Location Classified...

"Another alert has come up, Lance sir" a man behind a console rose from his chair with alertness, which made Lance instantly move his attention to the console, throwing his cape up as he turned and walked towards it. 

"Where is it coming from?" Lance arched his back and peered down at the screen, the radar covering the Kanto map blinking constantly. 

"This area, if I study the original map, is around Pewter City..." the man looked back at the screen and then the printed version of the map and nodded. "Definitely" 

"Well then, should I head there now?" Lance got ready to head out, but another man appeared. However, this man seemed to have a lot more authority than the rest of the scientists.

"Lance, you know better than to just head out before checking to make sure it is worth our time," he said, looking around the room briefly before planting his eyes back onto Lance.

"Yes, Captain. What should we do then?" 

"I will call in for a drone to record a search of the area. The report will determine if the situation requires attention" the man known only as 'Captain' nodded to Lance and turned away, heading out of the room. 

"The problem with this line of work, is that we have to be so discreet..." Lance mumbled to himself, before turning to the man on the screen. "Contact the others, I am going to hold a meeting. It is about the Ash matter. Keep it brief and as confidential as possible"

"Yes sir" the man almost instantly replied, not even tearing his eyes away from the screen as more scans began. 

"Our operations are very advanced so it is important that you do as I ask" Lance finished, before walking off.

Pallet Town...

"If I could choose one legendary Pokemon in the world to battle with...." Clemont scratched his chin at the question proposed, the conversation flowing nicely as the gang ate. A few days since Bonnie's new catch had passed and something didn't feel right.

"I have realized, after this week, that meeting up again doesn't feel right" Serena cupped a hand under her chin and frowned slightly.

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked in between slurps of her drink.

"I mean, without everyone else around, it just seems oh I don't really know..." Serena tried searching for the words, but she couldn't find them.

"Like there is less going on? Not as much fun?" Clemont proposed some words and Serena shrugged.

"Something like that, I guess"

"Well, we could always try contacting them and seeing if they want to come to the region" Ash suggested. They all thought about it for a moment.

"It could work, but it is less likely. Last time, we all had a reason to be here and it just seemed to be pure coincidence. This time, it would be a bit sudden, asking everyone to meet us" Clemont finally answered after some prolonged thinking.

"Pika..." Pikachu seemed to agree but sounded disheartened. 

"Well, it's worth a try, right?" Ash seemed excited at the thought of meeting everyone again. 

"I guess it is, we know Misty and Brock may still be in the region, since they are gym leaders after all" Serena smiled and got up from the table.

"Then there is no time to lose!" Bonnie jumped up, impatiently walking inside.

The others followed her in and walked over to the screens that they could use to call people. The place was conveniently quite empty for the group, making the calls easier to make. Ash stepped up and tried to call Misty first, but someone else replied. Ash thought that she was probably a helper.

"I am sorry, but Misty is away at this current moment. She took a trip to the Sinnoh region" the helped explained to Ash.

"Thanks and sorry for bothering you" Ash cut off the call and then tried Brock. There was a moment of silence as the screen flashed to life, revealing the Pewter City gym.

"Ash?" Brock stepped from the side of the screen and appeared with a warm smile on his face. "Oh and Bonnie, Serena and Clemont. It's a pleasure to see you all" 

"It hasn't been too long Brock" Ash grinned, before getting on to different matters. "Are you available in like, 3 days?" 

"I should be, why?" Brock asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, we were thinking that we should all meet up again. We realised that last time there was a reason, but maybe, this time, it could be just for a few days of fun" Ash proposed the idea to Brock, who smiled.

"Sounds like a good idea. I'm in" 

"Good, do you know if Misty is busy?" Ash wanted to know if she would be back in a few days.

"She is busy all week, so she probably might not find any time. I'll call her and get back to you" Brock turned and said something inaudible to a person in the gym and then turned back to the screen.

"See you in a few days then Brock" Ash tipped his cap and smiled.

"Pika!" Pikachu said goodbye.

"See you later!" Bonnie and Serena crammed into the screen space next to Ash.

"Yeah, goodbye Brock," Clemont said quietly in the back.

"Wait, one more thing" Brock turned back to the screen.

"What is it?" Ash could sense that Brock was going to say something important. 

"Well, there was this guy in my gym. I didn't get to see his face since he had a dark robe on, but he was super strong. He had a Bisharp and that was the only Pokemon he had to use" Brock stopped mid-sentence and Ash knew he was going to say something more.

"What else?" Ash prompted Brock, who coughed into his hand.

"He said he was heading to Pallet Town, but I don't know why someone that track would head there. Just be careful if you see a man in a robe. Who knows what he is up to, right?" Brock told Ash, who smiled.

"He sounds like a good challenge! But yeah, we will be careful. Thanks for the info"

"Now I must go, so have a nice day" Brock saluted and then shut off the call. 

"A guy in a black robe, huh?" Ash turned around, with a spark of determination in his eyes that no one had seen for almost a year.

"Let's get going" Clemont suggested. "We can try calling the others tomorrow"

"Sounds like a plan" Serena agreed and so they all headed off, going their separate ways to their homes.

Location Classified...

"The drone has intercepted the target from the scan, he appears to be wearing a black robe" Captain turned to Lance. "Head out and find this person"

"Should I take the boat?" Lance asked, but Captain shook his head.

"No, take my jet, it's better to fly over Alola, you can see the whole island" Captain said, with a slight smile.

"My duty as a Pokemon Master is to protect all Pokemon and the people that live in every region. By ensuring strong trainers are that of pure hearts, we can help protect the lands and stop any treachery from causing distress like the situations before" Lance stated, before nodding and heading down to the hangar on the other side of the complex. Alola, an island-based region closer to Kalos, but not too far from the Kanto region. Home to the Pokemon Masters Secret Headquarters.

"Why does he say that before every mission?" the scientist who was checking the radar and maps asked Captain.

"Because, every league champion must remind themselves of their duty. Before last year, Pokemon Masters were ones who became champion and acquired skills great enough to be considered a trainer to remember. After the events that occurred last year, with the tournament going astray and those kids who called themselves Team Shadow, we set up this headquarters and the duties of the Pokemon Masters changed to better serve and protect Pokemon. This is why you are here, as scientists. To help research and set up protection barriers in the various regions across the land. Each floor in the lab has the same duties for different regions. 1 is Kanto and so on until we get to Kalos"

"What about Alola, we haven't checked this region yet?" the scientist inquired, interested in the topic at hand.

"At the current moment, we haven't adventured much into the region. The Pokemon here do not dwell close to the headquarters or even a few miles out. As for the people, they have all lived on this island for a long time, each place is well mannered and the communities are polite. Alola is peaceful, for now," Captain took a step towards the window, looking up to the clear blue sky, the fireball known as the sun beating down waves of heat. 

"Oh, I see. I'll continue with my work" the scientist turned back to his work and Captain watched the jet with Lance in zoom across the sky, heading for Pewter City.

Pewter City...

Lance landed the jet down and instantly got out, wasting no time. He took an ear piece and placed it into his ear, a little microphone sticking out. 

"I have landed, is he still in the city?" Lance spoke into the microphone.

"Yes he is, not too far from you. Just keep going towards the Pokemon Centre and wait outside" the Kanto scientist replied into the ear piece and Lance instantly headed to the Pokemon Centre, waiting outside for the person in the black robe.

It only took a few minutes before he stepped outside of the Pokemon Centre. Lance stepped up and put an arm infront of him.

"Come with me please" Lance stated calmly. There was a moments silence, until the robed man turned around, seemingly willing to follow Lance. They headed round the back to the small battlefield. "Please, take off the robe, there is no need to keep it on"

"Heh, I thought you might eventually find me...Lance" Parker said as he slowly took off the robe. 

"I knew I saw you a few days ago. What are you doing here?" Lance asked Parker, who put a finger on his chin for a moment, sarcastically thinking. 

"I wonder why I am here myself" Parker chuckled to himself, a pokeball in his hand. "I was going to tell Ash of a danger that is coming to affect us all" 

"Danger? But our scans would have noticed something fishy in one of the regions, surely..." Lance mumbled to himself, turning away from Parker.

"Scans?" Parker's senses didn't fail him and neither did his inquisitive mindset. Parker put his hands in his pockets, the outfit he wore being old news, with his now leather jacket and black t-shirt, blue jeans and white sneakers. His hair was spiked up the same way, but the fringe more or less floated just above his forehead, rather than fully up with the headband he used to have. 

"It doesn't matter right now. What I want to know is this danger, which region is it in?" Lance stood at one end of the battlefield and Parker at the other end, the white markings separating the different sides.

"That's the 'beauty' of this danger. It's not in any region. Infact, it is all around us" Parker turned around on one foot, gesturing to the world around them. 

"What is the so called danger then?" Lance wondered out loud.

Parker shrugged and Lance frowned back at him. They stared at eachother for a moment, Lance wondering if Parker was going to answer him. Parker didn't say anything, waiting for Lance to react to his lack of knowledge on what the danger is.

"...Well, how do you know there is going to be a problem?" Lance continued on, getting a little impatient.

"Team Shadow escaped" Parker replied bluntly, leaving no room for pause. There was more silence as Lance stared back, his mouth hung open slightly. 

"W-wha-...?" 

"They was waiting until I got out and used it to escape. I knew their tricks, but I wasn't going to follow them and get captured, I would end up like my former self again" Parker threw a Pokeball out of his left pocket and then caught it, before repeating the process. 

"So are you just being paranoid about possible danger because of a group of kids?" Lance scoffed, folding his arms, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"I heard something about legendary Pokemon. Something on a larger scale than Darkrai, the possible destruction of a region in itself, unable to rebuild the fraction of society that may remain. Even as we speak, that danger could be looming closer and closer" Parker scratch his chin in a casual manner, but his facial expression was too serious for him to be lying. Lance could tell this also. 

"Then let me come with you to see Ash" Lance proposed. Parker nodded. "First, I want to battle you" 

"Okay then, sure" Parker shrugged, tightening his grip on his Pokeball. "You can make the first move"

"Dragonite, I choose you!" 

"Bisharp, come say hello" Parker grinned and waited for Lance to make his move.

"Dragonite, dragon claw!" Lance began and Dragonite's claw started to shine. The dragon Pokemon lunged straight for Bisharp.

"Bisharp, metal claw" Parker, as casual as ever, watched as Bisharp's claws began to glow, before turning into iron. Bisharp put its arms into a cross, preparing to defend. Dragonite's dragon claw met with the defence and everything was still for a moment before they both realised that the dragon claw was useless. 

"Dragonite, wing attack now!" Lance pushed a hand out for emphasis, watching Bisharp closely, Parker's Pokemon not even moving an inch. 

"Okay then, use dig" Parker spoke calmly, Bisharp drilling down with his claws into the ground. Dragonite landed to prepare himself for the attack, but Bisharp timed his attack perfectly, immediately drilling out of the ground underneath Dragonite as he landed. "Now, guillotine" 

Bisharp's claws began to glow blue and grew in size, before he slashed down in an 'x' pattern, connecting with Dragonites side. The move guaranteed a knockout and so Dragonite fainted. 

"That was quite a lucky chance, using that guillotine" Lance smiled as he returned Dragonite, Parker looking back at him calmly.

"Not really. I worked out the possible odds when using guillotine and I practised regularly on wild Pokemon over the past year, while in the facility" Parker explained, Lance smiling a little more, impressed. 

"That's impressive" Lance nodded, before raising a finger like a light bulb had turned on above his head. "Now, let's go see Ash, hmm?"

"Sure, let's get going now" Parker returned his Bisharp and headed off in front of Lance without a moment to lose.

"It was him on the scan, right?" Lance spoke into the ear piece, keeping some distance from Parker as they headed down the path, the dark sky masquerading the shadows as creatures of the dark. 

"Of course, that move is unmistakably strong" the scientist replied, still having kept the communication established throughout the battle and conversation.

"You recorded our conversation?" Lance asked as a question.

"Yes I did. I also had the drone for camera monitoring. There is definitely something we need to uncover" 

"Call in the other champions, get them to meet me in the Kanto region, Pewter City" Lance said, before turning off the ear piece and shoving it in his pocket.

With uncertain danger looming, the new journey for Ash and friends slowly comes closer to starting.