All the Brains relaxed as they found out the choice he made. A few seemed upset, but Ash noticed that some were satisfied. Most notably, Anabel. She seemed both surprised and a bit overtaken with joy and happiness. Ash stared at her as he wondered what was going on in her head as she stood up with a smile evident on her face.

Ash then looked around at the other people that sat around him. He noticed that Brandon, Tucker, Noland, and Scott looked surprisingly satisfied with the choice that he made. On the other hand, Spencer, Greta, and Lucy showed a slight tinge of sadness upon their faces. Though, to their credit, they tried to hide it behind some simple smiles and nods of approval.

Scott broke the silence among the group. "Alright. Now since I know you probably weren't thinking about this, you will have extra time to come up with your Battle Facility. But we need an area to start setting up on. You have any ideas?"

Ash thought for a second. "Probably this large hill just southeast of Pallet that faces towards the ocean. That space is a decent place to set it. My only request right now is try to not force the wild Pokémon out."

"Gotcha. I'll call a crew in." Scott turned to everyone else. "Alright everyone. Let's head out of the room and allow these two to talk amongst themselves. You can talk to them after they walk out."

Everyone nodded and began to walk out until only Ash and Anabel remained in the room. Anabel walked up to the trainer, who was still surprised by the mixed responses he recieved from everyone. Ash then snapped out of his own world and went back to reality.

"Thanks for choosing me Ash. I really appreciate that." Anabel stated.

"No problem Anabel. You just seemed like the logical choice to go with after all. I doubt the others would really be able to adjust to having me around. Except maybe Noland, but I'm not one for mechanics." Ash stated.

Anabel let out a light giggle. "Don't worry. I'm not either. But you may still see him later on. When I was chosen to be a Frontier Brain, some of the others sometimes came by to check on my progress. We are family after all."

Ash looked at her with curiosity. "Who was your teacher?"

"It was Brandon. I'll spare you the details until later. Now I just want to tell you that I will do everything I can to help you get up higher. Though, just keep this in mind that these two months will be a bit excruciating at times, and you may want to quit. But whatever you do, never give up. You have the drive, now I just want to see your will to be one of us."

Ash nodded with a grin and a determined look on his face. His Pikachu seemed to mimick the look his trainer was giving off. "Don't worry Anabel. I trust you well enough to know that I won't die this time around."

Anabel gave a horrfied look. "Please tell me you're joking."

Ash realized his mistake as he put his hands up as reassurance. "I didn't mean literally."

Anabel let out a sigh of relief. "Thank Arceus. Now let's go back to my place. I hope you are ready for the two months."

Ash gave a slight look of unassurance. "I didn't pack for two months."

Anabel shot a smile at him. "Don't worry. I can take care of that later. For now, let's just head out. I bet the others are out there waiting to talk to you."

They began to take a step out of the room. Unsurprisingly, there was already a man waiting for them to walk out of the room. He gave off an unwavering stone-faced expression as they walked out, but he mean't no real harm to the pair.

"Hey Brandon." Ash smiled as his Pikachu waved..

The ruins expert gave off a slight nod as a greeting. "I just figured I would give you some advice. There is a fine line between near death exhaustion and achieving nothing, and staying healthy while still learning something new. I hope you, Ash, can watch yourself and know when and when not to push yourself too hard. Anabel, as his teacher, you will need to know when he needs to stop. No matter how stubborn he gets. Do you both understand?"

"Yes we do." They both stated.

Brandon gave a small smile. "Good. Now I may spend several weeks reviewing the Ruins of Alph in Johto. The newest chamber was recently opened up, and they asked me to review it for them. But when I finish, expect me back to visit you both."

"Thanks Brandon. Glad to see you weren't upset about my decision." Ash stated.

Brandon turned his back and began to walk off. "I already knew who you would choose."

As the Pyramid King left the hallway, Ash was questioning how exactly Brandon knew who his choice was before he did. And on top of that, Brandon wasn't the only one who seemed satisfied with his choice. Before he could begin to ponder this thought any longer, Anabel snapped him out of it.

"Come on. If we want to make it before dark, then we need to get the rest of this over with."

Ash began to move with Pikachu behind him as the three of them walked out into the lobby. The one who waited for them this time was Noland. The Factory Head smiled as the two walked up closer to him.

"You made a smart choice going with her, Ash. Anabel, just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I plan to pass by every once in a while and give you some extra practice since you could need a different challenge. If you get too used to an opponent, then you won't be able to apply the things you know to the next opponent. Though I doubt that Anabel will make you go over the same thing the whole time."

Ash nodded. "Thanks Noland. Tell Articuno I said hi."

"Pikapi." Pikachu said also.

"I will. I'll see all of you later." Noland stated as he walked out.

Ash and Anabel continued to walk out the door of the Frontier Headquarters together, with Pikachu in tow on our hero's shoulder. They moved down the street a little bit until Anabel stopped moving all at once. Ash noticed and turned around to notice she pulled a Pokeball out into her hands.

"You have a flying Pokemon. Am I correct?" She asked.

Ash wasn't surprised at all by this. After all, this was only natural assumption. "Yeah. I have my Staraptor from Sinnoh. Why?"

Anabel tossed the Pokeball up in the air. "Come out my friend."

The Pokeball flashed open to reveal a Togekiss. It appeared to be well trained and way more powerful compared to that of Dawn's Togekiss. But Ash didn't expect anything less out of the second strongest Frontier Brain in Kanto. The Pokémon landed right next to Anabel, who was patting it's back.

"Wow. Your Togekiss looks strong."

Anabel smiled. "Thanks. Now let's see your Staraptor. We need to get going to my place."

Ash tossed out his Staraptor, who landed next to him softly. "Starrrr...?"

"Hey buddy. Do you think you could make it one more trip?" Ash asked the flying type.

"Starrrraptor." Staraptor rose its wings in the air. He seemed full of energy.

Anabel climbed onto Togekiss. "He said he can do it and then some."

Ash widened his eyes in his realization of what Anabel was talking about. "Oh right. I almost forgot about your empathy links."

Ah yes. Anabel's special skill, the empathy links. This skill is part of what makes Anabel herself. Her skill allows her to listen to the emotions of the Pokemon she is around. Due to that, she can understand Pokemon as well as communicate via a mental link (this is a cannon thing in the anime. just saying).

Anabel faked a look of hurt. "Really? I thought you knew me better than that?"

Ash scratched the back of his head while Pikachu only laughed. "Sorry. It's been a while after all."

Anabel's face softened. "It's fine. Now come on. We've got ways to go."

.........

Needless to say, the flight to the Tohjo Falls wasn't too long after starting in Viridian City this time around. But as the sky was starting to get dark, there was little that Ash and Anabel could do besides get Ash settled in for the full two months. Ash had placed what little he had brought with him inside the spare room in Anabel's house, and sat down around the back side of the house with his partner next to him.

"Pikapi..." The Electric type let out a small cry.

"I can't believe it either. These months are going to be drastically different from what we are used to doing. But then again, who said everything was easy in life. Just look at what we went through back in the day." Ash remembered how he shocked Misty's bike, May's bike, Dawn's bike, and all the others he met. He even remembered how Pikachu would never listen to him, and used to constantly shock him.

'Those were some good times.' Ash thought to himself.

He heard a sound behind him and turned around to see Anabel walking up to him. She was dressed much more casual this time around, sporting a simple white t-shirt with a black vest on and a red scarf draped around her neck. She was wearing jeans on her as well with some running shoes on. Her Espeon followed right behind her.

"What are you doing out here? It's almost time for dinner." The Salon Maiden asked with curiosity.

Her Espeon sat next to Pikachu while she took a seat next to Ash in the grass. Ash simply shrugged in response to her question.

"Nothing much. Pikachu and I are just sitting here and reminiscing on our old adventures and how it's all lead up to this moment. I still can't believe that I am learning about how to be a Frontier Brain. It is just so shocking to me. I haven't even decided what to do about my Battle Facility or my symbol."

Anabel smiled. "Don't worry about it. You will have at best about several weeks to think about it, so I suggest when you aren't too busy that you put some thought into it."

Ash nodded. "Thanks. I'll remember that."

The two trainers sat in silence with their Pokémon next to them. They could hear the Pidgeys around them flying as the sun continued to set over the horizon. They watched it for some time until the silence was broken. "Hey Ash?"

"Yeah?" Ash turned his head.

"Is everyone ok with you making this choice?" Anabel stated.

Ash sighed. "Only a handful of people know I am even attempting this. My Mother, Professor Oak, his assistant Tracey, and the rest of the Battle Frontier."

Anabel frowned. "Why is that?"

"Because I would rather not have my friends worry about me. If I let them know what I am doing, they might be too worried about me. Plus, if I told them about my issues I am having, that will only make things worse. I feel like this is something I can't shoulder onto anyone."

Anabel looked at Ash. She could finally tell exactly what Scott and Brandon were talking about back on the video phone last night. There was something wrong with Ash, but helping him find it on his own will be difficult.

"Well that's what I'm here for. As your teacher, I am supposed to help you grow past these problems and become not just a better trainer, but a better person."

The Mouse and Sun Pokémon were eyeing their trainers with curiosity as they continued to wonder where this conversation was going.

"I understand that... but I just don't know what to do. I don't want to let anyone down." Ash mumbled just loud enough to hear.

"You won't Ash. Now come on. Let's grab something to eat so we can get some sleep." Anabel stood up.

Ash smiled slightly. "Yeah. I need some food in me right about now."

........

Morning came pretty fast that day. Not that our hero noticed, as he and Pikachu were still stuck in bed and trying to sleep the morning away. But of course, there was a lot that must be done that day, so the Salon Maiden was waiting in the doorway while watching the pair with a certain purple Pokémon next to her.

"Oh what am I going to do with him?" Anabel stated while shaking her head. Espeon mewed in agreement.

After a couple minutes of waiting, Anabel looked at her watch and formed a slightly mischievous grin on her face. "Well, I was hopeful, but I guess that sleeping habit does need to be knocked down a bit. Espeon, let's wake them up."

Espeon began forming a Psychic around the two and raising them up out of their bed and putting them up in the air several feet. Luckily the ceiling on this house was quite tall. Anabel brought out an air horn from behind her back and looked up at the pair...

...and squeezed the air horn in their ears.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"                                                                                                                                                  "PIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

Ash and Pikachu yelled out as they heard the air horn and began spinning uncontrollably in the air. Pikachu began freaking out as sparks began coming off of his cheeks. His instant reaction was to shock whatever was around him. It was then that Pikachu let off a Thunderbolt in the room... which ironically only hit Ash.

"OWW! PIKACHU!" Ash continued to scream out as Pikachu shocked him.

Anabel could only laugh at the reactions before her. "Hahaha. Ok Espeon. Let... haha... let them down."

The Sun Pokémon let the pair back gently onto their bed. Ash and Pikachu looked at the Frontier Brain in shock and confusion. "What was that for?" "Pika pi?"

Anabel smiled at the pair. "Sorry, but we need to get up early and go open up the Battle Tower."

Ash stood up and started stretching his limbs. Pikachu arched his back as they both let out a yawn. "I thought the Frontier was off season for at least a few more months."

Anabel nodded. "Yeah we are, but in the few months beforehand, trainers still come around to practice in the training rooms we have in the tower. I need to unlock it for Maron and then we can start going to work."

"Training?" Ash asked hopefully.

Anabel shook her head. "Sort of, but not Pokémon training. I need to teach you about the routine I take when I take care of my facility. You need to learn this if you are going to take care of your own Battle Facility."

Ash sighed. "When will I be able to do some actual Pokémon training?"

"Be patient Ash. You need to get into a routine of doing this first before we can get into the actual training aspect of your two months."

"Alright." Ash grumbled. "Let me change first and I'll meet you in the kitchen for breakfast."

After a few minutes, Ash and Anabel were eating breakfast in the kitchen with their Pokémon and preparing for the day ahead. "So Anabel, what is the whole routine supposed to consist of anyways?"

Anabel frowned. "It isn't the most fun thing in the world, but part of it is touring the floors and checking to make sure everything is going smoothly."

Ash nodded. "Is there much else?"

"I feel like I should save it so I don't have to repeat myself too much."

Ash ate the last piece of his toast, and stood up out of his seat. "Well then, let's go. If I'm going to learn, then I should do it as soon as possible, right?"

Anabel laughed a small amount. "You can't sit still, can you? Alright then. Espeon. Pikachu. Let's go."

They left the house in a hurry due to Ash being as impatient and eager to learn as he is. The pair and their Pokémon continued to walk along the path towards the large Battle Facility that stood only a short ways away from them.

Ash marveled at the tower. "Wow. I forgot how massive this thing is."

Anabel shrugged. "It just got taller. We added a few more floors to it when you left."

Ash continued to stare at it as they walked along the path to the entrance. They made it to the front door, where a familiar person was standing and waiting for them.

"Hey Maron. You arrived early." Anabel stated.

The assistant nodded. "Yeah. Felt like getting an early start today."

Ash began wondering how people like them get up so early on days like this. He felt like he could've slept all morning sometimes, which he was quite used to after so long. He began to think about all that had happened to him this morning. He winced. 'What if that happens again?'

"Maybe you could pick up a few getting up early tips from Maron. Then I won't have to wake you up again." Anabel said as though she read his mind.

Maron shuddered. "Oh man. Air horn?"

Ash nodded while Pikachu gave a scared look.

"Take my advice: leave your blinds open and also set an alarm clock next to you. It helps for a bit, then eventually waking up early becomes habit. Just make sure you don't do it again or it may get worse."

Ash didn't want to know, so he remained silent but gave a nod to Maron as a 'thanks' sign. Anabel pulled out her keychain and unlocked the door to the Battle Tower. They walked in and moved for the elevator.

"Hey Maron, could you show Ash the routine I usually go through? I need to fill out a few forms concerning his initiation." The Salon Maiden asked.

"Yeah. I got this."

"Thanks. Espeon, go ahead and follow them if you want to. I'll be fine."

Pikachu dropped off of Ash's shoulder and began chasing Espeon as they ran off to go play. Maron, Anabel, and Ash hopped on the elevator and began going up. They reached the 15th floor when Maron stepped off with Ash following.

"The routine should only take you about 30 minutes to take care of, then come meet me at my office so I can show you a few more things you need to learn. Make sure he is paying attention Maron." Anabel waved as the door closed and she left them.

"Alright Ash, come along with me. We need to check some of the training equipment to make sure it isn't out of energy or about to break. If it is, tell me and I'll show you how to fix it."

They moved throughout the training hall and began checking everything. From the treadmills to the punching bags, they checked and saw nothing out of the ordinary wrong with them, so they left the room and went up to the 22nd floor, the pool room.

"Here, we have to check the water levels and oxidation levels to make sure it is safe for all the water types. If one of those things is messed up, fixing them is pretty easy. You just use one of those levers for each one. Moving on."

They moved up to the 31st floor to check the floor with many battlefields. "This is the Battling Floor. Most of the trainers that train here end up wanting to test how much they and their Pokémon have improved. So in order to do that, they come up here to battle. We also host tournaments on Saturdays, so that helps trainers meet others and exchange info and strategies.

"All we are doing is checking to see if the battlefields are in good shape to host multiple battles. If they aren't, then we have to fix them ourselves, which is usually once or twice a month. Do you know how to fix a battlefield?"

Thinking back to when Ash met Flanery back in Hoenn, he nodded. "Yeah, I've done it before."

Maron smiled. "Good. Then that is the morning routine. Now let's go up to Anabel's office."

They moved up to the 45th floor, where Anabel had her office. She was sitting down and working on paperwork. Ash noticed she had a focused expression on her face, so he was unsure if they should disturb her. Maron, however, decided to make that choice for them.

"Alright Anabel. We're done."

She looked up from her stack of work and smiled. "Sorry. I didn't hear you walk in. Think you have it down Ash?"

Ash nodded. "Seems pretty simple."

"Ok then. Maron, can you go check on the door and see if people are already arriving?"

Maron nodded and walked into the elevator, leaving the two by themselves in the room.

"Alright Ash. Come take a seat." She gestured to a seat next to hers.

Ash moved over there and sat down next to her. "So what am I learning today?"

Anabel gave him a sorry look. "I figured we better get this out of the way. This is the bane of every Frontier Brain's existence right here. Paperwork."

Ash put on a scared expression. "You guys have to do paperwork? Really?"

Anabel sighed. "It's not like we enjoy it. Scott just needs most of us to fill out things that we have to send back to him so he can file it and make sure everything is in working order. It really adds up after a while, so we usually have to get it done as soon as possible. Brace yourself, cause this will take a while."

Ash facepalmed. "Oh great."

........

(Pokémon speech. Cuz why not?)

Pikachu and Espeon were out playing in the woods next to the tower. They were running around and chasing each other from tree to tree using Quick Attack to keep up with each other. When they hit each other at one of the trees, they laughed at each other.

"I got you that time." Pikachu stated.

Espeon smiled. "Oh fine. You are faster than last time. That's for sure. But if we battle, I refuse to be outpaced by you."

Pikachu gave a malicious smirk. "I accept that challenge."

However before the two could say any more words, Pikachu's ear twitched and he turned around.

"Did you hear that?" The Mouse asked.

Espeon looked at him funny. "Hear what?"

"It sounded like a ton of footsteps are coming this way."

Espeon grimaced, but let off a smile. "Oh great. The trainers are coming. We might want to go help Maron and make sure he doesn't get trampled again."

Pikachu looked at her. "Again?"

"You don't want to know."

.........

Ash arched his back as he stretched out. "I never knew how exhausting paperwork could get."

Anabel let out a light yawn. "Well, I told you this may take a while. Plus, we haven't gone through the other half of what you need to know and how to do it."

Ash groaned. "Oh man."

Before they could get started on the next part, they heard the elevator open up and saw two Pokémon run in along with a guy who looked worse for wear. Upon closer examination, they noticed it was Maron, Pikachu and Espeon, but Maron looked like he had been completely decimated by something.

"They're... here..." Maron collapsed.

Anabel saw Ash had a look of confusion on his face. "When we get a lot of trainers in early, Maron can sometimes get ran over as he opens the door and lets them inside. Did Espeon not make it in time Maron?"

Maron let out a stifled groan, which suggested a pretty obvious answer.

"Espee..." Espeon lowered her ears in sadness.

Anabel gave a shocked expression. "They were running that fast? Geez. Looks like it's time you get into the next part of the routine, Ash."

Ash nodded. "What is it?"

"You go around the training rooms and watch to check that they are all following the rules and help them if they seem like they need it."

"Ok. What about the paperwork?"

Anabel smiled. "I'll take care of that. Meet me back at the house later. This will take me a while."

Ash looked at her. "Are you sure about that? I wouldn't mind helping you."

Anabel shook her head. "This isn't any of the stuff I taught you today. Don't worry. I'll get it done by dinner."

Ash nodded and walked out of the office and into the elevator with Maron and Pikachu. Anabel and Espeon were left in the office alone while Anabel continued to work.

"Besides, I can't control that spirit of yours Ash. I just need to teach you how."

.........

It was near the end of the day whenever Ash and Pikachu finally walked into the house. He noticed that Anabel still wasn't back yet even though he knows that she should've been done with the paperwork by now. He also heard from Maron that she should've left and came back an hour ago, so Maron said he would lock up.

He then found a note on the counter and took a look at it.

'Sorry Ash. I need to go take care of something with the wild Pokémon nearby. I will be a bit late coming back, so just sit tight or make some dinner for yourself. See you in a bit.'

-Anabel

Ash sat the note down and moved outside again to sit on the hill nearby. He layed down on the grass and looked up at the sky with Pikachu laying next to him. He called out the rest of his team and start cleaning them off some and feed them.

"Alright guys. Here you go. Eat up." Ash placed the bowls he had with him around and put the Pokémon food in them.

The Pokémon gave him a gracious look as they started eating their food while Ash watched them himself for a bit. He sat like that and smiled at how happy they seemed. He continued to watch them for a bit until he heard noises behind him.

He turned to see a Lilac haired girl walking up to him. She seemed a bit tired and had a Metagross out next to her along with her Espeon. She sat next to Ash and groaned slightly.

"Hey Anabel. You ok?"

The Salon Maiden nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just had to go help out with a small issue. But anyways, I guess these are all the Pokémon you brought with you?"

"Yeah. This is my team from back in Sinnoh. Buizel, Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, and Gliscor. They helped me through a lot."

Anabel smiled. "Glad to see you have so many friends."

Ash nodded. "I haven't eaten yet. Want me to make you something? I learned a few things from Brock."

"Sure. I could use something if you are really offering. Let's go."

After a quick dinner, they sat down on the couch and continued to talk about a few simple things.

"So Ash, how are all of your old friends doing?" Anabel asked.

"I don't really know how May is doing. Last I talked to her, she had just narrowly lost the Wallace Cup in Sinnoh and returned to Johto to keep up on contests. Haven't seen Max since I won the Battle Frontier, and Brock I haven't really seen in a week. He did tell me that he was changing his goal and decided to become a Pokémon Doctor. If I had to guess, he is back in Pewter City."

Anabel nodded. "Interesting. Didn't you tell me you had other friends besides just them?"

Ash nodded. "Misty is still working at the Gym since the league is still going on for another month. I haven't talked to her since before I challenged Noland. As for Dawn, she went to Hoenn to partake in the Pokémon contests about to occur there also. So basically, everyone I know about right now is after their own dream right now."

Anabel nodded. "And you said that you didn't tell any of them that you have decided to join us?"

Ash started petting his Pikachu. "Exactly. Like I said, I am joining to figure out what I am missing from my battling style and why I declined so much during Sinnoh. I want to regain that strength and also grow as a trainer. I feel like the Battle Frontier will help me do that."

Anabel nodded. "We will get there. Trust me. I just want you to get used to this routine though. If you can get used to this, then you will have the basics down for running a Battle Facility. Then we can start getting into the fun part. But trust me. This is all worth it."

Ash looked up. "Did Brandon ever make you do this kind of stuff whenever you were trying to be a Frontier Brain?"

Anabel looked away from him. "Not exactly. There were things similar to this, but Brandon had a different way of approaching things. I'll tell you some other time. For now, let's just get some sleep."

Ash and Anabel walked towards their respective rooms. "And don't make me have to wake you up again."

Ash shuddered as he closed the door behind him for the night. Even outside the door, you could hear him set an alarm and open some blinds.

Gosh. I wouldn't want to be Ash during that moment lol. But yeah. Let me know if there is something that I can work on in terms of my writing. I am currently writing other chapters already with some other parts already semi-complete. Just need a bit of editing mainly. But for the sake of your notification boxes, I decided to wait a bit longer.

Now Comment Question: What is your favorite season of the year? Mine is Spring because that is my running season. Now I hope you had a better day than me today lol.

-Bl0t0rch