A/N: Yo, Here's the new Chapter.

I do not own Pokémon. I would have challenged Nintendo to a Rap battle, but they have a power that I just cannot overcome, no matter what I do…..

The Power of Engrish. Nothing can defeat Engrish.

XXX

"And I'm telling you that it's a very powerful Pokémon!" Ash's voice came out as a yell.

"Pikachu can probably defeat it in one move!" A feminine voice yelled back.

"They have been going at it for five minutes now….. Should we do something?" Daisy asked with concern to her two sisters.

"Nah, its like, a lover's quarrel! Daisy, we don't need to do anything." Lily brushed off her sister's concern. Violet simply watched the scene in front of her with amusement.

"Hmm….maybe your right. Just imagine if they end it with an angry and passionate kiss…" Daisy said with a sigh.

"Yeah…..our little sis and her long time 'boy' friend." Violet gushed in the same manner.

"THAT'S IT! MY Gyrados vs. your Arbok! Right here, Right now!" Misty screamed at Ash, the sheer air rushing out of her mouth making Ash's hair flow wildly. Misty was apparently less-than-impressed with the newest Pokémon of Ash. Seeing Arbok being defeated by a single Thundershock for years had made a permanent opinion of Misty's mind over the power of that particular Pokémon.

"You got it!" Ash screamed back, both of them stomping their way over to the gym's main battle area. Ash naturally didn't take this perceived belittling of his Pokémon too well.

"…...or maybe not."

"Pika pi….." Pikachu just sighed sadly at the behavior of two of the people he knew all too well.

"Aww poor little guy.. Come on Pikachu, you can stay with us!" Lily said to the cute looking Pokémon in front of her.

"CHU!" And Pikachu was all too happy to agree.

XXX

"Gyrados honey, come on out and show Ash just who he is dealing with." Misty said calmly as a low, but still audible growl came from under the surface of the huge Pool which served as the battling area of Cerulean City's Gym.

A huge serpentine Pokémon emerged out of the water. The aforementioned Pokémon had huge jaws, enough to fit a Rhyhorn into them which remained permanently opened. A three pointed dark blue crest on its head gave it a regal appearance. The Pokémon let out an absolutely insane growl as it came out from the water, honestly scaring the shit out of Ash.

Ash audibly gulped at the huge form of the Atrocious Pokémon. But shaking his head immediately after, he took a determined stance. He wasn't about to get his newest friend humiliated because he was scared. He had faced and defeated Legendary Pokémon before…this was nothing compared to that.

"Arbok, I choose you!" Ash yelled as he threw Arbok's Pokeball towards one of the floating platforms in the pool.

"CHAABOK!" Arbok let out a determined hiss as it emerged from its Pokeball. The 18 feet long Serpent stared down the 21 feet long one. While most Pokémon would have been highly intimidated, Arbok wasn't one to be so. Even in the wild Arbok were highly egoistical Pokémon, never backing down from a challenge or showing fear. And in all honesty, Arbok's size wasn't all that short from Gyrados.

"Dexter….give me some info on Arbok." Ash said in a light tone to Dexter, who beeped in understanding and immediately scanned Arbok.

"National Pokedex Entry #24: Arbok

This Pokémon is terrifically strong in order to constrict things with its body. It can even flatten steel oil drums. Once Arbok wraps its body around its foe, escaping its crunching embrace is impossible.

This Arbok has the Ability: Shed Skin
This Arbok knows the moves: Acid Spray, Crunch, Dig, Thunder Fang, Ice Fang, Coil, Haze, Smokescreen, Sludge Wave, Sludge Bomb, and Hyper Beam."

"Arbok's pretty strong!" Ash whispered in awe. If Rail knew that Arbok knew all of these moves….. That guy would have sold his left nut to keep a hold over it.

"Thanks Dexter. You've been extremely helpful to me." Ash said with gratitude towards his sentient computer.

"I-It's no problem Sir!" Dexter said, a bit shyly over the praise.

"Trainer's ready?" An official sounding voice rang out, startling Ash.

Seeing both Ash and Misty nod, the Gym's Referee threw both his hands down. "Begin!"

"Gyrados! Start up by Hydro Pump!" Misty ordered to Gyrados, who let out a growl in understanding as it fired a massive beam of water towards Arbok, whose muscles tensed as it prepared to follow whatever command Ash gave.

"Arbok get into the water!" Ash commanded as Arbok immediately jumped into the water. The Hydro Pump hit a split second later, the effect nullified by Arbok's presence in a large body of water. Nevertheless, Arbok was knocked a great deal inside the pool, showing just how powerful the Hydro Pump really was.

"You're in our territory now Ash. Gyrados get into the water and fish out Arbok!" Misty yelled to her monstrous Pokémon, overconfidence seeping into her early in the match.

'Damn…. Arbok needs some help now. But it can't hear me while deep inside the water, I've gotta wait till it comes near the surface!' Ash thought to himself, a little bit of panic coming into his mind. Even though Arbok was more than an adept swimmer; its ears didn't work all that well at heights that deep.

Meanwhile Gyrados had readily jumped into the water, its natural habitat, and began searching for Arbok. He didn't have to search for long as the purple serpent was swimming for the surface at great speeds.

Meeting Arbok head on, both Gyrados and Arbok rammed their heads, its larger size providing Gyrados an advantage. Gyrados and Arbok continued their melee in the water, with both Pokémon twisting and turning to get a good hit on their respective adversaries. Gyrados used its Water Gun in conjunction with its physical attacks, getting a greater speed than Arbok. Soon, its type advantage proved too much for Arbok as Gyrados wrapped up Arbok in a powerful Coil.

Arbok hissed out in pain as its own maneuver was used again itself. The Coil also provided a greater advantage to Gyrados in the sense that it could suffocate Arbok with ease. While Arbok and its pre-evolution, Ekans, could well on stay in water for more than an hour, being strangulated by a physically superior Pokémon like Gyrados didn't bode well for them.

Ash gritted his teeth, knowing that Gyrados could just stretch this out to get a cheap victory. Seeing the smug grin on Misty's face didn't help matters.

However during all this, Gyrados and Arbok's thrashing had brought them much closer to the surface of the water, thus making it possible for Ash to give orders now.

'Dang! Arbok can't use Bite or Thunder Fang… Bite won't even scratch Gyrados and Thunder Fang would end up causing more damage to Arbok itself than anything else…. What can I do….what..wha- THAT'S IT!'

"Gonna give up Ash?" Misty asked to her long time friend and crush. Even though she would support Ash in the Champions League, getting a victory for her won't feel bad at all. "Don't worry, Gyrados is my strongest Pokémon, Arbok didn't have a chance from the beginning." She said, intending to taunt Ash. But much to her surprise, Ash didn't answer back nor did he look worried at all, rather he had a smirk on his face.

"Arbok, use Acid Spray in the water!" Ash yelled triumphantly, knowing that now he had the upper hand in the match.

'Huh? What's that gonna do?' Misty thought confusedly.

"Cha*blob blob* bok!" Arbok let out a stream of thick purple liquid around itself. The stream hissed as it came into contact with water, the difference in pH causing the mini reactions. Even though Gyrados tightened its reign around Arbok, the Cobra Pokémon continued letting out the Acid into the water.

The change wasn't clear to Misty and Gyrados instantly, but soon, Gyrados began wiggling around inside the water in discomfort, while its grip against Arbok loosened. As Arbok continued letting out the Acid Spray, it sprayed some onto its opponent itself, the Acid creating a mini layer on the scaly body of Gyrados. The Acid, besides reacting against Gyrados skin, also added to the Acid already present in the vicinity.

Gyrados let out a pain filled roar as the Acidic water reached its eyes and sensitive parts, providing enough opportunity for Arbok to use a Bite to escape.

Arbok immediately rushed towards the surface, coiling up on one of the platforms and taking deep breaths to restore the Oxygen it lost during the underwater melee.

Misty was in complete disbelief over what she had just witnessed."NO WAY! How did you even think of something like that!?"

"Making the water Acidic enough for Gyrados to loosen up?" Ash asked with a smirk, getting a tick mark to appear on Misty's forehead. "Truth be told, even I don't know what just happened. I just read an article on the XtremeDex which described how Arboks kept their territory safe from other Pokémon by making their surrounding areas Acidic. I didn't know whether it would work on something like Gyrados…." He then gave a look towards Gyrados, who was still rushing blindly in the water "….And by the looks of it….it worked."

"And by the way, don't stop using Acid Spray Arbok! Get Arbok out…or rather fish it out!" Ash said with a grin, turning back misty's earlier taunt on her.

"Chabokkkka!" Arbok was more than happy to agree, taking pleasure in the pain its opponent felt.

Realizing that situations could turn from bad to worse for her if she did not take an immediate decision, Misty yelled "Gyrados, immediately get out of the water!"

Ash grinned. Now that Gyrados was out of the water, things were on more than even ground between him and Arbok. 'I have no doubt that Gyrados has more raw power than Arbok…..but that doesn't mean we're gonna lose!'

"Gyrados! Use Rain Dance!" Misty commanded her Pokémon, causing Ash to curse. Gyrados started moving erratically for a few seconds, twisting and turning its body as a blue glow came onto it.

Rain clouds appeared out of nowhere in the roofed structure, by what magic Ash did not know. Pretty soon it started raining, effectively nullifying the Acidic effect on Gyrados's body; not so much for the pool water, which had an obscene amount of Acid mixed into it.

"Now Gyrados, use Flamethrower!" Misty said to her Pokémon, confident that the next move would help it win.

"Dodge it by getting into the water Arbok!" Ash said as he grit his teeth. With only two platforms present on the surface; the pool provided an immense disadvantage for the non water type Pokémon competing here. More so in the rare case that the opponent happened to Misty's powerful Gyrados.

While Arbok tried to dodge immediately, it could not as the Flamethrower hit its hood. Arbok cried out in pain as it was pushed backwards into the water, the cool liquid providing momentary relief. "Cha." Arbok grunted as it slithered quickly into the water; displeased to get back into the same niche from which it had escaped minutes prior. But the Flamethrower had caused much damage to its hide, and the water was the perfect place to be in.

'Well….at least Gyrados can't get in…to.. the….. wat…er?' Ash's thoughts were rapidly turned as Misty ordered Gyrados to use Hydro Pump on the pool water, the excessive water nullifying the Acidic pH into a neutral one. 'There goes the time to think about strategies.' Ash deadpanned to himself.

Not even wasting a moment, Gyrados jumped into the water, intent on hunting Arbok down after the agony it had suffered due to it.

"Gyrados, end it using Ice Beam!" Misty was getting a bit more desperate now; the battle had gone far longer than she had estimated.

"Gya!" Gyrados roared as it launched a whitish blue beam towards Arbok, who managed to avoid it closely. Both Arbok and Ash knew that if the Ice Beam hit any part of Arbok, the match was as good as over since its speed would be greatly reduced.

Suddenly, one of the beams partially hit Arbok, freezing part of its tail, and immediately reducing much of its mobility. Using Ice beam in water had the added effect of causing even more damage than when used on ground.

With the scenario getting bleak, Ash was getting desperate. "Arbok, use Smokescreen in the water to hide yourself!" Ash could only hope that the second most basic point about Arboks and Sevipers proved to be true inside water.

'What is Ash thinking?' Misty thought to herself, more curious that anything else. From the many unorthodox strategies Ash had devised in this very match, she could admit at least to herself that she was quite intrigued.

Arbok obeyed without any question, a stream of smoke exiting from its mouth; converting to sludge and slime into the water. Nevertheless, visibility turned to zero underwater, with neither of the trainers able to see their Pokémon.

"Ugh….that's gonna take a long time to clean up…." Lily groaned to herself, the action being mimicked by the other two sisters as well as the Gym Referee.

"What are you gonna do now Ash?" Misty asked to herself. "Now that the water is all dark, not even Gyrados will be able to find Arbok, but they will have to come out after some time and that is when we will win!" She exclaimed, hoping to see at least a worried expression on Ash's friend, she was rather worried by the semi-confident smirk.

"That's what you think Misty. But as for Arbok, well he has a special weapon."

Ash then turned towards the pool, internally debating whether he should go ahead with the strategy or not, seeing as it could easily turn out to be a waste of energy.

And Arbok looked pretty damn tired the last time it came up on the surface.

'It's do or die…. Or lose' "Arbok, use Sludge Bomb on Gyrados!" He yelled, hoping to the heavens above that Arbok could hear his voice over all of the water and smoke.

Everyone present around watching the battle was turned for a loop from this sudden order of Ash's.

"But how will Arbok even find Gyra-" Misty was silenced a couple of small booms came from the water surface, a large amount of the smoky water going up. Gyrados's pain filled cries filled the air as multiple Sludge Bombs hit it.

"Use Sludge Wave around you Arbok, and then continue using Sludge Bombs!" Ash yelled, clenching a fist in excitement as his theory proved true. Even though Sludge Bomb was a pretty strong attack, Ash could only guess that its power reduced exponentially in the water, and with the Sludge Wave, he made the water almost impossible for Gyrados for moving in. Arbok, being accommodated in moving through swamps and the underground, didn't experience any such problems of his own.

Misty's uses had widened in sheer disbelief over what was happening in front of her eyes. She was being overwhelmed in her element, Water, by a Pokémon not even belonging to the type. Her panic began to rise as the water turned extremely murky, the Sludge Wave showing its merit.

But one thing still baffled her-" How are the Sludge Bombs even hitting Gyrados!? How is Arbok able to hit on target!?" Misty asked Ash.

Ash smiled. "While you may not know it Misty, Arbok has Thermal Vision, so moves like Haze and Smokescreen doesn't affect it in the least."

"Grr… Gyrados, please try to come out of the water!" Misty yelled in desperation to her Pokémon.

"Arbok, keep on using the Sludge Bombs!" Ash yelled, he wasn't going to lose now. He knew full well that Gyrados hadn't expelled much of its power had could still finish off Arbok in one move if given the time.

Soon, a slithering mass of bruised and battered scales came thrashing up on the surface; Misty's Gyrados was severely weakened. The muddied water caused it to expel even more energy in order to perform a task as simple as move onto the platform.

Arbok followed soon after, its hide showing burn marks and the tail suffering from Frostbite; but its mobility far more than Gyrados due to having experience of moving in such surfaces.

Both of the Pokémon panted harshly as they got onto their relating platforms. Their glares were heated as they watched at their respective figures of momentary hate. Both of the Pokémon were running on pure adrenal after performing such high level moves in quick succession.

Both Ash and Misty knew that whatever orders they would give their respective Pokémon would probably be their last stand, so gathering their wits, both yelled-

"Gyrados!" –"Arbok!"

"Hyper Beam!" Both of the voices came out as one, their eyes widening momentarily at having announced the same move.

Both Arbok and Gyrados let out beastly roars as they began charging up a yellow sphere in their mouths, the sharp teeth of both the apex predators fully visible now. The yellow balls grew in size for a few seconds, by which time they were as large as Baseballs. With a resounding cry of their names, both of the Pokémon launched their attacks, the yellow sphere converting into a beam of pure destruction.

Both the beams met in a spectacular display, their yellow colors turning to Golden from their sheer power, which combined as they met. Both of the Pokémon began struggling for dominance as the impact point moved back and forth. A sphere made of pure energy was created in the middle, showing that the powers of the Hyper Beams were combining.

"Uhh…..we better get down….." The Referee said nervously to the group behind him.

Ash and Misty shouted their respective support to their Pokémon, the small crowd comprising of the Gym staff and Misty's sisters covered their eyes, the brightness too much for them.

Then…. the sphere exploded, creating a huge mushroom cloud on the point of impact as the muddled water flew around, a small amount evaporating from the sheer heat generated at the impact point. A sound equal to a canon ball going off was heard as the explosion occurred

"W-who w-won?" Daisy asked, coughing a little as she bleakly opened her eyes.

The Referee, unable to see clearly, didn't respond immediately. But as the cloud settled, both of the Pokémon's silhouette was visible, both lay out on the ground, swirls having replaced their eyes.

The match was a draw.

The referee announced as such as both the trainers returned their Pokémon, opposite looks on their faces.

Ash looked overjoyed at the result. And why shouldn't he be? Drawing with a Pokémon as strong as Gyrados spoke volumes of Arbok's true strength and potential.

Misty on the other hand looked completely shocked. Gyrados was her strongest Pokémon, and Ash's Arbok had been able to defeat it!? 'Maybe I do need to train harder…'

Both Ash and Misty approached each other, with the small crowd waiting in baited silence to see just what happened next. The match was furiously high octane for a seemingly random battle, rather looking like a knockout round of a regional league. Pikachu quickly made its way up its trainers shoulder.

Misty smiled as she extended her hands, causing Ash to blink. "You did very well Ash." She said genuinely. "You proved me completely wrong; Arbok indeed is a very capable battler." She said, feeling a bit of shame at having dismissed Arbok so easily.

Ash merely smiled. "No problem Misty, although I must say that Gyrados was one of the strongest Pokémon I have battled." Ash said with honesty.

As the two friends exchanged words Lily and Violet were engaged in a discussion of their own.

"Lil' Sis. did well, didn't she?" Lily asked to her sister.

Said sister shook her head in the negative. "To be honest Lil, no she did not."

Lily was shocked by the answer. "B-But how? She drew with Arbok, didn't she?"

"Think 'bout it Lily, Arbok was a Pokémon that Ash had captured two days ago, and still he drew against Misty's Gyrados, which is her best Pokémon. That just shows that Misty has a great way to go before she could call herself a true Water Pokémon Master." Daisy explained further, leaving Lily a bit baffled over the sudden intelligence her sister showed about the art of Pokémon battling.

Ash stayed at the Gym for another hour or so, the time necessary for Arbok to recover in the Pokémon center. Even though he would have liked spending more time with Misty, he knew that he had to get home soon.

His epic journey awaited him.

XXX

A couple of hours later…

Ash POV

A dust cloud was created as a large Pidgeot landed in front of the famous laboratory of Professor Oak.

"Thanks Pidgeot! You can go and meet up with the others." I said, looking towards Pidgeot. Seeing as we were at the laboratory, there was no need for Pidgeot to stay inside a Pokeball. Pikachu jumped from the top of Pidgeot.

Pidgeot cooed happily as it flapped its majestic wings and took off towards the large canopy of trees, where Staraptor, Swellow, Unfezant and Noctowl usually rested.

I stretched out my legs as Pikachu did the same. Man flying really tires one out. "Come on Pikachu, let's go meet the Professor." Pikachu fell in step with me as we entered the Laboratory.

After searching for a while, we found Professor sipping tea in his Living Room.

"Ah, Ash! What a pleasant surprise, come on in." Oak said with a smile as I entered the room.

"Hey Professor Oak." "Pikachu!" Both of us sat on the sofa opposite to the one Professor was sitting on.

"So how was your journey Ash? Catch some new Pokémon?" Professor Oak asked curiously as he continued sipping his tea.

A grin came to my face. "Two actually." I said proudly.

One of Oak's eyebrows rose in curiosity. "Really? Mind showing me?"

I nodded and stood up. Taking the two Pokeballs on my belt, I pressed the button on their center to enlarge them before calling them out. "Come on out guys!"

"Gengarrr!" "Chabokka!" Both of the Pokémon arrived with their respective cries. Gengar floated around with the perpetual mischievous look on its face, while Arbok was coiled up, not intending to cause any damage to the closed up room due to its large size.

Professor Oak moved forward to inspect the two Pokémon, which had the two beings look in confusion at each other. Regardless, both were calm in the presence of their Trainer.

"Impressive." Oak finally said after taking a few looks on them. "Gengar is very well conditioned. The Gaseous particles that make its body do not have irregular coloration, so it is safe to say that it has had a very balanced diet. It also looks to be Levitating without much concentration, pretty impressive for a Gengar." Since Gengars received two legs after evolving, their Levitating abilities were usually reduced a bit, but the Gengar in front of Oak was a pretty impressive specimen.

"Arbok's scales look shiny and its length is also a bit above average. And now that I look accurately, its facial pattern is also of a Speed forme so it will definitely help in the kind of battles you have Ash."

I was just glad that the two marks on Arbok's hood had been able to be healed by Nurse Joy. But the thing about forme confused me. "What do you mean by Speed Forme, Professor?" I asked. Even Arbok was a bit confused by the sudden mention.

"I am not surprised that you do not know about it Ash, it's not really common knowledge after all." Oak said with a smile as he motioned for me to sit back on the sofa, while he took back his own place.

"The designs you see on Arbok's hood, they are the ones which decide the Forme that your Arbok has."

"Designs? But I have only seen one type of pattern on Arboks hood." I was rather confused. While it was true that I had not had much experience with Arboks, other than Team Rocket's, whenever I had seen an Arbok in the wild it had the same type of Pattern.

"You see, Arboks usually have the Standard Forme on their hoods. That's the one most trainers notice. What is not known to the masses is that Arbok's facial patterns come in Six Forms, out of which three are known; Attack, Speed and Standard. Your Arbok has a speed boosting Pattern, so without a shadow of a doubt, it will come much handy for you." Oak explained to me.

I looked at Arbok in a new light, as did Pikachu and Gengar. "Wow Arbok, you are really good!" I complimented the purple colored Pokémon, who blushed a bit at the praise it received from Ash, Pikachu and Gengar.

Having been under an abusive trainer for much of its life, the change in scenario was an extremely happy one for Arbok.

"So Gary told me that you will be leaving for this… 'Training Trip' of yours tomorrow?" I nodded at that. "I see…..so what is it that you plan to do during this trip?" Oak asked curiously.

"First of all, I am planning to go to Johto; there is someone I have to meet there…." A memory crossed my face…. A memory of a Pokémon I had not seen from the days of my Johto journeys.

I could only hope that it was still free.

Oak nodded, not intending to pry. "And what after that? While I agree that Mt. Silver is a great place to train in Johto, is that your plan?" He asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, before faltering a bit. While I had been training pretty hard for the last few days, I was banking on making the most out of my Training Trip. But now that I think about it… what exactly can I do while travelling around that I can't in the comfort of Oak's Laboratory?

"I see that you're pretty confused." Oak noted.

"Yes professor… now that I am thinking about it, where exactly can I go for my Training Trip? I have never travelled just for the purpose of Training…" I trailed off.

Seeing his confusion, Oak spoke up "May I suggest something to you?" At my nod he continued. "Why not take on the Sinnoh Battle Frontier?"

I was rather taken aback at the suggestion. But then a sudden thought hit me "But Professor, aren't all the Gyms and Contests closed for this season? Is the Battle Frontier even active?"

"No, the Battle Frontier remains open all the time, regardless of what the gyms and Contests might follow. The main reason for this is that unlike the Gyms, only a very low number of people manage to defeat even the first Frontier Brain, so there's no need for the others to compete. So the Battle Frontier will be the best option for you to test out your skills in an official capacity."

It was then that he decided to add something more "And moreover, the Frontier Facilities are located quite nearby, so you can finish it in a maximum period of three months, giving you much time to capture new Pokémon and train with them."

I nodded as a smile came to my face. I had already won the Kanto Battle Frontier, Sinnoh didn't sound bad at all! But I still had one last question "Why particularly Sinnoh, Professor? Why not Unova, Hoenn or Johto?"

"You don't know? The Hoenn region and the Kanto region share the same Battle Frontier, while Sinnoh and Johto do the same. And as for Unova, well it doesn't have a Battle Frontier of its own, and is too far away from the mainland to share one."

Oak said as he listed the regions. He was rather concerned at Ash's extreme lack of knowledge over such things, but there was hardly anything he could do for that.

I hummed in understanding, but one look towards Pikachu, Arbok and Gengar made up my decision without any doubt.

"We are gonna take on the Sinnoh Battle Frontier!"

XXX

Night time
Pokémon POV

"Hey yo? Where are the new guys?" Blastoise asked anxiously as he looked at his fellow friends.

"Don't know Boss. Pikachu did say they are gonna come soon." Dewott said as he looked at his 'Boss'. Ever since Blastoise had taken Dewott under his wing, Dewott began calling Blastoise 'Boss'.

"I must say, even I am highly intrigued by the identities of our new comrades." Noctowl said in his usual smart manner as he turned his head near 180 degrees to look for any sign of the newbies.

"Could it be Lapras? We haven't seen her for a long time." Snorlax rumbled out, for once taking part in a conversation. Having training hard for the past few days had made Snorlax into a much more desirable living being to be around.

"Why couldn't Pidg just tell us?" Unfezant asked, her sweet tone while mentioning Pidgeot not going unnoticed by the surrounding Pokémon. Nevertheless, all refrained from commenting.

Dewott being left at a near death stage was a constant reminder for most.

"Apparently, he and Pikachu wanted to 'surprise us'." Charizard muttered out sarcastically. He was quite annoyed by the constant wait.

All of the Pokémon fell into quieted mutterings, talking among themselves. Torkoal and Croconaw discussed how their respective training regimes were coming through. Torkoal had been humiliated at his own loss against Tobias and wanted to prove his worth to Ash.

For Croconaw, his pride had been hurt immensely by his own weak state. Being a predator Pokémon, living a comfortable life at the ranch had spoiled him. He didn't mind the training Ash put him through, not at all.

Quilava, Infernape and Pignite were comparing their respective fires. The bodily flames of Fire Pokémon were the source of their pride and ego. Having a weak flame deemed one unworthy for competition.

Staraptor, Gliscor and Swellow just lazed around in the canopy of a few trees, tired of all the waiting around.

Palpitoad and Buizel were having a mini race around the pond. Having been the 'Bosses' of their respective home areas, both Pokémon engaged in mock battles and competition to test their strengths. While it was clear to anyone perspective enough that Buizel was the better one, Palpitoad constantly tried to make himself better.

Corphish and Kingler were just cackling their claws, seeing whose made the most kind of noises.

Donphan and Tauros were testing their Teeth, and Horns respectively, against each other. Being Pokémon of similar build, Bouffalant, Donphan and Tauros had intense rivalries even in the wild.

"Alright that's enough!" Charizard roared out, startling many of the Pokémon in the vicinity. "If the runt doesn't bring them…. I'm gonna find them myself!" The Dragon stated angrily as he stood.

Suddenly, the air grew a lot colder, and considering that Glailie wasn't around, it was pretty strange.

Charizard felt a sudden shiver on his back. Turning around a tad bit nervously, he was confused a bit as he found nothing.

'Strange…' The chill didn't go away, rather it felt to Charizard as if something was crawling on its back.

"Whyyyy heeloooooooo Charizarddddddd" A somewhat familiar raspy voice came into Charizard's ear, scaring the shit out of him.

Charizard's sudden scream attracted the attention of a lot of Pokémon as they readied their respective weapons. Blastoise's cannons clicked, Quilava's fire blew up and Snivy's vines came out.

"W-Who? W-What-" Charizard fearfully let out as he turned hither tither.

"Why….." Gengar materialized before the group, making a lot of them step back. "…..I am surprised you don't remember me. But I think it cannot be helped…after all, you were a little Charmander back then." Gengar rasped out, still grinning widely.

Blastoise, Bulbasaur and Charizard's eyes widened. "N-no way! You're Hau-!" Charizard was interrupted as Gengar laughed.

"I see that you remember me! Yes, IT'S ME, IT'S ME, IT'S GENGAR-E-P!"

"Dude! Where were you all these days!?" Blastoise asked in extreme confusion as he looked towards the Pokémon that he had not seen for nearly 6 years.

"Ahh, patience my frieeend. Master Ash caught me back then, but decided to leave me with Miss. Sabrina." Gengar started as he explained the circumstances towards his sudden arrival.

"THUNDERBOLT!" A sudden voice came as Gengar got enveloped in electricity.

"AAAHH! FUCK! SHIT!" Gengar cursed as it was fried to the bone….err Gas?

Snivy duly covered little Scraggy's ears.

"You MORON!" Pikachu yelled as he came into the clearing. "I told you to wait! Why the hell did you come before us!" Pidgeot soon came hovering above Pikachu. Pidgeot too, looked irritated, but didn't do anything.

Giving another Thundershock to Gengar for good measure, he finally pointed towards the bushes.

"You can come out now." Pikachu grumbled out in a less than enthusiastic tone as the bushes rustled.

'Another one?'

"Hello my new comradessssssssssss." A hiss came from the bushes as a Pokémon much familiar to most of the gang came out.

"An Arbok!?" Bulbasaur looked at the newest member of their squad in surprise.

"Isss there a problem?" Arbok asked as he narrowed his eyes.

Bulbasaur blinked once before calmly saying "Not at all friend, but a Pokémon of your species is certainly an unexpected capture for our trainer." Bulbasaur explained.

This surprised Arbok a lot. "Huh? Why so?"

20 MINUTES LATER

Arbok twitched as another shame story was told to him about how they had been defeating a Arbok with one or two moves for the past few years. Apparently, this had evolved into beating a Pokémon similar to its species, Seviper, in the recent years.

"So… why did Ash catch a weakling like this?" Many Pokémon questioned.

Arbok twitched once more. 'Damn that Arbok for ruining our reputation!' He raged mentally. 'But no worries, I'll prove my worth to them…. Just like I'll prove it to Master Ash!'

"So….. anyone up for a spar?"

XXX

1 day later

"Are you really sure you have to do this?" Delia asked her son, a tinge of worry in her voice, as she faced him on the dinner table.

Ash groaned "For the hundredth time, yes Mom."

Delia huffed "Well forgive me for worrying about my son!"

"It's not like I won't like to stay around longer, Mom. But the Pokémon World Tournament is in one year, and I have to get all of my Pokémon-past and present- into shape for it. As well as get advice from some experts." Ash explained to his Mother, who still looked uncertain.

But Delia Ketchum wasn't one to stop her son from following his dreams, even if it meant that she could not spend time with him as much as before. "Alright then Ash. But stay safe, okay?"

"I wi-" Ash was about to say the obligatory response when the device on his wrist spoke up.

"Don't worry Mrs. Ketchum; it will be my duty to keep Master Ash as safe as I can!" Dexter said.

"W-Who was t-that!?" Delia asked in a frightened voice as she quickly began glancing everywhere.

Ash quickly calmed his mother down "Don't worry Mom; it was Dexter, my XtremeDex." He said as he explained the various features of Dexter to his Mother, who was awed by the advanced technology present in the little machine.

XXX

The next morning

Ash POV

As I stood in front of my Pokémon, I noticed with pride at seeing their noticeable growth during the short time I spent training them. Dewott looked much fitter after his training with Blastoise. The large turtle had helped out Dewott in his Water attacks, teaching him how to reduce the power wasted and increase the efficiency. These types of things were extremely necessary for Pokémon working on any kind of Rescue squad; Firefighting was no exception.

Staraptor looked buffer than before. The reason being Infernape and Pignite. Since Staraptor was one of my most efficient Pokémon, I wanted him to get more efficient in close quarter combat as well. The result was the learning of Close Combat by Staraptor.

As far as I noticed, these were the only two major changes in my team members. The others were improving, true, but at a lesser rate.

But that won't be a problem.

We'll work on it during the year!

"Ready for our new journey guys?" I asked my Pokémon, who roared collectively in agreement. Almost all of my Pokémon had smiles on their faces.

They were as excited as me for the upcoming Tournament.

"I am gonna rotate all of you every week, okay guys?" I said to them. While none of them looked sad, they were all a bit disappointed. The past few days had been kind of like out of a dream for them, training all together with their trainer.

"So for this week, Dewott, Noctowl, Kingler, Snorlax and Croconaw are gonna come with me." Snorlax looked a bit sad; he had been counting on Ash to leave him so that he could laze up a bit.

Kingler and Croconaw looked the most excited out of the bunch, seeing as to how they were going on a journey after so much time.

"Kookie Kookie!" Kingler said in his usual distinctive voice as he quickly ran in my direction. Croconaw did a little dance, its movements a bit slower now that it was bigger than Totodile. Snorlax created mini earthquakes where he walked as he moved towards me.

Kingler finally jumped on me with surprising speed, seeing as how its speed was probably among the largest found in Kanto. "HAHA! Calm down buddy!" Kingler began spraying bubbles on me from its mouth, not the ones used for Bubble Beam attack, but the innocent kind used for Bubble Baths.

Not wanting to have my entire new outfit ruined due to Kingler's soapy bubbles, I quickly recalled it. Pikachu laughed at my expense.

But when a sudden shadow fell upon us, we nervously looked back.

Standing in all of his 8 feet glory was Snorlax, looking in a positively evil manner towards me.

"SNOOOREEE!" I could have sworn that it was sarcasm that came from Snorlax's impossibly happy voice.

Snorlax's wide smile looked too wide to be real. "Uhm… S-Snorlax? A-Are you all right b-buddy?" I asked rather nervously as I looked towards my huge Pokémon.

"Snooorlaxxx!" Snorlax's smile, if that was possible, grew even wider, as he extended his arms motioning for me to give him a hug.

"A-Alright n-now S-Snorlax, that's enough." I squeaked out. Snorlax's eyes were visible now as he moved forward to hug me.

I could have sworn I had never been as utterly terrified as I had been after seeing Snorlax's eyes.

"P-Pika?" Pikachu looked even more scared now as he sat on my shoulder.

"NOOOOOOO!" "PIKAAAAA!"

This was the day that I experienced what it felt being crushed by a mountain.

XXX

5 Days later…

Johto International Port

A raven haired teen ran out of the ship, jumping onto the docks from a moderate height. A great number of people were startled at the abrupt display, but soon payed it no mind.

A small, yellow colored Pokémon jumped off from the same height with a resounding cry of its name, landing expertly next to the Raven haired boy.

"Ready Pikachu?" Ash asked to his long time partner.

"Pika!" Pikachu pumped its fists as it jumped onto Ash's shoulders.

"It's good to be back in Johto…" Ash muttered, a nostalgic smile on his face. He took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air.

"And I hope you have been waiting for me….."

Ash took a determined look towards the region in front of him.

"…..Larvitar."

XXX

A/N: Boy Ash surely is in for a surprise; ain't he? *wink wink*

Okay, seriously now, is 'Ain't' a word or not. I really want to know now. The fucking red lines always come under it…

I hope you guys have been enjoying the story so far, things are gonna kick it up a notch in the next chapter!

Answers to a few questions that a reviewer PM'd me…. Ten times.

Is Ash going to catch new Pokémon? Yes.

Is Ash going to be awesome in this fic? Yes.

Are Ash's other friends going to have a big role? Yes.

Is Tango Charlie the fastest rising Author of Fanfiction? Yes.

Yes! YES! YES! (RESPECT THE BEARD!)