A.N.: So based on the poll I can tell that people want to see some from all generations. You got it! And since this is the case, there will be moves from other generations! Anyways, enjoy! Cause I really enjoy writing this. And I don't own Pokemon!

1:54 p.m., Wednesday September 24, 1997. Ash had been with Erika for almost three hours in the process of relearning the fundaments of becoming a Pokemon trainer. It was no easy task by any means, but it was happening; Ash was gaining the fundamentals he had never learned and was greatly gaining confident that he would get on the right track fairly soon. Ash even was provided with a notebook and jotted down quite a lot of notes to help him remember.

"Ash, I'm so glad that you are progressing so well," said Erika. "You just finished your last card and told me all of the types and their characteristics. I think tomorrow will start a different aspect and learning strategies of battling."

"Thank you so much for the nice words, but…" started Ash with his head down low.

"What is it?" said Erika.

"There still is a card left on the table; is there another type I'm not aware of?"

"No, I want you to flip it over anyways," said Erika softly.

Ash shrugged his shoulders and flipped it over. There was a small note on it and Ash read it aloud.

"'Everyone deserves a fresh start. I believe in you Ash.'?" He read a bit stunned at the polite words that were written on the index card. Ash felt his eyes moisten and his lips trembled.

"Ash? Are you okay?" said Erika as she went over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

He wiped his eyes and said, "You have shown more kindness to me in one day than Misty has during our entire journey. Thank you. I'm so sorry about what I did in your gym and what I said at the perfume shop. I wish to Arceus that I hadn't done that, but I was desperate to get in here. And what I said about the perfume; media-"

"All of that is behind us now; we don't need to look at it anymore and we can just move forward," said Erika.

"Thank you again," said Ash.

"We all go to great links to get what we want; you were tricked by some evil people and I believe I shouldn't have banned you. If I hadn't, maybe your team would still be with you at this moment."

"My team radiated a mix of different auras; some of the pleasant, some of them hateful, some of them disappointed, all over the place, if you will. I'd rather not think about them now but it's hard to get this out of my mind. I feel like I can move on with my life if I have someone who has a good heart like you. I thank you yet again."

"You're more than welcome," she said as he got up and looked out the window.

"I am expecting a better tomorrow," said Ash. "Despite my heart still hurting…I have another reason to keep moving on. I—" He was interrupted by a knock at the door and he turned to it; there was no one visible so he thought that someone had left after the initial knock. "Are they back already? Or is that one of your staff members?"

"I'll have to go see," said Erika. "They shouldn't be back at this hour and everyone here is tall enough to see through the window." She went to the door and…

"Machop!" said the grey Pokemon with a big smile on his human-like face and a tail that was wagging fast.

"Machop!" said Ash with a gasp but he was relatively pleased as well. "What are you doing here?"

"Chop, Machop, Chop, Chop," said the fighting Pokemon. He continued to say the syllables in his name and Ash and Erika just looked at each other. Machop's face also changed from sad to elated as he said his name, conveying specific emotions he felt as he was telling his story to the humans.

"I'm going to take a wild guess," said Ash as he thought back at the emotions Machop displayed. "You saw us leave Erika's house…" He got a nod in response…"and you got sad and tried to find us?" He got another nod to confirm that was true.

"I know you heard us say we were going to the gym," started Erika, "but how did you know where to find us?"

"I helped him find you," said a voice. It was Nikki and she had a smile on her face. "I talked with Stephanie earlier and she informed me of what you were doing. Both of us had a talk and we felt that we were being too irrational in our behavior towards you about Ash. I then saw this Machop walk into the gym and it—"

"He," corrected Ash. Machop said his name in defense of being called an "it".

"…He wanted to know where Ash and Erika were. Stephanie told me where you guys were going, but she didn't specify which room since she didn't see all that. So once we came down this hallway, we followed your voices and, well, here we are!"

Footsteps approached and it was Stephanie. "Ash, I would like to apologize for the way I behaved to you, both today and yesterday. It's just that I respect Erika so much and I would hate to see someone toy with her emotions, which is why I treated you like dirt. But I now understand that Erika is far more mature than I am and has a spirit like iron; very little upsets her. I guess I was just viewing this as if I were in her shoes."

"I was a horrible person for what I've said and done and you have every right to feel the way you did," said Ash as he petted Machop's head. He cooed his name in delight with a wagging tail.

"Such a handsome Pokemon," said Erika. Machop gasped and turned cherry red with bashfulness. The other girls giggled and Nikki apologized for being rude to him earlier while Stephanie approached Ash with an extended hand.

"Can we start over? My name is Stephanie and I want to be an interior designer and botanist."

"My name is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and I'm restarting my Pokemon adventure from a completely different perspective now," said the boy.

"So…now what do we do now?" said Ash.

"Well, although we are going to do more studying and getting more knowledge tomorrow, maybe we should practice in the gym?" suggested Erika.

"I only have one Pokemon," said Ash sadly.

"Chop, Chop," said Machop as he playfully nudged Ash's gut and smiled.

"Do you…want to join me?" asked Ash. Machop nodded his head and he grabbed Ash's hand in a friendly gesture to signify that they were buddies. Ash smiled at this and he took out a Pokeball. "Let's make this fair; how about I battle you to test your strength? Whether you but me or not will not affect the outcome of you joining me. How does that sound?"

"Ma!" he said happily.

"Wonderful! And I will provide herbal medicine afterwards to heal the two of you," said Nikki as the humans and Machop left the classroom. They arrived to the open arena and a large group of grass Pokemon greeted Erika and Ash as well as Stephanie and Nikki.

"Well, this will be a match of Pokemon with no advantages or disadvantages," said Erika. "Even though Machop seems completely determined to be Ash's partner whether win or lose, I'm still interested in seeing what this little guy can do."

Ash was a bit nervous since he did not even know what moves that Krabby had. "So let's see..." he said a bit hesitantly as he got out his PokeDex and pointed it at Krabby.

"Krabby's level is 15 and the current moves are bubble, leer, and vicegrip." He then pointed it at Machop and his picture appeared on the PokeDex screen and Dexter said, "Machop's current level is 16 and knows the moves karate chop, low kick, leer, and focus energy."

"Only one level apart; this will be an interesting battle," said Stephanie as she, Erika, and Nikki sat on the bleachers and watched the battle unfold.

"Right! Krabby, go and give Machop a vicegrip attack!" ordered Ash. Krabby began walking in his sideways fashion and approached Machop while clicking his pincers to intimidate the muscle Pokemon. Machop seemed unfazed by this and gave Krabby a look that could send chills up anyone's spine. Ash was quite surprised at the sudden change in emotion of Machop; he always pictured him to be happy and playful, but he was pulling off a face that could surely make a young child cry.

"That leer is kinda scary," said Nikki, earning a nod in agreement from Stephanie. Krabby remained motionless and was panicking on the inside despite having a somewhat blank look on his face. Nonetheless, he used his left pincer and clamped Machop's right arm but Machop retaliated by using a karate chop on Krabby's shell, forcing him to let go from the pain.

"Krabby! Don't falter!" shouted Erika from the sidelines, causing Ash to smile from the encouragement that she provided. Although it wasn't his particular goal to beat Machop in a battle, he definitely needed to get some practice in to get the hang of properly handling a Pokemon versus using improvised strategies that would end up failing like he had done in the past, although some of them did work.

"Use your bubble attack!" said Ash. Small bubbles left Krabby's mouth and they hit a Machop that was surrounded by a blue aura. He flexed his muscles and began running to Krabby but tripped along the way.

"Oh no," said Erika as she saw Machop fall. He brushed aside the grass that covered his body and he performed a dropkick on Krabby. The location on Krabby's body that he hit turned blue for a brief second and then Krabby was knocked back.

"That was focus energy!" said Ash. "And that attack did a lot more damage than I would've thought!"

"That's because focus energy makes critical hits much easier to land," explained Erika. "That blue aura was Machop's fighting spirit that he heightened and he concentrated it into that low kick."

"Cookie, cookie," said Krabby as he tried to get back on his side. Ash lent a hand and helped Krabby stand up properly.

"You're doing fine; this is your first battle, after all," reassured Ash with a smile. "Do you think you can use another bubble on Machop?"

"Cookieeee!" exclaimed the crab Pokemon as he unleashed bubbles all around Machop, confusing Machop and making him lose his balance.

"Now, go and finish with a vicegrip!" said Ash. Krabby approached Machop again and applied pressure on the grey Pokemon's leg. Machop gasped and sent out a powerful kick that sent Krabby back yet again. With his relatively soft (in comparison to shell) underbelly showing, Machop knew that would be a perfect spot to execute a karate chop, which he did. Krabby moaned in pain and swirls appeared in his eyes.

"Krabby is unable to battle, which means that Machop is the technical winner," said Stephanie.

Ash went over to Krabby and Machop approached them both. "I'm sorry, Krabby; I didn't mean to push you too hard. Did I?"

"Cookie, cookie," said Krabby while shaking his "head" no. Nikki got down on her knees and handed Krabby part of a root she broke in half. She handed Machop the other half and said,

"This is an energy root; it's...rather bitter but you should feel your strength recover."

Machop and Krabby both consumed it and stifled gagging at the horrible taste. Nikki also gave them part of an Oran berry and the sweet taste canceled the nasty root. They felt so much better now.

"Well, Machop?" said Ash as he took out a spare Pokeball. "Ready to join me?"

"Machop!" he said as he fist-bumped the Pokeball, getting transformed into data and being stored in the ball. It shook three times and dinged to show that he got capture. Ash chuckled and picked up the Pokeball.

"Hey, I got a Mac-" he said, but the Pokeball wiggled and Machop popped out of it!

"Chop!" he said vibrantly as he flexed his muscles.

Ash and the others laugh. "You're just like Pikachu! Who hated...being in a Pokeball..." said Ash as his spirits started to go down again. He sat on his haunches and looked down with hurt. Machop and Krabby both went to their trainer and patted him gently.

Erika went over to him and got down on her knees and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Take it one day at I time and your heart will heal over time. I promise."

Tears were about to form on Ash's face but he didn't want to break down in front of these people. "I'll...be okay," he reassured as he returned the affection that his two Pokemon were giving him by giving them each a pat on their heads.

"Well, now that you got Machop on your team, what do you plan on doing now?" asked Nikki as she watched Ash with sympathy in her eyes.

"I'm not giving up, that's for sure," said Ash as he collected himself and stood up. He placed a hand on Machop's shoulder and said, "I want you, Machop, to symbolize the first Pokemon that I caught along the way and the beginning of a new ray of hope."

Machop said his name and flexed his muscles before hugging Ash's leg.

"Excuse me?" said a voice from the entrance of the arena. "Which one of you is Erika?"

"That would be me," said Erika. "Are you wanting to challenge me?"

"Yes," said the girl. "My name is Hannah and I would like to win my badge."

"You sound fairly sure of you skills," said Erika, "but I will not deny a challenge. Ash, why don't you have a seat and watch a certified gym leader do her job? This will be a great learning experience for you."

Ash nodded and he, Machop, and Krabby got onto the bleachers with the other female members of the gym.

"Three on three, how does that sound?" said Erika.

"Lovely," said Hannah with a smirk. "Please have the honor of sending out your first Pokemon."

"Fine. Tangela, show her your skills!" Erika let out a blue noodle-like Pokemon that had a face hidden among the countless eyes and had on red shoes. Erika looked back at Ash who had his notebook out and was making observation of efficient battling.

"Golbat, let's go!" said Hannah. Ash took out his Pokemon and got the information on both Pokemon; Tangela being a female at level 28 and Golbat was a male being at level 26. Based on what he learned, Tangela was at a huge disadvantage against Golbat since it had a four-times resistance to grass moves even if she was two levels higher than the bat Pokemon.

"Wow! Erika is against a Pokemon that has a clear advantage over her!" said Nikki.

"That may be true, but keep in mind that Erika is not an amateur," said Stephanie.

"Golbat! Go in and use poison fang!" ordered Hannah. Golbat said its name and flapped his wings as he approached Tangela. His teeth glowed a toxic purple as he dove towards Tangela.

"Use bind to stop Golbat then use tickle!" commanded Erika. Tangela used two vines to wrap around Golbat's wings and used two more to tickle his feet and his wings. Golbat entered a frenzy of laughter and was completely immobilized.

"Tickling causes the opponent's attack and defense to fall," explained Nikki.

"Now use slam!" said Erika. Tangela let go of Golbat and jumped into the air.

"Counter with air cutter!" said Hannah. Golbat got off the grown and took to the air. His two wings glowed as he was about to launch his attack, but Erika smirked.

"Sleep powder!" she commanded as Tangela let out the turquoise dust that blew into Golbat's face. His eyes drooped and fell to the ground hard and Tangela applied all her weight onto Golbat's back with slam.

"Golbat! Please try to wake up!" said Hannah who was in a tight bind. Five seconds after she said that Golbat finally woke up and up flew up high to prepare a wing attack. Tangela tripped on a small pebble and got hit by the attack but still had a lot of energy left.

"Mega drain!" said Erika.

"A grass-type move won't do anything!" said Hannah with confidence.

"Oh? Are you sure about that?" replied Erika while maintaining a professional composure.

"Why would she be doing that if Tangela is at a huge disadvantage?" said Ash somewhat rhetorically.

"Tangela has a very high special attack, plus, she has a miracle seed which raises grass moves," answered Stephanie.

"I'm being a bit doubtful, aren't I?" said Ash, earning a playful nudge from Machop to tell the boy to keep his eyes on the battle.

Tangela sent out a blue vine and wrapped it around Golbat's body and a green light appeared around Golbat as Tangela drained health away from him and returned it to herself. Tangela's body also glowed the same green and she appeared more vibrant than ever. She released Golbat and Hannah said,

"Supersonic!"

"Sunny day!" shouted Erika. Tangela formed a beam of light that temporarily blinded Golbat and halted his attack. The beam of light penetrated the greenhouse windows of the roof (in the center of the circle of Vileplume's head from the outside of the gym) and caused heavy sunlight to pour into the gym. Golbat was further blinded and the supersonic attack had no affect whatsoever.

"Solarbeam!" commanded Erika. Tangela used the intense sunlight to channel it into a beam of light and fired it at Golbat who then fainted after that move made contact. Ash was amazed at the strategy that Erika used.

"I'm confused," said Ash to Nikki. "Doesn't supersonic normally lead to confusion?"

"Yes, under normal circumstances, but Erika's Tangela has the ability leaf guard that prevents any status problems during bright sunlight," explained Nikki.

"You using sunny day wasn't a smart move," said Hannah, "because I now have a better Pokemon. Go, Growlithe!"

The puppy Pokemon came out of its ball and barked at Tangela. Ash learned that this Growlite was female and at level 25 and felt that Erika could potentially be at risk since Growlithe had an obvious advantage over Tangela.

"Flamthrower, let's go!" said Hannah as she pointed at Tangela. Growlithe inhaled and used the additional power of the sun to enhance the flames.

"Ancient power!" ordered Erika. Tangela glowed white and unleashed an energy ball into the fire in an attempt to deflect the flames, but the flames were far more powerful and pushed back the the attack to Tangela who got hit with her own attack and the flames. This was sufficient to knock her out and Ash and the audience gasped.

"She-she lost," said Ash with a frown. Both Machop and Krabby also put on a frown, too, but Nikki and Stephanie weren't in the same position.

"By lost, you mean Tangela lost all her health points," said Stephanie. "This battle is just warming up!"

"Oh, Arceus," said Nikki with a face-palm to Stephanie's horrible puns. "But she is right, though. This battle is nowhere near finished. Tangela is one of Erika's least-skilled Pokemon."

"I wonder what other Pokemon she uses?" thought Ash.

"Very well, I shall use..." said Erika as she threw her next ball to the ground..."Ivysaur!"

Ash was stunned. "She had a Bulbasaur?" he said with disbelief.

"It's actually her father's, but he lets her use him for gym battles," said Nikki.

"Flamethrower!" ordered Hannah.

"Sweet scent!" said Erika. The bud on Ivysaur's back shook and pink dust diffused across the room. Growlithe was in the middle of creating the flame in her stomach when the dust reached her nose. Her eyes bulged and she stopped and smelled the wonderful aroma while wagging her tail completely distracted.

"Now show them your leech seed, please!" said Erika with a hint of grace in her professional tone. A rather large seed formed on the bud on Ivysaur's back and it was launched at the puppy who was in a daze. Growlithe gasped and the seed opened and released vines that wrapped around her, sapping her energy.

"Use flame wheel to break the vines!" said Hannah. Growlithe turned a fiery orange and the vines turned to small heaps of ash. The puppy began to dash towards Ivysaur but Erika had no fear.

"Attract!" she said. Ivysaur spun around really fast once and winked, sending a comical heart towards Growlithe. Growlithe came to a screeching halt and stared at Ivysaur with infatuation; she had completely put herself into a vulnerable condition to go goo-goo eyes over the plant Pokemon.

"Oh, come on, Growlithe! Snap out of it!" ordered her trainer, but it was pointless. Growlithe was head over heels for Ivysaur and Hannah knew the only way to stop it. "Return for now!" she called as Growlithe returned to her ball.

"Is returning to the Pokeball the only way to snap out of love?" asked Ash to Stephanie.

"Unless you have a mental herb, yes; other than that, your Pokemon is rendered useless while in love," she answered.

"Go, Seel!" she shouted as she let out the bluish-white pinniped Pokemon that clapped her flippers together. "Aurora beam!"

"Razor leaf!" said Erika. Ivysaur unleashed a torrent of sharp leaves towards the rainbow-colored beam of light that Seel unleashed. The two attacks managed to miss and Ivysaur got hit with the ice attack while Seel was sliced with the leaves. Both attacks landed critically and it appeared that Ivysaur was not able to withstand the attack and fell over fainted.

"Hannah may beat Erika," said Ash as both he and Machop shared the same faces of stun.

"Don't be so sure of that; she always uses her best Pokemon when backed into a corner," reassured Nikki who folded her arms.

Erika was in complete shock but nonetheless selected her last Pokemon: her best Pokemon.

"Gloom, go!" she said as she released the walking weed Pokemon. "Sludge bomb!"

Gloom obeyed and hurled huge blobs of toxic filth at the weakened sea lion; because Seel had taken a critical hit from razor leaf, and the fact that Gloom was part poison and got an attack bonus, Seel fainted, leaving Hannah with her only choice left: Growlithe. Growlithe entered the field and eyed Gloom with utmost confidence.

"Growlithe, flame charge!" said Hannah.

"Gloom…you know what to do," urged Erika politely. As the flame-covered body of Growlithe dashed towards Gloom in what Hannah thought would be the final blow, Gloom released a green gas from her head that diffused across the entire gym.

"That's all-" began Hannah but stopped once she got a whiff of the odor. It even made its way up to the stands were Ash was and he, Machop, and Krabby stifled retching, but Nikki and Stephanie seemed unfazed by the smell. It was the worst thing that Ash ever smelt; it smelt far worse than a bag of trash that was left to rot under 100+ F temperatures—not that he knew what that smelt like. The stench knocked out Growlithe completely; there was no way anyone could fight with that smell lingering in the air.

Hannah didn't even had time to tell Growlithe to return; she simply recalled the puppy and dashed out of the arena without saying another word.

About five minutes had passed and the smell finally faded away. Ash sighed in relief and said, "Why aren't you guys gagging?"

"We're kinda used to it," said Nikki.

"They say that is the worst odor in the world," started Stephanie, "but after years of being around Gloom, we seem to have grown immune to it."

Ash chuckled and left the bleachers and met up with Erika. "That was awesome; for a second I thought you would lose!" he said.

"Thank you," she said with a nod. "I used to be quite bad at battling and many trainers said that I was a bit too kind and let them win, but I've really stepped up my game and make sure that trainers earn their badges. I am just doing my job and making the battle too easy for the opponents doesn't really give them much satisfaction since there wasn't a challenge."

"I agree with you all the way," said Ash as he held out his hand which she shook, "mentor. I bet you are tired and would like to rest cause I know I am."

"I actually am since I didn't even leave the gym last night," she said. "I watched you break down and saw you open up to Machop and he even gave you some berries-some of which I planted, but nonetheless, I saw a bond form between the two of you."

Ash was about to open his mouth and say something but the girl with the short brown hairl who told Ash that they manufactured that stinky perfume in the gym entered the arena and said, "Erika, your father's on the phone."

Erika went into the lobby and picked up the phone and her father immediately asked her how she was. She pretty much got the vibe he wanted to make sure that Ash was doing anything bad and she instantly convinced him that things have been going swimmingly and productive and was planning to teach Ash more. He said that he was going to pick her up and was leaving the perfume shop with Natalie as soon he hung up.

"Father is coming to get me," said Erika. She let out a huge yawn and tried to stay awake but was drifting fast. "You may want to go to the Pokemon center and get a nap yourself; it must have been dreadfully uncomfortable to sleep on the concrete during the night."

"That is a very tempting idea," said Ash. "Do you think your dad could drop me off at the Pokemon center?"

"I see no reason why he wouldn't," said Erika. "Stephanie, Nikki, will you run the gym while I go home? I'm afraid my stamina is running far too low and I'm sure that you would like to handle the evening class."

"Of course," said Nikki. "Go on home and have a nice dinner and sleep well. You do the same, Ash."

"I may come back later," said Erika, "to lock the gym, but I'm sure my father can. I'll see you tomorrow."

Ash and Erika both waited outside and Bernard pulled up to the gym.

"Is it okay," said Ash to her father, "if you drop me off at the Pokemon center by the perfume shop?"

"No problem, " said Bernard with a smile as the car went to its destination. Ash went inside and showed his I.D. to Nurse Joy and crashed into bed for a nap. He knew he'd wake up in a few hours to get dinner, but he was more tired than he expected. He gained a lot of knowledge from watching a true professional at work and had motivation to keep him going. Erika was taken home and she remained fairly quiet except to disperse any accusations that her father and mother had. Ash kept crossing her mind and she felt deep care for him. It was a truly magnificent feeling to help someone, especially one who had suffered a big downfall like Ash did.

Ash had woken up a few hours later to see that Machop was lying on his left side and using his hands as a support. Ash smiled and hugged Machop who eagerly returned it.

"I'm glad that you found me," said Ash. Machop said his name and Ash resumed talking about the future and he wanted Machop to forever stand by his side. The two of them then went to get some dinner and Ash even let out Krabby to get some food. Ash couldn't wait for another potentially gainful day tomorrow with Erika. He wanted to know all this and become a better person.