The night settled in quietly after the celebration.
The restaurant lights dimmed, plates emptied, laughter faded into satisfied groans. Brock handled the bill after a brief, very loud argument with Ash over who would pay, and Brock actually had to restrain Ash so he wouldn't run off to pay anyway. Meanwhile, Max kept slowly pushing his plan further, starting with making Ash sit next to May.
Back at the hotel, goodnights were exchanged.
May lingered at Ash's door for half a second longer than necessary, "…Thanks," she said softly, "For today. For everything."
Ash smiled, "You earned it, May. Get some rest."
She nodded, then headed down the hall, ribbon case hugged close to her chest.
Doors closed.
Lights went out.
Silence.
Ash lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling, hands folded behind his head. He waited about thirty minutes, until he was sure everyone was asleep. Then he got out of bed, revealing he had never changed into his pajamas, he was still in his jeans and jacket.
Pikachu and Vee looked groggy, but they knew what Ash was doing, so they dragged themselves up and popped into Ash's backpack. Ash put on his shoes, then picked up the bag and gestured with his finger for Vee and Pikachu to be quiet.
He got Ralts out of her Poké Ball, and before she could let out a cry, Ash put a finger to her little mouth. He whispered in her ear, "Ralts, can you get us to the woods?"
Ralts tilted her head and nodded. Then, as quietly as she could, she began glowing, and, pop, they were gone from the hotel.
Ash and his Pokémon reappeared outside, landing near the beach. Ash almost fell on his face, but he caught himself and landed on his feet as Ralts appeared on his head.
"You're getting better at that, but let's keep working on it," Ash told her as he turned and started walking through the dark streets.
The town was quiet. There were still people working the graveyard shift. As Ash passed a convenience store, he stopped and bought some sandwich ingredients, paid, and left.
He stepped back outside, the bell above the convenience store door chiming softly before going quiet again. Ash adjusted the strap of his bag.
Ralts shifted on his head, peeking around with curious eyes. Pikachu and Vee stayed quiet in the bag, unusual for them, but they knew better tonight.
Ash cut toward the edge of town as he passed the last row of buildings. The ocean murmured somewhere behind him, steady and distant. Ahead, the road darkened, winding into trees and tall grass, as he skipped around Route 110 and headed for Route 103.
He walked into the forest, going deep to a place he knew no one would see him. Sure, there were some random Pokémon around, but since Ash could use Aura, most Pokémon out at that time were friendly to him, or simply ignored him.
As for the reason he was out here, well, it was obvious. It was feeding time for his dino bikes, Koraidon and Miraidon. Sure, the hibernation function on the Poké Balls let them go a few days without food, but in the end, they would still need to eat eventually.
So Ash walked until he found a nice rock. He went and sat down and began using the ingredients to make a few sandwiches. When he finished, he pulled out the Poké Balls and threw them, letting out Koraidon and Miraidon.
As soon as they got out, Koraidon and Miraidon immediately tried to make themselves small. Sure, Ash had made a little progress, but they were still afraid of everything, since this was all new to them. I mean, think about it: one day they were chilling, then they got pulled through a portal, then got beaten and crippled by another version of themselves, after that captured and dragged into a journey in a place they'd never seen before.
So it was kind of justifiable that they were scared out of their minds.
But hunger beat their fear, and seeing Ash put some sandwiches down for them, they gulped and approached again, slowly.
Ash stayed seated on the rock, quiet and still, letting Koraidon and Miraidon eat at their own pace.
Ralts stayed perched on his head, hands resting lightly in his hair. Ash picked her up, put her on his lap, and started rubbing her head.
Once the dinos were focused on eating, Ash pulled his phone out and unlocked it, lowering the brightness until it barely glowed, and decided to check in on Victoria.
PokemonEnjoyer: you up?
BlazingTorch: …you have awful timing, but yeah. what's up
PokemonEnjoyer: checking in. how's Kiki doing tonight? i don't have to go back over there, do i
BlazingTorch: she's better. tired, but stable. Aura's still… messy sometimes, but better than before
PokemonEnjoyer: yeah, being corrupted and then cured will do that to you. any pain spikes?
BlazingTorch: mild. nothing like before. she says it feels 'warm' now instead of sharp, which i'm choosing to believe is progress and not her being poetic
PokemonEnjoyer: that's actually a good sign. warmth usually means it's circulating properly
BlazingTorch: figures you'd say that. you're still doing everything backwards and somehow getting results
PokemonEnjoyer: self-taught has its perks 😛
PokemonEnjoyer: speaking of which, how's the training going on your end?
BlazingTorch: exhausting, frustrating, terrifying… also kind of amazing. kiki's got better control than she thinks
PokemonEnjoyer: yep. nerfing yourself all your life will do that
BlazingTorch: you did not just call getting corrupted a nerf
PokemonEnjoyer: am i wrong?
BlazingTorch: …i'm not gonna answer
BlazingTorch: but… thanks for what you did. i don't say that enough
PokemonEnjoyer: you say it plenty, and you don't need to thank me
BlazingTorch: you almost burned yourself out saving someone you'd just met. you don't get to say that
PokemonEnjoyer: finnnnneee, i guess i'll accept. anyway, how is the meteor situation? anything on your end?
BlazingTorch: oh yeah, almost forgot. well, nothing yet, but some of the people from my dojo said they saw some things. we don't know 100%, but i'll keep you updated on that
BlazingTorch: and… never mind
PokemonEnjoyer: let me guess. is it cal-related?
BlazingTorch: please don't say that name. i still can't… i'm not ready to talk about that. just… there were some stupid apology attempts or whatever, with him trying to give me info, but honestly, i don't care
PokemonEnjoyer: That's a view. A fair one, considering he almost got you and Kiki killed.
BlazingTorch: I know… but thanks for not trying to tell me I should forgive him for what he did.
PokemonEnjoyer: I mean, duh. It doesn't matter that he regrets it, he still did it. Why is Kiki trying to forgive him?
BlazingTorch: She's… I love Kiki. She's like the mom I never had. But I think she's too loving. She still wants to think of Cal as her student, not as the person who almost got her killed. And I'm just not ready for that conversation. I just… I can't believe I ever saw something in him.
PokemonEnjoyer: I'm not gonna pry into that last part. Let's change the subject, anything else?
BlazingTorch: Thanks. And yeah, actually. I've got another friend, you probably never met him. His name's Cain, and he said he saw some activity.
PokemonEnjoyer: Wait. Cain? Is he purple, and very fruity?
BlazingTorch: …That describes him way too well. So you do know him?
PokemonEnjoyer: Yeah, I ran into him once. And he… well, he's quite a guy.
BlazingTorch: Oh no. He tried to flirt with you, didn't he?
PokemonEnjoyer: I'm not gonna answer that.
BlazingTorch: …I'll talk to Cain later. But yeah, he saw some stuff. I'll keep you updated on my side.
PokemonEnjoyer: K. I'm gonna finish up what I'm doing, then go to bed. Night.
BlazingTorch: Good night.
–
Ash turned off his phone and leaned back. Well, that text actually answered a few things for him. For one, it gave him a general timeline of events. He knew the story of Reborn, but he didn't know exactly what stage they were in, especially because Reborn wasn't a region.
But since there hadn't been any reports, he could rest a little easier. Now, granted, that did not mean Ash was letting his guard down, that's what D was around for, but it did mean he could focus on other matters.
Apparently, Victoria already knew Cain, which opened up a whole new can of worms, especially because from what Ash had seen when he met Cain, he was, and had not been, a Gym Leader. Granted, Ash hadn't asked about his family, so he could be wrong, but you never knew.
All of this just kept getting more and more complicated, and frankly, Ash was tired of it. Still, he could at least try to make the best of it.
When he looked back over at Koraidon and Miraidon, he saw that they had finally finished their sandwiches and were now watching him cautiously.
Ash held out his hand to them, carefully softening his Aura, hoping they would warm up to him enough to let him pat them.
Koraidon huffed, a low rumble in its chest. It took one hesitant step closer, claws digging into the dirt. Miraidon followed, its movements smoother but no less tense, angling its body just enough to keep an escape route open.
Ash smiled faintly.
"Yeah," he murmured, "That's good. You're doing great."
Koraidon leaned in first, nostrils flaring as it sniffed Ash's hand. Miraidon scanned him from head to toe, processors whirring softly, as if double-checking every input it had learned since… everything.
Ash let them decide.
After a long, fragile moment, Koraidon nudged his palm with its snout.
Just barely.
Ash didn't move, except to let his fingers curl slightly, resting against the warm, living scale beneath them.
"There we go," he whispered.
Miraidon hesitated longer. Then, cautiously, it lowered its head as well, not touching, but close enough that Ash could feel the faint hum of energy radiating from it. He shifted his hand just enough to brush the smooth plating near its jaw.
Miraidon flinched.
Ash froze.
A second passed.
Then Miraidon… didn't pull away.
It exhaled, a soft, synthetic sigh, tension bleeding out of its frame like power draining from a capacitor.
Ash finally let himself breathe, "That's it," he said quietly, "You're safe. I've got you."
The forest remained still, night insects chirping softly, waves whispering far off beyond the trees. For the first time since they'd been dragged into this world, neither Koraidon nor Miraidon looked like they were bracing for the next disaster.
After a while, Koraidon settled heavily beside the rock, curling its tail close. Miraidon folded its limbs more neatly, posture still guarded, but no longer rigid.
Ash stayed with them until the moon climbed higher, until Ralts began to nod off against his chest, until Pikachu peeked out of the bag and yawned so wide it nearly tipped him over.
"All right," Ash said softly, "That's enough excitement for one night."
He recalled the two bikes gently. That was pretty good progress, at this rate, Ash might be able to let them out near people soon enough.
Ash stood up, about ready to head back, when suddenly he felt a pulse in his Aura coming from somewhere deeper in the forest. He recognized that energy, it was similar to Celebi.
He furrowed his brow and turned toward the source. It was faint, but he could still feel it. Ash looked around, and by that point Ralts perked up, noticing his reaction. She tilted her head, confused.
Pikachu and Vee noticed Ash scanning the area, so they climbed out of his bag and went on alert.
Ash put a finger to his lips, gesturing for them to be quiet, then returned Ralts to her Poké Ball and started moving, with Pikachu and Vee following close behind.
He moved through the forest and eventually reached what looked like a dead end, a small grotto of trees. But Ash couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. When he focused on it with Aura, it only confirmed his suspicion. The tree looked almost fake, not an illusion, but something else. Like it was showing a tree that used to be there, even though it wasn't anymore.
Ash waved his hand at it. With a little pressure, his hand passed straight through. He frowned and pushed forward, stepping fully into the tree.
When he emerged on the other side, he opened his eyes to a hidden grotto. As he stepped in and finally saw what he had sensed, his eyes widened.
There were two people he recognized, and two Pokémon.
One of the Pokémon was a Celebi. It looked like one of the earliest Celebi variations; since all Celebi are effectively the same being at different points in time, this one was probably from before it had ever met Ash.
Nearby stood a girl encouraging Celebi through some kind of training. She had long green hair and blue eyes, wore a green tank top and a blue skirt, and Ash recognized her as Nora from Pokémon Insurgence.
Beside her was a boy with pale white hair and green eyes, wearing a green sweater and a bandana around his neck. Ash recognized him as Damien from Pokémon Insurgence. Resting atop his head was a Shaymin, curled comfortably.
For the moment, Ash went unnoticed. Then the girl called out, "All right, you can do it, Celebi! I believe in you!"
Celebi swirled happily, clapping its little hands together. Another pulse rippled through the air, and from the ground, saplings rapidly grew into full trees, only for Celebi to immediately reverse time, shrinking them back into saplings again.
"Yeah! All our hard work finally paid off!" Nora pumped her fists in victory.
"I can't believe how far we've-" Damien began, but he was cut off when Shaymin stirred, lifting its head to sniff the air. Its eyes opened.
And locked directly onto Ash.
Shaymin stiffened, it squeaked, hopping upright.
Celebi stopped mid-spin.
Nora frowned, "Hey, what's wrong?"
Damien followed Shaymin's gaze, eyes narrowing slightly as he scanned the shadows.
Ash sighed quietly, "Well," he muttered under his breath, "so much for stealth."
He stepped forward into the moonlight.
Instantly, Celebi zipped back toward Nora, hovering defensively between her and Ash, wings glowing faintly. Shaymin bristled, petals flaring.
Nora spun around, "Who are you—?!"
She stopped short.
Ash raised both hands in surrender, "Uh, hey, I'm not trying to do anything. I just walked in."
Nora gulped, not really processing what Ash said, she was more worried about something else, "What did you see?"
Ash was about to answer, but Nora spoke again, more urgently, stepping closer to him, "Look, I—I don't know who you are, but you can't tell anyone about this! You need to promise me!"
Then a soft, familiar laugh echoed from seemingly nowhere. Even Ash looked confused, until recognition hit. He knew that laugh anywhere. Almost on cue, the Mew face on his ring began to glow.
Moments later, Mew fluttered down from the trees, laughing playfully, and landed right on top of Ash's head as if it belonged there. Carefree as ever, it gave a cheerful wave to its old friend, Celebi.
Nora's eyes went wide as Celebi zipped up to Mew and Mew hopped down, the two of them immediately starting to play together, "Is that… could it be? Amazing, you were chosen by Mew?"
"Um… I guess? Well, it's more like Mew follows me around and helps out whenever it feels like it," Ash said, coughing awkwardly into his hand.
"I thought we were the only ones," Damien finally said as he stepped forward, still hugging Shaymin close to his chest, "But if you were chosen too… hmm." He glanced at Nora, clearly asking if they should explain.
Nora took a steadying breath, her shoulders rising and falling as Celebi drifted back to her side. Mew, meanwhile, made itself comfortable atop Ash's head, tail swishing lazily as if this were all perfectly normal.
"…Okay," Nora said at last, "I should probably explain."
She looked to Damien, who gave a small nod, then back to Ash.
"A long time ago," Nora began, her voice quieter now, more careful, "there was a prophecy written. Nobody knows it word for word anymore, time kind of does that, but my parents used to tell me pieces of it when I was younger."
Celebi hovered closer, its glow softening, as if it were listening too.
"Basically," she continued, "there's supposed to be a disaster. Something big. World-ending big. And when it happens, everything is supposed to fall apart." She gave a small, humorless smile, "But of course, there's also a hero. Because prophecies love balance like that."
She smiled faintly, self-aware, "Yeah, I know. Super cliché. But that's how prophecies work, right?"
Ash stayed quiet, arms relaxed at his sides, Aura calm and open. Mew leaned forward slightly, clearly interested.
"The prophecy says that when that disaster comes," Nora went on, "a hero will emerge to stop it. And they'll be chosen by a legendary Pokémon, specifically one of the Illusory ones, like Mew, Victini, Hoopa, etc."
She hesitated, then let out a slow breath, "After I met Celebi… I didn't tell anyone. Not for a long time. I was terrified."
"I wasn't ready to be a hero," Nora admitted, "I didn't even know if I was one. I just knew I had to hide, to avoid another cliché prophecy situation where the hero gets kidnapped or something." She rolled her eyes, emphasizing her point with her hands.
"Yeah, it was the same with me," Damien finally spoke up, "When I met Shaymin, I didn't know any of this. We were just having fun. Then we met Nora, and she gave me the same explanation. One thing led to another, and now we're here."
Damien shrugged a little, "We thought it was just us. But to be fair, it makes sense. Heck, we might not even be who the prophecy's talking about. Maybe it's some person on the other side of the world who gave Hoopa a donut or something." He laughed to himself, "We can only hope."
Ash exhaled slowly, processing everything. His eyes flicked to Mew, who gave him an innocent smile and a wave.
"…Right," Ash said, "So. About that."
Nora looked at him fully now, "You really didn't know?"
Ash scratched the back of his head, "I mean, I've heard a lot of prophecies. End-of-the-world stuff kind of follows me around." He gestured vaguely.
Damien blinked, "…You're joking."
"I wish," Ash said lightly. Then, softer, "Mew just showed up one day. And never left. It sometimes helped me with some stuff that you wouldn't believe if I told you, so I'm not even going to try."
"Well, if Mew chose you, then the prophecy could be talking about any of us," Nora said, "And like Damien said, there may be others. So you need to promise you can't let anyone know about us. We don't even know what the thing is that's supposedly going to end the world."
"Or if it's even one thing," Ash tried to mutter, but accidentally said it out loud.
Nora and Damien both froze, then immediately exchanged looks of dread.
"Oh… that is a good point," Nora muttered.
She rubbed her arms, suddenly very aware of how quiet the grotto had become, "Okay. That's… not comforting."
Damien let out a slow breath, Shaymin shifting on his shoulder as if sensing his unease, "If it's not one single disaster, then that means we can't just… wait for a sign. Or prep for one event."
"Yeah," Ash said quietly, "Welcome to my life."
Mew snickered softly, its tail flicking against Ash's hair as it stole his hat and plopped it on its own head. Ash reached up and gently nudged it aside, "You are not helping."
There was a moment of silence, less tense now, more contemplative. The initial shock had faded, replaced with the uneasy understanding that none of them were wrong… and none of them were fully right, either.
"So," Nora said at last, straightening her posture, "We don't know what the prophecy actually refers to. We don't know when. We don't know where. And apparently, we might not be the only candidates."
"Which means," Damien added, "we shouldn't disappear on each other."
Ash reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone, "Yeah. That was going to be my suggestion."
Nora hesitated only a second before smiling and doing the same, "Guess this is the part where we exchange numbers like normal people and pretend this conversation wasn't about the end of the world."
"Normal is relative," Ash said dryly.
The three of them quickly exchanged numbers and made a group chat so they could keep each other updated. As they did, Mew floated down between Celebi and Shaymin, booping both of them in quick succession before zipping back up to Ash's shoulder, clearly pleased with itself. It then tossed Ash's hat back onto his head.
Nora glanced down at her phone, paused, then met Ash's eyes, "Hey… thanks. For not freaking out."
Ash snorted, "Trust me, this is nothing." That earned a chuckle from both of them.
"So we'll keep in touch," Damien said with a small smile, "If anything happens on your end, or if you need help, you can text us."
"Same to you guys. See ya around," Ash replied with a smile and a wave as he headed back the way he came, while Nora and Damien went off in the opposite direction.
When Ash reached the tree again, Mew stopped in front of him, booped him, and then Pikachu and Vee, on the nose, before flying off, leaving them behind to watch the little cat-like Pokémon soar toward the moon.
Ash sighed as he pulled out a Poké Ball and let Ralts out. He reached down and picked up Pikachu and Vee, then looked at Ralts, "Well, let's see how you do. Can you take us back?"
Ralts nodded and concentrated. They glowed, then vanished, reappearing back in the hotel. Unfortunately, Ash found himself standing on the bed, which meant his dirty shoes were now on the sheets.
"…Great," Ash muttered.
He jumped off the bed and headed to the bathroom to actually change, letting Pikachu, Vee, and Ralts find their own places to sleep.
When Ash returned, now properly in pajamas, he laid down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He sighed. First it was Reborn, now Insurgence. If both of those were happening, then things were really going to get annoying to deal with.
Ash nearly groaned into his pillow. Since when did he have to deal with all of this? The last time legendaries were involved, he almost died, multiple times. Sure, he knew OG Ash technically died like fifteen times, but that didn't mean he wanted to add to the count.
He sighed again. That was tomorrow-Ash's problem. He'd think of a plan later. At least now he knew this might become an issue. Did that mean he'd be able to fix it?
…No idea.
For now, his thoughts drifted back to Nora, and especially Damien. If they were here, there was a real possibility that certain… things could happen. And with Damien in particular, there was the incident.
The Pokérus incident.
Yeah. Ash really didn't want to think about that.
If he could stop it, he would. He'd make sure it never happened. But if not… well, let's just say Ash might have to start studying how to separate DNA.
But again, that was tomorrow-Ash's problem.
For now, he was going to sleep.