Hello again, readers and Authors. Sorry that I sort of slammed the door shut last chapter. So I am going to make it up to you this chapter. Very sorry for the late update, but I have been on holiday with no time available for the past two weeks so I couldn't work on my chapters.
Chapter 21: Rival
It was another lovely day in the region of Kanto. Yesterday Ash had arrived back from his visit to the City of Altomare and came to the lab per Professor Oak's request. He was currently in the fields with his Pokémon. He was currently doing some Aura training with his Lucario mainly in his Aura vision at the moment.
Ash was standing close to him as Lucario was blindfolded and standing still "Now Lucario, use your vision". He looked in front of him towards Garchomp who he transferred over earlier from the house and nodded to him as Lucario raised his aura-sensing appendages. Garchomp then readied and began firing small Dragon pulse sphere's one at a time. Lucario sensed them approaching and begun with moving his head to the right and then back. After passing Infernape was standing behind with two Mach punch fists ready to intercept the dragon pulses and destroy them.
Lucario banked his head to the right then left and had to duck at times as well. Ash smiled to this "Great Lucario your sense are as good as ever. A minute passed with Lucario still dodging them one at a time. Ash nodded to Garchomp who began firing the dragon pulses at a quicker rate which made Lucario have to jump about and move at a quicker pace in order to avoid the attacks.
Ash smiled seeing this as Lucario's reaction time towards the attacks were getting faster. After a minute of avoiding all the attacks. Ash spoke up "Alright Lucario". In an instant the Aura Pokémon jumped up and landed next to Ash and Garchomp ceased his Dragon pulses. Lucario removed the blindfold and looked to Ash who smiled "You're doing great Lucario, your reaction time has gotten a lot better".
Lucario smiled towards the young Champion and said "Thank you Master. Now it is your turn". Ash was a little surprised when Lucario held up the blindfold to him. He was at first hesitant but in truth his aura abilities has gotten stronger thanks to Lucario's training with him and the fact of his secret form now had powered up his aura. But mastering the technique of Aura to come even close to a guardian like Sir Aaron is easier said than done.
But Ash had the time and Patience for it. He also had Lucario to train alongside in this case. He took the Blindfold and smiled "Alright then let's do it". Ash looked behind him towards Infernape and said "You ready Infernape?" The fire Pokémon behind him nodded and held a fist up "Ready".
Close by Professor Oak and Tracey on another part of the same field where preparing to feed a few of the Pokémon first. The Professor set two big bowls down of poke food which was enough to feed two. "Okay now, Bulbasaur, Meganium, Torkoal and Heracross. Your first to eat". The four Pokémon happily accepted this and walked forward to their meals and immediately got digging in.
Tracey stood up after doing the same with Swellow, Emboar, Gigalith and Buizel. "Well that is this lot sorted. Ash's Pokémon sure are a handful". Oak amused by the comment spoke "Well they are all growing stronger every day and their trainer is a Champion so the pressure is on us". Tracey rubbed the back of his head a little "Yeah, you got a good point there". Before Professor Oak was able to do anything someone spoke up "Hey Gramps". Oak and Tracey both looked behind to see a familiar figure who had finally finished his assignment in another region throughout all the years. Oak happily smiled and spoke up "Gary, my goodness it has certainly been a long time".
It was indeed Gary in his black clothing, the same as he has been wearing. He has spent the last few years in the Sinnoh region on any assignments given to him by Professor Rowan but did come back for the occasional visit. "Hey Gramps, how you doing?" Oak walked forward in front of him "Very well Gary. You back for another visit". Gary shook his head to this and said "Nah, I finished all my assignments in the Sinnoh region. I am pretty sure I have covered all I could now with the legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh and any legends. But frankly not much could be found on it all".
Professor Oak nodded to this "Very well then Gary, so where are you headed next?" The Young Oak made a smirk to this "Oh, I am going to stick around in Kanto and Johto for now, figured I look into the legends here. I haven't done much here". Oak smiled happily "Well you came back at the perfect time then, Ash is here as well for now". Gary immediately smiled and said "Ah, so Ashy boy is here and a big bad Champion now. I have missed quite some stuff. Where is Ashy boy anyway?"
Oak then pointed to his left and Gary saw Ash in the middle of the field with Garchomp, Lucario, and Infernape. Gary was surprised and said "Wow, he sure has changed a lot. I haven't seen him in a few years. He saw Ash stand between Garchomp and Infernape which and put on the blind fold he was holding and faced Garchomp. "Wait what is he doing?"
Professor Oak grinned towards this "Just watch Gary". As they watched Ash gave a thumbs up to Garchomp signalling he was ready and the Mach Pokémon begun with building up a small dragon pulse attack and Infernape readied two Mach punches to intercept ready. Gary was a little shocked and was about to run forward "What's going on, Ash is going to get hurt?" Garchomp fired the dragon pulse and it flew straight towards Ash.
Ash now focused and he felt his Aura begin to take effect. Just before the Dragon pulse was going to hit Ash in the face he quickly banked his head left and the Dragon pulse went past him to be intercepted by Infernape. The Pokémon all smiled as Ash smiled knowing Aura vision was working its wonders. He was banking left and right and occasionally he moved down a little.
There was also benefits to this training for the Pokémon too as Garchomp was being able to fire faster without suffering a power loss to any of his moves where Infernape was becoming more agile and being able to block opponent attacks easier. All in all, everyone would be benefiting from the training.
Eventually after a minute Ash spoke up while still banking about "Alright that will do". Ash quickly after dodging one more moved to the right and out of the line as Garchomp halted his Dragon pulse barrage. Ash then held his hands up and removed the blind fold from his eyes before he looked up and smiled. Lucario happily walked forward "You're becoming a lot stronger with your Aura. Master". Ash nodded and happily said "Thanks Lucario. You as well".
Before Ash could react further he heard a familiar voice "Well, well Ashy-boy. You have changed". The young Champion looked behind him to see Gary who just walked over from Professor Oak and turned to him "Gary. It sure has been a long time. Ever since Sinnoh". Gary made a smirk at his former Rival "Yeah it has. And now look at you, Champion of the Kanto/Johto regions. Ashy-boy all grown up".
The young Champion made a smirk towards this himself "You haven't changed too much yourself. Same old Gary". The young Champion then asked his former rival "So you finally finished in the Sinnoh Region". Gary nodded to his question "Yep, all done there now. Just got back. I'm thinking of sticking around for a while now".
Ash made a smile until he suddenly had a familiar mouse Pokémon jumped onto his shoulder. "Hey Pikachu, everything okay"? The mouse Pokémon nodded to him and Ash nodded back until Gary continued "So Ash, I hear I missed such a great battle between you and Lance. It just happened to take place while I was on an investigation". Ash made a smirk to this "Well it was probably the most difficult battle I ever took part in".
Gary made another smirk and said "Well Ashy boy since it has been so long since I saw you and I haven't seen how much stronger you truly got. Let's have a battle". Ash couldn't help but say "For once it is you asking me for a battle. Of course I can't turn down my first rival". The Young Professor smiled to this "Heh, since you're now the Champion of Kanto and Johto I must expect a great challenge from you since you beat Lance".
Ash nodded to this and said "Well shall we take positions". Gary and Ash moved onto the practise field where most of Ash's Pokémon stood behind him along with Professor oak and Tracey while Gary spoke up "Let's make this a two on two battle ok Ashy-boy". The young Champion nodded to this and said out behind him "Charizard". On cue Ash's Charizard flew out of the group with his metal platted necklace of his mega stone.
Gary saw that and said "That reminds me I did see glimpses of your battle with Wallace. Mega evolution you call it". Ash nodded to him and said "I won't use it now though as it would give me an unfair advantage". Gary made a smirk "Even if you use it Ashy-boy my Pokémon here still has some pay back to deliver from the silver conference. Come on out Blastoise".
Gary threw a poke ball which splashed out energy to materialise Gary's starter Pokémon for when he used to be a trainer: Blastoise. The big Turtle Pokémon stood facing his opponent who he recognised very well and roared up against Charizard. The fire lizard also recognised his opponent and roared out a response as he breathed a powerful beam of fire into the air. Ash smiled towards Gary very confidently "Last time Charizard faced a Blastoise was Wallace's and it led to a tie. I can't wait to see how strong you have got over the years".
Gary made a smirk "If you're the Champion now Ashy-boy then I am excited for this". Ash took position with Charizard in front of him "Gary you can have the first move if you want". The young Professor nodded to this "I'll take it, now Blastoise use Hydro pump". The Big turtle Pokémon fired both of his shoulder cannons with torrents of water straight towards Charizard.
"Block it Charizard". The Fire Lizard Pokémon threw his wings in the way. The Hydro pumps smashed into him and he did feel pressure from it and it pushed him a little it didn't do much effect. Gary smiled towards this "Was not a good move to make Ash". Gary's smile however halted when he saw Ash smiling "Look again Gary". The young professor looked to see the Hydro pump ended with Charizard's wings in the way. He moved the wings away and gave a smug smile towards a shocked Blastoise and Gary "How did that not do too much of an effect".
The Young Champion confidently said "I have been training with Charizard on his weakness to make him more resistant to water type attacks. While Wallace's Blastoise was very powerful against us. But Charizard did feel it a bit though". Gary was already impressed "Well not bad Ashy-boy but I have a few moves, now use Hyper beam".
Blastoise begun charging an orange orb in front of his face and it was charging up. Ash knew Hyper beam was a powerful move and if it hit, the attack would do some real damage "Charizard use Flamethrower to block that hyper beam". Blastoise fired the hyper beam which went straight towards Charizard who responded as he fired a beam of fire.
The two beam hit into each other and they both cancelled each other out. Ash saw the smoke as an opportunity and the fact Blastoise had to recharge for a brief time "Dragon Claw go". The fire Lizard immediately went forward with his claws becoming powered up in purple energy.
Gary was surprised again that the hyper beam didn't break through but he suddenly saw Charizard fly out of the smoke and smashed the dragon claw into Blastoise's face and one from above which sent him down on his knees. Gary was shocked as but said "Now Skull bash". Ash shouted "Double mega punch".
Blastoise begun to be look up to Charizard but he raised both claws together into fists and became consumed in orange power until the hit them and smashed down on Blastoise plummeting him into the ground. The young Professor was looking on how strong his old rival is now but smiled as Blastoise while wounded badly from the back to back melee attacks was still able as he got up slowly "Blastoise now our secret move, Ancient power". Ash was shocked to hear that move as the big Turtle held his arms up and powered up a bolder surrounded in red energy and fired it at Charizard hitting him in the chest and forcing him back.
Charizard felt the pain on that one and smashed his right claw down to stop himself as he skidded on the ground. "Well Gary, I am shocked. I didn't think Blastoise could learn Ancient Power". Gary smirked towards this "Not usually, I don't know how he learned it to be fair but it has given us an advantage against flying types. Ash smiled and spoke "Now Charizard hit him down with Dragonbreath".
Charizard fired a purple beam from his mouth which went straight into Blastoise shooting him down. Gary was worried as Blastoise has taken damage but was standing up "Alright Charizard lets finish this. Dragon Claw". The fire Lizard had his claws enveloped in purple energy again and he charged forward.
Before Charizard could get close Gary shouted "Now dodge and use Ancient power". Blastoise reacted quickly by dodging Charizard's swipe and stood back as he powered up another bolder and launched it which his Charizard in the stomach sending him back. He dug his claws down again to stop himself "Now Blastoise hyper beam". The big turtle Pokémon begun charging up for the hyper beam again.
Ash was slightly concerned as Charizard did feel hurt by the super effective move and held a claw over his stomach. Blastoise fired the hyper beam and Ash could only watch as it smashed into Charizard causing an explosion.
Gary made a smile towards this believing to have won and said "Well Ashy-boy it seems you still have a lot of training ahead of you if you're losing to me. I could become the next champion you know". Ash was narrowing his eyes slightly but instead he formed a smile which confused Gary "Think again Gary".
The young professor was confused a little but looked into the smoke to see it slowly clear. When it did he was shocked as Charizard was standing strong facing them "WHAT…but how". Ash made a grin and said "Remember Gary I am the Kanto/Johto Champion and I have trained for many years. Now Charizard use Mega Punch". Charizard's right fist powered up in orange energy and he zoomed at Blastoise.
Gary was amazed by how fast he moved as he appeared directly in front of Blastoise until he smashed his Mega punch straight into the big turtles face sending him down onto his back and being hit back. He eventually came to a stop and was revealed to be down and out. Ash made a smile as Charizard landed right in front of him.
Ash then confidently said "You sure have gotten tougher since I last saw you". Gary smiled and returned Blastoise to his poke ball "Great job Blastoise get a well-deserved rest… Wow Ashy-boy. I am impressed. You sure have taken your Pokémon to a new level. I can see now how you became the Champion". The young Champion nodded to him and then spoke up "Thanks a lot Charizard. Go get yourself a rest".
The Fire lizard nodded and flew off to re-join the group behind Ash as the young Champion looked behind him "Hmmmm….. Espeon". Right after the Sun Pokémon came running out of the group and then sat beside Ash "You want to go next". Espeon looked to him and nodded to him "Yeah, I haven't had a proper battle in a while". Gary was slightly surprised "Ash you have an Espeon…When did you get him?" Ash smiled and looked to him "I got him nearly three years ago now when he was an Eevee. He is my first Psychic type Pokémon…" Ash then made a thought "After Latias Of course".
The young Champion the stroked the side of Espeon's face who relaxed happily. "Hmmm…this might be interesting then". Gary spoke as he took out his next poke ball "She hasn't battled in quite a while so it will be interesting here". Ash then nodded to Espeon who took position and got into a battle stance. "Gary then threw the poke ball "Go Umbreon".
The poke ball opened to materialise Gary's dark type Eeveelution Umbreon. She stood up and faced her opponent. Espeon was intrigued by the decision as he was going to be duelling against a fellow Eeveelution. The two glared against each other. Ash made a smile "Wow, the last time I saw Umbreon was when we were training Gliscor and I can tell she has got much stronger".
Gary smiled and said "Well let's kick this second one off. Umbreon use Shadow ball". The moonlight Pokémon immediately built up a sphere of ghost energy and fired it towards Espeon "Use Psychic". Espeon's eyes brightened up in blue energy before the shadow ball came to a complete stop in front of him. Gary and Umbreon were surprised by this "Wow, Espeon is sure well-trained to do that".
Ash nodded while Espeon immediately shot it back towards Umbreon who jumped out of the way. Gary then thought to himself "If Ash's Espeon can do that, it will be difficult to hit him with special attacks, I may need to go with physical or close range attacks". Gary then spoke up "Now Umbreon use Quick attack and Iron tail"
The dark Eeveelution immediately charged forward in white energy as her tail lit up in energy. "Espeon you use Quick attack and Iron tail as well". The Sun Pokémon charged forward in white energy too as his tail lit up. The swung their tails at each other as they collided against each other.
They held it against each other for a moment and then backed off and slammed against each other again. The two Eeveelution begun hitting back to back with their iron tails trying to breach each other's defence. Ash formed an idea "Espeon now take down". The two pushed each other away but Espeon quickly reacted and jumped back and slammed into Umbreon making her grunt in pain as she fell back "Wow that Espeon is fast. But so is Umbreon, now Shadow ball". Umbreon quickly after landing down fired a Shadow ball which left Espeon with no time to dodge and got hit back by the super effective move.
Espeon managed to gain his footing "Umbreon now use Quick attack". The dark Eeveelution charged forward again "Espeon dodge with your own quick attack". The Sun Pokémon quickly zoomed to his side and dodged Umbreon who chased after him "Espeon now Shadow ball".
The Sun Pokémon fired a shadow ball behind him which slashed Umbreon's side "Now iron tail". Espeon stopped and held out an iron tail which Umbreon went into after being hit on her side by the shadow ball. She fell down a little and Gary was shocked "That Espeon of yours is something Ash". Espeon accepted the praise and Ash smiled "But we have some moves, now use Agility Quick attack". Umbreon got up on her fore legs and looked towards Espeon making a smile which confused the Sun Pokémon.
Suddenly she sprinted forward and slammed into Espeon knocking him back down which surprised Ash "Wow that is some speed "Espeon defend yourself with iron tail". The Sun Pokémon immediately powered up his tail again and attempted to stop Umbreon's attacks but her combo move was proving to be too fast even for Espeon. She slashed repeatedly around Espeon's side's injuring him.
Ash was impressed by this but was concerned as Espeon was getting out speeded by Umbreon "Now Espeon use Psi Force". Gary was confused by this move until he saw Espeon's fur begun to have energy appear all over him and his eyes went bright white. Gary was confused until he unleashed a torrent of energy all around in front of him. Suddenly Umbreon got hit and was knocked down from the attack.
Gary was shocked as it did a lot of damage to Umbreon. The dark Eeveelution got up slowly but was hurt as she did glare at Espeon. "Now Espeon use Shadow ball". The psychic Eeveelution begun to power up another sphere in ghost energy "Umbreon use quick attack and Dark pulse". Espeon fired the shadow ball but it easily was dodged by Umbreon who jumped out of the way and then charged close for a close range Dark pulse which smashed right into Espeon injuring him. He fell back a little and laid on the ground.
Ash looked a little worried "Espeon are you alright". The Sun Pokémon after a couple of seconds used his fore legs and lifted himself a little but was struggling a little. Gary smiled happily "Great Umbreon that was a good offense there". Ash was a little confused towards the sun Pokémon. "Espeon". After a few moments Espeon grunted and then opened his eyes. His eye pupils were slightly darker and narrowed. He faced Umbreon and glared menacingly. Gary looked to see this and said "Hey what's wrong with Espeon's eyes". Ash immediately became shocked for a reason unknown as soon as he had heard that.
"ESPEON". The sun Pokémon ignored his trainers call and immediately fired a shadow ball at Umbreon "ESPEON NO. Calm down now". Umbreon dodged it but immediately she got pushed over by a fast Espeon who immediately used a Zap cannon and fired it into her on the floor and exploded.
Ash moved forward "Espeon no. Please calm down. ESPEON". The Sun Pokémon was grunting angrily as his eyes remained unchanged and he fired a shadow ball which hit Umbreon on the ground which shocked Gary "Umbreon no. Stop attacking her". All that the out of control Espeon did was glare at the young Professor and shot another shadow ball at Gary this time who had to move out of the way.
"ESPEON". Ash ran forward and slid down and grabbed Espeon from behind. He immediately held him as he said. He hugged him and kept speaking "Espeon please calm down". The Sun Pokémon out of rage was slashing about trying to get loose and set a wave of Psybeam, Shadow ball and Zap cannon's around. "ESPEON. COME BACK… it is okay".
Gradually as Ash kept talking to Espeon and was holding him, he was starting to get through slowly as Espeon was beginning to gradually settle down slowly as his eyes were slowly flickering back to normal. Gary helped up Umbreon a little and looked to Ash to see he was holding a now shaking Espeon with his eyes closed. He checked Umbreon over as she was wounded severely to this and passed her an Oran berry "Here Umbreon, take this". He held it in front of the dark Eeveelution who accepted it and she ate at it to restore some of her strength.
Ash then stroked the side of his face "It is okay Espeon, it is okay. There is nothing to be afraid about". The Sun Pokémon then spoke out "I…I…" Ash just shushed him and continued stroking the side of his face "It is okay. You are safe". Eventually Espeon was settled and Ash sat him but continued to rub his back gently "it's okay Espeon, just take it easy".
The Sun Pokémon's ears were down and was looking very sad "I lost… control again". Gary stepped forward with Umbreon and said "Ash what happened there with your Espeon". Ash now seeing Espeon was calm enough he stood up and said "You what happened was a symptom of something that happened to Espeon months ago".
Gary was confused by this "Well it must be serious. Espeon just lost control and attacked us there". The Young Champion looked down and said "You see almost five months ago. Espeon was captured by Team Rocket when I was on a walk with him. They took him away and he was put through torture…and Experiments for at least three weeks until we were able to find him and rescue him…. When we did, He was practically near death".
Gary looked to Ash a little worried upon hearing this "And Espeon managed to recover physically but he…he has never… been the same ever since it happened. He has developed Phobias…telepathy…Those moments where he loses control of his power as you just saw". The young Professor spoke up "Wow…that is terrible". Ash looked down saddened "He is claustrophobic so I must never leave him in confined spaces and the move Psi Force too. He has never been the same ever since".
Gary now feeling sorry for him spoke "I'm sorry Ash. I didn't know". The young Champion merely brushed it off "It is okay Gary…you didn't know. Let's stop here". Gary nodded as Ash knelt down before Espeon who was looking down saddened "Espeon why don't you go get some rest in the shade".
The Sun Pokémon looked up to him "I failed you Ash. I can't control it". Ash immediately stroked his head. "Hey…You didn't fail anyone. You did well there. It wasn't as bad as it has been. And we recovered from it quick. Now why don't you rest and recover from today". Espeon looked back to Ash and nodded before he stood up and walked away to go and find some cover while Ash watched him. Gary and Umbreon were both standing there feeling sorry for the pair.
He looked down sadly "What if he never recovers fully. I don't know how I could help him past it". Gary placed a hand on his shoulder "Hey Ash. As far as I can tell he is well trained and he cares for you greatly. You will sort it". The young Champion smiled and said "Thanks Gary". Ash saw Espeon move next to a tree and he sat next to it saddened by what happened as Ash could see he was exhausted from it as well".
He saw Pikachu, Noctowl and Sceptile come to him to settle him down. Ash looked down fully for a moment before he looked back and he could see in the air Latias flying with Swellow and Unfezant. He smiled as he saw them fly down towards them. Ash smiled as Latias flew up to him and he spoke "Have a good flight with Swellow and Unfezant". Latias nodded to him "Yeah, we played a game of tag and of course I won".
Gary upon seeing the Eon Pokémon looked shocked "Ash you realise that is a Latias right. A legendary Eon Pokémon". The young Champion nodded to him "Yeah I know. This is Latias. She is one of the team". Gary upon hearing those words was stunned for a brief moment "Are…are you saying she is one of your Pokémon?"
Ash and Latias both nodded at the same time "Wow Ash. A legendary Pokémon on your team. Where did you get her from?" The young Champion smiled happily "She joined us on my second visit to the city of Altomare. She lived there before she decided to join me". Before anything else could be done the two heard a voice "Ash….Ash". They both saw Professor Oak running with a data pad. "Ash I just received a call from Professor Ivy in the Orange archipelagos".
Ash immediately paid attention "She wants to speak to you. Here". Professor Oak showed him the data pad which had a video connection to Professor Ivy. "Ash, are you there?" The Young Champion smiled and said "Yes. It has been a long time professor". Ivy who was on the screen smiled "It sure has. You certainly have grown from when I last say you years ago".
Ash nodded to this "Yeah, so what's up Professor Ivy?" The Professor cut the chase and said "I have been recently monitoring activity levels within the Orange Islands along with my team. Everything has been in order as it is a monthly thing we do to check for any in-balances in Pokémon activity or for anything odd".
The Young Champion understood before saying "Right. So why call me Professor…or is something come up?" Ivy then replied to him "Well, I don't want to say it is an emergency but in a certain area of the Orange islands we have detected strange activity and we have detected a shift in natural energy waves. In the vicinity of Shamouti Island".
Upon hearing the name of the island Ash became a little unsettled "Wait a minute, that is the island right close to the islands I encountered Moltres, Zapdos and Articuno and their islands". Ivy nodded on the screen "Correct. The anomaly is occurring in proximity of the islands. Now I doubt the legendary Pokémon are involved as it hasn't happened before aside from the incident several years ago with you and your friends".
"But considering the fact it is happening in proximity to the islands they reside on. I don't think it is a good idea to take any chances with this. Are you able to investigate on-site as my staff aren't available and if the possibility of the legendary Pokémon being involved is present then we will need your help". Ash immediately nodded as Gary and Professor Oak stood beside him.
"Sure Professor Ivy. I will head there straight away as it is still morning". Professor Ivy smiled towards this "Thank you Ash. Now I'd recommend making your way towards Shamouti Island as the anomaly is originating closest to that island". The young Champion nodded to this "Sure I will head there now". Ivy nodded once more "Thank your Ash. I will send you more information if any arises from our readings".
After that the screen went blank and the connection ended and Ash looked towards Gary and professor Oak. Gary then spoke up "Do you think it has something to do with the legendary Pokémon". Ash shook his head "Well there is only one way to find out". He looked towards Latias who stood beside him "Latias can you go get, Sceptile, Garchomp, Swellow, Lucario, Floatzel and Typhlosion. We are heading out".
The Eon Pokémon nodded to him and flew off to collect the chosen Pokémon as Ash stood with Pikachu on his shoulder "Alright buddy it looks like we are heading back to the Orange islands". Pikachu nodded to this as Ash went into the lab to collect Typhlosion, Floatzel and Swellow's poke balls as they were left at the lab.
After he emerged outside once more he found the selected Pokémon waiting for him and Ash spoke "Now we are heading to the Orange islands to investigate something odd and out of the ordinary there. None of you except Pikachu here has actually been there I believe. But there is plenty of ocean and islands obviously so it shouldn't be too difficult for us".
All of the Pokémon nodded as one by one he returned all of them to their poke balls with the exception of Pikachu and Latias. Ash then looked to see all the other Pokémon watching him and saw Espeon under the tree still upset from earlier and said to Professor Oak "Professor could you keep an eye on Espeon. He has had another phase with losing control". Oak immediately nodded "Will do. I will check on him in a moment and explain what's happening".
Ash nodded and stood as Gary now asked "Ash how are you going to get there. It is a bit of distance from here and it will surely take you a long time to get there". Ash made a smile to this as he looked at him "It won't take me long with him". He held a poke ball out and threw it out in front of him. It opened up to materialise his other Legendary Pokémon: Zapdos who stood in front of him.
Gary now stood shocked once more as he tried to process what he is seeing. He found his former rival was in possession of not just one but two Legendary Pokémon. Ash then placed the poke ball away and jumped onto Zapdos's back "I will be back as soon as I can". He then looked to his front "Alright Zapdos lets go. To the Orange Islands". Zapdos then unfurled his wings and with one beat he was straight into the air.
Gary was watching and said "How much has Ash changed exactly since I last saw him. He not only has a Latias. But a ZAPDOS… How much has he truly changed?" Professor Oak was amused by this "He has been working with his Pokémon and achieving everything with them. But I wonder though… What is going on at the orange Islands for Professor Ivy to request for Ash?"
Okay as I said earlier very sorry for the late update but hoped you all enjoyed. This certainly had a lot of things happen in one chapter. Anyway I felt that Gary needed to return and see his former Rival in Champion form. Anyway hoped you enjoyed and see you next Chapter.