"Man. I still can't believe that battle against Tobias. We got rocked." Ash mumbled as he stared up into the ceiling of his room.

It had been roughly a week since Ash had returned to his home in the small area of Pallet Town. The town was as peaceful as ever even when Ash came back after a year. However, very few knew he was back, as his passion for moving and training had died down slightly since the Kanto native returned. Most of what he had done consisted of dropping off his Pokemon at Oak's lab and staying at home to ponder his loss.

The mouse pokemon looked towards his trainer with sad eyes. Pikachu could feel what Ash has been going through during the last week. It would be sad if he couldn't notice why, as the pair were closer than the average trainer and Pokemon.

"Pikapi pika!" Pikachu jumped on his trainer's shoulder and rubbed his cheek against his trainer.

Ash smiled at his best friend. "Thanks buddy. I feel better now."

Ash looked down and sighed after a few moments. "It's not like I'm trying to let this loss get me down, but I just keep feeling like... something's missing from my battle style."

During that entire league, Ash felt like a big weight was falling on him the entire time. Ash could feel something trying to drag him down in his battles. Especially against Tobias. Ash couldn't figure out what, but he could still feel it after the Sinnoh league. Almost as if something was in his head and trying to take him over.

Ash checked the time and noticed it was already 6 P.M. He decided if he was going to stay active somewhat, he should talk to his mom some at least. He walked downstairs to see his mom was already making dinner.

"Oh, there you are. I made your favourite sandwiches. Here you go." She said as she placed a plate with two sandwiches down at the table.

Ash began eating while pondering his next move. Should he re-travel Kanto? No, because Misty is still around, and doesn't know he's back. If she knew...

Ash shuddered at the thought of Misty's mallet on his head again. Moving on, there is also Johto, but their league ended when Sinnoh ended theirs. There would be little point in going. Then there was Hoenn, but Ash didn't feel like going as their league was halfway over and he didn't want to see May or Max either.

Then his mind tossed to something he overheard about a new region. The semi-far away region of Unova. Supposedly, there were over a hundred Unova native Pokemon in that region, which surprised Ash. But, he didn't feel like going as another thought plagued him again.

'What if I'm... just... not good enough of a trainer?' He thought to himself.

"What's wrong dear?" Ash looked up and saw his mom was staring with a look of curiosity towards him. She had been worried something bad happened to Ash. She saw he was barely touching his food, which is unlike the normal heavy eater that is her son.

"Nothing's wrong mom. I'm just wondering what I could do next." Ash stated with a smile.

Delia thought there was something else, but thought before pressing further. She had a good idea what had been affecting him, but she was hoping he would be over it. Unfortunately, that is currently not the case.

Delia sat down her apron and looked at the Pikachu trainer expectantly. "Alright. Out with it."

Ash sighed as he looked up. "Mom, you don't need to concern yourself."

Delia frowned. "You're my son. Of course it concerns me."

Ash looked away for a moment. "Fine. I'm just feeling a little unconfident in my abilities as a trainer. I mean... I barely beat Paul and I got swept away by Tobias. Maybe I am just not cut out-"

"Stop right there!" Delia said sternly towards her son. Ash was shocked from this, as his mother has never spoke like that since he was nine.

Ash looked up and gulped as Delia began to continue with an evident scowl. "I do not want to hear that out of you again young man! You are way better than this. You defeated the Orange League and conquered the Battle Frontier and placed high in many leauges!"

She gestured to all the trophies and even pointed out the badge cases. On top of that, she pointed out the pictures he had from his previous journeys. There was one of him with his Pokémon in the Orange League, one of him from his Hoenn League journey, and the last one was the Battle Frontier with his 4 of his best friends right next to him: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charizard.

She gave him a look of clear annoyance. "You have completed more than most trainers can ever say for themselves. You have defeated countless opponents because you have many things that some trainers could only hope to achieve. You have the strongest bond with any of your Pokémon that I have ever seen. Not only that, but you defeated people said to be as strong as Elite Fours, like Drake and the entire Kanto Battle Frontier!"

Ash jumped up when he heard the words 'Battle Frontier' come out of her mouth. Memories began flooding in over all the things he did in the Battle Frontier. His mind scanned through memory after memory of each event. It went from challenging Nolands Articuno to meeting Greta. From battling Spencer to defeating Tucker. From meeting Anabel to defeating her. And lastly, from meeting Brandon, to being offered a position as a Frontier Brain.

Battle Frontier... Frontier Brains... all of it sounded perfect to Ash in order to help find himself once more. However, something was still holding him back from considering being a Frontier Brain.

'What if I mess this up also...' Ash thought to himself as he ate the rest of his last sandwich. He realized that he lost to Brandon twice before having to call in his old best, and he lost to Anabel once also. Ash was unsure as he kept thinking. He kept thinking about the sheer strength of the Frontier Brains that he faced and how he could even compare to something like that...

It was right then when Ash finally realized that he could ask for advice to improve from them. They are some of the best trainers in the world, and people like Brandon, Noland and Anabel must have some sort of particular way they take on certain situations to gain a strategic advantage over their challengers. After all, Anabel even has her empathy link that lets her attack without talking out loud.

Ash then stood up and decided something needed to be done before he could even start talking to the group again. He began to go upstairs and grab his jacket and signature Pokeball hat from his Sinnoh journey. He tucked the cap on his head and nodded as he knew what must be done. He looked at the Yellow Mouse Pokémon right next to him, who was smiling and amazed by his trainers sudden mood change.

"Pika pikaaa!" The Pokémon jumped up onto his trainers shoulder and nuzzled him lightly, clearly happy with the sudden sense of bravado his trainer had obtained in a hurry. Ash rushed down the stairs, where his mother was waiting and wondering what he was up to now.

"Ash, what are you up to now? This mood change is sudden. Even for you." His mother asked with a very slight hint of worry that was overlapped by the curiosity.

Ash began to move for the door. "Thanks for helping me, mom. I think I know just what I should do next now that I thought a bit about it."

The mother of this boy was slightly appalled that something could change in him so fast. "What is your next idea?"

Ash smiled at his mother. "Well... I think I want to become a Frontier Brain."

Delia widened her eyes in shock at the statement. "Really? But why would you consider doing this? I know you can't stand being in one place for very long."

Ash smiled. "Come on mom. Have a little faith. Besides, I still need to go ask Scott if my offer still stands after a whole year. Plus, I need to ask my Pokémon if they are willing to adjust to this new change along with me. I can't just force them to do it."

Delia looked straight at her son and scanned over him. She saw he was itching to get out there and give this a shot no matter what. She was still having her own doubts about Ash being able to stand doing something like this, but then she looked at his eyes. Those Auburn eyes held a large sense of determination that said they were ready to face whatever came along with little hesitation to follow along. She had been waiting for Ash to show that look ever since he came back from Sinnoh.

She sighed, but soon had her face covered in a smile. "You have that look on you that says I can't change your mind on this decision. But just tell me this: will they really consider you to be old enough to take care of your own facility? I remember how large you said those facilities were after all."

Ash nodded. "I can take it. After all, I'm sure Scott wouldn't simply leave me with a gigantic building, but with no idea how to run it. Just trust me on this. Scott will help take care of everything."

Delia nodded. "I've been doing that for 4 years now Ash. So go for it. You have my support to go pursue this new path."

Ash ran up to his mother and gave her a big hug. "Thank you so much. But first, I need to go check if Scott will allow me to attempt this. If the offer still stands, and my Pokémon agree, then I may end up leaving sometime tomorrow. I'll see you later mom!"

And just like that, he was out the door and back into the world to aim for the top once again. And this time, he knew just what path he wanted to take. Even if he was to be injured in the process.

Delia sighed as she sat down. "You are just like your father, Ash. I hope that is a good thing."

.........

Ash began doing a small run over to Professor Oak's lab to use his video phone. Ash knew that if anyone had Scott's phone number still, it would be the Pokémon Professor himself. But first, Ash knew he had to make a pit stop before he even considered talking to Scott about his offer.

Ash hopped the fence to move into the corral, where all the Pokémon are kept. He looked around for any of his own Pokémon to help him. Immediately, he spotted Bulbasaur holding a Poliwag and a Bellsprout from attacking each other. Once Bulbasaur finally managed to disperse the two, Ash walked up to the green Pokémon with a smile.

"Bulba! Bulbasaur." Bulbasaur greeted him with a smile on his face. Ash was happy to see that Bulbasaur stayed busy throughout his Sinnoh trip.

"Hey there Bulbasaur. Can you go gather everyone up? I want to run something by all of you." Ash said with a kind edge in his voice. Bulbasaur nodded and ran off to go find all of Ash's Pokémon.

"And just what is this 'something' you are referring to my boy?" Ash turned around to find the Professor standing there with Tracy. Both of them were smiling, but Ash could see their eyes were full of curiosity.

"I decided on a pretty life-changing choice, Professor. Though I hope my Pokémon will be up for it." Ash stated with a slight worry about the reactions of his Pokémon.

Professor tossed a curious glance at Ash. "What are you implying here?"

Before Ash could respond, he heard a noise behind him and saw all of his Pokémon were there and accounted for. "Great Job Bulbasaur. I appreciate that."

Ash then looked at all of his Pokémon with a look of excitement. "Alright. Now I gathered you all here to toss a proposal out towards all of you. For those of you that remember from a long time ago, I challenged the Kanto Battle Frontier before leaving for Sinnoh. I managed to defeat the Battle Frontier thanks to many of you. But what many of you probably don't know is that I received the offer by Scott, the owner of the Battle Frontier, to join up among their ranks and become a Frontier Brain.

"Now back then, I didn't think much of it. But now, I want to take a different approach to becoming a strong trainer myself, and really find out if I am worthy or not to try and become a Pokémon Master. I did a lot of thinking about this when I first considered this thought, and it entails much patience, dedication and we will have to stay put. But if you are willing to do this, then we can become powerful and learn from the best around. So who's with me?

Those who didn't know exactly what the Battle Frontier was received a very quick and to the point explanation from Pikachu. Once that was settled, they all looked around each other with curious glances. Ash was starting to get worried that they were not up for it and that they were too unsure on the choice.

However, all of Ash's doubts faded when all of his Pokémon began stepping up one by one. He smiled at all of his Pokémon and laughed. "Thanks guys. I'm so glad you're on board. Now I need to just make the call to Scott and-"

"Hold it young man." Ash remembered Tracy and the Professor were still there. "Now how about you explain this to us first? I was not really aware that you could still make this choice. How about you explain this to us first before I loan you my video phone."

.........

After grabbing a cup of water, Ash went through all the info that he had on the Battle Frontier. This included what Max told him during their trip. Needless to say, Oak was skeptical about all of this. Even once Ash finished, he was still unsure how to cope with this idea. Tracy, on the other hand, had been worrying about what would happen if Misty found out the trainer had been back for a whole week without any form of notice.

"Ash, are you even planning on telling Misty that you're back?" Tracy asked after a small amount of silence to let Oak digest all of this information that Ash had given him.

Ash sheepishly smiled. "I don't think that would be a good idea at this state. Especially since I still don't have a full idea what may happen if Scott let's me back in. I may not even be back for some time. Though, in all honesty, I don't really know what to expect."

Tracy nodded as he respected his decision. If Ash was only going to be in Pallet just a little bit longer, then it's not really worth it to tell Misty right now. As for Brock, nobody really knows what he has been up to in the last week since Ash made it home. So nobody could really tell what would happen with the tall individual.

As for the others, same rules apply as they do with Misty. Ash is refusing to talk to his old friends until they know what will happen after the call. Ash would love to talk to them, but if he did, then they would try too hard to help with his mood, which Ash was really not too keen on burdening them with his current thoughts.

Oak finally broke the silence once more. "So let's just say that by some miracle, Scott's offer still stands right now. Aren't you too young for this type of responsibility?"

Ash's thoughts immediately shifted to Anabel. If he remembered right, she was the same age as him. He was distracted by the thought of seeing her and the other Frontier Brains again after a whole year. He suddenly shifted back to reality.

"No I'm not. See, there is a Frontier Brain in the group called Anabel. She is the same age as me, and she is also very similar to me in a sense. She is the perfect example of not really being too young."

Oak knew he lost this battle, but he still had one more question. "What about your mother? What does she think?"

Ash chuckled. "She was surprised I was up and running again after so long of being down in the dumps. But other than that, once I fully told her I was serious with this and knew I would not give up on this so easily, she said she supported the idea."

'Just like Delia.' Oak smiled. "Alright Ash. Go grab the phone. I think his number is in there somewhere."

Ash went up and started looking through the contact info to find Scott. Once he found him after a bit of searching, he dialed the number. After the dialing, he simply waited.

Riiing...

Riiiing...

Riiiing...

A man with sunglasses on answered the phone. "Hello? Wait, is that you Ash? And Pikachu also. How have you been?"

Ash smiled. "We're doing great, Scott. Long time no see."

The Frontier Owner smiled. "You can say that again. So what possessed you to call me at 7 P.M.? It's not every day that you would take time to call me. Especially since the Battle Frontier."

Ash took in a deep breath. "Scott... I want to join the Battle Frontier."

Man I bet none of you saw this coming. Besides the comment question from my last upload, I really didn't drop many hints because I kinda wasn't too sure on this project. This is a bit out of my line of work, but branching out is part of life after all. You will also notice a few more evident changes in my writing style. The last upload I made was a bit more like my origional because that was made before I started playing around with a few new things.

Anyways, Comment Question: Ultra Sun or Ultra Moon? I haven't chosen mine yet, but I bet some of you have so which did you choose? Anyways, I will see you all later.

-Bl0t0rch