Pokemon Poacher Showdown

A beautiful white colored Ponyta uttered out a neigh of distress as her cage was loaded up onto a helicopter's cargo bay. It's soft wooly mane greatly resembled cotton candy as it was a mixture of light blue/purple with the fur looking just as soft as the substance. "Pony!"

"Oi, shut it!" Pokemon Hunter A slammed his fist against the bars of the cage.

"Drapio..." The scarred Drapion growled out while clashing his pincers together.

"No, we need this one alive!" Pokemon Hunter A firmly spoke while shaking his head. A filthy rich Unovan was offering top dollar for a Galarian Ponyta as his daughter wanted one for her birthday. "There's not much demand for it's pelt and it was trouble enough trapping this one. It's almost as if it knew I was evil." The poacher climbed into the helicopter's cockpit and closed the cargo bay doors before activating his navigation device. "Alright next stop, Cast-"

"Pokemon Hunter A, good to see you again!" A screen lit up to reveal a figure cloaked in shadow, their voice distorted beyond recognition. "I've got a contract for you."

Pokemon Hunter A glanced back towards Ponyta before looking towards the screen. "Already got one, sorry. This one's too much of a pain in my backside to ignore."

"I'll triple your usual pay."

The Pokemon poacher perked up at that. "Go on,"

"There's been sightings of a rare and unusually small Noctowl in Cherrygrove Forest with some even reporting it to be a shiny Pokemon. I want it."

"A shiny? Then I take it that you want this one alive." Pokemon Hunter A smirked.

"Obviously, don't you dare eliminate it! It's worthless to my collection if it's dead."

"Alright aright, keep your shirt on." Pokemon Hunter A turned off the screen before turning back to Drapion as he flashed his partner a smirk. "This score is gonna make us rich!"

"Drapion!"

"Nooo, not my top percentage Rattata!"

"Way to go, Froakie! You were great out there!" Ash praised the Kalos starter shortly after his opponent's Rattata dropped to the ground in defeat. Froakie's Water Pulse attack having made short work of it.

"Froakie!" Froakie beamed up at his trainer before staring off with a look of determination as he hoped they'd cross paths with another trainer soon so he'd get more experience!

Ash chuckled as he seemed to know what Froakie was hoping for, that's the same look he always had after a battle. "It doesn't work that way Froakie, another trainer isn't going to just appear out of thin air."

"Hold it right there, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!"

"Ganu!" A Pokemon cried out.

"Huh?" Ash turned around to see a girl his age that wore quite the unusual attire as she appeared to be wearing a Electabuzz striped baseball jacket and hat. A large green dinosaur stood next to the girl, a large flower circled around the base of the Pokemon's neck while two yellow antennas sat atop it's head. "Whoa, who's that Pokemon?"

"Meganium the Herb Pokemon and the fully evolved form of Chikorita, the fragrance of Meganium's flower soothes and calms emotions. In battle this Pokemon gives off more of its becalming scent to blunt the foe's fighting spirit."

"That's a cool Pokemon!"

"Pika pi!"

"Ganu!" Meganium beamed at the compliment.

"So do you accept our challenge?" The girl asked while twirling a baseball bat. "My team and I need to get in some practice."

"My team and I are always eager for a battle!" Ash excitedly shouted out while clenching his fists. "We accept your challenge!"

"Pika pi!"

"Froakie!"

"Heh, with an attitude like that you'd make a perfect pitcher for the Electabuzz baseball team!" Casey smirked. "We'll use three Pokemon each and whoever strikes out for lose!"

"...So if I beat your first Pokemon it's over?" Ash tilted his head as he didn't understand baseball terminology.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu scratched his ear while tilting his head.

Brock sweated. "No Ash, in baseball you need to fail three times to 'strike out'. She's saying whoever loses three Pokemon first will lose."

"Ah, sounds good to me then!" Ash smirked while clenching his fists.

"Pika pi!"

"Alright Beedrill, it's your turn at the bat!" Casey shouted while swatting a Pokeball forward with her baseball bat.

"Bzzz!" The Beedrill lashed his stingers out at the air as he burst from his Pokeball.

"Beedrill!" Ash's eyes lit up. He had plenty of experience dealing with the Pokemon as he had one of his own back at Professor Cerise's lab. "Alright Froakie, I choose you!"

"Froakie!" Froakie leaped onto the battlefield before proceeding to form a combat stance. "Froak!"

"Poison Jab!" Casey shouted out.

"Bzzz!" The tip of Beedrill's stinger glowed a poisonous shade of purple as he lashed out at Froakie.

"Bounce!"

"Froakie!" Froakie leaped into the air before proceeding to slam his feet down against the bee Pokemon's head! "Froak!"

"Bzzz!" Beedrill grunted out.

"Don't sweat it Beedrill, try again with Pin Missile!"

"Bzzz!" An array of glowing needles shot from Beedrill's body and pierced Froakie's skin!

"Froa!" Froakie grunted out as he was knocked back by the attack.

"Froakie use Water Pulse!"

"Froakie!" Froakie shot a large pulse of water towards Beedrill, soaking the Bug type upon impact.

"B-Bzzz..." Beedrill weakly groaned as he fell towards the ground before coming to a full collapse as swirls formed within his eyes.

"Alright Froakie!" Ash cheered.

"Froakie!" Froakie beamed.

"Strike one for me..." Casey sighed while returning Beedrill to his ball. "Don't worry Beedrill, I'm sure you'll have better luck next time. Electabuzz, it's your turn at bat!" She cried while swatting another ball forward with her baseball bat.

"Electabuzz!" The Electric type Pokemon cried as he burst from the ball.

"Huh, Ash's rivals sure seem to have a knack for using Electabuzz." Chloe noted. Gary and Flash both owned an Electabuzz and now Ash made another rival that had one on their team.

Ash lightly gritted his teeth at the sight, he usually wasn't the sort to care about disadvantage but Electabuzz had Froakie outclassed and outgunned as the Electric type appear to be quite experienced in comparison to Beedrill.

"Froakie return and rest up, we'll continue training later!" Ash returned Froakie to his ball before swiftly reaching out for another ball. "Tyranitar I choose you!"

Brock and Chloe both tensed up. 'Tyranitar, isn't that a bit extreme?' Chloe sweated.

"Ice Punch!"

"Electa!" Electabuzz's fist turned an icy blue as he took a swing at Tyranitar before punching the Pokemon's chest. "Buzz!"

Tyranitar uttered out a light grunt and slid back a few inches but appeared to be perfectly fine.

"Stone Edge!"

"Tyra!" Tyranitar roared out. Multiple jagged stones erupted from the ground and raced towards Electabuzz before closing in on him.

"E-Electa!" Electabuzz cried out as the rocks formed together and sandwiched him between them. His hands rapidly shook before going limp as swirls formed within his eyes. "Buzzz..."

'Heh, I guess that was a bit extreme...' Ash thought to himself, sweating lightly as he silently returned Tyranitar to his Pokeball.

Casey hung her head for a moment. "Strike two, okay take a deep breath Casey this isn't over yet..." She told herself, taking a deep breath before shooting back up with a smile as she thrusted his arm out.

"Meganium it's your turn at bat!"

"Ganu!" Meganium raced forward.

"Sceptile I choose you!"

"Tile!" Sceptile burst from his ball and locked his eyes onto his opponent. The two rivaling Grass starters gave each other a light leer as they awaited their orders.

"Ganu!" A flurry of bright pink petals flew towards Sceptile and began pelting against his body.

"Tile..." Sceptile grunted out.

"X-Scissor!"

"Sceptile!" Sceptile crossed his arms in an x-formation before slashing at his opponent as he raced towards them.

"Ganu!" Meganium cried out as Sceptile slashed at his body.

"Sunny Day then follow up with Solar Beam!" Casey shouted out.

"Ganu!" Meganium began basking in the sunlight as it shined brightly upon the battlefield. "Ganu..." A bright beam of solar energy fired from his mouth and soared towards Sceptile before making contact with his body.

"Tile!" Sceptile grunted out.

"Alright Sceptile let's use Leaf Blade!"

"Sceptile!" Sceptile's arm blades glowed bright green as he shot forward and slashed across Meganium's neck.

"Ganu..." Meganium weakly groaned as he collapsed onto his side while swirls formed within his eyes.

"Aw, we struck out!" Casey hung her head before perking up as she heard Ash making his approach, a smile formed across his face as he offered his hand to her.

"That was a great battle!"

"Yeah, I guess it was. Next time will be different though, my team and I are going to do plenty of practice while scouting out new members!" Casey smiled as she accepted Ash's hand with the two soon shaking.

"I look forward to it, name's Ash Ketchum by the way!"

"Casey, it's good to meet you Ash."

Pokemon Hunter A's helicopter flew over Cherrygrove Forest, the Pokemon poacher reached for his controls as he prepared to make a landing but he'd soon find his passageway blocked as a Salamence flew directly in front of the helicopter.

"Sala!" The fierce looking Salamence roared out.

Pokemon Hunter A gritted his teeth as he knew it had to be one of his rival poachers since Salamence weren't native to the Kanto/Johto regions. But which one was the question as Salamence was favored by Pokemon poachers throughout the world. Though he'd soon receive his answer as Salamence jerked his head to the side, revealing an older woman that had short silver hair and a stone cold expression, her eyes hidden behind a pair of goggles.

"Pokemon Hunter A, we meet again." She coldly spoke.

"Oh great, it's the bitch." A muttered beneath his breath. "What do you want, J?"

"I came to warn you to stay away, somebody is paying me top dollar for that shiny Noctowl and I can't afford to let you ruin that for me."

"Ain't happening, lady. Somebody is paying me triple the usual rate for it!"

"I'm serious, back off now. I'll kill you if you don't." J warned.

A knew full well that J wasn't bluffing so he reached for a ball and hurled it out the window. "Not if I kill ya first, Metagross use Meteor Mash!"

"META!" A scarred Metagross burst out and lunged towards it's prey, it's legs shined a bright blue color as he began rapidly punching out at his target.

J's expression didn't change as she raised the sleeve of her jacket to reveal a Mega Ring, a bright pink light engulfed Salamence's body before quickly fading to reveal Mega Salamence. The Mega Dragon countered with a powerful stream of fire as Metagross punched at it.

"M-Meta..." Metagross' eyes began to drift shut as he lost consciousness. "Meta..." Metagross fell towards the ground as he fully lost consciousness, leaving Pokemon Hunter A vulnerable.

"Gah!"

"Hyper Beam." J coldly ordered.

"Drapio!" Drapion lunged forward and wrapped his body around his trainer, offering him a layer of protection as the orange-yellow beam shot towards the helicopter's engine. A loud explosion could be heard as the engine blew up, the helicopter began rapidly spinning as it descended towards the ground below where it landed with a loud and heavy thud. J stared down at the helicopter as it burst into flames, a light smirk soon spread across her face.

"Okay Salamence, let's move on. That Noctowl is around here somewhere."

"Sala!"

Drapion rolled out of the wreckage as Salamence flew away and began uncurling himself revealing that his owner was still very much alive. "Ow..." Pokemon Hunter A lightly held his side as he glanced towards the flaming wreckage. "That's going to be expensive to replace."

A desperate sounding neigh could be heard within the wreckage, Pokemon Hunter A glanced back and uttered out a grunt of annoyance. "Oh right, that Ponyta... I-I'll just... leave it. Best get out of here before she comes back..." A began limping away, Drapion stumbling alongside him as they left Ponyta to her fate.

Brock and Chloe were setting up camp for the night while Ash had gone off in search of more Pokemon. Brock was tossing ingredients into his pot as a fire brewed beneath it while Chloe was setting up the tents. Chloe hummed a light tune as she hammered away at the ground.

"Eevoi?" Eevee's ear lightly twitched as she picked up a distant cry for help. "Eevoi!" Eevee cried out as she tried warning Chloe.

"Huh?" Chloe turned towards her partner Pokemon and noticed her prancing about in an excited manner as if she wanted to tell her something. "What's wrong, Eevee? Are you hungry?"

"Eevoi?!" Eevee gave her trainer a light glare while snapping out. "Eevoi!" She turned and raced into the forest, knowing that Chloe was bound to follow as she went in search of the Pokemon in peril.

"Eevee wait up!" Chloe dropped everything and quickly raced after her beloved partner. Eevee and Chloe raced across the forest for several minutes before coming across the crashed helicopter. "Whoa, where did that come from?"

The desperate neigh sounded from within causing Chloe to gasp out. "Is that what you were trying to tell me about?"

"Eevoi!"

"Well we can't just let it stay in there, the thing looks like it's about to blow!" Chloe reached for her belt before tossing a ball forward. "Omastar help us out!"

"Omastar!" Omastar burst from his ball and promptly fired off a pulse of water at the fire, making a safe path for Chloe and the Pokemon. Omastar followed along Chloe and Eevee as they slowly and carefully walked into the wreckage. The Pokemon didn't come out on it's own so they could only assume it was trapped or injured. The caged Ponyta quickly came into view, eagerly neighing out at the sight of Chloe and the Pokemon.

Chloe's eyes were quick to widen at the sight of the unusual Ponyta but she wasn't going to let the fact distract her from the current situation. "Nidoqueen help us break apart these bars!"

"Nido!" Nidoqueen burst out and reached for the bars. "Queen!" She ripped the bars apart allowing for Ponyta to go free.

Ponyta uttered out an appreciative neigh and leaped out of the cage, she quickly galloped away only to faceplant against the ground a few feet from Chloe. Chloe noticed some markings on Ponyta's hindlegs, it was clear that the Pokemon had suffered some injuries from the crash and wouldn't be able to walk on her own. Chloe stepped forward before leaning forward in order to get a good grip on Ponyta, it was a bit heavy but still close enough in weight to the Pokemon food that her family bought for Yamper. Chloe and the Pokemon hurried out of the helicopter before making their way back to camp. Brock was still brewing his stew when he caught sight of Ponyta from the corner of his eye, he promptly dropped his spoon and rushed to the side of camp to fetch his medical kit.

"What's wrong with her?" He asked while making his approach.

"I-I'm not sure, her legs sustained an injury of some sort as she can't walk properly... but I'm not sure if anything else is wrong with her." Chloe frowned.

"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll have her good as new in no time!"

"Aw, I can't believe that Dunsparce got away!" Ash hung his head, a look of disappointment clearly visible across his face.

"Hoot?"

"Dunsparce, you saw it. Don't tell me that you forgot?" Ash turned to Pikachu.

"Pika?" Pikachu shook his head before pointing to a tree branch that sat above their heads. A small and unusually colored Noctowl stared down at them from atop the branch.

"Hoot?"

"A Noctowl!" Ash excitedly exclaimed. He recalled Danny mentioning how the species could learn a diverse range of attacks, a Pokemon like that would make a great addition to his team! "Pikachu use Thunderbolt, low power."

"Pika!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he sent a bolt of lightning towards the tree branch, Noctowl barely had time to react before he was struck by the electrical blast.

"Hoot!" Noctowl screeched as electricity surged through his veins though it appeared that Noctowl had some experience as the attack wasn't enough to outright defeat it.

"Hooot!" Noctowl's eyes glowed a light blue color, a similar glow surrounded Pikachu and hurled him across the clearing.

"Pi!" Pikachu quickly corrected himself before flashing Noctowl a light glare.

"That had to be Psychic... alright Pikachu let's use-"

A golden blast fired towards Noctowl and struck him from behind, Noctowl uttered out a light gasp as his body slowly and painfully froze up while a layer of golden coating covered it up.

"H-Hooot!" Noctowl cried before going silent as his head turned to gold.

"What?!" Ash gasped before quickly his gaze towards the source of the blast. J calmly walked into view and picked up the frozen Noctowl as if Ash weren't even there. Mega Salamence stood behind her, uttering out a light growl while offering Ash and Pikachu a glare that sent shivers flowing down their spines. The Salamence definitely had a powerful aura about him. "Hey you can't just do that to a Pokemon, it's inhumane!"

"Pika pi!" Ash and Pikachu snapped.

J gave them a hard look before turning her back to them as she began walking away, seemingly passing Ash off as some kid that wasn't worth her time.

"That does it, Pikachu use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikachuuu!" Pikachu fired an electric bolt at J's back causing the Pokemon hunter to let out a pained shriek as the frozen Noctowl fell from her grasp and rolled to the side of the clearing.

"Oh you're going to regret that kid, Mega Salamence destroy him!"

"Sala!" Mega Salamence swooped towards Pikachu, preparing to chomp down on the Electric mouse's head!

"Oh no you don't, Charizard I choose you!"

"Char!" Charizard burst out and promptly slashed Salamence across the face with Dragon Claw, saving Pikachu from potentially becoming it's lunch!

"Sala..." Salamence gritted his teeth while locking eyes with Charizard.

Ash swiftly reached for his Mega Glove before activating it causing a pink glow to envelop Charizard's body before Mega Charizard X came into view, Ash not having switched out the Mega stones as there hadn't really been another reason to utilize Mega Evolution up to that point.

"Charizard let's show this poacher what a true bond looks like, Mega Evolve!"

"Char!" Charizard promptly fired off a large stream of blue fire towards his target as the light faded from his body.

"Sala!" Salamence grunted.

"Hyper Beam!"

"Sala!" The familiar orange-yellow energy blast fired from Mega Salamence's mouth and blasted Mega Charizard X back.

"Char..."

Ash's eyes widened as he noticed Charizard take a sizeable amount of damage from the attack. He had no idea who this mysterious woman was but she was way stronger than any Team Rocket member he'd come across. "Dragon Pulse!"

"Char!" Mega Charizard X fired off a multicolored dragon shaped energy beam towards his opponent with the attack exploding against Salamence's face!"

"Sala!"

"Fire another one, quickly!"

"You fire one as well!" J ordered.

"Huh?" Ash blinked before gasping out as he jaw Mega Salamence fire off a Dragon Pulse that met up with Mega Charizard X's second Dragon Pulse. She really was quite the skilled trainer as only experienced trainers such as Lance could have Pokemon recover quickly after the use of a Hyper Beam, heck Ash only managed to knock a few seconds off his Pokemon's usual recharge rate while Salamence recovered within a full minute!

The two Mega's put all their might into their attacks, the two energy pulses pushed against each other for a few moments but it didn't take long for one to give.

"Char?!"

"Pika?!"

"What the-?!" Even Ash himself was surprised as Charizard's Dragon Pulse was sent flying back towards him before it exploded against his face!

"Char!" Charizard dropped to a knee and weakly groaned out as the pink light engulfed his body, reverting him back to normal. He soon collapsed against the ground as swirls formed within his eyes.

"Charizard!"

"Kill it, teach the boy a lesson not to interfere again." J coldly spoke.

"Sala!" Salamence rushed towards Charizard, his fangs barred as he prepared to sink his teeth into Charizard.

"Iron Tail!"

"Pi!" Pikachu swung his glowing tail at Salamence's face, knocking a tooth right out of the Mega Pokemon's mouth!

"Sala... Salamence!" Salamence's eyes glowed a fiery red as rage flowed through him.

"You really don't know when to give up, don't you?" J sighed. "Salamence use Dragon-" J went silent as police sirens sounded off nearby. "Salamence, time to retreat."

"Sala." Salamence lumbered back to his trainer and lowered his back so she could climb aboard.

"You're not getting away, Pikachu use-" J quickly turned around and fired a golden energy beam from her gauntlet, freezing Pikachu solid!

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out with concern for his partner, quickly dropping to his knees while tears began pouring from his eyes as he believed his best friend to be dead. J and Salamence flew away while a police jeep roared onto the scene.

"Shoot, she got away!" Officer Jenny growled out as she leaped from her seat, giving the side of the jeep a kick as she vented out some frustration. She was about to hop back in when she heard the distinct sound of somebody crying. Officer Jenny turned her head and took notice of Ash, the unconscious Charizard and the frozen Pikachu which currently laid within the teenager's arm. Officer Jenny frowned as she felt sympathy for him, she too thought her beloved Growlithe had died when she came across Hunter J years ago. Officer Jenny calmly walked forward and reached out before digging her nails into Pikachu's golden coat, ripping it right off as if it were a layer of plastic!

"Pika!" Pikachu took a deep breath.

"Pikachu!" Ash uttered out a gasp of relief as he pulled Pikachu in for a warm embrace. "I'm so glad that you're okay, I was worried that you-!"

"Pika!" Pikachu nuzzled against Ash's cheek. "I'll never leave you, Ash!"

"Praise Arceus, I thought Pikachu died!" James cried.

"He sure got lucky..." Jessie spoke while wiping away a tear.

"Wobbu wobbu!" Wobbuffet cried.

"Are the two of ya crazy? They'd never kill Pikachu off, he's too important to Ash!" Meowth reminded them while wiping away some tears of his own.

"Kid, I'd recommend that you stay away from Hunter J from now on. She's too ruthless, you could have gotten killed!" Officer Jenny exclaimed.

"I wasn't going to just let her go away, she killed Nocto-Oh Arceus, Noctowl!" Realizing that Noctowl was still alive he quickly raced across the field and scooped the owl into his arms before pulling away the golden coating.

"Hoot!" Noctowl gasped as air began returning to his lungs. The owl turned towards Ash and offered him an appreciative look upon realizing that he was his savior. "Hoot!"

"Pika pi!"

"You're welcome, Noctowl." Ash smiled at the owl Pokemon while releasing him from his grasp. "You're free to go now." He figured it wouldn't be right to get back to battling him after the traumatic experience Noctowl experienced. Noctowl spread his wings and took off into the air as he flew off. Noctowl was high above the trees before he took a glance back at Ash, Noctowl's eyes glowed bright blue as curiosity struck the owl. He plucked his way through Ash's mind and saw all the things that Ash had done along with how he inspired to the 'the very best like nobody ever was' and his aspirations towards becoming a Pokemon Master!

A smile formed across Noctowl's beak as he swooped downwards before perching atop Ash's shoulder. "Hoot!"

"Huh? Are you saying that you want to come with us?" Ash questioned, shock lined his face as he honestly expected Noctowl to not come back.

"Hoot!" Noctowl gave Ash a firm nod while offering a light smile.

Ash grinned as he reached for an empty Pokeball. "Welcome to the team, Noctowl!"

"Hooot!" Noctowl excitedly chirped as he gave the ball a quick peck, a beam of bright red light engulfed his body as he was sucked into the Pokeball. The ball shook within Ash's grasp before chiming out to announce the capture's success!

"Alright, we just caught a Noctowl!"

"Char!" Charizard shot a stream of fire into the air as he regained consciousness.

"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu posed alongside Ash before the ball whisked itself away to Professor Cerise's laboratory. The two couldn't wait to start training alongside their new partner. Though it didn't take long for their thoughts to drift towards the Pokemon Hunter J, just who was that mysterious and powerful poacher?

"Oh wow, who's that Pokemon?" Ash was quick to ask upon returning to camp. "Is that a Johtonian Ponyta?!"

"No, there's no such thing as a 'Johtonian' Ponyta." His Rotom Phone was quick to correct him.

Chloe sweated lightly as she shook her head. "No, it's actually a Galarian Ponyta. I'm guessing it was brought here by a poacher." She ran her hands through Ponyta's colorful mane while a look of concerned formed upon her face. "I wonder if she'll survive if we set her free, Galar's forests are significantly different than Kanto/Johto's."

Ponyta uttered out a pleasant sounding neigh as she rubbed affectionately against Chloe's legs.

Brock formed a light smirk. "Why don't you catch her then? She sure seems to like you!"

"Yeah, it has been awhile since you caught something!"

"Pika pi!"

Chloe gazed down into Ponyta's eyes while continuing to lightly stroke her fluffy mane. "What do you think, Ponyta? It's as much your choice as it is mine but I should war-" Chloe tried to warn Ponyta that the forest wouldn't be close to what she was used to but Ponyta eagerly reached out with a hoof and touched a ball before she could react. The ball opened up and sucked Ponyta inside, the ball bounced three times before chiming out to signal the capture!

"Ponyta the Unique Horn Pokemon, this Pokemon will look into your eyes and read the contents of your heart. If it finds evil there, it promptly hides away."

"W-Well looks like we just caught a Ponyta!" Chloe sweated.

"Eevoi!" Eevee sweated while Ponyta's ball whisked itself away to Cerise's lab.

"Good work, Hunter J." A voice spoke from Hunter J's computer screen.

"Good work, is that sarcasm? I clearly failed, I'm only calling you to inform that I'm wiring your advance back." J was heartless but she still valued her reputation, it was important to keep her customers happy.

"No need, you did exactly what I wanted to." The voice now spoke from behind her causing J to quickly swing around, her gauntlet raised up as she prepared to fire it. Her gauntlet pressed directly against Masked Man's masked forehead but the man didn't appear to flinch as he continued speaking. "I knew that if you stirred up trouble that Ketchum boy would come running, I merely wanted to see how you fared against him in a fight."

"But why go to all that trouble, why not simply tell me? It's not like I haven't killed somebody before." J questioned in her usual cold fashion.

"Because I don't want to kill him, not yet. And I don't want him to suspect anything. You proved yourself his superior today and as such I'd like to offer you an extension of your services."

"Extension of my services?" J raised an eyebrow. "I don't mean to judge but you're not like my usual customers, what could you possibly want my help with?"

"Did you ever hear the tragedy of the Burned Tower?"

J was rather silent.

"I thought not, it's not something a foreigner like yourself would know. A long long time ago, three Pokemon known as Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon helped guard the Brass Tower ensuring that nobody tried to harm or capture the Pokemon rumored to perch atop the tower. One day the tower was set ablaze by cultists that sought 'revenge' for their deceased leader, intending on getting back at Ho-oh by killing his best friend. The Legendary managed to escape but his friends didn't have the same fortune, they all died."

"Get on with it."

The Masked Man ignored her. "Ho-oh found the three and brought them to life by blessing them with some of his powers. The three Pokemon now act as protectors and guardians of Johto's legendary and mythical Pokemon along with assisting standard Pokemon and life in Suicune's case, running across the region to help out wherever they can but I've found some locations that the three beasts frequent." Masked Man casually placed a map into her pocket. "Those beasts are now known as Suicune, Entei and Raikou. I want you to catch them for me, no matter the cost so long as you bring them in alive. I'll pay you ten million Pokedollars each, fifty for the entire lot."

"That's a lot of zeroes..." Hunter J formed a light smirk as she shook his hand. "Alright, you've got a deal!"

The Masked Man gained a new ally today and Ash will have to overcome her if he wishes to keep the beasts safe from harm. I brought J in early rather than make one of my original hunters a main antagonist as she fit the bill perfectly while mine more fulfill the 'daily villain, fight him!' quota. Besides I want the other to debut with a team member that I don't intend on giving Ash yet. Those that read my other fics probably know what that is ;)

I thought Galarian Ponyta and Chloe looked great together, it's a shame they didn't give it to her. I'm not dissing Noctowl with the 'unusually small', we've seen Noctowl that are the proper size and I felt that it wouldn't be the same if Noctowl was taller than Ash. I wanted to stay faithful to Noctowl like I did with Kingler back when he was Krabby

But yeah Ash is starting to come off as too powerful, haha! So I'm probably going to split Hoenn into two different things; Delta Emerald setting up the Emerald Hero and May while allowing them to handle Team Magma and Aqua without Ash curb stomping the lieutenants and making it almost impossible for the bad guy to win(It needs to happen, I'm not going to have them randomly have the orbs and legendary Pokemon on their persons lmao) without some incredibly forced scenario. Effectively being my take of 'What if the series retired Ash', he'll make cameos like 'Gasp, look who Snivy found after releasing herself and running off from our hero! :O' but neither group interact with each other until Sinnoh.

While Electric Blossom 3 showcases the continuation of Ash during that same timeframe, partaking in Hoenn's professional division and Frontier Challenge while engaging in a rivalry with Gloria. Continuing down the path of Mega Evolution mastery with Mew finally returning as they investigate the mysteries surrounding her, the Mystery of Mew :)

I think I might go with that route since my Hoenn urges have been pretty strong as of late.

I also really enjoy the theory that Suicune, Raikou and Entei are actually a reborn Vaporeon, Raikou and Entei. It's awesome! Much like the 'Ditto is a failed clone of Mew' it's now canon to this universe

'Will we see Ash-Greninja?' Yes, I actually said that in the very first chapter's notes. 'Charizard X happened earlier than intended so it happening wouldn't overshadow Greninja's new form'. There was even a slight hint within the chapter itself, I'll let you find it ;)

Next time, Ash's first Johto League Gym battle! :D