Author's Note:

What's going on everyone?

First off I would like to thank my new beta MyNoseAgreesWithMe who has beta read this chapter!

Thanks a lot to all of you though since every day I kept getting story alerts, favorites, reviews, and PM's telling me to continue the story so I mean your support with this story has been awesome and I really appreciate it!

That should really be about it so as usual, enjoy the chapter and it's great to be back!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon and I don't plan on starting a campaign to try and buy Pokémon or anything like that so the point is that I don't own Pokémon.


Crossroads Chapter 9: The Heart of a Turtle!

Previously on Crossroads, Ash and Anabel got to spend some quality time together as well as getting to know each other better. Anabel made sure that Ash knew that she would help him as much as possible to become the best Frontier Brain he could be. As they fell asleep next to the tree, they were unaware of somebody watching them who would reveal himself in time.


Tohjo Falls, Battle Tower – Kanto Region

The days that followed the first one seemed like a blur to Ash; it was almost the same routine every day.

Anabel would wake Ash up at around 7:30 AM every morning, they would eat breakfast, and then they would head over to the Battle Tower for the day, where Ash continued his training under Anabel.

Most of the time the two worked together, Anabel usually teaching Ash what went on daily at her facility. For instance; on weekends Anabel normally hosted a Pokémon tournament on the battling floors. This usually took up much of her weekend, but it was worth it - she enjoyed watching both the competition and the improvement it fostered in many of the participating trainers.

On other days, events were much more mundane - sometimes, she simply walked around the different floors watching all the people and Pokémon that came to use the different facilities. Of course, such inspection had a less superficial reason than one might think - she had to be on the lookout for potential mishaps, accidents, and other problems so that if anything went wrong, she could get it fixed.

All in all, it was a very time-consuming job, and yet the battle tower seemed to run almost flawlessly. Ash, obviously, was very impressed with Anabel's ability to hold it all together.

He learned all this during the first week of his "indentured servitude" under Anabel. She never treated him like a slave, though - ever since the first day, their relationship had been much less formal the "Master-Apprentice" dynamic that would normally be present. Even in small events, like their hands brushing against each other or Ash complementing Anabel on how intelligent she was, they were both starting to realize that maybe their connection was deeper than it had first seemed. However, neither of them wanted to rush into anything, so they were content with letting things play out and seeing what developed.

Today, since Anabel was battling the dreaded enemy of all Frontier Brains - paperwork - in her office, she told Ash to perform the customary circuit around the battle floors and see if anybody needed some help or some advice for improvement.

As the raven-haired trainer walked around on the fifth floor, he noticed a small blonde-haired boy who appeared to be a relatively new trainer - around the age that Ash himself had been during his Kanto journeys. The boy (unlike Ash) had obviously prepared well for his travels - his hair was cut short to prevent it from obscuring his vision, he wore a loosely-fitting blue t-shirt, matching dark blue cargo shorts, white sneakers, and a despondent look on his face.

Ash did a double take when he spotted the last of these items, and decided to see what was going on. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the kid was trying to train his Pidgeotto to use Aerial Ace, but he was having quite a bit of trouble - either the bird failed to gather enough speed, or it almost collided with the ground. Reminiscing slightly about when his Swellow learned the move, Ash decided to help.

He walked over and tapped the boy on the shoulder. "Hey there! My name's Ash. I was walking by, and I saw you looking sort of down. Is there something I can help you with?"

The boy looked up at him, blue eyes full of barely suppressed tears. "Thanks, that'd be great, Mr. Ash." His eyes then widened as he realized exactly which Ash he was talking to. "Wait a minute, you're the Ash Ketchum?! The one who beat that guy's Darkrai in the Sinnoh league?"

Ash grinned proudly. "Yup, that's me! What's your name?"

"My name is Dave, and my dream is to become a Pokémon Master - just like you!" the boy exclaimed.

Before his loss against Tobias, Ash would have just taken that comment as fuel for his ego, but, well, he was older now. "I'm actually not really a Pokémon Master or anything yet - I did get defeated, remember? - but that's still my dream, and I'm going to do everything I can to make that a reality! For instance, a true Pokémon Master always helps the needy and those who are having trouble. Speaking of having trouble, I saw that you were trying to teach your Pidgeotto Aerial Ace. Do you need any help with that?"

"Oh yes, please! I would love your help, Mr. Ketchum!" Dave answered excitedly.

"Alright, you got it Dave! Oh, by the way, you don't need to call me Mr. Ketchum. Ash is perfectly fine."

Dave nodded in agreement as Ash detached a Pokeball from his belt, calling, "Alright, Pidgeot, we need your help!"

Ash threw the ball into the air, and Pidgeot emerged in a flash of white light.

"Pidgeot-ooooo" exclaimed Pidgeot, executing a quick barrel roll as he flew down next to Ash.

"WOW! You have a Pidgeot! That's so cool!" Yelled Dave with stars in his eyes.

Ash laughed. "Yup, he sure is. I first caught him as a Pidgeotto back when I started my journey, and after several years of guarding Viridian Forest from a flock of Spearow and Fearow, he's the strongest Flying-type I have with me. But he only got that strong through hard work, so if you keep at it, I'm sure that one day your Pidgeotto will grow up to be big and strong like Pidgeot is!"

"Really? Thanks Ash!" Said Dave happily.

Ash smiled again. Turning back to the battlefield, he gained a determined look, and said, "Let's do this! Pidgeot, show them an Aerial Ace so Pidgeotto can see how to do it right."

Pidgeot nodded his head and took flight. When he was high enough, Ash called out, "Now, Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace!"

Looping in mid-air to gain speed, Pidgeot shot towards the ground, white streaks blazing all around him. Before he actually hit the ground, though, he quickly leveled his flight and sped past the group just above the floor, striking the practice target before pulling back up and landing beside Ash again.

"Way to go Pidgeot, that was great!" Ash exclaimed, patting him on the head.

"Ash, that was incredible! How did Pidgeot do that?" an eager Dave questioned.

"Um, lemme see if I can explain it properly... Well, before Pidgeot went into his dive he did a quick loop to pick up some speed. Then, he used the dive to pick up even more speed, but before hitting the ground he leveled himself out so he could aim at the target better. It's sort of tricky, but the secret is keeping a good balance of speed and maneuverability. It's not enough to just dive at the target - the ability for the user to change its aim and follow the target is what makes Aerial Ace so hard to avoid." Anabel's protégé elaborated.

"So, you're saying that I need to not just try and increase Pidgeotto's speed, but also its level of control as well?" Asked Dave.

"Yup, that's right; as long as Pidgeotto keeps its flight under control, then the speed at which it moves can reach extremely high levels."

"Alright, I think I get what you're saying. Can I try it out now?" Dave looked questioningly at Ash, determination evident on his face.

"Of course you can try! Let's see if you can pull it off now." Ash recalled Pidgeot, walking over to a nearby chair and sitting down to watch.

"Great!" Dave turned back to the field, gesturing Pidgeotto forwards. "Alright, Pidgeotto, let's do it! Use Aerial Ace just like Pidgeot did!"

Pidgeotto flew out onto the field, gathering momentum. It then looped just like Pidgeot and headed towards the ground, the attack's trademark white streaks appearing around it.

"There you go, Pidgeotto, keep it up!" Dave encouraged. "Then level out on my command!" When Pidgeotto was about five feet above the ground, Dave commanded, "Pidgeotto, now!"

Responding to its trainer's instruction, Pidgeotto quickly leveled itself out, shooting across the ground towards Ash and Dave. As Pidgeotto got closer, however, his trajectory became slightly wobbly as his focus dissipated.

"Hang in there, Pidgeotto! You can do it!" Dave called out. When Pidgeotto heard its trainer's encouragement, it managed to refocus and stabilize itself before pulling out of the streak like Pidgeot had. It shouted its name ecstatically as it landed back next to the celebrating Dave.

"Alright Pidgeotto! I knew you could do it!" yelled Dave, hugging the Flying-type.

Ash walked back up to the pair, a wide smile on his face. "Wow, Dave, I'm really impressed! You and your Pidgeotto really improved in the usage of Aerial Ace - with just a little more practice, I'm sure that Pidgeotto will be able to use the move perfectly."

"Really? Thanks a lot, Ash! I really appreciate your help!" said Dave.

"Anytime Dave. I'm glad I could help." Ash responded, still smiling.

The pair then shook hands, and Dave recalled Pidgeotto, while heading towards the elevator to proceed to his next destination. As he entered the elevator, happy about his progress, he passed by a figure leaning up against the wall, hidden by the shadows of the equipment.

"Well, I see that you're well on your way to becoming our number one trainer here, aren't you?" the mysterious figure commented. As the raven-haired trainer turned around, the unidentified person emerged from the shadows, revealing the face not of a stranger, but the Salon Maiden herself.

Now that she was no longer swamped by paperwork, Anabel seemed much more lighthearted, disturbing the Butterfree in Ash's stomach. He was able to subdue them somewhat, though, and he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, you saw that? It looked like he needed help, so I thought I could…"

Anabel put her finger up, shushing her apprentice. "No need to explain, Ash. I don't think I could have done it any better myself - great job!"

Blushing profusely, the raven-haired trainer stuttered, "Uh, th…thanks, Anabel."

He still couldn't figure out why he was acting like this, but it didn't really bother him that much - a hidden part of his brain told him not to worry. He still would have liked to have full control of his own mouth, though.

Anabel was about to reply, but was interrupted by Maron on the intercom system. "Salon Maiden Anabel, please report to the first floor; you have a challenger waiting for you. Ash Ketchum, you were requested also, so please accompany her to the arena." With a click, the intercom turned off.

"Well… Ash I guess we have to go - but before that…" Anabel walked forward and kissed Ash on the cheek. At Ash's surprised look, she blushed, trying to come up with a reason for her action. "That was... uh... for doing such a good job with that kid. Now let's go, we don't want to keep the challenger waiting." With that, she turned around and headed quickly for the elevator.

"Right…" said Ash, touching his cheek in shock. Hearing the elevator ding, he ran to catch up with the Salon Maiden. "Hey, wait for me!"

Once the pair made it down to the first level, they exited the elevator and began to look for the person they were supposed to meet. That question was answered when a voice yelled out, "Hey, over here Ashy-boy!"

"Oh no… of course it's him of all people…" Ash groaned, looking over to where the voice originated and seeing none other than Gary Oak.

Anabel, who now had an amused smirk on her face, asked, "Ashy-boy?"

"Ugh… you don't want to know." responded Ash as the pair made their way towards Gary.

Once they made it over, Gary looked Anabel up and down appraisingly. "So, this is the Frontier Brain that you chose. She's a nice one, Ash. I wouldn't let this one slip away if I were you."

Anabel's cheeks flushed madly as Ash's natural denseness kicked in. "What do you mean, 'let this one slip away'? It's not like she's a mischievous Arbok, a clueless Togepi, or anything like that." Gary chuckled at Ash's statement, infuriating him. "Do you have to do that, Gary? Just get on with it and tell us why you're here."

Gary, still laughing at the duo's reaction, said, "Whoa, alright, relax a bit Ashy-boy. I was just complementing you on your choice of girls..." - here he winked at the two, intensifying their respective reactions - "...But anyway, I really came here to win my 6th Frontier Symbol. I made an appointment for about... five minutes ago."

Anabel, once again the businesslike Salon Maiden, answered, "Well, thank you for the compliment, Gary. If you follow me, we'll head up to the battle floor, and we can get our battle underway."

"Sounds good to me. Now remember, Ashy-boy: always watch what I'm doing - you're watching a professional in action here," said Gary with a smirk.

"Professional, eh?" Ash retorted. "I think you forgot - I already defeated the Battle Frontier, so I think it's you that's going to need a bit of luck to pull this one off. Anabel isn't a push over - in fact, if it wasn't for the secret Frontier Brain I bet she'd be the strongest of them all."

Anabel blushed again at Ash's compliment, while Gary simply continued smirking maddeningly. "Whatever you say, Ashy-boy, now let's go."

Ash, Gary, Anabel, and Maron (who had arrived just as their conversation finished) headed up to floor 39 to begin the battle. Once they reached the appropriate level, Anabel and Gary went to their respective sides of the field while Ash headed up into the stands to watch. Once they reached their positions, the machinery hidden under the floor whirred to life, projecting barriers to shield the stands and walls from stray attacks.

Maron went to the referee's box and announced, "The Frontier battle between the challenger, Gary Oak from Pallet Town, and Anabel, the Frontier Brain and Salon Maiden, is about to begin! This will be a three on three battle with no time limit, and only the challenger will be able to substitute Pokémon!"

"Come on out, my friend!" Anabel announced, releasing her first Pokémon.

"Meta, Metagross!" Called the pseudo-legendary Pokémon as it got ready for the first battle of the day.

"Nice, a Metagross. What a way to start a Frontier Battle. Good thing I know just how to beat it - Arcanine, let's go!" Gary released the Pokédex-deemed "Legendary Pokémon" onto the field.

"Rooof!" Arcanine howled as it took its battle stance, attempting to intimidate its opponent.

Maron looked at both teams and called out, "This matchup will be Metagross versus Arcanine, let the Frontier Battle begin!"

"You have the first move, Gary," called Anabel from across the field.

"Alright then, Arcanine start it off with Flamethrower!" Gary yelled, and the canine Pokémon unleashed a torrent of flames from its mouth towards Metagross.

"Metagross, use Psychic to redirect Arcanine's Flamethrower right back at him!" Anabel countered, pointing her finger at the Fire-type. Metagross grunted in agreement and surrounded the Flamethrower with the blue aura of Psychic, redirecting it back towards Arcanine.

"Arcanine take it!" Gary ordered. The Fire-type stayed stalwart as the Flamethrower attack engulfed it. Instead of doing damage like expected, though, Arcanine was shrouded by a reddish-white glow, which it dispelled with a roar, revealing itself to be unharmed.

"What! I know that Arcanine is a Fire-type, but why didn't that do any damage?" asked Anabel, slightly shocked at the situation.

Gary looked back at her sporting his classic smirk as he answered, "You see, Anabel, Arcanine's ability isn't Intimidate like you thought - it's Flash Fire. I like fooling the opponent into trying to use Fire-type attacks on Arcanine, thinking that they can damage it that way. Instead, we get a power boost! Thanks, by the way."

"Nice play, Gary! You're going to need that boost if you want to compete with my Metagross." Anabel responded. "But enough talking, why don't we continue? Metagross, Meteor Mash!" In response, Metagross dashed forward, one of its steel claws lighting up white as stars circled it.

"Dodge with Extremespeed, then follow it up with Flame Wheel!" the researcher countered. As Metagross was about to make contact, Arcanine vanished into thin air and reappeared behind Metagross, engulfed in a circling sphere of fire.

"Metagross, turn around, but keep up the Meteor Mash!" Anabel ordered.

"Arcanine, charge in!" Gary punched the air, anticipating his victory as Arcanine sped towards Metagross. However, thanks to Anabel, Metagross had enough time to turn around and meet Arcanine straight on with its Meteor Mash as Arcanine reached the center of the field.

After a short power struggle between the pair, Arcanine broke off from the contact and dashed back to Gary's side of the field, temporarily out of range. Gary then called out, "Now use Wild Charge!"

The Fire type began to crackle with electricity, speeding forward once again to try and make contact with the pseudo-legendary Pokémon. Anabel would have none of that, however, calling out, "Metagross, block it with Protect!"

As Arcanine approached Metagross, the Steel/Psychic type created a light green spherical shield around itself, which Arcanine bashed its head into in an attempt to break through. The effort was ultimately in vain, and Arcanine was then knocked back when Metagross flung its dissipating shield outward.

"Metagross, Hyper Beam while it's stunned," Anabel messaged mentally as Arcanine flew backwards, and Metagross quickly powered up an orange ball of energy in its 'mouth.' It then fired it as a beam towards Arcanine, who had just gotten over the impact from the previous attack.

"Wait, WHAT? You didn't say anything, and it's attacking?" yelled Gary in disbelief. "Arcanine, push it back with your Flamethrower!" Arcanine fired the Flamethrower right into the Hyper Beam, but even the extra power granted by Flash Fire wasn't enough to overcome the more powerful attack. The Orange Beam engulfed the canine Pokémon's Flamethrower and then Arcanine itself.

"Arcanine, NO!" Gary called worriedly, as the Hyper Beam dissipated. Arcanine's defenses had not been strong enough to survive the beam of destruction, and the Pokémon slowly keeled over, swirly-eyed.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, which means that Metagross wins!" Maron called, raising Anabel's flag to signify her victory. "Gary, please select your second Pokémon."

Gary returned Arcanine, praising its efforts before stowing away the Pokeball and pulling out another one, which he looked at for a moment. "Well, I had intended on saving this guy for later, but after seeing how you handled Arcanine even after our trick, it looks like I don't have much of a choice. Blastoise, let's go!"

The Pokémon, arguably Gary's strongest (due to being his starter), roared out "Blast-OISE!" as it formed, nearly shaking the building as it landed.

"Wow Gary, your Blastoise sure looks like it's gotten a lot stronger since the Silver Conference," called Ash from the stands.

His signature smirk adorning his face, Gary replied, "Well of course it is, Ashy-boy, and you're about to see it in battle first-hand. If you're polite, I may even let you watch me beat the 'mystery Frontier Brain'."

Ash laughed, saying, "Yeah right, Gary. I think you should get through this battle before you start thinking about defeating Br- I mean, the secret Brain."

"Umm, hello?" Anabel interrupted. "Ash, we're kind of in the middle of a battle here, so if you wouldn't mind being a little quieter…"

"Oh, sorry Anabel," Ash chuckled mareepishly. "Don't mind me, please continue. Eh-heh-heh-heh."

Gary, of course, could not turn down an opportunity to tease Ash. "Well, it's good to know that we have finally found a girl who can control Ashy-boy over here. You know, Anabel, when that happens, it usually means he likes her." Both blushed in embarrassment, before Ash started yelling at Gary from the stands again, forgetting about the request that had sparked the teasing.

Gary just tuned him out (as he had learned to do during the years of their childhood) and turned his focus back to the battlefield, where the Pokémon were waiting for their instructions. Seeing them reminded him of something he was curious about. "Hey, Anabel," he called.

"Hmm?" she responded, still trying to tame her flaming cheeks.

"I was just thinking, earlier in the battle it seemed like you were communicating with your Pokémon without using words, and my researcher side wants to know how you did that. Care to explain?"

Anabel managed to shake off the remainder of her blush and answered Gary's question, telling him about her empathetic Pokémon communication abilities. Once Gary had heard, he nodded in understanding. "Well, that makes sense. But now that my curiosity has been sated, let's continue."

Anabel nodded and looked towards Maron, who was waiting patiently for them to finish - Anabel explaining her mental abilities was pretty much an everyday occurrence. Once notified that they were ready to continue, Maron raised his arms and announced, "Match two: Metagross versus Blastoise. Begin!"

"Let's go, Blastoise; use Hydro Pump!" yelled Gary. Blastoise aimed its trademark cannons and fired a powerful torrent of water towards Metagross, who, although it had had plenty of time during the conversation to recharge from its usage Hyper Beam, decided to honorably take the hit as if it did still have to recharge. The strong water attack hit it straight on, sending it skidding backwards a couple of feet towards Anabel.

Now that Gary knew about Anabel's telepathic ability and would be prepared for it, she decided that she would continue using it for the rest for the match so as to enhance the challenge. She then mentally directed Metagross to "Charge in with Zen Headbutt," causing it to tuck in its 'arms' and charge towards Blastoise, main body glowing light blue.

"Blastoise, counter it with Skull Bash!" Gary responded, and Blastoise tucked in its head as it charged towards Metagross, white streaks surrounding its body.

The pair collided at the center of the field, causing yet another struggle for dominance. Unlike the last battle, though, Metagross was much more evenly matched; Blastoise seemed to have the strength of a pseudo-legendary (albeit a somewhat exhausted one), pushing Metagross back. The steel behemoth was unable to maintain its attack, and as one final push came from Blastoise, the dissipation of its attack's energy sent Metagross flying backwards past Anabel and into the outer wall.

"Meta…" groaned the pseudo legendary as it lay against the wall, swirls in its eyes.

Maron raised his left arm towards Gary and Blastoise and declared, "Metagross is unable to battle, so Blastoise is the winner! Salon Maiden Anabel, please select your next Pokémon."

Anabel reached out towards the field and returned Metagross to its Pokéball, complimenting it much like Gary did with Arcanine. She then took out her next Pokeball and threw it into the air, calling, "It's your turn, my friend!"

In burst of light, the Gardevoir that Anabel had selected floated elegantly down onto the field, emitting a peaceful aura.

Maron, as dutiful as ever, announced the next match. "Match three: Gardevoir versus Blastoise. Begin!"

"Alright, Blastoise, let's start it off with Hydro Pump again!" Gary instructed, causing Blastoise to shoot out another torrent of water, only this time towards Gardevoir.

"Gardevoir, dodge with Teleport, and then follow it up with Energy Ball!" called Anabel telepathically. Gardevoir successfully vanished from the torrent's destination, appearing to the right of Blastoise with a ball of green energy forming in its hands. It floated slightly backwards in order to aim better and fired the sphere towards the hulking turtle.

Because he couldn't tell beforehand what was coming, Gary knew that he needed to be extra observant in order to counter his opponent's strategy. His mind raced as he noticed the Grass-type attack, and he yelled, "Use Rapid Spin to block that Energy Ball!"

Luckily for him, Blastoise was able to hide in its now rapidly rotating shell before the Energy Ball connected, negating the majority of its effectiveness.

Anabel wasn't done yet, though, continuing to press the attack. "Now use Shock Wave!" Gardevoir, who still wasn't far from Blastoise, performed a few arm waves, shooting out a streak of lighting. The electric attack flew through the air, managing to hit Blastoise through the holes in its shell while it was still spinning.

Due to where it landed, the Shock Wave, instead of exploding on contact like the Energy Ball had, engulfed the final form of Kanto's water starter in electricity - both inside and outside the shell. This caused Blastoise to reflexively stop spinning and emerge from inside its shell.

The giant turtle winced in pain from the attack, and as it locked eyes with Gary, the researcher knew that he had to start putting pressure on Gardevoir rather than just staying on the defense, or it would be a short battle. His eyes then lit up as he figured out how to do both at once. Better yet, even the usage of Teleport wouldn't be able to overcome that strategy. But in order to implement it, Gardevoir needed to be far enough away to give him time to set it up.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!" he called, eyes flicking to the other end of the field. Blastoise understood, firing another torrent of water in a calculatedly more scattered fashion.

As the attack approached, Anabel mentally instructed, "Gardevoir, Teleport again." Gardevoir easily avoided the attack, reappearing in a safe zone further away.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what Gary wanted. "Now, Blastoise! Rapid Spin while using Hydro Pump!"

Blastoise's face grew a smirk that matched Gary's as it quickly receded into its shell. Once it was ready, the Water-type began to spin rapidly, firing out a seemingly endless stream of water in all different directions, eliminating all safe zones. The attack was almost a carbon copy of the Counter Shield that Ash developed in Sinnoh - just a variant that Ash had never used.

"No! Gardevoir, keep using Teleport to avoid the water!" Anabel ordered frantically. Sadly, it did no good - trying to avoid the streams of water was almost as hard as touching a Tentacruel's underbelly without hitting any tentacles. No matter where Gardevoir teleported, it kept getting grazed by the powerful water type attack, and the damage was slowly building up.

Thankfully, Anabel was soon able to figure out a way to counter Gary's strategy - one she thought Ash would be proud of. "Gardevoir, use Light Screen! But use it on Blastoise, not yourself!"

Gardevoir nodded in acknowledgement and teleported to the safest area it could see - right above Blastoise. The attacks still hit, but with a low enough frequency to allow it to concentrate on forming the barriers. Its eyes flashed a bright yellow as it pushed its arms forward, creating a yellow box around Blastoise that trapped all the water streams inside. That result had two effects: First, it stopped all the water streams from hitting Gardevoir, and secondly, it caused Blastoise's attacks to hinder itself.

"What the Mew? Since when does Light Screen work like that?" Gary yelled, both annoyed and impressed with Anabel's defusing of his combination attack. "Blastoise, switch to Aqua Tail and get yourself out of there!"

Blastoise quickly stopped spinning and emerged from its shell, panicking slightly as it cloaked its tail in Water-type energy and began hammering away at the Light Screen.

"Great job, Gardevoir, now release Blastoise and use Shock Wave!" Gardevoir released the Light Screen, dropping Blastoise to the ground, and quickly fired out another wave of lightning. Once again, the Electric-type energy engulfed Blastoise - only this time amplified by the water the turtle was swamped in. Nerve endings firing wildly, Blastoise fell backward onto the back of its shell.

Gary could only grit his teeth at the scene before him, his Blastoise struggling back to its feet in evident pain. Being a naturally defensive Pokémon, however, it had a massive pain tolerance and damage resistance, soon squaring its shoulders and facing its opponent again.

Gardevoir didn't look much better than Blastoise - the Hydro Pumps had drained a lot of its endurance, and it was mentally exhausted from sustaining the Light Screen against so strong an attack for so long.

Both Pokémon were still ready for one last clash, though, and both trainers knew that this would be the deciding attack. They both called out their attacks at the same time.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump one last time!"

"Gardevoir, fly up and use your most powerful Energy Ball!"

Gardevoir quickly levitated higher and charged up a massive Energy Ball in its hands as Blastoise unleashed an incredible blast of water into the sky towards the Salon Maiden's Psychic-type Pokémon.

Gardevoir transferred the green ball of energy into one hand and held it above its head for a second, trying to gather as much energy as possible, before throwing down towards the incoming stream of water.

As the two attacks collided, Blastoise felt its Torrent ability about to kick in and grinned wickedly, using it to put in a little extra power surge into the attack. The result looked vaguely similar to a spear, but Ash (who was still watching) was reminded more of Pikachu using Volt Tackle to climb an opponent's Hydro Pump. The extra water pressure vaulted up the stream, reaching the stalemate with the Energy Ball. Gardevoir's attack managed to hold its own for a couple of seconds, fighting against the inexorable push of the Hydro Pump, but it was for naught, as the extra spear of pressure destroyed the Grass-type attack, removing it from the equation.

Gardevoir tried to teleport out of the way, but it was just too exhausted. The best it could summon was a headache, which was immediately augmented by a blast of water to the face. The impact was too much for the Embrace Pokémon, and it fell to the ground, fainted.

Blastoise let out a roar of victory as Maron examined Gardevoir, who was quite knocked out by the powerful attack.

Returning to his spot as referee, Maron announced, "Gardevoir is unable to battle, which means Blastoise is the winner again! Salon Maiden Anabel, please select your final Pokémon."

Anabel recalled Gardevoir, telling the psychic type that it did an amazing job, and pocketed the Pokéball, bringing out what would be her last partner for this match She threw the Pokéball containing her prized Pokémon into the air, calling, "Let's finish this, my friend!"

In a bright white light reminiscent of the sun, an Espeon emerged onto the field.

"Espi, Espeon!" the Johto eeveelution cried out.

"An Espeon, eh? This should be interesting..." Gary mused as he looked over at Maron, waiting for the battle to begin.

Maron confirmed that both teams were ready, before announcing, "The challenger's second Pokémon, Blastoise, will be taking on the Salon Maiden's final Pokémon, Espeon! Let the match begin!"

Gary pointed his finger towards the Sun Pokémon. "Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!" Blastoise responded by aiming its hydro cannons at Espeon and releasing a surge of water towards its new opponent.

"Espeon, dodge with quick attack," the Salon Maiden called, momentarily forgetting to use mental communication. When she remembered, she added, "get in close and follow it up with Zap Cannon!" Espeon easily avoided the torrent of water, dashing over to Blastoise so that it could no longer target her with its Hydro Pump attack. Before the Kanto starter was able to react, Espeon conjured a glowing ball of electricity from the jewel on her forehead and fired it into Blastoise's stomach, sending the Water-type hurtling back into the barriers surrounding the field.

With a thud, Blastoise fell in a heap next to several small boulders, swirls in its eyes.

Maron looked over towards the fallen turtle and called out, "Blastoise is unable to battle! That means -" Maron was suddenly cut off as a bolder next to Blastoise moved, the turtle pushing itself up stubbornly. It slowly regained its footing and turned back toward Espeon, determined to take the cat-like Pokémon out.

Anabel stood there, shocked at Blastoise's incredible resilience and willpower. "Wow... what determination! After an attack like that, Blastoise should be finished…"

"Yeah, way to go Blastoise!" yelled Gary, knowing that Blastoise's Torrent would be at full force now. With that power available, maybe he could finish the battle now, and then he wouldn't even need to use...

Gary's thoughts were cut off as Blastoise dropped to all fours for stability, directing its hydro cannons towards Espeon, who (Gary realized) was far enough away to target properly again.

Gary was about to call for one last Hydro Pump attack, but the inside of Blastoise's hydro cannons began to glow blue, silencing him. He quickly scanned his brain to figure out which move Blastoise was using, coming to an encouraging conclusion.

"All right, Blastoise, you finally learned it after all this time!" the researcher cheered. "Now we're really gonna give it to them! Let's finish it off with Hydro Cannon!" He smirked triumphantly as Blastoise released two massive orbs of water towards Espeon, who had no time to get out of the way. As the shots contacted Espeon's hastily constructed attempt at a Psychic defense, they created a huge explosion, obscuring the battlers' views.

After a few moments, the dust settled, showing Espeon still standing. It was scratched and panting slightly, but still standing strong nonetheless.

Gary's smirk turned to a frown as he realized that Blastoise still needed to work on focusing its new attack - much of the damage had been to the field surrounding Espeon rather than the Pokémon herself. Blastoise, also disappointed, turned to Gary, who nodded, acknowledging its effort. Satisfied that it had softened up Espeon enough for Gary's final partner, the exhausted turtle gave up the struggle to remain conscious.

Maron walked over to check this time, more certain of what he would find this time. He had assumed correctly; Blastoise was laying limp with swirls in its eyes.

The secretary/referee returned to his spot and raised his arm towards Anabel, announcing, "Blastoise is unable to battle, which means that Espeon wins! Gary, please select your third and final Pokémon."

Gary raised Blastoise's Pokéball and shot out the red beam, which engulfed the turtle and sucked it back into its Pokeball. Gary looked down at the ball containing his strongest Pokémon and simply put it back on his belt, knowing that his appreciation could not be conveyed with mere words.

"I knew there was a reason I chose him as my trump card, but this was absolutely astounding!" Gary commented loudly, directing his voice towards Ash. "I don't think you could even pull that off with your Charizard, could you? Oh, wait. Your Charizard is still in Johto, being trained by somebody else. Guess that just proves how much better than you I am..."

Ash, instead of listening, was mentally groaning. "And here comes the ego. I swear, if I wasn't confident that Anabel could give his Umbreon a run for its money, I wouldn't be so angry - he doesn't know what it's like to try and face down two Legendaries in a row..." He interrupted Gary, saying, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. But don't forget what I said about Anabel's strength - she could still take you out!" He turned to Anabel. "Hey, Anabel! Whup him good in this last match!"

Anabel nodded in acknowledgement, too confused about the small surge of power she had sensed from Ash to be flustered by his compliment. "I thought he said he didn't have the ability to read people's hearts - so why does it feel like he does?"

"Anyway," Gary announced, returning her attention to him, "I think I have the perfect Pokémon to finish this match up. Let's go, Umbreon!"

In a flash of white light he released the Moonlight Pokémon onto the field, where it faced its polar opposite.

"Haha, I knew he would use Umbreon!" Ash congratulated himself, before realizing something. "Wait a minute - he never announced who he was using, so how did I know that?" He shook his head and focused back on the battlefield as Maron announced the matchup.

"Both trainers are down to their last Pokémon, so this match will determine the victor! The matchup, Umbreon versus Espeon. Let the final battle begin!"

Gary once again took the initiative, calling, "Alright Umbreon, start it off with Shadow Ball!" Umbreon nodded, creating a ball of ghostly energy in its mouth and firing it towards Espeon.

"Espeon, counter with Zap Cannon!" Anabel instructed, and Espeon shot out another ball of high powered electricity towards the incoming attack.

The balls of light and dark energy collided in the center of the field, creating an explosion that only really damaged the field.

"Time to get in close," Gary thought. "Umbreon, chain Quick Attack and Night Slash!"

"Espeon, you do the same, but with Iron Tail!"

Both Pokémon dashed forward at blinding speed, white streaks surrounding them. As they approached each other, Umbreon's claws began glowing with an almost black aura and Espeon's forked tail lit up bright white in the form of Iron Tail. When they collided, it kicked up a massive cloud of dust.

Inside the cloud, it was an all-out brawl. Espeon pummeled Umbreon with her Iron Tail attack at every opportunity, but in return was subject to several Night Slashes. Umbreon gave as good as it was getting, the type effectiveness of its attacks balancing out the higher speed with which Espeon was striking.

Even so, Umbreon was relieved when Gary told it to "break off and use Dark Pulse." Dodging a strike from Espeon's Iron Tail, it retreated to a safe distance to begin its attack.

"Espeon, return to sender!" Anabel telepathically instructed as Umbreon created another orb of dark energy in its mouth. Unlike last time, however, what shot towards Espeon was a beam of blackish-purple rings. The Sun Pokémon's eyes glowed a light blue as she attempted to take control of her opponent's move.

Unfortunately, the psychic energy only created a smoother path for the Dark-type attack to travel along, and Espeon barely cut off her power in time to dodge. That did spark an idea in her mind, though.

As Umbreon repeated the attack at Gary's prompting, Espeon sent a mass of psychic power towards Umbreon, confusing both trainers. Espeon had a plan, though, halting her mental aura around the unaffected Dark-type and extending a tendril of it towards the recently launched Dark Pulse.

Following the path of least resistance, the attack reversed direction and headed back towards Umbreon, who was too shocked to dodge, hitting it head-on.

As both Pokémon were tiring, Umbreon from the Iron Tails and Dark Pulse and Espeon from the Night Slashes and Hydro Cannon (which, although unfocused, was still quite powerful), each trainer decided it was time to heal up a bit.

"Espeon, use Morning Sun!" Anabel commanded through their mental link.

At the same time, Gary called out, "Umbreon, use Moonlight to heal yourself!"

As the Pokémon fulfilled their trainers' orders, it caused a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon to occur - both the sun and the moon blazed brightly above the field, causing a sharp division between dark and light. Both battlers basked in the healing radiation provided by their respective symbols, injuries disappearing in a gentle glow.

After another few seconds, both the sun and the moon vanished from sight, leaving both Pokémon better than they were before. Espeon, however, had been lower on health, and so was still breathing slightly heavily.

"Alright Umbreon, use your Shadow Ball!" Gary yelled as Umbreon finished recovering. In response, the Moonlight Pokémon fired another ball of ghostly energy towards its psychic counterpart.

"Let's see if this works like last time. Espeon, use Quick Attack to dodge, then get in close and use Zap Cannon from close range!" called Anabel mentally. Espeon responded to the call, quickly avoiding the incoming Shadow Ball and dashing in close to Umbreon, charging up another ball of electricity in front of her forehead.

Fortunately for Gary, though, he was ready for Anabel's tactic, calling out, " dodge whatever's coming with Quick Attack!"

Espeon appeared right in front of Umbreon, startling it - but sadly for her, it was able to regain its composure and retreat backwards as she fired.

Gary, seeing the attack and betting on its accuracy, tried one more maneuver that could possibly win him the match.

"Umbreon, head right for Espeon with a full power Night Slash and finish it off!" Trusting its trainer, Umbreon dashed forward, charging up its Dark-type attack as it did so. Just as the attack was about to make contact, the ball of electricity curved upwards slightly, giving Umbreon an open lane to finish Espeon.

Umbreon finished the charge and struck Espeon with a powerful Night Slash, sending her flying backwards towards Anabel. Espeon landed hard with swirls in her eyes, having succumbed to almost the same circumstances as had been present against Pikachu. It was evident to all watching (a grand total of four) that Gary was the victor.

Maron, acting in his official role as referee, voiced this. "Espeon is unable to battle, which means that Umbreon wins. Salon Maiden Anabel has officially lost all three of her Pokémon, so the Frontier Battle goes to the challenger, Gary Oak."

Gary, instead of cheering for joy at his victory like Ash usually did, simply put Umbreon back into its Pokeball and praised it for a job well done before exiting the trainer's box.

Anabel, too, had recalled her fallen prized Pokémon to its Pokeball, praising its efforts as she exited her trainer's box and headed towards Maron.

Ash, at this point, ran down from the stands and was talking with Gary. He had just finished complimenting Blastoise and was about to mention the prediction phenomenon when Anabel coughed to interrupt the pair. "Ash, you should remember that there's still more to come - and you ought to pay attention to this part, since you'll have to give away your own Frontier Symbol at some point."

"Anyway; Gary Oak, you have shown that you have immense courage and trust in your abilities as well as those of your Pokémon. While that kind of bond may not be uncommon, the depth of your connection with your Pokémon is. You have demonstrated the abilities to work hard and think of new, creative strategies on the spot, the power of your Pokémon shows that you train them regularly, and the impression I have gained of you is that you care deeply for all Pokémon. Thus, it is my absolute pleasure to present you with the Ability Symbol." Anabel cheerfully presented an open case, allowing Gary to obtain his sixth symbol.

"Thank you very much Anabel, I really appreciate it," said Gary, taking the object from the case and putting it in his Frontier Symbol holder.

Ash pouted. "Aw, no cheesy pose?"

"That's your thing," Gary answered, before turning back to Anabel. "So when do I find out who the 7th Frontier Brain is?"

"Here, I can handle that for you. May I have your Poke-Nav?" Maron asked, holding out his hand.

"Sure, what for?" Gary wondered as he handed Maron the navigational machine.

"You see, ever since the Battle Frontier opened, a special coding has been implemented in all Poké-Navs so that if somebody like you ever gets to the 7th Frontier Brain, all I have to do is put in the authorization code and you will be all ready to find him." Maron responded. After another minute he gave the device back to Gary, a new light flashing on the map.

"So I assume that that must be where the 7th brain is?" Gary pointed to the blip, located near Saffron City.

"You are correct." Maron answered. "The 7th Frontier Brain is Brandon, the Pyramid King, and his Battle Facility is called the Battle Pyramid."

Maron's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Just a bit of advice, you want to get there as soon as possible, because it might not be there for much longer."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" asked Gary, annoyed.

"Don't you worry, you'll understand when you get there." Ash chuckled, placing a hand on Gary's shoulder.

Gary gave the laughing Ash a look, trying to figure out what was so funny, but when Anabel and Maron joined in, he thought to himself, "Do I even need to know?" With that, he started chuckling also.


After they left the field, Maron decided to go home for the day, and Ash and Anabel decided to show Gary out. He wanted to get to Saffron City before Brandon left, and so the trio bid each other farewell as they stood in the sunset outside the Battle tower.

"You know Gary, you're more than welcome to stay at my house for the night with me and Ash," Anabel offered.

Gary would have no part in that, though, and replied, "Thanks for the offer, Anabel, but if getting to Saffron City quickly is really so important, I want to get a head start on getting there." His smirk reappeared as he added, "Besides, if I were to stay at your house then that would mean I would be breaking up yours and Ashy-boy's alone time, and I just couldn't bring myself to do that to the two of you."

Both Ash's and Anabel's mouths dropped open at that statement, faces flaming red. Gary snickered at the effects of his teasing. "Ahhh, that was funny. Anyway, it was good seeing you again Ashy-boy - and great to meet you too, Anabel. I'm sure that I'll be seeing both of you again soon… I mean, by the time I get to Ash's Battle Facility you should be a couple by then, right?"

Ash was about to deliver a (not-so) cutting response to Gary's teasing, but the researcher quickly turned on his heel and began walking the other way. Ash's retort died on his lips as his old Kanto rival walked into the distance, leaving the pair behind.

Night was now approaching fast, Umbreon's element taking over the skies with the rapidity of Espeon. Both Ash and Anabel were thankful for the growing darkness, as it hid the blushes from each other that Gary's comments had caused.

Anabel finally broke the silence and said, "Well, it's getting pretty dark now. I think we should head back to my house."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Ash admitted. With that, the pair began to walk back to Anabel's house - a much easier trek for Ash than it had been a week ago, even in the dark.

The trip there was relatively silent, but Ash's brain was not. First of all, he was confused about what had happened during the battle, where he had known Gary's next choice of Pokémon. Upon examining his memory, he came across two incidents in his travels where he had experienced similar intuition - once in northern Kanto, and another time in Sinnoh.

Another thought kept intruding on his mind as well - he simply could not disregard Gary's parting words. Though he assumed his rival had been teasing him, that mysterious intuition whispered that there may have been a spark of truth in his statement.

As Ash concentrated on trying to decipher this feeling, his hand almost instinctively found Anabel's in the dark, making her jump somewhat at the unexpected contact. Worried about the spike of emotion within her mind, he looked at her barely visible form and attempted to give her a comforting smile.

Anabel quickly calmed down and, instead of pulling away, intertwined their fingers and gave his hand a small squeeze, her feelings resonating with his oddly radiant ones.

They walked on in silence, not needing to look at each other in order to know that they were both thinking the same thing.


Author's Note:

Alright that was certainly a fun chapter to write and an awesome job done by MyNoseAgreesWithMe with the editing!

I really wanted to give Blastoise a good section in this story since he was one of the Pokémon I grew up with and I still have one now in Pokémon Black 2 so I hope that you all enjoyed the chapter and the battle!

That's about it for this chapter so I hope that you all enjoyed the battle, romance, and the chapter overall so with that I will leave you with the next chapter name:

Crossroads Chapter 10: A New Mentor!

That's all people! As always hope you enjoyed and have an awesome day!
Cyclone20