Ash vs the Chairman

"And here we are, the best sweet restaurant in all of Galar! Swirlix Sweets!" All sorts of desserts and sweets lined the shelves available for purchase while a desert bar buffet stood at one side where customers could fill up a plate with their own mixture of stuff rather that be a sundae, chocolate dipped berries or other produce, or a serving of delicious locally produced pie!

"Look a chocolate fountain!" Zach seemed really excited when he saw that, his eyes darting around as he looked to see what sort of stuff he could dip in it. Momentarily losing focus of and forgetting about his sugar loving Pokemon as Scorbunny slowly began reaching for the fountain with her paw.

"You can't serious be thinking about eating all of that, it's unhealthy!" Marnie remarked upon seeing him having a plate full of stuff to dip. Marnie's concern for her friend made her momentarily forget about her own Pokemon as Morpeko slipped right out of her grip and waddled across the counter towards the chocolate fountain.

"I fail to see why it's your problem, you're not my girlfriend. I can eat how I please!"

"I care cause you're my friend, ya idiot! Ya don't see other champions stuffing their mouths like pigs-I stand corrected." Marnie sweated as she noticed that Ash and Bea were currently having a competition on who could down a mountain of icecream the fastest with Pikachu and Grapploct competing alongside their trainers.

"I'm going to beat you-Aaaah, brain freeze!" Ash shouted out as he held his forehead with his free hand.

"Aha, that is going to cost-Aaaaah, brain freeze!" Bea held onto her own head as onlookers gave the two odd looks. Nobody noticing Scorbunny climbing up onto the counter and walking right under the chocolate fountain, proceeding to use it as a shower as she stood beneath it, coating her pelt in chocolate while aiming her open mouth upwards and downing mouthfuls of chocolate as it poured down her throat. Morpeko soon joined her and copied her actions before Scorbunny gave her a shove.

"Scor!" Scorbunny puffed her cheeks and tapped her foot as she told Morpeko to find his own fountain. Morpeko began stomping his feet, his fur though covered in chocolate began noticeably changed into a black/purple color scheme while his eyes turned a demonic shade of red.

"Morpek!" Morpeko lashed out, tackling Scorbunny as the two began wrestling beneath the fountain and sending chocolate goo flying everywhere, splattering their trainers along with a few others before the two began rolling through ice cream mounds, pies, and other desserts, tainting them with their fur and dirt!

"Scorbunny!" Zach gasped out in a panic as he rushed to grab his Fire type before she could cause anymore harm.

"Morpeko!" Marnie mentally facepalmed as she recalled why she didn't want to come here, Morpeko loved eating and got quite angry if he was denied what he wanted. Avoiding having deserts was no problem if there weren't any around but if Morpeko saw and smelled deserts and didn't get any... there was trouble!

Ash and Bea were so focused on their competition that they didn't even notice their friends' dilemma.

Zach soon held onto Scorbunny, his clothes became stained with chocolate as he held the chocolate soaked rabbit close to him, a few gummy candies and sprinkles were also latched onto her fur. Riolu looked up at Scorbunny, his arms cross as he shook his head.

Marnie's outfit was in a similar position as her pink shirt had chocolate spread all over it as she held a raving Morpeko in her arms. Both trainer's hair and faces a complete mess as they looked at each other with an embarrassed look. The owner of the restaurant soon came out of the back with a furious expression, tapping his foot as he hoped they'd offer to pay for the food that Scorbunny and Morpeko had ruined.

"About that, we're not rich. I came from a town going through hard times and he's a newer trainer who spends all his money on specialized Pokeballs. Neither of us are exactly loaded." Marnie stated, emptying her pockets to show her point as only a few Pokedollars were present. Zach did the same with his hoodie pockets.

The owner's face only seemed to redden as he pointed towards the door for them to leave, plastering a 'Banned' sign up on the door moments later with their chocolate coated faces underneath.

"Well that's certainly going to be embarrassing when I'm champion," Zach muttered before turning to Marnie. "Sorry about Scorbunny, I completely forgot she's crazy for sugar."

"It's fine, Morpeko's the same way." Marnie waved it off, their Pokemon didn't seem to share their trainer's emotions however as they glared at one another.

"Scor."

"Mor."

Marnie let out a sigh. "We should definitely go to the Pokemon Center and get you cleaned up though, seeing how you're registering for the Galar League you'll want to look your best."

"You do have a point," Zach agreed as he glanced back towards the restaurant. "They didn't even notice we got kicked out and with them getting brain freeze every two minutes it'll possibly take an hour or so to finish. We'll be back before they know it,"

They headed for the Pokemon Center which was fairly easy to locate as they'd both been there before and proceeded to rent a single room, deciding that it'd be simpler if they just took turns using the same shower since they didn't know if they'd be staying the night or not. No sense taking up two rooms for only ten to twenty minutes of use.

"Ladies first," Zach bowed lightly to Marnie before grabbing a wet rag and looking towards Scorbunny. "Grab her, Riolu!"

"Rio!" Riolu tackled Scorbunny, preventing her from escaping and making a mess of the room as Zach began wiping her fur. Scorbunny squirmed as she hated the feeling of water touching her body.

"Scor!"

"I know you hate it but it's for your own good, you don't want Bug types harassing you cause you reek of chocolate do you?"

Scorbunny went silent but still had a cross look as she mumbled lightly. Upon Marnie exiting the shower room fully dressed and cleaned up, Zach went on in while taking Scorbunny to help finish getting most of the remaining chocolate off her. The pair exited not too long afterward, while Marnie had several outfits that looked exactly the same Zach did not, his hoodie was currently bundled up in his bag to get washed later while he wore a Gliscor-Man t-shirt in it's place. Marnie gave the shirt an odd look but didn't say anything as to not offend her friend as they ventured back to the others, happening to beat them as Ash and Bea didn't exit until afterwards. Marnie's fists clenched as she noticed the two seemed to rather enjoy each other's company despite their rivalry, both of them looked to have had a good time.

"You may have bested me in battle but I won a different battle!" Bea laughed, clearly having beaten Ash on finishing the mountain of ice cream.

"Ha, just you wait until next time!"

"Yeah, I'll win both!" Bea had a cocky expression as she said that.

"No you won't cause I'll win both!"

"Arceus it's like looking in a mirror!" Zach shook his head lightly as he muttered out before speaking up. "Hey, the Galar League opening ceremony starts soon. I've got to get there!"

"Oh right, sorry." Ash turned to face him before quickly glancing back at Bea. "You sure you can't join us?"

"Nah, I've got some intense training to do if I'm gonna catch up and I work best without distractions. You better watch out though cause I'll track you down wherever in the world you're hiding and challenge you to a rematch right then and there!" Bea laughed.

"I look forward to it," Ash grinned as the two shook hands once more, Bea walked over to shake Zach and Marnie's, Zach accepted but Marnie just gave her a blank stare, her hands still clenched. Bea reached out and grabbed her hand, shaking it for her with a smile before giving them all a wave.

"Tata for now!"

"That is a Gym?!" Ash gasped out upon seeing a massive stadium, it was even bigger than a Grand Festival and looked almost as impressive as an official Pokemon League Championship stadium like the one at Indigo Plateau and Lumiose City!

"Yep, thousands of people gather to watch us compete and watch in the stands!" Zach informed, a light twitch visible in one eye for a brief moment as his own words got to him. "E-Each match is also publicly broadcasted across the region, battling is big here so lots of people tune in every day in hopes of seeing their favorite competitor earn his next badge or even compete in the Galar League finals proper!"

"It's like any other League, only there are only eight badges to collect and not an infinite amount scattered about. Our region's got a reputation to protect after all, we've got the strongest Gym Leaders! It takes a lot of hard work to become a Gym Leader here."

"Even the Gym Leaders have fans! Raihan has a lot of fans, female in particular. While a former Gym Leader Peony is just as popular with men. And Melony, man she's a total milf!"

"Raihan, he sounds familiar..." Ash looked thoughtful for a moment.

"He's participating in the World Championship, Mustard is his idol and he aims to claim the title in his honor." Zach added.

"You sure know a lot about the Gym Leaders." Ash was surprised, he hardly knew anything about the Gym Leaders within his home region.

"Well I aim to win, I've gotta make sure that my team is built to handle every one of them and I want to give them all the best battle I can!"

Ash smirked as he raised his fist. "That's the spirit, going all out with another opponent makes for a truly impressive fight!"

Marnie looked between the two before lightly coughing. "Ya two going in? Cause the ceremony starts real soon!"

"Oh shoot-!" Zach quickly rushed inside, Scorbunny and Riolu hot on his heels as they soon entered a line which thankfully wasn't too long. Mostly just last minute entries such as himself. He did notice some familiar faces in line though such as Bede and Klara.

"Eevee!" Eevee rushed over upon spotting him, Bede scoffed and shook his head.

"Hello Eevee, you and your trainer doing okay?" Zach reached down to pet Eevee with a smile, Eevee happily crying out in response.

"Who asked you, weakling? I'm glad you finally saw sense and ditched that old fool, he was only holding you back." Bede tapped his foot to recall Eevee to him, Eevee quickly rushed back to his trainer.

"He isn't an old fool, he was a former champion!" Zach shouted out with a glare, even though he ditched Mustard he still held a great deal of respect for him. The guy was the closest thing to a father he knew!

"Whatever, his mind's mellowed out with age." Bede turned away from him. "You'll never get far, I left and studied under a real master, Chairman Rose! He came in second place in a Galar League competition, losing only to Mustard. And unlike him he hasn't gone crazy!"

"He what-?" Ash perked up as Bede's words got his attention. Chairman Rose was almost champion level in strength?! He had to battle him, no doubt it'd be an exciting match!

"Heh, so that was my replacement?! The weakest champion ever?" Bede laughed.

Ash gritted his teeth and growled out, wanting to put Bede in his place but realized that he'd just annihilate his team. It'd be like if he battled against Zach, heavily one sided in Ash's favor and not a fun or fair match!

"Ash isn't weak, he's won almost every battle I've seen him fight! Wait-How did you know?" Zach narrowed his eyes.

"Hey you autistic freak!" Klara smirked as she threw her arm around Bede's shoulder. "Bede and I have decided to hook up!"

"I promised no such thing, a true trainer has no time for meaningless things such as a relationship." Bede pushed her aside. "We've merely formed an alliance to strategize against anyone we deem a threat to us or the great Chairman! And that weakling isn't our concern, I could easily best him with one Pokemon."

"Oi, did you just call Zach what I think you just did?!" Marnie growled out, glaring at Klara as she pulled up the sleeves of her jacket.

"Oooh, is that your girlfriend?" Klara laughed while mocking them by faking a scared look. "Figures that you'd settle for the best you got."

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Huh?" Ash glanced between the two before shrugging, sensing no romantic connection whatsoever. It was clear Klara was just trying to get a rise out of them.

Klara let out a cackle. "Sure," Both of them glared at her.

"Anyways, I just got my number so buh bye! I won't get any more fans standing around losers like you three!"

Bede received his own uniform, silently leering at Zach before walking off.

"Those two are jerks, how come you let them push you around like that?" She'd noticed that he stuck up for that Mustard guy and Ash but he just took anything Bede and Klara threw at him.

"Why bother fighting them with words? I'll prove my worth to those two in the Galar League but I'm not going to let them insult my friends."

"But that girl, she called you-"

"I know, I have asperger's. I don't like bringing it up as some people like her think it makes you a freak show, I've managed to tone it out mostly. Riolu doesn't like it when she says that though," He nodded towards Riolu who was doing a deep growl as his eyes followed Klara as she disappeared.

"Huh, well that explains some stuff about you but you're still just another person at the end of the day!" Marnie smiled before giving him a light push. "It is your turn now though."

Zach turned to face the registration counter, making his best attempt at a smile as the receptionist took his picture before scanning his Rotom Phone.

"Riolu, Scorbunny, Butterfree, Zigzagoon and Corvisquire..." The receptionist muttered. "Okay now give me the number you choose to go by, keep in mind that it's permanent throughout your Galar League career."

"Sixty four, in honor of one of the best consoles of all time!"

"Okay, and who will be your sponsor?"

"My sponsor..." Zach paused as his face suddenly went pale. It was supposed to be Mustard, he'd completely forgotten all about that factor until now! "Um you see,"

"If you don't have a sponsor then you can't compete,"

"I-I don't have one..." Zach looked to the ground with a embarrassed look, Klara could be heard laughing around the corner.

It was either a matter of dumb luck or sheer coincidence but the Chairman himself had been walking by at that moment, his eyes stopping on the shameful looking trainer before his eyes turned to and focused upon Ash with a hint of interest in his eye.

"I'll sponsor the young man," Rose spoke up, startling Zach who jumped upon hearing Rose.

"C-Chairman Rose, hello sir! Thank you so much!" Zach quickly bowed to show his respect, Riolu copied his trainer's expression.

"I know great promise when I see it, you kid definitely have it!" Rose grinned as he held out his hand. "What's your name, son?"

Marnie narrowed her eyes, Chairman Rose may have been talking to Zach but his eyes were on Ash the whole time. What was his angle here?

"It's Zach,"

"Zach, eh? Yes I can see it now! 'The Zack Attack!' I can tell that you aren't the sort to give up, your definitely worth the invest-er sponsoring!"

Marnie gritted her teeth, her companions may not exactly be smart when it came to things outside of the battlefield but she had a bad feeling about Chairman Rose. She grabbed hold of Zach's shoulder and pulled him away from Rose.

"Thank you good sir but my friend here would have to decline, he's not your marketing tool!"

Rose visibly flinched although he seemed more bothered by the action than the words, a smile soon crept across his face. "Marnie, eh? You had your brother backing you so you wouldn't know what it's like. The search for a sponsor can be long and hard, especially with minutes until your friend is stuck waiting until next season!"

"Can I sponsor him?" Ash immediately asked. Chairman Rose changed his tone when he looked at Ash, shaking his head with a polite smile.

"Mr. Ketchum I have to politely decline as the Alola League isn't recognized as a official League here."

Ash clenched his fists lightly before looking at Zach with an apologetic expression.

"Tell you what, if you can best me in battle then I'll allow for you to sponsor him."

"Ash you don't have to do that, I can find somebody else. I-"

Ash interrupted his friend with a smile. "Don't you worry, I'm sure I can beat him!"

Zach forced himself to smile but as soon as Ash's back was turned an unsure expression formed across his face.

"We'll go outside for this, a special preliminary match! You'll need this though," Rose handed Ash a Dynamax Band. "You'll be needing that, your friend will get his later but all Galar League competitors own one for a special reason as you'll soon see."

Chairman Rose led them through the challenger section of the Gym, taking them through the locker room where eight trainers Ash hadn't seen before stood there and watched them pass.

"You wait here and watch on the tv with them," Rose instructed Zach and Marnie. "Too dangerous for spectators to be close to the arena."

The two nodded in understanding while Ash and Rose stepped out onto the field.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it seems like the scheduled preliminary match between Lance and Mustard has been put on hold. Instead we're to see-Since when did Alola have a champion? We're gonna see the Alola Champion Ash Ketchum battling it out with our very own Chairman in a one on one battle!"

The crowd cheered out though Ash noticed they were mostly chanting out Rose's name. It didn't bother him though as he was focused completely on the upcoming battle. If Zach's sponsorship was truly on the line then it isn't time to fool around and choose somebody like Palpitoad, he needed to use his strongest Pokemon!

"Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pikapi!"

Chairman Rose smirked upon Ash's choice, the referee waving his flag for them to begin as Rose grabbed ahold of a Pokeball.

"Copperajah, I choose you!"

A massive orange and green elephant Pokemon landed on the ground and blasted it's trunk as it cried out upon release!

"Copperajah the elephant Pokemon, their trunks have incredible grip strength, strong enough to crush giant rocks into powder!"

Ash's heart sank upon his Pokedex confirming the Pokemon's typing as Steel.

"Maybe I should have chosen Charizard," Ash thought to himself before shaking his head as he thrust out his arm.

"Pikachu, let's go with Volt Tackle!"

"Pi-Pika?!"

Chairman Rose held up his hand before raising the arm containing his own Dynamax Band. "I suggest you follow in my example," He returned Copperajah as the Dynamax Band lit up and glowed purple while the Pokeball began glowing and growing within Rose's hand. "Copperajah, Dynamax!"

Ash jumped back as Copperajah returned kaiju sized, towering high above while all he could noticeably see now was the Pokemon's massive trunk! Ash looked at his Dynamax Band before looking at Pikachu. "Problem here, Pikachu doesn't like-"

"Pika!"

"What? You sure?"

Pikachu firmly nodded but flicked his tail. "Pika pi!" He shouted out with an impatient look as if it say 'Hurry and get me out quick!".

Ash quickly returned Pikachu to his Pokeball for the first time in eight years, the Pokeball soon going supersize before bursting open to reveal a kaiju sized Pikachu, Pikachu looking like he put on a bit of pounds as he was noticeably chubbier in this form.

"Pikachu!"


"Aaaaah! Pikachu's gone supersized!" Meowth panicked in the audience where him and Jessie and James were currently selling food to help fund their operations.

"He's so big!" Jessie gasped.

"I think we're going to need a bigger mech." James sweated.


"Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted, thinking that the moves were still called the same which was quite excusable given he wasn't native to the region. Ash soon felt his Rotom Phone vibrating causing him to pick it up and hear Marnie shouting at him.

"It's G-Max Volt Crash!"

"Er-G-Max Volt Crash!" Ash spoke out the words, finding them a bit silly but Pikachu responded to them. Pikachu fired a bolt of lightning up into the clouds and moments later multiple bolts of lightning came crashing down from the sky, blasting their opponent with incredible power!

"Whoa!" Ash's eyes were lit up as he watched the attack come crashing down, impressed a move as such even exists! Were all Dynamax moves like this?

"Max Steelspike!" Copperajah slammed his feet against the ground, causing it to shake as a series of gray spikes appeared and made their way to Pikachu. While these moves were powerful there are appeared to be no way to dodge the moves, meaning that it was mostly a contest of who falls first.

"Max Steelspike!" Pikachu slammed down his fist as another series of gray spikes burst from the ground and struck Copperajah!

"Max Quake!" Copperajah raised up onto his hind legs before slamming his front legs downwards against the ground, the ground erupted in a sudden series of heavy shakes almost as if an actual earthquake was happening! Pikachu was soon struck by the fissure, causing him to cry out before the cloud started to vanish and he reverted back to normal form, collapsing onto his side with swirls in his eyes as the crowd cheered loudly.

Ash rushed over to his companion and felt his cheeks before lifting him up into his arms with a warm smile. "You did your best, buddy. Thank you for doing what you did." Ash stroked Pikachu behind the ears as Rose returned Copperajah to his ball. The man eyed Ash once more before smirking as he approached him, knowing his impression was right about him.

"You fought well kid-"

"So you'll still let me sponsor him, right?!" Ash asked, experiencing this sort of situation many times on his adventure like when he lost to Bianca's dad but he let her continue traveling anyways.

Rose shook his head. "A deal's a deal sorry, either I'll sponsor him or he has nothing!"

Ash couldn't help but clench his fists, he may be a bit dense at times but even he could tell something was definitely off about Rose. He didn't want his friend associated with that guy at all!

"Time to make a call." Ash growled out lightly, turning his back to Rose as he left the field.


"You serious?!" Zach held up a white and gold themed uniform as he looked it over with an awestruck look, the Aether Foundation symbol present on the back of it.

"Yep, they owed me a favor so I asked if they'd be willing to sponsor you. Lusamine was looking to establish a branch here as the Foundation's noticed some odd Ultra Space frequencies so she figures this'll get the company in good standings!" Ash grinned

"Thank you, you're a good friend!" Zach smiled before folding up the uniform. "You didn't have to do that."

"But I want to, I want you to be at your best cause we're gonna battle someday and I want you to be able to provide the best battle possible! Plus I could use somebody whose more familiar on Dynamaxing to help me properly strategize for it as I'll need to beat Raihan and he'll no doubt be utilizing a G-Max form of his own."

"Oh he totally is!" Zach confirmed before shaking his head lightly. "But we should probably focus on the opening ceremony, it's about to start and I don't want to miss anything important." He wanted to make sure if there were any new rules implemented that he was in the know.

"Good evening Galar, that was quite the match wasn't it?" Chairman Rose spoke to the crowd. "Today marks the beginning of this year's Galar League season, you've got twelve months to gather all eight badges and present them to the officials at Wyndon to register for the Master Cup where the new champion will be crowned!"

"That'll be me!" Zach smirked as Riolu raised his fists, Scorbunny kicking at the air in excitement.

"And without further ado I do believe this is what you've all been waiting for, seeing your favorite Gym Leaders!" The crowd roared in excitement as a tall and muscular farmer dude walked onto the stage, his straw hat shielding his eyes from the sun as he gave the crowd a smile and a wave. "Your favorite farmer and Turffield Gym Leader, the first hurdle on the Galar League journey, it's Milo!"

"Next up is the beautiful fashion queen, model and Gym Leader all rolled up in one package, it's Nessa!" The crowd cheered loudly as a beautiful dark skinned girl walked out onto the field, her long black hair flowing in the wind and her sapphire blue eyes matched the blue highlights within her hair.

"And Motostoke's very own Gym Leader, Kabu. Former Hoenn trainer and one of the Hoenn Gym Leader's grandfathers, the ever burning flame... it's Kabu!" The crowd roared as an older man that looked to be about 60 rushed onto the field, looking in perfect health despite his age as he waved at the roaring crowd. "Our newest addition, the mysterious sensation known as Allister!" As he spoke a younger trainer rose up from the ground alongside a Ghost type, he wore a Shy Guy looking mask that prevented anyone from seeing his true face but Ash could guess judging by his height that he was younger than they were, possibly fourteen or fifteen.

"And the one to have held the title of Gym Leader for 70 years, still proving to be a challenge despite her age it's Opal!" A older lady walked onto the field utilizing a cane for support as she waved to the crowd with one hand, a smile across her face as her eyes seemed to be searching for something.

"A mother and son duo, the title of Gym Leader has ran in their family for some time and Melony is looking to have her son take over the role but he lacks inspiration to take over full time. Thus they run it as a duo for the foreseeable future." Of course it had more to do with a particular part of the role but that was a close guarded secret by the family.

"Piers is unfortunately not here," Rose's announcement was followed by boos and multiple groans and moans. "So last of all we're at our final and strongest contender for the Champion role. Raihan studied under Lance himself and has even beaten other Dragon Masters such as Drayden, Drake, Drasna, and Lance's own cousin! He's already ranked pretty high on the World Championship too!" Various females screamed with joy as Raihan stepped out, giving them a wave and winking as he made his way to the others.

"Now that we've got the Gym Leaders introduced, the Galar League can officially begin! I hope you all play it safe and have a good time out there!" Rose looked up in Ash's direction as he finished, his grip tightening on the microphone before dropping it as he walked off the stage.


Ash and his friends headed for the Pokemon Center, deciding to call it a night before taking the train to Turffield in the morning so Zach could battle Milo. Zach was currently up in the room trying on his gym uniform while Marnie sat on the edge of her bed as she chatted with what sounded like her brother on the other end. Ash meanwhile was out practicing with Snivy and Oshawott on the practice field when he suddenly got a call from Professor Oak.

"Keep practicing you two, just tone it down a bit." Ash instructed so he could listen without their attacks blocking out Oak's voice. "Professor, everything okay?" Oak didn't normally call him unless it was an emergency regarding the lab, his mom or something else entirely.

"Here you mean? Yes my boy, everything's fine!" Oak waved it off with an assuring smile. "I do have a favor to ask of you though..."


"So we're going to Kanto?" Marnie yawned out as she climbed into bed.

"Yes I promised Oak that we'd get there as soon as possible. His associate Professor Cherise has a Ghost problem that needs my assistance in dealing with as it's scaring off newcomers from receiving their first Pokemon along with startling staff and Pokemon themselves!"

"But Zach's Gym battle-" Marnie started.

"Can wait, I don't mind!" Zach smiled while holding his uniform in his hands. "If it wasn't for Ash then I wouldn't have a sponsor, besides I feel bad for the new coming trainers. Most are ten years old, they don't need that trauma."

"Okay then I guess we're going to Kanto then," Marnie shrugged lightly with a light smile.

"You hear that Kanto?! I'm coming home!" Ash shouted out with a grin.

Geez Dynamax is boring to write, it's basically hit-hit-hit until somebody goes down! I'm not going to incorporate it as quick when it comes down to Zach and Milo reaching their final Pokemon, they'll duke it out a bit before Dynamaxing. Same with any future ones including Ash vs Raihan when it happens

Anyways Chloe will appear next chapter