A/N: Thanks for the awesome feedback guys. Getting so many responses really motivated me to give my best for this, and every future chapter for this Fic.
Here's the new Chapter guys, enjoy!
One of the reviewers asked whether Ash will capture Mewtwo. Well, the answer is no. Mewtwo, in my opinion, is the absolute boss Pokémon. He is so much of a fucking Boss that I don't think Lance's Dragonite and Cynthia's Garchomp combined could face him and win. Thus it would be a moot point for Ash to really train any of his other Pokémon. Seeing as he already will have Mewtwo along with so many other strong Pokémon.
No, in this story I wish to focus on the neglected Pokémon of Ash. And also some of the Pokémon that Ash will capture newly, who all will be awesome, I assure you.
Also, Ash will not in any way be unbeatable in this story. There will be moments when he might get his ass handed to him.
On a separate note, I just got my PS3 copy of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. Let me tell you with firsthand experience friends, the gameplay is truly awesome and really a must buy if you still live with your parents or earn a shit load of money. I am saying this because its only 2 hours long, but what great 2 hours man!
XXX
AshPOV
I blearily opened my eyes as I woke up. I felt a weight on my chest, making me breathe harder than I needed to. I smiled at seeing my long time companion, Pikachu happily snuggling on my chest along with my Unova League Trophy-
Wait what.
"Trophy?" I muttered out in confusion. I sat up, careful enough to put the electric type beside me since it was never nice to get a good-morning-Thundershock from Pikachu, who I had learned from experience was not a morning Pokémon. I carefully picked up the trophy and turned it sideways to see who it belonged to.
"Ash...Ketchum...Unova LEAGUE WINNER!" My voice and eyes grew larger with every word I read. I rested against the wall joined to my bunk with a smile on my face. 'So it really happened huh? I really won the league.' I looked around the room to see my travel companions Iris and Cilan out of their beds, probably getting ready from breakfast.
"Pikachu?" A curious voice broke my thoughts as I turned to look at my starter Pokémon.
I held up the trophy for him to see. "Look at this Pikachu. After all we've been through, we finally did it." A tear almost escaped from my eyes, but I held it back. One of the things I remembered my dad saying was that real men never cry, seeing as I am 16 now it's better late than never.
"Pika!" Pikachu jumped into my arms with a happy voice. Pikachu was really happy for its trainer. Each and every Pokémon of Ash knew how close he held his dream to his heart and even though they didn't show it, they were always disappointed when they came up short in the leagues
After getting freshened up, I walked to the cafeteria with Pikachu on his usual position on my shoulder. I expected Iris, Cilan and Axew to greet me, so needless to say I was pleasantly surprised to see all my friends gathered together eating breakfast, although there was a bit glaring between Georgia and Iris. Trip was absent, seeing as his relative's home was in the nearby town.
"Good morning Guys!" I greeted them as I walked to the buffet table to get my breakfast.
XXX
Ash's Unova rivals and friends sat together on a large table which Nurse Joy was kind enough to provide for them. Since it was already late night by the time Ash's battle was over, they had decided to stay the night in the Pokémon centre and leave the next day.
"How the hell can you eat that much!?" Georgia asked in disgust as Stephan gulped down a rather large portion. She herself was eating a normal breakfast of Bread and Boiled Eggs.
As Stephan gulped down another large serving of pasta, he wiped his mouth to give a intelligible reply to Georgia, but before he could do that, he along with everyone on the table, excluding Iris and Cilan, was shocked to his inner core as Ash sat down on the table.
Ash looked at them with a puzzled expression, but thought it might be because he had won the league yesterday. He then began his...'breakfast'.
10 minutes Later
"Well, that was some nice breakfast. I wonder what's for desert." Ash asked to none in particular. Everyone stared at Ash in amazement as he patted his barely swollen stomach. It was as if he had never eaten the mountain of food!
"W-W-Wh-How?" Bianca couldn't even form a proper sentence as Iris patted her on the back. "Don't worry Bianca, it happened to us too." Iris said as she nodded her head in understanding. The strangest thing was that Ash didn't eat like a glutton, in fact his table manners where quite top notch, making it even more weird how he was able to eat all that food all the while maintaining his table manners.
"You all shouldn't really be surprised, Ash usually eats way more for dinner." Cilan said casually as everyone's eyes widened even further.
"Where the hell does that all go!?" Georgia asked the question which was on everyone's mind, even Iris and Cilan. The food Ash ate daily could hardly be considered vastly nutritious, and did in fact contain a lot of fat. But Ash wasn't fat or even chubby. He had remained rather skinny till his Hoenn journey and it was only in Unova that his body matured enough to start getting visible Muscles.
Stephan was shocked too, but for a completely different matter. 'How did Ash eat more than me!? I had thought I was the person who ate the most in our group but Ash had defeated me once again !' Stephan raged in his mind. 'You are a even more worthier rival than I thought Ash, now I have one more thing I need to defeat you in!'
Even Cameron was shocked, but decided to keep quiet and focus on his own food, because if he looked at Ash for even one second, there was no doubt he would lose his entire appetite.
XXX
I patiently sat on the seat before one of the video phones in the Pokémon centre. I was calling Kanto mom, since there was no doubt she would love to hear the news of my victory.
* RING RING * RING RING *
"Hello, Ketchum Residence." The sweet voice of my mother spoke up as her picture came on the screen. Delia Ketchum was a woman in her 30's. But anyone who saw her beautiful face couldn't mistake her to be more than 20, much less a mother of a 16 year old teenager.
"Hey Mom!" I began with a grin before my mom cut me off with the shrillest squeal she had ever made.
"Ashy! I am ssooo proud of you Honey! And you too Pikachu!" She said with the brightest smile I saw on her face in a long time. But first things first, how did she even know about my victory. As far as I remembered, no foreign league battles where shown when I lived with my mom.
"Thanks mom." "Chu Pikachu!"
"But how did you know mom?" I asked.
"I watched your match silly!" She stated the obvious. "Now every regions League Battles are shown on Television." She added as an explanation.
I nodded in wonder. 'Every region huh. When I left for my journey, I didn't even know about any of the other regions.' I conveniently chose to forget about my less than stellar marks in Geography.
"So how are you mom?" I asked the question probably everyone asked their loved ones after calling.
"I am fine honey, but you Pokémon are not." She said with a stern face.
I almost fell down my chair in shock "What happened to them!?" I asked/demanded.
"They miss you of course!" She said as I almost face-faulted "But now since you have won the league, they are even more anxious to meet you. "
I nodded in understanding 'After all, they are my Pokémon.' Of course they will be excited to see the trophy. But how did they know I won the-
"All of them were so excited when your match was being shown. Samuel set up a large screen and projector in his backyard to watch the match with all your Pokémon. Even Misty and Brock came!"
Mom answered my unasked question; did she read my mind or something? My eyes grew a bit wide when Mom mentioned Brock and Misty, it had been so long since I had talked to them.
I looked at the time, it was almost 12 o'clock. Me, Iris and Cilan had decided to take off on our journey at mid-day, and since it was the beginning of summer, the atmosphere would be perfect of travelling in Unova. The reason being that Unova was a naturally cooler place than Hoenn or Kanto, since it was located in the southern regions.
"Talk to you later mom, Take care!" I said with a smile as I prepared to cut off the phone.
"You too Honey, and by the way when are you returning home?" She asked anxiously, obviously jittery to again see her son in the person after such a long time.
"Me, Iris and Cilan have decided to return to Kanto through the Decolora Islands. So give or take, we will be home in 1 month." I said as I explained to Mom the one month delay. We were originally scheduled to return in one week, but the Decolora Islands were too nice of a place to write off! If only I knew.
"Be safe Ash, and give my love to Iris and Cilan too!" That's my Mom, always so caring and affectionate!
"And don't forget to change your underwear daily Ash!" She said in a cheery tone as she cut off the phone. Damn, sometimes I wonder whether she does that to just embarrass me.
I turned around as sounds of heavy snickering came. Turning around I blushed in embarrassment at seeing all of my friends snickering, heck even Cilan was among them!
" 'Change your underwear Ashyyyyyy' " Cameron said in a poor imitation of my Mom's voice as he and Lucario high-fived at their bad joke.
Well it was bad for me.
"What a kid." Iris said in her usual tone. And for once everyone could actually agree with her.
"Looks like you've got a very doting mother Ash." Georgia deadpanned, in slight disbelief over what she had just heard. It was as if Ash never grew up from the 10 year kid who left his home on his journey in Mrs. Ketchum's eyes.
"Yeah Yeah, veryyyy funny guys. Laugh it up everyone!" I said sarcastically as I waved my hands around, which unfortunately had the wrong effect as everyone actually started laughing harder.
"Tch. Looks like I am not getting the respect I deserve over here Pikachu." I grumbled to my starter who almost snorted as he controlled his own quiet snickering. I however didn't really notice.
"Hmph, let's go outside Pikachu, where my legion of fans must be waiting for me." I said in a regal tone as I walked towards the gates of the Pokémon centre.
"Yeah, as if." Stephan said as he nudged Cameron. Why would Ash have fans?
But to everyone's shock, I was actually mobbed by a group of 6 girls.
All of my friends rushed out to see the unbelievable scene of Ash Ketchum actually having fans. And not only that, female fans.
"Hey look it's the Unova league winner!" A brunette girl said as her friends looked on at Ash in wonder.
"Hello!" I greeted them with a smile, which for some unknown reason made them even happier.
"Wow he's such a cutie, isn't that right Isa?" One of them not-so-subtly whispered to her blonde haired friend.
"Yeah, just look at those cute Z's on his face!" The blonde girl gushed over my birth marks for some reason.
"Well I've got them since my bir-" I tried to explain but was again cut off from one of the girls, who looked at me with a disarmingly beautiful smile.
XXX
What Ash did not know was that these were the exact kind of girls to keep away from if one becomes a famous teen celebrity. But Ash being Ash didn't really know all this and happily accepted the questions and requests of the girls. In all respects, Ash was in no way a bad looking guy; in fact he was quite handsome with his travelling toned body and spiky black hair. But Ash's love for Pokémon and overly innocent upbringing by his mother prevented him from getting into romantic relationships with any of the girls who expressed an interest in him. The fact of the matter was that Ash didn't even know much about male female relationships, other than that couples kissed and spent time together...or something. (1)
His friends looked on in wonder as Ash was gushed over by a gaggle of pretty teenage girls as if he was some teen celebrity. Which he probably is since he in fact is one of the youngest winners of the Unova league till date.
Georgia's eyes twitched when the clueless league winner was made to stand with the girls for many pictures in various poses. The coup came when two of the girls even kissed each one of Ash's cheeks, who was blushing bright red by that time, and got a picture taken.
Finally the girls dispersed, but not before squeezing the life out of Pikachu, apparently happy with their work. Ash walked towards his friends with a normal smile on his face, as if he had not just now been mobbed by hormonal teenage girls.
"Wow, those girls were awfully friendly, huh Pikachu?" The unbelievably naive boy asked his equally dense starter.
Almost everyone twitched at that particular statement, but decided to remain quiet. Spending half a day with Ash had introduced them to more than enough quirks of his; they didn't need to learn more.
XXX
Time Skip: 1 month
I took a deep breath as me and my two companions stood on the hill preceding Pallet Town. The town itself was visible in all its peaceful glory today. A moderately large number of one and two storied houses, with a single multi storied building serving as the city's mall. Visible even from such a great distance was Pallet Town's greatest landmark, Professor Samuel Oak's lab.
"A wonderful mixture of peace and quiet, you town makes up for a unique flavour indeed Ash!" Cilan couldn't help but pour his heart out at the seeing the beautiful town, untouched by the pollution ridden machinery from larger cities, and unharmed from major gangs due to Professor Oak's and a great number of seasoned trainer's presence.
I smiled at Cilan's odd explanation. I had gotten rather used to his eccentric speeches and behaviour, it was all a part of his profession. Being a sommelier was not an easy job, and to see Cilan's passion for it made my heart glow-
Dammit now I am talking like him too!
Our little detour through the Decolora Islands turned out to be anything, but. Between foiling Team Plasma's plans, changing N's ideals regarding Pokémon trainers, stopping and making friends with Genesect, and meeting a female Mewtwo, our detour turned into another adventure in itself.
And for that matter, I will have to remember to inform Mewtwo, the original one, about another one of its species existing…that is if we ever meet again.
I shook my head as I walked with practised ease towards my home. Since I had already informed Mom about our arrival in Pewter City, there was no chance of her not being at home!
XXX
I walked rather embarrassed towards Professor Oak's lab. It turned out neither Mom nor Mr. Mime was present at home. So the only other place I could go to was Oak's lab, which had the added benefit of meeting all of my Pokémon.
But much to my confusion, neither Professor Oak nor Tracie was present in the lab. "Where the heck is everyone?" I was actually getting worried now.
"Did you tell your Mom the correct time of your arrival Ash?" Iris asked with concern.
I furrowed my brows as I tried to remember "I'm pretty sure that I did. Strange thing is that even Brock wasn't present at the Pewter Gym."
Suddenly Pikachu's ears twitched as it jumped off my shoulder. "What's the matter Pikachu?" Cilan asked to the yellow rodent.
Pikachu didn't say anything, muttering a mild 'Pika' it started running towards the direction where the gate separating the lab and the fields was present.
"H-hey Pikachu, wait up!" I shouted as I ran after my renegade Pokémon, Iris and Cilan following close after me.
"Pika PIKACHU!" Pikachu yelled as it jumped on the door, opening it.
"What's the matter Pikachu? Why we-"I was by a loud group chorus.
"SURPRISE!" Came a large muddled voice. I looked with a bright smile as I saw all of my previous travelling companions, bar Max, standing before me, with a huge 'CONGRATULATIONS ASH KETCHUM' poster hanging between two poles present in the field.
"Whoa! How are all you guys here!? I asked in amazement. Last I heard, Dawn was in Hoenn, May in Johto and Brock off to be a Pokémon Doctor. Not to forget Misty had her duties as the Cerulean City Gym Leader.
"Well silly, you didn't expect us to not come to congratulate you, did you?" Dawn asked as she giggled, probably at my gaping fish expression. Dawn started walking towards me. Dawn's outfit was the same as the one she wore during our Sinnoh adventures, just the colour of top was changed from Black to White. But she somehow looked...different. (1). We did our usual Hi-Five, but for some reason her fingers got entwined with my own, which even strangely caused her cheeks to glow red.
"Pip-Piplup!" Piplup exclaimed from its position between Dawn's arms. Piplup was happy to meet again after so many months. After Dawn and her Mom, Ash and Brock were his favourite persons, not to mention his best friend Pikachu!
"Congratulations at winning the league Ash! You really deserved to win." May said with a genuine smile as she started moving towards me. May's outfit was also similar to the one she wore during the time we met in Sinnoh for the Wallace cup, but the colour scheme was green instead of orange. But I couldn't help but notice the same strange ...differences in her like Dawn.(2)
"Yeah Ash, you finally achieved the first part of your dream Ash. We are all very happy for you!" Brock said with a proud smile as he looked towards his younger brother in all but blood.
"You certainly have come a long way from the little kid I caught on my fishing pole 6 years ago, Ash" Misty joked as she came near me. Misty's outfit had not changed much since the time I met her in Hoenn, but she had grown taller and somehow looked different, just like May and Dawn.(3)
"Well then I must be your greatest catch yet Misty!" I said with a grin, but much to my confusion she didn't grin back or even get angry. Rather, her cheeks too glowed red just like Dawn's.
"Well, who are the two people behind you Ash?" May asked curiously as she looked at Iris and Cilan.
"Huh-wha-Oh yeah, guys meet Iris and Cilan. They were my travelling partners throughout my Unova Adventures!" I said as Iris and Cilan moved forwards to meet up with my older companions.
I however had a question to ask to May "Hey May, where's Max?" I asked.
"Max has already left on his Pokémon journey Ash." She replied.
"Wow! Really? What did he choose as his starter?" I asked with excitement.
May giggled at seeing Ash so excited, it was just so Ash-ish "He chose Treecko, they are already quite a team you know. He said that it was after seeing your Sceptile that he decided on Treecko." May explained.
Ash smiled at that. Sceptile is indeed one of his strongest Pokémon, not to mention fastest. But then a sudden thought came to his mind. "But then what about Ralts?"
"He is planning to take him once he meets him on his journey."
"And what about you May?" I asked one of my best friends who I was seeing after a couple of years.
"I've been fine. You know, the usual, competing in Contests, defeating Harley and Drew." She said in a casual tone of voice.
I chuckled "I'm sure May. You're one of the best co-ordinator I have ever met." I said in a genuine tone.
May suddenly grew sad at that. "But that wasn't enough for me to win the Grand Festival." She said as she bitterly remembered her semi-final finish.
"No need to worry, May." I said, taking a page out of my bluenette friend "You should be really proud of your achievements; I wasn't able to reach the top four until fifth year of my journey! You are much more talented than 90% of the people I have met May, both you and Dawn." I said as I put a hand on May's shoulder, making her turn red for some reason.
"T-Thanks Ash." May said as she smiled at Ash. Truth be told, she really missed Ash, Brock and Max's constant support while in Johto. The worst thing was that Ash wasn't there to cheer her up when Harley constantly tried to put her down, and that really affected her performance many times. But she also knew that she had to get used to such things if she really wanted to achieve something big. Being dependent on others will never allow her to reach her true potential.
True, Drew was there for her many times, and even supported her on her Contests.
But that didn't mean that she didn't miss them… and him.
XXX
"So you're the new girl who travelled with Ash." Misty said as she looked at the purple haired girl.
"Hello, I'm Misty Waterflower, the Cerulean City gym leader. I travelled with Ash during his Kanto, Johto and Orange Island journeys." Misty said with a smile as she introduced herself to the long haired dark skinned girl.
"We've already met, but for the sake of formality, I'm Dawn and I travelled with Ash on his Sinnoh Journeys!" Dawn said with a bright smile as she hugged Iris.
"I'm May Maple, nice to meet you! I travelled with Ash during his Hoenn and Kanto Battle Frontier Journeys." May introduced herself as she shook hands with Iris. She had managed to remove the light flush from her face as she had walked back to the girls, not intending to give them the wrong idea.
"Nice to meet you all, I'm Iris, and I travelled with Ash through Unova!" Iris formally introduced herself with a smile.
"Axew Ax!" The three girls were startled as the green dinosaurian Pokémon emerged from Iris's wild hair.
Iris giggled at Axew. "Oh yeah, and this is my partner Axew!" The three girls smiled at the cute little Pokémon as he jumped off Iris to meet up with the Unovan Pokémon of Ash.
"So, how was it travelling with Ash?" Dawn asked. Misty and May were intrigued too.
Iris touched her chin with her finger as she took on a thinking pose. "Well, it was pretty nice. Although we did get into some serious trouble many times."
"Yeah, we can attest to that." Misty said with a knowing smile.
"So, um, what do you think about Ash?" May asked with a tone that immediately made the other two girls pay attention as well.
Iris was confused by the rather sudden question, but answered nonetheless "He is a pretty nice guy, and always helps his friends." Iris said with a smile as she remembered all the times Ash had helped her out. "But he could really be such a kid sometimes, ya know." She added with a sigh. The Cottonee incident and the later on his interaction with those girls really proved her beliefs.
Dawn was confused by this statement of Iris, after travelling with Ash through Sinnoh, she could hardly consider Ash immature. It took a whole lot of courage to face Team Galactic. Not to mention the gods known as Arceus, Dialga, Palkia and Giratina. For god's sake he rode on Giratina's head!
May and Misty were of similar minds. May still remembered the time Ash pushed her into the escape capsule selflessly to save her life. That moment was easily the most terrifying one of her life, not only was she scared for her own life, but most of all of Ash's. She had never been more relieved than when she saw Ash emerge from the sea. And later on, the incident with Groudon was fresh in her mind.
"What do you mean by that Iris?" Dawn asked with a confused tone.
Iris sighed as she began to tell the girls about how Ash had perceived the emotions of the Cottonee they met, as well as his obliviousness to the girls' true motives. By the end the trio didn't know whether to laugh or hand their heads in despair at the level of naïveté their friend (?) showed.
As Iris noted the rather obvious show of emotions on the girls' faces, a glint entered her eyes. As Dawn and Misty took their leave to meet with Cilan and Ash, she looked at May with a devious smile, who sweated nervously.
"Uhm, W-What's the matter Iris?" May asked rather nervously at seeing the expression on her new friend's face.
"So that's why you asked me that question, huh May." Iris said as she raised her eyebrows in a knowing manner.
"W-What?"
"So you like him huh?" Iris asked in a rather normal tone.
"H-HUH?!" May was shocked at the bluntness of the purple haired girl.
"You like him, that's why you asked me about how I felt about Ash." She said as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. In any other situation, it might even have been funny.
"N-no! I mean yes, of course I like him, he's my friend!" May exclaimed as she furiously nodded her head.
"Oh come on, don't play shy with me May, I promise I won't tell him." Iris said as she put her hand on May's shoulder to placate the older girl who had turned red by this point.
"W-Well, I-I might like him a little bit." May said as she poked her fingers shyly. She didn't even think about how a girl she had just met made her say one of her biggest secrets. The fact of the matter was that no one had ever asked her about her feeling about Ash so bluntly before, so it was not as if she had a ton of practise denying it.
Iris smiled at May with a smile too genuine to be real. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it? But what are you going to do about the other two?" Iris asked as a small frown appeared on May's face.
"What other two?" May asked.
"Well, you know, Dawn and Misty." Iris said in a whispering tone as she pointed towards the two girls chatting animatedly with Ash, who had just been mauled by his various Pokémon.
May was rather stunned by the revelation. "They like Ash too!?"
Iris shook her head in exasperation, were all of Ash's friends, except her, little kids?
XXX
"So you're Cilan huh. Nice to meet the guy who took over my job to feeding the bottomless pit known as Ash's stomach!" Brock said good naturedly as he shook hands with the green haired sommelier.
"And I'm Tracy, I travelled with Ash during the time we visited the Orange Islands. Tracy said as he smiled at Cilan.
Cilan smiled "It's nice to meet you two too. Ash talked a lot of times about how he could never choose between mine and your cooking." Cilan added with a laugh.
"That's Ash for you, Pokémon and Food, the two main things in his life!"
XXX
I stood alone on a bare patch of earth. It was as if even the grass knew not to grow in such a potentially dangerous place. Pikachu had already jumped off my shoulder and was standing a safe distance away, even he didn't have the courage to face the danger I was acing right now.
The yearly affectionate mobbing of me by my ever growing number of Pokémon.
Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, Kingler, Bulbasaur and just about each and every one of my Pokémon nuzzled me. I was lucky that Snorlax was lazy enough to stay a safe distance back. But all of 30 Tauros were unfortunately full of energy and thus didn't hold back.
"Alright! Alright! Cut it out guys!" I yelled in vain as my Pokémon kept hugging me to their hearts content, Bayleef and Muk being the most emotional ones.
Finally happy, my Pokémon let go of me as they stood in a large circle surrounding me. It was a tradition we had developed since Hoenn, each year I would introduce my newly caught Pokémon to the older ones.
Suddenly a relatively harmless Flamethrower hit me in the face, singing my upper clothes and hair.
Wait a minute. A Flamethrower? Infernape, Quilava and Torkoal never hit me, so it could only be-
"Charizard!" I yelled happily as I turned around to hug my first Fire Type. I had sent back Charizard after a couple of weeks since I had wanted to spent more time with Garchomp. I had expected Charizard to return to Charicific valley, so it was a pleasant surprise to me to see Charizard was still here with his older friends.
"Chaaa." The normally brutal Charizard nuzzled his trainer happily. Ash was the one and only person Charizard ever allowed to touch him like this. Not even Liza had this privilege. He could probably allow Brock and Misty, but only because Brock made such good food and Misty, well, because she could get absolutely bat-shit crazy if denied something she really wants.
Yeah, even Charizard knew better than to anger Misty. Facing a Hyper Beam happy Tyranitar was a better option for him.
"We've got some new friends guys, so I want you all to welcome them into our family and make friends with them, OK?" I asked my Pokémon as they enthusiastically yelled their names in response.
Ash didn't know it, but whenever his Pokémon heard him call them his family, it warmed their hearts immensely.
I threw the 5 Pokeballs that were present on my belt. "Dewott, Pignite, Leavanny, Krookodile, Garchomp, come on out!" The five figures of varying sizes materialized from their respective Pokeballs.
"Snivy, Unfezant, Scraggy, Palpitoad and Boldore, come and join your friends." I ordered as the five Pokémon duly came and stood in a line with their friends. Garchomp got the gist of what was happening as he left the group to go stand with the Sinnoh Pokémon.
I watched with happiness as Buizel sized up Dewott, who did the same. No doubt both of them sensing each other's competitive nature and love for battling. Pignite and Infernape fist bumped, both of them happy to get a perfect sparring partner, seeing as both of them had dual Fire/Fighting Typing. Leavanny and Snivy joined my other grass types, Snivy already familiar with them and Leavanny quickly making herself a favourite due to her nature of making cool Poke-clothes.
Boldore and Krookodile stalked off somewhere, neither of them particularly eager to make friends. I hoped that would change soon. Unfezant also rejoined her previous place on the tree where his other flying types rested.
Pikachu himself had gathered a large group of Pokémon including those of Dawn, May and Misty. It was something Pikachu did every year. He made the entire Pokémon available gather in a group and recount to them the various adventures and Legendaries they came across while travelling in the new region. Most of the Pokémon were in disbelief when Pikachu said that Cilan's food was almost as good as Brock's. They hadn't thought such a thing to be possible!
Scraggy however stayed by my side. I saw that a few tears were leaking down its face. I knelt down to its level. "Hey Buddy." I greeted him gently.
Scraggy didn't reply, it merely jumped at me with all its strength and hugged me tight. "What's the matter Scraggy, don't you wanna make new friends?" I asked Scraggy. Frankly I was getting scared by his behaviour. Was he sick?
Thankfully my worries were put to rest as a voice I knew from a long time spoke up. "It's because Scraggy recognises you as his parent Ash."
"But how come, Professor Oak?" I asked, confused.
"Since it was you who Scraggy saw first after hatching, and you again who raised him, Scraggy naturally sees you as his parent." Professor Oak said, going in his Professor mode.
"But then why was he crying?" I asked the second question which was bugging me the most.
"You left him for many days in my ranch Ash, naturally Scraggy must have missed you a lot."
"I see." I muttered as a wave of guilt passed over me. I hugged my shaking Pokémon tighter, which almost immediately made him happy.
"I am so sorry buddy." I apologised to Scraggy, who by now had passed the stage of raging emotions and was now blushing in embarrassment over its overemotional display.
"Scraggy Scrag." Which basically translated into 'It's alright father.'
Unfortunately, me and my Pokémon were caught during our bonding time by two of my best girl friends.
"Aww...How cute!" Dawn gushed over me and Scraggy while Misty looked impressed.
"You really take good care of your Pokémon Ash." She commented.
I smiled back as Scraggy motioned for me to put him down. Almost immediately he ran away, his face a deep scarlet over being seen by so many people. He was the hoodlum Pokémon dammit!
"So how've you two been Dawn, Mist?" I asked my two friends as I motioned for them to sit beside me.
"Fine!" Both said almost simultaneously, which made all of us chuckle. "And what about you Ash? Knowing you, you must have gotten into some serious crime fighting in Unova too," Dawn lightly teased as she sat on my right. Misty didn't even wait to hear the answer, it was so predictable. She took the seat on my right.
I grinned. "You got that right Dawn, there was this crazy team called Team Plasma, and it's even crazier leader Ghetsis! Their goal, which seemed somewhat nice at first, was Pokémon Liberation..." By the time I finished my story, both of the girls were in disbelief that any organisation could even dream of something as radical as Pokémon Liberation. More than 95% of the trainers treated their Pokémon with love and respect. The few who abused their Pokémon were mostly caught and spent long terms in jail. But unfortunately few got away, giving bad name to the masses.
Pokémon were naturally inclined for battle. Being captured by trainers provided them a safe environment for such and also timely nutritious food. Each Pokémon also dreamed of being the strongest of its kind, which was never possible while remaining in the wild. Also, Pokémon battles extremely rarely resulted in death of battling Pokémon, while territorial battles had a much higher mortality rate. It also helped create an unprecedented bond between the sentient creatures and human beings.
"But you must admit Ash, as horrible as Team Plasma was, they didn't match up to Team Galactic. I mean they literally tried to erase our universe and create a new one!" Dawn said in a matter of fact tone as Misty's jaw dropped.
"Are you serious Dawn?" She asked in an incredulous tone to my bluenette friend. Me an d dawn proceeded to tell Misty about the events with the Lake Trio and the Red Chain. Misty listened with horrified fascination as a shiver made up her spine at the thought of Glactic's Plans actually coming true!
"There's no saying what they could have achieved with Dialga and Palkia under their control." I said seriously "Remember, Alamos Town Dawn?" I asked to the girl on my right.
"That was a scary experience alright." She said as a dry chuckle escaped her throat.
"I thought that I would die Dawn, but you really saved my life back there." I said as I remembered the particular incidence where I was nearly blown off due to the intensity of Dialga and Palkia's attacks.
She blushed a bit at the memory, where she held Ash's hands and he held her own. Truth be told, she had never been more scared in her life than at that particular moment. Meeting the Pokémon who were known to create the very universe, along with Arceus himself, was something she won't forget, ever.
Suddenly Dawn's eyes went on Buizel, who was staring back at her. It was then that I remembered that Buizel used to be Dawn's Pokémon before I exchanged Ambipom for it. "Go and meet him Dawn. Buizel must be very happy seeing you after such a long time."
Dawn happily nodded and went to greet her former Pokémon, who jumped into her arms with affection. This left me and Misty sitting quietly together. I decided to indulge her into a question as well. "So how are things at the gym Mist?"
"Truth be told Ash, after hearing about your adventures in Unova and Sinnoh, my life at the gym feels extremely boring. I really miss the days I spent travelling with you, Brock and Pikachu, nothing could compare with that." She said with a sad smile and took a moment to curse her sister for leaving her burdened with their responsibilities, even though she actually liked the gym.
I frowned at seeing the sad expression on Misty's face. I took one of her hands into my own, eliciting a startled gasp from her. "You know you could travel with me anytime Misty." I said genuinely as I looked into her eyes. I had read somewhere that saying something good while looking into the other person's eyes makes them believe it.
But it had another effect on Misty. Her face flushed red at the closeness between her and Ash's face, intensified by the fact that Ash was holding her hand. "I-I ah-Thank you Ash." She said back with a light stutter as she diverted her gaze.
I smiled at hearing those words. But a sudden cough caught both mine and Misty's attention. I turned to see my oldest and fiercest rival, but now friend, Gary Oak. He was looking at us with an amused smile, which immediately made Misty retract her hands from mine and take her leave as I watched on in confusion.
"You work fast Ashy Boy." Gary said with a knowing grin. He had arrived way back and had been observing the various girls interaction with Ash, as well as eavesdropping on Iris's and May's talk. He didn't have a particular reason to do so, it just felt as the fun thing to do at the time.
"Work fast? What?" I asked in confusion. This only made Gary shake his head. Dammit I hate it when people treat me like an Idiot!
"Leave it Ashy Boy. And by the way congratulations at winning the league Ash." Gary said with a smirk as he extended his hand, which I shook strongly. "Thanks Gary, it wasn't easy I can tell you that."
"I know, I saw your match." Gary said casually.
"What!? You did?" I asked incredulously. By that point on we endlessly discussed my various strategies during the battle. It was as if me and Gary were kids again. Discussing the various fine points of the battle we saw on Television those days was our favourite past time. Now that Gary was a researcher, his knowledge of Pokémon far surpassed mine, so it was mostly him who gave reviews on my 6vs6 against Virgil.
"So how's your research coming along Gary?" I asked as a way of diverting Gary from a particularly scathing speech about how I shouldn't have continued Leavanny against Flareon.
This had the intended effect as Gary's trademark smirk returned. "You wouldn't believe it Ashy Boy, but I and my fellow researchers have made a great breakthrough into the technology involved in reviving fossil Pokémon." Gary was rather confused at seeing the terrified expression on Ash's face. "What's the matter Ash?"
"Don't get me wrong Gary, but I think that fossil Pokémon should be left to Rest in Peace." I said with seriousness. Genesect were crazy strong Pokémon, and with the additional enhancements done to them even more. And although I had made friends with them after the misunderstanding was over, it would have been best if they had never been revived.
"You're being vague Ashy Boy, tell me what happened." Gary almost demanded. Gary had heard of the various adventures Ash fell into with Legendary Pokémon, and it was safe to say that Gary was very jealous.
"Do you know anything about a Pokémon called Genesect?"
XXX
Gary stood dumbfounded at the newfound knowledge that Genesect, a Pokémon extinct from millions of years, was not only alive, but a whole group was so.
"Ash, I know that this has been said many times before, but your idiocy is perhaps unrivalled by anyone, Pokémon or Human." Gary said with utmost seriousness as he sympathetically clapped his hands on Ash's shoulder.
"What! Why?" I was shocked by the sudden insult from Gary. Hadn't we put this behind us?
"Look back at your adventures Ash; you've seen almost every legendary Pokémon known of. If that isn't something extraordinary then I don't know what it. Do you even know how much you could contribute in the scientific society if you share your knowledge with the Grandpa, or even me!? You could help solve so many mysteries Ash. Heck, probably the only legendary you might have not seen is Arceus!" Gary added with a laugh in the end. But the laugh started dying down when he looked at Ash, who was sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
"Well, actually." I started.
"God fucking dammit." Gary rubbed his forehead at the godly luck of Ash.
XXX
Gary was almost in a coma by the time I finished retelling my experience at Alamos, then with Giratina and the reverse world and finally the one where Arceus woke up and almost destroyed the world in its rage.
"Why?" He asked in a whisper.
"Why what?" I asked in confusion. Why was Gary acting so oddly anyways?
"Why didn't you tell anyone about this?" He added another whisper.
"Is it really that important?" I asked as a frown made its way to my face.
Gary twitched. Most Professors he knew would sell their left nut to meet and befriend half as many Legendaries as Ash had met. And this moron was asking him is it important?
Gary didn't say anything, he just broke down into sobs and dragged Ash's ass to Professor Oak's lab.
XXX
1 hour later
I twitched from the place on the couch. Both Professor Oak and Gary were frothing from their mouths as they lay unconscious on the ground. First of all Gary had forced me to tell Professor Oak about my Sinnoh adventures. While they started writing crazily on a notepad, Gary urged me to tell about my every experience with Legendary Pokémon, which I gladly retold. Well except Mewtwo, I wouldn't break my promise to him to keep his existence a secret. I guessed that the Fem Mewtwo I met with Iris and Cilan counted in that too, so I just left out Fem. Mewtwo's role in stopping Genesect.
That made it pretty hard, actually. With the Fem Mewtwo 'evolving', so to say, the story seemed even more prudent to keep a secret. I think that the time to meet the original Mewtwo was rapidly approaching. He would surely be excited to meet another member of his...'species', and not to mention know about the possibility of a higher power state for him...
The thought made me shudder in mild horror. While Fem Mewtwo was strong, and even stronger in her evolved state, I had no doubt that my Charizard and Garchomp combined could have given her an adequate challenge. The Champions wouldn't have had problem with their strongest Pokémon.
But the original Mewtwo... That was the pure definition of what a Pokémon could be after reaching the levels that only the Creation Trio of Sinnoh had reached. Mewtwo wasn't bluffing when he said that he could destroy Kanto, it was only luck that Mew came to duel him. If Mewtwo achieved his own Evolution, even the Champions combined would not have been able to take him on.
Both of the Oak's eyes had kept on widening as I continued telling them about my experiences, at one point Professor Oak had snatched my Pokedex from me and plugged it into a computer, after which their breathing had also gotten heavier. By the time I finished recounting my meeting with Zekrom, Reshiram and Victini; Gary had already passed out, with Professor Oak following soon after learning about Genesect.
I sighed as I leant back into the couch I was sitting on. Since all of my Pokémon were out in the fields, I had to wait for the normal amount of time it could take Gary and Professor Oak to wake up from their temporary coma. I looked around the room which I had seen countless amount of times since my childhood.
My mother, Delia Ketchum, had been a student of Professor Oak in her childhood and teenage years. Thus it was with no surprise that I was a frequent visitor to his lab in my younger days and first developed my love for Pokémon. Professor Oak's Dragonite was my absolute favourite at that time. Although his Charizard always looked as if he knew me already, which was quite strange.(4) It was also here that I first met Gary. The room had changed a lot in the last 10 years. A lot of new charts and updated models depicting various scientific mumbo-jumbo were newly established in the room. But my eyes felt on an official looking brochure kept on the table. As I picked it up, my eyes widened at seeing to whom it was addressed to, as well as a Pokémon League Letter falling out of it.
I opened up the letter, which was also addressed to me, and started reading through it. By the time I finished reading my mind was in a similar state as both the Oaks.
"Dear Mr. Ash Ketchum,
We sincerely hope that this letter reaches to you as fast as possible. The matter is about your victory in the Vertress conference. As you might have expected, you do indeed have the chance to challenge the Elite Four and potentially the champion, Alder.
But since the decennial Pokémon Champion's league is also coming up in one year, we have after much deliberation decided to postpone your challenge for after the Champion's League. That is of course if you still wish to take part in it at that time. Rest assured, your fellow league victors have also been sent the same letter which you are receiving now. We are very sorry, but this is not negotiable.
Your Elite Four Challenge will remain open for 5 years from the date you won the Vertress Conference, we hope that is an adequate compensation for the gross injustice we are doing in not allowing you to take the challenge which is rightfully yours.
But as the Pokémon Champions League is an event of utmost prestige and honour, it simply takes precedence over any other. Champion Alder wished to add his own words regarding this decision, we have attached the letter with our own, please read it.
We also wish for you to take a look at the brochure we have sent with this letter. Such a brochure is also being sent to every Pokémon trainer registered in our official Database till date. The reason for this will become clearer if you take the time to carefully read the brochure.
Additionally, if you manage to make it to the stages where you can challenge the Elite Four and Champions, any victory over a Unovan Elite Four will be taken into consideration.
We of the Pokémon League, thank you for your co-operation.
John Dale, Managing Director,
Pokémon League"
I was in shock over the sudden turn of events. Here I was, totally ready to spend my two month at Pallet Town, training for my Elite Four Challenge, and now they are saying its Postponed? And not only me, every other league victor of this year?
What the frig?
I decided that reading Alder's letter was more important than reading the brochure, it was not every day that one gets a letter from the Champion himself!
"Dear Ashton,
I twitched. However, the scrawny style of writing immediately solidified it that it was indeed the Champion who had written to him.
That, and the 'Ashton'...
"First and foremost, I would like to congratulate you Ashton on winning the Unova League. I must say, I hadn't pegged you to be a league winner in the beginning, but boy am I glad I was proven wrong!
Lance, Cynthia and Wallace, all have expressed similar opinions about you, kid. While me and Wallace were not able to participate in life threatening adventures with you (unlike Cynthia and Lance!) We both recognise the talent that you display in battling, as well as the bonds you share your Pokémon. I would have loved to face the Legendary Trio of Unova though...
However, my letter is also regarding another very important matter. The Pokémon Champions League is a very important and historic competition son, and to put miss it for something like an Elite Four Challenge is simply unacceptable. Especially since you can take it immediately after wards! The Pokémon Champions League is something that will allow you to explore your skills to an extreme you would never have dreamed before! Why, I still remember my first Champions League. I didn't get too far, but let me tell you this- that was the competition that led me on my way to what I am today.
I hope that my words help to motivate you Ashton, because I will accept nothing less than a stellar performance from you in the Champions League!
P.S- Between you and me, I totally think that you could have beaten the Unova Elite Four ;)
Unova Champion,
Alder."
I smiled as I read Alder's letter. A small part of me was shocked that Alder could have written such a nicely worded and thoughtful letter, but I concluded that such things must have been a part of his Champion duty. The part about Cynthia and Lance advocating about me really pumped me up, and even Wallace, although I had a really brief meeting with him...
Suddenly, I looked at the brochure. Alder too regarded the Pokémon Champions League as something of extreme importance, and the League Letter said that all the information would be present in the Brochure...
I furiously reached for the brochure to make any sense of the situation I was in. Nothing could have really prepared me for what I was about to read next.
"Greetings Pokémon Trainers, Co-ordinators, and Gym Leaders!
As you all may or may not know, the prestigious Pokémon Champion's League is an event taking place every 10 years to see just who is the best trainer in the whole wide world. Till now, 54 Pokémon Champion's League's have taken place, all but the last two of them have been closed affairs and with much restriction.
The minimum requirement for the Champion's League before was for a trainer to have reached top four in a regional league, as well as top 8 in two more. Also the trainer was required to have at least 32 badges, showing participation in 4 regional leagues.
But no more! Under the new management taking charge over the Pokémon League, it has been decreed that any Pokémon Trainer with experience of 1 second to 1 Century can take part in the Pokémon Champion's League! In the tournament, no one is a Gym Leader nor a Newbie. All are Pokémon Trainers, and thus will compete at an equal level. This, our friends, will make it a 'True' Tournament. Everyone will have a fair chance of winning!
The only ones excused are the Elite Four and the Champions. This has been done to even out the playing field in the lower levels of the battles. Since the Champions League takes part over a number of months, we believe that even lower level trainers could make them strong enough after getting a taste of the competition. So to include the Elite Four and the Champions in the earlier stages would be grossly unfair to a number of young battlers and co-ordinators.
The details are given at the end.
Many of you might be confused over how such a large event could take place and not take more than year.
The answer is that the Pokémon Champion's League will take place in two levels.
1. The first level is the one where Gym Leaders, Trainers and Co-ordinators will battle it out in various modes of battles ranging from 2 vs2 to full 6vs6. The preliminary stage will be the one where knockout battles will take place over a course of five days, after which trainers will be randomly divided into groups of five. From each group two people will qualify for the following rounds, in which the Gym leaders will be entering. The knockout battles with the Gym leaders will finally determine the Trainers, Co-ordinators and Gym leaders reaching the second level.
This level will be known as the Pokémon World Tournament.
2. The second level will be the one where the select Trainers will be drawn against the Elite four and Champions. This also means that there might be potential battles between the Elite Four and Champions themselves even in the first round of second level! The final victor of the second level will be the one to have his/her name forever written in the echelons of history and truly considered the Pokémon Master of the world.
This level will be known as the Elite Battlers Conference.
We sincerely hope that all of the Pokémon Trainers reading this come to take part in the once in a lifetime event.
Thank you.
My hands shook as I tried to fully grasp what I was reading. Fuck the Elite Four; here I have a chance to take on the Champions League, something happening once a decade. Here I really had the chance of emblazoning my name in the history books. Here I have the chance to actually become a Pokémon Master...
*Thump*
Ash's 16 year old mind couldn't really take all this information, and he, just like Gary and Professor Oak, fainted. But unfortunately, as he fell from his seat, he didn't touch the ground rather he fell on something much... softer.
XXX
Dawn looked around the lab for any sign of Ash, Gary or Professor Oak. The trio were missing for quite a while now and Ms. Ketchum had sent her to look for them
'Just where are you Ashy.' She thought, but it was just a split second later that it dawned (5) on her mind what she had called Ash. 'Oh my god! Even I am thinking like Mom now, ugh dammit. And Ashy is way too corny of a name anyw-AAH WHAT AM I THINKING!' Dawn shook her head to get rid of the thoughts as she knocked on the door to Professor Oak's study.
"Ash? Are you in there?" She asked softly, but received no response.
She was about to move to other rooms, but suddenly she noticed that Ash's sneakers along with two other pairs of shoes were opened outside the room. She opened the door and took a peek inside, only to rush in when she saw Professor Oak fallen on the floor.
"Oh no! Professor, are you all right?" She asked as she shook the unconscious Professor. Her worry increasing she moved forward to look for Ash and Gary only to freeze in her steps when her eyes fell on the scene.
"Okay I will close my eyes, count to ten and all this will turn out to be an illusion." She confidently said to herself as she did the same.
When her eyes opened again, the horrible scene in front of her hadn't changed for one bit. Gary was lying on the floor, with Ash lying over him. But the thing which nearly caused Dawn's mind to shut down was that Ash's mouth was on Ga-
"T-This...T-This can't be real. No. NO! NOooooooooooooooo!" Dawn gave a last girly shriek as she fell face down, unable to see the atrociousness of her crush doing something like this.
XXX
TBC
A/N: Here it is guys! The second chapter. I hope that you all enjoyed it. If not, please give me a review telling me what exactly it was that I did wrong. Because in all seriousness friends, I can't really know what I am doing wrong until someone points it out to me.
And how did you like it, PearlShipping, AdvanceShipping, PokeShipping and, much to my own disgust PalletShipping, all in one chapter! However I wish to make it very clear right now that there will be no YAOI scenes in my story. It will always be used for at the most, Comic relief.
Many of you might be wondering- 'Why doesn't Ash know about the Champions League if it such a prestigious event?' Now, before you start chasing me with pitchforks and AK-47s, let me explain it to you, in very simple words. Ash is young. The last Champions League took place when he was 5-6 years old. Also, I have told that the Champions League was a very closed affair before this year, and that widespread TV technology wasn't developed as well. So it is completely possible that Ash doesn't know about it...
(1)(2)(3)- Our long time friend Ash Ketchum is finally noticing the maturing bodies of his long time female friends.
(4)- Yeah, the Charmeleon from the Celebi Movie.
(5)- No pun intended!
