A/N:

Alright, let's get cracking on another chapter. I was too tired to start yesterday after work, and that might be a theme going forward. I will however do my best to write.

Now before I start my chapter properly there are a few reviews I want to respond to:

Nitewolf423: That Metagross is indeed in Sinnoh, but if any of the group is getting it, I am unsure. I do however highly doubt even if I do have somebody catch it that it'll be Ash. He already has two pseudos, and if I give him a third, I already know which he's getting.

Silverkami963: I do realize that I might be going a bit overboard when it comes to the olfactory sensations, so I will be trying to replace a bit of it with ocular and auditory perceptions. And I will try to include more interactions between the trio. No promises about it though.

Fan (Guest): That could be an idea, but I am not entirely certain how I'd go about it with her being aware that he doesn't listen as well as her other team members. I have another idea that might go a similar route though, and which is easier for me to incorporate.

R3DR031N: I kind of wonder how you came up with that name, but it is not important. I will undoubtedly finish this story, but it might take me a while. I never abandon a project completely, but sometimes it goes on hiatus. Which technically this story has done twice in the last year due to my writer's block. I hope to push through and not go on any more extended hiatuses, but that isn't something I can promise.

Xerzo LotCN: I do understand your point, but even if he had stronger Pokémon with him, he'd still have sat that one out. His back is kind of messed up at the moment, and battling J and Saturn would have been a very stupid idea when they could have disabled him so easily. When it comes to the Cynthia thing, I disagree with you somewhat, especially as he doesn't need to impress her. She already knows about him, Lance told her remember? And I try to keep the region Pokémon with him as well as I can, to stay as true as possible to that part of the anime. I change stuff, and I can change even more, but that doesn't mean that I want to change the entirety of the story.

This suddenly became a very long A/N, and I apologize for that, so let's get started with the actual chapter. Oh, before that I realized I made a slight mistake in a very early chapter that might have been misinterpreted. In Chapter 6 I think, Ash stated that it would be Paul's second year out due to the difference in starting age. That would be wrong, it would be his third. First when he was fourteen, second at fifteen, and the third now that he is sixteen, as he is the same age as Ash. Just wanted to clear that up, because that might be brought up later in the story.

Once again: I do not own Pokémon or any associated products, aside from the cards and miniatures I bought, and make no money from this writing.

On to the chapter!

The Rancor of Rivalry!

Ash stared incredulously at the match in front of him, having not expected to see Paul trying to take on the Sinnoh Champion. He shook his head, clearing it off distractions, and focused fully on the match in front of him. The tortoise was panting heavily, sounding gruff and hoarse to Ash's ears. The wind blew sharply through the clearing once more, whistling as it pulled a few leaves out of the branches on its way. The clearing in which the two Pokémon was engaged in combat looked barren and ripped apart, a few roots lying motionless from the holes they had ripped out of the ground. -Frenzy Plant, Ash noted casually as he kept his attention on the battle. Both Cynthia and Paul had completely ignored his previous outburst, which suited Ash just fine as it allowed him to study the battle in front of him.

"Torterra use Razor Leaf, and standby for Solarbeam!" Paul ordered suddenly, a tension in his voice that he had not had battling Ash. The giant tortoise launched a massive wave of razor-sharp, juniper leaves that sped towards Garchomp, who made no attempt to move. The leaves made a sough as they neared their target, only to be brutally quashed as Garchomp struck with its right fin. The nearest leaves crumbled into nothing at the impact, but the furthest back simply stopped and fell slowly to the ground. Torterra's massive Solar Beam shot toward Garchomp just seconds later, the shining lemon beam emitting a dazzling display of light. Garchomp again simply slammed it down with its fin, not even bothered at all by the massive attack.

"Enough, Garchomp end this. Use Giga Impact!" Cynthia finally ordered, and judging by the mumbling by all the others in the audience it might well be her first command of the battle. Her Garchomp launched itself high into the sky, before descending like a meteor toward Torterra. The massive screen of violet energy infused with several tendrils of yellow looked terrifying, yet Torterra simply dug its feet in and got ready to take the hit straight on. The ensuing collision sent a massive cloud of dust up, obscuring the entire battlefield. The number of dust particles in the air made it hard to breathe, and when Ash accidentally had some fly up his nose, he couldn't help but sneeze.

When the dust cloud settled a few moments later Torterra was still standing but looked to be on its very last legs. It groaned but didn't exactly seem willing to give up. Ash rose an eyebrow, observing the stubborn Torterra standing its ground. -Managing to maintain battle spirit even after taking that hit is actually impressive, he thought gazing over at Paul. Paul was gritting his teeth, a furious scowl upon his face even as sweat droplets trickled down the side of his brow. He seemed to hesitate slightly, uncertain about his next action.

Reaching his decision, Paul bellowed his next order. "Use Earthquake to shake it off balance and hit it with Wood Hammer!" Torterra roared as it reared up on its hind legs and slammed down onto the ground again, before rushing toward Garchomp with a curious basil glow around the tree growing on its back. Garchomp hadn't been entirely prepared for the Earthquake, but only lost its balance for a moment. That moment was almost enough for Torterra to slam its Wood Hammer into Garchomp, but not quite.

"Counter with Dragon Claw!" Cynthia stated easily, if loudly. The powerful attack instantly impacted against Torterra's Wood Hammer, and another slightly less powerful explosion occurred. When the dust settled this time, Garchomp was still uninjured and Torterra had been sent careening backward. Still standing with a determined frown, until a jolt of pain seemed to travel up its spine and it fell flat on the ground. Paul clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction but made no other comment as he withdrew the powerful Continent Pokémon.

"Weavile, standby for battle!" he shouted, as he released another of his Pokémon. This one was a bipedal weasel-like Pokémon with Prussian blue fur and a large crimson headdress. The headdress seemed to be made from some kind of featherlike growths, and it had a choker around its neck from the same material. In addition, a singular feather also protruded from each side of its head, just behind where the ears seemed to be, and a trio seemed to make up some kind of tail. The Pokémon had sharp claws on each of its hands, along with three talon-like claws on each of its feet.

Ash rose an eyebrow, a curious expression settling on his face at Paul's determination to keep battling against Cynthia's Garchomp. He quickly took notice that Dawn and Brock weren't with him, and hurriedly located them before he again focused on the battle. Dawn had given up on trying to force her way through the crowd and was sitting on top of a rather large boulder brushing her Altaria while she watched from her vantage point. Brock was tall enough to simply watch the battle over the crowd, though he didn't seem at all invested. Breathing a sigh of relief that his companions were present, Ash turned back to the battle. Though as he watched he wondered idly whether it could be called a battle, as Garchomp effortlessly countered everything Weavile threw at it. It didn't take more than a few minutes before Garchomp seemingly grew bored, and slammed a Brick Break into Weavile sending the Sharp Claw Pokémon down and out for the count.

Paul growled in defiance before he returned his Weavile and turned on his heel to walk away. "I forfeit, I see no reason to continue to battle," he growled out before he moved, snarling at a few of the crowd who weren't fast enough to get out of his way. As he walked away a few mumbles from the crowd could be heard, although indecipherable over the low whistling of the wind and rustling of leaves. Ash shook his head slightly but made no move to step forward or otherwise draw attention to himself.

As the crowd dispersed slowly, Ash made his way back over to Dawn and Brock. "Not going to challenge Cynthia yourself, Ash?" Brock asked teasingly, knowing how much Ash liked a challenge. His question caused Ash to chuckle lowly, which brought a smile to both Brock's and Dawn's faces, though a confused one. Ash gazed up into the sky, taking a deep breath of the clear afternoon air and the scents of the forest with it.

"Not yet. When I battle Cynthia, if I ever do, I want it to be after I have actually gained the right to challenge the Elite Four and Champion, legitimately," he answered, smiling towards the sky. He smiled slightly, he gazed at Dawn for a moment. Noticing her boyfriend's gaze Dawn blushed somewhat but smiled back. "We should get going, we still have a long way ahead of us to get to Hearthome," Ash continued after a moment, eager to get back on the road. Brock chuckled lightly and shook his head in exasperation, knowing full well that Ash had trouble sitting still. Dawn only giggled at her boyfriend's enthusiasm, getting up from brushing Altaria and returning the Humming Pokémon.

After about an hour or so travel the trio came across a Pokécenter, not the closest to where they had come across Cynthia but a close one nonetheless. To Ash's great surprise he noticed Paul sitting in one of the booths, a thunderous expression on his face. -Probably reflecting on his battle with Cynthia, he thought to himself. The trio easily got rooms for the evening, as it was getting late and since they had the chance to sleep at a center two nights in a row they might as well take it. Ash kept an eye on Paul throughout the evening, and when they had just finished his dinner, he finally decided to approach the rather ill-tempered rival.

"Evening, Paul," he stated casually, as he approached Paul's table. Dawn and Brock both kept their distance, knowing just as well as Ash that it was likely Paul wouldn't appreciate the disturbance. Ash smiled a sympathetic smile toward the other boy, even as Paul turned a furious glare his way. Brushing the negative emotions out of the way, Ash continued, "You did good earlier, not many would have the guts to even challenge Cynthia like that. Your Torterra was quite impressive."

Paul just glared harder before he finally gritted out, almost in a snarl, "I still lost horribly, and I'd thank you not to remind me." He didn't even seem to appreciate the compliment to his Torterra, only focusing on the negatives. His entire posture was tense, and he was gritting his teeth so hard that Ash thought he could hear the bones in his jaw groan in protest. The furious glint in Paul's eyes remained, and his temper didn't seem to abate in the slightest even as Ash tried to carry a casual conversation. Finally, Ash seemed to realize that his rival wasn't going to let go of the anger soon, so intending to simply walk away he got up.

Before he left the table, however, he made one last remark, "Believe it or not, Paul, but you did well against Cynthia earlier. Even among the Champions, the only one to match her properly is Lance, and maybe the new Johto Champion. Whether you admit it or not, your Pokémon were not at fault for what happened." With a shrug he turned to walk away, only to be stopped as Paul roughly grabbed his elbow. He turned back to his rival in curiosity, only to see Paul glaring even more furiously at him and this time he truly was the source of his rival's anger.

"So you're saying it's my fault?" Paul hissed in a dangerously low tone, his grip pressing hard on Ash's elbow. Though most would find the grip painful, Ash simply shrugged it off and forced Paul to let go of his arm. Narrowing his eyes at Paul, Ash seemed ready to respond. Only to realize that it wouldn't matter, Paul wasn't listening either way. Paul snorted at Ash's silence and continued in a mocking voice, "Of course, you believe you and your pathetic unevolved Pokémon could have done better."

That sparked Ash's ire, and even Brock's eyes widened at the flash of anger that flitted over his face. Turning fully to face Paul again, and not standing half turned away as he had, he got right in Paul's face. "That isn't a statement I'm prepared to let go. I don't give a shit that you're angry over your loss, Paul. Never call my friends pathetic to my face again," Ash's voice was deep and filled with anger. The two sixteen-year-olds were squaring up, almost coming to physical blows.

"Why don't you prove me wrong then?" Paul snarled, his eyes not betraying any nervousness about the challenge. "You against me in a three-on-three right now," he continued, a growl evident in his voice as he spoke. His heartbeat drumming in his ears due to his anger, and his nose flaring, Ash angrily accepted the challenge. Brock watched from the sideline, a nervous expression on his face. Dawn seemed shocked more than anything, having never seen Ash even close to losing his temper properly before. The closest was against Ace before they got to Jubilife or Merlin, but he had never actually displayed such anger before.

The two marched outside to find a battlefield, a rush of wind hitting them as they stepped out. The wind died shortly after and the green leaves on the trees hung loosely, no sound other than the two angry rivals could be heard. The two glared at each other from across the field, prompting Brock to heave a sigh as he stepped up to referee. "We don't need a referee," Paul snarled, trying to force Brock to back down. Only to find that while the former Gym Leader was easy-going most of the time he had a core as strong as steel, staring the younger trainer into submission.

"Yes, you do. Both of you are far too angry to think properly about your Pokémon, so when I make a decision, it is to be followed. Am I clear?" Brock ordered staring at both of the rivals in turn. Getting grudging nods out of both of them, Brock continued, "Alright, we will flip a coin for who choose the trainer to reveal their Pokémon first. Call it." With that said he flipped a coin in the air, and waited for a call as the coin fell towards his hand.

"Tails," Paul grunted, his eyes never leaving Ash. Brock quickly grabbed the coin from the air and slapped it onto his forearm. Removing it he saw that it came up tails, and he gestured to Paul to choose. Paul smirked, "He goes first." Both boys still glared at one another, but Ash pulled a Pokéball from his belt to release.

"Vespiquen let's go!" he shouted, releasing his first Pokémon. The Beehive Pokémon picking up on her trainer's anger almost immediately and buzzing in preparation for battle. On the sidelines, Dawn sat nervously watching the battle, as the two angry trainers got ready to duke it out. Paul smirked widely at seeing Ash's first Pokémon and grabbed one of his Pokéballs.

"Lairon, standby for battle!" he commanded as he released the Iron Armor Pokémon. It crashed heavily onto the battlefield with a screeching roar, quickly getting into battle position. The two Pokémon tensed and readied themselves for battle, as the two trainers waited for an opportunity to take the initiative. Ash gritted his teeth, knowing full well that Vespiquen was at a massive disadvantage. Finally, he figured he had to grab the initiative, and so he started the battle.

"Vespiquen use Bug Buzz!" The attack flew towards Lairon, who simply took the attack without issue. Vespiquen tried flying upwards to avoid any possible retaliation, as Lairon rushed forward towards her.

"Use Rock Tomb!" Paul ordered harshly, wanting to end the battle as decisively as he could. Vespiquen hurriedly dodged the large rocks sent her way on Ash's command, but couldn't find an opening to retaliate. Finally, Vespiquen failed to doge one of the rocks and went crashing to the ground. Lairon rushed forward to comply with Paul's new order, "Iron Head!"

"You have to get up and dodge that, Vespiquen!" Hearing her trainers cry, she barely managed to get up and barely managed to dodge the incoming attack. "Retaliate with Confuse Ray, and then use Air Slash!" The pale-yellow ball of Confuse Ray almost connected with Lairon, if it hadn't been for a sudden leap backward that kept it out of harm's way. The Air Slash impacted on Lairon's armored head but seemed to do very little against the Iron Armor Pokémon.

Paul clicked his tongue, and roared another command, "Use Rock Tomb again, and hit it with Metal Claw when it falls!" Lairon roared as it performed another Rock Tomb, the sound of gravel shifting as the rocks were lifted out of the ground grating on their ears. An aroma of earth and mud wafted out of the recently made holes in the ground, though neither trainer paid much attention to it.

"Use Pin Missile to deal with the Rock Tomb, and retaliate!" Ash ordered, having an idea suddenly. Vespiquen fired a huge number of pins to counter the Rock Tomb, and the two attacks exploded against each other. Vespiquen's Pin Missile suddenly shot out of the smoke, only to meet with the Metal Claw that Lairon had already prepared and be batted away without issue.

On the sideline, Dawn commented quietly to Brock, "Aren't they being a bit too aggressive? Couldn't they hurt their Pokémon like this?" The question brought a scowl to Brock's face, as he witnessed the raging battle in front of him. He sighed heavily but turned slightly to watch Dawn out of the corner of his eyes.

"It was inevitable. Ash is pretty laidback, but he doesn't stand for insults to his friends. Be they Pokémon or human, the second this guy insulted them this became unavoidable," Brock explained, though Dawn could hear he liked it no better than she did. She did notice that Brock didn't appear to know who Paul was, though she made no further comment as she went back to watching the battle.

Vespiquen seemed exhausted from the continued dodging and massive attacks that did very little damage to her opponent, while Lairon didn't seem too bad off. Lairon was a bit tired but was otherwise rather unhurt. "End this with Rock Tomb!" Paul ordered, his scowl not having lessened at all throughout the battle. The attack crashed into Vespiquen, who was simply too tired to dodge it properly any longer, and sent her to the ground, knocked out.

Brock immediately took charge, "Vespiquen is unable to battle! Ash choose your next Pokémon." While he hated having to do it, the wellbeing of the Pokémon remained his priority. Ash gritted his teeth angrily but complied with the order. Returning Vespiquen, he thought briefly on who to send out against the Steel- and Rock-type. He settled rather quickly and rapidly sent out Gible.

Gible landed on the field and bared its teeth at Lairon. Paul narrowed his eyes at seeing the elusive and rare pseudo-legendary of his own home region but quickly shook it off. Taking the initiative Paul ordered, "Use Iron Head!" Gible stood ready for whatever action Ash wanted it to take, and upon getting its orders acted immediately. A powerful Sand Tomb met with the charging Lairon, lifting the heavy Pokémon slightly off the ground and sending it crashing past its starting position.

"Good work, Gible. Now use Dig!" Ash praised his attention fully on the battlefield in front of him. The Land Shark Pokémon disappeared into the ground, rushing around in the ground at a speed few Pokémon would be able to follow. Lairon frantically looked around, trying to find out just where Gible was at any given time. "Now!" Ash roared, and Gible erupted from straight underneath Lairon, causing it to fly skyward. "End it with Bite!" Gible followed the order to the finish, biting around Lairon's back and tossing it like a ragdoll to crash in front of Paul's feet, completely unconscious.

"Lairon is unable to battle. Paul choose your next Pokémon," Brock immediately intervened, forcing the irate purple-haired trainer to change Pokémon. The field had by now started s resemble a minefield, and smelled about the same due to the numerous explosions that had occurred. The slow shifting of sand and gravel grated in their ears, only occasionally being drowned out by the whistle of the wind.

Paul growled lowly, "Lairon return. Ninjask, standby for battle!" The Ninja Pokémon appeared on the field, flashing from one location to the next with loud buzzes. The slight blur seemed almost imperceptible, yet Gible seemed to follow it rather well. "Attack with Fury Cutter!" Paul ordered shortly after, intent on keeping the advantage. Ninjask zoomed toward Gible, only to be forced to veer to the side or fly right into Gible's Bite. All the trainers present widened their eyes in surprise, none of them would have figured Gible would be able to keep up with Ninjask.

"Great job, Gible! Now counterattack with Dragonbreath!" The purple cone of flame spewed out of Gible's mouth, almost clipping Ninjask. On Paul's command, however, Ninjask performed an aerial roll to dodge the attack and retaliated with a Shadow Ball. The Ghost-type attack took Ash and Gible by surprise, exploding upon contact with Gible's jaw and sending him backward. The damage sustained wasn't major, but it was enough to raise some concern from Ash. The two trainers narrowed their eyes at one another once more, the battle reaching a bit of a lull where neither trainer acted.

Suddenly both trainers commanded nearly simultaneous attacks, and a Dragonbreath and Shadow Ball impacted each other midair. The explosion kicked up a bit of dust, stinging the eyes and noses of those nearby. When the cloud dissipated, neither Pokémon were visible on the field. "He's hiding in one of the holes, Ninjask. Use Bug Buzz to smoke him out!" Paul roared, his temper flaring even more. Ninjask appeared in a blur from the forest line, sending a huge amount of almost visible yellowish-green waves into the holes of the battlefield.

The attack forced Gible up to the surface and caused a bit more damage. Gible and Ash however were ready to counterattack the second Gible broke the surface. "Use Dragonbreath!" The waves of purple flame swarmed Ninjask and caused a significant amount of damage upon impact, but not enough to send Ninjask down for the count. Paul smirked, which Ash caught but couldn't place entirely why. He got his answer shortly after, as Ninjask darted forward and struck Gible hard with an X-Scissor attack. The already damaged Gible could no longer keep up the battle and fell unconscious to the ground prompting Brock's intervention once again.

"Gible is unable to battle. Ash choose your last Pokémon," his voice showed concern, and just a bit of sympathy though whether it was for Ash or the Pokémon was difficult to determine. Ash gritted his teeth but didn't attempt to go against Brock's decision. Even as angry as he currently was he had more concern for his Pokémon than allowing them to be needlessly injured, though he wanted to wipe that smirk off Paul's face.

"Gible return, that was great work. Noctowl let's go!" he stated, calmer than most other orders during the battle. He was still furious at Paul, but his control was returning to him little by little. The shiny Owl Pokémon narrowed its eyes in a glare at the Ninja Pokémon, and when Ninjask started to move Noctowl's eyes shone with cyan light. Ninjask's movement was immediately arrested by the powerful Psychic and was completely at Noctowl's mercy. "Finish it with Air Slash," Ash commanded, he was taking deep breaths trying to calm himself even further.

The attack slammed into the immobilized Ninja Pokémon, sending it crashing into the ground and out of the fight. Its previous injuries coupled with the super effective attack proved too much for it and it fell completely unconscious, Paul nearly snarling as he witnessed it. "Ninjask is unable to battle, Paul, choose your last Pokémon!" Brock stated with authority, though the sympathy in his voice still shone through somewhat.

Paul clicked his tongue before he angrily returned Ninjask. "Skarmory, standby for battle!" he shouted, releasing his last Pokémon. The Armor Bird Pokémon hovered menacingly in front of Noctowl, who met its gaze with a determined expression of its own. "Start off with Flash Cannon!" Paul roared a snarl on his lips.

"Counter with Psychic, and then use Air Slash!" Ash commanded. The Flash Cannon was stopped but the Air Slash did not find its target, as Skarmory had moved as soon as its Flash Cannon was fired. The Steel Wing slammed into Noctowl's beak, sending it spiraling downward a bit. Noctowl recovered quickly though and straightened out to glare right back at Skarmory. A sudden Psychic from Noctowl caught Paul and Skarmory by surprise, and Skarmory slammed into the ground due to the telekinetic force.

"Fight through it and use Air Cutter!" Paul snarled, careless to Skarmory's difficulties. With great difficulty Skarmory managed to fight loose and fired multiple discs of razor-sharp wind at Noctowl, impacting heavily as they hit. From within the smoke cloud that had followed the impacts, an Air Slash soared swiftly, crashing into Skarmory's chest. As the battle once again slowed a bit, both Pokémon were shown to have sustained major damage and were breathing heavily.

Both trainers then ordered their final attack of the battle, Noctowl's and Skarmory's Steel Wing attacks colliding as the combatants met in the sky. Both Pokémon dropped onto the ground completely spent from the battle, but as the dust started to dissipate a shadow was seen pushing itself off the ground. When the dust settled properly the trainers could all see that Paul's Skarmory was standing victorious, if extremely unsteadily. Ash's jaw clenched at the sight, and a furious scowl appeared on his face.

"Noctowl is unable to battle. As all of Ash's Pokémon are unable to battle Paul is the winner of this battle," Brock spoke, a note of shock evident in his voice as he did. Ash silently returned his Pokémon and turned on his heel to walk away. Paul's smirk didn't fade as he also returned his Pokémon, but his snide comment died on his lips as Ash's furious glare dared him to utter it. Knowing better than to push his luck Paul tactically retreated, leaving the Pokécenter in its entirety and heading out on the road again.

Dawn and Brock shared a worried glance before the two followed Ash by silent agreement. When they found him, he was calmly sitting by one of the tables, his eyes shut and his focus obviously on maintaining control. Dawn silently settled beside him, laying one hand over his and allowing him to simply draw comfort from her presence. Brock maintained his distance, though he kept a close eye on his old friend and his new girlfriend. Finally, Ash opened his eyes, and to both Dawn's and Brock's surprise commented lightly, "That could have gone a lot better."

"You're not upset?" Dawn asked, baffled by the apparent nonchalance. Ash's body tensed for a second before he visibly calmed himself again, and answered her questions.

"Of course I'm upset, but no trainer can be expected to win every time. When you do lose though, you can either stew in your pity or embrace it, learn from it and improve. That was something I struggled with for a long time, but it's an important lesson to remember," he said, his voice serene, if sad, as he smiled gently at Dawn. Brock let out a sigh of relief, as he settled down at the table with them.

A/N:

Alright, since some of you might be upset that I had Paul win that I want to state for the record that I never meant for Ash to be invincible or even overpowered. I meant for him to be a bit more mature, and I suppose stronger as well. I always meant for Paul to be a good challenge for him though, which is what I tried to show with this chapter.

I hope that I did it somewhat justice at least, even if there are probably some of you that will be upset at it.

I also hope that you liked the chapter. Anything, in particular, I could do better, or something else you'd like to comment on. Feel free to do so, I welcome it all. Flames as well, even if they sometimes make me somewhat… frustrated.

I managed to write it out in just two days, and you got another chapter three days after the last one. I am rather pleased with myself for that and will try to keep up my writing at something close to this speed. As always that is not something I can promise though.

I think there should be one more chapter before the trio arrives in Hearthome, but I am not entirely certain. You'll have to read and see for yourselves.

Till next time!