Ash Ketchum: Type Specialist One Shots

The Kingdom of Rota, a small kingdom in Northern Kanto. Tucked away and secure, its land scarred by a war that raged years ago. History haunted the streets, of a legend that saved their kingdom, of a great sacrifice that was made oh so long ago. Blue crystals were scattered across the kingdom, respected and admired by civilians and tourists alike, and home to an untouched rocky structure known as the Tree of Beginning. But while they had once been known to produce magnificent people known as Guardians of Aura, the ability has since been seemingly lost, Sir Aaron's bloodline diluted and the ability so unheard of only the people of Rota truly know of it, and even they started to believe it was nothing but a fairy tale, at least, until the night the Prince was born.

The evening of May 22 was seemingly normal, the day had been perfectly average, and the sun was just starting to set over the mountains. The capital's hospital was bustling but quiet as the staff helped the Queen give birth to her second child. Through tired eyes, the woman watched as her son took his first breath of air before he started crying. In that moment, as the first sob echoed through the air, something odd occurred. Every Lucario in the city raised their heads, giving a mighty howl that startled the citizens, while the glorious blue gems that dotted the landscape started to glow.

In the waiting room, the ten year old Princess, and Heir to Rota, stared in awe out the window, mesmerized by the familiar crystals until her eyes were drawn to the Tree of Beginning. The 'tree's' branches, despite being a block of hard stone, seemed to echo and shift, as if reaching for the kingdom.

The King, who had followed his daughter to the window, his eyes a swirl of different emotion, compilation, and worry at the forefront. A foreboding feeling in his gut told him that his son, the first Prince of Rota, was going to be someone of great importance to their kingdom, more than he already would be as a Prince.

======6 years later======

Ilene smiled softly as she heard the castle staff, once again, in a tizzy. Her brother, for all that he was a Prince, was a wild spirit. He liked fencing well enough, and didn't even put up a fight when it came to his normal schooling once they got him something to fidget with, but he fought every etiquette class he had to attend. He added a certain brightness to the castle, able to enrapture anyone, Pokemon or Person, and turn them friendshaped in moments. He took to his diplomatic class like a Goldeen to water, but ask the boy to sit properly and walk straight and suddenly it was like pulling teeth. It was actually rather amusing in Ilene's opinion, but their Mother and Father were exasperated by their only son.

Just then, the six year old burst into the Library, waving at her with a blinding smile, his black locks wild and frayed, unlike how they had been, neatly slicked back, at breakfast that morning, and green eyes lit with a mischievous spark. On his shoulder was a semi familiar Pichu, and just a step behind was Lucario.

Lucario was a stoic Pokemon, his past plagued with memories of war as he had been sealed inside a staff by Sir Aaron himself. Ash had been the one to inevitably free the Pokemon, though he was but two years old at the time and didn't remember it. Their parents easily found Lucario a place to stay in the Palace, giving him the responsibility of protecting Ash and teaching him the Power of Aura when he was old enough. Lucario had been prickly at first, but one smile from the precious toddler and he was a Ditto in the boy's hands. Irene was pretty sure that her parents had hoped Lucario would help keep the boy in check, but while Lucario respected and listened to the Queen and King, it was obvious he listened to Ash first and foremost, putting his wants and needs before everyone else unless he thought the boy would be injured.

"Going to the Tree of Beginning?" She asked as he walked closer to her.

"Yup! We noticed a strange person sneaking around there lately." Ash wrapped his arms around her in a quick hug before trotting over to the window and throwing it open.

"Try to be back before dinner." Ilene gave him a significant book, watching softly as Pichu jumped off Ash's shoulder, and out the window. Where most Pichu would have fallen, this Pichu flashed a subtle white, and transformed into a Fearow, fluttering by the window while Ash climbed into its back, followed closely by Lucario. Ash gave a noncommittal hum, waving goodbye before Fearow took off towards the rocky tree.

Ilene could only sigh fondly before going back to her book. Adding to Ash's reign of chaos, was Mew. There had always been legends and rumors about a Mew living at the Tree of Beginning, but the royal family had never been sure, until Ash's birth. Ash was only a few months old when Mew first appeared to him. Mother had just set him down in his crib and was about to sit and look over some documents when Mew had appeared out of nowhere, hovering over the crib while chirping. Ash, of course, giggled brightly, reaching for the legendary Pokemon, who in turn, touched his hand, and teleported away. The whole castle had been in an uproar, frantically preparing the knights to rush to the Tree and get Ash back, but before they could leave the castle, Ash and Mew were back in the crib, curled up and fast asleep. Since then Mew had been a staple in the castle, usually transformed into a nondescript Pokemon, Pichu being one of its favorite forms to take, and always at Ash's side. At least once a week Mew would take Ash to the Tree of Beginning to play, sometimes only staying for an hour, sometimes for a few days, but never longer than three days at a time.

A few times, their parents broached the idea of checking out the Tree of Beginning to make sure it was safe for him, but Ash would get upset. Ash was a happy kid, he had a hot temper at times but cooled off rather fast, but the absolute anger that lingered on him for days after the proposals was enough to dissuade their parents from going through with it. Once he had calmed down, they finally asked him why he got so upset, leading to the explanation that the Tree of Beginning was a very fragile ecosystem, that the slightest upset could lead to the tree crumbling and all the Pokemon being injured. The only reason he could galavant around as he pleased was because Mew had told the Tree he was okay, and he had been introduced to the tree when he was young. Obviously, he was a kid and hadn't used such adult wording, but he was so serious and explained it as best he could, that they understood, and to help soothe Ash further, it was forbidden for anyone to attempt to enter the Tree of Beginning, as they marked the Tree as a National, and Sacred Landmark in the Kingdom of Rota.

Yes, the first Prince of Rota was quite the chaos bringer. Ilene loved her brother and the chaos he brought to the otherwise peaceful castle.

===

Ash giggled as the wind caused his hair to tickle his face. He barely blinked when Mew fell into a sharp dive, simply laughing when Lucario grabbed onto him to make sure he wouldn't fall. Mew landed near the mouth of the Tree, turning into a Bastiodon once Ash and Lucario slid off their back.

Lucario stiffened, shutting his eyes and the tufts under his ears straightening out as he paw hovered over his chest. Taking a deep breath, Ash copied Lucario, shutting his eyes and letting his hand hover over his chest. Blue flooded his vision as Ash took in the warm Aura each living thing released. About 10 meters to the left, Ash picked up a distinctly human signature, and frowned, opening his eyes. He felt a rush of exhaustion hit him, and his eyes stung when he opened them. Lucario put his paw on his shoulder, muzzle quirked up into a soft smile that filled Ash with pride before he frowned again.

The entire Tree of Beginning was surrounded by signs, and fences, warning away anyone that would try to enter the tree, not to mention the Regi's that lived in the Tree to scare away any trespassers. It irritated him that people would try to get past a Royal Decree, one that was put in place to protect them in the first place. Ash didn't really like using his title of Prince for his own agenda, Rota was largely a matriarchy, meaning Ash had no call to the throne unless something happened to his sister, even if he had a hat to throw into the ring, Ash didn't want to be King, being a Prince was annoying enough and he'd rather be a Pokemon trainer than anything else anyway, so for the most part he didn't even have an agenda to start with, but he needed to protect the Tree from People, and People from the Tree.

Pouting Frowning, Ash headed towards the human Aura signature, Lucario walking just a step in front of him. Swiftly, Ash used his hands to smooth out his hair, and stood taller and straighter. As they ventured further, Ash was able to get a good look at the person that had been hanging around for a few days. He hadn't tried to enter the tree, which was why Ash hadn't done anything yet, but he was getting closer every day and it was stressing Mew out. The person was a boy, he looked like an older teen, about the same age as Ash's sister, with silvery blue hair and matching eyes. He was dressed smartly, with noticeable silver rings and an Aron by his side. Aron turned towards Ash, and cried out a warning to his trainer. Lucario growled warningly at the tiny Steel type, and Mew, disguised as Bastiodon, tossed their Steel head as if to make a point.

The trainer, at this Point, had already taken notice of Ash and the two Pokemon, his face contorting in confusion. "What is a child like you doing out here?" He questioned, a tad confused and his Hoenn accent thick.

Ash ignored him. "The Tree of Beginning is off limits. No one is allowed to go inside, and its dangerous to even be this close to it!" He warned.

The teenager had the decency to look embarrassed. "I just wanted a few stone samples, surely I wouldn't get in trouble for doing that?"

Ash's temper flared, which was actually quite humorous and adorable since he was a six year old. "Yes you will! Taking anything from this area means you'll be heavily fined, and you'll spend some time in jail for defacing a National and Sacred Landmark!"

Ash actually wasn't making that up, trespassing was an immediate 6 months to a year in prison depending on the specific case because the Tree of Beginning was considered 'Government Property', but actually taking something, or harming the Tree in any way could lead up to a full 10 years, again depending on the case and how bad the damage was. Ash had studied the decree in detail since he was the reason it was made in the first place. The only way someone could enter without being punished was if they personally got permission from the Queen, King, and Crown Princess, who would always turn the request down. Luckily the Tree of Beginning was so far out that most people couldn't be bothered, it was scientists and poachers that were the biggest issue, but even they had a healthy sense of self preservation.

The teen looked gobsmacked at Ash, pale brows furrowing. "You shouldn't say stuff like that kid. Who are you exactly?"

Annoyance caused Ash's eyebrow to twitch. Lucario, mildly amused, finally spoke up. ~My Master is Ashura Riola, First Prince of the Rota Kingdom.~ Ash hated when Lucario called him Master, and similarly hated when people close to him used his full name, but even Ash recognised that, in serious matters, he needed as much help as he could get.

The teenager looked back and forth between Ash and Lucario, as if not sure what to be more gobsmacked by; that he had actually met the Kingdom's Prince, or that a Lucario just talked. After a few minutes, he seemingly rebooted. "I'm sorry for being so rude." He blushed in embarrassment. "My name is Steven Stone, I work with my father at the Devon Corporation, and study Rocks in my spare time, thats why I was hoping to gather some samples. There is no other rock that I've seen like the Tree of Beginning."

Ash wasn't moved in the slightest, he knew who and what the Devon Corporation was, and even recognised the name Steven Stone, but his family turned down the likes of Professor Samule Oak, and they wouldn't cave to the Devon Corporation either. "If you want a special pass you'll have to talk to my parents and older sister."

Steven sighed and seemingly deflated. "Alright, I'll go to the castle tomorrow."

Ash puffed his chest proudly. "I'll lead you back to the capital then, I know this area like the back of my hand!"

===

Ash glanced out the window as Steven Stone walked out of the castle, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. A month had passed since Ash had caught the Stone heir. He paid his fine for trespassing and trying to take samples without protest despite the significant amount he had to pay. Everyday like clockwork the teenager came to the castle, filled out the request form, met with his parents and sister, was rejected, and went back to the home his family owned in the capital, only to come back the following day. It was kind of admirable, in its own way, but his parents were getting a tad bit annoyed with his repeated requests, they had more important things to do.

"Mew mew mew!" Mew chirped playfully, popping into his bedroom, and distracting Ash from his thoughts of the teen.

Ash grinned at his friend, catching them when they stopped floating. "Hey Mew!" He nuzzled his cheek against Mew's, getting a loud purr in response.

"Mew mew?" Mew pointed to the stack of books and papers on his desk, chirping questioningly.

"All finished! We can play for the whole weekend!" Ash assured proudly. He wasn't super intelligent, he actually struggled quite a bit in multiple subjects, and had a hard time focusing, but the teacher his parents hired specialized in teaching children like him, and wouldn't move onto the next unit until Ash understood the material thoroughly; so Ash was usually able to finish all his actual school work in time.

Mew gave a loud, pleased chirp, and quickly flashed white as they transformed into Pichu. Lucario, who was laying down on Ash's bed, eyes closed but ears perked, slowly sat up, staring at the door expectedly.

"Your Highness, your new instructor is here!" Jenny, Ilene and Ash's governess, knocked on his door, and Ash groaned.

"Come on!" Ash flung his window open and hurriedly jumped into the tree that grew next to his window, Mew clinging to his shoulder and Lucario jumping after him. From there he easily swung down the branches, only stopping when he heard a group of knights walk by. Once they passed, Ash finished jumping all the way down and snuck out of the castle grounds through his secret entrance. From there, he headed straight for the tree, proud that he once again escaped.

Ash knew the forest surrounding the Tree like the back of his hand, and while yes it was a long walk, he really only walked until it got too dark, or got tired, and Mew would teleport or fly them the rest of the way, since realistically it was a two day drive from the castle to the Tree. In the meantime, Ash, Mew, and Lucario played tag as they ran through the forest.

After a few hours, the feeling of being followed struck Ash, and he turned sharply on his heel to see who was following him. His parents wouldn't send any knights after him, maybe his mother's Pidgy if he was needed back at the castle, but never a person.

Lucario grunted in annoyance. ~In the air.~ Ash followed his line of sight, and sure enough. Soaring above them on a blade winged Pokemon was a familiar head of silvery blue hair, and Ash pouted. Seeing how the teen was scanning the forest below, his brows creased in worry, it was obvious he was looking for Ash rather than trying to sneak back to the tree.

"Mew?" Ash glanced at the Pichu on his shoulder, who nodded, and leapt off his shoulder, transforming into a Pikachu mid-jump.

"Pika-CHU!" A bolt of lighting sprung into the air, lighting up the area momentarily, and catching Steven's attention.

Finally noticing Ash, Steven directed his silver bird, and they headed towards them. Steven jumped off his Pokemon, and returned Skarmory to their Pokeball. "Why are you following me?" Ash asked, not so much upset but more curious.

"I noticed you heading this way and got worried. Prince or not, you're still a kid." Steven explained gently but not patronizingly.

"I have Lucario and M-Pikachu!" As if to prove his point Mew jumped onto Ash's shoulder, and Lucario took a tentative step forward.

~We are more than capable of keeping the Master safe.~ Lucario gruffed, and Ash set him a withering look at being called 'Master'.

"I don't doubt that." Steven nodded firmly. "Are you headed to the Tree of Beginning?"

Ash eyed him warily, green eyes narrowing with suspicion. "I am, why?"

"I'm just curious, honest." Steven held his hands up placatingly. Ash glanced at Lucario, who scrutinized Steven before nodding.

"We go to the Tree of Beginning all the time to play with the Pokemon there." Ash explained simply, scratching Mew under their chin.

"Is that why people aren't allowed there? Because of the Pokemon?" Steven asked. "I heard there was a rumor that a Mew lived there."

Ash shrugged noncommittally. "The Tree of Beginning is really special, if unfamiliar humans go there it messes up the echo-echonomy? No aco-system? Ecosystem! It messes up the ecosystem. I'm only allowed because the Pokemon know me and I never bring anything in or out."

Steven nods in understanding. "I understand, I won't try to get samples again."

Ash perked up, a large, slightly wary, grin spreading on his face. "Really!?"

Steven chuckled. "I promise. If the ecosystem is that delicate, I don't want to do anything to harm or disrupt it."

"Pinky Promise?" Ash held up his pinky, and while a bit stunned, Steven did the same.

"Pinky Promise." He solidified, pulling his hand back after the promise was solidified.

======4 Years Later======

The 10 year old First Prince stood firmly in place, his chest heaving and sword in hand as he stood over one of the apprentice knights, the tip pointing down at her. Ash's hair, dark as night and tied back in a short ponytail, was ruffled and slightly out of place while his tanned skin was doused in sweat from exercise. The apprentice knight was no better, breathing in labored breaths, her short hair clumped and tousled while she was covered in dust and dirt. She shakily held up her hand. "I forfeit!" She called. Ash's body relaxed, and he held his hand out, helping her up. She was only about a year older than him, but Ash had been training since he was 8, where she had only just started training the year prior, so they were pretty equally matched. "Thanks for the match Your Highness."

Ash gave her a big grin. "You too! I hope we can duel against each other again some time!" Lucario, who was diligently standing nearby, walked over with a towel and a water bottle, both of which Ash took thankfully. He wiped his sweat away and nearly inhaled the entire water bottle down while moving to the side to sit down.

"Ash!" Said boy looked up, grinning widely as he saw Steven standing to the side, waving at him.

"Steven! You're back!" Ash leapt from his seat, and ran up to the older man. He hadn't seen Steven in a long while, the man having gone off to find and study new rocks, and materials, not to mention becoming dule Hoenn champion. Ash had really missed him.

"I had business in Kanto already, and since I couldn't be here for your actual birthday, I decided to take the chance to stop by and give you your present. How are you Lucario?" Steven explained, ruffling Ash's hair, only to scrunch his nose in disgust when he felt the sweat. Ash wordlessly handed him his towel.

~I have been well, thank you for asking.~ Lucario informed, gruff as ever.

"How long will you be in Rota?" Ash asked hopefully.

Steven grimaced regretfully. "Sadly not long, I have a meeting with Lance in Saffron so I'll only be able to be in Rota for about a week."

Ash wilted slightly, but perked back up almost immediately. "We can still hang out though, right?"

Steven smiled affectionately at the boy that he saw as a younger brother. "Of course, as long as all your work is done."

"Your Highness," Ash looked up to see the Head Knight approach. "We're done for today if you want to head off."

"Thanks for your hard work today." Ash said respectfully, waving goodbye while leading Steven into the castle. "I finished my school work already, and I even went to my etiquette lessons."

"Good job." Steven said proudly as they walked by the throne room, it was muffled but he could hear talking from the inside. "Oh I should probably say hello while I'm here.." Steven trailed off as he noticed Ash's troubled look. "Whats wrong?"

"I got in a fight with mom and dad last week." Ash explained.

"About what?" Steven said in surprise, the Riola was rather tight knit and while disagreements happened they didn't fight, at least not often. When Ash didn't answer, Steven turned to Lucario.

~Ash wanted to go on a journey, and Her Highness, and His Highness said 'no'.~ Lucario said simply.

"I'm not in line for the throne, I don't even want to be, I do see why I can't go on a journey when everyone else my age at least gets that option." Ash grumbled. "They said I could train and have a team, but I'm not allowed to leave Rota."

Steven nodded in understanding. His father had been hesitant with the idea of Steven going on his journey, but had still allowed him to. Still, Steven could see both sides of the argument. Ash had always wanted to be normal, he bristled at being call 'Your Highness' and even disliked being called his full name because of the weight attached to it, he craved freedom, and had always adored Pokemon, it made perfect sense that Ash wanted to be a Pokemon trainer, and Steven even thought that with enough work he could probably be a top trainer in the future. On the other side of the argument, Ash was the First Prince, while war was unlikely, there were still people that could try to take him for ransom, or worse, his Aura abilities; said abilities were kept tightly under wraps, but it was pretty easy to see that there was something special about the boy. Even if it wasn't kidnapping, there were plenty of things that could go wrong on a journey, and putting aside the fact that his family loved him so much, Ash was valuable to the Rota Kingdom for his diplomatic talents at the very least, not to mention the fact that Ilene would be ascending to the throne within the next year or so, meaning a short power struggle was sure to happen while the kingdom adjusted to the new queen.

Since Steven could see both sides, he decided not to chime in. Instead, he let Ash guide them to the library, where a maid brought them some tea as soon as they sat down at one of the tables. Deciding to lighten the mood, Steven pulled out a square package, and pushed it towards Ash. "Here's your gift."

"What is it?" Ash asked curiously, pulling it closer to him. From the way Lucario twitched his nose, Ash was pretty sure he already knew what it was.

"Why don't you open it and find out." Steven said mirthfully.

Shrugging, Ash opened the box, a large grin breaking on his face when he recognised what was inside. Excitedly, he pulled out a Pokeball, unlike the usual red, the Pokeball had a grey top with four blue bulbs, two smaller ones in the front, and two larger on either side. "A Heavy Ball!"

Steven chuckled warmly. "There's something inside, Ash."

Blushing in embarrassment, Ash held his arm out. "Pokemon, I choose you!" Out of the Pokeball came a small tan Pokemon with a large black mouth coming from the back of her head like a ponytail.

"Wile!"

"A Mawile!" Ash said in awe, crouching down in front of her, and offering her his hand. "Hi Mawile! It's nice to meet you! I hope we'll be great friends!"

Mawile smiled gently, and placed her hand in his. "Maw-wile!"

Behind them, Lucario and Steven shared a fond smile.

===

Noone was really sure what had happened. Steven had left Rota two days prior, and for the most part Ash had reconciled with his parents, but the next morning Ash and Lucario were nowhere to be seen, having only left a note explaining that they went to the Tree of Beginning. This didn't cause any panic, Ash left for the Tree of Beginning all the time and it was more or less a schedule at this point. It wasn't until Ash returned that anyone knew something was wrong.

The weather, which was usually warm and sunny in the summer months was instead gloomy, raining off and on as if it were grieving. Ash approached the castle around noon, still dressed in his pajamas, but instead of rushing into the castle with his usual mischievous grin, Lucario fondly following behind him, Ash approached the gates with a tear stained face, clutching a Riolu firmly to his chest like he was afraid it would vanish while a Tangrowth held a guilty looking woman in its vines. When the knights approached cautiously, Ash simply told them to take the woman to a cell and call his parents to talk to her before he vanished, Tangrowth in tow, into the castle and up to his room.

Ash didn't leave his room for weeks, he wouldn't even unlock the door for the maids to bring him food, not even his sister could convince him to let her in. It was only after interrogating the woman, Kidd Summers, that they got answers for what had caused the Prince's distress. Kidd admitted that she snuck into the Tree of Beginning, wanting to gather data on the ecosystem and even get proof of Mew living there. In messing around with the Tree, and dodging the three Regis that protected the stoney tree, she caused stress to the environment. Mew had brought Ash to the Tree to help them get Kidd out of the environment safely, and when Mew tried to communicate with it, they both ended up ill due to the stress. Ash and Lucario gave Mew enough Aura to heal both itself and the Tree, but Lucario shoved Ash away and instead gave up his life to heal Mew and the Tree. Apparently, the Riolu Ash was seen carrying had been an egg that had hatched when the aura from Lucario and Ash flared, and Riolu had tried to comfort Ash after Lucario crystallized. Kidd expressed regret, and pleaded guilty to Trespassing on Government Property, and causing damage to a Historical and Spiritual Landmark.

With all the information, Ilene once again approached her brother's room. Instead of going for the door, since she knew he wouldn't open it, Ilene tried for his window, having Mime Jr. use Psychic to lift them up to the window. Luckily, it was unlocked, but the curtains were drawn shut. She opened the window and stepped inside.

Ash was laying on his bed, his face was buried in Riolu's fur while an undisguised Mew was wrapped around Ash's arm. Both Ash and Mew had teary eyes with marks staining their cheeks. Mew blinked a bleary eye open to see who had entered, but shut it when they recognised her.

Ilene felt her heart break as she saw the prone form of her brother. Gently, she sat on the bed, causing Ash to finally look up. Upon seeing her, green eyes filled with tears anew, and Ash reached out to her. Tearfully, she brought him into his lap, holding him in her arms as he sobbed loudly. Eventually, Ash cried himself asleep, and not once did he let go of the Riolu in his arms.

It took Ash months to seemingly go back to some semblance of normal. Some days were easier than others, sometimes he would stare off into space, and it was hard for him to adjust to not having Lucario by his side. It broke, not only his family's hearts, but the castle staff's too when Ash would happily turn around to ask Lucario's opinion on something, only for him to remember he was no longer there and for his happiness to crumple. A big problem was that there were a lot of Lucario in Rota, and for a while Ash couldn't see one without crying. Riolu, Mew, and Mawile were a huge help during this period. Mew was usually camouflaged into a Pikachu, but when Mew wasn't at the Tree keeping the balance, it usually sat on Ash's shoulder as the Prince went about his business.

The Citizens of Rota weren't told the full story, nobody could find out about Mew lest the Tree become swarmed by Poachers, but they were told a slightly altered story, about Lucario, like Sir Aaron before him, making a great sacrifice to protect the Tree, and in turn their Kingdom. A memorial statue was built alongside Sir Aaron's, and everyday a new offering was left for the Pokemon.

With patience, and guidance, Ash started to have more good days than bad, but he would never forget Lucario. Lucario had taught him so much, had protected him and been by his side for so long, and nothing would make Ash forget him. And while Riolu, affectionately nicknamed Rio, became a permanent fixture in Ash's life, neither Ash nor Rio felt he was a 'replacement' for Lucario. Afterall, there was no 'replacing' such a noble Pokemon.

======4 years later(again)======

May looked around the small Kingdom of Rota in awe. It was small, but so incredibly peaceful, and beautiful. All around her the citizens and tourists alike were chatting joyously dressed in gorgeous medieval outfits, from Princess gowns, to Knight's Armor, to Jester Costumes, everyone was dressed to the nines, even May herself had bought a beautiful Beautifly inspired gown in a little boutique next to the castle.

Being so wrapped up in the beauty and splendor of the Kingdom's capital, May didn't notice when her traveling companions, her brother Max, a Pokemon Breeder known as Brock, and Water Type Master in the making Misty, all walked off, not noticing she had stopped to admire the Town Square, more importantly the large statues that were erected in the center of said square. In the center stood two statues, they were both well taken care of, though one looked significantly older; it was of an oddly dressed man wielding a peculiar staff, beside him and newer looking, was of a Lucario, standing diligently by the man's side. The slab that hoisted the two statues up was covered in offerings, some food, other flowers, or knick knacks.

"Hey Max, look at…what?! Where did they go?!" May shrieked, turning around to address her brother only to notice he and their two companions were gone. "Now what am I going to do?" She whined. She knew Misty was joining the tournament, which was being held in the Knights' Public Training Grounds which also happened to be a stadium, so she would probably just meet them there, but she didn't know what streets to take to get there.

After a few minutes of frantically looking around, May decided to just try and follow the crowd. She turned towards where a large group of people were heading, but ended up stumbling and falling back to back with another person. Panicking, May stuttered out an awkward apology.

"Don't worry about it, you're not hurt are you?" The person she bumped into waved off her apology, and May breathed a sigh of relief. He looked about her age, with short red hair and startling green eyes, like everyone else he was dressed up in a simple white Prince costume. On his right stood a two legged canine Pokemon, the same one as the statue, a Lucario, while on his left shoulder sat a little yellow mouse Pokemon, it was either a Pichu or Pikachu, but May wasn't quite sure since she'd never seen either in person before.

"I'm okay." She assured him. "Just a bit, well, lost." May finally admitted, her cheeks going red with embarrassment.

"You're a tourist then?" The stranger asked, tone of voice lacking judgment. "Don't worry about it, the capital can get a bit confusing if you don't know where you're going. If you tell me where you want to go I can give you directions."

"Really?! Oh wow that is so awesome! Thank you!" May breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "I lost my friends, I'm pretty sure they're at the stadium for the Aura Guardian Tournament."

"Oh, I was actually just about to head there myself. Right Rio?" The boy angled his head towards Lucario, who barked in agreement, blue tail wagging. "Just give me a minute I can walk over with you."

May breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you so much! My name is May!"

"My name's Steven, this is Rio and Pichu, nice to meet you!" He shook her hand while Pichu waved their paw and Rio nodded a greeting, before all three turned to the statues, specifically the one of Lucario. Pichu jumped down, rubbing its cheek against the metal, while Rio bowed his head, and Steven simply stared. There was something tender and painful about the way the boy stared at the statues, and for some reason May felt like she was interrupting something. After a few minutes, Steven removed a chocolate bar from his pocket and set it beside Lucario's feet amongst the other offerings. After a little bit more silence, the boy pulled away, Pichu reclaiming their place on his shoulder, and Rio coming up to stand beside him.

Steven smiled at her, somehow looked both lighter and heavier at the same time. May was curious but knew it wasn't her place to ask, instead she smiled brightly back at him and they started walking. "I've never seen a Pichu in person before." May commented, reaching her hand out, but Pichu dodged the hand, scurrying over to his other shoulder.

Steven smiled guiltily. "Pichu is really shy, they don't really like anyone but me touching them."

"Oh, sorry Pichu." Pichu gave her an easy little smile, showing there were no hard feelings. "Have you competed in the tournament before?"

Steven nodded his head. "Yeah, I competed last year, but we lost to this really amazing Ninetails and her trainer." He admitted enthusiastically, not looking all that put out by his loss. "I've watched the tournament every single year though. What about you? Have you been traveling long?" He asked.

May shook her head. "I've only been traveling for about a little more than a year, I got my first Pokemon later than most people since, honestly, I wasn't really interested in Pokemon." Quick to explain herself, May continued. "That's changed now that I actually have my own, I really love Pokemon!"

Steven nodded in understanding. "Still, a whole year of traveling, that sounds super fun!" He sighed and scratched his cheek. May looked at him oddly. "I've never gone on a journey." He explained. "I really want to, but my parents are a bit over protective."

"So you've never left Rota before?" May said in surprise, feeling a bit bad for him. He obviously loved Pokemon, and really wanted to go on a journey. May was a different case entirely, she hadn't really cared much for Pokemon as a kid despite her father's position, her parents actually had to convince her to go on a journey, and looking back, May was grateful to them for pushing her, she made so many amazing friends and rivals thanks to her journey, and she couldn't even begin to imagine how it would feel to want something so bad and be denied from even trying.

Steven shook his head. "No I've left Rota before, its just usually with my parents or sister on their business trips. I get to search and catch some Pokemon, but there's not usually enough time to do much else before we have to come back home. Do you do gym challenges?"

May easily went with the change of topic, realizing he probably didn't want to think too hard about his own situation. "I'm a coordinator, I even made it to the Grand Festival in Hoenn a few months ago!" She proclaimed proudly.

"That's amazing!" He said in awe. "Are you participating in Kanto Contests at the moment?"

"Yep! It's a lot of fun so far." She said excitedly. "Its kinda uncomfortable sleeping in a tent and stuff, but I think I've gotten use to it by now. What wasn't so fun was this time we had to stay the night in an abandoned mining town! I was so scared for like half the night and Max didn't help at all!" Steven laughed loudly as she went on.

The rest of the walk to the stadium was filled with mostly May regaling Steven with stories of her travels so far, and swapping stories about their Pokemon. Steven was enamored by all kinds of Pokemon despite tending to stray towards Steel Types, and obviously loved battling, it was very clear he was passionate about the sport, as was Rio, who perked up excitedly at the mere mention. All in all Steven seemed like a good guy, if a bit weird and excitable. Eventually, they arrived at the stadium and May saw Max and Brock off in the distance.

"After the tournament I'll introduce you to everyone." May offered, waving at Max, who had stopped by the stairs to wait for her.

"That would be great! See ya after the tournament then May!" Steven grinned one last time before running off towards the other contestants with a waver.

"Good luck!" She called after him before heading towards Max.

===

A lot had happened in the four years since Lucario's crystallization. Ash and his Pokemon trained almost daily, and Ash started taking his classes and training a bit more seriously. He never wanted to be in that position again, unable to do anything. When he was 12 his family started taking him with them to Diplomatic meetings to get him adjusted to the atmosphere, and during his time between meetings Ash was able to gather a five Pokemon team, six if you count Mew but Mew was still a wild Pokemon and Ash had no plans to catch them. Ever. Ash often bothered his parents about setting off on his own, but even though they had stepped down as King and Queen for Ilene to ascend to the throne, they still denied him, and while Ilene was the Queen she couldn't, and didn't want to, overrule her parents decision, even if she thought Ash would make a fantastic Pokemon Trainer. Ash was a bit annoyed by the situation, but he wasn't the type to mope, and simply went on with his life. He never stopped asking, and was hoping to one day wear them down. Manipulative? Kinda, and he felt bad but he also really wanted to go on a journey. In the meantime, he trained at home, specifically for the Aura Guardian Festival. He hoped if he won the festival it would convince his family he was ready to go on a journey like other kids his age.

Ash felt insanely bad about lying to May about his name, but at the same time he really didn't want to be recognised. For the most part, Rota civilians left Ash alone, they were used to his antics and the fact that he visited the capital's statues nearly everyday, so while they respected him as royalty, they also knew him by now and knew that when he was out of the castle and not 'First Prince Ashura' he was to be treated like any normal person. Tourists, however, were a different case. Most tourists didn't come into contact with royalty and fell into four major categories; Don't Care, Awestruck, Fans, and People that want something. Don't Care was Ash' s favorite to deal with, but had the fewest people in it, they would more or less treat Ash as a normal person, if just a bit politer out of courtesy, and the group was mainly composed of fellow royalty and other people in 'higher social standing'. Ash could deal with Awestruck people, they usually just stared awkwardly at him and stammered over themselves when he talked to them but not much else. People who wanted something from him were also pretty simple to deal with, usually wanting some sort of favor, resulting in them sucking up to him and wanting to be his friend, again annoying but Ash knew how to handle people like that. All in all it was the Fan category that Ash hated dealing with the most, they usually came in droves, vying for his attention and just a speck of his acknowledgement, they would fight with each other about or over him and were overall just loud, and when he didn't acknowledge them they turned against him, it was a slippery slope and Ash really didn't like dealing with them.

May was a nice girl, and if Ash could guess, he would say she would probably fall into the Awestruck category, before eventually falling into the Don't Care category. From the sounds of her travels she's met quite a few people, which wasn't surprising since she was the daughter of a Gym Leader and traveled with two former Gym Leaders. All in all, he could see them being friends, if she could forgive him for lying to her.

"Car." Rio's gruff voice pulled Ash from his thoughts. The Pokemon motioned towards the entrance leading out to the stadium, and soon thereafter his fake name was called.

"Thanks Rio." Ash grinned and secured the red wig on his head before returning Rio to his Pokeball and running out onto the field. Mew quickly turned invisible before anyone could notice them, and flew up to the watching section, where they turned into an Aipom and sat beside Mime Jr.

The matches went off without a hitch. Ash was in column A, and while there were definitely some hard hitting battles, Ash and Rio were still winning. Ilene definitely knew it was him despite his red hair, in fact he would wager that most Rota civilians recognised him, green eyes were very rare in Rota, and the green eyes that ran in the Riola family were especially rare, and a dead give away to his heritage. Luckily, they were used to his antics and didn't out him, and before long, it was just Ash and one other trainer.

"This battle will mark the winner of the Aura Guardian Festival and give us this year's Guardian of Aura!" The referee announced joyously, and the onlookers started cheering. "Ready?" Ash and his opponent, a short ginger haired girl in a long blue Princess costume, nodded to the referee, who waved down a white flag to start the battle. "Begin!"

"Lets finish this Rio!" Ash called out, tossing Rio's Pokeball into the air. His partner easily jumped out, and landed in front of him.

"Finish what you started Psyduck!" The girl called out, releasing a yellow duck Pokemon who was clutching tightly onto his head. If Ash remembered right, she had been about to call a different Pokemon, but Psyduck popped out of his Pokeball on his own, rules stated only one Pokemon for the whole tournament so she had to use him. "Start off with Water Gun Psyduck!"

"Bullet Punch!" Psyduck released a blast of freezing water from his bill, but Rio was prepared. His fists glowed a pale silver before he shot them outwards, punching the oncoming attack and causing the Water Gun to be dispersed all over the dusty field. "Move in with Force Palm, aim for Psyduck's body, do not hit his head." Ash had watched the other battles closely, she only used Psyduck's psychic moves after a blow to the head.

"Grr go in with Fury Swipes Psyduck!" She called out in retaliation. Psyduck ran forward, but was met halfway by Rio, who took a sturdy stance and pressed his paw to Psyduck's body. Before Psyduck could respond, green energy shot out, sending Psyduck skitting backwards.

Ash watched Psyduck, waiting to see if he would stand up. Despite Psyduck's ability to psychic moves, they are still only water types, so Rio's moves would react in kind. If Psyduck had free access to his psychic moves without having to worsen his headache, this could be a very different battle, but the trainer hasn't figured out how to harness that yet, no shame to her Psyduck in general were a bit difficult to get to that level.

"Come on Psyduck, use Fury Swipes once more!" Miraculously, Psyduck pushed himself up to stand again, and started running towards Rio with his claws flashing with Fury Swipes again. Rio ducked and dodged the onslaught of swipes, only being hit once or twice, though it wasn't very effective.

"Aura Sphere." Rio growled, and held his paws out in front of him, building up a shimmering blue ball of aura. Ash shivered slightly as he felt the aura shift and build around him. With a grunt, Rio fired the Aura Sphere. The ball of energy hit Psyduck head on, sending him lying back once more.

The air was tense as they gathered crowd waited for something to happen. Finally, Psyduck rose to his feet, eyes glowing a bright white as he clutched his head in pain. "Alright!" Psyduck's trainer grinned. "Now Psyduck, use Psychic!"

"Psy!" Blue psychic energy surrounded Rio, and lifted him up into the air before slamming him into the ground.

"Hang tight Rio." Ash called, watching tensely as Rio took damage, unable to escape the powerful Psychic attack. As soon as he saw Psyduck falter, and release Rio, Ash barked an order. "Now, use Reversal!" Orange light bled from Rio, cloaking him as he pulled himself to his feet. Swiftly, Rio ran towards Psyduck, dodging a Confusion powered Water Gun that Psyduck had shot towards him. Once he was close enough, Rio channeled his energy into his paws, and punched Psyduck. Rio had taken a fair bit of damage, meaning Reversal had a bigger kick behind it. Psyduck quacked in pain, before passing out.

"And with that, Psyduck is unable to battle! This year's Guardian of Aura is Rota's very own First Prince: Ashura Riola!" The Referee announced proudly, having forgotten Ash was in disguise due to his excitement. The crowd of tourists murmured in confusion while those that live in Rota snickered and giggled to each other. Ash silently cursed in his head, removing the red wig from his head with flair, as he waved at the crowd with a cheeky little grin. Rio, obviously, thought it was hilarious because he snickered as he approached his trainer, who shot him a withering look, not that it dissuaded the Pokemon. Sighing, Ash returned Rio to his Pokeball so he could rest before the ball.

===

Up in the stands, May was freaking out. She had spoken so casually with a real life Prince! She was going to die from the humiliation! Still, she was super surprised. Steven, er Ashura she supposed, had seemed so down to earth and normal, she never would have guessed he was royalty. Though, that was probably the point.

May blinked in surprise when she met the Prince's eyes. He smiled guiltily at her, and mouthed a quick 'Sorry.'. May smiled in what she hoped was reassuring, and mouthed back to him. 'Don't worry about it!' He looked relieved before he turned back to the referee, pulled out a Pokeball and released a Skarmory. He waved to the onlookers as he pulled himself onto the steel bird's back, and flew off towards the castle, probably before he could be swarmed by the masses.

"Wow, Misty battled a real Prince!" Max said in awe, and May looked at him.

"She's not going to be happy about this." Brock sighed, running a hand through his spiky brown hair. "Psyduck really chooses the worst times to come out of his Pokeball."

May simply giggled. "She'll get over it. She and Psyduck did really well, she made it to the semi-finals after all!"

"That's true, considering she and Psyduck haven't unlocked his Psychic abilities completely yet." Max conceded. "So, whos this person you wanted us to meet?"

May faltered, now that he was out of costume she didn't know if he would still want to meet them. "Oh well, he already left the building." She pointed in the direction she had seen him fly off towards.

Brock and Max followed where she was pointing, only to quickly whip their head back towards her, eyes blown wide. "What?!"

May promised to explain later, but first they had to meet back up with Misty. As they had expected, Misty was embarrassed and angry. She didn't care so much that she battled the Prince, she was more angry that they performed so poorly. Since Rota was a Kantonian Kingdom, and Misty was the to-be Gym Leader of a Kantonian Gym her battle against the Prince meant a lot more Politically than most people realized. If she had won, or even just performed well then news would spread, bringing good publicity to the Cerulean Gym, which the Gym desperately needed due to her sister's poor business practices. Since she lost and performed badly there was bound to be little talk about the match, but what little was said would probably reflect poorly on the Gym. Misty loved her Psyduck, but she really wished he would learn to stay in his Pokeball.

May rested her hand on Misty's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze in support. "You still did really well." She offered, getting a tight smile from the ginger haired teen. "Come on, who else do you know who could make it to the semifinals with a Psyduck? You guys were great!"

"Thanks May." Misty finally sighed, running her hand through her short hair.

"You know what you need?" Brock asked. "Some cotton candy! Lets go look at some of the food stalls."

As if on cue, Max's stomach growled, resulting in the group laughing before they departed to head back out into the festival. Before they could leave the stadium however, a woman dressed in armor, except for her head, approached them.

"Excuse me, are you May?" She asked.

May nodded nervously. "May, what did you do?!" Max whisper-yelled.

"Nothing!" May whispered back harshly, yelping when the knight cleared her throat. "Eep Yes!"

"I was asked to escort you, and your friends, to the castle on the Prince's request, he said the two of you had a meeting." She explained, and May relaxed slightly. "If you'll follow me."

"Okay." May nodded her head and followed after the older woman.

Misty leaned over and whispered harshly. "What is she talking about? Meeting?"

"I met the Prince when he was in disguise!" May whispered back. "I didn't know it was him until he took off his wig. We agreed to meet after the tournament so I could introduce him to everyone." Brock, Max, and Misty all gave her disbelieving looks. "I'm being honest!"

"So we're just going to casually have coffee with the Prince?" Max asked in disbelief.

"Actually," The knight suddenly spoke, sounding highly amused and making the group of kids jump. "His Highness doesn't like coffee, more than likely he'll offer tea or hot chocolate." She turned towards them, and motioned to a large open gate in front of them. "Also, we're here."

"We just…walk right in?" May asked nervously, eyeing the other knights that stood guard in front of the gate.

The guard that led them smiled a little. "Because it's the Aura Guardian Festival the castle grounds are open to everyone, you'll meet him in his library, since that specific library is off limits."

Nervously, the group of teens, and preteen, walked into the castle grounds. Like the knight had said, the grounds were open, and they could already see a few groups of people touring around, which made them feel less awkward as they were led to the main entryway of the castle. They passed by a few tour groups, as they went, noticing that a few doors were blocked by knights, likely guarding rooms that were off limits, like personal bedrooms and studies and such. After traveling down a few long hallways, they finally came to a stop before a set of doors that had a metal nameplate inscribed with the letters 'Library C'. The Knight knocked, and soon the door opened.

The library was about the size of a small apartment, with dark wooden shelves teaming with books. Next to one window, looking out, was a desk piled high with paperwork and books, and next to another window was a simple table with six chairs. Scattered around the floor were numerous bean bag chairs and Pokemon beds. On the table were five cups, two teapots, and a small platter of sweets and sandwiches.

"Welcome!" Movement from the desk drew the group's attention. The Prince was standing next to his desk, Pichu perched on his head, playing with his short ponytail like a Skitty playing with a cat toy. "Have a seat, thanks for bringing them here!" He turned to address the knight.

The Knight bowed slightly. "Of course your highness, call if you need anything." With that, she excused herself and left the room.

"Uh thanks for meeting with us, uh Your Highness?" Brock said awkwardly, bowing at the waist, soon followed by his younger companions.

Ashura looked torn between uncomfortable, and amused. "Just Ash is fine. You don't have to be so stiff around me." He mumbled, scratching his neck nervously, motioning for them to sit down at the table as he approached. "I didn't know what you guys liked so I just asked for a bit of everything."

"Thanks Ash." May smiled gratefully at him and was the first to sit down. Max soon followed his sister, and sat beside her before helping himself to one of the sandwiches.Brock and Misty followed soon thereafter, and finally Ash sat down.

"Sorry our meeting didn't go as planned, I hadn't planned on that." He said, sounding regretful as he poured himself a cup of hot chocolate.

"Don't worry about it, I don't think anyone could have planned for that." May laughed. "I was really surprised though, you don't really act like how I thought a Prince would." Her eyes widened. "Oh my goodness, was that rude? I feel like that sounded rude?"

Ash laughed loudly, as did Pichu, who jumped down onto the table and stole one of the daifuku off the platter. "I'm not really the fairytale type of royalty. My sister is probably closer to what you're expecting."

"Thats right, your sister is Queen Ilene isn't she?" Brock suddenly asked. "She really is deserving of such a title, so beautiful."

Deciding to ignore the dazed look in Brock's eyes, Ash nodded. "Yes, she was made Queen two years ago."

"Wouldn't that now make you a Duke instead of a Prince though?" Misty asked curiously.

"Grand Duke technically, but my sister doesn't have any children so I'm being kept on as the Prince until she has kids, and then I'll get the Grand Dukedom." Ash explained. "But you didn't come here to talk politics, I really wanted to meet May's friends. She talked a lot about you guys and your travels." His eyes seemed to sparkle with excitable curiosity.

May smiled. "This is Misty, Brock, and my Little brother Max." She pointed to each person in turn.

From there, they fell into easy conversation. It didn't take long for the quartet to realize that Ash was a very normal person. He didn't care about his position, at least not when he wasn't working, and he had a real love for Pokemon and battle. The five of them sat in the library for a long time, chatting about anything and everything, from the different regions that Misty and Brock had traveled to, to the difference between Hoenn and Kanto contests, to the difference between the rumored Poketch and the Pokenav.

It wasn't until dusk that they were pulled from their conversation, and escorted to the ballroom. Ash, as the years Guardian of Aura, had to sit all night, Rio standing dutifully beside him now that he was healed up, but the others danced and enjoyed the rest of the facilities until it was time for the fireworks. Ash was able to stand with them to watch the fireworks, and even invited them to stay in the castle guest rooms for the night, with his sister's permission. The following morning, they had a nice breakfast with not only the Reigning Queen, but their parents as well. It was surprising that, despite their royal blood, the whole family was pretty down to earth, if properly mannered.. It was a bit frazzling eating with them, but Brock and the former King got on surprisingly well, as did Misty and the former Queen, even Max got on well with Queen Ilene. May however couldn't really focus on that, she wanted to ask them something, and thus had to push her frazzled nerves aside.

"Excuse me." May sat up straight, having finished her meal already she pushed her plate to the side. The former Queen looked surprised but motioned for her to continue. "I wanted to ask, would it be okay if Ash came on a journey with us?"

Ash whipped his head in May's direction, his conversation with his sister dropped in order to stare at his friend in awe, and surprise. The other conversations around the table also tapered off to pay attention to what was being said. For his part, Ash looked hopefully between May and his parents.

"I'm sure you mean well young lady but its not so simple." The former King said after a few moments. "Journeys are rather dangerous." The former Queen nodded in agreement and Ash visibly wilted.

"Actually," Ilene spoke clearly with a gentle smile. "I think that is a fantastic idea."

The former Queen turned to her daughter in surprise. "You've never said as much before."

Ilene nodded. "Ash is my brother, not my son so I try to stay out of your parenting of him, but if I'm to be honest mother, I think a journey would do him some good. Hes an amazing diplomat, but he also needs friends that aren't after him politically. Journeys can be dangerous, but as Ash has proved, he and Rio are a strong duo, not to mention his other Pokemon. And, if he's accompanied by a group, he'll be even safer." She took a drink of water and winked conspiratorially at her brother, who smiled back. "That's just my opinion though."

Brock nodded in agreement. "We can look after him and make sure he doesn't get in trouble."

"Yeah, traveling with more people is always more fun." Misty chimed in.

The former Queen and King shared a look, seemingly having a silent conversation before turning to look at Ash. "There will be some conditions." His mother warned, and Ash grinned. "You will be wearing a disguise, I want weekly check ins young man, and it can only be for a year. I know that doesn't seem like a long time, but you do have responsibilities here."

"A year is more than enough time!" Ash stood up with haste, grinning brightly at May, who returned the gesture. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Surprising to noone, Ash already had a pre-packed bag ready to go hidden in his room, prepared on the off chance that his parents would eventually let him go on a journey. He couldn't use his usual disguise since it had already been seen by so many people, so instead he put in a pair of brown colored contacts, and got a dark blue wig that was just a touch lighter than his usual hair color. It was surprising how easy it was to hide in plain sight. Regardless, the quartet now turned quintet set off the next day, ready to brave the rest of their journey. The only thing Ash hated about leaving for his journey, other than missing his parents, was saying goodbye to Mew temporarily. They were super close, so it was hard to say goodbye, even for just a little bit. Mew could teleport, but it was too much of a risk, so for the time being they had to say goodbye, but Ash promised he'd be home soon.

Misty was on a quest to complete the Battle Frontier, and Ash was enamored with the idea. Officially, he had no battle experience so he couldn't take the challenge with her, instead the group took little detours when they were close to other cities so he could battle the gyms there. Ash had no hope for competing in the league, it was too far into the season for him to even attempt to get enough badges, but the battles were fun, and a great way to keep track of their strength and improvement. Ash still had an open spot on his team, so oftentimes he was keeping an eye out for a new addition, sadly there weren't a lot of Steel Type Pokemon in Kanto, the soil just wasn't right to produce the natural iron and minerals most Steel Types needed. Which kinda made the Pokemon Ash did find, not only a rare find on principal, but a massive surprise all around. Ash got separated from the group while they were walking through a cave system, something his parents would not be finding out about, and it was only because of Ash and Rio's aura abilities that they were able to track everyone else down. Before they could find the others Ash and Rio came across a Registeel. The moment he saw the Pokemon Ash was hit with a feeling of Homesickness, after all there was a Registeel living at the Tree of Beginning and Ash often played with it back home. But this Registeel was different, not as full of life and even a little sickly. It wasn't hard to realize it was because of the lack of Iron in the area it lived. Ash and Rio both felt a little bad about catching Registeel, since it was so weak with sickness, but at the same time they needed to get them out of there so they could work on getting them healthy again. With Brock, a Pokemon Breeder in the making, traveling with them, it was easier, as Brock knew quite a bit about Rock, Steel, and Ground types, so with his help Registeel was able to eventually heal and regain their strength. The only Brain of the Battle Frontier Ash got to battle was Brandon, and that was mostly because he wanted his Registeel to go toe to toe with another. It was an admittedly difficult battle, Brandon was no light weight, but neither was Ash. The battle was intense, with Ash beating Brandon out by just a second as his Pokemon passed out just before Ash's.

All good things had to come to an end though. After Misty's win of the Battle Frontier, and the wrap up of the Grand Festival it was time to head home. Misty and Brock would be heading home to Cerulean City and Pewter City respectively, while May was going to take Max home to train with their father before she headed to Jhoto, and Ash had to head back to Rota before his 15th birthday. It was an admittedly touching goodbye, as Ash felt he owed quite a lot to these people. Of course, they all told him he owed them nothing, they were friends and they looked out for each other.

======2 years later======

It was amazing how much, and how little changed in just two years. After his return to Rota Ash buckled down. It seemed the journey had opened his eyes to a whole bunch of different things, and while he was still mayhem incarnate, he also started taking his position more seriously; and as a result he got a bit more freedom.

By the time he was 17 his sister was sending him to diplomatic meetings alone, not only did she let him visit Unova by himself, but also Kalos to talk about trade deals. Visiting Kalos had its own issues, the CEO of a major company/Leader of Team Flare trying to take over and purge Kalos into oblivion resulting in Ash and many other people having to fight against him and his team. It was not good, and truthfully, Ash was pretty sure if Rio hadn't Mega Evolved, a very pleasant surprise, in that split second things could have and would have gone a lot worse. But Ash really didn't like thinking about Kalos, and as it stood, because of the incident Rota and Kalos were on shaky ground, since their prince was almost hurt. Ash tried to talk his sister down, but as it stood she still wanted nothing to do with the Region, so Ash let it go for the time being.

Besides, he had another trip he had to plan for in the following months on top of: therapy sessions, Pokemon training, classes, playing with Mew, patrolling the Tree, and working with Rio's Mega Evolution. Luckily, his trip to Alola was simply a routine visit, the island region had been thinking about creating a league and since Alola and Rota had such strong trade agreements Ash was tasked to check in and help where he could while also planning out some new triads with the Kahunas'. The only foreseeable issue was that Mew was refusing to leave Ash's side as he tried to load the plane.

===

Ash sighed, looking at the 'Pikachu' on his shoulder. 'Pikachu' looked mighty pleased with itself. Tiny claws dug into Ash's shoulder and unmoving no matter what Ash offered them and Rio, the traitor, was doing nothing to help. Looking at his watch, Ash caved. "Alright, you can come with me," he lamented before whispering. "But you have to stay disguised as a Pikachu the whole time alright?"

"Pi Pikachu!" Mew giggled, having won, and nuzzled up against Ash's cheek.

"Car!" Rio barked happily.

Ash smiled fondly at them. He couldn't really blame Mew he supposed. Ash had been running around a lot more and they hadn't gotten the chance to play together much because of his duty. He just hoped the Tree would be okay while they were both gone. Then again, they would only be gone for a month at most. What was the worst that could happen? Whipping out his phone, Ash shot his sister a message:

Ash: hey Pikachu will be traveling with me this time, can you keep an eye on the bonsai tree while we're gone?

Ilene: :)

Blinking at the emoji Ash felt a shiver go down his spine. "I'm scared." He murmured, getting loud laughs from Mew and Rio.

Pocketing his phone, Ash finally entered the plane, followed closely by Rio. One of the perks of being royalty was having a private plane, and while Ash wouldn't mind dressing in a disguise and taking the normal airline, he was running behind because of Mew's antics and the airport was a nightmare to deal with most of the time. The flight to Alola was relatively peaceful. As promised, Mew stayed disguised the entire flight, while Rio sat in the seat next to Ash, eyes closed and the tufts on either side of his face alert as he looked for any sinister Aura. When they were only 20 minutes from touching down, Ash quickly combed his hair, brushing the black locks straight and tying it into a clean ponytail, and changed into his more appropriate clothes. Ash had been to the region before with his father and had worn his usual Princely formal wear since his father said to pack it, but almost the entire trip he was sweating up a storm due to the tropical heat. They ended up having to buy him some more appropriate clothes so he wouldn't get heat stroke. Ash was pretty sure the whole thing was a lesson from his father, about researching the climate of where you're going to make sure you're properly prepared, and Ash took that lesson to heart. The resulting outfit was a short sleeve white button up that was loose and breathable and dark grey capris that cut off at the knee and had blue hemming, coupled with black and white sneakers. It was actually a pretty comfortable fit, and while Ash usually wore whatever he wanted in Rota unless it was a special event, he kind of wished he could wear the Alola attire to all his diplomatic meetings.

"Rio Car." Rio barked lowly, catching Ash's attention to the kight above the captain's pit, where a seatbelt light flashed.

Hurriedly, Ash made his way back to his seat and buckled Rio and himself into the plane seats, situating Mew safely in his lap while his arm's acted as Mew's seatbelt. The drop in altitude made Ash's ear pop, and he shook his head to get rid of the feeling. Once the plane came to a full stop, a voice echoed from the speakers. "We've touched down Your Highness."

Unbuckling, Ash pulled himself back up to his feet, before leaning over to unbuckle Rio. After smoothing out his clothes, and making sure Rio's fur was free of any debris, Ash and his partner exited the plane, Mew sitting comfortably in Rio's arms. Once on solid ground, Ash took a deep breath, breathing in the warm, salty air with a pleased sigh. Ash was pleased to notice that there weren't many people around to greet him, just four adults, three Kahuna's that Ash remembered, and a scientist Ash vaguely recognised, but also a small gaggle of teenagers.

"Alola Your Highness!" The first to greet him was a plump man with tanned skin. He had distinct white hair and an accompanying mustache. Ash remembered the man fondly from his visit when he was younger.

"Alola Kahuna Hala." Ash greeted back warmly, approaching the group of adults. "Thank you for meeting me! I hope I can help with whatever you need."

Hala laughed warmly. "You remember Nanu, and of course Olivia." He motioned to the two other Kahua that stood beside him. Olivia was a tall beautiful woman with dark skin and short black hair, she offered him a kind smile. Like the exact opposite of the woman, Nanu was a thin, pale man dressed in black and greys with dull grey hair, he was pretty tall, but he slumped his shoulders making him look shorter as he simply nodded to Ash.

"I do, it's so nice to meet you once again!" Ash smiled up at them. "I'm not sure if you remember me though, I'm Ashura Riola, thank you for welcoming me back to Alola."

Olivia chuckled. "My we don't see those kinds of manners around here often."

Ash resisted the urge to rub his neck in embarrassment. Luckily, Hala saved him from his embarrassment. "This man here is Professor Kukui, he's one of our local professors and works as a teacher at the nearby school. He thought it would be good for the students to get a peek at another culture." He motioned to the Professor.

The man in question thrust his hand towards Ash, a warm grin on his face despite the fact that Rio growled warningly at him. Ash glanced at his partner, assuring him he was fine before accepting the man's hand. "Nice to meet you young man!" Professor Kukui was very tall with tanned skin and dark hair, his lab coat was just barely covering his bare chest and sweatpants hung loosely on his hips, overall he seemed warm, and very easy going. He was nothing like the other professors Ash had met previously, who were usually well dressed and a tad bit tight shouldered. Ash liked him.

"Nice to meet you too Perfessor." Ash pulled his hand back, and Rio stopped growling. "Are these your students?" He inclined his head towards the gathering of teens, who shifted uneasily at being addressed.

"Yes!" The Professor jumped at the opportunity. "Left to right these are; Lana," "Hi!" "Mallow," "Hello." "Lily is hiding behind them," "N-Nice to meet you.", "Kiawe," "Hmph." "and finally; Sophocles." "Hi or whatever.". As a whole, the group looked to be about 15, maybe 16. "I was hoping, if you have the time, if you could come to my class to talk a bit about Kanto. I know it's a lot to ask, so only if you have the time to spare."

"I'll see what I can do, at the very least I can maybe extend my time here a day longer to talk to them on my last day, though I'd have to talk to my sister about it." The idea actually sounded pretty fun, most of his meetings focused around trades, and deals, it would be a nice change to be able to talk about his home region outside of just 'we can trade this for this' followed by some business man trying to shove their daughter into his face.

"That would be great, thank you." Professor Kukui sighed in relief.

Hala finally stepped in, regaining Ash's attention. "Would you like to be taken to where you are staying and rest for the rest of the day? We can always talk tomorrow, I'm sure the plane ride was a long journey."

"Thank you for the offer, but we're okay. I'd actually like to get a basic explanation done today so we can get right to work tomorrow if thats okay." Ash explained.

"Then should we start with a tour of our islands as we talk?" Olivia offered, taking a step forward only to fall.

Ash tried to hold back a good natured laugh, but when the other Kahuna's and the Professor started laughing, he couldn't hold it back any more and laughed along with them. Once they all calmed down, Ash reached his hand out to help her up. "That sounds like a good idea. When I visited last time I only got to see Melemele Island."

Since they were already on the island, the tour started with Melemele Island, before moving to Akala, Ula'ula, and lastly Poni Island. Olivia proudly showed off her Island, dragging them around to see all the Island had to offer as quickly as she could in between them talking business. In comparison, Nanu was blase about his tour, not to say he was rude or hated his Island, Ash was just sure the man had other things he rather be doing than showing Ash around. The final Island they were checking out was Poni Island. The fourth Kahuna had yet to be chosen, so it was up to the other three Kahuna's to show Ash around, though admittedly they didn't know the area as well as they knew their own Islands.

"You don't have to tell me, but is there a reason a fourth Kahuna hasn't been chosen yet? I was pretty sure there was a fourth Kahuna when I was last here, wasn't there?" Ash inclined his head towards the older people as they walked down the thick path towards, what Kahuna's had called, the Ruins of Hope.

Kahuna Hala hummed thoughtfully. "We don't choose the Kahuna after us." The robust man explained. "Yes we can raise those after us in hopes of them being chosen, but truthfully, the decision is left up to the Tapus, Tapu Fini in particular is the one that chooses the Kahuna for Poni Island."

"The Tapus are similar to Mew in the Kanto Region, or Arceus in the Sinnoh Region, kid." Nanu explained boredly. "There are four of them, Tapu Koko who watches over Melemele Island, Tapu Lele who watches over Akala Island, Tapu Bulu watches over Ula'ula Island, and Tapu Fini takes care of Poni Island. As the guardians of the Islands, they choose the Kahunas, even if you don't really wanna be involved." Nanu ended his sentence with a slightly bitter sounding grumble.

Subconsciously, Ash raised his hand to scratch under Mew's chin, causing the disguised Pokemon to chirp happily.

Olivia spoke up next. "Honestly, there is someone we thought for sure Tapu Fini would choose, and to be honest, it seemed they almost wanted to choose her, but…." Olivia trailed off.

"It almost seems like they're waiting for something." Hala finished, eyes sparking in a way that made Ash feel like the man knew more than he was letting on. "Though, to be honest, not even we really know what they're waiting for. We can't really finish the Pokemon League plans without the fourth Kahuna's input, but we figured we may as well start the project and catch the fourth Kahuna up once they're chosen."

Ash made a vague sound of understanding before his mind drifted. Due to them talking, nobody realized a fog had started to roll in the closer they got to the Ruins of Hope, and Ash blink wildly in surprise. He turned around to address the Kahuna's again, but the fog was so thick he couldn't see them. "Rio."

"Cario!" Rio barked, stepping closer to Ash.

"Mew." As soon as Ash said its name, Mew transformed from a Pikachu, into a Joltic, and buried itself safely into the front pocket of Ash's shirt. Glancing at his partner, they shared a nod before both shut their eyes.

Ash inhaled as hazy blue took over his vision, becoming clouded with the aura that leaked from every living thing. Now that they could see, Ash and Rio pressed forward, heading towards the ruins that laid just ahead. Distantly, Ash could pick up the aura of the Kahuna, but they too were headed for the ruins, if at a much slower pace.

Upon reaching the ruins, the fog stopped. It still surrounded the outside of the ruins like a protective cloud, but it no longer lingered around Ash and Rio to the point that they couldn't see a hand even if it were in front of their faces. Ash and Rio scanned the surrounding ruins, watching for any threats before they both opened their eyes. Ash winced, the onslaught of light irritating to his eyes before they adjusted properly again. When he could finally see again, his eyes focused on the Pokemon that floated just before him.

The Pokemon was unlike anything Ash had seen before. They looked almost like a mermaid cast in swordfish armor, with clear, curious blue eyes. 'Tapu Fini,' his mind supplied. It stared at Ash oddly, clicking and tilting its head curiously before raising their arms and shooting a thick stream of water towards Ash. Rio snarled, jumping in front of Ash and using Aura Sphere to block the blast of water, resulting in Ash only getting barely sprayed. Rio readied himself to jump at Tapu Fini, but Ash stopped him, shaking away the water droplets from his hair.

"Hold on Rio, look where we are." Rio halted immediately, glancing around at the delicate stone structures, relics of the past that just barely remained as a reminder of a civilization long since gone. Rio grunted in disagreement, but in the end caved and jumped back as Ash pulled out a different Pokeball. Rio knew Ash better than anyone, except maybe Mew, he knew the last thing Ash would ever want was to cause harm to something so ancient and spiritual, in a way it would be like spitting on the Tree of Beginning, and that was the last thing Ash would ever let happen. "Mawile, I choose you!"

"Wile!" Mawile jumped breezily out of her Pokeball, staring at Tapu Fini in mild awe. But that awe melted as soon as she saw the water droplets clinging to her trainer's face. "Ma!" Mawile growled, eyes narrowing at who she now realized was an opponent.

"Play Rough!"

Mawile launched herself at Tapu Fini, who easily jumped and dodged out of the way, only for Mawile to swing her mouth-horn, and grab hold of them. In retaliation, Tapu Fini used Whirlpool creating a vortex of spinning water around her. While Tapu Fini sat leisurely in the water, Mawile was dealt damage after damaged front he spinning waves.

Ash bit his lip as he thought quickly. "Use the Whirlpool to strengthen your Fairy Wind!" Mawile's jaws released and Mawile let herself be picked up by the water, using the spinning to boost herself as pink glittering winds wrapped around her, propelling her out of the water and simultaneously destroying the Whirlpool.

Tapu Fini didn't rest though, and shot a strong Hydro Pump at Mawile, who was just barely able to dodge as Tapu Fini kept firing one Hydro Pump after the other. Mawile was exhausted, the repeated damage of the Whirlpool had exhausted her, as had continuously dodging Hydro Pumps, which seemed to fire faster and faster.

"Fairy Wind, kick up the dust."

Mawile nodded at Ash, recognising the code for what it was. Mawile spun on her heal and Fairy Wind lashed out, tearing towards Taou Fini like quick lashes that the Tapu had no trouble avoiding. However, the Fairy Wind was also running against the ground, picking up dust and dirt and clouding the area while Tapu Fini was too distracted to notice. Mawile's head and horns then flashed, turning hard as iron before she launched herself at Tapu Fini, hiding amongst the thick kicked up dust and dirt. Her head slammed into Tapu Fini, causing them to cry out in shock at getting hit. Tapu Fini quickly turned, hitting Mawile away with another strong Hydro Pump. Mawile cried out, falling to the ground and skitting towards Ash. She laid their for a minute before fighting to pull herself back up to her feet.

"Are you alright Mawile?" Ash asked, crouching down to her level.

"Ma-wile!" Mawile panted harshly, but nodded. Across from them, Tapu Fini raised her arms, and Mawile prepared for another attack. However, instead of another blast, a vibrant pink pulse of energy shot forward, and Mawile purred at the pleasant feeling as her injuries were washed away. "Wile~"

"They healed you." Ash said in surprise, awe ebbing at the edge of his voice. Smiling, Ash looked up at the hovering Tapu. "Thank you Tapu Fini."

Tapu Fini crooned in response before suddenly retreating into their shell. The Shell seemed to move and bang around before Tapu Fini emerged once again, and floated over. Mawile, Rio, and even Mew, tensed up, but Ash didn't. Unwavering, he met Tapu Fini's eyes without fear, and they seemed thrilled as they held something out towards him. Wordlessly, Ash accepted whatever they offered, cupping it gently in his hands as he observed it. It was a white bracelet-like band of some sort, white in color with sharp, jagged edges and an odd grey crystal in the center. Vaguely, Ash could remember seeing the same band on the Kahuna's, Professor, and even the students in the Professor's class, and thought back to his study material.

"This is a…Z-Ring, right?" He asked tentatively, and Tapu Fini trilled in agreement. Before Ash could ask anything else, a loud set of claps grabbed his attention. Standing off to the side of the ruins were the three Kahuna's, Hala was clapping with a large grin in pride while Olivia waved happily at him and Nanu slumped against a tree.

"I see Tapu Fini has finally chosen Poni Island's Kahuna." Hala said, sounding rather pleased with himself.

It took Ash's brain a minute to understand what he heard, but once he fully comprehended it, his green went wide and he stared back and forth between the, far too pleased with itself, Tapu, and the also rather smug Kahuna.

'Well,' Ash thought dryly, 'My life just got a whole lot more complicated.'