Sorry for the delay, but at least it was only about six months this time, instead of a year…
In any case, hope you enjoy the chapter.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.

Disclaimer – I don't own Pokémon. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

"Telepathy"

*expression*

Flashback

Chapter 9 – Wet Shadows

Ash's next two battles went the same way as his previous battle. He used Blastoise in the first one, making good use of his endurance and ability to launch devastating attacks and Venusaur for the second one, making creative use of Sleep Powder, to make his opponent's Pokémon easy pickings for Venusaur. With everything going well, Ash let down his guard a little and didn't bother to check his opponent for his fourth match, believing it would be the same as last time and instead, focused on Gary's match. It was a close one, but Gary did win this time, with his Blastoise managing to weather the storm. Taking note of his rival's path, Ash calmly walked out of the stadium, planning to meet him.

Gary breathed a sigh of relief, once he reached the Pokémon centre. His opponent was tough, immensely so. Begrudgingly, Gary admitted that if it wasn't for Ash pushing him, he probably would have lost that battle.

'Nice battle out there, Gary. Not as good as I would have done, but I guess that's why I'm the better trainer.' Said Ash teasingly, as he approached his rival.

'Funny, Ashy-boy. Something you need?' Asked Gary.

Ash's expression immediately shifted to one of seriousness, confusing Gary.

'Yeah, actually. Do you have time for a walk?' Asked Ash.

'Well, I just won and my next match is tomorrow so I can spare some time… can you though? Don't you want to check up on your opponent?' Asked Gary, with a raised eyebrow.

'It'll be fine.' Said Ash, waving off Gary's concerns.

Gary's other eyebrow rose to meet the already raised one.

'You sound pretty confident, Ashy-boy. Why?' Questioned Gary.

'Follow me and I'll explain everything.' Said Ash, turning on his heel, fully expecting his rival to follow.

Gary watched Ash walk away for a bit, before grumbling to himself and following after Ash.

Stepping out of the Pokémon Centre, Gary spotted Ash walking off towards the tree line. Picking his pace up, Gary eventually reached his fellow Pallet Town native, before falling in step with him.

Ash had a stern expression on his face, looking as though he was about to get into a fight with someone, confusing Gary. Unbeknownst to the younger Oak, Ash was having a telepathic conversation.

"Ash, are you sure this is the right time to drop the truth on Gary? I mean, he does need to focus on the Indigo Plateau as well and he doesn't have the knowledge of the future, allowing him to be calm and collected no matter who his opponent is?" Asked Pikachu.

"Hey, at this point in time, Gary was knocked out of the competition, so this is fine. Besides, I'm not going to tell him everything. I'll wait until Johto for that, so he has more time to get stronger." Replied Ash.

"Really, that's your reasoning…" Commented Pikachu, as he looked at Ash with a bored gaze.

"Does it really matter? I'm going to win this thing no matter what, whether I have to beat Gary or not to do it, doesn't change things in the slightest." Retorted Ash.

'Are you okay, Ashy-boy? You look like you need to go to the bathroom or something.' Commented Gary, snapping the two time travellers out of their secret conversation.

'Ah, right, sorry about that.' Said Ash, noticing they were now well and truly away from anyone else and it seemed as though they were completely alone.

Funnily enough, the two were now standing at the edge of a lake, which caused both of them to become slightly nostalgic.

'I know you were wondering why I offered up our lake treasure, for a bet on who could get their badges the fastest. The truth is, I always knew you would get eight before me, but I needed to spur you on as my rival after all.' Started Ash, confusing Gary.

'What are you talking about?' Asked Gary, turning his head to the side slightly, as he narrowed his eyes at his rival.

'Gary, what I am about to tell you won't be easy to hear. You will think I am crazy, or am just doing this to mess with you or something, but I want you to know that everything I will say, is one hundred percent the truth.' Said Ash, staring unwaveringly at his rival.

Gary was stunned into silence, not knowing how to respond to that.

'The truth is… I nearly died a short time ago… well, technically, it has yet to happen, but the point is that something disastrous happened… let me start from the beginning.' Rambled Ash, before pulling himself together.

'I'm from the future, Gary.' Said Ash calmly.

Gary looked at his neighbour in disbelief initially, before narrowing his eyes upon Ash's expression not changing.

'Okay. You're from the future, prove it.' Challenged Gary, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Lucario, do you mind?" Asked Ash.

"Not at all." Replied Lucario.

Ash pulled out an ultra-ball from the back of his belt, enlarging it as he did so, piquing Gary's interest. Throwing the ball into the air, it opened with a snap, allowing a miasma of energy to touch down on the ground, before forming into Lucario, who stared at Gary blankly.

'This is Lucario, a Pokémon native to the Sinnoh region. As I'm sure you can imagine, I have not had the time to travel to Sinnoh since the start of my journey.' Explained Ash.

Gary looked at the bipedal jackal Pokémon in wonder for a moment, before turning back to his friend.

'Okay, I'm willing to listen now, but I still expect a proper explanation.' Said Gary.

'Okay, in that case, I'll start from the beginning, well, more like the end, if we didn't get to go back in time.' Said Ash.

'We?' Questioned Gary.

'I'll explain, just give me a minute.' Said Ash, getting another suspicious glance from his rival.

'Okay, to begin with, I need to tell you a little story. In the Sinnoh region, there are three Pokémon said to have dominion over time, space and antimatter. Furthermore, there existed three other Pokémon, who, when brought together, could summon two of the other three legendary Pokémon. The Pokémon that controlled antimatter couldn't be controlled in this way, but there is another method to do so. In any case, in the future, or rather, my past, someone succeeded and pulled the three Pokémon, with dominion over time, space and antimatter, under their control. They wanted to destroy the world and using those legendary Pokémon, reform the world to their own image, making their ideal world. I was one of the people who tried to stop this… but I failed. If it wasn't for Arceus, the Pokémon that created all of those legendary Pokémon I just mentioned, along with the world itself, I would be dead. It was thanks to Arceus that I was able to come back in time, to the day I started my Pokémon journey and try to do things right this time.' Explained Ash, while Gary patiently listened.

'Okay. Let's say I believe all of that, which is quite a stretch I might add, why are you telling me this?' Asked Gary, with a raised eyebrow.

'I need allies, strong ones. In the future, it was just me, Brock and two others there at the final battle and while one of them was the champion of Sinnoh, the other was a coordinator who just happened to have been a friend of ours. None of us knew what we were getting into though.' Lamented Ash.

'Well, you can't expect to go around beating legendary Pokémon like it is nothing.' Commented Gary, with a frown.

'Well, for the record, Pikachu and Charizard actually ended up making a habit of it the future, but I wasn't just facing them alone. I have my own legendary too, the strongest member of the Weather Trio from Hoenn, Rayquaza… but even then, we weren't enough.' Admitted Ash, shocking Gary.

'You caught a legendary Pokémon?' Asked Gary.

'Yeah, it wasn't easy and Rayquaza kind of let me towards the end… but yeah.' Replied Ash.

'Ok. Leaving that to the side for a minute, you said you need allies, if you managed to have the champion of the region on your side, exactly what more could I offer?' Asked Gary.

'Humility? From you? I really must be losing it.' Joked Ash, getting a scoff from Gary.

'The truth is, the person who very nearly brought about the end of the world as we know it, had… or actually, has, a whole organisation at their beck and call. To make things worse though, his special group of elites stalled us, stopping us from getting to him in time. That was because there weren't enough of us. That's why, Arceus even told me that I need to gather strong allies, in order to help stop this threat. That being said, Arceus said there will be an even bigger threat after that.' Informed Ash.

'What could be worse than the end of the world?' Asked Gary sceptically.

'I really have no idea…' Muttered Ash quietly, allowing silence to fall between the two.

'Okay.' Said Gary, after a moment, confusing Ash.

'Okay?' Parroted Ash.

'I'll help you with this threat. After all, I can't let you represent Pallet Town all by yourself; they will think we are all mediocre trainers.' Smirked Gary.

'Just so you know, Gary, I am planning on winning this thing and going on to become Champion. Lance won't stand a chance against me and you won't either. Just for your own knowledge, you actually lost your battle today in the past, so don't get too full of yourself.' Ash retorted, with a smirk of his own.

'Heh, I bet you lost before that then.' Laughed Gary.

'I actually lost in the battle after this one, two whole rounds better than you. It won't matter though because I am winning the whole thing this time.' Declared Ash, pumping his fist out in Gary's direction.

'Whatever you say, Ashy-boy, see you in the finals, you better go get ready for your match, smell ya later.' Said Gary, throwing a wave over his shoulder, before walking off.

'That went well, didn't it?' Asked Ash, turning to face Lucario.

"Quite well. From how you described him, he was much more level headed that I was expecting." Replied Lucario telepathically.

'Haha, well, Gary has changed quite a bit from last time.' Chuckled Ash, before he and Lucario both snapped their gaze to the right.

'You felt that too, right?' Asked Ash, turning to face his Pokémon, who merely gave a stiff nod.

'This can't be good, let's head back.' Said Ash calmly, before returning Lucario and heading off.

-line break-

'That is quite interesting.' Commented Giovanni, after hearing back from one of his scouts, who had overheard a particularly intriguing conversation.

'What should I do now?' Asked the scout.

'Nothing, you have done well, I will see to it that you are reward handsomely for this though.' Praised Giovanni, to which the scout gave a quick bow and left, leaving Giovanni in his office with only his Persian and one other person, who was standing off to the side.

'So, you're sure you don't want me to use anything rare or uncommon?' Asked the man shrouded in the shadows.

'No. Only Pokémon from this region, but make sure you make him work for his victory. You are one of our top agents, Shadow, and I expect you to do your part well.' Giovanni answered, to which the man grinned.

'Oh don't worry about that, this is the best assignment I could have ever gotten, not like it was a real challenge to qualify anyway.' Said the man, raising his hands up to his chest, revealing eight badges in-between his fingers, before giving a flick of his wrist, causing the badges to vanish, before he seemed to shimmer out of existence as well.

'Well, Ash Ketchum, let's see how you handle Team Rocket's Ace, Shadow.' Muttered Giovanni, as he absentmindedly stroked his Persian.

-line break-

'Ladies and Gentleman, put your hands together for what is sure to be another exciting bout. In the red corner, we have Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, currently undefeated in all of his battles, without losing a single Pokémon!' Announced the Announcer, to which the crowd cheered loudly.

'And now, in the green corner, his battles have been quick, but his Pokémon sure have been deadly, Shadow Walker!' Finished the announcer, getting another round of cheers.

"What? Who the hell is that? There was no one named Shadow Walker in the Indigo League last time." Thought Ash in surprise.

'Pikapi?' Questioned Pikachu.

'Yeah, must be another ripple.' Muttered Ash, as he gazed across at his opponent.

He wore black pants and a black cloak, closed over a dark grey dress shirt. His eyes were a dark brown and he had long black hair tied into a ponytail, with two particularly long locks of hair, falling either side of his face, reaching to his chest. They were curled slightly, making them appearing to be blowing in the wind, with every subtle move of his head. To complete his look, he wore a black conical hat, with a wide brim which cast shadows over his face, practically hiding his eyes from view, if it wasn't for the little bit of colour in them.

'This will be a three-on-three battle, red trainer, please call out your first Pokémon.' Requested the announcer.

'Blastoise, I choose you.' Said Ash, releasing his blue friend.

'An interesting choice.' Muttered Shadow, before realising his own Pokémon, an Exeggutor.

'Blastoise, start things out with Water Gun.' Ordered Ash.

Blastoise opened his mouth and launched a wave of water at the palm tree-like creature in front of him, looking to cause serious damage fast.

'Psychic.' Said Shadow.

Exeggutor glowed momentarily, before the wave of water was stopped.

'Reverse it.' Ordered Shadow, to which Exeggutor turned the water around and launched it back at the hard shelled Pokémon.

'Withdraw.' Said Ash quickly, causing Blastoise to tuck his head and limbs, into his shell.

'Poison Powder.' Said Shadow quickly.

'Rapid Spin!' Cried Ash.

The large Shellfish Pokémon quickly spun, avoiding the cloud of poison.

'Sunny Day.' Commanded Shadow, to which a bright ball of energy was launched into the sky by his Pokémon.

'Skull Bash!' Roared Ash.

Blastoise, still spinning within his shell, changed direction to head straight for Exeggutor, before his head popped out at the last minute, glowing with a white aura, slamming into Exeggutor on impact. Exeggutor was knocked back and took quite a bit of damage, but remained standing.

'Solar Beam.' Said Shadow calmly.

As the green beam was charged, Ash tried to end the match quickly.

'Hydro Pump, Blastoise!' Urged Ash.

The large shelled creature aimed the canons on his back at the Grass-type in front of him, before two beams of pressurised water were launched at him.

'You can release it now.' Said Shadow calmly, causing Ash's eyes to widen.

"Oh no! With Sunny Day, Solar Beam should have launched instantly, but he charged it up even more instead." Thought Ash in worry, before an absolutely gargantuan beam of bright green energy ripped through Blastoise's attack, before slamming into Blastoise himself, who was propelled into the wall of the stadium.

Once the attack had dissipated, Blastoise was revealed, knocked out.

'Blastoise is unable to continue, red trainer, please send out your next Pokémon.' Said the announcer.

Ash was in shock, but managed to recover quickly, recalling Blastoise, before grasping another Pokéball.

"Things just got serious." Thought Ash, before releasing Charizard.

'Fire spin!' Barked Ash, to which Charizard opened his mouth and sent a spiralling wave of fire at his opponent.

'Psychic.' Said Shadow, to which Charizard's attack was stopped.

'Slash, Charizard!' Pressed Ash.

The orange lizard roared, before rushing through the flames of his own attack and slicing his claws down on the dual Grass and Psychic-type Pokémon.

'Finish it, Flamethrower!' Roared Ash.

Opening his mouth and giving a mighty roar, Charizard spewed a swathe of flames at the Coconut Pokémon, knocking it out easily.

'Exeggutor is unable to continue, green trainer, please send out your next Pokémon.' Said the Announcer.

'Arcanine, your turn.' Said Shadow calmly.

The large canine appeared on the field with a howl, ready to battle.

'Flamethrower.' Called both trainers, as each Pokémon launched a wave of fire at the other, enhanced by the last few rays of the Sunny Day, before it faded away.

The two fiery waves clashed against each other, with neither being able to overpower the other, before dissipating, as the Pokémon stopped their respective Flamethrower attacks.

'Seismic Toss!' Ordered Ash, causing Charizard to shoot off at Arcanine.

'Dodge with Extreme Speed.' Said Shadow.

In a game of cat and mouse, Charizard tried to reach Arcanine, only for it to dash away whenever Charizard got close.

'Earthquake!' Said Ash in annoyance.

Charizard stopped chasing Arcanine around and stomped his feet on the ground instead.

'Leap to dodge.' Ordered Shadow, only to regret it a moment later, when he saw Ash smirk.

'Seismic Toss, Charizard.' Said Ash triumphantly.

Charizard roared his approval, as he flapped his wings and plucked Arcanine out of the sky, before taking him high into the clouds.

'Fire Spin into Flare Blitz, Charizard.' Added Ash, just as his Pokémon disappeared from sight.

A loud roar was heard, quickly followed by a build-up of heat, as the two fire types came plunging towards the ground, in a cocoon of swirling flames. An immense explosion was heard on impact, with some in the crowd even covering their ears, to block out the sound. When the dust cleared, Charizard was revealed, standing triumphantly over the downed Arcanine.

"So speed is not the best strategy against him… good thing I have one hell of a power based Pokémon then." Thought Shadow, before sending out his next Pokémon.

To the surprise of many, a docile looking Vaporeon appeared.

'Rain Dance.' Said Shadow, to which a ball of blue energy rose into the sky, causing clouds to form and rain to begin to fall.

'Charizard, use Dig.' Ordered Ash, causing his large dragon-like Pokémon, to bury into the ground.

'Aqua Ring.' Said Shadow calmly.

A veil of blue energy surrounded Vaporeon, energising it slightly.

'Attack with Slash, Charizard.' Ordered Ash.

'Sand Attack.' Retorted Shadow.

As Charizard broke through the earth, preparing to slash his opponent, sand was kicked into his eyes, causing him to roar in anger.

'Now, Hydro Pump, full power.' Said Shadow.

Vaporeon opened its mouth wide and a torrent of water, three times the size of its body came out, blasting Charizard back like a ragdoll. When Blastoise had been struck by Solar Beam and pushed into the stadium, the wall had cracked. However, when Charizard struck the wall, it started to crumble, alarming those sitting there. The foundation held strong, luckily, but those seated above quickly moved away, not wanting to risk it. Once all the dust kicked up from the debris had faded, Charizard was revealed and much to both Pikachu and Ash's shock, Charizard was knocked out.

"Buddy, you reckon you can win this one for us?" Asked Ash.

"You don't even have to ask." Replied Pikachu.

'Red Trainer, please send out your last Pokémon.' Said the Announcer.

'Agility, Pikachu.' Said Ash, to which his yellow mouse started to dart around the stadium, trying to unnerve Vaporeon.

'Acid Armour.' Said Shadow.

Vaporeon seemed to suddenly turn into water, blending in with the rain.

'You know something, Shadow, you made a mistake using Rain Dance because now this can't miss, Thunder, Pikachu!' Said Ash.

Pikachu leapt into the air, as arcs of electricity shot of the mouse, before giving a mighty chu, launching a lightning bolt into the stadium, which quickly spread throughout it, thanks to all the water. Vaporeon was shocked badly and sent rolling away, but quickly recovered, looking only somewhat ruffled, the Aqua Ring move, combined with the rain, slowly recovering the Bubble Jet Pokémon's health.

'Aurora Beam on the ground.' Said Shadow.

A bright ball of bluish-white energy formed in Vaporeon's mouth, before freezing the water covering the stadium, turning the field into one of ice. When Pikachu touched down on the ground, he slid a little.

'Now, Hydro Pump.' Said Shadow triumphantly, fully expecting this to end the match.

The immense wave of water was launched at the yellow mouse, but there was no fear in his eyes.

'Iron Tail to jump.' Said Ash.

Pikachu's tail went silver, before it was slammed into the ground, launching the yellow mouse up, narrowly avoiding the same attack that had put down Charizard and launching chunks of ice into the air.

'Now, end this with Volt Tackle!' Declared Ash triumphantly.

"How, it is in the air?" Thought Shadow in confusion.

To the shock of many, Pikachu was enveloped in a yellowish-black miasma of energy and leapt off the chunks of ice that had been launched into the air, from Pikachu's previous attack. Vaporeon could do nothing to stop Pikachu, only being able to try and raise the Hydro Pump attack to meet the mouse, but it wasn't fast enough and was engulfed in an electrical explosion, launching dust and ice into the air. As the dust slowly cleared, the crowd watched on with baited breath. The silhouettes in the dust showed one Pokémon was clearly down on the ground, while the other appeared to be pushing themselves off the ground. The tension rose to a fever pitch as the dust was almost gone, everyone straining to see if it was yellow or blue that would be standing.

Two pointy ears twitched as the dust cleared, revealing a heavily damaged Pikachu, standing beside a knocked out Vaporeon. The crowd roared their approval for the match, having thoroughly enjoyed two excellent trainers, battling their hardest.

'Vaporeon is unable to continue so the battle and the match goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town.

Shadow quickly returned his Vaporeon and left the field, making his way back to his trainer room.

'Well, was the show to your liking?' Asked Shadow, sounding slightly sour.

'Come now, Shadow, it is unlike you to sound so emotional. In any case, that was an excellent battle. His Pokémon may indeed be stronger than the usual, but they are by no means unbeatable. Sadly, he didn't reveal either his Rayquaza or any other rare Pokémon, but there will always be another time.' Said Giovanni.

'Yes and next time, I'll win.' Declared Shadow ominously.