Day 4

Ash watched his Pokémon hard at work. It was Day 4 and the League was almost here.

Changing it up, Grovyle weaved through an assortment of Magical Leaf from Bayleef. The Johto Grass type was doing expectational on her training. Grovyle then rushed in with red leaf blades, swiping in quick succession. The Leaf Pokémon responded with a glass screen in front of her, Reflect canceling Fury Cutter since it is a physical attack. And Ash could have sworn there is a small hint of unspoken affection between the starters.

Torkoal snorted, spewing two streams of purple poison at his target. Toxic struck his opponent, but it did nothing considering Muk is a pure Poison type. The Sludge Pokémon shook it off went with his own attack. He conjured an energy trash bag that he threw at the Coal Pokémon. Torkoal, lacking speed, tucked himself in his shell before shimmering with an iron coat. With Iron Defense, Torkoal tanked the hit. Still in his shell, the tortoise Pokémon began to spin around, generating a sliver ring as he did. Taking off, Muk was met with a Gyro Ball to his stomach...

Which made the Coal Pokémon immediately want to get free, since the smell of the Sludge Pokémon was emitting became unbearable for him.

Pikachu was with a small green toad Pokémon with a closed green bulb on its back. Bulbasaur was working on some new moves, mostly some Poison type moves to aid him. Ash had told him about learning a few Poison type moves that would be great for the Seed Pokémon. Pikachu, being the oldest member of the team, was a great sparring partner for the Kanto Grass starter and vice versa. Bulbasaur was repeated struck with Quick Attacks, courtesy of Pikachu. Taking a shot, Bulbasaur's eyes glowed green. Pikachu came rushing in behind, but was tripped up by a knot of grass. The Seed Pokémon smirked before grabbing the Mouse Pokemon with his vines.

On Ketchum's right, a large dark blue beetle Pokémon was practicing punches. Being part Fighting type, Ash wanted to start utilizing some Fighting type moves on for Heracross. Ash needed to have a personal Fighting type to teach Heracross a few moves. But where would he get one?

It wasn't know to anyone if Pokémon could be found here, let alone Fighting types. And while Snorlax has a few punching moves, the Sleeping Pokémon was built for taking this and dishing back in a rather slow manner.

Then it hit Ash. Of course! He hadn't seen him for what felt like ages! He so had to call him up and see how he's doing.

Ash waited for the video call to pick up. He was anxious. Would they even remember him? What if he got released?

"Hello?" The video chat picked up and revealed a man in a muscle shirt. "Oh! Hey, Ash!" Looks like they did remember him after all.

"Hey, Anthony," Ash greeted. "Man, it feels like it's been ages since we've talked!" Anthony said. Then in all too familiar furry Pokémon appeared in screen. "Pri!"

"Hey, Primeape," Ash acknowledged, "How have things been going with the Grand P1?"

"They have been going great!" Anthony said enthusiastically, "Primeape has had some many wins under his belt at this point!" The traine showed him the many trophies he had won. "Woah! That's impressive!" Ash noted. "Yep! Though Primeape has been feeling a bit..." Anthony started, "... say not having a challenge."

"How come?" Ash wondered aloud. "Well, it's nothing," Anthony dismissed, "it's just Primeape has been looking for a challenge recently. Not to mention we have seen some of your league battles from time to time."

"Primeape watches my battles?" Ash asked. He didn't know that. "Yeah! Of course! You're his trainer! Why wouldn't he?" Anthony informed.

"I guess I never thought of it like that," Ash admitted. His first Fighting type was cheering him on from the sidelines. It made Ash regret regret not getting his Pokémon earlier.

"Anyways, the reason I'm calling is if..." Ash started, "... could I have Primeape back?"

"Of course!" Anthony said, "Don't get me wrong, winning is great and all, but over time it is starting to get a bit tedious."

"Great!" Ash said excitedly. "Still have my Pokeball?" "Right here," Anthony said holding it. "So Primeape, ready to be with your trainer once again?"

"Ape! Ape!" The Pig Monkey said, ready to fight. "Alright then!" The fitness trainer said before returning Primeape to his Pokeball. "Thanks for taking care of him," Ash thanked as he retrieved the Pokeball.

"No problem!" Anthony said, "Good luck in the Hoenn League!"

In his hand held one of his most unused Pokémon. He felt bad for Primeape. The Fighting type had been cheering him on from the sidelines and he didn't even know. Well, time to change that.

"Come on out!" Ash said bringing out his returned Fighting type. The ball bursted opened and revealed the Pig Monkey Pokémon, bursting with energy.

"Ape!" Primeape cheered before turning around and hugging Ash. "Hehehe, good to see you too."

"Wow! A Primeape!" Max said, fascinated by the appearance.

"Is that the same Primeape from the P1 Tournament?" Brock questioned. "The P1 Tournament?" The Maple siblings asked. "It's quite the story," Ash explained before telling them it.

"So, Primeape is basically a world champion?" May concluded. "I guess so when you put it like that," Ash chuckled before getting his current party to greet the returning member.

Pikachu and Bulbasaur went first, having known the Pig Monkey the longest (even in the short time they met). Muk went next, giving the Fighting type a hug that he had to shrug off. Bayleef and Heracross went next, the former using her vines and the latter shaking with his arms. Grovyle gave a nod of acknowledgment and Torkoal let out a happy stream of smoke.

"Alright I want everyone to go back to your training," Ash informed, "except you, Heracross." The Single Horn Pokémon nodded before coming over to his trainer. "Alright, I want you to spar with Primeape. I think you should learn a few Fighting type moves." The beetle nodded before readied himself. "Great, Primeape, show us what you have been up to!"

The Pig Monkey Pokémon shook himself and jumped a bit before putting his fists up. Heracross showed his horn before charging in with a white glowing horn. Primeape readied himself by glowing with a red aura around his body. Bulk Up allowed him to brace for the Horn Attack which he caught before using Revenge, knocking back the Bug/Fighting type.

Heracross caught him with his wings and flew in again, this time with an orange streak after him. Primeape cupped his hands together, forming a blue orb in between. He threw it towards the charging Single Horn Pokémon who flew into it. The beetle Pokémon flew out of the explosion and charged again with a lime green coated horn this time.

The simian Pokémon responded to the Megahorn by slamming his fist into the ground, causing a wave of stone spires to rise out of the ground. Heracross charged through all of them, weakening his horn as he did. Heracross eventually made it to Primeape but the Bug type move was weaker after crushing through multiple Stone Edges.

"Alright that's enough!" Ash called, he had seen enough and was sure Primeape was could beat Heracross when they were not sparring. "Okay, Heracross," he addressed to his Bug/Fighting type, "while head on attacks are your thing, perhaps we need to teach you some range moves along with some Fighting type moves." The Single Horn Pokémon nodded, feeling a bit sore from his rush down attacks.

"And Primeape, nice moves!" Ash congratulated, "You have certainly been training yourself to the max." The Pig Monkey Pokemon puffed up with pride from the praise. "Now I want you to teach Heracross some Fighting type moves, got it?" "Pri!"

It was the evening and all of his Pokémon had made more progress like the days before, most notably Heracross.

Demonstrating what he learned, the Single Horn Pokémon summoned multiple swords that circled him before rushing with a flurry of punches and horn attacks. After using a Swords Dance boosted Close Combat, Heracross flew in the air, the horn covered with an indigo glow. The Bug/Fighting type then came across a boulder and performed Brick Break that split the rock in two. The Johto Bug type let out a happy cry as Primeape looked in pride. The Fighting type learned a few moves himself from the Bug type, so he too was getting some experience himself.

Ash returned his Pokémon, except Pikachu, for the night and went to his room for some resting with the Mouse Pokemon in tow. Ketchum smiled at the thought of his Fighting type being back on the team. He definitely would use him for upcoming battles in the Hoenn League and maybe in the future when he thought of it.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. In case you missed it, I made a poll for doing Battle Frontier battles.