Alright everyone. Finally a new chapter is up and i thought i try something a little different with this chapter. You'll see what I mean once you read. I apologize for the late update, but same applies. Everyone wants to use my comp and I have no time to type. Curses. Oh well. It's finally up and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hopefully you find this good reading. That's my goal. Enjoy! Note: I do not own Pokemon or any of its characters. I would love to own it, but unfortunately. I'm not that lucky.

The wind was absolutely fierce for the young trainer, winds gusting ice cold wind that no human could tolerate, snow mixed with ice as it started to make a nice layering shield of Ash's clothes. Some would say he was insane for training out in weather like this. Well he was. This wasn't something that should be done, but Ash was on a mission. He stood proudly with his faithful companion Charizard and Pikachu next to him.

"Alright Charizard. We are gonna teach you a new combo move. You already learned Blast Heat and for that. I think you are ready to combine a couple more moves to produce something out of this world. Question is, what do you feel would be a perfect combo attack?

The tall dragon pondered at the question and began to think about all the moves he knew. He basically knew ninety percent of the attacks, but as much as he would love to. He would never be able to learn Sacred Fire. An attack like that seemed only possible with Ho-oh and maybe Moltres. He began to search his attacks, and came across two moves he thought about and could probably do a great deal of damage. Flare Blitz and Fire Fang.

The idea seemed possible to combine the two attacks, but there was a big problem. Charizard took a great deal of time, close to three weeks to perfect Blast Heat. If the training to combine both moves would take that long, then there would be problems with training his other Pokemon.

"So what you think, Charizard? Got any ideas?"

Charizard just nodded and searched Ash in order to find his Pokedex. Ash got confused at what he was searching for, but when the tall dragon felt the rectangular shaped device, he poked at it. Ash caught on and pulled it out and listed Charizard's current attacks. He pointed at two; Flare Blitz and Fire Fang.

"That would be excellent Charizard if you can pull it off. You think you can in a short amount of time?" Ash said with confidence that is top-rated Pokemon would be able to pull off such a tough goal. He smiled with the reaction. A standing thumb. "I knew you would. Alright, show me the attacks first."

Charizard just stared out into what he hoped was an open field, and began to concentrate to produce the first of the attacks. He drew his head back and released a powerful, but most importantly. A perfect Flare Blitz. He then followed his work with a well-executed Fire Fang.

"Alright. Excellent. That was great. Now try and combine the two. You've done this before. You're body knows how to combine attacks. Do it again." It was easier said than done, as Charizard just stared out into space.

He started to imagine the two attacks; how they are created and how they are fired. Took him several moments to try and picture this, unsure that if this was even possible. To Charizard, they were done completely different. It was his job to combine the two.

His first attempt was a complete failure, unable to produce either attack. All that came out, was a black plume of smoke. The dragon snarled at his failure and went into a rampage.

"Are you gonna let your failures get the best of you or are you gonna try and overcome them by showing the world the extreme power you possess?"

Ash's question caught Charizard's attention and brought his glare towards him. He was right. Why let your failure's get the best of you when you can show them that you got what it takes to triumph over them?

Charizard took another shot at it, but came the same results. This wasn't going to be easy and both of them knew this, but this was the challenge in life. Prove to the world that some things can be accomplished.

"Set a goal for yourself. When you are not training with me, you are training yourself to use that attack. For now, do it again." Charizard just nodded and tried to do everything imaginable to try and perfect this move here and now. Results: smoke and burning anger within the beast.

He had been out in this blizzard all night, seven hours before the sun finally rose above the mountains and the snow subsided. It truly was a picturesque scene, but it was able to overcome the failure of last night.

Charizard just stared at the ground, his eyes filled with a look of failure and no doubt he didn't want to be seen. Especially by Charla, oh Charla. What would she think of him for his massive failures? This concerned the black dragon.

"You can't let this bother you too much, buddy. Just know what you been doing wrong and correct them. In the mean time, you worked your ass off last night and you deserve a hot meal."

Charizard just nodded, as he looked up and saw the Pokemon Center coming into view. Outside was Dawn waiting for her boyfriend to return. Ash knew he was in for it. "Hey baby! How did you sleep?"

"You stupid bastard! You realize how worried I was last night?"

"You look awfully beautiful this morning. Your hair is just superb."

"Stop changing the subject!"

"I must compliment you on your fine choice of clothing. You look exquisite." He said, stepping in front of Dawn and kissing her softly on her lips. She pushed him away from her with a huge shove.

"You think a kiss will get me to stop being mad at you?"

"I love you." He countered, which Dawn couldn't help, but melt to those words. She loved it when he said that to her. She couldn't resist anymore. She leaned forward and kissed Ash passionately on his lips. He just responded by sticking his thumb up in the air for Charizard to see. He just snorted, but smirked.

"I love you too, Ash. Now where have you been? I have been worried about you."

"Just a few hundred yards south of here. Been working with Charizard all night long."

"How did that turn out?"

"Not as well as we both hoped, but its progress that will only get better from here. Now, I'm starving. Is Brock up and making breakfast?"

"You know he is. Come on. He's made waffles this morning and he needs someone to prevent him from flirting with Nurse Joy."

"I thought that was Toxicroak's job?"

"He's not enough and if he doesn't focus. Your food will be ruined."

"Not on my watch!" Ash yelled, as he took off towards the Pokemon Center, leaving Dawn and Charizard in a cloud of snow.

"Hmm. Maybe I should've said something different than your food will be ruined. What you think, Charizard?"

The dragon just stared forward, his black skin covered with fresh, white snow, which began to melt upon impact of his warm skin.

Breakfast was absolutely well-done this morning, waffles were cooked to perfection and Ash couldn't get enough of Brock's cooking. He was amazed that his cooking didn't suffer when all Brock was doing was drooling all over Nurse Joy. He straightened up when Toxicroak released a series of Poison jabs into Brock's gut.

It was a little past eight thirty when Ash ran outside once again to continue with his training. He wanted to work on Charizard's training, but he had others to work with. So instead, he released him and Charizard found a nice clearing for him to practice on his own. Ash grabbed his next Pokemon he wanted to work on.

"Venusaur! I choose you!" He yelled, throwing the Pokeball away from him, watching it erupted into a bright light as the giant plant Pokemon landed on the ground, causing a tremor. "Hey Venusaur. Today, we are going to practice on your long range attacks. Then quickly shifting them into close-range. I want to start with Solarbeam. It's pretty damn powerful as is, but when you do rapid fire. That power decreases so I want you to focus your energy on quick releases without losing strength in the attack. We'll start long-range first."

Venusaur nodded in response, pumping himself up as he aimed at a large boulder about two hundred feet away. It was a good starter distance for it not being too far, but far enough were Venusaur had to use a good deal of accuracy. Even though the beam itself shot out of his mouth.

"Alright, Venusaur. Use Sunny Day then start firing rapid Solar Beams. Target is that boulder right there. Fire when ready. Remember to focus on strength and accuracy and keep each beam consistent."

Venusaur nodded and began to use his power to brighten the sun high above. Everyone around immediately felt a difference in temperature, some of the snow already starting to melt.

The heat felt wonderful against the grass-type's giant, pink flower on his back, but rapidly started to glow yellow, almost considered to be white, as Venusaur opened his mouth wide, a powerful beam of sunlight exiting his mouth at such a tremendous rate of speed, it collided with the boulder a few seconds later, followed by a second, but this one was off-target. Its power however remained and took off a nice chunk from the boulder. A third was followed shortly after, this one back on target and the power had lessened ever so slightly.

Ash watched as the triple attacked took down a good portion of the rock, but it wasn't to his liking. One, the accuracy was off after the first shot and the power decreased after the third. Plus, he was hoping for more beams from one attack. His goal was five.

"Alright, Venusaur. Good start, but you can do better. Do it again." Ash ordered, which Venusaur complied with no hesitations.

Venusaur psyched himself for a another series of attacks, but he found out that the results were almost identical. The first attack was dead-on perfect. The first was always the easiest to accomplish perfectly, but when it came to the second and third. It felt the power was too much for him to control. The second had lost both power and accuracy and the third was even worse. The grass-type was now angry.

Brock looked upon this and saw the struggle, but an idea came to mind. "Hey Venusaur. I got an idea. What if you fired several Vine Whips into the ground. They will act like kick-stands. They will help you stay composed and should prevent you from moving around when you fire each attack."

Ash nodded at the theory and ordered Venusaur to fire his Vine Whip attack into the ground. Venusaur nodded and a good total of twenty vines came from beneath his giant flower and dug them deep into the ground. He had to assume they dug at least ten feet. Maybe even close to fifteen.

"Alright! Solar Beam!"

Venusaur stomped his feet into the ground and began to transfer the sun's energy from his flower to his mouth. He fired the first beam and as always. It came out strong and straight. The second came, with much surprise, the power hadn't decreased and the shot was dead-on accurate. The third finally came around and fired another true shot. Only problem was it lost energy.

"Alright, Venusaur. That was a shit-load better. Excellent improvement. Thank you, Brock for the great idea."

""You bet, Ash. We now just have to work on his strength and to prevent it from losing it."

"What if he just took an extra few seconds to suck in more sun. That should increase power and maybe get another beam fired."

"Dawn's right, Ash. If Venusaur could suck about two more seconds of sun, he have the strength to fire a fourth beam. Give him another five, he can fire a fifth."

"Five seconds is a long time when it comes to a Pokemon battle though. He would be vulnerable for so long. A lot of damage will be done to him."

"For now. Give him the five seconds. As he gains experience firing so many beams at one time. Train him to suck in more light in a small amount of time. Maybe you can combine both Solar Beam and Synthesis. This will help him suck in more light at once."

"You up to the task, Venusaur?"

Venusaur nodded with excitement, preparing his body to endure the amount of light he was about to suck in. He never tried anything like this before. At least this much light before. He knew it would be more painful than enjoyable. He just hoped than when this happens. He battles against a water-type. That will at least keep his flower wet.

"Alright, Feraligatr. It's your turn now. While Charizard and Venusaur are off training themselves. Time for you to focus on your strength. As strange as this may sound, but your dancing helps your agility quite a bit. Probably the most agile Pokemon of your species ever. Now, let's focus on power." Ash laughed when he saw his enormous alligator Pokemon starting to dance like he usually does. Only now he was moving around. A speed that almost compared with a jogging Vulpix.

"I think he's working on his quickness, Ash. Why else would he be this excited?"

"Because he's Feraligatr. He doesn't need a reason to be excited because he always is." Ash commented, as he watched his Pokemon stop his dancing and got into battle mode. "Alright. Let's start with the basics. Hydro Pump. You see that boulder over there? A nice huge target, but what I want you to do is focus all that power and with one shot. Punch a hole right through the center."

Feraligatr turned and stared at the target that sat before him. Maybe about thirty feet away. Possibly even forty. It was a good distance away because Hydro Pump would lose a decent percentage of its power before it would strike its target. The exercise was to increase that power tremendously.

Normally, the giant gator would start tap dancing and fire the attack, but that happiness he always bestowed was gone. He had the look that Charizard always had. A look of pure concentration and determination mixed with arrogance.

Ash looked from the sidelines as Feraligatr fired the attack which looked immediately thirty percent more powerful than what he usually fires at. Maybe not enough to punch a hole through, but maybe dig in a few feet.

Ash, however was completely wrong. About everything. The attack destroyed the boulder and he watched it shatter into pebbles about the size of lava rocks. About two inches long and an inch wide.

Ash, Brock and Dawn just stared at the blue gator kinda change into a dark aqua color, as Feraligatr was snarling at the shattered boulder. "You've been holding back your attacks?" Dawn yelled at Feraligatr, completely flabbergasted by the shear power that the water type never had shown before.

All he did was nod, then started to dance like he usually does. Ash was at a loss, same went for Brock, as they watched Feraligatr dance around on his toes.

"I have never known a Pokemon to hold back his attacks. I don't know why they would?"

"I think it's because not all Pokemon enjoy to battle. Some may like to think of them as games, which is what Feraligatr seems to have done all along. Though, he realizes the severity of the battles you are going to have. He wants to prepare himself for some tough opponents. Makes sense now, though. He's a level one hundred Pokemon and he was holding his attacks."

"He always was a strange one. Got to admire his spirit though. As for Hydro Pump? I think that's pretty good. Let's try Hydro Pulse. A faster throw is what I am looking for and I have a feeling that what you have been throwing isn't the quickest you can do. Am I right?"

Feraligatr just formed a giant ball of high-pressured water into his hands, the size was once again the diameter of a beach umbrella. However, the size did not matter as the gator threw the attack like a baseball pitcher throwing a hundred mile an hour fastball. Just incredible.

"I think I have seriously underestimated my Pokemon, Brock."

"I think you'll be kicking the Gold Four's asses. Should be very interesting."

A snow storm was forming off in the distance, probably would hit this part of Mount Silver in a matter of a half hour. More or less. That was the least of Ash's worries as he continued to work on each of his Pokemon's skills.

He leaned up against a tall tree, with Dawn in his arms, as they both watched Brock provide each of Ash's Pokemon with a special type of food that he had made. He had talked to Natalie from the Hoenn region a while back and he had asked her of what kinds of berries provided a great deal of nutritional value.

Well, according to her and he listened carefully because he knew no one that knew as much about each kind of berry as she did. She said that Gold Berries mixed with a Blue Apricorn was suppose to be a good combo with nutrition. Mix it with some protein and grain and it would form a yellow substance that was delicious and healthy.

Brock made the food and came back about twenty minutes later, just about the same time the Pokemon were taking a break. Eating a couple pieces along with some snow for a drink, they were energetic and felt like they had gained a few years of life.

Actions spoke for themselves because when Venusaur finished eating the food, he did a quick burst of Solar Beam attacks and found it to be a little easier to store the energy needed to release the numerous attacks.

"I got to visit her and thank her personally. Unbelievable." Ash muttered, watching the plant type fire three powerful, deadly accurate beams before the fourth failed with accuracy and strength.

"I think that this will be a very productive month. Brock, you need to keep feeding everyone that stuff."

"I plan to, Dawn. Every meal, I plan to sprinkle a little bit of that food per bowl."

"I'm just shocked that you were able to find Blue Apricorns around here. Talk about major coincidences and I thought they didn't grow up here." Ash commented, looking out into the distance and watching the storm approach.

"I say we get back to the Pokemon Center, Ash. We don't want you to get real sick from training in the snow."

"That will just waste time, Brock. I can't do that."

"At least let's head in that direction. That good enough?"

"Alright. We'll head that way, but it doesn't mean that I will be coming in when the storm starts."

"Yes it will because I am going to drag you by the ear. Either the easy way or the hard way, Ash. Which will it be?"

"I'll let you know. Come on, gang. Let's go."

(Pokemon talking)

The four Pokemon, which included Charizard, Venusaur, Feraligatr and Tyranitar, all walked together about ten feet behind their master. They were engaged in their own conversation, not paying much attention to anyone outside their circle.

"So seriously? Why have you been holding back your power all these years, Feraligatr?"

"That's just like me asking you why do you take Pokemon battles so seriously, Charizard."

"No it's not. It's completely different."

"Battles are games to me. That is where the fun is."

"You have fun by making yourself weaker than you should be? Why the fuck would you do that?" Tyranitar entered the conversation, looking down at his smaller colleague.

"I like to dance. Is that so hard to understand?"

"You can dance. We aren't stopping you from doing that. Hell. I wish I could, but you try dancing on four legs. It'll be a bitch. Anyway, just because you can dance, doesn't mean that you have to make yourself weaker." Venusaur bellowed, trying to do a little jig, but it was rather hard to do for him.

"Well I plan to train and fight for real now. I don't want to let Ash down."

"Am I the only one he's trying to do combo moves with?"

"Well. He's having me use Sunny Day and Synthesis and focus that energy into my Solar Beams. Wants me to try and fire them fire them I was a semi-automatic weapon. Easier said than done, kids."

"He's trying to get me to combine Flare Blitz and Fire Fang together. It's kinda hard to do. Trying to get an attack that surrounds my body to combine with an attack that originates in my teeth."

"Didn't you pick the attacks though?" "I'm not saying that I'm not liking this. I'm just wondering if I was the only one learning to do combos."

"All he has me doing is trying to prevent recharge after Hyper Beam. Now that is a bitch. How the hell am I suppose to do that?"

"You're a ground type. Can't you absorb energy from the ground?"

"This is geo-thermal energy you're talking about here, Feraligatr. I'm not a generator."

"Have you ever tried before though? Next time you feel like digging, try and absorb some energy. I bet you can do it."

"I'll tell you one thing. I am feeling some sort of energy coming from underneath."

"I can feel it too. Is the earth suppose to be trembling?" Venasaur's words were answered as the moment he had finished his sentence, the ground in front of Ash and company exploded and watched as a familiar foe entered the battlefield.

"Hey! I remember this fella. This is the same Steelix we saw yesterday. He looks pissed."

"You're fucking right I'm pissed! You think you damn pussies can defeat me if it were one on one?"

"I probably could. You seem like a light weight." Charizard said, looking at his opponent with an unimpressed stare.

"Arrogant punk."

"We like your attitude. Why don't you join us?"

"Excuse me?" The giant snaked questioned, a look of complete bewilderment spreading across his face.

"Feraligatr? What are you doing?"

"Recruiting, Tyranitar. Come on. I say you got what it takes to defeat the Gold Four."

"The what?"

"A powerful group of trainers. Our master right there in the middle was challenged by those trainers and we are training to defeat them."

"You've lost me."

"You wanna join or not?"

"Why the hell would I want to join you? You made me look like a fool yesterday. Others are making fun of me."

"Guarantee that they were taken down by us as well. Come on. What do you got to lose?"

"My reign over this land!"

"Is it really that worth it? A bronze snake like you doesn't belong here. Everyone here are pushovers. You got more potential than that." Venusaur explained, thinking he might have gotten the attention of Steelix.

"You think so?" "I agree with the turtle here….."

"I'm a fucking dinosaur, you fucking lizard with wings."

"With a flower?"

"Guys! We are talking here. Shut up!" Tyranitar silenced the bickering Charizard and Venusaur, as Feraligatr hid in face in shame, but he started to speak. "Listen. Our master is a really good guy and takes excellent care of us. Consider our offer. By the look of our master, he wants to catch you and he'll mean business."

Steelix looked up slightly and stared at Ash, he stood in his fighting stance, while Brock and Dawn stepped back a few feet to let the team do their work. "Determined guy, isn't he?"

"One of the fiercest trainers we know and has a heart filled with determination. So to answer your question. Yes, he is determined."

"By the way. How did you get to be that bronze color?"

"Charizard!"

"I eat a lot of dirt and minerals. A lot of good stuff is down underneath the ground. You should try it some time."

"I'm good."

"How'd you get to be that black color? Charizard's aren't suppose to be black, but orange instead."

Charizard just looked at the ground, unable to answer the question because by the look on his face. It was really painful for him. He didn't respond. Steelix took the hint and dismissed his question.

"Alright! I'll join, but this better be worth it. I'm gonna have to take down a lot of underlings to make sure my reign still exists over this area."

"A Pokemon like you? Pfft. You got no worries there."

"What is that suppose to mean?"

"Look at you. You're a shiny Pokemon. Amazing that we were able to come across a Steelix in the first place. That's cool, but we just happened to find one as rare as you in the wild. Hmm. Maybe Ash is suppose to win this thing."

"I hope you are right, Charizard. Be kinda nice to have that kind of reputation."

Ash and company just watched this whole conversation unfold, unable to believe that there hasn't been any fighting yet. He would figure that this Steelix would want revenge after what had happened yesterday, but apparently as the minutes ticked by. The giant snake began to calm.

"You don't suppose that they are recruiting him, do you?" "I think you may get lucky with this, Ash. I'm starting to see smiles and laughing."

"I didn't think a rare Pokemon like him would want to go this easily. What do you think they are saying, Brock?" "Hard to say. Understanding Pokemon is hard to do. Look! They're coming this way." brock pointed out, as he watched four of Ash's Pokemon walk in front of the Steelix, as he casually made his way toward the group.

"You really are an amazing person, Ash and it shows with all your Pokemon." Dawn muttered to her love, as she leaned forward and kissed his ear. Which only caused his to chuckle and smile before he made his way towards the other group.

Ash watched the five stop about ten feet away before he made his short journey over to the Steelix. The fucker had to have been bigger than yesterday now that he was out of the ground and up close in person. A very intimidating Pokemon. Never looks happy and always look angry. Very uneasy.

"So, Steelix. You want to join us?" The metal snake just lowered his head and stopped it about six feet above Ash's entire body. He swore his heart skipped a beat at the close proximity between himself and the snake. He let out a sigh of relief when the snake nodded.

With a smile, he pulled out a Pokemon and chucked it at him, watching his metal body of no more than one hundred feet got sucked into this small ball a fraction of the size. He went inside with no problems or restrictions. "Yes! I just caught a Steelix!" He yelled, his hand in the air with the Pokeball wrapped in his fingers.

Day three came around after a great nights sleep for the young trainers, the day being a little warmer than it had been as the warm sun started to melt the snow. A lot of slush was beginning to form and Charizard was going to have a hard time dealing with all this water.

Ash gazed down upon his wonderful girlfriend, as she continued to sleep peacefully within his arms. The sun had come up about ten minutes ago and he wasn't able to wake her up just yet. Watching her sleep was almost as good as watching a fierce battle unfold.

Brock, like always, was located in the kitchen with Nurse Joy, as the duo made a hearty breakfast that was needed for another long day of training. This was going to be a different day of training because this was going to be revolving around the newly captured Steelix.

He was also kind of curious to see the size difference between the shiny Steelix and his own. He had to guess that his own was maybe sixty feet maximum. A considerable size difference. A definite size difference over Jasmine's.

Today was a little different when it came to breakfast. Today, Brock wasn't thinking about what Ash or Dawn would like. Oh no. It was what he would like and one thing came to mind because it had been years since he made this. Biscuits and Gravy.

Brock remembered the first time he ever had that famous dish. It was the morning that his father was leaving on his Pokemon journey and his wife insisted on a filling meal. He was immediately hooked on the meal his mother made for the small family at the time.

So today was his day to choose what was for breakfast. He chose Biscuits and Gravy. Nurse Joy was very excited as well because she hadn't had that meal in close to a year. Just never thought of making that meal.

The scent had somehow managed to make its way into Ash and Dawn's room, which caused the young bluette to wake. Her eyes fluttering and her nose taking in the new scent that filled the room.

"What is that? I have never smelled that before."

Ash began to smell this new, but very familiar scent. He knew this aroma and got very excited when he realized what it was. "Biscuits and Gravy. Nice."

"What?" "You'll see. Come on. Get dressed." Ash said as he pushed Dawn off of her, which she flopped right on the bed where Ash was a moment ago.

"Hey! Get back here. I'm not done laying on you yet."

"Too bad. I need a solid breakfast before I start training." Ash said, as he threw on a pair of jeans and a plain, blue t-shirt. He left the room before Dawn was even out of bed. Which got her thinking that this may be a great breakfast if Ash was this excited.

However it didn't pick up her pace in any way as she casually got dressed. Today, she decided she wear a nice white pair of jeans that matched perfectly with a purple long-sleeved shirt. She almost went with a sweater by how things were melting outside. It just might be a little warm for one.

She walked out of the bathroom after fixing her hair the usual way, only not without her white beanie. As much as she loved that hat, she found it to be a little childish for her. Occasionally for jokes, she'll put on the hat.

Brock just stared in amazement at how Ash was eating the meal. He had seen him stuff his mouth before, but not like this. Kinda makes you wonder at how he was able to breath. Truly a fascinating question that only he could answer. He could guess though that Ash hadn't had Biscuits and Gravy in years. He himself was shocked that he wasn't eating like his friend.

Dawn walked into the cafeteria and watched in amazement at Ash's unorthodox eating habit. She couldn't blame him because the smell that filled her nose was just truly delicious.

"I think I'm going to like this." She said, as she took her seat next to Ash, who didn't bother to look at her, only even acknowledge her presence. He just continued to eat. "That good, huh?" "I think Ash's eating is an answer we all are looking for. Though, when was the last time he ate something that was bad to him?"

"I can't recall." Dawn said, as she scooped up a bit of the gravy that was mixed with little bits of sausage. She smiled and hummed at the flavor. "Delicious."

"Agreed." Ash finally spoke, as he gathered some more of the breakfast. Taking four biscuits and a large scoop of gravy.

"Ash! We all would like some more too you know."

He didn't answer, as he was already lost in his own world. Dawn just smacked her face in frustration, but tried to eat her meal. Same went for Brock and Nurse Joy. "Good thing we made that second batch of biscuits." Brock whispered to Joy, which she nodded in agreement.

The day was indeed a little warmer today that it has been the last couple. It was going to be a good day to train. Though, Nurse Joy claimed that it was just going to snow more in a couple hours. Which made Mount Silver part of the top five list that Ash didn't want to be. He sucked it up though. It was a perfect place to train.

Before the group of three friends, stood Ash's six Pokemon. Pikachu, Charizard, Feraligatr, Venusaur, Tyranitar and the newly added Steelix. Truly was a marvelous sight to look at.

"Alright everyone. This is your day to work on the jobs I've asked you to do. Steelix? We're gonna work on your strength. We're gonna start by looking at what moves you know." Ash said, while he dug out his Pokedex and aimed it at Steelix.

Took him a moment to look up his moves, but once he did. He was shocked at the variety of moves he had. Even ones he had never heard of before. "Iron Throw? Is that just a more powerful version of Rock Throw? Giga Impact. That's a good one."

"He even knows Flash Cannon. That is a very hard move for a Steelix to learn. I think you got a hear a powerful Pokemon, Ash. I mean look at his stats. He's level ninety-six and if you compare those stats to a normal Steelix, it's doubled. Speed, Strength, Evasive, Special Defense, etc…." Brock marveled.

"I do have to admit too. That bronze color is very beautiful when the sun is shining off it." Dawn complimented, which caused Steelix to blush a little. He was beginning to think that he joined the right group of trainers.

Ash smiled at his newly captured Steelix, but soon found a very annoying ringing coming from below him. He looked down at his wrist and saw that his PokeGear was the culprit.

"Hey Ash? If you had that thing on you. Why didn't you just call your mom after that tornado passed through?"

"Because I wasn't wearing it at the time. Hey Professor. How are you? What can I do for you?"

"Just wondering about this new Pokemon you caught. A Steelix. Says here that is a shiny Pokemon. Is that true?"

"Yep. It's true, professor. Take a look." Ash said, as he aimed the PokeGear at his newly captured. He could have a feeling that Oak had the look of an excited child in a candy store.

"That is fantastic, Ash. You seem to be capturing a lot of great Pokemon lately. I've been researching and all of them are getting stronger as each day passes. Would you mind if I do some scans later in the day?"

"Well. I kinda wanted to work on Steelix for a little while, but I promise you'll get the chance to scan him. I promise by the end of the week, you'll get a chance to do some scans."

"Well. Okay, Ash. That sound pretty good. Tracey and May are looking forward to coming up, but they may need to push it back a couple days. I gave him a project that might take longer than I anticipated."

"That's okay, professor. Tell them they are in no rush to get up here. It's been snowing up here and I know May. She doesn't like snow that much."

"I will be sure to tell her that. Well, good luck with your training, Ash. I'm glad you are making everyday count."

"I try to. Seems to be paying off. I'll talk to you, professor. Say hi to my mom for me, along with everyone else."

"Will do." Oak finished, as he ended the call. Ash saw a black screen and he knew it was time to get back to work.

"Alright Steelix. I want you to aim a Iron Throw at those boulders over there." Ash commanded, while pointing in the direction of the giant rocks.

The steel snake looked over and Ash could've sworn he saw him laugh, but like an obedient Pokemon, he dug his tail into the ground and pulled out a giant pile of dirt, which glowed and transformed into a giant boulder of pure iron. Was a marvelous sight to see and Dawn immediately started to get some great ideas for future contests.

Ash just marveled at how the boulder of iron ripped through the boulder and just kept on going. No one thought that the move would come to a halt, but after two hundred meters. It just fell into the ground and exploded.

"Umm? I think that this will be a good move to use." Brock commented, his hand stroking his chin as he watched the attack.

"I think you are right, Brock. Let's see what else we got. How about Dragon Pulse." Ash ordered, expecting nothing less, but power from this attack.

Steelix just arched its head back, a greenish ball beginning to form within his mouth. By the time it was ready to be fired, it was about the size of a compact car. With great force, he fired the attack and everyone watched the ball of energy collided with a mountain peak off in the distance. Causing a rock slide that looked like could bury a mansion. Luckily, there was nothing beyond the peak it was fired at.

"Very impressive, Steelix. That was fantastic." Ash said, as he started to stroke one of Steelix's iron rocks. The affection was something the snake had never dealt with before from a human and he had to admit that this kind of affection was nice.

"I know what you need, Steelix. How about a nice poffin?" Dawn suggested, as she started to dig through her bag in search for her specially-made treats that her Pokemon loved. She finally was able to discover them and she pulled out one of the pink treats.

Steelix found the tiny thing to be awfully peculiar as he stared at the treat at close range, as if he were trying to study its anatomy. After a couple whiffs later, he opened his mouth to allow Dawn to throw it in. He began to chew it and couldn't help, but notice all the different berry flavors within this small treat. Only one word came to his mouth. 'Remarkable.'

He nodded in appreciation while Dawn just smiled at another satisfied customer.

"Alright, Steelix. Let's go find you someone to spar with." Ash commented, as he made his way towards the cave entrance, which was only on the other side of the Pokemon Center.

Everyone however froze when they heard five consecutive Solar Beams. Ash quickly turned around and saw the five attacks, all about the same strength, were fired into the air. Ash smiled at the progress of Venusaur. He was going to do well in the upcoming battles.

"Alright, Ash. I've done some research, along with some help of Jasmine, I was able to figure out some of the Pokemon that the Gold Four will be using. We will start off with Paul." Brock began by typing in a few things on the computer he was working on and up came a list of only three Pokemon.

"Sorry there is only three, but it's the best I could do."

"Don't worry, Brock. I am grateful you were able to find anything at all. This will be extremely helpful, but are you sure they will be using these Pokemon?"

"I'm pretty confident in my findings because I heard from Jasmine that everyone been training these six Pokemon for weeks now and none of them plan to change them."

"Well, I'll still on my toes just in case. Especially with Lance. You never know with him."

"There ya go. Anyway, here's Paul's three Pokemon I found out. First one will be his Torterra. This was his starter so you can expect him to be at a very high level and strong. The perfect option I have right now is Charizard and Feraligatr is pushing it because he has some ice-type moves."

"I think Feraligatr would be a last resort for this battle. Maybe I can do something with Venusaur. A couple grass-type starters from two different regions. Would be a great battle."

"I agree with you, Ash. I'll try and get some more info. Right now. His second choice is going to be Electabuzz. Another stronger Pokemon of his. I know for a fact this would be a perfect revenge fight for Infernape, but this battle would be better for Steelix, Venusaur and Tyranitar."

"Agreed."

"Final choice and this is going to be a challenge….."

"Ursaring." Ash made the quick assumption, which Brock knew he would get.

"Right. You know too well. You also know that this Pokemon is a bit above insane. Especially when Boca gets activated. Best would be any one of your Pokemon, but one with strong defense."

"Steelix and Tyranitar, but Pikachu has a history with that fucker. He hammer armed him off the freaking battlefield. I think I wanna use him first."

"Don't let revenge cloud your strategy, Ash. Still think wisely and choose the right Pokemon for that battle."

"Don't worry, Brock. It won't."

"Good. Now I bet that you would like to know the others."

"One opponent at a time. Let's train for him first. Meaning one thing."

"Ash. Don't tell me that you really are going along with your idea of fighting as cold as he is!" "I have to, Dawn. I want him to realize what it's like to have someone battle him as cold, if not, more than him. I will show no mercy for him."

"That's pretty dark of you, Ash. You think your Pokemon will respond well with that?" "Only one way to find out."

(Pokemon talking)

"Did Ash just say what I think he said?"

"What? About him wanting us to show no mercy against Paul's Pokemon? I never meant the guy, but I'm up for it."

"Charizard? You're like that every battle. You are going to be awesome during that battle."

"Who is this Paul someone anyway?"

"He's a rival of Ash's that has always gotten the best of him in every battle. He lost to him in the Sinnoh League has never been able to win against him." Venusaur explained to Steelix, watching the giant snake take in the information with a bit of a shock.

(Note: I know that Ash defeats Paul in the Sinnoh League in the anime, but for my story. He loses and this will add drama for when Ash battles Paul in the Gold Four.)

"The first ever six on six battle they had. Ash lost all his Pokemon and Paul only lost two. That was a severe confidence blow to him. It was Dawn that brought him out of his depression and got him back to his normal ways." Feraligatr explained, stroking his chin like a human.

"How would you know that?"

"Pikachu told me that, Charizard. Unlike you, I ask about everyone's journey since we departed."

"I ask how everyone's trip was!"

"I said more than just 'good trip'."

"Guys enough. We are on the same team remember? Let's focus on how we are going to be merciless against Paul."

"Kind of a mental thing, Tyranitar. You just got to learn to be able to shut off your mind when you fight. It's what I do."

"But not when you fought at the Charisific Valley. That was when you were filled with pure rage and revenge." Venusaur commented, which got Charizard to quickly turn to face him. A look of complete flabbergast.

"You know about that?"

"Afraid so. I heard from Pikachu when he overheard Ash and Liza talking. That's how things are the way they are with you."

"What is he talking about, Charizard?" Steelix asked, confused about this whole conversation, but by the falling tears that began to stream down the dragon's face. It was a real touchy subject for him.

"I can't say."

"Charizard. Come on. What happened?"

"I CAN'T SAY!" The black dragon yelling at Feraligatr, his face filled with ravenous rage. The alligator didn't flinch, he stood his ground. Holding the same expression on his face. Charizard face lightened and nearly broke down in a bawl.

"Charla was almost taken from me."

"What?"

It took a moment for Charizard to collect the right words, but it was kinda hard to do when you're crying. "Team Rocket attacked the valley…a few years ago. Most of the other Charizard were captured, while some of us tried to defend the valley and Liza. At the time, she was trying to flee to her home, which had a special shelter underneath, but Team Rocket fired a bazooka at her. One that was sure to kill her. Charla flew towards her trainer and pushed her out of the way, just before the rocket round collided with her. I saw the whole scene unfold and I flew to her as fast as possible to find that she was dead. Or so I thought. She wasn't breathing or moving. I don't know, but something inside me just snapped as I could feel the fire within me burn hotter than it had ever before. The fire on my tail was glowing as white as burning Magnesium. It was at that moment that the old me had died and I vowed revenge. I began to hunt down the Rocket members. Not just making them run away, but I killed them. Burning them to crisp. Breaking their necks with a swing of my tail. Seismic tossing them into the ground with all my might. Each kill was transforming me. My skin slowly began to turn black. I killed over sixty Rockets that day but it was thanks to me that the valley is peaceful now. Well was. But it was that day that turned my appearance." Charizard just stared at the ground, remembering that horrid day as more tears fell from his eyes. Everyone looked at him with deep sympathy and shock. He continued.

"When I returned to Charla, Liza was tending her, but I feared that she was dead. I nuzzled her, licked her, shook her. Everything I could to try and wake her and as each minute had past, my fear gotten worse and worse. The feel of her soft tongue licking my nose brought me out of my rage and depression and I cried with happiness when I saw her awake. I held her close and cared for her. Expressing my love for her in many words while she could do was smile and cry to be back with me…I got her pregnant that night."

"You what?"

"I got her pregnant. She gave birth to four Charmanders. Thank Arceus that none of them have my appearance."

"Why isn't she hear now?"

"She's flying over here as we speak. Liza is with them. They should be arriving this Thursday. Today is Wednesday if I recall so they should be here tomorrow."

"Why didn't you change back once you returned to your normal self?"

"Who says I'm normal now? Haven't you noticed that I'm a lot angrier than I was when I first evolved?"

"I just always thought that's how you were." Feraligatr commented, to which Charizard shook his 'no' in response.

"You are definitely a tough looking Charizard. I'll give you that." Steelix complimented the dragon.

"Thanks. I think." "What happened to Charla that she wasn't waking up?"

"She was in a state that was beyond unconsciousness, but below coma. She was alive, but she wasn't breathing. I don't know how that works, but apparently. Her heart was beating ever so softly and her breathing was very shallow. Beyond unnoticeable."

"She's okay now though, right?"

"Thank Arceus, she's fine, Tyranitar. If it weren't for her waking up, just imagine how I would be now."

"You'd destroy every Pokemon that came against you. You'd never go down."

"Probably. And most likely I'd never stop my rampage."

"I hope we never see that."

"As long as Charla and my children live, you never will."

Long silence before Feraligatr finally got the nerve to break the quietness. "So uh, Charizard? How do you get us to become that merciless?"

So what did you think? Good right? I know it was. You all love my stories and that's why i keep updating. Positive reviews please.