a great trainer for a Riolu. You're just feeling overwhelmed, and you're not seeing that."
"I don't know what Pikachu's saying, but I agree with him," Brock said. "Unless it's about me, then I probably don't."
Ash tried not to snigger, and failed quite badly.
Then he got up, and walked over to the Lucario messenger.
"All right," he said. "I'll do it. I swear – I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Thank you, Chosen," the Lucario said, and drew the egg out of her bag. She held it out for Ash, giving him time to sort out how to carry it, and Ash considered for a moment before reaching out with his right arm by itself.
"We'll have to get an egg carrier in Rota, or somewhere," Brock said.
"It should hatch in a few months – what the…?"
The egg was glowing.
It lit up with a familiar white radiance, soft and warm, that illuminated the whole stretch of path. Then, when it faded, Ash's arm was cradling a Riolu instead.
And a rush of sensation hit him.
Lab attack captured escape hurt friend close friend Aura attacked frozen stolen-
Rescued.
Tears glistened in the corners of Ash's eyes, and he sank to his knees.
"No way," he said. "I don't believe it… how can I be this lucky?"
"Believe in the evidence of your eyes, and the light of our spirits. It's me."
Riolu reached out a paw, and touched the side of Ash's face.
"Hello again, Ash."
"I think I really must have impressed someone," Ash said, faintly.
"Of course you did," Riolu stated, unshakably confident. "It's you."
"Can someone please tell me what is happening?" the Lucario messenger asked.
"It's… well, a bit complicated," Ash admitted, shifting so he was sitting down properly. "So… I don't know if Suicune told you about this, but I've been sent back in time. And, uh, it's just me, but if I knew someone well enough I guess I can bring them back in time too? We're still trying to get the pattern of how that works."
He let Riolu down, so the Fighting-type wasn't just being held there for the whole conversation. "And, well… a few years from now, I think is how I'd have to say it? Yeah, a few years from now, I helped rescue a Riolu from a Pokémon Hunter. It's… one of the only times I accessed my Aura before."
"It me," Riolu said, pointing at himself. "I'm the Riolu."
"And we must really have connected," Ash went on. "Because… well, like Riolu says. It's him."
"Well," the messenger said, trying to decide what to say about that. "I think that's the fastest anyone's ever managed to train a Riolu in how to use Aura."
"At this point he's better than me," Ash agreed. "It's going to be great having him to make sure I'm not doing this wrong."
He was grinning, barely able to contain his emotions. "I just… can't put this into words…"
Riolu raised his paw. "I can! This is going to be great!"
"Very well, then," the messenger Lucario said, with a nod. "Thank you for your explanation. Fare thee well, Ash Ketchum."
She turned with fluid grace, and began to lope off to the north – quickly accelerating, until she vanished from sight.
"Well, that was strange," Misty said, eventually. "Amazing, but… yeah, I don't know why I expected anything to not be strange."
"Strange things happen," Riolu replied. "Wait, can she understand me? Can you understand me?"
He shrugged. "Guess not. Hey, Pikachu, what's it like riding on someone's shoulder?"
"Want a go?" Ash asked. "Just, don't jolt me too much until I've got this healed. I don't think it's far to Cameran Castle, though."
Riolu had been trying to work out how best to get onto Ash's shoulder without jolting him, but that made him turn. "Wow, Cameran Castle, we're going there? I never got to go there before. That's where Sir Aaron lived, isn't it?"
The little Fighting-type beamed. "He was amazing! He's an inspiration to Riolu and Lucario everywhere, because he was known to wield the powers of Aura as well as any of us despite being a mere human!"
Riolu stopped. "Oh, uh… no offence?"
Ash laughed. "So long as you don't mind being registered to a Pokéball, I don't think I can be offended by that."
"Meanie," Riolu pouted, then flicked his ears. "So, why are we here? Tourism?"
"I really think we should learn this Aura thing soon," Brock said, leaning over to Misty. "We're missing half the conversations."
"So long as you can understand me, you're not missing the most intelligent bits, though," Butterfree said.
"We're there to take part in a tournament, and pick up some stuff," Ash explained. "If we can. You don't have to take part in the tournament if you don't want to, though."
"I could, though, right?" Riolu asked. "Ooh, and what kind of stuff?"
"Sir Aaron's gloves, staff and stuff," Pikachu supplied. "I think technically Ash has inherited it?"
Riolu did a double-take. "Inherited? Doesn't that mean you'd have to be – why didn't you mention you were descended from Sir Aaron?"
"I've only known for a couple of weeks!" Ash protested. "Even he didn't mention it!"
The young Pokémon's eyes were spinning. "You… you met him?"
"I think we're going to have to go through everything," Ash decided. "My life's so bizarre that either we go through the whole thing now or this is going to keep happening for weeks."
Meanwhile, somewhere in a really rather nice district of Kanto…
"Oh, noooo!"
Meowth looked up. "Dat was definitely someone yellin' for help! You think something ain't going according to plan?"
"Well, whatever it is, it doesn't sound good," Jessie agreed, turning to the other Pokémon in the basket. "Arbok! Get the balloon ready!"
"Chaar-bok!" Arbok said, in confirmation, and wound his way up one of the supporting ropes to begin preparing the burner.
Arbok had a very dextrous tail.
"Good thought, Jessie!" Meowth said, shading his eyes and looking into the distance. "Now, is it me or is there somethin' happening down the road?"
Jessie shaded her eyes too. "You know, I think you might be right! Get the binoculars!"
Weezing made a weezing noise, bouncing off Jessie's back with two pairs of binoculars balanced on top of him.
"Thanks!" Meowth said, grabbing one of the pairs, and adjusted the zoom dial. "Lessee… hmm, looks like… hey, does dat look the same to you as it does to me?"
"That's right!" Jessie agreed. "There's definitely someone coming towards us!"
"And not just a someone," Meowth replied. "A someone who's quite tall! And running, too, with a small four-legged fluffy Pokémon next to him!"
"Help!" the same voice from before yelled.
"Hey, I recognize dat voice from somewhere!" Meowth said, lowering the binoculars and scratching his chin.
"I do, too," Jessie nodded. "So, who could it be?"
"Oh, come on!" the mysterious figure lamented. "I know I didn't dress to impress today but that's ridiculous, now hurry up and throw me the Fire Stone!"
"Oh, now I remember!" Jessie said. "It's James!"
She thought about that for half a second, realized that probably meant Jessiebelle was not far behind him, and picked up the Fire Stone they'd… liberated… recently.
Jessie, as it turned out, was not very good at throwing even before you put her in a rocking balloon.
James saw the abysmal toss, and pointed. "Growlie – fetch!"
James' faithful puppy surged into a sprint, swallowed the stone in one gulp, and landed as an Arcanine. He skidded to a halt in front of James, stayed for just long enough for James to climb on, then sprinted off into the morning mist.
Jessiebelle had to admit, simply on a professional level, that that took some doing as an exit. Though she was sure she was going to get him eventually.
She was fairly sure she knew where to hire some helicopters, for example… and that would give her options for stopping that stupid balloon, too, which was currently exiting upwards with a cloud of Smog left behind it.
5
After getting Ash's arm sorted out, and going through the formalities of registering Riolu as Ash's Pokémon – something which the Fighting-type was delighted about – the friends confirmed that Ash was properly registered for the tournament, then went into the castle itself.
They were there mainly for Ash to get hold of an outfit, which was firstly the one he was going to wear when he competed in the tournament – and, secondly, was some of Sir Aaron's equipment. Ash had already found the gloves, last time, but he'd been told in no uncertain terms by Sir Aaron that that wasn't all there was to be found.
There was a complete spare outfit, and that was why they were there.
At least, theoretically.
"It's so weird to look at these and have context for them," Ash said, stopping by another painting. "You know, to know that Sir Aaron wasn't just a historical figure."
"And I'm seeing all this for the first time, it's amazing!" Riolu agreed. "That's the Battle of Crane Wing! Where Sir Aaron challenged the whole enemy high command to single combat at once, then left his staff behind! He went in completely unarmed and still won!"
Pikachu winced, rubbing an ear. "Riolu, I don't mind you being enthusiastic, but could you please keep it down a little bit?"
"Oh, uh, sorry," Riolu apologized. "I guess that's something I should keep in mind now."
"Please," Pikachu replied.
"Don't forget, the tournament's coming up soon, Ash," Misty reminded. "You don't want to end up late for it after all the trouble to get here."
"Right," Ash agreed. "Uh… okay, where was it… it was one of the dressing rooms…"
He frowned, trying to remember, then pointed. "I think it's that one."
The dressing room was full of costumes, with most of them there to help give the proper period feel to the yearly tournament. Suits of armour, doublet and hose, long floaty dresses with wimples… they weren't all from the same part of history, but that wasn't the point.
Though there was a space suit, as well, which might count as from the past if you only looked back a few decades. It even had Pokéball holsters, and a warning to only use Pokémon that didn't have to breathe in the first place and wouldn't be hurt by being in space.
Of course, Ash's focus wasn't on that. He went scanning through the outfits looking for one very specific costume, a familiar one.
He'd worn most of it here before, maybe all of it? But he hadn't known how important it was, then.
"Found it," Pikachu reported.
"Thanks, Pikachu!" Ash replied, moving to where Pikachu was, and then just sort of stared at it for a long moment.
It was in pristine condition. You'd never know looking at it that it was two thousand years old, and… that was probably why it was in a costume closet in the first place?
The quality of the work was just amazing.
"Well?" Pikachu prompted.
"Right, sorry," Ash realized, taking the hanger, and moved on into the changing room.
It was quite an experience.
The main part of the outfit was just… normal. Tough but normal fabric, in an old-fashioned style, but Ash wouldn't really have given it more than a second glance if it had been on the shelf in a shop.
Actually Ash wasn't usually all that interested in clothes anyway, unless they were hats. So maybe it wasn't a great example. But knowing it was two thousand years old, and that Sir Aaron had worn it…
"Huh," Ash realized. "Now I think about it…"
"What is it?" Riolu asked. "I'm trying not to get over-excited about this, but what is it?"
"Sir Aaron was a grown-up, and these fit him," Ash explained. "And I'm not, and they fit me. It's… weird."
"Huh, yeah, that is weird," Riolu agreed. "Maybe it's part of the outfit itself or something? You said the gloves were weird."
"Yeah, maybe," Ash admitted, then sat down to pull on the boots.
They were definitely weird. The moment Ash pulled them on, there was a little pulse of energy as they touched Ash's Aura, then suddenly he felt lighter. Then heavier, enough that the chair he was sitting on made a creaking sound, then back to feeling lighter as Ash realized what was going on and started actually controlling it.
They could make him lighter or heavier… heavier, to get stronger just by walking around, and lighter so he could jump higher if he really needed to.
It was really cool.
There was a pouch, as well, a little bag that went onto the belt. It made a sort of twitch when Ash fitted it on, with another pulse of energy, and Ash opened it to see if there was something inside.
"It's… wow," he said. "Riolu, Pikachu – it's huge. There's notebooks in here, too…"
He drew the mouth of the bag open, and Pikachu peered inside.
"Wow," he said. "That is big… what are the notebooks?"
Ash reached in, up to his shoulder, and pulled one out before flipping it open.
It was Sir Aaron's notes.
The things he'd learned and found out, about Aura and Pokémon – Maiju, as they'd been called at the time – and seemingly everything else he'd run into. Some of it was things that were common knowledge now, simply because it had been two thousand years, but there were other things that Sir Aaron hadn't been able to remember to mention to Ash in their training session… and which had been forgotten, simply because it had been two thousand years.
It was so tempting to just… sit down and read through all the notebooks. But there wasn't time.
The cape came next, and this time when Ash put it on it didn't test his Aura. Instead it started pushing a steady trickle into him, recharging him. It was a relief after how much the short battle with Lucario had tired him out, and though Ash didn't exactly have a scale for it he knew it would help him last at least a bit longer in a battle… and recover much more quickly.
"This is amazing to watch," Riolu said, his eyes closed. "The Aura is flowing in such a beautiful way."
"I'm almost nervous about the last ones," Ash admitted, picking up the hat and putting it on after a deep breath.
There was a little testing pulse, like the bag and the boots, then… nothing.
"Huh," Ash frowned. "I… wonder what that does."
"No idea," Riolu replied. "The other ones were all obvious, right? You didn't say them all, but it seems like you worked it out."
"And we know what the gloves do," Pikachu added, as Ash nodded. "So it's kind of a mystery. Maybe it's in the notes."
"Maybe," Ash agreed, then took the gloves and pulled them on. First one, then the other.
It felt very nice.
Now Ash had some training in how Aura worked, he could see what was going on. They were resonating with his Aura, building up and providing a kind of constant beat that kept his own in time while also making it easier to shape.
"Wow," he said, eventually. "I… I don't know how much these had to be custom made for Sir Aaron, and the fact they work for me is just a coincidence, but… I think I'm going to be really glad of having these. Especially if talking to Lucario doesn't go great."
"Lucario?" Riolu checked. "I don't think you mentioned this before. Which Lucario?"
"Sir Aaron's friend Lucario," Ash replied. "Two thousand years ago Sir Aaron sealed him in his staff, because Lucario thought Sir Aaron had betrayed him, only, he actually needed to fix the Tree of Beginning near Rota. Then when we were here, he came out of the staff again. He actually thought I was Sir Aaron at first."
"Your Aura confused a Lucario who knew Sir Aaron personally?" Riolu asked, astonished. "Um. Are you sure you didn't end up going back in time to be Sir Aaron?"
"I… don't think so, he didn't look exactly the same," Ash replied.
"Wait," Riolu added. "So, what happened then? Wouldn't Lucario have taught you how to use Aura?"
"He did," Ash answered. "A bit. But the Mew from here wanted to play with Pikachu, it was a whole thing… it ended up that we had to fix the Tree of Beginning ourselves, and Lucario… didn't make it."
"Oh," Riolu said. "I was going to ask why he didn't join your team, but… oh."
He swallowed. "That's… Ash, you must have been overwhelmed. Meeting Sir Aaron's student, and a Legendary Pokémon as well…"
Pikachu scratched the back of his neck. "Well, losing Lucario hurt. Hopefully that won't happen again. But overwhelmed, we didn't really view it that way, to be honest. I mean, if we're talking weird and wonderful there's the time we met the legendary birds responsible for the Orange islands' climate… or the massive duel between Groudon and Kyogre… or the time Ash got possessed… or the time I got possessed by Groudon… or perhaps when I vanished from existence for a few seconds because of nearly five thousand years of time all but being cancelled out…"
Riolu pushed his jaw closed.
"When you rescued me from Hunter J, that really was just normal for you, wasn't it?"
"It was a slow week, I think," Ash frowned. "Or, a normal week maybe. Not a busy one."
After that, Ash and his Pokémon went to compete in the tournament.
Which went all right, all things considered.
"Third place," Ash said, sitting down on a bench. "I don't know, something about that feels weird."
"I hadn't even heard of that Pokémon that beat me," Pidgeot replied. "What was it?"
"Golurk, I think," Ash replied. "Pikachu and I met some in Unova, they were kind of neat… Dexter?"
Golurk, the Automaton Pokemon, Dexter said. There is a theory that inside Golurk is a perpetual motion machine, but this has not been proven. It flies across the sky at mach speeds.
Ash's Pokédex went beep. The Pokémon is a Ground and Ghost type.
"I guess at least it's nice to know that I didn't just let you guys down by sending Pidgeot out against a bad matchup," Ash said. "Since I think everyone I've got at the moment would have had trouble with Golurk."
"I don't know, I think I had a chance," Butterfree suggested.
"That Pokémon punched me in the breast with Thunderpunch while I was flying overhead at nearly the speed of sound," Pidgeot protested. "I think you'd have had trouble too."
"Eh," Butterfree said, wings flapping. "Would have been fun to find out."
"We'll just have to come back next year!" Ash decided. "Though, uh… right, before that party later we should go and see the Queen and try and get things sorted out. Hopefully she's got some time free?"
"I'll come with you," Brock volunteered, sitting on the other end of the bench. "You are ten years old…"
"And you're just wanting to meet the Queen in person," Misty said. "Remember, the options are behave or Goldeen."
"...I'll be on my best behaviour, Misty!" Brock declared piously.
"I'm not sure how much that's worth, but fair," Pikachu decided. "Coming?"
"I am!" Riolu declared.
"I'd rather stay outside," Pidgeot decided, and Butterfree thought a moment before deciding that he'd do the same.
Queen Ilene of Cameran Castle turned out to have a guard at the door, who introduced Ash, his Pokémon, and Brock.
Queen Ilene also turned out to have free time, which was quite useful, and she invited them in.
"Honestly, it's quite a relief," she admitted, with a smile. "You'd think otherwise, but few people seek me out in private. They always want to be seen with me, more than they want to actually talk."
"That must be lonely," Ash said.
"It's what I'm used to," Ilene replied. "But, as I say, it's quite a relief… now, why did you come to see me?"
"It was to bask in your-" Brock began, then Riolu stepped on his foot.
"It's actually about the clothes I'm wearing," Ash explained.
Queen Ilene considered him for a moment. "A replica of Sir Aaron's clothes, I think?"
"That's just it, actually," Ash replied. "They're not replicas. They're Sir Aaron's actual spare set of clothes, and… they can do things that normal clothes can't? Apart from last for two thousand years, I mean."
"Really?" Queen Ilene asked. "And how did you come to find this out?"
Her gaze flicked across to Riolu, who had his paws on his hips and was looking sternly at Brock. "Even if you are an Aura Adept, several have visited in the centuries between then and now, and none of them have said anything."
"Huh," Ash frowned. "I guess maybe it's because they only work for someone with an identical Aura signature? Or really similar, at least. Like Sir Aaron's staff does."
"Your Aura signature is the same as Sir Aaron's?" Queen Ilene asked. "That, I have to admit, I find… almost impossible to believe."
She held up a hand. "Though don't think I'm accusing you of anything. It's simply that I can't see how you could possibly know."
"I'm descended from him," Ash said. "Or, maybe from a sibling of his or something? But Ho-Oh said I was of the Line of Cameran."
Pikachu took a few steps back.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"Just trying to get perspective on this," Pikachu replied, taking another step back. "It just struck me how weird this is."
"If it helps, Your Majesty," Brock said, raising his hand. "I know Ash well, and he boasts about things-"
"Thanks," Ash grumbled.
"-but he's right about this."
"It wouldn't be the strangest thing to happen," Queen Ilene admitted, which made Pikachu look confused and take a few more steps back.
Ash felt about the same. Now he thought about it, Queen Ilene's castle was not far from a giant tree made of rock and full of Legendary Pokémon, so maybe she was used to weird things as well.
"Anyway, uh… I'd like permission to take these with me," Ash explained. "And – something else I want to do is to make sure Sir Aaron's Lucario is safe and… knows he's safe, too. He's been stuck in the staff for two thousand years, after all."
"You're sure of this?" Queen Ilene asked, turning to the side and picking up the staff. "It doesn't seem to be anything unusual, really. Though Sir Aaron was a great hero, and he could do things we don't fully understand now, so…"
She held it out, and Ash took it automatically.
It started glowing.
"Uh… uh oh," Ash said.
"This place really is amazing," Misty said, sighing. "It's beautiful… I think one of the things I really enjoy about travelling is getting to find places like this that are like hidden gems."
She glanced at Pidgeot and Butterfree. "You know what I mean?"
"I spent most of my time in the same place," Pidgeot pointed out. "Not that you can understand me, but… yes."
After thinking that over for a moment, Pidgeot decided to nod, because it got her message across.
"I've travelled up and down the islands," Butterfree replied. "And that is the biggest tree I've ever seen."
He floated on the other side of Pidgeot, mostly to give Misty space. "That's a nice thing about wonder, I guess. There's not a small supply of it."
"That's true," Misty agreed.
Then there was a wham, and part of the side of Cameran Castle blew out. Pebbles rained down on the gardens, in defiance of their former role as masonry, and Misty jumped.
"What was that?" she asked.
A blue light flashed in the hole, and then Ash jumped out just ahead of an Aura Sphere. It curved to try and hit him, but missed, and Ash hit the ground with a thud that made Misty wince.
Ash disagreed, since he started running, and a Lucario burst out of the hole just after him – batting aside a Thunderbolt from inside the castle as he went. Then what looked like Pikachu and Riolu appeared at the edge of the hole, skidding to a halt as they saw the drop.
"Pidgeot, can you get them?" Misty asked. "Take Pikachu and Riolu to Ash!"
"On it!" Pidgeot chirped, and took off with a whoosh of wings that knocked Misty backwards and Butterfree to the side.
"So," the Bug-type said, glancing at Misty. "About the only thing that's missing is Team Rocket, right? Haven't seen them yet."
"Yeah, true," Misty agreed.
"First a traitor and now a liar!" Lucario thundered, launching a furious attack on Ash. "How I once respected you is beyond me!"
Ash ducked one blow, parried another with his arm, then winced as Lucario kicked him in the side and he went sprawling.
"I'm telling you, I'm not Sir Aaron!" he protested, getting back to his feet with the help of Aaron's boots. "You've been in that staff for two thousand years! Lucario – you need to stop and think!"
They were in a small, rocky depression, and Ash tried to look around without taking his eyes off Lucario.
"Your Aura betrays you," Lucario replied. "I do not understand it, but this is some form of trick or trap. You want to convince me not to deliver your just punishment."
"My Aura's the same because I'm descended from him!" Ash retorted. "You're confusing them – I'm not him!"
Lucario surged forwards again, and Ash crossed his arms to raise a Protect shield. Thanks to all of Sir Aaron's equipment, it was much firmer and stronger than before, and the sight raised Ash's confidence.
For a moment, because Lucario promptly demonstrated how much he had to learn. Instead of simply smashing into the shield, Lucario's Force Palm strike hit the shield at full extension, and a needle-thin spike of Aura punched right through before widening out to pop the whole technique.
"Do you take me for a fool?" Lucario demanded, as Ash backed away again to avoid a follow-up attack. "How do you expect that to be even remotely believable?"
He put his paws together, and blue light sparked in them as an Aura Sphere grew to full size in moments. Then he threw it forwards, and charged in right behind it.
Ash had his own Aura Sphere whirling up, not nearly strong enough to match Lucario's one, but he threw it anyway. The impact was enough to destabilize both spheres, making a shower of blue Aura sparks that Lucario charged straight through, then Ash adjusted his footing slightly and hoped he'd got how to use the boots right.
He ducked slightly to the side as Lucario attacked, and instead of being hit by a Force Palm he got shoulder-checked by the Fighting-type. But he weighed a lot more than he had a moment ago, and Lucario hadn't really been ready for it.
The impact still knocked all the wind out of Ash, even as Lucario lost the momentum of his charge, and Ash was still recovering when Lucario dropped down to sweep Ash's legs out from under him. Concentration lost, Aaron's boots didn't hold Ash in place, and he went down with a painful thump.
"How the mighty have fallen, former friend of mine," Lucario said, rising to stand over Ash. "I do not know what made you-"
"Thunder!"
Pikachu hit Lucario hard enough to knock the Fighting-type aside, and Ash breathed a sigh of relief before getting back upright as his starter landed in front of him.
"Are you okay?" Pikachu asked, and Ash nodded.
"Yeah, but-"
"I see you have new allies," Lucario interrupted, looking at Pikachu, then up to the Flying-type banking around overhead. "And your Pidgeot, as well. Did he carry you when you fled, in the end?"
"Uh oh," Pikachu gulped.
Pidgeot's wings lit up.
"She's-" Ash began.
"I'm a girl, you idiot!" Pidgeot informed him, and did something with the air that didn't seem to make sense. She disregarded banking in favour of simply flipping around so that her beak faced directly towards Lucario, and her wings spread wide. "SKY ATTACK!"
The fire that flowed over Pidgeot's wings turned into a stooping bird-of-prey, flashed down to ground level in a moment, and turned the small depression into a larger crater.
Lucario coughed, straightening up.
That… had not been something he'd expected.
Still, by its very nature, that explosion would have hit Aaron as well, so he could finally bring him to justice.
Lucario closed his eyes, to see through the remaining dust and debris, and found his target.
Near the edge of the explosion rather than at the focal point, he'd been thrown backwards against a rock, and that Pikachu that had saved him before was helping him up, but-
There was a Riolu, now, standing to defend them both.
A Riolu.
It was… simply not possible that Sir Aaron could have a Riolu partner. Or if he did, it was simply not possible that Sir Aaron could have turned tail and fled from defending the kingdom.
Riolu and Lucario were simply too committed to their morals. It was genetic.
One or the other had to be wrong. And Lucario had the sinking feeling that the wrong one here was him.
"Er…" he began, looking up at the Pidgeot hovering ominously overhead, then back down at the person who… now he looked… was shorter and younger than Sir Aaron, for all that he was otherwise so close. "...oops?"
Five minutes later, Lucario had a better idea about what was going on.
"I am starting to think that maybe I should just go back in."
"Don't think that, Lucario," Ash urged. "I mean, you know now what would have happened if this had gone the same way as it did first time, right?"
He waved up at the Tree of Beginning. "But this is better. Once you're stronger again, once you've recovered from being stuck in the staff, you'll be strong enough to save the Tree of Beginning even if you have to do what Sir Aaron did."
"It's more that I'm trying to get used to the whole time travel concept," Lucario replied. "And that you met my friend, who I did not trust…"
"That was a mistake of yours," Riolu agreed. "But it's okay, because now you can make up for that mistake. You can fix it. Like I'm fixing my mistake, which is not volunteering to go with Ash in the first place."
"That… is a good point," Lucario agreed. "And, now I think about it, I should probably look in more detail into this 'chocolate' thing now that I have the chance."
"I can get Pidgeot to drop some off, if we find any good brands," Ash suggested. "Though, uh… you might want to be polite to her, and she might eventually forgive you. Maybe by this time next year or something."
"I dread to think," Lucario sighed, then shook his head. "Well. The least I can do, then, Ash, is try to make up for my errors. For my lack of trust in Sir Aaron, and for mistakenly identifying you as someone you were not."
He studied Ash again, this time in the light of Aura. "Though the difference is extremely small. I still have trouble discerning you even now…"
Lucario's muzzle twitched into a smile. "And I'm sure I can convince the Queen that it's only right you take Aaron's belongings. All of them, including the staff; you're going to need it where you're going."
"I'm going to be going mostly everywhere," Ash protested.
"Yes," Lucario confirmed. "You're going to need it everywhere."
"Do you think I'll become as strong as you, eventually?" Riolu asked, looking up at Pidgeot.
"That depends," Pidgeot replied. "Do you think you'll become a bit odd, eventually? It seems to help."
She pointed with a wing, and Riolu spotted something odd.
He rubbed his eyes, then looked closer at the peculiar pattern in the fused glass.
"I'm… female… twit?" he read off. "You did that?"
"Cursive is a useful way to work out aggression."
The knight of honour gripped his weapons tightly.
This was a matter of great importance, and he needed all the help he could get against the huge and powerful foes all around him.
Closing his eyes, he focused.
And an Unown bounced off his head, before vanishing.
No cheating with Aura Sight, Aaron!
Sir Aaron rubbed his head where one of the Thousand Hands of Arceus had hit him. "Why not? You're at least often claimed to be omniscient, Dialga can look into the future to see what everyone has, and-"
He turned suddenly, and saw a momentary ripple.
"And Palkia has been warping space to let him see over my shoulder through a wormhole!"
It's the price you pay for playing cards with deities, Arceus replied implacably.
"It's a pity Lucario isn't here, he'd back me up," Aaron grumbled. "Though it's good to know he'll probably avoid his fate, now."
Indeed, Arceus stated.
"Anyway, I think it's only fair that either you give me Aura Sight or you disallow tampering with space and time," Sir Aaron said. "Actually, you should probably disallow those anyway… and maybe we should switch to a dice game."
He glanced up. "I can't remember. Do you play dice with the universe?"
I don't throw dice with the universe, but rolling them is fine.
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