Author's Note:

I know...I said it wouldn't be a month...and then it was a month. I'll explain myself. I had my final exams for university this month, and of course, that had me pretty busy, among other things that came up. But now...those are DONE! Written, passed, and never to be done again. Now, this isn't going to be my job...I mean, I'd love to get money for this, but that's not happening. But I can definitely at least get back to once a week and probably a bit more. Lumiose University is back on track! So...let's get to it.

Chapter 25: Get Off Your Grass!

Ash's eyes were starting to feel fairly heavy as Yuzo's lecture dragged on, despite it only being about twenty minutes long up until this point in the class. The lecture was about moves learned when Pokemon theoretically "levelled up" as Yuzo called it. Ash didn't really understand it, and he didn't quite agree with the idea of Pokemon having levels. He'd always thought that if the trainer and Pokemon simply worked hard together and trusted one another, that would get them far enough. He supposed that he should have been paying more attention, though, as he might be able to pick up on something that could help him get stronger for his next IPL match, which was coming up in a couple of weeks in Shalour City.

He gave his head a little shake, and glanced at Pikachu, who was comfortably curled up on the empty seat to Ash's left. In front of the seat was Ash's backpack, where Rowlet was sleeping, hooting softly as he did so. Ash felt a bit guilty as he looked at them, knowing he'd been pushing them both pretty hard, along with the others. He'd been pushing Pikachu especially hard, though, as he planned to use the electric mouse in his next IPL battle. He was tempted to try using Greninja again, but some part of him was almost nervous to do so. Pikachu can do it, Ash thought confidently. He'll help us get back on track.

Ash brought his attention back to the front of the class, deciding that he'd at least try to focus more on the lecture. He knew he probably looked pretty bad compared to Clemont, who was at this class, along with Trevor, as Agatha and Flint had arrange a training session for the Battle Team after their classes, and they all needed to get there on time afterwards. He was carefully noting down Yuzo's words in a chewed up notebook. The reason for his chewed up notebook was sitting in another empty seat next to him, eating something else, while Trevor looked over nervously. Ash didn't really know what it was that Turtwig was eating, but he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to know.

For a few more minutes, Ash focused his attention down below, and listened to the lecture that Yuzo was giving. He could see that a few other students were a little less interested in this lecture as some of the others, much like him, and he wondered if Yuzo was going to at least give them something more interesting to do before the lecture ended. While some of his points were interesting, Ash had never trained Pokemon in this way, and he didn't think it would change how he trained now.

After about five more minutes of the lecture, Yuzo finally paused and looked around the room, smiling a little as he seemed to notice the somewhat bored faces of the students looking back at him. "Well," he said, stepping back and going to stand behind his desk, where he picked up a clipboard, "I hope that lesson wasn't too boring for all of you, but it is important for you to understand different ways of looking at how to train Pokemon." He then paused as he glanced down at his clipboard, which had a sheet of paper on it, which Ash assumed had some kind of list on it. "For the rest of the class, however, I've decided to check up on how some of you are doing with your starter Pokemon that you received a few weeks ago. I'll be checking up on each of you in the coming weeks, so you can better prepare for your final exams at the end of the semester." The class immediately grew quite noisy as students began whispering to each other, many clearly nervous about showing their progress.

Ash glanced over at Clemont, doing his best to hold back a laugh as he noticed his friend immediately reach over and try to stop Turtwig from chewing on another notebook. "Stop it, Turtwig! You have to pay attention!" Clemont hissed as Turtwig avoided him. "We want to be ready for this if Yuzo calls on us."

"You and Turtwig should be ready for this," Ash said confidently, looking down to where Yuzo was clearing space at the front of the class. "He looked like he was doing pretty well yesterday when you were training him with Chespin."

Clemont shrugged, turning to Ash, deciding to not bother with Turtwig for the moment, while Trevor seemed to be bracing himself by having a pep talk with Mudkip. "I guess so," he said nervously, "but Chespin did steal a bunch of Serena's pokepuffs yesterday. I'm not sure if he was really battling very well."

"Tur turtwig!" Turtwig suddenly cried out, leaping into Clemont's lap and looking somewhat indignant as he glared up at his trainer. "Turtwig!"

"I think Turtwig thinks it was a good training battle," Ash pointed out, chuckling at the look on the energetic grass type's face.

"Do you think you and Rowlet are ready for this?" Clemont asked, looking at the still sleeping owl in Ash's backpack. "I know you've been training a lot, but with Pikachu and Greninja being so much more experienced, it must be pretty hard for Rowlet to keep up."

Ash shook his head, reaching down and picking up Rowlet from his backpack. The Grass Quill Pokemon gave a startled hoot as he was woken up, but he quickly turned his head and saw Ash, and calmed down at the sight of his trainer. "Rowlet will be fine. He knows he has to work hard just like the rest of us if we're going to do a better job competing in the IPL. We're not getting embarrassed again."

Clemont looked a little nervous as he looked back at Ash, and the latter could tell that his friend was still a little uneasy about heavy duty training lately. That was something to worry about later, though, as at that moment, Ash heard Yuzo calling out from the front of the class, having cleared away a couple of tables and the podium so that there was enough space for what Ash assumed, and hoped, was for a battle of some sort.

"All right, everyone," he said, as the whispering of the students stopped while everyone looked down to the front of the class, "what we're going to be doing, is a practice battle for randomly selected students over the next few classes, until everyone has had one. As I said before, this will give everyone an idea of the progress they are making with their starter Pokemon and using what you've learned in class, you will be able to focus your training based afterwards."

Ash looked around at some of the other students, and could see their nervous looks. Despite this being an advanced class, it seemed as though people were still fairly uncomfortable with their battling skills tested out in front of everyone else. He supposed that it was likely going to be a challenging test with it being an advanced class, and a glance at Rowlet, who had once again fallen asleep, made him a little nervous as well.

After answering a few questions and getting his list of names, Yuzo made his way over to the side of his makeshift battlefield and then looked down at his clipboard. "So, here I have a randomly assigned order for you all to battle in. What you will be doing, is battling against Clembot, much like in your screening battles, and how you will be battling come exam time. Clembot will be using the starter Pokemon with a type advantage over yours, from the same region. The battle will conclude once one side is unable to battle, or after five minutes." With that, he smiled, pointed down to his list and looked up to where Ash, Trevor and Clemont were sitting. "The first name on the list is...Clemont! You and Turtwig will be battling against Clembot and Chimchar." As he said this, the robot, Clemont's design and now opponent, entered the classroom, standing on the left side of the mini battlefield.

"Oh no..." Clemont whispered, giving Ash a nervous look. "Why do I have to go first?"

Ash just smiled as Clemont nervously got to his feet, picking up Turtwig as he did so. "Don't worry, Clemont. You two will be fine. Turtwig can beat any old Chimchar."

"Yeah," Trevor agreed, smiling, although he seemed more relieved about not going first himself. "Clemont, your Turtwig is probably stronger than Tierno's Chimchar, and I bet his Chimchar is stronger than this one will be."

Clemont didn't look so convinced, and was fairly slow as he made his way down with Turtwig. However, he seemed to grow a little more confident from the cheers and applause that the rest of the class was giving him as he took his place opposite Clembot.

"All right, Turtwig," Clemont said loudly, heard fairly clearly from where Ash was sitting, "we can do this. I know you don't always listen to me, but let's win this one, all right?"

Turtwig looked up at his trainer curiously for a moment, and Ash was slightly worried that he was about to suddenly run off and start eating something. Fortunately, though, he didn't, and instead, he narrowed his eyes and nodded confidently. "Turt turtwig!"

Clemont smiled at that, looking somewhat relieved, and then placed Turtwig down in front of him, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon quickly turning around and stepping forward to stare down Clembot, who was aiming a robotic arm forward. "Chimchar, it's time for battle!" the robot suddenly called out, as a pokeball suddenly shot out and opened up, revealing the Chimp Pokemon, who definitely looked a lot more serious than the dancing one that Tierno had.

"Maybe I was wrong about it being weaker than Tierno's Chimchar," Trevor muttered nervously, as Chimchar suddenly started to hit its chest, glaring at Turtwig with puffs of smoke coming from its nostrils.

Ash bit his lip, feeling a little nervous at the sight as well, but he was happy to see that Turtwig wasn't backing down. In fact, he could see that Turtwig looked almost as fired up as his opponent, and a moment later, Ash knew why.

"You get a basket of pokepuffs if you win this one, Turtwig," Clemont called out, clenching his fists as Yuzo positioned himself in the middle, ready to start the battle.

A few seconds later, Yuzo raised his hand, and then waved it down, calling out, "Let the battle begin!"

"Chimchar, use Double Team!" Clembot ordered quickly, pointing forward with his robotic arm, looking surprisingly menacing.

"Turtwig, don't panic," Clemont said quickly, looking around at the copies surrounding the battlefield. He quickly looked towards the right side of the field and pointed. "Use Leech Seed over there!" the inventor shouted suddenly, surprising Ash with how quickly he made the order. Usually he's a little slower to come up with a strategy, Ash thought, narrowing his eyes.

Turtwig hesitated for a moment, looking a little overwhelmed by the copies of Chimchar spread out before him, but managed to recover and aim his head towards a couple of copies to his right. Then, a seed burst forth, striking one of the copies, immediately making it disappear. Turtwig then fired another, making another copy disappear. As he started to fire a third, Clembot made his move.

"Now, Chimchar, attack Turtwig from close range with Fury Swipes!" Clembot ordered, a shape immediately darting forward from the middle of the group of copies.

"Turtwig, stop it with Bite!" Clemont shouted quickly.

"Twig!" Turtwig called out, opening his jaws wide, just as Chimchar leaped at him, swinging forward with one of his arms. Ash felt pity for Chimchar, who yelped in surprise at having his arm suddenly bit into by Turtwig, but also amusement, as he wondered whether or not Turtwig was pretending Chimchar's arm was a notebook or something. The sudden grab seemed to freeze Chimchar, who looked nervously at the grass type that now had him somewhat trapped.

Clemont didn't waste any time in ordering his next attack. "Now, use that Leech Seed one more time!" he ordered, and Turtwig looked somewhat giddy as he lowered his head and fired the seed into Chimchar's chest, where it broke open and started to cover the Chimp Pokemon in vines that wrapped around his arms and chest, allowing Turtwig to let go from his Bite and jump back, watching as Chimchar attempted to break free from his restraints.

"Twig tur tur turtwig!" Turtwig happily chirped out, while Chimchar squirmed around, looking increasingly frustrated.

"Chimchar, use Ember on the vines and free yourself," Clembot ordered, after a brief moment of hesitation, clearly surprised about Clemont's quick counter. If a robot could be surprised.

As Clemont quickly responded by having Turtwig hit Chimchar with a well timed Tackle attack, Ash turned to Trevor, who seemed to be watching the battle with admiration in his eyes. "Clemont seems to be battling a bit differently, don't you think?" Ash asked.

Trevor narrowed his eyes and leaned forward a bit, watching silently as Chimchar finally broke free of his restraints, only to be tackled again, followed by a quick Bite. Chimchar managed to land a couple of hits with Fury Swipes after that, but Clemont now seemed to be in control, forcing him back by having Turtwig use Leech Seed, which was barely dodged. Clembot's only apparent option was to use Ember, although Turtwig was easily dodging it each time.

"He's battling a bit like you, actually," Trevor finally said with a laugh. He's forcing Clembot and Chimchar to battle in close, and then Turtwig is able to quickly attack and force Chimchar back after that. "It might not work if Turtwig was evolved, but since it's fairly quick now, it kind of works."

Ash frowned at that, watching as Turtwig darted forward and hit Chimchar with another Tackle. It kind of reminded him of when Torterra had been a Turtwig, and speed had actually been his strongest attribute. But was Clemont actually using a battle style inspired by him? Ash supposed it was similar to how he might use Pikachu and Greninja in battle, by using their speed to control the battle in close, while also having distance attacks such as Electro-Ball and Water Shuriken to force opponents to keep moving. What was the point, though? Ash had been losing so much lately...why would Clemont want to emulate him?

"Chimchar, use Ember at Turtwig's feet, and then use Fury Swipes!" Clembot suddenly ordered, snapping Ash's attention back to the Chimp Pokemon, who quickly got to his feet and fired about a dozen mini fireballs towards Turtwig, who was forced to jump back to avoid them. Clemont had no opportunity to order a counter attack as Chimchar quickly darted forward and started swiping away at Turtwig's face, causing the Tiny Leaf Pokemon to cry out in pain.

"Hang in there, Turtwig," Clemont called out to his Pokemon. "Use Leech Seed and then finish this with Tackle!"

"Twig!" Turtwig yelled, seemingly wincing from the pain of the mini claws hitting his face. He managed to fight through it, though, and lowered his head. Before Chimchar could get out of the way, the seed shot out and latched onto his head, the vines quickly spreading around him once more. "Tur...TWIG!" shouted again, jumping back quickly and then charging forward, sending Chimchar flying back so that it landed hard in front of Clembot.

The call was easy to make for Yuzo, who raised his hand towards Clemont. "Chimchar is unable to battle, so the winners are Clemont and Turtwig! Well done, both of you!" The class gave Clemont a quick round of applause as Clembot recalled Chimchar to his pokeball and then stood still, waiting for his next opponent, while Yuzo stepped up towards Clemont and Turtwig. "You did very well working with Turtwig, Clemont, and the two of you took advantage of Turtwig's speed while also neutralizing Chimchar's type advantage. One thing that I did notice, however, was Turtwig's hesitation when Clembot put a strategy in place and attacked with his own quick attacks."

Clemont nodded, looking thoughtfully at Turtwig, before glancing briefly at Ash and then returning his gaze to Yuzo. "That won't be a problem next time. Turtwig will be ready for anything, and so will I."

Yuzo nodded, smiling at that comment. "You'll have to be, as the next battle will be much more difficult." He directed his words to the whole class this time, and everyone seemed to lean forward with interest, wondering how an already difficult looking battle could become even harder once exam time came around. "For this battle, your Pokemon are battling the first stage of evolution for the starter Pokemon with the type advantage over them, however, in the next battle, the opponent will be evolved. It will be important to improve your strategies based on this battle and the experience you gain from it."

Ash nodded at that, glancing down at the sleeping Rowlet now in his lap. Rowlet was still so inexperienced with battling, and he definitely needed to "level up" as Yuzo would say when it came to this class. This battle was definitely important for him, and not just for this class, but for Ash's future battles as well.

When Clemont returned to his seat, Ash and Trevor were quick to congratulate him, while Pikachu and Mudkip congratulated Turtwig, who eyed a notebook sticking out of Clemont's backpack. While Yuzo called for the next student, the inventor sat down between his friends, sighing in relief at a fairly successful outing for his first battle with Turtwig.

"You and Turtwig were working really well together," Ash said, patting Clemont on the back. "I have to admit, I'm surprised at how quickly Turtwig responded to your orders. It seems like you two are already pretty close."

Clemont was about to nod, but at that moment he saw Turtwig pulling his notebook from his backpack and quickly reached down to pull it away. "Maybe not as close as you think," he muttered, narrowing his eyes at the sheepish look that Turtwig gave him.

Ash just laughed at that, glancing down at the front of the class where a girl was stepping up with a Cyndaquil, while Clembot called out a Totodile. He seemed only mildly interested in the battle beginning down there, and turned his attention once more to Clemont. "Trevor thought you were battling a bit like me down there. Is that what you were planning?"

Clemont copied Turtwig in giving his own sheepish grin this time, shrugging as he looked back at Ash. "I guess I've gotten to know some of your techniques," he admitted. "I knew it would be hard to win if Chimchar used his fire attacks, so I had to make sure it was hard for him to do that. Luckily, Turtwig was fast enough to make it work."

"These battles will be pretty tough for the final exam," Trevor chimed in, looking nervously at the battle between the girl with the Cyndaquil and Clembot with Totodile. Totodile seemed to be controlling the battle, hitting Cyndaquil with a Water Gun and Scratch attack in quick succession and Cyndaquil failing to avoid with a Smokescreen. "You did really well, Clemont, and it was still tough for Turtwig to get around some of Chimchar's moves."

Clemont nodded, thinking back to the battle. He'd managed to control the battle for the most part, but he definitely didn't have the same ability that Ash seemed to have in responding quickly to his opponents strategies. If he'd been a little quicker, Chimchar wouldn't have been able to land a few of the attacks that he had. Clembot probably missed a few chances to even use Ember on Turtwig a few times. There was no doubt that if Clemont battled that way in the final exam, he'd lose. If he wanted to win, and if he wanted to be as quick to adapt as someone like Ash, he still had work to do. He was definitely glad that he'd get a chance to train with Agatha and Flint later on.

As they watched the next couple of battles, with both trainers struggling and losing, Trevor seemed to grow pretty nervous, while Ash seemed to be glancing at Rowlet a lot, possibly frustrated with the owl sleeping rather than watching the battles. Again, Clemont felt uneasy at Ash's apparent frustration, wondering if his own battle would be the closest thing to an Ash-like battle he'd be seeing out of these practice battles.

With the third battle after Clemont's finally ending, this trainer actually managing to squeak out a win with their Treecko over a Torchic, Yuzo stepped forward and once again looked towards where Clemont and his friends were sitting. "And our next battle will be...Ash! He and Rowlet will be battling against a Pokemon likely unfamiliar to many of you. Litten, the fire type starter from the Alola region!"

Clemont saw Ash tense up in excitement at that, clearly interested in battling a new Pokemon. At least that hasn't changed, Clemont thought, smiling a little as Ash stood up, Rowlet quickly waking up and flying up to sit on his trainer's shoulder while they made their way down to the mini battlefield at the front of the class, Pikachu trailing behind. Clemont heard the door at the back of the class opening behind him, but kept his gaze on the front of the class, assuming it was just a late student. The thought made him laugh, as Ash probably would've been late had Clemont not forced him away from training.

"Do you think Ash will be...well, Ash, in this battle?" Trevor asked, looking at Clemont with a bit of nervousness in his eyes, bringing the latter's attention away from the front of th class.

Clemont shrugged at that. "I'm not sure. He's been a bit better the last few days, but he's definitely still making training too much of a priority. I hope Flint and Agatha don't do too much with our training session later on. I think Ash needs to take it easy with that."

"Well you don't know what we've got planned, do you Clemont?" a voice from behind suddenly said. He and Trevor both jumped up, gasping in fear as they turned around and saw a smirking Agatha behind them. "Oh dear, I don't look that bad for my age, do I?" she asked, mock fear in her voice.

"What? Uh...no, I mean...sorry," Clemont stammered out, exchanging an awkward look with Trevor. "I was just...um..."

"You were talking about our training session, I presume?" Agatha pointed out, raising on eyebrow and sitting back in her seat. She started to fiddle with her cane, while Clemont heard Yuzo describing the Alola starter Pokemon to the class, as most were unfamiliar with them.

"Um...well we were just saying..." Trevor started, taking over for Clemont, who couldn't help but mix up his words when talking to Agatha. Despite all the good things Ash said about her, she was pretty intimidating.

Agatha waved her hand in front of her, stopping Trevor from speaking. "Oh never mind," she muttered, looking down towards the front of the class, where Ash was now giving a mini pep talk to Rowlet, who almost looked like he might be about to doze off again. "You're both a little concerned with Ash, I take it? The boy's been overworking himself with the training?"

"Yeah," Clemont answered simply. "It's like he doesn't want to do anything else. I almost have to drag him out of the training facilities so he'll eat, sleep and go to class."

"Hmm..." Agatha narrowed her eyes at that, looking at Clemont a moment and then focusing back on the battle that was about to begin. "Professor Sycamore did tell me that Ash had taken that loss pretty badly, but I wasn't aware that it was quite like this. I suppose Flint and I should have done more to prepare you. We preferred seeing what we were dealing with, though. This is new to us as well, remember."

Clemont had to admit that he'd wondered why Flint and Agatha had been somewhat absent for the IPL up until this point, but he supposed it was probably an unfamiliar situation for them as well, just as Agatha had pointed out. Going from their Elite Four duties to being teachers and coaches was probably pretty strange. "I understand," Clemont said, noticing Yuzo raise his arm, calling for the battle to begin, with Clembot having called out a black and red cat-like Pokemon with bright yellow eyes. "I just hope you can help us get ready for next time, and make sure Ash gets back on track."

Agatha gave a quiet murmur of agreement, but all of them now had their full attention on the battle down below, where Ash was quick to make the first move. "Rowlet, fly up and dive down with Peck as fast as you can!" he yelled, narrowing his eyes as he watched his newest Pokemon get into its first real battle action.

"Hoo!" Rowlet hooted loudly in answer, quickly flapping his wings and launching himself into the air, just as Clembot ordered an Ember attack from Litten.

As Rowlet flew up, the fiery orbs shot towards him quickly, and he had to spin left and right, preventing his descent back to the ground, unable to get the room he needed to dive down for a Peck attack. Clemont could see Ash watching with frustration in his eyes, clearly trying to spot a point where Rowlet could escape to.

"Yes, I can definitely see that this is not the Ash I know," Agatha suddenly said, as Rowlet continued to fly up and down, avoiding the barrage of Ember attacks that Litten was launching.

"What? Already?" Trevor asked, looking at Agatha in surprise. "The battle only just started. Rowlet's doing pretty well to avoid Litten's attacks isn't he?"

Clemont focused once more on the battle, trying to see what Agatha had seen. Trevor was definitely right; the battle was only just beginning, and Rowlet was displaying exceptional flying skills, but there was definitely something off about it all.

"Rowlet, use Leafage and get rid of Ember!" Ash finally yelled, realizing he wasn't going to get around the barrage from Litten.

"Kooooo!" Rowlet cried out loudly, flipping around in midair and spreading his wings wide, before flapping them once and sending a swirling vortex of leaves down through the flaming orbs shooting upwards. It was similar to a Leaf Storm attack, but slightly less intense. The leaves exploded against the flames and smoke spread between the two Pokemon, with Rowlet immediately darting down, beak glowing white.

"Litten, use Fire Fang!" Clembot ordered immediately, almost as though expecting Rowlet to have charged into the smoke.

"Mrrrow!" Litten shouted as it bared its fangs which suddenly seemed to glow red, before flames started to dance around his mouth. Clemont then noticed a shape emerge from the bottom of the smoke cloud, and Litten leaped up in just that moment, opening and closing his jaws while narrowly avoiding Rowlet's glowing beak. The Fire Cat Pokemon latched onto Rowlet's wing, and then brought the flailing owl down hard to the ground, slashing at it and sending it spinning towards Ash as Clembot ordered a Scratch attack.

Agatha finally spoke up to answer Trevor's question. "Ash is relying on Rowlet to overpower Litten, while using his flying ability to avoid fire attacks. Leafage is unlikely to do much to Litten, so Ash is forcing himself to use a predictable strategy to battle the way he wants to. It was easy for Clembot to know that Rowlet was going to use the smoke. Ash would normally find a much more creative way to get around Litten's defences. It looks fairly easy to me, actually."

Clemont had no idea how Agatha had been able to spot all this within a small segment of the battle, but he wasn't going to doubt her. He definitely knew it looked like a different battle style, despite Ash attempting his usual tactic of speed and charging head on. Ash was capable of more than that, though. He could adapt his strategy if he would just relax a little.

"Rowlet, get back in the air, and use Leafage!" Ash ordered, as the Grass Quill Pokemon shook his head, clearly winded by Litten's combination of attacks.

"Hoo," Rowlet hooted again, although he sounded much less enthusiastic than he had at the beginning of the battle, already having been hit by a super effective attack. He flapped his wings hard and got himself back into the air, with Litten eyeing him carefully, ready to attack with whatever order Clembot gave him.

"Litten, use Ember once again!" Clembot ordered, just as Rowlet began flapping his wings, and bright green leaves began swirling in front of them. Litten responded just in time, jumping back and sending his fire attack back at the leaves that shot towards him. Just as before, the attacks exploded against one another, causing smoke to shoot up between the two Pokemon.

"Now, Rowlet use Leafage again!" Ash shouted, as the Grass Quill Pokemon flew up above the cloud of smoke, eyed carefully by Litten once again.

"Kooooo!" Rowlet cried out loudly, flapping his wings quickly and sending another swirling vortex of bright, green leaves towards Litten.

Clembot seemed to have a strategy, though, and quickly called for Litten to avoid the attack. "Dodge it, and get into the smoke," he called out, and Litten quickly slid into the cloud of smoke, narrowly avoiding the leaves that struck the ground where he'd been a moment before.

Clemont narrowed his eyes in confusion, looking at Clembot, and then Ash. Clembot was using a strategy that hadn't worked for Ash, so what was he planning. Clemont knew that he'd designed the robot to adapt to his opponent's strategies, but this seemed like a strange one. He had a bad feeling that it was a trap for Ash.

"That's it! Dive down into the smoke and find Litten, and then use Peck!" Ash shouted excitedly, punching the air in excitement.

Rowlet nodded immediately, flapped his wings, and then darted into the cloud of smoke, which was now clearing up, with a dark shape visible in the middle of it. Rowlet flew in, aiming for where Litten appeared to be.

"Now, jump out and use Ember!" Clembot ordered, pulling his robotic arm back as though pulling Litten out of the smoke himself.

"Mrrow!" Litten cried out, before leaping out of the smoke, the shape of Rowlet a little more visible as he came to a stop where Litten had been a moment before. The Fire Cat Pokemon then sent the burst of flame towards the stunned grass type, who cried out in surprise as he was struck and sent spinning across the ground, coming to a stop in front of Ash, panting heavily.

"Ash isn't thinking straight," Agatha muttered, sounding quite disappointed with the way things were going at the moment. "He's being far too cautious of Litten, and that's making things even worse for Rowlet."

Clemont nodded, waching as Ash once again had Rowlet get into the air where he was once again kept at a distance with Litten's Ember attack. Even Clemont could see that if Ash was a little more precise, aggressive and creative, Rowlet would be able to get through. There were openings, but he was too concerned about Rowlet being hit by Ember, which had only seemed to make it easier for Clembot to draw him into his attacks so far.

It looked like it was too late for Ash to come back in this battle, though, as Rowlet had been slowed down too much by the super effective attacks that Litten had already landed. As flew up and down attempting to avoid Litten's next few Ember attacks, he dipped low enough for Clembot to see an opening.

"Litten, finish with Fire Fang!" the robot called out, pointing ahead towards Rowlet, who simply seemed too tired to get out of the way. Litten then leaped forward, fangs engulfed in flames, and bit down onto Rowlet's wing once again, before tossing the owl forward towards Ash.

Clemont had to wince as he heard Yuzo make the call, while the students around the class gasped in surprise. "Rowlet is unable to battle, so Clembot and Litten are the winners!"

Ash, what is going on with you?

"Rowlet is all better, now, Ash. He was pretty tired, but we've made sure he's fully refreshed," Nurse Joy announced happily, handing Ash Rowlet's pokeball across the counter.

"Thanks Nurse Joy," Ash said with a weak smile. He quickly said goodbye, and then he and Pikachu made their way outside, to where Serena and Marie were waiting for him, both of them having been at the Pokemon Centre with Absol earlier and interested accompanying Ash and seeing the training session, that had been slightly delayed due to his and Rowlet's defeat, that Agatha and Flint had planned.

"Is Rowlet feeling better?" Serena asked, looking concerned as she noticed Ash stepping out of the Pokemon Centre.

Ash nodded, clipping the pokeball to his belt. "Yeah, Nurse Joy says he's fully refreshed. It wasn't exactly a normal battle, so Litten didn't really do that much damage."

"Hopefully learning from a couple of Elite Four members can cheer the both of you up," Serena suggested, as the trio set off. "Fantina has our first real training session set up for tomorrow, so hopefully I get an idea of what to expect from yours."

Marie chuckled a little at that, getting curious glances from both Ash and Serena. "I don't think Fantina's going to do anything similar to what Agatha might do. She's pretty scary. One trainer decided to challenge her and her Gengar to a battle last week and she beat their Rhydon with just one attack. We had to give it a whole bowl of Oran berries when it woke up.

Ash had to laugh at that, thinking of how Agatha had probably been more disappointed than the trainer she'd defeated. She was sometimes just as eager as Ash to find strong opponents to battle, and it was even harder for her to find ones that could give her a challenge.

"Flint is pretty intense as well, though," Ash finally pointed out, after walking a few minutes in silence. "He even challenged Cynthia a while back, and she needed to use her best Pokemon to beat him and his Infernape."

"That's the Infernape that he used to defeat the Pokemon Hunter that hurt Absol, right?" Serena asked, a dark look in her eyes as she thought about the man who'd caused Absol so much pain.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, his Infernape is really strong. I battled against it once, and Buizel, my own Infernape and Pikachu were no match for it."

"Pika..." Pikachu muttered, obviously not thinking he'd been outmatched by that much.

Ash gave his partner Pokemon a sheepish grin. "Uh...I just mean Flint's Infernape is really strong. Pikachu and the others definitely put up a good fight, though."

"It seems like you've battled against a lot of really strong trainers," Marie said, laughing at the thought. "Is it true that you battle against Diantha?"

Ash tensed up at that, noticing Serena giving him a surprised look. He glanced around to make sure nobody walking around them had heard that and then lowered his voice to answer. He was proud of having had the opportunity to battle Diantha, but he didn't know if she wanted people to know that she'd battled someone who hadn't earned the opportunity through winning a league. Especially with how busy she seemed to be. "Both times were pretty short, but yeah, Pikachu battled her once, and then Greninja the second time. I passed out when Greninja changed form, though." He frowned at the thought. He'd done so well in that battle, and in a way, he'd never truly achieved that power again. Even against Wulfric and Sawyer, two strong opponents he'd managed to beat. "We need to get stronger so I can beat her one day. Her, Alain, Anton...any strong opponent. I definitely can't be losing to inexperienced Littens if I'm going to do that."

"Oh relax, Rowlet is inexperienced as well. You're just on a bit of a...losing streak," Marie said, shrugging at the thought. "You, Serena and the others still have to be the best team of any of the other schools in the IPL. You two and Dawn are definitely the most successful."

Serena sighed at that, looking awkwardly at Ash and wringing her hands as she walked in silence a few moments. "Maybe...but Gabby is definitely pretty talented. It's not just about our past accomplishments."

"We'll get back on track," Ash assured the two of them, narrowing his eyes in determination. "We just have to-"

"Train, train, train," Marie interrupted, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, you mentioned that once or twice."

Ash didn't bother answering that, and the three of them continued on their way to the training facilities in relative silence, only talking a little bit about the eggs they were still taking care of. According to Marie, the one she and Dawn were caring for had already shown some signs of hatching, having shaken a few times in the past couple of days. Ash and Serena, however, hadn't seemed to have had as much luck, with theirs still remaining very still, the only movement coming from it shifting in Ash's backpack as they walked.

When they finally reached their destination, Ash noticed that Agatha, Flint, Trevor and Clemont were all in front of the building and waiting for them. Ash could see that his fellow Battle Team members looked a little uneasy, and that Agatha looked like she was still in the middle of saying something, so he assumed that she was probably already busy with explaining various strategies for them to use. Flint was the first to notice Ash's group and quickly got the others' attention, getting relieved looks from Trevor and Clemont.

"Hi there, you three," Flint greeted once they approached. "Ready for some intense training, Ash? I think Infernape would love to see what Greninja has to offer."

Ash's eyes lit up at that, and ignoring Marie's amused look, he pumped his fist and said, "You bet! That'd be awesome!"

"Well that's going to have to wait," Agatha spoke up, getting surprised looks from Ash and Flint. "We've already seen Ash and Greninja battle, and having them lose to Infernape isn't going to help anything."

"Hey, who says I'm going to lose. Greninja and I have been training really hard!" Ash said indignantly. "Why wouldn't a battle against a strong trainer help us?"

"Oh Greninja is definitely capable of winning," Agatha answered quickly, shrugging like it was obvious. "Both of you, when you've got it together between the ears, can definitely give Flint, or even me, a close match. You're not quite prepared to do that at the moment, though."

Ash gritted his teeth at that, wanting to argue, but not quite sure what to say. He'd seen Agatha after his battle with Clembot, so he wondered if she was judging him based on that. "Rowlet's not very experienced. Just because I lost a battle with him doesn't mean I'll lose with Greninja."

"I wouldn't be so sure." Agatha then gave Flint a somewhat frightening glare, as though daring him to argue for a battle with Ash. Understandably, he did not. "Now," Agatha continued, after a moment of awkward silence, "I think it's time we went in and got things started. Not to worry, Ash, you will indeed be battling, but your opponent will be Clemont. I'd like to see the two of you using Rowlet and Turtwig once more."

Before either of the stunned trainers could answer, Agatha smiled, tapped her cane on the ground twice, and then made her way through towards the doors of the building, Flint rushing ahead to hold the door open for her. Ash would've laughed at how Agatha had seemingly taken over this team in seconds, but for the moment, he was just wondering why she wanted him to battle with Rowlet again, despite him clearly not being ready for IPL action.

"Does Agatha know that the IPL doesn't have anything to do with our classes?" Clemont asked, looking at Ash, eyes wide behind his glasses. "I was hoping to do some training with Luxray for the next match."

"I think she's more worried about the trainers than the Pokemon," Marie muttered, looking pointedly at Ash. He was starting to get sick of those looks from her.

"Um...does she know I'm on the team, too?" Trevor asked quietly, as the group followed the coaches inside.

"All right, this will be a one on one battle between Ash and Clemont, and the winner will be decided when one Pokemon is unable to battle. Do you both agree?" Agatha looked at Ash, then Clemont, narrowing her eyes as they nodded, looking like she really wanted to take this seriously. Not that Clemont was thinking of taking Ash lightly, of course, although he definitely wasn't sure he had the intensity that Agatha wanted from him.

He looked over at Ash who had his pokeball in hand, watching the other battlefield to the left of this one, where Trevor was getting expert fire type training from Flint in order to help his Charizard. They'd only been working with each other for a few minutes, but Clemont was happy to see that Flint's Infernape seemed to have quickly earned the respect and attention of Trevor's Charizard.

"Good luck both of you!" Marie called from the sidelines, standing next to Serena, snapping Clemont's attention back to the field, where Agatha was glaring at both Ash and Clemont, clearly not liking the fact that both of them were distracted.

"Smarten up, both of you!" She snapped, looking more so at Ash, but making sure Clemont got a frightening glare as well. "Ash, you say you want to keep training and getting stronger, correct? Well, I'm here to make sure you're on track. I have my reasons for this battle, so you'll have to get on board. You as well, Clemont."

Clemont took a deep breath, and then nodded, holding up Turtwig's pokeball in his hand. He still found it odd that Agatha wanted to see he and Ash using Pokemon that had barely been battle-tested, especially with another IPL match on the way, but he supposed he couldn't argue with someone who was one of the best trainers in all of Kanto. And from what I know, Kanto trainers are pretty tough. He finally tossed his pokeball forward, the flash of light shining briefly before Turtwig emerged, looking around curiously, clearly not having expected to be called out for a second battle in one day.

"Are you up for another battle, Turtwig?" Clemont asked, looking at his gluttonous grass type. "Agatha wants to see what you have."

"Twig," Turtwig muttered, nodding. Clemont was glad Turtwig was agreeable, but he had a bad feeling that later on, these battles were going to give him a pretty big apetite.

"All right, I guess I'm ready then," Ash finally said. "Rowlet, I choose you! Let's show 'em we've learned from earlier."

"Koooo!" Rowlet hooted, flying up immediately upon exiting from his pokeball, definitely looking much better after his trip to the Pokemon Centre. Clemont knew that even if Ash wasn't quite himself, it would be a pretty tough battle.

"Then let the battle begin!" Agatha shouted, hitting the ground with her cane to signal the start of the match.

Clemont knew that Ash often liked to make the first move, so he made sure he was faster in this battle. "Turtwig, use Leech Seed!"

"Break right through it with Peck!" Ash countered quickly, narrowing his eyes as he looked across at Turtwig, who was lowering his head and aiming for the flying owl above.

Turtwig fired off his attack with surprising speed, but Rowlet acted on Ash's order just as fast. The seed shot up towards the Grass Quill Pokemon who dove down, beak glowing white as it tucked its wings in to pick up speed. Clemont tensed up, not sure which attack would win out, but as Rowlet made contact, he wasn't surprised to see the grass and flying type force his way through, the seed from Leech Seed bursting apart as Rowlet's beak struck it. Turtwig stared up in stunned silence as Rowlet quickly approached, and then a moment later, the owl's glowing beak struck the Tiny Leaf Pokemon, sending him flying back, where he landed hard on the field in front of Clemont.

"Twig..." Turtwig groaned, while Rowlet circled back, preparing for Ash's next order. Clemont gritted his teeth. That was definitely a pretty strong attack, and Ash's training had definitely had an impact on Rowlet so far. Clembot didn't win with power, though, Clemont realized. I know what to do.

"Turtwig, use Tackle! Aim your head low!" He had to hope Turtwig had some idea of what he was planning, but Clemont knew what Turtwig's favourite move to use was, so he was sure this technique would work.

"You can't overpower us!" Ash called out confidently. "Rowlet, you use Tackle as well!"

"Koooo!" Rowlet answered, flapping his wings, shooting up, and then quickly darting back down, talons aiming down towards the charging Turtwig. It definitely looked intimidating, and Clemont was sure it could beat Turtwig's Tackle.

But it was just what he wanted. "Leech Seed, now!" Clemont ordered, and he smiled, seeing Turtwig come to a quick stop, looking like he knew exactly what his trainer had wanted. The seed shot upwards, just as Rowlet was about to reach Turtwig, and it struck the opposing grass type in its legs, the vines shooting up around them and quick entangling his wings as well. "Use Bite!" Clemont shouted next, wanting to quickly use the advantage he'd earned himself. He was a little disappointed that Ash had fallen into that trap so easily, but if he was going to help Ash get back on track, having Agatha see him lose again might be a good step.

"Twig!" Turtwig shouted gleefully, quickly jumping up and clamping his jaws on Rowlet's little tail. Turtwig started swinging the alarmed grass type around rapidly, before sending him crashing to the ground and spinning across the battlefield.

"Now, hit it again with Tackle!" Clemont ordered.

"Protect yourself with Leafage!" Ash called out quickly, a hint of panic in his voice. It seemed like a desperate tactic, with Rowlet still trapped in the vines from Leech Seed, the vines glowing and seemingly giving Turtwig even more speed as he charged forward with Tackle. Somehow, though, just as Turtwig was close to Rowlet, the owl managed to spread his wings wide enough a few leaves seemed to dart out towards Turtwig, some of them even slicing through the vines around Rowlet.

Both Clemont and Turtwig hesitated, seeing Rowlet struggle free as the leaves hit his opponent. They didn't do much, but they managed to stall Turtwig just enough for Rowlet to get back into the air, where it was panting from the energy exerted in his escape. Clemont frowned, knowing he'd blown an opportunity to strike. If they hadn't hesitated, they could have landed that attack. He knew what was coming next, though, and Clemont wasn't going to let Ash overpower him again.

"Rowlet, use Peck!" Ash ordered, punching the air, a smile of confidence on his face. He seemed sure that Rowlet had the advantage now.

"Turtwig, use Bite!" Clemont quickly countered, knowing it was risky, but sure that he'd be able to take away Rowlet's speed advantage if it was successful.

"Kooo!" Rowlet cried, diving down once again with his glowing beak. Turtwig quickly braced himself for the impact and just as Rowlet was within reach, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon leaped up and clamped his jaws on the owl's beak.

Rowlet's momentum and power were enough to bring both Pokemon hard to the ground, with Turtwig taking the worst of the impact, but Clemont could see that somehow, Turtwig had managed to keep his hold on Rowlet's little beak, the owl clearly unhappy with that, as it struggled to pull away unsuccessfully.

Ash narrowed his eyes, looking a little hesitant about what to do. Clemont was about to make an order to take advantage, but as he looked at the struggling Pokemon and the hesitant Ash, he knew he should wait. He had a feeling Ash was going to make a mistake.

Finally, Ash made his order, clenching his fist and bringing it up as he called out to Rowlet. "All right, let's get Turtwig into the air. "Use Leafage, and focus it on where both of you are right now! Use it to get free and into the air."

Clemont smiled. He knew Rowlet wasn't going to be able to fly up on his own, and Ash was clearly hoping the swirling leaves would force Turtwig to let go, but he was clearly underestimating Turtwig's grip. "Hold on tight, Turtwig!"

Suddenly, Rowlet flapped his wings hard, and leaves started to swirl around the two Pokemon at the centre of the battlefield. Clemont could see Turtwig tense up, but luckily, the Tiny Leaf Pokemon held on, although Clemont could see the uneasy look Turtwig glanced back with. The leaves began swirling faster, hitting the ground and blowing into both Pokemon's faces. Then, a moment later, the generated win brought both Pokemon into the air, with Rowlet flapping his wings hard in an attempt to get as high as possible, while dragging Turtwig up with him. Now was Clemont's opportunity.

"Use Leech Seed one more time!" Clemont shouted, clenching his fists. This was it.

"Rrrr wwwgggg," came the muffled shout from Turtwig answering his trainer's order. Clemont couldn't see clearly, but he heard a surprised grunt from what he assumed to be Rowlet, and through the leaves in the air, he could see the owl's wings suddenly close around his body, clearly wrapped up in the leaves once more.

As the two shapes started to drop, and the swirling leaves stopped, Clemont saw Turtwig manoeuvre himself so Rowlet was below him. The two hit the ground hard with a loud thud, Rowlet softening the landing for Turtwig, but taking an extra blow from the Tiny Leaf Pokemon. As the vines from Leech Seed glowed once more, sapping whatever remaining energy Rowlet had, Turtwig stood proud in victory.

"Rowlet is unable to battle, and Turtwig and Clemont are the victors!" Agatha shouted quickly, hitting the ground once again with her cane.

Clemont stared at the two Pokemon on the field in shock for a few moments, slow to let Agatha's words sink in. I actually beat Ash? As much as Ash had been struggling, Clemont was still surprised, and with Turtwig being as tough to handle as he was, it was even more surprising. That gluttonous little grass type had won two battles in one day!

Clemont quickly rushed forward as he saw Ash going to kneel down in front of Rowlet, with Serena and Marie also making their way over, helping to get the vines off of the knocked out owl. Clemont lost sight of Turtwig, but didn't think anything of it, just hoping he wasn't sneaking off for Serena's abandoned pokepuffs or something.

"Sorry Rowlet, I let you down..." Ash muttered, hands shaking as he fiddled with the vines. "I just can't seem to think straight.

"Hey, it was still a good battle," Serena argued, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Maybe Rowlet was still a little tired from his earlier battle.

"I think Nurse Joy is better at her job than that," Marie butted in, looking sceptical of Serena's comment. "If Rowlet wasn't battle-ready, she wouldn't have..." She trailed off as she caught Serena giving her a surprisingly Agatha-like glare. "Oh...I mean...yeah, he was probably still tired."

"Maybe Turtwig was already pretty strong when I got him," Clemont added, as he knelt down and started helping free Rowlet, who was slowly opening his eyes. Clemont felt pretty bad seeing the tired look in the Grass Quill Pokemon's eyes. Two lost battles in one day had to be rough.

Ash just shook his head, looking at his three friends and sighing. "You don't need to make excuses for me. Maybe I should just quit the team. I'm just getting further and further behind."

"Absolutely not, Ketchum!" the voice of Agatha suddenly spoke up, causing all four Lumiose students to jump in surprise. "I'm not having the Captain of this team give up because he's lost a couple of battles." Clemont glanced up as the elderly Elite Four member approached them. "Do you think I would have ever become an Elite Four member if I let a few losses change the way I battle?"

"No...I'm not saying that," Ash whispered, looking back down and removing the last of the vines from Rowlet, who he picked up and held carefully in his arms, where Pikachu sniffed to see if he was all right. "I just feel so far behind. I've lost to so many strong trainers with my best Pokemon, and now I can't even train my new ones properly. I'm not seeing the battles the same way."

Clemont opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't think of what to say. This seemed to be about more than just Anton. Ash had been worried beforehand. He looked over to Serena, who looked deep in thought, clearly thinking about her own struggles. In a way, their problems were the same, with both of them getting so far in their dreams, and seemingly taking many steps back with their latest losses.

"I'll see you guys later," Ash finally said, standing up and holding Rowlet close to him. "Sorry, Agatha, I just don't feel like training right now." With that, Pikachu quickly scurried up to Ash's shoulder, and the raven-haired trainer turned around, making his way off the battlefield and towards the exit. The group silently watched him go, until he was out of sight, and the doors had closed.

"Well, that's progress," Agatha said, breaking the awkward silence. "Well done, Clemont."

"Huh?" Clemont, Serena and Marie all asked at once, staring up at the old woman in complete confusion. "Ash sounds like he wants to quit! How is that progress?" Clemont finished, feeling a little angry at the comment.

"Oh Ash is just being moody. I definitely don't like seeing him going through his struggles, but all the great trainers do. Oh my, you should've seen Lance back in the day. Hmph...poor boy." Agatha shook her head, chuckling at some old memory. "Anyway, Ash will be fine. Do you know why he's so frustrated?" she asked, tapping her cane on the ground absentmindedly.

"Well...he's frustrated with losing. He lost in the finals of the Kalos League, and now he feels like he's never going to get another chance," Serena answered, exchanging a glance with Clemont and giving an embarrassed shrug. "I mean...that's how I feel about performing right now. It's kind of similar, I think."

"Indeed," Agatha said, nodding thoughtfully. "He's made such great progress, and he thought he was so close. However, he's found out the mountain is harder to climb once your near the top. He will make it, though. He has that fire within him. Just as you do, Serena. All of you. I can tell he's had an impact."

"What do we do to help him?" Clemont asked, as Agatha stopped tapping her cane, a smirk coming to her face.

"I'll beat him with my cane the next time he-" She stopped abruptly as she lifted up her cane, suddenly staring down at the bottom of it in shock. Clemont stared in horror at what he saw, grasping at his pokeball and quickly holding it up towards the dangling Turtwig, who was biting Agatha's cane. "Clemont...get this damn Turtwig off of my cane."

Clemont had never acted so quickly in his entire life.

Author's Note:

Agatha is a terrifying woman...but AMAZING! Maybe a little harsher than she was in the anime, but hey, she was in one episode. I like to think she can get a little grouchier. And Ash needs that cane beating right now. If Clemont doesn't get it first.

As for the battles...go on. Give it to me. Ash is weak, it's impossible for him to lose, Rowlet is SOOO super strong right now it's ridiculous to lose to that OP Turtwig and Litten. I only ask that you bring your own pitchforks as I can't supply them for your keyboards.

Oh...sassy. See you...next week.