Update 8/26/2017: I deleted the first chapter of Mountain of Ash because, at that point, I was planning on making it into just a battling story. After some time, however, I wanted to make it into an actual story with an actual plot.
I trained extensively on Mount Silver to prepare my Pokémon for the upcoming tournament. It felt right... oddly enough. Serena insisted on coming with, and I accepted. She wanted to help any way she could—that's what I liked about her the most.
"Can we take a break soon, Ash?" Serena whined, balancing herself on a boulder. She rubbed her left leg and huffed.
Ash sighed and stopped. Pikachu, his most trusted partner, chuckled at Serena's antics. Ash was tired as well, and the fact that they had not eaten since this morning was not helping either.
"Alright," Ash said, taking his backpack off and swinging it to the side. He sat on the ground, opened it up and searched for the sandwiches they made that morning. He could've cooked for the both of them, but the wait was not worth the reward.
Serena hurried over to Ash. Her exhaustion turned to glee when Ash pulled out the sandwiches and unwrapped the top of the plastic. "For you, ma'am," he grinned, waving the sandwich in a teasing manner. Pikachu mimicked the waving with its tail.
Serena giggled at her friends' playfulness. She took a sandwich and took a bite—she chewed slowly, savoring the ham and cheese. She didn't mind that it wasn't some fancy, five-star meal—it was comforting. She got the chance to spend some alone time with him and bond.
Pikachu was nibbling on a sandwich, eyeballing Serena. His trainer failed to notice the girl staring and was eating happily. Their relationship was, well, interesting. Serena decided to postpone her trip to Hoenn, and continue to travel with his trainer. There was something else to it, though.
The group finished their meal and let the rest of their pokémon out for lunch. Besides Pikachu, Ash brought along Charizard, Tauros, Snorlax, and Greninja. Serena's team was composed of Braixen, Pancham, and Sylveon. Since they were planning on staying on the mountain for some time, Ash learned how to prepare food for himself and his Pokémon.
"I'm going to have a look around, Serena, I'll be back," Ash said, placing his backpack on his shoulder. "Want to come with, Greninja? This area's inhabitants are mostly rock and steel type. The frog-ninja nodded and went by Ash's side.
"Just be careful," Serena replied, somewhat worried.
The walk was uneventful. A few Geodude appeared, the occasional Onix as well, but not anything rare. After some walking, Ash made it to a fork in the cave—left or right. "Hmm," he hummed, scratching his back.
"I guess we can try the left passage first. If we don't come across anything, we can always come back," Ash said, glancing over to Greninja.
They walked until they reached a chamber. The sun was peeking through the ceiling. A person was standing in the middle of the room, unmoving. "Um, hello?" Ash said confusingly. He was surprised to someone else in this place. He needed special permission from both Professor Oak and Elm to traverse through the actual cave.
He turned around. The guy had a thing for red because that's all he wore. He stepped forward and breathed "battle." Ash looked on curiously, while Greninja got in front of him and growled enthusiastically.
"You want to battle, Greninja?" Ash questioned. He knew the frog-ninja did, it boosted a certain confidence, but there was something about this trainer that sent a shiver down his spine. Even more than the champions.
Greninja nodded, that meant he had no choice. The rules did state that If you locked eyes, you had to battle."Alright, we accept," Ash said begrudgingly.
He wordlessly sent out his Pokémon. A feline-like Pokémon appeared, its signature red gem sparkled beautifully. Espeon? But why? Espeon darted forward, faster than any human could track. It tackled Greninja and sent it flying towards the chamber entrance. "Return?" Ash said in a shaky voice. The damage output of the attack was high—he cared for Espeon deeply.
Greninja staggered to its feet, favoring its stomach. It looked toward Ash ready for a command.
"Watch out for its speed," Ash advised. "Use Water Pulse!"
Greninja quickly sprinted, forming a sphere of compressed water, it closed the distance quickly. Espeon side-stepped the compressed water and kicked up the ground below it, throwing debris into Greninja's eyes.
The trainer stood unmoving, allowing his Pokémon to battle. He grunted when he saw the frustration on Ash's face.
Greninja frantically rubbed its eyes. A simple attack—Sand-Attack—stopped it. "Greninja, calm down!" Ash called out, attempting to get its attention. "Clear your eyes out with Water Pulse!
Greninja splashed the water on its face and started to clean. After a few moments of cleaning, it regained its sight. "Good. Now use Night Slash!" Ash commanded.
Greninja created a staff of dark energy out nothingness and then charged forward.
Espeon, using its psychic ability, easily dodged the onslaught of swipes. It eventually grabbed Greninja by the arm with its forked tail, canceling the dark attack. The gem on its head started to glow, and a sparkling, bright light struck Greninja.
Greninja screeched, the super-effective Dazzling Gleam drove it back to Ash's side.
Espeon sprinted forward once again, possibly looking for another devasting Return. "Counter with Nigh Slash!" Ash said. The creatures sprinted to the center of the chamber and collided. An explosion rattled the area, as both Pokémon emerged from the smoke.
A/N::
You thought I was going to spoil you with Tobias versus Ash so soon? Haha, no. Ash had to train and work his ass off. Don't worry, I have something cooked up.