a/n: I was working stupidly late. Didn't get home until midnight, so chapters may be delayed for a few days while I play catch-up.
Hope you guys understand
This one was fun to write!
XYZ Ash in JN POV: Ash sneezed, maybe something good was happening to him in an alternate dimension? Or at least that's what a very amazing person's younger brother always said
Ash sighed, it had been a crazy two weeks. Ever since he was introduced into the master's 8, he was basically a celebrity. Everyone had wanted to talk with him, and he had done so many interviews and more.
To be honest, it was so tiring. He loved battling, not stupid interviews. But his team had certainly improved. He had taught everyone some new moves, improved his skills with Z moves and he shelled out some money on some nice new battle items for a select few.
And when he wasn't with his pokemon training, he was with Chloe. She was simply the best, not only was she even cooler than he originally thought, he was helping her find out what she wanted to do in life. And her Eevee was getting awfully close to Pikachu. A few nights ago Pikachu disappeared with Eevee for the whole night, and Pikachu came back the next day in an awfully good mood.
Did… did Pikachu get some action before his trainer did? Ash muttered under his breath, if he found a Pichu egg he'd be mad. The last thing he wanted was a Pikachu on his other shoulder.
He rolled his eyes at the thought.
Maybe Chloe would make a good mom.
Wait… not like that….
Speaking of Chloe, she walked in looking slightly guilty.
"Hey, what's up?" Ash asked
"Did you see the news?"
"What news?"
"Your next battle. Did you see who?"
"Nope, why?"
"It's…..it's a dude named Steven, have you heard of him? Ex Champion of Hoenn, billionaire playboy, and a very powerful trainer."
Ash's eyes widened.
"Oh sh!t that'll be fun"
"Hey…it'll be ok! If anyone can handle him, it's you! You've trained so hard for this!"
Chloe hugged Ash out of the blue, "It'll be ok Ash, I promise!"
Ash just squeezed her tighter, "Yeah, it's just I've never battled him, and don't even know his full team besides Metagross of course," Ash spoke nervously
Chloe ignored him, "Well, Ash, you've got this! Now let's get some plane tickets to Ever Grande because that's where we're heading next!"
—-
The day of the match arrived, and Ash sported his Z ring along with a new surprise in his poke ball. In the middle of the night a few days ago, an "old" or rather "new" friend came to visit him. And so, Ash sent a team member of his back. He couldn't turn down an opportunity like this.
Ash walked into the stadium which was roaring for Steven, after all, he was quite popular around these parts. This battle was going to be LEGENDARY
Steven was waiting for Ash in the center of the arena, in his suit and tie. "Well Ash, I must say that I'm impressed. You've grown so much since I saw you last. But, only one of us can advance in this round, and it will be me. I'm very proud of you and look forward to your bright future. But, this won't last long! Let's do this!"
The referee spoke up, "This will be a six-on-six battle! Substitutions will be allowed! Trainers, are you ready?"
"Alright, let's do this! Skarmory, I choose you!"
Steven sent out his metal bird, and Ash reached for his belt and grabbed a bird of his own.
"Talonflame, I choose you!"
Talonflame made eye contact with Skarmory, and the two birds took off, circling each other.
—-
"Looks like it's a battle in the sky to start" Goh observed
"Talonflame has the type advantage, but Skarmory's tricks shouldn't be underestimated," Chloe stated
Goh nodded, "Agreed, Ash is gonna need to exercise some caution here"
—-
Talonflame flew in circles above Skarmory's head and tried to gain speed with flame charge, meanwhile Skarmory flew around below, waiting for his trainer to give him an order.
Steven shouted, "Skarmory, spikes now!"
"Stop him now!" Ash shot back
Talonflame coated himself in fire and rushed towards Skarmory and his sharp spikes, burning up all of the projectiles he sent out.
Talonflame turned a corner and launched himself at Skarmory again with a flame charge, and Skarmory attacked with a brave bird.
The two birds met in an epic clash, and Skarmory and Talonflame were thrown aback by the sheer force of the impact.
Talonflame picked itself off the ground and rushed towards Skarmory who felt the blow a bit more from the super effective damage
"Spikes again!" Steven yelled
Skarmory successfully launched some spikes up in the air, but sacrificed himself to do it.
Just as the last spikes vanished, Talonflame crashed into Skarmory and cemented the winning blow.
Skarmory collapsed and Ash won with a type advantage. One down Five to go.
—-
"Well that was faster than expected," Goh said while blinking
"Not surprised, Ash is better off not stalling for time. Steven thrives in sticky situations" a boy with glasses sitting next to them said
"I'm sorry but do we know you?" Goh said
The boy seemed offended, "My name is Max Maple! And I used to travel with Ash, and now I'm one of the best trainers in Hoenn!"
"If by best you mean a round of 16 exits two years in a row, then sure!" A girl with a bandana in her hair sitting next to Max said
"Wait! I know you! You're May Maple, top coordinator in Hoenn!"
"Not so loud! We don't want any crazy fans, But yeah, I came here to watch my old friend Ash compete again, and of course, Max wanted in,"
Chloe introduced herself, "We're friends of Ash's also, Goh is one of Ash's friends who works for Project Mew, and I'm… well I'm Ash's girlfriend,"
May looked at Chloe dumbstruck, "Please tell me this is a joke…. Because if so I just lost a bet.."
Chloe shook her head, Max pumped his fist and May sighed, "Guess I owe Max 10,000 poke now because we made a bet who'd get a partner first, Ash or me. And Ash won out,"
"Guys pay attention! Ash sent out his next pokemon!" Max interrupted, and Ash sent out his next teammate
—-
Ash recalled his Talonflame. "Alright buddy, you did amazing, now go and get some rest. I'll need you later."
"Alright, Hawlucha, I choose you!"
"Armaldo, I choose you!" Steven sent out his fossil pokemon, and Ash's fighting type stared down Steven's rock fossil.
"Well, let's get straight to it, shall we Ash? Armaldo, use stealth rock!"
Armaldo launched rocks in the air which vanished
Ash gave his first order, "Hawlucha, let's show them! Bulk up!"
Hawlucha started glowing red and pounded his chest.
Steven pointed at Hawlucha, "Armaldo, use stone edge!"
Armaldo cried out and summoned pillars of rocks which Hawlucha jumped on and over, gliding over some, smashing through others, and rolling out of the way of some others.
"Flash cannon!" Steven ordered
Armaldo fired off a white beam from each of his arms which flew straight at Hawlucha.
Hawlucha was struck with both beams and sent crashing into the rock pillars.
Steven gave a command, "Now, strike him with an x-scissor!"
Ash fired back, "Hawlucha, don't let him use a high jump kick!"
Hawlucha sprung off the ground and smashed into Armaldo's X-shaped attack. The two met in a deadlock before Armaldo hit a rock and stumbled slightly, Armaldo was pushed back even more by the force of Hawlucha's kick and collapsed on his back.
"Now, Karate Chop!" Ash shouted
Hawlucha struck Armaldo straight in the throat, and the fossil pokemon cried out in pain.
Steven yelled out panicked, "Flash cannon now! Get him off you!"
Ash shook his head and countered, "Hawlucha, flying press!"
Armaldo fired off a flash cannon which Hawlucha dodged by just jumping out of the way
Ash thrust his fist forward, "Now, go!"
Hawlucha belly flopped straight onto Armaldo, and it was clear who had won that bout.
Armaldo was down.
Ash-2 Steven-0
—-
Max was bubbling with excitement, "Wow! That was awesome! May you see that Hawlucha of his!"
"Uh-huh" May was more concerned with Chloe, May poked her to make sure she was real, and just claimed "her finger slipped" when asked why
—-
Back on the field, "Alright, let's go Cradily!"
Steven sent out a green fossil which just flopped around
"Hmmm, alright Hawlucha, let's make this easy! Flying press right away!"
Hawlucha sprung up in the air and soared down towards Cradily who was waiting.
"Cradily, leech seed now," Steven said plainly
Cradily fired off a leech seed which wrapped around Hawlucha like a net and caused him to crash into the ground.
Steven followed up, "Now, Toxic!"
Cradily fired off a purple sludge that coated Hawlucha's skin and caused Ash's fighting type to scream in pain.
"Hawlucha, no!" Ash yelled worried
Steven pointed at Hawlucha, "Now Cradily, use a power whip!"
The flowers on Cradily's neck suddenly extended and smashed into Hawlucha who was tied up and suffering from toxic poison.
Hawlucha just wanted the pain to end. And soon enough, it was over
Ash-2 Steven-1
—-
"Once again, Steven is proving why he's one of the best out there, Ash better have a good strategy up his sleeve if he's gonna last against a champion like Steven." Goh observed
"Ash knows what he's doing, trust me." Chloe defended her boyfriend
May agreed, "Ash can be a doofus but he knows his battles, have some faith uhhh what's your name again?
"Goh"
"Have some faith Goh!" May said with a smile
Steven recalled Cradily, "Great work out there! We'll need you later, hey Ash! Get ready for my next one, let's go, Aggron!"
Steven sent out a massive steel type which gave a roar.
"Hmmm, alright let's go Talonflame!"
Ash sent out Talonflame who screamed in pain, being damaged from the stealth rocks from earlier.
"Hmmm ok, Aggron, use a stone edge!"
Aggron launched massive rock pillars which tried to stab Talonflame.
"Talonflame, don't get hit! Fly around in circles!"
Talonflame flew in circles, eating stealth rocks…. Intentionally?
Ash yelled out, "Flame charge and brave bird!"
Talonflame coated himself in an all-out flame charge with the power of brave bird and sped towards Aggron
"Aggron, wait.."
"Talonflame go!"
Talonflame smashed into Aggron who moved back a bit and winced from the pain
Steven smirked and gave his command, "Now, counter!"
Ash yelled in shock, "What?!"
Aggron smashed his glowing fist into Talonflame and the bird crashed into the ground from the force of the blow.
Ash-2 Steven-2
—-
"That's so smart! He used a weakened Talonflame as bait to eat up all the stealth rocks! Now he can use Noivern and others without worries!" Max said
"Well, that's Ash for you.." May just said
—-
Back on the field:
Ash grabbed his next poke ball and smirked, "Alright, let's go Noivern!"
Ash's Noivern was released and flew around Aggron.
"Alright, just like we practiced! Fire blast!"
Noivern fired off a cross-shaped blast of fire which slammed into Aggron
"Aggron hit the bat! Hyper Beam!" Steven extended his hand and pointed at Noivern
Aggron blasted Noivern with a hyper beam that Ash's dragon dodged.
Ash smiled and pointed at Aggron, "Now, fire blast again!"
Noivern shot off another fire blast
"Hyper beam!"
"Fire blast!"
The two attacks met in a beam struggle, the fiery wrath of Noivern, versus the strength of Aggron.
"Boomburst!" Ash yelled
Noivern's ears pulsed and Aggron lost his concentration, and the fire blast took over and toppled the steel titan.
Ash-3 Steven-2
—
"Wow! Ash really trained that Noivern well!" Max was impressed as ever
"If you think that's well trained, wait till he whips out his ace.." Chloe said with a giggle
—-
"Hmmm, Ash let's take this battle up a notch, shall we? Let's do this Claydol!"
Steven sent out a ground type which hovered aimlessly around the battlefield
Ash pointed at Claydol, "Noivern, boomburst!"
Steven adjusted his tie, "Psychic terrain!"
The battlefield turned pink and a pink wall surrounded the field. Claydol was nowhere to be seen, and the boomburst vanished.
"Stay alert Noivern!" Ash said as he looked around
Just as Ash spoke Steven gave his command.
"Expanding force!"
Pink orbs flew up from the ground, and Noivern just couldn't dodge them.
They expanded, and expanded some more, before exploding
Noivern flew towards the ground, regaining composure
Ash gave his order, "There's Claydol! Strike with a dragon claw!"
"Reflect!" Steven commanded
Claydol's reflect stopped Noivern's attack and the dragon claw scratched harmlessly off the screen.
"Now Claydol, expanding force again!"
Claydol launched hundreds of pink orbs from before, and Noivern was overwhelmed
Noivern collapsed and fainted before even half had exploded.
Ash-3 Steven-3
—-
"Ash better be careful, that Claydol seems tough…" May said
"He knows what to do…." Goh and Max said at the same time
—-
Back on the field:
"Alright, Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash's oldest partner ran onto the field
Steven gave his first command, "Claydol, let's make this fast! Expanding force!"
Claydol launched the orbs, but Pikachu was gone, vanished with a quick attack.
"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
Pikachu materialized out of thin air and smashed into Claydol, sending Steven's pokemon to the ground.
—-
"Jeez! Pikachu is fast!" Max said in awe
"There's a reason Ash is #7 in the whole world!" Chloe giggled
—-
"Claydol, expanding force again!" Steven commanded
The pink orbs expanded, but Ash had an idea
"Pikachu, play baseball! Smash the orbs into Claydol with an Iron Tail!"
Pikachu smashed the orbs with his iron tail and they flew into and exploded by Claydol.
"Keep expanding!", "Return to sender!" both trainers yelled out at the same time
After a moment, the arena was coated in a pink explosion, and Claydol and Pikachu were both knocked out.
Ash-4 Steven-4
Steven smiled, "Well Ash, prepare yourself, let's go Cradily!"
"Greninja, I choose you!"
Ash looked at Greninja who looked at Cradily and then back at Ash.
"Right out of the gates?"
"Ninja gre!"
"Alright, let's do this! Show them our bond and go beyond!"
A torrent of water shot up, Greninja and Ash became one, and out of the water stood Ash-Greninja
"We need to end this fast before Cradily can do any lasting damage! Greninja, show them our best! All out Water Shuriken!"
Steven smiled, "Right into my hands. Let's show them a toxic Cradily! Mix it with a power whip!"
Ash snapped, "Not a chance! Greninja, now or never!"
Greninja jumped up in the air and fired off his famous orange donut water shuriken and it sped towards Cradily who extended his petals straight towards Greninja.
The shuriken sped towards Cradily and smashed into the fossil, clearly dealing massive damage and knocking it out.
Ash-5 Steven-4
—-
"THE POWER!" Max was astonished
"That's the battle bond phenomenon. Ash is the first user in thousands of years, it's the power of legends." Chloe boasted about her boyfriend
May just rolled her eyes, "Who else but Ash?"
—-
But as the mist cleared, Greninja and Ash both winced in pain. He was poisoned. Ash would have to end this quickly if Greninja were to prevail.
Steven smiled and reached for his last poke ball.
"I must say, Ash, I'm excited for this, let's make this a stunning finale. Now Metagross, let's do this!"
Steven released his trademark silver Metagross who stomped his feet and gave an enraged roar.
Ash and Greninja both heaved in pain, feeling poison damage
"Metagross, ready?"
Metagross stomped his feet and Steven took that as a yes.
Steven thumbed his keystone and Metagross began to transform, surrounded by the legendary purple orb, and it shattered. Out of the orb emerged a Mega-Metagross.
"Alright Greninja, let's end this fast! Use as many water shurikens as you can!"
Greninja launched hundreds of water stars at Metagross who dodged them or just dealt with a few.
"Our turn now! Metagross, use a hammer arm!"
Metagross pounded Greninja with a powerful hammer arm, and Ash winced in pain.
Greninja fell back, also clearly feeling the pain of the blow.
"Now Metagross, use Meteor Mash! End this!" Steven yelled
Ash doubled down in pain, feeling even more poison damage. Toxic really was toxic.
And then he felt the pain of being struck with a meteor mash from an angry Metagross
Greninja collapsed from the blow and tried to stand up but Steven gave his order.
"Metagross, end this! Hammer arm again!"
Metagross slammed into Greninja again, and Ash-Greninja was no more.
Ash-5 Steven-5
Ash heaved in pain and reached for the final slot on his belt.
Chloe giggled, "Oh boy, Steven is in trouble now."
Ash reached for his belt: "Alright buddy ready for your first battle?"
Steven laughed, "Are you joking?"
Ash shook his head and Steven shrugged, "It's your rank man"
Ash smiled and palmed the ball, "The power of the sun, in the palm of my hand."
Ash threw the poke ball, "Nebby, I choose you!"
A silver lion emerged and let out a roar
Steven looked at Nebby confused, "I've never seen that pokemon before…"
Ash scratched his head, "Well, you're in for a treat! I only met him a few days ago! He visited me from outer space in another dimension!"
Steven sighed, "Alien or not, I'm winning! Metagross, let's do this! Meteor Mash!"
"Nebby are you ready! Use Teleport!"
Nebby vanished and reappeared behind Metagross
Ash followed up, "Now, use flare blitz!"
Nebby coated himself in flames and slammed into Mega-Metagross
Metagross went flying and turned around
Steven gave Nebby a glare and shouted out, "Metagross, Giga Impact!"
Metagross coated himself in an orange glow and sped towards Nebby
"Nebby, let's go! Sunsteel strike, now!"
Nebby covered himself in white light and sped towards Metagross and the two steel types made contact.
Nebby roared, and Metagross let out a loud cry
The two steel types pushed each other back before retreating. The match was dead even in strength
Ash turned his hat backward and started to dance, Nebby was surrounded with red energy and he stared down at Metagross.
"Nebby, let's end this! Use Inferno Overdrive!"
"Metagross, now or never! One more Giga impact!"
A red storm with a lion at the center flew towards Metagross. A purple light flashed, and as the dust cleared it was obvious who had won.
The stadium erupted in cheers, Ash had won.
After a moment, another match was shown on the big screen. Leon was battling Lance and destroying him.
Ash's rank ticked down.
He was now ranked #3