Hey, guys! Guess what? I'm not dead! Don't worry, I'll explain my leaf of absence at the end of the chapter! Until then, read on and I hope this makes up for the long wait!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.

Chapter 46: "Welcome to the Jungle! Ash's Battle for the Fourth Badge!"

(Flashback)

"Not a bad move," Eclipse said with an impressed look on her face. "Although, I guess it is to be expected from the International Police's top agent."

"How did you find out?" Gavin asked.

"Oh, I know all about you," Eclipse said with an ever-widening sneer. "We have every single bit of data on you, especially of your history."

"I will stop you," Gavin spat as Eclipse took the jewel from his hand. Sparks danced across Pichu's cheeks as he glared at the silver-haired woman.

"We'll see," Eclipse said as she put the jewel in a special container. As she did this, all of the grunts had managed to wake up and had now gotten back on their feet.

"So long, little agent," Eclipse said as she gave him a wink and a sly smile. She then threw a small marble-like ball to the ground. The bomb exploded and created a smokescreen that blinded Gavin and Pichu.

Once the fog finally cleared, Gavin saw that they were all gone.

(End Flashback)


Gavin woke up with a start and sat up on his bed all covered in sweat. He panted heavily from the rush and fear that filled him due to the nightmare.

He looked around the dark room he was in at the other guys who were all still asleep. It seemed like nothing could disturb these guys. Even Pikachu, Pichu, and Meowth were snoozing comfortably in their respective masters' beds.

Gavin sighed. Ever since about a week ago, back when they were in Noctae City and dealt with the Team Umbra and Team Rocket attack, he had been unable to sleep very well. He was constantly waking up in the middle of the night after having the same nightmare, over and over again.

Even now that they were Loraflay Village, the site of Ash's next gym battle, he still couldn't sleep.

At this point, Gavin didn't even feel tired anymore, so he decided to get up and go downstairs into the Pokémon Center cafeteria to get a midnight snack.

All was quiet as he tiptoed down the hall and to the stairs in the black T-shirt and blue shorts that he had worn to bed. He had to be quiet lest he wake up one or more of the others.

There was a bit of a reason besides the fact that if he woke up Misty for example, she would kill him with her mallet.

Gavin had always been a guy who never liked to be worried about. When he was younger, everyone was always worrying about him, especially when he took great risks in both his days as a trainer and as the top agent of the International Police.

If even just one of the others woke up, especially Dawn, they would all begin to worry about him, and the more they worried, the faster his secret would come out.

Eventually, Gavin managed to find his way to the Pokémon Center cafeteria.

From the looks of it, he was probably the only one down here, except for a Chansey who was running the night-shift. Then, he noticed a familiar-looking person sitting in a booth in the far back.

"Don't tell me…," Gavin muttered.

Gavin walked to the back as fast as he could, and once he reached the booth, his suspicions were confirmed.

"Oh, hello, my friend!" Jeremiah said with a cheerful wave.

"Mur-krow!" Mimi chirped, echoing her master.

Gavin immediately face-palmed himself. Of course, the one time that he wanted to be alone, he had to show up.

"What are you doing here?" Gavin groaned.

"What, no hello?" Jeremiah said in mock hurt. "Can't we just be friendly with each other for once?"

"No," Gavin stated, causing Jeremiah to face-fault.

"Well, then, why don't we just go ahead and get down to business?" Jeremiah said after regaining his composure.

Still a bit hesitant, Gavin soon sighed and then sat down across from the black hat-wearing man.

"So, what's up?" Jeremiah asked nonchalantly.

"DO YOU REALLY NEED TO ASK THAT QUESTION?" Gavin yelled, causing Jeremiah to shrink in mock fright.

"Kidding," Jeremiah said as he struggled to convince the now growling trainer across from him to calm down. "So, Team Umbra knows who you are?"

"Apparently," Gavin said with bitterness in his voice.

"So why don't you go ahead and tell the others?" Jeremiah inquired.

"Because if they find out who I really am, not only will they hate me, but also, Team Umbra might come after them as well," Gavin explained. "I can't risk it."

"True," Jeremiah agreed. "But I don't think your giving your friends enough credit. I'm sure that they would understand."

"What? That I came to Pallet Town to find Ash and told him about the Amaro Region just so that I could complete my mission inconspicuously and without notice?" Gavin snapped with a questioning look on his face. "What would you do if you found that out?"

"Eh, I guess I would probably have hated you, too," Jeremiah shrugged indifferently.

It was Gavin's turn to face-fault for a moment at Jeremiah's comment. Surprisingly though, Gavin began to chuckle.

"It's funny, though. Even though that was my reason for traveling with my cousin and his friends through the Amaro Region, I never expected to actually become so close to them. So close that I actually have been happy again for the first time in years. No matter what, however, I can't tell them my secret. At least, not yet."

"It's your decision," Jeremiah said, suddenly getting up to Gavin's surprise. "Well, I suppose that I'll see you later at the gym."

He took a few steps away from the booth, but then stopped before turning to Gavin and saying, "By the way, I have a message for your cousin. Tell him that when he faces the gym leader, he should try not to get lost in the grass."


As soon as morning hit and our heroes woke up from their sleep, they all ran downstairs and began to eat a large breakfast in preparation for the events of the day.

Ash and May were both stuffing their faces full of mind-boggling amounts of food as usual, and everyone else seemed to be eating fine as well. Except for Gavin, that is.

Due to his lack of sleep, the brown-haired trainer had to do all that he could to stay awake. Even though he tried and tried to force his eyes to stay open, he could not stop his head from drooping every so often.

"Hey, Gavin, are you okay?" Leaf asked sincerely.

"Huh?" Gavin mumbled. Leaf's voice had made him jump a little bit. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little sleepy is all."

"And what's up with the new threads?" Gary inquired.

Gavin looked down at his new clothes. After the events involving Team Umbra and Team Rocket, Gavin's old clothes that they had gotten back in Pallet Town had suffered a few cuts and tears that had to be fixed. So, before they had left Noctae City, Dawn had taken him to the mall and got him a new collared, navy blue-colored, button-down shirt that he wore open, a new black T-shirt that he wore under it, and a pair of blue jeans. He still retained his shoes, bag, and trademark sunglasses, however.

"Dawn got them for me," Gavin answered with a yawn. He quickly turned to the blunette sitting by his side and said, "Thank you very much, by the way."

Dawn nodded, but didn't say a word as she looked at the teen with worry. Lately, her boyfriend had been looking more and more worn-out, and this worried her. What was going on?

"Anyway," Brock said calmly in an effort to change the subject. "Does anybody know what type of Pokémon that the Loraflay Gym Leader uses?"

The others shrugged. They still really weren't quite sure about that.

Then, Gavin surprised them all when he suddenly said, "It's a Grass-type gym."

"How do you know that?" Iris questioned the trainer with a Pichu on his shoulder.

Even Pichu was surprised at this knowledge that just amazingly spouted out of his trainer. How did he know what type of Pokémon that the Gym Leader uses?

"Let's just say that a little birdie told me," Gavin quickly replied, giving his partner a look that told him that he would explain later.

"Grass-types, huh?" Tracey said thoughtfully. "I'd say your best bet would be to use Fire, Ice, Flying, Poison, or Bug Pokémon in this battle."

"Or you could just burn them to the ground with Charizard," Max chuckled.

"Actually…," Ash suddenly said as he swallowed a mouthful of food, "I think I'll give Charizard and the others a break for this one. Is that okay, Pikachu?"

The Electric-type on his shoulder nodded and gave him a happy "Pika-chu!"

Pikachu was actually glad that Ash was giving him a break. Electric-types aren't so good against Grass-types, so he wouldn't have been much help anyways.

"So, exactly who are you gonna use?" May asked with interest.

Ash thought about it for a moment before his eyes widened and a mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"You'll see," Ash said with confidence burning in his eyes.

Meowth gulped. "I hope he knows what he's doing."

Later, after they finally finished eating, Ash went and got a few transfers done before they all went together out into the small village towards the gym.


The entire group gasped once they found their way to the Loraflay Village Gym. It was quite the sight to behold.

"It's a greenhouse!" Misty exclaimed.

Indeed, it was. The Loraflay Village Gym looked to be a large glass dome filled with trees and other plants all about it. It was so large, in fact, that it looked to be the size of an entire football field.

"What a magnificent work of art!" Cilan said in awe. "It's an amazing taste sensation for all to behold!"

"Uh, yeah," Max said while sweat-dropping at Cilan's statement. "So how do you think we get inside?"

The others were all dumb-founded. As far as they could tell, there wasn't a door to be found about the entire dome. How were they gonna get inside?

Suddenly, though, they heard a female voice behind them say, "I can show you."

They all immediately turned around to see a girl who looked to be about eleven years old with dark magenta-colored hair and light blue eyes. She wore a white blouse with a blue ribbon around the collar, a pair of red pants that stopped just above her ankles, and a pair of blue tennis shoes.

As soon as they had noticed her, the girl walked up to them and stopped right in front of Max. From the looks of it, the teal-haired boy was maybe just a few centimeters taller than her.

She blinked a couple of times and tilted her head expectantly as if she was waiting for Max to say something, but the teal-haired boy just gulped and continued to stare back uneasily.

Finally, after a few moments of staring, the girl spoke up, saying, "Don't you recognize me?"

"Uh…," Max said as he struggled to figure out who this girl was. "Am I supposed to?"

A tic mark appeared on the girl's forehead as she began to glare at the boy angrily.

"I would hope so!" The girl said in an angry tone. "I know that it's been four years, but you should still know who I am!"

Max then started to break under the pressure of the girl's glare and soon enough ran and hid behind Brock and Tracey.

The girl looked like she was about to scream until Brock spoke up and said, "So you said that you could show us the way in?"

She huffed and then answered, "Yeah. Follow me."

The group then proceeded to follow her for a few minutes while they walked around the dome. Eventually, they stopped on the other side of the dome in front of a single tree.

"So where is this supposed to lead?" Iris impatiently asked.

"Just wait," The girl said as she walked over to one of the branches and pulled it down like a switch.

All of the sudden, a small area of the ground began to split apart, revealing a set of stairs that led underground.

"Welcome to the Loraflay Gym," The girl said with a grin.

The group looked at each other for a moment before they began to walk down the stairs into the large, domed jungle of a gym.


As soon as they had all made their way to the bottom of the steps, every single member of the group's eyes widened at what they saw down there.

It was like an enormous jungle in there! The place was filled with all kinds of plants, trees, and bushes from what seemed like all over the world! It was one thing to look at the gym from the outside, but it was another thing entirely to see the gym from the inside.

The group continued to look around at the gym in astonishment until they suddenly heard a familiar voice call out, "I see that you finally made it, my friends!"

Ash and the others all turned to see two people in there waiting for them.

One was a familiar-looking, black-cloaked man with a black hat on his head and a small, black bird-like creature on his shoulder. Ash and the others all knew him as Jeremiah.

The other person, however, was a completely new face to them entirely. It was a man about Jeremiah's age with short, spiky, dark forest green-colored hair and emerald green eyes. He wore a collared, button-down, khaki-colored shirt that was tucked into his similarly-colored shorts that he kept up with a brown belt. He also wore a pair of dark brown boots, he had a small knife sitting in a sheath that was attached to his belt, and to top it all off, he wore a khaki-colored pith helmet on top of his head.

Everyone except for Gavin seemed to be slightly shocked that Jeremiah was there, but they were all also wondering who this man with him was.

"My friends," Jeremiah said as he gestured towards the man, "This is Briar, the official gym leader of the Loraflay Village Gym."

"How's it going?" Briar grinned as he gave the teens a wave.

"Your greenhouse is beautiful," May said with a sigh as she looked at all of the trees and foliage throughout the dome.

"Thanks," Briar said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Although, you should really tell that to my friend and personal assistant."

At that moment, everyone turned to see what was probably one of the most beautiful women that they had ever seen walk up the garden path towards them.

She was pretty tall, probably about the same height as Brock. She had long, pink hair that flowed down her shoulders and went down her back, stopping at her waist. Her eyes were a bluish-green that shimmered in the light and her lips were a luscious red. Like Briar, she wore a collared khaki-colored shirt that she had untucked, a pair of khaki shorts, and a pair of light brown boots.

"Everyone, this is Flora," Briar gestured towards her. "My personal assistant."

"How's it going?" Flora said with a wave and a wink.

"Wow! What a woman!" Brock said as he went into flirt-mode.

The squinty-eyed Pokémon breeder took off towards her and got down on his knees in front of her.

"Oh, how I've waited to see such a beauty like you," Brock said in a slightly deeper voice. "And here we are, in our own secret garden. Let us now plant a seed that will blossom with our…OUCH!"

It was then that Brock crumpled over, revealing that Croagunk had popped out of its ball and gave him a swift Poison Jab to the back. The Toxic Mouth Pokémon proceeded to drag its trainer away, leaving everyone speechless for a few moments.

"Anyway," Briar said after shrugging the incident off, "which one of you is here to challenge me?"

Ash took a step forward and said confidently, "I am."

Briar nodded and then asked, "Good. How does a five-on-five battle sound?"

"Sounds fine to me," Ash grinned.

"Okay," Briar said with a smile. "Let's do this."


Soon enough, they had all made their way to the gym's battlefield in the middle of the garden. It was a grassy field that looked like the perfect place for a Grass-type to shine its brightest.

While Ash and Briar stood on opposite sides of the field and stared each other down, May, Pikachu, and the others sat to the side, watching the field in anticipation of the battle at hand.

"This will be a five-on-five battle between Briar, the Loraflay Village Gym Leader and Ash Ketchum, the challenger from Pallet Town," Flora, who was acting as referee, said in an official-sounding tone. "Only the challenger is allowed to make substitutions. The battle will be over when all five of one side's Pokémon are unable to continue. Now, let the battle begin!"

"Victreebel, sprout and grow!" Briar said as he threw a Pokéball into the air.

In a flash of light, a yellow, bulb-like plant creature with green spots all over its body, a leaf with a long, brown, yellow-tipped vine growing out of it on its head, and four sharp fangs appeared onto the field.

Ash immediately pulled out his Pokédex to scan Briar's first Pokémon.

"Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokémon and the evolved-form of Weepinbell. They're said to live in large colonies deep within jungles. Although, no one has ever returned from there to clarify this information."

"Victreebel, huh?" Ash murmured contemplatively. "I think I've got just the Pokémon to use against you."

He then took a Pokéball from his belt and threw it into the air, yelling, "Noctowl, I choose you!"

In a burst of sparkling light, Ash's shiny Owl Pokémon appeared into the air, its body surrounded by shimmering light.


May flipped out her Pokédex and scanned Ash's Pokémon.

"Noctowl, the Owl Pokémon and the evolved-form of Hoothoot. Noctowl's eyes have a special power that allows it to see in the faintest light, as if it was the middle of the day."

"Ooh," The red-haired girl said in awe. "What a neat color!"


"Ash, since you're the challenger, I'll let you have the first move," Briar called out.

"Fine by me," Ash grinned. "Noctowl, let's start off with an Air Slash attack!"

Noctowl raised its wings above its head and a spiraling light blue orb of energy formed in between them. Then, a barrage of light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades were fired from the orb at Victreebel.

"Victreebel, block it with a Leaf Tornado!" Briar instructed.

As the energy blades came at it, the leaves on Victreebel's body took on a bright green glow. It then opened its mouth and released a large tornado of wind with circles of light green energy spinning around it straight at Noctowl's attack.

Noctowl's barrage of energy blades all struck against the green cyclone, but unfortunately, they were instantly obliterated by the cyclone's strength. The Grass-type attack then continued to fly towards Noctowl, much to the Owl Pokémon's shock.

"Noctowl, hurry and dodge it!" Ash ordered.

With a swift aerial maneuver, Noctowl managed to dodge the tornado, but then noticed that Victreebel's attack had turned around and was still following it.

'Ugh, no good,' Ash grimaced as Noctowl flew away from Victreebel's attack. "Noctowl, try to stop it with Confusion!"

Noctowl quickly turned around and its eyes took on a light blue glow. A few seconds later, the cyclone took on a light blue glowing outline and stopped completely.

"Now, destroy it!" Ash told it.

Noctowl opened its eyes wider and they began to glow even brighter. The cyclone took on a bright blue glow as well before it exploded and dissipated.

"Great job!" Ash said happily. "Now, let's hit it with Zen Headbutt!"

Noctowl's bushy feather "horns" took on a bright blue glow before it flew straight at Victreebel.

"Victreebel, use Seed Bomb!" Briar commanded.

Victreebel opened its mouth and a green orb appeared inside of it. It then fired multiple glowing green seeds from its mouth at the oncoming Flying-type opponent.

The seeds exploded upon contact and caused Noctowl to crash into the ground.

"Now, grab it with Vine Whip!" Briar directed.

Noctowl struggled to get up, but just as it managed to stand up, Victreebel used the brown vine on its head to grab it and lift it up into the air above its mouth.


On the sidelines, a panicked look appeared on Tracey's face as he and the others watched the battle.

"Uh-oh," The Pokémon Watcher said with worry. "This is not good."

"What's wrong, Tracey?" Misty asked.

"I just remembered that Victreebel have the ability to create a fluid in its mouth," Tracey explained. "It's supposed to smell like honey in order to lure in prey, but it's really an acid that can dissolve anything."

"So if Ash doesn't do something fast, Noctowl's done for!" May exclaimed in shock.


'I've gotta think of something. But what?' Ash thought as he watched Noctowl struggle to try and get out of Victreebel's grip. Suddenly though, Ash had an idea.

"Noctowl, fire an Extrasensory straight into Victreebel's mouth!" Ash hollered out.

"What?" Briar's eyes widened in shock.

Noctowl's eyes took on a golden glow and it opened its beak. Then, before Victreebel could do anything about it, the Owl Pokémon fired a multicolored circular beam with white crescents around it straight into the Flycatcher Pokémon's mouth.

As a result of Noctowl's attack, Victreebel was forced to let go of its prey as it was blasted backwards across the field. Eventually, it crashed into a tree, causing it to gain a few bruises.

"Victreebel, hurry and use Sludge Bomb!" Briar yelled.

Victreebel shook its body vigorously before it opened its mouth and fired a ball of brown sludge at its opponent.

"Air Slash!" Ash shouted.

Noctowl raised its wings above its head and subsequently fired a multitude of light blue energy blades at Victreebel's attack. The attacks soon collided and an explosion occurred. This time, however, a few of energy blades kept on going and ended up hitting Victreebel.

The Grass/Poison-type let out a shriek of pain as the energy blades hit it and sent it skidding back a few feet.

"Now, Noctowl! Let's finish it off with a Sky Attack!" Ash blurted out.

Noctowl's eyebrow tufts began to glow white and it quickly flew high up into the air before coming back down into a dive towards Victreebel. As it dived down towards its opponent, the Normal/Flying-type's body took on a white glow.

Before Victreebel could even attempt to dodge, Noctowl managed to tackle it and send it flying until it hit another tree. The impact instantly knocked it out and everyone saw that as it lay on the grass, it had swirls in its eyes.

"Victreebel is unable to battle!" Flora announced. "Noctowl is the winner!"


"Great job, Ash!" May called out to the raven-haired trainer.

"Pika!" Pikachu echoed from the brunette's lap.

Even Meowth, who stood beside May's legs, was impressed by his trainer.

"Wow," The red-headed girl who sat by Max said in awe. "Ash has certainly gotten stronger since the last time I saw him."

She looked over to Max hopefully, but was angered when the teal-haired boy uneasily turned away from her.

"So do you know who she is?" Gavin asked Brock.

"I'm pretty sure that I have an idea," The breeder whispered back, "But let's let Max figure this out himself."

"Gotcha," Gavin nodded. They then returned their attention back to the field as the next round was about to begin.


"Not too shabby, Ash," Briar said, impressed by his opponent. "But let's see how your Flying Pokémon does against a Grass-type that also can fly. Tropius, sprout and grow!"

The gym leader then hurled a Pokéball into the air, and in a flash of light, a large Pokémon appeared above the field.

It was a large sauropod-like creature with a brown-and-green-colored body. It also had four large, broad green leaves on its back that it flapped as it flew, a long neck, yellow toenails on its feet, and three pieces of what appeared to be yellow fruit growing from its neck.


As if it was a reflex, Max quickly flipped out his Pokédex and scanned this new foe.

"Tropius, the Fruit Pokémon. Because it continually ate only its favorite fruit, the fruit started growing around its neck. It is able to fly by flapping its broad leaves."

"Sounds like a tough opponent if you ask me," The young trainer said as he looked at the Grass/Flying-type Pokémon above.


"Hmm," Ash murmured. He then looked towards Noctowl and asked, "You still think you can fight some more, Noctowl?"

The Owl Pokémon nodded and then took off into the air as it readied itself for an aerial battle with Tropius.

"Alright then," Ash said with a grin. "Noctowl, let's go ahead and hit Tropius with an Extrasensory!"

Noctowl's eyes took on a golden glow and it opened its beak before releasing a multicolored circular beam with white crescents around it at Tropius.

"Tropius, intercept with Energy Ball!" Briar instructed.

The leaves on Tropius's back took on a green glow and it formed a green ball of energy in front of its mouth. It then fired the orb at Noctowl's attack, to which an explosion occurred upon impact.

"Now, use Leaf Storm!" Briar continued.

Tropius's leaves once again began to glow green before it released a cyclone of glowing green leaves at Noctowl. The Owl Pokémon did its best to dodge, but unfortunately, a few of the leaves managed to hit it, causing it to wince in pain.

"Noctowl, try and hit it with a Shadow Ball!" Ash told his Pokémon.

Noctowl nodded and then raised one of its wings across its chest. It suddenly began to form a black and purple orb of energy with black static around it at the tip of its wing. Once the orb had been fully formed, Noctowl threw it straight at Tropius.

"Tropius, use Sunny Day!" Briar ordered.

Tropius quickly fired an orange orb from its mouth into the air, causing the sun's rays to intensify and brighten.

"Now, use Solarbeam!" Briar yelled.

"No way!" Ash's eyes widened in panic.

Just as the Shadow Ball that Noctowl had fired reached the halfway mark on the field, Tropius released a powerful beam of golden energy from its mouth at its opponent, obliterating the shadowy orb and striking Noctowl straight in the chest.

"Noctowl!" Ash shouted in fear.

The power of the Solarbeam had sent Noctowl hurtling towards the ground until it crashed into the ground, creating a huge crater with smoke coming off of it.

Once the smoke finally cleared, everyone was surprised to see that Noctowl had managed to stand back up. However, from the looks of the bruises all over its body, it didn't look like Noctowl was going to last much longer.

"Noctowl, return!" Ash suddenly said as he held out his Pokéball and returned the Owl Pokémon back into the device.

"Take a good rest and I'll use you later," Ash whispered to the Pokémon within the ball.

The raven-haired trainer then hooked the ball back onto his belt and replaced it with another one.

"Glalie, I choose you!" Ash said as he threw the Pokéball into the air.

In a flash of light, a round Pokémon consisting of a black rock core appeared onto the field. It had two large, black, conical horns on either side of its head and its skin was covered by ice. Besides its horns, its icy blue eyes, and its large flat teeth, it looked almost like a large, floating soccer ball.


Intrigued, Gavin took out his Pokédex and scanned his cousin's Pokémon.

"Glalie, the Face Pokémon and one of the evolved-forms of Snorunt. Glalie has a tempered ice body that doesn't melt even under a direct flame. It can freeze vapors in the air instantly."

Sitting beside him, Iris shivered with fear as she looked at Ash's Ice-type.

"Why does the kid have an Ice-type?" Iris said with her teeth chattering.

"Okay, two things," Cilan began. "One, I thought that you had gotten over your fear of Ice-types, and two, shouldn't you be used to this kind of thing from dealing with Cryogonal?"

"First off, it's a relapse, okay?" Iris glared at the connoisseur while still shivering. "Second, I sent Cryogonal back home to the Village of Dragons while you were sending your Gothorita back to the Striaton Gym."

"So is Cryogonal training with your Dragonite?" Dawn inquired.

Iris nodded. "I figured that the best training that it could get would be with an Ice-type while it trained under Drayden."

"Oh," Cilan and Dawn said with understanding. They then both turned their attention back towards the match.


"So your second Pokémon is a Glalie, eh?" Briar said while raising an eyebrow. "Well, despite the type advantage, this battle won't be easy."

"And that's just the way I like it," Ash said with a grin. "Glalie, let's get things going with Ice Beam!"

Glalie quickly began to charge a light blue ball of icy energy in between the horns on top of its head. It then fired several light blue beams from the ball at Tropius.

"Tropius, dodge and use Bullet Seed!" Briar instructed.

With a quick aerial maneuver, Tropius managed to dodge the beams of ice and then began to fire a barrage of gold seeds surrounded in a light green aura at a high velocity from its mouth at its opponent.

"Glalie, block it by using Gyro Ball!" Ash commanded.

Two light blue orbs suddenly appeared at the end of Glalie's horns and it began to spin around at a high speed. As the bullets pelted against it, its spinning lessened the damage that the seeds caused as they all ricocheted off of Glalie's body and then hit the ground.

"Now, use Headbutt!" Ash continued.

Glalie immediately stopped spinning and then proceeded to fly straight towards Tropius as it prepared to slam its body into it.

"Tropius, Headbutt as well!" Briar shouted.

Seconds later, both Pokémon slammed their bodies into each other and began to push against one another as they each struggled to gain supremacy.

Eventually, neither could take it anymore and the two broke apart and flew backwards a bit as they got ready to continue the battle.

"Glalie, try your Blizzard attack!" Ash called out.

Glalie opened its mouth and the inside of it began to glow light blue. It then released a powerful blizzard from its mouth at its opponent.

"Tropius, use Solarbeam!" Briar directed.

With the power of Sunny Day still in effect, Tropius opened its mouth and fired a golden beam of solar energy at Glalie's attack. The two attacks collided, but Tropius's Solarbeam proved to be more powerful as it pushed through Glalie's attack and ended up hitting Glalie in the face. The force of the beam was so strong that it pushed Glalie back until it hit a tree.

It was quite a sight to behold. Even though a Grass-type attack like Solarbeam was not supposed to cause much damage to an Ice-type like Glalie, Tropius's attack had managed to land a critical hit on Glalie. The Ice-type looked like it could still fight, but for how long?

"I've got to get rid of that Sunny Day," Ash murmured. "But how?"

The trainer thought about it for a moment, and then, all of the sudden, he had an idea that caused him to grin.

"Glalie, use Hail!" Ash ordered.

"What?" Briar blurted out in shock.

Glalie's body began to glow light blue as it floated up into the air. Then, thick clouds appeared above the battlefield before snow began to fall from them and a thick, gray fog filled the entire field.

"Now, Glalie, use Ice Beam!" Ash told it.

Glalie immediately fired several light blue beams of icy energy from in between its horns at the Fruit Pokémon.

As the icy beams struck it, Tropius screeched in pain due to the overall super-effectiveness the Ice-type attack had against it.

To make matters worse for the Grass/Flying-type, several large balls of hail suddenly fell from the clouds and struck it in the back, causing it even more damage.

"Tropius, we've got to hurry and end this!" Briar hollered out. "Use Razor Wind!"

"Glalie, use Sheer Cold!" Ash yelled.

All four of the leaves on Tropius's back took on a white glow as it built up a charge. It then flapped them out at the air in front of it and fired several white crescents of air straight at its opponent.

Meanwhile, Glalie's body became surrounded in a light blue aura and it opened its mouth, the inside of which was now glowing light blue. A spinning wind then came out of its mouth and it fired a powerful light blue beam of icy energy surrounded in light blue snowflake-shaped sparkles at Tropius.

Somehow, however, both attacks managed to narrowly miss each other and continued on towards their intended targets. Both attacks then ended up hitting the two Pokémon and knocked them both to the ground.

Immediately after the two crashed into the ground, the snowing ceased and the gray clouds and fog dissipated, leaving everything sunny again.

Once everyone looked at the field, however, they all were shocked to see that both Pokémon had been knocked out by each other's attacks.

"Neither Pokémon is able to battle!" Flora told everybody. "This round is therefore declared a draw!"


"I can't believe that they both got knocked out," Leaf said as she and the others watched Ash and Briar return their Pokémon to their Pokéballs.

"But Ash still has the advantage, seeing as how he's only lost one Pokémon while Briar's lost two," Gary commented.

"I wonder what Pokémon Briar has left," The red-haired girl thought out loud before glaring angrily at Max.

It was at this point that Max couldn't take it anymore, so he stood up, looked down at the girl, and then shouted, "Look! I'm sorry, but I don't remember you! Could you at least tell me who you are so that we can get rid of all of this awkward tension?"

The others all gasped in shock. They had never seen Max this mad before. However, this may have been his biggest mistake as the girl stood up and glared at him with enough anger to possibly match against Misty's temper. Max gulped as the girl's face turned almost as red as her hair and tears began to stream from her eyes.

"You want to know who I am?" The girl began to yell. "FINE! MY NAME IS VIVI WINSTRATE!"

Max's eyes widened in shock, along with several of the others after the girl revealed her identity. Before the boy could say anything, though, the girl who they now knew was Vivi Winstrate stormed off outside.

"Wait!" Max shouted as he ran after her.

May attempted to get up and run after her brother, but Brock stopped her.

"This is something that Max has to handle on his own," Brock calmly told her.

May opened her mouth to say something, but shut it once she realized that the Pokémon Breeder was right. Max was old enough to handle this by himself.

As May sat back down, Jeremiah turned his attention away from the others and back towards the battlefield.

'Ketchum has gotten quite stronger since I first met him,' He thought as he watched the raven-haired trainer take a Pokéball from his belt and prepare to throw it. 'However, he's going to have to be careful during these next few battles. Briar still has yet to bring out his strongest Pokémon.'


Whether Ash had noticed the events involving Max and Vivi Winstrate was unclear because all of his focus seemed to be directed towards his opponent. Even though he was currently winning, he could tell that things were about to get a whole lot harder.

"Torterra, sprout and grow!" Briar said as he hurled a Pokéball towards the field.

In a burst of blue light, a large turtle with a tree growing on its back landed with a thud on the grassy field.

Ash didn't have to scan this Pokémon with his Pokédex. He knew this particular Pokémon very well from his experiences with his own Torterra and Paul's Torterra. Noctowl wasn't quite ready to battle again just yet, but there was one Pokémon that he knew would be perfect against this opponent.

"Heracross, I choose you!" Ash yelled as he threw the Pokéball in his hand into the air.

In a flash of light, a large, blue beetle-like Pokémon with a large, pronged horn protruding out of its forehead appeared onto the field.

"Hera-cross!" The Pokémon cried out as it prepared to fight the Continent Pokémon opposite of it.


"Hey, it's Heracross!" May said with a smile. "That'll be great against Torterra!"

Leaf, who had only seen a Heracross once before, pulled out her Pokédex to find out more about Ash's Pokémon.

"Heracross, the Single Horn Pokémon. Using the sharp claws on its feet, it generates enough power to throw its opponents with amazing force. Though generally gentle and docile, it possesses great strength and power."


"Interesting," Briar said as he looked upon Ash's Bug/Fighting-type Pokémon. "I can already tell that I'm gonna have a bit of trouble with this one. Let's see what it's got. Torterra, use Leaf Storm!"

The leaves on the tree on Torterra's back began to glow a light green, and then, it released a cyclone of wind and glowing light green leaves from the tree towards its opponent.

"Heracross, dodge it and use Horn Attack!" Ash commanded.

Heracross's wings quickly came out of its back and it used them to fly out of the way of Torterra's attack. It then flew straight towards the large turtle with its now glowing silver horn aimed directly at it.

"Torterra, ward it away with Stone Edge!" Briar ordered.

Three blue rings surrounded Torterra's body before they turned white and formed into chunks of gray stones that circled around it. Its eyes then glowed green and it fired the stones at the oncoming Heracross.

"Block them with Fury Attack!" Ash instructed.

As the stones came towards it, Heracross began to swipe at them using its arms and horn to crush them or simply knock them to the ground as it continued on towards Torterra.

Once all of the stones had been dealt with, Heracross managed to fly towards Torterra and strike it in the back with its Horn Attack. The Continent Pokémon grunted as it took in the blow.

After it finished its attack, Heracross back-flipped a few feet away and landed safely on its feet as it prepared for Torterra's next attack.

"Torterra, use Seed Bomb!" Briar called out.

Torterra opened its mouth and a green orb was seen inside of it. It then fired a barrage of multiple glowing green seeds from its mouth at Heracross.

"Heracross, block them with Endure!" Ash told it.

Heracross quickly put its arms in front of its face as it was struck repeatedly by the seeds that Torterra had fired at it. Even though each seed didn't seem to do much damage, Heracross could be seen slowly sliding a few inches as the seeds pushed it back.

"Now, Torterra, use Rock Climb!" Briar grinned.

Torterra's claws suddenly glowed white and they grew longer. It then got onto its hind legs and slammed its front ones into the ground. The ground under Heracross's feet then separated and a large pillar of stone protruded from the ground, lifting the Pokémon up into the air.

Torterra then ran up the side of the stone pillar with ease and prepared to slam its body into Heracross's.

"Heracross, hurry and use Megahorn straight into the ground!" Ash shouted.

Heracross nodded and its horn took on a bright white glow before slamming its horn into the stone pillar just as Torterra was getting close to it.

"Huh?" Briar raised an eyebrow in confusion. Then, he realized what Ash was doing. "Torterra, look out!"

"Too late," Ash smirked. "Heracross, fling it into the air!"

As Torterra was about to slam into it, Heracross pulled its horn out of the ground, using it to lift Torterra into the air and fling it down towards the ground.

"Now finish it off with a Focus Punch!" Ash directed.

Heracross took off into the air from the stone pillar and then flew straight towards the falling Torterra and struck it in the belly with two glowing light blue arms. The force of its attack managed to make Torterra fall faster and crash into the ground. As it landed, it sent a cloud of dust all over the field.

While everyone waited for the smoke to clear, the stone pillar from Torterra's Rock Climb attack slowly went back into the ground until it looked like it had never even been there in the first place.

Then, the smoke finally cleared and everyone was amazed to see an unconscious Torterra lying on its back with Heracross sitting triumphantly on its belly.

"Torterra is unable to battle," Flora announced. "Heracross is the winner!"


"Woo-hoo!" May and the other girls cheered. "Way to go, Heracross!"

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu said happily with a smile.

Meowth, meanwhile, remained sitting, but he still had a huge grin on his face.

"Not too shabby, Boss," He said quietly, looking quite impressed.


At that moment, while Briar recalled his Torterra back into its ball, Ash looked down at Heracross and said, "Hey, why don't you come back for a little while and I'll use you later?"

"Hera-cross," Heracross nodded in agreement.

Ash then held out its Pokéball and a red beam of light was fired from it, engulfing the Single Horn Pokémon's body in a red light before it disappeared back into the ball.

Ash smiled at the Pokéball and then hooked it back onto his belt before he took another one off and threw it into the air, yelling, "Torkoal, I choose you!"

In a burst of light, a small, tortoise-like Pokémon with reddish-brown skin, a large black rock-like shell with "holes" that glowed with a red warmth, and gray-black bands on its legs and long neck. Its eyes also seemed to be closed.

"Tor-koal!" The Coal Pokémon called out as it blew smoke from its nostrils and the top of its back.

"Well," Briar said as he looked upon Ash's Pokémon. "I think I know exactly who to use against this Pokémon. Sawsbuck, sprout and grow!"

Instantaneously, a brown, deer-like creature with rhombus-shaped ears, a cream-colored belly, and a dark brown nose appeared onto the field. Its chin, the sides of its face, and its lower legs were all cream in coloration and its eyes and belly had light orange stripes that rimmed each of them.

Ash took out his Pokédex and scanned the Pokémon.

"Sawsbuck, the Season Pokémon and the evolved-form of Deerling. The plants on its horns change depending on the time of the year, and people often use them to measure the passing of the seasons."

Ash noticed that this particular Sawsbuck was in its Summer Form, seeing as how its antlers were fully grown with green leaves.

"Okay, Torkoal," Ash said as he looked towards his Pokémon. "It's time we warmed things up with a Flamethrower!"

Torkoal grunted and then released a stream of red-orange fire from its mouth at the Sawsbuck.

"Dodge it and then use Faint Attack!" Briar commanded.

With amazing speed, Sawsbuck dodged the Fire-type attack and then disappeared before reappearing behind Torkoal and throwing it up into the air with its horns.

"Now use Jump Kick!" Briar cried out.

As Torkoal flew up into the air, Sawsbuck quickly turned around and kicked its opponent even further upwards with its back legs.

"Koal!" Torkoal yelled as it flew up into the air.

"Torkoal, hurry and use Rapid Spin!" Ash instructed.

Torkoal quickly pulled its head and all of its limbs into its shell and began spinning at a rapid speed as it changed directions in mid-air. It then started to fly straight towards Sawsbuck.

"Sawsbuck, use Horn Leech!" Briar shouted.

Sawsbuck lowered its head and its horns became surrounded in orange. Its horns then started to glow gold and it charged at the flying Torkoal with its horns pointed at it.

"Torkoal, stop it with Smokescreen!" Ash directed.

Torkoal immediately began to release thick black smoke from its nostrils and the top of its back into the air as it spun around, hiding its body from view.

Sawsbuck ceased its attack and came to a stop. It began to look around, hoping to see its opponent in the smoke, but it had no such luck.

"Now, Torkoal! Hit it!" Ash said enthusiastically.

All of the sudden, Torkoal came out of nowhere and slammed its spinning body into Sawsbuck. While the Normal/Grass-type grunted in pain, Torkoal jumped backwards and landed back onto the ground.

"Great job, Torkoal! Now, let's finish it off with Overheat!" Ash ordered.

Torkoal quickly opened its mouth, which had suddenly begun to glow white. It then released a stream of white-hot fire that had a red-orange flame spiraling around it at the disgruntled Sawsbuck.

Before Sawsbuck could do anything, it was hit directly on its side by the blast, causing an explosion that covered the Season Pokémon's body in smoke.

"You did it, Torkoal!" Ash cheered.

"Tor-koal!" Torkoal said, crying happily.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Ash," Briar suddenly called out to him, causing Ash to immediately stop cheering.

All of the sudden, Ash's eyes widened in shock when the smoke cleared and he saw Sawsbuck still standing strong.

"B-b-but how?" Ash stammered.

"Sawsbuck, it's time to take Torkoal out," Briar said with a smirk. "Use Megahorn!"

Sawsbuck lowered its head and a radiating silver energy erupted from the ends of its horns, covering them completely. It then began to charge straight towards Torkoal with its head down.

"Torkoal, use Iron Defense!" Ash said in a panicked tone.

As Sawsbuck came at it, Torkoal pulled all of its limbs into its shell as its body became outlined in a light blue glow. Then, a white shine went up its body and its body and shell turned to iron just as Sawsbuck struck it with its Megahorn attack.

"Sawsbuck, rapid-fire Energy Ball!" Briar cried out.

At once, Sawsbuck began to fire multiple orbs of light green energy at Torkoal, who was still hiding in its shell. Even though Torkoal's shell was strong, it didn't look like it was going to last much longer as it was pounded by Sawsbuck's attacks.

"Now, end it with Leech Seed!" Briar told his Pokémon.

"No!" Ash yelled in distress.

Sawsbuck lowered its head and fired a seed from its antlers at Torkoal. As soon as the seed hit Torkoal, it attached itself to the back of its shell and began to sprout vines that immediately wrapped around Torkoal until the Coal Pokémon was completely entangled in them. The vines then took on a red glow as the Fire-type's energy was zapped, causing it to scream in pain.

"Torkoal!" Ash said in fear.

After a few moments, the red glow vanished and the vines turned dry before they fell off of Torkoal's body. Once the vines were gone, Torkoal's head and limbs all popped back out, and Ash was shocked to see that it had been knocked out.

"Torkoal is unable to battle!" Flora declared. "Sawsbuck is the winner!"


Everyone in the group was shocked as Ash returned Torkoal back into its Pokéball.

"How did that Sawsbuck beat Torkoal so easily?" Dawn asked. "Torkoal's Overheat alone should have defeated it!"

"No, it happened just the way it was meant to happen," Gavin suddenly spoke up, surprising the others.

"Huh?" Brock, who was for once as dumbfounded as the others, said with a confused look on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you notice that after Ash had Torkoal use Iron Defense, Briar only relied upon Special Attacks?" Gavin inquired as he looked at Sawsbuck. "You see, the thing is that despite Torkoal's high Defense, its Special Defense is weak. Briar knew that if he pounded against that stat, Torkoal would eventually be knocked out completely."

The others were at a loss. He was absolutely right! If that was true, how was Ash going to defeat Sawsbuck?


'I've only got three Pokémon left,' Ash thought as he analyzed his opponent's Pokémon. 'Heracross and Noctowl have already been in battles, so if this Sawsbuck does to them what it did to Torkoal, they'll be toast! Guess I have no choice then.'

Ash's hand immediately went down to his belt where it unhooked a Pokéball from its belt. He then threw it into the air and yelled, "Muk, I choose you!"

In a flash of light, a large purple blob of toxic sludge appeared onto the grassy field, causing everyone to flinch slightly.

"Muuuuuuk!" Muk bellowed as it glared at its opponent.

"Alright, Muk, are you ready for this?" Ash asked his Pokémon.

Muk nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. The Sludge Pokémon knew that now was the time for battling. It could smother and suffocate its trainer later.

"This may be a tricky opponent," Briar commented. "Okay, then! Sawsbuck, use Take Down!"

Sawsbuck began to charge straight towards Muk with its antlers pointed at it. As it ran, its body became surrounded in bronze-colored shining energy and a bright gold forcefield appeared in front of its antlers.

"Muk, just stand your ground," Ash instructed.

Muk nodded just as Sawsbuck came close and slammed its body into the glob of sludge. However, when the Season Pokémon tried to pull away, it found that it couldn't. It was stuck!

"Perfect!" Ash grinned. "My plan worked!"

"What?" Briar's eyes widened in shock. "You wanted this to happen?"

"Yup," Ash said smugly. "I knew that if Sawsbuck tried to use any physical attack on Muk, it would just get trapped! Now, it's our turn! Muk, use Fling!"

Upon command, Muk picked Sawsbuck up with its gooey arms and flung it across the field, resulting in Sawsbuck crash-landing into the ground.

"Follow it up with Sludge Bomb!" Ash ordered.

Just as Sawsbuck was attempting to stand back up on its feet, Muk opened its mouth and fired a barrage of balls of brown sludge at it. As the sludge balls began to pound against its body, Sawsbuck practically screamed due to the agonizing pain.

"Sawsbuck, heal yourself using Synthesis!" Briar called out.

After it managed to lift its head up off of the ground, Sawsbuck's body became surrounded by white sparkles and its whole body began to glow white. As well, the leaves on its antlers then glowed brightly as it slowly healed its injuries.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Ash said with a smirk. "Muk, finish it off with Body Slam!"

Muk quickly jumped into the air and Sawsbuck flinched in terror as the Sludge Pokémon fell on top of it. Muk's body covered Sawsbuck's for a few moments before it decided to slide off.

As it did, everyone gasped when they saw that Sawsbuck had been knocked out cold by Muk's attack.

"Sawsbuck is unable to battle!" Flora said out loud. "Muk is the winner!"


"Alright!" Dawn and May cheered enthusiastically. "Now Ash has only one more Pokémon to beat!"

"Uh, guys," Brock suddenly said, catching the others' attention. "Isn't this a bad time to be getting too excited?"

"What do you mean, Brock?" Misty asked.

"What I mean is that usually when Ash is battling a gym leader, the last Pokémon that the gym leader sends out is their most powerful and seemingly unstoppable Pokémon," Brock explained. "Then, that Pokémon ends up knocking out almost all of Ash's Pokémon until he only has one left."

Everyone thought about this for a moment. Was every gym battle of Ash's really that predictable?

"Nah," The girls all said in unison. "Ash will beat Briar's last Pokémon easy. There's no way that the writer would do that."

It was at this point that Gavin looked around for a moment and thought out loud, "I wonder where Max is."


Meanwhile, just outside the gym, Max was frantically searching for Vivi. For about ten minutes, he had been looking around everywhere, but unfortunately, he couldn't find her anywhere.

"Vivi!" Max yelled with worry. "I'm sorry! Where are you?"

He continued looking every which way until he suddenly heard someone sobbing from behind a nearby tree. He then walked over towards the tree. His frown deepened when he saw Vivi sitting up against the tree with her arms hugging themselves around her legs and her face hidden in her arms.

"Uh, Vivi," Max hesitantly said as he stopped just several feet in front of her. "Are you...uh…okay?"

"Am I okay?" He heard Vivi say in a muffled voice. "AM I OKAY? DO I LOOK LIKE I'M OKAY?"

She lifted her head and Max saw that Vivi's face was now just as red as her face and tears were literally streaming from her eyes, which had turned red as well.

"How could you?" Vivi asked with venom in her voice. "I've been waiting for forever to find you in the hopes of seeing you again, but then, when I finally did run into you, you didn't even recognize me! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Max was silent for a moment as his head drooped to the ground to where Vivi couldn't see his eyes behind the glare of sunlight that shone on his glasses.

Eventually, he spoke up and said, "Vivi, I'm sorry. I should have recognized you, but I didn't. And for that, I will always be sorry. But even though I may not have recognized you, I never forgot you."

Vivi perked up slightly. "You didn't?"

Max shook his head. "I even came to visit you when I went on my journey through Hoenn, but you weren't there."


(Flashback)

It was a bright and shining day as Max walked through the desert towards the home of the Winstrate family.

As he walked, he had a wide grin on his face and a small, white Pokémon with a green "helmet" that covered its eyes and two red horns on the front and back of its helmet hanging onto his shoulder.

"Looks like we're almost there," Max said with a grin as he looked over at the Pokémon on his shoulder. "Are you excited, Ralts?"

Ralts nodded and happily chimed out, "Ral-ral!"

Max then looked down beside him and said, "How about you, buddy?"

Walking by his side was a small, green, bipedal Pokémon with hands and feet that each had three digits, a large, dark green tail with two separate lobes, and a red throat and stomach. As well, it had yellow eyes with long, narrow pupils and a line across its stomach that resembled a pouch.

"Tree-cko," The Wood Gecko Pokémon said calmly with an aura that practically emanated coolness.

Max smiled and then looked back towards the road. His smile widened, however, when he noticed a familiar-looking house just up ahead.

"Alright! We're here!" Max exclaimed as he broke out into a run towards the Winstrate house with Ralts holding on tight to his shoulder and Treecko frantically running after him in an attempt to keep up with its trainer.

As soon as the three of them ran up onto their front porch, Max knocked on the door. Seconds later, a woman who looked like an older version of Vivi opened the door.

"Oh, if it isn't Max!" Victoria Winstrate said with a smile as she saw the teal-haired boy standing in front of her. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I'm kind of on my journey right now," Max started to say while nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "And I decided to stop by and visit on my way to Lavaridge Town for my next gym battle. So, is Vivi here?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Max," Victoria said with a surprised look on her face. "But Vivi's on her journey right now as well. If I'm not mistaken, she's in Fortree City at the moment."

"Oh." Max's head drooped sadly at the mention of this news. "Well, thanks anyway."

With that, Max walked off away from the Winstrate house and back into the desert with his Pokémon.

(End Flashback)


"So you see," Max continued, "I really wanted to see you again. I'm sorry that I didn't recognize you. I hope that you can forgive me."

Suddenly, Max felt someone wrap their arms around him and put their head on his shoulder, which began to feel wet as tears dripped down onto it.

"Of course I forgive you!" Vivi said with happiness in her voice. "I'm just glad that I was finally able to see you again!"

Max looked down at the girl hugging him and smiled. "Me too."


Back inside, Ash was getting psyched as he waited for Briar to unleash his final Pokémon.

"Just one more battle and then I'll get my fourth badge!" Ash said enthusiastically. "You ready for this, Muk?"

"Muk!" Muk grinned happily.

Across the field, however, Briar had a serious look on his face that soon turned into a smirk.

"Well, Ash, this has been an awesome battle," He said as he took out his last Pokéball. "But now, it's all over. Tangrowth sprout and grow!"

Briar then threw the Pokéball into the air, and in a flash of light, the Grass-type gym leader's final Pokémon appeared. At the sight of this Pokémon, Ash and the others all gasped.

Currently on the opposite side of the field was a large creature that stood over 6 feet tall. It had a black body wrapped up in a multitude of blue vines. Its stubby black feet were tipped with red and a pair of blue arms that had three fingers tipped with red. As well, it had a pair of saucer-like eyes that peeked out from beneath the tangled mess of vines that covered its body.

"Tan-growth," The Vine Pokémon said in a deep voice as it gave Muk and Ash a piercing stare.


"Who's that Pokémon?" May asked the others.

"It's a Tangrowth," Gary said, recognizing the Pokémon from his travels through the Sinnoh Region.

"Tangrowth?" Leaf repeated with a confused look on her face.

"Here, check this out," Gavin said as he showed the others his Pokédex.

"Tangrowth, the Vine Pokémon and the evolved-form of Tangela. It ensnares prey by extending arms made of vines. If they are cut off, they grow right back."

"Well, it's been a while since I've seen Tangrowth in battle," Jeremiah said with a sigh. "Usually, Briar is able to beat most trainers with his other Pokémon before he has to bring out Tangrowth. Ash certainly is a powerful trainer."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Cilan inquired.

"What I mean is that Tangrowth is Briar's most powerful Pokémon," Jeremiah explained, "and very few trainers have ever been able to defeat it."


Ash blinked a few times at the sight of Briar's Tangrowth before blurting out, "We can beat that pile of vines easily!"

"Oh, really?" Briar raised an eyebrow and gave Ash a smirk. "I'd like to see that. Give us your best shot."

"Okay, you asked for it!" Ash said before pointing straight at Tangrowth. "Muk, hit it with Gunk Shot!"

Muk put its hands together and created an orb of a purple, toxic-looking sludge in between them. Then, it fired a stream of poison sludge from the orb straight at Tangrowth.

"Tangrowth, intercept with AncientPower!" Briar instructed.

Tangrowth's body began to glow white and it created a see-through after image of itself. The after image then spun around quickly and formed in between its outstretched arms as a silver ball with a green core. It then threw the orb at Muk's attack.

As the two attacks collided, they exploded upon contact into a cloud of black smoke that soon after dissipated.

"How did it…?" Ash started to say before shaking his head and yelling, "Muk, use Brick Break!"

Muk's hand glowed white as it slid towards and swung a glowing white arm at its Grass-type opponent.

"Tangrowth, block it with Knock Off!" Briar directed.

Tangrowth's arm became surrounded by black sparks and then it lashed it at Muk's arm, deflecting the strike and lessening the damage that it received significantly.

"Now, hit it with Earthquake!" Briar commanded.

Tangrowth lifted up one of its stubby legs into the air and brought it down hard, causing the ground to tremble and shake dangerously. As the ground shook, Muk grunted as it struggled to stand its ground.

"Follow it up with Confusion!" Briar continued.

Tangrowth's eyes glowed light blue before Muk's body became outlined in a similar glow and the Sludge Pokémon flinched as he was hurt by the psychic energy.

"Finish it off with Power Whip!" Briar shouted.

Both of Tangrowth's arms glowed purple as it lashed them out and hit Muk with them. The blow from the attack was so strong that it knocked the Poison-type out cold.

"Muk," Muk gurgled as it slumped to the ground in its unconscious state.

"Muk is unable to battle!" Flora announced. "Tangrowth is the winner!"

Ash quickly recalled Muk back into its Pokéball and hooked the device back onto his belt. He then grabbed another Pokéball and threw it into the air, yelling, "Noctowl, I choose you!"

In a burst of light blue light, the Owl Pokémon reappeared onto the field. It looked a bit beaten down, but it still looked like it was able to fight.

"Alright, Noctowl, we can do this!" Ash said encouragingly. "Use Air Slash!"

Noctowl immediately fired a barrage of light blue glowing saw disc-like energy blades at its opponent.

"Tangrowth, use Protect!" Briar hollered out.

As the energy blades came towards it, Tangrowth created a bluish-green force field in front of itself, blocking Noctowl's attack and protecting it from damage.

Ash growled angrily. "Noctowl, use Sky Attack!"

Noctowl's eyebrow tufts glowed white and it flew into the air before its body became surrounded by a white aura as it flew at Tangrowth.

Briar sneered. "Tangrowth, take it out with Shock Wave!"

"What?" Ash's eyes widened in shock as he watched Tangrowth fire a jagged beam of yellow electricity at Noctowl.

Noctowl screamed with agonizing pain as it was struck with the super-effective attack. After a few seconds of electrocution, Noctowl was knocked unconscious and was sent hurtling towards the ground until it landed with a "THUD".

"Noctowl is unable to battle!" Flora said to everyone. "Tangrowth is the winner!"


Everyone in the stands was completely shocked. Ash had gone from winning with three Pokémon in his arsenal to having only one Pokémon left. It was at this point that Max and Vivi returned from being outside.

"Hey, guys," Max said as he and Vivi sat back down in the bleachers. "So what's going on? How's Ash doing?"

"Um, well," Dawn gulped as she stared at the field. "Ash managed to defeat Briar's Torterra and Sawsbuck, but his Tangrowth took out both Ash's Muk and Noctowl. Now, Ash only has one Pokémon left."

"Plup," Piplup said sadly as it sat in Dawn's lap and covered its eyes.

"Man, that sounds like something the writer would do to get back at the main characters for breaking the fourth wall," Vivi commented.

"Oh, come on," Gary said calmly. "The writer wouldn't do that, would he?"

(Yes. Yes, I would. Now get back to the battle and stop breaking the fourth wall or else you all will suffer my wrath!)


Ash could feel his body shake nervously as he stared at Briar and his Tangrowth. The raven-haired trainer was trying to keep his cool, but was struggling greatly.

'This is nuts,' Ash thought as he looked at his opponents. 'That Tangrowth took out both Muk and Noctowl without even breaking a sweat. Now, all that I have left is Heracross, but will it be enough to beat that Tangrowth?'

Ash then shook his head and a confident look appeared in his brown eyes.

"No, I can't give up," Ash said with a passion now burning within him. "If I give up, then all of my Pokémon will have fought all of those tough battles for nothing. It's time to win this!"

He then turned his cap around and threw his last Pokéball into the air, shouting out, "Heracross, I choose you!"

Instantly, the Single Horn Pokémon rematerialized onto the field and gave Tangrowth a piercing glare.

"Heracross, let's get going!" Ash grinned. "Use Aerial Ace!"

Heracross took off into the air with a high burst of speed with a clear aura and white streaks around its body as it flew towards Tangrowth.

"Tangrowth, stop it with Power Whip!" Briar ordered.

Tangrowth nodded and then stretched out its light purple glowing arm at Heracross before slamming it down to the ground.

"Heracross, try your Night Slash!" Ash cried out.

Heracross's claws turned a whitish purple as it jumped up and slashed them at Tangrowth.

"Use Giga Drain!" Briar yelled.

Tangrowth held out its arms and fired two green tendrils from them at the oncoming Heracross. As Heracross was hit, its body was wrapped up tight while its energy was drained.

"Heracross, you've got to break out!" Ash told his Pokémon. "Use Struggle Bug!"

Heracross's body briefly became surrounded in a red aura. The aura then faded away before it broke out of Tangrowth's energy tendrils with a huge dome of red energy that burst out of its body and disrupted the Grass-type's attack.

"Now, use Focus Punch!" Ash hollered out.

Heracross's forearm began to glow light blue as it prepared to punch Tangrowth.

"Tangrowth, use Protect!" Briar said with a confident grin.

Tangrowth nodded and created a bluish-green forcefield around its body in preparation for Heracross's attack.

"Gotcha," Ash smiled. "Heracross, switch to Feint!"

Heracross's horn glowed white as it jumped at Tangrowth and slammed its horn into Tangrowth's forcefield, destroying the barrier completely.

"No!" Briar shouted in utter shock. "Tangrowth, hurry and grab it with Wrap!"

Tangrowth quickly flung both of its arms at Heracross and wrapped them around its horn.

"Big mistake," Ash said with a glint in his eye. "Heracross, give it a throw!"

Heracross grinned menacingly, which caused Tangrowth to freak out before the Bug/Fighting-type started to spin Tangrowth around with its horn. After a few seconds, Heracross threw Tangrowth up high into the air.

"Let's end this," Ash said with a serious look on his face. "Use Megahorn!"

Heracross quickly flew up into the air high above the airborne Tangrowth. Its horn then glowed in a bright white glow as it rammed it into Tangrowth's chest and sent it crashing into the ground.

As the two hit the ground, a huge cloud of dust covered the entire battlefield. Once it finally cleared away, everyone saw an unconscious Tangrowth lying on the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"Tangrowth is unable to battle!" Flora declared. "Heracross is the winner! The victory goes to Ash!"

"We did it!" Ash fist-pumped into the air with glee.

Suddenly, Ash was almost tackled to the ground by a certain brunette that wore a red bandana.

"You were amazing!" May said as she squeezed the trainer tightly.

"Thanks, May," Ash grinned. Then, he noticed Briar walking over with a beaten-up Tangrowth and his assistant Flora by his side.

"Ash, that was a brilliant battle," Briar said with a smile. "As proof of your victory, it is my pleasure to give you the Jungle Badge."

The Gym Leader then placed a small piece of metal into Ash's hand that was shaped like a palm tree with green leaves and a dark brown trunk carved into it.

Ash's smile grew even wider before he held the badge into the air and proclaimed, "I just won…a Jungle Badge!"

"Pi-pika-chu!" Pikachu said while giving his signature peace sign.

"Hera-cross!" Heracross winked and gave a thumbs-up.

All of the sudden, the celebration was brought to a halt as a small part of the wall behind them burst open in a large explosion.

Everyone quickly turned around and they were all shocked to see a large hole in the wall. Then, a red blur suddenly jumped through it and out in front of them.

Now standing before them was a large, red, bird-like creature with long, beige-colored, hair-like feathers on its head, a red crest on its head with two points, resembling a "V," and a hooked beak. As well, it had gray, three-fingered hands with flames shooting out from its wrists, strong, muscular legs with yellow feathers on the bottoms, and three-clawed toes. What was most menacing about it, however, was that its left eye was blue with a yellow sclera, but the right one had a white iris with a scar running down it.

"Blaz-i-ken!" The bird yelled out angrily.

"It's a Blaziken!" Misty exclaimed.

"But what's it doing here?" Gary thought out loud.

Suddenly, the one-eyed Blaziken's sights turned to Pichu and it looked even angrier.

"Blaz-i-ken!" Blaziken yelled out as it jumped out at the Tiny Electric Mouse Pokémon with its fists cloaked in red-yellow flames.

"Pichu!" Gavin yelled out.

"Pi-chu!" Pichu shouted in terror as it dodged several Fire Punches from the Blaziken and began running away from it.

"It's after Pichu!" Meowth said in shock.

Then, the Blaziken opened its mouth and released an intense blast of exploding flames straight at Pichu.

"Pichu, look out!" Gavin called out to his partner.

"Piiiiiii!" Pichu cried out as it raised its arms up and prepared for the flames to hit it.

What is this strange Blaziken doing there and why is it attacking Pichu? Will everyone's favorite Electric-type be able to get out of this one? Tune in and find out next time on "Pokémon: League of Ultimates"!


Next Chapter: Chapter 47: "A New Rival Appears! Pichu's Burning Ambition!" – Just after Ash received his fourth badge, a powerful Blaziken has appeared that seems to want to destroy Pichu! Not only that, but this Blaziken's trainer seems to have something against Gavin! How will they get out of this one? Stay tuned for the next chapter! It's a real scorcher!

I hope you guys enjoyed this long overdue chapter! Read and Review!

Okay, now I'll explain why I haven't updated in so long. Some of you may or may not know that I have been having to take summer classes since the beginning of June. Now, I thought that they were going to be easy and that I was going to be able to have plenty of time to write, but unfortunately, it's been project after project, quiz after quiz, assignment after assignment, essay after essay, and exam after exam! I barely have time to even think! What's worse, is that six of my co-workers where I work decided to all quit at the same time, and I've been having to work even more than usual until we hire and train a bunch of new employees! Plus, in the case of fanfiction, I've been busy with five or six different fanfics that cause me a lot of writer's block.

I'm sorry about the slowness and lack of updates, but at this moment, I'm really busy and have very little time to write. However, once we get into August and I get back to my regular college, I'll have plenty of free time to work on fanfics, so you all will have to hold out until then. Sorry, but I have to do well in these summer classes and deal with work. I'll try to write as much as I can, but it'll probably be slow until August. I appreciate you all still reading though!

Now, due to the new review features that now force me to take in both regular and guest reviews, there is a new rule for guest reviewers. If you review, it must be a credible review and it must make sense! Try to stay relevant in your reviews regarding the chapter! This goes for everyone, but I've been having the most trouble with the guest reviews! So, if any of the guest reviews are irrelevant and are not credible, they will be deleted. Some people have said that there's a good chance that this story could one day have the most reviews out of all Pokemon fanfiction, but if I was to achieve that goal, I want them to be credible. I'm sorry and I'm not trying to be mean, but I really don't need to have another review war right now. Thank you for listening!

Oh, and this is a message to any and all Advanceshippers! If you would like to have a new place where you can have fun and talk to many other Advanceshippers, please send me a PM! Do not ask me about this in your review! I will only tell you more information if you PM me. So, if you're interested, send a PM my way!

Okay, until next time! See ya!