Chapter 37: Friend Or Foe?

"Gible, are you evolving?" Ash touched his Pokemon's head with his right hand during its evolution sequence.

"Ouch, ouch! Calm down your jaw is stronger now don't bite that hard, Gible eh I mean Gabite!" Ash said to his newly evolved Pokemon which bit his head to show its affection.

"I guess its quirk didn't change after all." Dawn said as she giggled.

"True, but this looks a bit painful." May commented as she placed her hands in front of her mouth.

"I think it's cute and painful at the same time." Lillie added.

"That's a quite interesting development, kid. I always love seeing a Dragon-type Pokemon growing stronger during a match. I'm proud of you." Drake complimented Ash. "But it's time to continue. Salamence, go!"

"Grah!"

"And now it's time for this!" Then he pulled from his pocket a compass with a Key Stone attached to it. "Salamence, Mega Evolve!"

Salamence evolved to Mega Salamence.

"I'm not even surprised at this point." Ash said as he stared at Mega Salamence while he was fixing his hat. "Ok, Gabite we got this! Go with Rock Smash!"

Suddenly, Gabite's claws glowed green but Mega Salamence flew away before Gabite could strike.

"That was Rock Smash?" Ash looked confused.

"It's Dual Chop! Gabite learns the move upon evolution!" Lillie commented showing her knowledge.

"Thank you, Lillie!" Ash then gave her a thump up.

"Salamence use Flamethrower!"

"Gabite use Dragon Pulse!"

Flamethrower overpowered Dragon Pulse inflicting damage to Gabite.

"Tch I should have expected that." Ash gritted his teeth.

"Salamence use Dragon Claw!"

"Gabite jump on Salamence's back!"

Gabite managed to jump before Mega Salamence could strike it and landed on its back.

"Now Dual Chop!"

"Fend Gabite off your back before its attack!"

Gabite managed to hit Mega Salamence but lost its balance and fell down.

"Ok Gabite take position!"

"Flamethrower!"

"Hide behind the mast!"

Gabite use the mast as a shield against Flamethrower.

"I have to think of something quickly." Ash was trying to think something desperately.

"Just go with a frontal attack."

"What? Did anyone say something?" Ash then turned his gaze towards the girls.

"No we didn't." May replied.

"Pika?" Pikachu who was standing next to Ash looked puzzled as well.

"Ok."

"Finish it with Dragon Claw!" Drake ordered Gabite which was cornered in front of the mast by Mega Salamence.

"Damn it, I was distracted. Gabite use Dual Chop quickly!"

Both attacks connected but Gabite fainted.

"Gabite is unable for battle. Salamence wins."

"I'm sorry Gabite. It's my fault. Rest well." Ash apologized to his Pokemon once he recalled it.

"I told you to go for a frontal attack." The unknown voice start talking inside Ash's head again.

"Who are you and what is this nonsense? Get out of my head." Ash whispered to himself.

"I'm an ally of yours of course. I want to help you deal with your hardships. That's why I'm here."

"You still haven't answered my question. Who or what exactly are you?"

"Pika?"

"It's nothing Pikachu. Don't worry." Ash tried to calm down his partner.

"What's going on over there? Choose your last Pokemon already!" Drake shouted at Ash who was distracted again.

"Oh right! Sorry about that! Torterra, you're next!" Ash then called his last Pokemon.

"Do you think that something is wrong with him?" May asked the other two girls while she was holding her chin having a suspicious look in her eyes.

"Now that you mention it you are right." Dawn who looked confused agreed with her.

"So I am not the only one who noticed this after all. I'm a bit worried about this." Lillie looked concerned.

"Torterra keep your distance from Salamence!"

"Tort-erra!"

"Is he trying to imitiate the Shelgon strategy I used back then? That kid is going places with his team's diversity. Greninja for speed, Gible as a gamble for Draco Meteor and now Torterra for a slow yet durable Pokemon for a close combat fight. Too many different battling styles at once. This can be a double-edged sword though. Let's see how you can adapt, kid!"

"Salamence use Flamethrower!"

"Torterra use Energy Ball!"

The attacks cancelled each other this time.

"I have to think of something to stall the battle and weaken Salamence with Torterra. Sadly, Rock Climb isn't going to work on the ship."

"Go with your Z-move. This is a do or die otherwise your Torterra won't last for too long." The voice emerged again inside Ash's head.

"Tch! Shut up, I'm thinking." Ash whispered again with Pikachu looking worried.

"You didn't hear me when I told you before and you saw what happened! Just follow my lead!"

"Shut up and just get out of my head. I cannot shout at you for obvious reasons and I don't intend to listen to you so stop distracting me."

"It seems that Flamethrower won't work now, huh? Salamence use Dragon Claw!"

"Got it! This should work! Torterra create an Energy Ball and shallow it!"

"What is he doing?"

Mega Salamence hit hard Torterra whose body started glowing with Dragon Claw but it managed to endure the attack.

"Ok Torterra! It's time to show our power!" Ash said as he started performing Grassium-Z's dance.

"BLOOM DOOM!"

"Try to block this with Flamethrower!"

The flowers though and the green energy of the Z-move obliterated Mega Salamence which couldn't react and got obliterated by a huge bloom. When the flowers disappeared Mega Salamence managed to get up. But then Torterra was close covering their distance after unleashing the Z-move.

"End this with Leaf Storm!"

"Salamence use Crunch!"

Leaf Storm hit Mega Salamence before it could bite Torterra and fainted reverting to its original form.

"Salamence is unable for battle. Torterra is the winner of the final round and challenger Ash Ketchum is the winner."

"Yes!" Ash clenched his fist with excitement.

"It was really amazing seeing Ash winning this match after losing so easily ten years old." May commented as she shed a tear.

"He has so far already. It's really admirable." Dawn added happily.

"I hope I will be able to get that strong as a trainer in the future!" Lillie looked fired up.

"See? You actually did as I said and came out victorious."

"I will deal with you later."

"So kid, this is your badge. Congratulations and thanks for this enjoyable battle." Drake handed to Ash his fifth Elite Four badge.

"Thanks a lot too, Mr. Drake."

"Oi, Ash!" A familiar voice then echoed in the air.

"This must be Brock!" Ash said and got off the ship with Pikachu following him from behind.

Then he saw Brock with an attractive brunette woman with blue eyes and a body comparable with a model's. Ash was left speechless for a few seconds staring at her.

"Where are you looking at?" Lillie who came from behind asked Ash with a menacing look in her eyes.

"Eh… nothing." Ash said scared as he covered his eyes with his hat in embarrassment and then faced Brock. "Brock this is your girlfriend right?"

"Yes she is. Let me introduce her to you. Ash this is Cera, Cera this is Ash."

"Nice to meet you. I'm glad to finally meet my best friend's girlfriend." Ash said as he shook hands with her. "This is my partner Pikachu." Ash introduced his partner to her.

"Nice to meet you too as well. Brock told me a lot about you Ash and your friends as well but mainly you." Sandra said as she smiled at him and then looked at Pikachu. "And you are just adorable." She said as she started petting Pikachu.

"Cha!" Pikachu was really happy.

"Really? I feel kinda embarrassed learning that you heard things about me during your date." Ash stated and started scratching the back of his head.

"I hope everything in your life goes well for you from now on." She wished for him.

"Thank you so much. Now I get why Brock likes you that much haha."

"And you must be Lillie, Dawn and May, right?" She then pointed correctly at every girl calling their names

"Yes, nice to meet you and please take care of Brock!" x3

"Just like I told you. They are pretty sweet girls and good friends of mine all these years. It's a pity that not everyone from the gang is here." Brock said to her.

"It's ok, darling. We will eventually meet again." She replied with a seducing voice making him blush.

"Darling? Are they that close already?" Ash whispered.

"Hey kid, when you will get aboard the ship? We are going to leave any time soon." Drake then appeared.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked surprised.

"I told you before. I was waiting for you kids to come out over here. I already knew that you could have the right to battle Steven regardless of our Pokemon battle's result and planned to go to Evergrande City either way. So I will help you get there." Drake explained the situation.

"I'm surprised! Thank you so much, Mr. Drake. That's very convenient." Ash was really happy with those turns of events.

"Ok then let's get aboard." Drake did a follow signal with his hand.

"Well, I guess this is a farewell now." Brock said to his girlfriend and held her hands.

"Don't worry darling. We will be in touch!" And once she said that she smooched Brock in front of everyone making the whole gang to blush like crazy covering their eyes including Pikachu as well. Brock also nearly pass out after the kiss.

"See you again, guys!" Cera said as the gang got on board of Drake's ship which started leaving from Liliycove City's port.

In the ship's cabin

"Well we have plenty of rooms where you spend your nights but all of them are single rooms and a bit crowded so sorry for the inconvenience. It will only be for three days so hang in there."

"It's perfectly ok you don't have to apologize for this. We are more like freeloaders here since you haven't charged us for being aboard." Ash tried to reassure Drake that there won't be problems during the trip while the rest nodded.

"Nice to hear. Since you are ok, you can choose some of those rooms here. Lunch will be served in an hour from now. I will leave you now so make yourselves at home." Drake said as he headed back to the deck.

"Ok let's take those three here." May suggested as she pointed at the three doors behind her back.

"Sounds good." Dawn agreed.

"That's cool to me as well even though I'm used to sleep in inns." Lillie added.

"I will go over there." Brock pointed at a door four rooms away. "I don't want the male and female rooms being that close if you don't mind." Brock suggested.

"Well I'm taking this room." Ash said as he pointed at the dead last one at the end of the hall.

"Why so far?" Brock asked Ash.

"I'm tired from the match so I would like to sleep for a few hours since it's still noon." Ash revealed. "Once I wake up I will go eat lunch so if you are hungry go without me. So if you excuse me." He claimed as he headed towards his room leaving the others behind.

As he entered his room he sat on the bed and stared at the mirror with a troubled look.

"I know that you are still here. Just show up already." He angrily said.

"How did you know?" The mysterious voice resurfaced.

"I didn't. I just had a hunch." He responded.

"I expected this answer. You are so predictable." The voice said making Ash's body to shake for a bit.

"So based on that you already know that I have many questions to ask, right?"

"But of course. Go on."

"Ok let's go for the very first question you avoided to answer during my battle. Who or what exactly are you?"

"This is the only question I won't answer."

"Why?"

"Because you are so simple minded that you either won't understand anything from what I will say or you will have even more questions which won't help your situation."

Ash sighed at the answer.

"I will say this though. You will understand everything once you find this out by yourself."

"Ok. Then answer me this. When did you enter inside me?"

"I never entered inside you. Awakened is a better word."

"So you are implying that you were always inside me."

"Precisely."

"Then I guess there is no point asking you if you know something regarding the Arceus Cult or the Ultra Beasts."

"We know exactly the same things."

"Then tell me about your goals."

"My only goal is to make you succeed in your life."

"Oh really? And how do you plan on doing that?"

"By giving you advice just like I did during your battle."

"You didn't help at all. You even distracted me!"

"I did! Who told you to go straight with the Z-move when you called Torterra? Me!"

"That was my plan from the get go! Torterra was there to wait and endure attacks till it shallows its Electro Ball increasing its power and speed in advance! I wanted this momentum so I can increase Bloom Doom's power and have Torterra moving faster than usual to reach its opponent in case it survived the attack. You didn't know that was my attention!"

"Or did I?"

"You know, I'm wasting my time with you! I don't believe anything from all this crap you have spouted till now!"

"Believe what you want but don't think it's possible to get rid of me. You have amazing potential to be the very best and I am going to help you like it or not!"

"The very best at what?"

"In everything that you have set as a goal."

"I'm tired of your shit! I have had already!"

*knock* *knock*

"Someone is hitting your door. I guess you have upset the others with your nagging."

"You shut up." Ash whispered as he stood up and proceeded to open his door.

The moment he opened he saw Lillie standing in front of him with a slightly angry look in her eyes which startled him.

"Ash can we talk?"

"So Ash what will you do now?"

TO BE CONTINUED