"Normal speech"

'Normal thoughts'

{radio or phone communications}

"Translated poke speech"

'Translated poke thoughts'

~Location and Transition~

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon

Review corner

Sonavelkovskaa5842: still too early for Ash to find out. I just had the idea of Ash doing that since Mew and Mewtwo seem to enjoy being in the water. I figured Ash would be like that as well

StarDragon001: It was either CLefairy or Sandshrew in my head and I went with a pokemon that I haven't seen on Ash's team before. Ash's canon pokemon will be caught as well but I did want to add more pokemon to his arsenal since overall, in the anime, Ash doesn't have that many pokemon

I am vegito: he will find out. It's just that in many other Ash is a pokemon fic, he finds out DEEP into his journey. I wanted to try something different, like showing the journey instead of skipping to the reveal. Once the reveal is done, is when original content will become more prevalent. I hope you stay till then and enjoy the story

Learcangel1: glad you liked the last chapter. Also…..good guess

ArashiNokitsune: the Team Rocket Mewtwo, in the anime, did not escape till Ash got his 8th badge. SPOILERS The other Mewtwo will escape much earlier though

Phaleon: I'm really glad that you like that aspect of the story and I have a plan for her when they meet

Jetray1000: thank you, I have an idea for it, though it is kinda cliche at this point

Bluepigment: I know everyone wants him to find out but it will be a while till he does. I hope you continue to read as best you can since translations might bring up problems

Guest: glad you like it

Juaniu1994: really not sure about the sisters. Doubt it though. Pokeshipping is also one of my favorites when done right

Chapter 7: Their path to 100

The group was at the moment relaxing by a lake as they had chosen to take the whole day for themselves.

Misty was looking at a Pokeball that she got from her sisters at the insistence of Ash. She looked over to the boy to see that he was instructing his new Sandshrew since he was the newest addition. She thought back to two days ago as they were leaving the gym.

~flashback~

The group woke up early in the morning so they could make the most of the day traveling. But the one that was the most excited was Ash

Ash ran towards Misty with an excited look in his eyes as he grabbed her hand "Misty! Come with me to talk to your sisters!"

Misty was a little taken aback by his excitement. "Ash, I really don't want to deal with…wah!"

"Come on!" Ash began to drag her down the hall in order to find Misty's sisters

After running through the gym for a few minutes, they finally found the three just coming out of the washroom

Ash stopped right in front of them with a panting Misty behind him. He immediately asked "hey! There is a pokemon that you have in your aquarium that I think Misty could use in her travels. I wanted to ask if it was ok for her to take it with her."

Daisy looked at the other two sisters as she thought about what pokemon he was referring to. "Well if you are talking about the Poliwag, seal, or Shellder then you're out of luck. We plan on using them for our show. Sorry, kid."

Ash shook his head as he waved his hands "no no no, I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about the other one."

The three sisters thought about what else they could have but when they did, they all started laughing at what it meant. They continued to laugh as Lilly spoke

"You think….haha. It would be a good fit for Misty?" she puffed out her cheeks before laughing again

Misty felt a tick mark on her head as she now knew that she was being made fun of. Before she could hit Ash in the head, she saw him turn to her and wink, giving her the impression that he knew what he was doing

The sisters finally stopped laughing with Daisy shaking her head. "If you want that thing you can have it. We caught it by accident when we were trying to catch another Goldeen and it got in the way. We don't even know what it is so you can have it."

Mosty saw Ash smile wide as he looked like he had just won the lottery

~end of flashback~

Misty sighed as she got up from her sitting position and walked over towards Ash. "Ash, why did you want me to have this pokemon?"

Ash paused in instructing his pokemon for their training for the day and looked at Misty. He smiled as he began "the pokemon they found is a really good water pokemon. It's actually from another region and is something that a lot of trainers don't even consider. But I know for a fact that it would be good for your team."

Misty looked at the ball skeptically before she sighed in defeat. She didn't know anything about this pokemon so what did she have to lose?

She, Ash, and Sandshrew then walked over to the lake with Ash instructing Sandshrew what to do

"Ok, so I want you to just put a part of yourself into the water. I know that ground types don't like water but it will help in training. Just put in what you can and later we can work on increasing your resistance with water types."

Sandshrew nodded as he could see how this would help him get stronger "got it!"

They made it to the water with Misty tossing her ball into the air to release her new pokemon

The ball burst open with its usual light and the pokemon formed in the water.

The pokemon was mostly tan with brown splotches all over its body and blue fins. One of its most defining characteristics was its large pink lips and depressing look in its eyes.

Misty looked at it before she felt a pang of hurt in her heart when she remembered how Ash said this pokemon was a good match for her. She looked at the boy and asked "Ash, what even is this pokemon?"

Ash smiled as he knelt down and patted the pokemon on the head "it's called a Feebas. It's one of the rarest pokemon in the Hoenn region. It's also really valuable….not that many people know that."

Feebas smiled as it spoke in a very base-like tone "thank you for the compliment."

Ash immediately registered it was a male based on the tone. "Trust me, Misty. You won't regret having him on your team."

"'She'."

Ash paused in his petting when he heard Feebas correct him. "Uh?"

Feebas smiled again as she continued "something that many pokemon get wrong when they meet our species is getting our gender wrong. All of us, male and female, sound the same so everyone believes us to be male till we correct them."

Ash chuckled nervously at this as he got up and looked at Misty. "I made a mistake. It's female."

Misty put her hands on her hips as she looked at the Feebas. "How do you know that?"

Ash tried to think of an excuse to use till he remembered something about another species of pokemon and chose to use it. "The length of her fins are longer than males."

Feebas noticed the nervousness he had and the misdirection he tried on the human female. "Ah, I see. Trying to keep it a secret. I suppose that it makes sense seeing as what you are."

Ash heard this and looked to Feebas with a raised eyebrow.

Feebas continued "it is best not to let other humans know about you since if they found out that you are…"

"OK! We should get to training instead of wasting the day!" Sandshrew shouted as he pumped a claw into the air

Ash jumped as Sandshrew shouted all of a sudden. It then registered in his head what was said and nodded. "Yeah, we should get some training done." he looked to Misty as he began to tell her methods about how to train Feebas and what he knew about its diet.

Misty listened to what he was telling her and when he was done telling her about specific berry mixes she should do for Feebas, she felt compelled to ask "how do you know so much about this?"

Ash smiled as he looked at Feebas and Sandshrew, who was slowly dipping his foot into the water. "I love pokemon. I wanted to know as much as I could about them and being friends with a Nurse Joy, helped out. But the Nurse joys don't do full research about it, only the medical stuff. I was lucky that Avoline's mom went to Hoeen on a trip and learned some stuff there."

Misty smiled and nodded "I can tell you really love pokemon."

Ash smiled so bright that it was almost like he was using flash "yep." he then looked down to his pokemon to see that he was trying to get more of his leg in the water. It was then that he heard something being shouted so he turned around to see that it was Oddish

"I did it! I did it!"

Ash looked back at Sandshrew and nodded at him before running to Oddish. Once he got to her he picked her up and swung her in the air smiling at her "way to go, Oddish!"

The rest of the group smiled at his enthusiasm before going back to what they were doing.

As Ash was congratulating Oddish for succeeding in his accomplishment, Sandshrew was talking to Feebas. "How did you find out about, Ash? I didn't know about it till I saw him transform when he fell asleep."

Feebas turned to him as she answered "while we were at the large Cerulean gym. He had entered the large pool while he was still sleeping and floated in the water. When we all felt his presence we all swam around him as a sign of our respect for him. It was later when I saw the boy again that I recognized the feeling he gave off that I figured that he was hiding his true nature from his human colleagues."

Sandshrew was a little surprised at how she found out about Ash but he needed to explain the thing she got slightly wrong. "Actually, he isn't hiding it from his friends. He himself doesn't know about it." He saw that she was confused about what he said so he explained what he was told from the others.

Avoline smiled at Ash as she was looking over Metapod who had been out of his Pokeball the entire time. "Looks like you should be evolving any time now."

Metapod didn't hear what she said as he was looking at the other pokemon that were training. He felt like he had been trapped inside the cocoon for so long now and he wanted to join them. He wanted to train…...he wanted out. He shimmied as much as he could as he was now starting to feel claustrophobic.

Avoline noticed the shimming increase till there was a crack on the shell. "...or you can evolve now. Ash!"

Ash put Oddish down and looked over to Avoline to see that Metapod started glowing. His eyes widened as he ran over to them.

Everyone also noticed this and made their way towards them

Misty even carried Feebas so that she could witness it.

Avoline put Metapod down as everyone circled around him

Metapod's shell cracked more and more till the back of it gained a large opening that shone brightly till something came out of it. Large insect wings sprouted out and soon he flew into the air. "Finally! I evolved!"

The group all smiled as they began to cheer for the flying Butterfree

Ash raised his hands in the air as he cheered "way to go, Butterfree! Hahahaha!"

Butterfree flew down to hover in front of him and gave a happy chirp "it's all thanks to you, Ash. thank you!" he then landed on his arm which he extended

Ash smiled at Butterfree and spoke, "looks like you can finally join everyone in training."

All of his pokemon cheered causing the rest of the group to laugh at the happy moment

~next day~

"Pidgeotto, Quick attack!"

Pidgeotto gained a streak of light aiming at his opponent, a Rattata. Being too fast for the rat, he struck hard, sending the rat pokemon flying

Rattata impacted a tree and fell to the ground with swirls in his eyes.

Avoline raised her hand into the air "Rattata is unable to battle. The winner is Ash and Pidgeotto!"

The rat pokemon's trainer slumped at the sight and brought up his Pokeball. "Aw, man. I lost."

Ash cheered as Pidgeotto flew around him before hovering just next to the boy "no doubt I would win!"

Pikachu and Eevee smiled at him with the mouse pokemon giving him a smug look. "Modest aren't ya?"

Pidgeotto landed on the ground and puffed up his feathers in pride "nothing wrong with some self-indulgence."

The trainer walked up to Ash and pulled out his Pokedex with Ash doing the same, he pressed a few buttons and sent Ash's winnings over. Once that was done he put his Pokedex into his pocket. "You sure are strong. I bet you could even beat A.J" he said excitedly

Ash tilted his head when he heard this "who's A.J?"

The trainer turned around and pointed in a specific direction. "He is a Savage trainer. He trains savage pokemon and battles anyone that challenges him. He built a gym in that direction. I battled him before and he beat me badly. Maybe you can beat him." the trainer then bid the group goodbye and went on his way

Ash looked to the others and asked "there was another gym here? I didn't read anything about it in the brochure."

Brock smiled as he patted his shoulder. "It's most likely a personal gym made for him to challenge other trainers or train."

Misty nodded in agreement with Brock. "Some people make their own gym to battle other trainers. Though to do that they still have to get permission with the official PLA (Pokemon League association) in order to make one, otherwise they will get shut down."

Ash returned Pidgeotto and started to lead the group towards this gym with Avoline finishing up the lecture

"Though it is possible for these personal gyms to be made official with their own badge if they can file a request for it and have a Gym inspector judge them and they discuss what pokemon specialty they wish to use. Most beginner gyms need to choose a pokemon type to stick to. When they become more proficient in it they can change the pokemon type or go for a balanced type. Thing is that most gyms tend to stick with the type since they enjoy the theme they chose."

The group continued on a path through the forest till they reached a large wooden log wall with a large gate. They stood in front of the gate and looked at the sign at the top that had an electrical score readout. With the wins set as "98" and the losses set as "0"

Misty gave an impressed whistle at the score. "98 wins is impressive." he then gave a teasing smile at Ash "think you will win if you challenge him?"

Ash smiled as he pumped his fist "you never know. I beat ten trainers today!"

Avoline patted his shoulder as she scolded him "ash, don't get cocky. You know there are a lot more stronger trainers out there. Remember?" she said giving him a knowing look

Ash nervously chuckled as he remembered an event that happened when they were younger, with him using a borrowed pokemon and battling Avoline who had experience with pokemon. "Heh heh yeah. I know."

"You my next victim?"

The group turned to see a green-haired boy with a red and black dress shirt and blue shorts walk up to them with a backpack hanging on his shoulder.

Ash waved at him as he asked "are you A.J? The savage pokemon trainer?"

A.J smirked at him as he crossed his arms "that's my job, but beating chumps like you is my hobby."

Ash glared at him as he didn't like the attitude "hey, you don't have to be so rude, you know."

"Heh, I only treat chumps like this. You ready to lose?" he then moved to the gate which opened up for them and led them in

The group looked around to see the arena right outside a large tent. They were all impressed at the gym as it was impressive for one made by him.

Ash smiled widely at this "wow, nice arena."

Avoline was mentally checking off things in her head as she had partial training as a gym inspector. So far, nothing was off. "Very well formatted."

A.J just now noticed Avoline and figured that she was inspecting it. "I make sure everything is up to code and within regulation."

Avoline smiled as she waved her hand "Oh don't worry. I am not here to inspect. But I can say that everything looks up to standard."

A.J nodded as he put his pack on the ground as a Butterfree came flying down, picking it up, and flying off to the tent

Ash watched the Butterfree take the pack and asked "what's in the bag?"

A.J was walking up the steps to the elevated arena before he turned to them "the wild pokemon I just caught. Butterfree is taking them into the tent for me to get ready later on. It's where all my pokemon train."

Ash grew excited at hearing that there were more pokemon "hey, after the match, do you think we could see them."

A.J smirked at the enthusiasm the kid had "if you want." he turned back and made it to the arena "so which pokemon are you gonna use? For my ninety-ninth win?"

Ash thought about who he could use in this match as he walked up the steps. His pokemon haven't had the chance to fully heal since they haven't been to a pokemon center. Even if he had type advantage, an exhausted pokemon's chances of winning are minimal. That was something he learned from Avoline's mother. He made it to his spot and shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'll use what I have

Eevee looked at Ash as she spoke "Ash, I don't think we can win. We battled so much in the past few days and we haven't had any real healing."

Pikachu sighed as she sat on his other shoulder. "Count me out of this one. I wanna take a nap after those three battles we had early today."

Ash nodded as he ran his hand on his Pokeballs. "Let's see….who to use…"

A.J smirked as he grabbed a Pokeball "well if you don't know who to use, maybe I should start first. Pokeball, Go!" he tossed the ball into the air and watched it burst open

Out of the Pokeball came out a Sandshrew that landed, ready for battle. "Ready to go, A.J!"

Ash saw this and smiled. "Ok then!" he grabbed a Pokeball and tossed it forward "Go, Sandshrew!"

Out of his Pokeball came out his Sandshrew and looked around till he saw that he was in a battle with another of his species. "This should be sweet!"

Misty was confused about Ash's choice of pokemon "why would he choose Sandshrew?"

Brock crossed his arms as he gave his assumption "I can only guess, but maybe he wanted to see how his Sandshrew stacked up to another one."

Avoline chose to be the referee of the match and stood in her position before looking to A.J. "do you mind if I am the referee for the match?"

A.J nodded "sure, I don't mind. This will be a two on two battle." he then looked at his Sandshrew. "Get ready!" He pulled out a whip that was attached to his belt and swung it to strike the ground between him and Sandshrew

Ash winced at the sound since he hadn't heard of it before so it made his ears ring a bit. He shook his head before looking at Sandshrew. "Let's see how we do against his pokemon."

Ash's Sandshrew got ready at his trainer's words.

Avoline looked at the two trainers and lifted her hand "A.J's Sandshrew vs Ash's Sandshrew. Begin!"

~Sandshrew Vs Sandshrew~ (you know the drill)

Ash started out the match "Sandshrew Fury attack!"

Sandshrew got on all fours and ran towards his opponent

A.J cracked his whip with his counter "Sandshrew, Rollout"

A.J's Sandshrew rolled into a ball and rolled at Ash's

Ash's Sandshrew slashed at the other Sandshrew but due to the rolling and speed, he was hit hard and sent flying. He crashed in front of Ash who looked at him worriedly. "You ok?"

Sandshrew got up while wincing as it was clear that his opponent was stronger. "I can keep going."

A.J's Sandshrew did a U-turn and stopped right in front of him

A.J smirked as he cracked his who again "don't stop! Keep going!"

A.J's Sandshrew jumped into the air before rolling up and continuing Rollout.

Ash's Sandshrew braced himself as he wasn't sure what Ash was going to do now

Ash thought quickly about how to counter when he thought of a combo. "Sandshrew! Defense curl into Rollout!"

Sandshrew curled up before he glowed white briefly before he started to roll towards the other Sandshrew

The two impacted in the center of the arena with both pushing against each other. The two rolling pokemon pushed against each other, causing the ground underneath them to chisel away and create a small bit of dust to lift off the ground.

A.J cracked his whip again "Finish it, Sandshrew!"

A.J's Sandshrew then pushed harder causing the supposed stalemate to immediately fall into his favor and with one last push, Ash's Sandshrew sent flying again and this time crash landing in front of Ash with swirls in his eyes.

Avoline lifted her hand as she announced "Ash's Sandshrew is unable to battle! Winner of the round is A.J! Challenger, choose your next pokemon!"

Misty watched in awe as she watched Avoline. "She is really getting into this role."

Brock nodded as he gave an affirmative "mm"

A.J smirked as he grabbed his whip with both hands and pulled on it. "Heh, your Sandshrew's got nothing on mine. With your skill level, no way you could beat any trainer, let alone a gym."

Ash brought out the Pokeball and returned Sandshrew. "Hey! I actually beat two gyms already!"

AJ gave a cocky scoff "what kind of pathetic gyms let a wimp like you win? Were they in Whimpsville and loser-town?"

This caused a tick mark to appear on not only Brock and Misty's forehead for having their gym be insulted but on Eevee and Pikachu's as well for A.J making fun of their trainer

Brock and Misty gained a dark aura as they spoke to Ash in sequence

"Hey, Ash. Pulverize this guy!"

"Don't let him insult our gyms like that!"

Pikachu let out large sparks as she glared at A.J "let me at him, Ash. I won't allow him to make fun of you!"

Eevee was in the same boat as her fur began to puff out as she glared at the trainer. "How dare he say such things about you!"

Ash was a little surprised about their anger but he was a little touched that they would be mad for him. But he needed them to calm down so he lifted his right arm towards Eeevee who was on his left shoulder and his left arm towards Pikachu who was on his right. He scratched under Pikachu's chin and n the side of Eevee's head

This caused both pokemon to immediately melt with his touch as they enjoyed him scratching at those spots.

Ash smiled at seeing them relax "it's ok, you two. You don't have to be mad for me." he then turned a hard look to A.J as he didn't like how he was belittling his friends' gyms. "But he is being rude." he pulled out a Pokeball and tossed it "I choose you! Pidgeotto!"

Pidgeotto bust into the sky and ready to battle "another battle? Well, let's do this!"

Avoline raised her hand as she announced "Sandshrew vs Pideotto! Begin!"

~Sandshrew vs Pidgeotto~

Brock nodded as he thought the choice of pokemon was a good one. "Smart. Sandshrew's attacks will have a hard time getting to Pidgeotto if he stays in the air."

Misty glared as she really wanted Ash to win this since A.J insulted their gym

A.J cracked his whip as he started this match "Sandshrew, Sandstorm!"

Sandshrew placed his claws on the ground as they glowed white before he spun around once and caused a sandstorm to take over the field.

Everyone covered their eyes as to not get sand in them

Ash tried to think of how to counter it when he gained an idea "Pidgeotto, fly in a circle while using Whirlwind! Use it to blow the sandstorm away!

Pidgeotto began to fly in a circle while having his eyes closed so as to not damage them and started flapping his wings in a way that would not disrupt his flying. Soon harsh winds began to overtake the sandstorm and it began to clear up. Soon it cleared up with both pokemon being visible now, though the sandstorm did do some damage to Pidgeotto and despite it being minimal, he was still tired from the last battle.

Ash could see this and felt the need to end the battle one way or another. "Pidgeotto, Steel Ace!"

Pidgeotto flew straight up into the sky before he dropped straight down with his wings beginning to glow

A.J didn't know what the move was but decided to counter it. "Sandshrew, Rollout! Max power!"

Sandshrew curled up into a ball and spun on the ground a bit before charging in the direction Pidgeotto was coming from

Pidgeotto gained his speed and pulled up, making sure to have enough strength to not let the weight of steel disrupt his path. He charged at the rolling ground type and angled it so his wings would hit.

The two pokemon impacted each other with a bright explosion to happen where they hit.

Ash grew worried at this as he called out "Pidgeotto!"

A.J was much the same "Sandshrew!"

Out of the dust cloud came two shot out two pokemon that crash-landed at the trainers' feet.

The trainers were stunned at this as they watched one of the pokemon rise.

Ash saw the pokemon at his feet getting up while the one in front of A.J stayed on the ground

Avoline saw this and raised her hand "The winner of the match is A.J!"

The pokemon in front of Ash was Sandshrew, worn out, covered in bruises and scratches

Pidgeotto was knocked out at A.J's feet

Ash brought out a Pokeball and returned his pokemon.

A.J walked over to his pokemon and knelt down before patting him on the head. He looked up at Ash with a smirk "that was a helluva way to battle. Nearly beat my Sandshew with that last move

Sandshrew was panting as he nodded in agreement "you're telling me. That hurt. What was that move anyway?" he looked up at Ash and was hoping he would be answered even if indirectly. It was when he looked at the human that he suddenly felt like bowing to him but shook it off to being hit hard in the head.

Ash smiled as he spoke to both of them "that last move was a combination of two moves that I am trying to train my pokemon into doing. It uses both Aerial Ace and Steel wing together. Though we still have to work on it, I'm glad he got it right."

A.J was impressed "I've never heard of a trainer doing something like that. Sure there are moves that help other moves but you combined them into a new move entirely. You got spunk, kid" he then picked up Sandshrew and nodded to the group. "If ya still want, you can check out the rest of my pokemon."

Ash nodded as he really wanted to see more pokemon.

The rest of the group sighed good-naturedly at their friend's obvious love for pokemon.

Misty caught up with Ash though and asked in a whisper as to not catch A.J's attention. "Hey, Ash, did you really go all out in that match?"

Ash tilted his head as he didn't understand what she meant by the question before it hit him. "Well, yeah, but we haven't been able to heal up so Pidgeotto was tired. Maybe if he was fully healed he might have won but who knows."

Brock smiled as he could accept that Ash would have won and redeemed his and Misty's gym if they were at full health. Sure it was a hypothetical victory but it was something he could accept

Avoline walked closer to Ash in a normal volume "I think we should wait till we get to a Pokemon Center before you battle again. It wouldn't be good for your pokemon. If not we will need to rest for at least two days for them to be at full health."

Ash nodded as he wasn't against taking a break.

Unbeknownst to the kids, they were being spied on by the team rocket trio through binoculars

Jessie smirked as she looked at the Sandshrew. "That pokemon is very strong. We should grab it."

James looked at the pokemon for a second "we could but remember that we want that Pikachu more than anything."

"True. Besides, how can someone wear something so tacky."

James nodded in agreement with Jessie's statement. "It looks like something from last century."

Meowth lowered his binoculars as he glared at the two humans. "We'ze got ta focus on the real prize. Dat Pikachu."

James lowered his binoculars as he nodded "of course. Now let's get it."

The three then climbed down the tree they were in and began to think up a plan

The group entered the tent and saw that a couple of different pokemon were training with each other.

A Beedrill using Twin needle on a Butterfree who was dodging the attack.

Three Rattata hopping over each other while trying to use bite on each other, another Rattata balancing on a large blue ball with just his hind paws, and another jumping through a ring of fire.

The group looked around at the whole tent in awe.

Ash couldn't help but say out loud. "It looks like a circus."

As the humans were looking at the tent, they didn't notice that every pokemon in the tent, stopped what they were doing and turned their gaze to Ash. in all of their minds, they felt like they were now in the presence of a legendary. Every instinct they had was telling them they should be showing their respect to it but they could not see any legendary pokemon around and when they saw A.J who was turning to face the other humans. They shook off this feeling and got back to training. Though they still had that feeling run through them.

A.j chuckled at this as he walked over to a table that had several medical supplies. He placed Sandshrew on the table before turning around to them. "I've been told that before and I admit that it does look like one. But it all has the purpose of making my pokemon stronger." he then turned to see Sandshrew sitting there waiting for his trainer's examination. Once he was done he finished up with a small spray of potion

Sandshrew winced as he felt the spray hit a cut that he got from that last move "ow ow ow. I'll never get used to that."

A.J nodded as he asked. "Well? You ready for some serious training?" he smiled as he saw his pokemon nod before he pointed to his left "then get your tail moving!"

Sandshrew leaped off the table and towards a shelf that had a few mechanical contraptions on them, he grabbed one and put it on before running towards the pool that was in the center of the whole tent. He climbed a high dive before he dived into the water.

Ash tilted his head as something the Sandshrew did confused him. "What was that thing he put on?"

A.J pulled off his whip from his belt and moved to the side of the pool. "That's a strength intensifier. It's meant to bring out a pokemon's full power." he turned his head when he heard a splash and saw Sandshrew come out and spin the water off himself. He cracked his whip next to Sandshrew as he ordered "back in the water!"

Ash winced at that as he asked "don't you think you're being a little harsh on him?"

A.J watched as his pokemon jumped back into the water before turning to Ash. "I have to be tough on him. We strive to be the best team ever and we will endure anything to reach that goal."

Ash turned to see the other pokemon and despite how they all looked like they were handling it, Ash could see that they were all exhausted. "I don't know. I think they are pushing themselves too hard."

A.J scoffed at this "they better be pushing themselves. Nothing is ever gained without sacrificing something." he then looked at the Pikachu and Eevee that were on Ash's shoulder. "You'll never become a good trainer if all ya do is take the easy way. How do you expect to beat the rest of the gyms if ya don't train them hard."

Ash rubbed the back of his head as he answered "well…..I'm not really trying to beat the gyms."

A.J tilted his head at this. "Say what?"

"I'm just traveling to see as many pokemon as I can. I just love being around pokemon so I wanted to go out and see them."

A.J crossed his arms as he gave a curious look "well, that's a first. Every other trainer I dealt with always say they wanna beat all the gyms and challenge the elite four. You're the first to just say he wants to be around pokemon." he then thought about the battle. "And ya still battling the gyms? Why?"

Ash lowered himself so that Pikachu and Eevee could hop off. Once they were on the ground, he hugged them both with a large smile on his face. "My pokemon wanted to challenge the gyms so I decided that since I'm going through the towns anyway, I might as well do them so that my pokemon can have some fun."

A.j smiled as he nodded "you doing it for your pokemon, now that I can respect."

The rest of the group smiled at how Ash gained the respect of someone that seemed tough to impress.

Brock turned his head to the training pokemon as he asked "Hey, A.J, your Pokemon all look like they are well taken care of. Do you mind if I ask what kind of pokemon food you give them?"

A.J perked up as he gestured his head towards a large refrigerated cabinet. "I fed them my own recipe. I make sure I monitor each of my pokemons' diet." He opened the cabinet to show large jars filled with pokemon food, each with a different picture of pokemon.

Avoline nodded as she spoke. "Preserving the food. A good way to keep your pokemon's health balanced."

Brock nodded as he looked it all over "you mind if we compare notes on our recipes."

A.J thought about it for a second before nodding "sure but I won't go too into detail about it. Secret recipe and all that."

Brock nodded "I get ya. We can just go over some basics."

Misty raised her hand to get A.J's attention "do you mind if I use the pool to do some training?"

A.J nodded as he began to walk over to an area that looked like it was made for relaxing. "Sure. my pokemon are going to be getting a break soon so go ahead." Brock and Avoline followed him as they were going to go over what they wanted

Misty smiled as she began to run off towards the pool while pulling out her Pokeball

Ash got to his feet with his two pokemon in his arms and ran off with Misty

A.J sat at the table that he decided to use to talk to Avoline and Brock. As he sat down he asked while looking over towards Ash who was with Misty. "So…... he really just out here to meet pokemon?"

Brock and Avoline sat down across from A.J as they both nodded and Brock speaking

"Yeah. he cares more about exploring the world and meeting new pokemon than he does battling. In fact, when we arrived at Cerulean City, and I told him about the gym there, he didn't seem to be in any hurry to get there."

Avoline smiled as she thought about how Ash was. "Ever since he was younger, he has always found a way to be around pokemon. Even in our hometown, he would go into the forest and play with any pokemon he found. He is on this journey for the same reason and it was his pokemon that convinced him that he should take on the gyms and enter the pokemon league."

A.J nodded as he looked over to Ash "he's an odd one. But who am I to judge on someone else's dream. To each their own."

Brock nodded "true. For me, I plan on becoming a pokemon breeder and with how Ash wants to meet all kinds of pokemon, they just seem to match."

A.J turned to Avoline. "What about you? Why are you on this journey."

Avoline sighed as she kept her gaze on Ash. "Much like Ash, I was convinced to go on this journey. But I also have to make sure that Ash doesn't go over his head."

A.J could tell that there was something else but he wasn't going to pry. He cleared his throat as he chose to change to subject to what they wanted to talk about. "Ok. let's get to the point."

Brock and Avoline nodded as they pulled out a notebook for the discussion

~meanwhile~

Misty got to the pool and pulled out a Pokeball and sent out Feebas.

Feebas looked around the new environment before locking eyes with Misty and Ash. Her gaze stayed on Ash a little longer as she remembered what she was told before by Sandshrew who was also still getting used to the idea. She then turned her gaze to her trainer as she spoke "are we going to do some training?"

Misty indeed as she got a general idea on what she said. "Yep. gotta make sure that my pokemon are as strong as they can be." She then sat cross-legged on the ground as she thought about something. "Though, I don't know what kind of moves you can learn." she looked up at Ash as she asked. "You know more about Pokemon outside of Kanto. What can Feebas learn?"

Ash sat next to Misty, not letting his pokemon go from his arms as he answered "I don't know everything, and what I do know is from what I learned from Nurse Joy. I remember hearing from her that Feebas can learn a lot of different moves, like Rain dance and Whirlpool. We can start there."

Feebas put in her own two cents "there are many other moves that I can learn. I saw one of my species use swift before."

Pikachu waved her hands as she spoke to Feebas. "I think Starmie used that move before. Maybe we can have her teach you how to do it."

Ash put his pokemon down and looked at Misty. "Oh, I think they can learn swift too."

Misty smiled as she pulled out another Pokeball and threw it into the water. "We can have Starmie teach Feebas Swift. Once we have that down, we can start working on Whirlpool."

Eevee shook herself as she and Pikachu turned to see Sandshrew lifting weights. Curious about his training, they moved towards him with the fox pokemon asking "what's that thing on you do?"

Sandshrew stopped his workout and looked at the female pokemon. "It pulls on my arms and legs making it harder to move. It helps make my arms and legs stronger."

Pikachu tilted her head as she didn't understand how that would work "does it actually make you stronger?"

Sandshrew put down his weights and ran his claw on the front of the device. He pressed a small button that was placed in the center ring which unlatched it from him. He was grateful that A.J placed a button on it so that the latch on the back would be undone once pressed. It was something the pokemon use when they are really in need of taking it off. He then held it out for them to check it out

Pikachu grabbed it with her paw and looked it over as she just couldn't tell how it would help in training. She then yelped when it clamped onto her arm before it closed in on itself and clamped on her entirely. She put all her strength into remaining standing as she felt it try to force her body into a ball. For a couple of seconds, she was able to stay standing but she lost the fight and curled up into a ball.

Sandhsrew laughed at this as he saw her become a ball like he usually does.

Eevee was on her back as she held her stomach with her paws as she was laughing at the predicament Pikachu found herself in. After she caught her breath, she walked up to the Pika-ball and poked it with her paw. "Pikachu? Can you hear me?"

The Pika-ball shimmied as a muffled voice could be heard "mefff my can. Hel fe!"

Eevee smiled as she walked around Pikachu, lifted her front paws before leaning her upper body on Pikachu's back, and started swatting at the mouse pokemon's tail. "Sorry, I can't understand you." she smiled as she heard angry muffled words coming from Pikachu. After a few minutes of swatting at the tail, she started to roll Pikachu around and use her like a ball.

Sandshrew laughed at that as he joined in chasing the Pika-ball

"Ssshhhhtaaahhhhp!"

Ash and Misty watched as Feebas was trying to use swift, with Starmie explaining how to channel the energy.

It was when Ash heard this that he turned his head to the odd sight of Eevee and Sandshrew passing around a Pikachu-themed ball. 'Speaking of which, where is Pikachu?' he looked around to see if he could see her but he couldn't catch a glimpse of her. His ears perked up when he heard a muffled shout

"AAAAAASSSSSSHHHHH! HEEEEEEELLLLPH!"

Ashe looked to where he heard the voice and all he saw was Eevee playing with the ball. He got up from where he was sitting and walked over to the Sand mouse and fox pokemon before looking at the ball

Eevee backed away from Ash looking extremely guilty as she shuffled her paws and looked anywhere but at him.

Sandshrew stood there, eyeing the human that came closer. He hadn't had the chance to notice before but now that he had calmed down from training he noticed it now. The boy gave off a presence all pokemon know by their very being. He looked him up and down and couldn't see why.

Ash poked the Pika-ball and noticed the familiar feeling of fur "...Pikachu?"

The Pika-ball wiggled a bit as a voice was heard. "Get me out of this, Ash!"

Ash ran his hand on her back, trying to find a way to get Pikachu out. It was as he did this that he heard Pikahu giggle from it. Apparently, she was ticklish.

Sandshrew laughed a bit more before he spoke "he needs to get the latch that's on her lower back."

Ash heard this and found the latch before he undid it, allowing Pikachu to uncurl and flopped onto the ground

Pikachu was panting as it was not only uncomfortable to be stuck in such a pose but being rolled around and tickled didn't help either. She glared at Eevee who was still looking guilty

Sandshrew was a little shocked at how the human got it once he said it but he just figured it was luck.

Ash patted Pikachu's back and was about to say something when something caught his eye. He looked up and tilted his head as he saw a large red ball roll around

This was also seen by everyone else in the room. as they stopped doing what they were doing to watch this large red ball roll around.

It was when the ball rolled closer to Ash's group when the boy heard voices coming from it.

"I'm getting dizzy!"

"Quit your whining."

"Where are we even going?"

"I thought you were driving!"

Ash recognized the voices when he heard them and picked Pikachu up from the ground and held her close. He gestured to Eevee to get on his shoulder and she leaped up to sit there and stare at the ball. Ash grabbed a Pokeball and released Oddish. He looked at Oddish and ordered, "Oddish use Bullet seed on that red ball."

Oddish nodded before looking at the still rolling ball. She opened her mouth and released white energy seeds at the ball.

The attack hit the ball and began to shred it to pieces

"AH WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"OW, WHAT IS THAT?!"

"me-OW! MY TAIL!"

The ball was now nothing but small fragments and laying there was Team rocket with several scuffs on them.

"Team Rocket!"

The trio looked up to see everyone standing over them with stern looks on their faces. They jumped away from them as they began their motto

~insert Team rocket motto here~

A.J stepped forward with an angry look in his eye "what are you three doing in my gym?!"

Brock spoke up as if to answer A.J "Team Rocket is a group of crooks that are out to steal other people's pokemon."

A.J glared at the three as he held his whip at the ready. "You telling me they're here to steal my pokemon!?"

Jessie gave a condescending scoff as she pointed at Pikachu who was still in Ash's arms. "We're here for that Pikachu. We have no interest in your weak pathetic pokemon."

A.J gained a tick mark as he tightened his grip on his whip "'weak?'... 'pathetic'!?"

Ash glared at the criminal trio and stepped forward "why you!" he didn't get far as he was stopped by A.J's outstretched hand

"They insulted my pokemon…..they won't get away with that!" he cracked his whip at the feet of the Team Rocket trio, causing them to yelp in surprise "let's take this outside

~battlefield~

A.J stood on his side with Sandshrew standing at his side.

Ash called out on the sidelines "A.J are you sure you want to do this?!"

A.J tightened his grip on his whip as he smirked "I'm sure. This will be my final battle here as we reach our 100th win." he cracked his whip as he commanded, "Sandshrew, go!"

"Here we go! To the beginning of our journey!"

Jessie and James, threw their Pokeballs as they called out

"Ekans!"

"Koffing!"

The two pokemon came out and prepared to battle

~Sandshrew Vs Ekans and Koffing~"

A.J called out the start of the battle "Sandshrew, Sandstorm!"

Sandshrew swiped his hands on the ground before spinning, dragging his claws on the ground and soon a large sandstorm took up the field

Ekans and Koffing were pelted by the sand and tried to look at where their opponent was

Jessie and James covered their faces trying to look at the field

"Koffing! Tackle where you last saw it!"

"Ekans, don't just sit there and find it and use bind!"

Both Pokemon charged at the last spot they saw Sandshrew, hoping to land a hit. Unfortunately for them, they ended up attacking each other. With Ekans using bind on Koffing and with tackle in progress, slammed themselves into the ground

With a smirk, A.J spoke, "Sandshrew, let's hit them hard with Earthquake!"

Sandshrew leaped into the air and rolled up into a ball before coming down and impacting the field hard enough to cause chunks of the field to jut upwards.

The two poison types did not have the chance to do anything as they were hit hard by the move and then sent flying, right into Jessie, James, and Meowth

Jessie screamed out as she pulled on her hair "how could we be beaten so easily!?"

James was crying as he came up next to her "maybe we should have come up with another plan. Maybe one with a hole in it."

Meowth was the last to speak as he flailed in the air "much like your brains. But whatever we do next time, I know one ting for sure."

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAAIIIIN"

*ping*

A.J smiled wide at what had just happened. He walked up to Sandshrew and pumped his fist in the air with Sandshrew doing the same "We did it Sandshrew! We reached Victory number 100!" He pulled out a remote and pressed a button that changed the victory number from 99 to 100. Both he and Sandshrew were crying crocodile tears of joy "all our hard work has paid off and now after we reached our first goal, we can finally work on our next one." he knelt down to hug his pokemon. "And it's all thanks to you and my other pokemon."

"No, it was thanks to you and your dedication!"

Ash walked up to the two and gave his own opinion "no, it was thanks to all of you that you made it this far."

A.J and Sandshrew looked up to Ash and his friends and nodded in appreciation.

~later~

All of them were standing in front of the gate that led into A.J's gym

A.J and Sandshrew looked fondly at the gate as the human spoke "after so long, we finally get to leave this gym ready for the pokemon league."

Avoline smiled as she knew what it meant to leave something so familiar to you. "Everyone has to do this at some point

A.J nodded before he remembered something he thought of after his final victory. "Oh hey….." he reached into his bag and pulled out a thick metal ring that had a few clamps on it and a slip of paper "here. It's one of the newest designs I did for my strength jacket. It's adjustable and can be used for several different size pokemon. The instructions are on that little slip of paper. I figured that you might find some use for it to he;p out your pokemon in their battles

Pikachu glared at the thing as she did not want to deal with something like that again

Eevee giggled at the memory of playing with the Pika-ball

Ash smiled wide at the gift before taking it and looking up at A.J as he offered "why don't you come with us?"

A.J smiled at the offer as he moved to the gate and placed a hand on it. After a few seconds he shook his head "Nah. We both have different paths to take. Me, to become the best pokemon trainer. And you….." he walked up to Ash and stretched out his hand "to see the world of Pokemon."

Ash smiled as he shook A.J's hand

A.J smirked at Ash as he said "I hope we both reach our dream, Ash."

Ash nodded as they let go of each other's hand "me too. And hey, I am doing the gym battles so maybe we'll meet again at the pokemon league."

"Who knows. But that is if you make it there." he waved at them as he and Sandshrew began to walk off

Ash smiled as he knew that A.J didn't mean anything negative by the statement. His journey could take him to the pokemon league or it could take him far beyond. No matter what, he knows he won't forget meeting someone that had just as much drive to reach their dream as he does.

End of chapter

Well that is the end of the first filler episode

in the anime, it looked like Sandshrew used Fissure but I looked up his moveset and saw he cant learn the move Fissure so I changed it to Earthquake

I was originally going to have this chapter do both this episode and the prep school episode but the chapter already hit the 8.5K mark and I don't know if anyone would want to read such a super long chapter

And this brings up something, I am wondering if I should skip many of the filler episodes to move the plot along and closer to the original content I have planned. The only filler episodes that I would fully do would be ones that might get Ash or the group something like this one where it introduces someone, evolves one of the pokemon, and gets Ash something that can help like this one. The next one with the prep school I wanna do, mainly cause I wanna mess with the students.

I might combine the eps that have Ash getting Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, once again move the plot along

Also are there any pokemon that you want Ash, Misty or Brock to catch. I'm open to suggestions

Hope you guys caught the combo that I gave Sandshrew. It was one of the only ones I remember from the N64 game Pokemon Stadium. Though I don't know if it did anything in the game itself

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