Don't Own Pokemon, bros.

A few years later…

"Ash! Dinner's ready!"

"Alright! Come on, Alex! I'll race ya downstairs!"

I'll give you a head start…

Ash sprinted out of his disaster area of a room, with clothes, blankets, and pillows strewn all over the place in preparation of the long journey ahead. I chuckled at his behaviour before lithely pouncing out the room, down the stairs, and into the kitchen, passing Ash in the process. I sat right next to Ash's chair, patiently waiting for him to enter. Wheezing, Ash clutched the doorway with one hand and had his other on his leg while hunched over.

"Okay…you win…but one day…I'll beat you…" After catching his breath, Ash plopped into his chair, eyes starry-eyed at all of his food in front of him.

"I wanted to make sure you had a great homemade dinner before you left, honey."

"Thanks, Mom! I love it! You do too, right, Alex?"

As Delia placed a full plate down in front of me, I barked and wagged my tail in gratitude. She chuckled at my response, and while the two humans discussed tomorrow, I ate slowly, taking in my surroundings and embedding them in my memory. I stayed in this house for 5 years, and will always return to it, no matter how long I've been away. Delia served as my surrogate parent, taking care of me when I couldn't, and basically training me on how to take care of Ash in her own way.

After we finished, Ash made his way back upstairs to finish packing, and before I could follow him, Delia stopped me.

"Poochy-I mean, Alex. Come here for a moment." I turned around and walked back towards her with my head tilted. "I've been meaning to talk to you, but things got a bit hectic, huh?" She picked me up and slowly walked towards the couch. Settling herself, I felt a hand smoothing the fur on my back. I decided to rest and laid my head on her lap, closing my eyes to listen intently.

"I always knew that Ash would be a Pokémon Trainer, even before you came into our lives. He's always had a love for Pokémon. But these past few years have made me realize how serious he actually is, with him going to Professor Oak for help and learning as much as he could from that man. But I'm nervous about it, Alex. I'm always going to worry about him, wondering if he's alright and not in trouble." She stopped petting my fur, and my right ear twitched before I raised my head to look at her. "Not that he would be in trouble. I mean, he's got you with him." She turned me around, and I sat on her lap alertly, though my right ear still flopped. At this she giggled, and I relaxed, with my tongue hanging out of my mouth as I panted a bit. She ruffled the fur on my head and smiled. "Alex, please take care of my son. Promise me that you'll return him safe and sound. That's all I ask of you." I tilted my head down, closed my eyes, and sought out my Aura. Once I tapped into it, I looked back up to Delia with glowing blue eyes.

I promise.

~/o/~

I trotted along a dirt path, heading up to the tree Ash and I usually frequent after a long day. I passed Oak's Lab on the way, and stopped slowly as I stared at the pale building in the moonlight.

"Hey Professor Oak!"

"Yes, Ash?"

"Um…I was wondering…do you need any help at your lab?"

"Oh…well…"

"Please Professor? I wanna help so I can learn all about Pokémon! I wanna be a Pokémon master!"

Oak chuckled. "Okay, okay. But it's going to be hard work, young man."

"That's okay! Me and Poochyena can handle anything!"

I chuckled at the memory, and how excited Ash really was to start learning more about the creatures he loved. I then stared out into the forest and saw a group of Butterfree flying out of the trees, silver powder tracing their path. My tail wagged slightly, and I looked down, remembering when I first learned about my Aura…and how dangerous it was.

"Hey, Houndoom?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering…is it normal to sometimes sense where the opponent is even when you aren't looking?"

Houndoom cocked his head in thought. "Well, I suppose it depends on how close that opponent is."

"I mean when it's on the other side of the field."

"And it's not coming at you or making a sound?"

"Mmm-hmm."

Houndoom contemplated for a moment before raising an eyebrow. "Why don't we test your words right now."

"Uh…are you sure…?"

"Yeah, why not? Now's a better time than any."

We then made our way to an open field within the trees and stood on opposite sides. The image of several Houndoom around me and Lucario pricked my thoughts before I shooed it away. Now was not the time to think about my dreams. Houndoom then nodded his head, and I closed my eyes. My breathing evened out and I perked my ears, straining to hear padding of paws or claws scratching the dirt. However, I heard absolutely nothing. Then I sensed a presence coming towards me from my right side and I briefly saw a glimpse of Houndoom's form. I immediately stiffenedd, and I suddenly felt threatened. I knew he wasn't an enemy, really, but pure anger welled up within me at the sight of his form, and I began charging up energy in front of my mouth. A blue ball appeared, and I opened my eyes to find terror and surprise written all over his face before I released that energy. The blast from impact blew me backwards, and everything went black.

I woke up alone, and immediately my ears flattened against my head while I curled up within myself. At least half of the surrounding trees were obliterated and scorch marks replaced most of the grass in the field..

"HOUNDOOM! WHERE ARE YOU?" I frantically searched around until I found a black figure in the shadow of the forest, and I scampered over to my fallen friend. Once I reached him I skidded to a stop and shivered in fear. My friend looked worse for wear. I whimpered, and began snuffling him to try to wake him up. Slowly Houndoom's eyes opened, and tears began falling.

"Houndoom…I…I'm sorry!"

Fear crept into those glassy reddish-brown eyes, and only one word dropped into the silence.

"Aura."

I stared at him blankly, not believing what he just said. Aura? Like my dreams? That's when everything clicked inside and I realized that my "dreams" were actually past memories of my time with Sir Aaron and Lucario. I sat down in shock, and returned my focus on Houndoom.

Houndoom then looked at me with pity. "Poochyena…you have so much power within you. It's not your fault. You just can't control it yet." He then tenderly rolled onto his belly, and then gave me a serious look. I cringed under his stare, and kept my head down. He then smirked slightly and told me something that flabbergasted me. "Poochyena. Your Aura is very strong, and I'm proud to have helped you realize your gift." He kept talking but I couldn't hear what he was saying. I kept trying to process this information until I heard a sharp bark.

"Huh?"

"I asked if you could find Professor Oak…unless you want to carry me over to the lab."

I howled, wondering if Houndoom or any other of my friends were awake. I heard a couple of answering calls back, and I smirked in response. I already said my good-byes earlier today, so this was just a final farewell since I probably wouldn't be seeing them tomorrow. None of them were morning Pokémon.

I continued up the path until I found our hill, and I raced up it, feeling the grains of dirt underneath my paws and the wind across my fur. I circled the tree until I found a comfortable spot, and I took a seat on the grass in front of the moon. It was at this spot that I first spoke to Ash.

"Hey, Poochyena! I bet I can beat you up the hill!" I grinned in response, and we both took off up the path. Ash worked hard in Oak's lab that day, and learned all about dog-like Pokémon, including the Poochyena line. He kept bouncing up and down while he waited for me to finish my training with Houndoom, who became my own personal Pokétrainer. I beat him again, and Ash leaned against the tree, trying to catch his breath.

"I…will…beat…you…someday…"

Not anytime soon.

Ash paused, hands still on his knees. He looked around for the source of the voice, and his eyes met mine once again.

"Poochyena, did you hear that?" I cocked my head and raised an eyebrow. "I heard a voice…but I don't know where it came from." I looked away for a moment before a thought entered my mind. I decided to test it out, so I closed my eyes and tried to talk to him. However, I had no response. Thinking it was a fluke, I reached inside to find my Aura, and tried to connect with Ash. It took a few times, and each time I failed he felt a slight shock, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion. Once I succeeded, I began my experiment again.

Ash?

"Huh? Who's there?"

Ash. It's me.

"Who's 'me'?"

The Pokémon in front of you, silly.At this Ash's eyes widened as large as the moon, and he crouched down to try to get level with me.

"Poochyena?"

Well, my real name is Alex, but whatever you wanna call me is okay.

"O-oh…okay. I-I'll call you by y-your r-real name, th-then."

What's wrong?

"Uh…you're TALKING. That usually doesn't happen! This is crazy! How are you doing that?"

Long story short, I have a…gift…to use…Aura, which is kinda hard to explain at the moment since I don't fully understand it myself. But it gives me special talents like sensing my surroundings with my eyes closed and boosting my attack power along with being able to connect with others and speak to them.

Ash looked at me with so much confusion that I knew it all went over his head.

Okay. Well, maybe you'll get it later. But I have a question: are my eyes glowing?Ash stared at my eyes, causing my ears to go back in unease.

"Yeah…"

Okay, okay. That's enough.I pushed his face back with my paw, causing him to fall backwards. We laughed, and then we began talking. About everything.

It didn't take long for my eyes to stop glowing whenever I spoke to Ash since we had such a strong bond to begin with. However, he was the only one who I could do this with. Yeah, I could speak to everyone, but the amount of Aura energy spent in the action depended on how well I knew the person. Hence why I didn't speak to strangers, nor Ash's friends. But I did talk occasionally to Delia and Professor Oak, especially when they had questions that I could answer.

After some time passed, I sensed somebody walking up the hill. I immediately closed my eyes and sparked my Aura to look at my surroundings, where I found a bright, strong, blue soul coming my way. I relaxed, and turned my head to look at Ash. He smiled at me and sat down next to me, and I jumped in his lap.

"Hey, Alex. What are you doin' up here all alone?"

Just thinking.

"'Bout what?" I tilted my head back to look at Ash.

Of the past, and how everything we've done has led up to this moment. Think you're ready?

"Oh yeah!" He scratched my behind my ear subconsciously. "I believe we're both ready for the challenges up ahead. Don't you?"

As long as we're together, there's nothing we can't do. I crawled out of his lap, took one last look at the Moon, and started back towards the house. We need to get to bed…unless you wanna be late for your first day as a Pokémon Trainer.

"But I'm too excited to sleep!" I glared at him. "Fine, I'll see what I can do."

I need to make sure you have everything, too.

"What, you don't trust me? Oh, how you've hurt me!" We laughed and walked back home, together.

A/N:
So, this is my longest chapter so far. Just wondering, do y'all like long chapters? Lemme know. Thanks for reading!
~Wolffyychu18