Hey Everyone! Hope you all are enjoying the story and looking forward to much more. This is LegionZ back with the third chapter of Pallet High: Path to Glory! If you enjoy this story, please make sure you follow and favorite the story, and if you enjoy all my stories, please follow me as well to stay up to date.

Reminder: Just because I upload this doesn't mean I'm not uploading the Chosen One's Wrath. I'm trying to balance both. Hope y'all understand.

And it's time for the updates. So this for this pre-chapter I'm going to go in depth what my plans are for this story if you didn't know already, and why I opted to remove Mallow as my primary OC's partner. For this story, I intend to make it sound like High School was for me. There's not going to be bullying, fighting or abuse of any sort that I plan to put in this. That may change, but for the moment that's what I've decided.

I was fortunate enough in High School to be fairly popular, be openly accepted and loved by the population and my friend groups. I played baseball for many years, and if you followed my older stories, you would've learned that I suffered I major accident while playing that took me off the fanfiction grind for quite some time. Anyway, I've never played normal baseball since, but I still dabble in it. The reason I'm writing about Football and not baseball is because I know more about Football than I do baseball, as remarkable as it seems. I love both sports, but I think there's more to write about in football than baseball. I plan to give Ash a "Senior Year Send-Off" where he is still a bit focused on classes, but is far more primarily focused on his chances to go pro since his grades are already decent enough.

For my decision to not include Mallow in this story, it's because my logic when I made that original pairing does not make sense. John was the one who was supposed to end up with Mallow, but after thinking about it, I decided that if Alola wasn't supposed to be mentioned why was I sending a key character from Alola to be with this OC who's been a part of my fanfictions now for some time. If you have not read 10 Minutes, the LOS Chronicles, John Stamkos is the partner of Ash in that story. A few of the other OC's from that story will also be in this story. Anyway, I have yet to make a plan for who will take Mallow's place, but at least the two main pairings remain intact.

I think that's all I have to say. I hope you enjoy the chapter, and continue to read this story with an eagerness that matches mine!

LegionZ Presents… Path to Glory... Chapter 3

Last Chapter…

John looked taken aback. "Hey! I'll have you know that this is me being humbled! You should see Matias after… or during, a party. He's wild."

He held up his hand. "Sorry, getting off topic. Look, if football's not your thing, no worries. If you wanna roll in, try-outs are in just over a month… the ninetieth of July if I'm not mistaken. If it's national attention you're looking for…" he punched Ash's shoulder lightly. "Football's the way. I'll see ya around man. Hit me up on Believe if you need anything." He gave Ash a small salute with his hand before jogging off with his group, who was about to leave without him.

Ash watched them slowly walking away, joking and laughing amongst one another. Volikov laughed and leaped on Frank's shoulders. Just as he was about to fade out of few, Matias turned around and yelled. "We'll see ya in a month Ketchum! Become legendary!" He then bolted after the group, vanishing from view.

She was a part of a few clubs. None of them garnered any real attention or anything. She was just getting her education and going away to some faraway college; one that she could escape the grasps of both her parents. Nothing would throw a wrench in her plans; not if she could help it. The most annoying thing though about Mistralton City? The Boys: they were… well… not up to standards. It wasn't that they were bad looking, it was just that they weren't the most polite people. That got annoying real fast.

The most annoying thing though about Pallet High? The Boys. Not for the same reason though. She thought a handful of them were very cute, but none of them could mesh well with her bubbly, cheerful, but emotional self. Plus, boys would be boys; they'd just seek permission to get into her pants… or maybe not ask permission at all.

She was sure there was a boy out there for her. He'd need to be funny, sweet, cute, athletic—

"Skyla! Elesa is here!" Her father called out from the kitchen.

She pushed herself out of her bed and ran downstairs. She squealed. "Elesa!"

Her beautiful hourglass figure stood there. She had luscious blonde hair that draped down her back and light blue eyes. Her glorious backside was much better than Skyla's, as much as Skyla hated to admit. Thankfully for the redhead, her chest was larger, something Elesa was also hated to admit. She was gifted in softball, and because of that, she was incredibly popular at school. She loved it, but also hated it at the same time. The upside was because she had a bright future. She knew this. The downside was that she had hordes of men attempt to woo her, when they were all just, as she put it, "Pigs." She was arguably more attractive than Skyla.

Present…

One Ash Ketchum found himself standing up, leaning on his car next. He was deep in thought, seriously wondering if what he was doing was the smartest thing in the world. He had indeed stuck to his word and prepared to try out for the football team. John had admitted he was unsure of Ash's chances, since he didn't know how many open spots there would be on the roster. In addition, since the Pallet Flames had not been good in years past, it also meant that many kids usually tried out for the team; kids with much more experience than he had.

But John and his friends votes of confidence meant a lot to him. If he could get endorsements from the best players on the team, maybe he stood a chance. But as he watched student after student walk into the building, he found that his nerves were seriously starting to kick in. It didn't help that he was staring up at Old Pallet Stadium. The building itself was massive. It had a large circular build with multiple tunnels around each side to filter people in and out. It seated around 10,000 people, but hell, he had no idea if that number was right or not even in the same ballpark.

He had never been inside the new stadium, which had only a week or so before construction was finished. The name had been switched once more. Its name was now Halo's Battlefield, or simply the Battlefield as many fans liked to call it. Supposedly, not even the coaches or players had been permitted to see the inside yet.

Ash locked up his vehicle and did his final checklist. He checked his cleats, his bag of various pads, snacks and water bottles, proper attire, and what-not. He licked his lips and then nodded before walking to the front door, where it seemed the last of the walk-ons were arriving. Ash could tell a vast majority of the people arriving were younger than him, which you'd think was a good thing. It wasn't. Most walk-ons aren't expecting to contribute right away, meaning they were used as developmental pieces for the team.

Since Ash wasn't an underclassmen, he had to bank on having a decent handful of spots open, or he had to impress the coaches enough to get a spot, which was ridiculously unlikely. He crossed the road in front of the massive, circular stadium cautiously. He nodded once and pulled the door open. Within a minute of walking, he saw a sign regarding Walk-Ons. He followed the directions carefully and found himself standing outside the locker room where a line of people stood. Most kids in the line looked to be a lot shorter than him, but he couldn't honestly be certain how many were that… legit.

After a few minutes of waiting, it came to his turn. He took a step forward to a middle-aged woman in her late forties and dark brown hair.

"Hello." The woman said politely. "Seems like you're the last arrival, you here for the tryouts I guess?"

Ash peered behind himself, he had no idea he was the final person to arrive. She was indeed correct; there was nobody behind him. He chuckled sheepishly. "Guess so."

The woman smiled. "Alright then. What's your name and what class are you in here at Pallet High?"

Ash briefly wondered if anyone had ever managed to sneak into a tryout for a different school. It wasn't particularly important nor was he particularly sure why the thought came to mind, but it fled as quickly as it appeared.

"Ash Ketchum, Senior."

The woman nodded twice, seemingly marking down the information on the notepad and clipboard in front of her. She began humming a soft tune and Ash could practically feel the silence sliding through him. He said the first thing that came to mind.

"So, how many people are trying out?"

The woman peered up, a look of amused curiosity on her face. Ash's cheeks turned a bit pink at the look.

"I-I mean, if anyone should know how many people are trying out, it's you right? You've been here all day." He finished a bit awkwardly. The woman smiled kindly at him before looking back at her clipboard before announcing. "It's a bit over a hundred."

Ash's eyes widened. That was a lot. The woman continued. "Just go out there and play your best. It's all you can do; leave it all on the field." Ash's surprised look morphed into a grateful one. "I appreciate the words of confidence. Anything else to add?"

The woman merely smiled once more. "The coach likes kids who appreciate a good challenge. You want a challenge?" She gestured her head to the locker room behind her.

"Go out there and prove it."

Ash nodded twice and made his way through a set of double doors. He walked in and saw many kids from his school either mingling, preparing their gear, goofing off on their phones or just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Ash sat down next to a guy with dirty blonde hair that was oddly long. Ash placed his bag down on the ground, took his cleats out and began to tie them up little by little. The kid next to him didn't say anything, but Ash could feel his eyes on him.

The young track star took a moment to observe everyone in the room. Indeed, there were a boatload of people trying out, though Ash knew from experience what tryouts were like. What he couldn't say he knew was if football tryouts were any different from track tryouts. Some kids looked like they were pale in the face, so those were likely the newcomers, the ones who didn't have much experience in this area.

There were other guys who were almost strutting around the locker room while talking loudly, as if trying to project their dominance on others. For him it obviously wasn't working. He couldn't say the same for others. It did, in fact, seem to be affecting the younger kids in the room.

"First time?"

Ash turned to the guy sitting next to him. He grinned a little. He responded with a quick, "What's your guess?"

The boy shrugged. "You got all the gear, you put it on quick like you're nervous, but I see the wear and tear on those… track cleats… no spikes now." He gestured to the other pair of cleats he had sitting harmlessly inside his bag. The boy continued. "You observe the room, but you don't show any nerves then, even when you're watching some random guys run their mouths off to the younger guys."

He shrugged once again. "My guess is that this is your first football tryout. It's not your first tryout."

Ash chuckled. "Right in one. What's your name?"

The boy nodded and held out his hand, "Jarrod Navarro. Yours?"

"Ash Ketchum." The boy nodded once more and firmly shook Ash's hand. "What position are you trying out for?"

Jarrod chuckled. "I haven't even thought that far ahead man. I'm just hoping to get lucky." Ash eyed Jarrod's build. Jarrod was definitely taller than he was and likely stronger as well looking at his toned arms. He had tanned skin all over and muscles across his legs as well. This guy looked like the definition of a surfer; he wore a gray tank top with light blue shorts. His dark teal eyes looked so natural with his dirty blonde locks that it almost looked unnatural.

Ash made a motion with his hand. "Judging by how you're built, I'd say you've got a shot at it. You're gonna scare the underclassmen here."

"I wouldn't know, I'm one of them."

Ash's jaw dropped. The boy sheepishly said. "I'm a sophomore. I'm… ah… unnaturally tall for my age."

"How tall?"

"Six-Two." Ash's eyes widened. "You've gotta be one of the tallest people here! Or at least taller than me…" he joked. Jarrod joked right back. "Clearly not saying much then eh?" Ash let out a small laugh before he heard a familiar roar.

"ALRIGHT LADIES! GATHER 'ROUND!"

Ash turned to the voice and felt a smile come over his face. There, in the flesh, was John Stamkos. He hadn't seen the boy in person for quite some time now. He looked exactly the same as when he had last seen him, the only difference his attire being a pair of shorts and a black tank top. Ash followed the blonde boy and the crowd to John who was leading them through the doorway, down a hall, and before the group knew it, they were standing at the entrance to the grassy turf field.

John turned on a swivel and waited a moment for the crowd to catch up. Ash looked around, fully taking in just how many kids were there. He glanced up at the towering stadium, unaware of just how many kids were following his lead, or vice versa. The stadium was incredibly large, after all, the circular stadium could seat over 10,000.

"It's impressive, isn't it?" Everyone turned to John, who stood with his arms crossed and the slightest of grins on his face. "I remember the first time I played here. I nearly shit my pants." He joked. The guys started to laugh and then he continued. "I did get the shit kicked out of me that game to make up for it; not even sure how I landed two sacks that game."

He continued by slowly walking around in a circle, looking at each of the guys standing there. He wasn't the tallest guy, surprisingly. One or two of the guys trying out seemed to have a couple inches of height on him. He nodded carefully, and then his eyes met Ash, and he stopped moving. Their gazes met for a few seconds, the grin never leaving Ash's face.

John replicated the grin.

"I like what I see from you guys. For those who do not know, my name is John Stamkos. I'm the captain of the Pallet Flames, and I'm here to give you guys a little bit of last minute advice before you meet the coaches. Get onto one knee gentlemen." The kids obliged, watching the star defensive end.

John started walking again and continued speaking. "Football is the most popular sport in the world right now. High School football is arguably more popular than college football. Fans flock to our games whether we're good or bad. But nobody likes to celebrate a loss. Kids play sports for different reasons. Sometimes it's for a future. Sometimes it's for money. Others… it's a hobby they enjoy."

He nodded to himself and continued pacing, all the kids still listening closely. "That is not the case for football. At least, not for me. My dream, my goal is to make it to the big leagues. And I can personally guarantee you that nearly all of the rest of the guys a handful of you will be playing alongside will say the same thing I'm saying now. There's no harm in playing football for college just to pay for a scholarship. There's no harm is playing the game because you enjoy it."

He whirled on them. "But if you're damn serious about making the team, know this: Football is a massive commitment if you make the team. You're expected to cover your ground, run your routes, win your battles, back your teammates, live in separate dorms from the rest of the student body—" Ash's eyes momentarily widened. He hadn't know that. "—And most of all, spend your time… with us. Your new brothers. We have your back here as long as you have ours. THIS is the Pallet Flames brotherhood."

The kids were all eerily silent. John smiled a little. "Now, I'm going to give you my advice for those who are serious about this. I hope this increases your chances of making the team."

"Number One! If you're not serious about making the football team, just go now and save yourself the trouble. I can guarantee there are at least five people around you who are even more determined to make this team than you are, so if this isn't something you want to do, leave." He gestured to the tunnel in which they had just came.

"Number Two! If you don't appreciate a little competition, football isn't for you! You've gotta fight for everything, every step, every play, every breath! Competition needs to be in your blood, because when I'm playing, my blood is always boiling for a fight!" John finished strictly for emphasis.

"Number Three! If you don't get along well with others, figure out how to. Remember, there's no "I" in team. If you don't learn to get along with your teammates off the field, how do you think your bonding will be on the field? It's not going to be good, save yourself the trouble. Become friends with your brothers." John nodded.

"And finally, the most important thing to know for these next few days for you lot. Never forget this: play like your family is watching. Not the coaches, not the scouts, not your teammates. Play-your-game! Your family doesn't want to see you do anything inappropriate on the field, but they want you to play well. Coaches will always be watching you. That being said, you're trying to impress them today, and tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, and so on. Therefore, play like yourself, how you'd want your family to see you; modest, laid back, but respectful."

John roared. "ANY QUESTIONS!?"

When nobody raised their hands, a voice spoke out from nearby. "If they had any questions after that little speech, I'd be more than just a little surprised." The group turned to the stands, where a man with a black and slightly grey goatee was standing there. He had short black hair, a semi-muscular build and was wearing a black and orange hat, black t-shirt, and white shorts. The man walked down the nearby flight of stairs and began.

"John, that was quite impressive. Anything else you want to add?"

"No Coach, think I covered everything." Ash brain registered the comment, and it all clicked. The man cleared his throat before nodding to the crowd.

"Good morning everyone. Welcome to old Pallet field here in Pallet Town. My name is Bob Welsh, and I'm the acting head coach here at Pallet. A little bit about me, I came to this team about 3 years ago from Sinnoh, I enjoy playing pickup basketball, and I have a wife and two children named Maddie and Mark."

He nodded to his captain. "Mr. Stamkos here nailed everything on the head. There's a bit he didn't go over, which is what I'll be going over now." Two more men walked up to the group and took opposite sides of the coach.

Welsh held up his left hand. "For the offense, this is Logan Edmond. He's my OC, or offensive coordinator. He runs the boys who try and score up and down the field. If you're placed on the offense, you'll be getting to know a lot from him." The coach looked very young, almost like he had just gotten out of college. He had brown eyes and short, dirty blonde hair.

Welsh held up his right hand. "Defense, Coach Robert Baxter. Big hard-ass here. He'll whip each and every one of you into shape if it's the last thing he ever does, and he does it well." The man looked to be twice the age of the offensive coordinator and had little to no hair whatsoever. He had almost pink-looking skin.

The head coach looked at John and saw his captain watching intently. The older man continued. "Every year we take approximately seven players and place them into our starting 53 players, though it's unlikely we will start them. We also usually have a 20 man reserve unit, who we can call on if we need someone to take the place of someone who's injured on the team. Technically, you wouldn't be part of the team."

Bob took a deep breath. "Things are much different this year. You oughta know about this ahead of time."

He continued. "This year, the reserve squad will be limited to just 14 players…"

"… and only two players from you lot will be given immediate spots on the team." A loud gasp of horror from the group of kids. Ash held his head; this was a waste of time. Coach Welsh continued. "I know this isn't what you want, considering there's approximately a hundred and twenty of you here. If you don't want to spend your time here, please… go now. It will only get tougher from here."

And to Ash's genuine surprise, a decent amount of people began to leave, kid by kid. The tall jock next to him pushed himself off his knee and walked out, shaking his head bitterly. Ash's eyes darted to John, who was looking straight at him. He was shaking his head, eyes never leaving Ash's. The message was clear enough.

Stay Put.

And so, he did just that. After another minute, Coach Welsh whistled. "Well that went better than I thought it would!" Ash raised an eyebrow, not believing the coaches words in the slightest.

"To you all who stuck around, congrats, that was all a test. Those who don't want competition shouldn't be here. If they want an opportunity to play at the big leagues, they should consider just how hard they'll be pushing themselves." Coach Welsh nodded and continued. "Competition breeds competition. The people on your left and to your right will be pushing you. And with that, we're going to get started with these workouts. Follow me."

As Ash was walking towards a far edge of the stadium, he was tapped on the shoulder. It was John. "Glad you got my message. You've passed the first test. Now go out there and show everyone your stuff."

Ash grinned. "You got it."

John smirked. "By the way, we'll be watching." He then jogged off, leaving Ash perplexed. The group of kids stopped their march and Coach Welsh cleared his throat. Everyone to this line right here." Ash got behind everyone that was already behind a painted white line on the field. It was cramped, even though maybe a third of the kids had already bailed.

"This is what we want to do to warm up. We do this every single practice, no matter what position you play. I want you to run a full lap around the outskirts of the stadium." And without any context, he shouted. "Ready, Set, GO!"

All the kids broke out into a dead sprint, regardless of how long the run was. Ash lagged behind at a consistent pace. This was routine for him at Track. He conserved energy, and something told him the coach had a trick up his sleeve. He saw some of the kids in front of him panting and gasping for air, but they would finish before him.

He pumped his arms and legs, keeping his consistent pace. There was no reason to rush. This was only a warmup after all. And it would prove to be a good decision.

Coach Welsh was shouting. "Test number two! Improvising! Run another lap, move it!" The kids were slowing down completely, all their energy down the drain. Ash had passed them with ease. Again, this was nothing out of the ordinary for him.

He ran this all the time, and he ran it fast. Then, as he approached the final turn, no competition in front of him, Ash broke out into a dead sprint. Pumping his arms and legs as fast as they would go, he sprinted across the white line and came to a halt after a few extra steps for slowing down.

Ash jogged to the turf and began stretching. This was all routine for him. It was nothing out of the ordinary.

"That was some speed kid. Ketchum, right?" Ash turned and saw Logan Edmond grinning at him. "Yeah, that's me. Coach Edmond?"

They shook hands. Logan's grin never left his face. "You just did two full laps without breaking stride and topped it off with a full sprint, yet you're not even tired. What's your story?" Ash shrugged. "I've been doing relay races my whole life from Track. I… got some advice, that I should try out for the football team with my speed and endurance being my best factors. Hoping I can make it that far, it's my senior year."

Logan nodded and darted his eyes back to the edge of the stadium, where kids were finally beginning to arrive. He whispered in Ash's ear. "Can you catch?" Ash raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Good. That's all I needed to hear." Edmond walked away. Meanwhile, Ash's gaze was ripped to a spot in the stands, where a group of people was watching him closely. Ash's smile widened. It was John, Bail, Frank, Matias, Voli, Xavier, and one other person. That person had spiky brown hair and had a huge smile on his face.

It was Gary Oak. He was smiling and nodding slowly. Ash gave a small salute in their general direction and made to join the rest of his competition.

And for the next few days, it was nothing but grit and grinding for Ash. It was day after day of tryouts, trying to keep himself ahead of the competition. He heard nothing from John and saw nothing of him either. Had he done something wrong?

He quickly learned that, no, he'd done nothing wrong. It took him two days, but he realized that cuts had already begun. Kids were getting cut by the dozen each day. Monday had been workouts. That was the same day as when he had last seen John and his group. He had done endurance drills, lots of running, some agility drills, and some other things. He began to see flaws in the other kids.

Some of them were panting vigorously, hands on their knees, desperately trying to catch their breath. It was to no avail. Most of them seemed to be underclassmen, freshmen who were hoping to slip onto the team. A huge portion of the young blood found itself cut at the end of the day. The rest found itself cut the next day, where workouts intensified. There were cone drills, route running simulations, trench wars, Oklahoma drills, and much more than that.

Kids were dragging themselves off the field. Ash wouldn't admit it, and he wouldn't dare show it, but even he was getting drained. Track didn't have seminars on getting bodied by people three times your size. Thankfully for him, while he wasn't prepared for it, it didn't mean he wasn't conditioned to take it.

A tiny, dark-skinned freshman who stood only around 5'5" was standing across from a massive teenager. The black teen looked to be a giant, probably a foot taller than him. The smaller kid, who Ash later found out was named Joey, stunningly did alright as a pass rusher. This was likely because Defensive Ends didn't always need to be massive if they were quick enough. That being said, the two swapped sides soon after, and Joey found himself with three broken ribs. He was cut immediately, though Ash didn't think too much of it.

Cuts were brutal that day. About twenty of the ninety-odd kids that had stuck around were gone. Combine that with the dozen or so that had been given the boot the day prior, and a decent portion of the tryouts had been sent home.

When Wednesday hit, he finally found an opportunity to speak to Jarrod, who had yet to be cut. He found it instantly relieving to know that the youngster was still there. In fact, Ash got a glimpse of him during drills based on position. He seemed to have stellar instincts and alright speed as well. Ash, meanwhile, also tested at a plethora of positions.

First, they threw him at quarterback. He could chuck the ball a decent amount of yards, but it was consistently wobbly and inaccurate. Next, they placed him at running back. Ash struggled to make quick decisive cuts unless he was in space. Running back was a no-go. Coach Welsh thankfully realized Ash wasn't built like a lineman, so they kept him away from there. On the defensive side of the ball, Ash struggled at stopping the run from linebacker, he wasn't physical enough as a cornerback, and he whiffed on zone coverage as a safety. No, defense was off the table.

However, as John had correctly predicted, Ash was built like a receiver. Gifted with blazing fast speed and impressive acceleration, he was a legitimate deep threat. That was, if he could have a consistent deep throwing QB. All the people throwing to him were guys trying out, just like him. It didn't give him a true test. And he never did get one that day.

That being said, he did find out that if the coaches couldn't assign you a definite position, you were getting cut immediately. A handful of people found themselves in that unfortunate boat. In the locker room that day, Ash began to learn some new names.

Pritchard Stevens was declared to be a backup halfback. He had pitch-black hair and had a nasty scar running across his face. He was a freshman. However, he was pretty mature for one. Sammy Cox was trying out for a cornerback role, which Ash seriously thought he had a chance at. The kid has light brown hair that reached his shoulders. He was gritty and tough but very short. Christopher McMannon had been deemed a quarterback by Coach Edmond, and they were letting him have a whack at it. McMannon was a junior though, so it was unsure if he'd make it.

Thursday rolled around. Ash spotted Jarrod amongst the 50ish people still there. They would chat amicably for some time before they were led into the actual school and given a test inside their rather large and state-of-the-art computer lab. Ash realized swiftly that this was no ordinary test; it was a test that was to gauge your knowledge into the position you were being expected to play.

The catch was that you wouldn't see your scores, only the coaches would. They went back to the stadium afterwards and ran more drills that were designed to wear you down. Ash felt horrible watching the kids who got cut that day walk off the field. He could spot the kids being talked to on the sideline, away from everyone else. Some held their heads while others argued with the coaches. Others just left. To Ash's disappointment, he saw Sammy Cox leaving the stadium slowly, far before it was time to leave. He knew what that meant.

However, for Ash, he left that day one of 30 kids going into the final day of the week, Friday. Today was the day he'd find out his fate, no matter what. He and the rest would find out if they'd been cut, if they were getting placed on the practice squad AKA the reserve team, or if they'd somehow captured one of the ever elusive spots on the team.

That day, however, was when things would really go down. This was where routes needed to be run perfectly, speed needed to be shown and talent needed to be on display. There was no going back.

That's how Ash found himself standing on the field with three other guys that were dressed similarly to him: white pinnies with the numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14. Ash was number 14, and deemed last to go on the designated routes that every receiver was expected to run and win against the cornerback that they'd been assigned against. Ash was lucky for the chance, he wanted to see what these kids had.

The player wearing number 11 wasn't bad. He was exactly 6'0", Ash's own height, and had alright speed and ball carrier vision. However, the kid panicked whenever someone was coming to meet him after catching the ball. He would drop or fumble the ball consistently. On his twenty routes that he ran, he only caught and secured the ball 12 times. He would only break one tackle from the cornerback as well.

Number 12 was even worse. The guy was tall and lanky, standing at 6'2" and had long arms, but he was incredibly slow. He gained no separation and because of this, it was easy for the cornerback to try and break up the pass, regardless of the guys size. He also had a flaming temper, and would usually scream at the defensive back and look around to see why nobody was agreeing with him. He only logged eight catches on twenty throws.

As 13 was doing his routes and also seriously struggling to gain separation, Ash was stretching, reading himself for the competition. He was startled when he heard a voice behind him.

"Don't tell anyone I said this—I like your odds right now." He turned and saw John with a smile on his face. He was sporting an orange T-Shirt that had a flaming "P" on it. He had black shorts to match his black sneakers as well. Ash held out his hand and John shook it.

"I've been watching you every day." Ash raised a disbelieving eyebrow at this, but the other boy continued. "I'm serious here. You've got a good shot at making at minimum the reserve team if you nail this little competition… and this guy here has done…" John flashed his eyes behind him, where Matias Surge held up five fingers on one hand and four on another, then after putting his hands down, swiftly held up three bursts of five fingers and added a peace sign for good measure.

"Nine for seventeen thus far. He's not fast, none of them were really that fast. Nobody has your speed Ketchum. By the way, check who's watching." Ash took notice of Gary Oak once again in the stands, Voli and Frank accompanying him.

"Gary's here again? Well I'll have to show off now." John punched him on the shoulder and laughed. "That's the spirit. Before I forget, you oughta know something." He leaned in to whisper in Ash's ear.

"Edmond's been pulling for you hard. Baxter is hesitant, he wants more defenders. Welsh is undecided. Go make it unanimous."

"Fourteen! You're up!" John took two steps back, but didn't leave the area. He turned to the assistant coach and questioned him. "It cool if I stay here for this one?" The coach, who didn't look to be too much older than John himself, shrugged. "I'm fine with it. Just don't interfere and you'll be given the green light."

The defensive superstar grinned and nodded. "Awesome. Thanks. Show them what you've got Ashy boy!" Said person cringed at the nickname before lining up parallel to the quarterback, who happened to be none other than Chris McMannon. McMannon whispered in Ash's ear.

"Please tell me you've got this Ketchum. The past three guys have had tons of flaws, I'm hoping your speed is gonna vault us both onto at least the reserves." Ash nodded. It wasn't good the quarterback was bad-mouthing his own players, but it was true. Ash wouldn't be a part of it though. Ash replied.

"I've got this. Let's move."

The first route was orchestrated, a double-move route. Ash lined up opposite to the cornerback. For this back, he was shorter than Ash by maybe a head or so. The moment the ball was hiked, Ash was off, sprinting past the defender, who rushed to keep up. After a handful of yards, Ash stopped on a dime and took a step forward before turning on a dime and shooting up field once again. The defender had stumbled and fallen down. The ball sailed into Ash's hands, who caught it smoothly.

One for one.

Next was a cutback. Ash did the same thing he had done on the last route, only this time he was expecting the ball. It wasn't perfect though. The ball was far outside of his grasp, but he got his eyes on it and snatched it was his arms outstretched and hands at the ready. He got hit hard by the defender, but held onto it nonetheless.

Two for two.

A simple drag route was next. He ran out in front of the quarterback, the newest defender shadowing him closely. He caught the ball in stride and could sense he was about to get hit. On a dime, he juked up field and the defender slid right past him. He ran a good ten yards before he darted back.

Three for three.

Next came a difficult route to perfect if there was a safety; the cross. Ash got blanketed by the corner but shook him off long enough to gain speed. Christopher overthrew the ball horribly though. John groaned, loud enough where Chris could most certainly hear him. "That's a huge overthrow…" The assistant next to him agreed. "Yup, I'd say you're—" The words were caught in his throat. Ash had put on a burst of speed and leapt out, extending his body to the maximum it could go. He put a palm of the ball while still in midair before tucking it into his body. He hit the ground hard, but the ball was safely tucked away.

The players that were watching the catch let out a roar of shock and awe. Ash got up and after jogging over to a stunned Christopher McMannon, he flipped the ball into his awaiting hands. He joked. "How about a little less heat on that next time?" John was whooping and jumping around, spinning in a circle, completely hyped by what he just witnessed.

Up in the stands, Gary Oak was standing out of his seat, hands on the arm rail separating him from the stadium, jaw hanging ajar. That had been some catch.

"Sign that man UP!" Frank roared next to him.

Volikov launched himself over the railing. He landed on both feet, thankfully uninjured from the fall. He ran to get head coach Welsh and Offensive Co-Ordinator Edmond, who oddly weren't present to see the receivers run.

Meanwhile, Ash continued to run routes and catch passes. He gave Chris some credit, he was zipping the ball perfectly to him after overthrowing the cross. His next route was a post-corner, where Ash would imitate a deeper route before cutting back the opposite direction to the sideline. Ash's cut fooled the cornerback, and found himself catching a perfectly placed ball on the sideline with a toe-tapper to stay in bounds.

Route after route, Ash would win with speed and route running ability. The way he gained separation on the cornerbacks was staggering. After his eleventh route and eleventh catch in a row, Coach Welsh and Coach Edmond both found themselves staring at Ash in a mixture of disbelief and awe. Every drill had seemingly stopped to watch Ash run.

For his twelfth catch, he launched himself outwards to secure a dig route where the cornerback was draped all over him. He barely held onto the pass, but secured it, nonetheless. By this time, Gary, Frank and Matias had joined Volikov and John in getting front row seats to Ash's incredible performance.

As Ash recorded his 13th straight reception, Gary tapped Coach Welsh on his shoulder. "Hey Coach? Question for ya."

Welsh eyed Gary up, expression unreadable. "Yeah?"

"Can I have a go with the… wideout? You know, keep myself fresh?" Welsh gave his quarterback a sarcastic look, seeing right through Gary's intentions of wanting to test Ash out for himself. Gary had the decency to look guilty.

"Now look here, every one of these kids has got a chip on their shoulder, trying to make the team. So I can't just—" He was cut off as he watched Ash run a streak route, essentially just a straight line down the field. The cornerback was a taller kid about Ash's height, but he wasn't anywhere near Ash's speed.

Ash blew by him on the route, but Christopher failed at judging the distance that Ash had gained on the cornerback. Ash stopped his route, fully knowing the cornerback would have an edge on him based on positioning. Desperate to prevent an interception, Ash leapt up and reached his long arms over the cornerback in front of him the exact instant the ball was arriving. He found his hands latching onto the ball, and the cornerback, caught ridiculously off-guard from the brash move, didn't know how to react.

The raven-haired teen pulled the ball straight out of the cornerback's grasp, who stumbled backwards and landed on his back, whilst Ash landed on his feet. The onlookers exploded and for the first time, Ash showed a bit of emotion on the football field. He held out the ball in front of him, flipped it off his fingertips and banged himself in the helmet to celebrate the catch.

John was draped over Matias, arms over his shoulders and a look of disbelief written all over his face. Matias was holding his arms to the sky and widened, like he was celebrating a touchdown. Volikov was leaning on Frank while they both laughed at the incredible play.

Coach Welsh turned back to Gary, who wore an ecstatic look on his face. "Alright. Throw him a few." Gary nodded and prepared to run out. Coach Welsh called out.

"McMannon! Good work out there, Oak's coming in for a bit of practice with the new guy!" The team whooped as Gary ran onto the field.

'The new guy?' Ash's mind turmoiled. However, he was shaken from his thoughts when he noticed a familiar face holding the football. Was this about to happen? "Well Ashy, seems you've got our attention. Let's see how fast you really are." He held out his fist, and Ash fist-bumped him. "Let's roll."

The next route was a simple one-move post route. It was designed to shake cornerbacks that were jumpy and on edge. This cornerback across from them looked to be just that. Gary settled. "Ready? Juno, hike!" Ash took off, taking one step to his left before immediately running downfield. The cornerback stumbled, losing a few steps on Ash.

Gary ran up in the pocket for a few steps, then launched the ball. It sailed a good forty yards in air before it landed beautifully in Ash's arms. He never broke his stride as he ran into the endzone for the score.

The rest of the plays meshed together for Ash and Gary. They never once made an incompletion. Once his 20th catch was up, Ash jogged back to the sidelines, getting patted on the shoulder pads and helmet by everyone, not just the guys trying out. He didn't know if he'd be making the team, but what he did know was that this felt damn good to be a part of.

The next few hours were painful for him and the rest of the tryouts. Everyone was done trying to prove themselves. Now, it was time to see how they'd fared. Would they make the team, the reserve squad, or none at all? One by one, kids were brought in, and they would sit down to talk with the coaches about their performance over the past few days.

The kids remaining were asked to keep it quiet on whether or not they made it, and reminded them that if they were cut now, they had potential and could most certainly make it onto the team in a later year. For Ash though, he knew that this was his one and only shot. Jarrod and him were sitting in a corner with the last of the tryouts, the rest already have been cut. Christopher went in and after a few minutes emerged with an unreadable expression.

Jarrod went in not too long later and came out with the same, eyes not giving anything away. Person after person went in and came out. He began to realize that he was one of two players left. It was him and a young safety named Piora. He had seen this guy before, he was a ballhawk. He could definitely be getting the spot.

Piora went in right after getting called inside, leaving him all alone in the corridor.

"Almost time eh?" Ash's eyes darted up and saw John looking at him while leaning against a wall.

Ash bit his lip nervously. "Guess so."

John nodded, then walked over and sat down next to him. "Look my man, if you don't make it on, hey, you tried right? You gave it your all every second you could. That's all you can ask for; you went out there and gave it 110% every play, every route. You left it all out there. Remember, you were looking at leaving with the rest of those tryouts on day one. Now look at you. Final cuts. You got here. Never forget that."

Ash was quiet for a moment before chuckling. "Guess you're right… not much else I could've done."

Just then, the door to Coach Welsh's office opened, and Piora walked out. Coach Welsh called out from inside the office. "Ketchum, you're last up. Stamkos, you're welcome inside too."

Before Ash could say anything, John walked into the office, and left Ash no choice but to follow suit. The raven-haired senior glanced inside the office and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. It was a room painted gray but had a handful of comfortable chairs to sit down on, pictures of different players were on the wall as well. Behind him was a large pane of glass that had a view of the stadium.

The man with the graying goatee gestured for him to sit down. Ash did so, and for the first time noticed Coach Edmond, who was closing the door behind him. John was leaning against a wall near the window, a strange look on his face.

All was quiet for a moment before Coach Welsh began. "I want to show you something kiddo." Without waiting for Ash's answer, he stood up and went to a far corner of the room, where a TV was mounted. He casually clicked a button or two and the screen became visible. Coach Edmond held a remote in his hand and pressed the play button.

It was of a guy in silver and red pads in a compilation video of some sort. He was wearing number 13. He was a black guy who seemed to be absurdly fast. He was shifty and was blowing past his opposition. It was clear this guy was a wide receiver.

"You know who this is?" Coach Welsh asked bluntly.

Ash hesitated; this was one of the first times he'd spoken with Coach Welsh directly. "No sir… I can't say I do."

Coach Welsh nodded. "This is Pascal Iorga. He's a wide receiver for the Mossdeep North Stars. You see how fast he is? How fast he makes his cuts and what not?" Ash watched the film, and he had to agree with the coach. He did see what the coach was speaking of.

"Yeah, I do."

"He's a top ten wide receiver in the league right now. He's pretty much untouchable."

Welsh looked at Edmond, who nodded and changed the channel. Ash raised an eyebrow when he noticed himself running routes. In the corner, John had a sly grin on his face. Ash was unsure of what to say. Because of that, he waited for Welsh to speak the first words. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long.

"You know what I see when I watch Pascal run? I see you." He gestured for Ash to watch the screen, where it was indeed himself running routes and deking the cornerbacks he faced over and over again. Ash felt a bit uneasy. Sure, on paper those words seemed like high praise, but there was something behind those words that he was feeling worried about. The film was turned off a moment later and Coach Welsh turned back to a very bewildered Ash Ketchum. The next words out of Welsh's mouth surprised Ash.

"Why are you coming out now?"

Ash blinked. "I-I'm sorry?"

Coach Welsh repeated. "Why are you coming out, trying out for the football team now? When it's your senior year? Most kids want to try and relax senior year unless they've got something to prove, either academically or athletically. I've seen your grades. You're a fine student. I know you're a track star. Why come out for football now and endanger your future as a runner?"

Silence. Then, a response. "I don't think my future is in track sir. As a hybrid, I can't guarantee anything for my future. I have no scholarships on the table for me right now, even though I was hoping with my stats and records, I would've been fine. If for nothing else, sir, I wanted to do this just so that twenty years from now, I'm not regretting not trying out. This is my last chance, I figured I should give it my all."

Coach Edmond spoke for the first time with a laugh. "I'm just happy you weren't recruited by Viridian. They would kill for talent like you at Wide Receiver." Coach Welsh sent a stern look to Edmond, but then let out a sigh followed by a chuckle. "Well, guess that cat's out of the bag now eh?"

Ash blinked. "What?"

"Ketchum, I'm glad Stamkos here bumped into you. You've never played a down of organized football, yet you've got all the route running down, and you don't sacrifice any of your incredible speed when you do it. You've got the softest hands on this team yet they're by far the rustiest of any of our pass catchers. You're mature, you're intelligent, you're quick-thinking and you're not afraid to lay out for a pass. That's all the traits of a dynamic wide receiver, and not just at this level."

Coach Welsh stood up and held out his hand. "Consider yourself a member of the Pallet Flames Ketchum, official roster." Ash gawked at him before almost robotically standing to shake his hand in return. A chorus of laughs from Edmond and John snapped him out of the trance.

"T-Thank you so much! I-I can't w-wait to get started!" Coach Welsh laughed. "Trust me, neither can we. Gary's gonna be relieved to hear you made the team, he's gonna love you as a new weapon. You're dismissed Ketchum. We'll be getting into room and roommate assignment, number assignment and coaching assignments shortly, when the rest of the team meets."

Edmond patted Ash on the back. "You got potential Ketchum. It'll be my job as your offensive coordinator to maximize all you can do, in the one season you got left." Ash nodded, a huge grin on his face.

"Ash!"

The raven-haired boy turned back to John, who had spoken. "I'll contact you later tonight of what to expect. But remember, until Monday when the official roster and reserve teams come out… not a word. To anyone." John held a finger over his lips for emphasis. Ash grinned, licking his lips lightly from anticipation, and with a click of the door, the newest member of the Pallet Town Flames left the room, his newest journey officially under way.

AN: And that's a wrap people! Thanks for reading the chapter, and I hope it inspired you to come back and read more! The next chapter will be out soon, hopefully at least. 9,000 words per chapter is a doozy man! I forgot how difficult this was to write so many words for each chapter!

If you enjoyed, please follow and favorite to show your support! I envision Ash and Skyla meeting sometime in the next couple chapters. You can bet Skyla and Elesa will be in the next chapter as well. Hope you guys come back for more, and until then… see you soon!

LegionZ