Once again a phenomenal chapter

Fantastic. This was one of the better recent chapters. I like that Ash actually accomplished a lot. His team seems to finally be improving(though it only seemed like a long time due to the many chapters detailing a short period of time), where in most of the last chapters nothing seemed to change. We finally see Ash using his power, psychic or Aura, whatever it is. Excited for Fino! Thanks for writing!

God damn that was good. Need a smoke after that chapter. I love it when you incorporate the Legends and their folklore, keep it up. I can't wait until the next chapter and hoping for more Legends and their mysteries and the reactions of the league.

Absolutely loved the chapter and your work as a whole. Looking forward to the next chapter

I am amazed with this chapter. I have only just realized the beauty of taking in legends as beings with a concept to fulfill. The way you have taken the sort of the legends is truly a masterpiece in this diamond of a story. I honestly can't just call this a run of the mill fanfic. For those of us who grew up with Pokémon and are now finding the original too childish, this is truly the perfect replacement. Honestly if it was at all possible by me to animate this this... I don't have a word for this story into a series, I would have started it already for my own sake if not the other many fans for this story. Keep up the good work.

I really really hope
that this not the start of a Canon like, never winning a huge important tournaments
and only winning minor ones until the final arc of this story where he somehow wins the alolan league.

pls. pls. pls. I really hope not

Finally have some time to review! This was a fantastic chapter Elf and a delight to read.

Flannery is an exceedingly welcome breath of fresh air, especially compared to the meat of the rest of the chapter - seeing Ash get to interact with a "normal" kid (as normal as you can get with being shuttled into a gym leader position) and awkwardly try to mimic them gives a lot of insight to his character. It meshes pretty well with his talk about the Earth and how he always punches up, so I'm hoping we get to see more development in the future.

The Eruption! A beaut. It was cool to see a mon that's survived through its prime without humans being behind it, like with Mamoru, and the tidbits of its sides being the cave walls and its blindness were cool. I definitely got faked out by thinking it was Groudon and was real panicked with how much left there was in the chapter so that was fun lol.

And oof, poor Ash - we got some earlier hints with Cynthia but it was sharpening up with Flannery. Good ol' teenagers growing up lol

Two Legend interactions this chapter! Poor Ash. Jirachi was my favourite interaction wise, since it was the most unique, but I love the idea of Groudon. It being the crust of the earth and feeling everything walking on its back - probably an ouch every time someones uses earthquake in a battle, but incredibly powerful. Lots of fun there. I will admit that because of the two in one chapter, it feels like Ash has lost most of his reactions to the events, if that makes sense? He had some good reflection after nearly dying to Groudon but then kept on towards Jirachi. Having him make an effort to either go more adult, less emotional, or try to reclaim his more childish persona could help in that.

typhlosion fight aproachingggggggg

An excellent chapter! If you're anything like I'm guessing what keeps extending your chapters is a pre-set list of scenes you want in a chapter and your brain locks that in as fact and law - have you tried writing only scene by scene? Looking through your notes but only up to one scene, writing that, then consulting whether or not to keep writing for the chapter? Give thy poor wrists a bit of a break for their sake if nothing else lmao

This chapter was excellent, and have a wonderful summer!

Took me a while but I finished the chapter! Now time to review...

Lots to unpack here and analyze so bear with me.

I think the strongest point of the chapter is the characters. I think Ash, Flannery, and Steven were the most interesting here.

While Ash’s young age contrasted with his experiences were a very interesting point of exploration here. He has been exposed to many things someone his age should never have to see. I know some have had issues with that aspect of Traveler because it invokes child soldier tropes but personally I like it. It does an excellent job of portraying life and its difficulties. While we may never encounter war or legendary creatures, often times in life people are hit with responsibilities or confronted with events beyond their control. Life has ways of making us grow up quickly. Traveler at its best is not just adventure and exploration but a coming of age story.

Him taking the responsibility of dealing exploring the cave shows his sense of maturity, gained by experience. He takes the situation upon himself instead of letting others handle it. I did like the fact he didn’t want to see all the death again as it’s one constant of his character. No matter what he sees, he’s still not fond of death as is the case with all people. For all the inner monologues about not being human, he still has a sense of humanity in the fact he hates to see suffering and loss of life. It’s why he went into the cave alone.

Flannery was fun for the reason of seeing someone so similar to Ash, at least in regards to their competitive spirit. Even if they’re not equal in ability, it’s fun to see someone Ash’s age with an equal or close to equal drive as him.

Steven was well developed because he’s sort of a potential look at future Ash in a sense. Ash seems to have Lance’s passion and charisma and Steven’s cold logic. This is especially driven home by the fact Steven doesn’t seem to handle emotions well much like Ash. He can tell you about any fact about the Pokémon world, but emotions are not his thing.

Onto the events of the chapter, I think one of the more interesting things was Jirachi. I got some major Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade vibes there. Jirachi itself and its allure reminded me of the allure of the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones. Even the cave reminded me of the location of the grail. It was probably the most enjoyable of the legendary Pokémon reveals and events lately.

Lastly, if there’s one nitpick I have, it’s the over saturation of dialogue with the concepts seemingly overshadowing it. Jirachi was a throwback to classic Traveler and what made the legendary Pokémon so amazing. They were mysterious in nature and something to explore/find.

Fire/Ice/Lightning/The Song’s frequent use in casual dialogue feels a bit jarring since it seems less mysterious and less remote, but makes those legends/concepts almost common. It minimizes some of the mystery and intrigue to make it such a commonplace thing. It seems like it has increased in use more and more. Not sure if this makes any sense.

Anyway, still really enjoyed this chapter! Keep up the amazing work!

Whoa, so much to unpack here.
Funny moments I loved: Steven failing to tease Ash about Flannery; Ash wetting Steven first; and Aron flying/floating through the air head first. The last one was so hilarious to me I cannot get over it. Plume must be so proud.
I knew Groudon would appear at some point. At least Ash didn’t awaken it and hopefully won’t Kyogre either. Then again, I am so looking forward to seeing Rayquaza. I wonder if Ash will be the one to go on that space mission to meet Deoxys? Jirachi was a surprise, a bit creepy at first, but a bittersweet end.
Ash certainly learned a lesson in this chapter about digging too deep. Hopefully, he takes that lesson to heart and stops being an idiot, granted he showed a little growth toward the end, but still needs work. Though he’s slowly being consumed and is no longer a normal human. This could be good or bad, but he seems to be aware of this, so maybe if he can learn to control it then it won’t be as bad.
Also, as for Tangrowth/Binder. That synthesis idea shows promise. Imagine if he can grow multiple vines even if they’re cut for a short time. He’d be a Hydra plant and a nightmare in battle. With Plume, starting with Suicine’s winds may be best for now then moving up to Lugia’s. I hope Bruiser gets closer to evolving, but I feel he’s in need of a fighting master. And I nearly forgot about Anorith, but it makes sense that a fossil takes forever to mature.

Finally, this chapter was worth the wait and gave a lot to think about. The Fino battle will be a treat I’m sure and I’m interested to see how much Ash grows. Some people may not enjoy the mythical/lore side, but I personally don’t mind it. However, I can see their point too. I think though that it fits the space where Ash’s head is at right now. He’s obviously teetering between human and...not and sometimes not so sane. We see the world through his eyes; thus, he’s drowning in legends and concepts that he barely understands and the narrative reflects that. Still, Ash might benefit from human interaction and one reviewer suggested seeing him in a tournament like setting again. I'm not sure if that exact idea would work, but the interaction part might. It would also give the readers a little break. A beach episode would be nice lol. But no matter what happens, I still will continue reading. Thanks for the chapter and have a great day!

Hot damn hell of an ending.

The detail and visceral imagery you create with your writing is amazing, I could feel the events unfold as I read them. Amazing work

It's like I'd heard on the Discord then; even in Traveler canon the bird trio is fairly minor next to creatures like Groudon. It's no doubt the most mentally overwhelming legendary he's brushed against so far, with Mewtwo being that obvious exception. Ash has definitely bit off more than he can chew this time.

Oh yes, and we also have Jirachi being a thing introduced here. That little plot genie is bound to put an interesting spin on upcoming events.

Have to admit I would have liked the Fino battle here, but this was already a meaty chapter and it's pretty cool to see Ash's babies stagger some foes that they'd probably not beat in a straight fight yet. If the kids can pull off surprises like that then I can see most of Ash's older Pokémon hold their own against Typhlosion and company.

I wonder what Infernus actually battled down there if he's that banged up? Not much could do that to a Magmortar in their home field...

Just want to say thank you for another great chapter!

I hate you. Every other fanfic's battles seem poorly described and unimpressive compared to yours. Whether it be arrogant trainers, 4 move limit, no creativity, people shouting out their plans ahead of time, or something else, most other fanfics seem to lack the same level of logic that your battles show.

Great story so far, and nice chapter! However, Eelektross is NOT a water type pokemon, so that was kind of annoying to see it referenced as a water type multiple times. It's a pure electric type.