"Hey, Ash! How about a triple battle?" Brendan called, Ash smirked.
"Two rounds...Alright, you're on!" he called back, taking three pokeballs from his belt between his fingers. "I'm glad I chose these guys, then..."
"Let's go!" Brendan tossed his pokeballs first, the three bursts of light quickly striking the ground. The left figure was a brown figure with white hair down its back and leaves for hands, the right figure a blue and yellow dog-like creature, and standing between them was a large orange-furred camel with two rocky humps on its back.
"It's been a while, but I know you won't let me down..." Ash muttered, smirking as he tossed his three spheres into the air. The first light came down to the left as a human-sized green and white figure with blades extending from its elbows, the right was a blue canine-like figure on its hind legs, and between them was a floating figure of white grace with a frosty mist around it. They all got in a defensive position, their opponents copying.
"Battle begin!"
"Manectric, Thunderbolt! Shiftry, Bullet Seed!" the electric bolt and array of seeds darted across the field for their opponents.
"Froslass, Ominous Wind," the ice-type extended its arms, a purple-shaded gust of wind coming from behind it and cutting through the attacks, blowing into the opposing trio with a damaging effect. "Now, Blizzard," another gust of wind blew across the field, this one making everyone nearby shiver but Ash and his pokemon.
"Camerupt, Eruption!" the camel stomped its foot down, moving forward as it released a shower of molten rocks from its back, pushing through the cold wind.
"Gallade, Psychic," the pokemon's eyes flashed blue, the rocks stopping in mid-air. "Now, on Shiftry," under influence of psychic powers, the rocks changed course and fell towards the grass-type.
"Shiftry, dodge!" the pokemon jumped evasively, narrowly dodging the burning rocks as they crashed into the ground. "Leaf Tornado!" a vortex of leaves was sent towards the psychic-type.
"Froslass, Blizzard," the leaves instantly froze, dropping to the ground and shattering. "Ice Beam on Camerupt," the ray of solid ice gained on the large camel quickly, striking its leg. The camel grunted, feeling a large block of ice connect its leg to the ground.
"Manectric, Thunderbolt! Shiftry, Leaf Tornado again!" the two attacks advanced on Ash's pokemon.
"Froslass, Ominous Wind. Gallade, Psychic on Manectric," the ghost-type attack cancelled the attacks, once again causing Brendan's pokemon to endure the eery power. Manectric grunted, feeling itself held in place as it became outlined in blue.
"Shiftry, Bullet Seed on Gallade!" the grass-type fired an array of small seeds, hoping to break its friend free of the psychic will.
"Froslass, defend. Lucario, Bone Rush on Manectric," the ice-type cancelled the seeds with a gust of below-zero wind, the canine dashing down the field at an alarming speed. A blue club shaped as a bone materialized in its paws, swiftly lowering it under the electric-type and swinging upward. Manectric was sent into the air, Lucario quickly jumped up and swung the bone down into its back, sending it crashing back to the ground. "Aura Sphere," the bone quickly disappeared, replaced by two blue spheres and fired into the electric-type's side, earning a responding grunt of pain.
"Shiftry, Energy Ball on Lucario!" Brendan commanded, the grass-type throwing a green pulsing sphere at the airborne canine.
"Gallade, block it with Night Slash," the psychic-type quickly dashed down the field like its partner earlier, jumping into the air with its blades glowing a deep black. It sliced easily through the sphere, a layer of smoke pouring out of it. The grass-type watched carefully, but was still surprised as the psychic-type burst from the smoke, swinging its blade down on the pokemon's head. "Change to Camerupt," it changed targets, slashing down on the camel, still frozen to the ground.
"Shiftry, Shadow Ball! Manectric, please get up!" Brendan watched the grass-type throw a purple sphere at the pokemon attacking its partner, the electric-type struggled to stand.
"Lucario, keep Shiftry at a distance. Froslass, Ice Beam on Manectric," the ice-type fired an icy ray at the weak dog, freezing its legs to the ground as Lucario forced the grass-type away.
"They...They're so in sync...!" Brendan thought, gritting his teeth as he watched Ash's pokemon battle so fluently and efficiently. "But I'm not giving up! Camerupt, Lava Plume!" the camel's eyes burned with passion, the ice on its leg disappearing as its body grew warmer. Fire suddenly poured from its back, similar to Explosion but in a wider range.
"Gallade, pull back. Lucario, give Shiftry a present before retreating," the psychic-type quickly jumped back to Ash's side, the canine grabbed the grass-type and threw it back towards the camel, then returned to Ash.
"Camerupt, stop!" Brendan shouted, eyes wide as he watched his grass-type move into range of the super-effective attack. The camel grunted as the pokemon hit its side, the fire pouring down around it, enveloping the grass-type. "No! Shiftry!"
"Shadow Ball," the ice-type held out an arm, a purple sphere forming at the end before launching towards the frozen electric-type, exploding and shattering the ice. The lava faded, the electric-type and grass-type falling forward simultaneously.
"Manectric and Shiftry are unable to battle!" the ref announced, arms raised with the flags motionlessly hanging from the handles. Brendan frowned, recalling his defeated pair and thanking them quietly. Pulling two more, he tossed the pokeballs.
"Wow! Double knockout!" Iris gasped.
"Those three are definitely no strangers to a triple battle," Brock stated, referring to Ash's pokemon.
"Yeah, they train together all the time. Ash doesn't actually carry them around a lot, they always want to travel and train on their own." Hilbert stated, arms behind his head.
"Gallade and Lucario are always training together, so they're definitely a dangerous pair to face. Froslass acts like a mother, she...Keeps the two in line." Hilda chuckled, Zo and Hilbert nodding.
"Well, that's...An interesting background..." Max sweat-dropped, chuckling to himself.
"Without Ash, they would still be in the wild and never have met each other. That would be boring," Zo smiled.
"May? You okay?" Misty asked, waving her hand in front of the brunette. Her blank expression disappeared, blinking rapidly.
"What?" she asked.
"You spaced out, something wrong?" the redhead asked. The brunette hesitated, then shook her head.
"Probably still shocked from Ash being back," Iris told them, nodding.
"Or it could be about the battle," everyone looked at Leaf, confused. "Think about it. Who would you want to win, your childhood friend or best friend?"
"...I don't know..."
"Exactly," Leaf gave a warm smile to May, who only blushed in response.
"Alright, guys. Take a break," the trio looked at Ash with surprised expressions, then nodded. Disappearing in the red lights, they only wondered what was going through their trainer's mind. Ash thought to himself, looking at his new opponents. The large orange camel, a white pelican, and a large steel figure.
"What's going through his mind...?" Brendan muttered to himself, getting a weird sensation. "...That was weird..."
"Size doesn't matter this time," Ash smirked, tossing his three pokeballs and releasing his team. The two smaller pokemon materialized first, a small pink and black figure on each side with a large green lizard separating them, a trademark twig in its mouth.
"Pelipper, Hydro Pump! Camerupt, Earth Power!" the camel stomped its feet, a crevice moving quickly down the field under an intense blast of water.
"Dodge," the two small figures dashed at a surprising speed to the side of the field, the lizard jumping above. "Double Shadow Ball," the eeveelutions attacked with a purple sphere from both sides, Brendan's team looking back and forth between the two.
"Pelipper, Hydro Pump! Aggron, Flash Cannon!" both spheres exploded, the attacks advancing on the small figures.
"Dodge. Sceptile, Dragon Pulse on Camerupt," the grass-type formed a blue sphere between its claws, throwing it at the camel's feet and exploding beneath it. "Leaf Storm, then close in with Leaf Blade," the lizard released a vortex on the camel, scratching its sides then amazingly appearing in front of it in a split second. Slashing its head with a glowing blade. "Now Aggron," it abruptly changed targets, slashing Aggron's chest unexpectedly before somersaulting on the ground, returning back to Ash.
"Pelipper, Tailwind!" the pelican released a gust of wind, but it didn't stop. it continued to blow from behind it. "Aerial Ace! And Aggron, Dragon Claw!" the bird's wings extended, gliding along the ground. Catching the wind, its speed increased rapidly as it reached the other side of the field in nearly a few seconds, with the steel-type moving faster under the influence of Tailwind.
"Sceptile, Leaf Blade. Espeon, Psychic," the lizard crossed its blades, clashing against the bird's beak. The small pink figure's eyes glowed blue, the steel-type being held in place before being sent back to its side. "Grab Pelipper," Sceptile cut off its attack, ducking as the bird moved over it, but grabbed its wings quickly.
"What!" Brendan gasped, eyes wide in surprise.
"Espeon, Umbreon, Shadow Ball," the two small figures fired a purple sphere from each side, Sceptile releasing it and quickly retreating before the attacks struck the bird. Exploding on each side, it dropped to the ground and barely caught itself before hitting the ground. "Espeon, Iron Tail. Umbreon, Dark Pulse on Camerupt," the psychic-type dropped its silver-gleaming tail on the bird's back, sending it into the ground painfully. The dark-type released a strange dark chain-like attack towards the camel, striking its side.
"Camerupt! Pelipper!" Brendan called, the camel struggling to keep itself up while the pelican fell again.
"Pelipper is unable to battle!" the ref announced, Brendan recalling the bird. Tossing another pokeball, he released his star fighter.
"...I didn't want to..." frowning, he clenched his fists. "...But, we'll have to! Let's show them our training with Tucker!"
"Huh What does he mean?" Max blinked, confused at the trainer's words.
"Max, Dome Ace Tucker. Battle Frontier," Brock reminded him.
"...Oh! That's right!" Max exclaimed, dropping his fist onto an open palm in realization.
"If it's Tucker...Then there's no doubt what it is..." May muttered, looking at Brendan, noticing a smirk. Looking over at Ash, he only grinned.
"So he trained with Tucker...It has to be..." Ash told himself, smirking with his hands in his pockets.
"Camerupt, Lava Plume! Swampert, Hydro Pump!" the mud fish stepped forward, spinning on its back while releasing a powerful watery blast, spinning in a vortex. Camerupt stomped its foot, angling its back and releasing a shower of flames from it back, shooting straight upward and falling back down inside the water spiral.
"...Get ready, guys...This is big..." the trio nodded, Ash watched as his thought formed on the field. The flames began churning, moving in a rotational pattern inside the water. The water and flames merged together, not exploding into steam, but glowing a brilliant shade of blue and red as they became a unified vortex of flames and water.
"This is it...The result of Tucker's training..." Brendan muttered to himself, smirking. "Fire and water...Fusion!"
"I knew it..." May spoke under her breath, her lips curling into a weak smile. "...Only he would want that training..."
"Wow! That's what he meant!" Max exclaimed, his sister and Brock sweat-dropping. "It's been a while since I've seen that!"
"Me, too!" Dawn added, her eyes shimmering like stars as she clasped her hands together. "It's so beautiful~!"
"Wait! Tell us what this is!" Iris waved her arms in front of her face, but she didn't even acknowledge the purple-haired girl's existence.
"It's the fusion of water and fire," she looked at Brock, as well as everyone else but Max and May. "Water and fire normally create mist when in contact, but someone had found a way to turn that into a flashy move."
"That was Dome Ace Tucker, from the Kanto Battle Frontier," Max added, a finger pointed in the air. "Ash had defeated him for the Tactics Symbol."
"Fire and water, huh?" Hilda asked, looking back at the glorious performance. "Looks like something for a contest, doesn't it?"
"Yes, but it's a very difficult thing to do without fail. Brendan must have put a lot of training if he can do this perfectly," Brock stated, arms crossed.
"I've heard about that before..." Leaf tapped a finger on her chin. "During my journey through Hoenn, I saw a few trainers on TV trying that move. I never would have imagined it to be so beautiful, though..."
"A move fit for a master coordinator," May stated, crossing her arms with a smile. Dawn crossed her arms, leaning her back against the brunette's.
"Thank you for the compliment," she told her, smirking.
"I had someone else in mind..."
"Swampert, attack!" the water-type starter pushed its tail, forcing the vortex off its tail and sending it across the field, the air being drawn into it. Ash's pokemon held their ground, struggling to remain on the ground.
"Umbreon, Dark Pulse. Espeon, Psybeam. Sceptile, Solarbeam." the three pokemon closed their eyes and charged their attacks, Sceptile's bulbs glowing, Espeon's forehead gem glowing and Umbreon's forehead ring. Snapping their eyes open, they grinned. "Fire," the three powerful attacks headed straight for the front of the vortex, then suddenly changed course and went straight up.
"What the...?" Brendan asked, watching the attacks go up over the vortex. His eyes widened. "That has to be!"
"Keep it up, Espeon," the pink cat nodded, its eyes glowing blue as it guided the attacks back down into the vortex. Forcing them together, the attacks collided inside, exploding. Sceptile moved itself over the smaller pair, protecting them as the vortex was destroyed from the inside, flames and water raining down lightly.
"Our...Our training...It was for nothing..." Brendan said to himself, amazed as his combination was destroyed so easily.
"Shows aren't always power. Dark Pulse and Psybeam on Camerupt," the rainbow-colored and dark attacks struck the camel, dropping to its knees with a grunt. "Dragon Pulse," Sceptile threw the blue sphere, colliding with Camerupt's forehead and exploding. The camel fell on its side, motionless.
"Camerupt is unable to battle!" the ref announced, Brendan recalling the pokemon with his teeth forced together.
"Aggron, Flash Cannon on Sceptile!" the ray of steel energy advanced on the grass-type.
"Dodge, then Leaf Storm," the lizard released a tornado of leaves at the large pokemon, scratching all over its body. "Dragon Pulse. Espeon, Psybeam," the blue sphere exploded at its feet, blinding it. Surprised to feel pain on its chest, it stumbled back as the colorful beam hit its mark.
"Flash Cannon again! Swampert, Hydro Pump!" Brendan commanded, the two attacks released simultaneously.
"Sceptile, Dragon Pulse. Espeon, Umbreon, Shadow Ball on Aggron," the tree gecko threw another blue sphere, countering the two attacks and cancelling all three out. At the same time, the two small figures jumped in the air and released two purple spheres at the steep-type. "Dark Pulse," the dark-type released the chain-like attack, sending Aggron skidding along the ground with a grunt.
"Aggron!" the steel-type stumbled for a moment, regaining its posture while panting.
"Espeon, Iron Tail," the small pink figure swung a silver-gleaming tail into Aggron's cheek, its eyes widening as the cat returned back to its side. Its head still turned to the side with the mark on its face, it fell to its knees, then to its chest.
"Aggron is unable to battle!" the ref announced, the Hoenn trainer gritting his teeth as he recalled the steel-type.
"Espeon, Umbreon, good job," the two pokemon smiled, jumping on Ash's legs for attention. "Easy, I still have a battle. I'll play with you later, okay?" they nodded, their faces beaming as they sat at his feet. Ash recalled the pair, smirking as he looked at Sceptile. "It's all on you, buddy." the lizard nodded, facing against the water-type.
"It's starter vs. starter! Hoenn style!" Max exclaimed, beaming as he watched the two face each other.
"Calm down, Max." his sister told him.
"But this is really cool! How often do you see two fully-evolved starters from the same region face each other, and at such a level?" Dawn added, eyes gleaming again.
"And she just snapped out, too..." Misty frowned, shaking her head with a sigh.
"Ash has a double advantage here, grass against a water-/ground-type. This is an easy win for him," Hilbert told them, smirking.
"That's close to true," the brunette earned everyone's attention, looking at them with a serious expression. "I know Brendan. And he doesn't go out without a fight."
"Swampert, Hydro Pump!" Brendan commanded, the mud fish releasing a powerful blast of water.
"Dragon Pulse," the lizard threw the blue sphere, exploding and cutting off the water. "Leaf Storm."
"Hammer Arm!" the starter swung its glowing fists down, releasing several chunks of earth into the air. The leaves struck the rocks, but the water-type was surprised as it felt itself be cut all over its body. Watching the rocks fall to the ground, it noticed they were significantly smaller and there were more in numbers. "Muddy Water!" a large wave of dirty water appeared beneath the mud fish, sending it into the air as it advanced over the lizard.
"Spin with Leaf Storm," the lizard spun on the ground on its back, releasing a vortex of leaves that moved in every direction. The leaves slashed through the water, but didn't fully defeat it. The leave only managed to hold the wave back, until Sceptile got tired.
"Dive on it!" Swampert burst from the water, falling from the air above the spinning lizard. "Ice Punch!"
"Leaf Blade," the lizard suddenly stopped, jumping into the air towards the mud fish with its blades glowing green. Swampert thrust an icy fist at the lizard, but it gracefully spun in the air, narrowly dodging the fist. Putting its arm out with a grin, the mud fish's eyes widened as it felt a great sharp pain in its stomach, being sent back into the air.
"Ice Punch again!" Brendan shouted.
"Send it down," the water-type attempted another punch, but was thrown to the ground. Barely catching itself, it managed to land on its feet. "Charge Solarbeam," the bulbs on its back glowed, the power rising quickly.
"Swampert, Ice Beam!" the mud fish released an icy beam at the airborne lizard.
"Leaf Blade," the grass-type easily cut through it, grinning. "Launch attack," the bulbs on its back glowed again, Sceptile released the devastating attack down on the water-type.
"Ice Beam again!" Swampert released the powerful icy ray, colliding against the solar attack. Feeling its attack forced back, it used all possible efforts to keep the attack going. Suddenly, in a split second, it felt a sharp pain again as both attacks cancelled out. The crowd gasped, noticing the scene suddenly change in a split second. Swampert's eyes were wide, standing with Sceptile behind it, one elbow raised with a glowing blade and a grin. "Swampert!"
"Check and mate," Ash crossed his arms, smirking. The mud fish remained still for a few moments, then Sceptile turned its head slightly to glance back. Falling to its knees, Swampert hit the ground on its chin with its eyes closed.
"Swampert is unable to battle! Ash Ketchum and Sceptile are the winners!" the ref raised his flags, the crowd cheering. Brendan frowned, recalling his starter. Sceptile returned to Ash's side, the pair grinning.
"You didn't have to show off, Sceptile," the lizard nodded, his trainer chuckling. "Alright, good job anyways. Take a break," the lizard disappeared in the red beam of light, then the trainers met at the center of the field.
"Good battle, Brendan." Ash offered his hand, his smirk turning into a genuine smile. Brendan smiled, putting his hand in his.
"Good battle," the pair nodded, then broke their hands apart. "So, who do you think May was cheering for?"
"Probably you, being a childhood friend and all," Ash shrugged.
"I don't know, she said a lot about you the other day," Ash arched an eyebrow. "Oh, nothing, you don't need to know."
"That's nice," the pair chuckled, returning to the side of the field as the crowd had disappeared. Except for their group, of course.
"You two were awesome!" Max exclaimed, hands in the air. "That was so intense! Hoenn starter vs. Hoenn starter!"
"Stop repeating!" May hit his head, the boy forming mock tears.
"That was great, Brendan! You have to tell me how you got the water-fire fusion so perfect!" Brendan stepped back, the blunette moving a little close to him. "Please, tell me! Tell me, tell me!"
"Dawn, cool it!" Misty dragged the girl's arm, her body being forced back. Brendan sighed in relief.
"Although she is right. How did you manage to get it so well?" Hilda asked.
"Training with Tucker, he has the best advice, being the one who came up with it." the trainer shrugged in response.
"Ah..." Hilda looked away, believing there was something else. That seemed too simple...
"So, who's up for lunch?" Brendan clapped his hands together, grinning sheepishly.
"I could go for some," Ash added plainly, hands in his pockets. Everyone looked at him with surprised expressions. "...What?"
"Nothing," Iris told him, waving it off. However, everyone was still thinking their previous thought.
"Alright, let's go to the cafe then!" Leaf pumped her fist in the air, everyone nodded. Zo, Max and Brendan gave confused looks. "...The cafe is in the mall."
"Does that place have everything?"
"Hey, Ash, I've been meaning to ask you..." Max said, chewing lightly on a burger. The trainer looked at him. "Where have you been all this time? You couldn't have been training in any of the regions you've traveled, you can't carry all your pokemon."
"That is true, I started training at different places across the globe with different pokemon, training specific types against their weaknesses," Ash told them, swallowing a couple of fries. "After training, I thought of living permanently on Mt. Silver, where no one dared to go. Flying oversea, I passed an island."
"Were there wild pokemon?" Misty asked.
"No, it was deserted. But there was plant-life, fruit, and plenty of beautiful sun and shade, as well as the beach surrounding the island. My pokemon voted on using the island as a home, so that's where I've been since." Ash explained, taking another drink of his soda. "The island's off mainland, so it's out of the PSPS."
"...What?"
"Pokedex Scanning Program System."
"Where did you get that name?"
"It's the official name for the system, if you ask around."
"Seriously? I thought it would be something simple..."
"Yeah, PSPS."
"...Ah, I get you now!"
"There you go," Ash smirked to himself, taking more fries in his mouth. He looked around, then noticed someone peculiar at a nearby booth. "Hold on a sec," he stood, leaving the others in confusion as he moved away. The figure turned a corner, Ash walked faster and came around the corner. Surprised, he found the figure directly in front of him, their faces close. "Whoa! Jeez, so close?"
"I knew you would follow me," he replied, turning away. "Go back to your friends."
"Yeah, I would do that when you're clearly up to something," Ash crossed his arms. "Why would Paul, the super-strong pokemon trainer, be at a booth called To Impress Your One?"
"I was telling the clerk not to sell anything to Troublesome," he stuffed his hands in his pockets, turning back to face him. "She's actually taking this playing-with-her-mind thing seriously."
"I know, this is Dawn," Ash stated, crossing his arms with a sigh. "She's persistent when it comes to proving a point."
"Can't you do something about her? Being a friend, isn't there some sort of favor-respectable relation between you two?" he asked.
"Nothing like that, not really. I mean, I probably could, but it's funnier if I don't," Ash smirked.
"You really are different," Paul remarked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
"Yeah, I get that a lot," Ash shrugged. "So, want to tell me why you were really at that booth?"
"Already told you," he responded, turning away.
"I could get Dawn over here," Paul cringed, turning to face him again. He smirked, noticing some familiar figures in the background, surrounded by a small crowd.
"Go right ahead," Paul told him. Ash looked at him oddly, moments passed as they stared at each other.
"...Hey, Dawn! Paul wants you over here!"
"Unova Elites! Ash and his girlfriends are over here!"
"Aw, dammit!"
END
Who will get caught first, Paul or Ash?
What will Dawn do if she catches Paul?
What will the Elites do if they catch Ash and bring him back to the girls?
How is May feeling about the Ash/Brendan situation?
Will Ash survive after an embarrassing situation with Leaf?