NEW STORY TIME! IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON UP TO THIS POINT, REFER TO "FOR THE GLORY OF THE POKEMON LEAGUE" AND "FOR THE LOVE OF ASH". DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN POKEMON
"Well, we've arrived!"
Steven and Ash arrived in Hoenn at the Slateport City train station. It was right next to the ferry port. The two got off the train and stretched. Steven looked at Ash.
"I'm confident that you'll be able to find your way around here. Hopefully, I'll see you in the Hoenn League!"
"Hopefully! Thank you!"
Steven walked away, leaving Ash to figure out what to do next. He had just left Kalos after completing the Kalos PokeDex and becoming the champion. His next step was to complete the National Pokedex. First, he had to fill Hoenn's section of the PokeDex.
"Ok. Last time I checked, Hoenn natives start their Pokemon journeys in Littleroot Town. GYARADOS, I CHOOSE YOU!"
The shiny Gyarados he recently caught appeared and awaited its trainers command.
"I need you to fly me to Littleroot Town! Can you do that?"
The Pokemon nodded and Ash jumped on. Seconds later, they were off. As they flew, Ash saw what he had seen in the newspaper articles. There were shining red lights, thunder clouds, and strange things in the sky.
"Maybe I should get these Pokemon out of the way. But where should I start?"
Ash scanned his PokeDex toward one of the shining red lights.
"Apparently, this place is called the Pathless Plain. Gyarados, take me towards that red light!"
Gyarados followed the order and took him toward the Pathless Plain. Ash landed, but kept Gyarados out, just in case they had to battle a Pokemon. Just like the newspaper article said, a ring was in the distance. Ash walked towards the ring and peeked in. Something was visible in the whole. He reached in, and suddenly, the ring flew above him. Gyarados roared and got ready for battle. Ash moved out of the way, and saw a Pokemon land in front of him. It was turquoise and had horns on its head. Its feet were shaped like hooves. Ash recognized it instantly.
"I know you! You're Cobalion! You're the mentor of Keldeo and the leader of the Swords of Justice!"
"And I know you, Ash Ketchum! You helped Keldeo learn Sacred Sword and defeat Kyurem. I thank you for that."
Ash smiled.
"No problem. Happy to help!"
"So what brings you here?"
"I'm here to complete the PokeDex!"
"Ah. Then that means you're here to catch me."
"That's right!"
"Then enough words. Let's begin."
Ash looked at Gyarados.
"Sorry, Gyarados," Ash said. "I need another Pokemon's help for this."
Gyarados gave him a look of understanding and Ash returned him to his Pokeball. He then took out another Pokeball and threw it to reveal Mewtwo.
"Hello again, Ash! I trust we're about to battle this Cobalion?"
"Right!"
"I'm ready."
Cobalion smiled.
"Then let's get this battle underway."
"Mewtwo, use Psychic!"
Mewtwo lifted Cobalion up and slammed it down, dealing tremendous damage. Cobalion retaliated by using Sacred Sword, but Mewtwo instinctively dodged the attack.
"All right, then."
Cobalion charged to use Sacred Sword once more but missed again.
"Psychic!"
Cobalion was again slammed into the ground by Mewtwo.
"I can't do this alone."
Cobalion's horns started to shine, and suddenly, Virizion and Terrakion appeared.
"What's up, buddy? Who's the purple cat?"
"Terrakion, be respectful! That's Mewtwo, the legend of Kanto-"
"I didn't ask for a PokePedia entry, Virizion!"
"Terrakion, Virizion, I need your help. This boy is trying to catch-"
Before Cobalion could finish, Ash threw a Pokeball at Cobalion. One...two...three! Cobalion was caught. Terrakion and Virizion were astounded.
"NO! HE NEVER FINISHED HIS SENTENCE!"
"I think he was trying to say this boy was trying to catch him. Who are you, anyway?"
"I'm Ash. I'm trying to complete the PokeDex."
"The what?"
"Terrakion, the Pokedex is a high-tech tool that lets you gather the information on any Pokemon you catch."
"You're starting to sound like a PokeDex, Virizion."
"Anyway, this boy is trying to catch us. He already caught Cobalion."
"Uhh..."
"Basically, he's trying to trap us in a ball."
"WHAT?! TERRAKION WILL NOT BE CAGED! BRING IT, KID! ME FIRST!"
Ash was trying not to laugh at the entire conversation.
"All right! Mewtwo, use Psychic on Terrakion."
Mewtwo lifted up Terrakion and Virizion smirked.
"See what happens when you randomly run into things?"
"SHUT UP!"
Mewtwo threw Terrakion right into Virizion.
"You're right, Ash," Mewtwo said, "This is amusing."
"SEE, TERRAKION, YOU'RE MAKING US LOOK BAD!"
"IF YOU WOULD STOP BEING A NERD, I WOULD'VE WON ALREADY!"
"Mewtwo, Psychic!"
Instead of throwing Terrakion into Virizion, Terrakion was slammed into a nearby tree. Terrakion winced in pain.
"Hey, PokeDex! Why does this hurt?"
"Maybe because Grass beats Rock?"
"Yeah, well fire-"
Again, Terrakion was interrupted due to Ash throwing an Ultra Ball at him. One...two...three! Terrakion was caught. Virizion had a worried look on her face.
"I guess I'm the only one left."
Virizion charged with a Leaf Blade, but Mewtwo avoided it again.
"Psystrike!"
A wave of elements hit Virizion from every angle. Now she started to struggle. Ash threw one more Ultra Ball. One...two...three! Virizion was caught.
"They mentioned something called Keldeo. Do you know who that is?"
"Yes, but I don't know how to find him."
"Maybe I can figure it out. Anyway, good job on catching them."
"On to Littleroot Town then!"
Ash returned Mewtwo, released Gyarados, picked up the Pokeballs of the Swords of Justice and rode Gyarados to Littleroot Town. He entered the Pokemon Lab and ran up to Professor Birch.
"Hi, Professor!"
"Ash! Long time no see! Congratulation on becoming the champion!"
"Thank you! I'm here to complete the Hoenn Pokedex!"
"I trust Professor Sycamore updated your Pokedex to the National Pokedex?"
"Right! I've caught some cool Pokemon lately!"
"Fantastic! I can't wait to meet them! If you want to deposit a Pokemon, just go to a Pokemon Center and access a PC."
"Thanks!"
Suddenly, a girl ran into the Lab.
"Hi, Professor! I wanted to ask you about-ASH?!"
Ash turned around.
"Hi, May! How is everything?"
"Great! What are you doing here?"
"Hoenn Pokedex completion."
"Cool! You know there are some Pokemon on the routes outside of here! We can catch up there!"
"Nice! See you, Professor!"
"Bye, Ash!"
The two exited the building and walked towards Route 1.
"I know you're the champion of Kalos, but what else has been going on?"
"Well, I got a girlfriend now...she's amazing!"
"Wow! Who is she?"
"Serena."
"SERENA? THE POKEMON PERFORMER?! She's beautiful! I'm looking forward to watching her performance for Kalos Queen! Even Lisia is inspired by her!"
"Lisia?"
"The Hoenn Queen. She's the niece of Wallace."
"I didn't know Wallace had a niece..."
"I didn't either, but hey! You know now!"
"Yep! Now what about you? How's Max?"
"He's in Kalos. He's there to collect all the gym badges too. He recently told me that he shared a dance with a beautiful girl in this place called Terminus Cave."
"They grow up so fast..."
"Yeah. I've been dating someone too: his name is Brendan. You know, my performance rival? We both study performances to perfect our own. I watch Serena, he watches Wallace."
"Sounds like a lot has happened over the past few years..."
"True. Hey, there's a Pokemon!"
May pointed at a nearby Lillipup that was getting a drink of water.
"Thanks!"
Ash simply took out an Ultra Ball and threw it at Lillipup. One...two...three! Lillipup was caught.
"But...don't you have to weaken it first?"
"Sometimes, that's not the case."
May smiled.
"Looks like you've gotten smarter too."
"I have."
"Why don't you show me your party?"
"Fine. But you have to show me your Pokemon too."
"Deal!"
Ash threw out his five Pokeballs to reveal his shiny Gyarados, Cobalion, Virizion, Terrakion, and Mewtwo. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder.
May could barely speak. She realized that these weren't ordinary Pokemon.
"THESE ARE LEGENDARIES, ASH! A 0.4% CATCH RATE!"
"They are fascinating, aren't they?"
"YEAH!"
"So let me get this straight: you two argued so much that he literally caught you on the first Ultra Ball?! Do you know how weak that makes us look?"
"But Cobalion, she started it!"
"No, Terrakion, you did! I was presenting the facts, and you called me a Pokedex!"
"Actually, Virizion," Mewtwo cut in, "If you didn't mention the Pokedex, the dispute wouldn't have happened. And Terrakion, the dispute also could have been prevented if you didn't take everything as an insult."
Gyarados stayed silent.
"Why is that Gyarados red? Shouldn't it be blue?"
"It's a shiny! It's a 1-in-8000-something encounter rate!"
"You truly have amazed me, Ash."
"Gyarados and Mewtwo are Kanto Pokemon. I found Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion in one of those rings that have been appearing."
"There are Pokemon in there?! WOW! Anyway, here's my team!"
May threw up six Pokeballs and revealed a Blaziken, Ninetales, Milotic, Glaceon, Cinccino, and Glaceon.
"This is a fantastic team! And your Pokemon look strong, too! Is this your performance team?"
"That's right!"
"Something tells me you'll be hard to beat in a performance battle."
May smiled pridefully. They returned their Pokemon and continued on Route 1.
Later that evening...
Ash was about to turn in for the night, but he decided to talk to Serena.
"So you caught three legends in Hoenn already? Incredible!"
"Yeah! I also met my friend May! She's a big fan of you!"
"She?"
"Don't worry. She has a boyfriend already."
"Oh."
"How is the practice for the performance coming?"
"Great! Sylveon, Pancham, and Braixen have a new combo for the performance!"
"I look forward to seeing it!"
"Well, I'm about to pull an all-nighter to practice the combo to perfection. Good night!"
"Good night!"
Ash hung up and walked out to the battlefield. He released the Pokemon he had caught that day. Ash was about to speak, but Cobalion beat him to it.
"Something tells me that you're bent on completing that Pokedex."
"Yeah...I just hope that we could try to be friends."
"Sure. I don't mind another friendship." Virizion agreed.
"Fine." Terrakion agreed.
"You're dedicated. I like that. I'd be glad to be your friend." Cobalion agreed.
Ash smiled. "Thank you."
He returned the Pokemon to their Pokeballs, went up the stairs, and before going to sleep, he checked his progress on the Hoenn section of the national Pokedex. He had added 30 Pokemon that day: Torchic, Combusken, Blaziken (May traded hers to Ash just for the PokeDex entry, then he returned it), Mudkip, Marshtomp, Swampert, Poochyena, Mightyena, Zigzagoon, Linoone, Wurmple, Silcoon, Beautifly, Cascoon, Dustox, Lotad, Lombre, Ludicolo, Seedot, Nuzleaf, Shiftry, Wingull, Pelipper, Ralts, Kirlia, Surskit, Shroomish, Masquerain, Breloom, and Slakoth. He already had a Taillow and Swellow in his Pokedex from his first Hoenn adventure. Professor Oak was glad to take them in as Ash transported them to the Kanto Pokemon Lab. He was also surprised, but Ash knew that his Bulbasaur would make them feel right at home. Ash put his PokeDex in his pocket and went to sleep.
The next morning...
After Ash checked out of the Pokemon Center and got his five Pokemon for the day, he ran outside to meet May. She was with a boy who wore a gray suit, had green hair, and was wearing a necklace with a Mega-Evolution stone.
"Hi, Ash! This is Wally! He's the champion of the Battle Resort!"
The boy walked up and shook Ash's hand.
"Nice to meet the Kalos champion!" Wally said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you too!" Ash returned the smile.
TO BE CONTINUED...