Chapter 8

Ash, Dawn, Sam, and Brock bade goodbye to the others and rushed off to the Pokemon Center, Brock being allowed to tag along given his position as a former gym leader involving him with the defenses against Team Rocket. They entered the large building where they were directed by a Nurse Joy to a small room on the second floor which had been set up as a secure treatment area. They found the six champions and Mr. Goodshow standing outside the room waiting for them. Two members of the police force stood guard at the door. The first champion to notice the arrival of the foursome was Diantha.

"Hello, Ash!" Diantha greeted with a warm smile. "And Dawn, Sam, it's good to see you again! We're just waiting here while Nurse Joy does a final checkup on Rotom."

"Hi, Diantha." Ash replied. "Brock, this is Diantha, world-renowned actress and champion of the Kalos region. We met her when the three of us went on a journey through Kalos about three years ago. Diantha, this is our friend Brock, Pokemon Doctor and former Pewter City Gym Leader."

The two exchanged 'nice to meet you's as all the other champions came and greeted the newcomers. Diantha turned back to Ash once she was done.

"Ash, I've been meaning to ask you something if you don't mind."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Well, three years ago I had been very interested to see how you would do in the Kalos League. You were so determined and your Pokemon were doing so well when we met months before the tournament. Wulfric confirmed for me that you got your eighth gym badge, but you never showed at the league. If you don't mind my asking, I was wondering what happened?"

The other champions and Brock all looked at Ash in surprise, none of them having been aware of his going for and missing the Kalos league. Ash fixed a closed, emotionless look on his face and turned to Diantha.

"Wasn't able to make it there in time," he said simply. Diantha looked like she was about to say something more when Sam surreptitiously sent her a fierce look telling her to drop it. Brock exchanged a look with the champions, none of them knowing what that had been about, although Brock had a tiny bit more of a clue than the others.

After a short, awkward silence, Steven spoke up.

"So here's what may seem like a stupid question, but how exactly do we interrogate a Pokemon?"

Ash turned to the Hoenn champion, a wry half-smirk on his face. "Like this," he said simply, pulling a pokeball from his belt and throwing it up in the air. When the light faded, the champions all looked confused, but Brock gasped.

"Mewtwo?!"

"Hello, Brock. It is good to see you again," the purple sort-of-legendary Pokemon said in his deep psychic voice. The other champions all looked astounded.

"You can talk?" asked Alder.

"You are very observant," Mewtwo deadpanned in reply, earning snorts from Ash and Sam and a giggle from Dawn.

"I've never seen a species of Pokemon like you before, even in pictures," Cynthia stated.

Brock opened his mouth to explain, before closing it and look to Ash and Mewtwo, the former of whom shrugged at the latter to let him know it was his choice.

"You may tell them the story." The champions all turned to listen intently to what Brock had to say.

"Almost ten years ago, Team Rocket somehow managed to obtain a DNA sample from the legendary Mew. Their scientists were able to use the sample as a base for a cloning procedure, but it became more than that. They modified the genome in an attempt to create an even more powerful Pokemon, which they intended to enslave in order to assist them in their efforts to take control of the world. The result was Mewtwo."

Ash, Dawn, Sam, Brock, Pikachu, and Mewtwo found themselves with the extremely amusing and incredibly rare opportunity to watch some of the most well-known, powerful, and wise trainers in the world gaping at them like fish.

Lance was the first to find his voice, albeit briefly. "How do you know this?"

"Mewtwo eventually managed to get away from his creators. He set up a hiding place on Mount Quena in the Johto region, where he took in a group of Pokemon he'd met along the way (he didn't notice the others exchange wry looks, Dawn and Sam having been told the story).

Team Rocket eventually found him and launched an attack, but with some help from us, Mewtwo was able to fight them off. He was able to use his power to wipe all of their memories of his existence, and sent them away. That was the last I ever saw of him."

"Yes, and in the process of the battle I learned that simply hiding from the dangers of the world would never be enough to keep myself and my charges safe," Mewtwo himself took over. "We set off, seeking to experience the world and its wonders. But during our travels we came to feel empty, with no place to truly call home. Several of my brethren eventually found places for themselves, settling down around the world, but the rest of us kept traveling, searching. Several years ago we were passing Mount Silver, where we found the area under attack by poachers. We attempted to assist them, but they were too numerous and their technology too powerful."

"We were called in by the ranger service to help when they found out the poachers were on the way," Dawn took over the story. "We found a large number of the Pokemon already captured, and the rest, including Mewtwo, on their last legs."

"I was quite surprised to see Ash there, with different companions no less, but they came just in time. Their tactics were… inventive, but effective."

"Translation," cut in Sam, "I led most of the Pokemon in a Bonsai charge from the front while Ash and Dawn snuck around, hijacked one of those giant mechas that seem to be available at 'Bad Guys 'R Us' these days and used it to ram the other mecha off a mountain. Would've gone perfectly if Ash hadn't managed to perform an incredible feat of engineering in managing to overload the control panel just steering the blasted thing. They had to jump out as it was spinning around out of control so we could blow it up."

Several laughs and snickers greeted the story while Ash and Dawn both rolled their eyes fondly. Once the chuckling died down, Mewtwo continued.

"Once the battle was over, Ash and the others proceeded to assist in the cleanup, assisting us and the other injured while taking the poachers into custody. As I observed him, I could feel a certain amount of his naïveté had been destroyed. I had always wondered how this would affect him once it happened, but I could still see the same attitude of kindness and compassion, of making a home for himself and his Pokemon, whom he saw as his family. I started wondering if perhaps I too could find the home I had been looking for with him. As he and I interacted, we came to see the potential for a bond between us which could fill a need we both had. Myself and several of my brethren eventually elected to remain with Ash and his family, while the rest had found their own homes on Mount Silver."

"What do you mean by a bond between the two of you?" asked Alder curiously.

Ash fielded the question. "You know that I am an aura guardian. But I was still missing a key component of the process- an aura partner."

"You mean an aura using Pokemon?" Cynthia piped up. "I thought aura guardians' partners were Lucarios, or some scholars believe the Mienfoo family might work as well, but that's all."

"Well, Lucario is the most clearly understandable aura species, because that species develops a deep bond with aura naturally, whether they have a human partner or not. The speculation about Mienfoo began due to a large noticeable similarity between the species. But the real story is a little more complicated.

All Pokemon have a greater natural affinity with their own aura, which is how they develop elemental attacks. What humans who can manipulate aura can do is interact with and harness the aura around them. Their partner has to be a Pokemon with whom they have the beginnings of a deep bond, as they need to build their aura senses together, and one who can interact with aura as a whole, not just their own. In other words, a Pokemon whose species can naturally learn aura sphere."

"And Mewtwo can?" Lance surmised.

"Yup."

"What about Dawn? She's demonstrated aura abilities as well." Cynthia continued.

Ash turned to look at Dawn and smiled. "An aura guardian who shares a deep bond with another person, generally the kind of bond between life mates, can help them develop a manipulation of aura themselves."

"So who's Dawn's partner?" asked Brock.

Dawn turned to Brock and smiled wryly. "Come on, Brock. You know of a Pokemon I have who can learn Aura Sphere naturally."

"Togekiss?" Brock replied confusedly. "But Ash just said that it needs to be a Pokemon they still need to build a deeper bond with. You already had Togekiss for a while before you started learning about your aura."

"True, but remember Togekiss used to belong to Salvia before she gave her to me. That meant that while she would listen to me and let me train her, the two of us took longer to build a deeper bond because of her already existing bond with Salvia, meaning we still had far enough to go when we started studying aura together."

The others were looking at the two aura guardians in fascination when the door slid open and Nurse Joy came out, a Chansey on her heels and announced that they could enter. Ash strode right in, Sam and Dawn on his heels.

Rotom was on the lone bed surrounded by a green forcefield infused with ghost-type energy, leaving Rotom unable to phase through it and escape. A similar forcefield blanketed the walls of the room, while two more guards held position next to the inner part of the door.

"Hello, Rotom," Ash said, his voice stern but not threatening. The Ghost- Pokemon responded with a simple huff.

"Come on, Rotom, don't be like that. We just want to ask you some questions," Sam broke in from the other side of Rotom's bed.

"Do whatever you wish to me. I will tell you nothing," Mewtwo translated.

"We wouldn't do that, it's not us, Rotom," Dawn replied. "That's more like the people who sent you."

"I do not see the great difference between you and them."

Sam inclined his head thoughtfully. "Yet you have tried to kill us repeatedly. As you're still breathing, I assume you haven't done the same to them."

"They are at least more direct with their intentions."

Ash and Sam gave each other a look. "Pain training."

Dawn picked up the thread. "They train you by inflicting pain when you do anything other than follow their instructions?"

"Of course."

All of the humans in the room looked at each other. This was going to be even harder than they expected, particularly given the matter of fact way Rotom had spoken.

"Rotom… that is not a normal human training strategy. Quite the opposite in fact- it is illegal. If a person is caught training their Pokemon this way they are punished."

Rotom looked at Ash as though the trainer were treating him like a child. "And yet I have been treated this way since my capture and those who did so were never punished?"

"They've never been captured. They are criminals, but we can't find them. That's why we wanted your help," Dawn replied.

"Why should I believe you? I would never trust a human, not even if the Guardian Ghost himself told me to!"

This elicited blank stares from everyone present.

"Guardian Ghost? Who is the Guardian Ghost?" asked Lance.

Rotom simply stared up at the ceiling, not saying anything.

Ash, Dawn, and Sam exchanged looks, their minds whirling. The others watched curiously as they seemed to come to some kind of conclusion together before Ash and Sam nodded to Dawn who swiftly ran out of the room.

"Where's Dawn going?" asked Brock.

"Don't worry," Ash replied. "She'll be back in a minute or two."

That she was. Although, the moment she came back in, something began happening. It was as though the temperature in the room took a drastic downturn, but they couldn't feel the cold on their skin. Only in their bones. Dawn stepped up to the bed, and in the space next to her, the air began to ripple. Alder and Lance began reaching for Pokeballs only to have their hands caught swiftly by Ash and Sam. The air continued blowing faster and faster in the space next to Dawn, as a black and purple hue began to emanate from the area. It got larger and darker, until finally there hovered a large violet circle, suspended in mid-air. And out of that circle emerged-

"Oh my," Cynthia breathed. "Giratina…"

It was indeed the dragon guardian of the reverse world. The legendary Pokemon hovered over Rotom's bed, finally eliciting a strong reaction from the Ghost-Electric type, which had begun to tremble. After a minute or so of their looking at each other, seemingly silent, Rotom turned to Dawn, Ash, and Sam and began to speak.

"I… apologize for the harm I have attempted to inflict on you. I will answer your questions."

The group of humans left the hospital room fifteen minutes later, Giratina having returned to his dimension and Rotom still needing some rest.

"I can't believe this!" Cynthia exclaimed. "You summoned Giratina just like that! Why didn't Dialga or Palkia interfere? I thought they'd get upset if Giratina crosses into our world?"

"They know not to do anything if Giratina is responding to a call from us," Ash answered with a slightly too smug smile.

"But- how?"

The three partners snorted at Lance's wordy question. "A few years back, we got a request for assistance. Turned out there were humans in the distortion world attempting to capture Giratina-"

"Humans? How did humans get into the reverse world in the first place?" asked Cynthia.

Ash smirked. "Remember Hunter J?"

"J!?" Cynthia gasped. "But I thought she was killed when her ship was destroyed during the capture of the Lake Guardians?"

"Turns out the sinkhole the ship fell into was actually a portal to the reverse world. The ship was badly damaged, and given the lack of available resources in the reverse world it took J and her people quite some time to repair it. But they did, and you can just imagine what J's reaction would be when she realized she was in the reverse world."

Brock nodded. "She'd go after Giratina, hoping to make a-" Brock trailed off and stopped abruptly as his eyes widened in shock (don't ask me how his eyes managed to do that ;)).

"Brock? Something wrong?"

Brock pointed a shaking finger toward Dawn. "That Salamence… it recognized me… it was so powerful… you have J's Salamence!"

Sam burst out laughing. "You catch on quickly, Brock. I'm impressed."

"But- what happened?"

Ash picked up the tale quickly. "The three of us attacked J's ship, although we got separated on board. Dawn ended up going head to head with J. When J realized she was going to lose she tried to sacrifice her Salamence to get away. Fortunately, she ran right into Sam."

"I'm still a little ashamed of how good it felt to hit her," Sam noted wryly.

"Anyway," Ash went on, shaking his head at Sam's antics, "Salamence was naturally a bit put out by what J did, but Dawn stepped in and comforted him. Also, Salamence had seen Dawn's power in their battle and respected her, so he became Dawn's Pokemon. Giratina was also pretty grateful to us, but particularly to Dawn for facing the most danger to save him, so he's usually pretty willing to come if we call for him."

"Wow. You guys don't do things halfway," Lance smirked.

"But how were you able to call for him?" Steven questioned. "And what did you mean that Dialga and Palkia know not to attack him when you call for him? Why would it matter to them?"

The three looked at each other before Ash shook his head. "That's a really long story. For now we need to focus on what we learned. If Rotom was always in a Pokeball on the journey to and from Team Rocket's base he can't help us with it's location."

"Which is even worse since he apparently heard that their mega-evolution machine is complete," Dawn went on.

"It's still in the testing stages, so we have a little time," Alder went on hopefully.

"Not much," Cynthia shook her head sadly, "and that won't help the poor Pokemon who get tested on."

Ash grimaced. "No, it won't," he said softly. "But there's nothing we can do until we can find their base."

"How long until your source comes through?" asked Lance.

"They'll contact us as soon as they can," Dawn replied, "but it won't be easy for them to do. Team Rocket is paranoid to the extreme. They're always on the lookout for the slightest detail that might get their position out."

"So until they call in, there's nothing we can do but wait?" Brock asked.

"Nothing," Sam confirmed. "We've been looking for years and we still aren't even sure what part of the world the base is in. All we can do for now is wait and be ready."

Nobody, including those who said it, were happy to hear that.

Later on that night, Ash's group and the champions were gathered once again waiting to eat dinner in the lobby of the Pokemon Center. Dawn had made her second contest presentation that afternoon using the team of her most seasoned performers, Piplup and Lopunny, and had dazzled the judges spectacularly, leaving her a shoo in for the next round. All of the champions were still in the competition as well, although nobody was really surprised at this. The champions were, for obvious reasons, all fan-favorites, and nobody expected them to go down this early. The group were waiting on line in the cafeteria when they were approached by the Maples, consoling a sad Max.

"Hey Max, what's wrong?" Brock asked, concerned.

"Max lost his battle today," May said sadly.

"That would be bad enough, but that Trip is a real jerk," Max put in angrily. "He insulted all of my Pokemon and my training methods, and the whole Hoenn region!"

Ash closed his eyes. "Guess Trip hasn't changed a bit, huh? Sorry, Max. You guys want to come eat with us?"

Max cheered a little at the small friendly sign from Ash, and the group gratefully agreed. Nobody noticed Dawn giving her fiancé a proud smile and taking his hand.

Conversation was purposely kept light, as most of those present, including the whole group that had been at the interrogation, the two Professor Oaks, and Norman were aware of the building situation with Team Rocket and trying to keep the tension at bay. They were just finishing dessert when another friendly voice joined them.

"Hey, Dawn! Did you see the matchup?"

The bluenette turned to look at the speaker. "Huh? Zoey?"

"Yeah. Looks like tomorrow it's you and me in the first battle round. First time in an official battle since the Sinnoh Grand Festival."

Dawn smiled and held out her hand. "Good luck then, Zoey. You're gonna need it!"

Zoey laughed, taking the hand. "Yeah right. I think you might have that backward."

"We'll see." The two young women laughed happily at that, enjoying the friendly banter.

"Hey, Ash," Sam said, "If the matchups are up…."

"Then I'll be able to see who I'm up against tomorrow! Come on, guys!" Ash yelled, grabbing Dawn's hand and yanking her away, surprised and spluttering, with a laughing Sam following.

"It's nice to see them acting their age, being so excited about their battles," Delia sighed. "They're usually so serious these days. It's not good for them."

"Now, Delia. You know as well as I do, those two have seen an awful lot, and inherited a great deal of responsibility. They've proven themselves. They can handle it."

"How do you know?" Delia asked, starting to get upset. "They still won't tell us what happened over in Kalos! And the little we do know is horrible as it is!"

"I've been giving that some thought," Brock began pondering, before turning to one of the others at the table. "Diantha, you mentioned that Ash was set to enter the Kalos league, but never got there, right?"

The actress/champion nodded.

"That's really not like the Ash I remember at all, and the way they avoided talking about it? I'm betting whatever happened took place specifically during that time the league was going on. Do you remember anything going on in the region that stood out during that time?"

Diantha thought for a moment before her eyes widened, shocked. Clearly, she did remember something.

"I- I never made the connection. I knew they missed the league but…."

"Made what connection, Diantha?" Steven asked.

"I missed a fair bit of the league that year. I was called away on the first day. The police had received an anonymous tip which led them to a restaurant in Lumiose City. Apparently it was a front for Team Flare. The team's headquarters were underneath the building. When the police arrived, they found a large portion of Team Flare, including their commander, Lysandre, along with their Pokemon, beaten and secured. Nobody ever figured out who did it."

The table was gaping.

"A-Ash, Dawn and Sam took on Team Flare's headquarters? By themselves? Why would they do something like that? How could they survive it?" gasped May.

"It kind of makes sense," Gary mused grimly. "It would be a dangerous thing to do, but if anything could make Ash mad enough to both attempt it and actually succeed, it would be-" Gary cut himself off as Ash, Dawn, and Sam returned, startling the group.

"Well Max, it looks like tomorrow I can get a little revenge for the both of us," Ash stated, smiling. "I'm up against Trip!"