We spot a confused flock of Pokémon and realize something isn't right, especially once an unusual aurora appears in the sky and our Poké Balls and Rotom Phones stop working. That's when we spot Solana, the Pokémon Ranger, who helps get the Pokémon going in the right direction. She explains that the Rangers have detected strange geomagnetic activity, and just then, we see a Deoxys in the sky.

With Nurse Joy's help, Solana reasons that Deoxys may be connected to an old meteorite that crashed nearby. Solana goes to investigate alone, but we decide to come along since I have a Deoxys in my team as well. Inside the cave, she finds a Miltank and captures it because it may help us with Deoxys.

Once we find the meteorite, Deoxys emerges. It's in pain and is clearly hostile to us, but Solana can't capture it to calm it down unless it's in Normal Forme. She has Miltank use Heal Bell to soothe Deoxys' pain, but it still won't be captured. Team Rocket reveal themselves, but Max and Meowth are getting strange impressions from Deoxys so both of them try to talk to it. Deoxys possesses Meowth and uses it to communicate with Max, but this backfires when Deoxys vanishes into a strange dimension and decides to take both Max and Meowth with it.

With Meowth and Max both vanishing after an encounter with Deoxys, Team Rocket makes a truce with us again. Solana suggests that recent solar winds may be linked to the strange geomagnetic activity focused on the meteorite cave, so we return to the cave in search of Meowth and Max. When we reach the meteorite, we realize it's the source of all the strange phenomena we've witnessed—and there's tremendous energy building up around it. Rescue has to wait as everyone tries to get clear, but an explosion from the meteorite throws everyone out of the cave. Deoxys shows up and Solana realizes that these chaotic energies are what's causing Deoxys pain, but she can't capture it to help it unless it's in Normal Forme.

Everyone pitches in with their Pokémon to keep Deoxys distracted until it returns to Normal Forme. Meanwhile, a portal to Deoxys' dimension reappears, with Max and Meowth floating inside. They're not feeling too great, either. Team Rocket and May rescue them from the weird fissure just before it closes again. Solana finally captures Deoxys and has it heal itself with Recover. But the energies are still going haywire, so just as the meteorite finally explodes, Deoxys uses Safeguard to protect everyone. Once the smoke clears and things calm down, Deoxys says goodbye to Max and flies off to explore, now knowing that there are many Pokémon in the world and it's no longer alone.

And then Emerald also captured two new Pokemon: A Snorlax who was blocking the road, and a Sudowoodo who was mistaken as a tree. Both Pokemon cause trouble on our way and he manages to calm them down.

Another beautiful day is upon the Kanto region while we are inside of a Pokémon Center with May preparing herself for the upcoming Mulberry City Pokémon Contest.

"Looks like this is the last chance for you to get the final ribbon." I say. "The Grand Festival is in next month, that makes this one the last one before it."

"No way..." May is depressed after hearing that. Then we sit at the nearby table as May is having a lot of pressure. "I guess I'm not sure I'm ready for all of this... Drew's going to torture me forever if I lose..."

"You're not doing this for Drew, right?" Reisa asks.

"Of course not! He probably already has five ribbons just like you! That's why I can't lose!" May says.

"And that means you need more training, fortunately, we can help you with that." Serena says.

"Thanks." Just then, much to our surprise, Harley is also here. "Harley? What are you doing here?"

"I'm warning you, Harley, only one of us is going to win here today!" May says. "And that is going to be me!"

"Dream on, you look cute when you're mad. But I already have 5 ribbons already." Harley says.

"No way..." I say. "It's so weird..."

"You were so... annoying." May says.

"You're so sweet and I can't wait to see you lose. Tata." Harley turns to me, "As for you, I already know you have 5 ribbons. I can't wait to humiliate you in the Grand Festival."

"The one who's getting humiliated is going to be you." I say back.

"I can't stand that guy! We need to train now!" May yells as we are dragged to help her train. But it is a good thing that May is not depressed about the pressure anymore. Although I can't help but wonder what is Harley doing here...

The contest starts with the appeal rounds, and why am I not surprised that Team Rocket is trying to show up on this one? But much to my surprise, Jessie is using a Cacturne.

"Is the Cacnea evolved?" Reisa asks.

"No... I think that is Harley's. So he wants Jessie to ruin May's chance to win..." I say.

Jessie rotates a carrot into the air as Cacturne extends its needles and dices the vegetable to exact precision as the pieces fall to the ground forming a small structure. The crowd explodes with Jessie and Cacturne's display of skill. Cacturne follows up by releasing an array of small cylindrical objects and ignites the objects with a Bullet Seed attack creating a magnificent shower of sparkle and shine. All three judges show their approval as Harley claps for Jessie cheering her on.

May makes her Contest appearance as she begins to rotate to unleash her Poké Ball, but manages to slip and fall to the ground.

"What happened?" Serena asks.

"Is she pretty scared because of the pressure of the Contest?" Reisa says. "It's understandable to make something like this."

"No... I don't think so." I say as I notice Meowth and James trying to ruin May's chances of winning.

As Blaziken is unleashed from its Poké Ball, Ariados manages to catch Blaziken causing it to lose its balance and crash to the ground. May runs towards Blaziken but is tripped once again. As Ariados's web grasps onto Blaziken once more.

"That's it!" I say while I stand up. "Team Rocket is cheating again and this time they're trying to ruin May's chance of winning. I'm going to stop them."

"Again?" Reisa, Serena, and Max exclaim as Pikachu, Absol, and I begin heading towards the ceiling as May continues her routine. May rotates a circular object into the air as Blaziken blasts into the air to strike but manages to miss its target.

"Team Rocket!" I yell. "You're not getting away with cheating this time. Pikachu, Iron Tail, Absol, Snarl!" But much to my surprise, Ariados is tricky enough to cover them with webs.

Blaziken begins rotating at a high speed spewing a Fire Spin attack as the fire begins engulfing Ariados's web and begins climbing towards the ceiling. As James and Meowth continue bickering, the flames finally reach the stadium ceiling and engulf Ariados while James and Meowth move to attempt to put the fire out. The flames spark and dissolve the web around Pikachu and Absol's body.

"Pikachu! Absol! Attack now!" Then we send Meowth, James, and Ariados flying. I say, "May, everything's fine. You do your best."

Blaziken explodes into the air as May throws the Frisbee into the air and Blaziken returns it back to her with a brilliant Sky Uppercut. Blaziken lands elegantly to the ground as the three judges give approval for her first round.

After her performance, May is sitting alone in the resting room.

"This round was so hard... Blaziken didn't need to go through this..." May mutters.

I rush to her and say, "Hey, May! You didn't mess up. This is all because of Team Rocket. They manage to get Harley's Ariados to cheat."

May gasps in shock before rising her anger, "Those guys..."

I say, "If you didn't pass, I will give the judges and the announcer the evidence so that you can have another go with this."

"You can do that?" May asks with delight, but it seems that there is no need because May has entered the Battle rounds.

"You deserve it. I guess you've turned it around." Serena says.

"Next round will be great. We'll also make sure that Team Rocket won't bother you anymore." Reisa says.

However, Team Rocket is playing dirty this time by locking us in a room. Max yells, "Hey! Let us out of here!"

"And it seems we're flying..." I say after noticing that we must have been trapped in a box tied to their hot air balloon. Much to our delight, Drew is the one who saved us, and he says, "Let's hurry, May's in big trouble."

We continue to move forward but we fall into a pit trap this time, they try to set a cage to prevent us from getting out, but I use Forretress to use Rapid Spin to break us out. And we notice that May is in the finals against Jessie and we find Harley with James and Meowth.

"Alright, we know you guys are up to no good." Emerald says.

"And Harley is now a member of Team Rocket huh?" Max asks.

"I maybe devious, but I'm not dumb." Harley says.

"You think you're clever, huh?" Drew asks.

But then Harley decides to leave and says, "Alright, I'm sure my Banette will give her a run for her money."

"So the Cacturne that she's using is also yours." I say.

"We're close to the Grand Festival, Drew. I suggest you not get me angrier than you already have." Harley says.

"Back at you." Drew says as Harley leaves.

Then we decide to watch the final match, May calls upon her Wartortle and Jessie releases Banette. Banette swiftly goes on the attack with a Thunder hitting Wartortle for direct damage. A small portion of May's points are deducted. Wartortle recovers from the attack and retaliates with an Ice Beam freezing Banette in place. After a few seconds, Banette breaks from the icy prison and responds with a Will-O-Wisp attack. Banette launches another Thunder attack as Wartortle counterattacks with a Bubble Beam attack easily overcoming the Electric-type attack and hits Banette for direct damage. Banette goes on the attack striking Wartortle with Frustration as Wartortle withdraws into its shell to protect itself from further damage. After a few moments, Wartortle goes into a Rapid Spin attack also managing to rotate Banette releasing its grasp on Wartortle. Banette goes on the attack while Wartortle begins rotating throughout the stadium leaving Banette in a confused state. The timer expires with both Jessie and May left with equal point levels.

The battle now moves advances into an extra stage. Banette strikes forward with a Thunder as Wartortle attacks with an Ice Beam. Both Pokémon evade the attacks while Wartortle begins rotating at a high speed while also unleashing a Bubble Beam attack which collides with Banette's Will-O-Wisp attack. Wartortle launches a final Ice Beam managing to freeze Banette into place. As Banette manages to break from the ice, Wartortle begins rotating towards Banette. Just as Banette manages to break from the icy prison, Wartortle clashes with Banette thrusting it towards the ground. Banette collides with the ground and is unable to battle, depleting Jessie's remaining points. The crowd explodes as the Contest concludes and May is announced as the winner. She is then awarded the fifth ribbon and Jessie storms off.

"That's great, May." Serena says.

"Thanks, I couldn't have done it without Wartortle." She says as Wartortle starts to evolve into Blastoise.

"A Blastoise!" Max says. "So cool!"

Reisa says, "Yeah. By the way, you have another Pokemon that can mega evolve!"

"Yeah." May nods in agreement.

She notices Drew in the distance and runs to catch him wishing him luck in the Grand Festival. Drew then gives her another Rose as he walks away. Causing May to blush once more.

With an overjoyed May as part of the group, we other leave Mulberry City.

When we arrive at Pewter City, I ask, "How about we go meet Brock? We can see how he is doing."

"That is a good idea." Serena says.

We go to the gym and only find Forest, Brock's brother there. He greets us and says, "It is good to see you again, what brings you here?"

I ask, "Is Brock at home? We come here to visit him."

Forrest says, "Oh. I am sorry about that, he has left to the medical school."

Ash is sad that his friend isn't there, but they still get inside and talk to one another. They learn that Nurse Joy came to inspect the gym, which was a crisis for them, but Forrest becomes the gym leader and saves the gym in the end. We are impressed with this. And then we decide to bid farewell to him and wish him good luck.

"Max, are you sure we'll find the Battle Pyramid in a place like this?" Emerald asks.

"I think we're really close..." Max says.

And then we find the said building in front of us. However, we fall into a hole and plummet into an ancient ruin whose walls are covered in ancient hieroglyphs and pictures of people and Pokémon.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask.

"I hope this is not one of Team Rocket's pittraps..." Reisa mutters.

"No, I don't think so..." Serena says as we notice the walls.

"Look! There is a light source." We run through the light source as we walk towards it.

We find a Pikachu statue and Max says, "I don't think we should touch that."

"But maybe we should take a look." And just when I grab it, the pillar is resting on the rise, and the statue's eyes glow blue. A nearby wall with an identical depiction of a Pikachu flashes its eyes as well and begins to rise. A giant, spherical boulder begins to pursue the group.

"Foolish kids! I can't believe they set up the trap!" The explorer in front of us then sends out a Regirock and destroys the boulder with a Focus Punch.

"A Regirock..." May says.

"Thank you, Mister, you saved our lives." I say.

"NOOO!" We wince at the tone. "My name is Brandon, not Mister. Now how did you kids get in here? It is forbidden to enter these walls."

"You see, the ground just caved in below our feet, we've been looking for a way out." Reisa says.

"When I saw the Pikachu statue, I kinda went crazy. So I accidentally grabbed it."

"NOO!" He yells. "I bet you're a Pokemon trainer, right? A Pokemon Trainer needs to be on guard always! You ought to be ashamed of yourself falling for a trap like that."

I frown as Emerald asks, "Brandon, what kind of ruins are these?"

"I'll tell you. This is the Pokelantis, an ancient kingdom whose king tried to control Ho-Oh as a part of his plan to rule the world. Ho-Oh destroyed the entire kingdom of Pokélantis for the King's wicked attempt. In revenge the King sealed Ho-Oh inside a stone Poké Ball, constructing the very tomb they are currently standing in to seal the Legendary away from the world forever."

"But since we've already captured Ho-Oh, I guess this is nothing special." I say.

"You captured a Ho-Oh?" Brandon says. "That might be interesting, but I am not going to let foolish kids wander around here."

"We're sorry, we just want to find the Battle Pyramid because Ash here already has six Frontier Symbols..." Serena says.

But for some reason, there is something that's driving me forward, and I rush towards the feeling until we arrive at the chamber. But just as I press the door, it opens but locks the others outside.

"So is that the one that keeps calling out to me? But why?" I ask. Just then, my body starts to move on its own and reaches the ball, despite not wanting to, and it is then everyone comes in.

"Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" Brandon yells.

"I want to, but my body moves on its own!" I say back. "I don't know why..."

(Serena's POV)

Just then, the mysterious object suddenly activates, it levitates in the air as a dark voice chants a spell, enveloping Ash in dark energy. He falls to his knees, still surrounded by a blue and black aura.

"Ash!" Everyone calls out to him.

"Are you okay?" Just then, Ash's voice changes, and he laughs with a deep sinister voice.

"Good thing my powers aren't fully sealed away. It is easy to manipulate this kid into freeing me. First, you all bow before me, and then you give me every Pokemon you have in your possession!"

I can feel an energy that is also drawing me to take my Pokeballs... is this the same energy that causes Ash to run here and free him?

"What's wrong with you, Ash?" Max asks.

"How dare you! You do not speak to the King of Pokelantis in such a way!" 'Ash' says.

"I fear your friend has been possessed by the spirit of the king of Pokelantis." Brandan says. "It's all too clear. You kept your evil ambitions sealed because of your failure to imprison Ho-Oh!"

Then he picks up the ball and reads the spell. I say, "Please, Brendan, what can we do to help?"

"Nothing. I'll handle this." Branden says, "Hear me, King of Pokelantis. If it's Pokemon you desire, then battle with me."

"Who are you?" Ash demands.

"Who am I? A king like you!" Brandon says. "I am the King of the Battle Pyramid!"

So he's the last Frontier Brain that Ash has to face... Brandon says, "If you can defeat me in a battle, every one of my Pokemon belongs to you. And the world will bow down to your mighty empire!"

As we arrive at the Pyramid, Scott is there and he says, "It's great to see you here in one peace. So get ready, Brandon. You're looking at a tough opponent on this young man."

"He looks like a foolish child to me." Brandon says, and then Ash is saying something like he wants to rule the world.

Scott asks, "So what happened?"

"Ash is not the same Ash..." I say as I decide to explain everything to Scott. "What? Ash is being possessed by the King of Pokelantis?"

"Yeah, he's not the Ash that we know." I say.

Then we learn more about Brandan, and he makes us remember Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh Region.

We watch the battle as there is only one Pokemon allowed. He of course goes for Regirock, but much to our surprise, Ash laughs, "So I possess a Pokemon. Very well, I should battle myself."

We are horrified to see Ash trying to fight himself. Scott asks, "What's going on? Ash is a Pokemon?"

"This is supposed to be kept a secret. Ash is an Arceus and he normally won't be fighting as himself... this is bad." Reisa says.

Ash uses Blaze Kick, and Regirock uses Iron Defense to nullify the attack. He then changes into Bullet Seed, but Iron Defense also nullifies it. With a snide grin, Ash fires a Hyper Beam on the ceiling. The attack causes rubble to crash on top of and bury Regirock.

"That's horrible! Ash would never do something as mean as awful like that..." Max says.

"You want to win that bad? You're just a coward." Brandon says.

"What did you call me?" And for some reason, I see that Ash has slightly returned to his normal self. "No one ever calls me a coward!"

"It's Ash! I think he came back!" I gasp, but before long, Ash is being possessed again.

"You can call me whenever you want, as long as I win, there won't be a problem." Ash says.

"At least he comes back a little while..." Reisa mutters.

Max thinks Regirock is down and out, but the Rock Peak Pokémon breaks out of its tomb and immediately uses Hyper Beam.

"I will see how you try." The king jumps behind the referee, forcing Brandon to stop the attack.

"You're weak. Now I'll show you how you attack without mercy!" Then he goes for a Low Kick that hits Regirock. I can't witness this fight anymore...

"Serena!" I gasp, is that Ash trying to communicate with me in my head? "Tell Pikachu to use Thunderbolt on me... I don't have the Earth Plate, so it should be working."

I yell, "That's enough! Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt on Ash!"

"Serena, what are you..." Then Pikachu attacks Ash, and we can see the spirit coming out from his body.

"And now! Light and Dark, return to the dark! Dark that comes from the light return to the dark!" Then the spirit is being absorbed by the orb once more.

"Ash!" The King inside me is finally gone, and I see my friends looking at me. "So what just happened? Back underground, I feel that something has been controlling my body... And then the door, the orb... I..."

"So you mean you were possessed just when we met Brandon?" Reisa asks.

"I don't know..." I say. "But I'm sorry... thanks to all of you, especially you, Serena..."

Serena hugs me and says, "You're really our Ash..."

"NOO!" Then Brandon yells and gains my attention. "Foolish kid! Listen here! You weren't defeated by some sort of evil spirit! You were defeated only by yourself! Young man! That evil spirit was attracted to you by your own uncontrolled arrogance!"

I frown, so that's how he possessed me... I guess I really am the foolish kid after all. "Sorry... but I want to battle with you one more chance, and I want to be in an official battle this time!"

Just then, much to my dismay, Brandon says, "I'm sorry, but it is time for us to move to the next ruins. Relax, I'll be in touch when the time is right. Until then, you better train hard."

Then we see the Pyramid's corners slide outward and dust begins to be kicked up. The massive structure lifts into the sky on rotors that keep it aloft, allowing Brandon to move to his next ruins site.

"Who would have thought the Battle Pyramid can actually fly?" Max asks.

Serena says, "Ash... are you feeling fine?"

"I am... I may be foolish to let myself be possessed by the evil, but I'm going to defeat him and get my final symbol." I say as everyone smiles at me.

The next chapter will be the Grand Festival. I hope you enjoy the remake of Ash and Brandon's first battle.