Fuchsia City: Morning…
Brock had woken up early to spend as much time as possible with Lucy. If Ash beat Barbara, they'd battle, and Lucy would return to the pike. If Ash lost, she would just return sooner.
"Hello Brock." Lucy smiled. "Great to see you."
"Same to you Lucy." Brock stated "How are yo.u doing?"
"I'm doing well." Lucy looked at him. "Honestly, I've been thinking of how we must part sometime today."
"Yeah, that's been on my mind a lot to." Brock admitted. "We don't know when next we'll see each other considering I still have to pursue my dream."
"That's why I was thinking it'd be nice if we each left something with the other." Lucy stated. "Something that lets us know we'll meet again."
"I'm listening." Brock stated.
"As the leader of the Battle Pike, my thing is serpent like pokemon, and I have yet to find a Steelix." Lucy declared. "As a rock trainer, you could use Steelix, but he loses that rock typing. That means you'd have to decide on either keeping Onix as is or keeping him from evolving."
"Are you suggesting I trade you my Onix holding a metal coat?" Brock asked.
"That is precisely what I am suggesting." Lucy grabbed one of her pokeballs and threw it sending out an Aerodactyl. "In return, I'd trade you this guy."
"An Aerodactyl!?" Brock exclaimed in shock. "Where did you get one of them?"
Lucy patted the rare pokemon. "About a year ago, I was walking through Mt. Moon when it shook. I'm not quite sure why, but this guy's fossil fell before me. Only, I had no idea it was an old amber at the time.
I took him to Cinnabar's Research Lab thinking he might be a serpent pokemon from the past. The next day, I was greeted by him. Aerodactyl loves battle, but I love my theming. That means he just doesn't get much use with me."
Aerodactyl looked at Lucy before focusing on Brock. He wasn't in tune with people and pokemon like an aura user or psychic pokemon, but he could tell that this was a man who understood rock type better than his current trainer.
"I have always dreamed of having an Aerodactyl and trading our pokemon would ensure we're always connected." Brock rubbed his chin. "Let me see what Onix thinks."
"That is fair, and I expected no less." Lucy admitted.
Brock nodded before throwing out his Onix and explaining what Lucy wanted. "…what do you think, Onix?"
"Onix." Onix nodded before rubbing his head against Brock.
He loved his trainer, and that was a huge reason why he wanted to do this. Onix knew his trainer had feelings for Lucy, and he wanted to protect her when Brock couldn't. He also knew this wouldn't be the last they saw of each other.
Not to mention, two rock types could certainly understand each other. Onix and Aerodactyl could tell the other would protect their current trainers. Finally, Onix had always wanted to become a Steelix, but he buried those feelings for his trainer.
"Well, Onix seems up for it." Brock stated with a smile. "I know he'll do an amazing job looking after you and being one of your pokemon." He then looked at Aerodactyl. "I can tell the same of your Aerodactyl as well as the fact that he really wants to battle."
"I swear I'd take good care of him Brock." Lucy declared. "I honestly think this would help us feel connected no matter where you go, and I have really wanted a Steelix." She looked at Onix. "I can tell your Onix would make a great one."
"I know you'd be an amazing trainer for him." Brock smiled. "I think this is the perfect reminder that we found each other."
Lucy took out a metal coat and passed it to Brock. "Shall we?"
Brock took it and gave it to his Onix. Both trainers then returned their pokemon and entered the center to trade them.
Pokemon Center Restaurant
Ash stepped out of his room, with Pikachu on his shoulder, ready to tackle the day. He walked towards the restaurant and noticed Serena collecting her pokemon from Nurse Joy. The trainer approached her as she took note of him.
Serena nodded. "Morning Ash."
"Morning Serena." Ash declared happily. "Have you seen Brock or James?"
"Both of them were already out of the room when I woke up." Serena stated. "Maybe they're already in the restaurant area?"
"Sounds plausible." Ash stated. "Even if they're not there, let's get breakfast anyways."
The two walked hand in hand to the cafeteria. While Brock wasn't there, James most certainly was, and he wasn't alone. Suzy sat across from him, and they were quite happily conversating. The pair were surprised as they entered the room and approached.
"Hey there you two!" James exclaimed while beckoning them over. "Come over here and meet Vulpix's trainer."
Once the couple were over there, Suzy nodded with a smile. "Hello there, my name is Suzy."
"Hey, I'm Ash and this is my partner Pikachu." Ash declared.
"I'm Serena." Serena smiled. "Ash is my boyfriend."
"It's nice to meet you." The girl stated. "James has told me much about you."
"Suzy is truly deserving of her tittle as Kanto's top breeder." James commented. "She has given me so much advice and recipes to use."
"Well, that's very kind of you to say James." Suzy giggled with a blush. "Though, I'm not that special."
"Well, if James has such a high opinion of you, then you must know a thing or two." Ash replied.
"Thank you." Suzy replied. "Still, James has a lot of potential as a breeder. Especially with what he's done with Vulpix."
"Yes, he told us you were the one to give him Vulpix." Serena smiled. "Honestly, she's a very beautiful pokemon."
"Beautiful, but also a very picky eater." Suzy declared. "The only food she didn't reject was that which James gave her."
"Well, James does seem to have a natural talent with all kinds of pokemon." Ash stated. "Isn't that right Pikachu?"
Pikachu nodded. "Pika!"
"Do you mind if I examined Pikachu while you get your breakfast?" Suzy asked.
"No problem but be gentle." Ash replied. "Pikachu tends to shock people who are too rough."
"Of course." Suzy nodded. "I am well trained in handling all types of pokemon."
Ash nodded as he set Pikachu before the breeder. He and Serena then left to get breakfast. While everyone dug in, Suzy took a closer looked at not just Pikachu but all their pokemon.
"I must say, these pokemon are in great shape." Suzy praised.
"Well, we owe a lot of it to James." Ash replied.
"I think that settles it." Suzy replied as she looked to her fellow breeder. "James, would you mind giving me some of your recipes and advice""
James smiled. "I'd love to."
They left Ash and Serena to finish up their meal. As they finished, Barbara approached them with a confident smirk.
She slammed her hand on the table. "Alright Ash, it's time you and I battle."
"I knew you'd approach me." Ash stood up. "My pokemon and I are ready to go."
"I wouldn't count on a victory kid." Barbara stated. "Even if you did go further in that tournament than I."
They immediately took off with Serena tagging a long to observe how this would turn out.
Pokemon Center Battlefield
Serena stood off to the side as Barbara and Ash faced off.
"Alright, this will be a one-on-one battle between you and me." Barbara declared. "We go until one of our pokemon faints. If you win, you can battle Lucy. If you lose, you don't get that chance. Sound acceptable?"
"You bet." Ash threw out his pokemon. "I choose you, Dratini!"
"I choose you, Galarian Meowth." Barbara declared.
Dratini appeared; however, Barbara's Meowth seemed far more feral with wild, brown fur and black accents. Ash immediate got out his pokedex:
Meowth, Galarian Form. Living with a savage, seafaring people has toughened this Pokémon's body so much that parts of it have turned to iron.
"I picked this little guy up when my sister and I visited Galar." Barbara declared. "Unlike the normal Meowth, this one's a steel type."
"Alright, let's do this Dratini." Ash declared.
Ash vs Barbara
"Dratini, use fire spin." Ash declared.
Barbara smirked. "Meowth, use fake out!"
Dratini prepared to fire only for Meowth to suddenly appear and slash his claws into the small dragon making him flinch.
"Now, metal claw." Barbara declared.
"Aqua jet!" Ash ordered.
Dratini cloaked himself in water before charging at Meowth whose claws sheened. He crossed them managing to hold off the dragon.
"Dratini, fire spin!" Ash commanded.
"Let the attack hit and strike back with assurance." Barbara ordered.
Dratini landed the fire move dealing out heavy damage. Meowth then cloaked himself in dark energy and smashed in the dragon dealing out a lot of damage. Dratini was sent flying before the damage from fire spin kicked in seeming to bring Meowth to panting.
"Looks like I shouldn't have underestimated that baby dragon's strength." Barbara thought with gritted teeth.
"Alright, we're nearing the end, so we just got to keep pushing." Ash smiled. "No matter how it turns out, I want that battle with Lucy."
"Ash has really been doing a great job raising Dratini." Serena thought lovingly. "That's just proof of how much care he really puts into all his pokemon."
"Alright, let's wrap this up with a dragon's rage!" Ash ordered.
"Meowth, don't lose that easy!" Barbara shouted. "Use Thunderbolt!"
Dratini fired off his dragon energy while Meowth sparked with electricity as lighting came down on the dragon. The pokemon cried out in pain until the attacks seized. Both were still standing staring at each other firmly until Meowth collapsed to the ground with swirls in his eyes.
Fuchsia City
"Meowth…" Barbara stated in disbelief.
Ash smiled and ran over to his little dragon picking him up with a smile. "You were as amazing as ever Dratini!"
Pikachu ran down Ash's arm and patted the dragon on the head. "Pika!"
Dratini was glad he could win this battle for his trainer. "Dratini!"
"Return Meowth." Barbara sighed. "You gave it your all, and I thank you for that." She then approached Ash. "Hey kid, those were some pretty good moves out there."
"Thanks." Ash stated as he moved Dratini to one arm. "Dratini and I have been working really hard trying to make him stronger."
"You earned your right to challenge my sister." Barbara held out her hand. "You and that Brock also showed I have a lot of room to grow."
Ash shook the hand.
"Well, I'm glad you've learned something from this visit to Fuchsia City sister." Lucy stated.
Her, Brock, and James, without Vulpix, walked onto the battlefield.
"Lucy!" Barbara exclaimed happy to see her. "Well, you may have beaten me kid, but she's on a whole other level." She smiled. "I hope you're ready to get your butt kicked."
Ash focused his gaze on Lucy. "If I lose that badly, I'll accept it, but I just got to see how I stack up to someone on the level of the Elite Four." He approached Lucy. "So, can we have that battle now?"
Lucy smiled before looking at Brock. "Your friend here is full of passion to the point that your description of him just does not do him justice."
Brock nodded. "Ash is passionate about the things he loves and/or care about alright."
Lucy looked to him. "Well, I see no reason to put off our one-one-one especially because it's about time Barbara and I return to the Battle Pike." She walked over to her trainer box. "So, show me what you got."
Ash returned Dratini before bolting over to his box ready to battle. "Yeah, let's go!"
James came to stand at Serena's side. "So, how did Ash's battle with Barbara go?"
"As great as ever." Serena stated. "Him and Dratini worked well together and got the win."
"He may have got the win over on Barbara, but I think Ash will find difficulty in overcoming Lucy." Brock stated getting their attention. "Hey, I don't just say that because we're together. She wouldn't be a Frontier Brain if she were weak."
James and Serena couldn't refute that, so everyone turned their attention to the battle at hand.
"Seviper, I choose you!" Lucy declared.
"All the way Lucy!" Barbara called out.
"Whoa, who's that pokemon?" Ash questioned as he got out his pokedex:
Seviper, the Fang Snake Pokémon. Seviper shares a generations-long feud with Zangoose. Its sword-like tail can slash foes and douse them with poison.
Ash took in this knowledge before looking to Pikachu. "Hey buddy, you want to battle or think I should use someone else?"
Pikachu looked at Seviper before jumping off Ash's shoulder ready for battle. "Pika!"
"You can have the first move Ash." Lucy declared.
Ash vs Lucy
"Let's take advantage of that to strike hard Pikachu." Ash declared. "Iron tail!"
Pikachu ran in as his tail glowed with metal energy. He smashed it into Seviper who didn't move an inch or seem to even register the pain like other opponents before her.
"Ash's iron tail did nothing…" Serena stated in disbelief.
Ash's time as a trainer taught him that tittles and being compared to the best usually meant something. Even still, he didn't expect one of Pikachu's strongest moves to do nothing.
"Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.
"Flamethrower, Seviper!" Lucy ordered.
Pikachu sparked with electricity which fired at Seviper who took it just as well as the iron tail before firing on the electric mouse for massive damage. Now, if this were a battle with Team Rocket, Ash would fight to the bitter end, but it wasn't.
"That's enough!" Ash walked forward and scoped Pikachu into his arms. "I've learned when I'm beat, and you got me beat hands down." He looked at Pikachu. "Thank you for giving it your best Pikachu, but we're no match at this point in our journey."
Fuchsia City
Pikachu was sad he couldn't have done better, but he understood where Ash was coming from.
Lucy returned her Seviper. "Good job Seviper." She then put the pokeball away and approached Ash. "Well, I am impressed with you."
"What do you mean?" Ash looked at her confused. "Pikachu and I were worthless out there."
"I wouldn't say worthless." Lucy stated. "Your Pikachu is well trained for only having three badges, and unlike most trainers during their first journey, you're quite mature."
"A lot has happened since I started my journey." Ash looked at Lucy firmly. "Still, this isn't over. One day, I'll have worked hard enough for an official invite to challenge the Battle Frontier. When that time comes, I will beat you."
"I'll be looking forward to it. Personally, I'll be keeping an eye on your growth." She winked. "After all, one of the ways you earn an invitation is by recommendation."
"Then, I'll just have to keep moving forward and work hard, won't I?" Ash declared firmly.
"You are certainly one interesting trainer." Lucy laughed. "Not as interesting as my Brock, but more interesting that most trainers I meet." She smiled before moving onto that very man. "Well Brock, this is goodbye for now."
"Yeah, I know." Brock nodded. "Honestly, I want to go with you, but my pokemon and I can learn much with my friends. I promise, once I'm ready to knuckle down and become an Elite Four member, I'll come back to you my darling Lucy."
"I'll look forward to that, and any time we may meet while you're on the road." Lucy stated fondly.
The two of them kissed each other goodbye.
When they were done, Barbara decided to add in her two cents. "Remember Brock, I'll be listening. If you betray my sister's feelings, you'll have her iron wall to deal with."
"You have nothing to worry about as your sister has my eyes and heart." Brock smiled. "That I promise you."
Barbara stared at him firmly. "She better mister."
Lucy and Barbara took off leaving the group to continue their business within Fuchsia City. The next thing they had to do was head to Safari Zone in hopes of securing some new pokemon. Unfortunately, there was a small problem with that.
Safari Zone
The place was closed.
"According to this sign, the pokemon population needs to be refilled, and they're waiting on the League." James stated.
Everyone else had read it to, but Ash was fuming at a part left at the bottom by a certain rival.
"Hey Ashy-Boy, I was the last trainer they let in and made sure to snatch all the pokemon I could. In short, Gary was here; Ash is a loser."
"Gary…" Ash stated while fuming.
Brock patted his back. "It'll be okay Ash."
"Yeah, you can just catch a pokemon later." James added.
"I know, but I was hoping the Safari Zone might have some rare pokemon I could snag for my eventual rematch with Arcana." Ash sighed. "At least a psychic type would have been nice."
"Well, there just isn't much we can do about it." Brock stated. "In the end, all we can do is focus on what more we're here to do." He looked to Ash and Serena. "Speaking of which, what are we doing next? The chateau or the gym battle?"
"Eh, we can do Serena's chateau battle next." Ash shrugged. "After all, it would be nice to have some variety rather than just doing my thing first."
"In that case, I would like to spend the rest of the day going over my strategy for tomorrow, and a little more training wouldn't hurt." Serena stated.
Ash immediately perked up. "Since I'm working towards that gym battle, we can train together."
Serena smiled and nodded.
Fuchsia Chateau, Next Day…
"Greetings." The butler greeted the group outside of the Chateau. "I am Gayle, the butler of Fuchsia's Chateau."
"Hello." Serena replied cheerfully as she handed her card over. "I am the one competing today."
"Very good, Countess Serena." Gayle replied as he handed her card back. "Now, I must ask madam; Is this your first tournament as a Countess?"
"It is." Serena replied.
"So, are you aware of the field changes?" Gayle asked.
"Field changes?" Serena questioned.
"The tournament is still set as four one on one battles, but each round the field will change between: Rock, Water, Ice, and Grass." Gayle explained.
"Great Serena, that means you can show more of your pokemon in their element." Ash stated.
"Would you follow me, madam?" Gayle requested.
He led the group inside the chateau. Once inside, Serena was taken by a maid to the changing rooms where she changed into her dress from the Cerulean Chateau. The rest of the group were waiting in the lobby.
"Hey Ash!" The trio turned around to find Calem wearing his blue suit with white lining. "Considering you guys are here, I can only assume Serena is competing to day like me."
"That's right." Ash stated.
"I thought you would have already competed by now Calem." Brock commented.
"Well, after losing to Ash, I decided to spend a little time training." Calem stated. "Today, I just felt confident giving this a shot. Tell me, what is Serena's rank?"
"She's a Countess now." James stated.
"That's great." Calem smiled. "I've been wanting to see what she can do now that she's had some proper training, and this now the prime opportunity to give it a go."
"Will Earl Calem please report to battlefield two for his first match?" Gayle requested over the loudspeaker.
"Looks like that's my cue." Calem took off. "See you guys around."
Serena rejoined the group and noticed her cousin walking off. "Oh, Calem's competing today."
She was most certainly worried and sounded it to. After all, she had lost bad against the guy in her first chateau challenge. He had hung in there well with Ash during that tournament they all participated in.
Ash noticed this and decided to cheer his girlfriend up. "Serena, maybe you'll lose to Calem or maybe you won't. In the end, it doesn't change the fact that you've come so far. All you got to do it give it your all. Do that, and you'll have no regrets no matter the result."
"Ash…" Serena was moved by his words and hugged him. "Thank you."
"Oh, i-it's no problem." Ash blushed. "No matter what, I'll always cheer you on."
"Can Countess Serena please report to battlefield 3 for her first match?" Gayle requested.
Serena let Ash go, and the group made their way to the room with Serena taking her place in the battle box across from another female in a dress. It was time for her next Chateau battle to commence.
Here are the results to the poll question from reviews, pm's, and the question itself:
Yes: 7 Votes
No: 3 Votes
avatoa: Your vote has been tallied and don't worry. Ash will be no canon Tobias with his legendary usage.
Reader: Glad you liked the conclusion to the tournament.
AceOfThePhoenix: Your vote has been tallied.
arata7kasuga (1): Glad you like the story, and one reviewer thinks the romance was to fast. Take that as you will.
Guest (23): Well, I can't remember were I read it, but there was some guy in the company who subscribed to the Verity is Cynthia's daughter.
Guest (28): Actually, pokemon movies have confirmed that there are two Mewtwo's in the pokemon world. There's the one from Mewtwo Strikes back and the one from the Genesect movie. They have been confirmed to be two seperate Mewtwo's. Unless you're referring to the other thing I've been doing.
Elemental-Aura:
Warrior of the Woods-
Yeah, part of the reason I didn't go into much with the grunts was down to them being unimportant to the arc while also knowing Brock would get better moments come the tournament later. Yeah, as I said it made no sense how a Charmander who would wait on a rock for his old, terrible trainer would then turn around and be terrible to a trainer who did care for him even if he was inexperianced. Naturally, I couldn't jsut give Ash smooth sailing with his pokemon all throughout Kanto... so Scyther. Don't worry, nothing explicit will happen with our new couple.
Team Rocket-
To be fair, the Lavender Town mission was, a success in his eyes. He just loathed that his people were still beaten by children but choose to be lenient because of their success there. RK is a troubled individual. He's the clone of Red, but he was raised under Team Rocket. Essentially this is Nature vs Nurture. Jessie, Meowth, and Mondo had their eyes open by James, so it remains to be seen what they will do.
No, Giovani isn't completely evil, but it isn't just his mother who corrupted him. He could have ignored that if the one person he wanted honest recognition from actually recognized him at any point. Since Blue is the son of Samuel here and Gary is his grandson it made sense for Oak to be the link between their arrogance and overconfidence. As such, Samuel never saw how far his friend/rival was falling until it was to late.
This doesn't excuse the malicious things Giovani did, but it does explain where it all started. Essentially, this is like how Sasuke walked into the darkness only Giovani's Naruto wasn't there to ever try and usher him back into the light. As for Agatha, it is reasonable to assume she was part of Oak's past, and I wasn't going to change that aspect. Just wait as Sabrina will put Mewtwo to use.
Past & Festival-
The main thing that made me use that episode here was the fact that I Felt Gary needed his own solo adventure much in the same vein as Cross got, and I didn't feel like using Team Rocket that soon after the last time. So, I started searching for any other events having to do with Fuchsia City, and found this old chestnut. Really, the statement is right. Other trainers can experiance oddities in this world of pokemon.
Gary is the grandson of Oak who can write some great poetry, so I think that has a part to play in it all. As for Janine... Yeah, I wish that to. I know she wasn't conceived of yet... probably... but they also could have had her in Ash's original Journey rather than Aya. Or, they could have had Aya in the games instead of Janine. Either way, she is in this story.
Fuchsia Tournament 1 & 2-
I totally agree with you that B&W, while being a soft reset, handled rivals perfectly. Those Club battles were true highlights because you just couldn't tell who would win. Yeah, you could guess that it's be one of our protagonist, but sometimes they'd through you that nice surprise. Of course Pidgeotto needed more battles than she got. Despite how much I loved Ash, I always felt like a good number of his pokemon he caught in Kanto were kind of stiffed in that first journey.
Pidgeotto could have been used more, but it seemed like Ash just relied more on Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur upon getting them to the point that Pidgeotto, Krabby, Muk, and Tarous were ignored. I mean, Ash caught Krabby back at that light house episode and only ended up using him at the league. Where was the rotation at. If Ash didn't know it, where were Brock, Misty, or Professor Oak bringing it up?
Heck, even Gary could have sufficed if they actually fought more. Like he could have done it as a taunt in passing continuing to build their rivalry more beyond simply words and teach Ash a valuable lesson about when you have more than 6 Pokemon to your name. I digress as this Ash knows about team rotation and using more than a core set of pokemon.
When it comes to love, we've seen how far Brock can go. Now, he has a girl to channel his love for, so it is certainly motivating. James and Koffing do still need their development. Again, the battles were in correlation to hindsight from the B & W anime. Tournaments, when not constantly used, can be a great way to flesh out all kinds kinds of different relationships
