Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon
Before you begin the chapter, I'd like to take a moment to give my regards and best wishes to all those in Paris after the horrifying incidents. I'm absolutely devastated for all those that have lost loved ones in these horrendous violence acts. I sincerely hope all of the innocent people that were killed will rest in peace and for all those injured and traumatised make a speedy recovery.
The Past – Chapter 2 – Divergence
6 ½ years ago…
12 ½ year old Ash Ketchum walked along the main road that would lead them out of Viridian City with the two people that he had met when he first started his journey. The short tempered red head that had become like a sister to him, Misty, and the calm, wise older teen that Ash thought of as an older brother, Brock.
The three of them had travelled over two regions and a multiple islands, yet they had never walked slower than they did now. Even Pikachu – who was sitting on Ash's shoulder – was feeling subdued. None of them truly wanted to leave Viridian City because the moment they did, then they would have to split up. Brock had some errands that he needed to complete back home, although he had yet to inform them of this, he was simply stalling. Misty, on the other hand, was forced to go back to Cerulean to take over the responsibilities of the Cerulean City Gym.
Ash naturally had been upset about this but he didn't let it show, instead congratulating her happily. It was a logical step for her to take if she wanted to become the best Water type Pokémon Trainer, and Ash had full faith in her abilities to successfully take on the many challengers that would take her on. She was almost as good as a battler as he was and he just finished in the top 8 in the latest Silver Conference. He had only been a Pokémon Trainer for 2 ½ years, which just showed his and, most importantly, his Pokémon's incredible talent.
Misty had taken his happiness the wrong way, thinking that he was glad she was leaving, when he was just glad that she had the chance to get closer to her dream. After another annoying encounter with the Team Rocket trio, who involved another trio of losers in their plan, Ash was able to patch things up with Misty.
"I guess we can't put this off any longer, can we?" Misty said sadly, looking ahead down the road where she could see the forest outside of Viridian.
In another universe, Ash nodded, and the trio left Viridian City before coming to a fork in the road where they would split ways. Misty would go on to be a successful Gym Leader, while Brock would continue travelling with Ash through three more regions – Hoenn, Kanto, and Sinnoh – before becoming a Pokémon Doctor. Ash, meanwhile, would continue to travel through different regions making new friends, catching new Pokémon, and dealing with organisations that tried to capture and use Legendary Pokémon for their own selfish purposes. Despite all that, he would still never win a league, the closest would be finishing in the top 4 in the Sinnoh and Kalos league.
However in this universe, in an attempt to spend a bit more time with Misty and Brock, Ash had another idea.
"Wait! I wanna go check out the Viridian Gym!" Ash declared, and quickly turned into the right intersection. The Viridian Gym had been destroyed when Ash defeated Team Rocket and gained the Earth Badge. The young trainer from Pallet Town was curious to see if it had been rebuilt.
"Ugh!" Misty groaned, resisting the urge to smack her forehead in exasperation.
Brock chuckled lightly, "2 ½ years of travelling and he still lacks any directional skills." The Viridian Gym was in fact in the opposite direction to the one Ash was travelling down.
"Wrong way, Ash!" Misty called out, before heading down the left intersection with Brock following closely. Cursing, Ash hurried after them with Pikachu clinging to his shoulder tightly.
Driving along the streets in his red, open roof sports car, the wind blowing in his face, the head of the Kanto Battle Frontier, Scott, was grumbling about the restricting speed limits that he was forced to abide by in the city.
He had just come back from the Orange Archipelago searching for trainers that could possibly challenge his Battle Frontier, but he was met without any success. Although he did get some names of trainers that had some potential, and of course, the name of the boy that managed to defeat Drake and win the Orange League.
Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.
Drake had been the Head Leader of the Orange League for over six years now, and he had never been defeated. He's an incredible trainer that could be so much more than the leader of the Orange League, but he seemed more content being challenged than being the challenger.
Naturally he became interested in Ash, and since he was from Pallet Town then the obvious source to get information on was from Professor Oak. He was expecting to hear about a seasoned trainer, one that had dedicated at least a decade to training Pokémon, but he wasn't prepared for what the professor informed him.
Drake had been defeated by an 11 ½ year old boy. That meant Ash had only been a Pokémon Trainer for a year and a half… astonishing. It didn't take long for Scott to discover that Ash finished in the Top 16 in the Indigo Plateau Conference and Top 8 in the Silver Conference. Scott had been taken back by his placement in the Indigo Conference. Ash had defeated Drake only a few months after competing in the Kanto League, and Scott found it hard to believe that Ash could improve drastically in the time.
Professor Oak was all too eager to explain, and Scott could easily see how proud the famous professor was of young Ash. Learning that Ash lost in the Indigo Conference because his disobedient Charizard decided to take a nap in the middle of the arena instead of battling a Pikachu. To learn that Ash had tamed the powerful fire lizard only a few months after the Indigo Conference further impressed Scott. He knew a lot of trainers, especially at that age, would act rashly and immaturely after being humiliated like that in front of thousands of people and release the Pokémon or just avoid using them.
Yet Ash – who was still just a boy – persisted in training a Pokémon that cost him a further placement in the Pokémon League, and eventually gained its respect and trust. Scott then managed to get some footage of Ash performing in the Silver Conference and witnessed Charizard defeat three Pokémon in one match, and two of those Pokémon had a type advantage. Though Ash lost the next round, finishing in the top 8, Scott could easily tell that the boy had the potential to take on his Battle Frontier. Professor Oak informed him that the last time he had talked to Ash, he had been heading to Viridian City, and so Scott had rushed to Viridian in hopes of catching the young man.
In another universe, Scott was unable to find Ash as the young trainer had already left Viridian City, and he would receive a call about some potential trainers in the Seafoam Islands. Scott wouldn't meet Ash until a year later.
However because of Ash's decision to check out the construction of the new Viridian Gym, Scott was fortunate to come across the young trainer standing outside the half built building with an orange haired girl with a Togepi in her arms, and a bike leaning against her waist and a tall dark skinned male.
Scott parked his car at the side of the road, and after jumping out of his car, he immediately called out to the trio, "Hey there! You all Pokémon Trainers?!"
All three of them turned towards him as he approached. Scott immediately put his game face on. He would have to pretend that this meeting was completely coincidence as he didn't want the young man to know that Scott had been studying and searching for him in particular.
"Uh yes." Ash – the only one of the three that he knew – answered him.
"Technically, I'm a Pokémon Breeder, though I used to be the Pewter Town Gym Leader." The older male replied, "I'm Brock."
Scott nodded politely, before addressing the other two, mainly Ash, "Hi, I'm Scott and I'm an agent."
"Nice to meet you." Ash grinned, and the electric mouse let out a 'Pika-Pika' in greeting.
"You both must be here for a Gym Battle, unfortunately it will still be a while before the gym's up and running." Scott said, "Whatcha' names?"
"I'm Misty, a Water type Pokémon Trainer." The orange haired girl informed him.
"I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu." He signalled to the electric mouse on his shoulder, "Thanks, but I've already got this Gym Badge."
"Then you must be pretty good." Scott commented with a wide grin, "Maybe you'd qualify for the Battle Frontier."
"Battle Frontier?" Ash frowned, having not heard of such a thing. "What're you talking about? What's that?"
"Pika?"
"I've heard that name before… but I can't remember where?" Brock murmured quietly, as Misty gave him an inquisitive glance.
"Well now I'm glad you asked." Scott said brightly, confident that this young trainer would accept the challenge. "Okay, I'll explain how it works. The Battle Frontier is made up of seven battle facilities spread out through Kanto. Each of the facilities has a Frontier Brain, basically the same thing as a Gym Leader, but very powerful. Challengers have to battle and defeat the Frontier Brain in order to earn that site's Frontier Symbol."
"What's a Frontier Symbol?" Ash interrupted curiously.
"Sort of like a Gym Badge from that Frontier, but there's a catch. You will be given the location of six facilities and only if you earn all six of those Frontier's Symbols will you be given the location of the secret one, the seventh." Scott answered.
"Hey!" Ash beamed excitedly, along with Pikachu, "That's sounds pretty cool to me!"
"Alright!" Scott's sunglass seemed to flash in victory. He truly hoped that this young trainer could at least unlock the secret location. The last few challengers hadn't been successful.
"I've gotta admit, this Battle Frontier sounds interesting." Brock noted. No doubt Ash was going to compete in it and he hoped that he could get his errands back at home done quickly so he could re-join his young friend.
"Well, Ash, what'd ya say?" Scott asked him.
"Yep! I'll do it!" Ash firmly answered, pumping his fist.
"Pikachu!"
"Are you interested in competing as well, young lady?" Scott inquired. He had only come here for Ash, but he wouldn't pass up the chance for another challenger to take on his Battle Frontier and she had been travelling with Ash, so he was confident that she had some talent.
"I wish I could." Misty answered sadly, feeling genuinely disappointed on missing out. "Unfortunately I've got to take over the Cerulean Gym."
"I understand." Scott nodded, "I wish you all the best. There will be many challenges you will face being a Gym Leader."
Misty nodded, but let out a confident grin, "I know, but I'm ready to meet and beat them!"
Suddenly Scott's phone vibrated and he grimaced when he saw the name of one of his scouts on the screen. He cancelled the call, mentally promising to call him back in a moment. If one of his scouts was calling him, then no doubt he would have to do some more travelling.
Scott signalled the trio to follow him as he led them back to his car. Once in reach, he pulled out a card out of the glove compartment and gave it to Ash. "This is my phone number and email. Unfortunately I'll most likely be out of the region for a couple of weeks to scout out some more trainers. Trainers won't come to the Battle Frontier by themselves, I've gotta keep looking for them. So give me a call when you're ready to begin taking on the Battle Frontier. I'll give you all the details then. I'll see you again soon, Ash. I know you'll be great!"
"Thanks! I'm really glad I ran into you today, Scott!" Ash said gratefully.
"Pikachu!"
Scott simply smiled after getting behind the wheel, "Later!" He called out as he drove away.
"Bye!" The trio plus Pikachu waved.
"The Battle Frontier…" Ash murmured as he watched Scott drive away. "Yeah!" He pumped both fists in the air.
"I know this sounds exciting Ash, but weren't you planning on going to the Hoenn region?" Misty couldn't help but inquire. The moment Ash had seen Harrison's Blaziken, she knew that he had set his sights on travelling to Hoenn after the Silver Conference. So she was surprised to see him passing on the chance to explore a new region and catch new kinds of Pokémon.
Rubbing the back of his head, and with a sheepish laugh, Ash admitted, "I'd completely forgotten about that."
"Don't know why I'm surprised." Misty groaned, "Typical Ash."
"The Hoenn region isn't going anywhere." Brock quickly stated, interrupting the inevitable fight about to break out between his two friends. "In fact, taking on this Battle Frontier could be good training for you Ash."
"That's true," Ash grinned widely, "and all of my Pokémon will be much stronger when I take on the Hoenn League."
"We better be going." Misty said unhappily, ruining the good mood as she noticed the sun had begun to slowly descend. "It's getting late."
"I suppose so." Ash huffed upset. He really wasn't looking forward to parting with Misty.
"HOLD EVERYTHING!" Brock suddenly shouted, scaring Ash, Misty and Pikachu.
"What's gotten into you, Brock?! You scared the hell out of me!" Ash demanded, clenching his fists.
Brock figured this was the best time to tell them. "Actually, I've also gotta go home right away. I got an email saying I needed to go back and take care of some errands and stuff and I almost forgot."
"How could you forget something like that?" Ash retorted.
"Ah…" Brock looked away sheepishly, "I'm not sure exactly."
"Maybe because you didn't want to leave." Misty smirked, understanding just how he felt.
"Probably." Brock smiled.
"I know Brock, I understand." Misty assured him.
By the time half of the sun had set over the horizon, the trio parted ways. Misty would never again travel with either Ash or Brock through a whole region, but their friendship remained as strong as ever.
"The Kanto Battle Frontier, huh?"
After returning home to his mother, and after spending the night detailing all of his adventures in the Johto region, Ash headed out to Professor Oak's laboratory in the morning. He was eager to see most of his Pokémon, the exceptions being Charizard and Squirtle who were off training, and to inform Professor Oak about the Battle Frontier.
Currently Tracey was out feeding the Pokémon, and Pikachu was out hanging with all of Ash's Pokémon, while Ash and Professor Oak sat on opposite couches. The elderly professor took a sip of his tea, processing everything that Ash had told him. So Scott had been able to find him then.
"I've heard of the Battle Frontier before, very powerful trainers." The elderly man informed Ash, "It's a challenge that shouldn't be accepted lightly."
"I'm aware!" Ash grinned with excitement, slamming his right fist into his left palm. "I can't wait to get started!"
Professor Oak calmly took another sip of tea, "What's the rush, young man?"
"Rush?" Ash said incredulously, "Have you gone deaf, old man? Isn't it obvious? Powerful trainers just waiting for me to beat them! I wanna get going as soon as I can!"
Professor Oak chuckled, and placed his cup of tea on the table separating the two of them. "I assure you Ash my hearing is still quite good. Like I was saying, you can't take on this challenge lightly. Take your time, and prepare. Remember, unlike when competing in the Gym Challenge, there is no time restraints. You don't need to collect these symbols to enter a major competition, you collect all seven to conquer it. You don't have to complete it within a year."
"That's true, but…" Ash muttered, not looking convinced. He really wanted to get going and take on these Frontier Brains.
"You're free to do what you wish Ash, but there are times when you need to sit back and seriously think about what you're doing." The professor lectured him, "These Frontier Brains… they're probably as strong as Drake from the Orange League."
Ash's eyes widened as he remembered the Leader of the Orange League and his powerful Dragonite. "Really that strong?" If the professor thought that knowing that would set him back, then he'd be wrong. It just made him all the more excited.
"At your level do you think you'll win?" Professor Oak questioned him, startling Ash. The elderly professor wasn't one to question his abilities, he usually encouraged him to take on the challenge and have confidence in your Pokémon.
"Of course I can!" Ash shouted, feeling insulted by the professor's lack of belief in him. "I beat Drake, didn't I? Not to mention I beat Gary in the Silver Conference!"
Professor Oak simply raised an eyebrow, "Yes, Ash, you did. I was there when you beat Gary and I watched the coverage of your match with Drake. I'm well aware of your accomplishments." He coolly stated, "But you won't be doing full six on six matches against these Frontier Brains. You'll be doing one on one or two on two, etc. And their Pokémon will be at the level of Drake's Dragonite. Apart from Charizard, and Pikachu, do you truly believe that any of your other Pokémon can take on a Pokémon at that level one on one?"
Ash scowled but he didn't answer. Looking away from the professor, he stared out of the window to see Pikachu playing with Phanpy and Totodile. When it really came down to it, the Pokémon that he counted on the most was Charizard and Pikachu, and if not them, it was Bulbasaur and Squirtle.
"Squirtle gets plenty of training with the Squirtle Squad, and Charizard trains intensely at the Charicific Valley while Bulbasaur has to deal with many different kinds of Pokémon here at the ranch." Professor Oak explained, "They're all getting stronger and Pikachu travels with you everywhere and thus gains a lot of experience. This is your chance to further your training with the rest of your Pokémon while taking on the Battle Frontier challenge."
Ash remained silent for a moment as he processed everything that the professor had told him. He couldn't deny that he made sense. He didn't have to win it within a year to compete in some sort of league, so that took some stress off. Now that he thought back to his journey through Kanto, he realised that he never really took the chance to thoroughly explore the region like he did with Johto. Maybe he could explore more areas that he never visited and catch a few more Pokémon.
"You're right, professor." Ash smiled and looked directly at the man that was a pseudo grandfather to him. "I'll wait here for Scott to get back to me and then I'll take the time to train all my Pokémon and maybe catch a few more!"
"That's the spirit!"
4 ½ years ago…
For two years, Ash travelled the Kanto region training his Pokémon, exploring the land and battling the Frontier Brains. Brock had joined him early into his new journey, and the two of them had plenty of new adventures.
Over the course of the journey, Ash caught five new Pokémon. He gained a Pokémon egg that hatched into an Eevee, and he caught a wild Scyther, an Aipom and a Rhyhorn. After getting in the middle of a father and son feud, Ash gained a Hitmonlee from Master Hamm. The old karate master was going off to sell noodles and after Ash bonded with Hitmonlee, Master Hamm requested that Ash take Hitmonlee with him to battle all kinds of Pokémon. He had several chances to catch a few more Pokémon but he was more content to train the ones that he already had.
Brock had also caught a few of new Pokémon, a Machop, a Bonsly and a Sandshrew.
The Kanto Battle Frontier had sure been challenging, and Professor Oak hadn't been joking when he talked about the strength of the Frontier Brains. Noland, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Factory had an Articuno, though the Legendary Ice Bird Pokémon was a friend of his rather than his own Pokémon. It had taken Charizard everything he had to win it. It had been fortunate that despite Articuno's incredible power, it didn't seem to have much experience in battling.
Next Ash battled Greta at the Battle Arena. Ash had got Hitmonlee only a few weeks before he battled Greta but that didn't stop him from using him against Greta's Hariyama, which ended in a draw. Snorlax was then able to defeat her Medicham.
Tucker, the Frontier Brain in charge of the Battle Dome was Ash's next challenge. The man was quite famous and so thousands had flocked to see Tucker battle. It was a double match, something that Ash had little experience in but his Noctowl and Totodile was able to defeat Tucker's Swampert and Arcanine.
The Battle Pike was next, and Ash battled a powerful woman known as Lucy. His Donphan was able to knock out her Seviper but her majestic Milotic defeat Donphan in one blow. Ash was able to gain victory thanks to Pikachu's new move, Volt Tackle that dealt super effective damage to Milotic.
Ash then challenged the Battle Palace and the Frontier Brain, Spenser. Like the other Frontier Brains, the old man had proved to be a powerful trainer. Spenser's Shiftry was defeated by his Bayleef but Heracross was defeated by Spenser's Venusaur. Muk then took out Venusaur but then Spenser released his power house, Claydol. Muk fell to its power and Bayleef would have also succumbed if she hadn't evolved in the nick of time. Meganium defeated Claydol with Solarbeam which she learned upon evolving.
Ash suffered his first defeat at the hands of the Psychic type Pokémon Trainer, Anabel at the Battle Tower. Kingler, Scyther and Tauros all fell at the hands of Alakazam, Metagross and Espeon. Ash admitted after the match that he had gotten overconfident and that was the reason why he lost. In the rematch, Kingler lost in a close match with Alakazam, while Tauros and Metagross fought to a draw and Scyther defeated a worn out Alakazam and Espeon.
After getting the sixth Frontier Symbol, Ash finally learned about the Battle Pyramid. Meeting Brandon, the final Frontier Brain didn't go the way Ash wanted as he was taken over by the King of Pokélantis. Fortunately Ash was able to shake off the king's spirit thanks to Pikachu's Thunderbolt. In his first official match against Brandon, Ash elected to use his Cyndaquil – who had just learned a new fire based attack – against Brandon's formidable Registeel. Unfortunately there was a clear gap in strength between the two but momentum swung Ash's way when Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava. The Volcano Pokémon's speed increased more than anything else, and Registeel found it hard to hit the newly evolved Pokémon without using Lock-On. Despite the momentum gained through the evolution, Quilava succumbed to Registeel's mighty endurance.
The final battle between Ash and Brandon was a four on four match. Ash elected to use the Pokémon he had the longest, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charizard, and after a hard and long grind, Ash managed to come out on top after Pikachu defeated Brandon's newly acquired Regice. Ash won more than the final Frontier Symbol, the lessons that he learned from Brandon would continue to guide him for the rest of his life.
Ash had been offered by Scott to become one of the Frontier Brains but he humbly declined the offer, wanting to travel and meet all new kinds of Pokémon. He planned to head to the Hoenn region. Ash and Brock parted ways once again, and on his way home, Ash ran into Team Rocket trying to steal a Pokémon that he had never seen before. For once he didn't have to interfere as it was immediately revealed that the Pokémon belonged to Gary and he had no trouble getting rid of the Team Rocket trio. Naturally Ash challenged Gary and his Electivire to a battle but his old rival refused, stating that Electivire needed some rest and they would battle again later.
His mother, Professor Oak, Tracey and Gary threw him a surprise party to welcome him back. After giving his mother the plaque that he received for conquering the Battle Frontier. Then he finally got to have his battle with Gary. As Pikachu and Electivire prepared to battle each other, Ash could barely contain his excitement. He wanted to see the look on Gary's face when he saw how much stronger than he was now.
The outcome was one that he never expected.
"Pikachu is unable to battle!" Tracey announced firmly, as Professor Oak and Delia Ketchum watched the battle from the sidelines. "Electivire is the winner!"
Ash could only look on in shock as his beloved Pikachu – the Pokémon that defeated the Legendary Regice – was knocked out by Gary's Electivire. He didn't even manage to land a single hit on Electivire. How could he lose to Gary after defeating the Kanto Battle Frontier?
"Pikachu, I'm so sorry." Ash apologised, cradling the electric mouse in his arms, "I really thought we could win it.
"Pika." The electric mouse gave him a reassuring grin.
"Hey Ash." Gary called out as he approached them after returning Electivire into its Poké Ball. "It's great that you won the Battle Frontier but that doesn't mean you can relax. There's a lot of tough Pokémon in Sinnoh that you don't even know about yet. Believe me, the world is a big place." Ash looked away as Gary turned to his grandfather. "I've gotta get back to Sinnoh, grandpa, so I'll be seeing ya later."
Tracey, Samuel Oak and Delia were all surprised that he was leaving so soon. "Leaving so soon?" Professor Oak asked.
"Why don't you stay a while?" Tracey offered.
"Too much stuff to do." Gary said with a happy grin, "I never seem to have enough time these days."
"Gotcha." Tracey understood.
"Well Gary it was great seeing you and I look forward to seeing a progress report soon." The professor bid his grandson farewell.
"Right." Gary nodded, "Later."
With a final look at Ash, Gary walked away.
"Tough Pokémon, huh? The world's a big place, huh?" Ash murmured quietly, but everyone else could still hear him. Delia let out a sad smile, full well knowing what Ash was about to do. That was just her Ash.
"I know just what I'm gonna do!" Ash said determinedly, getting to his feet with Pikachu still in his arms. I'm gonna head over to Sinnoh!"
"Pika?" The electric mouse looked up in surprise. That hadn't been the plan.
Tracey let out an audible, 'huh?' while Professor Oak just smiled, "I knew it. Just as night follows day."
"But Ash..!" Tracey exclaimed, "I thought you were going to Hoenn after you finished the Battle Frontier?!"
"That was the plan." Ash smirked, "But Gary is heading to Sinnoh. Pikachu and I have got to get him back for this!"
"Pika!" The electric mouse in his arms squeaked determinedly, and despite his current injuries, he was already pumped to fight again.
"Besides, we can always go to Hoenn afterwards, right Pikachu?" Ash asked the Pokémon in his arms.
"Chu." Pikachu nodded.
3 ½ years ago…
Another year, and another journey had gone by for Ash as the young teen collapsed onto his bed. His companion Pikachu had jumped onto his desk and was happily munching on some Pokémon food. The journey through Sinnoh had been a terrific experience. Brock had travelled with him once again, but it seems that it would be for the last time. At the end of their journey, Brock had decided to become a Pokémon Doctor and that meant he would have to attend Pokémon Medical School.
Ash knew that Brock would become the best Pokémon Doctor possible.
Within a day after arriving in Sinnoh, Ash and Brock met Dawn, a new trainer that aspired to become the greatest Pokémon Coordinator. Ash had heard of Pokémon Coordinators over his journey but he never went out of his way to learn about them in greater detail. Dawn travelled with them all over Sinnoh and Ash thoroughly enjoyed her company. She managed to win the Wallace Cup by defeating Zoey in the final round, and successfully collected the five ribbons needed to compete in the Grand Festival. She made it all the way to the final round but fell just short of victory, losing to her friend and rival Zoey.
Dawn had expressed interest in returning to Kanto with him, but she received an invitation from Paris for her Buneary to work for a short while as a Pokémon fashion model and decided to stay in Sinnoh.
As for his own journey, he had met many new friends, including the entire Sinnoh Elite Four and the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia. He also caught a bunch of new Pokémon, Torterra, Staraptor, Gliscor and Gible. He traded Aipom – who was more interested in Pokémon Contests than battling – to Dawn for her battle loving Buizel. Ash also gained a Chimchar after his new rival, Paul, released after conceding that he couldn't bring out Chimchar's true power. By the end of his Sinnoh journey, Ash's Chimchar had evolved all the way to an Infernape.
Speaking of his new rival Paul, the two of them didn't get along at all in the beginning due to how different their training styles were. The only thing Paul cared about was a Pokémon's strength, and any Pokémon he thought were weak, and any that didn't meet his expectations, he would release immediately. He didn't bond with his Pokémon since he believed that would spoil them and make them slackers. He was a very harsh trainer. And the complete opposite to Ash in almost every way.
Eventually Ash was able to defeat his bitter rival in a full six on six battle to advance to the final four of the Lily of the Valley Conference, and in doing so, gained Paul's respect. Despite Paul's brutal ways, something that Ash was very objected to, he couldn't deny how smart and skilled a trainer Paul was. They parted, not as friends, but respected rivals.
Unfortunately for Ash, his Sinnoh journey came to an end in the next round when he came across the powerful Tobias. Nobody in the conference had been able to defeat his Darkrai, and not even one of the Gym Leaders had been able to defeat it either. Quilava had been the first to have a crack and while he got some decent hits in, he wasn't a match for a Darkrai. Gible was the next to try, but he too succumb to the power of Darkrai. However the stadium was shocked into silence when Ash's Heracross succeeded in knocking out Darkrai.
Just when Ash thought things were about to improve he was dead wrong. The next Pokémon that Tobias released was Latios, and it defeated Heracross without breaking a sweat. Noctowl was the next Pokémon to try, but he couldn't match Latios's pure brute force. Pikachu was his last chance, and his beloved companion didn't let him down and fought Latios with everything he had. The battle between them ended in a draw. However Tobias still had four remaining Pokémon, and was declared the winner.
It was a disappointing end, Ash had to admit, but he had moved on now. He planned on resting up for a few days here in Pallet Town before heading off to the Hoenn region.
A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts, "Ash, are you in here?" He heard his mother ask.
"Yeah, c'mon in." Ash replied.
His mother entered his room with a bright smile on her face, "Have I got a surprise for you, Ash!"
"What kind of surprise?" Ash asked, sitting up with a curious look on his face.
"We're going on vacation to the Unova region with Professor Oak!" His mother declared happily.
"Seriously?" Ash asked both surprised and excited. "I don't know much about the Unova region."
"You can ask Professor Oak all you want on the way, now get packed. We're leaving in an hour!" His mother said eagerly, exiting his room. No doubt going to pack her own stuff.
"Pika-pika?" The electric mouse piped up.
"I know we're supposed to be going to the Hoenn region, but mum deserves a vacation, and she would want us to go with her." Ash explained. He knew that if he asked his mother if he could start his Hoenn journey instead of going to Unova with her she would say yes. He may not be the most tactful person, but even he knew that it would be wrong to do it. His mother could've prevented him from going on a Pokémon journey at all until he was older but she didn't. He owed her this.
"Besides, we don't even know if there are any gyms over there in Unova. If they're aren't, then we'll just head off to Hoenn when our vacation is over, right?" Ash offered the electric mouse.
"Pika!" Pikachu cheered.
"Let's go pack!"
2 ½ years ago…
It was a choice between Hoenn and Kalos. That was the situation that Ash found himself in.
He had returned to Pallet Town after journeying through the Unova region and had accompanied his journalist friend Alexa here so she could interview Professor Oak. Ash had met Alexa on the way back from Unova, and was surprised to discover that she was from the Kalos region and Pikachu had befriended her Helioptile.
Now he had the difficult choice of choosing between going to Hoenn or Kalos, but he was leaning towards the Hoenn region since he had put that off several times. Currently Ash sat on his own in the back lawn of Professor Oak's Laboratory, as his Unova Pokémon all bonded with the rest of his Pokémon. Even Charizard had decided to remain here for a short time before he would eventually head back to the Charicific Valley.
His journey in the Unova region had been fun, but Ash seriously felt that he underachieved there. It felt like he had taken a back step after finishing in the top 8 in the Vertress Conference. Still he had met some good friends in Iris and Cilan, a Dragon type Pokémon Trainer and a Pokémon Connoisseur respectively. Also he had met some strong rivals in Bianca, Stephan, Trip, and Virgil and most importantly, he had gained many new Pokémon friends.
He managed to obtain an Unfezant, Snivy, Pignite, Oshawott, Scraggy, Leavanny, Palpitoad, Boldore and Krookodile. It had been the second most Pokémon he had caught in a region behind his journeys through Kanto.
"What're you up to, young man?" A familiar voice from behind ended his thoughts. Turning around he wasn't surprised to see Professor Oak. "You've been sitting there for over half an hour." The elderly professor smiled down at the talented trainer.
"Just thinking about where I'm going to travel to next." Ash replied simply, "Between Hoenn and Kalos, and I'm thinking of going to Hoenn."
"I see." Professor Oak nodded thoughtfully, "You've been meaning to go there for a few years now, haven't you?"
Ash chuckled, "That's right, but something keeps coming up that makes me choose to go somewhere else. It's kinda annoying."
Professor Oak suddenly looked sheepish, "Well, it looks like it's going to happen again."
"What'd ya mean?" Ash frowned up at him.
"I'd recommend on going to Kalos, just to meet up with Professor Sycamore. He's been studying a new revolutionary kind of evolution." Professor Oak explained, "I think it will be beneficial for you to check it out."
"A new kind of evolution..?" Ash pondered, sounding interested. Ash let out an aggravated sigh, "Now you've gotten me curious… Guess there's no helping it!" Ash beamed, jumping to his feet. "I'm heading to the Kalos region!"
End of Chapter
If you like it, then please leave behind a review. If you don't like it, then don't read it.
This isn't a great chapter, but it explains most of the stuff that happened when Ash met Scott earlier than in canon.
The next chapter deals with Post-Kalos, and Ash preparing to head to the Hoenn region. You will get an idea of Ash's Pokémon, which have evolved and how strong they are compared to his canon Pokémon in the next chapter.
Okay, the next chapter will be the last before the story is split into arcs. Again to remind you all, I'm going to write up an entire arc before then posting each chapter weekly. I'm hoping to get the next chapter up by Tuesday to early Wednesday. With Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection of F DVD and the Hobbit Extended Trilogy and the new Star Wars Battlefront game coming out in the coming days, my writing is going to slow a bit. So I'm going to work my butt off to get the next chapter out quickly.
As for the poll, 200 people voted, and you have my gratitude and so do all those that added this story to their favourites and to all who reviewed. There were 12 votes separating third from last. However there were 20 votes separating second from third and 27 votes separating first from second.
Now I'm putting up a final poll for Ash's pairing and it will be between first place (Serena) and second place (Dawn). The poll will be closed when I post the next chapter.
