Author's Note

Hey guys, it's certainly been a long while since I put out a new chapter and I apologise for that. However, I have had my reasons for it and I'm afraid that, in general, I will have a much larger time between the release of chapters for the moment. As I have mentioned before, I am now at university and it is intense. Writing isn't something that comes naturally to me, I have to feel inspired to do it well, and the time that I have free and the times that I feel inspired rarely coincide. I'm going to try, for now, to release a chapter of a story each month. And yes, by 'a story' I do mean that I will likely be releasing a new story soon, one that I feel more inspired for at the moment. This doesn't mean that Master Quest is on hiatus, I will still be working on it, and I won't be doing more than one or two other stories so that this doesn't become as good as forgotten. Thank you all for your support in telling me to focus on university too.

To all of you who celebrate it, I hope you had a merry Christmas, and to those of you who celebrate something else, I hope you enjoyed it.

Now, to address some questions and statements.

As to whether Gen VI will be involved in this story...
I may include some elements of it, such as the Pokémon, but not others, such as mega-evolution as I really don't approve of it. I see no reason not to include the Pokémon, other than that I dislike some of them, but I will consider the generation both in its entirety and in its components.

Ash's Tauros...
The age old problem... I do understand where you are coming from when you comment on Ash realising that he has 29 others which may not be fair to them but in my mind his thought processes are slightly different. He has caught them, making them his responsibility, and trained them in the build up to the league, building a bond with them. Now that he has that bond, he doesn't want to break it and leave them so I probably won't have him trade them away in this story. I'm not sure how I'm going to deal with them, maybe have a league where he just uses Tauros? ;P Naa, that could be interesting to try and write and make interesting but I doubt I could do it justice at all. Maybe he'll trade them eventually and maybe he won't, I'm not entirely sure myself yet as I do understand your concern and it is an easy way to bring in new Pokémon.

The power of the legendaries...
I understand that some, possibly many, of you have concerns about the level of power that Ash's legendaries, and normal Pokemon, possess. This is not an invalid point and I have lost interest in stories myself before due to that very fact. I have made them seem overpowered in this first league to act as what you might consider a beacon. His battles will have been watched by people all over the nation and it will have inspired them to train harder than ever so that they can become as strong as, possibly stronger than, Ash. Though it won't have had that effect on everyone. His rivals in particular will strive harder than ever. I do not want Ash to become overpowered and things should start to change in Johto in particular, which isn't that far away when you think about it. Those that are worried about the legendaries in particular, I have mentioned in previous chapters that some of Ash's Pokémon can compete with them which means that together, they could defeat them. These Pokémon are not unstoppable and he won't use them too often anyway. He has them on him all the time at the moment but that will all change soon.

Why did Ash threaten Brandon?
Simple, he's very protective of his friends. You've seen what he is willing to do for Pokémon that aren't even his so why wouldn't he be a bit overprotective of his friends at times. She was leaving to travel with a complete stranger so he had no idea what could happen. He simply wanted to ensure a friends wellbeing.

Now, on with the story.
"Normal Speech"
"Telepathic Speech"
'Private Thoughts'
'Quoting Someone/Something'

Chapter 10 – Halfway There.

Ash and his friends had just arrived at the beach on Navel Island, home of Ash's next Orange League gym battle. They walked to the small town at the top of the beach and found it silent, with not a soul in sight. "It sure is quiet." Misty pointed out.

"Seems like it's deserted." Tracey added.

"Yeah, and I don't see your gym around here either Ash." Cynthia finished.

Just then Ash sensed someone out at sea and turned around to see a man in a small sailboat. The man guided the boat in and landed it on the beach. "Hi, I bet you guys are looking for gym battle." The man said as he dismounted from the boat.

"I am indeed. So will you accept my challenge?" Ash asked the man, the other three looked at him in shock while his Pokémon sniggered at the man getting caught out.

"How did you know? Nobody else has ever managed to figure it out. I'm Danny by the way." The man, now known as Danny inquired as he offered his hand to Ash.

"Well I'm psychic and I sensed that you were trying to trick us, but also weren't doing it maliciously. I put that together with the fact that you asked about the gym battle and the only logical conclusion is that you were the leader. Oh, and my name is Ash, it's nice to meet you." Ash answered as he shook the proffered hand.

"Impressive deductive skills you have there. I will accept your challenge by the way, why don't we start heading over to the gym?"

"Sure, sounds like a plan to me."

After everyone else had made their introductions, Danny began to flirt with Misty slightly but she quickly brushed him off after telling him that her heart belonged to Ash.

After a short walk, the group found themselves in front of a large iron gate with the words 'Navel Gym' on a sign above it. "Well, here we are. This is my gym so let's go on in. I might need a hand opening these doors though as they're pretty heavy."

"Allow me." Ash said before a familiar yellow light engulfed the doors and they swung open. He then led the group through them as Danny stared at him.

"Now that is something else I've never seen before. You certainly are full of surprises Ash."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." Cynthia joked. As they walked in they saw a large empty area, a cable car and entry hut to one side and a path straight up to the mountain.

"Hmm… So what's the procedure Danny?" Ash asked.

"Well, Misty, Cynthia and Tracey can all ride the cable car, as can Lucario and Pikachu if they want to. We climb up the mountain and the rest of the event takes place at the top."

"Sounds like fun. So do you two want to go ahead in the cable car?"

"I believe that would be for the best." Lucario told him.

"Yeah, we'd probably weigh you down along the way and I doubt that would be a good thing." Pikachu told him.

"Alright then, I'll see you two at the top. You guys take care of them, okay?"

"Okay." Misty answered.

"Actually Misty, I was talking to Pikachu and Lucario. They need less help than you guys I think, given the training we've been through." Misty blushed but Cynthia and Tracey laughed.

"No doubt you're right there Ash. I believe that after only travelling with you for a week." Cynthia managed to say between her chuckles. "But are you sure you can climb that?" She finished with worry in her tone.

"I'll be fine. I trained for anything like this that might come up and I've always been a pretty good climber anyway."

"By the way Ash, I don't think I mentioned that you can't use Pokémon on the climb." Danny interjected as he realised he had forgotten that crucial fact. "If you do, you'll be disqualified."

"Alrighty then, shall we get climbing Danny?" Ash said, not really feeling any different after the addition of that fact.

"Sure, we'll see you guys at the top then." Danny said before he and Ash set off on the path to the mountain.

"Well I guess we should get in the cable cars and head on up ourselves then." Tracey told Misty and Cynthia. Once they had agreed, he and Lucario boarded one cable car and Pikachu and the girls boarded another. Misty saw this as a chance to question Cynthia about her recent actions towards Ash and broached the subject.

"Hey Cynthia, how do you feel about Ash?" Cynthia gave Misty a weird look and Pikachu perked his ears slightly from his seat, it might be a conversation that he would need to relay to Ash later on.

"What do you mean Misty?"

Misty sighed. "What I mean is do you love him? Back on that Kabuto island a lot of your reactions were like those of a girl in love or with a crush."

"Really? I didn't think so."

"Well then explain the blushes. Just about every time Ash touched you or was close to you, you were blushing. It wasn't anything too noticeable but it was definitely there. Then there was that hug you gave him. And letting someone use your lap as a pillow is something that couples usually do." Cynthia was beginning to grow a rather large blush at this point. "I've also noticed how tightly you hold on to him when you're on Gyarados and other such things too. So, care to explain?"

"Well I honestly didn't notice. I just hugged Ash because he had saved me from that boulder. As for him using my lap as a pillow I honestly didn't know that was something couples did. It just seemed the most appropriate place other than leaving him on the floor, which would hardly be fair. Everything else, I hadn't even noticed I was doing. I honestly don't feel anything major for him other than friendship."

"Anything major?"

"Well, I've got this weird, nagging, feeling sometimes when certain things happen around him. I don't think it's anything important though."

"That's almost exactly what most people say when they are in love you know."

"Wh-what?"

"It's true, that's how I felt at first but once Ash changed due to his training it came out as nothing less than the most important thing I felt. The feeling is probably just starting to develop, but soon it will grow and you'll realise that what I'm saying is the truth."

Cynthia gulped audibly. "Th-then, what sh-should I do?" She stuttered.

"Well, you should probably just let the feelings develop for now. I'm not going to tell you to ignore them because that would be painful for you and you're my friend but I'm not going to just give him up to you. I will fight you for him even if it does look pointless."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well; by the way Ash returned your hug, how he held your hand and other such reactions I think he probably has some feelings for you."

"But he told me he knows what love feels like because of his powers so surely he would have noticed and told me if we both loved each other."

"Well maybe he hasn't done it for a reason or maybe he isn't as good as he thinks he is at identifying emotions. I don't know, I just know what it looked like."

"Okay…"

"Hey, we're at the top. Let's go." Misty said and they disembarked to wait for Ash and Danny.

The two men chatted amicably as they climbed the mountain, enjoying the view around them. "So Ash, what made you choose to take on the Orange League?"

"Well someone I met recommended it to me. He said that the leader, Drake, would give me a good battle and the other gyms would be interesting experiences as well. I wanted a challenge but I didn't want to go for the Johto League quite yet so this seemed like the perfect intermediary."

"Well that sounds like a good reason to me. Ah, there's the top."

"Woohoo!" Ash cheered before he climbed to the top at a remarkable pace and clambered over the edge. Spotting the others, he called out to them. "Hey guys!"

They spotted him and ran over, Misty and Cynthia with blankets in hand to help protect from the cold weather. It was snowing after all. "Here Ash." They said in unison as they offered him the blankets.

"I'm alright but thanks anyway. The climb kept me pretty warm and I'll just keep exercising till Danny gets here." Ash said before he cleared a patch of snow and started performing press-ups. Pikachu and Lucario joined him moments later, enjoying the warmth and the fact that they were working together.

Danny was surprised once more when he finally came over the edge and spotted Ash and his Pokémon. "Well, that is the best way to keep warm Ash but I didn't realise you'd be so into exercising."

"Well, I decided to start training myself alongside my Pokémon a few months ago and now we often do some exercise together before a training session where they work on moves and their abilities such as speed and attack power."

"That's a good attitude to have Ash. No wonder you made the climb so easily. Well, are you ready for the next test?"

"Yep, I seem to remember reading something about a Geyser Freeze…" Ash trailed off, clearly asking Danny to confirm.

"That's right Ash, you have to have one of your Pokémon freeze one of the geysers that comes up over there." He said, pointing over his shoulder where two geysers were shooting up.

"Alright then, I choose you Lapras!"

"Come out and join us Nidoqueen!"

"Ice beam attack!" The two trainers called in unison as the geysers shot up. The two Pokémon competed against each other for several seconds before Lapras managed to achieve the win by a hairs breadth.

"Yeah, go on Ash. You can do it!" Misty cheered as they prepared for the next round.

The two men broke the pillars down so that they lay on the floor. "Okay Ash, now we carve that to form a sled. You can use three Pokémon."

"Then let's get started. Growlithe, Scyther, Kabuto, come on out guys!"

"Interesting choices. I'll be using Machoke, Scyther and Nidoqueen." The two release their Pokémon and had them assemble around the chunks of ice. "Go!" Danny exclaimed once the Pokémon were in position.

"Growlithe, use flamethrower to soften the ice. Scyther, use your blades to cut out the shape of the sled. Kabuto, you finish it by smoothing it over with a weak ice beam." Ash ordered and his Pokémon set to work with a cheer.

"Yeah!"

Danny gave his orders and his Pokémon set to work as well. Unfortunately, his Pokémon couldn't keep up and Ash won the second round too. "Well Ash, it looks like you've won the gym challenge then as it was a two out of three and you've got two challenges won. What do you say we have the final challenge just for fun though?"

"Sure!" Ash cheered. "Let me guess, we race down the side of the mountain in our sleds?"

"That's right Ash. Choose some Pokémon to help you balance it out and then we'll get underway."

"Alright then. I'll go with Pikachu, Scyther and Lucario. I guess I'll see you guys at the bottom then." He said, turning to his friends for the last statement.

"I guess so Ash. Just be careful, this sounds really dangerous." Cynthia responded.

"I will but you don't need to worry. Even if I did get in trouble, 'those two' would always help me out."

They soon set off down the mountainside with their Pokémon helping them to correct he course of the sled. It was an exhilarating ride and Ash didn't care whether he won or not, despite his usual inability to ignore a challenge. As they approached the finish line, Ash realised that they were going too fast to stop from entering the water. His Pokémon realised too and jumped out, abandoning him to his fate. He ran straight into the ocean with a large splash of water and was knocked from the sled.

Everybody ran over to see if he was alright. They were surprised when they arrived though. Ash burst out laughing. "Hahaha… That was awesome! We've got to try it again sometime guys, though maybe we should try to stop a bit sooner then." He joked.

Cynthia pulled him into a tight hug. "Ash! I thought I told you to be careful! I was really worried!"

"Me too!" Misty said angrily, though to his relief she restrained herself from drawing her mallet.

"Sorry, but it was just so much fun I forgot." He laughed.

Danny chuckled as he approached. "Congratulations Ash. You won all three rounds and chose your Pokémon well. Here's the Sea Ruby Badge, it's yours."

"Thanks Danny." Ash said before he and his Pokémon assumed their usual pose. "Alright, we just got the Sea Ruby Badge!"

"Yeah!" His Pokémon cheered. His friends smiled as Ash congratulated and thanked all of his Pokémon for their hard work.

Soon they set off on his Pokémon once more to find their next adventure, Cynthia finally knowing what the feeling inside of her was. What she didn't know was that right in front of her, Pikachu was telling Ash all about her conversation with Misty telepathically.

Ash and his friends were stood on a beach, right where it suddenly turned into an enormous grove of trees. The island they were on was one of the seven Grapefruit Islands, renowned for the quality of the fruit they produced. And Ash was reaching up to pick one of those fruits. He plucked it from the branches as they continued their conversation. "They really are huge." Cynthia observed but she was suddenly interrupted by another voice. Ash was caught off guard as he had been too preoccupied to sense the now approaching person.

"Stop! Stop, thieves!" A woman yelled as she ran in their direction, brandishing a stick.

"Did she say thieves?" Misty inquired.

"That's terrible!" Tracey added.

"Umm… Guys, she thinks we're thieves." Ash told them as he and Cynthia sweat dropped, both having realised what the green-haired, pink-shirted, woman meant immediately.

"Huh!?" Misty and Tracey exclaimed. Ash stepped forward, hoping to diffuse the situation peacefully but the woman simply swung her stick at him the moment she could reach. Ash sidestepped it and tore it from her hands. He then grabbed her and locked her arm behind her back.

"You know, you should give people a chance to try and explain before resorting to violence." Ash said agitatedly as he let her go, now that she was calming down. "Then again, I'm hardly one to talk. Am I, guys?" Both of his Pokémon nodded their heads fervently, snickering at his joke, as the humans watched disbelievingly. "I guess we should introduce ourselves. I'm Ash and these two are Pikachu and Lucario. Those three are Misty, with the fiery hair, Tracey, the guy, and Cynthia, with the blonde hair. Who are you?"

"I-I'm Ruby." The woman stuttered, caught off guard by Ash's actions and scolding.

"Okay. Now, why don't you tell us why you acted that way?" Ash continued.

"Well, lately, somebody has been coming into our groves and stealing our grapefruits. We worked hard to get them to grow as well as they did so I can't just let someone get away with stealing them." Ruby explained enthusiastically.

"Well, that makes sense. I suppose we should have realised that the grapefruits wouldn't grow this way all on their own. Sorry for taking one of your grapefruits but that was the only one we've taken. We only arrived here on my Lapras and Gyarados just before you found us."

"Oh, I'm sorry for attacking you then!" Ruby exclaimed apologetically.

"Don't worry about it. No harm was done in the end so it doesn't matter. Why don't we help you find the real thief so that this doesn't happen again?"

"Really? You'd help me out like that?"

"Ash, are you sure we have time for this? We do have to get back early enough for you to qualify for the Johto League." Mist added.

"It's fine. Besides, if I had to, I could fly around Johto on my Pokémon and gather all the badges in less than two weeks. We have plenty of time."

"Alright then…" Misty said worriedly. 'With the number of times we get side-tracked I'll be surprised if we make it back before the league begins.'

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Ruby cheered as she shook their hands vigorously.

"Ruby!" A man suddenly yelled. The group looked up to find a man dressed in blue approaching them. "Ruby! The thief's struck again!"

"Really? If we hurry, we might just catch them. Let's go." Ruby commanded and the group followed her, leaving one very confused worker behind. Soon, they came to what was once a grove of grapefruit trees but was now just a group of devastated trees. "They even tore off the branches…" She groaned, saddened by the immense loss.

"Who would do such a thing!?" Misty almost yelled, Tracey and Cynthia uttered their agreement but they were all surprised when Ash said nothing. They looked at him and saw him standing perfectly still with his eyes closed, Pikachu and Lucario stood defensively by his side. "Ash, this is no time for fooling around!" She shouted, moving forwards in order to hit him with her mallet. She was extremely surprised when Pikachu and Lucario moved into her path, growling at her, for they had never shown her any aggression before.

"Misty, I think Ash is trying to track down the thieves with his powers. It might be dangerous for us to get close, we have no idea what would happen so I think it's best to just do what those two want. Besides, you haven't forgotten our talks have you?" Cynthia explained; her question a slap in the face to Misty, who rounded on her.

Misty was surprised once more when Ash's voice sounded behind her. "Not thieves, just one thief and it can't really be blamed." He said.

"What do you mean 'can't really be blamed'!? Look at what it did to these trees!" Misty exclaimed, rotating once more and beginning to feel dizzy.

"Oh, I don't like what happened, but the culprit really isn't to blame as such. The one behind it is a Snorlax. I don't know how it got here but now that it is here, it's hungry. Snorlax eat an awful lot, as I'm sure you know, so when they eat at farms, the results are devastating. But they can't help that, their body only really knows how to do six things naturally. Eat, drink, sleep, move, battle and dispose of what has been eaten. So it's really just doing what comes naturally to it, not trying to steal your food. In fact, this could be somewhat good really."

"How could this possibly be good?" Ruby inquired, clearly dismayed by the information. "A Snorlax could get through just about all the fruit we have."

"A little known fact about Snorlax is that they are actually very good at repairing their own damage. Look around you now. It's quite fortunate but this Snorlax seems to have eaten the food from trees that were mostly quite old but it has also dropped a huge number of seeds from the fruit it ate. Its movement then proceeded to effectively sow the seeds and its waste acts as very efficient fertiliser. Look, new plants are sprouting already." Everybody looked at the floor and gasped as they saw that he was right, the plants were growing at a rapid pace and would soon be ankle height.

"Incredible…" Cynthia mumbled.

"Well, it's believed to benefit them too. If they replant everything they eat, then another pass through the area, a few years later, shouldn't be without food. But, the plants will still take a few years to develop to fruit bearing age so we do need to stop that Snorlax if you want to continue selling over the next couple of years."

"You're right, but where do we find it? That's the problem, we've never been able to find the food thief and I haven't heard anything about where it might be right now." Ruby confirmed.

"Leave that to me." Ash closed his eyes once more, for naught but a second this time. "It's currently swimming to the island north of here; I guess that explains how it got to this island too. We need to get there ahead of it and I'll cut it off with Lucario, hopefully I can weaken and capture it. Professor Oak can handle the situation with it back at the lab as he told me that he recently developed a type of food specifically for Snorlax and Munchlax. Apparently, it gives them all the vitamins they need and swells up in their stomachs to make them think they're full after just a small amount of it."

"Then we know what to do. I'll get everybody to start picking fruits on the other islands, just in case you fail, and you guys go to stop Snorlax."

"On it." Ash replied, dashing towards the coastline with two pokéballs in his hands and his Pokémon by his side. Misty, Tracey and Cynthia dashed after him, trying to keep up as he ran at full speed. Once they reached the beach, Ash tossed the pokéballs into the air and Gyarados and Lapras appeared in the water. "We're going straight north to that next island, you two. We need to get there as quickly as possible so let's move out."

They clambered onto the two Pokémon and set off across the water, overtaking Snorlax when they were halfway there. "Incredible… I never thought I would see a Snorlax doing the butterfly." Tracey observed as they passed.

"Maybe it's the blubberfly instead of the butterfly." Ash joked, earning a chuckle from everyone present. A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination and prepared for Snorlax's arrival. They didn't have to wait long as Snorlax arrived only a few minutes later. The moment it was on solid ground, Ash engaged it in a battle. "Lucario, use close combat!"

Lucario jumped at his opponent and struck it with a barrage of punches, kicks, elbows and knees. Unfortunately, when Lucario jumped back, Snorlax was completely unfazed by the attack. "What's going on? How could Snorlax just ignore such a strong move?" Cynthia asked in a panic.

"Cynthia, calm down." Ash ordered. "You have to be able to stay calm in a battle, no matter what. You should know that by now, just don't forget it. We have to figure out how it is ignoring the attack first, so let's try a force palm." Lucario leaped forward again and pressed his palm against Snorlax's immense belly. There was an explosion of light but nothing happened as he moved away again. Ash, however, had noticed something that the others missed. "So that's what happened."

"What happened? I didn't see anything." Tracey countered.

"To put it simply, Snorlax's fat happened. It has so much blubber that the force of the attack is dissipated by ripples in it. That means we have to attack somewhere with no, or little, fat. Lucario, hit the back of its head with a force palm." The Pokémon complied and lunged at Snorlax, just as he was about to reach it though, he was knocked aside by spinning kick from his opponent.

"Whoa, Snorlax knows mega kick." Tracey observed, most unnecessarily. Lucario was climbing back onto his feet after crashing into a tree when he heard Ash's voice, not in the way he had expected.

"Lucario, I want you to try the same again. Get around the back with a quick attack though. That Snorlax is clearly no push over so be careful, even if you are still much stronger than it."

"Very well." Was all Lucario said before he disappeared at a fast pace, soon reappearing behind Snorlax. Snorlax looked from side to side in a panic, but he couldn't turn his head far enough to see the Pokémon approaching from behind him. A paw was pressed against the back of his head before he was knocked out by a small explosion.

"Alright then, pokéball go!" Ash cried as he hurled the object straight at Snorlax. The Sleeping Pokémon was sucked inside by the familiar red light and the group waited for a tense few seconds as the pokéball shook from side to side. It finally stopped shaking and confirmed the capture with a ping. The group let out a collective sigh as they released the breath they had been holding. "Well that solves that problem then. Now Ruby won't have to worry about losing all of her grapefruits. What do you say, once we tell her, should we head out for the next island?"

"I think that's a good idea, this wouldn't really be the best place to camp and the next island is Murcott Island. There should be some nice, comfortable beds for us to spend the night in at the Pokémon Center there." Tracey said, Misty and Cynthia nodding vigorously at the mention of comfortable beds.

"Then that settles it. Next stop, Murcott Island!"

Ash and company were walking through a forest in Murcott Island, an island renowned for the number of bug type Pokémon inhabiting it and the strength of those bug types too. They were following Tracey's Venonat and Marill, their radar eye and sensitive hearing were allowing the group to keep Misty away from the bugs while the others investigated them. She had screamed and tried to drag Ash away several times but failed so many times that she eventually gave up.

Marill and Venonat froze suddenly and Ash couldn't understand why. Coming out of his thoughts, he extended his powers until he finally sensed it; something was in great pain just up ahead. "Scyther's lying on the floor." Venonat reported to its partner.

"And in pain." Marill confirmed. Everybody else watched the two Pokémon without a clue what was going on.

"Guys, it looks like there's a Scyther up ahead and it's injured pretty badly if the pain I'm sensing is anything to go by." Ash explained.

"What!?" Tracey exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Ash scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, I didn't notice. I was so deep in thought that I stopped using my powers."

"What were you thinking about that could make you do that?" Cynthia asked curiously.

"Umm… Nothing…" Ash replied nervously, clearly lying through his teeth. "Anyway, let's go and check out Scyther." He added before he dashed through the bushes with Venonat and Marill. The others followed close behind, wondering what he had been thinking about.

'He couldn't have been thinking about my feelings could he? He shouldn't even know, unless… Oh god, Pikachu was in the cable car with us and must have heard everything. He probably told Ash straight away when he got a chance.' Cynthia thought, finally realising a quite probable cause. 'He has been distracted ever since then, I guess he really didn't know about it before then. But why would it make him think this much? Wait… he isn't thinking that he might feel the same way, is he?' Her thoughts were cut short as they emerged from the undergrowth to find a Scyther sprawled across the ground and covered in bruises.

Tracey walked up to it with Ash by his side; the pair knelt down and looked at it. Ash reached out a hand and touched Scyther's head. Unfortunately, the sudden influx of pain was too much for Ash and he fainted, collapsing to the floor. That touch was enough to reassure Scyther of their intents though and it relaxed slightly. Misty was too afraid of getting close to Scyther to help Ash and Cynthia took advantage of this, she walked up to his prone form and sat down, pulling his head into her lap once more. The difference was that, this time, she knew exactly what it suggested and gave Misty a victorious and mischievous grin. The redhead was fuming with rage at Cynthia's actions but didn't dare to do anything, still too terrified of Scyther to approach.

"What's the matter? Are you okay buddy?" Tracey asked as he knelt down to Scyther's level. "I have something that will make you feel much better." He added as he reached into his bag and pulled out some medicine. Scyther suddenly jumped up and flipped away, raising its arms into a defensive posture.

"Scy scyther scy!" It exclaimed.

"It looks like it doesn't trust us; I thought Ash had managed to fix that." Tracey mumbled dejectedly. "We just want to help you, Scyther."

"It is not that it doesn't trust you." Mewtwo's voice said, echoing around their minds. "It is that its honour prevents the acceptance of any aid by it. You will likely be unable to do anything unless you capture it and transport it to a Pokémon Center, especially with Ash unconscious. Might I suggest using some sort of sleep inducing move if your Pokémon know any."

"Thanks Mewtwo." Tracey said aloud, unsure of how exactly he should respond. "Venonat, use sleep powder on Scyther." He commanded, Venonat complied and shook its body to release a familiar dust that settled over Scyther. Within seconds, the Pokémon was unconscious and Tracey had captured it in a pokéball. He then ran for the Pokémon Center as Misty and Cynthia helped up Ash, who was just waking again.

They were now back at the Pokémon Center and watching Nurse Joy finish treating Scyther. She wrapped the last of the bandages around it and left the room. "I'm afraid Scyther is still very weak, it's going to take a few days for it to get its strength back. It looks like the old warrior finally lost a battle for leadership of its swarm though."

"Leadership?" Cynthia inquired.

"Yes. You see, Scyther often live in swarms which are led by the strongest Scyther in the swarm. Usually, the leader is an older and more experienced Scyther that has participated in many battles before so they're quite difficult to beat. But, enough speed and power can overcome even the most experienced of Pokémon. I'd guess that a younger and stronger Scyther challenged that one and defeated it in a battle for the right to lead the swarm." Nurse Joy explained.

"But why was Scyther all alone when we found it?" Tracey asked worriedly.

Ash was the one to answer this time. "Honour… Scyther participated in the battle and lost, as a result it is no longer permitted to remain a member of the swarm. The only way it could re-join them is if it were to win in another leadership battle but he's probably too old for that now."

"That's exactly right, young man. Now, why don't we go and talk somewhere else so Scyther can get some better rest." Nurse Joy finished. The group gave their assent and moved to the lobby to talk amongst themselves while Nurse Joy tended to other Pokémon.

Looking over the group as they talked, Misty noticed that Tracey didn't look quite as cheerful as usual and decided to ask about it. "Hey Tracey, what's up? You look almost sad…" The other two turned to look at him and had to agree that he did indeed look down.

"I dunno… Maybe it's just the way Scyther was glaring at me earlier, it doesn't seem at all happy to be my Pokémon." The young man answered.

"Well… That may be because of its honour again. Scyther was effectively beaten twice in a row after having won countless fights; it probably came as a real slap in the face so it's depressed. If you want it to cheer up then it will need to win a fight again, against a strong opponent too. What would be best is if you could find the Scyther that defeated it and work together to defeat it again. That might forge a bond between you and Scyther because it will acknowledge your assistance in battle or at least in helping it get to the battle. That way, it will reclaim its pride and grow to trust you in one, leaving no reason to not go with you." Ash said after analysing the situation for a moment. "I suggest we get a good night's sleep and then go out tomorrow. I want to try and catch some good and strong bug Pokémon while we're here so I can do that while you find and battle that other Scyther."

"Wow… I never thought of it like that, thanks Ash." Tracey replied. "I think your plan makes sense too so why don't we head to bed now and get some nice rest. As much as I enjoy camping under the stars, a nice bed will do my back a world of good." He added. With three nodding heads, it was decided and they headed off to get some sleep.

Early in the afternoon of the following day, Ash could be found wandering the forest in search of Bug type Pokémon. He had stumbled across a great many so far but had chosen to capture none of them as, though he loved all Pokémon, he was looking for some that stood out from the crowd. He had left the Pokémon Center a couple of hours ago after getting up and planning the day with the others. Once they had awoken Tracey, who had spent the entire night next to Scyther's bed, the group had decided that Ash would search on his own while they tried to find and battle the Scyther. And so, he was walking alone through the dense vegetation, with only his Pokémon and thoughts for company.

"So guys, what do you think about all this? I've thought about it myself but I just don't know, what Cynthia and I are feeling could be love but it just isn't strong enough for me to identify what it really is." Ash asked his partners rather suddenly.

"Well Ash, I don't really know a lot about how humans act around their prospective mates but if we compare the way Misty acts and the way you two act, I think we could say no." Lucario observed.

"I think Misty might be a bit of a special case." Pikachu pointed out. "Just like Brock was…"

"This is true. If, then, we compare to Pokémon behaviour; you have not gone through any courting displays but you do seem content in each other's presences. For example, you have been worrying about this more since you left Cynthia this morning than when you were with her. This seems rather illogical to me as she is the source of your worry but Pokémon that become mates are usually more relaxed and content in the presence of their mate."

"Hmm… You might be onto something there Lucario." Ash observed. "I've only ever known Misty, Anabel and Brock who have been in love with others and they're all unusual cases I think. So I can't judge by human standards. Then again, the only Pokémon I've had that has had a mate is Butterfree but I wasn't around those two long enough to get a feel for how they acted."

"Well, would you really mind Cynthia being your mate? Unlike Misty, she doesn't hit you every time you do something even slightly wrong and you seem to care about each other a lot. I've also noticed her looking at your body from time to time and the same with you." Pikachu added.

"Seriously? I've been checking Cynthia out without even knowing?"

"Apparently, but answer the question."

"Well, I guess… No, I wouldn't mind that much. Though can we please not use the term mate? That tends to mean something else to humans."

"Then you know what you need to do, right? Plus, what do you want us to say instead?"

"How about partner?" Ash suggested hopefully, hoping his ignoring the first question would go unnoticed.

"Aren't we your partners?" Lucario pointed out, accidentally diverting all attention as Ash had hoped.

"Well I can't think of anything else and we'll know it has a different meaning when we're talking about Cynthia."

"I suppose you're right. I believe I can hear two Pokémon quarrelling up ahead Ash, should we go and investigate?" Lucario stated, ending the conversation as Ash simply dashed off with his Pokémon in tow. They soon came to a stop at the edge of a clearing, surprised by the sight in front of them. In the centre of the clearing was a pile of berries and on either side of it stood a Pokémon. However, these were not just any Pokémon. The Pokémon on the left was a Venomoth but its large wings and upper body were a pale blue instead of the usual purple. And on the other side of the clearing was a Scyther, a more vibrant green than usual and with red joints instead of white. Both looked ready to attack the other so Ash quickly decided to intervene. "Whoa! Back down you two. Why are you even fighting in the first place?" He said loudly, drawing their attention.

"This is none of your business, human!" They hissed in unison before glaring at each other again as if that were an insult.

"Oh yeah, well I'm making it my business." He said stubbornly, they turned to him in mild shock, not having expected him to understand. "Now, explain to me why you are fighting."

"I was abandoned by my swarm because of my colouration." Venomoth hissed, without hesitation. "Now I must fend for myself but this Scyther has dared to intrude upon my search for food, just as I have finally found some. I have not eaten for a week and he thinks to take it from me!" Ash hung his head in sadness as he came to understand Venomoth's problem. He raised his head and looked at Scyther, intending to ask what Scyther's reasoning was. However, Scyther dashed forward at a pace almost too fast for Ash to follow.

"No!" Ash yelled, expecting the Scyther to attack the Venomoth and claim the food. Therefore, he was shocked when Scyther stopped at the food pile and flicked a berry into the air. It then cleaved the berry in two with one of its scythes and caught each half on a different arm before extending one to Venomoth.

"I… I have known this pain also." It stated sadly. "It was but a few days ago when my swarm left me behind for my colour and I have not eaten since as I was still searching for food in the territory I knew, their territory. Only today did I dare to venture out of it as my need for food overtook my fear, though I was not as afraid as you would expect after living in one place for my entire life." Venomoth reached out tentatively and took the proffered piece of berry before nibbling on it. "Perhaps, if it is not too presumptuous of me, we could share this food equally between us."

"I am willing to accept your offer; it heartens me to know that I am not alone in this cruel world." Venomoth conceded, making a smile spread across Ash's face as he bore witness to the forming of a brand new friendship.

"If I may…" He interjected. "I could catch you both, then neither of you would have to worry about food and you would be welcomed by my Pokémon with open arms. In fact, I recently caught another Pokémon that was in a similar situation to you so it can understand your pain too. If you come with me, I promise you a home, a family and the chance to grow to strengths you would never have dreamed of otherwise." He took a step forward and opened his arms wide in a show of acceptance. As he took another step forward, Scyther suddenly stiffened and stared at him with a new determination in his eyes. Ash grew slightly apprehensive but held his ground, unsure of what it would do next as he could not sense its intent.

"You… You carry a metal coat, don't you? I can feel that it is here. If you do indeed possess it then give it to me and allow me to evolve. If you do this, then I will come with you." It said curtly. Ash smiled and relaxed as he once again understood what it wanted.

"If that's all you want then fine, have it." He took off his backpack and reached inside. When he pulled out his hand, the cylinder of metal he found on the Kabuto island was in it. He threw it into the air above Scyther and Scyther reached up and repeatedly sliced it so rapidly that it became a powder raining onto him. As the powder settled over its body, Scyther began to glow and change in shape. Soon the glow died down and before them stood a Pokémon similar in stature to Scyther but with pincers instead of scythes and with wings now more akin to those of a butterfly. Its main exoskeleton had undergone a transformation from vibrant green to brilliant gold while its abdomen and joints went from red to black.

"Finally… Long have I sought to evolve but never have I had the chance. I thank you for this opportunity and swear my loyalty to you. I shall battle by your side as you see fit, master." It said seriously as it lowered itself into a bow.

"There's no need for that Scizor, you can just call me Ash, like all my other Pokémon do. I want to be your friend, not your master." Ash explained.

"Then thank you, Ash." Scizor finished before if looked to its new friend, silently hoping that it would also accept Ash's offer.

"Well then Venomoth, will you join us too?"

Venomoth stared at him in silence for a few minutes before finally speaking up. "I can see no reason not to. You have offered me all the things I want most in this world and I do not believe that you are lying to me. I accept your offer and you as my trainer."

"I'm glad to hear it and I'm sure you'll fit in perfectly. Now just give me a minute before I catch you." Ash said before delving into his bag and pulling out his pokégram. He activated it and called Professor Oak. Shortly thereafter, a holographic image of Professor Oak stood before him. "Hello Professor, I see you finally got that hologram system installed."

"I did indeed, young man. To what do I owe this pleasure?" The elderly man asked cheerfully.

"Well, I'm about to catch a shiny Scizor and a shiny Venomoth. I was hoping to send you my Onix so that I can have these two with me." Ash explained.

"Of course, that makes plenty of sense, though I hope you'll tell me what's so unusual about those Onix now."

"Thanks Professor. My Onix are all composed entirely of one type of gem and are different sizes compared to usual. Most of them are larger but one's smaller than usual so be sure to let them out in an area with plenty of open space. You're quite welcome to research with them and I can explain how they came to have bodies made out of crystal when I get back home but do make sure to get their consent first and be careful as some of them are slightly suspicious of humans still."

"I understand, Ash. And you know I never perform any experiments without the permission of any involved Pokémon. They certainly sound like interesting individuals though; I can't wait to have a look at them. Just send them over as soon as you're ready."

"I know Professor but I just thought I should make sure to mention it in case you accidentally forgot. I'll send them over now." Ash confirmed before, one-by-one, placing the pokéballs containing his Onix on the transporter and sending them over.

"Well, that's all six of them I think Ash. I look forward to the next Pokémon I see from you."

"Thanks Professor, I'd better catch these two and go meet up with the others then. I'll see you again soon, I'm sure." Ash said before ending the call. He then turned to the two Pokémon and held a pokéball out in front of each of them. "If you're sure you want to come with me then just tap the button on the pokéball." He told the two and they tapped the buttons without hesitation. He then began to make his way back towards the Pokémon Center in hopes of finding his friends had already returned.

When he made it back, a short while later, he found them waiting in the lobby. Tracey was the first to spot him and pointed him out to the others before he asked the question they were all wondering. "So Ash, did you manage to catch anything?"

"Yeah, a shiny Scizor and a shiny Venomoth." He told them. "But, what about you guys? Did you manage to find the swarm and get a fight?"

"We sure did." Tracey answered excitedly. "You should have seen the battle, it was so intense. We could barely see half of their attacks and it was a really close battle. But my Scyther managed to pull through and win. He decided to come with me anyway though. I don't really understand it, he could have gone back to his swarm, his home, yet he chose to come with me… It just doesn't make sense."

"Yes it does." Cynthia countered, growing more confident in her speech as she continued. "Scyther may have won but he had already lost once and nearly lost that time. He probably realised that the time had come for a new leader because he would only get weaker as he got older while the Scyther that beat him was only getting stronger. The best thing for the swarm is a reliable leader and your Scyther couldn't fill that role anymore, but the other one could."

"I think you're right again Cynthia." Ash observed. "A Pokémon that leads a swarm is responsible for their wellbeing. When its time has come it will relinquish command. Congratulations on the capture, Tracey. Now, why don't we go and get some food before we go to bed and head out tomorrow."

"That sounds good to me, I'm starving." Misty acknowledged. "But first, just one question, what is a Scizor?"

"I suppose it isn't that unusual that you don't know what a Scizor is, given your fear of bug types. To put it simply, Scizor is the evolved form of Scyther, though not necessarily more powerful. It actually evolved right in front of me, using the metal coat I found the other day." Ash explained before they all headed to the dining room for kitchen.

Okay guys, that's all for now. This chapter is a bit short because it is technically incomplete so it will probably be updated at some point in the near future but I can't guarantee anything. I hope you liked it, feel free to leave your reviews, so long as they aren't flames. If they are then you can shove them up you ass and burn on them for all I care. ;)

Sorry it's not hugely interesting as a chapter but when I update it, I'll be putting a twist on the next island that I think some people, at least, will enjoy a lot. I certainly look forward to it as it's something I really think should have been done in the show too and was a missed opportunity. It didn't even have to be done there, just when Ash and the character actually met.

Anyway, I'm thinking about putting out a chapter of a new story around New Year to start my regular update schedule, if I can keep it up, so you might want to keep an eye out for it. Not sure which story it will be yet as I have several that are semi-started but I like my ideas for some more than others.

Also, for one of my stories, I'm considering putting in an organisation specifically to fight the criminal organisations and I've been having trouble coming up with a name. I want it to be Team 'something' but I don't know quite what that something should be, none of my ideas have fitted at all so I'm looking to you guys for suggestions. So guys, let me know any 'something's you come up with. :P

And finally... WOOOOOO! Past the 100k words mark. I can barely believe that this was really all written by me and that people have enjoyed it but apparently it's true so I guess I got something right. Thanks again for all your support, Shadow.