Ash of Aura

Chapter 3: To Rota!

After they finished breakfast, they made their way to the lab. "Hey there you two, are you ready to head to Rota?" Professor Cerise greeted. "You bet, Professor!" Gou said enthusiastically. Ash just nodded in agreement. "Rota is a bit north of Pewter City and Mt. Moon. Ren will drive you guys to Pewter City, and you'll have to walk from there." Professor Cerise said. They went outside, and Ash and Gou got in the car. "You boys have fun, and stay safe!" Professor Cerise bid them farewell, and they headed off to Pewter City.

About an hour later, they arrived in Pewter City. They stopped at the Pokemon Center to give their Pokemon a checkup, and when Ash went to make a phone call, Gou secretly followed him. At this point, he just wanted to learn everything he could. Ash dialed a number and called. A few moments later, the person on the other end picked up. "Oh, hey Ash. Where are you?" a voice Gou didn't recognize spoke. 'I wonder who he's talking to.'

"Hey there Brock! I'm in Pewter City. Have you already left?" Ash asked. "No, not yet. I'm about to leave. Do you get in contact with May and Max?" Brock asked. "Yeah, they're coming. Should I go visit the gym?" Ash said. 'The gym?' Gou thought. "No, it's alright. We might meet up on the way, and we'll see each other in Rota anyway." Brock replied. "Ash and Gou, your Pokemon have finished their checkups." Nurse Joy called out. "Alright then, I'll see you later." Ash said. "Bye!" Brock replied, hanging up. Ash walked over to the counter, where Gou was waiting.

Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and rubbed his cheek against him affectionately, while Ash collected all his pokeballs. Raboot jumped down next to Gou, and Gou got all his pokeballs. Ash was able to carry all his Pokemon thanks to Professor Oak's newest creation, the Nanodex. Unfortunately, he'd only finished one so far, which meant Gou couldn't have one, though the Professor was working on one for him right now.

They left the Pokemon Center and traveled until they met the bridge that connected to Rota. The bridge was packed with people and Pokemon alike, some dressed in old-fashioned costumes. "Well here we are, Rota!" Gou said happily. Ash just looked around, scanning the area of people. "Ash, what are you looking for?" Gou asked, noticing his friends strange behavior. "Oh, nothing. Let's go!" Ash replied. They walked across the bridge until they reached the Cameron Palace. "Woah, it's huge!" Gou exclaimed, while Ash kept on looking around, oblivious to his friend's amazement. Then they spotted a figure running towards them. It came at Ash so fast that he fell over on impact. "Ash! Are you okay?!" Gou exclaimed worriedly.

"Master, you have returned." Lucario said, after the duo had picked themselves up. "Ash, it's good to see you!" Lady Ilene walked up to Ash. "Lucario sensed your presence and insisted on coming to greet you." she said, smiling. "Ash, we found you!" another voice shouted, three other people coming into view. "Brock, May, Max! You're here!" Ash exclaimed, running over to greet them. "It's good to see you three as well." Lady Ilene said.

"Ash, aren't you forgetting someone?" said Gou. "Oh, I'm sorry Gou! This is Lucario, Lady Ilene, Brock, May, and her brother, Max. I traveled Hoenn with May, Max and Brock. We ended up coming to Rota while I was challenging the Battle Frontier. We met Lady Ilene here, and I entered the festival tournament." Ash stopped, hesitating. "Then...we met Lucario." he added. Ash paused for a moment, asking to speak with everyone privately. Gou stood there alone, thinking things over.

"I don't really want to tell Gou what else happened, okay?" Ash said to everyone. "Why not, Ash?" May asked. "Well one, I have my reasons, and two, one of my reasons is his dream is to catch Mew. I just... Well, I'd rather not introduce them, only to crush his dream when he finds out that Mew can't leave." Ash explained. Everyone was surprised at this. "We understand Ash, we won't tell him. We'll let you do it at your own pace, right guys?" Brock said. Everyone else nodded their heads, and Ash thanked them.

They walked back to Gou. "Sorry about that, Gou." Ash said scratching his head. "Well, I should go now. I have quite a few things to do in preparation for the festival. Lucario, you should stay here with Ash." Lady Ilene smiled. They all said their goodbyes, and Lady Ilene left for the palace. May tried to start a conversation. "So, Ash and Gou, how did you two meet?" she asked. "Well to make things short, we both had the bright idea to jump on Lugia's back when it appeared."  Ash grinned. "What?!" May and Max exclaimed. "Ash, was it the same one?" Brock asked. Everyone looked confused at this, except for, of course, Ash and Brock.

"I'm not sure." said Ash. When everyone looked at them with puzzled expressions, Ash and Brock started to explain about Misty and Ritchie, and how they saved Lugia. Everyone was in awe. "Well, it's not that amazing when you've met as many Legendary Pokemon as I have." Ash said. Everyone was shocked, except for Brock. "Well, when you've traveled with him as long as I have, you'd know that he was telling the truth. Especially when you've met the god of all Pokemon." Brock said. "What?!?!" everyone exclaimed.