Chapter 1: Trainer and Guardian

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon! This story is not made for nor does it make me any profit whatsoever in any shape or form. The story is made purely for entertainment purposes in the form of reading and enjoying what will hopefully be a good piece of literature.

I'm re-uploading this fic and will be focusing on this fic as I find it the most relaxing and enjoyable.

A few points I want to get over with right from the get-go:

1) Ash will not be catching that many Pokémon, certainly nowhere near the amount he has in the anime. This is mainly because I want to give the Pokémon their own individual personalities (No Poke speech unless the Pokémon can use telepathy) and develop their abilities/character and not have to go through the hassle of trying to rotate them so that they all get some screen time. Note: He will NOT have any legendary Pokémon! He may befriend a few here and there but he will not capture any! His team will be made of Pokémon you can catch in various regions but why some are found in Kanto in some way will be explained as the story goes on. I will not be putting Hoenn or Sinnoh Pokémon in Kanto btw or something ridiculous like that unless some outside force actually put those Pokémon in a non-native region.

2) This story is an massive AU (Alternate Universe) and based in the anime world. The only element of the games that will be in this story is the use of TM's to teach moves. World building is necessary in this case especially since the concept of aura is so vague in canon.

3) Yes, Ash will be an aura guardian but this in no way makes him special since it's not something that's going to be rare in this story. If you wish to know how aura will work in detail in this story then check out the "Aura Manipulation" power wiki page by searching it on google or just read the story and find out as I reveal it.

4) Note this story will not be focused on the romance between Ash and Cynthia who I have de-aged a bit. This is an adventure story, filled with action with a touch of romance once character development happens.

5) This story will be darker compared to the anime hence the T rating. It will consist of violence (won't be too graphic) along with mature themes. I'll update rating if I decide to add lemons in the future but this is undetermined.

6) A final thing I wanted to mention is that Ash will be starting his journey when he's 15 and not 10. I always found that part of the anime just so unbelievable even for a cartoon since who in hell sends a 10-year-old kid into the wild to travel the world and catch Pokémon? The reason for the age of 15 is so that kids are somewhat mature and are given basic survival training and knowledge so that they are prepared for the journey ahead.

Well, with that out of the way…

Let the story begin!

This chapter has been beta read by Hybrid of Fate

A cool crisp breeze flew across the calm and cold waters of a sparkling lake. The fresh air brushed against the feathers of the Pidgey flying above the lake, making them coo at the sensation. They made their way towards the cluster of houses with red roofs and grey stone walls, on top of which their nests lay.

In one of the numerous houses, a young teen groaned under his covers wishing for the irritating noise of what he hazily realized was his alarm clock to end. Bringing one hand out from under the covers, he tried to smack the alarm clock only to miss for the first few tries before he finally got it. However, the time it took to turn it off caused his sleep to leave him so he managed to get out from under the covers and take a nice big stretch and yawn, noting that it was 6:00 a.m.

Looking out from his window, the teen let the cool air caress his face causing his messy raven black hair to wave with the wind. His crimson red eyes scanned the surrounding grey stone buildings and the different Pokémon either moving on the streets, flying in the air, playing with people – early risers - or just resting here and there.

'It's my birthday and graduation day!'

The boy stumbled out of his bed in his haste and made his way out of his room that was half messy with papers lying here and there near a computer on a wooden study table along with large bean bag cushions laying here and there and a few Pokémon posters hanging on the walls.

He rushed towards the washroom at the end of the hall and quickly began going through his morning rituals at a rapid pace. By the time he was done, the teen was now wearing a plain red shirt with blue jeans. He ran down the wooden stairs and made his way to the kitchen and dining room on the left side of the stairway.

The moment he walked in he saw his mom, a woman with auburn hair tied into a ponytail wearing a pink blouse and purple knee-length skirt with a white apron on top humming away a tune while making breakfast in front of the stove.

She turned towards the sound of footsteps she heard. "Oh, Good morning and happy birthday Ash!"

Ash gave his mom a big smile in response to her very cheery and happy voice. "Good morning mom! Thanks!" He sat down on the wooden chair with leather seats at the dining table made of limestone.

"You're up quite early. Excited for your birthday or your graduation?"

"Both! I can't wait to see what Pokémon I connect within the Forest of Harmony!"

"I'm sure you'll find the perfect one for you. I have already packed lots of food for you for the exam and I have a birthday surprise for you once you're done the exam."

Ash's eyes gleamed with sparkles. "A surprise?! What is it?!"

"If I tell you now it won't be a surprise, will it?" Delia giggled at her son's enthusiasm. Despite just turning fifteen, he still acted like a hyper kid sometimes. "So, have you decided on what region you'll be traveling to first?"

Ash paused for a few moments. He had a choice on traveling to any region of his choice to begin his journey thanks to his school, Rota Academy and he had been trying to decide which region he wanted to start his journey on first. "I thought about it a lot and I think Kanto will be the place I start at."

"Kanto is wonderful region. You'll meet many wonderful Pokémon and have a great time. It's a great place for you to start your journey." Delia said as she turned off the stove and filled two plates with delicious omelets. Placing the plates along with a bowl of apple-cinnamon flavoured oatmeal and a glass of pure orange juice on the table, she sat in front of Ash.

Ash began eating and nearly opened his mouth to reply while chewing but remembered the numerous times her mom scolded him about manners so he quickly chewed and swallowed before talking. "I can't wait!"

Delia gave a soft smile at her son's enthusiasm and ate her breakfast as well. "So, which city will you be going to first?"

"Probably Pewter City since it's the closest."

"How many of the students in your class plan on going on a journey?"

"I think only five to six but they are going to different regions. The rest are staying the academy to train their aura."

"I see. So, you will be traveling alone?" Delia asked with worry.

Ash was easily able to pick up on his mom's worried tone. "Don't worry mom, I can take care of myself! I know all the survival skills they taught us! I'll also make sure to give you a call every time I'm in a town."

Delia smiled. "You better otherwise you'll be in big trouble young man if I don't hear from you for too long."

Ash shivered a bit. Somehow, that tone and the innocent looking smile scared him more than any of the powerful looking Pokémon in the palace ever did. It sent a cold feeling down his spine, tingling his body in a very frightening way. "I-I will."

"Great!" Delia oh-so joyfully replied knowing her son got the message loud and clear.

She then got up and took her and Ash's empty plate as they just finished their breakfast and placed it in the sink. "Well, its time for you to go Ashy. You don't want to be late for your last day at the academy. Your bag is by the door."

Ash quickly got up from his seat and washed his hands at the sink before running towards the door. "Thanks, mom!"

He quickly put on a pair of black and red sneakers and grabbed his backpack before opening the door and running out.

"Take care!"

"I will!"

Running through the streets that were slowly getting filled with more and more people and Pokémon, Ash waved at a couple of his neighbors and took great joy in watching the numerous Pokémon.

A soft gentle wind blew on his face as he saw the academy a few blocks away, towering over all of the houses and small buildings surrounding it. The school was a massive dome-shaped structure made of a greenish-gray colored stone with a red roof, making it a bit unique especially with it being around seven stories in height. The building was a bit separated from all of the other buildings and that was mainly because of the large training grounds and battlegrounds located behind the building along with a big Pokémon care center.

When Ash finally stood in front of the academy, he sighed as he looked at the place where he not only learned all about Pokémon but all about aura and the incredible history of the Pokémon world which many people were oblivious too.

The academy had been created since the birth of the Town of Rota and it had since been the core place where some of the greatest aura guardians in history had been raised and taught not only about the wonders of aura but the wonders of Pokémon as well. Even some guardians had grown to become world renowned Pokémon trainers as well.

Looking at the building, Ash could feel his body tingling as he imagined himself standing in a large stadium with his partner Pokémon standing in front of him – who he imagined would be some fearsome dragon type.

'Use Hyper Beam.' He commanded in his head and imagined a large beam of black and purple colored energy being fired from his Pokémon.

'The enemy Pokémon is unable to battle! Ash Ketchum wins the match and has won the title of Pokémon Master!'

Ash imagined his mom coming up being so proud of him and his friends cheering for him.

His imagination then took a turn as he found himself in the middle of a battle stadium in the Cameran Palace where aura guardians tend to fight each other to determine their strength. Facing against the highest-ranking aura guardians from the Palace known as Templars. He channeled his aura into his body causing it to take an unearthly rich golden glow.

Gathering the power from within his core to his hands, they each formed individual balls of light which glowed with the intensity of a miniature sun. Ash raised his hands in front of him to, ready to fire his attack at the templar who was covered in a crimson cloak of energy, hugging the man's blue clothed body.

"Ash…"

He could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins and his muscles tightening with excitement as he saw his second and final goal within his grasp. His mouth dries yet salivating at the prospect of his coveted dream coming true.

"Ash?"

With a will of fire burning in his eyes, he let his attack loose, releasing a beam of golden energy towards his opponent.

"Ash!"

A bright white light filled his eyes.

"ASH!"

"Huh?! What?!" Ash frantically looked around, surprised by the loud voice that rang in his ear.

"Daydreaming again? Really?"

Ash turned to his right and saw a teen wearing black jeans, a light blue shirt, and red and white sneakers. However, the most prominent features were his vibrant red hair that went to his shoulders, his hazelnut colored eyes, and a small amused smirk.

"Kace! You're here early too?"

"Of course. It's the graduation exams after all. I'm going to ace everything and find the strongest Pokémon in the forest."

"As if! I'm going to get the strongest Pokémon and beat you!" Ash heatedly replied a stark contrast to Kace's calm and collected tone.

"You lost to me most of the time we sparred."

"That's in the past! I'm going to get so strong on this journey that you'll be eating my dust!"

"I doubt it but we'll see."

"Hmph! I'm going to make you eat your words!"

The two rivals walked through the tall open metallic gate, stepping through a shimmering blue barrier surrounding the academy that faded once they passed through. The two walked down a stone walkway with trees, bushes, and flowers on both sides, making it seem as if they were walking through a forest. A short while later the two found themselves in front of a large open stone door.

Walking through, the two made their way through a sight which would have astounded normal people but having studied at this academy since they were six, it didn't amaze them or any of the other students. Big statues of different Pokémon and people stood around the perimeter of the room, just beside the entrance to hallways with one massive statue standing in the center of the circular room. There were numerous strange carvings on the walls and the floor of the room which looked like symbols.

Ash and Kace ignored all of this having seen it far too often and being knowledgeable about who each of the stone statues was and what the symbols on the ground meant. Walking past the main statue of Sir Aaron and his partner Lucario in the center, the two made their way towards the exit at the back which led to the garden of the academy.

Ash gazed at one particular set of statues of a man and a Nidoking through the corner of this eyes causing his heart to feel heavy for a moment before looking away.

Stepping past the stone pillars, the two students gazed at the rather plain flat field of grass with a large pool of water at the far end of it along. There were numerous bushes of flowers and small trees here and there along with large green crystals that were scattered across the field, seemingly coming out of the ground. The field itself was located in the center of the school and hence was surrounded by hallways that led there and stone pillars.

They made their way towards the center of the garden where they saw a man wearing black pants, a blue jacket that went below his waist and a blue sharp ovular shaped bowler hat with the Cameran Palace symbol on the front of the hat. The symbol itself was a yellow circle being almost completely surrounded by a yellow shape that was part circular since the right side had two triangles pointed outward that were connected to the shape.

Beside him was his partner Lucario, the Aura Pokémon.

"Greetings, Ash. Kace."

"Hey, Sir Riley."

"Good morning Sir Riley."

"I should have expected you two to be the first ones to class today. Are you confident you'll be able to pass the exams? Not everyone does and end up staying a year longer."

"Of course, I'm going to pass! I trained hard and I'm going to give it my all!" Ash's eyes held fierce determination.

Kace snorted. "Given how you end up rushing head first into everything, I doubt you'll pass the connection test or even the hand-to-hand combat test."

"What was that!"

"Have you become deaf?" Kace asked in an innocent tone, which was betrayed by the amused smirk his face held.

The two glared at each other with their competitive fire burning within them.

"Calm down you two. Save your energy. Since everyone will be arriving soon, get started on your morning training. We will be beginning the examination right away once everyone is done."

Ash and Kace looked at Riley and nodded before giving a small "Hmph!" to each other and walking away to do their individual training.

Ash found a spot near a small tree to begin the first part of his regular day to day training to help strengthen his overall aura by strengthening each individual layer of the seven layers that made up his aura. He set his backpack beside him and began.

The first step was to strengthen his Muladhara which is the root of his aura, located within the base of the spine. He balanced himself on his left foot while his right foot rested on top of his left one with his before placing the palms of his hands together in front of his chest and imagining a red swirl of energy located within him at the base of his spine.

Ash's breathing calmed with every breath as he imagined this red swirl of energy connected with the earth beneath his feet causing his muscles to stiffen slightly and become firm and rigid as his body became completely unmoving except for the small movements of his chest. Anyone with training in aura would have seen how his body was surrounded by a thin red glow.

Ash stayed like this for the next ten minutes, switching which leg he was balanced on at the five-minute mark, before finally unable to keep the focus on his Muladhara and relaxing his body while his breathing became a bit heavy.

"I'm getting better at this," Ash said to himself before proceeding to the next part of this training. After Muladhara came Svadhisthana which was the second layer of one's aura located above the pubic bone and under the navel. This layer was mainly strengthened through the use of one's creative thinking whether it be something like cooking, baking or gardening where one is creating something using raw resources or one was using their mind to solve a problem or create a drawing or painting.

So, Ash took out a blank piece of paper from his backpack and a pencil before beginning to draw whatever came to his mind which at this point in time was a Pidgey he had seen this morning. During the time he began to feel the Svadhisthana under his naval and channeled it, imagining an orange ball of swirling energy. He also thought of the Pidgey he had seen and his hand began to draw.

Around ten minutes, later he had finished and the faint orange glow visible only to other aura users faded. He looked at his drawing and immediately sweatdropped.

"Why are my drawings so bad?!" he cried to himself before crumpling the paper and stuffing it inside his backpack, not wanting to see the abysmal representation of a Pidgey.

He moved on and brought out a neatly folded paper from the side pocket of his backpack and opened it, reading the list of exercises. Once he did so, he began the third and second last part of his training which was a mixture of training his Muladhara and his Manipura which was the third aura located within solar plexus, this aura dealt with one's determination to reach their goals, desires, and intentions.

By setting himself a goal of what exercises he wanted to complete with the number of sets and reps, Ash would try to reach this goal no matter what and by doing so he would automatically strengthen his Manipura. And by including the physical training, it would help enhance his Muladhara as well since it dealt with the foundation of one's being hence it being known as the root of one's aura. Because of this, having a strong and balanced physical body through exercising helped strengthen it.

Of course, every layer of one's aura could be strengthened if it was brought out as energy and used to perform amazing feats but that was a much more advanced level of training which Ash had not reached yet.

Ash immediately began the physical portion of his training which was something he excels at, not because of any notable physical qualities but because of the sheer determination he tackled the exercises with which in turn helped him become quite good physically for a fifteen-year-old boy.

Getting into a proper push-up position, with his back being straight and his arms being shoulder length apart and his elbows tucked in, he began going for his goal of doing a total of one hundred and twenty push-ups, two hundred squats, one hundred lunges, eighty burpees, and a variation of different core exercises. These were all split up into four sets of an equal amount of reps.

Ash went through each exercise and while it got more and more difficult as each set went by, he still plowed through, making sure to complete every rep before moving on to the next exercise. By the end of it, he was panting heavily, his shirt was sweaty as hell, and he was lying on his back after he had finished doing the last rep of his core exercise.

"Woohoo. I did it." Ash quietly said to himself, not able to muster the energy to express the joy he always felt when he reached goals he set for himself. He could only imagine the joy he would feel once he became the strongest trainer in the world and became a Prime Templar of the Cameran Palace that stood above all other Templars.

After taking a five-minute break to catch his breath and slow down his heart rate, Ash decided to get to the last portion of his training which focused on the last and final layer of aura known as Sahasrara which focused on the connection of one's spirit to everything around it to obtain a higher consciousness.

He skipped past the other aura's known as Anahata, Vishuddha, and Ajna because they were mainly strengthened by day to day activities. Of course, like all the other layer of one's aura, they could be trained by actually bringing them out and physically using that energy to do some amazing feats but that was only possible if said person was more in tune with that layer of their aura then the other layers.

Anahata is derived on one's ability to unconditionally love others, their compassion, their joy, and their ability to overcome hurt thus being appropriately located directly in the heart. Vishuddha is associated with one's ability to speak the truth, express ideas and be in tune with both one's inner and outer vibrations. This aura is located directly in the throat and its strength is influenced by how much one's other layers of aura have been trained. The second last layer is Ajna which is associated with intuition, clarity, and self-awareness and is located in the middle of the forehead. Strengthening Ajna also strengthens the mind, leading to the development of psychic abilities.

For Ash, he was in harmony with the yellow layer of Manipura while also having a close connection with Muladhara although not as close as Manipura. He was still not at the point of being able to bring the energy residing within that layer of his aura but he was getting close. Especially since he could use his aura to form abilities such as an Aura Sphere as it was much easier than trying to pull out the very specific energy within one layer of seven layers. Manipulating the entire aura of one's self is much easier since very little concentration is required to bring it out – if the person has the correct knowledge of aura and proper training – and its easier to manipulate compared to a specific layer which has different properties and has different requirements to bring it out.

So, with that in mind, Ash got into a seated lotus position and began meditating. While many people considered meditation to be a state when one's mind was completely blank, that was not how meditation worked. It was extremely difficult to reach a state of blankness since the human mind was always thinking of something. The true goal of meditation for the majority of people was to catch when one's mind wandered into random thoughts and bring it back to one peaceful thought such as one's breathing. Reaching a state of a blank mind was extremely difficult and something only people that were mainly in tune with the Sahasrara layer and Ajna layer were capable of.

Ash managed to meditate for about ten minutes, with his mind wandering to random thoughts about every three seconds which was bad by many standards but considering his nature, and the fact that he was more in tune with Manipura and Muladhara, it was to be expected. Ash considered ten minutes to be enough because he usually found it hard to stay completely still any longer.

Seeing that he was done, he decided to walk back where Sir Riley was, idly noting how many of the other students who had probably arrived a few minutes after he began training were just about finished up as well. He sat on the grass a couple feet in front of Sir Riley, beside a tired Kace who was breathing heavily.

"So…how did your training go?"

"Very well. I can easily bring out my Vishuddha and my Ajna. Soon, I'll be able to perform different techniques too."

"Show off," Ash grumbled causing Kace to give him the smirk that caused the fire within him to burn. 'Even if you have natural talent, I'm going to surpass you. Then I'm to surpass…him…and every other aura guardian to have ever existed!'

"You're doing very well Kace. It seems you have inherited your father's natural talent for manipulating Vishuddha and Ajna." Kace gave a small nod to Sir Riley. The teacher saw the fire in Ash's eyes and it reminded him of his own teacher, a man with shoulder-length raven-hair and fierce crimson eyes with a scar across his left cheek. "Ash…" said boy looked at him. "Keep pushing yourself this hard and you'll become one heck of a guardian."

"Thanks, Sir Riley!" Ash exclaimed, happy his teacher had faith in him. Although, Riley always encouraged all his students so it wasn't much different from the usual.

Riley smiled at Ash's enthusiasm. He didn't know if Ash was truly like his father (Ash's father) but he did hold a lot of determination and an uncanny resemblance to the man. It would take him far but just how far remained to be seen. Riley pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind as he saw all of the students had now finished with their training and were now sitting down in front of him.

"Good morning everyone!"

"Good morning Sir Riley!" The class responded at once.

"Now that everyone is here, the examinations will be beginning right away. I hope you all have studied and trained hard as these examinations are very difficult to pass. Let's go over in what order your exams will be taking place. First will come to the written exam where you all will be tested on your knowledge of aura, our history, Pokémon, math, and science. All of you had two months to prepare and study for this so I hope everyone had used this time wisely and studied." Riley said, noting how there were a few nervous laughs among his class. No doubt some students procrastinated and left studying to the last minute.

"Second will come to your combat test where each one of you will show your hand-to-hand combat training skills against a specified instructor along with showing your capabilities to perform an Aura Sphere and an Aura shield along with Aura Concealment. You need to be able to perform all three basic aura abilities along with being passed by your instructor in hand-to-hand combat to pass this portion of the exam."

"And the final portion of your exam will take place at 2:00 p.m. sharp after lunchtime at the Forest of Harmony. This is where you will get your first Pokémon partner through the use of an Aura bond which you all know already how to perform. Keep in mind that the forest is watched by Paladins and a few Templars to make sure you and the Pokémon don't get hurt. Once you bond with your Pokémon and they decide they wish to go with you, come back to the entrance where you entered the forest. Paladin Vida will heal any injuries and then the next day we will give you your results. Understood?"

Everyone nodded so Riley then brought out a stack of papers from his brown bag that he had beside him and handed them out based on the name of the person written on top. Once they were all handed out he returned back to his position in front of the group and motioned everyone to get up.

"Now the written test will begin so please make your way to the designated room and sit at your assigned seat. You will have two hours to complete it and remember, no cheating. We will be watching you so don't even try to attempt it."

Ash and everyone else nodded, knowing full well that cheating was not only plain stupid but just not worth the few extra points it may give you compared to the risk of failing the whole exam and then being held back. It helped that they drilled this into their heads throughout the years they spent studying here.

The class began making their way towards the designated classroom, walking through the grassy field and into one of the many hallways that surrounded this training field. As they were walking a young teenage girl with shoulder length brown hair stood beside Ash.

"Did you study enough for this?"

Ash looked towards his left and instantly recognize the warm brown eyes of his friend Green who always had a very happy and bubbly attitude but she could be quite the devil under the innocent look. Although at this moment, her eyes and face only showed nervousness as she fiddled with her green blouse that went well with her white pants.

"Well, I did study, bit by bit every day. I think I have everything in my head ready to go for at least a pass."

"I hate written exams. I always forget everything the moment I walk in the classroom."

Ash chuckled somewhat nervously. "Same here. Well, we're here. Good luck Green."

"You too Ash."

The two students walked in last, behind the rest of their classmates, handing the sheet of paper they were given to one of the two instructors standing at the door. The classroom was fairly large since it was basically a lecture hall for times when classes combined for a single lesson or for exams in this case. There were around eight curved rows of a single smooth mahogany desk and bench. Each desk had several numbers placed on top, evenly spaced apart with different colored exams underneath it.

Sitting at his assigned seat, Ash looked at the head instructor who had waited until everyone was settled. The man was an imposing individual with shoulder length well kept red hair, a thin goatee and hardened hazelnut colored eyes. Ash instantly recognized the man clad in brown boots, black pants, a blue vest with the Cameran Palace aura symbol on the chest and a dark red cape as Kace's father, Titus.

'Wow, who knew Kace's dad would be supervising this part of the exam. I doubt anyone will even think of cheating now,' thought Ash. 'I can't wait to get started on my journey. I'm going to get so strong, I'll defeat everyone in Cameran Palace! I'm going to surpass you, dad!'

"Listen up! I'm only going to say this once!" Everyone gave Titus their undivided attention. "This exam will test you on the culmination of everything you all have been taught his past year, particularly focusing on your knowledge of the workings of aura. The exam will be divided into fifty multiple choices, ten fill-in-the-blanks, and five short answers. You will have two hours to complete this exam and should you need to go to the bathroom, raise your hand and one of the instructors will escort you. Oh and…don't even think of cheating." The class shivered as fear crawled up all their spines at the rumbling tone of the last few words that reverberated throughout the hall. "Begin."

With that said, a projection of a countdown timer on the whiteboard projector screen appeared, starting at two hours.

All of the students filled out the information on the top page consisting of their name, signature and personal student number.

Ash quickly turned to the first page which consisted of five multiple choice questions and he began answering them. Bit by bit, time went by and he was done the fifty-multiple choice by the time the half an hour mark went by. There were a few questions that were quite tricky, with just one small word that if people missed, it would make them get the whole question wrong. He had followed his teacher's advice and made sure to read through each question very carefully. While he did not know the answer to around ten questions, he just ruled out all the answers he thought were not the right one and picked the best one out of the options he had left. The multiple choice mainly consisted of their knowledge of aura, science, and math and went into very specific detail.

He also ignored all of the instructors walking around, making sure no one cheated.

After that came in the fill in the blanks which consisted of knowing terms and a few dates for various science topics and history respectively. Those had been a bit easier than the multiple choice but it had been hard remembering the specific terms as they felt right on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't just quite get it out.

Ash looked at the time and saw that he had one hour left so he quickly moved onto the short answer questions which consisted of Pokémon training knowledge, two key questions about their history, an explanation question on aura, and a mathematics problem-solving question that also required quite a bit of knowledge on various science topics as well. The last question had taken him the longest since math had never been his strong suit but by the time he was done, he had fifteen minutes left.

Using this time, he went over his test making a few corrections and also second-guessing some of his answers but he ended up going with his original decision since he had learned from experience that second-guessing so many answers only end up bad for you.

*RING*

"Pens and Pencils down! Stay seated until all your exams have been collected!" ordered Titus.

Once all their tests had been collected, Ash walked out of the room with his class and they made their way towards the battleground where Pokémon battles and aura user battles took place.

"How do you think you did Ash?" asked Green as she beside him and Kace.

"I'm going to pass. I struggled on some of those questions but I knew a good chunk of them." Said Ash confidently.

"I wish I could be as confident as you," Green mumbled but Ash didn't hear it. "How about you Kace? How did you do?"

"Aced it."

"Mr. Know It All," Ash grumbled.

Kace gave Ash an amused smirk. "Better to be smart than an idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot!" Ash practically shouted.

"Quiet." Came the familiar voice of Titus who was walking behind the group of students, causing everyone to go silent.

A short while later, the students finally entered the battle arena of the school which was divided into two sides usually with a visible blue barrier in the middle but this time there was no barrier. One side was specifically designed to handle Aura user combat with the other being for Pokémon battles. There were six fields on each side, each housing a very special barrier to prevent any attack from going out of the battlefield limits and to protect trainers in Pokémon battles.

There were aura users clad in the standard aura guardian outfit of blue boots, grey pants and shirt with a blue vest on top, a black cape, blue gloves and a hat with the Cameran Palace symbol on it, each stationed on a field.

"Hello everyone!" Came the very cheery voice of a woman with brown hair tied into a ponytail, joy-filled black eyes and a smile that could light up the entire room. She seemed to be in her early thirties and wore a one-piece black dress that went down to her ankles. The dress had white frills on the waist and end of the dress along with a white bow tie on the chest area. "I'll be the supervisor for the combat part of the graduation exams. Your name will be announced and the battlefield number your exam will be taking place on so make sure to pay attention! Remember it's up to me and the individual instructors whether or not you pass this portion of the exams so make sure to give it your all!"

Ash nodded and was nearly bouncing in excitement at this part of the exam. He had trained very hard and knew he was ready. He planned on giving it his all just like he did with everything.

Ash became disappointed when his name was not called among the first twelve students being tested but he guessed he would just pass the time by watching how they would do. More specifically, how Kace and Green would do considering they were being tested at this very moment.

Kace seemed quite exceptional at hand-to-hand combat, especially considering his skinnier body. His style revolved around dodging attacks smoothly before using quick strikes, even adding some faint attacks in the process. Kace had managed to hold his own against the instructor for five minutes who was looking quite impressed.

Green, on the other hand, struggled quite a bit more since she often was indecisive on whether she should dodge her opponent's attack or block it and more often than not, relied on her legs for her attacks quite opposite of most people who relied on their fists. Regardless she did quite well, managing to last two minutes against the instructor.

Afterwards, the two demonstrated their ability to perform the three basic aura abilities with Kace excelling in concealing his aura and the Aura Shield ability while lacking power in the offensive ability. Green's Aura Concealment was much stronger than her other abilities.

After they were done, the two walked off the battlefield towards him and the rest of the students that had been sitting on nearby benches.

"Awesome job guys!" Ash cheered.

"Did you expect anything less?" Kace replied, confidently.

"Thanks, Ash," Green said as she sat on the bench and wiped her sweat with a small napkin she grabbed from her pocket.

"Ash Ketchum! Report to field seven!"

Ash perked up and literally launched himself off the bench. "Yes! It's my turn now!"

"Good luck Ash." Green said with a smile.

"Thanks." Ash gave Kace a heated glare which the red-haired teen returned, silently sending the message that Ash better perform well.

Walking to the battlefield, Ash silently gazed at the other fighting sessions and ability demonstrations happening. He got even more fired up when he saw how well his class was doing. Stepping up to the instructor, Ash greeted the man with a small duck of his head as a sign of respect.

"Student ID please." Ash handed the man his student card. The instructor looked over it and marked some things on his clipboard before setting it down on the ground a few feet away. "This hand-to-hand combat training session will be for me to judge if you are capable of defending yourself. The longer you can last, the better but I will also be looking at your decision making, fighting style and how you approach me understood." Ash nodded his head. "Then, begin!"

Ash took his fighting stance, with his left arm bent exactly ninety degrees with its forearm facing the opponent while his right arm was completely straight and the right hand is open with the palm facing away from his body. His whole body was turned slightly towards the right while his legs were bent and spread out, a bit wider than shoulder width.

The instructor was in a fighting stance of his own with his legs being bent and shoulder width apart while his arms were crossed to form an 'X' with the palm of his hands facing the side.

The two engaged in a staring contest for a few moments before Ash decided to make the first move. He lunged towards his opponent at an incredible speed, much higher than normal human standards. He used the momentum of bringing his right arm forward along with running to try and land a powerful punch to the instructor's abdomen but it was quickly dodged with a mere back step. Using the opening, the instructor went for a kick to Ash's face.

Ash managed to bring his arms up for defense at the last second but the force behind the push made him stumble backwards for a few moments. This was all the instructor needed as he charged forward, not wanting to give Ash any breathing room. He went for a leg sweep but Ash managed to perform an awkward backflip.

The instructor smirked at this, impressed with the quick thinking.

Ash glared at the instructor while breathing a bit heavily. 'Dam the instructor is fighting a lot harder than all the other spars I had before against others. He's both faster and stronger than me so how can I win? I shouldn't block his attacks since I won't last too long but I can somewhat keep up with his speed. I guess I should try to use his own strength against him and try to make openings in his guard and then take the win.' This train of thought went through Ash's mind in a split second as he charged intending to carry out his plan.

The instructor was a bit surprised when Ash charged a mere second after landing from the back-flip since the majority of students spent a moment or two thinking out plans which always resulted in mark deductions. In real life, no one fighting will give you time to think and will take any advantage they get. Especially the Kasta…the aura users that used their powers for selfish desires and did not care who they hurt in the process.

The instructor shook his head from the thought and immediately started blocking Ash's strikes which did not hold as much power as his initial strike did at the beginning of the test but they were quick, nearing his own top speed but not quite there. As the blows continued, the instructor idly noted how Ash was mainly attacking in the form of punches.

Eventually, one punch came in which he noticed, Ash took a split second to perhaps put more power behind it and prepared to dodge it in order to use the opening. Ash analyzed the man's footwork and saw a slight pivot in the instructor's right leg – Ash's POV – to dodge his left-hand punch which was exactly what he wanted. Ash immediately stopped the punch in mid-air and drove his right hand into the side of the instructor's torso, landing on his ribs.

The instructor stumbled back a bit and tried to ignore the pain that came from the rather powerful jab. He was quite surprised that Ash had managed to trick him with a faint attack like that. He decided not to let his guard down and see how Ash could handle him if he fought full force. With his two years of experience as an aura guardian, nearing the rank of knight, he doubted it.

With that in mind, the instructor recovered from the attack and ran at full speed towards Ash, not allowing him to take in his small victory. He launched a barrage of punches and kicks causing Ash to block as many as he could but he ended up taking a few hits. Regardless, the instructor had been impressed with his reaction speed to his attacks and noted a slight flaw in his defense which if Ash had been aware of and fixed, his defense would have been nearly twice as good.

Ash got no time to catch his breath as lacking focus for even one second would have no doubt ended it for him given the forces he could feel behind the instructor's punches which seemed to have increased compared to earlier. Eventually, Ash decided to go for broke because he could barely keep up with the instructor's speed and he could not find any hole in his defense. When the instructor went for a kick on his abdomen, Ash caught the kick rather than deflecting it and then raised his foot, ready to kick the man in the abdomen with all his might.

However, the instructor quickly reacted, jumping off of his remaining free foot while simultaneously spinning in the air and spin kicking Ash in the side of the head with his heel.

Ash didn't know what happened as one second, he was readying for his strike, and the next his face was eating dirt while his vision was filled with black spots. He took a minute to recover his bearings and for his vision to clear up. Pushing himself off the ground but staying seated on the ground while leaning on his arms, Ash looked at the instructor who was looking at him with a smile.

"Well done Ash. You lasted four minutes against me and even managed to hold your own when I was fighting at my absolute best. You're something else."

Ash smiled as pride filled him at the words. Despite his disappointment at his defeat, Ash planned to use this as motivation to grow stronger. "Thank you!"

"Are you ready for the next portion of the test?"

"Yes."

"Ok then. First off, launch your most powerful Aura Sphere at me. After that make an Aura Shield and block my Aura Sphere. Last but not least, conceal your aura to the best of your abilities and will try to sense you."

Ash nodded his head and begun the first step. He stood with his legs shoulder-width apart and brought his hands together with the palms facing each other with four inches of space in between. Concentrating on bringing forth the power born from his soul – his aura – Ash began to imagine a rotating sphere of energy, moulding the energy he was bringing out into that shape. A rotating sphere of white energy formed in between his hands and he poured as much of his aura into it as he could without sacrificing all of his energy.

He then launched it towards the instructor who formed a flat rectangular shaped barrier made of white energy in front of him that was a bit taller than himself. The attack collided with the shield and pushed against it but the instructor held still although he was surprised at the power behind the attack. The sphere lasted for about three seconds before exploding, kicking up dust from the battlefield.

The dust began to clear and Ash could see a faint white light coming from the same direction as the instructor. Ash tensed and immediately put up an Aura Shield of his own but his being in an octagonal shape and not as big as the instructors. Analyzing the tests of all of the students before him had been helpful since he had seen the instructors launch an Aura Sphere at unexpected times during the aura ability test to see the student's reaction times.

The sphere collided with his shield and while it pushed him back a foot, Ash managed to hold his shield up until the Aura Sphere exploded under the strain, causing dust to once again be kicked up.

'That attack was powerful but I doubt it was the instructor's full power.' Said Ash knowing full well the instructors were holding back.

Once the dust settled the instructor looked at Ash with a blank look, not giving out his thoughts of being impressed with the teen. "Now try and conceal your aura."

Ash did so and concentrated, trying to pull his aura into his body and lock it in there. He could feel it being pulled in, albeit very slowly but it wasn't long before his concentration broke since the sensation of trying to conceal his aura sent a tingling sensation throughout his body. It just felt wrong to him which is why he often could barely accomplish this ability since it required precise control over one's aura.

The instructor then nodded at Ash. "Ok, this portion of your test is done. Go to Paladin Vida to be healed and wait until all students have been tested."

Ash nodded before making his way towards his rival Kace and his friend Green, both of whom were currently being treated by Paladin Vida who was the head instructor for this portion of the exam.

'I wonder how I did? Probably awesome!' Ash thought with a gleeful expression

"Nice job Ash! That was one heck of a fight!" Green cheerfully greeted, breaking Ash out of his thoughts.

"Good job not doing that bad."

"Hmph! I did better than you! I lasted four minutes!"

"And I lasted five."

Ash let loose a growl of frustration causing the woman healing the two to giggle. "Fierce rivals forever eh you two?" Ash simply grumbled something incoherent while Kace stayed silent with a smug look. "Oh, don't be like that you two. Remember that the time you lasted during the fight isn't all important. It's up to our evaluation of your fighting and decision making that counts."

"I know I'm definitely passing."

"Don't be so overconfident Ash. Even people who do well don't end up passing because of mistakes or faults we see that they can't."

Ash and company turned to see Titus walk towards them.

"Dad?"

"Kace, good work. We'll discuss your strengths and flaws after the exams are done." Titus replied in a serious tone leaving his son to simply nod. "Ash, you did a fantastic job as well. You may not have your father's raw talent but your sheer determination makes me think you'll surpass him one day."

Kace frowned at the compliments his father gave Ash.

Ash's eyes widened at the words. "Really?"

"Yes. Hard work can take you far, sometimes even farther than raw talent but those are rare cases which you may very well be. But that's in the future. I hope you don't mind me asking but what region do you plan on traveling to first?"

"Kanto." Ash replied not surprised by the polite and gentle tone of the man since he always acted like that with him while he was stricter and more unforgiving with others but he never told him why despite asking a couple times.

"I see, well if you pass the exams, make sure to watch your back during your travels in Kanto. Team Rocket have made their home base in Kanto and with the Kasta, we can't afford the manpower to take them down."

"I will."

Titus then went to conversing with Vida who was releasing a green wave of energy that was washing over Ash, healing his bruises and speeding up his aura generation so he would be at his full reserves by the time the hour was up.

Kace meanwhile had silently watched Titus conversing with Ash and looked at the two with a sharp gaze in his eyes.

Once all of the students had been tested, the instructors all stood in front of the group of students resting on the ground with Paladin Vida in front of the instructors.

"Great job everyone. With the combat portion of the exam over, you all are dismissed to go home, have lunch and get all the supplies you will need for the final portion of the exam. Remember, the final portion will take up three days and nights so I hope you all have prepared and gotten all the items we had recommended to you." All of the students nodded. "Make sure you all give it one hundred percent."

With those final words from Vida, the students got up, a few releasing some groans from how tired they felt despite being healed by Vida who was the foremost expert in Anahata and a doctor to boot.

Ash and Green walked beside each other and walked towards their homes – which were in the same general direction - after picking up their backpacks.

"So, how do you think you did?"

"Pretty well I think."

"I think so too. You know if this was a lying test, you would be guaranteed a pass with one hundred percent."

Green gave a smug smirk "Still mad about that prank?"

"You made me and Kace try to sneak in the staff room and put Laxatives in their food right before lunch! Seriously, how do you lie so well? We both thought that was a secret test!"

"It's a…gift." Green said quite over dramatically as she waved her arms in a circular motion as if throwing sparkles in the air.

Ash simply gave an annoyed sigh. He had to suffer through two weeks of detention for that. Worst of all, he had to spend it with Kace of all people.

The two then silently walked through the streets that were bustling with activity. The two occasionally greeted someone they knew or stopped to pet a Pokémon. They had to split off to their separate homes eventually and Ash went into a sprint since he was both starving and excited to tell his mom about what occurred in the exam so far.

Ash huffed as he finally arrived at the door to his home and rang the bell. Half a minute later, his mom opened the door.

"Ash, your back! How did the first two parts of the exam go?" Delia asked in a cheery voice, excited to know how her baby boy did.

Ash walked in and began taking off his shoes while setting his back near the rack of footwear. "I think I did pretty well mom. The written exam was a bit difficult but I'm sure I passed that. For the combat test, I managed to last four minutes fighting the instructor and was able to do all three aura abilities."

"That's wonderful! I'm proud of Ash. Now go clean up. I have prepared a big feast for you."

"Ok." Ash proceeded to run upstairs and take a shower and grab the pair of clothes his mom had already prepared for him in his room which consisted of black track pants with white stripes, and a crimson red sports shirt.

Once he reached back downstairs, he sat on the seat opposite of Delia on the marble dining table where a plate filled with steaming vegetables, spicy beans mixed with rice awaited him along with a glass filled with a thick green liquid. He recognized this as the healthy but very tasty smoothie made from spinach, several berries, and fruits along with a small amount of water.

"This smell's amazing!" His stomach grumbled in agreement.

"Well then, don't keep your stomach waiting." Delia giggled as Ash began to devour his food although he did not forget his manners. She proceeded to eat her own meal in relative silence. After they were done, Ash and Delia began washing the dishes together while discussing the upcoming Connection test taking place in an hour and a half in the Forest of Harmony.

"I have packed everything you will need for the final test in your new travel bag."

"Thanks, mom."

"No need to thank me Ashy. So, what Pokémon are you hoping to find?"

"Any Pokémon can be powerful if trainer right so I don't really care!"

"That's good to hear. Do you have a plan on how you are going to try and find a Pokémon in the Forest?"

"Not really. I was just planning on looking around. The Pokémon in there are pretty calm so it should be easy to just walk around and eventually bond with one."

"I'm sure you'll find the perfect one for you."

Once they were done washing the dishes, they continued their conversation on the couch until the time came for Ash to leave for the final portion of his exam. Delia brought the travel knapsack she bought for him not just for the exam but also once he passes it and goes on his journey. She just knew her baby boy would pass it.

Ash grabbed the backpack and placed his sneakers on.

"You take care of yourself in the forest young man."

"I will mom, don't worry."

The two hugged and stayed like that for a minute before separating.

"Goodluck Ash. I know you'll do great."

Ash smiled at her sincere tone. "Thanks, mom. I'll try my best!"

Ash then opened the door and ran out, heading towards the final location of the exam. However, while he was running, his mother's shout reached his ears.

"DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR!"

Ash face-faulted while his face burned from embarrassment as some of the people let loose a few laughs. "MOM!" Ash then quickly ran off before his mom could embarrass him anymore.

Ash ran through the streets; his previous embarrassment being replaced by excitement at the prospect of getting his own Pokémon. He made his way past the academy and headed straight towards the massive bridge that ran across lake Serenity, to the Cameran Palace that sat atop a piece of land smack dab in the middle of said lake.

As Ash reached the palace, he saw numerous guards, wearing full out metal armor that was metallic blue in color. They made for not only an impressive sight but quite the intimidation tool to ward out intruders as well as making them nigh invulnerable. However, Ash ignored them since he was not there to admire then but rather to make his way around the palace, through the gardens that surrounded them. He reached the bridge that would lead him towards the Forest of Harmony where his test would begin.

Racing across the bridge at an amazing speed of around thirty-five miles per hour which was not possible for a normal human but he had aura training thus his body surpassed that of normal people. Reaching the end, Ash could barely contain his excitement as he followed the dirt path through a small forest before eventually reaching a clearing where he saw Titus, Vida, and Riley standing there along with Kace, Green and a couple students that arrived before him.

Ash greeted the instructors and his friends before engaging in a conversation. Well, a conversation with Green and a heated discussion with Kace as to who would get the better Pokémon much to the amusement of the instructors and several of the students.

Once every student arrived and a few Sentinels, which were aura users whose sole job was to guard sanctuaries such as the Forest of Harmony, preventing any poacher from entering the area while also helping resolve any issues the Pokémon in there may face.

The Sentinels wore white robes with blue geometric outlines and their faces were covered with a hood. All of them had a thin bracelet on their right arms that held a light blue glue through the middle of it.

This time Sir Riley came to a few steps forward and began speaking in a booming voice so it reached everyone – using Vishuddha to enhance his vocal cords. "Now that you all have finished your written and combat portion of the exam, its time to move onto the final test. This is where you all will be able to find your very own Pokémon partner who you will bond to and become friends with for your entire life. You all have read through and studied the rulebook for this portion of the test and know what is and isn't allowed but I would still like to go through some key points."

"First of all, remember that you are not to help each other find a Pokémon partner. This is to be done entirely on your own. This leads to the second point that you cannot interfere another person if they are in the process of bonding with a Pokémon or at least getting to know them just because you want that particular Pokémon as your partner. Doing so will result in an immediate fail for the exam. We will be constantly watching you not only to make sure you obey the rules but to keep you and the Pokémon safe should trouble arise. Third, make sure not to disturb the home of any of the Pokémon. If you wish to explore a particular territory that a Pokémon has marked, ask them for permission using your aura as a base for communicating your feelings. Most of the Pokémon here are friendly and will not attack unless you provoke them. Finally, you will be using the Harmonic Balls we have given you to capture the Pokémon after you have bonded with it. Does everyone understand?!" All of the students nodded. "Then begin!"

All of the students cheered before running into the forest in front of them which was the Forest of Harmony.

It had been around four hours since Ash had entered the Forest of Harmony and had encountered quite a few Pokémon along the way but none that he actually felt a connection towards. He knew that it wasn't going to be easy so he didn't go into this expecting to find an ultra-powerful Pokémon that would just so happen to bond with him.

Currently, he was making his way through the forest while looking at a small map of the area he was handed a few days ago by the academy. He saw that about one kilometer north, there was a large river stream.

'The Pokémon probably go there often to drink water so maybe that's where I should do. And I can set up camp there since it will be getting dark soon.'

Ash put away the map and continued walking although at a quicker pace since he was still very excited and needed to set up camp. As he walked through the fairly dense forest, he smiled at the various bug and grass types that were sitting on the tree branches. The fresh air and serene atmosphere made him feel calmer by the minute.

'If traveling feels this amazing, I can barely wait for my journey to start.'

It was around twenty minutes later did Ash find himself leaving the thicket behind while carrying a bundle of dry branches, twigs, and leaves for the fire he would have to set up. Currently, at the bank of a fairly large river that ran through deep into the forest and connected with Lake Serenity, Ash set his pile of firewood and backpack down. He brought out a small box shaped like a briefcase.

Opening the briefcase up, Ash saw the numerous box-shaped keys, each with a different word on top. He clicked the one that said camp and once he did, a beam of white energy was released from the key, and not a second later, his tent, sleeping bag, and various other camping material materialized right beside him - within a red ring made of a plastic type material - much like a Pokémon would from a Poké Ball.

He silently thanked the person who had invented this piece of technology, named Travel Storage Device (TSD), which was very similar to the Poké Ball in that it materialized a set of equipment within the boundaries of the red ring, storing it as pure energy. You could then release it whenever you wanted by simply pressing the key. It made traveling a whole lot easier for trainers and was fairly cheap plus it did not make one's bag heavy since the material was converted to data and energy, thus weighed nothing.

Ash then began to set up the tent like he was thought and found a bunch of rocks to place in a circle to start his campfire. Once done with everything, he materialized some food his mom had made and thanks to the TSD, the food was the exact same as when it was first put in, hot and fresh.

Once he was done the bowl of beans, he ate some vegetables and sweet potatoes before washing the dishes at the river. While he was washing the dishes, he noticed a few Magikarp, Poliwag, Horsea, Spheal, Buizel and a whole bunch of water types from various regions swimming about. There were even some Dratini but the Pokémon swam as far away from him as possible, no doubt scared of him. He knew the majority of the Pokémon in this forest were saved from various criminal organizations or the black market when they were sold off by poachers.

Ash's eyes held rage for those types of people that treated Pokémon as nothing but tools or as a source for profit. They were living beings and deserved the freedom to choose and live the way they wanted to just as much as humans did. Its why they had this connection test in the first place, to show that humans and Pokémon could live in harmony. Aura users always asked a Pokémon if they wanted to join and then bonded with them, rather then attack and capture them. Who knows how many Pokémon had been ripped away from their families and homes because of trainers.

But it's not as if this type of thing had started recently. With the dark history that most people unaware of, it's more than likely that demons from the past continue to rage on towards this day.

Ash shook his head and pushed the dark line of thought to the back of his mind. "No point in thinking about that."

Once he was done the dishes, he stored everything back in the TSD before getting comfortable in his sleeping bag. His mind wandered to the dreams he wanted to reach. One was to surpass his father and become the best aura guardian to have ever existed, which while was very farfetched, drove him to train hard every day to eventually make it a reality. The second was to become the worlds best trainer and battler, something which he had found himself interested in whenever his mom had taken him to the Indigo League to watch the Conferences that took place there. She also took him to see trainers challenging the Elite Four although only one had made it to Lance, the current Kanto and Johto champion, in the past decade but lost quite quickly against his powerful Pokémon.

Ash wanted to beat the Elite Four and Champion of every region and become the very best, not for the title of Champion but to be known as the best trainer.

He sighed as he imagined himself reaching his goals. He knew that the road would be long and extremely difficult but its that fact that made the fire within him burn even brighter.

Ash didn't even realize when sleep had claimed him.

Ash walked up a steep hill, making his way to the top so that he could get a better view of the entire forest. It was about noon, and the heat from the sun was scorching, causing his face and exposed skin to feel like it was burning. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Ash pushed himself, making sure to walk slowly and take care in where he placed his foot. He did not want to slip and roll all the way down the hill.

It had been two days and nights since the connection test started and he still hadn't found a Pokémon partner. He had encountered a few of his classmates and met many rare and great Pokémon but none who he felt a connection with. There had been friendly, Aron, Riolu, Bagon, Gible, Abra, etc. which all would have made for wonderful partners but some didn't want to leave their home and others simply didn't resonate with Ash.

While it was looking like he wouldn't find a partner, Ash didn't give up hope and continued searching which was why he currently found himself trying to get a better view of the surrounding area and perhaps find a place where there were lots of Pokémon. When he made it to the top, he saw that he was in fact on a cliff which was quite large with several trees growing near the edge.

He walked to the edge and noticed how far up he actually was. It's a good thing he didn't have a fear of heights or he probably would have fainted at this point. Looking out at the horizon, he saw how huge the forest was along with several mountains in the distance and a few large ponds. However, the most noticeable thing was the Tree of Beginning. It was extremely large, larger than all of the surrounding mountains.

Ash bowed his head for a second in respect at the sacred place before getting back to his current predicament. After a few seconds of analyzing the area, Ash decided it would be best to visit the ponds and maybe try and find a Pokémon.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard some rustling coming from a nearby tree that was at the very edge of the cliff. Curious as to the cause of the sound, Ash walked towards it and eventually noticed a small brownish-green colored figure that almost blended amongst the leaves of the tree. He didn't recognize the Pokémon given his or her back was turned towards him but he saw that he/she was eating some Sitrus berries.

Ash took a few steps forward to get a better look but this caused him to snap a twig which caused the Pokémon to be startled and turn towards him. This resulted in causing the Pokémon to lose its balance on the branch it was on fall. Given how the tree was at the edge of the cliff and the branch the Pokémon had been sitting on reached over it, the Pokémon would no doubt plummet all the way to the bottom of the cliff.

"LARRR!"

Ash's eyes widened as time seemingly slow down for him as he saw the Pokémon falling. He instinctively ran forward at his full speed and jumped straight after the Pokémon. Tucking in his arms to his side and keeping his legs straight, Ash dived for the falling Pokémon, eventually catching up to it and grabbing it.

"Lar!" the Pokémon shouted, startled at being wrapped like that while falling.

Ash quickly saw the ground approaching fast and looked around for anything to grab onto to and managed to find a long root probably from the trees above jutting out of the cliffside. As it approached, Ash prepared himself to grab onto it. As soon as it came, he grabbed it but the resulting jerk causing his shoulder to dislocate.

"AGHHH!" A scream of pain shot out of his mouth but somehow, through sheer force of will, he managed to hold onto the root.

After a few moments of heavy panting, Ash opened his eyes and saw the terrified expression of the Pokémon in his arms which he now recognized to be a Larvitar. This was no doubt the reason why his shoulder dislocated so easily despite his tougher body. Larvitar weighed around one hundred and fifty pounds which was about how much he weighed. Breaking the fall with both of their weight was more then his arm could handle.

"H-Hey…don't worry…I got you." Said Ash trying to sooth the Pokémon.

The Larvitar saw the sincere smile on human's face despite the pain he knew the human was in. The rock-ground type relaxed in his grip and gave a smile of gratitude. "Lar, Larvitar."

It was pretty easy to tell Larvitar was no doubt thanking Ash for saving him.

"No problem, although it's my fault for startling you like that. Now, can you climb up to the branch? I'm not sure how long I can hold on." Said, Ash, as he could feel his grip slipping and began to try and concentrate. He felt Larvitar use his clothing to climb up the branch while he imagined a red swirl of energy and used his Muladhara to enhance his physical strength as much as he could to prevent himself and the Pokémon from falling to their doom.

Although the sensation was uncomfortable, he felt himself getting a bit stronger as Larvitar finally managed to get onto the branch, relieving his body of the extra weight. Now came the problem of how he was going to climb on top of the root.

He knew he couldn't move his left arm, lest he want to be subjected to intense pain resulting in him letting go. So, he tried to reach the root with his other arm but was inches away from the root and he couldn't use his other arm to help in any way.

"Ghh. Almost there…" Ash let loose a noise of frustration as he tried to reach for the branch which was only a couple inches away. Just as he was about to give up and let himself hang there, he felt something pulling on his right hand.

Looking upward, he saw Larvitar grabbing onto his hand and pulling with all his might. Larvitar had an intense amount of strength packed into his little body and as a result, Ash ended up managing to not only get hold of the root but place his arm around it. This enabled him to use his core, toughened through lots of intense training, and awkwardly push his whole body on top of the branch.

Panting a bit due to the exertion, Ash looked at Larvitar with a grateful smile. "Thanks a ton, Larvitar. I wouldn't have made it without your help."

"Larvitar, lar lar!" The rock-ground type cheered while pounding his chest in a show of strength.

Ash looked at his dislocated shoulder and grunted a bit as it still hurt like hell. He needed to pop it back into place. Looking at Larvitar he decided to ask the Pokémon for help. "Larvitar…I'm going to need your help."

"Lar?" The Pokémon tilted his head in confusion.

"I need your help to fix my shoulder. When I tell you to, can you please push my shoulder just enough that it fits back into place? Don't use all your strength otherwise my shoulder will break." Ash then demonstrated what he meant using his right arm to explain the motion.

Larvitar understood and nodded his head with a determined look in his eyes. "Lar, Larvitar!"

Ash then proceeded to carefully take off his backpack and pull out a small towel. "On the count of three, do it."

Larvitar nodded and got in place while Ash leaned down a bit and placed the towel in his mouth. He then used his right arm to count down. "3, 2, 1…MPHH!"

The moment his fingers reached three, Larvitar pushed as Ash showed him but not with all his strength. This caused a small popping sound to be heard and Ash had bit down on the towel harshly at the flash of pain before a sense of relief filled him although he still felt some discomfort. No doubt, he would have to go back to Paladin Vida and have her take a look at it.

Ash released the towel from his mouth and looked at Larvitar with a smile. "Thanks a ton again Larvitar."

"Larvitar, lar lar!" The rock-ground type cheered again in the same manner by punching his chest.

Ash smiled before frowning. Looking upwards, he saw the cliff that was fairly straight but there was no good place to get proper footing so climbing it was out of the question for him. He then looked downward and saw that they were still a good hundred feet off the ground. Although, there were a few more roots below them as far as he could see.

"Larvitar, I think we're going to have to climb down."

Larvitar looked down and then back at Ash and nodded, no fear in his eyes.

Ash looked through his bag and materialized sets of rope from his TSD and proceeded to tie it to the branch and then place it around himself and Larvitar before showing him how to lower himself downward. The Pokémon followed Ash's instructions carefully, and they proceeded to climb down, making their way to another root. Following the procedure again, the two eventually reached the ground.

"WOOHOO! Sweet ground!" Ash cried in joy with Larvitar doing the same.

"LARVITAR!"

Once the two were done jumping for joy, Ash looked at Larvitar and kneeled down on the ground. "Thanks for all your help Larvitar and sorry for about all this."

"Lar, Larvitar tar tar," Larvitar said with a shake of his head.

Ash mostly understood that Larvitar was saying something along the lines of "No problem at all."

That's when Ash's eyes widened a slight bit. "Hey, Larvitar…do you want to come on a journey with me?"

"Lar?"

"You see, I plan to go on a journey around the world and have this dream of becoming the best Pokémon trainer and aura guardian ever. I was wondering if you want to come on this journey with me?" asked Ash in a sincere tone.

Larvitar stayed silent for a few moments, causing Ash's hope to dwindle.

"Larvitar!"

Ash couldn't help the grin that came on his face when Larvitar jumped in joy and nodded his head. "So, that means that you want to come with me?" The Pokémon nodded again causing his grin to become wider as he barely contained his excitement since there was still one more thing that needed to be done. "Larvitar do you know what an aura bond is?"

Larvitar nodded his head given that the majority of the Pokémon in the forest knew their pact with the guardians that guarded the forest and he had learned about this examination from the other Pokémon living here.

"Great! Now just stay still and relax." Larvitar did so but could not help widen his eyes a slight bit when a small stream of white energy came forth from Ash's chest and made its way towards Larvitar's own chest.

The moment this happened, the two widened their eyes as they felt a strange sensation wash over them. It was as if they were both viewing each other but from the other's perspective. They felt each other's emotions. Nervousness, happiness, excitement, tranquility…but most of all, the connection that was forming between them. It was unlike anything they had ever felt before.

By the time they had regained their sense of reality, the two had opened their eyes and saw that the white stream of energy between them was no longer there, but they felt the connection they now shared. They could essentially sense the other's presence there, but they still felt something strange. Ash noted to ask Titus, Vida or Riley about this.

"Now the last step to this, just tap his ball and we'll officially be partners," Ash said as he expanded the blue Poké Ball with white geometric outlines from its minimized form. Larvitar did so and tapped the sphere, before being converted into red energy and being sucked into it.

Larvitar felt no pressure or resistance from within the ball but a strange sensation as if he was being asked whether he wanted to be captured or not. This was nothing like what some of the Pokémon he had spoken to described. They said that when you were captured, you felt a strange pressure trying to confine you within the sphere but here he had felt none of that. Relaxing and mentally accepting this capture, the ball gave the signature ding sound at the capture. Larvitar then wished to come outside and the ball immediately responded to the Pokémon's will and did so.

Ash watched the capture with a smile knowing full well that Larvitar accepted being his partner. When the rock-ground type came out of the ball, Ash patted his head, causing the Pokémon to melt to his touch. "Welcome to my family partner."

"Lar! Larvitar lar lar!"

Ash chuckled at the joyous rock-ground type. "I guess now we have to head back…although, I have no idea where exactly I am…" Ash said looking around and seeing nothing but trees and the cliff behind him. He was broken out of his thoughts when he felt a tug on his pants. Looking down, Ash saw Larvitar pointing upwards, toward the cliff.

Ash's eyes widened at what Larvitar was trying to say. "Great job Larvitar! I guess we make our way back to the top of the cliff by going around. Then I should be able to easily find the way back."

"Lar!"

Let's go!

Just as they were about to walk, Larvitar heard a very faint rustle coming from a distance behind them. It was too low for Ash to hear though.

"Lar?" The rock-ground type looked around trying to find the source of the noise but found nothing.

"Larvitar?"

The Pokémon looked at Ash before looking back at the bush and then back at Ash. Shaking his head, Larvitar then proceeded to walk towards the direction they were originally headed towards. Ash shrugged and walked beside his partner noticing that he gave one last glance behind them before looking forward.

"Wonder what that was about?" Ash mumbled to himself.

Titus glanced at the retreating backs of Ash and his new partner, Larvitar. He had seen the whole ordeal of Ash jumping after Larvitar and then breaking their fall by grabbing a root coming out of the cliff resulting in a dislocated shoulder. He had used his telekinetic powers to slow down Ash's descent when he had fallen which resulted in only a dislocated shoulder. Given Larvitar's added weight, Ash would have lost his entire left arm had he not been here.

He had been more than prepared to interfere afterwards and help Ash and would have had he not want to see how Ash would respond to the situation he was in. Most kids would freak out at this point but surprisingly enough Ash managed to stay calm and collected and find a way out of the precarious situation he had found himself in.

In the process, he got himself quite the rare partner as well, since Larvitar was quite hard to find, even in their home region of Johto, and this was the only Larvitar in the entire forest too brought here when his mother had been killed by poachers when he had just been in an egg.

"You've found quite the partner Ash. And risking your life like that for a Pokémon without hesitation. Your father would have been so proud of you."

Titus then left, a sad smile on his face, getting back to patrolling the forest along with the Sentinels to keep an eye on the kids.

Once Ash and Larvitar had made it back to the top of the cliff, which had taken around two hours, it had been easy to find the right way back to the starting point of the exam. Currently, the two were just about there and Ash had been rambling on about his traveling plans.

"After we complete all of the gym battles, I was thinking that we can come back to Rota and then go to different places to train for the conference. Then, I was thinking of maybe heading to maybe Hoenn or Sinnoh…or maybe Johto."

Larvitar sweat-dropped at how his human partner kept rambling on about traveling and battling. Truth-be-told, Larvitar was excited at the prospect of battling other Pokémon and becoming strong but the length of time Ash had been rambling was starting to get annoying considering that they had been walking for nearly six hours – with rest and snacks in between - and dusk was approaching.

"LAR!" Larvitar shouted while lightly kicking Ash's foot.

Ash stopped rambling and looked at Larvitar who was glaring at him and he could practically sense the annoyance rolling off of him. "Is something wrong Larvitar?"

"Lar! Larvitar lar lar, vitar!"

Ash got the gist of what Larvitar said considering he was gesturing towards his mouth. "Sorry about that. I tend to ramble a lot when it comes to battling and training." Ash said with a blush of embarrassment.

"Tar," Larvitar nodded.

Ash rubbed his aching shoulder a bit before looking at Larvitar. "Say Larvitar, are you okay with leaving the forest to travel. I mean you must have friends and family here?" Larvitar shook his head. "Really?"

Larvitar nodded but didn't say anything else which gave Ash reason enough to shut up. It was probably something sensitive.

A few minutes later, Ash and Larvitar found themselves back in the clearing where he saw a few students sitting there along with Paladin Vida. Two people he instantly recognized was Green and Kace.

Green was currently quite dirty with the mud and dirt on her clothes and hair. She was patting her partner Pokémon which he recognized to be a Bulbasaur. Near her was Kace who had a Bagon near him that was headbutting a boulder. When Kace saw Ash walking towards them he smirked and told Green who looked in his direction as well.

Ash was also looking a bit dirty with specs of dust and dirt on his clothes but Kace was looking a bit worse given the few bruises on his hands and clothing that looked to be a bit ripped.

"I guess luck was on your side if you found a Pokémon," Kace said with a smug look.

Ash easily detected the insult in his words. "What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Have you gotten dumber in the three days you spent in the forest?"

Just as Ash was about to retort, Paladin Vida almost magically appeared in front of him with a stern, angry and concerned look on her face.

"What the hell were you thinking young man?!" Vida practically shouted in his face, which was very unlike her normal bubbly attitude which is why it caught Kace, Green and many of the other students off-guard.

"W-What are you talking about?" Ash nervously asked while backing a bit. Larvitar sensed his partner's nervousness and immediately jumped in front of him despite detecting the massive amount of power radiating from the human female.

"GRR…" Larvitar growled in a threatening manner towards Vida.

Vida looked at the Larvitar and then back at Ash and sighed, her facial features softening. "I mean that stunt you pulled. You do realize you could have lost your left arm today?"

This fact that caught Kace and Green off-guard since they didn't know their rival and friend could have been handicapped today.

"What do you mean Ash could have lost his left arm?" Green asked.

"Apparently, Larvitar here had fallen off a cliff and Ash jumped after it. He managed to catch him and break their fall by grabbing onto a root. This would have destroyed his left shoulder joint completely but Titus had been there and used his telekinesis to slow their descent resulting in only a dislocated shoulder."

"So, that's who that was…" Ash mumbled to himself referring to Larvitar looking back at a spot in the trees and bushes at the bottom of the cliff. No doubt, Larvitar had sensed Titus.

"Now come here and let me take a look at you," Vida said seriously to which Ash immediately complied.

Ash took off his top clothing revealing quite the toned body for a fifteen-year-old much like all of the other kids in his class given their training. Vida then placed her hands a few inches above his left shoulder and a green glow came from them.

"It's a good thing you fixed your shoulder quite quickly otherwise I would have had to admit you to the medical ward for treatment," Vida explained after a few seconds. Around half a minute later, she said, "Now, your shoulder's good as new but I recommend letting it heal for a day or two and stay away from any sort of heavy lifting or strain."

Ash nodded and then began conversing with his friend and rival. Green apparently had gotten stuck in mud and Bulbasaur had saved her resulting in them bonding. Kace had encountered Bagon who tried headbutting him several times before the two had bonded.

"Although that was stupid, you were quite brave to do that Ash," Kace mumbled, almost to low for Ash to hear.

Ash gasped. "Was that a praise from the top student in the academy!? I am honored."

"Don't be ridiculous. I said you were stupid." Kace denied with a small blush of embarrassment.

"And you were a ramming post for Bagon," Ash replied with a smug smirk, one that was usually on Kace's face.

"You…you! Hmph!" Kace grunted and walked away, unable to think of a comeback, and Bagon walked beside him.

"Ah, the sweet taste of victory," Ash said while taking a deep breath of air. The cool crisp breeze wafting over his face just made him all the better.

"Kace could never make a good comeback on the spot, could he?" Green asked rhetorically.

"Nope."

"Now you two should get home. It will be a while before we round up all the kids still in the forest. Your reports will be given to you tomorrow." Came the voice of Vida.

"Yes, Paladin Vida." The two replied simultaneously before walking back home with their Pokémon partners by their side.

Standing in front of the door to his home, Ash took a deep breath, happy to be able to see his mom after three days in the forest but also extremely excited at the prospect of starting his journey tomorrow. He was pretty confident he passed all portions of the test. Looking at Larvitar who had been quite enamoured with all the sights he had been seeing for the first time since he had spent practically all his life in the forest or underground.

Both the Cameron Palace and the Town of Rota had been jaw-dropping experiences for the rock-ground type and he had been looking everywhere, taking in every sight he possibly could.

"Larvitar."

"Lar?"

"Now, I'm going to introduce you to my mom." Larvitar nodded and Ash knocked on the door, not noticing the sad frown on his partners face.

"ASH!" came the shout of his mom as she opened the door and hugged him for dear life. When she had gotten the news of what happened to Ash during the exam, she had been worried sick and wanted nothing more then to run over there and see if her baby boy was okay. It was only reassurance from the aura guardian who delivered the message saying that Titus was looking after him and that Vida would heal any injuries did she calm down enough.

Still, the waiting had been unbearable.

"Mom…air!" Ash gasped as his mom was squeezing the living daylights out of him.

Delia let go but immediately dragged Ash inside with Larvitar following him, not reacting to his partner being squeezed like that given that she was his mother.

Half-an-hour later Ash was sitting on the sofa beside Delia apologizing to her. "I'm really sorry mom."

Delia who had an irritated and angry look on her face since she spent the past thirty lecturing Ash. "I was really worried about you Ash," Delia said, her face softening and tears coming down her eyes.

Ash stood up and hugged his mom. The two spent the embrace in silence taking comfort from each other. The two had always been close and with Ash's dad died before he had been born, Ash had been her anchor for emotional support.

"I'm sorry mom. I promise I'll be more careful from now on. Plus, I'll have Larvitar by my side to watch my back." Ash said as they broke the embrace.

Ash looked at Larvitar who had been sitting on the ground some distance away watching the two in silent and gave his partner a thumbs up.

"I know but I'm your mom Ash. I'll always worry about you." Delia said wiping her tears.

"Now you get cleaned up and then let's eat. I'm sure you and Larvitar are starving. After that, we can get to opening your birthday presents…"

Ash disappeared up the stairs in astounding speed, leaving Larvitar and Delia to blink.

"Hehe…Ash always loved presents." Delia giggled.

"Lar?"

After an extremely delicious and satisfying meal, Ash, Delia, and Larvitar were seated in the living room sofa's again with the latter rubbing his cheeks against Delia's leg due to the extremely tasty food she had made.

Two beautifully wrapped boxes were laid on the table in front of them.

"~Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday my dear Ash, happy birthday to you. From good friends and true. From old friends and new. May good luck go with you. And happiness too~" Delia sang to him in a beautiful voice with a small chocolate cake in her hands.

Ash smiled and blew out all the candles. Taking the knife on the table, he cut a small piece and fed it to Delia who then repeated the process and gave him a piece. The two also fed Larvitar as well.

"Go ahead, Ash. Open your presents." Delia said, seeing the gleam in his eyes and the constant glances he gave the presents.

He proceeded to do so and once he opened the first box, his eyes lit up. "A Smart Gear?" Ash let out in a low tone filled with disbelief.

"I know you're going to be on the road so this will help you a lot. It comes with many handy features in addition to calling and messaging, Such as a map of any and every region. A battling network information system filled with training advice, battling tips and all sorts of other useful pieces of information from pro battlers like Gym Leaders, Elite Four's and Champions. There is a lot more but I'll leave those features to you." Delia explained. Smart Gear's were an upgraded version of Poke Gear's that had been created by the Devon Corporation in an attempt to expand and better the information sharing network for trainers constantly on the move along with being able to contact each other. This was made possible due to the numerous satellites they had launched into orbit.

"T-Thank you s-so much mom." Ash said, unable to believe he actually had a Smart Gear. While not overly expensive they had been on limited release because they were only recently made so to actually get one.

"You don't need to thank me, Ash. It was easy to get it since I worked with a scientist back in my days as a minor researcher and she managed to put me on the waiting list to get one. Now get to opening your other presents too." Delia replied with a smile. It brought so much joy and happiness to her heart to see her son so happy.

Ash nodded, too happy and stunned from his mom's kindness to use any words but his eyes and smile delivered everything he wanted to say.

"Lar." Larvitar added pointing to the final birthday present seeing that his partner had seemingly spaced out for a few moments.

"Thanks, Larvitar." Ash then turned to the last present and quickly unwrapped it.

He saw that it was a book with the title 'Traveling Cook Book Guide for People and Pokémon' but it was the author's name that caught his attention the most - 'Delia Ketchum'. "Huh?"

"It's a cookbook I made for you to help you when you're on the road. You can easily store grocery in the TSD and with this, you'll be able to not only be able to eat healthily and improve you're training but also make nutritious food for your Pokémon as well." Delia explained.

"When did you write this mom?"

"I worked on it during my free time for the past two years. I haven't even given it to any publisher. I just made it on my computer and printed it and had it bound. I hope you like it."

Ash couldn't believe he was holding two years worth of hard work his mom had done. "I love it, mom." He said sincerely. No doubt, eating right was another thing they were taught from very early on for proper growth and it resulted in everyone in the academy and in the Rota Kingdom to be extremely healthy. For him to be able to stick to a healthy diet while on the road without his mom around was just awesome. "Thank you so much mom but why don't you get this published. With your amazing cooking skills, this would be a best seller."

"You really think so?"

"Of course! I know this would become a best seller. You could help many people start eating healthy."

"I guess I may just have it published." Said Delia. Part of why she didn't have it looked by a publisher was because she wanted to see what Ash thought.

Ash nodded, happy with his mom's decision although looking at these gifts, doubts began to rise in his mind. "What if I don't pass? These gifts…"

"You'll pass Ash. I know you will. I saw you study and train so hard these past months preparing for the exams and from what you told me, you did everything to the best of your abilities. It's not like you to not be confident in yourself." Delia said in a comforting tone.

"Lar!"

"See, even Larvitar agrees."

"Yeah. Your both right. I know I'll pass!" Ash cheered.

"That's my Ashy."

The two spent the next hour or so talking before finally heading to bed. Ash quickly fell asleep due to his exhaustion while Delia had a bit more trouble since this was the last day before Ash left on his journey and then it would be quite a while before she would physically get to see his face again.

Ash was currently standing in a small lecture hall with his classmates as each one of them were being called up by their last names in alphabetical order and given their results. Some got really happy when they got their results and some were very sad so it was easy to tell who passed and who failed.

He looked at Larvitar who was munching on some Pokémon food he had brought with him. All of the other Pokémon were either playing around with each other or sitting quietly with their respective partners.

"Ash Ketchum." Came the voice of Sir Riley who was the one distributing the results.

Ash got up from his seat and whispered a 'Thank you.' To Green who sat beside him and wished him good luck. Larvitar got up as well and walked beside his partner while continuing to eat.

Ash walked down the steps and eventually stood in front of the table Sir Riley was seated at. He handed him two sheets of paper stapled together.

"Congratulations," Riley whispered.

Ash's eyes widened at what this meant and he took a look at his sheet and it had a big 'PASS' stamped at the top beside his name and information. It took all of Ash's willpower not to burst in excitement right then and there since everyone was expected to sit quietly and only converse about their results once everyone had them.

Ash looked at Larvitar who had noticed the pure glee and happiness on Ash's face. "Lar?"

"I passed." He whispered to his partner before walking back to his seat with Larvitar in toe.

"So, how'd you do?" whispered Green.

"I passed."

"Really? Congratulations." Green said as Ash showed her his result sheet. "You should look over it."

Ash nodded and proceeded to do just that.

For this written exam, he saw that he had gotten seventy-eight points out of the hundred possible which was quite good in his book especially the way they sometimes worded the questions to trick you and if you didn't know the material exactly you would get it wrong.

Next came the hand-to-hand combat test which he saw he passed but he was more interested in the analyses section where the instructor who had tested him gave him a review on his strengths and weaknesses and what he could do to improve.

Hand-to-Hand Combat

Ash Ketchum displayed extremely fast quick thinking and planning in mid-combat suggesting that he responds well in combat in pressure-filled situations. He has above average physical strength and conditioning as he managed to hold his own weight against me even when I fought him to the best of my abilities. He has sharp reflexes as he was able to respond to unexpected attacks in an instant despite not being in the best position to do so. Furthermore, he has shown capable of changing the direction of his offensive attacks mid-swing.

His weaknesses lie in the fact that he does not use his legs nearly as much as he should during combat. He is too reliant on punches and left many openings which he could have easily covered if he had used his legs to block a few strikes leaving his hands free for offense or defense. Due to his quick reactions, I believe if he can not only incorporate his legs but also use his elbows and knees for defense and offense.

Because of this, I recommend he be taught the Infernape style.

Ash Ketchum should include more agility and flexibility related exercises as well as increase his speed which is currently lacking behind his physical strength.

I believe he is more than capable of handling himself not only on D and low C class missions and is more than ready to begin on his journey.

Aura Abilities

Ash Ketchum's raw power in his Aura Sphere was high above average no doubt because of his high connection to Manipura. The sheer power behind his attack was quite impressive and it required my full powered Aura Shield to defend against it. However, if he increased the rotation of his sphere, its destructive power would no doubt triple. I recommend he focus on improving his rotation and performing aura control exercises.

He also displayed a powerful defensive shield as it withstood eighty percent of my full powered Aura Sphere. This was very impressive especially considering that he made the shield on sheer instinct as soon as I launched my attack unexpectedly. His flaw lied in him trying to increase the strength of his shield by simply pouring more aura into it rather than focusing his aura on the point of impact and reinforcing that part alone. I recommend performing aura control exercises.

His ability to conceal his aura was quite below average. He is not suited for any sort of infiltration as his aura acts as a beacon that is easy for any sensor to detect no doubt due to his connection with Manipura. His huge reserves of aura make it quite difficult to control the flow of how much it is poured out for techniques. I recommend a focus on aura control exercises.

Shape manipulation exercises are also recommended for improving his ability to use Manipura.

Connection Test

Ash Ketchum bonded with a male Larvitar in the Forest of Harmony.

Ash Ketchum displays a bad sense of direction as he had often got lost in the forest but managed to find his way around with the use of tall trees to get a better view. His ability to think during a situation is quite impressive, as displayed when he met Larvitar.

He managed to display quick thinking and also kept a calm head during his situation of falling from a cliff after Larvitar who fell due to being startled. Despite the precarious life and death situation Ash managed to not only keep a calm head the entire time and quickly think of a way to solve his problem, but he also prioritized Larvitar's safety over his own. Furthermore, he managed to quickly use Larvitar's help to pop his dislocated shoulder back into place.

The rest of the comments explained the entire situation in much more detail which he skimmed through until he reached the end.

Despite the reckless behaviour, Ash is shown to care quite deeply about Pokémon and is more than ready to go on his journey.

Recommendation from Titus.

Ash was surprised that Titus recommended him since his word carried a lot of weight.

"Now that all of you know if you have passed or failed, you know what you should do since the instructions are written on your result sheets. Those who have failed will continue to attend the Academy and proceed to take the exams again. For those who passed, congratulations and I hope you all have a successful career no matter what you choose, whether it be a journey or advanced aura training. For those who are leaving on a journey, please stay behind. The rest of you are free to go."

The students filed out leaving behind only Kace, Green and Ash. The other three who had also wanted to go on a journey did not pass and thus would be taking the exams again.

"Ash, Kace, Green…congratulations again on passing. Come up here as I have a few things to give you before you could head on your way to whatever region you will be traveling in."

The three made their way down and stood in front of the table.

Sir Riley then handed them a blue textbook that had 'Aura Training' written on top. "This book contains exercises and training method for advancing the use of your aura as a whole." He then handed Ash two textbooks, one a golden yellow color and the other a crimson red color. The yellow colored book had a gold circle with ten small petals surrounding it, each petal holding a symbol with a large symbol that represented Manipura being in the center surrounded by an upside-down triangle. The crimson red book had a red circle with four large red petals around it, each holding a symbol along with a big red symbol being in the center representing Muladhara which was surrounded by a square.

Green was handed a green textbook that had a circle on the cover surrounded by twelve petals and the symbol of Anahata in the center of a star that was within the circle.

Kace was handed two textbooks, one blue in color and the other purple. The blue colored book had a circle surrounded by sixteen-petals and in the center of the circle was the symbol for Vishuddha which was surrounded by a small circle that was within an upside-down triangle, within the larger circle. The purple book had a circle with two large petals on the side along with the symbol for Ajna in the center within an upside-down triangle.

"Each of these books hold everything you will need to advance your training for whatever layer of aura you are connected to. Make sure to follow the instructions in the books to the letter as they have been made from the experience of all sorts of aura users across the centuries. As you further your training, you will also get to the point of being able to manipulate the elements that layer is associated with but that is a few years or so in the future. Now here are the final two things I need to give you." Riley then handed each of them a Pokédex and a bag of blue harmonic balls.

Ash took the black Pokédex with red outlines while Kace took the white one with blue outlines and Green took the grey one with green outlines.

"These Pokédex will act not only as a Pokédex, bank account for prize money and your trainer ID but also as a way we can communicate with you in the case we need you to perform a mission. If you have a phone or poke gear you can link it with the Pokédex. Well, that's pretty much it so, do you three have any questions?"

Ash nodded. "Sir Riley, I was wondering something about the Aura Bond. After I did it with Larvitar, I felt something weird…like something was missing."

"Did you read the booklet I had given all of you about the Aura Bond?"

"Um…I read about the first two pages…before I fell asleep."

Riley sighed while Kace and Green snickered much to Ash's embarrassment.

"That weird feeling is completely natural Ash. The Aura Bond does not instantly connect you to the Pokémon. It just sets the foundation from which the bond you two have can grow. This requires the building of trust and understanding between yourself and your partner Pokémon. As you two battle and grow together the bond will grow stronger and you two will begin to understand each other more and more. Understand." Ash nodded. "Any more questions?"

The three shook their head. Sir Riley then waved them goodbye. Ash and company with their Pokémon left the hall and began to make their way out of the academy to head over to the area where all their parents were waiting for them.

When they arrived, they saw many of the kids talking to their parents. They easily found their parents and walked over to them.

"Hey, mom! I passed!" Ash said before giving Delia a hug.

"That's wonderful Ash. I knew you would pass."

Ash then looked at his friend and rival and saw how they were interacting with their mother and father. A bit of his excitement left him but he looked back at Delia not a moment later. "So which region are you guys going to?"

Green and Kace stopped talking with their parents and looked at Ash.

"I'm going to Johto first," Said Green.

"I'm headed to Hoenn," said Kace.

"Nice. Let's keep in touch." The two nodded and they exchanged contact information thanks to their newly acquired communication devices whether it be a Smart Gear or regular Poke Gear.

"Well, I'm off on my journey!"

"Good luck Ash."

"Hey Ash…before you leave, let's have a battle." Kace said to which the adults watched intently.

"Alright! I can start my journey by kicking your ass!"

"We'll see just whose ass gets kicked." Kace replied with a confident smirk.

"Settle down you two. Let's head to the battlefields." Titus said before leading the way and the others following. "Did you two scan your Pokémon with your Pokédex and see what moves they know?"

Kace and Ash blinked. "Uhh…"

"You should probably get to it." Titus replied.

The woman behind the kids giggled a bit before engaging in a conversation while Ash and Kace scanned their Pokémon who was walking beside them.

[Larvitar – The Rock Skin Pokémon. Larvitar are born underground and must eat its way through the soil to get to the surface. Once Larvitar has eaten a large mountain's worth of soil, he/she will become a pupa.

This Larvitar is male.

Larvitar knows the following moves: Bite, Dragon Dance, Body Slam, Power-Up Punch]

[Bagon – The Rock Head Pokémon. Bagon dreams of flying every day and practices by jumping off of cliffs. This results in Bagon's head growing as hard as tempered steel.

This Bagon is male.

Bagon knows the following moves: Rage, Ember, Headbutt, Dragon Dance]

"This is awesome! You know some amazing moves Larvitar!" Ash complimented his partner causing him to puff out his chest. "There is no way we can lose now!"

Meanwhile, Kace was silently formulating a strategy in his head while Ash was boasting of how he was going to win the upcoming battle.

Once they arrived at the battlefield, Delia, the other two women, Green, and her dad sat on the benches while Kace and Ash took their respective places in the trainer boxes with Titus refereeing.

"This will be a one-on-one match with no time limit. Anyone of you can have the first move. Let the battle begin!" Titus announced.

Larvitar and Bagon glared at each other with determined eyes.

Ash being the more impatient one, took the first attack. "Larvitar use Power-Up Punch!"

Larvitar charged forward as his right arm began to take a white glow with a small crimson outline.

"Headbutt." Kace replied in a calm tone.

Bagon charged straight forward with his head pointed towards the oncoming Larvitar. The two eventually collided but they struggled to overpower one another.

"Come on Larvitar!" Ash encouraged.

"Lar!" Larvitar shouted as he began to pushed harder causing Bagon to be pushed backward, bit by bit.

"Ember."

Bagon let loose a small stream of flames from his mouth and while not dealing much damage, the heat of the attack caused Larvitar to falter. This allowed Bagon to give one last push to send Larvitar rolling back a few feet.

"No Larvitar!" Ash then looked at Kace and saw the infuriating smug smirk on his face. 'I can't attack head on again but Larvitar does not know any long-range attacks. Maybe if Larvitar becomes faster…'

"Larvitar, use Dragon Dance!"

"Bagon, use Dragon Dance as well."

Ash growled. 'I forgot Bagon knows Dragon Dance too,' Ash thought having heard Kace's Pokédex list out Bagon's moves.

The two Pokémon became surrounded by red and black wisps, as they felt their muscles tense as they grew in density while their legs become filled with energy.

"Use Power-Up Punch again!" Ash said knowing the effect of the move.

Larvitar charged forward again but this time faster.

"Dodge it and counter with Rage," Kace said but this time not as calm as before. 'If Larvitar continues to use Power-Up Punch, he'll knock Bagon but Rage should let him keep up.'

Bagon became surrounded by a red aura while his eyes glowed red as his mind became filled with rage. He charged forward faster than before and faster then Larvitar.

The two Pokémon met in the middle of the field and started exchanging blows while also trying to dodge the other's attack. Bagon was having more success in dodging and connecting his attacks due to his lesser body weight allowing for a lot more agility. While Larvitar was doing more damage with every attack that managed to hit, Bagon got a lot more hits in and subsequently, his rage grew causing him to deal tremendous damage.

With one final strike, Bagon nailed Larvitar with his head, sending the ground-type flying backwards a few feet. This showed the tremendous strength in the dragon type, thanks to the Dragon Dance and Rage attacks, given Larvitar's weight.

"No Larvitar!" Ash shouted in worry as he saw the bruised and tired form of his partner struggling to get on his two feet.

"L-Lar…v-vi"

Kace was not about to let this opening go. "End this with Headbutt!"

Bagon ran forward with his head pointed forward.

"Larvitar please dodge it!" Ash shouted in vain as Larvitar lacked the strength to get up after the beating he had received.

The rock-ground type could only watch in shock as he saw the Bagon closing in before the attack connected, immediately sending Larvitar to unconsciousness.

As Larvitar was sent tumbling backwards, Ash could only watch in shock as he had lost his very first battle as a trainer.

"Larvitar is unable to battle! Bagon wins! The winner of this match is Kace!"

"Larvitar!" Ash said as he ran forward to his fallen partner. Despite his immense weight, Ash managed to pick him up thanks to his physical training and looked at his partner with worry. "Larvitar are you alright!?"

"Larvitar will be just fine Ash. His thick armor plating is one of the toughest in the world and can let him survive in most situations. Take him to the medical ward and ask Paladin Vida to look after him."

"Ash…" Delia said as she ran up to him, but Ash had already run out of the massive arena, making his way to the medical ward as fast as he could.

"He never could take losing, well could he? Just like Richard." Titus said.

"Yeah…" Delia replied a bit sad at the memory of her late husband.

"Go to him. He'll need someone. It's not easy to lose your first battle as a trainer." Titus said before looking at his son. Despite Ash's loss, he felt proud of Kace.

Delia nodded and left for the medical ward as well, worried about Ash.

Ash stood beside Larvitar who was currently being surrounded by green healing energy of Anahata via Paladin Vida.

"Don't worry Ash. Larvitar will be just fine." Vida said and indeed Larvitar was starting to regain consciousness.

"Lar?" The rock-ground type said, confused as to the change in scenery as his blurred vision became clearer.

"Larvitar! I'm so happy your alright!" Ash said as he hugged the rock-ground type.

"Tar." Larvitar said, feeling comfortable at the embrace but then he remembered exactly what brought him here. "Larvitar," he said in a sad voice.

As Vida finished healing the Pokémon, she left the room giving the two their privacy and nodded at Delia who she saw was waiting near the door.

Ash was able to tell what caused Larvitar to be sad. "Hey Larvitar, it's okay. Its okay we lost."

"Lar," Larvitar said with a frown as his partner's face and tone contradicted his words. Larvitar knew his partner was upset at the loss.

"Ash." Delia said, making her presence known while walking over. "Its okay to be upset at losing Ash."

Ash's fist clenched as he looked at Delia his sadness and anger at his loss clearly showing on his face.

"Think about Larvitar Ash. You're upset that you lost the battle but I'm sure Larvitar is currently blaming himself for this loss."

This caused Ash to widen his eyes and quickly turn to look at his partner who could not meet his eyes.

"Vitar…"

"Larvitar, it's not your fault we lost. It's mine. Please don't blame yourself." Ash said patting Larvitar's head.

Larvitar didn't seem convinced and didn't look Ash in his eyes.

"Pokémon can tell when you talk to them with hollow words Ash. This loss, its both of your faults and yet neither of yours."

Larvitar and Ash looked at Delia in confusion. "What do you mean mom?"

"I'll show you in the morning. Come by the waterfall east of Lake Serenity after Larvitar has been cleared by Paladin Vida."

Despite his confusion Ash nodded his head, wondering just what his mom wanted to show him.

"Get some rest you two. Tomorrow you both go on your journey and you need to be well rested."

The two agreed and Larvitar got comfortable on the bed while Ash placed his head on his head atop the bed while wiggling in his chair to get comfortable.

Delia smiled at her son, already feeling the depth of the bond between the two. This loss would bring them far closer than a victory ever could. She knew he wouldn't always win every battle and there would be times where losses would hit him quite hard, case in point being the loss against his childhood rival.

She wasn't sure if what she planned tomorrow would help him the way she wanted it to but she could hope. It certainly would help steer him in the right direction and Ash always took her words to heart.

Seeing the two relaxing but refusing to fall asleep, no doubt contemplating over their recent battle, what they could have done differently to achieve a different outcome, Delia decided to sooth their hearts but humming to them the song of the Guardian of the Sea, Lugia.

A simple song that carried the dream of peace and harmony and soothed the very soul of all those who heard it.

Ash and Larvitar couldn't help but let loose a content smile as the music graced their ears, gently pushing away all their previous thoughts as they lost themselves to the song. The soft tone sharply contrasted the sheer power behind Delia's voice.

It held such depth and meaning that just compelled them to open their hearts to it.

The two didn't even realize when the comfortable blanket was placed over them and they drifted into a pleasant slumber.

The next morning

Ash and now the fully healed Larvitar scrunched their eyes to try and see through the dense fog that surrounded them, trying to make their way towards the sound of crashing water that had been audible for quite some time. It was only thanks to Ash's knowledge of the area thanks to his classes, he manage to use various distinguishable trees with blood red leaves did he find the waterfall.

His mom had left him a note that had told him to come to the waterfall in the morning as soon as he could and he always was an early riser given his habit of training hard every day.

It was quite easy to tell the form of his mother when he got close and saw her sitting on the edge of the small river with a waterfall near her and the current flowing towards Lake Serenity.

"Hey mom!" Ash greeted with a warm smile. The pain and sense of loss he felt from losing his first battle as a trainer to his childhood rival no less no longer stung. Rather it more or less felt numb as if it was an even that happened a long time ago. Maybe the song helped more then he thought?

"Hello Ash." Delia turned towards him and gave him a warm smile before looking at the curious Larvitar. "How are you feeling Larvitar?"

"Lar! Larvitar!" He replied enthusiastically with a pound on his chest.

"So…mom. Why did you call us here?" He asked after taking a seat beside her.

"Well the truth is…I always planned to bring you here when you first started your journey." Delia admitted with some hesitance.

"Really? Why?" Ash couldn't help but ask and also noticed the slight hesitance in her voice. With Delia being the only family, he found it quite easy to pick-up on all her little habits and changes in body language.

"Your father…he loved this place." Delia started, pausing a bit when she heard Ash take a sharp intake of breath. "He always said that whenever he lost any battle or felt lost in life, he always came here for answers and it always helped him."

"How?" Ash asked, his gleam and excitement clearly showing in his eyes, even though his voice did not portray his emotions.

Delia pointed towards the current "Look at that Ash, what do you see?"

Ash turned to look in said direction and noticed one of the most recognizable Pokémon swimming against the current towards the waterfall. A distinct red fish with a golden grown shaped protrusion coming from the top and bottom of its body and single stranded gold colored whiskers.

"Magikarp."

Delia nodded. "Yes. Usually they have a cycle of three years where they come to a specific spot to evolve and breed although this locations is special. They are constantly migrating here to try and swim up the waterfall to get the top before leaving towards the connected ocean."

"How come?" Ash asked, confused as to what his mom was trying to say.

"They try to conquer the waterfall to see if they are worthy to evolve and become a Gyarados. However, it actually takes them months, sometimes years before they are able to do it. This was why your father loved this place."

"I don't get it."

Delia smiled in fond remembrance as she clutched her clothing above her heart but didn't portray her emotions in her voice lest she upset Ash. "He was to put it lightly…not a good Pokémon trainer nor a good aura guardian when he first started. In fact, you are far ahead of him now then how he was when he first started."

"B-But…But I thought…" Ash stuttered, startled at the revelation. His dad's power was spoken as if he was some kind of legend, a being of unparallel power. He always thought his father was born with natural talent and power that he had honed through intense training.

"You thought he was a natural born genius, right?" Ash nodded. "It's easy to think that. People like to think that's the case when they see someone so powerful and they think they can't reach that same level but it's that very thought that holds them back from their true potential."

"Just like the Magikarp never give up on their goal to reach the top of the waterfall, your father never gave up on his. He worked hard…harder than anyone I have ever seen. Day and night, he toiled alongside his Pokémon to get stronger. He pushed himself to his limits and then broke past them, setting new limits for himself to overcome. Its that same bullheaded determination that had made me fall for him in the first place." Delia couldn't help but chuckle at the memory and the warm feeling of love that overcame her.

"This place taught him the importance of defeat. You can never achieve victory if you do not experience defeat. They are two sides of the same coin and if you want you will always get the other in some shape or form, whether it be right away or sometime later."

Ash's eyes widened in realization, finally understanding just why this place meant so much for his father.

"So… my loss against Kace…it's just as important as if I had won."

"Even more important. Losses are only such when you don't learn from them. When you don't grow from them. Whenever you feel lost or you can't reach me, always remember this place for strength. Life will always put you down but it's your choice whether or not you get back up."

"…Thanks mom…for showing me this place." Ash said sincerely.

"You don't have to thank me for anything Ash. I'm glad I finally got to show this place to you." Delia replied with a smile. It was a short while later did Delia speak up again. "You can go and get ready Ash. You are starting your journey after all."

"Yeah." Ash said smiling, his heart now pounding in excitement yet also content. He felt as if he had gotten to know his dad even more now apart from all the stories and legends. "What about you mom."

"I think I'll stay here for a little while longer. Don't worry I'll catch up soon."

Ash nodded in understanding and left the area. He knew she wanted to be alone.

Once Ash left, Delia couldn't hold back the tears that flowed through her eyes as she put her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tightly. Her heart throbbed with pain from her husband's memory now being so fresh in her heart and his presence seemingly in the air yet knowing she would never get to hold him again.

Never get to see that goofy smile of his.

Never get to talk to him.

And Never get to tell him just how much she loved him.

Sometime later

Delia was currently standing near the edge of the town on the dirt road that would lead Ash to a forest and eventually to Pewter City. Ash was standing in front of her wearing loose, comfortable black jeans that went well with his red and white sneakers and the blue jacket he had on with a red shirt underneath. He also had his blue backpack on packed with everything he would need.

Ash's crimson eyes looked at the road ahead with a barely controlled excitement his journey was finally beginning. He looked at Larvitar who was beside him and could see that he too was very excited and determined.

Looking back at his mom, he saw the happiness in her eyes but also the sadness and few tears that began falling. Guilt started to fill him seeing that he would be leaving his mom alone for quite some time.

"Don't cry, mom. Send me off with a smile." Ash said as he gave her a hug.

Delia hugged him and let loose more tears. "I won't see you again for a while Ashy. Just remember to call me from time-to-time."

"I will."

A couple minutes later, the two broke off and Delia wiped her tears and gave him a warm smile. "Good luck out their Ash and be careful."

Ash nodded. "I will. Let's go Larvitar!"

The rock-type nodded and began walking beside Ash. "Bye, mom!"

"Bye Ash…" A few moments later, Ash heard the one line he knew was coming. "DON'T FORGET TO CHANGE YOUR UNDERWEAR!"

"MOM!" Ash shouted with an embarrassed face, hoping no one heard that. He ran forward with Larvitar behind him struggling to keep up.

Delia giggled as she saw Ash disappear in the distance.

Meanwhile, Ash was loving the breeze on his face and slowed down when he saw Larvitar tired from running. He looked around and saw mainly trees and the dirt road they were walking on.

"WOOHOO!" Ash shouted in the air in excitement.

His journey had begun.

Please provide constructive criticism on how I did and what I can do to improve. Flaming will be ignored so please do not release hot air.

I'll see you all in the next chapter!