The Lake of Rage was the largest lake in Johto by a massive margin. It dominated the northern reaches of the Mahogany territory and stretched as far as the eye could see, ringed on all sides by walls of trees colored red and gold by the early autumn, the fall colors marred every now and then by a tall evergreen that poked out from the canopy. The surface of the water was never calm, not for a second - there was always some pokemon splashing about, or the fearsome crest of a Gyarados sliding across the waves. He'd even seen a pair of the great sea serpents locked in combat when he'd first arrived yesterday, thrashing about madly with earth-shaking cries and casting up waves that roared like thunder when they crashed back down.

It was beautiful.

Ash rather thought its vast size was more suitable of a Sea of Rage, though no matter how hard he listened the Song never thrummed in his bones the way it did near the ocean.

He'd located a camping ground on the western shore, a mere day's trip away from Mahogany Town. It was far enough that nobody would stumble upon him. Most trainers didn't start training at the Lake of Rage until later in the League season to sharpen up for the Conferences. Ash had spotted one or two tell-tale signs of trainers (a few recent campsites, exotic flying-types darting through the air, and a small region entirely vacated by wild pokemon) but hadn't actually met any yet. Most gave each other a wide berth out here.

Most would stick to the southern reaches. It was chilly enough already. Nobody wanted to deal with the frigid winds flowing in from the impenetrable wall of northern forests and mountain passes that separated Johto from Rota. The Fire in his blood would keep Ash going, but not all of his team would be so comfortable. Tangrowth especially wouldn't appreciate anything colder - it was uncomfortable enough for him that he had started sticking close to Infernus whenever the Magmortar was released.

Ash had vetoed Tangrowth's attempt to get Infernus to leave a little magma pool out for him to play with. As happy he was that Tangrowth was excited to use his magma manipulation, that was just a bad, bad idea. He couldn't be entirely sure Tangrowth wouldn't try to warm up another teammate by tossing the magma on them…

"Alright, that's enough!" He decided as he turned away from the gorgeous expanse of the lake and turned back to the muddy shores. Ash hopped down from the tall, jutting stone he'd perched on and shot Aron a smile as the exhausted little steel-type froze, wobbled, and collapsed heavily onto his side. His tongue lolled out as Aron panted against the cold pebbles of the beach.

He would've been worried he and Nidoking had pushed Aron too far, but then Aron's sky-blue eyes widened and he sucked in a particularly shiny pebble into his mouth to crunch on.

Yeah, he was fine.

"Excellent work! You're getting better and better," Ash praised as he crouched down beside Aron. Nidoking lumbered to his side and offered Aron a slight nod before he focused on Ash. Ash pulled a spare water bottle he kept for his teammates off his belt and offered it to Aron, who happily began to lap from it. "Not too fast. Take it easy. You did good with that last Protect, but I could tell Nidoking's hit rattled you."

If anything, that made Aron drink faster. Ash just laughed and let him lick at it (careful to make sure Aron's tongue didn't damage the bottle itself) for a little longer then clipped it back to his belt.

"Take a rest," he pat Aron's steel dome and stood up by Nidoking. Aron shut his eyes and drifted off before Ash even looked away. He must've been more exhausted than Ash thought. "He's growing pretty fast, isn't he?"

Nidoking spared Aron a look and nodded. He grunted softly to Ash, then froze as his ears twitched. His nostrils flared and he whipped around just as Ash felt another presence on the beach.

"Leader Pryce?" He arched an eyebrow, more confused than anything. Ash had visited the Gym again the day after he'd battled Leader Pryce, but hadn't told him where he'd planned to stay. "What are you doing here?"

The Winter Trainer slowly made his way to stand before Ash. His cane was a little unsteady on the water-logged shoreline yet he strode with the steady gait of one used to maneuvering around difficult terrain. Ash didn't dare offer him any help. He'd rather not get whacked by Leader Pryce's cane.

"I meditate under a nearby waterfall to keep these old bones strong," the pale man hummed. He glanced to Nidoking, whose gaze never left the withered figure, and chuckled. "Your team is difficult to miss."

At that moment a tell-tale crack of Oz's Lightning Bolt blowing a tree apart sounded far in the distance, then an ear-splitting scream as Sneasel yowled his fury. Oh well, Sneasel needed to burn some energy...

Ash snorted. "That's one way to put it."

Leader Pryce allowed himself a light smirk. "Abomasnow nearly joined the fray. She's unhappy to be shown up so easily."

"Oz has been growing stronger every day. Bad match-ups happen," Ash offered.

"Very gracious of you. Abomasnow was reckless and sloppy. She's gotten into bad habits in the off-season," Leader Pryce grumbled. He sighed and lowered himself to a low, flat stone near Ash's. His hands folded over the wooden knob of his cane for support once he was situated. "Mamoswine took her to task when you left."

Ash winced. Mamoswine appeared a kind soul, but nothing that had stood by the Winter Trainer for the better part of five decades could be called gentle.

"Speaking of Mamoswine…" Ash trailed off and rested a hand on Nidoking's heavy plates. When he was sure he held Leader Pryce's attention he continued. "How did Mamoswine lower the temperature so quickly? I didn't see him using any techniques."

Leader Pryce's face crinkled into a fond smile. "There's more to training than techniques, boy," the old man's smile turned sly. "But you know that already, don't you?"

Ash supposed he did. He only had to think to the First Champion's Rhydon, or the Guardian of the Moon Stone. Even Chinatsu, who hid beneath Indigo Plateau. They weren't limited by techniques. They'd mastered themselves to a deeper level. They could shape stone like water, pluck the strands of fate just right to wield whatever weapon they chose, dissolve into countless Will-O-Wisps and who knew what else.

"Ice manipulation?" He ventured, although even Ash knew the answer was wanting.

Leader Pryce tapped his cane against a few of the heavy, rounded rocks that lay upon the shoreline and chuckled at the sight of Aron sleeping a few feet away. "Something like that," he hummed. "When you reach Mamoswine's age, these things tend to be more like breathing than fighting."

He frowned. "Would Mamoswine be able to at least teach the basics to Sneasel? Everything needs a foundation to draw on."

The old man's lips twitched. "Mamoswine might be amenable to such an arrangement," he looked off into the sun. "Come by tomorrow," Leader Pryce decided. "Few challengers come by this time of the year. We could use something to fill our days."

Yes! He grinned so wide it hurt. "Thank you, Leader Pryce."

Leader Pryce hummed. "No need for the honorifics. You're to join the hallowed ranks of the Elite Four, no? Elite Four Ash," he teased. "It has a nice ring to it."

Ash rolled his eyes. It didn't stop pride from welling in his chest. "I don't feel like a member of the Elite Four."

The Winter Trainer laughed. "No, I don't think you ever will. I've known more members of the Elite Four than you can count on two hands, and they never feel ready. So young…"

"Me or them?"

Pryce inclined his head at the question. "Both. When you're as old as me, everyone seems young. But you...well, you stand out."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

There was a comfortable silence then. Pryce seemed utterly at peace alongside the Lake of Rage, as if he'd spent his entire life on its roaring shores. On second thought, he probably had. Pryce was a son of Mahogany through and through.

After a while, Pryce finally stood with the support of his icy blue cane. "You seem like you could use a distraction," he stated with another fond glance at Aron. "My old bones don't like to sit in one place for too long. I suspect that's something we have in common. Why don't you come sit beneath the waterfall with me? You might learn something."

Ash grinned. "How can I say no to that?"

And with that, he rose and followed Pryce deep into the Mahogany forests.

XX

"Just like that!"

Sneasel was uncharacteristically silent as he strained. His fur was slick with the spray of the Lake of Rage - he'd been pushing hard for the last few hours and the water kept him cool. His days wouldn't grow easier, not with them stopping by Pryce's Gym tomorrow. Ash had no doubt that Mamoswine would be a stern taskmaster.

If it weren't for his own mastery of Ice, he'd be nearly as uncomfortable as Sneasel after spending nearly half an hour beneath the unrelenting roar of a waterfall. The glacial waters he'd sat beneath at Pryce's side had stolen his breath away (not to mention left him sore and aching). How on earth did Pryce manage it? He was still in good shape for an old man, but his build was slight and thin. Ash had no idea how he managed to keep this particular ritual.

It had been surprisingly relaxing once he'd separated himself from the cold, pressure, and discomfort. Once he'd accustomed himself to the waterfall, it had been as easy as breathing to slow his thoughts and embrace the peace. He'd felt as one with the world, cognizant of everything around him.

He resolved to bring Bruiser there tomorrow. His friend would find a similar appreciation.

"Just a little longer!" Ash encouraged. Sneasel's hackles raised and his eyes shut to slits. Otherworldly power (he grimaced at the reminder of how those unnatural energies had coursed through his body) blazed around Sneasel. It emanated from his black fur in an ephemeral haze. To name it darkness was to call the sun bright.

The power wasn't a physical thing - not an absence of light. The best Ash could describe it as a gap in reality itself. It shouldn't be, and when Ash stared at it too long a splitting headache was his only reward. "There!"

The power vanished in an instant. It diffused into nothingness without Sneasel's will to shape it.

Sneasel collapsed immediately to the hard ground. He sprawled out contentedly on the frozen shoreline and panted.

"Excellent work," Ash complimented Sneasel. The little dark-type hissed something into the rocks. He snorted. "I know it's frustrating. Mind Breaker hasn't been progressing like we want."

His friend huffed into the round bed of pebbles he laid on. Ash rolled his eyes. It would be a miserable time trying to get Sneasel to do anymore work today. "Just give it more time. You're advancing quickly. It'll just take some work."

Sneasel let out a loud, piteous yowl at the thought of more work. Ash was glad nobody else was around - they'd probably think he was torturing the poor little Sneasel. If only they knew…

Ash plopped down next to Sneasel. The stone wasn't exactly pleasant to sit on, but he'd experienced worse. A light smile played over his features as he stroked Sneasel's black fur. It only grew wider as Sneasel lazily cooed beneath the treatment, his claws extending and retracting rhythmically. He set his eyes out over the Lake of Rage. It really was beautiful, he thought. The furious waves embodied the raw power hidden in water.

The grey waters expanded out into infinity, the other shore not even visible. A few islands stood tall in the distance, covered in trees and rock formations, but for the majority it was just a flat expanse of waves and wind. Ash found himself missing the presence of Suicune. This was exactly the sort of place Suicune would love, he thought. How many hours had it spent on these same shores?

He sighed and focused more on stroking Sneasel's fur, eventually reaching up to scratch at his itchy feather. Sneasel certainly didn't mind. "You've come a long way, you know?"

One of Sneasel's eyes opened to a slit. His ears twitched upwards.

"You really have," Ash mused. "I still remember when I got your egg from that tournament in Kanto. I'd sit up for hours with it in my hands while we were training with Bruno, always wondering what was going to come out - and when," he added. "I was so happy when you finally hatched. We all were."

The rumbling in Sneasel's chest redoubled in intensity. He always loved hearing about himself.

"Feels fitting you hatched in Viridian Forest," Ash grinned down at Sneasel. He idly dug his boots into the mud, tracing out the various patterns that consumed his every waking thought. A flame, a snowflake, a lightning bolt, and a crescent moon. "It was one of the first stops on our journey. It was just Nidoking, Plume, and I back then," Ash grinned. "And Jonathan and Amelia, of course. In a way, your journey and mine began in the same place."

Sneasel tried to subtly squirm a little closer to Ash at that, one of his velvety paws laid upon his leg. Ash considerately pretended not to notice. No need to embarrass Sneasel. His friend was just lucky that Nidoking had been pried away from Ash to go train with Dazed. It was just them now. That was a rare occurrence, unfortunately. With how large the team was it was difficult to find precious one-on-one time.

Ash pulled the dark-type a little closer, although Sneasel pretended to protest before he settled down (with a little bribery in the form of chin scratches). "In just a few months it'll be your first birthday," he laughed. Had it really been that long? Sneasel had hatched just after he defeated Giovanni and Mewtwo had revealed itself to the League... in that time Ash had faced the Gym Leaders and their true power, faced the awesome might of Fire, Ice, and Lightning in the flesh, met mythical figures, made history, and reached equilibrium with forces far, far greater than he.

It sounded altogether too large for a simple boy from Pallet Town when he thought of it like that, but it was his life. Perhaps things might settle from here on out… but Ash doubted it. The responsibilities of an Elite Four member, the unrest in Hoenn with the Rockets and the shadowy influence of Aqua and Magma, not to mention Lugia's warning…

He began to wonder when he'd find a reprieve. If he'd find a reprieve. Maybe that just wasn't his destiny. Would he even take a break, if offered? Ash had the niggling feeling in his gut that he'd toss the opportunity to the side and press on all the same.

Ash sighed. "I'm proud of you, Sneasel. So young and you've come so far," he ruffled Sneasel's fur. The dark-type yowled his defiance, but couldn't quite pretend to hate it. His friend glanced up at him distrustfully. "Don't look at me like that. You're still the youngest of the team - well, I don't know about Aron. I don't know their exact ages, but Nidoking and Torrent were older than you are when they joined. Plume too, probably. Give you a little time and you'll catch right up," Ash laughed. "You'll be all grown up soon. Mind Breaker will be child's play to you."

The boy glanced down at Sneasel, who lazily dozed in his lap.

"You just need a little more time," he whispered.

With that, he laid back and found a simple pleasure in watching the Lake of Rage dance before him, Torrent's shape barely visible off in the distance surrounded by a swirling storm of water.

XX

"...and while they blockaded the western cities of Johto after taking Olivine, their second fleet took Cinnabar to establish a beachhead to project their forces into mainland Kanto," Pryce sipped at his water (which Ash thought was more ice than water) as they sat on a few hand-carved benches in his gym. It was peaceful. They'd been sitting for hours discussing various things. Pryce was a font of knowledge on all fronts: battling, Johto's veritable treasure trove of lore, and (much to Ash's pleasure) history. It was almost like having a human version of Cynthia's books right in front of him!

Ash nodded and committed the information to memory. "Because Champion Uther couldn't risk the Unovans taking Goldenrod, right? Indigo had already committed the majority of its forces there."

Pryce smiled ever so slightly. "Correct. You have good instincts," he complimented. Ash stayed silent. "Yes, Champion Uther was a native of Goldenrod. At the first sign of danger to his home he committed the majority of the League's forces there. The Unovan fleet held just enough firepower to keep the League focused on them. When Cinnabar fell, there was nobody there to stop them. Blaine was Gym Leader at the time and he retreated into his secret base he'd constructed beneath the Cinnabar volcano with every trainer he could find - that brilliant, paranoid man knew something was coming."

He couldn't help but grin. Well, that explained the mystery of Cinnabar's Gym. "That sounds like Blaine," Ash offered. He glanced to the battlefield where Mamoswine sat with Sneasel. The air around them was filled with frost and glittered under the stadium lights. "So how did the Unovans get beaten?"

The Winter Trainer brightened, filled with old, half-forgotten victories. "Several factors. There usually are," he mused. Pryce leveled his stare on Ash. "If anyone claims there to be a single reason or solution behind issues as complex and multi-faceted as war or geopolitics, they are wrong," he stressed. "Or lying to you to further an agenda."

Ash nodded. He looked at Pryce then, lined face drawn tight and eyes far away. What memories lurked within that old head? Pryce spoke from experience, and Ash sensed a deep pain in him, perhaps even regret. Whatever lessons he'd learned in the war were harsh and deep. What had had the Winter Trainer seen in the war?

,

Pryce took his silence as a chance to continue. "In Johto, we had recently made an alliance with Sinnoh. Charles Goodshow approached both Leagues. We needed the help, and Sinnoh recognized the danger," Pryce reminisced. "They sent some of their forces, unscathed by the war, here as support. We built up our forces for an attack from all around Johto - it was a sight to see. Mahogany provided spies and saboteurs. I commanded forces that sabotaged their supply lines. The Wataru committed nearly their entire clan as the vanguard. Dragonite as far as the eye could see! By the time the League forces caught up, they'd cleared the skies and left the fleet vulnerable. With the resistance in Olivine striking key locations… well, we didn't break them, but we forced a retreat. A fleet had been sent to reinforce the Unovan fleets in Indigo, but it was destroyed by a freak storm when they attempted to take Altomare."

He sat enraptured with the old stories. It was all too easy to imagine legions of Dragonite taking flight over the sea with their Wataru partners on their backs. Ash thought Lance would have fit right in with this, like an old legend. Lance should have been born centuries ago. "And Kanto?"

Pryce rolled his eyes. "Blaine," he chuckled, though Ash thought it sounded rather hollow. "Nearly a week before we struck in Johto, Blaine made his move in Cinnabar. He emerged from his volcano with his forces and in a single night broke the back of the Unovan forces - the entire fleet burned, and with it all of Cinnabar," the Winter Trainer looked very old then. His hands clasped tightly around his cane until they went white. "Countless lives lost on both sides. Such a waste. Blaine won a victory, secured the fate of Indigo, and became a monster all in one night - the Blaze of Cinnabar, they called him."

Ash frowned at Pryce's disdain. Some part of him felt compelled to defend the old, crotchety man who'd taught him Air Lens. "But he won, right? He protected Indigo."

"You're young," Pryce spoke it as though he'd just realized the fact, though not unkindly. "Perhaps it was necessary - it certainly appeared so at the time."

Pryce leaned closer. "After that night Blaine became more than a man or a leader - he became a nightmare to the Unovans, a symbol of fear we were all too happy to use. Champion Uther even named him Supreme Commander of the Unovan Landfall to break their morale. They saw the united forces of the National League coming for them, deserted by their allies, with the Blaze of Cinnabar at the head of the invasion...and it worked."

A few moments passed as Ash digested the information. Pryce allowed it, then continued. "I wish you could have met Blaine before that night. Brilliant, cunning, and tough as nails."

He couldn't help but an arch an eyebrow. "It sounds like he hasn't changed too much."

Pryce laughed. The heavy atmosphere shattered instantly. "Well, I can't argue that," he chuckled, then more seriously, "He's a great man. He'll be remembered by history, certainly."

"But Ash, there's more to life than greatness," Pryce looked to Mamoswine and smiled wearily. "A man might want to be great, but he must believe himself good. After that night, Blaine was only left with greatness. He saw too much, did too much. He still has a fire in him, but it's more smoke than fire. The last, choking cinders in a pit of ash that seek to burn everything they can before they fade away entirely."

Perhaps Pryce should have been a poet, Ash thought. He certainly seemed to have put a lot of thought into this. How well had he known Blaine before he became the Blaze of Cinnabar? The old man spoke from the heart. Blaine had been a friend to him once, Ash thought, or at least someone of respect. Now… respect lingered, but it was more pity now. There was a distance in the way Ash regarded Blaine.

Ash couldn't help but wish he could met Blaine before all of this, a Blaine in his prime and unmarred by war. The Blaine he knew was acerbic and sharp-tongued, but beneath it all was a genius the likes of the world had rarely seen. Professor Oak was the only man Ash could think of who had accomplished more in so many different fields. To even come close to Professor Oak, well…

But how had he been beforehand? Had Blaine been brilliant and bright first and scathing second? Unfortunately, Ash might never know. He couldn't imagine Blaine allowing any sort of insight. It wasn't his way. Blaine wielded his words like a spear, careful to keep everyone at bay. Only Surge even came close to getting past it.

Pryce seemed to realize that Ash had withdrawn into his own thoughts and hummed. "Enough about this for now. It's not good to linger on heavy subjects. Tell me more about your journeys through Kanto. You mentioned that you traveled to Fuschia on foot?"

Ash grinned. "The first time, yes. It took me weeks. I met Bruiser in the mountains there."

"They're beautiful lands," Pryce chuckled as he glanced over to check on Mamoswine and Sneasel. "They remind me of Mahogany. Koga's taken care of them, just like his father. I hope little Janine follows in his footsteps."

He perked up at the mention of Koga. How well did Pryce -

Both started as the buzzer rang above them (Sneasel hissed and fluffed up as his claws extended at the interruption).

"Leader Pryce, you have two challengers here to face you!" The tinny voice of the attendant rang throughout the massive arena.

Pryce sighed and folded his hands over his cane as he unsteadily rose to his feet. "Duty calls, I'm afraid," he said. Ash thought he genuinely regretted the interruption. "Feel free to return again, Ash. It's been a pleasure."

"You as well," Ash nodded. He smiled. "Bruiser enjoyed sitting beneath the waterfall with me earlier."

The old man's eyes lit up. "From what you've told me I'm not surprised. Now hurry on, lad."

Ash stood and quickly returned Sneasel, who looked relieved to be freed from the exhausting training. It wasn't particularly tough physically, but Sneasel's eyes were unfocused from the constant strain. Ash would have to tuck him away for a nap later. He nodded to Dazed, who had stood vigil behind Ash and Pryce, and they vanished in a flash of light and crack.

They appeared just outside the building's entrance. Two pedestrians started at their sudden appearance, and Ash turned away when they started to look too closely at him. No need to be run out of town like he'd been in Ecruteak. The longer he could go without his identity being spread around the better.

"Let's go," he told Dazed. She took her unblinking gaze away from the pedestrians (who had quickly scurried away when she'd stared at them) and eye-smiled at Ash. He sent a silent surge of appreciation her way. "Pryce told me about this building that was a Rocket base he purged last year. It's supposed to be a store now or something. Could be interesting…"

XX

Torrent commanded the water with growing skill off in the lake. The water didn't quite leap to his command, but it began to flow smoothly and remained cohesive in a single whip. Less dripped away with every manipulation. They'd learnt it was essential to keep the water in motion to command it with skill.

Brief walls could be yanked from the Lake of Rage to absorb Thunderbolts helpfully sent Torrent's way by Nidoking and Oz, but Dazed's Psybeams were able to penetrate the barrier. But if Torrent wanted to keep the water in the air, the liquid demanded to flow. Without movement, it would waver and fall into the lake with a splash. Water adapted to whatever contained it. If Torrent held it in an orb, it would quickly dissolve any control he might have had. The water would fight him. The effort to 'shape' it was far greater than he'd expected. So long as Torrent kept the water moving, it would remain cohesive, propelled by his will and less willing to succumb to gravity - and as such, Torrent didn't have to devote nearly as much focus to it.

As Torrent practiced his newfound ability, Ash rested with Bruiser, Seeker, and Tangrowth on the shore. He'd found an old stump that had resolutely stood firm against the force of the elements for who knew how many years and sat on it. His pants were rolled up to his knees and he winced as he placed his feet into the Lake of Rage. He'd offered the stump to Bruiser first, but the Machoke was more than content to sit directly in the Lake of Rage's freezing water. Seeker shivered on his shoulder as icy gales blew in from the northern mountains, though she was too stubborn to abandon her perch.

Ash squeezed his eyes shut and enjoyed the atmosphere. The whistle-roar of the wind whipping the waves into a frenzy, the inhale and exhale of himself and his friends, and the crash of water in the distance. His heartbeat filled his ears and Ash placed a certain distance between himself and the world.

It was easier and easier with practice.

After a minute or two the thump of his heartbeat filled his ears, the roar of the waves blended, and the world seemed distant and unimportant, though always just a moment away. The cold air brushed against his skin and raised the hairs on his arm, courtesy of the North Wind. Ash smiled - Suicune might be a region away, but it would always be with him. Ice flooded him, and his emotions grew numb and distant, glazed over by the power coursing through his body.

Ash felt his surroundings cool and still. The water rushing in against his feet slowed and glazed with a thin layer of frost (only for the force behind the waves to shatter it with ease). Soft, slick mud clinging to his feet grew hard and brittle. His breath released in a white fog.

When Ice crept deep into his muscle and bone, winding its way through his body like a vine, Ash summoned Fire. In an instant the Ice - a simple absence of heat, a void that stole away energy and passion and movement - was overcome and a pleasant warmth emanated deep from his core.

The Feather burned. It was always more partial to drawing on Moltres' Concept, he noted. It had been altered and changed - first at Shamouti when Zapdos' power had taken root, and again in Ecruteak when Wes had left the Feather burning with a rainbow flame - but it had been created from Moltres first. No alteration could change the origin of a thing, and that held a certain weight.

He grimaced at the thought of Wes. That whole meeting still left him feeling uneasy, and Fire's heat grew scorching in his chest. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd spoken to the real Wes. In some sense, at any rate. The revenant, man, memory, spirit...whatever it was, it truly was Wes. There was more to it, though.

Ash couldn't shake the deep-seated discomfort of the communion. It was Wes, but how much was Ho-Oh behind the man's golden eyes? He'd spent hours parsing through their conversation since Ecruteak, desperate to analyze every word he remembered. There were times Wes had been older, even wearier. Yet there had also been times Wes had been full of hope and wisdom that hadn't fit the man properly - the mask had slipped, then.

One of those times had been when the revenant gifted him the ashes. They hung heavy in a pouch on his belt, near his pokeballs. That weight seemed greater with every day that passed. Dazed had told him they possessed 'great power over life and death' according to the stories her mother had told her so long ago.

The ashes were a gift many would kill for, no doubt. He was grateful for such a precious thing with all his heart, yet Ash couldn't help the dread that hung heavy in his gut. Had Wes - Ho-Oh - foreseen something terrible in his future, or was it just a precaution? Was it a gift intended for a specific time and purpose, or was he overthinking the gesture?

Either way, Ash knew many nights would be spent full of grim thoughts. There was no escaping it. To think any of his team - no, it couldn't happen. He wouldn't allow it. His family was strong, and they would only grow stronger.

Lightning arced through Ash and he found a new appreciation for the clarity it granted.

This one he held onto for a long while. It was a simple pleasure, one that balanced the inhuman numbness brought on by Ice and the sheer depth of feeling granted by Fire. Yet even Lightning wasn't a balance for long, and Ash cut it off with a thought.

It was an exercise he'd started work on earlier. He had some measure of control over the Concepts inside him - particularly Fire, Ice, and Lightning - but it wasn't enough. They were reigned in, but he must take them farther. Control wasn't enough.

He must be better.

No, not better. The best.

His determination redoubled, Ash felt for Fire again. This time he didn't stop at the heat, but reached deeper and deeper into the Sacred Fire within him. It was terribly similar to Moltres' plain Fire, yet different on a fundamental, simple level.

The Fire of Moltres was many things: a hot summer's day, the raging roar of a wildfire and the sting of it against his skin, the pleasant heat of a fire on a cold winter night, a torch in the darkness…

Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire was more. Could it even be called Fire? It was different. Moltres' Fire was a fickle thing, dancing and flickering eternally. Fire was a thing of flux, of chaos that could spiral out of control in a moment's notice. Every flame needed fuel. Above all, Moltres' Fire was physical. Energy and change in its rawest form.

The Sacred Fire was steady and strong and unbending, a solid beam of sunlight. It did not waver. It went deeper than energy and movement and entropy - Ho-Oh's rainbow fire was the warmth of life, the influence of the sun's burning rays that fueled growth and rebirth season after season. It could scald and crack and burn, but it was not its essence. Sunlight could be felt, yet never touched. Ephemeral but undeniable.

Without the sun, life as Ash knew it would not exist. Moltres' Fire could be harnessed, but in its raw form it was inherently untrustworthy. It could fan out of control in a second, and its lightest touch would sear and gnaw. Fire could be put to good use, yes, harnessed to the benefit of civilization, but to do so it must be tamed.

The Sacred Fire wasn't fire as Ash intimately knew it. Heat was just an aspect. It was an expression of Sunlight.

Ash felt deeper for it, and allowed meaning and knowledge and understanding -

"Hey, it's Ash! What's up, man? We've been looking for you!"

The voice immediately jerked Ash out of his trance and his eyes opened back to dim, grey reality. He grimaced at the loss - he'd been so close to something. The Feather's light calmed and dimmed until it was hidden entirely beneath his shirt, and Ash turned around and plastered a smile on for Jonathan and Amelia.

They had changed. It had only been...three months? It wasn't anything dramatic. Jonathan had shot up a few inches, though he was still a little shorter than Ash. He'd lost a bit of his baby fat too. His features were a little sharper and bolder. He was still stocky and strong, however, and bore a massive grin across his broad face.

More than that, he walked with confidence. He'd always been cocky and loud, but now he seemed secure. One hand rested comfortably in his pocket and he seemed utterly at ease with their surroundings. His first thought was that Jonathan was quiet. Well, that was an overstatement. His greeting proved he was the same old Jonathan, but different. Calmer. He didn't need to prove himself anymore.

Amelia had grown as well, though not so much as Jonathan. Her light brown hair was longer, though tied up into a practical ponytail so it wouldn't get in the way. She waved at him and beamed alongside Jonathan. Amelia's pants were new and high-quality, but scuffed and covered with dirt, mud, and pebbles embedded in the thick denim. The usual frustration that lined her face was gone and he honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd looked so relaxed.

Both had been roughing it. Ash couldn't help but feel his smile grow a little more genuine.

"What are you doing?" Jonathan frowned at the sight of Ash sitting with his feet in the water. "Uh, dude. Isn't that cold?"

Ash shrugged and pulled his feet from the mud, though he swished his feet in the water a moment to prevent any detritus from clinging. Bruiser rose as well and dipped his head to the other trainers. "A bit. Could be worse."

"You haven't changed a bit," Jonatha mumbled, then perked up. "It's good to see you, though! How have you been? Get into more crazy stuff? I couldn't believe it when I saw those videos of you at Greenfield -"

"I could," Amelia rolled her eyes. Her wide grin stole removed some of the sting. "You just find all the trouble, don't you? Jon and I had a pretty normal time in Kanto after we split up, you know. It's kind of worrying. Maybe we should put a tracking chip in you."

He thought 'after we split up' was a nice way to say 'after the St. Anne was destroyed by a psychopathic psychic clone of Mew and we were swept off to sea in a different direction from you' but didn't point it out. "My mom would probably be all for it," he grinned, though Ash felt it fade as he thought about his mom. How was she doing now? Had she improved, or…

"Tell me about it," Jonathan growled. "After the St. Anne I was pretty sure my parents were going to hunt me down! Took forever to get them to stop pestering me."

Amelia nodded in agreement and looked to Ash as he interjected. "I'm pretty much done here. How about we head back to my camp?"

The newcomers nodded. "Sounds good!" Jonathan said happily. "It'll be nice to sit down. The walk out here sucked!"

"Says the guy who let Rhydon carry him most of the way!" Amelia looked pointedly at Rhydon, who towered behind them. The placid rock-type seemed more interested in nudging a particularly large pebble with her stony claws than listening in.

The stocky boy colored. "You just wish you'd thought of it first! Not my fault Kangaskhan wouldn't help you out."

Ash snorted. "The camp's not far. Follow me."

With that, the other two fell quiet and obediently stepped behind Ash as he pulled his feet out of the water. His feet weren't totally dry yet, so he pulled a rag from his pack and wiped them down before he put his thick socks and boots on. His team had already adapted - most stayed here to continue their training, but Nidoking had already wandered over to join Ash, Bruiser, and Seeker.

"Nidoking!" Jonathan cheered. Nidoking grunted at him and Amelia, which was about all that they'd expected. It was more than most people would get. He didn't even seem paranoid about either of them. "Looking good, buddy! You've gotten bigger."

Ash grinned at that - Nidoking actually looked a little pleased. He hadn't grown much in height, but he'd definitely started to fill out since they'd left Kanto. As large as he was, he still had a long way to go before he'd reach his prime.

"So how are your teams?" Ash asked as he led them down the shore. "It sounds like a lot's changed since you came to Johto."

XX

Ash couldn't help but scan over Jonathan and Amelia's teams as they set up their tents. He'd offered to help, but they'd asked him to get a campfire set up instead - they still hadn't adapted to the icy weather of the Mahogany territories.

Jonathan's team had remained largely the same. His Spearow had evolved into the Fearow he'd seen flying overhead earlier, and his Spinarak from the Conference had recently evolved into an Ariados. It sat next to Houndour and Ash couldn't help the faint nausea that rolled over him. He couldn't help but see Hunter J's Ariados when he looked at it.

Fangs like knives in his back, pumping his muscle and bone with agonizing venom that burned white-hot beneath his skin, ichor and carapace all over him and his clothes and the rancid taste of it in his mouth, its frantic skittering as Sneasel got ahold of it - 'You have some Ariados on your face, by the way'

He couldn't bear to look at it any longer. Ash fought the urge to wretch and clenched his fists until they went white. His hands shook. After the worst of it had passed, Ash forced himself to look at the arachnid and not look away. His stomach rolled and bile rose from his stomach, but he would look at it.

It got easier. His nervous system stopped screaming at him. The memories dimmed just enough.

"Yo, Ash, you good? Why are you staring at Ariados? I think you're making him uncomfortable."

"Sorry," Ash muttered and looked away from Ariados. It quickly shuffled behind the tent and tried to avoid his gaze. That was awkward. His gaze instead landed on Houndour as the young dark-type licked at a bit of dirt for whatever reason, and quickly realized that wasn't a better option. It was all too easy to remember the piles of the Rocket pokemon left over when they'd attacked in force - most had survived, but he knew not all had escaped the battle.

"Any new additions?" He asked, desperate to get his mind off things.

Jonathan shrugged. "Eh, not really. Just Houndour!" He pointed at the canine. Its tongue lolled happily from its mouth and he couldn't help but be reminded of Aron. Ash suspected they'd get along just fine. "Amelia got -"

"I can speak for myself, you know," Amelia sent Jonathan a dirty look. "I caught Yanma," she gestured to the red bug-type where it rested near Fearow. It buzzed when Ash waved to it and its antennae gesticulated wildly. "She's pretty friendly!"

Ash nodded. "I caught Aron just a little over a month ago," he pointed to the little steel-type. Aron happily trotted out from Tangrowth's warm vines and headbutted Ash's leg hard enough to bruise. He hissed, but hid it well from Aron as his friend rubbed his shiny head up against his calf. Jonathan hadn't missed it, however, and snorted.

"He's adorable!" Amelia smiled at Aron and lured him close with a little treat. She ignored Oz's sharp eyes on her, but was wise enough to drop the little bit of bread to the ground before Aron could snag it from her fingers. Aron warbled happily when he finished the treat and warbled at her for more. "Oh, just like Houndour! I'll try not to give him any bad habits."

He cocked his head at Jonathan, who rolled his eyes. "She spoils Houndour rotten," Jonathan 'whispered' to Ash. Amelia didn't deny it, and Ash spotted Houndour staring at Amelia with betrayed eyes as she cooed over Aron. "Oh - come on, Rhydon, you too?"

Ash held back a laugh as Rhydon trampled over Jonathan's sleeping bag in an effort to examine Aron. She leaned close to study him, and he met her dull gaze with his bright blue eyes. He had to motion to Oz to stay where she was - she could be a little overprotective of Aron.

Honestly, he would have expected Plume to be shrieking at Rhydon as well if she hadn't known Rhydon so well. They hadn't traveled together for long in the grand scheme of things, but Plume knew Rhydon was harmless. She wasn't the brightest, but she meant well.

Then again, he might have been concerned as well if Aron wasn't essentially unbreakable. She was sweet, but she could be rough sometimes. Advantages of having a steel-type, Ash supposed.

"Get used to it," Ash advised Jonathan.

"Heh, I'll try to make sure Rhydon doesn't bother him too much!" Jonathan grinned. "He's pretty cute, isn't he?"

Ash rolled his eyes, although he couldn't help but agree. Aron was cute. Still, if this kept up Ash was pretty sure Aron would pick up on it and start using it to his advantage. All the scrap metal in the world wouldn't be enough to keep him sated.

Still, Ash couldn't help but smile at the scene and relaxed into his log. Nidoking snorted at his side and he rubbed his friend's thick shoulder plate as they waited patiently for Jonathan and Amelia to finish up, although Jonathan had to clean up the mess Rhydon had made first.

He still felt a little uneasy around the two of them, but he could get used to this. Ash could already feel himself falling back into the familiar patterns they'd developed when they'd shared a house in the Indigo Conference and during their return to Pallet before they'd gone their separate ways.

Ash found himself appreciating that he had a few days with Jonathan and Amelia before Gary showed up - it would be nice to catch up.

Besides, it would be nice to train someone else for once.

XX

It was still dark when Ash and his team rose. The first hints of dawn hadn't even peeked over the horizon. The night was still, dark, and rather peaceful aside from the buzz of bug-types in the distance and the crashing of the waves against the rocky coast. Ash stepped over Jonathan - the boy was facedown in his sleeping bag, and Ash wasn't sure if he should kick him onto his side or not - and passed Amelia as he walked off to a clearing his team had found during their stay on the Lake of Rage.

His eyes had started to adjust by the time he reached it, although he'd only managed to make it so far without tripping because of the pale moonlight that bathed the wilderness. Seeker had stayed to help guide him, but her squeaks only helped so much on their own. Ash allowed the Song to fill his ears for just a moment before he focused his eyes upon his team.

"Split off into pairs. It's your choice who to work with today" Ash ordered. He glanced over his friends - well, their silhouettes anyway. He couldn't see that well. "Dazed, you're with me. Aron, work with Nidoking and whoever he pairs up with. Keep pushing ahead with the projects you've been working on for the last few days - these morning workouts might be the only time we have to push forward there while we're with Jonathan and Amelia."

A variety of roars, growls, and shrieks were his reply. Ash grinned as he watched the team frenzy to find their favored partners - Tangrowth had to be stopped from just wrapping his vines around the entire team, but eventually he and Oz paired up. That was good - Oz was serious and focused enough to keep Tangrowth on track.

Nidoking and Bruiser wandered off together into the wilderness. His friend wasn't exactly happy about leaving Ash to himself, but Dazed was one of the rare few Nidoking would deign to trust with Ash's safety. Still, he knew Nidoking wouldn't be too far… he had to grin as Aron trotted after them on his stubby legs and Seeker flitted off his shoulder to catch up. She moved with confidence in the darkness. She belonged to it.

It didn't take long before the rest found their partners for the morning. Plume tried to hold Sneasel down with one of her massive talons and groom him with her beak, but he squirmed out with incredible dexterity, yowling all the while. The Pidgeot had a victorious gleam in her eye as the spitting Sneasel fired an Ice Beam at her (it went wide and froze an entire sapling instead) and blurred towards her in a flash of razor-sharp claws. She took off in an instant, and the chase was on.

Ash hoped Sneasel appreciated the chance to be the pursuer for once - Hunt the Sneasel was such a popular game for the team that Sneasel might have forgotten how to chase altogether.

Torrent glanced over at Ash, and he nodded. The Kingdra dipped his head in acknowledgement and went off to the Lake of Rage to hone his water manipulation. It would be an invaluable skill in the fight against Clair - though he had no doubt the Blackthorn Leader would have some proficiency herself - and he needed to build upon the lessons taught to him by Suicune as much as possible.

"You'll be helping me with Infernus," Ash didn't miss the way Dazed's eye twitched at that and smirked. "You're the only one I can trust to keep things safe."

She looked at him with more than a little concern.

"We're going to help him get better at making explosions." Ash and Infernus grinned as ne.

I question the wisdom of this decision, but I will be of service nonetheless.

Ash laughed. "Thank you, Dazed. I appreciate it."

And with that, they went off deep, deep into the Mahogany wilds. Ash had found a bit of a blasted wasteland full of charred earth, shattered tree stumps, and chipped boulders about three miles away from the camp. No doubt the remnant of some clash between wild pokemon. He'd heard stories of Tyranitar that had wandered down to these lands from the mountains that made up Johto's northern borders. Perhaps these were all that was left of some old territorial dispute.

Whatever it was, Ash had no doubt it would serve his purposes. For this particular experiment he just needed a place that nobody would miss.

With any luck, he might not even wake up Jonathan and Amelia. He'd hate to disturb their rest - they had a long day ahead of them.

XX

Amelia panted as she crawled after him, her face red and dripping sweat.

"How...much...further?" She wheezed. Amelia's Aipom waved at her with its tail from a tree far up the mountain, then scattered off to laugh at the slow humans. Sneasel snickered with it, and loped off deeper into the woods once he crawled up to the peak. Ash just waited patiently.

"Not far," he assured her, and offered Amelia a hand to help her up a series of boulders still slick with the morning dew. "Just over this ridge here."

Her face bore her relief plainly. She pushed forward with redoubled determination.

Ash hoped she didn't get too mad when she realized they still had another half mile to go.

"How are you not dying?" She glared at Ash once they had an easier stretch. He certainly wasn't having an easy time of it, but his breath was less labored and his face was only red, and not outright crimson like Amelia's. "Do you do this for fun or something?"

He thought back to the races with Steven, their constant runs, and all the other endurance he'd gotten in during their training. Throw that on top of constant walking, hiking, and traveling and it meant he was in decent shape. Anything more than this would push him to his limits, but he had decent stamina. "Secret Elite Four training," Ash said at last. Amelia rolled her eyes - he knew that would frustrate her to no end.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled. Amelia glanced at him as they clambered over a few piles of brush. He checked it first to make sure they weren't stepping all over a pokemon's home. Once it was deemed clear, they continued. "Don't bring it up around Jon too much, alright? I'm pretty sure his head is still about to explode from it. He'll never stop asking about it. I think he's trying to live vicariously through you."

"He'll probably be disappointed," Ash snorted. "Or horrified. One of the two."

Amelia grunted in agreement as she hauled herself up a steep incline covered in loose pebbles and only a handful of rocks and twisted roots. She sent an odd look his way. "About that…what happened in Greenfield? When we saw the news we were so worried. We thought you might -"

Ash cut her off. He tried to smile reassuringly, but he couldn't help but toy with the Unown tablet around his neck. Amelia's eyes tracked the movement with blatant interest, and he hastily stopped. "I'm fine."

She frowned. "You didn't answer the question."

He pushed ahead and Amelia scrambled to catch up.

Amelia gasped as they had to clamber up another incline - matters weren't helped by Aipom and Sneasel pointing and laughing at them far in the distance. The small pokemon were barely even visible amongst the bone-like limbs blanketing the thick forest. A few Pidgey and lone Sparrow eyed them warily from their high perches, and Ash was sharp-eyed enough to spy a small group of Weedle inching away.

"Later, I promise," Ash said seriously. Amelia stared at him for a moment and nodded. At least she wasn't pressing too hard - he'd practically had to pry Jonathan off with a crowbar last night. He would tell them some of what was going on. They already knew the hints. Not everything could be revealed, of course.

Some information was too sensitive, and after that interview he'd seen of Jonathan and Amelia he didn't think it was a good idea to be too upfront. But he could warn them. The world was changing, and they needed to be prepared.

"So what are we doing up here?" Amelia inquired. He didn't miss the way her knuckles rapped against the pokeballs on her belt. A nervous habit similar to some of his own. "It's a long way to go for training. Jonathan didn't have to climb until his arms turned to jelly," she snorted.

"Jonathan is with Bruiser, Nidoking, Dazed, and Infernus," Ash pointed out. It hadn't been easy getting Nidoking to spend so much time apart, but Ash had Tangrowth and Oz with him as well. More importantly, Plume circled high above in the clouds and would be able to act in an instant to protect him. That had been the main selling point. "Trust me, he's got his hands full. You're getting off easy."

Amelia nodded fervently at that and hope filled her eyes as she realized they were nearing the top. "Are you sure he's safe with Infernus?" She questioned, no doubt remembering the handful of times her and Jonathan had met the mighty Magmortar. "I mean, Jon is Jon and Infernus is…"

He waved her concerns off as he crested the last hill, Amelia right behind him. Once she'd gotten the hang of it she'd kept up with him (even though a break would do her good). She'd be fine in a few days. "Infernus is perfectly safe."

She stared, and Ash sighed. "Well, that might be stretching it, but Nidoking and Dazed will keep him in line. Worst comes to worst, I've got plenty of Burn Heals."

Amelia muttered something under her breath, but Ash's eyes lit up when he realized they'd finally caught up to Sneasel and Aipom, who were currently chasing each other around the fractured mesa they'd ascended. He let them have their fun.

She wheezed once she pulled her way up to the flat expanse and took a minute to regain her breath.

"Wow, it's beautiful!" She marveled once she'd caught her breath. Amelia took a few moments to admire the sight of the stormy Lake of Rage stretching endlessly before them, bounded on all sides by rugged grey mountains and rolling, wild forests that rustled as northern gales ripped through them. The clouds hung low in the morning and thick swathes of fog hid the surface in fields of white mist.

Flocks of Pidgey and Spearow, led by Pidgeotto and Fearow, danced through the air for miles around as little black dots on the horizon. The metallic shriek of Skarmory reached his ears every now and then as one or another took flight from their mountain nests of brambles, thorns, and jagged bits of metal recovered from the land - Ash took a note of their locations. He might pick around later on and see if he could scavenge some of their shed feathers. He'd always wanted one when he was younger.

Down on the shoreline, just beyond the blackness of the forest, laid their campsite. It was barely visible from here, but he could pick out their tents and bedrolls, along with the campfire they'd set up the night before. Not too far away his team and Jonathan's were doing some kind of exercises, though Ash couldn't easily differentiate them. All he could see were wrestling figures, Charizard circling and swerving madly out of the way of Infernus' white-hot flames, and Torrent off in the midst of the stormy lake performing his exercises (a few individual Gyarados crested nearby every now and then, but gave the mighty Kingdra a wide berth).

"It is," Ash agreed. It wasn't long before Amelia looked to him for direction. He motioned out at the mesa - a wide stretch of mountain top that was too flat and bare to be natural. A few trees stubbornly clung to life, but for the most part it was a blasted, scarred plain covered with the remnants of dozens of fierce battles. "This is where we'll be training today."

"What caused this?" Amelia wondered as she released her teammates. "It looks like a pyrobomb went off."

Ash hummed and released Tangrowth and Oz. The grass-type immediately brightened at the sight of Amelia's team - he knew Tangrowth and several of them had made good friends over the course of the Indigo Conference and their month in Pallet together. Oz whirred at Raichu, who was more than happy to chatter back.

"Apparently it's where the wild pokemon around here come to settle disputes and train," Ash said as he busied himself with removing several meals, a massive ten gallon water tank, and other supplies they'd need for the day from the storage compartments on his pack. Each materialized in a brilliant flash of energy, much like a pokemon released from its pokeball. "Dazed made contact with a local Noctowl that led us to it the other day. Tough to get here, but there's no risk of any techniques causing real damage to the area."

He would've used the training ground he'd taken Infernus to in order to practice a few new techniques that would serve them well, but it was still a little wrecked from their work. They'd cleaned up as best they could, but since he'd be returning to destroy it again Ash figured they could wait to really restore it.

Amelia glanced around critically. Her eyes settled on a sheer rock wall that bounded the northern edge of the mesa. It was cracked and crumbling in places where powerful blows and techniques had sundered the rock, but it still stood firm. "Guess it makes sense to set up shop where they've already razed the place to the ground," she said.

"Apparently a Tyranitar and Ursaring got into a nasty battle that tore the mountain apart," Ash rose and let the pokemon dig into their meal - they'd need it for the training that was coming. He planned to push them to their limits. "It's a bit of a legend for the local pokemon and developed a reputation."

"I can see why," Amelia muttered as she took in the sheer devastation left by that first battle and countless others. "I can't imagine how strong they were! I've always wanted a Tyranitar," she finished dreamily.

Ash chose not to comment on that. Everyone wanted a Tyranitar. "It's our turn to leave a mark," he glanced to his friend. "Will your Slowbro be able to handle damage control?"

The girl nodded and brushed a strand of brown hair out of her eyes. "No problem. He's a little slow - no pun intended," she said hastily, "but he's used to it for when Jon and I train."

"Great," Ash grinned. That had been his main concern over leaving Dazed behind, although Amelia had been just as confident in Slowbro's abilities the night before. "He'll get a workout in. After seeing your Conference battles, I think I know just what we're going to work on."

Amelia wilted. "Oh no…"

"You chipped down most of your opponents in the Conference. You're great at drawing out battles and working around the opponent's team and offense. Traps, status effects, and redirection are great, but you saw what happened when you faced Grey," he didn't miss the dark look that came over Amelia at the mention of the Unovan and hid a grin - she'd definitely be motivated. "Grey was too strong. Your team is smart and has great endurance, but it's hard to hold off a rampaging Hydreigon."

She smiled a little too sweetly. "Seeing Torrent burying that Hydreigon was the best thing in the whole Conference," Amelia sang. "Not to mention what Infernus did to his team."

Well, that was lovely. He'd forgotten about her vicious streak. The vivid scent of Eelektross cooking beneath a grinning Infernus filled his mind, and he grimaced at the memory. He also fought the urge to step a little away from Amelia.

"Anyways," he forged ahead, "I want to focus on your team's conditioning and power for the next few days. It won't be enough to make a big difference on its own, but it'll give you a better foundation."

Amelia nodded, earlier darkness forgotten. "Makes sense to me."

"I always want to see what tricks you've picked up," Ash grinned. She'd always been good at setting up her opponents to fail and controlling the flow of the battle. It was a refreshing change of pace. "You've had three months to perfect them, right?"

Her grin widened.

XX

Nidoking laid curled a short distance from Rhydon (and with Ash always in sight) as the spar between Jonathan and Ash raged. Ash paid his friends little notice as he stood about fifty feet behind Dazed, eyes locked on Charizard as the orange beast shot over the battlefield in a blur - not as fast as Plume or one of Lance's mighty dragons, but definitely faster than it had been in the Conference.

Over the last four days of training Jonathan and Amelia, Ash had come to appreciate how much they'd improved since he'd last seen them. Jonathan must have run them ragged with his conditioning.

"Charizard, you know what to do!" Jonathan roared from the boulder he stood on. He pointed one finger into the air as a wild grin spread across his face. "BLAST BURN!"

Ash blinked. His charitable thoughts turned to dust - Jonathan did realize that they were standing right next to the battlefield right?

Right?

He sent a few mental commands to Dazed. Only a brief tug of their connection confirmed that she had received them. Hopefully this would keep Charizard from killing them all -

Charizard shot in the air high above Dazed, slit eyes narrowed as he set his sight on his foe. White-hot flames pulsed in his long neck, so bright and intense that the light radiated through his throat, and - putrid black smoke poured out, belched up in such massive quantities that his position was absolutely covered in the rolling fumes.

Ash was grudgingly impressed. The 'Blast Burn' wasn't a Blast Burn at all, but a Smokescreen. He wouldn't have pegged Jonathan for the type to slip fake commands in.

Dazed's eyes stung as the Smokescreen reached her, but a brief flash of her eyes created a powerful gale of force that blew it away from her, just in time to reveal Charizard diving down at her through the smoke with his snarling maw snapping and burning with orange flames, the tongues of fire licking all the way down his powerful body as he prepared to smash his Flare Blitz straight into Dazed.

With that much force, it might be more accurate to say through Dazed.

At the same time, Pinsir charged from where it had hid behind an outcropping of large grey stone after Dazed's initial Psybeams. It charged with a faintly disturbing clicking sound as its horns tapped together, and Ash had to say the sight of its many, many rows of flat teeth grinding set him on edge.

Well, he couldn't say it was unexpected - Jonathan wasn't an idiot. This was a two-on-one for a reason. Ash thought a few more commands for Dazed to pluck from his mind, and grinned as her pendulum pulsed - a crimson strand of psychic power shot and latched around Charizard as it descended with blinding speed, and the draconic beast swerved just far enough to the side to clip Dazed instead of plowing into her.

The explosion was deafening. Ash squinted to avoid the brilliant flash of fire hurting his eyes and couldn't help but cheer as Dazed managed to avoid the worst of it. After Charizard had briefly succumbed to her Hypnosis, she'd managed to throw up a shield that protected her from the majority of the heat. It still singed her fur and would need attention after the battle, but she could still fight.

As Charizard clumsily rose onto his hindlegs, still obviously stunned from Dazed's mental assault, Dazed turned to Pinsir. She flinched as it recognized its disadvantage and immediately blurred into a Quick Attack - his friend was barely able to erect a frail shield in time to blunt the attack, but the force behind it shattered her barrier and still sent her sprawling. Pinsir effortlessly carved through another shield with its shining horns, the energy of X-Scissor more than enough to pick apart Dazed's defenses.

Ash grit his teeth as torrents of thoughts, questions, and input dumped into his mind from he and Dazed's tenuous connection - he could handle it, but time was short. Charizard had finally started to recover from his disorientation and would be back in the fight any minute now…

Now!

Dazed reflexively followed Ash's command, her powers the moment she processed the order. Pinsir's heavy body lunged at her, savage pincers clicking, but was knocked away at the last second by a surge of dozens upon dozens of the loose, rounded stones that littered the lakeside - it didn't do much damage, but Pinsir was briefly overwhelmed by the pelting rocks.

It was just in time too. Charizard wasted no time in pressing the attack - he and Pinsir had been whittling Dazed down through similar exchanges for nearly fifteen minutes now, and this was the best chance they'd have to finish her. Dazed was slowing down. She'd rarely had more than a few seconds to rest between exchanges, and that took a toll even on a mighty psychic like her.

Ash grit his teeth as Charizard reared back and spat a raging stream of flickering flame at Dazed. It was effortlessly blocked, but actually hurting Dazed wasn't the point here - Charizard just had to keep her from focusing on the offense while Pinsir recovered. The flame grew hotter and hotter as Charizard kept it up, the orange beast steadily walking closer and closer in an attempt to overwhelm Dazed -

And then it happened. Pinsir charged with a furious buzz and Charizard pressed his advantage. He kept the flame up, hotter and hotter and hotter until it burned more blue than red, and the Flamethrower became ever larger and more destructive - by now the air was so hot that even Ash could barely stand it, and he had no doubt that Dazed was suffering through the shields.

But Dazed finally had a chance to implement one of his suggestions. As Pinsir drew too close for comfort, Dazed's eyes shone a brilliant blue. Charizard roared as a shimmering blue prison of psychic power manifested around his long neck and wrenched him to face Pinsir. He cut off the Flamethrower immediately until all that spewed forth were pale smoky wisps that stank of sulfur, but the Flamethrower still washed over Pinsir.

He couldn't help but wince as Pinsir collapsed to the ground, rolling madly to extinguish the flames crawling over its chitinous exoskeleton and disperse the heat amongst the frozen lakestones - Charizard's eyes widened, horrified at what he had done to his friend, and then the anger came.

Oh yes, Ash remembered the anger. Charizard took after his trainer on that front.

With a savage roar that a Gyarados would have been proud of, Charizard burned. His leathery hide grew terribly hot, covered by an orange haze that left the air warping and twisting before it as a terrible heat emanated throughout the battlefield. He snarled and spat flame with every breath as his anger sparked his Blaze, and Charizard charged towards Dazed, a snapping, raging beast.

Dazed fell back before the assault. She wouldn't teleport per the rules of this spar, but Ash knew she desperately wanted to escape this fight. It was a stark reminder of how vulnerable she could be without the ability to warp through space. Hypno weren't exactly known for their agility, after all.

She managed to block another fiery stream with a shimmering shield, but she was slowing down. Ash whispered encouragements, ideas, anything to give Dazed an edge.

Charizard finally closed the gap. Dazed managed to lock him in a psychic prison with Disable, but Charizard's muscles bulged and strain and shattered the shell. Ash couldn't stop himself from shouting out, though it would have been more efficient to just think it to her, but it didn't give much warning.

The fire-type shot forth and latched his powerful jaws, alit with flickering flame and spewing smoke into Dazed's face (her sensitivity to stimulation did her no favors there), onto Dazed's shoulder and shook. Dazed's psychic scream left them all clutching their heads - even Charizard stumbled back, and snarled as Dazed hurled a Psybeam into his face. He wasn't hurt, but it offered her an opportunity.

"Now!" Ash commanded. Even as the words left his lips, he envisioned her next move. Dazed's eyes, red and bloodshot from the smoke, flashed a fiery blue and she charged her opponent with surprising speed - she wasn't a physical fighter, but there was no hesitation in closing the gap. Charizard actually stretched out his wings, ready to escape into the relative safety of the air in the face of Dazed's surprising fury, but before he could Dazed lowered her head. Psychic power flooded her body, shielding her in a shimmering coat, and focused mostly around her head as she slammed herself into Charizard's thick gut.

Detonation. Light. A delicate sound like the cracking of glass.

When it was over, Dazed laid collapsed on the hot earth - Ash wasted no time in returning his friend. "Amazing!" He whispered to her. Ash hoped she could hear him. She only rarely had an occasion to use Zen Headbutt like that, but she had done marvelously. If Dazed was forced into a close-quarters fight like that, she'd generally already been beaten. It hadn't mattered there, though. She'd kept fighting to the end.

He clipped her pokeball to his belt and strode forward to check on Charizard. Jonathan did the same. The mighty fire-type had sagged to the ground, unbothered by the flames that still burned up little scraps of fallen vegetation and tinder that had collected on the lakeside, and wheezed heavily - it looked like Dazed's Zen Headbutt had knocked the wind out of him, even if it hadn't managed to knock Charizard unconscious.

Ash made sure to stay a few feet back once he saw Charizard was still conscious. The fire-type looked disturbingly green...he held absolutely zero interest in getting covered in Charizard puke. He'd let Jonathan have that prize. He deserved something for taking Dazed down, right?

"Charizard! You alright, champ? That looked like it hurt!" Jonathan exclaimed. As he crouched down by Charizard's stunned form several other members of his team that weren't being trained elsewhere rushed forward - Pinsir, Ariados (Ash felt a lurch in his stomach at the sight of the arachnid), Rhydon, and even Fearow swooped down to join them. "Please don't throw up on me. You're not going to throw up on me, right?"

The giant fire-type groaned and slowly pulled itself onto its thick legs...and then crouched down again as it wheezed. Ash had to admit he was impressed. Dazed had really put her all into that Zen Headbutt. She was never one to commit only halfway.

"He'll be alright," Ash stepped forward. Jonathan turned away from Charizard (who had started to dry-heave) and immediately perked up. "He just needs a minute."

"HA!" Jonathan pointed at Ash. "I finally took down one of your pokemon!"

Ash dipped his head, even if the acknowledgement stung at his pride. He didn't like losing, not even against the Gym Leaders. Even if he could win with ease if he used Infernus, Torrent, Tangrowth, or another of his powerhouses a loss still left him itching and uneasy.

"You did better than yesterday," Ash's lips quirked as Jonathan's grin shifted into a scowl. A three-on-one challenge from Rhydon, Charizard, and Kingler hadn't been much more than a warm-up for Infernus. It was actually impressive that Charizard had recovered enough to fight Dazed today.

"That was a fluke and you know -" the other Pallet trainer deflated and cut himself off. "Okay, fine. Your crazy Magmortar wrecked me yesterday. And this was two-on-one. I'm not dumb!"

He cocked his head to the side. "I never said you were," Ash pointed out. "You're putting words in my mouth."

Jonathan grumbled something unpleasant under his breath that Ash promptly ignored. Amelia probably would have smacked him if she were here, but she was off working with Plume, Oz, and Tangrowth. They were doing their best to get her team to increase coordination, increase speed and agility, and raw power.

Naturally, they'd chosen to do this by having Plume harassing the team from above while Oz picked individual members apart and drove them away from the group with Flash, selective Thunderbolts, and other distracting techniques. Tangrowth, of course, had elected to throw the battlefield and twist the terrain against the team to force them to work together. No magma, though.

"That Blast Burn trick was clever," Ash complimented him. Jonathan immediately brightened - his moods tended towards the mercurial. He could be moping around one minute and laughing like a maniac the next. At least it was easy to cheer him up, Ash supposed. "I really thought you were going to burn us all to death for a second."

Jonathan cackled at that. "HA! You should've seen the look on your face, Ash! I thought you were going to pee your pants or something. I should've taken a picture."

Ash snorted. "Going to bust it out next time someone interviews you about me?"

He took a little bit of pleasure at Jonathan's blush. There was no way he was going to let that go anytime soon - last time he'd been in the Mahogany Pokemon Center they were still playing that interview of Jonathan giving out Ash's location. Couldn't they just leave him in peace?

As they walked by the water (Nidoking and Rhydon plodding steadily along) Ash appreciated the silence. It wasn't something he found often with so many people and pokemon in one place. His thoughts strayed to Jonathan's comment - to be honest, Ash wasn't entirely sure if he could be incinerated anymore. Not that easily, anyways. Would Fire negate it? Ice? This was new, untrodden territory for him and he couldn't say he enjoyed it. The utility was admittedly nice…

Who would've thought he'd regret not being able to burn to death because of the Concepts? Strange times, strange thoughts. Probably not something many people had reason to be concerned with.

"You're zoning out again," Jonathan's voice woke him from his morbid thoughts. "Do you even live in reality anymore? Every five minutes you look like you're on a different planet."

Ash frowned. Was it really that bad? Dazed hadn't commented on it recently. Then again, maybe he shouldn't rely on a psychic-type for advice on being normal... Dazed was pretty down-to-earth for a psychic, but that didn't mean all that much. Metaphor, allusion, and allegory was a psychic's bread and butter.

"Dude, you good?"

"Sorry," Ash coughed, a little embarrassed at spacing out again. "Just got a little distracted there. I'm good. Just thinking."

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Come on, man! No need to think so much. It's easy - I never have that problem!" he bragged, then sighed when he realized what he'd just said.

Ash blinked and shared a quick glance with Nidoking. Even Rhydon stopped at that. "You're lucky Gary wasn't here for that," he snorted. Jonathan groaned. "He's supposed to get here tomorrow night, you know. You'll have to watch your mouth when he's around."

"Does Gary have to come," Jonathan whined and kicked at a rock that went sailing off into the woods. An irritated Sentret chattered at them from the treeline...up until it saw Nidoking and Rhydon, anyway. Ash wasn't sure he'd ever seen something disappear so fast. Not since 'Hunt the Sneasel' had last been played, anyway. "He sucks! I don't know why you invited him in the first place. Dude's a total asshole."

"And you're lucky Amelia wasn't here for that," Ash smirked. "Besides, Gary's not that bad," then he paused. He couldn't say that with a straight face. "He's getting better," Ash amended.

His friend scowled. "Maybe to you," Jonathan sneered - he had a tendency to do that when Gary was brought up. Not that Ash could really blame him. He was glad to see Gary, but it was going to be exhausting if he and Jonathan spent the next three days riling each other up. Maybe he should try playing the Song if it got too bad.

Jonathan sighed, though bitterness was still plain in his words. "You're the only one Gary isn't a complete prick to. He treats everyone else like dirt. I'm still pissed at him for our last battle!" He growled. Ash vaguely recalled hearing about it in a letter Jonathan and Amelia had sent him when he was back in Hoenn. "He just showed up out of nowhere right after Amelia and I had fought our way through a dozen trainers each over a week out in the woods! Then he acted like he was so tough when he'd just left a Pokemon Center -"

"I get it," Ash raised a hand to calm Jonathan down. The boy's face was bright red, a sign that Jonathan was building up to an explosion in a few minutes. What had Gary said to him? "Gary's a jerk. No argument there. But he's not as bad as when we first started. Small steps. Just focus on beating him - you've spent some time getting ready for him, right?"

"Yeah," the shorter boy sighed. He stared out off into the Lake of Rage where Torrent and his Gyarados were visible far, far in the distance. It was too far to see what they were doing - Torrent was barely visible and Gyarados was little more than a blur. "It's just not fair. He's always treated everyone like crap and he gets everything handed to him. An awesome grandpa, a cool hot sister - and shut up, I know that sounded weird!"

Ash shut his mouth. Jonathan glared at him for a second then kept going. "But yeah, he gets everything handed to him. He's a - great - trainer," Jonathan managed to spit it out after a moment, but looked like it hurt to say. "He's better than me and he doesn't even try! He's just a nasty bully who has everything he ever wanted," the boy said bitterly. Rhydon growled softly and hurried to stand at Jonathan's side. "Rich, strong, and everyone can't shut up about him. There are articles about him!" Jonathan threw his hands up in the air and stomped forward, howling into the wind. "Gary Oak, everybody! He can say whatever he wants to because he's so special and cool and he's Professor Oak's grandson and screw him!"

Well, this was a little concerning. This went beyond rivalry or irritation. Jonathan hated Jonathan. Maybe it was time for Ash to start nipping this in the bud.

He waited, and wasn't surprised when Jonathan simmered down. Ash wasn't stupid - he could tell his friend was still furious, but he'd gotten the worst of it out. The rage was out. Bitterness and exhaustion was all that was left.

"He even treated you like garbage," Jonathan stared off at the stirring waves. "Ash freaking Ketchum. At least he doesn't discriminate," he sneered. "But then you beat his ass in the Conference and he shaped right up. Happened so fast Amelia and I were making bets if he was crushing on you!"

Ash grimaced. That wasn't something he wanted to think about. Jonathan finally cracked a smile at the look on Ash's face, so at least someone got to enjoy it. "Heh, pretty funny right? Let me know if you find out, by the way - bet is still on," the short boy cackled. A little later he sobered. "I just hate him. Gary sucks."

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner," Ash turned to face Jonathan fully. The boy met his eyes, but looked away. "If he tries to start anything, I'll make sure he stops," he promised. Jonathan scowled, but just crossed his arms. "Back when he was the same way with me, I was always furious at him. The second I saw him I wanted to send Infernus at him," Ash reminisced. "But I didn't realize how deep it hit you."

"Of course you didn't," Jonathan grumbled. "Nothing really bothers you."

He frowned, but felt Ice numb the emotion which welled up at that. No point engaging Jonathan like that. It was unnecessary. Jonathan was just frustrated and venting.

Jonathan took a seat on an old, gnarled tree stump that had seen better days. It was an ancient thing, weathered with deep lines that cut deep. Innumerable rings filled its center. "Sorry, Ash, I'm just mad," the boy breathed deeply. His face looked normal now. "I just want to beat him so bad. I want to crush Gary. I want to watch him cry and laugh at him like he laughs at everyone else."

Well, that was intense.

He stretched his hand out to Jonathan. The boy stared at it, confused. "Get up," Ash said firmly. Jonathan finally took it and Ash hauled him to his feet.

"What?"

"We have a lot of work to do," Ash grinned. "How are you gonna beat Gary if you spend all your time moping on a log?"

Jonathan blinked, then laughed - a deep, genuine laugh from his gut.

"Let's get to work. A day is all I need!"

XX

Oz's thick coat ran with electricity as she 'caught' Raichu's impressive Thunderbolt. She absorbed the power, glowed a brilliant gold, and howled as an enormous discharge of crackling lightning exploded in an eruption of power - Raichu managed to absorb the blast, but Ash could already tell it had lost their game of catch. Raichu stumbled back, eyes squeezed shut as the overwhelming surge of energy pulsed through its system, tail whipping madly like a live wire in the face of so much power.

Raichu's cheek sacs burned gold and a thunderclap rolled through the earth as Raichu sent a mighty Thunderbolt right back to Oz, who redirected it with no small effort straight back into Raichu - this time, it bowled Raichu right off his feet and the electric-type laid there, stunned.

"He had a good run," Amelia sighed as she walked over to check on Raichu. Ash thought he was fine, but better safe than sorry. He went over to Oz to congratulate her.

"Great job," he grinned at the Electabuzz. She whirred happily, a certain satisfaction in her eyes as she watched Amelia pet Raichu (she'd thrown on some rubber gloves since he was still discharging like mad). Ash looked at her seriously. "I knew you'd win."

Oz bared her fangs at that, as though offended he'd think otherwise. Ash just laughed and clapped her furry shoulder, the jolt of electricity that surged into his body nothing compared to the Lightning in his veins. His friend stared as little arcs of electricity danced over his bare skin. She still wasn't used to that.

"We're visiting Lavender Town after we stop by Indigo Plateau," he told her quietly. Oz listened carefully, obviously curious - the whole team knew their itinerary for the rest of the month. "We'll be headed to Pallet after that, but on the way we're stopping at Vermillion to see Surge."

She perked up at that, as he knew she would. Ash had already told her about that, but Oz was smart. She knew this was heading somewhere of interest. "I'm going to ask him to go ahead and give us the Electrizer. I can't promise anything, but I think you're ready to evolve. You've grown so strong…"

Sparks exploded from her coat as she whirred - it was loud enough even the dazed Raichu and Amelia turned their way. Ash laughed and stretched his hand out. She stared, then grabbed it in her own massive fist. It was an interesting feeling to know that she could crush it with the lightest flex, but Oz took the utmost care. She wasn't the gentlest of his team (except around Aron) but she held his hand lightly.

"You deserve to evolve. You've been fighting at a handicap for months now, and I think you're ready," he said, dead serious. "We're going to have to up your training until then, understand? The original plan was to meet in several months. If we want Surge to approve this, there can be no breaks. We'll work in recovery days, but otherwise it's going to be training. You won't be battling unless necessary. Got it?"

Oz whirred again, lighter and happier than ever. Ash smiled and pulled his hand back. "Keep working with Raichu, alright? We need your capacity as high as we can get it. Nidoking's down there," he jabbed a finger farther down the shore where Nidoking, Aron, Rhydon, and Kangaskhan. "Get Nidoking to work with you if Raichu needs a break. I know Kangaskhan knows a few electric techniques too, so she might help."

He stepped back as Raichu's tail whipped to and fro - they were ready to start again.

Amelia wiped her muddy hands on her pants as she joined him. She paused to look off at Politoed, Kingler, Dewgong, and Tentacruel training just a few hundred feet down the shore with Torrent. Gyarados had needed a breather for the day - apparently Jonathan and Gyarados had goaded Torrent into using Draco Meteor in a spar. Ash had to admit he was actually somewhat impressed. Torrent was normally the definition of restraint. They must've been irritating him all day.

"Thanks for your help, Ash," Amelia smiled at Aipom and Sneasel as they raced through the nearby treeline after Yanma, Ariados close behind as he scuttled over roots and rocks after them. "These last few days have been really nice. It feels like we're back at the Conference again," she added wistfully. "Those were good times."

He stared ahead. "They were," Ash replied, and he was telling the truth. Much as he loved being out in the world with nothing more than a team on his belt and a goal ahead of him, it was nice to check in with humans every once in a while. He'd missed the familiarity, even if there would always be a wall between him and his friends from Pallet - they hadn't shared what he and his team had. They hadn't been at New Island (and he realized with a pang of guilt that he hadn't heard from the other survivors in a long time), or Shamouti, or Greenfield…

And he was glad of that. This was his burden to bear, and it was better that they avoid things like that. Maybe things would be easier tonight when Gary arrived and he finally gave them a quick look into the truth. Ash doubted it, though.

"...of course you were having a good time, Mr. Youngest-Finalist-and-Elite-Four-Member-Ever," Amelia teased as she fiddled around on her PokeDex. She turned a little less flippant when she tossed him a glance. "But it's good to see you like this, Ash. You seem…"

"Happy?" He offered.

She shook her head. "No, not that…" Amelia said slowly, taking great care with every word. "Relaxed? Content, maybe? During the Conference you would hang out with us, but you were always stressed. Always acted like there was a sword hanging over your head that you couldn't tell us about."

Ash grimaced. Mewtwo, the Rockets, and a hundred other things. "Ah."

"Ah, indeed," she quipped. "I don't know what it is, but you seem lighter. I don't know how after whatever happened in Greenfield, but it's the truth."

He thought back to that day. His mother dragged into the Hale Mansion as a stranger to him, Molly's Dream, Not-Ash and Entei, and the utter satisfaction of having the Unown bend to him, whispering secrets and unknown things into his mind. And then the cleanup.

"I learned a few things out there," he muttered. "Got a few things in order."

Amelia's lips twitched. "Always so helpfully vague. You do that on purpose, don't you?" At least she seemed more amused than irritated. He still remembered how frustrated she'd been with him after the Shamouti Islands.

He just shrugged. "Maybe I'm just bad with people."

She actually barked out a laugh at that. "No doubt about that! At least you're good with pokemon, right? That's something."

"It's worked out so far."

They found some rocks to sit on and sat in comfortable silence for a bit. Surprisingly, Ash found himself the one to break it. "I've heard a bit about your journey in Johto, but always around Jonathan. How's it been?"

She perked up. "It's been...amazing," Amelia sighed. "There's so much beauty here. The landscape, the cities. It feels old. I've actually started drawing some of the things we've seen. I'm not very good," her cheeks were already flush from the frigid cold, but they darkened again at the admission. "But I'm getting better!"

"Really?" Ash turned to her for a moment. He thought to the Flute that rested comfortably in his pack. For a moment the Song deepened in his soul. "I've started playing the flute. I'm not very good either - there's only a few songs I know very well."

Amelia blinked. "Really? Wow! I never took you for the musical type, Ash. No offense."

I'm really not," Ash admitted. "Like I said, I only really know the one. And a variation," he thought back to the howls of the Beasts. They completed the Song, fitting in seamlessly. "A few trainers have come up to me when I was practicing. They thought a pokemon was dying."

The embarrassment faded as Amelia doubled over laughing, not ending until she coughed a few times. Ash couldn't help but grin. "I never knew I needed to hear that," she giggled. "If we get interviewed again I might throw that out as a distraction while we run."

"Go for it. Just don't let them know where I am," Ash grumbled. Fire flared within him as the spray from a few large waves splattered across them both. Steam filled the air as the droplets boiled away in an instant, though he immediately cut it off when Amelia stared at the fine mist of steam in confusion - a downside of practicing was that it came a little too easily to him at times. "I don't get why they care so much."

His friend rolled her eyes. "Oh gee, I wonder why they care so much about the guy who's been breaking records left and right and showed up at a disaster zone speaking for the League," she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Doesn't make any sense to me either!"

"Okay, I know why," he replied. "It's just annoying."

Amelia softened. "I get that," she nodded. "Jon and I have had a few rookies recognize us. We didn't get as far as you or Gary," she spat the name in a way not unlike Jonathan, "but a few people know us. It's always weird. Getting recognized for knowing you is even weirder. Who saw this coming when we left Pallet last year?"

"Not me," he frowned and, after a moment's thought, hesitantly spoke more. "It's going to get worse soon."

She wore her concern plain as day. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Ash brushed her worry away. "I'm fine," he said. "I was talking to Lance after Greenfield. We've been keeping my League status quiet. I didn't want the attention," Ash said through gritted teeth. His fists clenched. "But we can't hide it. Lance is going to let me do it on my terms. Probably going to happen when I head to Indigo Plateau after Blackthorn."

Amelia was silent for a good while and Ash couldn't say he blamed her. He felt a little stupid revealing that - it was his business. No one else needed to know. "I'm sorry. I can't say I know how it feels, but that sucks. I know you like your privacy - wait, do you see that?"

Ash shot to his feet immediately. Amelia's panic left his eyes sharp and cold. Any hint of relaxation had fled his features and Amelia edged away from him.

He wasted no time in identifying what Amelia had pointed out - a group of gargantuan sea serpents with snarling faces and eyes red as blood winding their way through the Lake of Rage, azure dragonfire spitting from their maws as they headed directly for Torrent.

It was hard to see the exact number at this distance with so many winds and a low, thick fog that hung over the Lake of Rage, but Ash thought there were at least ten and maybe even as many as fifteen. Those numbers weren't just uncommon, they were unheard of. The only time Gyarados would ever band together was to drive out larger and more powerful water-types from an area (generally older, bigger, and meaner Gyarados). Gyarados' foul tempers didn't lend to group environments very well. You might see a pair on occasion, but for the most part a group larger than two would rip each other apart.

For this many to gather would have been a horrifying sight to most.

Unfortunately for them, Ash had faced the most powerful Gyarados in the world. He knew how they thought, their abilities, and their tactics. Not to mention, many of these Gyarados were those that Torrent had already wiped the floor with. To be honest, Ash would have been more concerned if the group wasn't so massive. This many Gyarados would be easy to pit against each other, lessening their effectiveness.

A mad grin shot over his face and blood pounded in his ears. "Looks like we wore out our welcome! Let's go!" Ash laughed as the group of Gyarados began to close the distance - they had maybe ten minutes before they got close enough to start trading attacks. Torrent had already seen them and waited patiently by the shore, no doubt as ready to leap into this as Ash.

Dazed materialized just in front of him, her eyes wide.

Friend-Trainer, the Plume informed me - ah, you have already seen them. And you're eager.

"Yep!" Ash's eyes were wide as he took in the beautiful, glorious sight of all these monsters banded together. Torrent had manhandled plenty that had taken offense to them camping on the shoreline, but he'd never imagined this! "Gather the team! And Jonathan! I want everyone together for this!"

Dazed's amusement radiated through his mind as she nodded and disappeared to carry out his orders. Amelia frowned at him. "You're kind of creeping me out Ash. How are you happy about this? There's so many!"

"Nothing to worry about!" Ash laughed. "Come on! We need to beat Jonathan there. I want to get some time with Torrent to start planning!"

Amelia was pale and a little unsteady, but she nodded. Ash wasted no time in jogging - Oz, Raichu, and Magneton were already waiting for his orders.

There wasn't much time, but that wasn't an issue.

Fifteen Gyarados against his team? That was hardly a fair fight!

XX

"Listen up!" Ash commanded as his, Jonathan, and Amelia's pokemon crowded around him. Amelia stood to his left, Dazed on his right. Jonathan hadn't arrived yet, although Dazed had assured him he would arrive soon. Most of his team had been gathered, however. Only a few stragglers remained.

The pokemon immediately heeded his order. Most of Jonathan and Amelia's teams nervously glanced over at the Gyarados horde approaching closer and closer every passing moment, but Ash's friends were prepared and focused. They'd faced worse.

"Torrent, you're on point. It's been a while since you've gotten a test like this," Ash grinned at the mighty Kingdra, who trembled in anticipation. His red eyes darted to the black shapes half-hidden by the mist, a fire lit within. "You're the muscle here. All other water-types, you're going to be focused on the stragglers. We want to keep them from getting too close. If they break past Torrent, push them back."

"Plume, Fearow, and Charizard - you're running interference. Keep them distracted, and try to herd them together. We don't need any splitting off. Focus on any that start putting pressure on Torrent, got it?"

Plume nodded and shrieked as she shot into the grey skies, Fearow and Charizard close behind her. They quickly split off into different directions and began to circle the Gyarados - with her speed, Plume was a little more daring than the rest. She fell into a dive and swooped into the Gyarados horde with a screaming challenge. Several of the Gyarados snarled at the challenge and snapped at her with their mighty jaws, and two of them even spat Hyper Beams at the Pidgeot. The raging golden torrents shot wide of Plume as she swerved up, and one even slammed into one of the larger Gyarados in a white flash of light.

Ash laughed at Plume's daring as the Gyarados slammed into the water with an awful crash. An enormous spray of water shot up, dousing the other Gyarados. He nearly winced as the sea serpent struggled to rise, and several Gyarados snarled and snapped at the offender.

"The rest of you, organize into groups of three and four and get on those outcroppings," Ash pointed to several spots along the lakeside that jutted into the water. Each stood tall enough to give an advantage. "Make sure you have a member that can protect the others - psychics or Protect. Your job will be to focus in on any Gyarados that make it close to the shore. Don't waste your energy until the water-types can't hold them back."

"Tangrowth," he glanced to the grass-type bouncing on his red feet, whose wide eyes were locked onto the Gyarados. His vines wriggled excitedly. "Try and intercept any attacks they send at the shore with Ancient Power. Dazed will help coordinate and shield."

The teams nodded and quickly rushed to the positions he'd marked. Ash sent a silent surge of thanks to Dazed - her telepathy had proven invaluable. Without her it would've been a hundred times harder to convey his intentions and thoughts so clearly. With his every word she'd relayed his frenzied mind to the assorted pokemon.

A well of excitement burned inside him. He couldn't help but bounce on his heels as he stood by Amelia, Nidoking, Tangrowth, and Dazed. The rest of the water-types, save Torrent, had taken their positions just off the shore. Ash hoped Jonathan would arrive with Gyarados soon. His Gyarados wasn't in the best shape, but it would be nice to have some extra muscle. Ash was confident Torrent would be able to handle most of this by himself (with just a little help from the fliers, Tangrowth, and Infernus) but better safe than sorry.

With a grin, Ash released Infernus. Amelia flinched at the sudden surge of dry heat, but didn't step away. She was still pale, but determination had filled her. Ash sent a reassuring smile her way before he turned to Infernus - naturally, the Magmortar already wore a wide grin of his own as he surveyed the Gyarados horde.

"Yep, we're fighting them!" Ash laughed. Infernus shifted his arms to cannon, his smirk as big as Ash had ever seen it. Light tongues of flame coated him, the air twisting and writhing as it superheated, and the stone blackened beneath Infernus' feet. "I know, right! You three will be doing the heavy lifting," he glanced between Torrent's eager eyes, Infernus' giddiness, and Tangrowth's general happiness. These three were the key to victory.

"Torrent, you'll keep them occupied. You're what they came for, right?" He shared a pleased nod with the Kingdra. "Launch some Smokescreens to block their vision, then hit them hard once Dazed gets their locations from Plume. Dragon Pulses, Ice Beams, Hydro Pumps - anything that can actually hurt them. Try to slow them down while Plume and the other pick at them," Ash added. "Don't exhaust yourself too quickly. When they get closer, I want you to start trying to do more damage. Draco Meteor if you can, right in the middle. How big of a Whirlpool can you make now?"

The Kingdra's eyes glinted.

Big enough, Friend-Trainer.

Ash grinned at Dazed's comment. That worked for him.

"Good. Remember the rematch with the Sisters back in Kanto?"

Torrent nodded. Ash wasn't sure how Torrent made that appear regal, but he did.

"We're doing that, but bigger."

"Infernus, you've got two jobs," Ash began. Infernus waited with uncharacteristic patience. "Prepare some magma or fire up some sand and boulders - anything Tangrowth can use. The Gyarados can take it no problem," he and Infernus grinned savagely at one another. "Once they're closer…" Ash's eyes searched for a landmark in the water, and finally found a small spire of grey stone which stood proudly amongst the mighty waves. "Can you teleport past that?"

The Magmortar nodded.

"Great! If the Gyarados make it past there, make them regret it."

Infernus smirked and headed farther back - he was considerate enough to find a desolate, rocky spot with no chance of the heat and fires damaging the forest. It was a shame that the technique they'd been working on for the last few days wouldn't be of use here - Ash didn't think it would have much use except for terrestrial opponents. It would do a number on an Onix, though.

Anything derived from Earth Burn would. Ash couldn't wait to keep honing this new technique - it would be a game changer for Infernus.

A rubbery vine wrapped around his wrist and Ash couldn't help but laugh at Tangrowth's saucer-like eyes. "Hey, buddy. You ready for this?"

Tangrowth's happy gurgle was all the answer he needed. "Use Ancient Power to throw anything Infernus makes at the Gyarados, alright? It won't hurt them too bad. They're tough. Make sure it doesn't come close to any of the other pokemon, okay?"

His friend bounced and nodded, vines wriggling like mad. Ash smiled softly. "Thanks, Tangrowth! Dazed will help you aim, okay?"

With the orders in place, Ash looked across the massive expanse - the Gyarados were almost here. They'd be in range within a minute or two. They were moving quickly, but not so quickly they would exhaust themselves. He was confident and a wild thrill ran through him at the thought of this battle, but Ash didn't ignore the hint of trepidation that coiled in his gut.

Most of his orders were in place to keep the Gyarados distracted and disordered. They were easy to rile up and he'd take advantage of that. If they attacked in a coordinated way, firing their Hyper Beams and water based attacks en masse, then their teams would be on the defensive. To win they would have to divide and conquer - an individual Gyarados could be handled easily by nearly any of their pokemon.

He set his eyes on the lead Gyarados. It was a gigantic thing, not much smaller than Lance's own Gyarados. Sixty feet long, perhaps, where most of its subordinates ranged anywhere from thirty to fifty. Ash doubted it was anywhere near as horrifyingly powerful as Lev, but it had clearly used its bulk and insane physical strength to assert itself as the leader. When it spat a stream of flames into their midst, they immediately backed down and began their steady progression to the shore. Several of the smaller ones kept their suspicious eyes to the sky, ready to lash out should any of the fliers come too close.

The largest Gyarados - Ash mentally dubbed it 'The Big One', to which Dazed sent a pulse of amusement colored with exasperation - moved with a certain grace and finesse the others lacked. They were all raging power propelled by the inhuman fury that Gyarados were known for.

The Big One was driven by something greater.

Oh, even from here he could practically feel the rage burning from it. Indignation at something greater than it making a home on its shores. To have been tossed aside with such little effort, to have seen its hated rivals fall before this outsider (the only thing it despised more than its competition), and to have been driven from its own territory.

But it wasn't the ordinary wild Gyarados. It was hard to explain how Ash could so easily glean the details with just a glance, but he knew these things. Knew them as well as he knew to breathe or blink. This Gyarados had been tempered. Old and experienced and the Big One had known what i