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): Minor mention of pokémon death at the end of the chapter

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.

A/N: As was decided in my Discord (or rather I told those that are on there that I'm doing this and they were excited about it so I hope y'all are too), Ash is getting a new pokémon in this chapter! One I'm so excited about! Other than that welcome to this absolute monster of a chapter!

Enjoy!

"Kingdra, dodge!"

The large seahorse twist his body and just managed to dodge the rocks the opposing Aggron sent his way. Kingdra let out a snort and shook his head before turning and glaring at the titan in front of him. The ground was already covered in water and ice from previous attacks he had sent out and there were spikes of various sizes scattered here and there after his opponent sent a Rock Slide his way. Kingdra did his best to get rid of the spikes as he didn't want his teammates hurt when they were released after his inevitable downfall.

The fight had been going on for a while now and Kingdra could feel his body flagging a bit, but he could see that the Aggron before him was slowing down more than he was. He wasn't surprised as the Aggron was quite large and it took considerable effort to move a mass such as his opponent for as long as it has. Kingdra sent a Dragon Rage to the ground to quickly get out of the way of a Thunder. The giant beast sent shot after shot of electricity his way once it realized that he wasn't going to let another move hit and so far Kingdra had managed to dodge every single one of them, but the seahorse knew it was only a matter of time before he was hit by one.

"Kingdra, use Hurricane and Hydro Pump!" he heard his trainer call out and once he came to a stop Kingdra flexed his fins a few times causing the air around him to swirl. The currents got stronger and when it became a solid mass of roaring wind Kingdra began to add water into it with Hydro Pump. Soon enough a massive water filled Hurricane separated Kingdra and the Aggron. He could still hear the Aggron beyond the thunderous noise shooting off bolt after bolt of Thunder into the water conduit.

Kingdra refused to let the electricity that coursed through his body affect him and held his ground to keep the fervor of the Hurricane up. The large scarred seahorse let out a bellow as he poured just about every ounce of energy he had in his body into the move. Then finally after a few long lasting minutes of not hearing his opponent screech or sending off Thunders did Kingdra finally let the Hurricane die down. Chest heaving, but still feeling fine to fight he refused to let his trainer recall him after the loud human announced that he was the winner.

Kingdra would fight for as long as he could for his trainer.

Resolve and determination filled his eyes as he set his gaze upon his new opponent. His body shook from residue electricity and he was sure he had a broken spine on his head, but he bore his injuries with pride. Just as the loud speaking human announced that they were to begin, Kingdra didn't hesitate to release an Ice Beam causing the water in its path to freeze over.

The large amphibian across from him let out a low toned noise deep within its throat as it used Ancient Power to block the majority of the Ice Beam, but there was a bit of it that slipped through the cracks. Kingdra, knowing that he didn't have long, didn't let up with the amount of attacks he sent the Swamperts' way even though the power he had filled them with waned.

Ice Beam.

Dragon Pulse.

Scald.

Dragon Rage.

One by one Kingdra sent Swamperts' way and while a few did hit the amphibian, even less managed to actually damage the target. Kingdra could hear his trainer call out to him a few times, but he paid no mind even though he should have. Kingdra ignored the black spots dancing in his vision as he readied his Outrage. Kingdra was ready for this to be over, but he hoped that he could cause enough damage to his opponent that whichever pack mate came out next could down their opponent with no trouble.

Kingdra paid no mind to the tears that streamed down his face as he began his Outrage. His body hurt, it felt as though he couldn't breath, and all he wanted to do after this was sleep. He let out a loud pain filled call as his Outrage started to fade. His body felt more hurt and broken than at the beginning of the Outrage, but he felt a sense of satisfaction when he saw how injured the Swampert had gotten. Kingdra let his body fall to the ground as the last of his energy left him, and just before he let himself fully fall into unconsciousness he felt guilt well up once he heard his trainer call out for him.

Ash watched wide-eyed as Kingdra fell. He had seen a few Outrages in his short time as a trainer, but he had never seen one do so much damage. The arena looked as though it had just gone through a war and not just a simple battle. The ground was broken, flames burning away merrily while ice and puddles of water reflected those flames. Blood and scales littered the arena, but Ash couldn't tell whose blood and whose scales they were from.

The teen recalled Kingdra and wondered why the seahorse didn't listen to him as he called out for his pokémon to stop. He was going to recall and forfeit Kingdra, but the seahorse had gone into the Outrage before that. He knew it was better to let an Outraging pokémon get it out of their system before recalling them as they could still be in its thrall upon release in another area. At least here in the arena it was safer than out and about where unprotected humans were at.

Ash waited a moment to see if Avondré was going to recall Swampert, but when the larger man didn't he sent out Ninetales. The ice fox let out a trilling call upon her release and immediately focused on her opponent. The large amphibian was damaged quite a bit. Missing scales, large gashes, one of its head fins looked as though part of it had been cleanly cut off, and blood ran down from its nose.

"Ninetales, focus on putting it down quickly," Ash said and then called out for her to use Extrasensory and Ice Beam. Just before Ninetales could move the sky above the arena darkened and the air became cold. Ash gasped as he realized that Ninetales' Ability, Snow Warning, kicked up for the first time. He had wondered why she had never used the ability, but he guessed that she never saw a need to use it until now. It took only a few short moments for bits of hail and snow of various sizes to fall onto the arena. The flames quickly went out and soon enough the ground was completely covered in pure white snow.

The snow and hail seemed to empower Ninetales as her Ice Beams seemed to be just a bit more powerful, but that may have been Ashs' imagination. The ice fox seemed to glide through the snow on the ground as she dodged Hydro Pumps and full bodied Giga Impacts. With the way Ninetales moved it almost seemed like she was dancing instead of battling. As Ninetales did her thing Ash observed her like he has done with all of his pokémon in every battle. He wished that he could take out his notebook to take down notes on how to improve everyone and edit their training schedules. After all, he wanted his pokémon to be the best they could be. But the rules state that he couldn't even take a bag with him onto the arena floor when he battled.

"Dodge!" Ash called out as the Swampert started to get too close to Ninetales. One arm on the creature was shining brightly in energy and whatever it was doing Ash sure as hell didn't want it touching Ninetales. Not when he already had several other downed pokémon. Ninetales just barely moved out of the way, the tip on one of her tails being the only thing that got hit, and dashed out of the way as the ground underneath the two broke.

"A concentrated Giga Impact," Ash murmured to himself as he saw the damage the move wrought, "That's absolutely incredible and very, very dangerous. How did its arm not break?"

Ash called out for Ninetales to use Disable as Ash didn't want the Swampert to continue to use Giga Impact, especially in that way. He didn't want to be the cause for any irreversible damages even if it was a conscious decision to do it by the other party. Ash called out for Ninetales to hold on a bit longer and to spam the use of Extrasensory. The Swampert looked as though it was so close to passing out. He could see that the hail that still fell had been affecting the Swampert and from what he could see it would only take one solid hit to down the amphibian.

"Ninetales, get in close and use Draining Kiss," Ash called out hoping that if she used the move that it would give her a bit more energy to keep fighting her next opponent. He watched as Ninetales turned on a dime from where she was running away from a Hydro Pump and began to run back to her opponent. Thankfully Disable still had its hold on Giga Impact and all Ninetales had to dodge was an Ancient Power being thrown her way. The ice fox sent her opponent a smug look as she used Draining Kiss to take away the last of the energy the Swampert had.

Ninetales, feeling more invigorated, gracefully trotted over to where her trainer was stationed and let his praises wash over her. The cheers almost drowned out the loud speaking human as they announced for their opponent to release another pokémon. Ninetales preened as she saw the tall four armed pokémon across from her. A Fighting type. Either the other human was stupid or was throwing this match in their victory.

When the loud human announced for them to begin, Ninetales was made to dodge as her muscly opponent dashed towards her faster than she had expected. Its hand glowed a hard red and as the Machamp hit the ground with the move she was glad she dodged. The earth shook and cracked at the impact and she didn't want to find out how much damage that would have caused if it hit her. Ninetales managed to hit Machamp with a Draining Kiss just before she moved further away, causing the fighting type to stumble a bit.

Ninetales did her best to keep the Machamp back with bursts of Ice Beam as she mainly focused on using Draining Kiss to defeat her opponent. Ninetales drained a bit of energy each time she was hit with a Fire/Ice/Thunder Punch from the beast before her, but even she was beginning to feel a bit tired. She had managed to dodge all but one hit which caused her to let out a loud yelp and get tossed back towards her trainer.

Ninetales let out a whimper as she tried to put pressure on one of her back paws, but a stinging pain when she did so almost sent her crashing down to the ground. She didn't know if the Machamp broke her hip or her leg, but either way she was in pain and now she was pissed. When the large brute came her way again she just managed to dodge and turned around like a whip to sink her teeth into one of its large muscles. She didn't let go even as the Machamp grabbed her by the scruff and tore her off with a loud yell from the brute.

Ninetales spat out the large chunk of flesh and muscle she had torn off. She let out a snarl as her trainer began to forfeit her, causing Ash to stop speaking. She could do this. She could still fight. Ninetales focused on using more of her fairy-type move as she had observed that it did more damage than anything else she used. She had begun to gather it as the Machamp began to glow a deep red and its muscles began to bulge even more than they already do.

Ninetales was prepared to use an overpowered Draining Kiss on the Machamp, but all of a sudden a bright pink ball formed in front of her mouth. She could feel the fairy energy she had been gathering converge into the ball and soon enough she had a ball the size of a soccer ball in front of her mouth. It was bright, soothing, and a bit fluttery like the wings of a Beautifly. She hadn't been focusing on the Machamp the entire time she had been gathering energy, and it was a mistake on her part as in the next moment the brute was in front of her and reaching out with two hands to grab her.

In reaction Ninetales released the ball she had gathered and it shot off like a rocket between the two feet they were apart and smacked right in the middle of the Machamps' chest. Ninetales watched with tired eyes, and heaving sides, as the Machamp was sent back towards its trainer. It crashed into the psychic barrier and she was filled with relief and satisfaction as the loud human announced that she had won.

Ninetales laid down and let out a few whimpers as her trainer called out that she was to be forfeit for this next match. She felt much relief as she was called back into her ball. She would definitely give her trainers a few kisses in thanks for letting her stay in the battle as long as he did.

"Trainers send out your next pokémon!"

Ash quickly sent out Lucario who had gained a bit of chatter from the crowds as Avondré sent out a large, much larger than the Machamp from before, fuzzy pokémon that let out a loud yawn before it flopped down to the ground with a rumbling thud. The ape-like pokémon let out a snore as it seemingly fell asleep where it had been released. Ash looked at the pokémon curiously as Lucario settled in place. Bright red eyes trained onto his opponent as he waited for the signal to start.

"Begin!"

The large beast let out a groan as it turned over onto its' side just before slamming its large hand down onto the ground causing the earth under their feet to break in the most impressive Earthquake Ash had seen so far. Lucario did his best to keep his footing, and only just managed to keep his footing with minimal damage to his body when the earth finally settled. Ash called out for Lucario to use a move as the Slaking let out a deep groan and moved to rest its head on one of its large hands. He didn't hear Avondré call out for Slaking to dodge, which Ash thought was weird, but he didn't give it too much thought as Lucario landed an Aura Sphere in the center of its chest.

It didn't look as though it did much damage, just a little singed fur, but at least it did more than what Ash thought it would do. The large beast let out a torrent of fire, but Lucario managed to use Protect just in time to keep the fire from hitting him while sending back another Aura Sphere. The jackal let out a snarl and jumped back as the Slaking slammed its fist down where Lucario once stood causing a large crater to form on impact.

"Slaking, use Earthquake!"

The Slaking let out a snort before flopping down onto its back ignoring the call of its trainer giving Lucario a free shot with a Thunder Punch. The jackal jumped forward into the reach of the Slaking before jumping back out of it while switching between Aura Sphere and Thunder Punch to hit the larger pokémon with. It took a few Thunder Punches, but Lucario managed to finally get a paralyze effect on it.

"I forfeit Slaking!"

The call came as a surprise to Ash and Lucario had to skid to a stop before he could hit the Slaking with another Aura Sphere. The Slaking let out a large yawn just before the red beam from its pokéball hit it to return it to its trainer. The next pokémon that came out was just as worrying to Ash as the Slaking had been. It wasn't large, just a bit shy of four feet, and if Ash had to be honest the pokémon looked more like a doll than an actual pokémon. He would have said it was a doll if it wasn't for the pure hatred he could feel radiating from it.

"Begin!"

"Banette! Mega Evolve!" Avondré called out and Ash could feel his heart skip a beat. Mega evolution? He hadn't fought against one before, but from what he could recall from what Professor Sycamore told him, he should be very worried. The Banette glowed brightly in evolutionary light and just past the pokémon Ash could see that something on Avondrés' wrist glowed just as brightly. When the light died down Ash could see that the Banette grew a few inches, and gained a few more zippers along its body revealing a pinkish-purple body underneath it. From its hands were long claws that moved with small twitching movements.

"Lucario, be very careful," Ash said just loud enough for the jackal to hear, "this is going to be a very tough battle." His Lucario let out a soft growl in understanding and began to tense his body as the Mega Banette let out a loud crooning call causing shivers to go down his spine.

"Will-O-Wisp!"

"Lucario Protect!"

The Mega Banette lashed out with bright purple and pink flames just as Lucario threw a Protect up in time to not get hit by the ghostly flames. Ash called out for Lucario to focus on keeping his distance and to use Aura Sphere and Dragon Pulse to get hits in. Ash really didn't want to chance Lucario getting hit by those long claws. Ash watched as Lucario narrowly dodged blast after blast of Will-O-Wisp and Shadow Ball only for the Mega Banette to dodge the moves he sent towards it.

Ash felt a shiver run down his spine as he heard the Banette let out a chilling giggle like a little girl in a horror movie before it vanished. Ash looked around for any indication of where it was at, but he couldn't see anything. No moving shadows. No eyes peering around. Nothing.

"Lucario, try looking for it with your Aura," Ash called out, "keep on guard!" Ash didn't know what move the doll used but he was sure that Protect wouldn't work. The jackal turned blue just like Ashs' eyes did when he used Aura and the extra appendages on Lucarios' head rose.

For Lucario, the world turned black and blue. He could see the people in the stands, and the wandering pokémon within the stadium. The opposing trainer shifted making Lucario focus on him for a moment before he went back to looking for his opponent. The area in front of him was devoid of any pokémon and so he turned to look behind him and one again Lucario didn't see anything. He turned his gaze down just in case and once again Lucario didn't see his opponent. It was as if the creature completely vanished from this world.

Lucario shifted on his paws, his body tense and ready to move. He ground his teeth lightly as he covered one paw with electric energy while he covered his other paw with fighting. He wanted to be ready for when the Banette finally showed itself.

One moment passed with nothing happening.

Another moment passed and his ear twitched as he heard the sound of air moving beside him.

Turning his head slightly Lucario saw that there was nothing there, but as he straightened his head within a split second his vision was covered by Banettes' bright blue Aura. Lucario, startling from the sudden appearance, lashed out with the Thunder Punch he prepared earlier and opened his mouth wide to Crunch down on the quickly approaching appendage.

The jackal ignored the pain he felt, having the inside of his mouth torn by one of Banettes' claws as well as having a tooth being knocked out of place, as he bit down hard with Crunch and didn't release. Lucario kept his eyes closed as he used Thunder Punch after Thunder Punch, while doing his best to ignore the slashing the Banette was doing with its other hand, on his now trapped opponent until finally the paralysis went into effect. Lucario focused a bit of Aura into one of his legs as he released the Banette and kicked the Mega making it fly backwards with a loud cry.

Upon opening his eyes Lucario could see bits of electricity sparking along the Banettes' body as well as a bit of blood from where he clamped down on the Megas' hand. His body shook as he did his best to ignore the pain in his side where the Banette slashed him a few times. He could feel the hot blood run through his fur and could barely hear it as it plopped onto the ground.

Lucario lunged forward with an Aura Sphere on his paw, and instead of releasing it as he would have done, he used the time the paralysis was in effect to press the ball into the Banettes' chest. Lucario was so focused on pouring all he could into this move, knowing that it would probably be his last before he fell, that he didn't notice the Banettes' eyes glowing in hatred as it stared at him.

He did notice what it did after he saw the Banette fall onto the arena floor, unconscious. He felt his heart beat, once then twice, before darkness filled his vision and he felt his body fall onto the ground with a light thud.

"Both pokémon are out! This match is a tie! Trainers recall your pokémon, then send out your next pokémon!"

Ash felt his heart thudding in his chest as he recalled Lucario. The jackal did amazing in his biggest battle yet, and against a Mega at that. He had felt as though he had become frozen when he heard Avondré tell Banette to evolve once more. Ash really thought that this was the end of the line in the conference for him. But Lucario pulled through. Now all he had to do was finish Avondrés' last pokémon with the last two he had.

Ash threw his ball first, and in hindsight, it was a mistake that he threw first. Ash watched in trepidation as Krookodile stared down the massive Gyarados Avondré sent out. Normally Gyarados were around 19-22 feet long, but this one seemed to be almost 30 feet long. There were scars running through thick scales, and one of the spines on its crest was broken. The Gyarados let out a loud roar, one that Krookodile matched, just before the announcer yelled for them to begin.

Almost immediately Avondré called out for the massive serpent to cover the arena in water. Ash could see that having all the water around and on him was making Krookodile angry, but the croc was used to it thanks to all of the training he had done with Kingdra. By the time Gyarados was done spewing out water, there were a good four inches filling the arena. Ash called for Krookodile to use Earthquake to try and drain the water a bit, but once the croc did that the water remained, not drained into the crevices like he thought it would have been.

Krookodile, keep out of its' tail range and use Foul Play and Earthquake when you can!" Ash called out as the large serpent coiled itself into one spot. The Gyarados let out a roar as it began to glow a bright purple signaling that it was using Dragon Dance. Krookodile swished his tail in irritation at the water as he sent a Foul Play the Gyarados' way. Ash watched with bated breath as his croc fought his best against the serpent while knowing that Krookodile wasn't going to last long against the water type.

Krookodile at least managed to do a bit of damage to Gyarados after an Earthquake ensnared its tail into the ground, rooting it into its spot. The serpent bellowed as it tried to tug its tail out of the entrapment, but it was fruitless and Krookodile managed to get in close to hit it with an Assurance. In retaliation Gyarados nailed Krookodile point blank with a Hyper Beam making the croc fly back and hit the psychic barrier.

"Krookodile is unable to battle! Gyarados wins this match! Trainer please recall your pokémon before sending out your next one!"

Ash let out a deep breath, feeling almost light headed from it, as he recalled Krookodile. The croc did great for being in the situation he was in. He gave soft praises to the enclosed pokémon, before grabbing Luxrays' ball. She would have the best chance, other than Pikachu, to beat this beast of a Gyarados. Ash released the feline, who let out a loud yowl upon release, and almost immediately the referee called for the battle to begin once more.

"Luxray, let's end this quickly! Use Thunder," Ash called out just as Avondré called out for Gyarados to use Dragon Pulse. Luxray let out a snarl as she quickly let out a Thunder that could make Pikachu proud. The sparks of electricity that didn't hit the Gyarados surged through the water causing it to become electrified, but that didn't bother Luxray. If anything the continuous electrical surges refilled her energy. The Gyarados screamed upon impact and let loose a Hyper Beam instead of Dragon Pulse, but thankfully the power beam was sent skyward instead of towards Luxray. The feline didn't give the Gyarados a chance to rest even a moment as she dashed in and attacked the thick scales with her Thunder Fangs and electricity covered claws.

Luxray used Volt Switch to dodge out of the way of Gyarados' jaws so even if the serpent managed to get her it would still get hurt. Luxray poured everything she could into all of her attacks and soon enough, after another Thunder, the great beast of a Gyarados fell down into the electric filled waters. Luxray let out a victorious Roar as her prey twitched in its unconscious state before shaking out her wet fur.

Her battle may have not been a long one, but it was a well fought one.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! Ash and his Luxray wins! This match is now over and Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town moves on!"

Ash felt instant relief take hold of him; almost making him fall to his knees as the adrenaline he had coursing through his body fade away. His hands shook a bit as he recalled Luxray and gave her soft praises before putting the ball in his belt. He sent a nod towards Avondré, who sent a nod back, before turning around to leave the arena. As he walked down to the Center, to get his pokémon checked up on, the realization that he was going to at least be in the Top 4 of his first conference really hit him. His pokémon had done so very well and with the next two rest days he would make sure that they knew it.

Thankfully his team wasn't as injured as they could have been. Luxray didn't have any concerning injuries, and Krookodile only had some deep bruising. Lucario had a few broken teeth and would need to be on soft foods until they heal while the gashes he had gotten were cleaned and stitched. Ninetales' hip was fractured and her leg and two ribs were bruised, but her healing would be quick, almost overnight as she needed to spend some time in one of the cold rooms the Centers had for ice types. Kingdra had one of the spines on his head broken off, but Ash was told it could regrow over time, along with a fractured tail and a few gashes. Kingdra would have to stay overnight in one of the healing tanks to make sure that his tail healed correctly.

While he was there he had Nurse Joy check on the others that were injured in previous battles. The concussion Nidoking had was gone with no signs of permanent damage while the scales that went missing were already growing back. The fracture Nidoking had on his skull was healing really well and would be healed fully within a few days. Tyrantrums' tail was healing just fine, but would take longer to heal completely than the fracture Nidoking had. The missing chunks the dinosaur had were almost fully healed thanks to the Ditto Cells he had been injected with and his teeth, the broken ones, had fallen out while new ones started to poke through. Persians' concussion was gone like it was never there and her tail was fully healed, if it wasn't the order for her to rest Ash would have assumed that she was completely healthy and able to battle.

Ash felt a sense of pride as Nurse Joy praised how well he was taking care of his pokémon and Ash couldn't very well tell her that it was all his Aura doing it. He had read a bit more of his ancestors journal, finally having some downtime to read it the night before, only to learn that Aura could be used to aid in healing. He practiced on himself first, as he still had the bruises from his kidnapping, and once he was able to heal a bruise fully he did his best to aid his pokémon in their healing.

Ash thanked her for the compliment before taking the pokémon he could take and went to wait in the waiting area for Paul. It didn't take as long as he thought it would, as Ash thought about the large crowd that was surely leaving at the same time Paul left, for his boyfriend to join him. The smaller teen beamed as Paul congratulated him and gave him a soft kiss while Pikachu rubbed one of his cheeks against his head. Ash told Paul about his pokémon as the taller teen led him out of the stadium and that he would have to go back in the morning to retrieve Ninetales and Kingdra.

"They did very, very well," Ash said once they reached their room, "I really wish that they don't get as injured as they do, but that's the consequences of battling I suppose." Ash would have kept talking if it wasn't for the ringing of his watch interrupting him. Setting his bag on the ground, he lifted his wrist to see that it was Oak calling him.

"Afternoon Professor!" Ash greeted as he accepted the call and moved to sit down at the table in their room.

"Good afternoon, my dear boy!" Oak said as he sent Ash a smile, "I just watched your battle, and I must say it had me and my staff on the edge of our seats! Congratulations for making it to the Top 4!"

"Thank you," Ash said with a large smile of his own. A little flutter of pride and happiness filled his chest as he was congratulated by one of the men he looked up to in life.

"I do have a reason more for this call than to just congratulate you, Ash," Oak said, his demeanor quickly changed from a happy grandfather to a serious employer. Ash, noting the shift, nodded signaling that he was listening.

"I have gotten a report from an old friend of mine, who lives on the outskirts of the pastures near the mountain range," Oak began to speak, "that a large pokémon has been rampaging for a week now in the mountains. I would send Dragonite to investigate and take care of it, but the great big lump is off in Johto for his mating season. Arcanine can't reach where it has made its nest, and Charizard is at Charicific Valley at the moment. I need you to check it out for me before this pokémon starts to go after the pokémon in the pastures."

"Of course," Ash said with a nod, "Will you send Alakazam to me?"

"I will," Oak said before ending the call with a 'see you in a moment.' Ash let out a sigh as he got back up to grab his bag. He put Lucario, Krookodile, and Luxrays' balls aside as he filled their empty spaces with who he had left. He hoped that whatever this pokémon was, wouldn't injure what pokémon he had left to battle in the conference, but then again he could always go to another conference or re-do this one next season if he wished to do so. Ash heard Alakazam teleport into the room and gave Paul a kiss with a promise that he would be back.

Ash took Alakazams' hand and in one moment he stood in the middle of Oaks' lab. Assistants ran back and forth with their work and there were a few pokémon tussling on the floor in the middle of everything. Ash sent a few hellos to people and smiled at the pokémon before making his way to Oaks' office. The room was a mess as usual and the old man was typing away at his computer while another assistant was trying to organize the mess in the room.

"Hello again Professor," Ash said as he entered the room fully. The assistant looked up for a moment and gave Ash a wave before looking back down to focus on what she was doing. Oak turned his chair around and stood as he greeted Ash again only to lead the small teen out of the office. The old man kept quiet until they were outside in the pastures.

"Do you have anything on this pokémon?" Ash asked as he looked around to see if he could see Gardevoir or Leafeon, but when he didn't see either of his girls he assumed that they were at his mothers'.

"Yes! It flies, so we are assuming it is a flying type," Oak said as he gestured for Ash to get into one of the vehicles he got to get to the further pastures quickly, "it is also very blue, that's all we have on it. My friend only saw it at a distance as it flew away. So far it has burned down a few acres and torn into any pokémon that comes around. It has gotten pretty close to where my friend has settled down."

Ash nodded and watched as the scenery passed by quickly as they got closer to the large mountain range. The mountain range didn't have a name like Mt. Moon does, but it was still large and sprawling. It separated this side of Pallet and Viridian from the ocean. As they neared the tall mountain Ash could see a plume of smoke from over the trees and for a moment Ash thought that this mysterious pokémon had come by recently, but it was Oaks' friend, who was tending a small campfire.

"Samuel," the old mans' voice was gruff and deep and it matched the large lumberjack stature the man possessed. His hair was white, as was his beard, and his skin was like sun kissed leather. It was obvious that this man had spent a really good amount of time outside. Tired blue eyes looked over at Ash for a moment before they settled back on Oak.

"Ash this is Sigbjørn Redoak," Oak said introducing the old man, "I traveled with him quite a bit in my younger years. Sig, this young man is Ash Ketchum."

"The pup you told me about," Sigbjørn said with a small nod, "Nice to meet you pup, feel free to call me Sig."

"Nice to meet you as well Sig," Ash greeted back before the old man started to tell him about the pokémon he had seen. Large, blue, more active at night, but more recently has been more active during the daytime. Sig said that it wasn't any pokémon he had ever seen before, but from what he had been able to see it did bear a resemblance of a Noivern. With all the information the two older men gave him, Ash set out towards the mountain where Sig had told it it looked as though the pokémon had set up its nest.

Beside him was Zoroark, disguised as a Houndoom, and Pikachu was, as always, on his shoulder. The forest before the mountain was quiet besides the noise Ash and his pokémon made. Nothing stirred as he walked through the undergrowth, no sounds of pokémon walking, no pokémon calling out to one another, not even the wind was blowing through the trees. Soon enough Ash made it through lush green forestry, but what laid before the mountain caused his heart to hurt.

"Oh," Ash said softly as he took in the area. What was once green and thriving, was barren and covered with ash and smoldering embers while trees were burned down to their stumps and the air was dry. Ash could feel tiny blips of still living Aura through the deadened void in the area and if he closed his eyes he knew that it would be the stumps of once tall and proud trees that had once stood there. He knew that the earth would heal and there wouldn't be a scar to show what had happened, but it hurt to see it look this way.

Taking a moment to collect himself, Ash looked up the side of the mountain and saw a large cave with a little ridge jutting out. For a second he thought he had seen something moving around it, but after another moment of focusing on it and not seeing anything, he brushed it off as his imagination. Ash looked for a good way to climb the side of the mountain, but as he looked at different angles he couldn't find one.

"Zoroark, do you think you can get me up there without too much noise?" Ash asked as he turned to his illusionist. Zoroark let out a small growl before changing from the Houndoom, he had disguised himself as, into a large Noctowl. Ash nodded and praised his brilliance at choosing a silent flyer. The teen moved to get on Zoroarks' back and clung to the soft feathers as his pokémon took flight. Ash relished in feeling the cool air against his skin for the moment it took Zoroark to fly them up to the ridge.

He had Zoroark hover outside of the cave, just out of sight, for a moment just to make sure that there was nothing moving in the cave. After letting Zoroark land, and having him change into something small, Ash focused on his Aura to see if there was anything living in the cave. Not sensing anything Ash slowly made his way inside.

It was dark in the cave, but not dark enough that he couldn't make out anything. The first thing he noticed as he journeyed deeper was the random scatterings of straw and wool that laid on the rocky ground. The second was the smell, a deathly rotting smell. And the last thing he noticed was the large lump that laid at the back of the cave. Large bat like wings covered in dark scales, a long tail that ended in a sharp point, and the unmoving chest of the pokémon.

Ash let out a soft shaking sigh as he turned the flashlight that was on his watch on to get a better look and to his dismay it was exactly what he thought it was. Large and small bullet wounds littered the pokémons' body, there were several in the chest, and many more along the wings making it so that the pokémon wouldn't have been able to fly away. Pointing the flashlight down Ash saw that the pokémon lay on a destroyed nest, but that wasn't what caught Ashs' attention. Broken eggs laid near the creatures' body and littered the straw and wool with their broken forms. He could see barely formed fetuses, not developed enough to give them a defined form, and he almost got sick.

"Fucking poachers," Ash cursed as he felt his eyes begin to sting in both sadness and anger. Before he was able to do anything else a loud cracking roar and thunderous beats of wings that sounded like thunder broke the silence of the forest. Turning sharply Ash saw that the opening of the cave was quickly covered by a large form. Large and blue just like how Sig described the creature.

Ash quickly hid the light from the flashlight from the creature as it began to stalk forward. He pressed himself close to the wall of the cave and he was so sure that the creature had seen him. Ash held his breath as the creature came closer and the creature's head swung close to his face. Thankfully his hat was flipped backwards or he was sure this pokémon would have hit the brim of his hat. He watched as the creature tilted his head one way then the other before taking a deep breath.

He saw the creature shake its body for a moment before turning to continue on what it was doing, and as much as Ash wanted to keep quiet, his lungs burned for air. He tried his best to let the air out of his lungs slow enough for the creature to not hear it, and he did the same as he took in a needed deep breath. He felt Pikachu press into his thigh, and he could see the silhouette of Zoroark at the opening of the cave. Ash turned to look at the creature once more and seeing it nudge the corpse and then nose at the broken eggs, he came to the conclusion.

'That was its mate and children,' he thought to himself and felt the stinging enter his eyes again. He blinked away what tears had formed as it wasn't the time to cry over the loss of their lives. Ash slowly began to move to get to the opening where Zoroark waited. He kept looking between his goal and the creature who had started to let out soft whines, but even as he began to see the finish line, something was bound to happen.

Tink!

Ash held his breath again as his foot hit something metal making it hit something else metal. He heard the creature behind him turn and when he looked behind him the creature was staring at him. Ash didn't dare move in that moment. Moving could make it so much worse. He watched as the creature stalked forward making soft clicking noises as it did so. Ash moved back a bit as it moved forward.

It moved.

Ash moved.

And so on.

Ash took the time to study the creature. Large ears, all its' scales were in variations of the color blue with a few black scales here and there, it had fur around its neck that trailed down its back a little bit and covered its chest, it had two large wings, but also had two smaller wings right above its hips. It was so similar to the deceased pokémon in the back, but so, so different.

Ash took a chance to look behind him to see how far he had until he reached Zoroark, but he still had a bit to go. The small teen took a deep breath as he moved again, but he hit another metal object making another sound. He hoped that the creature would brush it off, but his luck had run out.

"Ahhhhh!" Ash screamed as the creature jumped on him. He threw his arms in front of his face just in time for the creature to bite down on that instead of his neck or face. The fangs the creature had tore his skin and if it bit down any harder he was sure that his arm would break.

"Pikachu! Iron Tail!" Ash called out despite knowing that his arm was going to be torn even worse when the creature was forced off. "Zoroark! Come!"

Ash watched as his pokémon did as commanded and his second scream was louder as the creature was torn from his arm. Ash immediately held his wrist to his chest and did his best to not jar it as Zoroark ran to him to drag him out of the cave. The small teen cursed as he tried to get his feet underneath him and once he did he called out for Pikachu to come back to him. Ash turned and ran to the opening with Pikachu on his shoulder and Zoroark leading the way.

"Zoroark, catch me!" Ash yelled as he threw himself off the cliff. He didn't want the creature, who had charged at them, to knock him off the ridge. Ash let out a grunt as he landed on the back of Zoroark, who had changed into a large Pidgeot. He ordered Zoroark to land just as the wild pokémon let out a roar and flew into the air.

Ash did his best to not fall to his knees as Zoroark landed. His arm throbbed and when he looked at the damage, he gagged. He felt Pikachu jump off his shoulder and heard the mouse let out a crack of lighting at the creature. Ash busied himself with wrapping his arm with an extra piece of fabric that was in his bag as his pokémon kept the creatures attention on themselves. When he was satisfied that he wasn't about to bleed to death Ash studied the movements of the creature.

They seem erratic and it kept missing its targets when it sent out attacks. The creature only seemed to send out attacks after one of his pokémon moved. It took a few moments but then it clicked in his head as he heard a series of clicks coming from the creature.

"It's blind," Ash said softly to himself as he moved to dodge a stray Flamethrower, "I-It can't see where to aim. For all it knows I'm the one who killed its mate. Pikachu! Knock it out!"

His starter let out a chitter as it unleashed a powerful Thunder causing the already tired creature to let out a screech and thrash before it tumbled out of the sky. Ash winced as it hit the ground and it took another hit with an Electro Ball before it finally passed out. Ash let out a soft sigh as he walked forward towards the creature to get a better look at it. It was huge, and if Ash had to estimate how big it was then he would compare it to Charizard. He scanned the creature with his watch as he readied a ball to capture it.

Noivern #715

The Sound Wave Pokémon

Noivern, the evolution of Noibat, are hot-blooded and ruthless when it comes to those that enter its territory. It attacks using sound waves strong enough to destroy boulders before finishing off its prey with its fangs. Noivern are known to be the ultimate predators in the dark. Noivern, however, does have a weakness, it calms if it is approached with its favorite fruit, and will become almost tame.

This Noivern is male with the ability Infiltrator. Noivern knows the moves, Boomburst, Flamethrower, Hurricane, Dragon Pulse, Focus Blast, and has the egg move Dragon Rush.

Notes: This Noivern is showing different known genetics for its species. Please refer to your nearest Pokemon Professor, or Researcher for further details. This note will update as more information is known.

Ash sighed softly as he closed his watch and looked down at the ball in his hand. He couldn't just leave the Noivern here. It wouldn't be healthy for him or any other pokémon around. Making up his mind he pressed the button of the pokéball against blue scales and watched as the Noivern was sucked up into the ball.

Ding!

"Well looks like we have another pack member," Ash told the other two as he picked up the ball, "Let's head back to Oak and tell him about Noivern, shall we?"