The Crimson Guardian

by Sominum

Ash Ketchum, a boy with a tremendous amount of intellect eventually leaves on a journey with his starter, Charmander by his side. He will travel around the world and along the way will catch many new pokemon, grow strong, unveil secrets long since hidden and forgotten. Rayshipping - Ash x Cynthia. Very Smart/Mature/Aura Guardian Ash. Mix between Anime and Games

2. Chapter 2: Goals, Bonds, and Battles

Chapter 2: Goals, Bonds, and Battles

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon! This story is for entertainment purposes and in no way am I trying to claim that I own Pokémon.

Sorry for the long delay but I have been really busy with one mid-term or term test after the other non-stop for the past month. Not only that but finals are only a month away so things are going to get more hectic for me. But I will try my best to write whenever I can and continue with the updates.

In regards to some questions in the reviews:

Yes, all the regions will be in the story but I'm just not sure about Alola mainly because I haven't played sun and moon nor have I watched any episodes of the anime.

My usual chapter length will be around 20k words or so.

I know my nicknames are inconsistent but that's just how it will be. I am terrible at nicknames as you can see and I will choose names based on what sounds cool and will fit the type of character I will shape Ash's Pokémon to be.

Regarding Legendary Pokémon. Remember I am not going by stats so their power will indeed be legendary and far surpass the powers of normal Pokémon. However, with enough training, normal Pokémon can reach the power of lesser legendaries but only after lots of intense training.

Also, I have changed the limit of the Pokémon Ash catches to 18-24. Cynthia's will be most likely in this range as well.

Well that's all I had to say. Enjoy the story!

---

Ignis and Raijin were currently walking beside Ash and Cynthia, wanting to stretch their leg after they had sat on their trainer's shoulder for the past hour.

Meanwhile Ash was taking in the sights, sounds and smell of the nature around them, enjoying it and happy at the fact that his journey finally had begun. As they continued walking, his mind kept thinking about the battle he had with Gary and Cynthia's words afterwards. He really did like battling and was considering of perhaps going for the Pokémon league challenge.

As those thought crossed his mind, he also thought of what Pokémon Cynthia might have and decided to ask her. "Cynthia, if you don't mind me asking, what Pokémon do you have?"

Cynthia turned to look at Ash as they walked, a bit surprised at sudden question but quickly answered. "Well I have my starter, Gabite, and my other five Pokémon are Lucario, Roserade, Milotic, Spiritomb and Togekiss."

"Impressive."

"Thank you" Cynthia replied before asking her own question. "Do you have any Pokémon you specifically plan on catching?"

"Nope" Ash simply replied causing Cynthia to slightly sweat-drop at the nonchalant response. "By the way, why did you decide to come to Kanto?"

"Well Professor Rowan was coming here to help out Professor Oak for some big research project they were doing and he invited me along. I had been trying to decide what region to travel to next in order to grow stronger since I want to become the Sinnoh Champion and when Professor Rowan asked me I decided Kanto would be my next stop." Explained Cynthia to which Ash nodded.

Silence enveloped the two as they began walking again and it was only half-an hour later did they see a male brown-haired trainer in a blue-sweater and dark blue pants walking towards them. When the distance closed between them, the trainer challenged Ash to a one-on-one battle which he happily accepted.

"Let's go Rattata!" the trainer shouted as he threw a Poké Ball into the air releasing a purple rat-like Pokémon with buck-teeth and a tail that curled at the end.

"Raijin your up." Said Ash as he quickly scanned the electric type to check what moves he had since he had forgotten to do that earlier.

[Pikachu knows the following moves: Thunder Shock, Quick Attack, Growl, Reversal (Currently Unavailable), Volt Tackle (Currently Unavailable)]

The electric type nodded, excited for his first battle especially since his belly was full and his body was healed thanks to the Oran Berry's healing properties.

"Start things off with a Tackle attack!" shouted the brown-haired trainer to which Rattata began running towards Raijin.

"Quick Attack."

Raijin was surrounded by a light white glow before he ran towards Rattata in a streak of white light and crashed into him, sending the charging Rattata skidding backwards due to the force behind Raijin's attack.

The brown-haired trainer grits his teeth upon seeing Rattata's attack being stopped and being hurt from the rather strong impact. "Use Bite!"

"Dodge it!"

As Rattata closed the distance between him and the electric type, baring his fangs at Raijin, getting ready to bite him, Raijin managed to run out of the way in time creating more distance between the two.

"Thunder Shock than Quick Attack!" commanded Ash.

Raijin launched a small jolt of electricity at the normal-type, dealing a good amount of damage and causing some of Rattata's fur to be charred. The electric type then was surrounded by a thin white glow before he launched himself at the weakened Rattata, eventually colliding with him. Rattata was sent rolling a few meters away and was unconscious.

The trainer sighed before returning his Pokémon and the Pokédex in his pocket beeped a little signalling that it transferred a small amount of his Poké dollar money into Ash's Pokédex.

"That was a good battle." Said Ash as Raijin jumped onto his vacant shoulder.

"Thanks. Maybe we can battle some day." Said the brown-haired trainer who although was upset by his loss, was equally impressed by Ash's battling skills and wanted to grow stronger to beat him.

"Maybe." Said Ash before he walked towards Cynthia and the brown-haired trainer turn and left to head back towards Pallet Town to get his Pokémon healed by Professor Oak.

"Nice battle." Commented Cynthia.

"Thank you. Do you want to battle the next trainer we come across?"

"No thanks. In these early routes, most trainers are beginners and my Pokémon would wipe the floor with them. Its better if your Pokémon earn as much experience as they can now. I will fight the more experienced trainers later on." Said Cynthia gaining a nod from Ash.

It was beyond obvious that if Cynthia managed to get into the top 4 of the Sinnoh League Conference then her Pokémon would wipe the floor with most trainers they came across.

"Although, you should battle if you catch any new Pokémon here, you should use them in battle since they would not be able to keep up with your experienced Pokémon." Said Ash.

"Of course."

The two then continued to walk and make their way towards Viridian City. They probably would have been almost near the city if Ash hadn't stopped to pretty much battle every single trainer they came across and beating them all although while a couple were easy, the majority were difficult causing him to using potions often after the battle to heal his Pokémon. The sun was now setting and the two trainers had now arrived in a small clearing near a pond.

"This will be a good place to camp for the night." Said Ash to which Cynthia nodded and got to work of setting up her tent.

Ash set down his bag as well and brought out a small blanket to lay down his exhausted Pokémon that were resting on his shoulder, tired from the tremendous amount of battling they did but they and Ash loved it. Once they were peacefully resting their tired muscles and aching bones, Ash got up and walked towards the trees.

"I'm going to go look for firewood." Said Ash to which Cynthia nodded, in the process of taking out her tent.

"Ok, I'll set up the fireplace."

Ash nodded in return and walked through the trees on the edge of the small clearing, looking for loose branches and dry leaves on the ground. He soon found a good cluster of them spread out in a small area and began picking them up as his mind drifted to his Pokémon.

Since he was beginning to love battling more and more, he also discovered that both Ignis and Raijin had an immense appetite for battling just like he did as they couldn't get enough. This fact more or less was making Ash believe that perhaps doing gym battles and aiming to enter the Indigo League would be the best short-term goal for him now.

However, to do this, he would not only need to catch more Pokémon of varying types to increase the size and diversity of his team, he would also need to train his Pokémon hard with their permission so that they could grow stronger and beat tougher opponents.

So, with that said, he began using his immense knowledge on Pokémon to determine what he should work on first in terms of training Ignis and Raijin. The one thing he knew that was the main weakness of Pokémon early on was their endurance and their ability to keep battling for a long while.

While Ignis and Raijin had already displayed quite a lot of endurance for participating in what was most likely around ten battles, he knew he needed to increase that amount so they could last longer in battles and just battle more overall which would result in gaining more experience.

With that small part thought of, Ash decided that he would talk to his Pokémon over dinner and then start their training early in the morning.

By the time he finished these thoughts, he had already picked up a large amount of firewood, and was making his way back to the clearing. When he made it there, he saw Cynthia was putting the last stone in its place among the circle of stones most likely picked up from the nearby pond. Ash walked over and placed a good amount of dry leaves and wooden branches and twigs in the circle before placing the rest a couple meters or so away from the fire place.

"Ignis, can you set the wood on fire?" asked Ash to which the Pokémon nodded and got up on his feet before walking over and using his tail to get the fire going.

Once that was done Ash got his tent out from his back-pack which unfolded very easily and required no ropes or poles to keep it up. He then placed his sleeping bag inside before getting out a group of various sandwiches his mom made.

"Here." Said Ash as he handed Cynthia a few of the sandwiches.

"Oh…thank you." Replied Cynthia as she had been just about to get her own food out but stopped.

She began unwrapping the plastic foil and took a bite out of one of them and instantly gained starry eyes with the delicious flavors of tuna and cheese that exploded in her mouth. "This is delicious!"

Ash chuckled. "Yeah, my mom is an amazing cook." He watched in amusement as Cynthia devoured the sandwiches he gave her with a somewhat lack of proper manners. He took out two bowls before bringing out a small cube which he recognized as the device his mom talked about that stored lots of Pokémon food.

He tapped the button on top before choosing two of the eighteen symbols on the top of the device, each symbol representing a specific type with another button on it if you wanted to combine types. Once he pressed the fire and electric symbol as separate types, a flash of white light came from the top button of the device and two huge sacks of Pokémon food appeared in front of him, one with the fire type symbol and the other with the electric type symbol.

Ash mentally thanked his mom for not only buy this device but filling it up with her hand-made Pokémon food for not only each Pokémon type but also each possible type combination. This food would probably last him for quite a few months more or less depending on how many Pokémon he captures after which he would have to stock up on more.

So, he took Ignis and Raijin's bowls and filled with their respective Pokémon food while also noticing there was mashed up berries mixed in. He then took out jars containing different brown colored mush, and mixed in a spoonful of protein, calcium, and carbos into each of their bowls before mixing their food and placing in front of his Pokémon who were still lying down.

When the aroma of the food hit their noses, the two Pokémon got up and sniffed the food slightly before taking one piece of it and eating it. Like Cynthia, the two Pokémon gained starry eyes as they started devouring the food like a starving Snorlax causing Ash to smile.

With that done, he packed everything up and the bags of Pokémon food returned inside the cube in a flash of white energy. Ash then took out his own sandwiches and began eating somewhat quickly. He noticed Cynthia had not taken her Pokémon out to eat so he spoke up. "Aren't you going to bring out your Pokémon to eat as well Cynthia?"

She shook her head. "When we landed in Kanto last night, I gave my Pokémon a big feast and most of them typically only eat every three to four days. By the way, thanks for the delicious food. When we return to Kanto, I'm going to have to ask your mom for her recipe."

Ash nodded first then chuckled. "You don't have to wait until then. She taught me her cooking and her recipes so once we get to Viridian and pick up some supplies, I will make something."

"You can cook!" exclaimed Cynthia receiving a nod from Ash. It was quite rare to see a boy or teenager in this case who can cook and if his cooking is as good as he says, she knew she was in the time of her life on this journey. After all, the one thing she likes after Pokémon and battling is eating.

Ash and his Pokémon finished his meal before he went to wash his Pokémon's bowl in the nearby pond. After, wards he came back, placed it in his bag and sat beside his Pokémon on the ground, opposite of Cynthia on the other side of the fire.

"Cynthia, Ignis, Raijin…" Ash started gaining the attention of the three, "I wanted to say that for now I set my short-term goal to be going for the Indigo League. However, for us to do that, we're going to have to train really hard in order to beat all the gyms. I wanted to ask you Ignis, Raijin if your okay with this and if you would be willing to train really hard by my side."

Ignis and Raijin stood up and walked in front of Ash and had determination burning in their eyes. They nodded at him and Ignis spoke up.

("I want to become the strongest Charizard in the world!")

("I want to become strong and help you with your dream!") Raijin added.

Ash nodded at the two before petting their heads causing them to melt to his touch since he knew their favourite spots to be petted and scratched. "Ok then. Tomorrow, we can begin your training. The first thing we need to work on is your endurance so we will be doing a lot of running."

The two nodded while Cynthia watched the scene with a warm smile. It was very rare to see someone place such high value in their Pokémon's opinion and actually listen to what they wanted and not just force their goals on them. It was one of the things her grandmother and Professor Rowan had taught her and she followed it to the letter. It was clear to her that Ash simply loved Pokémon and it was quite the warming sight to see.

"You know, your going to need a strategy for Brock's gym in Pewter City since he's a rock type specialist. The Viridian City gym is the strongest in Kanto so we should probably face it last." Said Cynthia pointing out some important points.

"Yes. I'm going to have to try and teach Ignis Metal Claw which would help out a lot against Rock Types. I believe Raijin can learn Iron Tail too so that's something I can have them both work on after they improve their endurance a bit."

"Yes. My Lucario and Milotic knows those moves so they will be able to help Ignis and Raijin out."

"Thank you, Cynthia." Said Ash with a smile, finding it heart-warming how kind the blonde woman is, willing to help him out.

"Its no problem Ash." Said Cynthia with a small smile, find herself enraptured by Ash's handsome face, alluring crimson eyes and amazing smile.

Ash himself had found himself lost in Cynthia's silver colored eyes and beautiful face. He eventually managed to recompose himself and cleared his throat, breaking the blonde-woman out of her stupor as well. "We should get some sleep now."

Cynthia nodded in response and went inside her black-colored tent while Ash went inside his blue colored one after he doused the fire. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Ash responded back as he fell asleep in his sleeping bag with Ignis and Raijin right beside him, snuggling as close as possible.

---

Ash heard small chirping sounds and felt a cool breeze on his face. He opened his eyes and saw Ignis and Raijin were sleeping right next to him, snoring lightly. He stretched his body and rubbed his eyes a little, chasing away the last bit of his sleepiness before he slowly crawled out of the tent making sure not to wake his Pokémon up. After that, Ash grabbed his brush and some toothpaste and went by the pond to do his normal morning rituals before walking back and talking off his shirt and placing it by his sweater/vest and his gray leather jacket inside his tent.

He then walked to the edge of the small clearing and started running around the perimeter while also barely making a sound so none of his Pokémon or the Pokémon living in the surrounding forest woke up. As he ran he felt a strange power surging within him and it's a power he felt running through his body for as long as he can remember. While not knowing what exactly it is he felt some sort of control over it and often could use it to speed himself up which is what he decided to do now.

As he felt the power course through his legs, his speed began to pick up as he ran at an astounding speed of 35 mph. He could feel the wind hitting against his body as he ran and ran, pushing his endurance to the limit everyday. By the time one hour was done, he slowly, slowed down until eventually stopping and collapsing on the ground with his arms and legs spread out. He could feel the muscles in his leg burning like they were on fire and his whole body was sweating heavily as he had pushed himself a lot today. This was the first time he was able to maintain his top speed of running 35 mph for an hour.

The exhaustion that plagued his body just felt so…so…great.

After non-stop panting and an effort to catch his breath, Ash slowly pushed himself back on his feet after taking a twenty-minute break. Since he had no weights or any sort of training equipment, he decided to do some basic stretches first before doing all variation of push-ups and sit-ups, along with several leg-exercises, variations of two and one-handed pull-ups on a nearby tree before finishing with simple breathing exercises. This whole process, including running had taken a total of two and a half hours to complete and by this point it was 8:30 a.m.

So as a final part of his daily exercise routine, Ash started going over all the fighting moves and exercises Machamp and several other fighting type Pokémon had taught him when they had seen how he was able to hold his own against fighting the skilled Machamp despite the fact that Machamp was holding back on his strength.

He went through several fighting stances and did all sorts of punches, kicks and strange fighting moves as if he was fighting against a real opponent yet through the whole time, his eyes were closed.

Unknown to him, his Pokémon and Cynthia had both awaken a few minutes ago and were watching him with awed eyes. Cynthia also sported a crimson blush that encompassed her face as she gazed at Ash's hot and ripped body that would have had any woman falling for him. The fact that he was sweating causing his body to glisten in the sunlight did not help one bit, as it added even more fuel to her atomic blush.

Once Ash was done with going through all his moves, he walked over to a tree that didn't have many leaves and thus probably no Pokémon. He then began attacking the tree with punches and kicks non-stop and adding in several moves in the process. He became so lost in his training that he didn't realize that his punches were gaining more ferocity and he was slowly losing himself in the fighting.

While this was going on, Cynthia watched with wide eyes as she could swear she was seeing parts of Ash's body being outlined by a crimson red aura but it usually ended up disappearing so fast that she was not sure what to think.

Meanwhile, as Ash began to lose himself in beating up the poor tree, he did not realize that the surrounding forest Pokémon had also begun to watch him and were captivated by his beautiful flawless moves that absolutely wasted no movement and had perfect form, minimizing energy usage while maximizing the power, speed and ferocity of his attacks.

Eventually, Ash reached a peak and he channeled the unknown power within him one last time inside his right arm before clenching his hand into a tight fist. He then brought down the punch full force onto the tree. The moment contact was made between flesh and tree, a huge shockwave blasted throughout the surrounding area causing all the Pokémon and Cynthia to stumble a bit as they looked at Ash with shocked eyes.

Their shock only grew when they saw the tree toppling over and it was not a small tree by any means as it had been two meters in diameter and eight meters tall. The tree soon hit the ground resulting a large blast of sound and dust to be released.

Ash panted heavily as he brought his bruised by surprisingly un-bleeding arms down to his side and relaxed himself. He came out of his fight crazed state and managed to eventually regain his composure causing him to notice many of the forest Pokémon looking at him with awe-filled eyes with just the slightest ting of fear. He breathed heavily as that last punch felt like it drained almost all the energy inside him and he was more then ready to just lay down and relax the rest of the day. Once he managed to get his breathing under control he look at the slack-jawed forest pokemon

It was not everyday you saw a human do something like that.

"I apologize if I disturbed you all." Said Ash with a sincere bow before he walked back to his tent leaving the dumbfounded Pokémon behind. When Ash made it back to the campsite which had been a few meters away, he saw Cynthia, Ignis, and Raijin with their jaws comically on the ground. "What?"

"W-W-What the hell was that?!" exclaimed Cynthia waving her arms to emphasize the point as any and all embarrassment at having an extremely hot, shirtless and ripped man in front of her gone. She had seen Pokémon do amazing things but never a person do something like that. Hell, many Pokémon didn't have the strength to topple a tree of that height and thickness over.

Ash looked back to where Cynthia was waving her arms towards and saw the fallen tree. "Oh that…I was just training. Sorry if I woke you up."

"T-T-Training?!" said the blonde-beauty in an unbelieving tone.

Ash simply nodded his head before turning towards his Pokémon and he saw that they were still staring at him with shocked eyes. He began waving his arm in front of them an called out to them. After a few minutes, they eventually managed to regain all the sense they had lost in the past few minutes and looked at their trainer.

("How did you do that?") asked the electric type.

"Oh, I have been training with Professor Oak's Machamp since I was like seven or so. I also learned from different fighting types that came into the Corral from other trainers too. Plus, Machamp are masters of nearly if not all form of martial arts there are." Explained Ash to which a dumbfounded Raijin and Ignis nodded their heads.

"They taught you how to fight like that?" asked Cynthia who was still having trouble processing what she both saw and heard.

"Yes. Machamp trained me in my technique first before focusing on my body. After that, we just did regular sparring sessions to keep my skills sharp…although I never had this much strength before." Said Ash while flexing his hands and looking at the fallen tree behind him. "Anyways, we can talk about this later today. I want to get some training in for my Pokémon and I'm really, really tired after that."

Cynthia looked into his crimson eyes with her silver ones and gave him a look that she would be getting answers regardless as her curiosity about wanting to learn more about the strange person that was Ash Ketchum. She then nodded and went to do her morning rituals while Ash who got the message, motioned Ignis and Raijin to come with him so that they can begin their training.

Once they were a good distance away, Ash looked at his two Pokémon. "Alright, the main way to increase your endurance is by running so you two should try to run non-stop for as long as you can around the clearing."

The two Pokémon nodded in response and followed their trainer's orders and began running around the clearing. Since he had a little time for himself, he decided to take a nap as that training session had left him extremely exhausted which was quite surprising. His endurance was quite high but for some reason when he poured a lot of his unknown power into that last punch, he felt so weak afterwards. The extreme running, he did in the morning had drained him quite a lot because of that strange unknown power he felt but that one last punch felt even more tiring. These were the last thoughts that ran through his head before he felt sleep overcome him.

Around four hours later, Ash felt a nudge by his head which caused him to groan as his eyes slowly fluttered open, his grogginess slowly leaving him, although he still felt physically tired. Once his vision slowly became clear, he saw that it was Ignis and Raijin that had woke him up.

"It's good to see you awake. You slept like a rock." Commented Cynthia in a somewhat amused voice yet it still held concern in it. "Are you alright now?"

Ash nodded his head. "Yes. Thanks for asking."

"You know, Ignis and Raijin are just like you. They test their endurance by running as fast and as long as they could and went on for over an hour before they collapsed and slept like a log just like you. They just woke up twenty minutes ago." Explained Cynthia with some awe in her voice seeing how hard Ash and his Pokémon were pushing themselves. It made the seemingly harsh training they did seem mild in comparison. Not in terms of intensity or power but just how much they pushed themselves beyond their limit.

Ash looked at his two Pokémon with a proud smile causing them to have sheepish yet pride-filled smiles. "I'm proud of you two." He patted their heads before slowly getting up on his two feet and dusting the dirt off of his clothes. "I'm going freshen up."

"I'll prepare some of the canned soup I brought for lunch." Said Cynthia.

As the two trainers left to do their tasks, Ignis and Raijin followed Ash to freshen up a bit as well, while Cynthia called out all her Pokémon since she felt it was high time she introduced them to Ash. If things go well, she would be traveling with him for a long time so might as well have all her Pokémon acquainted with him right off the bat.

Once Ash was done, he came back to the clearing and saw a cluster of Pokémon sitting and chatting behind Cynthia who had started a fire from the firewood and dry leaves he had brought yesterday and was heating up some soup in a pot. Ash's eyes analyzed the Pokémon behind her, and were amazed at how well trained and healthy they looked. They also had a couple scars on their bodies showing the many battles they must have gone through. Ignis and Raijin looked at the Pokémon warily though mostly due to the powerful aura they radiated.

Cynthia noticed Ash coming towards her and stood up while lightly whistling to call her Pokémon over and they responded immediately. "Everyone, I would like you to meet Ash and his Pokémon Ignis and Raijin. They are going to be traveling with us through Kanto so say hi."

Cynthia's Gabite, Milotic, Spiritomb, Roserade, Togekiss all roared in response, giving Ash and his Pokémon their own greetings. However, Lucario just gazed at Ash before he began slowly walking over to him. All the cheering died down as everyone looked at the Pokémon with confused eyes while Ignis and Raijin were on guard but a small whisper from Ash caused them to relax slightly.

Ash met Lucario's gaze as they simply gazed into each other's eyes. Soon enough, Lucario stood right in front of Ash and the two continued their staring contest while everyone watched while holding their breaths.

Ash could feel something within him. It was strange but as he gazed into Lucario's eyes, he could feel himself understanding the Pokémon a bit more despite the fact that there were no words exchanged between them. It was similar to Lucario as he could understand Ash more as time passed while also discovering something unique about him.

After around twenty seconds which was an eternity for everyone except Ash and Lucario, the two grinned at each other before the fighting-steel type walked back to his trainer's side.

"What was that about?" asked Cynthia.

"Just getting to know each other that's all." Said Ash with a smile although he was also confused as to what had happened and why he felt like he could understand Lucario so much by just staring into his eyes and being close to him. He knew Lucario had the power to manipulate aura which almost no other Pokémon could do but how would that explain this strange temporary connection he felt with him.

Cynthia and all the other Pokémon exchanged confused glances with each other, not sure of what to say. Eventually the blonde broke the silence. "The soup should be ready soon."

Cynthia's voice broke him out of his thoughts as he looked at her and nodded before he prepared Pokémon food for his Pokémon while Cynthia's Pokémon who were not hungry, decided to walk away from the campsite to get some training in.

As his Pokémon started eating, Cynthia placed a bowl full of the soup in front of Ash before taking her seat a meter in front of him.

"So, after we're done lunch, I can ask Lucario and Milotic to help out Ignis and Raijin learn their respective steel type moves."

Ash nodded his head as he continued to eat the rather good soup and chew on the pieces of vegetable and chicken that came into his mouth. "By the way, did you make his soup?" Ash asked after a few minutes had passed.

"Yes. Its my grandma's own recipe but I could never get it as good as her. I made it when I arrived in Kanto." Said Cynthia.

"Its quite good. If you don't mind, can you teach me the recipe?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Cynthia nodded her head back in response as the two continued to eat before finishing and then washing the dishes. After that, the two went and got some intense training done.

---

Ash and Cynthia were currently walking on the dirt road path, nearing Viridian City while Ignis and Raijin along with Lucario who requested to stay outside, walked beside their trainers.

Ignis and Raijin's training in learning their respective steel-type moves had gone quite well as they had been training their respective arms and tail by lifting the rocks found near the pond. After that, Lucario and Milotic had taught Ignis and Raijin as best they could and by the end of yesterday Ash had seen their respective appendages glowing a light silverish color showing that they were in fact close to learning the move.

Other then that, Cynthia had trained her Pokémon by going over their moves and having them engage in mock battles with each other which Ash observed very carefully and took down some pointers. Afterwards, Ash and Cynthia had conversed about Ash's training and exactly how Ash managed to knock down such a large tree although the conversation was short since Ash didn't know either. Although, some questions did arise when Cynthia had mentioned that she had seen Ash's various body parts outlined by a thin crimson glow, especially his right arm at the end although his Pokémon didn't see it.

They set the questions to the back of their mind as the two trainers had completed the training for the day and had decided to get to Viridian City today and complete Ignis and Raijin's steel type move training at the Pokémon center before they made their way to Pewter City.

So, once they had set off, Ash told Ignis and Raijin that it would be best if they try to walk beside them to increase their endurance through long bits of traveling and they happily agreed while Lucario requested to walk beside them as well.

Along the way, Ash had faced numerous trainers again, beating them all with his Pokémon although he faced a bit less difficulty this time around. Because of this, they had been slightly delayed in reaching Viridian City as it was around 7:00 p.m. but nevertheless they were now only around a half-an hour's walk away from the it.

As the two trainers continued walking, Ash noticed an orange-haired girl who had her hair tied in a pony tail and was wearing a yellow tank-top and jean shorts with a red strap connected to her shorts, going over her shoulders and a couple Poké Balls attached to her waist. She was placing some items in the front basket of her bicycle and Ash decided to get one last battle in before they make it to Viridian City. Plus, he could see Raijin was itching to get one last battle in as well while Ignis had battled a little more then Raijin so was a bit tired.

"Hey!" Ash called out catching the orange-haired girls attention while Cynthia merely smiled seeing how much Ash liked battling.

He probably liked it more then her.

The girl looked at the two trainers while her cheeks took a slight pink-tint upon seeing the boy. "What is it?"

"Want to have a battle?"

"Sure. One on one." The girl grinned, upon the chance of showing off her Pokémon to this rather cute boy.

Ash nodded at the conditions and immediately motioned Raijin to go in. The Pokémon nodded his head and jumped in front of Ash while the girl lost her grin upon seeing the electric type but nevertheless released her Pokémon.

A brown star-shaped Pokémon that had a gold exterior with a red jewel in the center similar to madreporite appeared on the field in a flash of white energy.

"You can have the first move." Ash said.

"You're going to regret that." said the orange-haired girl with a confident grin. "Staryu, use Water Gun!"

The water type released a small echoing grunt before it bent its top appendage so that the tip faced Raijin before it fired a thin yet powerful stream of water.

"Quick Attack."

Raijin immediately followed his trainer's command as he was surrounded by a thin white veil of energy before running towards the water type in a streak of white light. Raijin stepped to the side, dodging the water gun before quickly closing the distance between him and his opponent and then ramming his body into Staryu. This sent the water type tumbling backwards and a small bruise near his red jewel.

"Staryu, get up and use Rapid Spin!" The girl commanded in slight panic.

"Thunder Shock."

As the star-shaped Pokémon started spinning rapidly and approached Raijin, said Electric type launched a thin stream of electricity from the red spots on its cheek. The electricity made contact with the water type and sent hundreds of volts throughout her body, causing Staryu to screech in pain as burnt marks covered parts of her body.

Ash saw that water-type was on its last legs and decided to end it. "Quick Attack."

Pikachu was once again surrounded by a thin white veil of energy before he disappeared in a streak of white light and rammed his body into Staryu, right on the red jewel. This instantly knocked the water type out, causing the red jewel to continuously flash red.

Raijin returned to Ash's side and jumped on his shoulder nuzzling his cheeks against the trainer. "Great job Raijin."

("Thanks!") replied the electric type.

Ash heard the familiar beep coming from the Pokédex in his jacket's pocket signalling the money transfer. He then turned to the defeated girl who had just returned her water-type and had a small frown on her face.

"That was a good battle. I hope to face you again in the future."

The orange-haired girl looked at him her frown slightly disappearing. "I look forward to it." She then got on her bike and drove off in the direction behind Ash and Cynthia.

"Let's go." Said Ash after a short moment to which his Pokémon and Cynthia nodded.

---

Ash and Cynthia looked at the big houses and small buildings of Viridian City as they slowly made their way to the Pokémon center. However, they both noticed the lack of people on the streets which was surprising. Viridian City was nowhere as big as Saffron City but still fairly large and would usually be teeming with people and Pokémon despite it being 8:00 p.m.

"You two, STOP!" shouted a feminine voice causing the two trainers to stop dead in their tracks.

They turned around and saw a woman in her late twenties with greenish-blue colored hair tied in two spiky pig tails with a small strand of hair coming over her left brown eye. She wore a standard police outfit consisting of a blue mid-thigh length skirt, a standard blue police top and a blue cap with a triangular golden emblem on it.

Ash and Cynthia instantly recognized the woman as Officer Jenny since her and Nurse Joy's case of having hundreds of look alike family members spread throughout all the regions were quite well known. Although it was a big mystery as to how hundreds of them can look so similar to each other.

"Who are you and what is your business in this city?" asked Officer Jenny in a fierce tone.

Ash and Cynthia got confused looks at fierce tone and why they were stopped when they weren't doing anything wrong or even remotely suspicious.

"We're trainers. We're just traveling through Viridian City on our way to Pewter City." Explained Ash in a calm and cool tone.

As Officer Jenny got a good look at the two, she blushed upon seeing Ash but managed to supress it before it could become prominent on her face. "I'm going to need to see your ID."

The two trainers nodded and handed Officer Jenny their Pokédex. The police officer took it before looking through the white Pokédex given to her and read over Cynthia's identity before nodded and handing the Pokédex back to her. She then looked through Ash's black Pokédex and as she scanned through the information her eyes widened.

"Y-You're a Pokémon professor!?" exclaimed Jenny. She knew and heard about the supposed Professor Ketchum who managed to earn the title of Pokémon professor at the age of ten but it was hard to believe at that time. Now seeing him in front of her with proof left her at a loss for words.

"Yes." Ash simply replied with a nod as he took back his Pokédex from the dumbfounded Jenny. "Can we please go now?"

This got Jenny to break out of her stupor and nodded her head. "Yes, but before you go, I have to warn you to be careful. There have been Pokémon thieves sighted in the area and we suspect they are members of Team Rocket. Keep a sharp eye out."

Ash's eyes widened upon the mention of the criminal organization. He had heard about them plenty of times and the horrible deeds they committed to both people and Pokémon. Cynthia's eyes had also widened but mainly because it reminded her of the criminal organization back in her home region of Sinnoh, Team Galactic. She had only two small encounters with the organizations grunts and hearing about another organization in Kanto as well, made her blood boil slightly.

The two nodded before they turned around and walked towards the Pokémon Center which was visible a few blocks ahead. Silence enveloped the two as they were too lost in their own thoughts and before they knew it, they reached their destination and entered the distinct red-roofed building with a red cross sign plastered at the top.

"Hello and welcome to the Pokémon Center! How may I help you?" greeted a cheerful voice breaking the two trainers out of their thoughts and making them realize they were standing inside the Pokémon Center in front of the counter. They saw a woman in her early twenties with dark pink hair tied in two loop pig-tails. She wore a white hat with a red cross on it, a pink knee-length dress with a white apron on top and white shoes.

"Hello Nurse Joy. Can you please look over our Pokémon." Asked Ash as he handed his two Poké Balls to the Nurse since both Ignis and Raijin had been exhausted and wanted to rest and Raijin did not even seem bothered this time around about going inside his Poké Ball despite his dislike for them.

Cynthia gave her six Poké Balls to Nurse Joy as well and said woman placed all the Poké Balls in two separates that each held six Poké Balls.

"I will check up and heal up your Pokémon. They should be good to go by tomorrow morning. So, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Cynthia nodded her head. "Can you please register us for the Indigo League."

"Of course. Can I please have your Pokédex." The two nodded in response and handed her their Pokédex.

"Also, Nurse Joy, can you please keep your voice down when you see my data." Said Ash getting a confused look from the Pokémon nurse.

"Why do you need to keep my…" Nurse Joy said before she glanced at her computer screen that displayed Cynthia and Ash's information and it revealed how he was a Pokémon Professor. A shocked look overcame her face for a few moments before she managed to regain her composure. "I see. Its quite the accomplishment. I'm glad to have met you." Whispered Nurse Joy to which Ash smiled and nodded.

She then typed some stuff on the computer before taking out the Pokédexs from the computer and handing them back to Ash and Cynthia. "Alright, you are both registered for the Indigo league. You will need a total of eight badges to compete. At least four of them must be from the main gyms while the remainder can be any of the lesser gyms."

"Thank you. Can you also please give us two rooms for the night.".

"Sure. Here are your keys. You are in rooms 102 and 103. Have a great day." Said Nurse Joy as she handed one key to both trainers.

Both gave their thanks to the Pokémon nurse before they made their way to their room which were on the ground floor and near the beginning of the hall. Once they arrived at their respective set of doors, the two trainers looked at each other.

"Let's freshen up and meet at the cafeteria for dinner." Said Cynthia.

Ash nodded in response before they went inside their rooms and got prepared for a nice long hot shower.

---

Ash and Cynthia were both sitting at one of the tables in the cafeteria, right beside a window. The majority of the tables were empty as everyone most likely hit the sack.

The two trainers were happily chowing down on some delicious chicken and steamed vegetables along with spicy bean soup and were engaged in a conversation.

"So, how did you become a Pokémon Professor? Was it a goal your aiming for or…" asked Cynthia in a curious tone as she continued to eat but making sure to speak only after chewing and swallowing.

Ash chuckled a bit, become rather used to Cynthia's presence and thus finding the uncomfortableness he usually felt around someone he didn't know fading away almost completely by this point after having spent the past couple days around her. "Being a Professor was never a goal. Honestly, I just wanted to learn about Pokémon when I was little so I asked my mom when I was six to teach me about them. She then asked Professor Oak and from their I just began learning and learning. Eventually I fulfilled the requirements and I got the title. I guess when you do something you love, silly things like titles and fame don't matter."

Cynthia nodded at that, smiling and nodding at what he said. "That is true. I love Pokémon as well and just love battling. I guess that's why I didn't feel upset that I lost at the Sinnoh League Conference but rather felt proud. I learned a lot from competing their and I couldn't have asked for anything more."

Ash smiled upon hearing the passion in her tone. "Its nice to meet someone who loves Pokémon just as much as me."

"Yes, it is." Cynthia said in response.

"What is your dream by the way?" asked Ash as he never did get to know what her goal was.

"My dream…well at first I wanted to be the strongest trainer in the world. Power is all the mattered to me but as I continued my journey through Sinnoh, I found out just how much I loved Pokémon and how I wanted to learn more about them. I still want to be the strongest, not for recognition or anything but…I don't know. It's hard to describe." Cynthia explained finishing the last bit a little awkwardly.

Ash found her awkwardness in the end quite cute but didn't realize what he had thought. "I understand."

"You do?"

"Yes. You want to be strong for yourself…and for your Pokémon." Said Ash in a low tone while gazing into her eyes. Cynthia's eyes widened in response when she heard the words that came out of Ash's mouth and felt her breath get caught into her throat as her gaze met his.

At first Ash's words just sounded simple but from the look he was giving her, it was as if he could see something. Something that she long since buried. He couldn't know, could he?

"Y-Yeah…that's pretty much it." Said Cynthia breaking the silence and their long gaze at each other, not able to see his crimson eyes dig so deep into her soul any longer.

"I mean, I learned everything possible about Pokémon because I just wanted to learn about them. I started this journey for the sole purpose to meet as many Pokémon as I can but after battling, I found that I just love it and want to do it a lot more and my Pokémon want the same thing. I guess that will be my goal from now on. To battle as much as possible and meet as many Pokémon as I can." Said Ash to which Cynthia nodded with a small smile.

"You know, you're the first person I met that understands and thinks the way I do."

"It's the same case with me to you." Said Ash with a small smile.

A comfortable silence enveloped them as the unknown tension that had sprung forth mainly from Cynthia's side having long since dissipated. The two finished the last of their meal enjoying the various flavours in their mouths, the warm temperature of the soup and the feeling of having their bellies completely full.

The two then got up and placed their empty trays on the cafeteria's front counter before they washed their hands in the nearby sinks. Soon they were headed back towards their room to sleep for the night but just as they entered the main area of the Pokémon center, a round piece of concrete dropped a few feet in front of them before a purple round Pokémon with several geyser-like protrusions all around its body. The Pokémon then released black colored smoke from the protrusions which quickly enveloped the entire surrounding area, including Ash and Cynthia.

"That's Smokescreen!" exclaimed Cynthia as she and Ash covered their mouths and noses to minimize the amount of smoke that entered their lungs.

"Let's go!" said Ash as he grabbed Cynthia's hand and ran away from the smoke, eventually getting out of its range.

Once they exited the field of smoke, they coughed a bit and breathed heavily to get the smoke out of their lungs. After a few minutes, they stopped and looked back at the field of smoke which was slowly dissipating.

"What's going on?" asked Cynthia but not expecting an answer.

The two watched with wary eyes as they saw the smoke eventually dissipate revealing the laughing figures of a blue-haired man and a long magenta-haired woman. They both wore a white shirt and white pants or skirt along with black boots. In between them was a cream-colored feline Pokémon with long feet and a tail that curled into a spiral at the end.

Beside them was the same purple round Pokémon that had released smoke screen earlier along with a purple snake Pokémon with yellow eyes and black slit pupils, a cream-colored underbelly and a rattle-snake like tail.

"STOP NOW THIEVES! YOU CAN'T TAKE THOSE POKEMON!" said the familiar figure of Nurse Joy who was standing a few meters in front of the two people and three Pokémon.

"To protect this world from devastation!" said the magenta haired-woman, ignoring Nurse Joy.

"To unite all people within our nation!" said the blue-haired man who was holding a rose in one hand, in front of his face

The two began alternating between their nonsensical lines.

"To denounce the…"

Ash stopped paying attention to whatever crap the two people were spewing out because he as well as Cynthia noticed the rather large brown colored sack in front of them and within it they could see several Poké Balls and they had heard Nurse Joy's shout loud and clear.

"Ash…"

"I see it. Since we don't have any of our Pokémon, I'll have to try and stop them." Said Ash as he bent his knees a little, feeling the unknown power within him and directing it towards his legs like he did every morning when he ran.

Cynthia looked at him with wide-eyes. "How…"

She didn't get the chance to complete her sentence as she saw a familiar faint crimson outline on Ash's legs before he ran towards the figures in the fastest sprint she has ever seen.

As Ash launched himself towards the two people who were thankfully facing away from him, he quickly decided that it would be best if he could just hit the trainers and take the bag full of Poké Balls before getting out.

So, with that in mind Ash quickly closed the distance between him and the Pokémon thieves and their Pokémon. As he neared he saw Ekan's twitching a little most likely due to sensing him, and he was turning his head. However, by the time the purple snake full turned his head, Ash was already immediately behind the man and woman who were still in the middle of saying…whatever the hell they were saying.

"Team Rocket will blast off…" Jessie and James said before they felt a powerful force hit the back of their heads, sending them face first into the floor at a tremendous speed. Eventually upon impact a large crunching sound was heard.

In that moment Ash had already grabbed the Poké Ball bag and was more or less by Cynthia's side in the time it took for the man and woman to hit the floor and for their brains to process what just happened.

"YEOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Two high-pitched screams were heard throughout the entire Pokémon center and quite possibly the surrounding blocks, practically waking up everyone in the area. Jessie and James were clutching their badly broken noses as a trickle of blood flowed out of them and they were very crooked signalling that the bones were broken from the harsh impact.

"Jessie! James!" exclaimed Meowth as he ran to his fallen comrades who were too lost in their pain to hear or see anything.

The Meowth then heard Ekans hissing and turned around to see a raven-haired teen kneeling beside a blonde-haired teen, searching through the bag of Poké Balls they had stolen, with their respective Pokédex's, no doubt trying to locate the Poké Balls with their Pokémon.

"You! Youse two did this?!" exclaimed Meowth in anger.

Ash and Cynthia just found their Poké Balls when Meowth shouted at them causing them to look up and their mouths to widen as they now got a good look and saw that the Pokémon was actually speaking.

The fascination only lasted a few seconds as the Meowth yelled again, this time commanding the Ekans and Koffing to attack them with Poison Sting and Tackle Attack.

"Ignis! Raijin! Use Ember and Thunder Shock Attack!"

"Gabite use Dragon Pulse!"

The two trainers commanded as they launched their Poké Balls into the air. The Pokémon materialized in a flash of white energy before they launched their respective attacks.

The thin stream of flames and electricity easily overpowered the barrage of sharp needles filled with poison that was launched at them while the green sphere of draconic energy exploded when it made contact with the incoming Koffing, causing a rather loud and powerful explosion. This sent the Koffing flying backwards and directly into the crotch of the blue haired man who had turned around on the ground and was still clutching his nose in pain but that did not last long.

The moment Koffing made impact with the man's crotch all air left his lungs as his body shot upwards, all pain of his nose leaving him as a new, much more intense and excruciating pain filled his body.

In that same moment the thin stream of flames and electricity had made contact with Ekans, pushing the poison type into Jessie and shocking and burning her slightly while her hair caught on fire at the tip. A small trickle of the flames and electricity made contact with the combustible gas that Koffing expelled upon impacting James' crotch who's mind finally caught up with what just happened.

A large explosion occurred, blasting Team Rocket and their Pokémon out of the Pokémon Center's roof at the speed of light as James' very, very high-pitched scream was heard for miles.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Every male in the Pokémon center and in the surrounding blocks instinctively held their family jewels upon hearing the scream. They prayed and pitied for the poor soul that had to experience such suffering and could only hope that they never encountered the person who crushed a man's family jewels with such brutality to incite such a pain-filled scream.

Meanwhile, back in the Pokémon Center, Ash who was carrying the bag of Poké Balls, Cynthia and their Pokémon ran over to Nurse Joy.

"Are you two alright?!" Nurse Joy asked worriedly since she expected them to be injured after that rather powerful explosion that made a dent in the Pokémon Center's floor in the area of detonation and blew a hole in the ceiling.

"Don't worry, we're fine and all the Pokémon those thieves stole are right here. Who were they anyway?" said Ash to which Cynthia nodded in confirmation at the explanation and question.

"That's good. Those people…I think they were apart of Team Rocket. They had a big R on their chest and said something about Team Rocket in their jumble."

Ash and Cynthia internally growled at the criminal organizations name. They wanted nothing more than to remove those scum and place them behind bars where they can never do any harm but at the moment, picking a fight with them especially when they were considered as the largest and most dangerous criminal organization in the world, was suicide.

Ash quickly broke out of his line of thoughts and handed Nurse Joy the sack of Poké Balls filled with Pokémon various trainers had left here. "Here Nurse Joy. You should make sure they are alright."

Just as Nurse Joy was about to leave with the sack of poke balls, a squad of Officer Jenny's all of them looking identical to each other except for one, who's uniform was a bit darker and the emblem on her head was different. Most likely the commanding officer.

"What's going on here!" the supposed commanding officer shouted

Nurse Joy quickly gave her and the group of Officer Jenny an explanation as to what had happened.

"I see. Well I'm glad all of you and the Pokémon are safe. We had intel that Team Rocket had been in the area but we couldn't find them anywhere." Said the commanding Officer Jenny before turning towards Ash and Cynthia. "While that was a very foolish and reckless thing you two did, good job on stopping Team Rocket. Just be careful in the future. You don't want to mess with the likes of them."

Ash and Cynthia nodded. "We understand." Said the two in unison.

"You kids should get some rest. We'll be staying here for the night and keeping a lookout in case they decide to come back. We'll have to ask you some questions in the morning regarding the details of the incident. Until then, you or any person in the Pokémon Center will not be able to leave the area without our express permission."

Both Ash and Cynthia along with Nurse Joy nodded at this before they left to do their own individual duties. As they were walking Ash remembered something and turned to Nurse Joy who had been just about to make her way to the back of the Center where the treatments are done.

"Nurse Joy, can I use the phone booths?"

The nurse blinked her eyes at the sudden request but nonetheless nodded. "Sure."

Ash nodded in gratitude before he and Cynthia handed their Pokémon to Nurse Joy. They then made their way to the green phone booths on the far-right side of the Pokémon center where there was a row of them.

"You plan on calling the Professor?" asked Cynthia as she stood beside Ash who was now seated on the stool in front of the phone booth.

"Him and my mom." Said Ash.

First, he called Professor Oak and turned the speaker on. The blank dark gray screen eventually came to life when Professor Oak came on with a happy smile on his face. "Ash my-boy! Its great to see you safe and sound. You too Cynthia. Did you two reach Viridian City?"

"Yes, Professor we did."

"That's good. I just got a call from Gary saying he's already in Pewter City getting ready for his first gym battle. Honestly, giving Gary that car was a very bad idea. I don't know what his parents were thinking." Said Oak with a sigh.

"Yeah…anyways, I just called to say hi. And that a couple members of Team Rocket just tried to steal the Pokémon from the Pokémon Center but we managed to stop them."

"TEAM ROCKET?!" shouted Professor Oak, stunned at the information. "Are you two alright?!"

"Don't worry Professor, we're fine. We have our Pokémon by our side after all." Said Cynthia with a smile not mentioning the part of Ash stepping in to get the sack of Poké Balls since she left that up to him if he wanted to mention it.

"I'm glad to hear that but you have to be careful. Team Rocket is not an organization you want to mess with. It doesn't end well for people that do." Warned Oak in a very serious tone.

Ash and Cynthia hesitatingly nodded. "We'll be careful." They replied although making sure not to say anything else. If they did come across Team Rocket doing any atrocities they would not be able to just stand by and do nothing.

Oak satisfied with the answer nodded. "So, do you plan to head to Pewter City next?"

Both trainers nodded before Ash spoke, "I also registered myself to compete in the league so I will be going for the gym badges."

"I see. Finally found a goal for yourself?"

"A temporary one." Ash responded.

"Well I wish you and Cynthia luck." Said Oak with a smile.

"Thanks Professor." The two replied.

"I have to go now. Professor Rowan just ordered some pizza and I don't want him gobbling it all up." Said Oak before hanging up.

Ash and Cynthia sweat-dropped a bit at the last bit.

"I'm going to sleep." Said Cynthia to which Ash nodded and she walked away.

Ash then dialed his mom's number and after a few rings, the blank screen lit up showing his mom in a white fluffy bathrobe and a towel wrapped around her head.

"Ash! You made it to Viridian City?" asked Delia as she had a smile on her face since she was happy to hear from Ash so soon.

"Yes. Me and Cynthia just arrived here a few hours ago. I also decided to take the Pokémon league challenge."

"That's wonderful to hear! Just know, that I will be cheering you on!" Delia cheerfully replied.

"Thanks mom." Ash than sighed before he explained to his mom, his and Cynthia's recent encounter with Team Rocket. She pretty much had the same reaction as Professor Oak but just more serious and worry filled. He calmed her down and promised to be careful to which Delia nodded. The two then said their goodbyes before hanging up.

Ash then walked to his room which had only one room with a bed in the center, a small cabinet beside it and a washroom on the right side of the room. He took off his clothes, leaving only his boxers on before he fell asleep on the nice comfortable bed.

---

Ash set the two Poké Balls containing his Pokémon friends down on the ground right next to him before he began to do several stretching exercises to loosen his muscles.

He had just woken up about half-an hour ago and it was 6:30 a.m. now. After finishing all his morning rituals, Ash had found that Nurse Joy was awake mainly because she had gotten up early to still check up on all the Pokémon from last night. So, he had gotten back Ignis and Raijin who had been completely healed and were currently sleeping inside their Poké Balls.

After he was done his stretches, Ash once again began going through all the various fighting techniques taught to him by Machamp. He would have gone on his regular run first but he decided to skip that today mainly because he wanted to continue to perfect all his techniques and try to develop new ones to eventually create his own unique fighting style. It's a small goal Machamp had suggested to make his own fighting style that suited him.

While he had gone through his techniques, his mind went through different moves he felt that came natural to him and slowly made a mental note of them. As this was going on, Ignis and Raijin had woken up in their Poké Balls and managed to release themselves after a small struggle. They watched their trainer once again with awe, captivated by the fluid movements while also gaining a determined look wanting to train hard just like he did everyday to become as strong as possible.

It was after Ash went through all his fighting moves did he manage to break out of the trance, induced by his love for hand-to-hand combat, he was in and noticed his Pokémon looking at him. "Good morning you two. When did you wake up."

("Just a while ago.") replied Ignis. ("Can you train us harder? I want to become stronger…much stronger. Can you please push my training so that I become the strongest Charizard ever?") Asked Ignis as it was his dream. It became something he wanted even more after the abuse he suffered through from his previous trainer due to being weak.

"Are you sure Ignis? You know pushing your training can also harm you if your not careful. Plus, I don't want you to dislike me for pushing you so hard." Asked Ash in a concerned tone.

("I'm sure. I won't dislike you but rather respect you more if you do this for me.") Ignis said with fire blazing in his eyes, no pun intended.

("Can you make my training more intense too? I want to become strong.") asked Raijin.

Ash looked at the two Pokémon who had determined looks in their eyes before nodding. "Alright."

("Thank you!") the two Pokémon cheered and jumped to hug Ash which he returned before they jumped back to the ground.

"Now I want you to listen carefully." The two Pokémon nodded and gave him their full attention. "The first step towards increasing your strength is increasing your physical capabilities. Any muscle mass, muscle memory gained through fighting, and just overall strength you gain will carry over when you evolve. So, we will be focusing on increasing mainly those aspects of your training early on while also spending some time perfecting the attacks you know and expanding your move pool."

"We can naturally increase your endurance just through you traveling beside me. Your physical strength is something that will be hard to improve since we don't have any training weights and we can't exactly carry them around while we travel but I'll see if I can come up with something in that regard. I guess the only thing we can work on for now is your speed and agility since being able to dodge and react quickly to attacks is very important, especially in our upcoming gym battle.

For now, I will set up some drills for you to go through to increase your speed and agility before we work on perfecting your steel-type moves since you already have the basics down."

The two Pokémon nodded with an excited look in their eyes and watched as their trainer walked to the middle of the battlefield they were standing in which was located behind the Pokémon center. "Now first of all, I want you do some stretches and loosen your muscles." The two Pokémon nodded and did various stretches in which they felt their muscles loosening a little and after a few minutes they were set to go. "Now the first bit of training is just to see your basic speed in running. You will be running from one end of the battlefield to the other whenever I whistle. I will progressively decrease the time in between my whistles so you will have to run faster and faster as time goes on. It's a basic exercise called the beep test."

The two Pokémon nodded and made their way towards one end of the battlefield. Soon Ash whistled and they were off running to the other side. Once they reached their Ash whistled again after they rested for a few seconds. He repeated this process while decreasing the time interval between whistling and Ignis and Raijin managed to do quite well. They definitely had lots of potential when it came to speed and with more training they would only get better.

By the end of it, the two Pokémon were quite tired but they still had determined eyes so Ash gave them their next set of instructions. "For now, you should work on Metal Claw and Iron Tail and try and channel the energy into your respective body parts for the attack."

The two Pokémon nodded and got to work while Ash did some burpees, push-ups, squats and crunches while they worked on their moves. They did quite well in the thirty minutes they practiced as Ash could see a faint silver glow envelop Ignis' claws and arm Raijin's tail.

Ash had gotten up after finishing his exercises and told his two Pokémon to stop as well, before explaining to them the final exercise they would be doing. "Ok, now this final exercise will focus on both your ability to aim and your agility. What you two will be doing is running around the battlefield and aim weak attacks at each other. Raijin, you use Thunder Shock and Ignis, you use Ember. While your running around and trying to hit your opponent, you will also focus on dodging their attacks. Stop when you two become tired."

The two Pokémon nodded at the explanation and followed it to the letter. They began running around the battlefield and fired off thin streams of flames and electricity at each other. At the beginning, their running and dodging was a little sloppy but as some time went by, they became better at it and mainly jumped to the side to dodge attacks before firing their own. They had been hit by a few of the attacks but in general they managed to avoid most of them. It had helped their skills a lot in dodging since they occasionally rolled their body to the side or even over the attack.

Ash smiled at their progress as the dodging and aiming skill would be very useful in all battles. This type of exercise became even tougher and harder if there were more Pokémon involved and its something he would regularly do to improve their strength.

By the time, Ash had finished training, Cynthia who was dressed in her usual black outfit walked up to him. She had woken up a while ago and had noticed him training. She had gone to the Poké Mart to pick up some supplies for traveling since they had decided they would be leaving for Pewter City today as there was not much for them to do here.

"That's a very interesting training exercise. I may have my own Pokémon go through it." Commented Cynthia to which Ash turned towards her and nodded.

"It's a good exercise that focuses on many different stuff so an efficient training method."

Cynthia nodded before her nose caught whiff of the heavy musky and sweat filled scent coming from Ash. Because of how masculine and arousing the smell was in addition to Ash's shirt sticking to his body, giving her a better view of his ripped athletic body, she developed a healthy blush on her face. "You should take a shower."

Ash had noticed the blush but was not quite sure what to make of it. He smelled himself in one small sniff and nodded at her. "Yeah. Once I clean up, we should head towards Pewter City."

Cynthia nodded her head and watched Ash go trying her best not to stare at his muscular back, only hidden by the wet thin shirt. As her face still held a tint of pink she turned to look at Ignis and Raijin who while exhausted had watched their exchange and noticed Cynthia's blush. She saw the shit-eating grin they had on their faces and blushed in embarrassment.

"What?"

The Pokémon said nothing but the grin never left their faces.

---

With Ash

---

Ash turned to look at his companions who smiled at him. "Let's go guys."

The two Pokémon nodded their heads while responding in their respective cries as they hopped off of his shoulders and walked beside him after he had put his back pack on and made his way to the door. Once he exited the Pokémon Center he found Cynthia standing some distance away, trying to look a little inconspicuous due to some people whispering when they saw her, saying how she looked familiar most likely due to the fact that she was a model before and participated in the Sinnoh League Conference.

She seemed relieved when Ash had walked up to her, wanting to get away from the attention. Its not that she didn't like it per say, she just preferred to avoid being in the spot light especially after over a year of traveling with only herself and her Pokémon. "Let's go."

Ash nodded and walked beside her as they made their way through the rather large city and eventually found themselves leaving it behind as they walked on the dry dirt road that was quickly leading towards Viridian Forest.

During their walk, Ash and Cynthia had engaged in a small conversation on what Ash wanted to talk about with Professor Oak and Cynthia seemed intrigued about the devices hence her requesting to try a couple of them out on her Pokémon for training. Ash had agreed and a small silence had developed between them which was eventually broken once they had been only around a ten-minute walk away from the beginning of a huge forest of large thick trees, a key feature of Viridian Forest.

"So, how did you training with Ignis and Raijin go?"

"Pretty well. Their determination is impressive and if they go at this rate, they will keep growing stronger and evolve in no time. They also managed to progress in Metal Claw and Iron Tail since I saw their respective arms or tail glowing slightly." Explained Ash to which Cynthia nodded.

"That's good. Their close to fully learning the move. I estimate that just after one more day of practice, they should be able to fully use the move. After, that its just a matter of constantly practicing it on targets."

"Well Viridian Forest is quite large but it shouldn't take us less than a week to get through it. That'll be plenty of time to not only learn but continue their training and get them prepared for Brock and his rock types." Replied Ash.

"Based on your opinion, what should I focus on for my training?" asked Cynthia, wanting to get the opinion of the researcher.

"Physical conditioning is something you should always work on to keep your Pokémon tough and fit. In fact, I think you should take up doing physical training as well Cynthia." Ash said as he looked at her and his eyes trailed over her figure.

This caused Cynthia to be embarrassed. "W-What do you mean? And stop that!"

Ash realized what she meant and bowed his head in response. "I sincerely apologize."

The sincerity and honesty in Ash's tone caused most of her embarrassment to leave her and her heart to soften at him. "It's alright. Anyways, you were saying?"

"You should start doing physical training with me every morning. Its not only helpful for yourself but it will your Pokémon train better as well." Said Ash.

Cynthia raised her eyebrow…well the visible one anyway since her left eye was covered by her bangs, in confusion. "How?"

"Pokémon are influenced by their trainer. Its easy for anyone to command their Pokémon to train hard while they relax. However, if a Pokémon see's you training yourself and putting the same blood, sweat and tears into making yourself stronger, they will be more motivated to work harder alongside their trainer and friend."

Cynthia's eyes widened at that piece of information. She never really thought about that. "Is that one of the reasons why you exercise and push yourself so hard everyday?"

"No. I only do it because I love it. The added effect of motivating my Pokémon is just a bonus for me. However, for you, even though you have a year's worth of traveling under your belt, you could still stand to improve yourself physically and eat healthier. Since you're not a model anymore, you don't have to take such extreme care in maintaining your figure and should just focus on keeping your body fit and healthy." Explained Ash.

Cynthia nodded in understanding at his words since they made perfect sense but it still made her feel self-conscious that maybe she was unattractive. "Do I not look ok this way?"

"I don't mean whatever I said in an offensive way. Its just that you should take care of yourself physically and you can stand to gain a bit more weight in terms of muscle mass. Your health matters far more than your beauty does. Beauty is only skin deep and its who the person is in terms of character that really matters at the end of the day. Plus, its not like you have to worry about your beauty anyways. Your far more beautiful than any woman I have seen in my life-time" Said Ash in a wise and honest tone.

Cynthia nodded in understanding but also blushed a healthy shade of red at the unexpected compliment. It took her a couple minutes to calm down before she managed to say, "Ok. Can I exercise with you than?"

"Of course." Ash nodded in response.

By this point the two had already arrived at the entrance to Viridian forest, indicated by the thick line of huge trees. As they entered the forest, a comfortable silence enveloped them which seemed to happen a lot between them after their conversations but they usually used these times to contemplate about what they just talked about or think about other things.

After a couple hours of walking, Ash and Cynthia rubbed the sweat off of their heads as the dense humid atmosphere of the forest was really sapping their energy. Pikachu and Charmander had been returned to their Poké Balls an hour ago because they had been completely exhausted from their morning training and traveling through the forest.

The trainers had just arrived at a small clearing with a pond and were about to fill up their canteens. While they hadn't drank all of the water, it was better to take the opportunity to fill it up completely.

They also noticed there was quite a large flock of Pidgey and a couple of Pidgeotto and one Pidgeot hanging by the pond, drinking the water. "We should go slowly…" started Ash but that's when all the Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot flew away. "Never mind."

As they neared the pond, Ash noticed a lone Pidgey still sitting by the pond looking at its reflection in the clear water in a curious manner, intrigued upon seeing its reflection. Ash gazed at the Pidgey and remembered the flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto and the one Pidgeot who was their leader he had made friends with that lived in the Corral.

Pidgey were pretty weak and not aggressive in the least but they usually fought ferociously when threatened. Trainers always tended to ignore the little birds since they weren't that strong but Ash thought otherwise. He always believed that Pidgey, when they evolved into Pidgeot, can become extremely powerful Pokémon if trained the right way. His knowledge of the species supported this since as a Pidgeot, they had incredible speeds and their power over the wind was phenomenal. Not many people knew this but the first Champion of Kanto in fact had a Pidgeot.

Cynthia saw Ash gazing at the Pidgey for a few moments before he started walking towards it. "Ash?" she asked while stopping.

Ash didn't answer back and just approached the Pidgey who had noticed his presence once he had been around fifteen feet away and turned to look at him with a curious gaze.

"Hey Pidgey." Ash asked while lowering himself to the ground to make himself look smaller. "I was wondering if you wanted to join my team of Pokémon." Said Ash as he took out the Pokémon food cube and a couple pieces of Pokémon food, specific for flying types appeared in a flash of white energy in his hand. He then took a couple steps forward to place the food on the ground and then went back to his original place, continuing to look small.

Pidgey tilted her head in confusion at the human. Usually humans ignored them and, in a few cases, attacked to capture one of them. She never heard of any human asking them to join them. She had hatched around six months ago but was fairly knowledgeable about the world thanks to her flock…which had left already. Ignoring the fact that she had gotten distracted and the flock flew without her…again, she turned to the human. ("Why are you asking me? Don't humans just attack if they wish to capture us?")

"I prefer Pokémon join my team from their choice. If you wish to battle before hand than so be it. But I know Pokémon have families and I would not do something like rip you away from it." Said Ash to which the Pidgey looked at him even more curiosity and awe while his non-threatening soft look made her drop her guard. Plus, the aroma of the delicious Pokémon food was also getting hard to resist so she began to take a few steps forward with her small legs.

Cynthia had her eyes widened as she heard those words come out of Ash's mouth. She had the exact same line of thinking and its how she had gotten all her Pokémon except for her starter Gible who was gifted to her as an egg by her grandmother. It was refreshing and heart-warming to see the scene unveiling in front of her.

Meanwhile, Pidgey had reached the pellets of Pokémon food Ash had laid out and carefully ate one of them. The moment she finished with one, her head became a blur as she devoured every single pellet of food as it was the most delicious thing she had eaten in the short time she has been alive.

After, she was done, Pidgey looked at Ash with starry eyes. ("If I go with you, will I get more of that delicious food?") she asked in a hopeful tone.

Ash smiled at her. "Of course. And if you want, I can promise that I will try to make you very strong but that will require lots of training. Do you still want to join me?"

Pidgey tilted her head a bit as the ecstasy induced by the delicious food left her system and she thought about the human's question. In her flock, she always admired the fierce yet kind Pidgeot that led them. He was strong and always protected them whenever other Pokémon attacked them, mainly Fearow and Spearow, along with the occasional trainer. It had intrigued her often and she had found her mind captivated by the thought of being as strong and amazing as that.

This human said he could make her like that which caught her attention a lot…but not more than the delicious food did. Plus, this human did seem very kind and interested in her so that was a bonus. So, after a few moments of thinking, Pidgey nodded her head.

"I can't give you a battle now since my friends are too tired but I'm sure we can later if you want." Said Ash before he took out a friend ball from his back pack and left it a meter in front of Pidgey. "Go ahead. Its your choice."

Pidgey thought about it for one last time, still finding it odd how this strange human was giving her so much freedom in this decision. Its what made it so much easier, so she walked over on her short legs and tapped the center button of the green colored Poké Ball with her beak causing the ball to open and suck her inside it in a flash of scarlet energy.

The ball shook for a few moments before it clicked signalling the capture. Ash smiled at the ball and pressed the center button again, releasing the normal-flying type from the comforting artificial environment. "Welcome to the family Pidgey."

She cooed in response, enjoying the warmth in his tone.

"Oh…I should introduce myself. My name is Ash. Do you have a name or would you like me to give you a nickname?"

("I don't have a name. Can I have one?") Pidgey asked to which Ash nodded.

He began thinking of a good nickname for the female bird. It was easy to tell this Pidgey was female thanks to her bigger fluff of feathers on her chest and the center row of brown feathers on her crest is a bit longer than male Pidgey. After a while, he thought of a decent name for her. "How about Audra? It has different meanings such as, Noble Strength and Storm." Pidgey nodded her head and cooed in response, liking the name and its meanings. Ash nodded in response before pulling out his Pokédex. "I'm going to scan with you with my Pokédex Audra. Don't worry it won't hurt at all."

Audra watched as her trainer took out a black colored device with white outlines and opened it up and pointed it at her. She tilted her head in curiosity when she heard a mechanical voice coming from the device.

[Pidgey knows the following moves: Quick Attack, Gust, Sand Attack, Feint Attack, Brave Bird (Currently unavailable)]

Ash was impressed at the fact that Audra knew Brave Bird, despite it being locked mainly because her body couldn't handle the powerful move. No doubt one or both her parents knew the move and since Pidgey did not learn this particular powerful flying type move, it would be very useful in the future.

"Come here Audra." Said Ash in a warm and gentle tone as he patted on his shoulder to which Audra nodded just a bit hesitatingly before she made her way to Ash and landed on his shoulder after fluttering her wings. Her talons were sharp and Ash could feel them through his clothing but it didn't hurt much. Ash then stroke Audra on her neck and moved around to the back of her crest, earning lots of cooing from the normal-flying type before just melting to his touch.

Ash smiled at this seeing as how he found a weak spot when it came to his new friend. With that done, he got up and walked over to the pond of water and Cynthia followed as they both filled their canteens with water. The two trainers than made their way out of the clearing and began their trek through the dense forest.

The two trainers talked with each other a bit, discussing their views on Pokémon and just what amazing creatures they were. Audra just looked around at the forest in a very curious nature, intrigued by every single detail since this was her first time actually traveling through it, rather then landing in a clearing and making nests on the trees on the perimeter of said clearing.

After about half an hour, they came across a trainer who challenged Cynthia first but she refused since it was easy to tell the trainer was a rookie. So, she let Ash have the challenge and he had immediately accepted.

As Ash stood around thirty feet away from his opponent, he took in the boy's appearance. He wore red-shorts, a blue shirt, and had bug-catching gear, consisting of his hat, net and bag. He had brown hair and black-eyes and was around his age.

"Let's go Paras!" shouted the trainer in a rather high-pitched obnoxious voice as he threw his Poké Ball into the air, out of which appeared a brownish-orange colored carb-like crustacean Pokémon with rather large beady eyes and two mushrooms growing on its back.

Ash was surprised to see Paras since they mainly lived around Mt. Moon and most of the bug type trainers that usually traveled through the forest mainly had the more common Caterpie and Weedle. "Audra, ready for your first battle?" asked Ash to which the bird nodded and flew a few meters into the air and shrieked at her opponent.

The boy decided to make the first move. "Use Stun Spore!"

The Paras began to shake its body, releasing yellow colored powder towards Pidgey.

Ash knew he couldn't let that attack hit otherwise the battle was as good as over. "Use Gust."

Audra began to rapidly flap her wings, creating a strong gust of wind that easily blew the yellow powder away while also pushing the Paras backwards, causing a bit of damage and discomfort.

"Use Scratch!" shouted the trainer.

Ash raised his eyebrow since he didn't know how the bug specialist could expect Paras to jump high enough to actually hit Audra who was still hovering a few feet in the air.

"Gust then Quick Attack."

Audra obeyed and flapped her wings again, sending another gust of wind towards the bug-grass type, sending it tumbling backwards just as it was getting ready to charge towards her. She was then surrounded by a thin veil of white energy before rushing towards Paras in a streak of white light and striking it on its side.

The impact knocked the Pokémon out and Ash was happy that Audra had gotten lucky in managing to avoid hitting the mushrooms which probably would have inflicted some sort of status condition on her.

Audra flew over to Ash and landed on his shoulder as he heard the familiar beep coming from his Pokédex of receiving his prize money. "Good job Audra. That was a great first battle." Said Ash as he gently scratched her on her neck, under her crest which caused the avian to coo in absolute delight.

The bug trainer hadn't said a word as he had returned his Pokémon and left, leaving Ash and Cynthia alone. The two looked at each other and began to make their way through the forest.

"You know, if you keep this up, your Pokémon will become very strong in no time at all." Complimented Cynthia. It was very surprising to see the amount of skill and potential she saw in Ash despite the fact that he was a Pokémon Professor.

"That's good. At least I will be prepared for the Indigo League then." Replied Ash.

"True."

The two trainers then began to continue their trek towards the forest. It was quite a while later when the sun was getting ready to set did they come across another small clearing with a rather large pond did the two decide to take a break. During their trek, Ash had found a few more trainers to battle causing Pidgey to gain lots of experience. They were all fairly easy battles due to all of them being bug type trainers but regardless it was good for Audra.

Ash and Cynthia then set up camp in the clearing and once they were done, Ash decided to introduce Audra to her new teammates and family and let them to get to know each other. So, with that said, Ash was currently sitting on the grass near the fire they had made with Cynthia sitting near him.

"Alright Audra. Ready to meet your teammates?" asked Ash to which she nodded and chirped in response. Ash then unclipped Ignis and Raijin's Poké Balls from the inside of his jacket and threw them into the air, causing the fire and electric type to materialize in a flash of white energy.

The two looked around and yawned slightly due to their sheer exhaustion from their intense training and one-hour trek through the dense and humid Viridian Forest. Their eyes then landed on their trainer and the unknown but familiar Pidgey on his shoulder.

"Ignis. Raijin. I want you two to meet Audra. She recently joined our team and is apart of our family." Said Ash with a smile to which the fire and electric type nodded and waved at the flying type.

("Hello!") Ignis and Raijin said to which Audra flew off of Ash's shoulders and landed in front of them.

Audra chirped in response before she began looking at Ignis and Raijin in a very curious manner since she had never seen their kind before. Ignis and Raijin could only watch her in confusion as she walked around them and inspected them.

Ash turned to look at Cynthia, leaving the Pokémon to get acquainted with each other. "You should let your Pokémon out to. I'll make some special Pokémon food for them." Said Ash to which Cynthia nodded since she had requested Ash teach her about making good nutritious Pokémon food since she usually bought the simple packs from the Poké Mart but Ash told her that its better to make specific Pokémon food for her Pokémon for better growth. Cynthia then called her whole team out.

This caught the attention of Ash's Pokémon who looked at the very fierce and powerful Pokémon with awe and fear. Well Charmander looked at them with determination blazing in his eyes, just wanting to become stronger and facing those titans in battle. Ignis and Raijin had seen and met them already but it would still be awhile until they got used to their presence.

"Alright everyone! Just relax until dinner is ready." Cynthia commanded to which the six Pokémon nodded.

Charmander immediately went towards Gabite and said a few words before firing embers at the female dragon, wanting to show his strength but Gabite merely brushed off the flames with an uninterested look but Ash and Cynthia saw the look of amusement in her eyes.

Raijin introduced Audra to the others and they just spent time talking and getting to know each other.

Meanwhile, Ash had gotten out the cube shaped device that stored a large amount of his mother's hand-made Pokémon food. He clicked specific buttons to get various Pokémon food, specialize for the various types of his team and Cynthia's team.

He placed lots of the Pokémon food in the specified bowls for his and Cynthia's Pokémon before he absorbed the sacks of Pokémon food back into the cube-shaped device. He then took out a few jars from his backpack which consisted of various proteins and vitamins, along with powder made from crushed berries.

"You know while normal Pokémon food that you can buy from a Poké Mart contains the main nutrients a Pokémon needs, its better to make your own. This way you can give your Pokémon the specific nutrients they need for their bodies."

"I know that but its hard to make it when you're on the road." Said Cynthia.

"Yes, but if you want to make sure your Pokémon are growing optimally, you have to try and find the time to do this sort of thing. Its pretty easy to make a huge chunk of it using the kitchen in Pokémon centers. I can show you when we run out of Pokémon food but until then we can just use the one my mom made." Ash said to which Cynthia nodded.

He then began adding spoonful's of the brown liquid substances in a few of the jars to all the food bowls. Cynthia saw that they were basically key vitamins and nutrients in concentrated liquid form.

"Can you tell me what specific tastes your Pokémon like?" asked Ash to which she nodded and began explaining it and Ash sprinkled the various berry powders he had over the specific bowls, slightly changing the taste of the food to suit the Pokémon.

Eventually Ash finished which is when they called all the Pokémon over for their meal. Cynthia was not surprised when she saw everyone dig into their respective bowl of food like a starving Snorlax.

Ash had also made some spicy red bean soup, using his mother's special recipe and the can of the food she had packed when he had left Pallet Town. This food was good in that it packed protein, tasted simply amazing and packed nice amounts of other essential nutrients. Cynthia had almost started drooling from the aroma and it had been an amusing sight for Ash, watching her trying to compose herself.

The two had enjoyed their meal in comfortable silence while their Pokémon had spent the time lazing around after filling their bellies with the delicious food. They then washed all of the dishes and packed everything away before getting ready to hit the sack. Ash had told Cynthia they would be waking up early in the morning to train tomorrow.

It wasn't long before both Ash and Cynthia fell asleep in their respective sleeping bags in their tents with Ash's Pokémon sleeping inside the tent with him while Cynthia's Pokémon slept outside her tent around it.

---

Ash shook the sleeping form of Cynthia who responded by groaning in her sleep, trying to slap away whoever it was that was trying to wake her. Ash kept shaking her until she eventually got up with a groan.

"What is it?" she asked in a sleepy and irritated voice.

"Time to train Cynthia. Our Pokémon are already up and ready and I'm good to go as well. So get up and wash yourself and wear something comfortable." Said Ash as he walked away leaving Cynthia to sigh.

She was not a morning person so having to wake up this early since even the sun hadn't risen, was very irritating to her but she did ask for it. Plus, after she had thought about it in her head after her conversation with Ash yesterday, she had to admit that he had a point in regards to exercising and keeping her body healthy. Traveling through Sinnoh had conditioned her physically quite well but she was still thin from her time as a model and could use to put on more mass in terms of muscle and increase her endurance.

So, as those thoughts ran through her head, she got up and went by the pond to do her morning rituals while noticing out of the corner of her eye that Ash and his Pokémon were stretching their muscles and her Pokémon followed their example. By the time she was done with her morning rituals and had changed in her tent into a pair of stretchable sweat pants and a blue top, she made her way towards Ash and his Pokémon who had finished with his stretches.

"So, what will you be training me on?" asked Cynthia with her irritation of having to wake up so early having finally left her.

"Well first, I'm going to have you do some stretches after which you'll go through some basic exercises which I will be able to use to determine your strength and endurance. From their I can come up with a good exercising schedule you can follow and set weekly goals for yourself to improve." Explained Ash before he turned to look at her Pokémon who seemed a lot more rejuvenated and filled with energy, no doubt because of the meal from last night. "You should start your Pokémon's training as well and then get started with stretching."

Cynthia nodded as she made her way to her team and ordered to practice some of their more powerful techniques before engaging in mock-battles with each other. After, that had been done, she made her way back to Ash who had begun doing various exercises and had done the stretching exercises she saw him doing earlier. It had taken around 15 minutes to get through them after which she felt herself feeling pretty loose.

"Alright what next?"

"Now, I need to get an overall feel of how you are physically. So, I'm going to have you do push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, crunches, planks and burpees." Said Ash as he selected the exercises that will allow him to figure out Cynthia's upper and lower body strengths, the strength of her core, and the amount of endurance she had.

Cynthia nodded and proceeded to do those exercises and Ash did the same but also kept an eye on her to evaluate her. Cynthia's Pokémon seemed surprised that their trainer was now exercising but nonetheless focused on their training while occasionally glancing at her.

By the time Cynthia had gone through the exercises, she was panting for air on the ground while Ash was looking at her with a contemplating look but she was too tired to notice.

From her performance, Ash saw that she had little upper body strength, lower then the average strength of girls her age since she had only been able to do modified version of push-ups when she was on her knees, and she could not a single pull-up. However, her core strength and endurance had been very impressive with how long she had been able to hold her planks, do numerous crunches and variations of them along with being able to do lots of modified burpees. Her leg strength was also very good.

So, with that he knew of what Cynthia needed to work on and would devise a good workout routine for her. Now that he was done with his exercises, he went through all his fighting moves which Cynthia watched with awe.

During this time, Cynthia's Pokémon not only worked harder after seeing their trainer train their body but they had been also intrigued by Ash's fighting techniques, especially Lucario.

Ash's Pokémon had also tired themselves out by training their endurance through running, Audra included and a few exercises before they had begun practicing their moves. By the time it was around 10:00 a.m., Ignis had managed to envelop his arm in silver colored energy that took the form of a fierce looking three bladed claw while Pikachu's tail had been enveloped in the silver colored steel energy causing the lightning bolt shaped tail to look purely metallic.

Ash knew that now that the two had the steel type moves pretty much perfected, all they had to do was put some strength behind the attack which was difficult as the steel type energy also increased the weight of the appendage they enveloped. But this would be a good thing since they would be able to train their strength this way but he would have to make sure to come up with a strategy to somehow put momentum and strength behind the steel type attacks to increase their effectiveness in his upcoming gym battle.

As far as Audra went, she had done well in following his instructions of flying in the air and seeing how fast she could go and had surpassed his expectations in terms of speed. Ash had also asked if Cynthia's Togekiss could teach Audra how to use steel-wing since again, the steel type move would come in very handy. Togekiss, had happily begun to teach the basics of the move and her training was progressing quite effectively despite being a bit behind Ignis and Raijin.

Cynthia's Pokémon had done quite the extensive training themselves in the past four hours as they not only managed to go through their more powerful attacks and maintain them for an extended period of time but they also managed to engage in some pretty intense mock-battles.

Of course, battling was the only sure-fire way to become stronger and that was the main form of training that can make any Pokémon extremely powerful. Training just added onto that strength but battling and gaining experience is what really mattered. But since Cynthia's Pokémon were far too powerful for rookie trainers, she couldn't really battle much but Ash's Pokémon were still young and inexperienced so they needed to engage in as many battles as possible.

With that said, Ash and Cynthia had broken from their thoughts and eaten some breakfast consisting of some left over red bean soup from last nights dinner. After that, they had packed up and decided to continue traveling through the forest however, Ignis decided to remain outside while Raijin and Audra took a small break and rested within their Poké Balls, with Raijin's dislike of Poké Balls lessening quite a bit.

The two made their way through the thick trees and dense humidity, determined to get Pewter City and the sight of their first Kanto gym badge.

---

Ash and Cynthia smiled in satisfaction as they exited Viridian Forest, leaving the thick trees and dense atmosphere behind, finding themselves on a dirt road that went through some average looking trees towards Pewter City. Ignis and Raijin were walking right beside them while Audra was flying above them.

The trek took about nine days mainly because of the numerous battles Ash had engaged in the forest with all the other rookie trainers and bug-type specialist he had met. He had won all those battles, earning quite a bit of cash which was pointless to him. What was most valuable was all the experience his Pokémon had gotten from the battling. Not only were they looking stronger then they were before but they had managed to completely master their respective steel type moves to the point they could easily use them with no trouble at all.

Ash was more then prepared now as he had the option of using Audra in the upcoming gym battle as well who had the advantage of being able to fly. Plus, all the physical strength and endurance they had gotten would be a huge help. They improved leaps and bounds in the nine days.

Cynthia had improved as well, as she was showing to have better endurance and was able to do her exercises for much longer periods of time. Ash was also forcing her to increase her appetite along with doing more exercises for her upper body. While Cynthia was always left panting and exhausted, she had been rather impressed by the results in the short period of time. If this went on, she would be physically fit in no time although it was annoying to have to wake up so early in the morning. But as a wise man once said, "No pain. No gain."

Her Pokémon had also improved in terms of their techniques and managed to keep in tip top physical condition by increasing the intensity of their mock battles since they probably wouldn't be having any real battles that often. Also, the nutritious and delicious food Ash had fed them was helping them immensely as well.

Ash had also found himself staring at Cynthia at times when she exercised but it was never more then a few seconds and he couldn't figure out why that was.

The two were enjoying the nice peaceful atmosphere of the blue sky and the lush green trees that were on both sides of the dirt road. The medium sized buildings that were visible a small distance away let them know that they were very close to Pewter City.

"So, are you ready for the gym battle Ash?" asked Cynthia although she knew the answer but was just looking to start a conversation.

"Yes. Thanks to your Pokémon and your help, I'm more then ready." Replied Ash.

"It was no problem. You helped me and my Pokémon more then we helped you."

"Well…" right as Ash was about to reply, he saw a small flash of light in the corner of his eye and also heard Ignis and Raijin growl.

Not a second later, a figure burst through the nearby bush and head straight for them with what was clearly a sharp sword in its arms. Ash instantly reacted thanks to his many years of martial arts training and became a blur as he rushed at the figure, leaning to the side to avoid the sword and landing a powerful haymaker on the head of the figure causing them to go tumbling away while dropping the sword.

Ash rushed at the fallen figure and picked up the sword from the ground before pressing his foot on the fallen figure's back. Cynthia and his Pokémon ran over to him and Audra flew down, landing near her trainer after the shock of everything that just happened wore off. "Ash are you ok!?"

("Are you alright?!") Cynthia and the Pokémon shouted simultaneously.

"I'm fine." Ash simply replied before turning to the figure who he prevented from getting up and his face was still licking the dirt. He noticed how he was wearing some sort of helmet and armor that were of the design that ancient Samurai wore. "Who are you and why did you attack us?"

The figure muffled in response since his face was buried in the dirt and couldn't get any words out. Ash lifted his foot in response but pointed the sword at the figure who turned around and stared at the two attackers with wide-eyes. "I'm sorry! I wasn't going to harm you! I just wanted to battle you!" said the seemingly fifteen-year-old male dressed in the samurai gear.

Ash rubbed his thumb against the blade of the sword and felt that it was real. "If you didn't want to harm us than why did you attack us with a real sword?" Ash asked coldly getting a shocked look from Cynthia and his Pokémon before glaring at the teen.

The kid didn't reply too terrified of everything that happened in the past minute. "Well I guess I'll have to turn you over to Officer Jenny."

"No please don't!" the teen said. "Honestly I wasn't going to hurt you! I just wanted to know if you're from Pallet Town and if you would like a battle!"

"Why do you want to know if we're from Pallet Town?" asked Cynthia still glaring at the teen alongside Ash and his Pokémon.

"A trainer from Pallet Town recently came by and defeated me so I wanted to restore my honor as a Samurai!" exclaimed the kid in a dramatic fashion, his fear of being at sword point left him.

Ash was able to read the teen and saw that he wasn't lying. "And instead of just asking, you decided it would be better to attack us with a real sword? Were you dropped as a kid?" Ash asked the teen in an ice-cold voice.

"Hey!" the teen replied in anger.

"Fine, if it's a battle you want then it's a battle you'll get." Said Ash, wanting to beat some sense into this very, very stupid teen.

The teen grinned in response. "I will defeat you and restore my honor! My name is Samurai! What is your name?!" said the teen again in an dramatic fashion.

'Samurai!? This guy really is mentally unstable.' Thought Ash and Cynthia in response.

"Ignis, let's go." Said Ash in a cold tone.

The fire type grinned maliciously at the opportunity of the battle ahead and to pay the strangely dressed human for attacking his trainer and friend he has come to respect immensely.

Ash's other Pokémon and Cynthia walked a few meters away but their eyes never left Ash and the other trainer, all of them still on edge.

"Pinsir, time to battle!" Samurai said as he launched his Poké Ball into the air, causing the Pokémon to be materialized in a flash of white energy. The bug type had a dull brown body, with spiky pincers on top of its head, and had flat horizontally arranged teeth under is angry looking eyes. It also had short and thick legs, and along and thin arms with each limb having three claws. "Use Vice Grip!"

The Pinsir's wings flapped rapidly as he flew a meter above the ground and made his way over to Ignis.

"Dodge, then Ember and Dragon Dance." Said Ash.

Ignis followed the command and used the skill he had gained from the numerous attack and dodging sessions he had with his fellow Pokémon to easily roll out of the way of Pinsir's attack. As the bug type flew by him, Ignis launched a thin stream of flames right onto Pinsir's back. The bug-type screeched in pain as the attack did quite a bit of damage especially with Ignis' increased power due to all the training and battles.

"You'll pay for that! Use Hyper Beam!"

Ash's eyes widened. He did not expect the bug type to know the immensely powerful move. No doubt this teen taught the Pokémon using a TM. He saw the bug type form an orange ball of pure energy rather slowly no doubt due to inexperience with using the move. At the same time Ignis was surrounded by thin crimson and black aura as his speed and attack power was increased.

"Dodge it Ignis! End it with Metal Claw after!" shouted Ash.

Ignis heard the commands and prepared himself since from his trainer's tone, he knew he couldn't be hit by the attack. He saw his opponent release a beam of orange energy about the size of the bug type's body towards him. Thankfully, thanks to Ignis' increased speed, he managed to jump out of the way of the attack and due to Pinsir's inexperience, he couldn't redirect his aim.

Once the attack flew past Ignis and caused an explosion on the dirt road behind him, Pinsir dropped to his knees and arms panting from the exhaustion caused by using the powerful attack. Ignis immediately reacted and ran towards the bug type with his right arm glowing with silver energy that took the form of a triple bladed claw. He brought it down on Pinsir's head, immediately sending the Pokémon into unconsciousness.

Ignis grinned at his fallen flow and released a thin stream of flames into the air, trying to show his power, something which became a habit after winning in all his battles.

"Great job Ignis!" said Ash to which the fire type grinned at him and ran over to his side along with Cynthia and his other Pokémon.

Meanwhile, the teen in Samurai armor returned the bug type and glared at the trainers before running away, forgetting that they till had his sword in their possession.

Cynthia saw the trainer running away and grinned in response. Hopefully, the idiot teen learned his lesson. She then turned to Ash, "Nice battle and thanks for that Ash."

"Thank you and no problem Cynthia." That guy really needs to get a mental health check-up. He then looked at the sword he still had in his hand. "I'll give this to the Officer Jenny in Pewter City."

"Well, let's get going. I could use a hot shower and meal tonight before we battle tomorrow."

Ash nodded at his fellow traveling partner before they began making their way to the City. Audra flew above them while Ignis and Raijin walked beside Ash, finding traveling like this more and more appealing as their endurance had increased leaps and bounds from the intense training and lots of battling.

The two eventually found themselves standing in front of the Pokémon center. Right before entering the City they had encountered a rather strange man named Flint who tried to sell them rocks which was quite weird and plain stupid. Ignoring the man, they had made their way to the police station where they have them the weapon and told them how they obtained it along with giving their proof of I.D to Officer Jenny. After, which they made their way to the Pokémon center and were ready to relax for the night after the nine days they spent in the forest.

The two entered the red roofed building and walked over to the counter where Nurse Joy was standing. "Hello and welcome to the Pokémon center!" exclaimed Nurse Joy from behind the counter before her eyes widened at the two. "Oh, you two must be Ash Ketchum and Cynthia Shirona."

"How do…" Cynthia was about to ask before Nurse Joy cut her off.

"The Nurse Joy in Viridian City is my younger sister. She called me and told me how you saved all the Pokémon from Team Rocket. Thank you for that." said Nurse Joy in a grateful tone. "The food and rooms will all be on the house for you two."

Ash and Cynthia thanked Nurse Joy in response before the two handed her their Poké Balls after Ash had recalled his Pokémon. They then went to their rooms which Nurse Joy had assigned them. They took a nice hot shower after which they came to the cafeteria and enjoyed a nice hot meal while engaging in a conversation with each other mainly about their upcoming gym battle.

After that, they received their Pokémon back since they were completely healthy, just tired. The two had gone back to their room afterward and went to bed, with Ash releasing his Pokémon to sleep with him on his bed.

---

Ash and Cynthia currently stood in front of the Pewter City gym which more or less was shaped and colored like a giant boulder. They looked at each other before pushing the large wooden doors and walking into the gym.

It was fairly dark but the lights soon came on, revealing that the trainers were currently standing in a large battlefield with numerous boulders laid everywhere and a few rocks jutting out of the ground.

They saw a trainer with dark brown hair and brown skin wearing dark orange pants and a green vest with many pockets over a green t-shirt standing on the other side of the battlefield.

Before they could even blink, the man who they recognized was most likely the gym leader, dashed over to them and was on one knee in front of Cynthia.

"It seems that the heavens have guided your way to my humble gym oh gorgeous angel. Please do me the honor of…OWWW!" the man screamed as another male teen that looked an awful lot like him, pulled on his ear harshly and dragged him back a few steps.

"Sorry about that. My brother can't seem to handle himself around girls. My name is Forrest and this is Brock, the Pewter City gym leader." Said the younger looking teen.

"I'm Ash and this is Cynthia." Ash replied but with a little bit more edge to his tone due to his annoyance over the gym leader's actions although he didn't know why he was so annoyed.

"We're here for a gym battle." Said Cynthia while glaring at the gym leader.

Forrest finally let go of his brother's ear who composed himself after hearing that he had challengers. "Ok. Can I please see your Pokédexs please?"

The two nodded and handed over their respective Pokédex. Brock pressed a few buttons and scanned through the information before handing them back to their respective trainers and nodded. "So, who will be battling first."

Ash stepped forward since both he and Cynthia decided he would be battling first thanks to a rock-paper-scissor game. "That will be me."

"Ok. It will be a two-on-two battle. You'll be allowed substitutions but I will not. One of us will win when either side's Pokémon are unable to battle or one of us forfeits." Explained Brock.

Ash simply nodded in response before he made his way to the trainer's box nearest to him while Brock made his way to the other side of the field where he originally was when they entered the gym. Cynthia made her way on top of some stairs to watch the battle from the upper floor while Forrest took his place in the referee box.

"The gym leader will release his Pokémon first! Begin!" Forrest shouted.

"Let's go Geodude!" shouted Brock to which a round boulder like Pokémon with two human-like arms made of stone came from his side.

"Let's go Raijin!" Ash said as he launched his friend ball into the air, out of which the electric mouse Pokémon materialized onto the battlefield.

"Using an electric type against my rock and ground type is not very smart." Said Brock thinking he was facing some stupid rookie trainer. He had not gotten any information regarding the trainer when he searched their Pokédex since he mainly looked at if he has earned any gym badges. He knew that Ash just begun on his journey while the beautiful blonde he was traveling with has participated in the Sinnoh League conference.

Ash didn't reply to the statement but rather just went ahead and gave his command to electric type. "Use Thunder Shock!"

Raijin grinned internally and nodded, as he knew what strategy his trainer was going with after they had chatted during their journey through Viridian Forest.

Brock sighed at the stupidity. "Take it then use Harden and Rollout."

Geodude nodded and simply absorbed the thin stream of electricity which had no effect on him. The rock type then curled into a ball and was temporarily covered in a thin white veil of power as his defense rose before the rock-ground type began rolling towards Pikachu.

"Use Quick Attack to dodge!" Ash commanded.

The electric type nodded and was covered in a white veil of energy before he ran in streak of white light, easily avoiding the oncoming Geodude.

"Keep using Rollout!" ordered Brock.

Geodude nodded and kept going after Raijin while using Rollout, steadily gaining power and speed.

"Keep dodging." Ordered Ash gaining an intrigued look from Cynthia from above since she knew about the strategy Ash would be using and she had to admit it was quite smart.

In the next minute, Raijin kept on dodging Geodude who kept chasing him getting faster and faster thanks to Rollout.

"Now Raijin!" Ash eventually commanded to which Raijin nodded while running.

The electric type then turned to race straight towards the incoming rock-ground type.

Brock raised his eye-brow at that. He thought that Ash was quite stupid since he should know with the amount of momentum and speed Geodude has gained from constantly using Rollout, his Pikachu will be instantly knocked out if it made contact.

Raijin raced towards Geodude as his tail began to take a silvery glow.

When the electric was near Geodude, Ash shouted, "Use Iron Tail!"

Brock's eyes widened.

Pikachu used the speed and momentum from Quick Attack to further empower his Iron Tail attack which he swung at Geodude by turning his body right as he was a meter away from him.

A loud boom was heard as the electric type's powerful steel-type attack made contact with Geodude, instantly sending him flying back and crashing into a large boulder as small rocks and dust was knocked up. When the dust settled, Geodude was shown to be unconscious much to the surprise of Forrest who had to take a moment before he processed what happened.

"G-Geodude is unable to battle!"

"Amazing job Raijin! I'm proud of you!" Ash shouted to his friend.

("Thanks!") Raijin happily replied, feeling pride at his trainer and friend's words and his accomplishment.

Brock recalled his fallen friend as he realized Ash's strategy. By using Thunder Shock in the beginning, Brock had lowered his guard thinking this was some rookie trainer without the basic knowledge of type strengths and weaknesses. After that, he deliberately kept telling his Pikachu to dodge Geodude's Rollout so that it continues to build speed, momentum and power before using that against him and ending the battle in one move with Iron Tail. A very well thought out and executed strategy that took him by surprise but now he knew what Ash was capable of and would not make the same mistake.

"I'm very impressed. That's quite the strategy you used, but this next battle won't be so easy! Onix let's go!" said Brock as he released a giant serpent like Pokémon whose body consisted of numerous large boulders attached to each other.

"Begin!" Forrest said when Ash didn't recall his Pikachu.

"Use Rock Tomb!" shouted Brock.

The Rock Snake Pokémon roared before slamming its tail onto the battlefield causing large boulders to jut out of the ground around Raijin.

"Dodge with Quick Attack! Get close to Onix!"

Raijin was enveloped in a white veil of energy as he sped towards his opponent but much slower then before no doubt tired from running at intense speeds non-stop against Geodude. Raijin managed to run out of the way of the boulders that were looking to trap him and reached the giant Pokémon.

"Use Iron Tail on its head!"

Raijin followed his trainer's command and managed to easily speed his way up Onix's body while his tail was covered in a silver glow before taking a metallic appearance.

"Knock him away Onix!" shouted Brock.

The rock-ground type roared before trying to use his tail to swipe the electric type off his body but it was much more difficult then expected since Raijin's agility had improved quite a bit from his training and dodge and attack sessions with his fellow Pokémon.

He managed to make it up to Onix's head before swinging his tail right on its head which was one of its more weaker spots. The Onix roared in pain and anger as he used his tail to smack Raijin into the ground who couldn't dodge due to being in mid-air.

This hurt Raijin quite a bit as Onix's hard tail hit like a truck and the hard-rocky ground only made it worse. Onix's then smashed Raijin again, this time from the side, sending the electric type flying into a boulder and being knocked unconscious.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!"

Ash immediately recalled his unconscious friend and gazed at the Poké Ball. "Great job Raijin." The Poké Ball shook very weakly in response causing Ash to smile as he clipped it onto one of his many Poké Ball holders in his jacket. He then took his next Poké Ball and launched into the air, out of which Ignis materialized.

"Begin!"

Ignis gazed at his giant foe and rather then be intimidated, Ignis grinned. The fire type loved the thrill of combat and he only got more excited of having to battle such a fearsome looking foe.

"Dragon Dance!" said Ash, loving the use of the move.

Ignis was surrounded by a thin veil of crimson and black energy as he increased his speed and physical power.

"Use Rock Throw!" shouted Brock not wanting Ignis to get the boost.

Onix roared before slamming his tail into the ground causing chunks of the earth and nearby boulders to fly into the air. Onix then quickly brought his tail up and slammed into the chunks of air and boulders, sending them flying towards the fire type.

Ignis began running towards the rock-ground type and used this empowered speed to dodge all of the large boulders but was still hit by the very small chunk of rocks which caused very minor damage.

"Use Ember on his face!"

Ignis launched a thin stream of flames straight at Onix's face which did barely damage but the flames did manage to obscure the rock snake's vision which is exactly what Ash had intended.

"Metal Claw!"

Ignis grinned as his right were surrounded by silver colored energy that took the form of three bladed claws which he instantly brought down in the cervices in between the boulders that made up Onix's body, causing the Pokémon to roar in pain.

"Onix use Bind!" Brock shouted quickly since the fire type was so close to Onix.

The rock-ground type quickly responded most likely due to his experience in battling and managed to easily locate the fire type now that the flames had dissipated from its face. The snake quickly slithered around Ignis, intending to use his massive boulder and snake-like body to trap him.

Ash eyes widened at the danger of the move since he knew that if Ignis was caught then the battle was over. "Hurry and use Metal Claw on its crevices and get out of there!"

Ignis quickly reacted also realizing the danger he was in and slashed at the space in between Onix's boulders with his three-bladed claw made of silver energy, easily hurting the soft flesh that laid underneath.

This had caused Onix to roar in pain as it was caused quite a bit of damage. This small lapse by the Rock Snake was all the time needed for Ignis to quickly jump on its body and out of the danger of being binded.

"Finish this with Metal Claw on its head!" commanded Ash.

Raijin nodded and raced up Onix's body with both his arms covered in the silver energy forming metallic claws.

"Knock it off with your tail Onix! Hurry!" shouted Brock frantically.

Onix however was still in pain from having his flesh under his protective boulders attacks by the rather vicious move and thus couldn't react fast enough. Ignis had already made his way on top of Onix's head and instantly brought down his metallic claws on the dented area in between its eyes that had been caused by Pikachu's Iron Tail.

The moment contact was made, Onix's eyes widened in shock at the impact from the powerful attack in his rather sensitive area before collapsing on the ground causing Ignis to jump off and land in front of his fallen foe.

Ignis roared in triumph releasing a small stream of flames in the air.

"O-Onix is unable to battle! The winner is challenger!" said Forrest after overcoming his shock.

Brock recalled Onix causing the giant Pokémon to be converted in scarlet colored energy and disappear in its Poké Ball. "Great job Onix! That was a great battle."

Meanwhile, Ash had raced over to his starter Pokémon and kneeled down in front of him. "Awesome job Ignis! I'm so proud of you and Raijin!"

Ignis responded with a happy and pride-filled roar as he launched another stream of flames into the air but made sure it was away from his trainer and friend.

"Amazing battle Ash. You have quite the ability to think on your feet." Complimented Cynthia as she walked over to him, having been very impressed with not only the battle but his growing skills as a trainer.

"She's right you know. You're strategy was amazing and with the way you adapted to the different situations, was quite something. I certainly didn't expect that from a rookie. You deserve this Ash." Said Brock with a smile as he handed a gray colored octagon shaped badge.

"Thank you." Said Ash as Ignis climbed onto his shoulder and he clipped the badge onto the inside of his jacket.

"So, I suppose you're ready for your battle?" asked Brock, turning towards Cynthia. "Just know, that I will be using my strongest Pokémon now considering you have already participated in the Sinnoh League conference."

Cynthia nodded. "Of course."

"It will be a one-on-one battle." Said Brock.

Cynthia raised her eye brow as this would be her first one-on-one gym battle but nonetheless nodded and made her way to the trainer box while Ash walked up the nearby stairs to the second floor to view the battle and treat his Pokémon with some potions.

"The gym leader will release his Pokémon first! Begin!" Forrest shouted

"Golem, let's go!" shouted Brock as he released the final evolved form of Geodude. Golem is a bipedal Pokémon with plated green rocks for a shell, giving it a spherical appearance. The Pokémon also has a head protruding out of the center of its shell, along with two short thick legs coming out of the bottom and arms coming out from its side.

"Gabite, battle dance!" Cynthia said as she released her bipedal dragon Pokémon with sharp bladed fins on her arms and back along with having hammer shark-like features on its head.

In the viewing area on the second floor, Ignis watched with keen interest upon having his rival Gabite face a powerful looking opponent. Ash and a revived Raijin also watched with interest.

"Start things off with Iron Head!" commanded Cynthia.

Gabite roared in response as she was surrounded by a silver colored energy and flew at great speeds towards Golem.

"Iron Defense!"

Golem curled up into a ball in response and was surrounded by a silver aura before his whole body took a metallic appearance.

Gabite collided with the Golem sending a shock wave of power throughout the battlefield causing Cynthia to cover her face to block the dust as the psychic shields around the battlefield flared to life. Gabite then backed off and Golem uncurled who looked to have taken very little damage and only had a small bruise at the point of impact.

"Use Stone Edge Golem!" shouted Brock.

Golem stomped his right foot on the ground before blue glowing grows jutted out of the ground in a line straight towards Gabite.

"Into the air!" commanded Cynthia to which Gabite jumped and flew into the air. "Flamethrower!"

Gabite then released a powerful stream of hot red-colored flames towards Golem.

"You use Flamethrower as well!"

The rock-ground type released its own stream of hot flames which collided with Gabite's attack. The two streams of flames fought for dominance before an explosion of smoke and fire occurred due to the pressure in between the two attacks.

"Earthquake." Cynthia said only loud enough for Gabite to hear.

The dragon-ground type grinned maliciously before flying down to the ground with immense speed and slamming into it with his glowing foot. This caused the ground to start shaking violently as numerous cracks appeared everywhere and the boulders broke. Golem was affected heavily as he lost balance and was hurt by the shockwaves from the attack. The psychic shields around the battlefield strained to keep the attack confined as the building shook a little.

"Golem, get up and use Focus Blast please!" shouted Brock as he saw that the powerful Earthquake had hurt his Pokémon quite a bit.

Golem managed to get back up on its feet but it was easy to tell the Pokémon was hurt. A blue ball of fighting type energy formed in front of his mouth before it was launched towards Gabite.

"Dodge and use Iron Tail!"

Gabite easily flew out of the way since the attack was rather slow. She then flew towards the rock-ground type at incredible speeds as her tail glowed silver and took a metallic appearance.

"Meteor!" commanded Brock.

Golem grinned at the use of the powerful and unique move his trainer had developed for him. He then curled up into a ball and began rolling towards Gabite increasing his speed and power very quickly. Golem's body also took on a thin silver glow that only served to increase the speed and power of his attack.

A couple of seconds before impact Cynthia said, "Sweep him."

Gabite momentarily grinned before twisting her body bring her metallic tail to impact Golem in an upward direction. The moment contact was made, Golem was sent flying into the air which caused both him and his trainer shock to see that the dragon-ground type had such monstrous strength to be able to do this when Golem used his combination of Rollout and Heavy Slam attack.

"End this with Brick Break!"

The fins on Gabite's arms glowed a bright white before she disappeared in a blur, appearing right over the airborne Golem and bringing down her glowing white fins on her opponents head. Her attack hit dead on its mark and sent Golem crashing into the ground as if the hand of Arceus just hit him.

The moment the dust cleared from the area where Golem crashed, the rock-ground type was seen to be out cold.

Forrest just stared with wide eyes, not believing for a few moments that one of the most powerful Pokémon in their gym was taken out. "G-G-Golem is unable to battle! The challenger wins!"

"I'm proud of you Golem. Great battle." Said Brock as he returned his fallen comrade.

Gabite flew over to her trainer and grinned happily at her. Cynthia patted her head in response before scratching her under her chin causing the dragon-ground type to melt in her hands. "Great battle wasn't it."

("Yes, it was.") said Gabite which Cynthia mostly understood given they have been traveling for a while and she has been her trainer.

Gabite looked at the railing where she saw the Charmander eyeing her with respect and admiration. Yet there was also a fierce fire of will and determination blazing in his eyes with the desire to not only grow strong but surpass her in strength. She just grinned at the fire type to which Ignis grinned back.

Ash made his way down to the battlefield with Raijin and Ignis following. "I can see why you made it to the Top 4 in the Sinnoh League Conference. That was quite the battle Cynthia." Said Ash with a warm smile.

Cynthia's heart fluttered a bit at the praise and smile causing her to smile happily in response. This had a similar effect on Ash and neither noticed their gaze had been locked for a bit more then usual but their Pokémon sure did.

"I think you more then earned this Boulder Badge Cynthia and for both of you, this TM Rock Tomb." Said Brock as he handed another gray octagonal shaped badge to Cynthia who took it and placed it in a black badge case she took out from her coat. She and Ash both took the disc he handed them and placed it safely in a TM case they have in their bags. "Now, onto important matters…" said Brock in a serious tone causing Ash and Cynthia to look at the man in an curious yet confused manner.

Brock then took a step towards the trainers, building the suspense.

"Cynthia…will you…DO ME THE HONORS OF GIVING ME YOUR AUTOGRAPH!" exclaimed Brock as he got on one knee with a book that showed a picture of Cynthia dressed in a stylish red dress from her days as a model.

"Ok, come on lover boy. Time to get out of here. Honestly sometimes, I can't believe you're my big brother." Said Forrest as he dragged his big brother away by his ear eliciting a scream of pain from the gym leader.

Cynthia, Ash and their Pokémon could only blink and sweatdrop at the ridiculousness of what just happened. They blinked a bit as Ash pushed away the strange surge of anger and some other feeling he felt came within him due to Brock's actions.

"Well…time to go." Said Ash to which Cynthia nodded as they walked out of the gym.

"So, Cerulean City next?" asked Ash to which Cynthia nodded.

"I wonder how good the Sensational Sisters are? I have heard they put on quite the water shows but haven't heard much about their skills as gym leaders." Said Cynthia.

"Neither have I." said Ash which increased their curiosity of their upcoming gym battle.

"Let's get our Pokémon checked up. We should then stock up on supplies at the Poké Mart and then head out. The trek through Mt. Moon won't be easy." Said Ash to which Cynthia nodded.

The two then made their way to the Pokémon center while feeling good from the battle they just had. The future was looking nice and bright.

---

And that's the end of Chapter 2!

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS!

Which Pokémon do you want Ash to catch, including the ones he already has? Let me know in reviews or PM's and keep in mind the limit and the fact that he will not be getting any legendary Pokémon.

Which Pokémon do you want Cynthia to catch, including the ones she already has? Let me know in reviews or PM's and keep in mind the limit and the fact that she will not be getting any legendary Pokémon.

Please review the story and let me know your thoughts about it.

Have a nice day!