Cal munched happily on his second sandwich as they walked further from the lodge. "So where should we look first?" He asked in between mouthfuls.

"Any source of clean water would be a good place to start." Dena replied as she munched down a sandwich. "These are really good, Ash!"

Ash smiled proudly, "Thanks." He then abruptly pointed to his right. "I think there's a lake over there. If we're looking for water it might be a good a place to start."

"What makes you think there's a lake over there?" Serena asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"Well... I've been here before, with some other friends of mine, and I'm fairly certain there was a river there."

Dena stopped mid bite and stared peculiarly at Ash. "I thought you said it was a lake."

Ash smiled uncertainty, "Well it might've been a lake. Or a river or pond, stream, waterfall..."
His friends looked at him doubtfully. "Look it was nearly six years ago, but I'm certain there's some source of water over there!"

Serena shrugged, "Alright then lead on to the: lake, river, waterfall, pond-"

"Wave pool, slip an slide, water slide, log flume." Dena and Cal added with playful smiles.

"Alright I get it." Ash said, "Now come on, Splish Splash is this way."

They walked on for nearly an hour, of which Cal and Dena spent the first quarter teasing Ash with a list of other water related things. But they eventually got bored with the act and began to talk to each other about unimportant nothings. The two quickly became engrossed in their talk and started to trail behind their friends, leaving Ash and Serena ample opportunity to have a conversation of their own.

"So," Serena began, "who were the friends you were with last time?"

"Let's see. There was Brock, you've met him right?" Serena nodded. "Alright, then you probably know a bit about him." Again she nodded. "Good. Next was Max. He was a somewhat of a know it all and was rather stubborn about some things. But all in all a good kid. I promised him we'd have a battle once he became a trainer."

"Wait he wasn't a trainer, how old was he?" Serena asked.

Ash shrugged, "Probably around eight or nine."

"And his parents let him travel across the continent with you two?" Serena said cynically.

"Well not just us, his sister May was there too." Ash replied.

"Oh? What was she like?" Serena asked with growing interest and anxiety.

Ash frowned and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Very disagreeable, stubborn as a sleeping Snorlax, and tough as nails." He then smiled fondly. "But she always came through when it counted and treated us like we were all part of her family."

Serena smiled a bit enviously, "Sounds like you guys had some good times."

Ash smiled as he remembered his friends. "Yeah, we had some great times together. I don't think I'll ever forget them."

Serena nodded absentmindedly, her thoughts stuck on Ash's former female companion. What kind of relationship did they have? Had he been thinking of this May during her adventures with him? Would he ever forget about her? All these thoughts churning in Serena's head were abruptly interrupted when a shadow dropped out of the bushes and leaped past her face. Her eyes followed the figure as it arced down from her left and into the foliage on her right.

She stood motionless for a second as she processed what she'd just seen. Ash on the other hand was already chasing after the shadow, shouting something about it stealing his sandwich.

The thief dashed through the trees at a powerful pace. Moving faster and nimbler than most humans could move. Unfortunately for it Ash was one of the few humans who could keep up with it. No doubt because of his many years of traveling through the seven regions.

The chase lasted only a short while before the thief began to slow, apparently believing he'd lost Ash. Ash too slowed his pace and watched from a distance, as the thief came to a stop outside of a cluster of bushes surrounding a familiar looking tree.

Ash stopped a short distance from where the thief stood and waited for his friends to catch up. They managed to make it just in time to see a group of Pokémon emerge from the bushes, all of whom were ecstatic to see the thief. As Ash and his friends continued to observe the Pokémon they began to realize something about these Pokémon, they didn't belong here. That is to say they didn't belong to this region. There were at least three ice type Pokémon there, which in itself doesn't make sense with Hoenn's warm climate. But there were also a few fossil Pokémon that could only come from the other regions.

"Ash are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Serena whispered.

"That the Pokémon we're looking for stole my sandwich?" Ash whispered back.

"Ash you have more sandwiches!"

Ash smiled at her playfully."I know. And I think I know how to handle this."

Dena turned to him curiously, "Really? What are you going to- and you're just walking right up to them, great."

Ash walked straight out of the bushes and waved to the Pokémon. "Hi there, my name is Ash. I'd like to be your friend."

Serena rested her face in her palm while Dena merely commented on how up front he was.

The Pokémon seemed confused by Ash's bluntness and stood frozen to the earth. Then one Pokémon moved forward, the thief. It was a dark blueish Pokémon with weasel like features and a large red feather growing out of its head above the left ear. There was a matching plumage of three red feathers acting as a tail for the Pokémon and it stood proudly on its hind legs, its long sharp claws pointed cautiously at Ash.

"Sneasel?" The Pokémon asked.

"Yeah I want to be your friend. Here look, I even brought sandwiches." Ash unslung his sandwich bag and placed it in front of the wild Sneasel. At first the Pokémon didn't move, it just stared hungrily at the food; but after a second it looked at Ash as if to ask if he could really have some.

"Go on don't be shy, there's plenty for all of you." Ash should not have said that, for not a moment later his bag was stuffed with Pokémon clamoring to get a mouthful.

"Easy now, someone is bound to get hurt if you keep that up." Serena said as she and the others stepped out of hiding . Sneasel jumped back and assumed an attack stance upon their arrival, but with some coaxing from Ash he calmed down and let the three trainers join. Sneasel also headed Serena's advice and told the other Pokémon to slow down.

There was definitely some sort of hierarchy in place, for the other Pokémon followed Sneasel's order instantly and soon were all happily munching on the sandwiches. As they ate around his bag Ash began to recognize more of the Pokémon. To his immediate left was the Tundra Pokémon Amoura, a small blue brontosaurus like Pokémon with rainbow like frills above its large blue eyes. To its left were two other fossil Pokemon. The Crustacean Pokemon Kabuto, which resembled a prehistoric horseshoe crab; and the Spiral Pokemon Omanyte, which basically was a blue squid with a shell on its back.

Directly across from the fossil Pokemon sat a Pokemon that look rather similarly to a short snow covered pine tree. It was a grass and ice type from Sinnoh known as Snover. Close by sat a Happiny, a small pink egg shaped Pokemon with a tiny egg of its own in its pouch, and a cute curl of hair at the top of its head. This type of Pokemon was commonly raised by medical professionals for its evolutions strong healing abilities.

Next, and last, was what appeared to be an igloo version of the armadillo Pokemon Sandshrew. Most people would have been confused by the ice cube pattern on the Pokemon's back, but Ash (having spent some time in the Alola region) knew this to be the ice/steel type species of Sandshrew that lived on the icy mountain of Ula'ula island.

Ash looked from the six Pokemon around his bag to Sneasel, who stood off to the side watching the trainers cautiously as he nibbled at a sandwich. Ash smiled at the Pokemon and moved next to him, which first caused Sneasel to recoil, but when he realized Ash meant him no harm he relaxed enough to let Ash sit next to him. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and went to play with the other Pokemon while Ash chatted with Sneasel.

"How's the sandwitch?" He asked.

"Sul." The Pokemon said with an approving head bob.

"Oh, that good? Well if you like that you'll love Serena's cooking, it's the best." Ash said with a glance at Serena as she and the others played with the Pokemon.

"Sneas?" He asked curiously, following Ash's glance.

"Yeah, she's an awesome cook. You know she's actually won some competitions with her cooking." Ash boasted.

"Sul." The Pokémon said with admiration.

"You know, if you come with us I'm sure Serena wouldn't mind making an extra special meal for you guys."

"Sul." Sneasel said with interest.

"If you come with us those poachers won't ever be able to lay a hand on you guys again." Serena added as she played with the Alolan Sandshrew, helping it "fly" in the air above her head. She smiled brightly as the Pokemon laughed joyfully each time she raised and lowered it.

Sneasel saw how happy Sandshrew was and looked to its other friends, finding them each having the time of their lives with the trainers. Amoura was snuggled in Dena's lap as the trainer stroked its back with one hand, while playing fetch with the Omanyte using the other. Cal was helping Pikachu and Snover build a stick hut for Kabuto, who was happily carrying Happiny around on his back.

Sneasel turned to Ash to find the trainer holding out his hand to him. "What do you say Sneasel, want to come with us?"

Sneasel stared at Ash's hand uncertainly, but a glance at his friends made up his mind. Taking Ash's hand in his claw, Sneasel accepted the offer.

"Glad to hear it." Ash said with a warm smile.

Together with their seven new additions, the group began their trek back to the lodge. They managed to make it within eyesight of the wooden structure before they were blinded by four bright lights.

"Well, well, well. Lookie what we got here." A shrill voice said from behind one of the lights. "Some children done and found our lost property."

The wild Pokemon cowered behind Sneasel, who barred his fangs and growled at the lights.

"Oh, still a feisty one, ain't ya." A woman said in a cold ringing voice. "Don't worry, you know we can fix that."

Sneasel flinched at her words and glaced at discolored patch of fur on his arm. Ash saw this movement and took a step in front of Sneasel, glaring hatefully at the lights. "You're not getting near him." He said in a deep authoritarian voice.

The lights flickered a bit as two of their wielders took an unconscious step back. The other two lights remained motionless, their holders unphased by Ash's presence. One of the two undaunted spoke, her voice was sweet and alluring, yet contained a venom within it. "Listen children, you have no reason to interfere with our business. So why don't you just step aside and let us do our jobs."

Ash glanced behind him into the frightened eyes of Sneasel. He smiled reassuringly and turned to his friends. Each of them had the same iron will in their eyes as him and were more than ready for a fight. "Sorry but you're going to have to find employment elsewhere, cause you've got no business here!"

Cal cocked his head at Ash, "Really? That's the best you could come up with?"

"Cal, don't criticize me in front of the bad guys."

"Yeah that's really uncool." The shrill voice agreed.

"Great, now the bad guys are agreeing with us!" Dena groaned.

The venomous woman sighed exasperatedly, "Enough! Nero take care of the kiddies. Jean, Bridget get the merchandise."

Two lights, presumably Jean and Bridget, moved outwardly, entrapping the group. Meanwhile a man in a black leather trenchcoat strolled forward. He ditched his flashlight to detach two Poke Balls from the inside of his coat. He tossed both into the air, sending out a bipedal red lizard with a flame at the end of it's tail, and a red and black  crocodile towering on it's hind legs. Neither he nor his Pokemon spoke, they simply let their presence do all the talking for them.

Ash and Serena decided to take Nero on by themselves while Dena and Cal guarded their sides. Pikachu jumped in front of Ash, angry sparks crackling from his red cheeks and Serena called out Sylveon. The fairy Pokemon had never seemed very threatening before, but at that moment she held a coldness in her eyes that could have stopped a rampaging Rhyhorn in its tracks. The four Pokemon shared a moment of calm before blitzing one another.

Ash and Serena called out a slew of attacks and encouragement to their partners, cheering for them to put everything they had into the battle. Nero remained silent, yet his Pokemon somehow knew what he wanted them to do. They evaded, attacked, and defended with near perfect timing. Lightning flashed, flames roared, the very earth trembled to the will of the battle, yet neither side gave way.

Sneasel and the other Pokemon watched the battle with wide eyes. Taking in every movement, attack, and counterattack with mesmerized gazes. Their tance was interrupted, when the sound of conflict rose to their lefts and rights. On their left Dena and Torchic held off a slim man in a blue baseball cap. He fought with a small purple snake Pokémon known as an Ekans. To the right Cal and Trecko defended against a woman in her mid twenties. She and her brown bear Pokemon Ursaring, were trying with little success, to hack down the grass type.

The Pokemon felt a swell of hope fill them as they watched these trainers hold off the poachers. Their hope was quickly fell when the fourth poacher decided to join in. She commanded a large green and red dragon like Pokémon called a Flygon. It had diamond shaped wings, a dragonfly like head with smooth red glass coverings over its eyes, and a velociraptor shaped torso that included a long tail.

With Flygons addition to the fray the poachers gained an upper hand, and began pushing into the defensive line of the trainers. Sneasel saw this happening and began to tell his friends to run, but when he looked at Ash again he saw a confidence that was unwavering.

"Don't worry, I promise we'll keep you safe." Ash said. He began to reach towards his pocket where his ace in the hole, a black and white watch shaped device, rested. But before he could reach it, Sneasel leaped past him and launched a devastating surprise attack on the unsuspecting Flygon.

Sneasel wasn't the only one to join the fight. Amora had jumped next to Torchick, where the two repeatedly froze and burned their opponent. Snover stood by Treecko's side, giving the gecko Pokémon covering fire whenever he could. And Sandshrew had climbed onto Sylveon's back, where he stood ready to knock down any attacks that came their way.

The three other Pokémon remained behind the trainers protective line. Acting as reserves in case their friends needed relief.

The assistance from the ice type Pokemon quickly turned the fight from a battle of endurance, to a one sided beat down. Nero and the woman with the Flygon realized this truth and fled, leaving their associates at the mercy of the trainers and Pokemon. The battle finally ended when the four ice types used a cold combo of ice attacks, leaving their opponents shivering and unable to continue.

The Pokémon roared in triumph, their voices rung with joy and echoed through the woods. Ash and the gang briefly joined in the Pokémon's victory cries, before securing the two frozen poachers and escorting them back to the lodge.

Needless to say Nancy was quite surprised when the group knocked at her door, with Pokémon and poachers in tow. She quickly recovered from her initial surprise and radioed Lieutenant Rick to come back ASAP.

"You kids have done a fine job tonight." Nancy said after she finished radioing the Lieutenant. "I'm sure Rick would want to thank you personally but unfortunately he'll have to wait until morning."

"What why? Is he stuck somewhere?"

"Oh no he's fine. It's just that it's ten-thirty and curfew was half an hour ago."

"Seriously, there's a curfew?" Cal whined.

"Fraid so. Now off to bed with you, and leave them to me." Nancy said with a look at the poachers and Pokémon.

The group waved goodnight to the Pokémon before following Nancy's orders and heading to bed. As they climbed the stairs Cal glanced back and saw all seven Pokémon watching them leave, looks of abandonment and fear in their eyes.

When Cal got to his bed he felt exhaustion fill his body, but knew he wouldn't sleep that night. He couldn't, no matter how hard he tried  his mind keep resurrecting the image of the Pokémon's faces, making him feel guilty for something out of his control. So merely he lay there, on his bed, all night until his body eventually succumb to its weariness and enveloped him in fitful rest.

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Hey sorry this chapter took so long. I've had a few illnesses recently that knocked me on my back but I'm feeling a lot better now.

Anyways I wanted to say Merry Christmas (I know it was a few days ago) and Happy New Years. My resolution will be to write more chapters quicker 😅 I'll try at least. Oh and for the people who are reading my other story I wanted you guys to know I broke past my writers block and began writing for it again.

Anyways thanks for reading guys and I'll see you all next year 😉.