Here we are guys. I'm gonna be quite busy in a few days, so I followed through on my momentum while it's still going strong. Before life beats it out of me again.
On a related note. A few of you took what I said last chapter the wrong way. When I was talking about calling that guy a shit baby. I'd never talked to the guy in my life before. He just came outta nowhere, spamming me with pm's threatening to hack me off the internet, punch my face in, kill me and all of that other crap. I wasn't bringing it up either for some sort of pity, I thought it was funny. Maybe I just have a more morbid sense of humor than you guys? I just thought we could all get a good chuckle out of it.
Moving on. I was a bit stumped on one part of the story. Should I have Ash use a small elite team, or bring all his pokemon with him? This isn't your typical journey story. Ash is going to be trying to fix up Orre, and many of his pokemon have abilities that could help out well in those regards. Eventually, I settled on a sort of middle ground with Ash bringing more than six pokemon, but not a massive amount like...the the 75-80 he'd have, when you include pokemon I've had him get in Alola, and some that I consider still his pokemon just not with him or on the ranch, like Pidgeot. At the end of the chapter, I'll be listing the pokemon he's taking with him, from strongest to weakest and some details on them
Anyway, no need for me to hold you guys up anymore. Have at it guys.
Edit: Not an update, just fixing up some things. But I am beginning to work on Chapter 3 tonight, so hopefully it's done in the next few days.
After everything was all said and done, and joy of their reunion was played out in full, Greninja joined his trainer at his camp site just outside of the cave.
Night fell and darkness loomed above them, the only remaining light being from the moon and their camp fire. Amber eyes near glowed in the face of the flames as Ash took a seat upon a fallen log, Pikachu resting atop his shoulder.
Greninja sat cross legged in front of his trainer, basking in his comforting presence and taking in the changes Ash had gone through. As he'd noted earlier, his clothing had changed. Greninja thought it looked kind of like the clothing that Serena had gotten his trainer when they got caught up with Volcanion and Magearna.
Although, the colouring was different.
Black boots, similar to the ones he'd seen Alain wearing covered his feet, reaching up to almost to the midway point towards his knee's. Although, unlike Alain's these had green laces at the front. Black jeans covered his legs leading up to a silver belt. The white shirt was familiar, especially with the sleeve's pushed up to his elbows, along with the top button left unbuttoned, the collar being propped up and the green tie hanging loosely around his neck.
He was missing the brown vest though from what Greninja remembered. But two things stood out most of all. The first was, that Ash wasn't wearing a hat. The only time's Greninja had seen him without a hat was when he was sleeping, swimming or bathing.
The other was the intricate white bracelet atop his wrist, hanging on his right arm just below his black fingerless gloves. Greninja had noticed it earlier when they first left the cave, and almost tripped over his own feet. The bracelet had veins of different colours branching along its surface, all leading around a glistening multi-coloured orb that rested within the middle of it.
Greninja could never forget just what this kind of stone was. Not after the many battles he and his partner had fought against possessor's of such equipment. A key stone.
Ash noticed his eyes resting atop the bracelet and smirked, "Yeah, I've been really busy since we last saw each other," he commented, "Heck, the key stone isn't even the most important thing about the bracelet."
Greninja cocked his head, "How so?" the pokemon questioned
It had taken Ash a while to get used to understanding exactly what his pokemon said, word for word. A by product of when he and Greninja fully mastered their bond. He and Greninja became one, his knowledge was Ash's and his was Greninja's. They could look through each other's memories as they wished with how close they were.
Meaning, he got a bit of a crash course in pokespeech.
Funny enough, Greninja could understand what he was talking about in a moment if he so wished – all the pokemon had to do was immerse himself in Ash's memories. Though, they both tended to relent from melding their minds so casually outside of becoming one. Good thing to, he really didn't want to get bombarded with Greninja's thoughts on potential mates. Again.
No matter how awesome a pokemon Serena's Braixen was. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised though, he and Greninja were far too alike sometimes. He almost shuddered when he recalled a conversation between his Kalos teams romantic endeavours. Seriously, his buddy Pikachu's apparent love square revolving around himself, May's Glaceon, Dawn's Buneary and Serena's Sylveon was something he did not want to know.
Seriously, Pikachu was far too like him sometimes as well. When he eventually became a Raichu, they'd probably gain that battle bond as well. He didn't even want to think about the fact that his Venasaur hating Bulbasaur was debating letting himself evolve just because May's Bulbasaur had.
Now that his thoughts were on his former, female travelling companions he felt himself frown a little. From what he knew, both Dawn and May were taking part in the Hoenn circuit this year...and so was Serena. And where May went, that annoying green haired sissy followed.
It was annoying enough dealing with the wannabe playboy constantly attempting to flirt with May. He still had resolved issue's with all three of them, though mostly Serena. And he'd really rather not have Drew of all people trying to flirt with her. Or any of those limp wrist Coordinator's really.
Seriously, even Wallace a former Champion was a bit of a flamboyant flop of a man. He'd learned some disturbing stuff involving male Coordinator's.
...Well, he did have to pay a visit to Hoenn after he was done here anyway. He'd check up on the girls while he was there...maybe kick that sissies ass while he was at it. Max started his journey not long ago and he was probably tagging along with May, he'd atleast be on his side in regards to it. Max had already asked him to kick Drew's ass once upon a time back in Kanto for all the abuse he gave May.
Honestly, he just plain disliked the boy. And Serena was too nice for her own good sometimes, she wouldn't really snap back if someone like Drew gave her the hot and cold treatment he did with May. Dawn was fiery, she'd probably jab him in the nose if he got like that with her.
But Serena was different. And the thought of her getting caught up in the arms of some playboy Coordinator made his stomach clench with anxiety. He was new to the way Serena made his stomach flutter, he'd crushed any semblance of it in regards to May and Dawn so he could focus on his training.
But he never got the chance with Serena. She just kinda crashed back into his life, so soft spoken, so unsure of herself in regards to her place in the world and forced herself into his near every thought. She made him want to stand in front of her and shield her from the rest of the world, protect her from anything that might even come close to harming her.
Her decision to go to Hoenn came out of left field. He'd wanted to ask her to come to Alola with him, he could have taught her everything about contests. It was him who first taught May after learning everything about it for her, and then Dawn after her. He taught them how to make combinations and he helped them train for every appeal and battle they took part in during their travels together.
Heck, he wouldn't have even minded teaching her Counter Shield, or his speciality with controlling battle fields.
'But that wouldn't have been fair to Serena,' he mused with a sigh. He couldn't be selfish and hold her back from pursuing her dreams just because he was falling for her. But she made it so hard on him, especially with that kiss. A kiss full of promises that he'd love nothing more than to pursue.
"Master," Greninja interrupted his thoughts, "You're delving a bit too deep into your feelings for Serena and forgetting the topic." the water type pointed out.
Ash shook his head ridding himself of thoughts on the girl, then gave his pokemon a little growl, "I thought I told you to stop calling me master," he replied, voice tinged with annoyance, "You're not some flunky. You're my friend, hell family even."
Greninja shook his own head in the negative, "Regardless, you train me, love me – care for me and my allegiance belongs to you alone, therefore you are my master," he responded succinctly, crossing his arms and setting his eyes in a way that just screamed that Ash couldn't get him to change his mind on this topic.
Ash sighed, an amused smile filtering across his tanned face, "You really are too stubborn buddy."
Greninja snorted, "Like pokemon like trainer."
"Anyway, I'm sorry," Ash continued, "I was just a bit worried."
"Then do as we pokemon do," Greninja replied upfront, "She is yours, therefore you should mark your territory. Lay your claim to her, scream your challenge to the heavens themselves and show that you will crush any and all that even attempt to entice your mate."
"T-That's..." Ash paused a moment as he thought on what he just heard. Then he smirked, "That's not actually a bad idea. The only problem is how to go about it?" he mused to himself.
Greninja closed his eyes. They were getting wholly off topic. He'd retrieve the information he wanted himself while his lord and master pondered upon his chosen mate. He let himself fall into Ash's mind.
"Well, nobody gives a damn about promise rings these days, and asking her to marry me is a bit too much at this point considering we haven't even discussed the whole dating thing yet," Ash said to himself thoughtfully, completely disregarding the way his pokemon rifled through his memories, "I could totally give her a hickey, but they don't last nearly as long as I need."
He turned to the sleepy electric-type hanging over his shoulder, "What do you think buddy?"
Pikachu yawned, blinking his eyes blearily, "I'd say beat the crap out of every interested guy within a twenty mile radius, but that probably wouldn't go over too well with Serena herself," the little yellow pokemon replied tiredly, "She's in Hoenn right? Why not just leave a couple pokemon like Bulbasaur who are good in contests with her for her to look after and keep the flirts away from her – that way everybody wins and even Bulbasaur gets to see Venasaur." With that said, he lay his head back down over Ash's shoulder and went back to resting.
'That might just work,' he thought. Maybe he was being a bit paranoid, but Serena was truly the first person he felt this strongly for, even after years of travelling and meeting literally thousands of nice and attractive girls. Wasn't she worth it in the first place?
The thing about Serena was, that she could change him. He loved to travel the world, meeting all new types of pokemon, studying all the different battle styles he came across. He loved the adventure. But if Serena asked him to, for her? He'd settle down with her, give up the adventure he loved, maybe even take up his position in the Battle Frontier permanently.
That scared him. Was that love? That he'd rather have her at his side than pursue the dream he'd longed to chase everyday since he was a small child?
...Now that he thought about it. He hadn't even decided on what type of frontier he wanted to be built for him to rule over. Maybe something like the Battle Pyramid? Plenty of space for both human and pokemon alike and capable of travelling. Brandon had such a sweet pad.
"Tch!" Greninja grunted, Ash felt a particularly large flare of annoyance coming from his pokemon. Even a bit of jealousy too.
Ash turned towards his pokemon, "What's up?" he questioned.
Greninja was silent for a moment, "You defeated Alain." it was not a question, but an outright statement.
Oh! Ash almost grinned as he realized what was going on now. "Yeah I did." he responded, "He said he'd only go along with my plans if I proved I was stronger than him, so we battled Charizard against Charizard."
Greninja grunted, "..Charizard defeated Mega Charizard." It was hard to come to terms with. Not long ago he'd been lamenting the fact that he had failed Ash when he chose him instead of the likes of Charizard to battle Alain. And now it was just rubbed in his face
He was so utterly pathetic. He did not deserve his trainers trust in him, not when he was such a failure. How could he eve-
Greninja was brought out of his brooding by a pair of fingers snapping in his face, "Don't sweat it," the amber eyed trainer said. Greninja bristled, how could he not 'sweat' it when he was so far behind? He opened his mouth to explain such, but never got the chance as his trainer continued onwards, "Charizard has been training with both me and some of the strongest Charizard in the world for nearly 6 years now, you can't use him as a measuring stick buddy and be depressed at not measuring up, not when you've only been with me for little over a year." Ash explained to his pokemon gently.
Ash reached forward, gently patting the dual water and dark type atop the head, "Don't worry so much buddy," he said, "You're amazingly strong already and have just as much potential as Charizard, you just need a bit more time to grow into it is all."
Greninja did not say it, but he was rather touched by his trainers words. More so because they were not empty placation, he could feel the truth, the belief his trainer had in those words through their bond. He almost felt water well up within his eyes at his faith in him. He shook his head, deciding to change the subject quickly before he ended up shedding tears like some sap, "So, we are going to Orre?" he questioned.
Ash sighed, shaking his head with a rueful smile, "Yeah, it's a complete drag," he replied, running a hand through his messy dark hair, "I was over in Alola when I got a call from Drake telling me I had to attend my duty as the Orange Islands Champion, help them clean up Orre and the like or forfeit my title of Champion."
Greninja nodded in understanding. He had to squash the flare of pride he felt within his chest when his trainer brought up his title. It was gratifying in a way, because his trainer was one of the best and the only reason he hadn't just crushed the likes of the Unova and Kalos leagues was because he wasn't just pursuing victory at all costs, but using those journeys as stepping stones for himself and his pokemon's growth.
Only the best of the best could get into any of the Pokemon League's. The fact that his trainer, could take a team of young, inexperienced pokemon and make them League ready to the point where they could consecutively place in the highest rankings in under a year, multiple times was just amazing. From what Greninja knew, both from staying with Sycamore for so long and second hand knowledge from Ash – most took years to get their pokemon League level.
His trainer was amazing at raising pokemon. Which probably explained why he had so many that could even overcome him when he became one with Ash.
Anyway, from what he'd heard in passing, and from Ash's memories – Orre was a lawless, rough region. Filled with crime, wastelands and many other dregs that had no place in decent society. "Is that why you brought so many pokemon with you?" Greninja questioned, nodding towards the twelve shrunken pokeballs atop his silver belt. Thirteen if he counted the one hanging around the chain he knew hung around his trainer's neck and slipped under his shirt to be hidden from view.
That pokeball had been around his neck since before he as a Froakie even joined up with Ash. He'd never known what was inside until he became one with the amber eyed young man. There was some bad blood between the pokemon inside, and Pikachu. So much so, that Ash fed the pokemon inside out of anyone's sight, and didn't battle with it. To Greninja's knowledge, the only time Ash had even been tempted to call it out was when the Zygarde were wreaking havoc and that was only because, to his annoyance he didn't have the Charizard with him.
Even the pokemon inside couldn't defeat that Charizard. Actually it couldn't defeat the Sceptile either from what he gleamed from Ash's mind.
Thankfully, in the end Greninja had managed to redeem himself, even if only slightly for the defeat he suffered at his rival's hands and he'd been able to handle things well enough.
Ash favoured him with a crooked smile, "Yeah, better safe than sorry when dealing with Orre so I had Professor Oak remove my carry limit," he replied. Stretching his arms slightly, making sure not to jostle Pikachu too much, Ash stood up and slipped his backpack over his shoulder, "Anyway, we need to be in Lumiose City by tomorrow, so we should get a move on if we wanna catch any sleep before my interview with Aria."
Lumiose was more than a week on foot from Terminus Cave. Meaning, his trainer probably had some form of transportation to get there quickly. The only problem was; "What about Squishy and my helping of him?" he questioned.
"Don't worry bud," Ash replied, "I already hunted him and Z2 down before coming to see you, Z2 was as aggressive as usual but Squishy said there's so few of those root things left thanks to you that they should have no problem cleaning up the rest themselves." he explained, his smile brightening a tad. It was quite the happy occasion after all.
Greninja wasn't quite sure just what he felt at the revelation. He knew he was 'happy' in a sense, but it felt much more than that. It felt like his missing other half, had finally returned home to him. And wow, wasn't he being particularly poetic today? No matter. "How are we getting there?" he questioned.
Ash chuckled, "Well, you'll be relaxing in your pokeball," he replied, reaching down and lifting one of the pokeballs from his belt, "While I'll be taking a ride on this guy." he continued, releasing the pokemon within in a massive burst of silvery white light.
With a massive thump, the pokemon landed rattling the ground around them. A massive Charizard towered above them, near enough three times the height of either Ash or Greninja and stretching out a pair of massive wings that blocked out the sky above them. The massive draconian pokemon spared both Greninja and Ash a glance, "Sup?" he, for it was definitely a he greeted.
Ash turned his smile on Charizard, walking up and patting the massive pokemon on the stomach, "Hey big guy, this is Greninja, the one I was telling you about." Ash said.
A fanged grin spread across Charizard's face as he peered down at Greninja, who to his own credit regarded the massive beast with a cool eye, "You're right, he is strong for being so young I can feel it," He snorted, turning his eyes towards Ash, "He pretty much got you second place at Kalos, makes me wish I listened to you back at the Indigo, I woulda crushed those chumps with ease." Charizard boasted proudly, although there was a hint of sheepish apology in there, somewhere deep down.
Charizard didn't do apologies well.
Greninja's eyes fell to the massive pokemon's arms when it crossed them over one another. His eye started to twitch. A bracer adorned Charizard's arm, not unlike the one he saw Korrina's Lucario wearing, although this one was black and silver in colour. Right in the middle of the bracelet, was an orange and red stone.
"You defeated my rival without even Mega Evolving," Greninja breathed out in an annoyed sigh.
Charizard snorted, "Oh that guy? He was pretty strong, though he relied on that fancy stone of his too much," he replied, "Plus, I trained for years with all the strongest Charizard from around the world, and now I rule that roost, if I only trained with one place, it might have been tougher, but training at both the Charicific Valley and with Ash? C'mon that guy had no chance!"
Reaching down, Charizard patted him comfortingly on the back. Although, gentle as it was from Charizard it still almost sent Greninja sprawling, "Don't get so beat up kid," Charizard told him, "That guy has been with his trainer for a good five years, almost as long as I've been with Ash, the fact the he narrowly defeated you even with so much more training isn't anything to be ashamed about."
With a small snort that sent two thick plumes of fire through the air, Charizard continued, "I'm not proud to admit this, but you're quite a bit stronger than I was when I started training at the Charicifc Valley, and I'd been with Ash about a year by then," He rose one claw up and scratched at his horns sheepishly, "Ofcourse I was really arrogant back then and spent months refusing to listen to Ash and missed out on those months of training, but still you get the point."
Ash snorted, interrupting the 'heartfelt discussion', "Was arrogant?" he got out through a chuckle, "Buddy, you had the rest of the Charizard at the valley calling you the and I quote, 'Almighty Dragon God King'."
The orange scales on Charizard's face flushed a deeper burnt orange, "Well, legendaries are considered gods to some people y'know? And I beat Articuno like it owed me money and I woulda beat that damn Entei if it wasn't such a cheating world hacking asshole!"
Ash nodded his head, "Yeah he was a damn cheat wasn't he? If he was still around we woulda definitely hunted him down for a rematch and without those Unown juicing him up we woulda kicked his ass!" Ash shouted, clenching his fist and a fire burning suddenly in his eyes.
Charizard pumped his own fist into the air, "Damn right! We're unstoppable!" the dual fire and flying type was in total agreement, so much so he spewed a massive plume of fire into the air just to show how much he did.
They could be such a bad influence on each other.
Greninja raised a non existent eyebrow, that sounded like some interesting stories. And the byplay between Ash and Charizard was definitely something to take note of, reminding him it wasn't just him Ash reflected upon as far as his pokemon went. Unfortunately, he preferred to be punctual and his two companions were getting caught up in their bragging about how they would kick this Entei's ass if they ever did somehow meet up again. "As interesting as this is, don't you have somewhere to be going master?" he interrupted them with his question.
Ash snapped his fingers, "Oh right, Lumiose I almost forgot," he said with a sheepish chuckle. Grabbing Greninja's pokeball, he pointed it at him and returned him, "Thanks for reminding me."
Greninja merely nodded his head as he dissipated into red light.
Ash turned to the massive pokemon left beside him, "You ready to go?" he questioned.
Charizard lowered himself to the ground, low enough for Ash to swing himself up over his neck and seat himself safely on his shoulder blades, "Yup, let's go!" And with that said, thrust himself into the air with his wings, jetting up and through the air so fast the world blurred out around them.
In mid-air and on their way, Charizard decided to make conversation, "So….what's this I hear about you finally pursuing a mate?" he questioned his trainer.
Ash rolled his eyes, but relented with a sigh, "Well, she's a girl I met long before I started my journey," he replied, "Her name's Serena."
Charizard snorted, "Not what I meant," he replied as they glided above the clouds, "You've asked both Sceptile and Pikachu their thoughts on her and not me! That lousy tree lizard got rejected like a chump by that Meganium and Pikachu is too much of a wimp to do anything about any of the females interested in him – I'm much better to get advice from, I have Charla as a mate, and mated with a bunch of other females as well!"
Ash didn't really have the heart to tell him he didn't want advice from any of them. Especially Charizard, he knew without even hearing that it would be something entirely too violent. And while he didn't really mind getting into a few scraps and kicking some ass..it really wouldn't go over well with Serena. It was much too 'Alpha Male' bullshit. And only really shallow girls would be interested in it.
Plus, he was already the alpha male. Hell, he was the alpha of alpha's. He didn't need to boast he was awesome, he just was.
...All the while Pikachu slept. It was a good thing Charizard was so warm, otherwise the chilling altitude would have woken him up.
Serena sighed as she eased herself down on to a seat beside Miette and Shauan. It was a bit of a shock that the two had decided to follow her lead and met up with her in Hoenn. But she couldn't deny that it was a relief to travel with them. She probably would have been even more lonely without them by her side.
She caught the eye of a pretty, blue haired girl across the room. Dawn Berlitz, the girl giving her a cheerful wave before going back to the conversation going on between her group. All known Coordinator's, a few of them high ranked ones at that.
She'd seen a few of them at contest's she'd visited, but hadn't really talked to them other than a few passing greetings, introductions...and a rose from the green haired boy with the nasally voice.
Dawn Berlitz, May Maple, Drew Larousse, Harley, Solidad, Kenny, Zoey and a young boy, whom she thought was named Max and was May's little brother if she remembered right. Her eyes flickered to May, actually more towards her chest and despite herself Serena felt a little self conscious.
How could a girl, the same age as her have such a massive pair of breasts? She was kind of glad Ash wasn't here in a way for that sole reason, she figured she had enough competition without possibly having to take Ash's attention away from such a pair of breasts.
Ash was dense, but even he would find his eyes drawn boobs like those. They were just too big, and he was a teenage boy after all. Serena sighed, with her thoughts on her crush it brought up just how long they'd been apart. She wished sometimes she never found a passion for performing, then she could have followed Ash to the ends of the world, stay by his side forever. 'I miss him so much,' she thought to herself.
And without a boy like Ash by herself, there was really nothing to deter the boys that kept trying to flirt with her, and the girls she travelled with. Many of them Coordinator's. Serena didn't know what it was, but quite a few of them had this creepy vibe to them.
Even then, she wasn't attracted to any of them. None of them were her type. Then again, could it be called having a type when only one person fit the bill in the first place?
A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face, jolting her from her thoughts, "Huh?" she managed to urge out after a startled jump.
Miette beside her rolled her eyes, "Enough with the daydreaming Serena I was asking you a question." she said.
"Oh," the honey blonde breathed, "What?"
Shauna leaned across the table they were sitting at, "We were wondering what Ash is up to these days?" she questioned, a mischievous smile on her face and her vibrant eyes glittering with a very disconcerting need.
Serena nearly grunted in agitation. She knew her love for Ash was incredibly obvious, and that she pretty much broadcast it to everyone in the vicinity when talking with or, or even about him. But did they have to be so obvious themselves with their attraction to him? She was the one who'd known him the longest, she was the one who'd travelled with him. She was the one who kissed him!
They should just back off. Well, Miette atleast. Shauna thankfully only appreciated the view and left pursuing him to Serena herself. First dibs and all that.
She sighed, "Last I heard, he was in the Alola Region," Serena replied, "Clemont was telling me Ash contacted him to show him this really amazing pokemon he found and Clemont was gushing over it the entire phone call."
Miette snorted, "Don't let her fool you Shauna," the blue haired performer warned, "Ash has been calling her atleast once a week since she got here to Hoenn, but she keeps blanking his calls because she's too afraid to face him after that little smooch she gave him." There was a catty bite to her tone and an annoyed glint in her eyes.
"Miette!" Serena hissed, mortification coursing through her. So what? She couldn't help it! When she was around Ash, her heart beat a mile a minute. And while she'd gotten better with it over their travels, that kiss had just made her all the more nervous about her feelings. Scared even.
She loved him. She knew it to be true without a doubt. Eight years she'd waited to see him again, harbouring a crush on that young boy that saved her, took care of her and gently guided her to safety, favouring her with those burning amber eyes and radiant smile. It had been a childish crush, she knew that. But then they met up again, and he was so kind, so patient with her. So strong and so passionate.
She really did fall in love with him. That was what scared her. He had the power to crush her heart to glass shards with the simplest response of 'no'.
Shauna leaned back with a sigh, "Honestly Serena that won't do," she said, shaking her head in disappointment, "Ash is a catch, and if you don't stake your claim soon someone might just steal him for themselves." The way she emphasized the word steal made Serena's eyes narrow at her.
The fact of the matter was, neither Shauna or Miette honestly pursued Ash. Miette, a little bit but not too seriously even though she herself was crushing on him. Both girls were a lot more bold in their pursuits than her. Shauna could be serious competition if she tried to fully get in on it.
She was perky, and fun loving with a mocha tan. Not to mention, she had a figure quite like May's. Short, with rather large breasts, flared hips...and the less she said about those tiny denim shorts she wore the better.
She was about to open her mouth to reply, when the trainer lounge suddenly went quiet. Hushed whispers pointing to the large TV screen hanging on the lounge wall.
'Stars Of The Pokemon World' flared across the screen in bright, bolt letters before fizzling away in a shower of stars to be replaced by none other than Aria. The red haired beauty wearing a beaming smile, clad in a gorgeous white sun dress that showed a tasteful hint of her cleavage.
Oh great, Serena almost sighed again. Another possible love rival appearing in her vision. She didn't know Aria that well, they'd only met a few times. And while she considered the pretty older performer a friend, her casual and friendly relationship with Ash bothered her.
That may have just been her jealousy over the older girl dancing with him so much and her not getting the chance though. Even still, she and Ash could be far too friendly with each other for her tastes.
"Hey everybody!" Aria greeted with a cheerful smile, clapping her hands together excitedly, "You'll never believe who I managed to get an interview with tonight, I was sure surprised when this elusive celebrity turned out to be someone I actually knew personally!"
An elusive celebrity? That caught Serena's attention, her and her travelling companion's as well. That was a bit of an oxymoron wasn't it? Whoever it was, must be someone famous that tended to stay away from the public eye as much as possible.
Lance maybe? He was the current strongest trainer in the world, the overseer and champion of two regions. The head of the famous G-men and many other mind boggling accomplishments. But he preferred to keep himself out of the public eye, rather reclusive and focused on his duties.
"Oh?" She heard Miette hum in interest.
"Yes my friends, I've managed to somehow score an interview with the mysterious Champion of Orange Islands!" Aria almost gushed, her voice full of excitement.
Serena couldn't blame her. Even she had heard of the mystery Champion. Nobody knew who he was, only that he dethroned Drake from Pummelo Island more than five years ago and remained undefeated in his role, hell Drake had been undefeated for ten years before losing to the champion, and remained undefeated ever since, meaning nobody had even got the chance to challenge him yet.
It wasn't a part of the official league comity. But the Orange League even independent drew in a lot of money and challengers, so much so they had no problem being independent. Rumours placed Drake on even terms with the likes of another Drake, the strongest of the Elite Four in Hoenn. And Drake of Hoenn didn't deny it, merely stating that Drake of Pummelo alongside Lance had once been his apprentice.
Serena heard a multitude of gasps. Looking to the source, she was just in time to catch Dawn shouting, "No way!" with both May and Max on their feet looking at the screen wide eyed.
Huh, they were from Hoenn and Sinnoh. Odd that they'd have such a reaction to something concerning the Orange Islands.
"How the heck did she manage to get an interview with him?" Max shouted, his voice full of disbelief. Him? Serena wondered, "He hates that kinda stuff!"
Wow that was interesting. Did they know the champion?
"Funny enough, he's pretty much been hiding in plain sight!" Aria laughed, "He's a pretty well known trainer born in Kanto!"
"Just let me introduce him to you!" she continued, "At a mere ten years of age he conquered the Orange League!"
Wow, at ten? Serena hadn't even started her journey till she was fifteen and this guy was already a champion at ten?
"At thirteen he became the first, and only trainer to ever conquer the Kanto Battle Frontier, bringing down former strongest Kanto Elite Four member Brandon!"
And then he went on to achieve that? This guy had to be incredibly talented.
Aria's smile was practically blinding as she motioned to off screen, "Here he is everybody, the Pride of Pallet Town!" she beamed, perfect white teeth glinting.
Pallet Town!? Did Ash know this guy? He would be about the same age. Someone he started at the same time as maybe?
"Ash Ketchum!"
Serena froze. Ash!?
The screen phased away from Aria and centered around a new figure. Sitting casually on the large, rounded comfortable looking couch that Aria usually liked to interview people on...there he was, taller, slightly more matured and just as handsome as ever. Atleast to her.
Dressed to impress, more than she'd ever seen him. She felt her heart flutter and almost smiled when she saw him wearing the shirt and tie she bought him. His amber eyes almost glowing in the screen as he looked into it, and Serena almost gasped when she saw a glinting diamond stud resting in his left ear lobe.
Another gift she got him. She remembered he'd had his ear pierced as a child, and had gotten it for his birthday during their trip through Kalos. She rarely ever got him to wear it, despite how good it looked on him though because of how much he detested getting all dressed up.
She met his eyes on the screen and almost felt her face flush up with heat when it seemed, that even then he was staring right into her eyes. That was a constant in their travelling. Whenever they talked, he always held her gaze, stared into her eyes.
'..Serena...I really like your eyes..' A precious compliment she received from him. One she kept to herself, because it was one he blurted out when coming in and out of that nasty fever he'd gotten that one time.
There was a roguish grin on his face, "Hey everybody!" he greeted with a cheerful wave. Pikachu offering his own wave and greeting from his shoulder.
….
"Ash!?" Serena's eyes widened, when she heard the multiple shouts. Not just from Miette and Shauna...but from Max and both May and Dawn as well. Her heart almost leapt into her throat when she saw both the beautiful Hoenn and Sinnoh Coordinator's beaming at the screen fondly.
...Not even more of them! Why the hell did everyone want her childhood sweetheart!?
Ash Ketchum: Orre Team
1. Charizard - Male - Blaze - Flamethrower, Fire Spin, Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Dragon Rage, Seismic Toss, Skull Bash, Take Down, Dragon breath, Overheat, Steel Wing, Wing Attack, Slash, Dragon Tail, Thunder Punch, Blast Burn, Solarbeam
2. Sceptile - Male - Overgrow - Bullet Seed, Pound, Leaf Blade, Quick Attack, Agility, Solarbeam, Leaf Storm, Dual Chop, Double Kick, Rock Slide, Grassy Terrain, Brutal Swing
3. Zekrom - genderless - Teravolt - Fusion Bolt, Bolt Strike, Hyper Beam, Giga Impact, Dragon Claw, Psychic, Steel Wing, Zen Headbutt, Dragon Breath
4. Infernape - Male - Blaze - Flamethrower, Dig, Mach Punch, Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Thunder Punch, Flame Wheel, Poison Jab, Earthquake, Slack Off
5. Pikachu - Male - Static/Lightning Rod - Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Thunder, Agility, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, Volt Tackle, Electro Ball, Meteor Mash, Disarming Voice
6. Snorlax - Male - Thick Fat - Protect, Rest, Sleep Talk, Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Ice Punch, Hyper Beam, Body Slam, Wild Charge, Double Team, Surf
7. Greninja - Male - Water Pulse, Cut, Pound, Aerial Ace, Water Shuriken, Night Slash, Hyper Beam, Shadow Sneak, Extrasensory, Hydro Pump, Double Team
8. Garchomp - Male - Sand Veil - Rock Smash, Dig, Dragon Pulse, Draco Meteor, Dual Chop, Earthquake, Hyper Beam, Fire Fang, Dragon Rush,
9. Staraptor - Male - Reckless - Aerial Ace, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Brave Bird, Close Combat, Hyper Beam, Steel Wing
10. Silvally - Genderless - RKS System - Multi-Attack, Crush Claw, Air Slash, Thunderbolt, Flame Charge, Shadow Ball, Flash Cannon, Surf
11. Gigalith - Male - Sturdy - Sandstorm, Stone Edge, Flash Cannon, Rock Blast, Rock Smash. Earthquake, Iron Defense,
12. Samurott - Male - Torrent - Hydro Pump, Aqua Jet, Water Gun, Razor Shell, Ice Beam, Air slash, Night Slash
13. Noivern - Male - Infiltrator - Dragon Claw, Acrobatics, Supersonic, Boomburst, Tackle, Hurricane, Wild Charge, Flamethrower
Now, this isn't Ash's top 13 strongest. Just listed from strongest to weakest in the group he's bringing with him. Pikachu is about even with Infernape, if not stronger but Infernape is stronger with his super Blaze. If Pikachu never got into the mess with Zekrom, he'd be right up with Sceptile, if not stronger. Greninja, when becoming Ash-Greninja is around the same strength as Infernape using Blaze, again if not a bit stronger and between them the battle would more than likely become one of attrition.
The list? I could have kept it hidden, and it would make for better story telling for have them to be revealed later without being spoiled. But really, it's just for convenience sake so I can keep track of all the pokemon involved and their attacks.
Why does Ash have Zekrom? Because he was set up in canon to be its hero, and apparently he only didn't because the episodes were dropped due to that disaster in Japan. They felt it wouldn't go over well, what with Plasma attacking cities and causing, well ya know disaster. This is Zekrom from the movie, it just stuck around. I don't think it would leave it's chosen hero so quickly after all.
No doubt a few will complain about Ash having mega stones and the like already. I'll address how he got them, what's fully going on, how he got Silvally and more in future chapters. But keep in mind, this isn't a journey story. Well, not as such. And I just kinda want to get into everything.
Again, I'll probably get complaints about Ash's Charizard beating Alain's without Mega Evolving. But despite the sheer wank it gets, I fully believe Ash's is stronger even without Mega Evolution. Not to mention, Ash's has much more experience with fighting Charizard's. Years of it.
No doubt many of you have already guessed the bracelet is Ash's Z-ring that he does canonically get in Sun/Moon. I know that much atleast. But I wonder if any of you can guess just what's up with it, why it's different.
Ugh, I'll need to redo the cover art for this story deciding on those pokemon. Eh, I'll do it tomorrow I'm too tired right now.
Anyway, later folks.