More Supplements for the Heart

by stringdog

No story can tell all that happens on an adventure. Some moments aren't important enough or are too distracting to be included but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be told. This Supplement will tell those stories that didn't make it into 'Winning Takes Heart' but are worth telling. A collection of side battles, minor characters and pearly moments set during the Hearts Series.

12. Assessing the Alolans

Here is the twelfth Supplement for the Heart in 'Winning Takes Heart', released at the right moment in the story. This is the Supplement that was teased at the end of the last Part and takes place the morning afterwards so for those curious, the events of this Supplement take place between Parts CXXIII and CXXIV. Like the Part that set this Supplement up, this is the longest one of this collection to date and the longest ever Supplement though I am sure that I will one day break that record. There isn't any other admin stuff to add as I address the next two Supplements that are coming soon and there are going to be a total of 5 Supplements from this one to the ones in Laverre so get ready for them. There were no questions to answer after the last Supplement but there was a guest review to respond to which provides a clarification for any curious regarding how I determine moves for Pokémon in my series.

To Guest (guest), thank you for your suggestion, I will consider it, but I will also explain how I determine what moves to give a Pokémon when I chose to give them a new move, as well as my difference between canon and non-canon Pokémon. When I give a Pokémon a move, it has to be a move that that Pokémon can learn either in the current generation in which the fic is set, which for Winning is Gen VII as it is during SM, or any generation prior up to the generation it was caught in. For example, Typhlosion was caught by Dawn after it hatched in Gen IV so any moves from that generation through the current generation that it can learn with the exception of egg or transfer moves as the latter is game only and the former I will specify as I did with Banette's Destiny Bond. In addition, I will give great deference to canon moves whenever possible with canon Pokémon though I won't always adhere to that if I feel like there is a more useful move for it (such as Mamoswine knowing Earthquake which was banned from the anime during AG) or to give it a better range (such as Ash one day teaching Bulbasaur a poison type move). With non-canon Pokémon I have no deference so it's what is best at the time. Lastly, when deciding what new move to give a Pokémon, I tend to look to what will counter a weakness so a move of a type that is good against a type the Pokémon is naturally weak against. The best recent example of that Goomy learning a poison type move to be able to face fairy types. Therefore, I can't consider Body Press Mamoswine until Hearts 5 as that move was introduced in Sword and Shield and we won't reach Gen VIII until after the first arc of Hearts 5. As for Typhlosion, I will consider it, but he's not set to reappear in Winning so it's a long way out before I do so, but a fighting type is a good idea as it counters Typhlosion's weakness to rock types. I hope that clears up your suggestion. Also, so everyone knows, I limit a Pokémon to 4 moves in this series. I know that the canon on this is confusing and not clear as plenty of Pokémon show five moves, Ash's Snorlax used 6 in that Battle Frontier battle which is Ash's record, but the anime has shown that Pikachu forgets a move when he learns a new one (think the progress of Thunder to Volt Tackle to Electro Ball) and Meowth says that he can't learn new moves because he used up move slots when he learned to talk so to avoid confusion and to give the games a nod, I am limiting Pokémon to 4 moves.

Anyway, that is all I have for this long pre-Supplement note which means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the Winning's twelfth Supplement For the Heart: Assessing the Alolans.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Assessing the Alolans

"Alright so how will we do this?" Iris asked as they all gathered on the Pokémon Center battlefield after breakfast. "I'm assuming that we all want to battle but what order should we go in?"

It was the day after the Alolan fair and that meant that it was time for some training battles to see how good both groups were, as well as training with new Pokémon for some of them as this would be their first battles. The rest of the day before had been interesting for sure, but this was what most of them had been looking forward to ever since it had initially been planned.

After the end of the presentation and the challenge from Kiawe and Sophocles, Ash and his friends had headed to the Pokémon Center to sort a few things out, check in for a few days, get food, and take a needed break after the busy and eventful day. It had certainly been that as none of them had expected to run into Iris in Kalos or meet her new friends, but they had and that had led to a new side adventure for them.

Both and Ash and Dawn had contacted Sycamore to switch Pokémon in and out for the day, as well as for Dawn to given Sycamore permission to show off Spiritomb, though afterwards Ash at least would be sending his back as he was only brining it in for the battle. Meanwhile May and Serena read up on Alola as they waited for their new friends and Iris to return to the Pokémon Center.

Dawn had hoped to see Emily, she wanted to talk to her friend about something as she was now certain of it and felt that Emily was in denial about it to herself but alas her friend wasn't there. They had met Lillie at the Pokémon Center as the Alolan blonde was heading out to rejoin the fair with Snowy and learned that as soon as the egg was confirmed to be near hatching, Emily and Adam had hurried out to the next town over. They had left so that they could prepare for the coming fighting festival and try to reach it before the egg hatched, and as such they'd just missed them.

That was fine with Dawn though because she knew they'd see them soon enough. That would allow for her to have a chat with Emily about everything before the tournament while Ash no doubt had a battle with Adam to train for it or something like that as Ash always battled whenever he had a chance to do so. The men where simple but Dawn knew that Emily was likely confused about things right now, Dawn had noticed that the moment that Adam had praised Korrina to them. Then again, Dawn knew what it was like to be jealous of a gym leader.

Hopefully Emily didn't handle it as poorly as Dawn did. Of course, that was a really low standard to reach seeing as Dawn had thrown a Gyarados into a ceiling with her Togekiss while her and Misty went at it with everything they had following their explosive meeting in Cerulean 18 months ago or so. As long as the Shalour gym was still standing Dawn knew that Emily had handled it maturely by comparison. Then again she did use fairy type Pokémon who had an advantage over most fighting types, though not Lucario due to its steel type, so who knew.

With their friends gone, Dawn had set about her own work bringing in Skrelp for Helioptile to get some bonding with it by introducing it to the others on her at the moment before they got some food. After that they just waited for Iris and the Alolans to come back from the fair so that they could talk more with them.

That came a few hours later and the 6 of them were too exhausted to do much more than eat and confirm that all wanted to battle the next day but that was it as they went to bed right after dinner. They didn't even manage to arrange the battles other than that they all wanted it before they crashed. That was what they were doing now that they were all rested and had finished breakfast, which had devolved into an eating contest between Ash and Iris much to everyone's disgust.

"I think I need time to digest." Ash admitted patting his full belly after besting Iris in the competition. "And, um, given who I'm using it may be best for me to go last with the match against Kiawe and Sophocles being the last one."

"Why is that?" Kiawe asked. "I'm eager to battle you right away Ash."

"Because the last time Ash used that Pokémon in a Pokémon Center battle three of us ended up with scars and it took a good month before we were fully healed." May said seriously while Dawn and Serena just nodded. "And if you are as good as Iris says you are, and I trust her judgement on this, you may push Ash far enough to make it destructive which means that it is best to leave it to last."

"Plus, we know that Ash will push you to use all you've got for sure." Dawn said. "We know how good his Pokémon are, and he's using his very best against you. You'll need everything to beat it."

"That good?" Kiawe asked looking to Iris. "Can you confirm Iris?"

"I've seen it in battle once before and while it lost, it went to the wire and could have gone either way as it was facing a Pokémon of equal strength and the power it displayed was beyond any that I'd seen Ash's Unova Pokémon manage." Iris said with a shrug. "And Ash was banned from using his full power in that battle, as was his opponent, by the rules that the Kanto Pokémon League were using. You will almost certainly need your Z-Move to have a shot and Ash will respond in kind to it."

"Let's put it this way." Dawn said. "Ash used it in the final matchup with the Indigo Conference title on the line, there are very few Pokémon Ash would trust in such a situation, three or four I'd say. Of all of them, this is his best of best that I've witnessed in battle, and I've seen just about all of Ash's Pokémon battle. For context, the first time Ash used his Key Stone on it, it had enough power to blast a Pokémon through a tungsten reinforced floor and the second time, well we still have the scars from that battle."

"I will try and avoid that combo this time." Ash said. "But I can't promise you that it won't get destructive, so it is best for it to be last."

"I can live with that." Sophocles said. "It gives me time to assess the others and see what Top Coordinators can do."

"Well, if it is the best verses the best then I can't say no to going last." Kiawe said with a grin. "Very well but don't hold back Ash, I want to face all of your firepower."

"I don't intend to." Ash said with a grin of his own. "I never do."

"Plus, I will make sure that you get a sense of how good Ash is." Iris said with a smirk. "Because I am getting in on this as well. I want to face his Goomy with my Drampa to see how good Ash is with a first stage dragon type. Both are new and this will be their first battles so I can't pass up this opportunity."

"It's been a long time since we battled Iris." Ash said to his friend. "So, show me how good you are now after traveling in Johto, Hoenn, and Alola."

"I'll beat you again just like I did in that Club Battle final." Iris said with a dismissive flick of her hair. "So don't cry when you lose."

"I won't lose today, and I won our last battle at the World Junior Cup, so I avenged that loss, this is a clean slate." Ash pointed out but Iris just ignored him, so he continued. "But ok so I am facing Sophocles and Kiawe last and Iris just before them. What about the others?"

"Seeing as the three girls with you are coordinators, or at least taking part in Contests this year, we would like our battles to be Contest style if that's ok with you ladies." Mallow said to Dawn, May, and Serena. "We talked last night and realized that facing Top Coordinators, or at least one with a proper shot at reaching a Grand Festival, is a learning experience that we can't pass up."

"Bold to challenge us like that." May said with a grin. "As you know, Dawn and I are Top Coordinators, and we won't hold back."

"We don't want you to." Mallow said grinning back the Hoenn girl. "And I want you May, show me how a Top Coordinator does it."

"Oh, I will." May said. "And this is a great time to see how my Phantump battles with me as I haven't had a chance to do so yet with it. I think it will be a good matchup for your Steenee."

"I'm honored to be its first opponent." Mallow said. "Steenee and I will bring our all to this."

"I know that I will likely lose, but I want to face Dawn and her Vulpix." Lillie said quietly causing them all to look at her. "If that's ok with Dawn that is. I know the types aren't in my favor, but this is a rare opportunity to see how regional forms fair in battle with each other."

"It is but are you sure?" Dawn asked seriously looking at the ice type that was currently in Lillie's arms. "I have both the type advantage and the skill on you in this battle and it would be wrong to hold back. If you want this then I'll do it, otherwise I'll use Skrelp or Litleo as they are my newest Pokémon so we could use the bonding experience."

"I know it will be hard for me, but I can't grow unless I don't see how I fair against someone as good as you and face a disadvantage like the one you can provide." Lillie said. "Plus, as I said, I want to see how an Alolan form stacks up against its Kantonian one and you're the only one who can offer me that."

"I can respect that." Dawn said with a nod. "If that's your wish then let's do it."

"Cool, I get to see how a fire type Vulpix fights." Kiawe said with a grin. "I really want to see one of those to begin with and now I can see it in action, I can't wait."

"Guess that leaves us the only ones without opponents." Serena said to Lana. "I should say that I'm not like those two, I'm not a great battler so this is as much training for me as it is for you Lana."

"I don't mind so long as you treat your Pokémon right." Lana said. "Plus, it will be fun to see how we fair against each other as we're probably on a similar level compared to the other matchups. This will be good experience for Popplio."

"And my Meowstic is new so this will give me a great chance to assess how she does in battle." Serena said. "This will be her first attempt at one and will give me an indication for what we need to work on for my next Contest as I intend to debut her in it."

"Is Meowstic a water type?" Lana asked curiously. "They're my favorite type and I haven't seen that Pokémon yet while in Kalos."

"Alas no, she's a psychic type, I actually don't have any water types." Serena said. "Dawn and Ash do though so they can show them off afterwards if you ask them. Ash's is Frogadier which is the second stage of the Kalos water starter."

"Oh, ok that's cool." Lana said excitedly. "I'd like that."

"Right well now that the battles are all sorted shall we start with the regional forms." May said clapping her hands to get their attention. "It somehow seems fitting that they should be first, don't you think?"

"Works for me." Dawn said pulling out Vulpix's Poke Ball. "Lillie?"

"Sure." Lillie said nervously but still determined. "Let's do this Dawn."

"Right take your spots." May said as she strode out and onto the battlefield. "I will officiate this as it is Contest style and I know it best. Dawn can do it for my battle with Mallow but to avoid change overs we'll do Serena and Lana second, does that sound good?"

The others nodded at it as it made the most sense before they went to take their places. Dawn and Lillie went to their respective sides of the battlefield, Snowy walking with Lillie as she'd set her down while May had been talking and took their places. May, meanwhile, went to the ref's spot while the rest went to the benches to sit and watch with Ash and Serena supporting Dawn, the Alolan lot supporting Lillie and Iris remaining neutral as in this one.

"Vulpix, spotlight." Dawn said tossing her ball into the air and her Kantonian Vulpix appeared before her with a mewl before he looked out at his opponent, the strange different type Vulpix he didn't fully understand but would still lose to him in this battle that he was about to be in. "Let's do this, I've not faced a regional form yet, so this is a first for me."

"Same here." Lillie said. "I'm eager to see what happens."

"This is a bit of a mismatch." Sophocles said softly to the other spectators. "Kantonian Vulpixes are fire types while Alolan ones are ice types, so Dawn has s big advantage here."

"She's also more experienced and this is a Contest style battle." Iris added. "So, this is more a learning experience for Lillie but watch closely. Type advantage doesn't always translate into victory, skill, training, and tactics are just as important. I've beaten a few pesky ice types in my time with dragon types so I know it can be done."

"Have you ever faced Dawn, Iris?" Kiawe asked curiously.

"Once back in Unova, Cilan and I were introduced to Dawn after meeting the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia in Virbank City by chance and learned Dawn was staying with her." Iris said. "We had a great time at Cynthia's villa and at the end we entered a competition together. I'd just caught my Dragonite, so I was training him and in the competition Dawn and I were drawn against each other in the quarterfinals."

"She has a Pokémon that can counter your Dragonite?" Sophocles asked surprised. "She doesn't strike me as the type to have a Pokémon that could match your powerhouse."

"Dawn has a Mamoswine, an ice and ground type that is large and fully evolved so a good matchup for Dragonite as both of his types are weak against ice type attacks." Iris said with a slight shudder at the ice type. "It gave us a run for our money, but I won in the end though it was less my skill as a trainer and rather Dragonite's power that won it as he wasn't listening to me at the end. Ash beat me in the next round though after his Krokorok evolved and learned Dragon Claw. I was still learning to control Dragonite back then and each round helped but in the end Ash was better in that semifinal."

"Don't let Dawn's cute and girlie style trick you even if she is both of those things." Serena said seriously. "Dawn has the second most Pokémon here behind Ash, and they represent most types I believe, and many aren't what you'd expect. Sure, Vulpix is but I've met her Banette, Machamp, Malamar, Pinsir and of course her Spiritomb, so I know how skilled she is as a trainer."

"Traveling with Ash for so long has its advantages." Iris said with a nod. "I certainly improved by learning from Ash."

"That it does." Serena said. "And you should know that Dawn has a nickname in the Contest world, those are only given to coordinators who are either fan favorites or truly earn it and if they are known by that name then they are considered a Top Coordinator candidate on that circuit. Dawn and May had names before finally winning their respective Grand Festivals and are still known by them today even if they aren't big fans of them."

"What is it?" Lana asked curiously. "The only coordinator in Alola with a nickname is that ass Kenny who is referred to as the Rage of Twinleaf which I didn't know why until I met Dawn yesterday and learned the truth."

"Fitting for him." Serena said. "And you will find out in a moment, May can't pass this up and will use it. Of course, Dawn will use May's in return, so you'll learn that one as well."

As if on cue May clapped her hands to bring all attention to her as the ref for the upcoming match. Everyone quieted down and looked at her expectantly.

"Alright this is a Contest style battle so the rules will be simple." May said. "You have 5 minutes to battle with style and grace as you try to reduce your opponents' points. The winner will be the one with the most points left at the end or the one who knocks out the other's Pokémon should that happen within the 5 minutes. I will be the final judge of all this. Understood?"

Both Dawn and Lillie nodded their agreement to the rules and May's decision. Dawn knew this well, but Lillie had limited experience, so it was a good refresher for her.

"Good now for our combatants." May said with a grin that Dawn sighed at as she knew what was coming. "Today we have Lillie from Hau'oli City on Melemele Island in Alola against Dawn from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh. For those who don't know, Dawn is a Top Coordinator having won the most recent Kanto Grand Festival and is known in the Contest world as the Prodigy of Sinnoh. On that note. Begin."

"Oh, that is a good name." Lana said her eyes wide. "So, she's really good then? With a name like that it's no wonder she's a Top Coordinator."

"She earned it by not losing a regular Contest when she was on the Johto circuit, the most recent 5 and 0 performance that I know of." Serena said as the battle began. "She lost that Grand Festival though and since then has only lost twice and one of those was only due to an evolution which most of us don't count. Watch closely, this is a Top Coordinator in action."

The others just nodded as they settled in to watch the battle unfold. It was going to be a learning experience for the Alolans and Serena, that much was certain.

"Snowy, start is with Hail." Lillie said. "We can only win this with tactics so let's show that off."

"Hold and brace Vulpix." Dawn said her eyes narrowing as Snowy opened her mouth. "Let's take the dip in points to see what she has in store for us plus that Hail won't do much to you given your resistance to ice type attacks."

Vulpix nodded as he held his ground. He trusted his human and knew that she would lead him to victory again, so he waited as the hailstorm appeared and filled the stage with cold hail causing Dawn to shiver though Lillie seemed unaffected by it.

Dawn was watching closely. Normally she'd get right into the battle, especially with her advantage in this one, but Lillie was using an area move that would last a few turns which meant that there was a specific reason for the move, so she had to be ready for this. There was definitely more at play in this, and Dawn had to adapt to that, but she wasn't sure what it was. A true Top Coordinator was able to adjust to any change, and it was clear that Lillie had the analytical style of someone who knew Pokémon on a fundamental level well.

Almost as soon as the Hail began, Dawn saw what was going on. The hailstorm had barely covered the battlefield, chilling her and buffering Vulpix a bit before Snowy suddenly seemed to vanish where she stood. So that was the tactic, not a bad one if Dawn was being honest, shame she'd seen May use it against her before.

"Snow Cloak." Dawn said surprising Lillie that she knew it. "Clever. You know you have disadvantages in this battle so you're using Snowy's ability to counter them. A good tactic."

"I'm a little surprised you know this, but it is my best move for any battle really, especially when I combine it with this." Lillie said recovering. "Snowy, Aurora Veil."

"That's new." Dawn said as a weird light appeared within the hailstorm, it didn't show where Snowy was, but it seemed to add what was going on. "A defensive move?"

"Correct, it boosts her resistance to all attacks but can only be used in a hailstorm, so I use it in conjunction with Hail." Lillie said with a nod. "Evasion and defense is my best strategy against you as that works in a Contest battle."

"True but I know a few tricks of my own to counter such a strategy." Dawn said as her plan came to her. "Vulpix, Flame Burst."

"Snowy, dodge that." Lillie said as Vulpix lent his head back and shot a ball of fire into the air. "You have the evasion advantage right now."

"That won't work." Dawn said with a smile. "But this is a good test for me though as I'm curious to see how this plays out in such a situation. Thank you for giving me this training chance, I wouldn't have gotten it had you not asked I use Vulpix in this battle."

Lillie just looked at Dawn with a quizzical look as the ball of fire landed on her side and missed Snowy. However, as soon as it hit the ground, the fire ball exploded in a splash of fire and there was a wail of pain from Snowy as she was caught by the super effective fire type attack.

"Now Vulpix, Feint Attack." Dawn said as soon as she heard the wail. "Where that sound was."

"Dodge it and counter with Powder Snow." Lillie said as Vulpix began running.

"Won't work." Dawn said shaking her head. "Even with your evasion boosted by Snow Cloak, Feint Attack is one of those special attacks, it doesn't miss."

Before Snowy could get her attack off Vulpix was on her much to her shock. That continued as Vulpix slammed into her with Feint Attack before retreating away as Snowy fell back and her Snow Cloak reactivated so that Vulpix couldn't see her in the hailstorm.

"How?" Lillie asked surprised.

"Practice and experience." Dawn said simply. "And now for some Ash style tactics to clear this battlefield. Vulpix, get rid of this hailstorm with a storm of your own. Flamethrower, counter shield formation and blast every corner of this stage. Melt it all!"

Vulpix mewled as he leapt into the air and opened his mouth before sending out a gout of hot flames that instantly began to melt the hail that it touched. Vulpix kept it up as he fell onto his back and spun in circles on the ground creating a whirlwind of intense flames around him in the style that Piplup had taught him for how to use an offensive move as a defensive shield to block an attack, only this time it was to clear the battlefield and clear it it did.

The fire flew everywhere as Dawn grinned in the heat, the snow melting and vanishing while also ending the effects of the Aurora Veil with it due to the nature of that move. The fire completely cleared out the hailstorm and hit Snowy at the same time as she was trying to avoid it causing her to fall to the ground with a wail of pain as the flames washed over her and Dawn knew that she'd gained a lot of points with that move. Plus, the style of it looked great.

As it ended and the fire burned out, Vulpix used his tails to flip to his feet as he looked out to the battlefield and saw his opponent on her side, clearly injured but not out yet. Thanks to the Aurora Veil and the indirect fire type attacks Snowy was able to battle but now that the hailstorm was gone, and now that Lillie saw that Dawn had a counter for it she knew that the match was over.

"I forfeit." Lillie suddenly announced before Dawn could use another attack as she ran out to check on Snowy and make sure that she was ok. "I know when I am beaten, there's no point in fighting on when this battle is as good as lost for me."

"As far as I know that is allowed in a Contest battle." Dawn said pulling out her Poke Ball and recalling Vulpix, she'd praise him later for his excellent work in that battle, but she needed to make sure that Snowy was ok as well. "I can really respect you for that Lillie, it was the right thing to do and shows how much you love Snowy. Is she ok?"

"Yes she'll be fine." Lillie said with a smile as Snowy looked up at her with wide eyes to tell her that she just needed a Nurse Joy and she'd be as good as new. "That was just more intense than I expected it to be."

"Ok well Dawn wins by forfeit, which yes is allowed in a Contest battle, though she was easily leading on points at the end." May said blinking at the sudden end. "We'll take a bit of a break for healing and possible debrief after that as I'm not sure what just happened."

Dawn had hurried out to make sure that Snowy was ok and sighed in relief as she saw that she was fine and just in need of the Pokémon Center as Lillie picked her Pokémon up in her arms. She looked up to Dawn when she reached her and smiled despite her loss as Dawn was showing compassion just as Lillie would if it was the other way around.

"That was intense." Lillie said to Dawn. "Can you teach me some of that after I get Snowy attended to? I've never seen someone use an offensive move like that to dispel a hailstorm."

"Of course." Dawn said with a smile. "You've got a lot of potential Lillie, that tactic you used at the start was right up there with some of the best I've seen. You really knew how to give yourself an advantage or at least even the table against a fire type by both knowing Snowy's ability and how to maximize it with that defensive move. In a Contest battle that tactic would have worked against most as you gained the evasion advantage with it. Dodging will reduce your opponent's points and you can strike with hit and run tactics which will furth reduce their points and cover you when you have a type disadvantage."

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from a Top Coordinator like you." Lillie said as they began to head back to the sidelines. "But you had my number there the entire I think."

"Not at the start and against most of my other Pokémon you'd have been able to use that well and probably gone the full 5 minutes against me." Dawn said shaking her head. "Vulpix is just better prepared than most of my Pokémon to handle ice and most of my moves were all experimental there, it was just good fortune that they worked out for me. Flame Burst has what is called splash damage so I don't need to hit to do damage and Feint Attack doesn't miss unless you use a special kind of attack I believe so I could counter you. Plus, you aren't the first to pull the Snow Cloak on me."

"I'm not?" Lillie asked surprised. "You've faced that tactic before?"

"Once when May did it to me in the last Wallace Cup final in Petalburg City last year." Dawn confirmed. "I'd beaten her two years in a row, so she was trying something knew having learned that Glaceon had that ability during the week. I countered it with Piplup and the water as it was the Wallace Cup, so the battlefield is a pool, but it was a clever strategy to try and trip me up. I've also seen Ash's main rival in Sinnoh, an ass called Paul who Lana would definitely slap, use it against him in the Lily of the Valley Conference when they faced off. Ash countered it with an Iron Tail though so a different style to me."

"Yes about that." Sophocles said as they reached the sidelines. "What did you just do? I echo what Lillie said, I've never seen Flamethrower used like that."

"I channeled Ash's unorthodox style there to negate what Lillie had done and reestablish my advantage." Dawn said to the rotund boy. "He's very good at out of the box ideas in battle and I've come to use similar tactics in my own battles at times. In that one I had the type advantage, but Lillie had reduced it with Snow Cloak, so I had to overcome that. To do so I realized that a full fire storm could melt the hailstorm and cause Snowy to appear, though hitting her was a bonus I didn't expect to happen as the focus was on the hail."

"Yeah that was so cool to see." Kiawe said with a grin. "But what was with the vortex style? I think I can teach Turtonator to use it as he's got the mobility for it, but I don't know where to start."

"Oh that, that was Vulpix's counter shield." Dawn said. "His flamethrower is the best move for it though this was the first time I used it to remove a battlefield hazard rather than to defend against an attack."

"Counter shield?" Sophocles asked interested. "That's an accurate term for what we just saw."

"It's a style that Ash developed in Sinnoh after watching me in the Celestic Town Final and adapting what I'd done in that match to fit what he needed it to fit." Dawn said. "It basically uses a ranged offensive move in a defensive manner by having the Pokémon use it while spinning to surround it with the attack. If done correctly it is hard to broach."

"Why did you develop that?" Iris asked turning to Ash. "I don't recall seeing you use it in Unova, but Dawn did use it against Cilan I think when he assessed her after we reached Cynthia's villa."

"I did." Dawn said helpfully remembering how she'd had Piplup use it against Cilan's Pansage.

"I developed it to counter Fantina and her ghost types." Ash explained. "She's one of the Sinnoh gym leaders who I struggled against when we battled at a Pokémon Center where we randomly ran into her as she's not good at being in her own gym. I lost that battle because she uses Hypnosis to put her opponents to sleep and I wasn't able to avoid it."

"That is a good battle tactic." Sophocles said. "We saw it yesterday when that girl used it against Mallow."

"It was certainly something that I wasn't expecting." Mallow admitted. "But you can defend against it Ash?"

"So long as my Pokémon has the right kind of move I can." Ash said. "It all came to me when I saw Dawn use a move to defend against a Delcatty's Sing. From that I developed into the counter shield. It became a staple of my tactics in Sinnoh, so much that Paul even mimicked it against me to my surprise when we faced off in the Sinnoh Conference. I haven't seen it for a while though and never like that."

"I make sure that all my Pokémon with a move capable of doing it can and that was a great time to use it in a new application of it." Dawn said with a shrug. "Worked better than expected but sometimes the only way to grow is to try something bold like that."

"That is really clever, can you teach me later." Kiawe asked. "It could come in handy with my fire types."

"Sure, but we should continue on." Dawn said as Lillie rejoined them having taken Snowy in to be healed. "This will take a while so best to move things along."

"Agreed." May called out having not left her position as the ref. "So, can Serena and Lana come on up for their battle."

"We're coming." Serena said as she and Lana got up, the latter picking up Popplio as it was out of its ball to watch the battles from its trainer's lap. "One sec."

"Alright the second battle of the day will be another Contest style battle that I will again officiate." May said as Lana and Serena took their positions on the battlefield. "As with the last one style and grace are as much a part as getting hits in or avoiding attacks. You will have 5 minutes to battle, and the winner will be the one with the most points left at the end unless you knock out your opponent's Pokémon before the time limit ends or, as Lillie showed, forfeit. Understood?"

"Yes." Lana and Serena said at the same time as Lana's Popplio took its position in front of her while Serena took out Meowstic's Poke Ball.

"Good." May said. "This match has Lana from Hau'oli City on Melemele Island in Alola against the only one of us who is actually from Kalos, Serena from Vaniville Town. On the Kalos Contest circuit Serena is known as the Kalos Princess but that is more due to her runner up status in the last Master Class where she won the challenger's bracket only to lose to Aria in the championship for the title of Kalos Queen than as a nickname earned like Dawn's. She's the hometown girl so a fan favorite that nickname helps promote."

"Yeah don't read too much into the nickname, it's more to boost my status as a good Kalos coordinator especially when the three favorites are a pair of Kantonian girls and a Sinnohan woman." Serena said as she tossed out her Poke Ball. "Meowstic, let's go."

Meowstic appeared before Serena with a bored look on her face. One glance opposite her and she realized that she was in a battle against an unfamiliar water type for some reason. This wouldn't do. She was a queen, not a servant, she was above this kinda thing. The appeals stuff her underlings on the team had told her about sure, she got to show off to a willing audience that recognized her as their superior but actually facing a Pokémon was beneath her dignity. Still, she'd show she could do it but if she took a hit then she'd make sure her human servant knew what she'd messed up.

"Begin." May said as she hit the timer she had on her.

"Meowstic start this with Fake Out." Serena said getting into it right away with a move she'd discovered Meowstic knew that would be great to begin a battle with as it would give her an advantage from the start. "And then follow it up with Confusion once the effect triggers."

"Popplio, dodge it and counter with Aqua Jet." Lana said as Meowstic began to run at Popplio. "I'm not sure about that move but I have a feeling we don't want to get hit by it."

However, before Popplio could act Meowstic was suddenly on it. As soon as she was there she brought both her arms together and slapped Popplio's face with them as hard as she could. She then leapt back to clear some space between them and watched as Popplio shivered entirely in a flinch that prevented it from using Aqua Jet. Meowstic knew this was the follow up she had to act on and sent out the weak telepathic attack that was Confusion causing Popplio to wail in pain from as Meowstic smirked at her expected success.

She was happy that Serena had been smart enough to start out with that move and to have a second one ready the moment the effect triggered. She knew from using it on other wild Pokémon before she was caught that it always went first and allowed her a follow up attack to further her assault and force her opponent to flee. However, for some reason the inferior Pokémon opposite her shook its head and gritted its teeth ready to keep fighting rather than bow down to her.

"I don't really know what happened but Aqua Jet." Lana said pointing out. "Hit Meowstic, it's too close to avoid it."

"Dodge it Meowstic and then counter with Shadow Ball." Serena said.

However, Meowstic had been so confident that she'd win with her opening attack that she hadn't back up far enough during her window to do so and before she could move again Popplio had surrounded itself with water and shot at her at full speed. She barely moved before the water type attack struck her and sent her flying back to Serena, hitting the ground hard and rolling over a few times while Popplio gracefully arced up and backwards with the rest of the move before landing squarely in front of Lana.

"Follow that up with Surf." Lana commanded as Meowstic came to a stop in a wet heap just in front of Serena.

"Come on Meowstic, I know you can do it." Serena said encouragingly as the wave of water filled the stage and began to come at her. "Get up and break the wave with Shadow Ball so that it doesn't it you."

Meowstic however was pissed. Her servant had failed her, and she was not happy about it. Serena should know to treat her like the queen that she was, and she'd not done so which meant that she was going to learn the consequences of that. All she did was stand up, close her eyes and cross her arms as she turned slightly not attacking but letting the wave come to her.

"What are you doing Meowstic?" Serena almost yelled. "Shadow Ball. You can use it to create a break in the wave that will ensure it doesn't hit you."

It was to late though as the wave hit the disobedient Pokémon and she was thrown by its past Serena and into the wall of the battlefield behind her trainer hard while the rest of the wave broke and crashed down, right on Serena. That should serve her right, Meowstic was not going to fight anymore. Her servant had let her get hurt and now she was paying for it as she should.

"What the hell Meowstic." Serena spluttered as she spat out a gob of water and turned to her Pokémon on the ground behind her. "Get up and counter, we can still win this. Use Confusion while you can."

"Meowstic." Meowstic said shaking her head as she rolled over on her side away from Serena and ignored her, she was not going to fight anymore.

"Um Serena, is Meowstic listening?" May asked concerned as the Constraint Pokémon continued to ignore her trainer.

"No, she's not." Serena said through gritted teeth as it was clear that Meowstic was not moving and not getting up but still able to fight. "What happens now? I've never seen this happen in a Contest battle before, but I have been in less than you and Dawn, so I don't know."

"If the Pokémon refuses to fight it is considered a forfeit as it would otherwise get badly hurt for no reason." May said simply. "And it looks like she won't fight."

"Fine." Serena growled recalling Meowstic to everyone's surprise and glaring at the Poke Ball. "Are you happy now young lady, we lost because of you throwing a hissy fit at getting hit, which I know is partially my fault for not making sure you were far enough from Popplio to avoid that Aqua Jet. Regardless, we're going to have words on this especially after that great start you had. I guess we will focus on appeals for the moment, but you will learn to battle, you're too good not to and I know it. I believe in you, so I won't give up."

The ball just twitched in what Serena felt was annoyance in her hand, so she shrunk it and put it away before turning to a confused Lana who was just standing on her side watching her. This had not been how she'd expected it to go but at least she'd learned an important thing about her Meowstic's personality.

"Sorry about that, I guess you win." Serena said embarrassed. "I didn't expect Meowstic to be that disobedient in battle, but this was our first try so we will have to work on it."

"No worries, I've heard from Iris about how her Excadrill was for a while." Lana said as they made their way to the side. "That start was great though, what was that combo that you used? I wasn't expecting it at all."

"Oh, I used a move called Fake Out that is almost certain to land first so long as I start with it, and you don't use something like Protect." Serena said. "From what I read about it; it always causes a Pokémon to flinch."

"Flinch?" Lana asked. "Is that what happened when Popplio shivered?"

"Yes, flinching is a side effect to some attacks that is either a possibility or in Fake Out a guarantee." Sophocles said as they rejoined the group for the debrief and May began walking towards them as her battle was next. "It prevents the Pokémon affected from attacking for a few seconds, enough time to get a follow up attack in like that Confusion that Serena used. However, if flinching is guaranteed from a Fake Out then there has to be a tradeoff to an advantage like that, there always is."

"As far as I know based on the research I've done the tradeoff is that I can only use the move once in the battle and only at the start but as this was the first time I used it I can't confirm that." Serena said. "It is why I started with it and moved onto the Confusion though. When I realized that Meowstic knew it and what it did I knew she had a good battle opener to take down a chunk of my opponent's points. From there all I needed to teach her is a bit of grace and she'd be a tough opponent. My friend Miette has a male Meowstic, and I know how agile it is so I figured she could be as well in time. Course this complicates things."

"Give it time and be open with her." Ash said kindly. "Most of us have been there. For me it was Charizard, took a while to get him under control because he was selective in his fights as he'd only take on those he deemed a challenge but after nursing him back to health after his first real loss we bonded. We won that rematch and haven't had a problem since."

"Similar with me and Mamoswine." Dawn said. "He evolved too quickly and was really strong, so my inexperience hindered me in getting him to obey. Then he got injured by a wild Aggron and I healed him with first aid Brock had taught me and now we're really close."

"For me it was more I forced Excadrill to battle a Haxorus right after he evolved, and he knew he couldn't win but I didn't because I was foolish at the time." Iris said. "It was a bad loss for him, and he distrusted me because of it but I eventually apologized and showed him how much I loved him, and he came around. It will take time, but you'll get past this Serena."

"Thanks, but first I need to go dry off and get some clean clothes on." Serena said. "That Surf was good, and I think Meowstic was trying to make a point by having it hit me. I'll be back soon but carry on without me."

"Will do." May said as Serena left knowing it was the right thing for her to get dry lest she get sick which could actually cause them problems with the fighting tournament they were hoping to participate in. "Alright Mallow we're up. Dawn, if you would do the honors."

"Sure, I still haven't officially judged a Contest as I am the last choice due to my inexperience compared to the other 4, but I know how to." Dawn said as she got up and headed to the ref spot while May and Mallow went to their starting boxes. "Not sure when they will let me judge though as they haven't asked yet."

"If it works out I think Dendemille Town will be your first." May said surprising Dawn. "If not then Anistar if we're there at the same time as the Performance that that city hosts."

"Really?" Dawn asked. "Why?"

"Remember what happened in Lagoon Town." May said as they all reached their spots. "Yuma and Robert were around so they could help out and Pierre hosted the snap Contest that was official but only able if there were Top Coordinators around. With us likely present in Dendemille for the Showcase, should we reach it in time that is, they'll likely ask us, especially now that they know you are performing and that I am with you. I expect they will now do a Contest after every Showcase you are in with us as the two roving judges for them as it will really help them out."

"Oh, that does make sense." Dawn said, she hadn't thought about that before, but it really made sense now that she considered it though there was one problem. "But Serena can't compete, she, Khoury, and Emily are on the list of people who can't compete if I am one of the judges. So is Jessilina because of our past record for that matter."

"It's not just them, Brianna is on it as well for both of us." May said. "As is Shauna, Miette, and Tierno as I know them from last year but those three are only restrictions for me while Emily, Jessilina, and Khoury are only banned if you are the judge. That said after Miette joined our ranks you should let the Committee know that you can't judge her either. Thankfully there are enough coordinators, and these snap Contests are last minute so will likely only affect Serena, that it shouldn't be a problem for them."

"Ah ok well then that is good to know, and I will let the Committee know about Miette, but let's begin this." Dawn said as she got ready. "You already know the rules from the last two so I will just introduce you. From Hau'oli City on Melemele Island in Alola we have Mallow and from Petalburg City in Hoenn we have May. As this is a thing we're doing, I will note that May is a Top Coordinator who won my home region of Sinnoh's Grand Festival not last year but the year before that and she is known in the Contest world as the Princess of Hoenn, a nickname she picked up in Johto."

"Thank you Dawn." May said as she pulled out her Poke Ball, Steenee had been out of hers and was already in front of Mallow waiting to battle. "Phantump, on stage."

"Just paying you back May." Dawn said with a smirk as the Stump Pokémon appeared before May and floated there awaiting his orders. "Begin."

"Magical Leaf." Mallow ordered to start it out just as May had expected after seeing the battle the day before.

"Phantom Force." May said with a grin. "This time it won't work."

"Oh, I doubt it." Mallow said with a grin of her own. "Magical Leaf doesn't…"

"You were saying." May said smirking as Mallow's grin vanished the moment Phantump vanished just before the leaf reached him and the attack missed, ending when it passed through the area that Phantump had been.

"How?" Mallow asked as Steenee began to look around worried after her attack missed for the first time ever. "It's not supposed to miss."

"Even an attack with infinite accuracy is not actually always guaranteed to hit, it's just considered infinite because it requires special circumstances to miss." May said. "The only way to avoid it is through a specific type of offensive move and there are only a few moves like it. It has to be a delayed move that takes the Pokémon from the main plain of the battlefield and then attacks a moment later. You know, a move like Phantom Force."

As if to prove May's point Phantump appeared behind Steenee and slammed into her back at full speed. Steenee staggered forward as Phantump laughed and flew clear in a corkscrew that looked good to those watching the battle. It was just as May had expected and it showed that Mallow might be a little too reliant on the near infallibility of Magical Leaf.

"Follow it up with Double Slap." Mallow said.

Steenee didn't move, she just turned and shook her head at her trainer to say that she couldn't use that move. It wouldn't work on her opponent, and she was already able to tell that this was going to be a hard match to win.

"Why not?" Mallow asked as Sophocles looked up Phantump's data from the side to confirm his suspicion.

"Steenee can't attack it." Sophocles called out. "Phantump is part ghost type."

"Wait what?" Mallow asked before she looked and slapped her forehead. "Of course, I'm an idiot, it is clear as day that it has a ghost type. Right that halves what we can do and only one of the remaining moves is offensive so let's stick with Magical Leaf even if it can dodge it and its other type is likely grass so resistant to the move regardless. Steenee, get ready to be on the move, we'll win this with grace and precision rather than offensive might. Dodge whatever is thrown at you and keep the Magical Leaf attacks up even if it uses Phantom Force again."

"Not a bad strategy but I have one of my own though like you I'm limited by a move at least as I can't use one of my moves against another grass type like Steenee." May said recalling from breakfast when the Alolans had shown them their Pokedex entries for the Pokémon that they'd met so far from Alola so that they could learn more and how Steenee's had shown that she was a grass type. "Phantump, Will-O-Wisp. Take the hit to land it, the benefits outweigh the costs of being hit."

Phantump just nodded as he produces the ring of blue flames and sent it at Steenee just as Steenee sent the Magical Leaf at him. The leaf shot through the wheel of flames and struck Phantump in his body sending him flipping back while Steenee leapt out of the way of the slower attack with a cartwheel causing the ground to blacken when the fire type attack hit the ground where she'd been. It was a good strategy, and she was already sending another Magical Leaf at Phantump.

"Phantom Force and then Will-O-Wisp as soon as you can from as close as you can get to Steenee." May said as the third Magical Leaf shot at her Pokémon. "Don't retreat after the hit and take the leaf if it comes for you. We need to burn it to have really take the lead here."

Phantump understood and he wasn't going to let this single grass type out do him in his first true battle for May after she'd proven she could really bring out the best in a Pokémon when she and Aegislash beat him, even if his opponent got lucky with that evolution. He vanished as soon as the order was given and just in time to avoid the normally unavoidable attack. Instantly Steenee was on edge waiting for Phantump to reappear, which he did a moment later off to her side.

The angle ensured that Steenee couldn't get out of the way and the ghost type attack hit her staggering her to the side, but she released her fourth Magical Leaf the moment she saw Phantump appear, so it struck him only a second later. However, Phantump had expected this and as he rolled with the blow he used his Will-O-Wisp at the right moment so that the blue ring of flames shot down at Steenee from above.

In the close quarters that they had ended up in and with the angle of the attack, Steenee had no way to avoid it as the intense flames hit her. The attack itself didn't do any initial damage but a moment later the effect was seen when she combusted into flames with a wail of pain and fell to a knee as Phantump cleared the area but kept an eye on his foe the entire time. May knew she had it, so she decided to give Mallow a chance to end this without Steenee suffering another bout of combustion from the burn effect that was now on her.

"Mallow, this is over." May said simply. "As you can see, I can avoid your Magical Leaf with Phantom Force and Steenee is burned, it will keep taking damage as we fight and a burn on a grass type is not good if I recall correctly."

"No, you're right, I think I've lost." Mallow said accepting defeat and recalling Steenee before she could be injured again by the burn that she was currently suffering from. "Top Coordinators are no joke. Both you and Dawn showed it in your battles. This has been good for my learning though and Steenee and I will work harder to get better so that this doesn't happen again."

"Your strategy was a good one." May said as she recalled and thanked Phantump for his victory. "And that Magical Leaf will be useful for you going forward. Between that and the grace Steenee has you will make a great coordinator if you choose that path. I just had the better Pokémon in this matchup. As a ghost type Phantump was able to negate your normal type move while Phantom Force is one of only three or four moves that I know of that can avoid a move like Magical Leaf. Add in Will-O-Wisp and all I needed to do was land it to ensure a victory. It would have probably been a Battle Off in the end if we'd continued it."

"I don't doubt that." Mallow said as they made their way to the side leaving Dawn were she was, she was staying to officiate the next battle though no one yet knew it. "That is some good moves your Phantump knows."

"It knew them when I caught it and its third move that I didn't use is just as good." May said. "Forest's Curse works on all Pokémon that aren't grass types as it adds a grass type to the Pokémon for the battle and that includes dual types as it turns them into triple types temporarily. In conjunction with Will-O-Wisp being a burn inducing attack it is a strong combo going forward. The last move right now is Leach Seed so you can see the potential it has."

"Wow that is a good move set to have." Mallow said her eyes wide. "Can you teach me some things after this. I need to get Steenee healed up first, but we can learn a lot for you guys that will help us when we return to Alola. Both in Contests that we might enter and in the Manalo Conference at the end of the year."

"Of course, once this is over Dawn and I will hold a coordinator lesson for the girls and Ash can give you tips for normal battles." May said with a smile. "It will be fun."

"Thanks, and thanks for the battle, it showed me just what it means to be a Top Coordinator." Mallow said. "I'll be back in a moment."

"Hurry up as I am about to beat Ash." Iris said standing as Serena returned looking confused that the battle was over while Mallow headed into the Pokémon Center. "Who will ref for us?"

"I haven't moved, and I know how to do it so get this started already." Dawn called out. "I know how impatient both of you can be."

"Can you be unbiased?" Iris asked as Ash and her headed to their spots for the battle while May explained what had happened in her battle with Mallow to a now dry Serena. "All things considered that is."

"I was when I did it for Ash's full battle with Blaine last year." Dawn called out as Piplup stood beside her backing her up for once. "Plus, you aren't a rival of mine Iris, you don't have to be suspicious of me. If anything, I owe you more than anyone else which negates any potential bias."

"What's that supposed to mean Dawn?" May asked as Ash and Iris took their spots.

"Yeah what May said." Serena added as she understood what May was teasing.

"Nothing, I mean it." Dawn said defensively to her friends and rivals. "Promise, we're all good."

"What does she mean?" Kiawe asked Sophocles.

"No idea." Sophocles said just as confused. "Lana, Lillie, you know?"

"Probably." Lana said as she deduced what was going on from the clues she was now seeing. "Serena, May, I take it you share something with Dawn, but she was the one who claimed it."

"Yup." May said while Serena just nodded. "And we've lost battles to Dawn that kinda provided closure after our respective talks with her regarding it."

"I never actually had a chance." Serena said. "All thanks to Iris it turns out, not that I hold a grudge against her for it as none of them had yet met me other than Ash and he didn't remember."

"Sorry to hear that." Lillie said as she too understood what the other girls were talking about. "It must be hard at times given you're traveling with them."

"It hurts but what can I do, there are our friends and I for one never had a chance to begin with." Serena said with a shrug. "Other than slap Iris for being the one to get through Ash's skull."

"We all want to do that." May said helpfully. "She got to Ash before I had a chance to make my planned move unfortunately. Ash knows, I got my closure with him in Hoenn last year, and there's a woman I know in Kanto who's been helping me so I'm currently doing well."

"Can't really blame you." Lana said with a sigh at the story, it was a hard one to hear and hopefully one day she never had to deal with it whenever feelings like that for someone else found her. "And we know the feeling, well the slapping Iris feeling that is, us girls get it from time to time when she gets especially annoying."

"What is going in?" Kiawe asked confused. "I am totally lost."

"Same here." Sophocles added.

"Girl stuff, you guys are too dense to realize." Lillie said dismissively. "Let's just watch the battle and see just how good Ash is."

"Yes this will be good." Sophocles said looking out as Iris and Ash pulled out their Poke Balls. "Iris is a dragon specialist but we've heard her tales of Ash's battle skills so this should be pretty evenly matched I'd say. Add in that dragon type attacks are super effective against dragon types, and it makes such matchups good to watch"

"Plus, it will give us a sense for our match with Ash." Kiawe said.

"I doubt it, Ash is using his Goomy which is his second newest Pokémon against Iris." May pointed out. "Against you two he's using his starter in Pikachu and one of his original 6, and a Pokémon that I watched beat an Articuno, in his Charizard. Still, you will get some sense for Ash's abilities in this battle, but you can't compare his Goomy to the ones you two will face."

"Alright this is just a standard trainer battle until one Pokémon has either fainted or the trainer has forfeited." Dawn said silencing the spectators and bringing the attention back to the battle that was about to begin. "I will be the final judge when it comes to determining if a Pokémon is out. Is that understood?"

Ash and Iris nodded before they locked gazes. It was time to battle again, it had been a long time since they faced off against one another, so this was going to be good.

"Alright then begin." Dawn declared.

"Goomy, I choose you." Ash said tossing out his Poke Ball.

"Drampa, go." Iris said throwing out her own Poke Ball. "Show Goomy what a dragon specialist can do with a dragon type."

The ball burst open, and Ash was taken aback by the Pokémon that appeared. He'd never seen one quite like it. Drampa was odd to say the least.

Its body was normal enough as it hunkered low to the ground with an off cream-colored underbelly, what Ash thought were wings, and a large tail like thing. Its main body was a dark teal-like color with three lighter greenish dots on each of its flanks and the underside of its long neck. The same darker green over lighter green was on its canine-like face with the same off cream color for its hair and underjaw. The biggest oddity though were the bright pink eyes and yellow, er, eyebrows that it had.

Ash knew next to nothing about it other than that it was a normal and dragon type, a combination he'd never heard of before yesterday when Iris had told him about her Drampa and that it was unique to this species of Pokémon, and he couldn't scan it right now. His Pokedex wasn't calibrated to deal with Pokémon that existed only in the Alola and/or Galar regions so he'd have to get more information after this. Thankfully Iris was a dragon expert so she'd know all about it so he could ask her, after he beat her of course.

"Dragon Rage." Iris ordered.

"Brace and use Bide." Ash countered. "Then release it."

Goomy just nodded his body as Drampa expelled a blast of dragon type power in a blue dragon shape that tore at him. Dragon Rage was a move that did a set amount of damage so Ash knew that Goomy could take it and be fine despite the type that was involved as super effective nature didn't seem to be part of this move for some reason. Goomy knew this as well and began bracing as the blast hit him, causing pain but he pushed through it.

As soon as it was over though, Goomy roared and sent out his own blast of normal type power that was twice as powerful as the Dragon Rage that hit back at his opponent. That should show this fellow dragon type that he'd never seen before just how good he was.

"Protect." Iris commanded.

"Follow it up with Dragon Breath." Ash ordered as a protective barrier appeared before Drampa to intercept the Bide just before it reached the Placid Pokémon. "It can't use that move twice in a row I think so use the collision of Bide with Protect to your advantage Goomy."

Just as Ash had predicted, the Bide hit the barrier and exploded in a puff of smoke that obscured Drampa momentarily. Goomy opened his mouth and shot out the dragon type attack in that moment. The smoke had been a good screen for him as Drampa didn't see the move coming until it was to late when the Dragon Breath cut through the smoke and slammed into it causing it to wail in pain from the super effective attack as it was sent rolling backwards from the impact.

"Steel Wing." Iris ordered using the move she'd made sure to teach Drampa to counter the great evil in the world that was that new type that she refused to mention the name of. "Goomy isn't fast enough to avoid it given your own speed."

"Bide again." Ash said as the wings on Drampa turned to steel, and it launched itself at Goomy. "I know that you can take it Goomy and then send it back with your own attack."

"Goomy." Goomy said as the other dragon type bore down on him, and he prepared himself for the hit to come.

A second later the Steel Wing hit him and sent his light body flying back but he'd done what he had to do and was still in this though he wasn't sure how much more he could take, one hit at most he predicted. Still, he was in it and opened his mouth while in the air and blasted his Bide at Drampa as soon as it was the right moment to do so.

Before Iris or Drampa could react the Bide slammed into Drampa from above with enough force to bounce the Pokémon off the ground and back with a wail of pain as Goomy hit the ground, his soft body absorbing the impact, so it didn't hurt him at all. Drampa hit the ground hard and rolled but still got up looking the same as before only more battered as it looked at Goomy but both Iris and Ash knew that they were nearing the end of this battle after all the hits they'd exchanged.

"Sludge Bomb." Ash called out.

"Dragon Rage." Iris countered.

What happened next was something that Ash had experienced a few times before but was still odd to see when it did happen. Goomy focused on the toxins in his body before opening his mouth and launching the balls of poisonous sludge in an arc in the air at the same time that Drampa opened its mouth and sent out its Dragon Rage attack. The Sludge Bomb soared over the Dragon Rage to rain down upon Drampa just as the Dragon Rage hit Goomy and there were explosions at both impacts that filled the area with smoke and obscured both dragon types.

Well, that was the result for the most part, the recoil of the Sludge Bomb had pushed Goomy's light body off target slightly so that the last ball soared off to the side, but no one noticed it as they were too focused on the battle before them. Neither did they notice that it arched over Dawn's head and onto the back of Piplup's head where he was cowering behind her, flippers over his head, in hopes that the move missed him or at the very least hit his human as well. It didn't and he was left poisoned and injured behind Dawn.

Dawn of course did not notice as she waited for the smoke to clear to see if either Pokémon was still able to battle. It took a moment but a second later it did, and the result was undeniable. Both dragon types were on their sides with swirls for eyes from the last hits having been pushed past their limits and passing out at the same time.

"It's a tie." Dawn declared. "That means…"

Dawn didn't finish her sentence before a Poke Ball burst open from her belt and Malamar appeared before her. All Dawn could do was look in wide eyed shock as she was sure she hadn't done anything to provoke Malamar this time before her Overturning Pokémon slapped her hard across the face.

The moment that happened another ball burst open and Machamp appeared tackling Malamar into the middle of the battlefield where they started wrestling with each other as Dawn fell onto her ass, thankfully missing Piplup as he'd crawled away from her to milk his plight, and everyone stared wide eyed at what was going on.

"That isn't normal, is it?" Mallow asked breaking the silence as she returned to see the strange scene in the middle of the battlefield. "What is going on?"

That was when Dawn noticed Piplup off to the side and sighed. She knew exactly what had happened and she should have seen it coming with Goomy out the moment Ash used that move. For whatever reason some of Ash's Pokémon, always dragon types it seemed, had a move that they could do but that always had some off shoot that sought out Piplup for inexplicable reasons. In Goomy's case the move was Sludge Bomb and Piplup had been out, so he was hit.

As a result, Malamar had punished her for her mistake in not protecting Piplup, why Dawn was at fault for Goomy's problem she didn't know but she'd long stopped questioning how Malamar's mind worked, while Machamp naturally opposed the slap. As such he'd come out to protect Dawn and defend her from Malamar though he'd been a shade too late and was now just trying to tell her off for what she did.

"That would be the strange natures and love those two have for Dawn." May said with a sigh as the pair of fully evolved Pokémon continued to wrestle while Ash and Iris recalled and thanked their Pokémon, ignoring the sight before them as they did. "Malamar was accidentally caught, long story there and we'll tell you later as it's a funny one, but she decided to stay and now slaps Dawn when Dawn does something that Malamar deems as wrong or inappropriate in public. In this case my guess is that somehow Piplup got hurt again and Malamar is blaming Dawn for not protecting him despite it being Goomy's fault."

"Meanwhile, Machamp is a natural protector having previously being a forest guardian, again long story for later as it is how Ash and Dawn caught 2 Pokémon each in an afternoon." Serena said. "And he will protect Dawn from anyone who would harm her, including Malamar it seems as he doesn't think Dawn has done something wrong, or at least he doesn't approve of Malamar's methods. They both love her but have very different ways of showing it."

"Well, it's getting embarrassing if they keep this shit up." Dawn grumbled as she recalled them having gotten to her feet and looked at the Poke Balls in her hands. "Please you two, stop it. I know I messed up so I will take Piplup in for healing and treat him right as I should have recalled him the moment that Ash used Goomy. Iris or May, can you take over."

"I got it." Iris said running over to the ref's spot as Dawn picked up Piplup and carried him into the Pokémon Center. "Kiawe, Sophocles, you're up."

"Right let's do this." Kiawe said with a grin as he and Sophocles made their way to the other box while Ash just looked at the seen unfolding, he was too used to those two to be fazed too much by their strange antics. "Ash, bring the fire."

"Oh, I intend to." Ash said focusing on the next battle he was about to have and pulling out the Poke Ball he'd had sent in for today. "Pikachu, you too, head out and get ready buddy."

"Pikachu." Pikachu said with a grin as he bounded forward ready to fight again. "Pi, Pikachu."

"Togedemaru, get in there." Sophocles said to the ball shaped Pokémon on his shoulder that leapt off and ran to stand in front of her trainer. "Let's see what Ash's Pikachu can really do."

"Turtonator, come on out and show your flames." Kiawe said throwing his Poke Ball out. "This is a real test for you my friend, let's make Alola proud."

"Charizard, I choose you as well." Ash said throwing his Poke Ball out a second later and just as Kiawe's Poke Ball burst open. "Woah, that is a cool looking Pokémon."

"Right." Kiawe said grinning as Turtonator snorted in front of him. "Though that Charizard of yours looks damn strong."

"Thanks, I've had him for years and he has had a lot of special training in that time." Ash said as Charizard roared from before him and looked at his foes, the small one probably wasn't worth his time, but Pikachu could handle it, the fire type though, that one looked strong and he didn't know it so he would enjoy adding it to his list of victories. "He's really grown both with me and when he was off training with other Charizards. I can't wait to face that Turtonator though, it looks good."

The Pokémon before Charizard was certainly colorful. Turtonator appeared to be a bipedal turtle-like Pokémon with light gray limbs, neck face though the bottoms of its feet were red. It's tail, shell and the top of its head were red as well thought on the latter two was a yellow center and both were star shaped. Its head had a brown star-like shape at the top while a series of brown spikes, 4 large ones and 4 small ones between the large ones were on its shell, the large ones with a red design at the base. Lastly its nose and what appeared to be a set of whiskers or streaks of some sort to the side of it were yellow.

"Isn't Turtonator adorable." Iris cooed from her position. "It's part dragon type so I really want one. Oh, and your Charizard has a Mega Stone Ash, I forgot that. Please Mega Evolve it, I want to see that dragon type Charizard. When I first saw your Charizard in Johto I thought it was part dragon type until someone corrected me about it being a flying and fire type. I was so looking forward to raising one as well. Then I learned that it does become a dragon type when it is Mega Evolved, so I was kinda right."

"Can't do that, sorry." Ash said surprising Iris and ruining her hopes of seeing a Charizard with a dragon type. "Turns out that Charizard actually has two Mega Evolutions and mine is the one that retains its flying type rather than the one where that type changes to dragon type. I've heard of it though and I really want to see it as well, but I haven't yet."

"That's no fun." Iris said with a pout. "I was so looking forward to that as well."

"Still, it's a powerful fire type, I can't wait to face it and see what it can do." Kiawe said with a grin. "I don't intend to lose to it."

"Neither do I when it comes to your Turtonator." Ash said grinning back at Kiawe and Sophocles. "I'm ready whenever."

"This will probably go poorly for me, but I will focus on Pikachu to start with as I want to assess it." Sophocles said. "But if I get the opening I have something for that Charizard, keep it busy for me Kiawe."

"That's fine, I want this Charizard all to myself for as long as possible, but I know what you have in store so only use it if it is really good." Kiawe said. "It looks a lot stronger than mine. I know that Turtonator and I can learn a lot from battling it."

"Alright well I'll play this one by ear then and adapt to you two as I don't know your styles." Ash said. "But to start, Charizard, you're to focus on Turtonator, Pikachu you handle Togedemaru."

"Pika, pi." Pikachu said with a nod as he looked at the Alolan imitator of him while Charizard roared a challenge to Turtonator.

For their parts both Togedemaru and Turtonator looked a little nervous as they stared at their opponents. They could tell that the two Pokémon before them were powerhouses who were clearly experienced battlers. This wasn't going to be easy, but both knew that they had a chance to win this so got ready for their trainers' orders trusting them to know what was needed to win this battle.

"Alright it will be the same rules as my match with Ash so a standard battle." Iris said as Dawn returned and sat next to May to cheer for Ash. "Begin."

"Pikachu, start this off with Quick attack, Charizard Wing Attack, show them our speed." Ash said.

"Togedemaru, Zing Zap." Sophocles said as Pikachu sprinted at his foe.

"Shell Trap." Kiawe said with a grin as Charizard tore through the air at Turtonator. "That's just the kinda move we were hoping to face."

Kiawe's plan was simple as with this move he could lay a trap for Charizard and while the fire type would be resistant to it, it would still do a good bit of damage to the Flame Pokémon. Sophocles's plan was similar as he knew he couldn't get the first attack, so he was preparing for the counter, plus he knew what Togedemaru's ability was and between that and her types he knew that he had an advantage on Pikachu, on paper at least. The one thing neither were prepared for though were the speed of Ash's Pokémon. That alone showed them right away how much more experience Ash had on them.

Turtonator managed to just about set up the Shell Trap right before Charizard reached him and slammed into his chest with his glowing wings causing it to go off. The two fire types were thrown backwards, Turtonator into the wall behind Kiawe with enough force to crack it and Charizard in a back flip before he landed on knee with a grimace on the battlefield. It was a good move but a shame that it was a fire type one, so he was resistant to it while his flying type move did the standard amount of damage.

Still, Ash saw it and realized that contact might be an issue as the Shell Trap seemed to be trigged by the impact of Charizard's Wing attack though the move itself was one Ash didn't know. That was fine though, Ash could adapt his strategy accordingly to factor in that move. He'd ask about it afterwards though to learn more about it.

As for Togedemaru, she didn't get a chance to even focus on her move before Pikachu slammed into her sending her flying back with a wail. She'd just started planning her move when it happened and it looked like the sparks on her body were the result of that disruption which had caused her move to fail, at least to everyone watching it did that is. Ash saw this and followed it up.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt." Ash ordered. "Charizard Flamethrower. Let's keep them at a distance for the moment."

"Leap over it and come down with Dragon Tail Turtonator." Kiawe said as Turtonator picked himself up off the ground from hitting the wall hard, that Wing Attack had hurt and shown him how much raw power that Charizard had.

"That won't work on you Togedemaru." Sophocles said as the electric type attack from Pikachu flew at it and did nothing as it hit a smiling Togedemaru before it ended. "Lets show them what we can do with Discharge. That will help Turtonator a lot and make sure you do it while Turtonator is in the air."

"Charizard switch targets." Ash said realizing just before Charizard got off his Flamethrower what was happening and that he'd underestimated Sophocles's Togedemaru as it seemed to have the Lighting Rod ability making it immune to electric type attacks while also having an electric attack that could actually do some damage to Charizard due to his flying type. "That's an area attack, it will affect all the Pokémon here. Pikachu protect Charizard by intercepting that Dragon Tail with your own Iron Tail."

"Pikachu." Pikachu said realizing what was up and running to Charizard as Charizard turned his head to the small ball of electricity that was preparing to release it over the entire battlefield, his maw filling with fire and calling to his friend and teammate as he ran. "Pi, Pikachu."

What happened next was almost too fast to see but they could just about see it and it was impressive to say the least. Charizard turned as Togedemaru tried to unleash her discharge, but the sparks weren't her move about to be unleased, but a paralysis caused by Pikachu's Static ability that had also caused the sparks earlier from the Quick Attack that no one had realized. As such she was unable to launch her move, but Charizard was and a gout of intense flames from the fully evolved fire type bathed the Alolan electric and steel type just as she realized what was going on.

Meanwhile Turtonator had leap high, his tail glowing with dragon type power as he flipped to bring it down on Charizard's head. However, the gap between him and Charizard was such that Pikachu was able to run at his friend, scamper up Charizard's wing that he had lowered for Pikachu before he was launched into the air by the fire type as Charizard was using his Flamethrower. Then, as soon as he was in the air, Pikachu activate his Iron Tail and turned his tail to steel, flipping to meet the shocked Turtonator in midair with his own tail-based move.

The two powered up tails clashed in midair and locked as Charizard moved to the side to get clear of the attack and his flames died down to reveal a scorched and swirl eyed Togedemaru on the blackened ground from the intense heat of Charizard's Flamethrower. No one paid much attention to her though as they were focused on the locked Pokémon in the air as Pikachu and Turtonator fought for dominance.

In the end it came down to angle, raw strength, and the boost that Turtonator got from using a move of the same type as himself. He used all of those to overpower Pikachu and force him down and into the ground with a crash that kicked up a lot of dust. Before flipping back to land on his feet next to the unconscious Togedemaru. When the dust settled it showed Pikachu standing on the cracked ground looking battered and panting slightly but still able to fight, his cheeks sparking as he grinned at Turtonator.

"Man, that Pikachu is tough." Kiawe said his eyes wide. "Iris was right, it does take a lot to beat it."

"Yeah it is really standing in there." Sophocles said as he recalled Togedemaru. "You did great my friend, that Charizard is powerful for sure and as a steel type that was the worst attack you could probably face. Take a rest, you earned it."

"Oh sorry, didn't realize it was part steel type." Ash admitted. "I was just acting on instinct in the heat of battle to prevent that super effective Discharge from hitting Charizard."

"No, you did what was right, I just got cocky and tried to use an electric type attack on Charizard without realizing that Pikachu had the Static ability and it had been triggered after that Quick Attack, so I was doomed from the moment Togedemaru seized up." Sophocles said as he stepped back and away from the battle. "I have never faced someone with you reputation and it is clear how well earned it is."

"I wasn't lying about Ash." Iris said not having to call Togedemaru out now that she'd been recalled. "He's a runner up at a major Conference for a reason."

"Pikachu, you've done enough, come back." Ash said recalling his starter and best friend. "Take a break behind me. Charizard will finish this."

Charizard roared in agreement and thanks to his friend for the assist as he really saved him with that Iron Tail move and allowed Charizard to deal with the electric and steel type before it became a problem. Pikachu nodded and understood that this was something that Charizard had to do alone and scampered off to stand with Ash as Charizard and Turtonator faced off against each other.

"Looks like there's only one way I will win this one." Kiawe said as he held out his left wrist. "It's time to power up Turtonator. We're going all out to beat that Charizard."

"So, it looks like you will use a Z-Move, I can't wait to see it." Ash said as he held up his right hand where his Key Stone was. "So let me match it with my own power up and show you what we can do when we're at our strongest. For the third time Charizard, break past your max and Mega Evolve!"

With that Ash touched the Key Stone with his left index and middle finger for all to see. As soon as he did the tendrils of Mega Energy shot out of the connected stones as Ash and Charizard's hearts became one while Iris and the Alolans all gasped in amazement at the Mega Evolution, the first that any of them had ever seen as it was not common on Alola. Before their eyes, Charizard glowed with a strange red light and began to change.

A spike shot out of the back of his heard, his claws shrank a little was a pair of spiked wing things that Ash still didn't know what they were for even after seeing it twice before shot out of Charizard's wrists and his tail developed a spike at the top of it and 3 more near the end. As this was happening the flame at the end roared and grew while his wings became more ragged. As the color faded it showed that Charizard hadn't change his coloration but looked meaner, sleeker, and stronger as he roared loudly, enjoying the feeling of himself growing stronger with the Mega Evolution.

"Wow that is incredible." Sophocles said from the sidelines where he had retreated his eyes wide at the sight. "It looks so powerful."

"That's because it is and I, er, would suggest getting ready." Dawn said as she, May, and Serena got up and moved their bench to the nearest wall before hunkering down on the ground in front of it. "Seriously, do this. Ash knows what not to do but this is Ash, we have no idea what will happen when he unleashes Mega Charizard's full power."

"Just do it." Ash said as Iris took the advice and backed up to the wall and sat down against it pulling Axew into her lap while Pikachu ran over to Dawn for protection from what might happen.

The Alolans were confused but did as they were instructed as it was clear that the others knew that something might happen, so it was best to be safe. This left just Ash, Kiawe, Turtonator and Mega Charizard standing up. Both Turtonator and Kiawe looked nervous at the sight of Mega Charizard grinning at them but held their ground. They had a Z-Move, they could counter this.

"This won't intimidate me." Kiawe said as suddenly the sunlight got brighter thanks to Mega Charizard's Drought ability kicking in. "Let's go Turtonator. My full-bodied, full-spirited, full power! Inferno Overdrive!"

As Kiawe was saying this he was striking a series of poses with his body that Turtonator was matching while the ring on his wrist glowed with a strange light that Ash had never seen before. As it ended, a large ball of fire gathered in front of Turtonator's mouth and Ash knew what was coming next.

"Brace Charizard." Ash yelled. "Use your wings to block it."

Mega Charizard didn't need to be told twice. He could see the immense power his foe was challenging and grinned more as he pulled his arms and lowered his head to cover his front with his wings to protect himself from the impending attack.

This was a power greater than he'd ever felt before, a power worthy of facing him and of speaking about withstanding to the others back home and Charizard knew he could withstand it now that he'd been Mega Evolved so his power was cranked up past his max. Without it he wouldn't survive but with it he was able to withstand the massive fireball that hit him and pushed him back a few paces creating a small groove in the battlefield.

The explosion of the impact sent smoke billowing into the air and covered his whole half of the battlefield. However, hike he was hurt, Charizard was still standing and lowered his arms still grinning at the Pokémon that he was facing even though it couldn't see him through the smoke. This was going to really boost his cred back home and he roared from the smoke, his tail flame bursting so high and bright that he knew Ash could see it, as he let everyone know he was still standing.

"No way." Kiawe said his eyes wide at the sound. "That Mega Charizard is still standing?"

"Incredible." Lillie said from the Alolans' corner as Ash's group just nodded in agreement.

"That wouldn't take down Charizard, not when he's Mega Evolved at least, but I say we end it." Ash said. "Mega Charizard, Dragon Tail."

Before anyone could even blink, Mega Charizard had launched himself forward and out of the smoke with his enhanced strength and speed, his tail glowing with dragon type power. He reached Turtonator before the other Pokémon could even process it and turned at the last moment to bring his tail to bear, slapping it cleanly into Turtonator's chest.

The move seemed to hang there for a second, Mega Charizard in midair, his body twisted and his glowing tail cleanly on Turtonator's chest as the Blast Turtle Pokémon looked at it in shock. Then the moment ended and there was a sonic boom from the point of impact that rattled the windows, though thankfully didn't break them, before Turtonator was blasted back in a red and yellow blur.

The only thing that saved Kiawe was that he was not right behind his Pokémon as there was no time for him to move before Turtonator flew past him and into the wall with a second boom that rivaled the first for volume. Thankfully the battlefield wasn't actually at street level but sunken into the ground likely to avoid Pokémon from ending up being blasted outside the Pokémon Center during a battle and to provide some stability to the stone wall. Had it not been there then Turtonator would have easily gone through the wall and probably the next house or two in the area, that was how fast and hard he hit it.

Mercifully it wasn't the case and all he did was go through the stone wall and several feet into the earth behind it as cracks appeared all around the epicenter, spiderwebbing out past the billowing debris that the impact had cause and affecting half the wall, the earth above it and the ground below it. Everyone but the four who had seen Mega Charizard in action before were staring in slack jawed shock at what had just happened.

Mega Charizard just landed on the ground, his move done, and the battle won. He knew it, Ash knew it, they all knew it, and he responded by tilting his head back and launching a gout of flames high into the air to show that he was the victor.

Finally, the dust cleared, and they could see the results of the impact. Buried at the end of the artificial tunnel he'd created was Turtonator back first, limps limp as he appeared to sit there with swirls for eyes.

"Turtonator is unable to battle, as was Togedemaru earlier." Iris said as she got up and walked out to make sure she was right in assuming that Turtonator had not survived that attack. "Yup, Ash wins."

"Holy hell." Kiawe said his eyes wide as he recalled Turtonator from the hole he'd made and looked at the Poke Ball in his hand. "That was a power we've never seen before. Mega Evolution is on a whole other level. Mega Charizard withstood your Inferno Overdrive and then countered faster than we had expected. Iris was right, Ash is something else."

"Don't feel bad." Ash said as the Mega Evolution returned to normal and he walked out to thank Charizard, Pikachu scampering over to join him while everyone else recovered from what they'd just seen. "You asked for my best and that was it. I am glad I saw yours because that Z-Move was amazing, I've never seen a single move be that powerful."

"Still not enough to beat you two." Kiawe said with a shake of his head as he headed out to meet Ash and shake his hand after a good battle. "Thank you, you've shown me just how much stronger I need to get. I also now want to find a Key and Mega Stone for my own Charizard. I can't wait to meet Professor Sycamore when we get to Lumiose City and talk with him about Mega Evolution."

"Do that and let's have a rematch with them one day." Ash said with a grin as they shook hands. "We look forward to it."

Charizard roared his approval and then doused Ash in flames of celebration once he could as he always did with his human. Ash grimaced before he fell back, and everyone laughed.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Nurse Joy yelled causing all of them but Ash to turn to the door to see a shocked and angry Nurse Joy there with an equally angry Wigglytuff behind her. "I was just minding my own business when suddenly there's a series of explosions or booms coming from here that had enough force to rattle the windows. I heard what happened in Geosenge, it had better not have happened here."

Nurse Joy didn't know who was responsible for the damage in Geosenge but somehow she had a feeling that the training in blue on the ground with a Charizard next to him was responsible for it. She'd heard what had happened when a Mega Charizard and Mega Alakazam went at it and these two fit the profile for the former. One look to the side to gape at the hole in the wall was enough to prove it to her. Thank Arceus for the layout of the Pokémon Center or else it could have been much worse.

"You're that nutcase with the Mega Charizard who almost destroyed the Geosenge Pokémon Center, aren't you." Nurse Joy said to Ash as he groaned at sat up knowing he was in trouble. "Right?"

"In my defense I wasn't expecting that much damage to happened when I did it." Ash said weakly knowing that it wasn't much of an excuse. "And this time I at least made sure to do that combo again."

"Still, it was reckless, and you will fix this before you leave." Nurse Joy said before turning and storming inside.

"Wigglytuff." Wigglytuff said angrily before she too turned and went inside following her Nurse Joy to get back to helping heal the Pokémon under their care.

"Well, it isn't as bad as last time." Ash said as he got up and returned Charizard. "This will only take a few days to fix at most."

"Deal with that later." Iris said. "It's lunchtime so let's go in and eat while trading stories of our recent adventures."

"Yes I want to hear all about this Malamar and Machamp thing." Lana said. "Why are they like that with you Dawn?"

"You almost destroyed a Pokémon Center?" Kiawe asked Ash. "That is a story I want to hear."

"We can tell all of those over lunch." Ash said as his stomach growled. "They are long stories and you guys aren't leaving today, are you?"

"Nope tomorrow." Iris said shaking her head. "So, let's go and hear these stories. You've mention some of the Geosenge thing, but I want the full fight you had with that child Kenny. I'd love to hear how you put him in his place."

"Sure." Ash said with a smile.

"We can show the girls the scars to prove it." May said. "In private though, they're sensitive areas that the boys can't see, well mine is at least."

"What are we waiting for then?" Iris asked. "Let's get our Pokémon seen too and get some food before watching Ash do manual labor while May and Dawn teach us more about being coordinators."

"And if she's up for it can Serena explain Showcases?" Lillie asked. "They sound pretty, and I'd like a demonstration of a freestyle of that's ok with you Serena?"

"Of course, it is." Serena said with a nod. "I'd love to show you how a freestyle works, it will be helpful for Dawn as well just as the coordinator lesson will be good for me."

"It's decided then, let's move though, I'm hungry." Iris said as she pointed a finger into the air. "To food and stories."

They all laughed at that and followed the Unovan into the Pokémon Center to do just that. Overall, it had been a good and interesting morning full of surprises, learning and seeing new things in the battles. Of course, the battles themselves that had started interesting and ended in a way few had expected. It had been a good start to the day and would continue as they hung out and enjoyed the day before heading out to resume their respective journeys the next day with hopes of meeting again one day.

Well, that was a fun, battle filled, side adventure for everyone to bond more in, see how some Pokémon battled at last, and what Serena has to now deal with regarding Meowstic's attitude going forward. I know that this was only my second attempt at the Alolan so bear with me, I'm sorry if they aren't great but I've done my best with my skills, hopefully they will be better when they return in Hearts 5. There are two more Supplements that will be coming soon, before Part CXXV in fact, but they should be shorter and are OC development ones so stay tuned for them if you like those kind of Supplements. Anyway, that's all I have for now so as always please continue favorite and follow both me and this story to keep abreast with new releases and keep the reviews coming. Until next time.

Stringdog