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! I have decided though that this will not have M!Preg.

Main Pairing: AshxPaul

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!

Please don't forget to head over to A03 for the discord link! You don't need an A03 account to do it.

Enjoy!

Ash took a deep breath as he stepped forward into the arena. He was nervous and, even though he had slept well in Pauls' arms, he was so tired. Yesterday and this morning had been such a hassle to get through with rescuing himself and then the whole hospital visit he was forced into sitting through. Then this morning he was up bright and early to sit with the police and with a few League Agents retelling what had happened. He may not physically be tired, but he was emotionally drained, and that made him feel tired. He just wanted a moment of rest.

But as he usually does, he trudged on.

So now here Ash was, staring across the arena at Gary, while waiting for the referee to finish with the announcements. They were the first battle of the day and his only battle. If he makes it through this battle then tomorrow will be the Top 4 battles in the morning and then the Semi-Finals that afternoon. The last day of the Conference would hold the Finale along with the closing ceremony.

Ash peered up at the screen as the rules were being put up for the Top 8 battles and his hand went to his belt where it held the four pokémon he had chosen to fight this battle. He had already prepped Nidoking, Pikachu, Tyrantrum, Aegislash, and Persian for this battle and did his best with what information he had on Gary's team. As far as he knew the other teen only had a few fully evolved members since Gary had set out to catch all the pokémon that came his way, not caring about the pressure it put on his grandfather to take care of them.

Ash secretly hoped that they would run away when they realized that their trainer wasn't going to give them any attention.

"Today begins the Top 8 Battles! Our first battle is between two Kanto natives, Gary Oak and Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town," the announcer spoke into their microphone, jolting Ash from his thoughts, "The Top 8 battles will consist of Five on Five battling. As usual there will be no substitutions, no in battle items, no potions or revives, any recalling of pokémon forfeits the pokémon and it will no longer battle for this match. Any questions, trainers?"

Ash shook his head and reached down for Nidokings' ball. He saw Gary reaching down for one of his balls as well and within a few seconds the referee called out for them to begin. Ash quickly pressed the button on the pokéball sending out Nidoking, who greeted everyone with a ferocious roar. Ash let out a deep breath as he saw that Gary had sent out his starter, Blastoise. Nidoking was at a disadvantage here with his typing, but at least he could do some damage before he went out. As far as Ash new, Blastoise was Garys' strongest pokémon.

"Blastoise, knock it out quickly. Use Surf followed by Blizzard," Ash heard Gary call out and he quickly called out to Nidoking.

"Use Earthquake! Try and make as many crevices as you can!"

Nidoking let out a deep snort before he threw his tail down onto the arena and stomped his feet making the earth around him crack and shift. A large wave of water towered over Nidoking, but he only winced slightly as it crashed into him. Nidoking let out a roar and used Confusion just as the Blastoise began to drop the temperature with Blizzard. It was just enough to shock the Blastoise into a pause so Nidoking could get closer. The large reptilian charged towards the tortoise with High Horsepower making Nidoking go faster.

Ash winced as he heard the loud thundering crack when Nidoking crashed into Blastoise and as Nidoking reared back to use Megahorn he saw a large crack on Blastoises' shell. The point blank Megahorn caused the tortoise to get thrown back towards Gary, where it landed with a thud and a groan.

'He must have not taken care of his pokémon like he should have,' Ash thought as he watched Gary call back his Blastoise, 'no Blastoise shell should crack like that even with a High Horsepower. Perhaps a calcium deficiency, or something else? But wouldn't Professor Oak catch that?'

"Trainer, send out your next pokémon!"

Ash saw Gary let out a scoff before sending out a Golem. The rotund rock ignored any calls Gary made and started to roll around the arena. He told Nidoking to do his best to dodge the Golem, but Nidoking didn't have the best mobility. Ash watched as the Golem clipped Nidoking a few times as it continued to roll about and Nidoking did his best to smack it with his tail and shoot poison in its way. As it rolled around Ash could see that the Golem was starting to get brighter and brighter.

"Nidoking! It's about to explode! Use Earthquake and Stomping Tantrum to try and stop it before it gets to you!" Ash called out and saw that the Golem turned on a dime and started to head straight towards Nidoking. His first catch did as told and started to use Earthquake to cause large cracks and fissures on the ground, but the Golem either made it across the cracks before they got too big or was able to jump them as it rolled. Just as the Golem reached Nidoking, the reptile used Megahorn and managed to get under the Golem only to toss it into the air.

It was just a bit too late. The Golem exploded in the air right above Nidokings' head and then fell as it fainted. Ash let out a gasp as the Megaton pokémon landed directly onto Nidokings' head and Ash could have sworn that he heard a crack of a bone as it made contact with Nidoking. The two heavy pokémon fell and it only took a split second for the referee to call the match a tie. Ash recalled Nidoking and gave him soft praise through his ball and sent a tendril of calming Aura to his injured pokémon.

"Trainers send out your next pokémon!"

Gary quickly sent out an Arcanine. It wasn't too large, perhaps it had just evolved before the League and hasn't had time to build muscle in its larger form, and if anything it looked as though it was half starved, though it could also just be a more lithe Arcanine. Even with its condition Ash was sure that the dog was going to be a challenge so he sent out Tyrantrum, who at least had a bit of resistance to Fire. The Despot pokémon let out a rumbling roar causing the ground and the stadium to shake with its reverberations.

"Begin!"

The Arcanine shot off from its starting point like a rocket straight towards Tyrantrum, fire trailing behind it and Ash could see that the Arcanine was actually using Heat Wave as it ran. Ash didn't have to give Tyrantrum a command as the once fossil whipped around and smacked the dog with his tail causing it to fly back and roll on the ground back towards Gary. The Arcanine shot up from where it landed and sent out a blast of fire, but the flames merely danced over Tyrantrums' scales. The dinosaur let out a roar and used Ancient Power only to miss when the large dog dodged the projectiles.

"Wild Charge to get close then use Iron Tail!" Ash heard Gary shout and he shouted for Tyrantrum to ready a Dragon Pulse for when the Arcanine was close. The fire dog ran forward, its fur charged with electricity, and smacked into Tyrantrums' side. Tyrantrum turned quickly and just barely managed to dodge the Iron Tail before shooting the held Dragon Pulse at Arcanine point blank.

Ash heard the dog let out a yelp and saw Arcanine jump back as Tyrantrum went in for a Crunch. The dog lunged forward and managed to get its own teeth wrapped around the iron hard feathers around Tyrantrums' neck. Ash could see a bit of pink lighting up around the bite, and for a moment he was worried that the Arcanine had used a Fairy type move only to realize that it was just Psychic Fangs it used.

"Arcanine, it's not a toy! Let go and use Play Rough!"

"Tyrantrum get away from it!" Ash called out as the Arcanine immediately released the hold it had on Tyrantrum before immediately beginning to glow a light pink. Tyrantrum let out a snarl and whipped around, managing to hit the Arcanine, before making a retreat towards his trainer. Tyrantrum knew how painful a Fairy type move was as Gardevoir and Persian had both hit him with a move of its typing before when he annoyed the two females too much.

"Tyrantrum, ready up a Hyper Beam," Ash said as he watched the Arcanine start to lower itself into a running crouch. Tyrantrum let out a rumble from deep within his chest before he started to gather the ball of energy inside of his mouth. The large reptile widened his stance and cocked his tail just so to keep his balance in the instance the Arcanine managed to hit him before he finished gathering the energy he needed.

Ash held his breath as the Arcanine began its charge and took a deep breath as the large dog smacked right into Tyrantrum and began to Play Rough. Thankfully nothing pierced Tyrantrums' scales, but he did get injured after releasing the Hyper Beam point blank. The recoil and being in the ground zero area of the move did cause a bit of damage to Tyrantrum, but more so in the Arcanine, who had been blown back several yards.

"Enough playing around, Arcanine! Use Outrage and finish off the fossil!" The Arcanine let out a groan and Ash saw how shaky its legs became. The teen was surprised that the dog was able to even stand up let alone run as fast as it did with rage filling its eyes.

"Tyrantrum! Use Dragon Pulse and Crunch when you can! Try and hang on until it tires itself out!" Ash said just as the Arcanine reached Tyrantrum and began to claw and bite into the dinosaur with draconic fury. The next few minutes were tense as Ash had to watch as the Arcanine fought with Tyrantrum until his draconic dinosaur hit it one last time with his tail and knocked it out. Ash heard the referee announce that Tyrantrum and Ash were the winners of the match and called for Gary to return Arcanine, but his eyes were on Tyrantrum observing the damage Outrage had done.

His sides were heaving for air and blood dripped from between his scales onto the ground. The very tip of Tyrantrums' tail was crooked as if it were broken, and a few claws were broken or missing from his hands. As Tyrantrum moved as could see that there were a few chunks missing from where the Arcanine tore into Tyrantrum. So Ash made a decision that he hoped wouldn't come back to bite him in the butt, but it was for the sake of his pokémons' health.

"I forfeit Tyrantrum from this next match!" Ash yelled loud enough for the referee to hear him and saw the man nod. He looked over at Tyrantrum, who had turned to look at him, but instead of anger in those large silver eyes, all he saw was understanding and a smidge of relief. Ash sent Tyrantrum a small smile and recalled him.

"Trainers, send out your next pokémon!"

Ash pulled out Persians' ball and released the feline. He heard several gasps and exclamations from the audience just before Gary released Umbreon from its ball. Persian looked at her opponent with indifference before she set about grooming one of her paws. She had to look her best for the battle after all.

"Persian, finish it quickly, our pack mates need medical attention," Ash said right after the referee called for them to begin. The feline let out a chuff before charging at her smaller opponent. Persian attacked the Umbreon with a fervor with switching between Slash and Iron Tail as well as the occasional Play Rough, but as much as Persian gave, she gained the same from Umbreon.

Ash really did underestimate Umbreon, about how strong the Eevee evolution was. Persian and Garys' pokémon were just about evenly matched and Ash thanked his lucky stars that Umbreon didn't know any fighting type moves or this would have been over a lot quicker. Ash called out for Persian to use Play Rough just as Gary ordered Umbreon to use Moonlight. Ash saw the bright spots on Umbreon begin to glow just as Persians' body slammed into the evolution.

Umbreon, having been knocked out of its trance while using Moonlight, turned to Persian and latched onto her throat. Ash heard Persian snarl and watched as Persian tried to get the Umbreon off her. The two pokémon started to get bloody from all the scratches and bites they inflicted on each other and thankfully Persian had been able to get Umbreon off by slamming the smaller body onto a shifted piece of earth that was left over from the previous battles.

"Persian! One last Play Rough, give it all you got!" Ash called out and he hoped that the super effective move would be enough to knock out the Umbreon.

"Umbreon, use Last Resort! Finish off that cat!" Gary yelled out.

Persian hissed loudly and bared her teeth at the Umbreon as she rushed the evolution. Her body glowed with a light pink energy and she went full force as she met with the smaller body. The Umbreon yelled out as it too used its ordered move, and it was just enough to knock Persian away. Persian snarled and attempted one last time to attack the Umbreon, but before she could reach it the evolution swayed and fell where it stood.

"Umbreon is unable to fight! Ash and his Persian wins!" the referee called out, "Trainer Gary, recall your pokémon!"

Ash let out a deep sigh as he looked over the condition Persian was in and just as he was about to call out to forfeit her, she turned and looked Ash in his eyes. He could see her resolve, her eagerness to continue to fight even as wounded as she was. As much as he didn't want to keep her fighting, he didn't want her to turn against him later if this meant that much to her. So he nodded and reached out to grip the railing in front of him while hoping that he wasn't about to regret keeping her in the fight.

"Trainer, release your last pokémon!"

Ash watched as Persian crouched down once Garys' Dodrio was released and he could immediately tell that she was in hunting mode. The feline stalked forward while keeping her eyes on the bird before her. It wasn't the easiest to keep track of where the three heads were looking, but she made due. Persian used the obstacles that the previous battles made to her advantage as she hid in their shadows to get closer to her opponent. She ignored the wetness on her paws from the melting ice as she crouched beside one of the large pillars of ice that was left.

"Dodrio! Steel Wing the ice pillar!" Ash heard Gary call out and watched as Persian immediately moved from her pillar to the shadows of a piece of shifted earth. It had been shifted just enough to hide her form in its shade. The three headed bird let out a squawk before it rushed to the pillar with its wings covered in a silver glow. Persian kept her eye on the bird as it ran past and waited a moment after to run after the prey. She manage to get her claws into the body of the Dodrio right before it attacked the ice pillar causing the two of them to crash right into it.

Persian ignored the claws and sharp beaks of the bird as she used Slash and Bite on it. She pulled feathers out causing the bird to cry out and in retaliation the bird stabbed her side with one of its beaks making her let out a snarl in pain. She became angry once her prey managed to pry her off with its large wings and talons, but before she could try and pin it once more it flew into the air after a yell from its trainer.

The feline bared her fangs and hissed as she kept her gaze on the bird, but kept an ear out for any calls from her own trainer. It was in this moment that she wished that she knew more ranged attacks than just Hyper Beam. Perhaps she would ask the mouse to teach her Thunderbolt after all this.

"Dodrio, Brave Bird!"

"Persian, dodge it and use Iron Tail," Ash called out as the Dodrio began to glow blue and started its descent from the sky. Persian crouched and tensed up in preparation to dodge as she made her tail as hard as iron. She breathed in. Then out. Then in once more and just as the bird was right in front of her she threw herself to the side and smacked her tail into one of the heads of the Dodrio. She winced as pain flared from her tail, but felt satisfied as she also saw the Dodrio flinch in pain from recoil.

As the bird was recovering from the recoil, Persian jumped onto the bird and used Shadow Claw with Bite this time. She was so caught up in the act of attacking her opponent that she didn't hear either human call out to them, but the Dodrio did. The bird in her grasp began to Thrash about and Persian could feel her strength wane. She knew she didn't have much longer to stay in the fight, but she would do her best to wear the bird down for whoever her trainer sent out next. Just as Persian was about to hit Dodrio with one more move, the birds' wing, covered in silver energy and felt as hard as iron, smacked into the side of her head causing her to faint.

"Persian is unable to continue, Dodrio and Gary win this match!" the referee called out, "Trainer, recall your pokémon and send out your next battler!"

Ash sighed softly, but did as told and recalled Persian. The Melanistic feline did amazing in her two battles and made a silent promise to pamper her after she was looked over and healed by Nurse Joy. Ash reached for Pikachus' ball and silently thanked his starter again for co-operating with him this morning. His starter shook out his fur when he was released and turned to send his trainer a stink eye before turning to look at the ruffled Dodrio.

"Let's finish this quickly Pikachu," Ash said as the referee called out for them to begin, "strike the Dodrio with all you got. Use Thunder!"

Pikachu let out a chitter before dashing forward while letting the excessive electricity he had stored up cover his fur. He dashed to the side as the bird used Aerial Ace. Pikachu zapped the bird causing it to let out a pain filled cry and lash out with one of its feet towards him. Pikachu didn't let the bird hit him as he moved away once again and kept up with the dashing in and out of Dodrios' range all the while sending out strike after strike of electrical shocks. Even when the Dodrio used Fly to escape him, Pikachu kept up with the Thunders and Thunderbolts. It didn't take long for the bird to crash land, unconscious, on the arena floor.

Pikachu was just a bit disappointed that the fight didn't last longer.

"Dodrio is unable to continue battling! Ash and Pikachu win!" the referee announced, "Ash Ketchum wins this match moving him on to the next round!"

Ash let out a sigh of relief as Pikachu ran up to him and jumped onto his shoulder. The mouse let out a series of squeaks as if he were reprimanding Ash for putting him in the ball for that short of a battle, and Ash had to promise Pikachu that he would get a longer battle next time. Ash turned from the arena, not sparing a glance at Gary, to leave and sent a text to Paul about where he was going. He ignored the Agent that joined him in the tunnel that led from the arena to the inside of the stadium and bee-lined to the Center portion of the stadium to get his pokémon looked at.

Pikachu, who was only a little winded, stayed on his shoulder as Ash handed Nidoking, Tyrantrum, and Persians' ball over before moving to sit in the waiting area. He ran one of his hands through Pikachus' fur once the mouse moved from his shoulder to his lap while he lifted his watch up to look at all the incoming messages. He smiled as he looked at the message his mother sent him. It was a picture of them all together, his mother and Mr. Mime, Silver, Gardevoir and Leafeon, the twins, and Professor Oak with congratulatory words underneath it. Silver and Oak sent their own messages, along with Bill, and there was a few others that he had met on his journey that messaged him too. He had gotten a second message from his mother telling him that they would be making their way to the Plateau for the semi-finals and the finals.

Just as he was about to put his wrist down after replying to everyone a new message popped up. It was from Lance. Ash held his breath as he opened the message, not knowing what it could be about, and then let the air out of his lungs as he read it.

"Congrats on your win Ash. I would like to meet with you in a few hours to discuss some things and I do have a bit of news for you as well. One of my Agents has just informed me that Zeke Ugliano was caught."

Ash blinked away the few tears from his eyes as he wrote back his thanks for telling him and the knot of stress and anxiousness that had formed since he had been taken unraveled. He felt Pikachu lick away a stray tear that had fallen and whispered a few reassurances to his starter that he was okay and that they weren't sad tears. A few moments after processing the information that he was given he heard his name being called by one of the Nurse Joys at the counter.

"Congratulations on your win, Mr. Ketchum," Nurse Joy said as the teen approached with the Agent still beside him.

"Thank you," Ash replied before he asked, "how are they?"

"Your Nidoking and Tyrantrum are going to need at least two weeks of rest after their battles today while your Persian will only need one week," Joy said as she gestured for Ash to follow her to the back, "Your Nidokings' worse injury was his fractured skull and the resulting concussion he got from it. The Nidoking also has a few patches of missing scales that are going to be a bit sensitive until they grow back along with some bruises and scratches. I have given him a few super potions that have aided him greatly already."

"And Tyrantrum?" Ash asked as they stopped at a large window that showed a large room on the other side where he could see several medical workers walking around while working on several pokémon, including his own.

"Your Tyrantrum is the most injured of the three. Bruises, scratches, missing chunks of scales and flesh, slight burns, a few broken teeth and claws, as well as his broken tail," she replied as she read verbatim what was on the intake sheet she held for Tyrantrum, "Tyrantrum was given a couple of shots of Ditto Cells into the missing chunks as well as in his tail after it had been set. The teeth are being worked on now and his claws should grow back within the next couple of weeks. He was also given two Hyper Potions to aid in his healing."

"Persian?" Ash asked after a moment of processing Tyrantrums' information and turned to look at the double doors that had been opened with Garys' Blastoise on a gurney. Several medical workers that were finished working on their pokémon swarmed the tortoise.

"Persian has the lightest of injuries and has mostly healed from them with a few potions," Joy said as she flipped to Persians' intake sheet, "her worst injuries were a fractured tail and a stab wound. She also has bruises and scratches, a couple of broken claws, and a small concussion that will heal itself over the next week."

Ash nodded and listened avidly at the recovery process the three would have to go through and what he would need to watch for during it. Joy advised for a few days of rest in their ball only to be let out for food, bathroom breaks, and their medicine and after those few days as long as they didn't do too much they could stay outside of their ball for the rest of their recovery. The suspended animation of the balls would only aid in their recovery.

"We would like to keep them overnight for observation, and if all goes well you can pick them up late morning," Joy said as she led Ash back out to the counter again and Ash saw Paul standing by the counter. He thanked Nurse Joy and told her that he would be back tomorrow for his pokémon before making his way to Paul. He saw that moment that Paul noticed him and gave the taller teen a smile before letting himself melt into Pauls' chest as Paul wrapped his arms around Ash.

"All I want to do now is sleep," Ash said as Paul led him out of the Center and then outside of the stadium. The bigger teen shielded him from various people wanting to come talk to him and from a few reporters with their cameras. The Agent and Paul both made a bit of a barrier that kept them away and Ash was just thankful about it. He didn't really feel about talking to anyone. All he wanted to do is take a nap, have his meeting with Lance, and then go see Aster.

The journey to the hotel they were staying in was uneventful after a few members of the League staff moved to keep the reporters away from them. Just before they entered the hotel the Agent bid them a goodbye seeing as Ashs' kidnapper had been caught the need for protection for Ash wasn't needed, but the Agent did tell them that if they needed any help to call them. Ash, happy to not have a shadow, nodded and walked into the building and led the way to the elevator to go up. Ash reached out and grabbed Pauls' hand, which was very warm and sent pleased shivers up his spine from feeling the calluses on his hands. He did so love the feeling of them against his skin. It just showed him how hard Paul works.

Once they were ensconced in their room Ash let out a deep sigh and kicked his shoes off. He trudged to the bed and flopped down face first onto the bedding while keeping an ear out for what Paul was doing. Ash heard him open then close the mini fridge they had in the room before feeling something cold being pressed onto his neck. Turning his head he saw that Paul had gotten him a cold bottle of water.

"Thank you," Ash said as he forced his body to move so he could take a few sips of the water. After setting the bottle down on the side table Ash leaned against the headboard, fighting the fear he felt from doing so, to look at Paul as his boyfriend walked around picking up a few things that had been left out.

"You know," Ash said softly as he bent his knees and brought his legs up to his chest, "I thought I would feel different after beating Gary. I thought that I would feel some sort of relief or satisfaction, but I don't feel anything like that."

Ash saw Paul stop what he was doing and turn to him. He kept his eyes on Paul as the taller teen placed an empty bottle back down where he had grabbed it from before walking over to the bed where he was sitting.

"What are you feeling then?" Paul asked as he sat down close enough to Ash that he could feel the warmth coming off him.

"I-I don't know," Ash admitted with a shake of his head, "I don't know what I'm feeling or how I should be feeling about this."

"That's okay," Paul said as he reached out and took one of Ashs' hands in his own, "sometimes it takes time to understand how and what you're feeling."

Ash nodded as he gripped Pauls' hand tighter and it filled him with warmth when he felt Paul squeeze back. He asked Paul to take a nap with him and without saying anything Paul took his own watch and set an alarm for them. Ash let Paul manipulate his body under the covers before he was joined by Paul. He instantly buried himself in Pauls' arms and took a deep breath as he felt something inside him settle as Paul wrapped an arm around his waist. He felt Pikachu walk up the length of his legs and curl up on the bed by his ribs.

Ash let his eyes close as he felt Paul start to run his fingers through his hair, and for the first time since he had been kidnapped he let his body fully relax in Pauls' embrace.