//------------------------------//
// Whereabouts 
// Story: My Little Pokémon: Grander World 
// by Amarvax 
//------------------------------//

The Human World. Sci-Twi's Home. Afternoon.

All this time, Sci-Twi had been busy, doing her own thing. At this moment, she was currently researching a certain item that laid on the table which apparently required Sci-Twi to gather as much of her equipment as possible. And that item was none other than a Travel Sphere. Originally created by Team Plasma and soon obtained by the Ranger Union, this item was capable of opening up gateways to wherever anyone wished to go.

At least, they used to. Now that the two worlds have become one, the Travel Spheres were powerless with only two gateways currently existing. But it was for that reason that Sci-Twi was working on it. The fact that two of them were still around and one of them was constantly moving whenever it was used proved that there was something that could be done with them.

"It's great that Professor Oak managed to ship one over to me. The Travel Spheres aren't of any use anymore but that doesn't mean they can't be fixed. I've been wanting to look into Rift-related things for a while and this is perfect." Courtesy of Professor Oak, she got the chance to work on this.

And the reason for this was because of the Infinity Gateway which still remained a mystery. Twilight wished to crack down on it but since it was so hard to follow, fixing the Travel Sphere was the way to go. While working on it, her phone was ringing, showing Sunset Shimmer's name and face on it. With just her elbow, she answered the call.

"Hello? Sunset?"

"Twilight! Big news! Very big news!" Sunset's voice went through the roof, making the phone tremble from the sheer volume.

"How big are we talking?" Sci-Twi asked, interacting with the screws of the Travel Sphere. All she was really missing was Rift Energy but she would get to that eventually when ready.

"It's Ash's Ancestor and more! His very-great grandma's in the modern day!"

"What?!" Twilight paused her work, nearly stabbing through the Travel Sphere with her screwdriver. "What do you mean by that?!"

"You won't believe this! I just met up with Rarity and the others and there's a lot. I promise you, it's worth checking out. Hurry before Ash and everyone else head back home."

"Ah, I'm focused on the Travel Sphere right now though! I really want to get this under control as soon as possible and I'm getting somewhere. A-Another time. But tell me everything while I work on this." Sci-Twi would still gladly hear about this. This was something else.



Equestria. Canterlot. Canterlot Castle. Afternoon.

Moving through the portal, Ash and his friends had returned to their world. And this time, they brought two guests from the past with them. Akari and Arezu. Being in the Human World, they gathered a lot that they can think about. Lena Ketchum has indeed moved through time and apparently, spent some time in the Hisui Region.

Her disappearance was a mystery as the last time she was seen was by entering a Space-Time Distortion, also known as a Time Leak. However, the fact that they led to the present was proof that somewhere in the world, Lena Ketchum was out there. And right now, Arezu and Akari believed that she must have ended up in this world.

"Oooh..." Entering this world which is theirs in the future were Arezu and Akari as they could witness what wonders it brought. And the first thing their eyes met with was the design of Canterlot Castle's interior.

"Is this a castle?" Arezu spoke, viewing the lavish and royal appearance. "I have never been in one before. I've only seen it in books."

"This is the present?" Akari's jaw dropped with a prolonged gasp. "How much changed since then? Are there flying carriages here?!"

"Nope, but we have Flying Chariots. Sorta." Pinkie Pie replied.

"Wait! You're all Pokemon!" Of course, seeing Pinkie Pie and everyone else in their true forms immediately made Akari and Arezu think that they were Pokemon. "Amazing!"

"We're not Pokemon. We're ponies. Totally different universe but now we share a universe. Make sense?" Rainbow Dash grinned, flapping her wings. The girls from the past glanced over at the ponies, seeing the horns and wings they possessed. They have yet to see an alicorn which was the perfect mix of each of them.

"It all comes back to both our worlds merging as one," Ash explained. "This world never had Pokemon before but now it does and its a part of ours. A lot happened after your era."

"Okay. Now that we're here" said Starlight Glimmer. "There's a 50% chance she's here. Honestly, the only reason why you haven't found her there yet is because travelling in that world is different compared to how it is now."

"This world is ours in the future. So that must mean Lena is here! I'm sure of it!" A confident Akari said. "She has to be. And I need to know why she left that day."

"Oooh, this is nice." Meanwhile, Arezu was already touching something, feeling the curtains and how smooth they were.

"I also have to report back to the Galaxy Expedition Team. Once I find her, I have to return."

"Are you sure? Won't they get worried if you take too long? Lena could be anywhere and it could take days or weeks to find her."

"Well, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary. At the Galaxy Expedition Team, working for days is something we do. I don't usually get past one day, honestly." Akari added. "But just for this, I'll gladly take as much time as I can! Just for Lena"

"Really?" Arezu looked over. "Can you honestly last here for that long? I honestly think you're not ready for the future."

"How bad can it be?" Akari pouted. "I've had my theories on what the future could be like so I'm positive I'll be fine. And what about you?"

"I only came along because I'm interested. Getting the chance to view the future is something amazing. That previous world wasn't the right future for our world. This is. I'll be heading back soon, Akari. And I wish you all the best of luck with finding Lena."

"While you're here, you gotta check some stuff out." Ash slid over to Arezu. "The future's great! We're in a whole different region that was never here in the first place!"

"I'd love to. Show me everything so far before I leave." Arezu liked the sound of that. "While I'm here, I can maybe see how my Hairdressing skills scales to those in the modern day."

"You dress hair for others?" Rarity's interest was piqued as she approached Arezu.

"I do. It's my speciality. Would you all like to see what I can whip up?"

"Mhm!" Rarity and the others vehemently agreed. They would have the chance to have hairstyles from the past. 

"I don't know...I like my hair the way it is." Ash pondered for a moment but he did prefer his current Hairstyle which was the only Hairstyle that he's had since birth.

"Your hair's a bit shaggy, Ash. I can tell even with that hat of yours on." Arezu would remove Ash's hat, revealing the shaggy, bed hair nature of it. "We can change that. Just for a moment and nothing more."

"Uhh..." Before Ash could say anything, Arezu already got to work. Everyone already took a seat. Arezu had the necessary items to stylize their hair in her bag. Ash was soon seated, looking a bit befuddled as Arezu wasn't going to skip out on his hair. With all of them seated, the girls were more than prepared to see what Arezu could whip up for them.

The girl from 200 years ago looked at each of their hairstyles, thinking about how she could adapt them to make it fit their characteristics. Arezu was already hit with a barrage of ideas as there were plenty of hairstyles that fit them all and it was time for her to make them a reality.

Arezu would carefully tend to their hair, moulding something either fabulous, adorable, cool or nifty for them. Each catered to Ash and his friends. Akari just stood there, realizing that Arezu wasn't taking this as seriously as she was. She still saw this as a serious matter considering she had a lot of respect for Lena and was worried about these Space-Time Distortions but that didn't stop her from doing what she loves.

Just like that, she had whipped up alternate hairstyles for them all. Rainbow Dash received a ponytail which managed to capture all of her colours just like how her original hair does. The way the rainbows perfectly turned was pleasing to look at and Rainbow Dash most definitely enjoyed it. But the cherry on top was what was on the front.

Arezu gave Rainbow Dash a bang. And this bang was in the shape of a lightning bolt while still looking smooth and consistent with the hairstyle. It wasn't crooked or jagged at all. It was so neat that it only almost covered one of Rainbow Dash's eyes.

Rarity received what appeared to be pigtails with drills. She has only seen this kind of hairstyle on Sienna and no one else. Rarity felt the drills on her side as they were also rather playful. Fluttershy received a ponytail as well but with multiple braids. And that the very end, there was a heart shape. 

Applejack saw herself now possessing a hairstyle known as Fountain Curls. She lost her braided hairstyle but she got this pleasing hairstyle in return which had smooth curls and neither of them twisted at all. She even received a crown at the back of her head which was made out of beads that Arezu added. 

Then there was Pinkie Pie who now had Double Buns on her head but with plenty of softness. It was so soft that when she touched it, it felt like touching cotton candy. The sensation Pinkie Pie received made her tingle as it was wonderful to feel. Arezu knew exactly what she wanted.

"Woo...Not bad." Admiring this were Hilbert and Hilda, who were exempt from this. They were rather lucky they weren't selected as Ash's hair was somehow shaggier than Hilbert's even though they almost look identical.

And finally, there was Ash. He now had long hair but it was not smooth and neither was it shaggy. It was more spiked than usual as his Long Hair was enough to reach the end of his torso. His hair matched that of Fire itself. Ash did in fact like this hairstyle, but he much preferred the hair he's always had.

"Oh, sweet! Way to go, Arezu!" Ash felt his radical hairstyle, praising it.

"I've never felt something like this before. Do you think I could spin these around?" Rarity gushed at her drills. Arezu was pleased to hear them love these hairstyles. A job well done. Her skills as a hairdresser were impressive indeed.

"Arezu!"Akari shouted, startling Arezu and the others. "Why aren't you taking this seriously?! Ms Lena's missing, there are Space-Time Distortions around and it doesn't feel like you're taking it seriously!"

"I am taking it seriously. But I like to have fun as well, Akari," said Arezu, approaching the ancestor of Dawn. "Look. For now, we're not sure what these Space-Time Distortions can truly do just yet and Lena is still missing. But I'm sure we can solve it all with all the help we're getting."

"Alright..." Akari sighed. "Sorry for shouting at you."

"If it makes you feel better, I've got a way we can find Lena faster. " Pinkie Pie bounced over. "My Slurpuff can track down her scent. Any of them can find her and all they have to do is figure out her scent. I'm guessing she doesn't have the same scent as Ash since Slurpuff didn't recognize you. But there's one way we can track her."

"How's that?"

"I just need something that Lena owned and that way, we can find her. Got anything?"

"Oooh...That might not be possible right now." Arezu shrugged, answering in a heartbeat. "We don't really have anything that Lena owned."

"I do." Akari raised her hand as she did indeed have something. And by digging into her small bag, a way to find Lena was about to be shown. "Well, it's something she gave me. She entrusted me with this one day. Do you think you could use this?" The item in question was a shard. 

It was a rather odd shard, having an unknown material on it. No one recognized the material at all as it did not match anything in the world. There was something rather ethereal about it. Ash and Pikachu were the only ones who could almost make out what this material could be. They felt like they've seen it before.

"She wanted me to make it into a necklace or another accessory. I never got around to it. How well do the Slurpuff track someone's scent?"

"It's top tier! Even if you've touched the shard, they can always sniff out who touched it previously." Pinkie Pie guaranteed before sending out one of her Slurpuff.

"Slurpuff!"

"Alright, Slurpuff! Work your magic and sniff this!"

"Slur...Slurpuff..." Slurpuff had to concentrate. This was the scent of someone who had previously touched this shard. He had to completely ignore Akari's scent. When taking in the scent, Slurpuff's eyes twitched while everyone stayed silent. Even if Lena Ketchum was far away, the scent would not escape Slurpuff. "Puff"

And it most definitely didn't. Slurpuff found it. The scent of Lena Ketchum. With just one detection, he could tell where she was. And with his cries, Fluttershy would be the one to translate what he had found out.

"He's found the scent! And it sounds like Lena's in this world!"

"So she has passed through the gateways!" Starlight made a prolonged gasp. "That means we have a better chance at finding her!"

"You'd think we would've heard about that by now." Rainbow Dash pondered. "Ash got popular over here at Equestria so somepony would've pointed her out or something would've made us aware of her. Anything. She looks just like him."

"Grandma's really here...Awesome." Ash grinned, psyched to potentially meet his very-very-great grandmother. "I gotta see her! Is she in Equestria or another region, Slurpuff?"

"Puff..." Slurpuff shook his head. Unfortunately, he could only pick up the scent in this world. As for her location, he would have to keep moving but the fact that he picked it up here meant that if this was to be done in the Human World, the trail would've led back to the Pokemon World either way.

"If there's one region she would be at...Don't you think it would be Sinnoh?" Rarity suggested. "After all, SInnoh is Hisui. And how long did it take for the name to change?"

"I still can't believe you named it after Almighty Sinnoh down the road. How respectful." Arezu crossed her arms, proud of the future.

"Well, you see, Almighty Sinnoh is Arceus. And the one who interacts with time is Dialga. The one I was talking about." Ash answered, clarifying the proper names for Arezu and Akari. "Anyway, Rarity might be on to something. I say we pay a visit to Sinnoh and see what we can find."

"Poor Twilight won't get that chance. She's too busy with her Pokemon School at the moment." Meanwhile, Starlight mourned for Twilight Sparkle who had to set a good example for her students since this was her first proper day as the Principal.

"Well, by this time, she should be done for the day. The Pokemon School lasts until the afternoon." Pinkie Pie brought on the positives to this. At least the Pokemon School did not last until 3:00 or 3:30 like most schools do.

"We will make this as quick as possible and return to Hisui. Wait for us, Ms Lena." A determined Akari clenched her hands as it was off to the Sinnoh Region. It should still be familiar to her but there will certainly be massive changes waiting for her.



Kanto. Pallet Town. Professor Oak's Lab. Afternoon.

Over at Professor Oak's Lab, the Professor's work was quickly interrupted by a call. From his computer, he received a call all the way from another world. The connection was rather impressive for it to be capable of such a feat as it was coming from Sci-Twi.

"Oh? Twilight." Oak would answer the computer, seeing his newest student's face. And right now, Sci-Twi had some major news to throw at Professor Oak that he had to hear. As his student, Sci-Twi felt the need to do. "How goes the work on that Travel Sphere I gave you? Is it going well?"

"Never mind that! Something bigger than that has come up!"

"Hm? It has? What exactly? Is it the Rift?"

"No. It's the Time Leaks! There's a bit more to them and someone's passed through here! Someone from the very far past. Farther than the Alpha Pokemon we know!"

"You sound very excited, Twilight. What else is there to the Time Leaks? And who passed through exactly? It must be a famous figure from the past."

"No. It's Ash's ancestor. His grandmother from the far past, Lena Ketchum!"

"Hmmm?!" Oak's heart skipped a beat just from hearing that. No matter who was told this information, they couldn't help but be amazed. "I've heard about Lena Ketchum before...from the book Delia has. That same Lena?"

"Apparently, there's an image of her now. From the era she comes from, that shouldn't be possible but she's moved through time it seems and now there's one inside of that book." Sci-Twi continued. "And those Time Leaks show different locations depending on who looks through them. But the only ones who can see anything are either ones who've lived for a long time or have travelled through time."

"You're throwing a lot at me, Twilight. But go on. And tell me everything as slowly as possible. What you're saying sounds bigger than what we've ever experienced." Oak had to hear it all at a steady pace since Sci-Twi was speaking rather fast but she just couldn't contain her excitement about this discovery.

"Right, sorry. But before that...Do you think I could look into this too?"

"Well, of course, you can. What's stopping you? Now...Start from the beginning."

The mystery of Lena Ketchum was starting to get somewhere now that more information was being revealed. All that was left was to find her and receive more of those answers. And hopefully, avoiding the worst considering there were Space-Time Distortions in the mix. Sinnoh was the place to go and now someone else was looking into the mystery of Lena Ketchum and even the Time Leaks.

However, no one was ready for what was around the corner in their adventures. A rather perplexing turn in this chapter of their story was about to arise. And it would be the start of many things to come. Some of which, they have already received a glimpse of from another world opposite to this and the other. As the journey continues.


Chapter 228 End.