Three years later...

Chapter 8 - Three years later...

If you were to take a look at the island from high up in the air, from a helicopter or an airplane, you would think it to be just another tropical island paradise, hidden from the world. You would be partly right, for the island is hidden from the world, but it is not just another tropical island, oh no. This particular island, named New Island, had its very own mini mansion as well as its own pokémon battle and training stadium, which has been home to a group of pokémon who have been training non-stop for the past three years. They have been training religiously, with fiery determination in their hearts, day in and day out, stopping only to rest or to eat. Of course they would have fun and relaxation times but that was only once every week, to keep them from getting too tense and to keep their focus on their goal.

As hard as the group of pokémon has been training, so too has their trainer. He's not like most other trainers, merely barking orders on his pokémon to train while just standing there. No sir. For the better part of the past three years, this raven-haired trainer, who is now a little past nineteen years old, has been training himself in mind, body, spirit and since he's become an Aura Guardian only a few years ago, his aura powers as well. Right now, he was in a mental training session at the stadium with Mewtwo, the world's most powerful legendary psychic pokémon.

"You have improved Ash. I am impressed," said Mewtwo, as he had attempted to dive into the young man's mind again but was pushed out by the boy's own mental prowess after only a couple seconds.

"But you must be ready for anything!" snapped the feline as he sent a mind blast with his telepathy at him.

Ash quickly formed a mental shield around his mind without using his aura powers and the blast was deflected. After stopping the blast, the almost twenty year old collapsed onto his knees, exhausted, as they were in training since morning. Mewtwo had helped Ash develop a little bit of his mental powers just enough to keep others from messing with his mind against his will or at least when conscious.

This is how it went for Ash since they started training. He had done what Arceus has advised him to do. He had used the first year to catch many other pokémon with great potential in both strength and spirit, while training as well. Then from the beginning of the second year, he had set up training regiments for each individual pokémon with the help of Mewtwo and all the research that they have done. Ash had his large group of pokémon work on their weaknesses, increase their strengths, learn new moves, both offensive and defensive, as well as combine certain moves, fighting multiple opponents at once and much more. Each pokémon also had a specific diet made for them, to help them get their vitamins and minerals they needed to stay strong and to grow more powerful.

It was the same for Ash, as he had his own diet now and his own training regiments as well. One day he would focus on his body, working out and sparring with Lucario. The next day he would focus on his mind, getting lessons from Mewtwo in mental communication and in resisting mental attacks, whether by other aura or psychic users, as well as meditation techniques to focus and clear the mind. The third day he would use to practice using his aura powers and abilities with Lucario. From using aura spheres, shields, forming aura weapons such as a sword or hammer, using his aura senses and understanding what they show him, his healing abilities and more. It continued like that, one day body, one day mind, one day aura, and on and on. That was his training. The days where they weren't training with Ash, Lucario and Mewtwo would train with the other pokémon.

"Thanks Mewtwo, but did you have to go so hard on me today?" gasped Ash, as he was still trying to catch his breath.

Mewtwo grinned. "That was more than usual yes, but still barely about a quarter of my full power, and my powers have been growing since I've been training with you. I've been launching stronger attacks at you each time we train."

"That was only a quarter of your power?!" yelped Ash. "I feel like I've been hit by a damn semi truck."

The purple legendary laughed, while Ash got back on his feet slowly, when suddenly his Poketch's alarm went off. He checked it and saw it was one pm. He tapped the screen and dismissed the alarm. He nodded at Mewtwo, who then shot a Shadow Ball up into the air which then exploded into many dark purple sparkles after reaching a good distance. It was the signal for lunch.

They started heading back towards the house, ready to relax for a little while they had their lunch, as it was for one hour. As they reached the kitchen, they passed the other pokémon, some inside the house, some outside, already eating. They had set up a system where each pokémon got their own special food, which involved many attempts to get right that involved a computer, several machines and edible organic matter they got from the many fruit trees and plants on the island, and the vast scores of edible things from the ocean around them.

This system that they built took a long time to perfect, but in the end was worth it because now instead of working hours to prepare food, the system did it for him. All the pokémon had to do was hold up a claw, a paw, hand, wing, beak or other appropriate body part up against the system's scanner, and it would prepare the food for that specific pokémon and send it out from a chute under the scanner. They had built five of these systems so all of the pokémon can get their meals without waiting too long.

Unfortunately, Ash still had to prepare his own food manually, which he didn't mind. It gave him some time to relax and review his training session. As he prepared his lunch, he went over his training session with Mewtwo, while said feline was enjoying its own lunch, joining Lucario, Pikachu and a few other pokémon who were eating at the dinner table. Ash finished reviewing the training session in his mind right at the moment he finished preparing his food and joined his friends at the dinner table, taking a seat next to Pikachu.

As the trainer ate, he listened to his pokémon talk and joke amongst them, a smile forming on his face. Because of the deep bond between him and his pokémon, he could tell what they were trying to say, but with the help of his aura powers, he could tell exactly what was being said between all of his pokémon.

"Pika pi pika chu pi pika chu?" questioned the electric mouse to his friend, after glancing at him and seeing him lost in thought. Ash blinked then turned to face Pikachu.

"Yea, I'm good buddy. I was just thinking about everything that we've done so far…" answered Ash and he reminded them of all the things they did.

They had built the pokémon food system and gotten rid of the elevator in the mini mansion and made a staircase instead with locked doors for each floor. They upgraded the stadium with weather controlling and field changing applications to help them train against their weaknesses and how to still be able to fight and defend in certain harsh environments. They had made many friends and all of his pokémon, except for Pikachu, were fully evolved, and much more. The pokémon at the dinner table nodded in agreement with smiles on their faces, steadily getting bigger with each passing statement.

"We've done all this, and we're not even done yet guys. It's been three years since I was told of the vision by Arceus and any day now, the next part of the plan will come into effect."

No sooner had he finished his statement, a bright blue circle glow appeared next to him, causing everyone in the room to look at it. Soon the glow vanished and instead one of his powerful pokémon, a dual psychic and fairy type, Gardevoir, took its place. She stretched out her hand which held a yellow envelope that had the Pokémon League symbol on it, to the dark haired trainer.

"Thanks Gardevoir. I had just mentioned this."

He stood up, took the envelope and hugged the psychic fairy, causing her to blush slightly, as she returned the hug and the other pokémon around them simply smiled. They let each other go and Ash gestured her to sit down while he got her some food himself, since there was a manual override on their system as well. He quickly brought her the food and she ate. He was very caring with her since he had found her abandoned and hurt in the middle of the woods as a Kirlia, scared beyond measure. It had taken a long time for Ash to gain her trust. He smiled, sat back down and fumbled for a second, trying to open the envelope, addressed to his home in Pallet Town.

This is why Ash is different, thought Mewtwo. He treats his pokémon as his equals, and cares for them greatly. And that is one of the reasons why I respect him and that I'm happy to be here, to call him my friend and ally.

Ash pulled out the letter out and read it out loud;

Dear Mr. Ash Ketchum,

It is of great pleasure that I am able to invite you to our upcoming pokémon tournament that we hold once every several years, where only the best trainers are invited to, called the Spirit Challenge, to see who has the unbreakable spirit of a future Pokémon Master. The tournament will be held at the Indigo Plateau. We hope to see you at this tournament.

Besides the usual rewards, the winner of this tournament will receive five hundred thousand poke dollars, and be able to challenge the Elite Four of each and every League, and their respective Champions, if they are able to beat the Elite Four first.

We hope to see you at this tournament. Registration starts this weekend, Saturday and ends Sunday.

Pokémon League President

Mr. Charles Goodshow

P.S. It's been a while since we've seen your particular talents at an event. You always seem to liven things up. I hope to see you at this tournament and that this letter finds you since no one has seen or heard from you for quite some time. But I'm not too worried since this Gardevoir showed up right next to me the moment I finished writing this letter and somehow I knew she would deliver it to you.

Mewtwo was notified of the letter by Arceus and Gardevoir volunteered to retrieve it for her trainer, since she wasn't intimidating unlike Mewtwo. After Ash finished reading the letter, he stood up with Pikachu jumping onto his shoulder and Mewtwo followed him as they walked out the kitchen, heading towards the stadium while telling his pokémon to gather there. After they all assembled around one side of the stadium, Ash stood with Pikachu and Mewtwo in front of his pokémon and spoke.

"This is what we have been waiting for!"

He spoke loudly and with conviction, as he held up the letter over his head. All of his pokémon's eyes were on it.

"We've been training for a long time, waiting for this tournament. You all know the mission that Arceus has given us, the plans that we made. This is the next step we have to take. This will help us understand where we stand, whether our efforts have paid off or if we are still not there."

He took a moment to take a breather and to gather his thoughts. He continued on.

"Some of you left your families and friends to come here and join me. Some of you at first didn't trust me because of past experiences. Some of you had difficulty in the beginning. Some of you I've known for a long time. But make no mistake; we've all worked hard! We've all grown in many different ways. We have made strong bonds between us, we have become friends and we have become a family!"

"Pi pikachu!"

All the pokémon roared in agreement when Ash said family, for even though they were a large group of very different pokémon, they viewed each other as brothers and sisters, comrades in arms, a family that would protect each other no matter the cost.

"We will go to this tournament! We will show our strength, our skills and our undying spirit that we will never give up! We will show that we are fighters that can go the distance! We will show those cowards and evil people who are right now probably working to unleash the darkness and evils upon our world, our home, that there are those who will not back down. THAT WE ARE NOT AFRAID AND WE WILL NOT BE BEATEN!" roared Ash.

Pikachu and his pokémon joined with roars and cries of their own, some even launching attacks in the air to show their commitment. When they finished and calmed down, Ash continued.

"We will finish the day's training. Then I will prepare for the tournament and leave in the morning. Mewtwo will be left in charge. I want you all to relax and be ready for if and when I need you, so no training, at least for the next couple of weeks. And don't worry; I will try to give as many of you as I can a shot to compete in the tournament. Alright, let's get back to training and finish up today with a bang!" yelled Ash as he pumped his fist into the air, Pikachu copying his movements.

The pokémon moved back to their training locations, formed groups and continued their work for the day. They all put extra effort and energy because of being motivated and pumped up by Ash's speech, as well as looking forward to taking a little vacation for a couple weeks. Ash went back to his spot to finish up his mental training with Mewtwo. At the day end of the day, everyone went back towards the house and had some dinner. Soon, almost all of the pokémon except for Pikachu, Lucario, Mewtwo and Gardevoir were asleep, some inside the house, others, mostly the larger ones, outside. Ash and the four pokémon went to his room, the master bedroom, so he can prepare and speak with them.

"Okay guys, so this is what I'm going to do. Since I don't want to reveal who I really am at the tournament for a couple reasons, I'm going to have to come up with an alias and a disguise. I'll think up of a name on the way there tomorrow." Ash looked at Pikachu. "You can come with me Pikachu, but you would have to stay hidden almost all the time. Is that okay with you?"

"Pi pikachu cha pi chu kachu."

"Alright fine, I'll get you some ketchup and let you chill in the hotel room while I'm out battling."

The other three pokémon sweat dropped after hearing ketchup; they all know how obsessed their little yellow friend is with the stuff.

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and nuzzled his cheek against his, happy with the deal.

Ash laughed.

"Okay buddy, it's a deal." He faced the others. "Mewtwo, I want you to look after things here while I go with Lucario and Gardevoir. I'm still going to train and they will help me with that regard."

The three nodded in agreement, although Gardevoir looked a little frightened, which Ash noticed.

"Don't worry Gardevoir; I will not let anything bad happen to you. Plus, I think you'll like it over there. There are a lot of beautiful things to see."

"And I will be there as well, and will protect you no matter what. You have nothing to fear, comrade," added Lucario, giving a short bow.

The white and green pokémon smiled at their reassurance and nodded, this time with more confidence.

"Good. Okay, let's see; clothes, invitation, Poke Dex, Poketch and money. Okay, I don't really need my aura crystal necklace anymore…is there anything else I'm missing?" Ash thought out loud.

"You have what you need. What about your alias and disguise?" asked Mewtwo.

"Name I'll come up with on the way so as for my disguise, I could just use sun glasses, a bandana and hat to cover my face."

"Or you could let us help you on the disguise part at least."

Mewtwo spoke and pointed at Ash with his three digit hand, glowing. Ash felt something happen but didn't know what. The pokémon around him gestured towards the mirror in the master bathroom that was attached to the room. He went inside, turned on the lights and let out a small yelp. Mewtwo had changed his appearance. His hair was no longer black but red, his birthmark "zs" that were on his cheeks were gone, and his eye color was not brown, but blue. Ash went back to the group.

"Ah, thanks Mewtwo, but that's a little too much for me. Please change it back," he pleaded. Mewtwo chuckled as he changed him back to his original appearance. "Thanks. I think I'll just stick with the sunglasses and hat, along with a trench coat or something. I've changed in appearance anyway over the years."

"True, but you still look the same Ash," muttered Lucario. "Maybe we can at least hide your birthmarks and give you facial hair? And black eyes instead of brown."

"Hmm, I'm okay with that. Let's try that."

Ash checked himself out in the mirror again after Mewtwo did his end. Ash came back with a large grin. The beard on his face was neatly trimmed and actually matched him, especially without the birthmarks on his face. His black eyes weren't much too different.

"I actually like it. It matches right?" The four pokémon nodded. "Cool. Gardevoir, can you do take off this disguise and put it back on as well? I don't want to put it on until we get there."

Gardevoir nodded and her eyes glowed. The disguise vanished. She put it back on perfectly to make sure she can do it and then finally took it off.

"Alright guys, let's call it. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight guys."

The pokémon nodded, said their goodnights and went to their beds. Lucario and Mewtwo each had their own room while Pikachu had a small little crib next to Ash's king sized bed while Gardevoir had her hammock that she loved, on the other side of it. She slept in his room because she felt safer with the raven haired trainer, even though she was comfortable with the other pokémon; she still only fully trusted Ash, Mewtwo, Lucario and Pikachu. Ash jumped onto his comfortable mattress and instantly fell asleep, clothes and all. The raven-haired trainer had a dreamless sleep that night and woke up refreshed and began getting ready to head out to the tournament.

Ash took a shower and then got dressed. He put on blue jeans, a black t-shirt, with a blue jacket, black tennis shoes and black fingerless gloves. After getting dressed, he double checked his packed bag. He put his aura crystal necklace on the dresser next to his bed, put on the Poketch on his left hand, put his wallet and Poke Dex in his inside jacket pockets and placed his invitation in his back jeans pocket. He then grabbed his bag as Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder while Gardevoir gracefully got out of her hammock and they went downstairs.

Lucario and Mewtwo were already in the kitchen having breakfast and the three joined them. After finishing their meal, they all headed out to the front yard of the house. Ash nodded at Lucario, who sent out an Aura Sphere into the air, which exploded into bright blue sparks, signaling the other pokémon to join their location. After a moment all of Ash's pokémon joined them at their position. Ash looked around at his family.

"This is it guys. It's time for me to go but before I do I just want to thank you all for your hard work and for coming with me on this. I will not let you down."

The pokémon gave a round of cheer for their trainer, their friend. Ash smiled at their display.

"Thanks guys. Remember, relax and be ready for when I call you guys and Mewtwo will watch over everything. Lucario, Gardevoir and Pikachu will be with me most of the time while I'm there. Oh and c'mon Pidgeot. I haven't forgotten that you wanted to fly there."

The big yet beautiful falcon pokémon glided gently next to him, letting out a chirp of happiness. She had wanted to take a flying trip for a long time. She bent down a bit so Ash could climb up onto her back, the electric mouse losing his footing for a second while he did so and almost fell off. Everyone was amused at the mouse's expense, causing him to blush slightly.

"Okay, stay safe everyone and enjoy the mini vacation! I will call for you, Lucario and Gardevoir, once I'm there with Aura so be ready. Unless of course you want to travel with me now while in your poke balls."

Gardevoir's face perked up and nodded at his statement. He smiled and brought out her luxury ball with his aura, and returned her, then clipped her ball on his belt. Lucario however said he will wait on the island until he is called for, as he wanted to do some meditation in peace before being around so many people. Ash agreed, took one last look at everyone and then motioned for Pidgeot to go. As the powerful bird flew higher and higher, Ash called out to them.

"Bye guys! Have fun, relax and be ready! Next time I come back, it will be with the tournament trophy and we will be victorious!"

His pokémon roared in agreement as they watched him fly away into the horizon. The young man's face was split with a wide grin, glancing at his starter pokémon, who had a matching grin on his face as well. They couldn't wait to get there.

'I'm ready and I hope the competition is too, this is going to be great!' thought Ash as Pidgeot flew across the great distance to the Indigo Plateau.

Unknown to the happy trainer on his way to the tournament, a group of scientists were conducting experiments in an underground laboratory in an unknown location.

"Is it ready?" asked a voice that came from a man, hidden in the laboratory's shadows.

"Almost. We have a few more things to test before having a field test. It will be ready before the tournament ends," answered one of the scientists.

"Good. Keep me posted on progress. And what about the other tests? Any results on those?"

"We have made some breakthroughs sir, but not what you are looking for but we are getting closer."

"Alright. Have Johnson and Stevens assist you on those. I want results as soon as possible. As for the other one, make sure we can conduct a field test at the tournament itself."

The scientist sweat dropped. "You want to test it out at the tournament? What If it doesn't work? What about all those people?" he blurted out.

"Sacrifices must be made. And the less trainers against me, the easier everything will be," replied the man in the shadows as he left the room. "Do not fail me."

"Y-yes s-sir!" stuttered the scientist.