New Rivals

"Congratulations Jimmy, Marina and Vincent. The three of you are officially registered for the Silver League!" Professor Elm smiled at his former neighbors while returning their Rotom Phones to them. The Silver League was the Kanto/Johto region's variant of the Pokemon League's professional circuit so when it came to receiving their Pokemon licenses, the three left Johto and scattered across the world in order to gain the experience that'd allow them to stand toe to toe with Johto's Gym Leaders.

Marina went to Kalos as she found the region 'romantic' and managed to convince, or rather trick, Jimmy into going as she intended on making her move. Marina had been a lot more bold about her feelings than Chloe had been with Ash and by the time the two arrived in Lumiose City, she'd managed to seduce Jimmy. Jimmy and Marina had been an item ever since but they didn't travel together, preferring to travel separately so they wouldn't be a distraction for the other. Meanwhile Vincent had gone to Kanto, him and Ash just happened to not cross paths with each other.

"Alright, Typhlosion and I are gonna win this time!" The seventeen year old wore a red and white hooded jacket while a black and gold colored cap sat atop his sleek black hair, he also wore a pair of black track pants and a pair of red/white colored sneakers. His gray color eyes filled with excitement at the thought of winning the Silver League, his personality seemed remarkably similar to a certain Pikachu trainer.

"Not if Feraligatr and I have anything to say about it!" His girlfriend flashed her boyfriend a playful smirk. Her long light blue colored hair was styled into pigtails, her teal eyes were filled with love for her boyfriend. She wore a white jacket atop a pink shirt along with a pair of light purple/black yoga pants, her sneakers bore a mixture of all the colors her other clothes had. "Don't forget that we both lost in the Lumiose Conference's semi-finals!"

The other boy hung his head, a light sigh escaped him as he stared at the floor. "I wish you'd let me forget, I had the misfortune of coming across Yellow in the elimination round!" He wore a green collared shirt along with a pair of dark green cargo pants and a pair of white/light green sneakers.

"Cheer up Vincent, you'll do better this year!" Jimmy patted his friend's shoulder. "What are the chances that somebody more skilled than us is competing? The three of us will clean house and face each other in the finals!"

"Your math's wrong." Vincent chuckled but flashed his best friend an appreciative smile. "But thanks..."

"You three are competing in the Silver League?!" Ash excitedly asked. He'd entered the lab near the end of their conversation and couldn't help but overhear it, a look of excitement crossed his face while his clenched fists shook with excitement. "I'd like to challenge the three of you to a Pokemon battle!"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cried out while pointing towards the three trainers as Vincent, Marina and Professor Elm sweated.

"Classic Ash." Chloe lightly shook her head while smiling at her boyfriend's behavior. "He can never resist an opportunity to battle."

"You're on!" Jimmy was quick to accept, his own fists clenched with excitement as his eyes locked onto Ash's.

"No thanks, I'd like to get to Violet City before the end of the week. There's still some time left before nightfall, I can get plenty of ground if I leave now." Marina dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"What? Marina you can't just refuse a challenge, it's against the Pokemon League rules!" Vincent exclaimed while retrieving said rulebook from his pocket. "You could have your trainer license taken away!"

"While that is true, Ash doesn't care about that. He isn't going to report you." Chloe informed.

Vincent's eyes grew wide as Chloe spoke up, seeming to not have noticed her before as he shot forward before dropping to one knee. "And whose this beautiful creature standing before me? The name's Vincent and I'd love to be your knight in shining armor!"

"Hey, he stole my line!" Brock hung his head.

"Croa..." Croagunk gave his trainer's back a reassuring pat.

Chloe sweated at Vincent's sudden action while Ash's eye lightly twitched. Chloe took a quick breath before giving Vincent a light push. "Sorry but I have a boyfriend!" She wrapped an arm around Ash's shoulder in an affectionate manner before planting a kiss on his cheek. "See?"

Vincent's face turned pale as he hung his head. "How come all the beautiful girls are always taken?"

"Welcome to my world." Brock spoke.

Vincent's fists clenched, his body began rapidly shaking before he shot his gaze towards Ash. "Alright then, I accept your challenge!" He exclaimed while hoping that some of Ash's luck would rub off onto him during the battle.

Marina was halfway out the door when she heard Vincent accept, she hung her head before uttering out a sigh of defeat. "I hate being the odd one out, alright then I accept as well!"

Vincent looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking up. "I just got an idea! Jimmy and Marina, you're a couple and so are Ash and Chloe so why don't the four of you perform a tag battle?"

"Sounds good to me!" Jimmy eagerly exclaimed.

"Sure, why not?" Marina lightly smiled as she turned her gaze towards Chloe.

"Are you okay with that, Chloe?" Ash asked.

"It's unexpected but sure, I don't mind. It sounds fun!"

"Eevoi!"

"Please just take this outside..." Professor Elm begged.

The large group of trainers soon found an open clearing near the edge of New Bark Town that provided plenty enough room for their battle, Brock stood on the sideline performing the role of referee while Ash and Chloe, and Jimmy and Marina stood on opposing sides of the field.

"Alright what rules do you all want to apply to the match?" Brock asked while looking between the two groups. "Will this be a standard tag battle where every trainer utilizes a singular Pokemon or shall we expand it to two Pokemon for each trainer?"

Ash and Jimmy stared at each other as if they were waiting for the other to decide. Chloe was silent as she knew the choice mattered to Ash more than it did her, whatever he chose she'd happily go along with. Though Marina was the one to speak up first.

"I say we use one Pokemon each," Marina spoke while looking towards Ash. "If you're competing in the Silver League too then that makes you our rival and I'd rather not reveal too much of my team in advance. Let's keep some things secret until the Silver League!"

Jimmy gave a light nod in response to his girlfriend's statement. "That's true, the Silver League will certainly be more exciting that way!" Jimmy looked towards the ball containing his partner Pokemon before shaking his head. 'Sorry Typhlosion, you'll get the next battle. I promise.'

"Alright with me, Pikachu I choose you!" Ash shouted.

"Let's go, Eevee!" Chloe shouted out.

"Pikachu!"

"Eevoi!" Pikachu and Eevee leaped from their trainers shoulders before landing on the battlefield.

"Chesnaught, you're up!" Jimmy shouted while flinging a Pokeball forward.

"Sylveon, time to shine!" Marina cried out while flinging forward a Pokeball of her own.

"Sylve!" The Fairy type Eeveelution cried out. That Pokemon was all too familiar with Ash and Chloe as they were well informed of what Eevee could turn into, the other Pokemon was completely unfamiliar though and honestly resembled the villain from Super Mario.

"Chesnaught!" The large turtle Pokemon roared out while slamming his fists against his chest.

"Whoa, who's that Pokemon?!" Ash asked while retrieving his Rotom Phone.

"Chesnaught the Spiny Armor Pokemon. When it takes a defensive posture with its fists guarding its face, it could withstand a bomb blast."

"So that's what Kalos' Grass starter looks like!" Ash exclaimed with an excited smirk. "It sure looks strong!"

"Chesnaught!" Chesnaught flexed his muscles.

"You bet he is!" Jimmy smirked. "Chesnaught use Wood Hammer!"

"Naught, Chesnaught!" Chesnaught turned towards a nearby tree and performed a powerful grip, fully uprooting the tree before proceeding to hurl it towards Pikachu!

"Pika!" Pikachu tried to dodge but the tree trunk flew towards him and Eevee like a truck barreling down the highway, crushing both of them beneath it's weight. "Chaaaa!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee grunted out.

"Pikachu, are you okay?"

"Eevee, you safe?" Chloe called out.

"P-Pika!" Pikachu's tail glowed a bright silver color before he proceeded to slice the tree trunk in half, allowing him to crawl out from under it. "Pika..."

"Eevoi..." Eevee crawled out after Pikachu while Ash stood frozen in place.

"W-Was that Iron Tail?" Ash pulled out his Rotom Phone to check Pikachu's moveset.

"Pikachu knows Thunderbolt, Volt Tackle, Splishy Splash, Voltage Vortex and Iron Tail!"

"Five moves...?"

"Weren't you paying attention to the news?" Marina asked with a light tilt of her head. "Ever since that big explosion happened in the Orange Islands, Pokemon are relearning old moves while others are gaining new moves all while maintaining those that they already had and going behind the standard four moves that we're used to. I heard that Cynthia's Garchomp used ten different moves during a practice battle, the League's since put a cap on how many moves a Pokemon can use in an official battle. As soon as your Pokemon's used four of their moves, they must stick with those four moves for the duration of the match otherwise they risk disqualification."

"Makes sense, I can see why they'd want to maintain a sense of balance." Brock nodded.

"And I suppose that Pikachu picked up on Iron Tail from watching Rex's Raichu perform the attack." Chloe hypothesized.

"Pika!" Pikachu gave Chloe a swift nod, confirming her suspicions though he was surprised he was able to pull it off.

"That's great, it's sure to come in handy when we fight against Lance!" Ash excitedly exclaimed.

"Not so fast, you've still got to beat me and I don't intend on losing the Silver League!" Jimmy smirked. "Now let's continue the battle!"

"Sounds good to me, Pikachu use Voltage Vortex!"

"Pika!" Pikachu's eyes began to glow a bright blue color while blue electricity crackled from his cheeks. Purple telekinetic energy began spiraling around Pikachu's body, sucking in the electricity that radiated off his body. "Pika!" Pikachu flicked his tail and sent the vortex flying towards Chesnaught and Sylveon, the vortex swiftly maneuvered towards the two Kalos Pokemon before pulling them from the ground and into the twister's grasp.

"Sylve!"

"Chesnaught!" The Pokemon flailed their arms and legs about as they were tossed about the twister while an occasional lighting blast struck and sent electricity surging through their bodies. The Pokemon cried out in pain before dropping towards the ground as the attack died out.

Sylveon was quick to hop onto her feet while Chesnaught face planted against the ground.

"Naught..."

"Play Rough!" Marina shouted out.

"Sylve!" Sylveon shot towards Eevee before pouncing, a cloud of dust surrounded the two as various slashes and strikes could be heard before Eevee was sent flying out of the dust cloud.

"Eevoi!"

"Eevee!" Chloe cried out as Eevee landed against the ground with a hard thud. Eevee laid there for a moment before slowly raising back to her feet with a light grunt.

"Alright Eevee let's try..." Chloe paused for a moment before shouting out an attack. "Quick Attack!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee turned back towards her trainer and nodded in response while giving her a quick wink.

"Huh?" Chloe blinked as Eevee never behaved like that before.

"Eevoi!" A golden glow surrounded Eevee's body as she shot across the field, the golden energy only intensified as she closed in on her opponent. "Eevoi!" A massive explosion occurred as Eevee slammed into her opponent, sending Sylveon flying through the air!

"Sylve!" Sylveon cried out before faceplanting against the ground, swirls formed within her eyes as she collapsed in an unconscious heap.

"S-Sylveon's unable to battle." Brock was lightly stunned by the new attack but managed to make the call.

Ash and Chloe's eyes widened as they stared at Eevee who cheerfully leaped about as she celebrated her victory.

"W-What attack was that?!" Ash gasped out.

"I-I honestly have no idea..." Chloe gasped.

"Don't look at me, I don't know what that attack is either." Ash's Rotom Phone stated. "I'm guessing Eevee finally learned another of those 'special' moves that Pikachu and her keep picking up."

Chloe glanced back towards Eevee as a thoughtful expression crossed her face. 'Why now? It's been months since her and Pikachu gained a unique move.' She thought. 'What do I even call this one?!'

"That move was pretty cool but don't forget about our battle," Jimmy smirked while throwing out his arm. "Chesnaught use Hammer Arm!"

"Chesnaught!" Chesnaught's fist became engulfed in a bright white glow as he took a swing at Pikachu.

"Dodge and counter with Iron Tail!"

"Pi!" Pikachu swiftly rolled out of the way before leaping up, his tail glowed a bright silver color as he took a swing. "PIKA!" He slammed his glowing tail against Chesnaught's forehead, the large Grass type went cross eyed before promptly dropping to his side as a defeated groan escaped his lips.

"Naught..."

"Chesnaught is unable to battle which means that the match goes to Ash and Chloe!" Brock exclaimed.

"Alright way to go, Pikachu!" Ash praised his partner.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu leaped into the air as he cheered.

"You were great too, Chloe! That new move was pretty amazing." Ash grinned.

"Thank you Ash," Chloe blushed brightly while still debating some names for the new attack in her head before the two of them shared a kiss on the lips.

Jimmy and Marina returned their Pokemon to their Pokeballs while Vincent tapped his foot as an impatient expression formed across his face. "I hope you lovebirds aren't forgetting about me, Ash and I are supposed to battle too!"

"Oh sorry," Ash lightly blushed from embarrassment as he and Chloe pulled away from each other. "Same as before? The two of us use a single Pokemon?"

"Yeah, it's getting kind of late." Vincent nodded while forming a light smirk as he grabbed a Pokeball. "Yanmega let's do this!"

"Yan yan!" A massive dark green dragonfly Pokemon burst out and fluttered in the air.

"Oh just look at that cutie!" Hearts filled Jessie's eyes as she shouted out.

"Ah, Jess!" James and Meowth quickly covered Jessie's mouth so she wouldn't give them away. The three were still keeping tabs on Ash as they were still unsure on what they should do at the moment, stalking Ash was all they knew.

"Yanmega the Ogre Darner Pokemon, This six-legged Pokemon is easily capable of transporting an adult in flight. The wings on its tail help it stay balanced."

Ash put his Rotom Phone away and reached for his belt. "Alright Heracross, I choose you!"

"Heracross!" The muscular blue beetle flashed his opponent a smirk as he burst out.

"Air Slash!" Vincent shouted out.

"Yan yan!" Yanmega rapidly flapped his wings while several light blue energy blades shot out and flew towards Heracross before making contact with him.

"Cross!" Heracross grunted out.

"Seismic Toss!"

"Cross!" Heracross flew towards Yanmega and formed a tight grip on him before lifting the pair off the ground, Heracross began rapidly flying in a loop before hurling Yanmega towards the ground below!

"Yan!" Yanmega grunted out as his body slammed against the dirt.

"Ancient Power!" Vincent ordered.

"Dodge with Aerial Ace!"

"Cross!" Heracross swiftly dodged as he maneuvered across the field before tossing himself at his opponent. Yanmega uttered out a light grunt as he began losing momentum.

"Yan..."

"Air Slash!"

"Endure!"

"Cross!" Heracross firmly planted his feet against the ground as the attack soared towards him, he began tiring out but remained standing as the attack died out. "Heracross..." He flashed his opponent a smirk.

"Now finish this with Megahorn!" Ash shouted while throwing his arm forward.

"Cross!" Heracross' horn glowed green and began increasing in size as he charged towards his opponent before thrusting his horn at him, slamming his horn atop Yanmega's head!

"Yan!" Yanmega grunted as he fell from the sky before going limp as he laid against the battlefield. "Yan..."

"Yanmega's no longer able to battle meaning that the victory goes to Ash and Heracross!" Brock declared.

"Alright Ash!" Chloe cheered.

"Eeevoi!"

"Good job, Heracross!" Ash praised his newest team member.

"Cross!" Heracross smirked as he returned to his Pokeball.

"I-I can't believe I just lost..." Vincent stared at the ground as he returned Yanmega to his ball. He was quick to collect himself as he looked back up while offering a light smile. "Ash you better watch out cause next time I'm going to win!"

"We'll see about that, you won't be the only one getting stronger!" Ash eagerly shouted out before the two shook hands.

"Heh, I'll be seeing you at the Silver League then."

"Don't forget about us, we didn't use our strongest Pokemon." Marina teased with a playful smirk.

"Yeah, we've still got some big players that you haven't seen yet!" Jimmy grinned.

"I didn't forget, I'm looking forward to facing off against all three of you! I can't wait to see what other Pokemon you all have!" Ash excitedly exclaimed.

"Pika pi!"

A younger brunette watched the group from afar, her hand gently rubbed her family's pet Marill as she uttered out a longing sigh. "I can't wait until I'm old enough to get out there..."

After saying their goodbyes to Jimmy, Marina, and Vincent, Ash and his friends headed back to Professor Elm's lab to see if he could open up the GS ball.

"Hey Professor, we're back!"

"Hm? Oh hey Ash, I thought you'd be back. You forgot to register for the Silver League." Professor Elm casually stated while continuing to look over his research.

"...How do you know my name? We've never met before today."

"Oh, Professor Oak mentioned you as a 'rather excitable and energetic teenager with a striking resemblance to Red Ketchum'. He also mentioned you always have a Pikachu on your shoulder and wear a hat."

Ash frowned as he felt the top of his head, he really missed that hat. He wore it every day for nearly ten years, it felt so strange walking around without it. Though it did make him appreciate that Giovanni feared that happening and chose against giving him a Mega Hat, he'd be locked out of Mega Evolution if he'd lost his Keystone. Thankfully that wouldn't be happening as his Mega Glove was made out of some powerful indestructible material, he didn't understand the whole science behind it but that's what Giovanni told him.

"Oh... well yeah, I'd like to register for the Silver League please!" Ash fished his Rotom Phone out of his pocket before handing it over to him. "But after that I've got something I want you to look at, before he passed Professor Oak wanted me to retrieve something referred to as the GS ball. I've got it in my bag but I never had the chance to give it to him, he never did get to open it or see what was inside and... I'd like to honor his memory by finding a way to open it! I was wondering if you could help me open it, Professor Cerise and Professor Ivy both failed to open it and Cerise suggested that you might know some ideas as-"

"Professor Oak may have taught me everything but rest assured I also taught myself some tricks as well!" Professor Elm boasted. "If anyone can open it, it's me!" Professor Elm returned the Rotom Phone to Ash before holding out his hand. "Hand it over and I'll try my best!"

"Arceus damn it, I tried everything but I can't get this cursed thing to happen!" Professor Elm gritted his teeth as he tried prying the GS ball open with a crowbar but to no avail. His precious technology failed so he resorted to old and outdated methods. "...You know what? When in doubt," Professor Elm opened his desk and withdrew a hammer.

"NO!" Ash, Brock and Chloe shouted out as Professor Elm brought the hammer down upon the ball only for the hammer to comedically bounce off and bonk Professor Elm's forehead causing him to fall onto his back.

"Ow..." Professor Elm groaned out while rubbing his forehead. "Sorry kid, we've been at this for five hours and I tried everything! I'm fresh out of ideas, I'm not sure if you will ever be able to-Oh wait!" Professor Elm quickly reached into his pocket and withdrew a cyan colored Rotom Phone. "Rotom, run a search on Kurt Gantetsu."

"Searching... searching... Kurt Gantetsu, Pokeball craftsmanship expert. Creator of the special Apricot Pokeballs sought by trainers far and wide, current residence... Azalea Town."

"Apricot Pokeballs?" Ash questioned.

"I think I heard of those." Brock spoke up. "Aren't they designed to help catch Pokemon for different circumstances?"

"Right," Professor Elm nodded. "If you wished to catch a Snorlax or something else that was insanely heavy, you'd want to use a Heavy Ball while a Fast Ball will help you catch a light footed and fast Pokemon such as Pikachu and Sneasel. Lure Balls help you catch Water type Pokemon while the Love Ball, well that helps you catch the opposite gender of the Pokemon you have in use." Elm sweated.

"Didn't some company buy the rights to those?" Chloe asked. "I could have sworn I saw those in the Celadon Department Store."

"The Phoenix Foundation, yep. The demand for Apricot Pokeballs was high worldwide and Kurt wasn't willing to export so Ezekiel offered him a hefty sum for the rights. Though if you ask me, Kurt simply wanted to retire. Why don't you take the GS ball to Kurt? He knows Pokeball mechanics better than anyone else alive, especially as this was obviously handmade and not made in a factory." Elm stated while handing the GS ball back to Ash.

"Azalea Town, isn't one of the Gyms there?" Ash asked while turning to Chloe as she pulled out her Rotom Phone.

"Yep! The best way to get there is to head west to Cherrygrove City then north to Violet City, home to another Pokemon Gym, before heading south. It's quite some way but we'll eventually get there!"

"Then that's what we'll do!" Ash clenched his fists while turning back to Elm.

"Thanks again, Professor!"

"Don't mention it, just promise that you'll tell me what's inside. I must admit that my curiosity is piqued!"

"Of course, we'll tell you as soon as we can!" Ash couldn't wait to unravel the mystery of the GS ball and learn what was inside. 'I hope that it's a powerful Pokemon, I'd love to battle it!' He thought while being unaware that he was being watched and not by the usual suspects, Masked Man stood cloaked outside the lab's window with the assistance of his trusty Dusknoir. His eyes fixated upon the GS ball as fire burned within his eyes.

"It will be mine..."

Jimmy is Ethan/Gold, I went with the Legend of Thunder names for them. Jimmy and Gloria are the only Game Protag rivals that Ash will have. Brendan/Lucas are dead and an OC trainer is filling their roles(Lyra is his age so Ash would stomp her, no rivalry). Hilbert and Calem are gone and Hilda will be a rookie trainer that Ash mentors, so no rivalry there. Rei will most likely exist but he's not a rival

If there happens to be a new protag next series in place of Ash(Press X to doubt) or the fandom gives the protag a fun personality like they did with Gloria, I may change that and make the gen 9 character a rival after Paul and Gloria have their turn in the spotlight.

Is that all the rivals for Johto? No, there's still one left. It's one of the canon ones and my personal favorite, go go Electabuzz! :)

I always wanted the Apricot Pokeballs to be available in the other regions, not just in the sense of "Here's one and that is all you get!" or 'Mystery gift', but like an actual way to obtain them in a steady manner! So that's why I made the change

And Pikachu's iconic Iron Tail finally joins the move set! I hope you all enjoyed it, until next time! :D