Mewtwo spent time with Ash talking about the previous world and comparing it to the current one. Mewtwo pointed out Giratina is Lord of the Underworld and had access to a completely different world, an alternate universe, so to speak, maybe perhaps there is more than one. Ash hummed then nodded and told Mewtwo about some of the series he had watched that included Digimon, Star Wars Clone Wars, Dragon Ball Zone etc. Mewtwo half wondered if any of those worlds existed in reality in other dimensions.
Ash shivered, "Well I hope I never end up in Attack on Titan. I love the manga and anime bit it's not a world I want to be a part of."
Mewtwo nodded shivering too, -Yes those titans are terrifying weapons.-
Ash leaned in, "By the way the two book series I have been writing, Hogwarts Chronicles and La Llorona which will belong to horror stories are from the old world."
Mewtwo, -I have read them. It's fascinating.-
The two of them ended up talking about the books and the fanarts, fanfics, fan theories, etc, and laughing loudly catching everyone's attention. Brock grinned, Casey smiled, Gou laughed as he played with the Pokemon and Max and Ralts shared a happy smile. The last two wanted to travel together and if Ash and Mewtwo were getting along that meant that they could do so. The group spent the night at Mt Quena setting up camp and helping the Pokemon heal, some of the Pokemon belonged to the crooks but with the humans arrested they were free. While the clone Pokemon were still wary of the Pokemon belonging to the arrested criminals, as they were attacked by them, so Brock and Casey took care of them.
Casey hummed, "You know you are free now. No more criminal acts or orders to follow."
Houndour whined, "Ourrrr."
Brock nodded helping a Primeape, "She's right."
Primeape nodded, "Ape ape."
The Pokemon gathered and talked among themselves what they should do among themselves. Most of the Pokemon had no interest in getting another human however one of the Beedrill decided to go join the Rangers as they looked interesting. Houndour looked back at Casey and gave a woof before running towards her and jumping on top her licking her. Casey burst out laughing at the ticklish feeling before Meganium sighed and picked Houndour off of her trainer. Brock meanwhile was approached by Primeape who didn't jump on him but shyly pulled his jacket.
Ralts grinned, -They want to go with you.-
Casey looked at Houndour, "Really Houndour?"
Brock, "I would be honoured Primeape."
Ralts, -Primeape says, she is not a fighter but was forced to battle.-
Brock nodded, "You are like Gengar then, a care taker."
Primeape tilted her head and nodded, "Ape ape."
Casey, "Hey Houndour I was planning on taking part in the Pokemon showcase. I get the feeling you don't want to battle again so soon."
Houndour tilted his head confused then Casey sat him down and started to explain the Showcase rules and regulations. Houndour perked up at that and was interested in what he was hearing from Casey. Max grinned at Ralts and told him about the adventures he have had so far with Ash, Gou, Casey and Brock. Ralts listened to his stories very attentively, though he looked at Gou a bit worriedly when he told him about his first encounter with Team Rocket. Max assured him that he was alright and continued his story telling him about the gym battles and Pokemon contests.
Ralts, -Are they different from the showcase?-
Max nodded, "Contest focuses completely on Pokemon, their control over their moves and how they can use it in battle. While Showcase observes the coordination and teamwork between both Pokemon and their trainer."
Ralts, -That is awesome.-
Ash turned to Mewtwo, "Join us for dinner?"
Mewtwo, -If it's not much trouble.-
Ash, "Of course not. Come join us!"
The group shared their dinner with the Pokemon who joined them and Brock commented on how it felt like a party wild Pokemon style. Ash laughed and agreed and Max and Ralts approached Ash and Mewtwo and mentioned they wanted to travel together and see the world. Mewtwo and Ash looked at each other and agreed to the two of them travelling together if they promised to work hard and become strong. Max and Ralts cheered and Max took out the Friend Ball, while explaining what it was. Ralts grinned and touched the pokeball and caught himself inside it before coming out and hugging Max.
Ash, "I'll keep them safe for as long as they are traveling with me. They are the youngest in my family."
Mewtwo nodded, -I know.-
Ash then got an idea, "Mewtwo I have an idea."
Mewtwo, -Hm?-
Ash, "I have a Heal ball with me. Heal balls unlike most pokeballs do not belong to anyone. They are neutral in nature and allows the Pokemon to keep their independence."
Mewtwo, -You want me to catch myself in the Heal ball so no one else can catch me with their pokeballs. I can see the pros of it but are you sure? I have seen the cost of the Heal ball and it's not a small amount.-
Aah smiled, "I know it is Mewtwo, but I believe it'll keep you safe, so I don't mind. If anything I say it's worth it, it'll keep you safe and won't let you be caught unawares."
Mewtwo hugged the teen shocking him, -Thank you.-
Ash was surprised before grinning and hugged him back before giving him the Heal ball, "You are welcome."
Max approached Ash after dinner, "Ash, will you sing us a song?"
Ash hummed, "Well there is one song, I call it 'All is Found', it's an old song I heard a long time ago."
Ralts perked up curiously, -Really?-
Ash nodded smiling, "Let's see now how it went again. Oh yeah.... Where the North Wind meets the sea ~ There's a river full of memory ~"
The next day, they left Mt Quena with new friends among them, granted Mewtwo would be traveling around the world. But all in all it was a good ending, they survived the battle against Team Rocket and walked away with killing, which Ash figured they should try to avoid in the future. Axel was worried about them but Ash told Axel he had a therapist that he talked to and he would help set Casey and Gou up with their own too. Axel nodded and gathered the reports from them let them go after giving them a health check. Ash pulled Casey ahead of the group and talked to her quietly about what happened.
Casey smiled at him, "Do not worry to much Ash. I'm alright and I called my family Doctor last night or rather early morning when I realized I couldn't sleep. He contacted a therapist for me and scheduled me to talk to her in two days."
Ash nodded, "That's a relief. I'm gonna talk to Gou then."
Casey murmured, "Yeah, he has dark circles."
Casey joined Brock and Max as Gou joined Ash realizing that he was not getting out of taking about it. Ash wrapped an arm around his childhood friend in quiet comfort before the two of them talked. Gou was reluctant to talk about what happened to anyone and was still trying to process it mentally. Ash nodded understandingly and let Gou do the talking while he simply listened. Ash had talked with his own therapist the night before and went to sleep only after midnight.
Ash, 'The next few days is going to be long ones.'
As Ash had suspected the trip to Goldenrod City was filled with training during the day time but with night time came nightmares and poor sleeping habits. After three days Brock had decided enough was enough and proposed they slept together instead of separate rooms or tents. It was obvious they would not be getting proper sleep by themselves from what Brock noticed. The group nodded feeling too exhausted to fight against it and spent the next few nights sleeping next to each other.
Ash, "I think this is a good idea."
Gou, "Having someone next to us as we sleep is comforting."
Max nodded, "At least we are able to sleep again."
Ralts, -I'm sorry Max.-
Max shook his head, "It's not your fault Ralts."
Casey, "Yeah, Ralts you don't have to apologize. Ugh! These dark circles are not a good look."
Espurr mewed, "Esp."
Absol nudged Ash's hand, "Sol."
Golbat nuzzled Brock's head, "Gol."
Breloom was keeping an eye on Max, "Loom bre."
Lucario was keeping an eye on Ash, he had almost set back his healing back there, -I suppose it could be worse.-
Ash, "Something wrong Lucario?"
Lucario shook his head, -Just wondering about what that man said back there. The way he looked at you. It was like he found a great treasure.-
Ash shivered feeling a little sick, "I don't even want to think about that but I suppose I really can't avoid him either. Ugh! Why do things have to be so complicated?"
Brock scowled darkly, "He won't touch you. I swear I'll rip his arms off."
Casey nodded her eyes glinting with a dark promise, "And I'll help you do it Brock."
Gou smirked, "No, Ash, they deserve it. Don't try to stop us."
Ash sweatdropped, "I was just gonna say, don't get yourselves killed is all. I know I can't stop you stubborn lot once you made up your minds."
Max pointed in a direction, "Hey guys, I think I see a City."
Brock, "And from the looks of it they are having a Taurous festival."
Ash perked up, "Really?"
Brock took one of the fliers, "Yes, look at this."
Casey hummed, "I suppose you want to take part?"
Ash nodded, "Yes, my head Taurous have three Taurous ready to leave the herd and join another trainer. Professor Oak is prepping them for the new trainers who will be starting next month... Huh... It's almost February, isn't it?"
Casey, "Which means we will not require our jackets and sweaters soon enough."
Gou looked at the flower buds which were starting to sprout, "Time sure flies by."
Max spoke with curiosity, "You want to battle with the three Taurous before letting them go Ash?"
Ash nodded, "Yes, that way, I'll know they are ready to leave and with a win under their belt they will not be so nervous."
Ash went to talk to Professor Oak privately and had the three Taurous transferred to him after they explained the plan. The three Taurous were actually very excited about the battles and looked forward to it. There were six rounds and sixty four participants so as long as they didn't loose they would be able to battle twice and have two wins. Ash was quiet excited about the tournament and went to register themselves at the Pokemon centre.
Announcer, "Welcome everyone I'm Betty, your hostess for today. Welcome to the annual Taurous competition."
Betty grinned as she heard the crowd cheer, "Let us welcome our first challengers."
Ash walked in from one side and nodded respectfully at his opponent whose name was Terry, 'That's quite a crowd.'
Betty, "Ready? Begin!"
Ash, "Let's go Tauros."
Terry, "Let's do this Tauros."
Terry, "Tackle!"
Ash, "Water pulse."
Terry, "Wait what?"
Ash's Tauros used water pulse on his opponent who was using tackle and hit him on his face straight up. The Tauros was shocked and stumbled back and Ash's Tauros attacked using water pulse again knocking him out. Terry was gaping shocked by the water type attack that knocked out his Tauros with no problem.
Betty, "Ash and his Tauros wins the match in three seconds. That was fast."
Ash, "Great job Tauros."
Tauros nuzzled him, "Oooooos!"
Terry, "Ummmmm... "
Ash, "Oh hello Terry, is something wrong?"
Terry, "Can you teach my Tauros water pulse too, please? That was so cool."
Ash smiled, "Sure meet me at one of the battlefields after the tournament. I will help you train."
Betty then called the other participants and soon the first round was over after fourty six minutes, "Now are you all ready for the next round? Let's welcome our next battlers."
Ash went when it was his turn and his opponent was a man called Percy, "Let's go Tauros."
Percy, "Go Tauros, use horn attack."
Ash, "Tauros use ice beam on the floor."
Tauros pointed at the floor and turned it into an ice floor making his opponent Tauros slip as he ran towards him. Ash's Tauros grinned as his opponent tried to get up again but didn't waste time waiting for it. He attacked his opponent using tackle and knocked him out.
Percy gave a whistle, "First a water type attack and now ice?"
Ash, "It was not easy, my Tauros worked really hard to get here."
Percy nodded, "I can respect that. Good luck on your next battles."
The rest of the battles went on in a similar manner with Ash using other type attacks to gain an extra advantage. His opponents were very interested in knowing if their Tauros could learn those attacks and Ash set up an impromptu lesson. He instructed on how to go about learning water, ice and electric type attacks and his new friends took to the lesson like a Goldeen to water. Three of the Tauros were able to use water type attack, two used ice and one electric type.
Ash, "Awesome, now you just need to practice till it comes naturally. Remember to watch their diets, I know I have given you the diet plans for this. But please consult Nurse Joy or Nurse Jim or Miss Whitney the Normal type Master of Jhoto."
Brock grinned as he watched, "He sure is enjoying himself."
Gou nodded pouting, "Yeah, I can't believe I was defeated in the quarter final round though. I was hoping to challenge Ash."
Casey chuckled, "At least you got to quarter finals. I couldn't even take part."
Max sighed, "I already have three Pokemon. I can get a fourth one after I become a trainer or take part in one of those junior contests. I don't know any such competition happening soon though."
Brock, "You want a Tauros too Max?"
Max shuffled, "Yeah, after watching them battle. They are really cool."
The group watched as Ash answered their queries the best he could and advised that they should talk to Miss Whitney if they had more questions. The trainers were very happy to add more attack types to their battle rosters and invited Ash to have barbeque with them at a famous barbeque house. Ash didn't mind going as long as his friends were included and the group did not mind either stating the more the merrier.
[A. N.: Okay! This is my last update for a while.
There is a marriage coming up and I need to focus on work so I can have the day off to attend the marriage.
See you after two week dear readers!]