The next day Ash and the rest of the remaining trainers stood in the stadium field, "Alright trainers, for the Victory Tournament and the rest of the league will be full on six vs six Pokémon battles," the MC explained. "To further make the battles interesting we will be switching the field from Ice, Water, Grass, and Rock," he added. "Now let's see who is up first," as the screen began to scroll through the remaining trainers it stopped on Ash and a turquoise haired woman who had a confident smirk on her face, "And first off is Ash Ketchum vs Katie," the MC announced, "Now we shall see the field they'll be fighting on," he continued as the screen then scrolled through the images for each battle location; mounting for Rock, snowflake for Ice, leaf for Grass, and a water drop for Water. "And their first battle will be on the rock field," the MC broadcasted.
As all those that aren't Ash and Katie left for the stand, Ash was on the right and Katie was on the left.
"It's a pleasure to meet you on the battlefield," Katie said but continued, "But that doesn't mean that you'll be winning against me."
"We'll see about that," Ash fired back already having a Pokéball in his hand, "Now let's battle," he said.
"I couldn't agree more," Katie said, "Mightyena deploy," she called out.
"Amaris time to fight," Ash said.
"And it's the battle of the species as the canine battles the feline, who will win in this war," the MC said.
"Mightyena: Elemental Fang," Katie said surprising everyone as someone teaching their Pokémon all the elemental fangs was never heard of.
"Amaris: Thunder Wave followed by Aerial Ace followed by Night Scythe," Ash instructed.
Releasing a pulse of electricity just as Mightyena was within ten feet, causing it to freeze in place, leaving it wide open for an attack. "Now Snarl followed by Night Slash," Ash continued.
Taking more damage, Mightyena is sent tumbling in the dirt, "Mightyena return," Katie said, "Venomoth deploy," she followed up.
"Amaris," Ash began.
"Don't say a thing, my Prince," Amaris interrupted, "I will fight for you till the end," she said.
"Venomoth: Silver Wind," Katie shouted out.
"Amaris: Aerial Ace to dodge then use it once more to attack in any direction then follow it up with Night Slash," Ash barked out. Vanishing before the Silver Wind could hit, Amaris appeared at the southwest of Venomoth attacking with Night Slash.
Somewhere in the stands, the mother smiled seeing Lionel's analyzing eyes on the battlefield, "You were always like that my little lion," Serenity said before glancing down at Usagi and smiled.
Feeling something gracing her cheek, Usagi snapped her head and swore she saw her mother standing there.
"Usagi are you alright?" Haruka asked concerned.
"Sorry, I thought I saw mother but it was the lights reflecting from the windows," Usagi apologized.
"So what do you think of the match so far?" May asked her group of friends.
"Katie is known for switching Pokémon to get the upper hand and for her calming mind during battle," Max said looking at the PokéNav. "However Ash is a raging storm that can take think of tactics on the fly so it could go either way," he added.
"He better win or else," Haruka said before diving into a rant about the battlefield.
"Haruka dear, please calm down, there's no need to start ranting," Michiru stated.
Back on the field, Ash and Katie still kept on battling before Amaris finally beat Venomoth, "I see," Katie said returning her fallen Pokemon, "You are good, but like I said this is where you fall," she told him. "Golduck deploy," she said revealing her third Pokemon.
"Amaris return," Ash said causing Amaris to run back to rest next to Ash's feet, "Sceptile may the Aura be with you," he chanted.
"Golduck: Aerial Ace then Ice Beam," Katie barked out.
Without Ash having to say anything, Sceptile also vanished and after two quick blows, Golduck tumbled in the dirt with a couple of injuries, "Wha-What, how? I kn-," Katie paused before realizing it, "Of course you're an Aura user making it so that you can telepathically communicate with your Pokemon. Sure you do allow your Pokemon to act on their own but you could also be mentally commanding them," she points out.
Ash smirked, "Bravo, I figured you would be the one to figure out my secret," he said, "I knew that I would have to reveal it sooner or later but I thought it would be better to do so on the field. Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader, could do the same so I thought why can't I," he shrugged.
In the stands everyone was surprised, "Wow Ash can use Aura? Awesome," Max said amazed.
"Should have expected it but oh well," Brock said shrugging.
"Now I really want to fight him," Tyson said, "I always wanted to fight someone with Telepathy," he added smirking at the up and coming challenge.
"Now this is getting tougher than I thought," Katie muttered, "Golduck: Blizzard along with Hail," she ordered.
Vanishing once more as snow started to fall, Katie was having a hard time looking through the snow, "Sceptile: Solar Cannon," Ash cried out. From above the seed buds on the Hoenn Grass-starters back absorbed the sunlight before a couple seconds later Sceptile fired the upgraded form of Solar Beam destroying the area surrounding Golduck followed by knocking it out.
"Dugtrio deploy," Katie barked out releasing her three-headed moles like Pokémon.
"Sceptile return, Donphan may the Aura guide you," Ash chanted after switching Pokémon.
"Dugtrio: Tri Attack," Katie barked out. Focusing their combined energy each head had an orb of fire, electricity, and ice.
"Protect followed by Earthquake," Ash countered watching a green shield manifesting protecting the elephant Pokémon before said Pokémon invoked an earthquake.
Despite being in the ground, Dugtrio's three heads slammed around the dirt, "Now Donphan Ice Shard," Ash shouted catching Katie off guard.
Watching her Pokémon take a face full of Ice Shards, Katie returned her Ground type, "Walrein deploy," she said revealing her fourth Pokémon.
"Donphan return, Pikachu may the Aura guide you," Ash said allowing his starter.
"Walrein return, Dugtrio return to the field," Katie said switching her Pokémon to give herself the advantage.
"Oh come on stop switching and just battle already," Haruka cried out shaking her fist, "Are you a trainer or not?! Stop switching and start battling," she ranted.
The sibling's sweat dropped staring at the blonde haired woman's ranting. "With how long she's ranting I would have expected her to be a trainer," May muttered.
"Why isn't Haruka isn't much of a trainer," Sakura said, "I asked her myself and her response was 'Why should I let others fight my battles when I can just punch them in the face and kick them in the balls'."
"She's the girl who likes to speak her mind isn't she?" May said sweat dropping further as the males within hearing distance inched away from her.
Returning to the battle at hand, Katie was grinding her teeth as Ash kept the heat on her as Pikachu knocked out her Dugtrio. "With three of Katie's Pokémon unable to battle we will be taking a 30-minute break," the MC said.
In his private room, Ash was messing with a Rubik's Cube to help him think, "Can't get cocky now, we need to focus so we can make it past the Victory Rounds," Ash said as Pikachu nodded.
"Don't worry my Prince you will succeed just have patients," Amaris said before all three let out a small laugh as Ash, in this time or as Lionel could barely sit still.
"Now, she has three Pokémon left and I know that two of them are Mightyena and Walrein so that last one is a mystery," Ash said.
"Ash the 30 minutes are almost up so please get ready," someone said.
Taking a calming breath once more, Ash was ready to get back in the field.
"And welcome back ladies and gentlemen," the MC said, "For this round, the battlefield will be the Icefield," he called out. As the field rose from the ground it is what you expected of a field made of ice with pillars in random places.
"Walrein return to the field," Katie said.
Seeing the Water/Ice-type Pokémon, Ash went for a Pokéball, "Crawdaunt may the Aura guide you," Ash chanted.
"Walrein: Rollout with Ice Fang," Katie instructed. Rolling into a ball, Walrein raced towards its Dark/Water-type opponent.
"Crawdaunt: Aqua Jet with Razor Shell," Ash countered. Evoking a burst of water, the Rogue Pokémon quickly dodged its opponent. Rushing in from behind, Crawdaunt slashed Walrein with both of its water made swords.
"Walrein: Belly Drum followed by Aqua Ring," Katie shouted out.
"That's a good idea," Brock said crossing his arms.
"Why would that be a good move?" May asked as Max had to go get refills for his drink.
"While Belly Drum cuts the Pokémon's health in half for an increase in power, Aqua Ring will slowly recover those lost HP over time," the former Gym Leader explained, "So if Katie can stall Ash for as long as possible then Walrein can be at full health with its attack still at double its strength," he finished.
"That is a good move," Sakura agreed, "Though I don't think Ash will allow that to happen," she said.
"Who cares, this is Ash we're talking about," Serenity said, "I know that in the end that he'll win."
Looking at the clock, Sakura realized that she had to go, "Sorry to jet but my match is close at hand," she said getting up. Realizing this as well, Haruka and Michiru also got up to follow, "Tell Ash congrats on his win as we know he's going to win anyways," Haruka said as the three ladies left.
On the field, it was the third time that Aqua Ring activated that Ash decided to end it. "Crawdaunt: Aerial Ace followed by a Superpowered Brick Break then Ancient Power," he called out.
Quicker then what Katie expected, Crawdaunt land the triple attack before ending it the fourth match.
"Will Katie please send out her fifth Pokémon," the referee asked after declaring Crawdaunt the winner.
"Mightyena return to the field," she called out.
"Crawdaunt, you did great, return," Ash said before plucking another Pokéball from his belt, "Now Sceptile may the Aura guide you," he chanted.
"Mightyena: Snarl followed by Ice Crunch," Katie barked out.
"You know what to do Sceptile," Ash said watching his Hoenn Starter simply vanish dodging the Snarl.
"Mightyena smell Sceptile out," Katie barked out. Lifting up its head, Mightyena began to sniff for its opponent.
As seconds passed, both Pokémon and Mightyena are still tensed when the ground broke from underneath as Sceptile's right claw glowed bright blue. While still in the air, Sceptile followed up its Focus Punch with a Double Kick.
"It was after Your Snarl was launched," Ash began, "I had Sceptile use Agility to hide behind one of the ice pillars and use Dig," he explained. "And no, I didn't communicate with Sceptile using my Aura, I just have a lot of backup plans," Ash said knowing that his ability to use Aura up," he said. "Now Sceptile Aerial Ace followed by X-Cutter," he said finishing the fight.
"Misdreavus everything falls to you," Katie said seeing as she was already down to her last Pokemon.
"Sceptile return, Froslass drown your opponent in a hail storm," Ash chanted using another Pokemon he caught here in Hoenn.
"Froslass: Hail," Ash quickly called out once the referee signaled for the match to begin. Rising into the sky, Froslass' body was outlined in a light blue glow as snow clouds appeared overhead as the occasional hail balls appeared injuring Misdreavus.
"Misdreavus: Payback followed by Shadow Ball," Katie countered but Froslass' Snow Cloak made the Ice/Ghost-type transparent to all incoming attack.
"Froslass: Icy Wind with Ice Shards," Ash shouted out adding more ice for Misdreavus to take damage from.
"Katie's on the ropes now," Brock said before explaining why to Serenity and Makoto, "Thanks to Hail Ash ordered out when the round first started made it so that Froslass is invisible to all attacks," he said in a way that it wouldn't reveal that those two are from a different world.
"But I take it that Hail can only last for so long," Makoto theorized.
"Yeah, Hail only lasts Five turns so Ash better hurry it up because I don't think Katie will allow him another shot at using it again," Max replied answering Makoto's question.
In Ash's POV, he could tell that Hail was nearing its end then saw that Misdreavus was close to being defeated, "Froslass: Ominous Wind followed by Shadow Ball," Ash instructed and as the battle was almost finished Katie pulled out one final move.
"Misdreavus: Destiny Bond," she shouted and right as Misdreavus faints it was encased in a purple glow and two swirls escaped its body. Traveling to Froslass it made contact, thanks to Hail vanishing as it was needed to activate Froslass' Snow Cloak, and encased in the same glow it instantly faints.
"This round is a tie but since Ash Ketchum has five remaining Pokemon left he is declared the winner," the referee declared.
"So you are as good as the rumors say you are," Katie said as they shook hands.
"Don't doubt yourself now, I have to say that was a good match but I'll be seeing you around, ok," Ash said walking away.
Meeting up with his friends, Ash noticed that three people weren't there, "I take it that Sakura along with Haruka and Michiru have already left for Sakura's match," Ash stated.
"Yeah daddy they left when Katie had Walrein do that Belly Drum combo," Zariel answered hugging his right leg.
At the Pokemon Center, Ash looked at the screen above Nurse Joy to see who was still in the fight before there was a quick update, "So Morrison, Tyson, and Sakura made it past their fights," Ash said.
"Knew he would win his fight," Haruka said when the three females appeared so that Sakura could heal up her Pokemon.
"Come on already let's see the next match-up," Morrison complained with the others agreeing. When said match-up appeared Morrison gasps as his matchup was with… Ash. "So we're going to be fighting next round huh," Ash said turning to face him, "Well then let's give it everything we got," he said.
Unsure to face someone he calls a friend, Morrison could see that Ash wanted him at his best, "Of course, but don't come crying to me when you lose," Morrison said smirking back at Ash.
"So since I got a date with Ash now it's time for Setsuna to have a date with him," Makoto said taking the stuttering woman by the arm. "Alright, Ash I'll call you so that you can come by to take Setsuna on her date and make sure it's semi-formal," the first wife of Lionel said dragging the still stuttering Keeper of the Gate away.
Around seven in the afternoon, Ash stood in front of the house wearing a long sleeve silver button up polo and black jeans with dress shoes.
Ringing the doorbell, Zariel was the one to open the door. "Wow daddy, you're looking good," she said in amazement.
Hearing a female whistle, they turned to see Makoto smirking at him, "Ladies and Gentleman, I would like to present Setsuna Meiou," she announced stepping aside to reveal the blushing woman. Rubbing her left arm, Setsuna stood wearing a backless gold bodice, showing a bit of her cleavage, with a thigh length skirt and flats. The woman also had a bit of eyeshadow on her that allowed her eye color to pop.
"Beautiful," Ash whispered although it wasn't quite enough as the rest of the occupants still heard him.
Taking Setsuna by the hand Ash brought Setsuna out for the date, "So where are we going?" Setsuna asked while they entered the city. "Actually I found a good stargazing spot in the mountains near the city that I thought you would find nice," Ash replied as they kept moving through the city as Ash helped Setsuna climb through the forest.
"Here we are milady," Ash said moving a tree branch out of the way and seeing it for the first time Setsuna gasped as the full moon seemed to have shined brighter when they stepped out of the tree's shadow and into the open air.
"This is beautiful," she said, "When did you find this place?" Setsuna asked turning to her lover.
"I was hunting for a good spot for training when I found this spot," Ash smiled, "Now shall we have our dinner date?" He asked snapping his fingers and a picnic basket along with a blanket appeared in his hands.
"How did you do that? I don't remember you being able to do that as Lionel?" Setsuna said as they sat down on the blanket, the design is that of the Moon Palace with Pluto being in the background.
"The perks of being a self-trained Aura Guardian," Ash answered, "It turns out I have my own personal unlimited storage place and it seemed like a perfect way to hide it until we got here," he explained.
Pulling out the food, Ash got them chicken Alfredo pasta along with Caesar salad and coke. As they were eating Setsuna snuggled against Ash's left shoulder while enjoying the moon's glow. In the background, Serenity watched her eldest son and the Keeper of the Gates smiling approving of Setsuna, "Take care of him Setsuna, for there will be many dangers ahead," she whispered vanishing.