A Hero's Resolve

by Thecactusman

After losing in the Sinnoh League, Ash starts a new journey alone. After thee years have passed, he bumps into Scott who tells him about an upcoming tournament. Deciding to reunite with his friends and end his current journey, Ash agrees to participate. With the best trainers the world over participating, does Ash have what it takes to pull off the victory? Ash/Anabel

4. Chapter 4

This is where I would expect more major edits to begin taking place. Any events that I change I will leave a note about at the bottom

Chapter 4

Hey guys, I have a request. Can someone send me a list of all the different shipping's and who they involve? I'm new to this whole thing and haven't figured them all out yet. Please and thank you.

I am making quite a bit of progress here. Not even a week into it and the story already has over 30,000 words in it. I'm proud of myself.

Now, let this progress I have been making continue.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

-Practice fields-

As the final week before the tournament nears its end, we find a group of trainers down on a practice field. The group consists of Max, May, Misty, Gary, Brock, Dawn, Paul, and Anabel. During the week of training, Anabel had begun to find a place in the small group of friends and Paul had even warmed up to them slightly. The group appears to be happy, but tension can be felt once you get close enough.

After spending a week training, the four entrants in the competition are feeling the stress and pressure that is building, even if some of them are better at hiding it. Never before had such a competition been held, so even those used to dealing with pressure were finding it stressful.

For most of the morning, the group had been chatting idly about nothing in particular, however, that changed when Max asked Brock a question. "Hey Brock, how goes the healing of Five's Pikachu?"

The mention of the still mysterious man brought everyone's focus back to the conversation. Although Five had been around, he never stayed for long and he wasn't much for talking. In fact, several people in the group were beginning to believe that the man was avoiding them. Still, Brock answered the question, "Pikachu is getting better. It's slow progress, but he is beginning to show signs of improvement. If he can keep it up, he should be able to fight again by the end of the tournament."

Gary then butted in, "Hey Brock, do you know where Five is? I've been meaning to talk to him but he hasn't been around enough for me to do so."

Brock pointed to the forest, "Go straight in that way until you find a creek. Follow the creek until he finds you. If he isn't there, then I don't know where he is."

Gary nodded, "Thanks Brock. I'll be back in a bit, but for now, I'm off to go find Five." He then left the group and walked into the forest.

After walking for about 20 minutes, Gary found the creek and could hear the sounds of battle from up ahead. Deciding that he was going the right way, he followed the creek upstream. Before he could make it to the sounds of battle though, a figure stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

Gary looked at the man in front of him and spoke, "Hey Five, I've been meaning to talk to you but I haven't been able to find a good time, so I decided to look for you."

Ash sighed, "Okay, well you found me. What can I do for you?"

Gary thought about that before answering, "Well, as you may or may not know, I'm a Pokémon researcher. I was wondering if I could look at your Pikachu and see how his injury has affected him. Or maybe I could measure the temperature of Houndoom's fire. Things like that."

Ash laughed, "I guess you can, although for now you're going to have to stick with Pikachu because Houndoom is busy training." With that, the Pikachu on Ash's shoulder jumped over to Gary to be examined.

Gary looked over Pikachu and seemed to focus on the Pokémon's face. He then proceeded to poke and prod the poor guy until Pikachu let out a small thundershock. Ash laughed at the sight, but Gary got a triumphant smile.

"Just as I thought," he announced. "At first, you reminded me a lot of my old rival and friend Ash Ketchum. After a few days though, I began to wonder if perhaps you were him and that is why you seemed so friendly and yet also seemed to be avoiding us. If you had wanted to remain secret from me, you shouldn't have handed your Pikachu over to a trained researcher. I can differentiate between almost all of the different Pokémon of each species I have met. It is obvious to me that this is none other than Ash's Pikachu, meaning that you are Ash."

Ash groaned, "Fine. You got me, but please don't tell anyone. I'm going to tell them soon, but it's still too early."

Gary smirked, "Well Ashey-boy, I won't tell them, but you have to do a few things for me first."

"Fine. What do you want from me?"

Gary smiled, "It's quite simple. I want to see your current party of Pokémon. I also want to know how Pikachu got injured and what you have been doing the past three years."

Ash thought about the requests before giving in, "Fine, but don't tell anyone what I tell you and show you. They will all know about it soon enough. Pikachu got his scar and injury from Team Rocket three years ago. I then spent the next two years working on shutting down Team Rocket. Once I succeeded, I moved into the wilderness of Mt. Silver and have been training there for the past year."

"So you defeated Team Rocket. Good job. You know, I heard a rumor that the newest Frontier Brain is the guy who defeated Team Rocket. Does that make you the new Frontier Brain?"

Ash grinned, "Yeah. I ran into Scott about a month ago and he gave me the offer as well as telling me about this tournament. Anyways, here are my current Pokémon."

As they had talked, Ash had led his former rival to the clearing and the lake where his Pokémon were busy training. Gary looked around at the various Pokémon and seemed impressed by it all.

He turned to face Ash and spoke up, "Well, I had thought it unlikely, but it appears that all of your Pokémon are indeed as strong as your Houndoom. I'm not sure how you did it, but these Pokémon are going to be quite a challenge to defeat in the tournament."

Ash smiled at his former rival, "Well, all of these Pokémon were trained to defeat Team Rocket. Except for Porygon-Z. I found him in their lab after destroying them and he decided to join me. Still, they have all been through intense training since they joined me and have all become quite strong. Feel free to observe them, but be careful about getting too close while they are training, as I'm sure you have noticed, my Pokémon aren't all the most social with people. Especially not while they are training."

Gary nodded, "Okay, I suppose I can do that."

After some time had passed, Gary spoke up, "So Ash, why did you evolve your Eevee into a Jolteon if you were planning on having Pikachu fully healed and battle ready? Wouldn't that make Jolteon a redundant Pokémon to have with you?"

Ash smiled, "Well, I didn't evolve Eevee into Jolteon. Eevee did. When I first got Eevee, she was young and grew incredibly fond of Pikachu, looking up to him as a father of sorts. Once Eevee reached the stage where she was ready to evolve, she wanted to be just like Pikachu and decided to evolve into a Jolteon. Right now, Jolteon is my fastest Pokémon, although Staraptor is a close second."

Gary nodded, "I suppose that makes sense. Baby Pokémon tend to do that if they can. With Pikachu being the oldest Pokémon around and also a similar size to the Eevee, he would make a good father for Eevee. From the looks of things though, it would appear that all of your Pokémon are family to each other."

"Yes they are," Ash said with a grin on his face. "They all train together, fight together, live together, and bond with each other. So, is there anything else you want from me?"

"Yeah, but it can wait. I want to know the full story of what you have been doing the past three years, but I can wait for you to tell everyone because it's probably a long story you only want to tell once."

Ash nodded, "Yeah, it is a long story, but I will tell everyone once I have told them who I am. Speaking of which, I'm actually surprised they haven't recognized me yet. I didn't change too much, did I?"

Gary contemplated this, "Well, your personality is still the same as it was before hand, but everything else about you is different. You're about a foot taller and you seem to be in great shape, not the scrawny kid you used to be. You left at the beginning of the changes your body made and are coming back towards the end of those changes. You no longer have the same childish appearance; instead you appear to be a grown man. It's still weird for me to think of you as the little Ash who used to be my rival. Having not been with you through all the changes, the drastic difference in your appearance makes it hard to tell that you are the same guy who used to travel with them all."

Ash thought about that before responding, "I guess that makes sense, but still, I don't feel like I've changed too much. Anyways, I'm going to get back to my training. If you want to stick around you can, but I'm sure your girlfriend is missing you since you've been gone so long."

When Gary blushed, Ash laughed. Gary glared at Ash, "Well, that's funny coming from you. I seem to recall you used to travel around the world with pretty girls at your side and never figured out how to get a girlfriend."

Ash laughed again, "Back then, getting a girlfriend was the last thing on my mind. I simply had no interest in the idea."

Now Gary smirked at Ash, "You said 'back then', does that mean that now there is a girl you're interested in?"

Ash quickly turned away, "No way, the only thing I care about right now is winning this tournament."

Gary laughed, "I can't believe it, little Ashey-boy is growing up and taking an interest in girls. So, who is it?"

Still refusing to look at Gary, Ash responded, "It's nobody. I told you, I only care about winning this tournament."

"Really? Then why won't you look at me? Is it May? Or maybe it's that Frontier Brain, Anabel? Or is it one of the girls currently in a relationship? You can tell me, I won't tell anyone."

Ash walked away from Gary and over to his Lucario, "Hey Lucario, want to do some sparring with me?" He asked. Lucario nodded and the two took their positions and began.

Gary watched this and smirked again, "Fine, be that way. I'll find out eventually though. Anyways, I'm heading back to the group, I'll see you later." He then turned back into the forest and headed towards the Pokémon Center.

-Practice fields-

As the week had passed, many more trainers had shown up for the tournament. Gym leaders from all four regions as well as powerful trainers trickled in and took up space. The practice fields were now so crowded that no group could hold more than one field. This left Misty, Max, Paul, and Anabel to try and share a field while the rest of the group observed from the sidelines.

Eventually, Paul went off into the forest to train alone while everyone else decided to stay put. As the training was about to resume, a familiar melodic voice was heard, "Why hello my friends. It is good to see you all once more."

The group turned to see a tall man with long black hair. On his head was a forest green hat while around his shoulders was a cape of the same color. The man held a golden mew-shaped harp in his hands.

Those that knew the man smiled at him and Dawn spoke up, "Hey Nando, what are you doing here?"

Nando smiled at the young coordinator, "Hello to you too Dawn. I am here for the competition that starts tomorrow. My Pokémon and I have been training for the past year for this. Our musical talents have been honed so we could compete at such a high level. If I may ask though, who are the rest of these people? I do not know most of them."

This time May spoke up, "Well Nando, you already know me, Dawn, and Brock. Paul went off somewhere to go train. This little guy is my little brother Max while the orange-haired girl is the Cerulean City gym leader Misty. The girl with purple hair is Anabel, the Salon Maiden of the Battle Frontier. We have a couple more friends who aren't here at the moment. One of them is Misty's boyfriend Gary. Gary is a Pokémon researcher from Pallet town. The other is a rather mysterious man whom we met here who goes by the name Five."

Nando smiled at all the people gathered around on the practice field, "Well, it is certainly a pleasure to meet all of you and I hope to meet these other friends of yours soon as well." Nando then played a few chords on his harp before continuing, "Now, you must tell me, is Ash in this tournament? My Pokémon have been looking forward to a rematch with him."

The group frowned before Brock spoke up, "Unfortunately, there is no one named Ash in the tournament's registry. However, I have a hard time believing he will remain gone for much longer. It has been three years after all and he probably misses us."

Nando sighed, "Well, it is disappointing to hear that Ash is not here, but alas, my Pokémon and I shall have musical battles until we can battle no more. Would anyone like to have a practice battle with me? I would like a warm-up before the competition begins."

"Well, I don't know you or your battle style, so it would be good practice for me to battle you," Max said. "If you would like, I will battle you."

Nando smiled, "Of course. I would be delighted to participate in a battle with you. If you are as good at battling as your sister is at contests, then this should be a terrific battle."

Max looked at Nando in question, "Do you mean that you do contests as well as battles? Isn't that a little hard to handle?"

Nando smiled at Max, "Well, my Pokémon love to show off their many talents in all forms of competition. As such, they simply demand I allow them to partake in both contests and battles. Now, how about a two-on-two battle for now?"

Max grinned before running to one end of the field, "Sure, sounds good. Brock, can you be the judge?"

Brock nodded before walking to the middle of the field on the side. "This will be a two-on-two single battle between Max Maple from Petalburg city and Nando from Sinnoh. The battle will be over when one trainers Pokémon are unable to continue battling. There will be no time limit. Begin."

With that, both trainers grabbed a pokeball and threw it onto the field. In a flash of light, two Pokémon and appeared and looked at each other.

In front of Max stood a red lobster like Pokémon with a large gold star on its forehead. He stood on two powerful legs and had two more powerful pincer-like claws protruding like arms. Crawdaunt grinned at his opponent before slamming his pincers into the ground to try and intimidate his enemy.

Standing in front of the Crawdaunt was a blue bird with cloudlike wings. The Altaria flew around the field a little bit while singing a few notes in preparation for the battle. She then landed in front of Nando and smiled at Crawdaunt.

Nando spoke up, "You may have the first move."

"Crawdaunt, use ice beam and follow it up with night slash!" Max called out.

Crawdaunt responded by opening one of his pincer hands and blasting a beam of ice towards the graceful dragon.

Nando saw the attack and called out, "Hurry Altaria, dodge the attack and retaliate with sing!"

Altaria immediately swooped up in the sky to avoid the ice attack and stay out of range of Crawdaunt's night slash. She then opened her mouth and sang a lovely tune that sent musical notes down towards the determined lobster. Crawdaunt tried to run from the music, but was not able to accomplish the task.

Max watched as his Pokémon fell asleep on the battlefield and cringed. "Crawdaunt, wake up! You need to get up and use ice beam again!" He called out, but the Pokémon remained asleep.

Nando decided to take advantage of the sleeping Pokémon. "Now Altaria, use sky attack on Crawdaunt."

Altaria flew higher up into the sky before her whole body glowed a white color. Once the attack was finished charging, she flew down at a high speed towards the sleeping Pokémon. The attack hit and did quite a bit of damage to Crawdaunt, but the attack also woke him up again. He heard his trainer calling for an ice beam and immediately launched one at the retreating dragon.

The beam scored a direct hit, knocking Altaria out of the air and onto the ground. Max saw Altaria falling and called out his next attack, "Now Crawdaunt, use bubblebeam and crabhammer!"

Crawdaunt immediately launched a volley of powerful bubbles out of one pincer while the other one began glowing white. As the bubbles were being fired, Crawdaunt ran towards the falling enemy to prepare his strike.

Nando saw all this happening and called out, "Altaria, use dragon pulse on Crawdaunt and then fly back into the sky!"

Altaria turned so she was facing into the onslaught of bubbles and prepared a ball of dragon energy in her mouth. As soon as Crawdaunt got close enough, she fired it at him.

The blast hit Crawdaunt, but didn't manage to stop him. His crabhammer made contact with Altaria as she took to the skies once more. After the field cleared, the trainers and spectators could see that both Pokémon were exhausted and wouldn't be able to take too much before fainting.

Nando immediately came up with a plan, "Altaria, use sing once more and then dream eater to recover your health."

Max knew that if his Pokémon fell asleep, the battle would be over so he called out his own moves, "Crawdaunt, use blizzard and then night slash!"

Each Pokémon began working on following their trainers' orders. Altaria once again sang her beautiful melody while Crawdaunt summoned a massive blizzard into the sky around Altaria. Neither Pokémon was able to use the second move they were ordered to because Altaria fell out of the sky and Crawdaunt fell asleep.

Once the battlefield had calmed down, Brock took a look around before raising his hand. "Altaria is unable to battle, Crawdaunt is the winner."

Nanda smiled as he recalled his Pokémon, "You did a wonderful job. Now, take a good rest." He then grabbed another pokeball and threw it, "Armaldo, let us battle together once again!"

At those words, a Pokémon that looked like an armored sloth appeared on the battlefield. He appeared to be rather ancient and was gray with yellow lines and red dots on his head.

"Armaldo, finish Crawdaunt with x-scissor," Nando called out.

Obediently, Armaldo crossed his two claws into an x shaped and charged at the sleeping lobster. As he reached his target, Armaldo slashed outwards with his claws, slashing Crawdaunt and finishing him off. After the attack, the Pokémon lay on the ground unconscious.

Brock once again raised his arm, "Crawdaunt is unable to battle, the winner of this battle is Armaldo."

Max recalled his fallen Pokémon and thanked him for his work before selecting another Pokémon and sending it out. "Swellow, I need your help!" He called.

A small blue bird with a white chest and red face appeared in the air just in front of Max. The bird called out a battle cry before quickly flying around the field.

Nando watched the bird and then spoke up, "That is a very fast Swellow you have there. I can tell it has been raised well."

Max nodded, "Thanks, your Pokémon all appear to be quite strong as well."

Nando nodded, "Now, back to the battle. Armaldo, use stone edge."

Immediately, a large stone was summoned in front of the ancient Pokémon and sharpened before being launched at a high speed towards the hovering bird Pokémon.

"Dodge it!" Max called out, "Then use agility and air slash!"

The small bird nimbly avoided the rock and then proceeded to speed up even more before launching a blade of air towards his opponent.

"Armaldo, block the attack with x-scissor and then use rock blast."

Armaldo once again crossed his claws before unleashing a powerful slash attack. This attack intercepted the air slash causing a small explosion to occur. As the explosion covered the field, a rock was formed in front of Armaldo and was then launched towards the last place he had seen the bird.

Max waited for the smoke to clear so he could call out more attacks, but as he waited, a rock came flying out of the smoke towards his Swellow. Too late he realized it and desperately tried to call out, "Swellow! Dodge it!"

Swellow tried to avoid it, but the rock had gotten too close and managed to score a glancing blow on the bird. Swellow called out in pain before losing altitude.

Max watched in worry as his Pokémon lost height. "Swellow, clear the smoke with a wing attack and then use endeavor!"

Swellow obeyed, quickly beating his wings to clear away the remaining smoke. Immediately, he saw Armaldo and flew in with his next attack.

Nando saw Swellow flying in and called out, "Use crush claw to send Swellow into the ground, then use Earthquake!"

However, Swellow easily avoided the claw and slammed into Armaldo. Swellow then quickly flew back into the sky, panting heavily. Armaldo was at the same energy level as Swellow after having been hit by the endeavor attack.

Max looked at his Pokémon and saw that it only had enough energy left for one more attack, "Swellow, charge up and use sky attack!"

Swellow immediately flew up into the air and began glowing white. Nando looked on and decided to use one last attack as well, "Armaldo, use giga impact!"

Armaldo was then surrounded in a purple aura that radiated power. As Swellow flew down towards Armaldo, the rock Pokémon bent his legs and prepared to launch towards the bird. Once the bird was within range, Armaldo gave a full power jump towards the Swellow and the two Pokémon collided.

There was a massive explosion upon impact, sending dust, smoke, and debris in all directions. The two trainers waited to see whose Pokémon would remain standing and claim victory. The audience watched in amazement at the power the Pokémon had shown at the end of the battle. Brock just watched closely so that he could call the match quickly so the Pokémon could get medical care and recover.

As the smoke finally cleared, all who had gathered looked at the field to see two unconscious Pokémon. Brock raised both of his hands, "Both Armaldo and Swellow are unable to battle, the match ends in a draw."

The small group cheered for their friends battle while the trainers recalled their Pokémon into their balls, thanking them for battling so hard.

Nando walked across the field to max and held out his hand, "That was a wonderful battle. Your Pokémon fought with power and beauty. It is a shame it ended in a draw, but should we happen to battle in the tournament, we can use that match to determine the true victor of this battle."

Max smiled and shook Nando's hand, "Thanks Nando. Your Pokémon were really strong and that battle was great. I think I'm finally ready for the tournament to begin so I can show the world how strong I really am."

From behind the group came another voice, "Hey guys, did I miss anything while I was gone?"

The group turned towards the forest and saw Gary walking out of it. Brock smiled at the man, "Well Gary, you just missed a battle between Max and Nando."

Gary looked at him questioningly, "Who's Nando?"

Nando walked over to Gary and offered him his hand, "I am Nando. I am a bard, a trainer, and a coordinator. I travel the world making music with my Pokémon while competing as much as I can. May I ask who you are?"

Gary shook his hand, "My name is Gary Oak. My grandfather is Samuel Oak. Anyways, I'm a Pokémon researcher. I use to be a trainer, but I realized that wasn't my true calling and switched career's."

"I see," said Nando. "As a trainer, how far did you make it?"

Gary thought about it, "I made it into the final 16 in the Silver Conference before losing to my old rival Ash Ketchum. After that, I decided to become a Pokémon researcher like my grandfather."

Nando nodded, "So you too know Ash. It's a real shame he isn't here at this tournament to compete against."

Gary smirked, "Yeah, a real shame Ashey-boy isn't here." When everyone looked at him funny he pretended to look surprised, "Sorry, all this talk about my old rivalry with him seems to have brought a little of my old attitude back, just ignore me."

Brock looked at him questioningly and Gary just smiled in return. Brock nodded and decided to change the subject, "So, Nando, what have you been up to these last few years? It's been a while since I've seen you."

Nando sighed, "I have been travelling the world and competing where I can. I made it to the top 16 in Hoenn and then tried Sinnoh again and made it to the top 8. During competitions, I have yet to win a Grand Festival, but I made it to the finals in Sinnoh a year ago. How about you Brock? How goes being a doctor?"

Brock smiled, "It has been fun. I completed school in record time due to my experiences while traveling around with Ash and friends. Since then, I have been getting called over the place to areas in need of a skilled doctor."

Max then looked at his watch and gasped, "Guys! Look at the time! We need to get dinner now if we want to make it to the opening ceremony on time."

The others all looked at the time and agreed. As a group, they headed to the Pokémon Center cafeteria for some food before they would head off to the main stadium for the opening ceremony.

-The lake in the forest-

Ash sat down on the ground, eating the last of the fruit he had gathered for his dinner. In front of him sat all of his Pokémon eating their dinners as well. As soon as he finished eating, he looked at them and spoke, "Well guys, this is it. The ultimate tournament to show the world what we are made of. You guys have all been with me through thick and thin. Together, we defeated Team Rocket. That might be our biggest accomplishment, but don't forget about all the individual Pokémon we have helped throughout the last several years. We have worked this hard to become the best. As the strongest, we can help those in need as well as make more friends. This tournament is our chance to show the world who the strongest Pokémon are and who the best Pokémon Master is. Now, let's go out there and make our presence known!"

All of his Pokémon cheered heir approval and Ash quickly recalled all of them except Houndoom and Pikachu. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder while Houndoom stood at his side. As he began walking out of the forest, he looked at Pikachu, "Hey buddy, Brock says that if you keep healing at your current rate and I make it to the end of the tournament, you should be able to take part in the final battle."

Pikachu smiled, "Piki pi! Chu pi Pika!"

Ash grinned and Houndoom let out a happy bark as well, "Yes Pikachu, I know you're excited to battle again. I can't wait either. Still, in order for that to happen, I need to make it that far in the tournament first." He then rubbed Pikachu's head and continued walking towards the main stadium.

Once he stepped out of the forest, he looked at Houndoom, "Houndoom, I know you hate your pokeball, but I can't have you out if you are going to bark and growl at every person you see. In this stadium there's going to be over 1,000 trainers as well as thousands more people in the audience. Not all of the people are going to be good people either. I still can't have you causing any trouble. If you do start causing problems, I will put you in your ball. Is that clear?"

Houndoom gave an irritated growl before nodding his head in acceptance. Ash patted his head, "Good, because I don't want to make you go in your ball."

When they reached the main stadium, Ash looked it over. From the outside, the stadium was massive. It was the largest stadium he had ever seen. The stadium looked like it could hold 100,000 spectators in it. It also appeared to be a modern take on ancient architecture. It was made from high-tech material but had been built in a way that made it appear to be ancient as well. All in all, it was the most impressive structure Ash had ever seen.

After gazing at the stadium for several minutes, Ash made his way to the competitor's entrance to the field. When he walked out, he had to once again catch his breath. The stadium was filled completely with spectators and the field was covered in trainers. The trainers were standing in a grid like formation so as to appear organized and professional. Ash quickly found a spot on the edge of the grid in order to help Houndoom remain cool and so he could remain out of the spotlight as much as possible.

Down the middle of the stadium a path had been cleared and left devoid of trainers. Where the path reached the fans, there were no seats, just stairs that led up to a massive bronze bowl with a life-size Moltres statue above it. The statue appeared to be floating there, but Ash figured there was some mechanical trick providing the illusion.

From his spot on the field, Ash scanned the crowd in search of familiar faces. It took a while, but he eventually spotted Brock, Dawn, May, and Gary on the opposite side of the stadium. As he continued looking around, he caught sight of several different people from his many travels scattered throughout the crowd.

The sheer number of people present was astounding enough, but when that was combined with the sound of all the conversations going on, Ash found it to be incredible. He tried to imagine what it would sound like to have all those people cheering at the same time and found he just couldn't even begin to comprehend the idea.

He then moved his eyes to the trainers gathered on the stadium ground. He found Paul near the edge on the side to Ash's right. He then found Misty and Max standing next to each other near the middle of the stadium. They appeared to be talking to someone and when Ash got a closer look, he realized it was Nando.

Ash smiled at the thought of getting to fight Nando again. He had never met another person who fought quite like him. Nando was a one of a kind sort of battler and Ash enjoyed the challenge involved.

As he continued looking at the trainers, he was surprised at how many of them he knew. He saw Elite 4 members and champions such as Bruno, Lorelei, Lance, Koga, Will, Sydney, Drake, Phoebe, Aaron, Flint, Bertha, Lucian, Cynthia, Wallace, and even Stephen. He also saw many gym leaders present. Too many to even name.

Eventually, his gaze fell upon a blue-haired man with a red cape covering his entire body. Ash smiled when he caught sight of the man and Pikachu grinned as well. Ash looked at Pikachu, "I really hope I get to battle him. I know how strong he is and I want to show the world that not even the great Tobias can defeat me anymore. He might have beaten us back in Sinnoh, but this time it's going to be different."

Pikachu grinned and let some sparks fly from his cheeks. Houndoom simply looked at the man and grinned back at his trainer. Tobias seemed to notice the gazes Ash and his Pokémon were sending him because he looked up at Ash. For a few seconds, Tobias just watched him, but eventually he walked over.

Once Tobias got close enough, he spoke up, "It's been a while young man. After the Sinnoh league, you just disappeared. I had finally found somebody who had the potential to rival me and then he just vanished. I was disappointed. However, seeing you here gives me reason to believe this competition might be a bit of fun after all."

Ash grinned at him, "So you recognized me? Good job, not even my friends recognized me on sight and currently only three of them know who I am. I don't think it will be a problem, but do you mind keeping my identity a secret?"

Tobias smiled, "Really? How could they not recognize that look in your eyes? Your appearance might have changed and your Pikachu might have gained an ugly scar, but you are the only person I have ever met with such fighting spirit. Good luck in the competition Ash, and hopefully we can meet up in it and have another wonderful battle."

"Oh, if we meet up, I can assure you it will be a wonderful battle. I also promise you that it won't end the same way this time."

Tobias simply walked back to his spot on the field and Ash went back to watching the contestants as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

Occasionally, the announcer would say something about the torch runner, but Ash mostly tuned it out. He had been to enough of these opening ceremonies to more or less know what to expect. After a few more minutes though, the crowd got silent and Ash figured he should start paying attention.

He turned his head towards the entrance the torch runner would use and waited. About a minute later, an athletic looking woman entered the stadium at a jog. The announcer spoke up, "Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer exclaimed, "Samantha has entered the stadium with the Flame of Moltres!" At that, the crowd erupted into cheers as Samantha walked the flame to the base of the stairs that led to the massive torch bowl.

At the base of the stairs stood a short man with white hair. He looked kind of like Santa, except he was wearing a baseball cap on backwards. He reached out towards the young lady who had run the torch through the last leg of its journey and took the torch from her. Once the exchange was completed, the crowd cheered once more.

Now that Ash could hear the crowd at full volume, he wanted more than anything to hear that roar be because of him. He began anticipating the tournament more than ever and it took all of his willpower to not join in with the cheering. He settled instead for more dignified clapping and a smile.

The announcer spoke up once more, "The Flame of Moltres has been handed over to Charles Goodshow, the president of the Pokémon League and organizer of this wonderful tournament!" The crowd erupted again as the announcer continued, "Mr. Goodshow is now walking the Flame of Moltres up to the torch so that we can officially begin the tournament!"

As the announcer spoke, Mr. Goodshow slowly made his way up the steps until he was standing directly in front of the massive torch. With a dramatic bow and spin, he brought the Flame of Moltres into contact with the massive torch and set it alight. As the torch lit up, the crowd gave one final cheer before quieting down again.

Mr. Goodshow was then joined on the platform by several prominent figures from Pokémon society. There were the individual directors of each Pokémon league as well as Scott, president of the Battle Frontier.

Mr. Goodshow walked up to the front of the platform and brought out a microphone that had been hidden. He raised it up and spoke, "Welcome everybody to the first ever Pokémon World Championship!" He began. The crowd cheered for a little bit before settling down.

Mr. Goodshow smiled at them all, "The support we have had for this tournament has been astounding, but since I know you didn't all come here to listen to me speak, I will keep things brief. However, before I begin, my good friend Scott says he has an announcement to make that should make this tournament even more exciting. So, without further ado, say hello to Scott!"

The crowd cheered as Scott stepped up. He took the microphone from Mr. Goodshow and spoke, "I came here for the battles, so I'm going to make this brief. Many of you know about the Battle Frontier that I started several years back. Over the years, it has gained popularity and grown. It is famous for the seven Battle Brains that test trainers in many different aspects of Pokémon battling. Well, today I am here to say that there will no longer be seven Battle Brains."

Scott gave a dramatic pause and waited for people to settle down after the first part of his announcement. After a minute, he continued, "After this tournament ends, there will be an eighth Battle Brain in the Frontier. I will not tell you who the new brain is until the tournament ends, so just know that any trainer in this event could possibly be the newest Battle Brain."

As the crowd cheered the news, Ash just smirked. He knew who the new brain was and he wasn't going to tell anyone. At least not yet he wasn't. Scott then handed the microphone back to the president and stepped back.

Mr. Goodshow gave a smile to the audience and an inquisitive glance to all the trainers gathered on the field as if he was trying to figure out which one of them was the new Battle Brain. After a few seconds, he raised his head again and spoke, "Well, that certainly is some exciting news Scott had for us and I'm sure it will make this tournament that much more exciting. Now, back to the opening ceremonies."

He then spread his arms and gestured to all the trainers on the field before talking again. "You all are the greatest trainers the world has to offer. This tournament was set up to find the best of the best and so only those who had had much success in battle were invited to join. With all of you high quality trainers, we are sure to see many high quality battles until only one trainer remains. The last trainer standing will earn the title of World's Greatest Pokémon Master!"

At that, the trainers gathered on the field cheered along with the crowd. Once the noise died down, the president continued, "That title will give you the respect of all those you encounter as well as cement your place in history. Once you get the title, it is yours to keep for four years. In four years, you will have to defend your title in this tournament once again.

"Now, the first stage of the tournament starts tomorrow, so I recommend you all get some sleep so that you can be prepared for your battles tomorrow! Congratulations to you all and I wish you the best of luck!"

With that, the crowd gave its final cheer of the night before beginning to disperse. As the crowd dispersed, so too did the trainers. Ash made his way out of the stadium as quickly as he could so he wouldn't get caught up in traffic. As soon as he was free, he headed back out into the forest. He knew he wouldn't be able to get any sleep that night, so he decided to relax in nature one last time before the tournament truly began.

-Pokémon Center-

Gathered into one room sat a group of eight people. They sat together and talked about the next day's events.

Brock turned to Max and spoke, "So Max, are you ready for your first battle tomorrow?"

Max grinned, "I'm ready, but I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight. I checked the schedule though and my battle is at 9:30 in arena 7. My opponent is some guy named Timothy. How about you Misty, are you ready?"

Misty nodded, "Yep. I'm certainly ready. I even got a lucky draw because I'm in arena 4, which is a water field. My opponent is some guy named Devin. What about you Anabel, you ready to show the world the power of a Frontier Brain?"

Anabel sighed, "I suppose. I've never really competed in a tournament though. I became a Frontier Brain before I ever had to, so this is a new experience for me. The fact that it just so happens to be the largest tournament in history just makes it even more intimidating."

May spoke up, "Don't worry about it. Once you get out there, the adrenaline from battle will block out the crowd and the pressure. You'll do fine."

Anabel smiled, "Thanks May." She then looked around before speaking again, "Guys, I think I'm going to go for a walk to try and clear my head. I'll be back later."

The others nodded and Anabel walked out of the room. After talking for another half hour, the group went to their individual rooms to try and get some rest before the big day.

-The lake in the forest-

Ash lay down on his back and looked up at the stars. Pikachu was resting on his stomach while Houndoom lay by his side. As he relaxed, he tried to prepare himself for the next day and the rest of the tournament to follow.

He looked down at the yellow mouse on his stomach, "Hey Pikachu, are you ready for the tournament?"

Pikachu raised his head and looked at his trainer, "Pika pi chu pikachu," he said.

Ash smiled, "I know you aren't going to battle. At least not at the beginning, but still, I was just curious." He then turned to Houndoom, "How about you, are you ready to start your battles tomorrow?"

Houndoom looked at his trainer and released some smoke from his nostrils. He then gave his head a quick nod before lying back down.

Ash sighed as he went back to looking at the stars, "I wish I could be as relaxed as you guys are. For some reason though, whenever I'm in a tournament I can't relax until I get my first win."

He sighed and the group lapsed into silence. After a while, Ash noticed that Pikachu and Houndoom were both asleep. He grinned at the sight and wished he could join them in sleep. As he thought about this though, he heard footsteps approaching.

Surprised, he sat up quickly, knocking Pikachu to the ground and waking up Houndoom. Ash quickly turned around and saw Anabel walk out of the forest and into the clearing.

She smiled apologetically at Ash, "Sorry about disturbing you. I figured you were asleep at the center and didn't realize you were out here."

Ash shrugged, "Eh, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep so I came out here to relax. How about you, why are you out here?"

Anabel sighed before sitting down next to Ash, "I couldn't sleep and the pressure was beginning to overwhelm me. I needed to clear my head."

Ash smiled, "Well, this is a good place to do that. As for the pressure, don't worry about it. Once you get on the field, all the distractions go away."

Anabel nodded, "That's what May said, but I'm still worried. I mean, what if the distractions don't go away? What if the pressure gets to me and I freak out? What happens then?"

Ash sighed, "Well, actually, the pressure doesn't really go away on the field. It takes a while for that to become a natural thing. What helped me when I was first doing tournaments and competing was having friends in the stands cheering for me. If I felt like I couldn't handle it, I would look at the people supporting me and my confidence would come back immediately. Also, once you get into the battle, it becomes easier to focus. The hardest part is getting focused, but once you achieve focus, it stays with you."

Anabel sighed, "That sounds good, except I don't really have a lot of close friends other that my Pokémon. So I won't have anyone in the stands supporting me like that."

Ash laughed, "Sure you have friends. You've been hanging out with Brock and that group and they all seem like great people. I'm sure they would support you."

Anabel looked at Ash, "How about you Five, will you support me as well?"

Ash thought about it, "I will if I can. But I don't know when I battle, so I might not be able to."

That made Anabel laugh, "You are the most clueless guy ever. You come here without knowing the rules of the tournament and now you don't know when you battle? What would you do without me here?"

Ash laughed, "I don't know, but I'm glad you've been helping me out. Do you know when I battle?"

Anabel nodded, "Yeah, you battle tomorrow at 11:30 in arena 8. Arena 8 is an earth field. I battle at 1:30 in arena 3 which is also an earth field."

Ash thought about that before speaking up, "I'll tell you what Anabel, if you come to my battle and support me, I will go to yours and support you. Deal?"

Anabel gave Ash a warm smile, "Deal. Thanks Five, talking to you has really helped to clear my head. Still, I think that like you, I won't be getting any sleep tonight. Do you think you could tell me another story about one of your adventures?"

Ash turned his head to look at Anabel before answering, "I told you a story last time we talked, I think this time it's your turn to tell me a story."

"That may be true, but after our last talk, you did your best to avoid all of us for the rest of the week. The only person who had contact with you was Brock. I say that you owe me a story for just disappearing like that. Speaking of which, why have you been avoiding us all?"

Ash gulped, "Fine, I will tell you another story. As for why I've been avoiding you all, I haven't. My training has been rather intense. That has led to me going to sleep early. Since I eat out here in the forest, I was never going to be having meals with you guys anyways."

Anabel looked at Ash funny, "Still, it wouldn't have hurt you to say hi to us every now and then. I think you have spent plenty of time in the wilderness. Now you need to get your social skills back."

At that comment, Pikachu began laughing and Houndoom let out a snort. Ash glared at his Pokémon. "Pikachu, it's not that funny. And Houndoom, you're hardly one to talk about social skills. I seem to recall having to spend most of my effort during the opening ceremonies preventing you from attacking every person that looked at me."

Anabel smiled, "You seem to have quite the friendly relationship with your Pokémon. It's really fun watching you all interact with each other. Now for your story, can you tell me about how you met Houndoom? You told me about Eevee, but never Houndoom."

Ash sighed, "Well, the story about how I met Houndoom is not fun. At all. It really is a sad story with a sad ending. Houndoom was the first Pokémon I caught on my current journey and at the beginning of my current journey some bad things happened."

Ash then looked at Pikachu and Houndoom, "Do you guys want me to tell her this story? It involves both of you, so if you don't want me to tell then I won't."

Anabel watched as the two Pokémon contemplated letting her hear this story. After hearing about how bad the story might be, she was wondering whether she actually wanted to hear it or not. The story with Eevee hadn't been good, but this one sounded like it might actually be worse.

After several minutes of contemplation, both Pokémon gave their approval to tell the story. Ash nodded, "Well, if you still want to hear the story, then I guess I can tell you."

Anabel thought about it, "Yeah. I want to hear the story. It might not be pretty, but I can tell the story still troubles you and it might help if you let someone know what happened."

Ash smiled at Anabel, "Yeah, it does still bother me. It probably always will as well. Anyways, here goes."

-3 years ago. Viridian Forest-

A young teenage boy was walking through the forest. He had a Pikachu on his shoulder, a baseball cap on his head, and a smile on his face. He had been travelling for several weeks and was busy exploring the depths of the forest. Since he had no timeline to stick to, he had no need to hurry through the forest like he had the previous time's he had been here.

As he was exploring, he heard a small cry come from behind him. He turned around quickly and saw a Houndour in the brush staring at him. The boy smiled at the small Pokémon and spoke, "Hey there, my name is Ash. What are you doing out here alone? Don't you have a family to be with?"

The little Pokémon bared his teeth at Ash and then barked and growled. Ash looked at the scene in confusion, "Do you want to battle me? Is that it?"

Ash's Pikachu then jumped onto the ground and faced the Houndour. The little Pokémon tried to act brave and shot a small stream of fire at Pikachu. Before Pikachu could retaliate though, Ash stopped him. "Pikachu, don't attack him. Houndour is just scared. I don't know why he's attacking us when he's scared, but something is wrong. Let's try to help him out. Okay?"

Pikachu nodded and tried to converse with the scared little Pokémon. After talking for a few minutes, Pikachu hadn't really learned anything. He turned and looked at Ash questioningly. Ash sighed, "Well if he won't talk to you, I don't know what to do to help him."

Just then, the small group heard the sound of many people approaching. Houndour immediately whimpered and ran into the underbrush to hide. Ash wondered what was scaring the Pokémon so badly when a large group appeared in front of him.

The group had about 20 people in it. The majority of them were dressed all in black with a red R on the chest. Three of the people though, were dressed in fancier clothes.

Ash groaned when he saw them. "Team Rocket. What are you guys doing this time? What do you want?"

One of the fancier dressed members stepped forward. It was a lady with long red hair, black pants, and a white, black, and gray shirt on. "Ash Ketchum I presume?" Ash didn't answer but Pikachu shot electricity from his cheeks and glared at the people. The lady continued, "The boss grew tired of the idiots who had been sent to capture your Pikachu. We have been sent in their place. Now, hand over Pikachu and no one will get hurt. If you resist, we will fight you. We have you outnumbered by quite a bit. There are 20 grunts as well as three admins. If you resist, we will simply take you down in battle and take Pikachu."

Ash glared at them all, "You will never get Pikachu!" He exclaimed. "You guys have been trying to take him for years and never succeeded. This time won't be any different. I will do everything in my power to make sure you never get Pikachu, even if it kills me!"

The redhead sighed, "Fine. Be that way. Golem, I choose you. Destroy this half-pint and take his Pikachu." With that, she threw out a pokeball and a Golem appeared.

Before she could give any commands though, Ash did, "Pikachu, use iron tail. Electricity might not affect Golem, but iron tail will be super effective."

Pikachu nodded and his tail began glowing white. He then ran towards Golem and slammed into him with his tail full-force. A few seconds later, the Golem fell to the ground unconscious.

The admin growled, "Everybody, release your Pokémon and take out that damned Pikachu and obnoxious brat!"

At the admins command, all of the Team Rocket members released all of their Pokémon. In total, Ash and Pikachu were now facing about 70 Pokémon.

Ash looked at the sight and gulped, "Hey Pikachu, you ready? I think these guys want to fight."

Pikachu nodded, "Pika pi. Chu pika pi pikachu pi pi."

Ash nodded, "Don't worry buddy, they will never take you from me. I promise."

For the next half hour, a massive battle took place between Team Rocket and Pikachu. When it finally ended, none of the Pokémon were capable of battling any longer. Ash was exhausted as well as he had spent the duration of the battle watching Pikachu's back and blocking attacks for him.

The members of Team Rocket though were still full of energy. The redheaded admin stepped up again, "Now, it's obvious you and your precious Pikachu can no longer battle. As impressive as that little show was, it took all the energy out of you. I can see why the boss wants your Pikachu and now I can fulfill my obligation and bring it to him."

She then walked over to Pikachu, but Ash beat her to him. He grabbed Pikachu and surrounded him in a hug, preventing anyone from being able to reach Pikachu without prying Ash off of him.

Ash glared at the Team Rocket members, "If you want Pikachu, you're going to have to pry him from my dead hands."

The admin laughed, "Ash, you are in no position to say things like that. Come on now, we won so hand us our prize."

When Ash still refused to hand Pikachu over, the admin began kicking and beating Ash, trying to get him to release the Pokémon. After enduring the beating for nearly ten minutes, the admin gave up. "Fine, if you really want to die for your pathetic Pokémon, be my guest."

She then pulled out a knife and walked over to Ash. As she brought the knife down on him though, something happened. Pikachu wriggled his way free of Ash's grip and intercepted the knife with his body.

Ash screamed as he saw his best friend take the knife. Pikachu then fell over on the ground. The admin glared at the Pokémon and spat on him, "Pathetic. That crippled Pokémon will never be good enough for the boss. Come on guys, we're heading back."

Before she left though, she delivered one final kick to the back of Ash's head, knocking him out.

Unbeknownst to all those involved, a young Houndour watched in amazement as this human boy did everything in his power to save his beloved friend. The young Houndour hated humans ever since Team Rocket had taken his parents from him. He tried to take his anger out on this young boy, but after seeing him stand up to the people who had taken his own parents, the Houndour decided he wanted to help save the boy and his Pikachu.

As quickly as he could, the young puppy ran towards the only Pokémon Center he knew about. As soon as he reached it, he began barking at the door, trying to get the nurse's attention.

Almost immediately, the nurse appeared and looked down at him, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Houndour just continued barking and tried to get the nurse to follow him. The nurse nodded that she understood and followed the Houndour as he led her to the fallen boy and his Pikachu.

The nurse saw the mess and gasped, "Oh my gods," she exclaimed, "What happened here? That Pikachu needs immediate medical attention and the boy needs help as well. Don't worry Houndour, I promise I will save them."

The nurse then bent down and picked up the Pikachu. She sprinted back to the center as fast as she could so she could begin surgery on the small mouse immediately. As soon as she arrived, she sent two of the trainers at the center with Houndour to bring the young boy to the center as well.

Two days later, the boy woke up. He looked around his room and saw a Houndour sitting at his bedside. He looked questioningly at the Pokémon, "You're the Houndour I met in the forest, aren't you?" The Houndour nodded his head.

Ash then tried to remember what had happened to him. As soon as he did remember, he began freaking out. He ran out of his room and crashed right into Nurse Joy.

As the nurse stood up Ash screamed, "Nurse Joy, where's Pikachu, is he alright?"

The nurse smiled at the boy, "Yes, your Pikachu is alive. He is recovering from surgery and is healing over in his own room. Your Houndour led me to you guys and saved your lives."

Ash looked at her questioningly, "I don't have a Houndour. Do you mean the Houndour that was sleeping by my bed when I woke up?"

The nurse nodded, "Yes. Even if he isn't yours, he must like you a lot. He freaks out around people except for you and me. No one else can even approach him. Anyways, it's good to see you up again. Do you want to see your Pikachu?"

Ash nodded and followed the nurse to where Pikachu was asleep with a bandaged side. Ash let out a sigh of relief to see that his best friend was still alive, "Thank goodness you're okay Pikachu. I don't know what I would do without you."

Ash then turned to face the nurse, "Nurse Joy, how long will it take Pikachu to heal? How bad was his injury?"

The nurse looked at Ash with a frown, "I'm sorry to say this, but Pikachu may never fully heal. If he does manage to though, it will take several years. It's a small miracle he even survived. Now, you must tell me what happened."

Ash sighed and then recounted the events to the nurse. When he was done the nurse looked beyond livid, "THOSE ASSHOLES! I WILL NEVER FORGIVE TEAM ROCKET! GAAHHHHH!"

Ash watched in slight fear as the normally peaceful and friendly Nurse Joy spent five minutes cursing Team Rocket. Ash even learned a few new words from the scene.

When the nurse finally calmed down, she looked at Ash sheepishly, "I'm sorry about that, it's just, what Team Rocket does and did to you is absolutely horrible. I just can't stand them."

Ash nodded, "I know what you mean. I've helped stop Team Rocket's plans before and they have always been after my Pikachu. I can't stand them either. This time though, they went too far. This is beyond unforgivable and I vow that I will stop them once and for all in order to prevent situations like this from ever happening again."

For the next week, Pikachu was forced to stay at the Pokémon Center and Ash stayed by his side the entire time. Once Pikachu was well enough to travel, Ash decided he would leave and then begin training to take down Team Rocket.

As he left the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy wished him luck on his journey. Once he had gotten back into the forest, he looked around and saw a Houndour at his side.

Ash smiled at the young Pokémon, "Do you want to go with me on my quest to destroy Team Rocket?"

The Pokémon looked at Ash and barked an affirmative. Ash smiled, "Well, if you want to come with me, you have to let me catch you first. You ready?"

Houndour nodded as Ash pulled out an empty pokeball. He held it down at Houndour's level and waited for Houndour to let himself be caught. After a few more seconds, Houndour nudged the button in the center of the ball with his nose. A bright light engulfed him as he was sent into the pokeball.

As soon as the pokeball signaled the catch, the ball opened itself up and Houndour stood by Ash's side once more. Ash looked at the Pokémon, "So, I take it you don't like being in the pokeball?"

Houndour nodded and Ash laughed, "Okay then, I guess you can just walk alongside us on our journey. Now, let's go."

And just like that, Ash caught a Houndour and began his journey to destroy Team Rocket.

-Present day at the lake-

As Ash told his story, Anabel listened in horror as the events unfolded. When he finally finished, she wasn't really sure what to say. She couldn't think of any way to express how she felt about the events that had taken place. All she knew was that she felt awful for Five and his Pikachu. She also felt bad for Houndoom who had lost his parents to Team Rocket as well.

After a few minutes of silence, she finally spoke up, "You were right, that is a terrible story. I'm at a loss for words on how to react to that. I feel really bad for you and I'm sorry that a good person like you had to suffer through that."

Ash smiled, "Well, one thing I have learned about life is that shit happens. What matters aren't the bad things that happen to you, but how you respond to those bad things and turn them into a positive. Although I'm not glad that it happened, if I had reacted poorly, things would be much worse right now. I might not even be alive."

Anabel smiled, "That's a good way to look at it. So did you succeed in destroying Team Rocket then?"

Without thinking Ash nodded, "Yeah. It took me two years but I did manage to succeed. With the help of Houndoom and my other Pokémon we put an end to them and their evil ways for good."

After he said that, he realized what he said and put a hand to his mouth. At about that time Anabel seemed to realize the significance of what he had said as well. She gasped, "No way! But if you defeated Team Rocket, then that means that you're- you're-"

Ash sighed, "Yeah. You figured it out. I'm the new Frontier Brain. I completely forgot that Scott had probably told you guys that I had defeated Team Rocket. I'm so used to the fact that no one knows that I did that I just let it slip out."

Anabel laughed, "Well don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I know Scott wants to keep it a secret for now so you have nothing to worry about. Also, congratulations on earning the prestigious title of Frontier Brain."

Ash smiled, "Thanks. I guess this makes you my co-worker, doesn't it?"

Anabel nodded, "Yes it does. Now all I need is your name and we're good to go."

Ash sighed, he knew he shouldn't tell her, but part of him really wanted her to know who he was. After wrestling with the idea for a few minutes he asked her a question, "Is it really that hard to figure out who I am? Paul figured it out pretty quickly. Gary got it as well. Tobias figured out who I was in a single glance. Brock knows who I am because I told him part of the story about Pikachu's injury. Can you really not figure it out?"

As ash was talking, Anabel gasped, "So it really is you? I had thought you acted a lot like Ash, but you're really back?" Anabel was practically squealing in excitement.

Ash just looked at her and nodded with a smile on his face, "Yup. It really is me. I've been gone for three years but I am back now. How have you been Anabel?"

Anabel immediately gave Ash a huge hug, "Oh my god, I have missed you so much, you don't even know!" She exclaimed.

Ash looked at her, "Really? I didn't actually know you that well when we first met. I mean, we knew each other for like two days. Did you really miss me that much?"

Anabel looked at Ash funny, "Are you really that bad at sensing emotions still? Remember when we first met?"

Ash thought back on and remembered, "Oh yeah. You tried to get me to read your emotions. At the time, I couldn't. Well, if you missed me as much as you're claiming, I think I have a pretty good guess as to what you were feeling back then."

Anabel smiled, "Well, it would seem you aren't as clueless as you used to be. Anyways, I'm feeling a lot more relaxed now, so I think I'm going to go and try to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, and don't forget to support me at my battle, okay?"

Ash grinned, "Of course, as long as you go to my battle. Don't forget to keep my identity a secret though. I'll tell everyone else who I am soon enough."

Anabel nodded once more before heading back to the Pokémon Center for the night.

When Ash looked down, he saw Pikachu rubbing his scar. Ash smiled at him, "Hey Pikachu, thanks for taking the knife for me. I wish you hadn't because it pains me to see you with the scar, but I'm glad that we're both alive and still have each other."

Pikachu smiled up at his trainer, "Chu pika," he said.

Ash nodded. He then turned to Houndoom, "Thanks again for saving Pikachu's life back in the forest. I owe you everything for that."

Houndoom just nodded his head and went back to sleep.

As Ash looked back up the stars, he heard footsteps behind him. He looked around and to his surprise he saw Paul.

Paul smirked at him, "Have a nice date with you girlfriend?"

Ash groaned, "Really Paul? You find me out here in the middle of the night and that's all you say? Also, she's just a friend."

Paul laughed, "Sure she is. I heard most of that conversation. I was walking by and heard someone talking about viridian forest. I stopped to listen and heard some interesting things."

Ash sighed, "Really Paul? You were walking by and decided to eavesdrop on a private conversation? What do you want anyways?"

"Well, I just came to tell you that you don't stand a chance against me in this tournament. My Pokémon won't be tired from training when we battle you this time. Also, if you lose to anyone before I beat you I won't ever forgive you."

Ash laughed, "As much as you've changed since the Sinnoh league, you're still the same guy you always were. It's nice seeing you again Paul. Good luck in the tournament. Now, I'm going to try and get some sleep if you don't mind."

Paul smirked, "Of course. Sleep well and don't lose." With that, Paul walked back through the forest to the Pokémon Center.

As Ash lay on the ground in the forest, he looked down at Pikachu, "You know what buddy? I think I might actually be able to get some sleep tonight. Sleep well Pikachu and I'll see you in the morning."

Chapter 4 is now complete

Tell me what you think. There are parts of this chapter I don't really like, at the same time, there are also several parts that I'm rather proud of. I'd like to know what you guys think.

Let me get this out of the way, this story will be abilityshipping. It will still take time for the relationship to start, but that is where this is headed. On the other hand, that's only a part of the plot, there is a lot more to the story then just Ash falling in love.

The main part of this story is the tournament, but there will also be large chunks of flashbacks to Ash's Journey to defeat Team Rocket. The whole fight with them starts with Pikachu's injury and will continue being told as the story progresses. By the end of the story, you should have the full story of Ash's two-year struggle with Team Rocket.

Also, just so you guys know, I will try to have at least one real Pokémon battle in each chapter. Just to keep them going. Tell me how I'm doing at writing them. Writing action stuff has never been one of my strengths, so any feedback on it would be helpful

Also, I have all of Ash's opponents decided for the tournament. I will write all of his battles out. If you want me to write other people's battles as well, let me know whose battles you want me to write.

I do my best to take your suggestions and requests seriously, so if there is anything in particular you want to see, tell me and I will do my best to put it in.

Anyways, thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review or send me a PM if you have anything to tell me.

I actually didn't change anything. A few spelling/grammar things, but I thought I would begin running into things I wanted to change here.

I think part of the problem is that I'm not sure how much I should change. Part of me is tempted to just rewrite this entire story, making bigger changes than I'm currently planning to. Well, once I finish all these edits, I'll leave the choice to you guys as to whether or not I should just rewrite everything.

Edited 6/26/2012