Ash sweat-dropped as he heard Beartic's story. He was training Beartic with his Glalie, and to make it more difficult, he used his Glaceon to Help Beartic Attack, Special Attack, and Speed, as Beartic liked a challenge. Apparently, his owner had him as a Cubchoo, and liked his cute form and wished for him to stay that way, but he wanted to be stronger, and evolved so that he would have chances against more powerful opponents, which caused his owner to be unhappy with him.

'The owner should've given him an Everstone if that's the case, or listen to what he wanted.' Ash thought, as he commanded Glaceon to finish the battle off with Sheer Cold, and it hit Beartic, sending it flying towards a tree, and sliding it to the ground. The Mega Evolution wore off from Glaceon.

"Beartic!" Ash ran over to his Pokémon. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." Beartic replied. "Wow, Ash, this was a fun battle, you trained your Pokémon to be this powerful. I wish I'd be as strong as your Ice Pokémon someday."

"Don't worry, you will." Ash assured him, and offered him a Sitrus Berry to recover his health, which Beartic ate gratefully. He looked down at his notes at the goals of each Pokémon. "Alright, it looks like Blaziken is next. Blaziken, could you come for a minute?"

The Shiny Blaziken looked up from playing with Ash's Fire-types, and walked over. He was one of the few that did not have any problem with their owner, just that the owner always wanted a Beedrill, and when it was said the Beedrill once belonged to the PAL Champion, it made the deal so much sweeter.

"So, I heard you want to learn Flare Blitz?"

Blaziken nodded.

"Alright, who do you want to teach you Flare Blitz?"

He looked around, before saying, "Infernape."

Ash nodded. "Alright....Infernape!" He called out to his Flame Pokémon.

The said Pokémon came over. "Yes, Ash? What do you need of me?"

"This guy here wants to learn Flare Blitz. Could you teach him?" Ash requested.

"Of course!" Infernape nodded.

"Oh and before you start." Ash fed Blaziken a spicy Poképuff specifically for Fire-types, which Blaziken enjoyed very much. "Don't give up, Blaziken. I know you can learn this move." Ash looked at the Poképuff supply, and noted that it is running low, and made a mental note to get Pakura to make some more. Blaziken smiled, and nodded, as he went off with Infernape to train.

"You're always getting Pokémon who already know the moves to train those who don't know. Pretty good idea, Ash." Espeon complemented, as Lucario nodded.

"Well, yeah. I figured it's better to have fellow Pokémon peers to help instead of me, and besides, it increases the bond between my Pokémon better. I can't afford them to have a feud now, can I?" Ash replied, as Mew, who was flying around to play with Pokémon, landed on his head, tickling him with its tail.

Ash started laughing. "Mew, that tickles, stop!" Ash eventually lost his balance, and fell, as the other Pokémon started laughing. Charizard was clapping his hand cheering on Mew.

Ash chuckled, as he took out his notes once more, however, Kingdra tried to use Hydro Pump on Milotic, who dodged, and the Hydro Pump hit Ash, soaking him and running the notes.

Ash stared at his ruined notes in silence, and looked at Kingdra with an unreadable expression.

"Ash! I'm so sorry!" Kingdra whimpered, thinking she'd get a scolding for this since her previous owner didn't like her playful nature, since she tended to soak everything with Hydro Pump when she played,.

Surprisingly, Ash smiled. "It's fine. Just be careful when you play. I have an extra set of notes anyway." The thing is, Ash had very good memory power, something he had discovered during those four years. He first discovered it when Shiki was quizzing him on the Pokémon known in PAL. Not only did he quiz him on the name, he quizzed him on their types (he had to say whether it's a primary type or secondary type for dual types), which other region is this Pokémon usually found, and if this Pokémon can Mega Evolve. Of course, thanks to this training, he actually had the notes memorised, but still preferred it written down.

Later

Ash was about to grin and make another remark at what Movie was the best, when something pale gold adorned with four colours glowing in the forest caught his eye. Ash decided to check out what it was, with Pakura following him, frowning.

When Ash made it to the clearing, his jaw dropped when he saw a blue and black, quadrupedal, stag-like cervine Pokémon with an eight-horned set of antlers extending out from its head, four on each side. The source of the pale gold with the four colours were from its antlers.

"Xerneas..." Ash whispered.

"Hello, Chosen One." Xerneas said calmly, not fazed that it was found. "Nice seeing you in person. How about a battle?"

"A battle? Now?" Ash was unsure.

"I have been watching you for a while now." Xerneas walked around him and Pakura. "I may not be the battling type, but you seem to be a worthy opponent. If you win, you can catch me."

"Very well, then." Ash took out a Pokéball. "Greninja, lend me your aura!"

When his shiny Greninja came out, and stood at attention, Ash said, "Xerneas, you may have the first move."

"Alright." Xerneas said, before firing a Moonblast.

"Use Bounce to dodge!" Ash cried out, and Greninja jumped out of the way. Ash watched as the Moonblast destroyed a tree behind him.

'Oh boy, this Moonblast is as bad as the ones fired by Paku's Pokémon.' Ash thought. 'And Xerneas didn't even have training.' Greninja aimed his Bounce at Xerneas, who got ready to fire an Aurora Beam.

"Hydro Pump!" Ash commanded, and the two attacks clashed. Xerneas took this chance to attack with Close Combat, which hit Greninja pretty badly, considering the Close Combat was super effective.

"Are you alright, Greninja?" Ash asked, and Greninja nodded. "Well, then, Double Team, followed by Water Shuriken!" Xerneas looked around to try and tell from the copies on the location of the real Greninja, before deciding to attack them all with Thunder.

The copies dissipated, but Greninja emerged unharmed, and attacked with Water Shuriken, which hit Xerneas in the face. Xerneas stumbled back, and Greninja attacked with an Aerial Ace.

Xerneas retaliated with a Hyper Voice, which made Greninja cover his ears, and a chance for Xerneas to attack with another Moonblast. Greninja hit the tree, and slid down.

"Greninja!" Ash cried out. Greninja slowly got up, and Ash turned to Xerneas.

"You underestimated us. Both of us will get even stronger!" Ash and Greninja's moves synched, and Greninja was suddenly covered in a water veil. Its hair also resembled Ash's and some parts of him looked like the colour scheme of Ash's current outfit. Pakura and Xerneas were surprised at the transformation.

"Let's go, Greninja!" Ash cried out. Greninja nodded, and Ash called for a Gunk Shot, which damaged and poisoned Xerneas. Xerneas was significantly slowed down by the attack, and its health was slowly draining, and Ash then called out for a Grass Knot.

Since Xerneas is a rather heavy Pokémon, it took a lot of damage. However, it was not about to give up, and hit Greninja with a Dazzling Gleam, and Ash winced as his stomach felt a surge of pain, which was the exact same spot Greninja was hit.

"Scald, quickly!" Ash said. Greninja fired a powerful Scald at Xerneas, who fell to the ground, tired. Seeing his opportunity, he threw a Luxury Ball at Xerneas. The ball shook once, twice, before it locked.

"Alright! I caught a Xerneas! I can't wait to tell Espeon and the others!" Ash grinned. "Please bear with me from now on, Xerneas." The Luxury Ball shook up and down, as if it was nodding. Just then, Greninja returned back to normal, and both he and Ash fell to the ground, panting.

"What was that?" Pakura was puzzled and surprised at Greninja's transformation. AS she helped him up holding his arm

"Come on, let's go have some fun once we get Xerneas to the Pokémon Center." Ash suggested,  ignoring his tired state and Kissed her. He could later discover about that transformation later.

''''''''''''''''''''

Phillip sat on a rock near a lake, clasping the flask between his hands even though the warmth of the tea has long since leached into the cold air, while his Pokémon were playing at the grassy field. He knew from the cold air that winter is approaching soon. His muscles are somewhat stiff from sitting still for an extended period of time. He knew he should stand up and move around to work the stiffness from his limbs, but he needed to sit and reflect on the events that had happened.

Phillip knew he and Ash clicked instantly and became best friends because of the nature of their families, which meant they could empathize with each other on the lack of family love they received. Also, they were ostracized by the people of their hometown. Unlike Phillip, who were simply bullied by people of his own age (he was attacked physically, but only occasionally), Ash was simply turned against by his whole town, add the fact he was experiment by Team Rocket and was isolated in a cell, He only had little space to move to avoid them. Phillip knew he was ganged up upon at some point.

His family had neglected and ignored him because he was a social outcast due to his preference of reading books and experimenting on things while they fawn over his little brother Acer, who was the opposite: a social butterfly, and they often compared him to his little brother. Phillip later learnt that he became a businessman at Devon Corporation, with various social connections to international branches, and even connections to Kanto's Silph Co.

'Of course, he would be in the corporate world, since social connections are essential there.' Phillip thought bitterly. 'Bet my dear parents are so proud of their son.' But he knew he had achieved even more than his brother would ever hope to attain. He was sure his family knew, for they had sent letters every time he made a new invention known to the public, but he simply asked Ash or the other elite to burn them or throw them in the fireplace. If they didn't bother contacting him when he was an ordinary trainer on his journey, then they have no business trying to contact him now that he was world-famous.

'Probably wants to brag to their high-class friends that their elder son is a member of the PAL Elite Four.' Phillip thought. 'No way am I giving them the satisfaction.'

If it were up to him, he would try to forget his family, to never speak of them. Pretend they were nothing but mere strangers. But eventually, he knew that the locals would eventually question why his family was not among those that were interviewed during the Top 16.

Whatever. Phillip doesn't have the desire to see his family, which was why he never returned, not even once, to Mauville City, and never explored his own region during his Pokémon Journey. He also never bothered to send them tickets to the Pokémon World Championship after they left the hospital, while Jude did, knowing that they should appreciate what they have.

He wondered if his family didn't want him in their life thinking he might bring bad luck to the family name, just like Ash's family did when the world turned against him. He was almost sure that Ash's biological mother had something to do with Team Rocket'.

Phillip's respect for his Champion simply soared when he knew what he had been through. He was an epitome of how even people who were thought as the "lowest scum" can rise to become one of the brightest stars. Not that Phillip thought he was the scum, that title belonged to those in Pallet Town and his ex family. He was sure Lance would agree.

True, once Ash had tried once to kill the other  Elite members , including him expect for Pakura, but it was only because he was angry. Angry at them, for not being a better friend to him. Phillip had regretted deserting him, and knew he had to work doubly hard to make up to his best friend which took time and effort and after Ash become Champion he forgave them and told them his story and his relation the Dragon Duo.

'I also need to train hard as well, my skills are getting rusty.' Phillip sipped his cold tea.

His CommuniDex rang, and Phillip answered. He managed to muster a smile when he saw it was Ash.

"Phil, where are you?" Phillip's heart jumped for joy at the nickname. "We're waiting for you to have lunch with us."

"Are you eating with us?" Phillip sounded hopeful.

"Ah...I initially wanted to eat in my room while doing my paperwork, but..." Ash jerked his thumb at the person sitting next to him. Judging by the hair, he knew it was Pakura.

"Let's just say I dragged him out, and pushed all his paperwork to the other two members. You would need to do some paperwork when you get back." Pakura announced. "Amethyst and Shiki have given Ash plenty of rest days, he had done enough, don't you think?"

Phillip nodded. "Of course. I'm on my way." He closed the CommuniDex, and started walking out of the forest, deciding to return all his Pokémon, including his Emolga, as he wanted to enjoy the walk back alone for now.

Phillip stopped when he spotted a familiar reddish-brown hair belonging to a young man, and two middle-aged people asking a passer-by the directions to the Battle Tower. He stiffened when he realized he recognized those people, even after years of not seeing them. He decided to take another way back, but took a wrong turn, and ended up bumping into the three people he saw earlier.

"B-Brother?" The youngest of the trio whispered.

"It's been a while." Phillip said in his iciest voice he could muster, and giving them a cold glare. "Mother, Father, and my dear little brother Acer."

"Phillip!" Penelope, his mother cried, as she slowly walked towards her elder son, tears threatening to fall from her increasingly moistening eyes, and arms held out in an impending embrace. "You're back, sweetheart."

Her husband couldn't help but smile at the reunion, knowing how much they had been waiting to see Phillip again ever since he left home, but Acer, his little brother, wasn't so sure, as he swore he saw Phillip's eyes darkening as their mother came closer to him. Next second, he saw his bother throw his Pokéball and heard him say coldly, "Emolga, Thunderbolt!" The adorable Sky Squirrel Pokémon appeared, happy to be out at last, and sent a powerful Thunderbolt towards his mother.

The Thunderbolt hit the ground just in front of Penelope, causing an explosion that caused her to cover her eyes with her arm to prevent dust from getting into them, and took a step back to prevent herself from being knocked on the ground by the sheer power of the explosion caused by the Thunderbolt.

"Looks like we missed." Phillip said nonchalantly, uncaring of how much harm he could have caused.

'I knew it.' Acer thought. Meanwhile, Gregory couldn't believe that Phillip had ordered an attack on his own mother. Penelope stood where she was confused for a split second, before realizing that Phillip had tried to attack her, but missed on purpose. She let her tears fall, as she realized her own son had tried to hurt her.

"W-What's wrong, Phillip?" Penelope asked.

"I don't want to see you, that's what." Phillip replied, glaring at them.

"Why not?" Gregory enquired.

"Why do you think? I have grown up to you comparing me to my little brother, and my own peers making fun of me. Not only that, you egged them on instead of comforting me. What kind of parents are you? No wait, forget it, I am so done with you 12 years ago." Phillip sneered, as his family recoiled at his harsh words.

"Please, Phillip, we can explain!" His mother pleaded.

"Well, then, let's hear your pathetic excuse." Phillip folded his arms, and tapped his foot.

"You see, we were idiots! We thought the kids were doing it for fun, and it was a friendly banter!" Penelope reasoned.

"Wow, that excuse definitely scores negative marks." Phillip said sarcastically. "And what a coincidence you tried to find me only when I moved here."

Acer kept silent. He knew whatever he said won't work on Phillip now. His brother hates them, he could see it in his eyes. That was probably the reason why he never returned home, why he never bothered to contact them. Perhaps Phillip even tried to forget them, until they ruined it in this moment. He regretted being complacent during their times together in their childhood.

Acer still remembered the older brother who would shoot him looks of envy, the older brother who would only glance at him once before shutting himself in his room after mealtimes. He was only a child, he was so proud of the compliments his parents sent him, that he had failed to notice his brother not getting any from them. There were times Acer wanted to ask Phillip why he was distant with his family even from the beginning, and when Phillip left home, he felt somewhat lonely.

Everyone may have forgotten about his presence after he left for his journey, but Acer still remembered, and he knew his parents did, too, no matter how hard they try to hide it. Phillip never contacted them once during the two years, and his parents were unable to locate him, even with their social connections. All they found was Phillip may be in a certain city by now, and just as they were about to follow him there, he vanished again. His curiosity as to Phillip's reason for his disappearance never evaporated, and he wanted to see him again, to ask him why.

Unknown that Phillip never travelled their home region, Acer set out on a Pokémon journey in his home region to find him, while finding his place in the world. When would they meet? Would they ever meet? He didn't know. No one knew.

"Tell me, how did you get tickets to the Pokémon World Championship?" Phillip asked. "I am sure I never sent them to you."

"I secured them, brother." Acer spoke up. "We had to buy them online, and it was expensive, but our parents thought it would be worth it if they could see you."

"You wasted your money on those plane tickets and to the tournament." Phillip yawned.

"How could you say that?" Acer was hurt. They made the effort to come see him, and yet he was brushing them off like they were nothing!

"I think I can say whatever I want." Phillip replied calmly. "What are you going to do about it?"

Acer took out a Pokéball from his pocket, which his mother responded by, "Acer, no!"

Phillip saw the Pokéball, and look amused. "So, little brother. Think you can take me on?" He said in a mocking tone, as he took out another Pokéball. "I hope for a good battle, considering how proud your parents are of you so many years ago."

Acer knew by the way Phillip said, "Your parents", he didn't consider Penelope and Gregory as his parents. "Leafeon, it's battle time!"

"Jolteon, I need your help!" Phillip threw out his Electric-type Eeveelution.

"Five minutes is all I need to take all six of your Pokémon down." Phillip said, smiling darkly.

True enough, in five minutes, Phillip had taken all six of Acer's on-hand Pokémon with only his Jolteon and his Empoleon . Most were OHKO (One-Hit Knock Out) due to the sheer power of Phillip's moves, and Acer himself was not a powerful battler. True, he is more powerful than the Gym Leaders, but he was no match for a regional Elite Four member, much less an Elite Four that came from the PAL Region. What is more, Phillip is one of the stronger members in the said Elite Four.

"Philip!" A voice called, and Phillip turned in relief to see Pakura running towards him. Phillip's family also turned to see the beautiful girl run towards him, and Acer found himself admiring her beauty.

"Hey, Paku." Phillip said in relief. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you because you were taking so long, and we were getting hungry." Pakura replied. She saw Phillip's family, and asked, "Do you know them?"

"No, not at all." Phillip answered. "They just came up to me and talked to me. Weird, huh?" Acer could almost hear all their hearts break at the statement. Even he felt like crying when he realized Phillip had essentially cut them out of his life.

Pakura nodded, as Phillip said, "Come on, let's go."

He heard his mother begin to cry as he left with Pakura, with his father trying to comfort her. He himself lowered his head, allowing his fringe to hide his eyes, also trying not to cry at Phillip's cold rejection. But what would happen next in few days may change Philip opinion on his family

"What happened?" Ash asked, crouching over to the two of them. He began to pour his aura on their wounds so they could last longer, while he gets his Gardevoir to send them to the hospital. Perhaps he could get Pakura to heal their wounds later.

"Hunter J..." Gregory panted. "We were...trying to protect...our son from her."

"She's now...after them." Penelope added. "Our sons!"

"Wait, what?" Ash was shocked

"Yeah, she did something to Phillip so he couldn't really move. We got the younger one Acer to bring him away while we try to stall her. She's too powerful, and our Pokémon are..." The woman started sobbing. "My boys!"

"Don't worry, I'll rescue Phillip." Ash promised, as he sent out his Gardevoir to send the couple to the hospital. The couple thanked him, before Gardevoir used Teleport to get them away, and Ash continued to look for the airstrip.

'Did the woman just say Phillip was her boy?' Ash thought. 'Could they be the family Phillip was condemning?'

"Acer!" Phillip watched in horror as Acer took the bullet that was meant for him. He mustered up his strength and ran up to his little brother. When he checked the severity of the wound, he realized that Acer was losing a lot of blood.

"You bitch!" Phillip spat at Hunter J, who showed off the cases containing his parents' and Acer's Pokémon. There were also a few other Pokémon with her that she had frozen, including the Freeze Pokémon Articuno. Much to his surprise, J also owned a Key Stone and a Salamencite, allowing her to Mega Evolve her signature Pokémon.

"I can't let you go free and blab that I am in this region." Hunter J said, pointing her gun at him. "Any last words?"

"Yeah, I hope you rot in the Distortion World." Phillip replied.

Just as Hunter J was about to shoot, a laser hit her hand, forcing her to let go of the gun. When she tried to retrieve it, the gun floated, and everyone watched as a hand caught the gun.

"What did I say about never let your guard down, Philip?" Amethyst asked, as she floated into the scene, her Sylveon flanking her with Pakura Sylveon. Hunter J looked at the latter in interest, wondering what Pokémon it was. Whatever it was, Sylveon is sure to fetch a high price.

"I'm sorry." Phillip was sheepish.

"Here." Pakura pressed a Pokéball into Phillip's hands. "Take my Gardevoir. You need to bring your brother to the hospital. Shiki, Amethyst and I can take it from here."

Phillip nodded, and proceeded to ask Gardevoir to use Teleport, while Shiki, Pakura and Amethyst faced Hunter J.

"So, it looks like you two decided to join the fray, Princess Pakura, Shiki and Amethyst." J remarked. "Too bad for you, I'll be the one to prevail, and I'll take that Pokémon as well." She pointed to her Sylveon.

"I won't be so sure of that." Pakura replied.

"Salamence, use Dragon Pulse on that thing!" J commanded. Much to her surprise, the Dragon Pulse did no damage at all, and Sylveon was standing there with a cute tilt of her head.

"I look forward into seeing you in World's Dumbest Criminals." Pakura said sarcastically. "Shiki, take care of that Mega Salamence for me."

"With pleasure." Shiki took out his Pokéball.

"Salamence, help me take out whatever pesky Pokémon he'll send out." Mega Salamence nodded, as J jumped off it, and proceeded to aim her cannon at Sylveon. Sylveon retaliated with a Moonblast, which Hunter J agilely dodged. She kept shooting her cannon at Sylveon, who dodged or deflected the blasts herself.

--

Ash, using his aura, managed to detect the location of the airship. He returned Lucario, and told Espeon to hang tight, before using his sonic flight to get to the top of the airship. He took out his dagger, and focused his aura, before cutting a circle so he could infiltrate the ship.

When he entered, it looked empty, but Ash knew that some of J's henchmen are probably on board, as he sensed they are people inside the ship other than himself, and was able to pinpoint their location to the control room. Ash shrugged, and decided to see if he could glean information on J's current targets, or rescue the Pokémon that she may have stored here. With that thought, he started exploring the corridors.

There was a door that had a sign that said "R.R". Ash wondered what it meant, but it couldn't hurt to try. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked, but Ash knew J probably thought no one would dare touch her stuff, as she's the kind of person that screams "Touch my stuff and you die". He found himself surrounded by shelves upon shelves of binders with various labels and even file cabinets with labels stating the alphabet. Five files were already on her desk, and Ash proceeded to open it. Much to his horror, he was reading on J's next targets, and her next target was apparently Phillip's Legendary Pokémon. The client who wanted them was....

"Oh, so J has been hired by Tobias." Ash said. "No wonder." He saw a file that has not been opened, and was apparently just delivered. When he opened it, a photo of him with black hair and brown eyes had fallen and unfamiliar handwriting: To be captured alive.

'Seems like someone knows who you are." Espeon asked

Ash nodded. J definitely doesn't need to read that file. With that, he left the Records Room, and looked for the Pokémon she may have kept. As far as he remembered, he only been in the airship a couple of times, but he must have a remarkable memory or reliable instincts, as he found himself opening a door, and there they were sitting on a long table.

"Oh dear..." Ash quickly pulled down the lever that kept them in stone, and the Pokémon looked around, confused when the case that kept them in disappeared, before seeing Ash.

"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you." Ash said soothingly, before he heard footsteps, and voice talking about how they are going to admire the treasures they were going to sell.

"Stand back." Ash told the Pokémon, readying his Crystal Manipulation. When the door opened, a group of men came in, but Ash managed to get a few with his crystal shuriken. The others tried to escape, but a few globs of lava hit the top of the opening, and slowly flowed down to cover up the escape route.

"You people treat Pokémon like they are prizes to be sold, and treated them like tools to serve your own greed." Ash said, wiping the lava from his mouth. "Trampling all over their feelings and ruining their lives...how despicable."

"Don't interfere." One of the men glared at him.

Ash sighed and shook his head. "Of course I have to interfere." He replied. "As the Prince of this region, I cannot sit back and let you do whatever you want."

"I will make sure the Pokémon will have an input of what they think of you." Ash gave an evil smirk.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

"What the?" J was surprised, as her cannon shattered into pieces. Her teeth started chattering slightly, as snow started to fall. She looked around for an Ice-type Pokémon, only to find none.

'Where is the snow coming from?' J thought, and then saw Pakura having her paper fan out, directing the blizzard towards her.

'She has the ability to manipulate snow?' J was surprised as she realized the source. Pakura took this opportunity to extend the blizzard to hit Mega Salamence, who got its wings by the wind cutter she mixed in it, giving Shiki the opportunity to finish it off. At that point, the Mega Evolution on Salamence wore off, and J was forced to return it to her Pokéball.

"Ariados, come out and take out that Espeon's!" Ariados was released from the Pokéball and faced Shiki and Ash Espeon who appeared ready, who both had pushed Amethyst and Pakura Sylveon's behind them.

"Espeon, no need to fight. Maybe I can control the pieces." Amethyst stared at Ariados, and it turned on J instead.

'That girl would be an asset. The ability to control people to do whatever you want.' J thought, sending out her Drapion as well to take on her Ariados. 'Too bad she's an opponent.'

Amethyst sent a telepathic message to ask a question to her lover. 'Shiki.... I need you to use Hidden Power?'

'why do you ask?' Shiki replied.

'Use them to unfreeze those Pokémon covered in stone. I'll use my psychic powers to get those cases.' Amethyst answered.

'Got it.' Shiki said in his mind.

Sylveon automatically used Fairy Wind towards Hunter J the moment she got close to her. There is no way she is getting captured by Hunter J!

"Drapion, defend me!" J shouted. Drapion jumped in front of Hunter J and took the blow, and Espeon took this opportunity to use Shadow Ball, which knocked out Drapion in an instant.

"Ariados!" J called out, but Ariados was still under Amethyst's Mind Control.

"Fine, then..." J threw out two Pokéballs, which contained a Gardevoir (though it was male and no Mega Stone) and a Lilligant. The two were wearing chokers that was a device to forcibly control them.

'She must have poached it from another trainer for battling purposes.' Pakura thought.

'I know the very counter I want to use.' Pakura got in between the two Pokémon, as her hands glowed pink and extracted a pink energy ball from both Pokémon. She switched her hands and inserted the other pink energy ball for both Pokémon, and at that moment, their souls are switched.

"What happened?" Gardevoir asked, but it came out as "Lilligant."

"Shiki, take them out." Amethyst ordered, and Shiki nodded, proceeding to send out his Altaria to take care of them.

"Where did you get your powers from?" J asked, gritting her teeth at her plans being easily foiled by the Princess and the Dragon Queen. She was hoping to get some of these powers to herself so she can capture Pokémon without gadgets.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Pakura and Amethyst asked in a bored tone, and sent a tornados towards J. J dodged it, but it destroyed the incoming vehicle her minions were in, presumably killing them.

'Impressive.' J thought. 'She is extremely talented. She'll be a great ally.'

'She has good reflexes.' Pakura thought, raising her paper fan once more.

-------------

Phillip sighed, as he sat at the chair next to his brother's bed. He realized that Ash had asked his Gardevoir to bring his parents here as well, and they are currently trying to operate the bullet out of his father's diaphragm. He wondered if he should enlist Pakura's help to heal them completely.

"What am I going to do?" He whispered to the walls, because he really don't know what to think anymore. His family, the one he had dissed just the other day, had sacrificed their lives to try and bring him to safety. He watched his brother unconscious on the hospital bed, and gulped in guilt at the injuries he had sustained, beside the bullet, which the doctors had removed. Fortunately for him, it only bruised his ribs. But he can't say the same for his parents, as they are probably in critical condition from what the doctor said.

Was that how Ash had felt when he was brought here for observation by the dragon duo? Deciding whether to reconcile with the world? Was he trying not to hate the world, only to fail? Or did he only concentrate on the bad blood, allowing him to still hate?

He noticed something on Acer's bedside. A locket. Phillip took it, and opened it, to find a picture of the whole family, and they were all smiling. It was the day their family went on a picnic before Phillip took action on his plans. Acer had insisted that Phillip to be included in the picture, and he reluctantly agreed.

Phillip knew Acer only did it to make himself feel and look good in front of his parents. However, Acer chose this picture to be in the locket itself.

'Did Acer really miss me?' Phillip thought, as he carelessly threw the locket back onto the bedside. Just then, Acer started coughing a few times, before opening his eyes. When he saw Phillip, he felt relieved.

"How do you feel?" Phillip asked.

"A little beat-up, but all right." Acer replied. "How's mum and dad?"

"In critical condition. Hunter J got their vital points." Phillip said bluntly. "Father's currently under surgery. Who knows how long it'll take."

"No..." Acer whispered. "Is there anyone who can...?"

Phillip looked away, and Acer said, "You know someone who can save them."

"I do." Phillip confirmed. "However, she's probably in the middle of her mission. I'll talk to her when she arrives to fix all of you up."

"You're angry at us, aren't you?" Acer stated. "For the way we treated you."

"After what you did today, I am not sure if all of you didn't genuinely care for me." Phillip admitted. "I guess it was because I saw with my own eyes how cruel someone can be to their own family members. Maybe at one point, I thought you wanted me dead, just like Paku's family did her."

"Dead?" Acer was incredulous, trying to sit up, but Phillip made him rest by pushing him back down. "I never wanted you dead, big brother!"

"I believe you." Phillip muttered. "It's just....why look for me now?"

"Oh, believe me, you were hard to track down, and I could only get bits and pieces of your previous locations." Acer explained. "The only thing I know was you were in the PAL Region, but I couldn't track your location because the associates there refused to give the information out. We had to wait until the announcement of that tournament to find out where you'd be. Even then, I had to secure the tickets, which were really expensive. Then again, you were the genius of the family, if you didn't want anyone to find you, then no one would. I'm really sorry if you thought we came back because of...you know..."

Acer looked nervously at Phillip, as if expecting him to snap at him again, but Phillip was sitting there with a thoughtful expression on his face. Surprisingly, Phillip said, "Ok, I accept your explanation."

Acer could hardly believe his ears. "Really?"

"I can't say you didn't care after what happened." Phillip shrugged, as he approached to adjust Acer's pillows. "I'll hear them out as well, once they recover. See what they have to say."

While Phillip was adjusting the pillows, Acer took this chance to give his brother a hug. Much to Acer's surprise and delight, Phillip returned the hug instead of tolerating it.

"Take a rest, Ace." Acer noted Phillip was using his nickname. "I'm going to retrieve my Pokémon and fight."

"But..." Acer started, and Phillip cut him off by saying, "My friends are still in there. I am going to avenge all of you by helping Paku complete her mission- to take down Hunter J for good."

With that, he rushed out of the hospital room.

"Be careful, Big Brother." Acer whispered.

------------------------

"Where are you going?" Akeno asked, as she surrounded the henchmen with a ring of fire. They turned to face the petite girl, who had a spirit fire ball on her hand, ready to throw them if possible. She smiled as she saw Jude's Pokémon using Hidden Power to revive the Pokémon who were just turned to stone.

"Let us go, girl." A man demanded. "Or you'll regret it."

"Regret what?" Akeno pretended to check her nails. "Why don't you show me?"

At her comment, the men began retrieving their weapons, and Akeno gestured for them to come at her. They charged towards her with their respective weapons, and Akeno grinned as she simply held them down with the spirit of dead innocent trainer who were killed.

"Can't move?" Akeno said cheerfully.

"Ninetales, Flamethrower on the girl!" Another man shouted. Ninetales hesitated, but obeyed what its trainer told it to do. Akeno let the flames hit her, and the men were surprised as she seem unfazed by the flames licking her body as Akeno was in disguised .

"You know, you can torture the Pokémon, beat them to submission, and destroy evidence all you want." Akeno remarked, as she approached the men, still holding them down with telekinesis. She grabbed one by the arm, effectively setting him ablaze, causing him to scream as the flames burnt away his life.

"Do you see that?" Akeno said, as the man finally fell silent, corpse still burning. "Fire is catching. If I burn, you'll burn with me." She proceeded to extend the flames burning her body to touch the other men, and extinguish the flames on her own body, ignoring the screams that followed during the burning.

"Nice work." Jude said, as he watched them burn.

"Well, Ash taught me that there is no mercy when you are sent in combat." Akeno shrugged. "How is everything?" She shouted to Lillie, who were taking on the henchmen's Pokémon.

"Don't even need to use Mega Evolution." Lillie shouted, though the sound indicated her Pokémon were still in combat, though it was understandable as there were a lot of Pokémon to take down.

"Where's Ash, by the way?" Jude asked Akeno.

"Still up in the airship. He'll probably hijack it and steer it to land somewhere near Hunter J." Akeno replied.

"Still, I think Jasmine and Siebold would flip if they find out we didn't invite them to this mission." Jude remarked.

"We can handle it." Akeno waved them off. "There is a good reason why we didn't bring them after all."

Somewhere in the airship, the last conscious man, the pilot, wondered what took the others so long to handle one intruder. Ash saw him coming, and decided to hide behind a wall. As the man walked past Ash's hiding place, Ash pounced on him from behind, and stabbed him through the chest. He made for the control room, leaving the man to bleed to death.

Once he reached the control room, Ash spent his time trying to figure out the controls, as he had never really steered an airship before, when someone riding a Skarmory caught his eye. Much to his delight, it was Phillip. As Phillip was a technological genius, perhaps he would know how to operate the airship. With that thought, he contacted Phillip through the CommuniDex. However, there was no response, and looking closer, Ash realized Phillip's CommuniDex was turned into stone. He then resorted to telepathy instead.

'What? You're behind me?' Phillip turned to look, but saw nothing. Phillip assumed the airship had activated the stealth cloaking device that can render the ship invisible, and Ash didn't know how to deactivate it. 'Ok, hold on, I'm coming in.'

2 min later

"Nice timing." Ash grinned, when Phillip entered the control room.

"Obviously I can't just sit and rest while you go out and fight." Phillip replied. "But isn't this supposed to be Dragon Duo's mission?"

"Hey, you know how resourceful J is. And how many henchmen she has under her." Ash reminded him. "Well my siblings didn't want to let us in this, but decided to do so when Pakura and I wanted to avenge a fellow colleague she apparently killed. However, Hunter J is still Amethyst to kill."

"So essentially, she's the mission leader?" Phillip asked, as he proceeded to figure out the controls to the airship.

"Yeah." Ash nodded. "Her orders were to kill whatever gets in our way. Excluding Pokémon, of course."

The corner of Phillip's lips twisted up in a cruel way. "That's something I'd do. Ok, Auto-pilot's off. Where do you want me to steer the airship to?"

"To where Hunter J is, preferably." Ash replied. "I'd like to see the look on her face when her airship is hijacked. Also, I don't want to miss my big sis killing her."

"Ok, tell me where they are, then." Phillip said.

"72 degrees North West direction." Ash answered, looking at his CommuniDex.

"Roger." Phillip replied, and proceeded to steer the airship towards the direction Ash indicated.

With Pakura, Amethyst, and Shiki

"Wait, why don't we work together?" J asked, causing Pakura to pause her attacks. "You have skills that I could use in my Pokémon hunting services."

"And what's in it for me?" Pakura replied, bored. Although she would never join Hunter J, she'd like to hear what she has to bribe her into joining her.

"How about having this at a low price?" J revealed one of the hidden cases, which contained Articuno.

Pakura and Amethyst looked like they wanted to puke at the sight of the petrified Ice-type Legendary.

"Well....this is hard decision...." Pakura said to J, tilting her head as if she was really considering it.

"Just say yes. You and I, we can make millions, and rule the Pokémon World." J offered.

"..." Pakura stayed silent, as if she was considering J's deal. She approached J with a wary look, and J, thinking she was about to accept, held out her hand for a handshake. However, when Pakura's hand touched hers, J found her hand to be completely frozen, and it shattered into pieces, causing her to scream in pain as if Pakura had just cut her hand off, which technically she did.

"Think fast!" Pakura shouted, using her telekinesis to throw the Articuno case at Amethyst, who caught it. Amethyst proceeded to lower the lever, and Articuno was freed. However, Pakura noticed that Articuno's wings were pierced.

"Oh no..." Pakura approached the bird, who became agitated, thinking she was about to attack, and fired a powerful blizzard by flapping its injured wings. Pakura jumped out of the way, and the blizzard hit Hunter J instead. Hunter J was knocked off her feet.

'What power.' Shiki thought, shielding himself with his cape, as his Dragon Pokémon tried to with stand the super-effective move. Just then, he heard a melody, and looked up to see Pakura and Amethyst looking at Articuno unblinkingly, playing a melody from a flute that Ash and Shiki taught them to use. Surprisingly, the Pokémon around her started to relax, and he himself also calmed down by listening to the music. The Articuno stopped attacking, and looked at Pakura curiously.

"No, stop!" Hunter J shot at Pakura with her one good hand, but Amethyst simply created a barrier to protect herself from attacks. The bullet bounced off harmlessly when it hit the barrier.

Pakura approached the bird once more, ignoring J's attempts to break the barrier, and took out the stakes that pierced Articuno's wings. Articuno screeched in pain, but Pakura placed her hands on its wings, aura flowing through it, mending its injuries. Articuno flapped its wings tentatively, and chirped happily when it didn't feel any pain.

"How dare you!" J shouted. "That was my best prize to be sold!"

"You should know better than to mess with the PAL Region." Pakura replied, and lifted her up with telekinesis. "Speaking of which I think your prizes are all gone."

"What do you mean?" J asked, frightened for the first time as she was immobilized and rendered vulnerable thanks to a girl's with supernatural powers.

"I would have come after you with my husband, but my little brother and his elites friends, who have powers like me by the way, decided to take part. Of course, I can't say no, since someone has a grudge on you."Amethyst nodded to Pakura, who was glaring at her as well. "And they are coming."

Much to J's horror, her airship landed, and two people emerged. The next thing she knew, a chain came and wound around her, and no matter how much she struggled, the chains won't give way.

"Nice timing." Pakura said, as Ash and Phillip entered the scene. The chain were apparently extended from Ash's middle finger.

"Still playing with Hunter J, I see. I thought you'd kill her by now. Also we found out someone hired to kidnapped Ash." Phillip remarked as Pakura, Amethyst and Shiki eyes widen as smoke came out of her ears as Ash giggled before the trio calm down

"I do like my targets being scared of when they'd die." Amethyst shrugged. "Ash, keep holding her down. I'd like to carve every single pain the Pokémon she captured felt. If you to would like, you can have your inputs on her too." With that, she approached Hunter J, a knife in her hand.

"This is going to be good." Phillip grinned and approached Hunter J, electricity crackling in his hand, as Hunter J trembled in fear of what was in store for her.

The screams that followed were music to everyone's ears.

"Nice work." Akeno later said, as Ash started to incinerate J's body with his Fire Manipulation. Phillip grinned, Amethyst and Pakura merely nodded while Ash and Shiki grunted as they cleaned their knife with a cloth, as their clothes looked like they were dumped in red dye.

"I'm going to report to William on the mission details after we visit the hospital." Pakura announced.

"You do that." Ash replied, nodding.

"What an adventure." Akeno stretched. "Training was worth it." While she was doing her part, she managed to block someone who was attacking her from behind, and defeated him in hand-to-hand combat.

-------------

"Big brother!" Acer was smiling. "Thank goodness you're alright!"

"Acer, meet my Elite Leader, Pakura. She's the current Princess of this region, and she'll be the one to heal you." Phillip mumbled, and Acer was confused about the healing him part. "I'll explain more about us later."

"I thought you said you didn't know them?" Pakura was puzzled.

"I lied. He's my little brother. I said I didn't because...." He trailed off, looking down on the floor in shame. Acer gave a sad smile, but was happy he finally got his acknowledgment that they were family.

"I understand." Pakura replied, giving Phillip a squeeze on the shoulder, and inadvertently extracting his memories of what happened. Pakura blinked and remarked, "I guess you had second thoughts after what they did for you."

Phillip nodded, as Pakura approached Acer, and placed her hands on his midsection. Acer felt a cooling sensation, and his flesh knitting together, closing the wound that he got. Before he knew it, he was as good as new.

"Whoa!" Acer was amazed, as he tested his body, and knew his condition was back to normal. "Amazing!"

"Come on." Phillip, Pakura and Acer left the ward, and saw the rest of his friends at the corridor.

"Are these your...?" Acer started to ask.

"Yeah, some of them are my fellow Elites." Phillip said, as he led them to his parent's ward. Both of them were in a comatose state.

Phillip nodded, as Pakura went over to heal Gregory and Penelope. Phillip watched as their injuries, even the fatal ones, disappeared within a minute, and they looked like they never got into a fight at all. Phillip went over and checked their vital signs, and as they did, he watched as his parents opened their eyes. As soon as they saw Phillip, Penelope engulfed him in a hug, and was delighted when Phillip returned them.

"Phillip! You're ok!" Penelope cried.

"Yeah..." Phillip said awkwardly. "I...I'm sorry."

"No, Phillip, we should be sorry. Sorry that we weren't better parents to you." Gregory replied, patting him on the cheek.

"I guess I refused contact with you and treated you like strangers because I thought you wanted me dead." Phillip sounded like he was in the verge of tears.

"Oh, no Phillip! While we did some terrible things in the past, we would never want you dead!" Penelope cried, patting Phillip's back soothingly.

"I guess your visit's a waste. I lost the tournament already." Phillip muttered.

"You'll always be a winner in our family." Gregory assured him.

That did the trick, and Phillip started crying. Gregory and Acer smiled, and joined in the family hug, glad that their son/brother was back.

"I'm glad for them." Pakura whispered, watching the scene. Akeno was also crying for them as well, and was comforted by Jude.

"Yeah." Ash replied, as Pakura was clinging to his arm Once she came back as she was leaning her head against him.

"I'll go report to William on the details of the mission. Tell Phillip I'm glad for him." Ash said, and left the hospital room with Pakura

Unknown to them, a certain legendary blue bird was watching Pakura, and as soon as she started to make her way towards the Hunter Association's building, it flapped its wings, and flew after her.

Ash sensed someone coming, and he groaned as he slammed his head on the table, weeping a little at his fate. William and Logia looked at each other, before the door burst open to reveal some of the traitor (Gary,Iris, May, and Cilan) who were after him ever since the tournament started.

"Who dares to interrupt the meeting?" William said in his strict voice, slamming the table for emphasis.

"Who are you? And who do you think you are, interrupting the meeting like this?" Logia asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We thought it was the...bathroom!" May improvised.

"I'll handle these guys." Logia shook his head, as there is actually a sign outside that said, "Meeting in Progress", but they ignored it because they knew Ash was in there.

Two minutes later, Logia physically threw the four of them out of the back door.

"And if you dare come in again without a good reason, I won't hesitate to use force!" Logia hissed, as he slammed the door, and make his way back to the meeting room.

"Two of us should wait for him at the front door, and two at the back. And once he comes out, we grab hold of Ash? and drag him back to the Pokémon center." Cilan whispered.

"Good idea." Gary,Iris, and May said, and went to their assigned spots. However, they forgot that Ash was also a part Psychic specialist, which means he can counter that using teleport.
Next day

"Continuing the Top 16 of the Pokémon World Championships, which would now take place in an Icy Terrain!" Kenneth announced, as the battlefield from Rosaline's battle (A Rocky Terrain) went down, only to be replaced with an ice battlefield. "Let's welcome the two participants, we have Champion Ash and Elite Lorelei, who would be fighting it out on this battlefield!" At that, the platform rose and brought them out into the battlefield.

"Sylveon, lend me your aura!" Ash chose the Fairy Pokémon.

"Alright, then I choose..." Lorelei threw a Pokéball to reveal a Cloyster, the very same one that gave Ash's Former Pikachu a beating all those years ago.

'Sorry, Lorelei, but this time you will be losing badly.' Ash thought, smirking. 'I don't have anything against you, but you are still my opponent.'

"Let the battle begin!" Evan announced.

"Ladies first." Ash offered.

"Don't mind if I do. Cloyster, start things off with Hydro Pump!" Lorelei commanded. Ash shook his head as the attack hit. However, Sylveon did not seem fazed at all by the attack.

Lorelei was puzzled, until Ash said, "She is trained to take on water"

'Darn it!.' Lorelei thought, as Ash said, "Sylveon, let's use Iron tail!" Sylveon skated on the ice, getting close to Cloyster, before hitting it with an effective Iron tail

"Cloyster, use Aurora Beam!" Lorelei called out.

"Hyper Voice!" Ash countered. The two attacks collided, and Ash made use of it to call in an Moonblast

"Withdraw!" Lorelei ordered. The Withdraw allowed Cloyster to block Moonblast

'It'll be hard to penetrate that shell.' Ash sighed. 'But oh well, she just forced my hand. I'll just weaken Cloyster to the point it can't protect itself.' With that, he commanded a Toxic, which hit Cloyster, badly poisoning it.

Lorelei was about to switch Cloyster out, but Ash stopped her by using draining kiss, which would also chip away Cloyster's health along with the Poison status.

'Darn it!' Lorelei thought, but she was desperate to end the battle. "Cloyster, Giga Impact!"

"Moonblast!" The Moonblast tripped Cloyster, sending it crashing onto the hard ice.

"Cloyster, use Re-" Lorelei started, but was cut off.

"Fairy Wind!" Ash commanded. The Fairy Wind dealt damage and double the damage due to the Poison status

"Finish it. Giga Impact!" Before Lorelei could react, the Giga Impact hit Cloyster, sending it flying. Cloyster fell with swirls in its eyes.

"Cloyster is unable to battle!" Evan announced. "Elite Lorelei, please send in your next Pokémon."

"Good work, Cloyster. Return." Lorelei returned her Cloyster to the Pokéball, before taking out another one. "Alright, now I choose..." She threw the Pokéball, and it opened to reveal a Dewgong.

"Sylveon, good job." Ash returned Sylveon, before taking out another Pokéball. "Chestnaught, lend me your aura!" Ash's overly affectionate Chestnaught came out, and as soon as she saw Ash, she ran, or rather, skated over for a big hug.

"I love you too, Chestnaught. Now let's win this together..." Ash said awkwardly, as Chestnaught nodded, and got into battle stance.

"It looks like Champion Ash decided to go for the Grass-type Chestnaught! Is he at an advantage or a disadvantage? Let's find out!" Kenneth announced.

"Battle begin!" Evan called out.

"Dewgong, Ice Beam!" Lorelei commanded.

"Chestnaught, dodge and use Leech Seed!" Ash countered. Chestnaught skated away, and shot a Leech Seed at Dewgong, and the seeds sprout vines which wrapped around Dewgong.

"Dewgong!" Lorelei shouted, worried for her Pokémon. 'I've got to find a way out of that Leech Seed!' She thought, as the vines started to suck energy from Dewgong.

"Chestnaught, use Petal Blizzard!" Ash ordered. Chestnaught nodded and fired a powerful Petal Blizzard at Dewgong, who tried to endure the hit.

"Blizzard, quickly!" Lorelei yelled. Dewgong opened its mouth to fire a Blizzard to counter the attack, and successfully did so despite being tied up. "Now, Ice Shard!" The Ice Shard hit Chestnaught hard, as she skidded back.

"Not bad. Chestnaught, Sunny Day!" Ash commanded. Chestnaught nodded, and the battlefield was now filled with sunlight.

"Dewgong, use Aqua Tail!" Lorelei ordered. Due to the ice battlefield, Dewgong was able to move faster by skating towards Chestnaught, ready to send the move.

"Grass Knot!" Ash countered. The Grass Knot tripped Dewgong, sending it crashing heavily on the ice. "Now, use Synthesis!" The Synthesis managed to recover the lost energy Chestnaught lost, as Dewgong got up.

"Ice Beam!" Lorelei said.

"Energy Ball!" Ash nodded. The Energy Ball pushed the Ice Beam back, and it hit Dewgong, sending it skidding backwards. "Now, Leaf Storm!" The Leaf Storm sent Dewgong flying, and it cried out as it was hit by the barrage of leaves inside the tornado.

"Finish it. Solar Beam!" Ash snapped his fingers. Due to the Sunny Day, the Solar Beam took less time to charge, and Chestnaught fired a powerful Solar Beam just as Dewgong was falling. The Solar Beam his its mark and Dewgong fell to the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Dewgong is unable to battle! Elite Lorelei, please send out your last Pokémon!" Evan ordered.

'I hardly got a hit on his Pokémon. Just how far does his strength go?' Lorelei thought, as she returned her Dewgong after thanking it for its hard work. "For my last Pokémon, I choose..." She threw a Pokéball, and it opened to reveal a Jynx.

'Doesn't seem any stronger than the Jynx Paku owns. That's saying something, considering Jynx is her weakest Pokémon.' Ash thought. 'Let's get this over with.'

"Alright, Chestnaught, good work." Ash obliged at her demand for a hug, before retuning her. "Infernape, lend me your aura!" He sent out his Infernape.

Infernape was easily able to defeat Jynx in two moves

"And Jynx is unable to battle!" Evan announced at the downed Jynx. Infernape was standing near Jynx proud of it fight. "Which means, the one moving on to the Top 8 is Champion Ash!"

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