Ash's alarm buzzed in the early morning, waking up Pikachu who was curled up in a ball near the end of the bed. Noticing that Ash didn't seem to be waking up, Pikachu sent a small volt of electricity Ash's way, shocking him awake.
"Pika Pika!" The mouse shouted as Ash awoke in a flash.
"Hey what was that for? Oh, my bad buddy." Ash said as he noticed his alarm clock was ringing.
"We got our interview in a couple hours, so I have to myself and you guys ready." Ash said as he picked up Pikachu, and set him on the couch in the other room. After giving him some Pokémon food, Ash went off to take a shower. Meanwhile Delia spent the morning furiously cleaning the place, wanting everything to be perfect for her son's big day.
When Ash emerged from the shower he went outside to see all of his Pokémon. After making sure they all looked fresh he went back inside to have some breakfast.
As noon approached Ash sat patiently waiting, until he heard the vehicle of the news station outside. The news station was called Kanto Now, and would airing his interview several days later.
A man and a woman emerged from the their vehicle, along with a cameraman. After greeting each other and being given a tour of the house. They decided that they would interview Delia first inside the house, and then Ash afterwards outside with his Pokémon. So Ash went out to make sure that his Pokémon were ready while the others were inside.
After about 10 minutes everyone emerged from the house and met back up with Ash in the backyard. After getting some shots of each of Ash's Pokémon, they went ahead and started the actual interviewing.
"Alright Ash, so lets start with the big one. You made it to the top 8 in the Johto League finals. How does it feel to have achieved such an impressive feat?" They asked.
"Well, It feels great to know that all of my Pokémon and I's training had really paid off, and I'm very proud of them all!" Ash replied, smiling at each of his Pokémon as he spoke.
"Now you lost against Tyson, what do you think you could have done differently to change the outcome?"
"Inexperience played a role I think, this was my first every league competition, I made a couple of mistakes down the stretch and I think they cost us. It's been a great learning experience and I couldn't have asked for a better battle!" Ash said as he replayed the match in his mind.
"So now everyone is asking, what's next for you Ash? " The female reporter asked him.
"The Indigo League is my next goal! I'm stronger and more determined than ever, and I wont let this one slip away!" Ash answered. Each of the reporters seemed to be enjoying themselves; Ash was fun to interview and certainly a very talented kid. After answering the some more questions the interview was finished.
"Alright Ash, that was great!" They told him as they each shook his hands.
"And one more thing, would you be interested in having a quick battle for the cameras Ash?"
"Of course!" Ash said always ready for a battle.
"Perfect, now we've got a little surprise for you as to who you'll be facing." They told him. Ash sat their confused, whom would he be battling? Hopefully not Gary…
Ash's question was answered however as a figure rounded the corner and came into sight.
"Tyson!" Ash said as his jaw dropped.
"Long time no see Ash!" Tyson said with a wave of his hand.
" I was passing Viridian City earlier this morning, where they did my interview. After they told me that they were coming here to interview you I knew I had to come visit." He explained.
"That's awesome Tyson, I was wondering when I'd see you again." Ash said.
"So what are you up to now Ash? Tomorrow I'm heading of the Unova region to enter their Pokémon league."
"I'm entering the Indigo League here in Kanto. I've heard Unova is pretty cool, your going to do great there!" Ash said. He'd always wanted to visit some other regions someday, as there were tons of other Pokémon that he'd never seen before.
"So you ready for a battle Ash?"
"You bet Tyson! Let's make it a good one like last time!" Ash said with a fist pump.
"How about on the bridge over there? With it being surrounded by the woods it makes for a great scenery." The reporters suggested. Both Ash and Tyson agreed and headed over.
The reporter soon started talking to the camera as they got into their positions.
"We've got an exciting matchup for you all today. It's a rematch of the Johto League quarterfinals, Ash against Tyson. Last time Tyson narrowly defeated Ash, allowing him to advance to the final four. It will be a one on battle, winner takes all!" She said with enthusiasm.
"Ready Ash?"
"I'm ready when you are!"
"Let's go, Metagross." Tyson's Metagross came out of its pokeball; everyone was impressed by the immense size of it. Tyson had lots of very powerful Pokémon, this one had been really tough for Ash to defeat last time.
Ash retaliated by sending out his Charizard, one of his strongest Pokémon.
"Ok Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.
"Iron Defense Metagross!"
Metagross shielded itself as the flamethrower hit it directly. However Metagross seemed to be untouched by it as its Iron Defense had worked perfectly.
"Zen Headbutt!" Tyson shouted. Metagross came flying forward, slamming straight into Charizard.
"Grab it Charizard!" Ash's said. Charizard grabbed hold of one of Metagross's legs and pulled it to the ground with it.
"Quick now use Seismic Toss!" Charizard got up and pulled Metagross into the air. After reaching a tall enough height, Charizard turn and zoomed straight back to the ground.
"Hyper Beam Metagross!" Yelled Tyson.
"Metagross launched a Hyper Beam attack just in time. Firing it straight into the ground, which caused Charizard to lose most of its speed. Therefore when Metagross hit the ground it only took a minor amount of damage.
"Dragon rage!" Ash said as Charizard sent the attack towards Metagross.
"Quick Metagross, stop it with Hammer Arm!" Metagross meet the attack and again stopped a direct hit from occurring, only taking a little damage.
"Use Confusion!"
Metagross hit Charizard with the attack, stunning Charizard for several seconds.
"Now hit it with Hyper Beam!" Charizard took the full blast of the Hyper Beam and was sent flying backwards.
"Are you alright Charizard?" Ash asked as Charizard managed to struggle to its feet.
"Use Take Down Metagross!" Tyson said, hoping that Charizard would be too tired to react in time. Metagross jumped forward only to be lurched to a halt. Charizard had stopped Metagross and the two were now pushing against each other.
"Flamethrower!"
"Hyper Beam!"
Both Pokémon launched their attacks, each making direct hits with the other. The two of them each managed to regain their footing. Metagross looked tired, but still had a good amount of strength left. Meanwhile Charizard was nearly finished, one more hit and it would be all over.
"There's got to be something I can do." Ash thought to himself.
"Charizard use smokescreen!" In a matter of seconds the whole area became covered in a dark black smoke. No one was able to see anything, the trainers or the Pokémon. Being on a bridge though helped to know at lest the general location of the others.
"Find Metagross and use Seismic Toss again!" Ash said as Charizard flew into the smoke searching for Metagross. Charizard spotted Metagross and caught it off guard, grabbing it and taking to the sky.
"Now Charizard!" Ash said, as Charizard started soaring back towards the ground. When they reached the ground Charizard let go of Metagross, slamming it into the ground. However, Charizard was very weak at this point and didn't have the strength to pull up out of its downward dive completely. This caused Charizard to clip the ground and go tumbling across the ground.
After the cloud of dust that had been sent up had settled, it was revealed the both Pokémon had fainted.
"Well that's that!" Tyson said, as both him and Ash returned their Pokémon to their pokeballs.
"Wow what a match folks! The two battled it out to the very end and the match ended in a tie, truly a fitting ending to a battle between two of the greats!" The reporter lady said to the camera.
"That was a great battle Tyson!" Ash said as they shook hands.
"Thanks Ash! It's safe to say we've both gotten stronger since we last met." Tyson replied.
After being interviewed about the battle. The reporters said their goodbyes, informing them that they'd be airing this later in the week. With that it was also time for Tyson to leave as well.
"Well Ash, as much as I'd like to stay and train with you more, I've got to get going. I have a long journey ahead of me tomorrow." Tyson said.
"Good luck Tyson. Maybe someday we'll meet again. I'll make sure to watch you on TV when the Unova finals come around!" Ash said, hoping this wasn't their final goodbye.
"Haha. And you can bet that I'll be ready to watch you take down the Indigo League! You've got a great chance!"
"Thanks man." Ash said. With a fist bump, the two went their separate ways. Tyson continued on south of Pallet Town while Ash returned home. Ash sat thinking about his battle with Tyson. Despite the tie he was happy about it. More so he was happy to spend more time with Tyson, someone who he really looked up to.
"You did great today Charizard." Ash said to the Pokémon, who was resting beside him.
"Back in the Johto league it took 3 Pokémon to take that Metagross down, while you did it singlehandedly today!" Ash said, a prideful look coming over Charizard's face.
"Ash! Dinner's ready!" Delia called from inside the house.
"Oh man! It's already dinner time." Ash thought, his interview and battle had taken a lot longer than it had felt.
"That news team was really nice don't you think?" Delia asked her son.
"Ya, I was nervous at first but it turned out to be pretty fun!" Ash said while scarfing down his plate of food.
"So when are you going to start collecting new gym badges? I'm surprised you haven't started already, with the Viridian and Pewter City gyms being so close." She asked.
"Oh, I was thinking maybe next weekend I'd start. I wanted to get some extra training in before then." Ash explained.
"Well if you need me to watch over Pikachu while you go I'd be happy too! He is pretty cute anyways!" Delia said, earning a squeak of approval from Pikachu who was resting on the couch.
The next few days went by as usual, Ash's trips to and from school being a bit lonelier without Pikachu by his side. Monday night Ash was finishing some homework assignments that needed to be completed by the next day when he got a text from May.
"Dawn said that there's another home soccer match tomorrow, want to go again?"
"Sure. See you then!" Ash replied, happy that it would work out perfectly with his schedule. He'd have his next Pokémon battle after school, and then he can wait around till the game starts later.
The next morning Ash grabbed his pokeballs and headed out the door, saying goodbye to Pikachu, who was being fed by Delia.
Ash arrived at school and went to his classes, another routine day passing by that was until lunchtime. Ash's whole celebrity status had faded slightly, no longer being mobbed by random fans, but lots of people did try to talk to him now, something Ash was still getting used too. He usually only sat by Gary at lunch, but today Gary said he had to talk to the guys on the soccer team about some stuff, so Ash was all alone today. Ash didn't mind this; it was usually pretty hard to find some privacy in a school anyways. That was until two trays plopped down next to him at his table.
"Hey Ash!" Dawn and May said in unison as they sat down next to him.
"Oh hey girls." Ash said.
"Not trying to sound rude, but what are you two doing here?" Ash asked them.
"Wet thought that we'd come give you some company, since it doesn't look like Gary's here right now." Dawn told him.
"Oh, well thanks you guys." Said Ash.
"That's what friends are for right!" Dawn said. Friends. That word stuck around in Ash's head after Dawn had finished talking. He had never thought of the two girls as his friends. He more so thought of them as good acquaintances. Although, thinking back on the last week, they had hung out and had a lot of fun together. Heck, they were going to another soccer game tonight, and were eating lunch together right now. Ash blushed as the three of them began to eat their food. Aside from Gary he had never had been real friends with anyone, much less friends with a girl. Ash blushed again as quickly tried to diminish the thought from his head. Ash had never had a girlfriend before, or had he ever knew of a girl who had liked him. Dawn and Gary were a thing now, which leaves Ash and May being the two singles. Ash couldn't help himself from thinking more on this topic. He had heard that May and Drew had broken up, but didn't know why. Realizing this he refused to let himself think about it any further and tried to bring up a conversation to take his mind of it.
"So how are you and Torchic doing?" Ash asked May, who had been helping Dawn with a homework question.
"Really good actually! We're really getting along, plus everyone else loves Torchic!" May said with a smile. She continued to tell Ash several stories of her family members initial reactions to meeting her Torchic. Throughout their conversation, Ash 's eyes soon began to wander from May's. He began to take notice of her features, her brown hair, her smile, and the sparkle in her eyes.
"Ash!"
"Ah! What?" Ash said, being knocked out of his trance.
"I asked how Pikachu was doing." May told him.
"Oh. Uh…he's doing alright." Ash said, struggling to find words as he was caught off guard.
"Excuse me for a moment, I'll be back in a minute." Ash said, as he got up from the table and headed towards the bathroom.
"What's up with him?" Dawn asked.
"Who knows?" May said, who was more focused on how strange it felt to not be sitting by Drew anymore.
Meanwhile Ash had entered the bathroom and looked himself in the mirror. What in the world was going on with him? Sure he had liked girls in the past, but was he really feeling the same way about May. His mind then went back to their conversation.
"Was I checking her out…" Ash thought to himself, slightly in shock, slightly ashamed.
"I mean, she is pretty cute."
SPLASH
Ash had turned on the sink and splashed water all over his face. What the hell was he thinking? Why was he thinking like this? Even if May did like him back, she just went through a breakup. Even so wasn't Ash just overthinking this? They had only known each other for a little over a week. Ash forced himself to forget about it for now, and went back out to the lunchroom.
"What happened? Did you fall in a toilet or something?" May asked as her and Dawn laughed at Ash. Ash looked down and realized that his shirt was soaking wet. When he splashed water onto his face he must've got a lot on his shirt too.
"Oh, um, sink malfunction." Ash said, hoping they'd buy it, only to realize how stupid it sounded after he had said it.
"Sink malfunction? Never heard of that before." Dawn said with a chuckle.
With that the bell signifying the end of lunch rang. The three said goodbye to each other vowing to meet in the parking lot before the game again later that night. The rest of the day went on as normal, boring classes and boring teachers.
The bell finally rang ending classes at Kanto High for the day. Today was Tuesday, which meant that Ash would have another battle for the Kanto High Pokémon battle tournament. Ash had been looking forward to this all weekend, and rushed out to the fields right after school ended. Ash was the first one to arrive, shortly followed by Richie, who had come to watch the rest of the battles and to cheer Ash on.
After another ten minutes everyone had gathered around, when Tracy finally showed up so that things could get underway.
"Alright, we are down to the final four trainers. Winston, Ash, Gary, and Morrison. The top two will go to the championship on Thursday. The matchups for today will be Morrison and Winston, who will battle first. Followed up by the Great Ash Ketchum against Gary Oak." Tracy said, as Ash's jaw dropped to the ground. He'd been hoping that this wouldn't happen. Ash initially was hoping that Gary would have been knocked out of the tournament by now. Now he gulped as Gary shot him a smirk.
"Ok lets get started!" Tracy said as he spun the wheel, which decided the number of Pokémon that will be used in each battle, this time landing on six.
"Alright, a six on six battle between Winston and Morrison. This should be a good one! Everyone ready? Let the match begin!" Tracy shouted as the two began battling. The battle was very close early on, each bringing each other down to just three Pokémon. Winston then pulled away here and ended up defeating Morrison with two Pokémon still standing. Next up was Ash and Gary.
Ash and Gary took their sides of the battlefield and waited for Tracy. Tracy then walked over and spun the wheel again, the point eventually landing on a four.
"This will be a four on four match between Ash and Gary! Winner will go to the finals to face Winston! Let the battle begin!" Tracy shouted as Ash tried to decide which Pokémon he would use first. Gary only actually owned two Pokémon, a Mudkip and Bullbasaur, so he'd likely have those two and two others that he borrowed from Professor Oak.
"Let's go Froakie!" Ash said as he threw out his pokeball, waiting to see what Gary would do.
"Nidorino come out!" Gary said as the purple Pokémon materialized onto the field.
"Alright Froakie lets do this, use Quick Attack!"
"Quick use Poison Sting before it gets here!" Gary said, as Nidorino as Froakie was stopped in its tracks.
"Now use Horn Attack!"
"Dodge it and use Water Pulse." Ash shouted. Froakie then leaped into the air and sent Water Pulse at Nidorino knocking it backwards.
"Quick Attack Froakie, then use pound!" Froakie flew in and hit Nidorino again before it could recover. Froakie repeated this again except with a Pound attack. Nidorino, being one of Professor Oaks Pokémon wasn't used to battling, so this attack finished it.
"Nidorino is unable to battle! This leaves Gary Oak with three Pokémon left."
"Alright Froakie way to go!" Ash said as Froakie danced around in celebration.
"Bulbasaur, let's show them what your made of!" Gary said as his Bulbasaur took the field.
"Grab it with Vine Whip!"
"Dodge it Froakie!" It was too late for Froakie however, as Bulbasaur grabbed hold and pulled It in close.
"Now use Sleep Powder." Gary said with confidence. With that, Bulbasaur sprayed a orange powder onto Froakie, sending it straight to sleep.
"Let's wrap this up. Leech Seed. Now Razor Leaf, and finish it with Tackle. Ash watched helplessly as Froakie endured the combination of attacks from Gary's Bulbasaur.
"Froakie is unable to battle!" Tracy said once Froakie had tumbled to the ground.
"You did great Froakie, thanks a lot." Ash said as he returned it to its pokeball.
"This battle is just getting started Ashy boy!" Gary said from across the field.
"You better believe it Gary! Come out Charizard!" Ash said, hoping to get the easy type advantage. Gary seemed completely unfazed by Ash's choice; in fact it looked like he had been expecting it. There were oohs from the crowd, despite charmander being a common Kanto Pokémon, it wasn't everyday that you got to see a Charizard.
"Flamethrower now!" Ash said, only for Bulbasaur to launch itself into the air with its vines dodging the attack. Bulbasaur then launched a Razor Leaf at Charizard, only narrowly hitting it as it flew up into the air.
"Quick while its still in the air, Flare Blitz!" This was one of Charizard's strongest attacks, and even though Charizard would take some damage from it, it could easily take down Bulbasaur.
Bulbasaur landed a mere second before Charizard arrived. It used its vines to try and shield itself but it was useless. The two crashed together sending up a large cloud of dust.
While Charizard had taken a bit of damage it was still standing, ready for more. Meanwhile Bulbsaur was down for the count, not yet having been trained long enough to withstand attacks like that.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle! Just two Pokémon left for Gary."
"Nice work Charizard!" Ash said, he was happy with how the battle was going so far; it looked like he might actually win this time.
"Don't think this battle's over yet Ash! Mudkip let's show him!" Gary said. Mudkip was Gary's first Pokémon, and he'd been training it for several months now. Not only that, but Mudkip had already beaten Charizard in a battle a little while ago.
"Let's get this going. Use Water Gun!" Mudkip shot a stream of water Charizard's way, only for Charizard to dodge it effortlessly. After several more tries, Mudkip still wasn't having any luck, so Gary called off the attack.
"We aren't going to lose to you this time Gary!" Ash said, thinking that he had this battle wrapped up.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Ashy, do it now Mudkip!" Gary said as Mudkip remained standing still. In a moment, Mudkip began to glow, a white light surrounding its body.
"What's going on?"
"I think it's evolving!"
The whole crowd of people watching was in awe, as Mudkip transformed itself into a Marshtomp before their eyes.
"Dig Marshtomp." Gary shouted, wasting no time.
"Fly up into the air Charizard!" Ash said, thinking it would be safe up there. Marshtomp reappeared as another hole appeared in the ground, due to it's newfound incredible leg strength, Marshtomp was able to launch itself up and tackle Charizard, sending it back to the ground with a Water Gun attack.
'Finish it with Mud Bomb, then water gun again." Gary shouted. Two super effective moves in a row were enough to finish off Charizard for the day.
"Charizard is unable to battle. Both trainers have two Pokémon left!" Tracy announced.
"Ah, Charizard you were awesome, take a good rest." Ash said, now realizing that Gary was right back in this battle. Staraptor, Bulbasaur, and Cyndaquil were his only options left, since he left Aipom at home.
"Bulbasaur let's go!"
Bulbasaur materialized onto the field and faced Marshtomp. Marshtomp immediately leaped into the ground and burrowed its way below the earth, using another dig attack. There was nothing that Bulbsaur could do, so it was hit full force from behind by Marshtomp.
"Ah, are you alright Bulbasaur?" Ash asked his Pokémon. Bulbasaur replied by getting back on its feet and charging towards Marshtomp.
"Use Protect!"
Marshtomp formed a circular barrier around itself, stopping Bulbasaur's attack from having any effect. Marshtomp then sent a Mud Shot, hitting Bulbasaur directly.
"Use Dig again Marshtomp!" Gary said as Marshtomp dove back underground.
"Quick Bulbasaur, send a Razor Leaf through the hole!" Ash said, figuring that this would hit Marshtomp. Bulbasaur leaped to the hole that Marshtomp had originally gone in, and sent a flurry of Razor Leafs inside it. Marshtomp reappeared several feet away, popping up out of the ground, still taking damage from Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf, before falling down.
"Marshtomp is unable to battle! Gary has one Pokémon left, while Ash still has two!"
"Alright Bulbasaur!" Ash said, celebrating another victory, being just one Pokémon away from his first victory against Gary.
"Not bad Ash, but I've still got some tricks up my sleeve!" Gary said, still keeping the same confidence that he'd had throughout the match.
"Litten, come on out!" Gary said, as the catlike Pokémon appeared on the battlefield. Again many oohs and ahh's came from the crowd once again. Ash and many of the other trainers watching pulled out their pokedex. Ash had never seen any Pokémon like this before, neither had his pokedex either.
"No information available." Everyone's pokedex said.
"What kind of Pokémon is that, and where did you get it?" Ash and all the others asked Gary.
"This is Litten. I borrowed him from my grandpa. Litten can only be found in the Alola region and I got lucky enough to have one." Gary explained.
"The Alola region?" Ash thought to himself, the name sounded familiar but he couldn't quite recall the characteristics of the region. Ash only remembered that him and his mother had gone there on vacation when he was really young, so he really didn't remember anything about it.
"That's pretty cool Gary, but we've got a battle to finish!" Ash said with a fist pump.
"Alright Ash, we'll finish this. Then the fans can take some pics of Litten once he's through with you." Gary replied cockily.
"Ember." Gary said quickly, catching Ash off guard. Bulbasaur was also unaware and didn't realize he was being attack until the ball of fire was right in front of him.
"That's one super effective hit. Let's finish him with one more Litten. Ember again!"
Another super effective attack on Bulbasaur was enough to weaken it greatly. Bulbasaur tried to stand up, but despite its efforts collapsed back to the ground.
"Bulbasaur is unable to battle! Both Ash and Gary are now down to their last Pokémon." Tracy said excitedly. At this point nearly everyone in the crowd was stunned. Gary wasn't known for being a Pokémon trainer, but yet he was one Pokémon away from taking down Ash Ketchum, who was now considered a Pokémon trainer God at Kanto High. Frankly Ash couldn't help but let some doubt slip into his mind throughout the battle. While he was doing better than he usually did against Gary, he hadn't yet been able to get into a good groove like he had in his previous battles.
Now Ash had to decide on his final Pokémon. He liked the idea of a fire type versus fire type battle to finish things off, so he decided on Cyndaquil.
'Let's go Cyndaquil!" Ash said as he threw the pokeball, only there was a problem.
"AIPOM!" The monkey squeaked as it took the field.
"Wait, Aipom! Oh no! I grabbed the wrong pokeball!" Ash said in frustration. He hadn't even let Aipom out of its pokeball since he had caught it, because of how rowdy it had been before. It looked like this match was going to become a disaster. Ash didn't even know what kind of attacks Aipom knew.
"Fury Swipes!" Ash heard Gary yell from across the field as Litten charged forward.
"Dodge it Aipom!" Ash said. Aipom ignored Ash however, and jumped up and stole his hat again, before placing it on its own head.
"What are you doing Aipom?" Ash yelled. Just then Litten had arrived and used its Fury Swipes on Aipom. Aipom, being caught of guard, thought Litten just wanted to play with it. Aipom realized this wasn't the case however, after taking an Ember attack from point blank distance.
This caused Aipom to get angry and slap Litten back with its tail, actually dealing a bit of damage. At this point, Ash was more focused on controlling Aipom and getting his hat back more than the battle. Ash finally saw the opportunity to snatch his hat off the purple monkey's head, and placed it back on his own. Aipom turned back around to Ash, with a playfully look on its face. Just then a look of shock came onto Aipom's face, as it collapsed on the ground, having been hit by another ember attack.
"Aipom is unable to battle! This means Gary is the winner!" Tracy said, everyone watching was stunned; Ash just completely blew the battle when it mattered the most. Ash dropped to his knees and stared at the ground, not even bothering to return Aipom to its pokeball. He had let victory slip right out of his hand, just because he had grabbed the wrong pokeball from his house that morning.
"Is that 104, or 105 now?" Gary asked, who was now standing in front of Ash. Ash's only reply was a groan of defeat.
"Haha, see you later Ashy boy." Gary said before letting everyone play with Litten.
20 Minutes Later
"Um, Ash are you okay?" May asked, noticing Ash, who was lying on the ground next to an Aipom.
"Um, sure." Ash replied blankly.
"Come on, at least get off the ground." May said, pulling Ash to his feet. Ash then returned Aipom to its pokeball, who was still unconscious.
"I should probably head over to the Pokémon center. I'll meet you here later!" Ash said as he jogged off towards the road, wanting to be alone.
"Oh… ok." May said. Talking to only herself at his point as Ash was already a considerable distance away. May had really grown fond of Ash over the last week. He had been really nice to her and they had been having lots of fun together.
"Hey May, want to go grab something to eat?" Dawn said as she pulled in her car. May agreed and got in.
"Where's Ash?" Dawn asked.
"He said he was going to the Pokémon Center I think, but he said he'd meet us back here later, so maybe he has some other stuff to do." May guessed, being somewhat curious of what was going on with Ash. She did find herself thinking about him more often over the next few days, he really was a great friend.
At The Pokémon Center
"Thanks Nurse Joy." Ash said, as he was given back each of his Pokémon. Ash then went and walked around town, again finding his way back to the park and the same swing that he had been on earlier. This loss had been particularly hard on Ash, more so than many of his other losses. Not only had he blew a great chance at beating Gary, he also felt that he let everyone down. Everyone at Kanto High regarded him as one of the best, but if he couldn't even win a school tournament, then how in the world was he supposed to win the Indigo League. Many depressing thoughts ran through Ash's head as continued swinging.
"Aipom!" The Pokémon said as it was brought out of its pokeball.
"I'm sorry Aipom. It's my fault you got hurt back there. Can you forgive me?" Ash said, extending his hand, which held his hat. Aipom took the hat and placed it on its head with a squeal of happiness. It then leaped up and sat on Ash's head, looking around and enjoying its new trainers company.
"Your full of energy you know. Now if we can get you to use all that energy in battles then you'd be a star." Ash said as he stood up from the swing, causing Aipom to jump to the ground.
"Come on out Froakie. " Ash said as the small frog appeared before them.
"You to go play for awhile, I'll be waiting here." He told the two Pokémon, who ran around the park chasing each other. Ash couldn't help but smile as he watched them run around, Aipom looking particularly funny wearing his hat.
"This is just another chance for me to learn." Ash said to himself, despite the loss he began to feel a sense of pride in both himself and his Pokémon. Along with this came a feeling of new determination, a desire to get even stronger and smarter. With his newfound confidence Ash got off the swing and headed back towards Kanto High.
A Few Hours Later
"Welcome to the Kanto Dragons second home match of the year! Tonight they will be facing off against the Cerulean City Seadra's! The Seadra's are 0-3 to start the year while the Dragons are 2-0 so far. Let's begin the match!"
Ash, May, and Dawn once again meet up and went to watch the game, being joined by Richie, who had been talking to Ash when the girls arrived.
"A quick start for the Dragons! Gary Oak scores the first goal of the match, on the first possession of the match! Incredible!" The announcer shouted.
"Wow, another goal by the dragons, with Gary Oak delivering a great assist. The Seadra's defense seems to be falling apart, as the score is 2-0 in just the 7th minute!"
"Jeez, Gary sure is on a role today." Ash said, happy to see Gary excelling on the field.
"And I'm the lucky girl that can call him my boyfriend." Dawn said, obviously excited as well.
"What about you May, any new boys peak your interest?" Dawn asked, saying it intentionally loud enough so that Ash would hear. Dawn thought that Ash and May would make a cute couple, plus they had already been hanging out for a while now. Dawn hadn't teased May about Ash in a while, so she figured that now would be a good time to start again. After shrugging Dawn's comment off, May went on to talk to Ash about Torchic and his Pokémon, causing Dawn to smirk.
"And that's the game! A 5-0 blowout for the Dragons as they improve to 3-0 this season, being led by Gary Oak who finished with two goals as well as two assists of his own." The announcer said as everyone began to file out of the stands. What could Ash say, Gary was unstoppable today.
Ash was over his loss from earlier and gave Gary a chest bump when they met up after the game. The four once again decided to go out and grab something to eat before heading home.
"That's pretty cool you know. That you got to use Litten for our battle today." Ash said, still trying his hardest to bring back memories of his time in Alola.
"Oh ya, Gramps had just finished doing his research with it, so he let me take him. By the way, he told me to tell you to head over to the lab sometime, I guess he's got something new for your pokedex." Gary told him as they drove down the road towards Pallet town.
The Next Day
After school Ash dashed off back to Pallet Town, heading toward professor Oak's lab. Once he reached the entrance he didn't even bother to knock, instead just running inside to find Professor Oak just a few feet away.
"Ah hello Ash! I thought that you'd come around soon. I'm sure Gary told you that I can upgrade your pokedex for you." The man said as he was handed Ash's pokedex. After connecting it to a computer and tinkering with it some more, he handed it back to Ash.
"There you go. Now your pokedex is filled with information from Pokémon in the Alola region. Gary had told me that your pokedex hadn't been able to find anything on his Litten before, so I thought this would come in handy for you." Oak explained to him.
"Thanks professor! Ash said as checked his pokedex for any new features. He then spent the rest of his afternoon working with his Pokémon, focusing mostly on Aipom. When actually taking a battle seriously, Ash found that Aipom was actually pretty strong. Getting Aipom to focus was quite the struggle however. After nearly two hours of intense training, Ash decided to stop, deciding that he and his team were finally ready to start taking on the Kanto gym leaders.