A/N: So I messed up a couple of days ago with an edit that ended up accidentally overwriting chapter 18 with chapter 19, which I imagine must have been really confusing to anyone who was reading at around that time (specifically Ufimtsev). That has definitely been fixed but I still feel really embarrassed about it and extend my humblest of apologies. I have derped. I have derped and I am ashamed.

Ufimtsev: thank you for your kind reviews but in light of recent mishaps I feel unworthy of the jar of cookies. :(

When You Mess with the Best

Yesterday's rain seemed to be just what the weatherman ordered because the clouds had all blown away by morning. Every single one of them. Ray looked up into a clear blue sky on a sunny but humid day. Some part of him (that he had a feeling was a bit irrational) was hoping that the thing he'd seen yesterday was still flying around the area. On such a fine day he was sure to see exactly what it was. Treecko tugged on the leg of his pants and he looked down at his Pokémon. That's right, they were here to catch more Pokémon.

The bladers had split up around Route 104. There was a grassy meadow just beyond Petalburg that they'd been told was a habitat for many Pokémon. So here Ray was, wading through knee high grass on the search for some Pokémon.

The meadow sloped gradually upwards. Ray could look down and have a quite pleasant view of the southern half of Route 104, Mr Briney's cottage and the beach. To the west was a cliff on the edge of the sea with a nice smelling breeze blowing in. It seemed to be the perfect environment for seagulls but there didn't appear to be any. Not that Ray minded, seagulls were noisy and awfully annoying. However, his mind kept going back to what he saw yesterday and he kept looking back into the sky hopefully.

Treecko suddenly alerted him with a cry and he was brought back to earth. His heart skipped a beat when he thought Treecko had spotted a wild Pokémon while he wasn't paying attention but that wasn't the case. Treecko was pointing at something else. At the edge of the cliff to the sea, where the long grass suddenly ended and there was just a bit of short grass, were a small slope and some colour that seemed out of place. As Ray made his way out of the taller grass he recognised that he was looking at a red-brimmed cap and the sun-browned arms of a person. Out of curiosity, Ray called out to them. The hat brim shifted and then the wearer sat up and stretched. Ray found himself a little relieved that they'd just been relaxing and weren't in trouble. A pair of long, white ears with black tips also popped up beside them.

They turned around and Ray could tell that he was a man. He looked to be pushing his early thirties, at least. He had black hair and was wearing a blue, short-sleeved jacket and jeans. The Pokémon beside him looked like a long-eared, white mouse with red cheeks and a lightning bolt shaped tail.

"Hi, I just called out to see if you were alright," Ray said politely. "Don't mind me, I'll just get back to what I was doing."

"That was pretty nice of you," the man said. The little mouse by his side chimed in its agreement with a noise that sounded like: 'pikaaa'. He lay back on the grass and gestured to the empty space next to him. "Come join us, it's too nice a day to be working."

"I agree but I'm looking for wild Pokémon and it'll probably take a while."

"Wild Pokémon?" the man repeated. He sat up and turned to Ray. "Looking for anything in particular?"

"Not really, just anything that won't get away before I weaken it enough to catch it."

"Oh, I see!" the man smiled brightly. "You're a trainer. That Treecko your first Pokémon?"

"Yeah, this is the first time I've done anything like this," Ray admitted. "My friends and I haven't been very successful at this whole catching-Pokémon-and-beating-Gym-Leaders business so far. Your Pokémon is pretty cute. You don't mind if I look it up, do you?"

Ray took out his Pokédex and crouched down to their level. The man shook his head. "Pikachu, the mouse Pokémon. It has small electric sacs on both its cheeks.If threatened, it looses electric charges from the sacs. It occasionally uses an electric shock to recharge a fellow Pikachu that is in a weakened state."

"It sounds cool. Where did you catch it?"

"Actually, my buddy here was my first Pokémon." The man petted his old time friend fondly and the little mouse-like creature soaked up the love. "Got him from Professor Oak way back when."

"Professor Oak?" Ray said, thinking that he only knew one person who'd been referred to by that name. "You got Pikachu from Gary?"

That seemed to strike a nerve. "You know Gary, huh?"

Ray could feel that this would be an area he might have to tread lightly around but stuck to telling the truth: "I met him in Littleroot Town when Professor Birch gave us our Pokémon."

"He's in the region?" the man asked, raising his eyebrows. "Huh… well, it wasn't him who gave me Pikachu. For starters, he wasn't even a professor back then; he was the same age as me. It was his grandfather, Professor Oak, who gave me Pikachu."

"I'd heard mentions of two Professor Oaks," Ray remarked, recalling that first meeting with Gary. "It must get really confusing, talking about the two of them."

"It's really easy. I just call Gary 'jerk'."

"What?"

"Forget I said that."

"Um, alright then… your Pikachu looks different to the one in the Pokédex. Is he one of those shiny Pokémon?"

"Nah, just old," the man replied, picking up Pikachu and putting him in his lap. "Used to be all yellow but a few years ago his fur starting sprouting white. Now he's white all over. By the way, don't think I got your name before."

"The conversation kind of ran away with us," Ray joked. "I'm Ray Kon. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Ash Ketchum."

Meanwhile, Mari had decided to stay behind in town. She trusted that Hilary and the bladers could catch their own Pokémon without running into catastrophe. Plus, it was a nice day to simply be relaxing. Despite the humidity the breeze was cool and with so much greenery in and around Petalburg City there were so many places to just chill. There was a pond on the southern end of the city, far away from the Gym and any other possible battle-related things where she'd found a spot to lie under a tree and let her Pokémon roam. At some point, Mawi decided she was tired of playing with the others and flopped down next to Mari, laying her giant jaws across her trainer's belly.

Mari was starting to feel dozy when a face suddenly appeared right above her. She sat up quickly and turned around, ignoring Mawi's whining. "Emerald!"

The other trainer grinned and gave her a peace sign. "So this is where you were the whole time?"

"Go away!" Mari moaned. "Not in the mood to battle right now."

"Me neither," Emerald said, sitting down and reclining against the tree. He started releasing all of the Pokémon in his party. "Too many people are itching for a fight at the Gym today. Everyone keeps challenging me to battles. I'm getting a little bored."

"Not up to par, eh?" Mari guessed, shuffling to sit next to him and elbowing him in the side. "Doesn't surprise me, though. You're kind of a minor celebrity, what with you being in a lot of major Pokémon Leagues and having all those famous relatives."

Emerald just groaned. "Wish I could just be the kind of person who comes up from nothing. What about you?"

Mari shrugged. "People don't seem to want to challenge me that often. Kinda jealous of your popularity, here."

"Pfft! They're probably just intimidated. I may have participated in a lot of major leagues but you've won way more than me."

"You've won in Hoenn…"

"That isn't anything to get all twisted up over," he teased, bopping her on the head lightly. "Minor setback. Say, are you travelling with those spinning top guys because you want to try at it again?"

"Course I'm trying again! Why shouldn't I?"

"Whoa, whoa! Just think it might be a good idea to wind down a bit and focus on something else for a change."

"I am focussing on something else! That's why I'm escorting new trainers," Mari huffed, tearing out handfuls of grass. "Besides, what are you doing? Aren't you going to try for Kanto again?"

"Maybe," Emerald sang. "Not really thinking about it right now. Was thinking I'd just chill out for a few weeks and then fly around Hoenn doing some minor league challenges. Hey, maybe I could go back to school for a year and get a diploma or a certificate."

"Are you kidding me? You haven't been to school since you were ten."

"Doesn't mean I can't."

The conversation petered out and the two trainers just spent a quiet moment watching over their Pokémon. Shiftry sat in the shade meditating while some of the smaller Pokémon were having a jolly good time using Rush as a raft. Mari stretched and yawned. A nap seemed like a good idea right now.

"Why are people cooped up in the Gym on a day like today?" Mari asked rhetorically.

"I don't get it either," Emerald shrugged, "especially since the Gym Leader isn't even there."

"What?" That lifted Mari out of her sleepy state of mind and she turned to Emerald sharply. "What do you mean the Gym Leader isn't here?"

"He's not here," Emerald said to the point. "Had to leave on an emergency summons the night before last."

"Must have been right after he fought Kai," Mari thought. "Just him? Or are all of the Gym Leaders on hiatus?"

"If it's an emergency summons, I would imagine all of the Gym Leaders are out of action. Also means that I have no idea when they're returning."

Mari sighed in frustration and leaned on Emerald's shoulder. "Sucky. What to do? Stay here and wait for the Gym Leader to come back or move on and hope the Gym Leaders are back by the time we reach the next town?"

"Just so you know, I'm not staying."

"You're not?"

"Nup. Planning to head out the day after tomorrow and start knocking out some Battle Tents. Maybe I can even convince Ruby to join me for double battles."

"Good luck," Mari said sarcastically. She turned her head to look up at the leaves and branches above her. It was slightly disappointing to have to hear that news and she was sure the newbies wouldn't be too happy about it. Oh well, she'd just let them know when they got back and then decide what to do from there. For now, she was just going to close her eyes and give in to the lovely atmosphere.

Back in the meadow, Ash had joined Ray on the quest to find wild Pokémon.

"So, you and your friends have been pretty unsuccessful up until now, huh?" Ash clarified.

"That's the gist of it. We need three Pokémon each to battle the Gym Leader in Petalburg but the most that anyone's caught is one. Except for Kai, he's managed to catch three.

"Are those your friends?"

Ray turned to where Ash was pointing and blushed, wishing he hadn't. He'd looked just in time to see Tyson and Daichi get jumped by a small, dark blue bird and freak out. The whole group was dotted about the meadow in easy sight and most of them seemed to be hard at work looking for Pokémon. Kai was the obvious exception. Not only was his Magikarp still in hospital, Nurse Joy had told them all in the morning that they weren't allowed to let him work his Pokémon hard. Hilary also seemed uninterested in doing what they were trying to achieve. She was instead playing around and attempting to entertain Kai and his Togepi with… did she suddenly have four Raltses? Ray bitterly wondered if things were going to turn out like last time and she would be the only person to catch something despite not even trying.

"Did you ever consider using a different Pokéball?"

Ray looked at Ash and blinked. Ash took that to mean he hadn't. "There are other kinds? I mean, I did once see an experienced friend of ours use a different-looking one. Do they work differently?"

"Definitely," Ash said. He took his bag of his shoulders and rifled through the front pocket until he found what he was looking for. He held it out to Ray. "You said most of the problems you have are from Pokémon fleeing battle before they're weak enough for the ordinary Pokéball, right? Try this one."

Ray took the ball from him and expanded it. It was a Pokéball but it was blue and yellow and had speedy-looking pattern that made both hemispheres symmetrical, unlike the normal design.

"That's a Quick Ball. It's one of the balls designed to be used against fleeing Pokémon, specifically this one has a better catch rate the stronger the Pokémon you're trying to catch is."

"So the earlier I use it the better," Ray summarised. He heard a fluttering off to his right and turned just in time to see another one of those little blue birds he'd seen a lot of around this area. "Okay, let's try this out. Treecko, use Quick Attack."

Treecko got the jump on the little bird, tackling it lightning fast. The bird chirped and started to pump itself up for something. Ray commanded Treecko to use Pound and the bird took a beating once again. He was about to close in for another attack but the little bird suddenly retaliated, zooming past Treecko so fast the edges of its wings seemed to glow. Treecko was knocked out cold by that one attack.

"Uh oh…" Ray glanced down at the ball in his hand. "The earlier you use it…"

He threw it. The bird didn't expect to have a ball thrown at it so quickly and was engulfed easily. There was a tense minute where the ball wobbled vigorously. Ray wasn't sure if Ash's assurance about the ball was really true but then the lock clicked and the ball stilled. His heart leaped.

"It's caught!" he exclaimed, picking up the Quick Ball and thrusting in the air. "I did it! I finally caught another Pokémon! But Treecko…"

Ray came down from his high almost instantly upon remembering his starter. He put his new Pokéball away and picked up Treecko, cradling him. "I need to take him back to the Pokémon Centre already."

"That kind of thing happens too, sometimes," Ash said encouragingly. He started going through another section of his bag. "Luckily, I've got something for that too." He took a little, yellow, diamond-shaped object out and slipped it between Treecko's lips. "That thing's called a revive. It's a special type of mineral salt that wakes up exhausted Pokémon and gives them some of their energy back. It'll keep him kicking for the rest of the day but you should take him back to the Pokémon Centre eventually."

True to Ash's word, Treecko was already starting to come back around. "That's awesome! How do you get all of this cool stuff?"

"I travel a lot so I know about all sorts of things that make me prepared for anything. You'll learn about them if you decide to stay on the road."

"Yo, Ray!" Tyson called across the meadow.

It seemed he had attracted the attention of his friends and they were all hurrying over to see what he'd gotten excited about.

"What happened? Did you catch something?" Daichi was the first to ask.

"I did," Ray replied. He returned Treecko and released his new Pokémon, grinning as he did.

"Great! What is that?" Daichi asked, photographing it with his Pokédex.

"Taillow, the tiny swallow Pokémon. When it gets cold, they migrate, flying over 300 kilometres a day. It has a gutsy spirit that makes it bravely take on tough foes. However, it cries loudly if it becomes hungry."

"It's the same Pokémon that flew in your face not even ten minutes ago," Ray deadpanned.

"Shut up! We were just unprepared is all!"

The Taillow looked around the large group that had formed and narrowed its eyes defiantly. It turned around and decided to just fly away.

"H-hey!" Ray shouted, returning it before it could get away. That got a laugh from the rest of the group, save for Kai (who never seemed to find anything funny).

"Are you sure you just caught that?" Max enquired. "It seems pretty lively."

"Yes! I used this," Ray explained, showing them the Quick Ball and elaborating on how its mechanics worked. "Oh, by the way, this is Ash Ketchum. He's the guy who gave it to me."

A brief round of introductions followed, including another Pokédex introduction of Pikachu and the curious questions about the little, white, electric mouse. Ray also added in how Ash was able to bring Treecko back from fainting.

"So if you're carrying advanced stuff like the Quick Ball and the revive, then perhaps you're a trainer too?" Hilary deduced.

"I am. Been at this since I was ten years old."

"And you just never stopped, huh?" Tyson remarked wistfully. He'd always imagined that he would also never stop beyblading. He might retire from sporting tournaments but he figured that would be years and years down the road. Even then he would probably continue teaching and training new bladers, just like Hiro.

Ash laughed at that. "How could I? Pokémon really mean a lot to me." Pikachu chimed in his agreement from his perch on Ash's shoulder. "In fact, couldn't really picture myself as doing anything that didn't involve all of the Pokémon friends I made during my early travels."

"People have occupations alongside their Pokémon?" Hilary wondered.

"What do you do?" Max asked.

"Weeeeellll… currently, I'm the Champion of the Kanto region."

The statement hit the group like a sledgehammer and there was a collective gasp of awe. Everyone was thinking back to that moment in Professor Birch's lab when Mari explained to them the hierarchy of Pokémon League prestige.

"If you're the Champion then that means you're powerful!" Daichi asserted, taking out one of his Pokéballs. "And if you're powerful, I wanna battle you!"

"Don't be foolish," Kai piped up.

"What's that?!" Daichi growled.

"Count me in, then," Tyson said, rising to the challenge. "Let's see what kind of calibre the champions have around here."

Kai rolled his eyes while the others just sweated nervously on Tyson and Daichi's behalf. Ash just laughed again.

"Reminds me of when I was a kid journeying with Pokémon. Okay then, I accept your challenge. Who's first?"

"Me!" Daichi shouted before anyone could get a word in.

"Let's have a one-on-one battle. The winner is the one that knocks out the opponent."

"Fine by me. Geodude, go!"

Geodude roared onto the battlefield, swinging his arms excitedly. Ash considered Daichi's Pokémon for a moment.

"Hm… a Geodude, huh? In that case, Pikachu, think you're up for a battle?"

Pikachu's cheeks sparked and he leaped off Ash's shoulder to stand in front of him.

"Geodude, use Tackle!"

"Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Geodude lunged energetically at Pikachu but the mouse was gone in a flash. The rock-type suddenly halted to look around for his foe but then Pikachu slammed into his back in a flash. Daichi didn't hesitate to pull out the big guns and commanded Geodude to use Magnitude. Ash told Pikachu to use Agility. Taillows in the meadow flew away in surprise as the area was rocked with a minor earthquake. However, Pikachu had already avoided that attack by jumping on Geodude's head with lightning fast movements.

"Now finish it with Iron Tail!"

Geodude reached up to grab Pikachu but the mouse was too fast and leaped high into the air. His zigzag tail glowed silver and was bathed in a metallic coating. He flipped over in midair to hammer his tail hard onto Geodude's skull. There was a hard noise like a rock cracking and an explosion of dust as Daichi's Pokémon hit the ground hard. When the dust settled Pikachu was the clear winner, standing beside a knocked out Geodude lying in a mini-crater with a crack in his head.

A stunned silence filled the meadow. Nobody had expected that little mouse to be so powerful, especially given how old it allegedly was. Pikachu scurried back to his trainer's side, satisfied that he'd accomplished his task. Ash crouched down to congratulate his friend while Daichi just hung his head and returned Geodude.

"Forgot to delegate a referee but I think it's pretty obvious that Pikachu won that one," Ash said.

"But I still have one more Pokémon!" Daichi argued.

Hilary pinched his cheek to stop him talking. "You agreed at the beginning that it was a one-on-one match! That means you can only use one Pokémon."

"You've picked up the rules really well for someone who's just started out," Ash commented, making Hilary blush and giggle bashfully.

"Then I guess that means it's my turn," Tyson announced, stepping in front of Daichi, Pokéball at the ready. "Let's see how you go up against my Torchic."

Torchic cheeped once he was out, running around in a little circle to show that he was raring to go. Ash once again considered Tyson's choice of Pokémon carefully before deciding on his battle companion.

"Alright, I'll use someone different for this fight. Let's go, Sceptile!"

The Pokémon that came out was a green, bipedal reptile with a bushy tail that seemed to be made of palm leaves. It was quite big too – almost the same height as Ash. Hilary gasped. That was a familiar sight. She'd seen it on TV, both in Battle Frontier and in the Contest Hall. The one on television looked bigger than Ash's, although that might have just been the camera angle. Still, the sight of a Pokémon that was as tall as a man and twice as big was somewhat intimidating. She opened up her Pokédex, hoping it would quell her worries.

"Sceptile, the forest Pokémon. The leaves on its forelegs are as sharp as swords. It agilely leaps about the jungle and uses them to strike its prey. The seeds growing on its back are bursting with nutrients that revitalize trees."

Ash's Sceptile had a twig between its teeth, which it chewed thoughtfully while staring down its competition. It looked over its shoulder to send Ash a disappointed glare, as if it was asking: "are you for real?"

"Come on, just trust me," Ash assured it, although he looked a little apologetic.

"You looking down on us, punk?" Tyson snapped at Sceptile. "Torchic, use Ember!"

Torchic blew a barrage of little flames at Sceptile and made a direct hit. They seemed to sting but aside from that, Sceptile appeared mostly unaffected by the attack. Ash directed it to use Bullet Seed. Sceptile calmly plucked the twig out of its mouth and started to spit power-packed seeds. Torchic scurried about the field to avoid them but Sceptile followed him wherever he went until the bullets eventually caught up. Tyson sucked in a breath when his Torchic tumbled to the ground but he managed to struggle back to his feet.

"That's the spirit! Use Focus Energy and then Peck!"

Torchic's feathers ruffled up and the air around seemed to catch fire as it powered up. Ash ordered Sceptile to use Pound but his Pokémon simply replaced its twig and waited for Torchic to make his move. Torchic launched himself at Sceptile and jabbed it in the belly with his beak. Sceptile was forced back and doubled over as if it was winded. It looked down surprised at how much that attack had hurt. With and air of indignation, Sceptile finally fulfilled its trainer's order and batted Torchic hard with its tail. The impact sent Torchic spinning up into the air and crashing back to earth. It didn't look like he was going to be able to get back up this time.

Tyson returned him with a frustrated growl as Ash returned Sceptile. "What the heck was that?" Tyson grumbled. "Why'd your Pokémon wait to attack? Was he trying to make a fool of us?"

"Don't think so," Ash replied. "He's always had this really strong sense of pride and fairness. Think he just wanted Torchic to feel like it was doing a good job, rather than just getting pummelled. Anyone else want a shot?"

"No thank-you," Max said, putting his hands up defensively. "My Mudkip would probably take one look at your Pokémon and cry."

"Well you have just started out," Ash reasoned. "Sure he'll toughen up eventually. All of you have promise, I can tell just by looking at you. After the Hoenn League is all over and done with, you should come over to Kanto and take on our Gym Leaders. I'll be waiting for you at the Indigo Plateau if you decide on it."

"Thanks but we've already got other long term plans," Tyson said flatly. Hilary pinched his ear.

"Way to be rude."

"Let me know if you change your minds later on," Ash replied confidently. He crouched down and let Pikachu climb up his arm. "It was great meeting you all but I should head off now. Need to get to Petalburg City by the end of the day and catch a ferry to Dewford Town."

"What are you going to do in Dewford Town?" Ray asked. "Are you collecting the Hoenn Gym badges?"

Ash laughed uproariously at that suggestion. "Hoenn badges?! Collected those years and years ago and let me tell you, surprisingly not much has changed. Nah, I'm just going to Dewford in transit to Slateport for the ship that travels to Kanto. But first I need to make it in time for the ferry. Actually, since I'm leaving Hoenn, don't really need this anymore." He took from his pocket a device that looked like an electronic notebook. He handed it to the nearest person who could take it, which happened to be Ray. "This is a really detailed map of the Hoenn region. A PokéNav would beat it in terms of GPS data any day but it's really useful to have both. And take this. Had it in my bag for ages and I think I've only used it once."

He took another device out of his bag. This one was a blue gadget with a screen, a few buttons to operate it and twin prongs poking out at the top. "People call that a dowsing machine but it doesn't dowse for water. It identifies objects. Might be useful if you drop something in the grass or in the forests and can't find it. With this model you can even set it to search for particular items that might be around you."

"Are you sure it's okay to give these to us?" Tyson asked, accepting the dowsing machine since it was being offered. "What if you come back to Hoenn and need the map? Or you lose something?"

"Been to Hoenn enough times that I don't really need the map anymore," Ash said, waving off Tyson's concern. "And if I've dropped something Pikachu's nose has never let me down." Pikachu voiced his agreement. "Besides, I believe that it's a responsibility of the old talent to give a helping hand to the up and coming trainers. With any luck I'll get to see you again in the future. I look forward to seeing how far you go." He grinned and gave them a two fingered salute before taking his leave.

"Have a safe trip," Hilary said, smiling. "It was nice meeting you."

They waved Ash goodbye as he headed down towards the city. It wasn't until an hour later when they decided to head back themselves that something struck Max as odd and he blurted it out to his friends suddenly:

"Hang on, if Ash is the Champion of the Kanto region, what is he doing in Hoenn?"

The rest of the group just shrugged and made it apparent that even if they were slightly curious they didn't really care.

That night the entire Pokémon Centre was rocked with a loud exclamation of "WHAT!?"

"What do you mean the Gym Leader's 'not here'?" Tyson demanded. This wasn't something that he wanted to hear right before bed; now he'll be lying awake getting frustrated about it for ages. "And why did you wait until now to tell us?"

Mari just shrugged. "Forgot to mention it earlier. It's not that big of a deal anyway, we can wait around until he comes back."

"How long will that be?" Max asked.

"No idea."

"Ugh! Then what's the point?" Tyson grumbled. "We might as well just keep going."

"But what about the badge?" Max pouted.

"In the end, who really cares? Or did you all forget that the real reason we're going along with this dumb journey is to find the Porygon 4 that'll take us home?"

"Porygon Z," Mari corrected. "Seriously, Porygon 4 isn't even a real Pokémon."

"How was I supposed to know that?!"

Mari yawned. "Whatever. Just came in to tell you that. We can think about it more in the morning. Goodnight."

She left, shutting their door and heading back to her room. That would give them all night to start considering what plan of action to take.

A/N: I updated in time for Valentine's Day! B-but it's not because I like you or anything. Baka!

Ash seems to have gone on his merry way but perhaps, maybe, there is a chance that they'll meet again in future. :)