How to Train Your Pokémon

A/N: Okay, I think this is the chapter that is the longest so far, the most epic and has the most bombs dropped. But I hope you guys like stuff like that, because I have worked a few days on this.

Now, let's get on with Chapter 20! Roll it!

Chapter 20

Answers Received

After the Ketchum family finally broke the heartwarming hug, Ash looked over to where Aiden was standing. He tilted his head slightly, like a curious Pokémon. "Do I know you from somewhere?" He asked him.

Aiden was a little surprised that the Chief of the Trainer faction, thought to be long dead, was speaking to him. He cleared his throat to erase any nervousness. "I'm Aiden Newton, Chief." He introduced himself.

Ash then took in the Newton boy's auburn hair and dark blue eyes. "You're Ritchie's boy, aren't you?" He asked him.

Aiden's eyes widened slightly. The three Ketchum siblings looked between their father and their friend. They slightly remembered Aiden's father, Ritchie Newton. Mari then remembered something else about him. He was taken hostage when she and Aiden were about ten years old. It was sometime after his capture that Aiden completely turned her away.

Aiden nodded slowly. "You knew him?" He asked.

Ash nodded at him with a fond smile. "He and I have been pretty close friends since we were kids, even younger than all of you now." He said. "If I had a brother, it would be him." Ash then looked between Aiden and his daughter. "And it seems that you two are pretty close still, even after all this time."

Mari and Aiden looked at each other and smiled bashfully. They remembered that when they were little, their parents would bring them together for playdates. Even after Ash and Pikachu got captured, Dawn still brought her children to play with the Newton kids.

It was after Ritchie's disappearance that the playdates stopped altogether. Aiden avoided Mari like the plague, Keira and Luke lost touch for a while, but then Keira became heavily infatuated with him. The only childhood friendship that remained was Jenna and Evan's.

Pikachu then came into the conversation. "Also, Sparky and I were left as caretakers watching over you two little tykes."

"Sparky?" Luke asked.

"Ritchie's Pikachu." Ash explained.

Aiden was now completely floored, and his knees started to wobble. His father owned a Pikachu? However, the more that he thought about it, the more he remembered a yellow blur on his father's shoulder, similar to Mari's own memory of her father and his Pikachu. But instead of saying "Pika", he said "Spar-ka." Was he trying to say "Sparky"?

"I think I remember something about Sparky." He said.

Ash smiled. "Well, you were just a little toddler like Mari, about the same age." He said. "I've learned about what happened to the Pokémon after Pikachu and I were captured."

"Was Sparky one of the Pokémon that was sent away?" Aiden asked.

Ash nodded. "He told me once he and Ritchie were brought here." He said.

Aiden's heart leapt joyfully for the second time that night. "My dad's here?" He asked, a hopeful smile on his face. Mari had a small grin on her own face when she saw that. It had been a long while since she had seen him smile like that.

Ash nodded his head again. "But he's not here right now." He said. "He is probably still in interrogation."

"For what?" Evan asked. "And what exactly is this place?"

Ash looked over at Pikachu. The older Electric type looked at his Trainer with a glance, gesturing in his children's direction. The withered man sighed. "It's a long story, but I'll try to keep it brief before anyone knows you four are here." He said at last. At once, all the teens were sitting on the cold floor, ready to listen to the story. "I'll warn you though. It is definitely not a story that has a happy ending."

"It's all right, Dad." Mari said. "I've wanted to know the truth my whole life. I'm not turning away now."

Those words struck a chord inside Ash. He remembered that he said something similar when he was around his daughter's age.

"I'm not sure myself how or when this whole mess actually started, but I'll start with how this place came to be." Ash began. "In the faraway region of Kalos, lurking within the shadows of this very nice and beautiful region was an evil organization called Team Flare. At the head of this band of corrupted people was Lysandre, one of the most ruthless men I have ever crossed with. He plotted to shape the world in his own image, trying to 'purify' it using the power of Zygarde."

"One of the legendary Pokémon of Kalos?" Evan asked with wide eyes.

"Yes." Ash said. "Lysandre was planning to use its power to terraform the region. He had captured me and my own Pokémon to try and use our own special power between us to add more strength to the device that he was using to control Zygarde."

"Why you though?" Luke asked.

Ash looked down at his feet. "It's the same reason as to how you kids found your way here." He said.

The teens were confused for a few moments until Mari figured it out. "You're the reason that we could understand Pokémon and have these abilities?" She asked.

Her father nodded. "Believe me, it was a gift and a curse that I didn't ask for." He said. "Eons ago, when ancient Pokémon roamed the earth, there was a civilization that most everyone hasn't even heard of. Those that did believed that it was just a myth. We called them Trainees."

"Trainees?" Aiden asked.

The Ketchum kids looked back at their backs, and made their wings appear. "Is it like a name for a fairy?" Mari asked.

"Sort of." Ash said. "I didn't come up with the name."

They then made their wings vanish once more. "So, continue." Luke said.

"In a way, they were sort of like mythical beings. They were human, but they also had powers of Pokémon. They could understand them, and they could fly like Bug types. Also, their wings were said to also have psychic powers." Ash continued his story. "But every one of them had their own unique ability."

"Like electrokinesis?" Mari asked.

"And Aura manifestations?" Luke added.

"And hydrokinesis?" Evan finally questioned.

"Yes, and many more." Ash said. "Unfortunately, they basically destroyed themselves in an all-out war. No one was spared."

"Kind of like what's happening right now." Aiden said.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, then before I was born, a group of scientists by some chance discovered a hint of a Trainee's DNA, the part that gave them their power. They developed a serum of it and tried to give it to an unexpecting subject, in an attempt to revive the Trainee clan and control it."

"Were these scientists working for Team Flare?" Evan asked.

"No, they were working for another organization." Elysia said. "And one that I sincerely hope you kids never cross paths with."

Ash continued the story after Evan translated what Elysia said to Aiden. "But they decided that the most discreet way to see if the serum would work was to inject it into a developing host." A frown came on his face.

Mari cocked her head slightly, as to what her father meant, but then it hit her like a lightning bolt to the head. "You mean a baby. When it's still in its mother's womb."

Ash only nodded. "And the scientists chose you." Luke concluded.

"I surely didn't ask for it." Ash said bitterly. "I was born perfectly fine, thankfully, yet ever since, they and other organizations have been after me to try and use my power for their own evil deeds. I didn't even know what I really was until I was 10 years old!"

"Yet, your abilities were showing before that, right?" Evan asked gently.

Ash took a deep breath. "I had been an outcast ever since I was a kid." He said. "I first realized that I was different when I noticed that I can understand Pokémon with just a simple touch of my hand."

"I was surprised to learn that Ash could understand me when we first met." Pikachu piped in.

"As I continued my Pokémon journey, Pikachu and I soon came across a couple of artifacts that relate to the Trainee legend. That was when I realized what I really am, and it rocked me to my very core." Ash continued. "After that discovery, I confronted my mother about it. She told me everything she knew about the truth about me and that she doesn't care about what I am, but who I am."

"That helped him realize that he's still himself, even though he has powers." Pikachu added. "Even if he wasn't a Trainee, I would still have no other human for my Trainer and my best friend."

Ash smiled at the older Electric type. "Thanks, bud." He said, petting the top of his head.

"But what about your special ability?" Luke asked. "What is it and how did you discover it?"

"My ability is to sense Aura and other essences like you." Ash said. "I can manifest it, but I can't exactly use it for attacks, mostly only defense."

"Kind of like me." Luke said. "I can harness Aura, but I can also use it for both attack and defense."

Ash smiled. "Yeah." He said. "I first discovered it when I was visiting the Rota Kingdom when I was about 14 years old. But unfortunately, the whole story will have to wait for another time. Anyway, I've had too many close calls with people discovering what I am."

"What about Mom?" Evan asked.

"She was one of the first to discover the truth." Ash admitted. "I had to show her if I didn't want her to get hurt. I may have been unsure about my true feelings for your mother at the time, but I knew that she was one of my closest friends, and that I didn't want anything to happen to her. We were only 15."

"How did she react?" Mari asked.

"She was surprised at first." Ash said. "But then she learned that I'm still me, even if I would have wings sometimes."

"And then, you and Mom tied the knot about five years later. Then you had me." Mari concluded.

"I'm still confused about one thing." Aiden said. "If you and possibly all the other Trainers that have been alive all this time, are being held here, why is it that everyone back home thinks that the Pokémon are attacking us for no reason?"

"And the Pokédexes." Evan added. "Why would they hide them?"

Suddenly, the answer hit Mari like a lightning bolt to the head. The lies they were fed, the hidden Pokédexes, why her mother was so overprotective. "She's only trying to protect us." She said, then turned to her father. "If she knew that you're a Trainee, then she must've have known all along that the twins and I are bound to be Trainees too."

Then the twins started to get what their sister was implying. "After you and Pikachu were captured, she must have been forced to banish all of the trained Pokémon and any evidence that Pokémon were trained at all. Then they and almost all the wild Pokémon were captured by Team Flare and brought here." Luke said.

"They were then forced to attack the town, trying to get information through hostages and data storages, including Aiden's dad. Information about our family." Evan concluded.

Ash nodded. "Right. But there is one more thing that you're missing." His children tilted their heads in confusion, wondering what else they could be missing.

"You three didn't inherit your powers from just me." Ash decided to say. His kids looked at him still confused, until the epiphany hit them.

"Are you saying that Mom is a Trainee?!" Mari exclaimed, but thankfully still quiet enough to not set off the alarm. When their father nodded, all of the teens looked over at Pikachu. His own confirmation only added to their immense shock.

"How is that possible?" Luke asked with wide eyes. "You said that you were the first original Trainee in eons. How did Mom become one?"

"It's actually kind of hard to explain right now." Ash said. "You see, Trainees can make normal people become like them, powers and all. It just takes... a certain bond and a little bit of power."

"You and Mom were good friends when you were teenagers." Evan said. "So how did you make Mom a Trainee when you were still discovering your own abilities?"

"I'll be honest, I didn't know that was going to happen." Ash said. "I was just so focused on trying to save her from a life-or-death situation when I guess all of my thoughts of her somehow channeled some of my power into her." He looked down at his feet. "I'll never forget when her wings first appeared on her back. She was scared and confused, but she didn't question any of it until both of us were in the clear."

The Ketchum kids all felt weak in the knees. Both of their parents were Trainees, part of an ancient civilization that was once thought to be the stuff of legend. Their father was only born a Trainee because of an experiment in early development, and their mother had only become one because their father was trying to save her. Which makes them the first pure-born Trainees, and they didn't know the truth until now.

Aiden felt their shock from where he was standing, and when he went to comfort Mari by placing his hand on her shoulder, he could feel her shaking.

Suddenly, Elysia's ears perked up, as did Pikachu's. They were hearing something soft yet distinct in their ears. "Guys, I think we have company coming." The female Pikachu said, bringing herself in a defensive posture.

Everyone turned towards the cell door and heard the automatic doors from further down the hall opening, and footsteps were then heard. Elysia and the teenagers quickly moved towards the shadowed wall of the cell. Mari and Aiden looked through the crack that led to the hallway for a quick peek of what was happening.

The same man from before that tossed Ash into his cell was pushing another man, about the same age as Ash into a cell that was across the cell next to his. This man had shaggy auburn hair, dark blue eyes and tan skin. He had thin stubble on his chin as well, but his dirty condition was not as bad. He looked a lot like Aiden, an older version of the teenage boy, minus the skin tone. Despite the old clothing and the weary face, Aiden recognized the face. It was one that he hadn't seen in five years.

"Dad." He said. The name was actually said a little too loud, and Mari covered his mouth.

Ritchie Newton looked around the hallway, wondering where the sound came from, as did the man that was roughly pushing him into his cell.

"Who's there?" The man ordered briskly and harshly. Everyone in Ash's cells held their breath as the man scanned the area. Ash quietly went over to his cot and pretended to be asleep. The man looked inside the cell, and the twins pressed themselves closer to the wall, hoping that the shadows would be enough to conceal them. Mari, Aiden and Elysia went further into the hidden crack in the concrete wall beside the cell door to hide.

The man seemed to shrug off the location of the noise that was heard and then roughly pushed Ritchie back into his cell. From what Mari and Aiden could see from their hiding spot, a Pikachu scampered up to Ritchie once the cell door closed and was locked. This one was also a male, and in the same withered and experienced state as Ash's Pikachu, but this one had a scruff of fur on his head.

Once the man left the hallway, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But their moment of calm was cut short when alarms started blaring across the compound.

"That's not good." Luke said.

"You have to get out of here." Ash said, jumping off of his cot.

"But what about you?" Evan asked. "We finally got to meet you after 15 years."

"If your mother discovers you three and your friend not home, she'll send out a whole search party for you." Ash said. "Just go."

His children looked at him with extreme hesitation, but eventually nodded. "Okay, Dad." Mari said. "I promise, one day soon, we will free you, and you'll finally come home. Along with everyone else here."

Ash smiled at his daughter. "Now, go!" He ushered once more.

The teenagers nodded, and they began to squeeze through the narrow crack in the wall. Once out of the cell, Aiden snuck a glance at his father, who was looking straight at him. His eyes were widened in surprise. But neither of them could say a word before Aiden followed the Ketchum kids and Elysia to the main compound platform. He turned to his friend, who was watching them leave from his cell.

"Was that... my son, Aiden?" Ritchie asked him.

Ash nodded at him. "And my children." He added proudly before turning back to the hallway entrance where the teenagers were running to.

Once they got to the platform, the automatic doors were opening. The Ketchum kids made their wings appear again quickly. Elysia jumped onto Mari's shoulder while she grabbed Aiden's hand. But he quickly moved her hand to around his waist where she had a better grip on him while he placed an arm around her shoulders. If she wanted to blush, she didn't have the time since armed men were beginning to come out of the doorways. Also, the steel dome above them was starting to close.

"I think now is a good time to retreat." Evan said, ready to take off before the dome doors closed completely.

"I second that." Aiden said.

They all shot themselves into the air at a fast speed, thankfully dodging any bullets that were being fired at them.

One man that was at the front of the militia looked up at the dome as it finally closed, but the intruders were already far out of their sight. "Get me Lysandre." He ordered to one of the men. "I think he is going to want to hear about this."

********************************************

A few minutes of adrenaline-driven flying later, everyone arrived back at the cave where the spring was.

"This whole thing is crazy, but it makes total sense." Aiden said as they were landing. "All of what we think we know is only half of the story." Once they were back on solid ground, he released his grip on Mari as she and the twins made their wings vanish. "Should we confront your mom about this?"

"No!" The Ketchum kids exclaimed at him.

"Not yet, at least." Mari said. "If we do it now, she'll find out our secret about Elysia and she'll capture her without a second thought to keep up the charade that we have been fighting Pokémon since forever. If not her, then the whole town will be."

Luke began pacing across the cave floor. "There's got to be a way to let everyone know about us knowing our true origins without revealing Elysia. At least for now."

"But what?" Evan asked.

Everyone was silent for a few moments with no ideas. But they knew that whatever idea they can come up with, it would be extremely risky. Finally, Mari spoke up. "Give me until tomorrow." She said. "I'll figure something out."

"But tomorrow's your final exam." Aiden said. "Everyone in town will be there to watch you capture Lucario. If you can even do it. No offense."

"Some taken." Mari said to him with a dry glare, then she erased it from her face as she looked down at the cave floor with a downtrodden look in her eyes. "But I'll come up with something. I promise."

"Okay." Aiden said softly. Then he gave her a hard push on her shoulder. "That's for kidnapping me."

Mari gave him a confused and shocked look. Even though it was slightly better than a punch or slap, it was still a bit offensive. Especially after everything they had been through that night. She looked back and gestured to her brothers, who only stepped back, not wanting to get caught in what might be another line of fire. She then looked over at Elysia, who was about to wade in the spring water.

The female Electric type only shrugged. "You're on your own on this one." She said.

Mari glared at her before turning back to Aiden. He seemed to be a little nervous about something. Before she could ask him why, he quickly gave her a hug. Mari felt herself turning bright pink at the gesture, but she then returned it. Aiden soon broke the hug after a few short seconds.

"That's for... everything else." He said shyly, which was a little strange coming from him. It wasn't what he really wished he could do with her, but since their bridges had just being rebuilt, he wasn't going to push his luck yet. Without another word, he left the cave in a sprint, sparing one last glance at Mari.

Mari felt her lips curling into a soft and smitten smile. This night was definitely one she'll never forget. She and Aiden finally made up after so long, and she learned that her father was truly alive. Despite the adrenaline that was coursing through her veins as she and everyone else escaped the compound, this night was pretty much one of the best nights ever.

She then saw Elysia coming up to her with a smug smirk on her furry face. "Eh, wh-what are you looking at?" She asked with a slight stutter, her cheeks turning red.

"You know what?" Elysia asked her deeply embarrassed Trainee. "He's actually a pretty good guy. You better not let go of this one."

Mari gave her a short glare before turning back up to the sky, wondering what tomorrow might bring for all of them, Aiden included. Would it actually turn out right for once, or will it all go horribly wrong?

A/N: A whole lot of answers changing lives and ending with a little bit of sweetness. But the next chapter, if anyone knows HTTYD, you know what happens next.

Until then, I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think. They are highly appreciated.

Got to fly! ;)