Hey Nuggies! Well I really shouldn't be doing this, but here I am writing another fanfiction since I have writers block on a few of my other ones, and because this won't leave me alone. Here is your warning this will be SLASH! Not to sure on if it'll be M!Preg or not, but at this current moment I have not thought about it.

Main Pairing: AshxPaul

Side pairing: AshxGary (One sided on Gary's part)

Rating: M (to be safe)

Chapter Warning(s): None

Disclaimer: I do not own pokémon it belongs to Game Freak, Nintendo, Creatures, The Pokemon Company, etc, nor do I write this for profit. This is for entertainment use only.

Lady Kaiki, Congrats for being my 100th reviewer!

Griffon Blackwood, thank you! I wanted to do something special for Seadra since he hasn't been written in as much as the others. This is just what came to mind as I wrote it.

Sakihinata, I love team bonding moments as well!

A/N: I got plans in action now that Ash is on the S.S. Anne! Just forewarning y'all Ash is getting new pack member(s) in the next chapter!

Enjoy!

The next morning started off great. Ash had Tyrantrum fighting with Krookodile and Charizard to get used to his body while fighting as his largest pokémon was already use to walking around at a higher height. Seadra was fighting with Pikachu once more, but Zorua was also training with them while Nidorino was training with Doublade. Ralts, his darling little girl, was starting her training with Mewtwo. The creature had Ralts lifting and throwing rocks several times larger than herself, and while Ash was worried, he trusted Mewtwo to keep her safe.

Little Riolu, who still took many naps during the day, enjoyed watching the others of the pack fight and was often seen or heard letting out barks of encouragement and cheering when one or another was knocked down. Ash, having gotten used to the sounds of crashing rocks and thuds of bodies slamming together, was concerned as silence filled the clearing. Looking up from where he had just opened the rules of the tournament on the S.S. Anne he was almost blinded by bright evolutionary light.

A wide smile graced his face as he stood up and walked over to Zorua, who's form shot upwards until they were almost the same height. He took in the strong new form of Zoroark as the light faded away from the illusionist. The once small fox kit that Ash rescued many months ago was now a tall, strong, mischievous and protective Zoroark.

The fox went from on all fours to just two legs, which caused some disorientation, and his missing tail didn't help his balance at all. The small tuft of hair Zorua once had lengthened to a long ponytail with a teal colored band wrapped around it towards the end of it. His chest was covered in dark fur that stretched over his shoulders a bit and the shape of the fur reminded Ash of some of the more intricate armor pieces he had seen while in Rota.

Ash watched as Zoroark cast his illusion to change into each of his teammates before, surprisingly, changing into himself. It was strange seeing himself like that. Before Ash could say anything the others turned to where Mewtwo and Ralts were training, and to his surprise, Ralts was also glowing in evolutionary energy.

Her height didn't change as much as Zoroark had, but when the light faded he saw just how much she did change. Her hair, once in a bowl like cut, was pulled to either side by her horns that had split in two to mimic pony tails on either side of her head with 'bangs' that hung between her eyes. Her bright orange eyes twinkled as she saw her trainer grinning at her. She couldn't help but twirl with her new tutu like dress. Ashs' emotions were bright and it just made her even more giddy.

"Congratulations you two," Ash said once he gained their attention, "I knew the two of you could do it. You both worked very hard since the first time coming into the pack and family. All the hard work you both did in getting healthy and then the efforts you put into your training has paid off and I couldn't be any more proud of the two of you."

Zoroark let out a loud deep bark before he punched his paws together as Kirlia let out a chime of laughter and twirled once more. Ash stepped back as the others gathered around for their own congratulations for the two.

"You've done very well, as well, you know," Mewtwo said as the cat like creature stopped beside him, "They couldn't have made it this far if it wasn't for you. Their souls may be marred from what had happened to them before they were taken in by you, but it was you who nurtured them, showed them that they can be strong, and can be whoever they want to be. Your heart healed their wounds and in being who you are and doing what you have done has helped them flourish into what you see now. The entire pack will go far, and it will be because you believe in them."

Ash didn't know what to say as a lump formed in his throat and his mouth became dry. He could feel the tell tale stings of tears in his eyes and he had to bat his eyelashes to clear his suddenly blurry vision. He looked up into amethyst colored eyes and gave the creature a small nod as he acknowledged the words spoken to him.

Ash, once they had packed up and headed back to the center, requested Mewtwo to join the in their room for the night since the next day Mewtwo would be taking Kirlia, to wherever he was taking her, to train. It made no sense to him for the creature to leave only to come back a few hours later.

It was only when he was digging through his bag to find an item he had thought he bought that he found a certain purple item that he remembered buying a while ago. Grasping the soft fabric he turned to Mewtwo and tied it around the shocked creatures' throat like a bandanna. "So you remember you have family here," Ash said softly as he stepped back, "that you have a place you belong and can return to whenever you want for whatever you want."

Ash just smiled at the creatures' shocked look before giving Riolu his attention as the small pup wanted to show him something.

Hooonk!

Ash sighed softly and winced a bit at the loud horn of the ship as he followed the line leading onto the steps that lead onto the cruise ship, the S.S. Anne. Paul had messaged him a few days ago letting him know that he was going to be boarding the ship later that week since the business that kept him in Sinnoh was taking longer to finish than he had thought. Ash, having wanted to wait to board with him, got in line early at Pauls' urging and it was a good thing he did board early.

The line leading to the ship was long and it was blistering hot outside. It didn't help that there wasn't any shade in the line and that the line was going at a Slowpokes' pace. If this was the early boarding line he didn't want to think about later in the week when everyone would be getting there to board all at once. As he neared the front of the line he saw why the line was going so slow.

Standing in front of the staircase was one lone worker checking every ticket and all the luggage that would be entering the boat. Ash glared as he heard the person at the front of the line rant and raving about how bad the service was and was just being snarky and horrible to the lone worker. He got even more mad as he heard several other people in line agreeing with the man as his voice got louder.

Under the anger Ash felt amused as the worker just sent a look at the man and started working slower. He had to hold in his laughter as the person who was ranting started to stutter at the action before demanding to see the person in charge. Ash let out a snort as the person working revealed that they were the person in charge. It was even more funnier as the person gathered their things all the while saying that they weren't ever going to use their cruise line again.

"Get bent Karen!"

Ash had to cup his mouth to hide his laughter as a person behind him yelled as the person left the line. He wasn't the only one hiding their laughter and there were even some that laughed out loud. The teen had only just managed to calm himself down by the time it was his turn to be checked in.

"Hi! Ticket, ID, and luggage please!"

Ash nodded and handed the worker his ticket and ID along with his worker ID. He never knew when his services would be needed to calm a raging pokémon or anything in general. He placed his backpack on the table beside the worker only to open it up and gently took a sleeping Riolu out so the worker could look at his items.

"Oh my Arceus!" the worker exclaimed as he caught a look at Riolu, "How is it that color?!"

Ash chuckled and explained that Riolu was half albino as his bag was checked. He could only assume that the worker was looking for any contraband or weapons like bombs and such. He was given his bag back a few minutes later and instead of placing Riolu back inside it he shouldered the bag before getting his ticket and IDs back.

"Well, your Riolu is adorable," the worker said as he gave Ash a friendly smile, "Your room is 64V. Inside there should be a pamphlet of all the amenities on board as well as a map to show where everything is. If you do need anything else the workers are wearing either blue t-shirts or tank tops with S.S. Anne written on it."

Ash nodded and thanked the worker before making his way up the steps. The ship was large, but he had no problem finding his room. Apparently the ticket he received was a VIP ticket hence the V after the number. The room was large, with enough room for all his pokémon except Tyrantrum, with a large bed and a good sized water tank for any water types.

He placed his bag and Riolu on the bed before releasing his pokémon. Krookodile let out a loud growl as he looked around the room. He was in a new place after all and he didn't know if there was anyone there to harm his trainer and pack. Ash left him to roam and protect as he observed the others. Doublade hovered by the window looking outside at the vast water and humans on deck, Nidorino plopped down on the floor at the foot of the bed, Pikachu skittered around the room after jumping off his shoulder, Zoroark joined Krookodile in scoping the place out for any unwanted visitors, Charizard settled down by Doublade by the window to soak up the sun, while Seadra settled into his tank for a nap.

As Ash sat down on the bed, after toeing his shoes off, he let out a sigh as the cool bedding touched his heated skin. He would need to apply some after sun lotion to his exposed skin just in case he got a sunburn from being in direct sunlight for too long. Ash, after bringing his xtransceiver up to his face, looked over the rules for the tournament and what days it's on.

Rules:

No pokémon that weighs this much or over. (Don't want to cause the ship to sink)

No baby pokémon.

No revives, potions, battle items (such as x defense, x attack, etc). Once a pokémon is down; it's down for the rest of the tournament.

No substitutions.

Rewards:

1st place winner will receive a 1st place medal, 1,000 pokécash, 5 Ultra Balls, and a Mystery Egg that has been provided by Glacier Greens Breeding Facility in Alola.

2nd place winner will receive a 2nd place medal, 500 pokécash, and 5 Great Balls.

3rd place winner will receive a 3rd place medal, 250 pokécash, and 5 Pokéballs.

Everyone else will get a participation pin that can be found at the main reception desk.

In the event of a tie the two participants will have one final battle to determine the overall winner.

Ash hummed as he let his arm drop and looked at the ceiling as his thoughts ran around in circles. He already had eleven pokémon registered to him even though he had nine of them with him. He also just got Riolu, who was reaching his two week hatch day, and wasn't looking for a new egg. But if he were to be honest he really wanted the egg. It was from Alola after all and who knows what pokémon was in it.

He was debating giving this tournament his all, or giving someone else the opportunity to get the pokémon and backing off. On one hand he already had a really good group of pokémon, but on the other hand he knew his pokémon would get fed up if he told them to tone it down. He didn't want to upset his pokémon.

The teen let out a sigh before sitting up and looking over at his pokémon. A smile graced Ashs' face as he took in the sight of the sleeping pile of pokémon. Charizard had been joined by Krookodile and Nidorino in the patch of sunlight on the ground. Doublade was still hovering by the window, but had moved so she was closer to Seadras' tank where the seahorse was calmly sleeping with his tail attached to the provided tree branch.

Pikachu was curled up asleep by his side, that he wasn't surprised about, but Zoroark, who had taken Kirlias' leave hard, was curled up beside the mouse with Riolu belly side up sleeping in his long mane. He watched his pokémon for a moment with a small smile on his face before grabbing his wallet, ID, and room key before telling Doublade he would be back.

Ash was surprised how easy it was to find the deck of the boat, but it helped that he followed a few people that had swimwear on already. His room was just a floor above the deck as well. Ash quickly found a map of the ship and looked over what the ship provided entertainment wise.

There was a bar for adults, a juice bar for those that don't drink or are underage, a karaoke room, a theater room, an indoor and outdoor pool that also had a few hot tubs, a spa area, an arcade, a gym, a casino, a freaking shopping area and art gallery, a zip line and rock climbing area, and a rope course. There were also training areas for the tournament both indoor and outdoor as well as a special pool for water types to train in. The teen was surprised to see that there were so many activities to do there and he could see why the S.S. Anne was the number one rated cruise line in the world.

Ash took his time as he walked along the length of the ship to get his footing of the place. He didn't want to rely on a map after all. He would be spending more time with his face in the map than on his surroundings. As he walked around he spotted many pokémon. Some he recognized and some he didn't and if their trainers were nice enough they were happy to tell him about their pokémon.

So far he has met pokémon from Galar, Alola, Orre, Sinnoh, Hoenn, and even Almia. He even got to see another Tyrunt, but this one really showed out with his attitude and its tantrums. He saw another Krookodile and a shiny Krokorok as well as a Pachirisu, a Minccino, a Togetic, and a Jigglypuff having some fun at the feet of a couple of trainers. There were so many pokémon around that Ash thought that he was going to get whiplash from trying to look at all of them.

"-vived from a fossil, but I didn't like it."

A females' voice caught Ashs' ear making him turn to see who was talking. The woman was a large busted lady with a large sun hat on her head. Long blond wavy hair flowed down to her waist and she had narrow brown eyes. Her bathing suit barely covered her, but at least she had a sheer dress covering her to at least give her some sort of 'privacy.'

"I gave that Tyrunt away. I mean, have you seen the other one on the ship? So annoying. It wasn't even cute anyway! Not like my Amaura and Lopunny."

"So who did you give it to?" the womans' friend asked before sipping on her coconut drink.

"Oh, just to the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City."

Ash had to hold himself back when he heard that. He knew immediately what pokémon she was talking about and he was pissed. He mentally made a note to learn her name to tell Baoba so the older man could press charges on her for the damages she caused to the Safari when she released Tyrunt. As pissed as he was he could wait. He would wait and when the time was right he would confront her.