A/N: Thanks for the review, Julie Togepi. And yes, I can't imagine how anyone who hadn't seen them would react to hearing about Ash's adventures... especially the crazier bits.

The next morning came all too soon and with far too little sleep for Ash Ketchum. The crowd seemed to have grown as people flocked to watch the match so that now the bleachers were filled.

Vanessa was trying to be pleasant- but she wasn't really trying hard enough for it to be believable. It didn't help that Catherine suddenly had a black eye- it was rumored that Vanessa had gotten pretty mad that she had gotten only seventy-five points yesterday but Ash had no way to see if it was true that Vanessa had caused that- then again, seeing as Catherine's high position practically guaranteed that no one besides Vanessa could have done that, it was highly likely.

This time, Vanessa went first and sent out an Eevee. She then had it use Lick of all moves- but somehow, seeing the Eevee with its huge eyes clean and preen itself in front of the entire audience was extremely adorable somehow. Lick wasn't even classified as a Cute move, but Vanessa managed to pull it off and got a ninety.

Well, that gave Ash some hope- clearly Vanessa wasn't an amazing coordinator in all the categories, at the very least.

The second Trainer to step up was a woman whom Ash had never seen before, but she kind of looked like Cynthia if Cynthia didn't look dress like a Goth. She sent out a Piplup of all things, and it began using Bubble. It created a large swath of Bubbles, and it began riding and hopping on them from place to place! It was one of the most hilarious things that Ash had seen- but was apparently also very adorable as she got a ninety-five.

Gulliver went up next and sent out his Psyduck. Gulliver's plan was to have his Psyduck wander around- running into things along the way, fall down, and get back right up. It was actually a pretty good act and fetched him and eighty-five.

Misty tried to put on an act with her Goldeen but it really just ended up tanking and she only got a fifty. Misty was pretty miffed, but Ash tried calming her down.

"It's okay, we'll get past this," Ash said.

Catherine was then up, and she seemed to have brought her A-game for this round as she sent out a Jigglypuff which seemed to have even larger eyes than a normal one and rolled around laughing and singing. She got an eighty-seven and Ash kind of felt sorry for her every time he looked at her black eye.

Jessie used her Beautifly again and managed to use Silver Wind to cloak it in what looked like a huge gown. It seemed to fall more into Beauty than Cute though, but she till got an eighty for her efforts.

Mary used a Ralts and had it feed itself with a small spoon using Confusion and wander across the stage with Teleport- she managed to get a ninety!

In the end no one in Ash's team managed to make it to the next round… meaning that Vanessa won the Cute segment by default.

Vanessa suddenly looked far more chipper suddenly, and Ash was seriously beginning to wonder if she had bipolar disorder or something- did the Badges also prevent people from getting mental illnesses?

Next up was the Smart segment, and this was the part where no one on either side seemed to have any clue as to how to proceed. It was always a mystery to Ash and his friends as to just what consisted of a smart performance… what was a Pokemon supposed to do, go get an IQ test? It seemed Vanessa was equally ignorant though, and basically both of the sides stumbled through the segment trying to put on an act. It was the only segment in which two people from Ash's team managed to get to the final round- Brock and Duke Hamnet, and as expected, they managed to win.

They only needed one more point to win, but Vanessa seemed so mad at having lost another round that she ordered the next round to be tomorrow and said it would be Cool. Ash privately thought it was for the best so she didn't end up hitting someone else.

She seemed to have better control as the next day, none of the members of her team had any new injuries and it seemed that she had probably fixed Catherine's eye using the Ribbon Badge.

The Cool segment was one of the ones where Ash was pretty confident in himself.

For this round, he sent out his Pikachu and had a bathtub full of water brought in. The bathtub was itself made of tungsten, so that when Pikachu passed electricity through it, it was heated and the water began evaporating.

It was clear from the confused looks that most people present there had no idea what was going on, but once enough steam was generated, Pikachu stopped and began using its electricity to charge the air around itself. As the water vapor rose and cooled to condense, the electricity from Pikachu caused a small thundercloud to gather beneath it, and Pikachu hopped on it, firing Thunderbolts all around itself like it was some sort of lightning god.

This was something that no one had seen before, and Ash's score of ninety-five ensured that Ash would find a spot in the next round, and with Pikachu's strength, victory was assured.

There was no need for the Tough segment anymore as Ash had already won three of the rounds, and Ash found the Ribbon Badge hovering towards him.

Ash closed his eyes and braced himself- but this time having five Badges didn't have the same effect.

What happened was that his eyes began hurting and he seemed to have come down with a huge headache, but at least he wasn't throwing up all over the place. Was he developing a sort of tolerance for the Badge's powers now?

He didn't dare risk drawing on their powers anymore, and Wade made sure that Vanessa behaved- she seemed to be taking losing rather badly, but Ash suddenly felt the need to go and take a very long nap. He stumbled back into his tent.

As Ash woke up, he realized he felt better- but not much better. He would clearly have to find someone to give one of the Badges too. Vanessa was clearly not going to be a candidate, but Ash couldn't think of someone who would be fitting for the job just yet.

Ash told his guards that he'd go and start handling business sometime later- he remembered the village that he had passed by and made a note to do something about it.

Wade barged in anyway and said, "I know that you need rest- but the most peculiar thing has happened and I felt that you would like to know."

"What?" Ash asked.

"A ship has suddenly turned up in the desert, of all places. Even stranger is that the people on the ship claim to be from my territory and say that they were swallowed up by the Barrier and deposited there. I've checked back at home and there was a ship that disappeared from near the Barrier."

Ash frowned. "What does that mean?"

"I can't know for sure, but I think that it means that the Barrier is collapsing," Wade said. "The crew members are being brought here as we speak."


Ash may not have felt very good after his victory kudos to the Badges- but there was someone in Galea who was absolutely delighted when Mary delivered the news to her.

"Lady Selena," Mary said and bowed, making sure that no one could see her contacting the Seventh Gym Leader using a private phone that she had installed a mere few months ago. "As you predicted, Ash has won. Lady Vanessa has been incarcerated, and I await your orders."

A broad smile spread across Selena's face. "Finally! It begins!" She clapped her hands and got up- Mary was unsure why she was taking the news so well.

Selena calmed down. "The game starts now- Mary, go and lick the child's boots- he'll probably let you keep your position. Your services will not be forgotten once I control all of Galea."

Mary opened her mouth to ask a question, but Selena had already disconnected. It was something very unexpected to someone who was used to minutes of flowery conversation before any serious talk began or ended.

Selena, on the other hand, had no concern for etiquette. Certainly not now of all times. She summoned Jenkins to her room.

"It has started," Selena said. "Ash has gotten the Ribbon Badge, and now controls six Badges. We can begin. Ready our army and our fleet, it is time that we go and give His Majesty a little visit."

Jenkins nodded. "If I may ask, why wait until Ash had gotten the sixth Badge?"

"Because that is the loophole in the treaty we drew up," Selena said. "I told His Majesty that just in case we weren't able to stop anyone from challenging our power- we should have a contingency since we would be unable to attack each other. To prevent anyone from becoming too powerful if a situation much like this arose, I added a line saying that if six or more Gym Badges came under the control of a single person- the entire treaty would be null and void. Cancel the lectures I was planned to take- the students will have to do without hearing my pearls of wisdom for the while until I've finally united all of Galea."

Jenkins realized what that meant, and his mind reeled as he considered the consequences of what this meant. "Does this mean that you planned for Ash Ketchum to enter Galea?"

"Indeed," Selena said. "I could never stand to see that idiot occupy the highest position. I had to get back at him but was limited by the treaty. So, from the very beginning, I hatched out this plan. I must say that at several times I was afraid that the boy might fail and be defeated, but he has turned out to be an excellent pawn."

Jenkins realized that this explained why, after all of his trying, he had been unable to find out who had sent the Roserade to Ash Ketchum. Because Selena herself had ordered it, and the murder as well just to cover it up.

He shook his head as he considered just how convoluted and twisted a mind he was dealing with in his mistress and hoped that he wouldn't regret not going the same way as Alan Lazar had.

Then again, he soon received confirmation that Alan Lazar had been removed- so perhaps that time wouldn't come at all. It appeared that he had chosen wisely.


Thirty-Three Years Ago...

Spring had blossomed, but the disused fields were full of weeds and were not ready for harvest.

As the solitary man trudged up the trail to the small cottage at the side, he remembered how long ago, so very long ago even though it felt like only yesterday when the fields had been freshly plowed.

The cottage at the end of road was empty. The man knocked on the door. There was no response.

The man had known deep in his heart that it was futile waiting for someone to open the door, but the small shred of hope in him made him wait at the doorstep for far too long.

Once he finally accepted that there would be no reply, he went to the back of his house where, in the ancestral burial ground, there were two graves that had not been there before. It had gone into disuse and was home to the weeds now but it was beyond a doubt that this was where his parents died.

No tears fell down his face. He had lost his tears many decades ago, but his rage was as strong as it had been when he had left.

They would pay, he swore to himself. The people who had caused him to suffer like this would suffer in turn.

And in that moment, a flame was lit in his heart. A flame that would eventually consume all of Galea…