This is the same story as before, just after a little more editing. I will not change any of the old Author's notes, but some aspects of the story may change. The new AN's will be italicized like this is. Anyways, here goes.

Chapter 1

Well, this is my first attempt at a Pokémon story; hopefully you like it.

So, I have seen several stories about Ash leaving for a few years and then returning to compete in some big competition thing and reunite with his friends and all that good stuff. I had a few idea's of my own I wanted to try out, so yeah, here it is.

As for my writing habits, I would like to be able to update weekly, but my life is rather complicated as of right now and will be for some time. Until things settle down, I may not be able to update too often.

If you decide you hate my story and think it is terrible and fun stuff like that, stop reading and find a story you do like. No story can make everybody happy.

If, on the other hand, you have constructive criticism to offer, please let me know.

Anyways, I have no clue how good this story will be or what exactly it has in store, but for now at least, here it is.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

-The streets of Viridian City-

As the man walked through the city, he looked at how the world had changed. It had been a year since he had last wondered through civilization and three years since he had spent any large amount of time in it. Technology seemed to be everywhere now, not just in the major cities with large companies running them.

The man tried to take everything in and enjoy this trip through Viridian City, but many of the people he passed were giving him the same looks he was giving the high-tech city he walking through. He couldn't blame them for it, he did stick out like a sore thumb after all.

He was wearing very worn clothes and had an aura of ruggedness around him that the city folk simply didn't recognize. The man wore a beat-up pair of hiking boots as well as some ragged blue jeans. He had a plain gray t-shirt on under a dark gray jacket. The jacket was only partly zipped up and the hood covered the man's head. If you looked closely though, you could see some black hair lying down on his forehead right above his brown eyes. He was a little over six feet tall and appeared to be quite sturdy and durable. He had a physique that most would find quite intimidating if it wasn't for the fact that peaceful vibes seemed to emanate from the man.

What caught people's attention as much as the man though, were the two Pokémon that were travelling with him. On his shoulder was a yellow mouse like Pokémon that appeared to be as intimidating as his trainer. The mouse had on a hard face and had a large scar on the side of its stomach. At the man's side walked a massive black doglike Pokémon. It had large silver horns as well as silver rings around its ankles and on its back. It had a red underbelly and snout as well. Unlike with the trainer and the Pikachu, the dog scared people away. It glared at anyone who looked at the man for too long and growled at them if the glare wasn't enough.

The man had one hand in a pocket and kept his other one on the Houndoom at his side, using it to calm the black dog down and prevent it from attacking anyone.

As they walked out of the city, the man turned to his Pikachu and spoke, "Well buddy, it's been a while since we were in a city, but things sure have changed a lot haven't they?"

The little yellow mouse turned to look at his trainer and smiled, "Pika pi chu pika!" it exclaimed.

The man grinned at the yellow mouse and gave his head a little rub. The black dog even let out a bark that almost sounded like laughter.

As the trio was almost into the forest surrounding the city, a voice spoke up from behind them, "My my, that is quite the impressive looking Houndoom you have there. The Pikachu looks pretty impressive as well."

The man turned around and saw two people walking towards him, both of whom he recognized. He silently prayed that they wouldn't recognize him. A rather large middle-aged man with a Hawaiian shirt on tried to approach the man, but stopped when the man's Houndoom growled at him.

The man placed his hand on the Houndoom's head to calm it, and then smiled at the two people. "Hello, sorry about my Houndoom, he is rather protective of me. Anyways, is there anything I can do for you?"

The older man stuck his hand out with a friendly smile on his face, "Hey, my name is Scott!" He exclaimed rather joyfully. "This here is my friend Lucy. Anyways, I enjoy watching good battles and meeting strong trainers, so I was just wondering if your Houndoom was as strong as it looks."

The young lady who was with Scott smiled at the man as well, "As Scott told you, I'm Lucy. I too was wondering about just how strong your Houndoom was, as well as that Pikachu of yours. Is there any chance I could interest you in a battle? I assure you I am no pushover."

The man shook Scott's hand and smiled back at the pair, "You wouldn't happen to be the Pike Queen, would you?"

The young lady smiled, "I see you've heard of me before. Well to answer your question I am indeed none other than the infamous Pike Queen of the Battle Frontier."

Scott grinned as well, "And I am the man behind the Battle Frontier. I scout around for powerful trainers and try to expand the art of Pokémon battles."

Although the man wanted to leave before the two recognize him, he never could turn down a battle. He looked at his Houndoom who grinned at the man before the man turned back to Lucy and answered, "I would love to have a battle with you, however, Pikachu doesn't battle. At least not right now. If you wish to have a one-on-one battle against Houndoom though, I am more than willing to participate."

Lucy grinned at the man and walked back a ways to open up a field of battle between them. Scott walked to the middle and looked at the man, "You wouldn't happen to have a name, would you?"

The man grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, forgot to introduce myself. Yes I have name, although you can call me Five."

Scott seemed surprised by this name and spoke up, "Really? You are the man known as Five? I have heard all about your exploits. This should be a good battle then."

Now it was the man's turn to be surprised, "You know about my exploits? I didn't realize that anyone knew of the things I accomplished. I always believed that that was kept on the down low."

Scott grinned, "I am a man with much influence, although your deeds have been kept secret from the public, I have been made aware of them. Anyways, enough talk, I want to see a battle." He then raised his arms, "This will be a one-on-one battle between Lucy and Five. There will be no time limit and the battle is over once one of the trainers' Pokémon is no longer able to battle. Begin." He then swung his arms down announcing the start of the battle.

The man, now known as Five, signaled his Houndoom to take the field for battle. With a mighty roar, the powerful Pokémon did just that. "Okay Houndoom, take the field and prepare for battle. This should be fun."

Lucy then grabbed a pokeball and expanded it before throwing it out, "Seviper, take the field." With that, a large snakelike Pokémon appeared on the field and proceeded to glare at Houndoom.

Five spoke up, "First move goes to the challenger, so have at it."

"Seviper, use poison tail," Lucy called out. Seviper then shot towards Houndoom at a surprising speed with its tail glowing purple, preparing to strike.

Five called out to his Pokémon, "Houndoom, dodge the blow and follow up with a quick dark pulse!"

Houndoom immediately tensed his legs and prepared a dark ball in his mouth. As Seviper's tail swung at him, the hound jumped to the side and fired a wave of dark energy towards the snake.

"Seviper, dodge it and use sludge bomb." The snake attempted to slither out of the way of the dark blast, but was not able to completely avoid it. The attack hit the snake on its side, causing it to cry out in pain before recovering itself enough to launch a barrage of poison towards the black dog.

"Houndoom, counter with flamethrower and then get in close to use iron tail and crunch." Houndoom then opened its mouth, spewing a massive wave of fire at the oncoming poison attack, stopping it in its tracks and then exploding. As the smoke covered the field, Houndoom's tail began glowing white and his teeth took on a sinister glow as the massive dog prepared to launch his two attacks. Then, before the smoke cleared, he charged in towards the snake and hit it in the head with a full power iron tail. As the snake was being launched by the attack, the hound caught the snake in his teeth with a powerful crunch attack as well.

Seviper cried out in pain, as he had not seen the attacks coming due to the smoke. This had allowed Houndoom to score a pair of critical hits on him. When the smoke finally cleared, it revealed Houndoom to be standing next to a fainted Seviper.

Scott raised his hand and announced, "Seviper is unable to battle, the winner is Houndoom and Five!"

Lucy recalled her Pokémon and thanked it for its work. Five called Houndoom back to his side and walked towards Lucy to shake hands. As they shook hands, Lucy spoke, "That was a terrific battle. Your Houndoom is quite powerful. By chance, are you going to be participating in the world championships in a month?"

Five got a questioning look on his face, "What world championships?"

Lucy laughed, "You haven't heard about them? Where have you been this past year? It has been the biggest talking point around for the last year. You should look into it, with your skill, I'm sure you would do quite well."

"I hate to interrupt you guys, "Scott said, not sounding very sorry, "but I was wondering if I could have a word with Five in private. Lucy, you can head back to the city, the meeting will take place in a couple hours."

Lucy smiled, "Sure Scott. And Five, I hope we can battle again someday, although the next time, I'm going to win." With that, she turned around and headed back to the city.

Five turned to face Scott who had quite the smile on his face. Based upon this, Five knew that Scott had figured out who he was and he inwardly groaned. "What can I do for you Scott? You wanted to talk?"

Scott grinned even more, "Yes I did. You see, it has been several years since I last talked to you, so I wanted to catch up with one of my favorite trainers of all time. How are you doing Ash?"

The man, now known to be Ash, sighed, "How did you know it was me?"

"Well, the Pikachu on your shoulder made me think it was you. Also, there is the fact that you are the only person I have ever met who would be crazy enough to take on Team Rocket alone. I was wondering if maybe we could talk a little, maybe you could tell me about how you have been these last three years as well as what you have been up to? Also, I want to talk to you about the offer I made you several years ago as well as the world championships that are coming up in a month."

"Okay Scott, I will talk to you, but is there any chance you can keep our meeting a secret?"

"Sure I can. I respect your privacy, although I am curious as to why you want this to remain a secret. Your friends have been trying to find you for quite some time now, but no one knows where you are or what you have been doing. If it wasn't for the letters you send to your mother once a month, no one would even know that you were alive."

Ash sighed, "Well, I didn't want to be alone, and I don't want my friends to worry about me, but I started this journey alone and wasn't planning on meeting up with my friends again until after I had completed it. The only problem was figuring out what constituted the completion of this journey. Would you mind telling me about this world championship that is taking place in a month? I'm wondering if I could use that as a way to finish my current journey and reunite with my old friends."

Scott grinned, "This world championship is huge. Normally, every year each region holds its own Pokémon League tournament to find the strongest trainer in the region. Each region also has its own elite four and champion. People finally got sick of not knowing who the true strongest trainer was, so they decided to hold a tournament every four years that would determine the strongest trainer in the world. In order to participate, you need to have made it into the top 16 of any league tournament if you are a normal trainer. Other ways to get in are to be a gym leader, elite four member, or champion. Also, all of my frontier brains will be participating as well."

Ash got a big smile on his face along with his Pikachu and Houndoom. "That sounds like a wonderful tournament for us. Since I haven't been doing any gym battles lately, I can't participate in any of the leagues anyway, but since I have made it to the top 16 in multiple leagues, I can enter this super tournament and when I win the whole thing, I will be the greatest Pokémon master in the world!"

Scott smiled, "Calm down there Ash. It's good to see you haven't lost your enthusiasm for battling and Pokémon, but if you enter that way, everyone will know that you are Ash. You told me you wanted to remain anonymous until the end of this journey. Since the man known as Five has never made it to the top 16, you cannot enter as him in this tournament."

Ash frowned, "That is a problem. I guess I could enter as me, but I was hoping to keep my identity a secret for a little longer before reuniting with my old friends. Hmm…"

"Don't worry Ash, I have an idea for how you can enter this tournament as Five. Before I tell you though, I would like to know about what happened to Pikachu as well as what you have been doing these past three years."

Ash sighed, "Okay, I will tell you the short story about what happened. After the Sinnoh league, all of my previous travelling companions were out travelling with different people, no room for me alongside them due to the romantic elements between them and their companion. Brock was off in school to become a Pokémon doctor, so I couldn't travel with him either. I also had no clue what I wanted to do when I travelled some more.

"Eventually, I decided to just wing it. I did what I always do at the beginning of a new adventure and left every Pokémon except for Pikachu at the lab and headed out on my own in Kanto again. I figured I would just go wherever my feet took me. A few days into my journey, I was ambushed by a large group of Team Rocket grunts and a few higher ups as well. Like always, they were going after Pikachu.

"At the time, Pikachu was my only Pokémon, so the battle didn't go too well. We managed to defeat all of their Pokémon, but by that time, both Pikachu and me were exhausted while the grunts still had plenty of energy. They tried to take Pikachu by force. Some things happened and Pikachu wound up taking a knife to the stomach.

"As soon as they critically injured Pikachu, they decided he would never be able to fight for them, so they left us in the forest. I tried to get Pikachu to a Pokémon Center, but I didn't have enough energy and wound up passing out. This is where Houndoom comes in. He was still a Houndour at the time, but he ran off and got help for Pikachu. After that, he decided to travel with me and help get back at Team Rocket for what they did. I decided that my goal for my current travels was to destroy Team Rocket once and for all.

"For the next year, I did nothing but train and gather Pokémon that wished to help me shut down Team Rocket for good. After a year, we began interfering with them and their operations, shutting down as much as we could. It was around that time that I took the name Five. Since Team Rocket knew me as Ash and who my friends were, if I went around as Ash and messed with them, it would put my friends and family in danger. I decided on the name Five and went around causing trouble for Team Rocket.

"After another year, I decided I was ready to destroy Team Rocket for good, so along with my Pokémon, I went to their main base and attacked it. I left four of my Pokémon outside to prevent anyone from escaping and went in with Pikachu on my shoulder and Houndoom at my side. Together, we defeated every Team Rocket member in sight as well as finding Giovanni. He tried to escape, but all of his Escape vehicles had been destroyed by my Pokémon. He finally gave in and battled me.

"Houndoom defeated every one of his Pokémon and then knocked him out. I then alerted the police about what I had done and then left the scene before they could arrive."

Scott looked at me, "Okay, so that was a year ago. If defeating Team Rocket was your goal, why didn't you return to your friends after you defeated them?"

Ash looked down, "After being gone for two years with no contact with them, I was scared of how they would react. Whether they would be mad at me for just leaving or if they even liked me anymore. I decided I would train for a tournament and reveal myself then to deal with the consequences of having disappeared. For the last year, I have been on Mount Silver, training and living there."

Scott grinned, "Well then, I think my idea will actually work pretty well for you then. You said that after Sinnoh you didn't know what to do with yourself. You didn't really have a set goal or destination. This tournament will give you a chance to prove yourself as well as serve as an end to your current journey, but what about after this is over?"

Ash looked at Scott quizzically, "What does that have to do with this? I have no clue what I want to do after this, but I will figure that out when the time comes. I will probably just travel around and look for challenges to complete and such. Why?"

"Well Ash, remember when you beat the Battle Frontier? I offered you a position as a battle brain? If you become a battle brain, you can enter the tournament as Five, protecting your identity. It will also give you something to do after the tournament. With your power, you would become the final brain, or the second to last one. That would give you very few challengers allowing you to travel as much as you wanted to. It would also give you something to do and work for. You could also have all of your Pokémon with you at your battle facility, not just the six you are currently limited to. It would open up a whole new world for you to take part in. You don't need to answer me now, but if you want to enter the tournament as Five, you will need to answer me within a week."

Ash froze as he heard what Scott was proposing. After he had initially beaten the Battle Frontier, he hadn't wanted to join them because he wanted to continue travelling with his friends. Exploring and adventuring. Now that he was older and more experienced, he could see the logic in Scott's proposal. Working as a Frontier Brain would provide him with something to keep him motivated all the time as well as allow him to continue travelling around as he wanted to. He would be a little restricted as to how much travelling he could do, but it wouldn't limit him too much. Overall, Ash decided it was actually a pretty good idea.

After thinking on it for a few minutes, he turned back to face Scott, "That sounds like a good idea actually. I think I will do just that. Enter me in the tournament as Five, I will be your newest Battle Brain."

Scott grinned at him and shook his hand, "Awesome! I know you won't regret this decision. I will get you registered for the tournament. Once you show up, I will have paperwork for you to fill out in order to be a Battle Brain. Now, is there anything you need before I go?"

Ash thought about it for a few seconds before responding, "Where is this tournament going to be? If I'm going to participate, I need to know where I'm supposed to go."

"Ah yes, of course. The tournament is going to be at the Indigo Plateau. They have spent the last year remodeling the place so that it could host this huge tournament. The plan is to have it rotate through all of the different leagues, so in four years, it will be held in Sinnoh, then Hoenn. I don't the full order of it, but those are the first three locations for the tournament. Anyways, be at the Indigo Plateau in a month for the tournament and I will meet you there."

"Thanks Scott," Ash said. "I will make sure to be there. Once I win the tournament and become a Battle Brain, I will be the greatest Pokémon master ever."

As Scott turned around to leave, he had one last thing to say. "Don't go thinking this will be easy for you Ash. I know how good you are, but some of your old rivals will be taking place in this tournament, such as Paul. Also, the league champions aren't pushovers either. I also believe I heard a rumor that your old friend Max made it to the final 16 in the Hoenn Pokémon league and will be participating in this tournament. You might be good Ash, but there will be many challenges for you to face during this tournament."

Ash grinned, "That's good, it's been a while since I had a real challenge. Hopefully someone in this tournament can push me a little." With that, Ash walked off into the forest while Scott went back into the city.

-In the city at the meeting Scott mentioned-

Gathered in a large conference room around a fancy Mahogany table sat seven powerful Pokémon trainers. At the head of the table sat a rather large older man wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

After looking at each other with serious expressions and no noise for several minutes, the man we know as Scott smiled. He raised his arms and brought them out in a welcoming manner before speaking, "Hey guys, thanks for making it to this conference. I'm sure you are wondering why I brought you all here and I will get to that in a minute. First, I want to ask: How have you all been doing lately?"

For the next couple minutes, the seven Frontier Brains exchanged pleasantries and greeted one another. After a while though, the oldest person at the table noticed that a certain dark haired Pike Queen wasn't being overly enthusiastic about everything, instead watching Scott the whole time. The old man turned to the younger lady, "What seems to be troubling you Lucy?"

That silenced the other brains, as they too wanted to know what was on her mind. Lucy sighed and spoke up, "Nothing is troubling me, I'm just thinking about the battle I lost before coming here."

A rather gruff and powerfully built man spoke up, "We lose battles all the time, it goes with the job, what makes this one any different?"

Lucy smiled at the man, "Thanks Noland, but this was different. It was a one-on-one battle and he completely destroyed me. I didn't land a single hit against his Pokémon and he defeated my Seviper."

Now all of the brains were looking at her. It wasn't uncommon to lose a battle, but to be beaten so soundly while being so powerful yourself is something that is incredibly rare for the brains. Finally a purple haired girl spoke up, "Who was this trainer? He sounds like an interesting guy."

Before Lucy could respond, Scott broke in, "Ah, thanks for bringing up this topic, Lucy. I was going to get to that in a little bit. I would prefer it if you kept the man's identity and Pokémon a secret for now. That man, after all, is going to be the eighth battle brain of the frontier."

At that all of the brains turned to Scott and looked at him in surprise. After a little bit, the old man spoke up, "Scott, if this man is going to be a battle brain, why can't we know who he is? Also, what qualifies him to be a brain, did he defeat the Battle Frontier before?"

Scott grinned, "You can't know who he is because he will be taking part in the upcoming championship tournament. I feel like it will be more exciting if you don't know who the new brain is until he reveals it himself, in order to keep you all on your toes. As for what qualifies him to be a brain, just like all of you, he is a powerful trainer with a love of Pokémon and battling. He also single-handedly defeated Team Rocket a year ago."

Once again, gasps could be heard from the Frontier Brains. After getting a good look at their shocked faces, Scott chuckled before continuing. "I see that was rather surprising information to you all. Not many were made aware of this feat as nothing was known about the trainer other than a name. In case the man turned out to be a rival criminal, his name was left off all reports made to the public and general population. I was made aware of the man because I am a person who exists in many of the higher circles of the league and the police. I was sworn to secrecy though, to not tell anyone about it. Anyways, now that I have met the guy and learned about his past, I can assure you he is a good guy and will make a fine addition to the Battle Frontier."

After digesting this news for a little bit, another older man spoke up. He was dressed in a green suit with a red collar and had a look that demanded respect. "Okay, so it seems you have decided he will join and it doesn't matter what we say. Since I trust your judgment, I will accept him. What I want to know is what his rank will be once he officially joins us. Will he be the new final brain or will he fit somewhere into the middle of it all?"

"Ah yes, thanks for bringing that up as well, Brandon," Scott said. "His final position will be determined depending on where he finishes in this tournament. I feel confident that he will make a strong showing and make it to be one of the top three brains in the frontier. I feel there a decent chance he might do well enough to take the position of final brain. If you want to be guaranteed to keep your rank as the final boss, so to speak, you need to not lose to anyone because I can assure you that this man is rather gifted in terms of battling and raising Pokémon."

There were some murmurs going about the group now, but they all seemed to accept the fact that a new brain would join them and that he was quite powerful. After a few minutes of light discussion, Scott spoke up once more. "The other thing I wanted to say is that this tournament will be a chance to solidify our reputation as an organization. Currently, we are best known for who has conquered us. With only the strongest trainers able to do this, it allows us to have a reputation of strength. With this tournament, we will not be known for who has beaten us, but whom we have beaten. This is a chance to show that we are a group of elite trainers dedicated to the art of the Pokémon battle and the love of Pokémon in general. So, have fun and battle your hardest. This will be a fun tournament."

With that, Scott walked out of the conference room leaving seven excited and determined Frontier Brains to contemplate the near future. As soon as he was gone, six heads turned to look at Lucy. After a few seconds had passed, she began to get uncomfortable with the attention. She tried to not look at anyone and spoke up, "What? What do you want? Why are you all looking at me?"

After a couple of seconds a young blonde girl spoke up, "So I know that Scott wants to keep the guys identity a secret in order to annoy us, but I'm really curious about him. If he is as strong as you say he is, I want to battle him. Also, what can you tell us about him?"

Lucy sighed, "Greta, there isn't much I can say. I can't give you a name or tell you which Pokémon he used. As you have probably figured out, it is a boy. I couldn't really tell how old he was. He could have been 15 or he could have been 40. It was hard to tell. It was clear that he cared deeply for his Pokémon and his Pokémon had the utmost respect for him. When it came to the battle, he didn't pull any punches. Also, as much as Scott wants the man to remain anonymous, I'm pretty sure you guys won't have any trouble figuring out who he is once the competition starts. I also feel like there is something about him that Scott hasn't told us yet. Regardless, with a competitor as strong as he is, I need to go train some more before the competition, so I'm out of here. See you guys later and good luck with training."

Before anyone could ask any more questions about the man, Lucy left the room. Over the next couple of minutes, most of the other brains left as well. Finally, there were only two left. They were both young ladies; one had blond hair that went down to just below her ears while the other had purple hair of about the same length but was a little longer in the back.

The blonde girl turned to the purple-headed one, "What are you thinking about Anabel? You seem to be deep in thought about something."

Anabel shook her head to clear her mind, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it Greta. I was just thinking back to all of the challengers that have beaten me as well as looking ahead to the tournament and thinking about the challenges it holds in store."

"You can't lie to me Anabel, I know there is more to it than that. Is there a certain trainer you're hoping to see again?"

At the faint blush that appeared on Anabel's cheeks, Greta assumed she was right but before she could pester her friend anymore Anabel spoke up. "Fine, you're right. I'm hoping to find a certain trainer at this tournament. He beat the Battle Frontier four years ago and then went on to explore Sinnoh. After that, he pretty much disappeared. With his love of battling and Pokémon, I'm hoping to see him at this tournament. With talk of a new brain who happens to be immensely powerful and cares deeply for his pokemon, I couldn't help but wonder if it was him."

Greta got a mischievous smile on her face before answering back, "If I didn't know better, I'd say that you have a crush on Ash Ketchum." When Anabel's blush deepened, Greta grinned even wider. "Oh my, so it is him. Well, now I hope he's at the tournament too, just so I can give you a hard time about it."

Anabel groaned, "Please don't. I don't even know if I still like him. It's been four years since I last saw him and he could have changed. Besides, when I met him, he was the most clueless person ever when it came to the matter of love. Now, before you can torture me anymore, I'm off to go train for the tournament. You heard Scott, he expects the best from us."

With that, the last two Frontier Brains left the meeting hall and went off to do their final training for the tournament.

-Petalburg City, Hoenn. Two weeks later-

In a forested area, just outside of town, we find a young man wearing glasses a green short sleeve shirt and shorts. He is standing in a clearing with six pokemon before him. There is a Grovyle, a Kirlia, a Swellow, a Mightyena, a Vigoroth, and a Crawdaunt.

The boy looks down at his pokemon and speaks, "Okay guys, we have been training really hard these past few months to prepare for this upcoming tournament. Now, we have two weeks left before it begins. Although our chances of winning aren't good, at the very least we can show the world that we are better than we are believed to be. We will give them everything we have and then give them some more. Whatever happens, I'm proud of all of you for everything that you have done."

All of the pokemon roared in approval at the little speech and the sound of a single person clapping came from behind the boy. Startled, the boy spun around and came face to face with a beautiful brunette girl. Young lady really, but to the boy, she is just an annoying big sister. The girl looked down at the boy and spoke, "I'm proud of you Max. You have come a long way during your journey and now you have a group of wonderful and strong pokemon beside you. Anyways, you are going to have to finish your training at the Indigo Plateau where we will be staying and rooting for you. Get back to the house, we leave early tomorrow."

The girl turned back to head to the house, but stopped when her younger brother spoke. "Hey May, do you think Ash will be there? No one has seen him in years, but he still sends letters to his mother so we know he is alive and well."

May sighed, "Max, I hope he's there. Having not seen him or spoken to him in three years though, it's hard to say what he is doing and is planning for his future. Assuming he is still the same Ash we were friends with, I would bet on him being there because he would never pass up a chance to try and become the best in the world."

Max smiled, "I hope he's there too. He promised he would battle me someday and it would be awesome to battle him on the biggest stage."

"I'm sure you would enjoy that battle until he beat you in five minutes. You have been a trainer for not even two years while Ash has nearly eight years of experience and training, you're going to need some time before you can stand up to him."

Max glared at his sister before smirking, "If I didn't know better, I would say you have a crush on your old traveling buddy. I bet you wish you had accepted his offer to travel with him after he finished the Sinnoh league don't you?"

Now it was May's turn to do the glaring, "Shut up Max. At the time I was in a relationship with Drew and wanted to try and grow it so I didn't want Ash around. As for what you said about me having a crush, yeah right. Just because Ash is the greatest trainer I have ever met and one of the best friends I have ever had doesn't mean that I'm in love with him."

Max sighed, "Well good. He's too good for you anyways."

May glared at her brother even harder before turning around and storming her way back to her house. Once she got back, she went straight up to her room and thought about what Max had said. Was it possible that she did have a crush on Ash? If so, she hoped even more that he would show up again.

-On a boat heading towards Kanto-

A purple-haired boy was standing at the railing looking out over the ocean. He thought about all that had transpired during his adventures as a pokemon trainer. Initially he had treated his pokemon as nothing more than tools, but after his loss in the Sinnoh league to Ash, he had started treating his pokemon as friends. It had been a strange change to make, but in the end he believed it had indeed made his pokemon stronger and him happier.

As he pondered his thoughts, a slender pair of arms wrapped around the boys midsection. He felt a soft head press up against him and he sighed in contentedness. From the female who was currently hugging him from behind came a question. "Paul, what are you thinking about? You seem awfully deep in thought about something."

The boy known as Paul let out a small smile, hoping that no one would see it. It went against the hard front he put out in public after all. On the other hand, for some reason, this beautiful girl could get him to crack when no one else could. She made him happy and forgave his earlier mistakes. She helped him towards the future. Against his will he let out another small smile.

Paul turned his head so that he could see the blue-haired coordinator and his girlfriend while he contemplated on whether he should answer her question. After several moments, he decided to voice his question, "Dawn, you travelled with Ash for a year so you know him pretty well. A lot better than I know him anyway. Do you think he will show up at this tournament?"

The girl known as Dawn smiled up Paul and thought for a few seconds before answering. "You really want to show him how much stronger you have gotten, don't you? You want to show him how much you care for your pokemon now and you want to take him down. He's your biggest rival and you haven't even seen him for three years." Dawn giggled at the thought and Paul just looked at her.

"That didn't answer my question. You knew him a lot better than I did. Will he be at the tournament?"

Dawn sighed, "I hope so. He was a great friend and helped me a lot with the beginning of my journey. As for an answer to your question, I would guess he would be there. If he is still the same Ash he was back when I travelled with him, he would never pass up this chance to prove to the world that he's the greatest pokemon master ever."

Paul looked down at dawn, "Do you think he's a better trainer than me?"

Dawn giggled, "Well, the last time you guys fought he won, so I'm going to have yes until proven otherwise." Paul glared at her but she just went up and pecked him on the lips before running off back to her room. As she left, she looked over her shoulder at the boy and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure you could take him now. You have gotten a lot stronger after all."

Paul sighed and went back to look at the ocean again, contemplating his thoughts and hoping for a chance to get a rematch with his greatest rival and the man who set his life back on track.

-Cerulean City Gym-

Standing in front of the gym we see three people. One of them is an orange-haired girl with a yellow shirt and blue shorts on. She is standing hand-in-hand with a young man who appears to be around the same age with spiky brown hair, a black shirt, and purple pants on. Facing the young couple is a tan man with incredibly squinty eyes. He appears to be older than other two by a few years. He is wearing a greenish shirt with a brown and orange vest over it as well as brown cargo pants.

The man with the spiked brown hair turned to his girlfriend, "So Misty, are you ready for the tournament? You can show off the connection you have with your water pokemon as well as how powerful of a gym leader you really are."

The girl turned to face her boyfriend and gave him a peck on the cheek, "Thanks Gary. And yes, I'm ready for this. I might not be the most powerful trainer in the world, but most certainly am one of the best. When this tournament is over, the whole world will have respect for me, the greatest water type trainer in the world."

The man facing them sighed, "Misty, you are acting just like Ash. It's good that you're confident in yourself, but don't get too confident and let your guard down. That is an easy way to an early exit."

Misty's face went red with anger, "BROCK! I am NOT like Ash. He was-"

Before she could go on about how she wasn't Ash, Gary covered her mouth and Brock apologized. "Sorry Misty, I know you don't like being compared to him, but it wasn't a bad thing. Confidence is good."

Misty sighed, "I suppose that's true, but still, don't do it again. Also, speaking of our old friend Ash, do you think he's going to show up at the tournament?"

That question stopped the conversation. After a little bit, Gary got a huge smile on his face. "You know what? That actually sounds like something Ash would do. Disappear for years; alone on his personal adventure and then suddenly pop up out of nowhere in the biggest tournament ever held. With his competitive spirit, there is no way he would miss this event."

Brock grinned as well, "You got that right Gary. Ash wouldn't miss this for the world. Assuming he hasn't changed too much while out on his own, I'm positive he will be there. Now, Gary, you said you had a few flying pokemon that could take is to the tournament, right?"

"Yes I did say that." With that, Gary tossed out three pokeballs. As the light materialized into pokemon, the three looked on at the Pidgeot, Aerodactyl, and Tropius that stood before them. Gary then looked at his two companions, "The Aerodactyl is my ride, you two each take one of the others and follow me."

With that, Misty hopped onto the Tropius while Brock took the Pidgeot. Together, the trio headed off towards Indigo Plateau looking forward to the battles to come as well as holding onto the hope of possibly seeing an old friend for the first time in three years.

-Mount Silver-

The man known as Ash Ketchum stood before his six battlers with Pikachu on his shoulder. The man held onto the hope that Pikachu would be able to battle again soon, but for now, his six other pokemon would just have to do the job themselves. He also knew that they were more than capable of doing what was necessary for the battles to win it all. He smiled at his team of six before recalling five of them back into their balls.

He turned to the Houndoom that was standing beside him, "Well, we're off to Indigo Plateau. With this tournament, I will claim the title of Pokémon master while all of my faithful friends will be known as the strongest of their kind to have ever been born. Now, Houndoom, the plan is to only use you until you fall in battle. The longer I can keep my party a secret, the larger our advantage will be. It will also help to intimidate our opponents if you build up a reputation of being unbeatable. Before we go though, you need to promise me that you will stay out of fights and not cause trouble."

The Houndoom looked at its trainer and barked a few times. Ash sighed, "I know you are only trying to protect me, my pride, my honor, and your pokemon friends, but if you pick a fight with everyone that looks at one of us funny or says something you don't like, we will get kicked out before we even battle. We have to step up and be the better people and pokemon. Ignore the jabs and show them how powerful we are on the battlefield. Once they catch sight of our power, there will be nothing to worry about. Okay?"

The large black dog gave a bark of approval before walking out of the cave at his trainers side.

Well, that's the chapter. Hope you liked it.

Dunno when I will update next, but since I have a lot of ideas that need get written down, I will probably update rather soon.

Questions, comments, suggestions, let me know in a review or PM. I will do my best to listen to you guys and give you what you want.

Also, I don't know if it showed or not, but I'm not sure which pairing I want to use for Ash. I have narrowed it down to May or Anabel, but haven't yet come to a definitive decision yet.

Well, that is the first chapter after an additional round of editing. I didn't change much here, but the rest of the chapters may have some changes made to them.

Edited 6/26/2012