Before I begin, just wanted to say that this was supposed to be put online for tomorrow, Friday June 17th, but do to some things popping up I had to upload this tonight while I had the chance. Reason why I'm saying this is because from now on (or until my schedule opens up a little) updates are going to be every Tuesday and Friday. So, sorry for the really late upload. Now that that's down, enjoy.

Welcome back everyone! Last time, Ash returned home to a surprise visit from his two oldest traveling companions and also got reacquainted with his pokemon. Alas, the fun wasn't meant to last as they were attacked by Team Rocket. But, after some help from Tracey and Gary, the group managed to send them blasting off once again. However, following that, Gary challenged Ash to a battle.

Ch 21: The Fiery Flames of Rivalry

"Ash, I want to battle you!" Gary declared as he raised a pokeball up to Ash's face, a smile forming on his own. "It's been a while since I last had a real battle with you. I want to see just how far we've both come on our journeys."

"Gary," Ash muttered unsure of what to say. Gary had been his first rival and it was usually Ash wanting to prove to Gary they were equals, but right now the roles were reversed.

"Before you say anything, Ash, let me finish," Gary continued on as he lowered the pokeball and placed it back on his belt. "We may have pursued different paths. You continuing your quest to become a Pokemon Master while I'm continuing my research. But our rivalry has never ended and I know you feel the same way. After seeing you win the Kalos League, I questioned my decision to give up being a trainer. But, every time I questioned my decision I always find something new and exciting to study. I just need to see how far the gap between us has grown over the years..." Gary muttered the ending sentence so Ash couldn't hear him. Part of him wanted to battle for the fun of it, but another part was telling him to do it to prove himself to Ash.

"I'd love to battle you again!" Ash cried out excitedly as they made their way to an open field in Professor Oak's fields. "How does a one-on-one battle sound, Gary?" Ash asked as he looked at all of his pokemon.

"That's perfect," Gary replied as he pointed at Electivire. "Electivire, you're up!" Gary stated as the electric type made his way over to Gary. Standing in front of his trainer, the Thunderbolt pokemon appeared ready for battle.

"Rawrrrr!" Charizard cried out as he walked towards Ash. He wanted to battle Gary to make up for his loss during the Kalos League against Alain. However, Greninja was already in front of Ash before Charizard had the chance to.

"Alright, then I'm going with Greninja!" Ash cried out before pointing a finger forward. "You ready for this, Greninja?"

"Gren," he replied confidently before getting down into a stance.

Charizard noticed this and let off a slight puff of fire from his nostrils. "Rawrrr..." The Flame pokemon muttered to himself before flying off with the rest of the pokemon. Slamming itself onto the ground, Charizard watched as he had a scowl on his face and it was clearly directed at Greninja.

"I'll be the referee!" Both Brock and Clemont cried out at the same time. Based from their reactions, everyone realized that they both must have refereed for Ash's battles during their respective battles. Knowing how long Brock had known Ash and Gary, Clemont nodded to him as a way of saying he could be the referee.

Stepping forward, Brock raised both of his hands into the air and looked at both trainers. "This battle will be between Greninja and Electivire! The match will be decided once one of the two pokemon are unable to battle! Now, begin!" Brock cried out while dropping his arms.

"We'll take the first move!" Ash cried out while throwing a fist forward. "Greninja, use Aerial Ace!" Everyone watched as Greninja moved so fast that he appeared to have vanished before reappearing in front of Electivire. Moving swiftly, the Ninja pokemon delivered a powerful punch to the electric type's chest before kicking him in the chin.

"What speed..." Gary muttered as everyone in attendance who had never seen Greninja before agreed. No wonder Ash managed to win the Kalos League with a pokemon like this. Still, he wasn't going down without a real fight. "Electivire, use Thunder!"

"Counter with Double Team, Greninja!" Ash quickly called out. The Ninja pokemon immediately created copies of himself as they then surrounded the Thunderbolt pokemon. Electivire quickly shot off his electric type attack, destroying all of the copies.

"Where's Greninja!?" Gary asked as he didn't notice a single one remaining following the blast. Looking around, there was no sight of him at all. "Be on your guard Electivire!"

"Elec," the electric type responded as he continued to look around as well. It seemed to be a little nervous due to Greninja having vanished. The Thunderbolt pokemon had never battled someone like this before.

"Now, Greninja! Nigh Slash!" Ash called out as everyone looked up towards the sky. To their surprise, Greninja had avoided the attack by jumping into the air and was now freefalling towards Electivire. Pulling out a purple sword, Greninja slashed downwards toward his opponent.

"Block it with Iron Tail!" Gary called out as Electivire raised its tail over his head and blocked the oncoming attack. "Now use Thunder Punch!"

"Now you block that with Aerial Ace!" Ash countered as a smirk crossed his face. Greninja's feet both glowed white as he swung his left foot forward to block the electric type move. Then, still in control of his body, Greninja swung forward with his right foot, knocking Electivire right in the face.

"Wow, Greninja is amazing," Misty stated as they watched the Ninja Pokemon start to control the battle. It had seemed like whatever Gary tried to do, it was no match for Ash's water type. "It only makes sense that Ash beat that Charizard with him."

"Mhmm hmm," Serena replied while smiling. "Greninja is Ash's strongest pokemon he has. Even stronger than Pikachu!" She explained, unaware of the significance of the statement.

"Are you saying he's stronger than Charizard?" Misty asked as she eyed the water type pokemon as he hit Electivire with a move Ash just called Water Shuriken.

"Yeah, those two are unstoppable when they work together," Clemont joined in as they all watched the battle start to heat up now. "I'm sure that when he challenges the Elite Four, Greninja will be one of the pokemon Ash turns to."

Charizard listened to every word that the group had spoken and wasn't too pleased by them. Who were they to judge who Ash's strongest was? The two of them had a bond that couldn't be beaten by any of Ash's newer pokemon. They went through so much together and Ash would always call on him first whenever he was in a bind. Right? "Rawr..." He muttered angrily as he watched the battle with only a small portion of interest. If he was battling the fight would have ended by now.

"Okay, Greninja, warmup time is done," Ash said as the two appeared to be in complete sync. Then, just as they did during the Kalos League, a geyser of water surrounded Greninja as he started the transformation they were both used to by this point. Once finished, Greninja had taken on a few traits of Ash.

"What happened?" Gary asked while sounding shocked. He had seen it on TV while they had watched Ash battle, but now that he was witnessing it up close and personal, he was both confused and in awe by it. "I've never seen a transformation like it. How did this happen? I'm going to have to study this after our battle"

"Well, we're not entirely sure either," Ash answered as the duo both rubbed the back of their heads in unison. To everyone watching, it appeared as if the duo were copying each other's motions at the same time. "But, what we do know is that this form is due to our deep bond together!"

Charizard heard those words and his eyes flew wide open. Him and Ash had a deep bond, but they never had a special transformation! Was... Was he being replaced by Ash? Whatever was happening Charizard wouldn't stand for it and shot up. Flying over to the battle, Charizard landed right next to the two pokemon and started to flap his wings. "Rawrrrr!" He yelled out in anger as he disrupted the field.

"Calm down, Charizard, you can battle Greninja next if you want to," Ash told his fire and flying type, but Charizard had no interest in fighting the Ninja pokemon. Flapping his wings even harder, the Flame pokemon blew both of the pokemon off of the battlefield. "What was that for!? We were in the middle of a battle, Charizard!"

Charizard heard his trainer's voice but was too angry at him to listen. Facing Ash, Charizard had a scowl on his face that reminded him of when the Flame pokemon had first evolved. "Rawrrrr!" He cried out before launching a Flamethrower right at Ash. This one wasn't like their usual ones, but instead was filled with anger and rage.

Ash had no time to react as he took the blast head on before falling over. Without giving him a chance to get back up, Charizard flew off to a different part of the field. "Charizard... What's wrong?" Ash muttered as he watched the Flame pokemon vanish from his view.

"If I had to guess," Brock started to say as he walked over to Ash. "It appears that Charizard isn't happy about you having a stronger pokemon than him."

"What do you mean, Brock," Ash asked, unaware that the Pokemon Doctor was correct. "Charizard's never had a problem with my other pokemon."

"That's true, but he was always stronger than the others," Brock pointed out. He had picked up on Charizard's little cues of frustration ever since the battle had begun. "Ash, he's always been your go-to pokemon. Now with Greninja being stronger than him, he's probably worried about being replaced. Remember, this wouldn't be the first time it happened to him."

"But I would never replace, Charizard!" Ash shot back as he looked at all of his pokemon. "I'd never replace any of them. They're my family!"

"I understand, but look at it from Charizard's point of view," Brock pointed out as he made a good point. "He was released by his original trainer for being weak. Now you've got this special transformation with Greninja to add onto the fact that it's stronger than Charizard. You should probably go talk to him."

"I never thought of it like that," Ash muttered as he pictured Charizard back as a Charmander sitting on that rock. "Gary," Ash said as he faced his longtime rival. "We'll have to wait to finish our battle. I need to see Charizard."

"It's fine," Gary replied as he recalled Electivire into its pokeball. "I already got everything I needed from this battle." Gary knew that if it continued he would have lost in the next hit. He didn't have anything that could stand up to the power Greninja had in that form.

"Ash, if you're going to see Charizard, take this," Professor Oak stated as he tossed Ash what appeared to be a sleeve of clothing. "I placed the Mega Stone into that sleeve. It's made from a highly durable fabric and is fire resistant so you don't have to worry about changing it either."

"Thanks," Ash said as he looked at it. It looked to be a normal piece of orange cloth, but he could feel the durability from just holding it. "Pikachu, I want you to stay here. This is something that only I can do."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed as he ran over to Serena and climbed up onto her shoulder. This act surprised everyone except for the Kalos gang since it had been a frequent occurrence lately for them.

"I'll be back in a little guys," Ash said as he started to run off in the direction that Charizard flew off in.

"Well, while we wait for Ash to get back, why don't we hold our own pokemon battle?" Brock offered as he looked at Misty, Serena, and Clemont. "We can have a double battle between the four of us. You two take on me and Misty."

"Charizard!" Ash yelled out as he ran across the fields. He only had one thought on his mind and that was fixing everything between him and Charizard. It was his fault that this had happened. If he didn't try and show off to Gary by using Greninja's transformation, then maybe Charizard wouldn't be as upset. Clutching the sleeve Professor Oak gave him, Ash started to run even harder. "Charizard! I'm sorry!"

"Rawrrr?" Charizard muttered as he got up off of his rock. He could have sworn he heard Ash calling for him. Looking around, the fire and flying type saw nothing and laid back down depressed. To think that after all the time they spent together, Ash could just replace him.

"Charizard!" There it was again. Looking around, Charizard saw his trainer climbing up the pile of rocks to reach the Flame pokemon. Charizard however decided to ignore him and laid his head back down. "Charizard, please just listen to me!" Ash continued to call out as he made his way up the rocks. Rushing through his climb, Ash felt his hand slip on a wet rock and lost his balance. Falling backwards, Ash braced for the long fall down the mountain they were on.

"Rawrr!" Charizard cried out in concern once he saw Ash slip. Despite the attitude he had towards his trainer, Charizard couldn't do nothing while he was in danger. Spreading his wings, Charizard took flight as he raced to where his trainer was falling. Thinking that he was going to be late, Charizard used every ounce of energy he had and managed to pick up speed. Catching Ash in his arms, Charizard flew back up to his rock and placed Ash down gently.

"You saved me, Charizard," Ash said, sounding surprised after everything that had just happened. Normally Ash would have given his pokemon some time and space to think things out, but he knew that it might not have been the best idea with Charizard. "Thank you," he said while embracing the fire and flying type.

"Rawr?" He responded once he noticed the orange sleeve in Ash's arm. What was it? But a better question was, why did it feel like it was calling to him?

"Okay, Bunnelby, use Mud-Shot!" Clemont cried out as the Digging pokemon jumped high into the air as a ball of mud formed between his ears. The ball them shot off smaller balls of mud as they were launched at Corsola and Croagunk.

"Corsola, counter it with Spike Cannon!" Misty ordered as Corsola lowered its head while the coral on top glowed white. It then fired off dozens of spikes from the coral as they collided with the Mud-Shot attack.

"Now, Croagunk, Poison Sting attack!" Brock could be heard through the smoke. Then, to Serena's surprise she saw what appeared to be poison darts coming right at their pokemon.

"Serena, have Sylveon use protect right now. That way I'll be able to surprise them by having Bunnelby burrow underground," Clemont explained as he helped Serena through the battle. "Get ready, Bunnelby."

"Right! Sylveon, use Protect!" Serena ordered as a barrier appeared in front of the fairy type. Croagunk's Poison Sting attack bounced off it harmlessly and while that happened, Bunnelby was already on his way towards them. "Now use Swift!" Sylveon jumped up into the air as she launched off the star shaped attack.

"Misty, we've got this one," Brock stated as he pointed a finger forward. "You just be ready for Bunnelby. He'll attack once the smoke fades away."

"Are you so sure about that?" Clemont asked as his response shocked the two longtime friends. They could hear him laughing, but they had no clue as to what he had planned. "Now, Bunnelby! Wild Charge!" They then heard it, charging through the ground was Bunnelby while using Wild Charge. The attack hit Corsola dead on and caused a lot of damage as the Coral pokemon was thrown into the air.

Brock took his eyes off the battle for one second to watch Corsola be attacked, only to hear his own pokemon cry out. "Croagunk!" The poison and fighting type cried out in pain. During the confusion, Brock had completely forgotten about the Swift attack. Looking over at the Toxic Mouth pokemon, it appeared to be just fine.

"That was close," Brock muttered as he looked at the situation. "How's Corsola holding up?"

"We're just fine. Now Corsola, Spike Cannon!" Misty commanded as they saw Bunnelby still nearby. The Coral pokemon lowered its head once more as it fired off the endless supply of spikes. Clemont however didn't seem fazed by the attack.

"Counter with Mud-Shot!" Clemont ordered as the two blasts collided in an explosion. Both pokemon were thrown backwards from the blast and collapsed on the spot.

"Both Bunnelby and Corsola are unable to battle!" Tracey declared as both pokemon were returned to their pokeballs. "The winner of Sylveon and Croagunk will decide which team wins the battle!"

"Croagunk, use Poison Sting!" Brock called out as the poison and fighting type opened its mouth. Flying out of it were the same poison needles that Serena had seen before. She smiled, having an idea on how to stop them.

"Sylveon, use Protect!" She called out as the same barrier from before appeared in front of her pokemon. The Poison Sting bounced off harmlessly once more, but this time Croagunk was right behind them.

"Now use Poison Jab!" Brock ordered as Croagunk brought his right arm back. The tip of his hand was glowing purple as it smashed right through Protect and collided with Sylveon. "And Brick Break!" He finished as they noticed Sylveon stumble backwards. Driving his forearm into Sylveon, Croagunk knocked the fairy type backwards and onto the ground.

"Sylveon is unable to battle! The winners are the team of Misty and Brock!" Tracey declared as Brock and Serena recalled their pokemon.

"Sorry, Clemont, I blew it for us at the end," Serena apologized as she stared at Sylveon's pokeball. "But, why didn't Protect work at the end?"

"It's because of its constant usage," Brock explained as Misty and himself walked over. "The more often you use Protect, the more likely it is to fail. Since I noticed you were battling defensively throughout the entire battle, I decided to take advantage of it."

"I see," Serena responded. Of course, she was never going to need to know that since Performances didn't involve any kind of battles. "Thank you for explaining it."

"No problem. Anytime you guys need help with anything just ask Brock," Brock said as he pointed at himself. "I was teaching Ash a lot of what he knows since he first started off as a trainer. To think he used Pikachu at my rock type Gym."

"So you're responsible for Ash being the trainer he is today?" Clemont asked, sounding somewhat amazed. They had assumed that Ash had done most of it by himself. But to hear that he had been taught by others was something they didn't expect to hear.

"Well, not much," Misty cleared up Brock's comment. "Just simple things like type matchups and how some moves work. Everything that Ash does in battle is 100% Ash's doing. But Clemont, that was brilliant to use Dig as a way to get in close and then launch a Wild Charge."

"It was nothing," Clemont responded as he rubbed his neck. "It was something I picked up from my travels with Ash. What was amazing was how calmly you reacted after the attack. Launching a Spike Cannon from the air is no easy feat."

"We've had a few years of practice," Misty replied as she held Corsola's pokeball. "I've been running the Cerulean City Gym for almost five years now."

"Five years!" Clemont shot back in surprise. His own gym had only been open for about three years and half of that time he wasn't even the Gym Leader since Clembot ran it. "That explains how well you and Corsola are when it comes to your timing of attacks."

"Charizard..." Ash started to say after the silence was beginning to get to the both of them. After Charizard had saved him, the duo had sat there in silence for what felt like forever. Charizard had hinted at the orange sleeve, but Ash never answered him on it. "I didn't realize how upset you were towards Greninja."

"Rawrr," Charizard growled once he heard the name of the pokemon that had replaced him. Why did Ash have to bring him up now?

"But, you should know, Charizard, that no matter what pokemon I catch, no one will ever be able to break the bond we share. Something we have is special and no one can ever take that away from us," Ash started to explain as he pulled out Charizard's pokeball. "I know you were replaced before when Damien was your trainer, but you should know by now I would never do something like that. It doesn't matter if I caught the world's strongest pokemon or not, I'd always want you by my side."

"Rawr?" He asked back. If that was the case, why did Ash choose Greninja over him for the battle with Gary. He could have easily told Greninja that he wanted to use Charizard. But instead he went with the water type who proved just how powerful he was.

"Don't give me that look," Ash stated once he saw a scowl on Charizard's face. He knew how competitive Charizard was and needed to remind him of just how much he meant to him. "Charizard, the only reason I chose Greninja today was to show Gary that form he has. Otherwise you would have been my first choice. And well, I'm kind of waiting for a special occasion to use you again."

"Rawrr?" Charizard asked again, questions filling into his head. What exactly did Ash mean by a 'special occasion'? Was he planning on never using him again or only for really important battles?

Seeing that he didn't explain it well enough, Ash pulled the sleeve back out and showed it to Charizard. This time, Charizard noticed the Stone that was stitched into the sleeve and how it looked similar to the one worn by that Charizard he fought in the finals.

"You see, I recently found this Mega Stone," Ash said as he handed the sleeve over to Charizard so he could look at the Stone. "It's called a Charizardite. It can help you Mega Evolve into a form similar to Alain's Charizard. I wanted to wait to use you again until I found a Key Stone. You see, without a Key Stone that Mega Stone can't activate."

"Rawrr?" Charizard asked, a look of confusion on his face. He was definitely lost by now. He had no clue what was so important about these stones or what Mega Evolution was. All he understood was that the Stone in front of him seemed to be calling for him.

"Okay, let me try this again. Mega Evolution is a special kind of transformation where it's only possible when a trainer and pokemon share a close bond," Ash started to explain, noticing that Charizard understood where he was heading. "Thanks to their deep bonds, the pokemon gains an increase in strength and for a temporary amount of time changes into a new form. I wanted to wait until I had the Key Stone so then we could perform the Mega Evolution in our first battle together."

"Rawrrr!" Charizard cried out in agreement. The entire time he had the situation wrong. Yes, he was no longer the strongest, for now, but Ash never had any plans to get rid of him. In fact, he had gotten him something to help close the gap between him and Greninja.

"So, what do you say?" Ash asked as he pulled the sleeve up over Charizard's claw and onto his arm. The sleeve was the perfect size as it fit snug on Charizard, but it wasn't too tight where it was uncomfortable. Even the color of the fabric matched Charizard's skin so it seemed as if nothing was there. "Why don't we head back to the others now. They're probably waiting for us."

"Rawrrr!" Charizard roared in approval as he allowed Ash to climb onto his back. Together, the duo flew off into the direction of Professor Oak's lab. Charizard was feeling much better now. Even though its fear of being abandoned was crazy, he couldn't help but have been worried earlier. He had never had someone take his place as Ash's strongest. But for the time being he could relax knowing that Ash still cared about him deeply.

"So is everything between you and Charizard fixed?" Serena asked as she watched the Flame pokemon resting in the field with Ash's other pokemon. While they were gone, his Kalos pokemon had made quick friends with the rest of his pokemon.

Talonflame and Noivern hit it off fast with Ash's other flying types and were actually holding a flying race right now. The first time Talonflame had used Flame Charge due to its instincts and was scolded by the others. Luckily Professor Oak managed to explain everything to Talonflame, who learned to not use Flame Charge during the race since it was an unfair advantage.

Hawlucha managed to make quick friends with Bulbasaur just as Professor Oak expected. The duo appeared to be keeping everything in order for the time being, but of course when Ash returned there was no way of controlling his pokemon. They hadn't even tried to stop them once Charizard had landed with Ash a while ago, instead tackling Ash with them.

Finally, Greninja appeared to have made a quick friendship with Infernape, Buizel and Krookodile while also starting a rivalry with Sceptile. Ash thought it was funny when he was first told about it. Greninja was always finding a way to start a rivalry with a Sceptile.

"Yeah, he understands that I would never think of replacing him," Ash answered as the duo sat on the fence that kept the entire ranch enclosed. "Charizard and I have been through too much for a little misunderstanding to ruin our friendship. I think what the problem was that he's never had someone be stronger than him and be one of my pokemon."

"It must have freaked him out," Serena said as she looked over to the field and saw her pokemon interacting as well. Pancham was off playing with Totodile, Oshawott, Scraggy and Quilava. Braixen meanwhile was with Sylveon, Snivy, and Leavanny. "Imagine if you were the strongest for the entire time and then someone new just showed up and took over that spot. I probably would have been frightened."

"Yeah, I would too," Ash answered back as he started to really think about it. If he was in Charizard's place would he have reacted with half the decency that the Flame pokemon did? Ash wasn't so sure especially since Charizard had been released once before. "Still, I should have realized it sooner. If I did, then Charizard wouldn't have gotten upset when he did."

"Ash, you can't control everything," Serena explained as she got off of the fence. Looking up at Ash, the Performer smiled at him before the duo both walked towards all of the pokemon. "No matter what happens, they'll always care for you. Like you told us, they're your family."

"Yeah, you're right, Serena," Ash responded before they went inside for dinner. Still, he felt bad for what he indirectly did to Charizard. He should have realized why Charizard was upset before. Sighing, Ash told himself that he was going to make it up to the Flame pokemon.

One month passed by as Ash continued his training at an incredible rate. Each day he was outside training with his pokemon at the crack of sunlight. He would then train with them all day until lunch when he would take a short break before getting right back to work. From there, his pokemon would train up until dinner where they would call it a day before relaxing for the night and starting right back over in the morning.

"Talonflame, use Steel Wing to block that Thunder!" Ash called out as Talonflame's wings stiffened up. Glowing white, Talonflame turned its body so that the Thunder attack bounced harmlessly off of its wings before flying right into Electivire.

"Electivire!" Gary called out in concern as he saw his pokemon fainted on the ground. Ash had really improved during the past month, even more so than Gary would have imagined possible. At the skill Ash had been at prior to his training, Gary thought he was tough, but now he was incredible. "Thank you for your hard work today. Return!"

"Great job, Talonflame!" Ash called out as he reached for Talonflame's pokeball. It had been a hard month as he had spent almost every moment practicing for his Elite Four challenge. The first few days he had taken it easy, but following Brock and Misty leaving he had decided to kick it up a notch. "You were excellent, now take a nice rest!" He said while returning it to its pokeball.

"That was amazing Ash!" Clemont cried out while walking over from the side. He had seen Pikachu use Iron Tail in different ways before, but he had never thought to use Steel Wing to block an electric type move before. "The way Talonflame managed to block that Thunder with just Steel Wing was a great idea."

"Yeah, your pokemon have really grown this past month," Serena added in as she came walking over as well. She then handed a water over to Ash and Gary each. "You'll be ready in no time to challenge the Elite Four."

Smiling, Ash took a sip of his water before placing the bottle down "Well, I think I'm actually ready to head back to Kalos now," he said sounding rather confident. He didn't have much of an idea of how strong they were, but Ash felt he could put up a decent fight with them. "But before we leave, I need to do something." He then faced towards Gary as he raised a pokeball. "How about we finish our battle. But, just like before we left for Johto, why not have it be Pikachu and Umbreon?"

"That's fine by me Ashy-Boy," Gary replied as a smirk crossed his face. The two trainers made their way back over to the field they just were as Pikachu ran out in front of Ash. Likewise, Gary stood ready to battle and raised a pokeball. "Okay, Umbreon! We'll show them how strong we are!" The pokeball was then tossed as the Moonlight pokemon emerged from it.

"Ready, Pikachu?" Ash asked as Pikachu was already on the field. "Okay, start off with Quick Attack!" Ash ordered as Pikachu sprinted across the field and headed right for Gary.

"Umbreon, dodge it and then use Shadow Ball!" Gary countered as the dark type leapt right over Pikachu. Skidding to a stop, the electric type turned around and saw Umbreon launching the Shadow Ball right at him.

"Block it with Electro Ball!" Ash ordered this time. Pikachu quickly charged up the attack as a large ball of electricity formed on his tail. In one quick sweep of his tail, Pikachu launched the orb and watched as the two attacks collided with each other.

Pikachu was thrown backwards by the explosion and crashed into a tree. Getting up slowly, Gary used this to his advantage. "Umbreon, use Psychic!" Umbreon's eyes glowed blue as the same color surrounded Pikachu before he was lifted up off of the ground.

"Pi...Ka..." He muttered weakly while being held against his will in the air. The Psychic attack was taking its toll on Pikachu as the electric type was in obvious pain.

Ash grit his teeth as he tried to think of something. He knew that a Psychic attack was hard to break out of, but there had to be something they could do. Looking around, Ash saw something he could use. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika... Chuuu!" Pikachu screamed out as his Thunderbolt shot out in all different directions. With him unable to control his body properly, Pikachu couldn't aim his attack properly and instead the electricity just flew in random directions.

"It won't work as long as Umbreon has Pikachu stuck in its Psychic," Gary stated, unaware of Ash's true intention. Gary just watched with a smirk as Pikachu's Thunderbolt attack shot off in every which way imaginable except for at Umbreon.

"Maybe, but who says we were aiming for Umbreon!" Ash shot back as one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts finally struck where Ash had hoped. Hitting the tree branch that was above Umbreon, Pikachu's Thunderbolt managed to snap the branch and send it crashing towards the Moonlight pokemon.

"Umbreon, dodge that tree branch!" Gary ordered as they just barely avoided the broken limb. However, that was all Ash needed to get Pikachu freed from the Psychic attack. Now free, Pikachu landed back on the ground and looked ready to attack.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball!"

"Umbreon you use Shadow Ball!"

The two sphere based attacks were launched at each other before colliding in the middle of the field. Dust and dirt were kicked up from the blast and both trainers needed to cover their faces.

"Quick Attack!" They both called out at the same time. Even after not battling for the longest time, their rivalry was still burning hot. Their respective pokemon both jumped through the smoke before ramming into each other. Pushing off of one another, Pikachu and Umbreon were unable to overpower each other. Jumping backwards, both pokemon were now panting heavily and it looked like the battle could be over at any moment. However, they were never able to finish their battle.

"I think that's it for today," Professor Oak declared as he walked out of the lab. He had been watching them battle from a window in his house and had also noticed that it had started to rain. The two were so caught up in their battle that they hadn't even noticed the weather change. "You two can finish your battle once the weather clears up!"

"You got lucky that the weather interrupted us," Gary teased as he returned Umbreon to its pokeball. "Otherwise I was going to win that battle. Pikachu looked like it could barely stand by the end."

"Were you watching the same battle?" Ash asked as he taunted Gary right back. "Umbreon looked to be running on fumes by the end. Surely Pikachu would have won."

"I guess we'll never know now," Gary answered as it started to downpour. The duo made a sprint for the laboratory and finally made it in now that they were soaking wet.

"So, you're already heading back?" Professor Oak asked the next day as Ash grabbed his backpack and placed it on his back. He had already told Professor Oak that he was only going to take his Kalos pokemon back with him, but that he would be rotating his pokemon for the Elite Four battles. "Why don't you stay a few more days?"

"Sorry, Professor Oak, but I really want to get started," Ash answered with his usual attitude. His excitement for challenging the Elite Four had skyrocketed during the previous few days and he just couldn't wait any longer. "You know how I am. I can never stay in one place for too long."

"I know, I was just expecting you to train for a little longer," the professor replied before handing Ash the pokeballs that contained his four Kalos pokemon. "Now, remember to battle with everything you've got!"

"I will!" Ash replied as he started to make his way to the door, only to be stopped by Gary.

"Hold on!" He called out, causing the group to stop walking. He then pointed at Serena as if he wanted her for something. Ash thought it was strange, but shrugged it off. "I have something I need to give to Serena first before you all leave."

"Me?" Serena asked, unsure of what Gary had for her. They had interacted a little during the first few days, but after that Gary had spent most of his time helping Ash get ready for his battles.

"Yes you, now come on!" He said as Serena followed him down the hallway. They went up a set of stairs and ended up in Professor Oak's laboratory. She had been in it once before during their time here, but nothing had really stuck out to her. This time however, she saw an egg sitting on one of the tables. Noticing that Serena saw the egg, Gary smirked. "I found this egg the other day while helping grandpa take care of the pokemon. I couldn't find the parents and brought it back to the lab. I figured that you would enjoy the pokemon that will hatch from it."

"You're giving me an egg?" Serena asked, unsure as to why she was getting a pokemon egg out of everybody here. "Why me, shouldn't Ash get it?"

"Ash doesn't need it, he's got enough pokemon as it is," Gary said while waving off the question. Taking the egg, he placed it in Serena's hands before she could decline it. "Now, you better take good care of it. Oh, and one more thing," he said while leaning in close to Serena. "The quickest way to win Ash over is through two things. One, his love of food and two, his love for pokemon," he finished before leaning away.

Serena's face was bright red upon hearing Gary's words. "Y-you knew!" Serena squeaked out as she tried to compose herself. It was hard to do as all she saw was Gary's smirking face.

"We all did," he replied as he started to lead her back to the entrance. "Wasn't too hard either. The way you always followed him and how you talked about how amazing he was made it kind of easy to see you had something going on for him. Good luck winning him over, though it seems like you probably could." He then stopped talking once they were back in the main hallway.

"Hey, Serena, you ready now?" Ash asked before seeing the pokemon egg in her hands. He had never seen an egg like that before It was completely yellow and had nothing else to it. "Where'd you get the egg from?"

"G-Gary... gave it to me," she answered while trying to keep herself calm. What Gary had said to her was still playing in her head. "He... Said he found it a few days ago. I guess it would be better being with someone who travels."

"Yeah, I wonder what kind of pokemon will hatch from it," Ash asked as he looked at the egg. He had seen quite a few during his travels, but none like this one.

"Probably something really cute," Bonnie replied as she looked at the egg.

"We'll find out eventually, but for now we're heading back for Kalos!" Ash cried out before sprinting out the door with the others behind him.

And we're now going back to Kalos. Yes, they were only in Kanto for two chapters, but I didn't want to drag it on longer than it needed to be. Next chapter will be their return to Kalos. Also, any guesses on the egg?

Thank you to everyone who read the chapter and supports this story. Please leave a review letting me know what you liked and how I can improve the story.