Ash vs Wallace

It was early in the morning as Marnie entered the Pokemon Center, her gaze was focused on the Pokeball within her hand while she walked towards the front desk. "Well Morpeko we did it, we managed to capture a Houndoom!"

"Morpek!" The small rodent chirped out from her shoulder. It had been a tough battle but eventually they were able to subdue the alpha of the pack resulting in it submitting and requesting to join as it no longer saw itself fit for leadership after the loss! "Morpeko?" Morpeko's attention immediately turned towards the café with an eager expression on his face while his stomach could be heard growling out.

Marnie couldn't help but let out a light chuckle. "In a bit, we've got to restore Houndoom to perfect health first!" She handed the ball over to the Pokemon Center's Nurse Joy who walked off into the back with it before returning with a smile as she lightly nodded her head to show that all was well. As Marnie started to thank her, Morpeko had gotten impatient and leaped right off of her shoulder before making a mad rush for the café!

"Couldn't ya just have waited a few more seconds?" Marnie shook her head before hastily following her Pokemon, her movement increasing once she saw that Morpeko was about to leap headfirst into a fruit buffet, grabbing the Pokemon just in time before pulling him up against her chest. "Not this time! Here, eat this." She picked up a stack of pancakes which the Pokemon hastily began scarfing it all down shortly after, Marnie shook her head before turning and noticing that Ash was already there despite how early it was. She'd have thought he'd be resting as much as possible in order to have a clear head given who he was going up against.

"Ya already awake?" Marnie sat down across from him while setting down Morpeko's plate as the rodent continued scarfing down food.

"Yeah I just had trouble sleeping, the excitement really had me going!" Ash explained. "Wallace lost his status only a few years ago so surely his Pokemon are still stronger than most that I've fought over the years, I've been repeatedly going through the strategy in my head thinking over the Pokemon I've chosen and if they're the right ones for the job or not. One mistake could cost me the match, I can't just rush right into it like I've done against Steven in the past, got to keep a cool head."

"I'm sure you'll be fine, during every battle that I've seen you do you've always made the right choices. Sure Hugh beat you but he was able to get a good read on you and used that to his advantage. You managed to beat Drake, one of Hoenn's strongest trainers and I heard about your victory over Siebold. Keep a calm mind and trust that you'll make the right call, I have no doubt that you'll come out on top!" Marnie placed her hand atop of is with a warm smile which Ash soon returned with one of his own. "Ya did eat though right? Ya can't go fighting on an empty stomach!"

"Already taken care of!" Ash pointed towards some empty plates buried beneath a sleeping Pikachu, a rumble could be heard from Ash's stomach causing him to form a light blush as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Though I suppose I'll go and get seconds!"

Before long Chloe had come down to join them followed by Dawn a few moments afterwards while May and Zach arrived together not long after. Discussion was focused on his upcoming match as the Pokemon ate alongside their trainers. Ash noticed a Zeraora eating alongside Zach's Pokemon which momentarily surprised him as the only one he'd ever seen prior to that was from an alternate dimension, he wasn't even sure if they existed in his own dimension until now! He figured it best to ask later though as everyone else was close to finishing their food, meaning that he was mere moments away from getting to battle Wallace!

"Where are you meeting Wallace anyways?" Marnie suddenly asked causing Ash to sweat as he realized that he actually didn't have a proper response to that.

"He didn't say."

"Well hopefully he knows where you are then," Chloe shook her head. "It's quite strange that neither of you even thought to pick a destinat-"

"Mr. Ketchum," A well dressed man in a suit arrived, his hands covered up with a pair of white gloves. "Wallace has asked that I take you to a secluded area outside of the city, he thought it best not to inform you yesterday as he didn't want his fans showing up and distracting you or possibly getting in the way of the battle. I've got a limo parked out front just for you, he'll be waiting for our arrival shortly."

"A limo?!" Chloe's eyes lit up.

"Yes, a limo." The butler lightly bowed. "He knows that you have quite the party so a limo fits better than a taxi."

"Well alright then," Ash stood up with an eager smile while pumping his fists as excitement filled his body. "I say we don't keep the man waiting, I'm looking forward to battling him!"


After a twenty minute drive the limo had come to a halt alongside a dirt trail, the butler exited not long after and opened the back door for them. "That trail will lead you to a clearing, Wallace will be waiting for you there. I will remain here for when you're ready to return,"

"Alright, thanks for the ride!" Ash gave the man a wave along with a friendly smile before turning to walk down the trail with his friends. It didn't take them that much of a walk but it was just enough that the battlefield was safely concealed by the trees and far enough that it wouldn't be overheard by passerby's along the road. Wallace could be seen reading a fashion magazine, the man seeming entranced by an article before the sound of one of them stepping on a twig caught his attention. He folded up the magazine before stuffing it into his pocket as he clasped his hands together.

"You've made it, marvelous! You want to get right into the action or got any last minute prep work needing to be done?" Wallace asked, seeming to be rather polite and accepting of the various battling styles that trainers had especially as he didn't seem to have a negative response when Ash answered.

"I'd like to get right into the swing of things! I promised Marnie that I'd take her to the Wind Festival so I'd rather not have us miss that."

"Understandable, I'll try and not keep you from your date then!" Wallace reached for his belt and grabbed one of his Pokeballs before tossing it up and down as he kept his gaze locked on Ash. "So just as a refresher this will be a four on four, once one of us either runs out or forfeits the match will be over."

Ash nodded his head in understanding, he already had a feeling that Wallace wasn't competing in the World Championship and the lack of a Rotom Drone proved that. It didn't matter to Ash though as he was doing this both for the experience and to prove how far he and his Pokemon had come! "I'm ready whenever you are!"

Wallace formed a light smirk before tossing the ball forward. "Tentacruel darling, you're up!"

"Tentacruel!" The Kantonian jellyfish Pokemon burst out.

"Melmetal, I choose you!" Everyone other than Ash himself let out a collective gasp of shock as the Steel typed mythical appeared before them. None of them had seen or let alone heard of the Pokemon before now.

"What the heck is that thing?!" Marnie asked while Chloe looked at Melmetal with a more fascinating look to her eyes as she looked the Pokemon up and down in wonder.

"Melmetal the Hex Nut Pokemon, revered long ago for its capacity to create iron from nothing, for some reason it's species disappeared 3,000 years and only reappeared recently with only one known in existence. Not much data is gathered on this species." Zach's Rotom Phone read out as he scanned the creature.

"That is quite the fascinating Pokemon, Ash! But I'm afraid that this battle won't last long, Rain Dance!" Tentacruel raised up his tentacles and began spinning about before rain began heavily downpouring upon the battlefield. Wallace was clearly setting up for something but little did he know that he'd fallen into Ash's trap, with the former champion being unable to utilize Poison attacks that left him with only Water and possibly Ice attacks, and most Water specialists utilized the move in their strategizes!

"Hydro Pump!" Tentacruel aimed his tentacles in front of his body as he began blasting a powerful jet of water from his mouth and aiming it directly at Melmetal!

"Thunderbolt!" Wallace and the others let out a collective gasp as the move was a surprise to them. Melmetal's body sparked as electricity surrounded his body, the Steel type pounded his fists together and let out a cry as he fired off the electricity, sending it striking through the air before coming into contact with Tentacruel, the jellyfish Pokemon let out a loud cry as electricity surged through his veins before quickly coming to a collapse as Melmetal stood victorious.

"Unbelievable, I had no idea Melmetal could utilize an Electric attack! Isn't he Steel?" Chloe asked, maintaining her fascinating expression as she eyed the Steel type.

"He is but if you're asking me as to why or how you won't get an answer, he already knew that move back when we met!" Ash admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Melmetal!" The Steel type copied it's trainers actions while Wallace returned Tentacruel to his Pokeball.

"No doubt that is one of your Alola team members, I heard some of them were remarkable and strange Pokemon." Wallace stated as he retrieved another Pokemon. "You had the element of surprise before but let's see if your luck will continue, Gyarados my darling I need you!"

"GYAAAA!" A Gyarados burst out, leering at Melmetal with an intimidating expression. The Steel type responded by smashing his fists together and uttering out a shout.

"Metal!"

Wallace then lifted up the sleeve of his outfit to reveal a Mega Ring, reaching right for it as his fingers activated the key stone, resulting in the familiar pink glow to surround Gyarados' body as he began to transform into Mega Gyarados!

Ash gritted his teeth before throwing out his arm. A Mega Evolution was no joke on it's own but if the Pokemon was already extremely powerful before the activation then it'd just become an even bigger challenge! He wasn't going to give up right away though, Melmetal hadn't taken any hits himself yet so he was still in this one hundred percent!

"Let's do this Melmetal, Double Iron Bash!"

"Huh?" May and Zach glanced at one another as if they hoped the other would know what that move was.

"I-Is that a move exclusive to the species?" Chloe pondered out loud while Dawn lightly shrugged.

Melmetal began rapidly spinning his body before twirling across the field at a rapid speed, his body continuing to rapidly spin as he stretched out his arms and started repeatedly bashing Gyarados' face, enraging the Water/Dragon as it's face turned red with anger before letting out a blood hungry roar, his eyes turned into a violent looking state as he leered at Melmetal as the Pokemon had resumed his former position across the field.

"You're not the only one with surprises though," Wallace snapped his fingers before shouting out his next command. "Flamethrower!"

"GYAAAA!" Gyarados opened his mouth wide as a stream of fire came soaring out, blasting Melmetal with it as the Steel type let out a grunt. He dug his feet into the ground and took a firm stance but the Fire was quickly getting to him as he couldn't fight his weakness for long. Melmetal's legs began growing wobbly before giving out on him as the Pokemon toppled over and landed face first in the dirt with a loud thud! It's one eye turned to a swirl as it uttered out a light groan.

"You fought well Melmetal, take a good long rest." Ash smiled as he returned Melmetal to his ball, he looked back up at Mega Gyarados before reaching for a different one. "Greninja, I choose you!"

"Greninja!" Greninja burst out and did a light pose before feeling a familiar emotion of Ash's, the two of them closed their eyes and started moving their bodies in synch as an orange light enveloped Greninja's body before revealing the form of Ash-Greninja!

"What the hell?!" Marnie gasped, startled at the sight.

"It looks just like Ash!" Dawn shouted.

"H-How's that even possible?!" Chloe asked.

"...Is that a Mega or not?" Zach added on while looking confused.

"It's not, this is called a bond phenomenon. Something that only occurs once every thousand years and only happens when a Pokemon and a trainer have a remarkable bond!" Ash explained.

"...then how come it happened to Greninja and not Pikachu or Charizard?"

"T-That's actually a good question," Ash stated seeing how those two were a lot closer to him than Greninja was. He then shook his head, getting back into the swing of things as he threw his arm forward once more. "Night Slash!" Greninja raced across the field, his hands glowed a shade of light purple before taking a slash at Gyarados with the water serpent letting out an enraged cry as the attack struck a critical blow!

"Hyper Beam!" Gyarados charged up the beam rather quickly before firing it off, his anger fueling his attack as it was set off much quicker than normal giving Greninja and Ash little time to react as the attack struck and knocked Greninja back. The frog wasn't anywhere close to being taken out though, his eyes met with his trainers as they both shared a light nod.

"Water Shuriken!" Greninja began summoning up the massive orange colored water shuriken that his bond form was capable of before taking a hard swing and launching it directly at Gyarados as he was stuck recharging, the attack met and exploded upon impact causing Gyarados to be sent flying backwards before landing in a heap.

"Alright, we did it!" Ash and Greninja high fived before their attention turned back to Gyarados as he slowly began rising back up, still in his Mega form as he let out an enraged roar!

"Thrash!" Gyarados lashed out, fully utilizing his anger as he repeatedly struck out with his tail and rammed it against Greninja's body. His movements quick and full of aggression as he didn't hold back the slightest! Greninja rose up after Gyarados finished, standing in place while swaying back and forth with a dizzy daze about him before shaking it off and turning his focus back to the Mega evolved serpent.

"Gre!"

"Let's finish it for real this time, Water Shuriken!" Greninja pulled back his arms as the massive orange water shuriken formed between them before hurling it across the field at Gyarados, the impact met in an explosion and Gyarados was sent flying once more before collapsing as the pink glow surrounded his body, revealing his defeated form as swirls appeared within his eyes.

Ash and Greninja shared another high five while Wallace returned Gyarados. "Remarkable, as strong as my bond with Gyarados is yours turned out to be far stronger. I'm impressed of the bond you two share and that form is quite fascinating but I'm afraid I must cut it's time in the battle short, Wailord use Heavy Slam!"

The massive whale Pokemon burst out and took a giant leap into the air, Greninja and Ash both stared up at it with widened eyes as they knew it would be difficult to avoid having Wailord not crush Greninja when it already took up most of the battle field! The whale soon came crashing down, squashing Greninja beneath it as a grunt could be heard beneath the Pokemon's body. Wailord backed up to reveal Greninja's unconscious form as the frog had returned to his normal state!

Ash returned Greninja and locked at Wailord before looking down at the final Pokeball. "You're gonna have to be fast here, Sceptile I choose you!"

"Scep!" Sceptile burst out and smirked upon looking up at his opponent.

"Sunny Day!"

"Rain Dance!" Wallace was rather quick to cancel Ash out, as quickly as the sun had turned bright it had turned into a heavy downpour! Ash gritted his teeth before throwing out his arm.

"Agility then follow up with Leaf Storm!" Sceptile leaped up as multiple green leaves began flowing and flying around his body, the Grass type blasting them forward as Wailord was soon met with a barrage of leaves!

"Clever but I wonder if you are quick enough to dodge this or if I'll remove another chess piece from the board," Wallace smirked before snapping his finger. "Wailord darling, another Heavy Slam if you will!"

"Wail!" Wailord leaped up into the air, exposing his underbelly which caused Ash to smirk before nodding at Sceptile. "Sceptile, leap up and slash a few times with Leaf Blade before hurling yourself out there however you can!"

"Tile!" Sceptile sprang up into the air, the blades along his arms began glowing bright green as he repeatedly slashed at Wailord's underbelly before quickly hurling himself out by digging his his hands into the whale and taking a hard swing with his legs before letting go, flying safely out of there as Wailord came crashing down into the ground with a hard thud as dust rose up and covered it from view for a brief moment before eventually exposing the defeated form of Wailord as it laid on it's side with swirls in it's eyes.

"Wail..."

Wallace returned Wailord before giving Ash another smirk. "Well done Ash, you've done well to get this far but I must warn you that this next Pokemon is my strongest!" He grabbed a hold of another Pokeball before hurling it forward. "Milotic let's finish this!"

"Milo!" Milotic let out a melodic tune as she burst out, putting on a bit of a show by posing before retaining a serious expression as she locked eyes with Sceptile.

"Blizzard!" Milotic opened her mouth and began pelting Sceptile with a powerful blizzard, the Grass type shivered but remained strong and persistent, not giving up as the attack faded away.

"Sunny Day!" Ash ordered out once more, Sceptile's move went unchallenged this time as the sun began shining brightly upon the field and made it rather difficult to see as the ones spectating the battle were forced to squint as they could hardly see what was going on!

"Solar Beam!" The bulbs along Sceptile's back began glowing brightly as he opened up his mouth before firing off a bright yellow beam of solar energy at his opponent! The attack struck hard as Milotic was flung back before slowly raising up, it looked to have done a great deal of damage and no doubt another one would finish the job!

"Alright Sceptile, let's end this! Solar Bea-"

"Recover!" Milotic's body began glowing brightly as the bruises disappeared from her body along with the serpent looking refreshed as she eyed Sceptile once more. Ash and Sceptile both let off a lightly frustrated look before Ash threw out his arm.

"Solar Beam!"

"Scep!" Sceptile fired off another beam of solar energy from his mouth.

"Blizzard!" Milotic opened her mouth and began firing off another fierce blizzard. The attack met the solar beam and most of it sacrificed itself to shrink the attack while the remainder of the snow flew through and struck Sceptile! The Grass type started to shiver again as his body turned a shade of dark blue before becoming encased in a block of ice!

"Sceptile return," Ash returned Sceptile to his Pokeball, knowing that he couldn't afford to wait it out. It was better to see if Pikachu could finish this rather than hope that the ice would melt before Milotic finished Sceptile! "Alright buddy, you're up!"

"Pika!" Pikachu leaped onto the field, his tail twitching with anticipation as both trainer and Pokemon set their eyes upon the Milotic.

"Recover!" Milotic began glowing once more as she shed off any damage that Sceptile had done. Ash gritted his teeth before recalling the new move that Pikachu knew, it would be difficult to pull off the maneuver he just thought of but if they could get it to work then there was no way Milotic could use Recover!

"Pikachu, use Surf!" Pikachu smirked and with a flick of his tail a massive wave of water formed beneath his paws and began rising upwards before towering over Milotic. "Now use Thunderbolt on the water!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked as electricity surged through the Electric type, the electrical mouse letting off his signature cry as he unleashed the electricity into the water causing it to spark with electricity and it started coming down on top of Milotic, the serpent letting out a gasp before following up with a loud shriek of pain as water covered her body followed swiftly by the electricity zapping her! The serpent landed in a defeated heap as her graceful appearance turned into more of a pathetic stance as her eyes turned to swirls.

"Milo..."

Ash and Pikachu paused for a brief moment as they examined the scene in front of them before excitedly turning to one another. "We did it, we beat Wallace!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered excitedly alongside his trainer, Toxel did a little dance beside his trainer while looking on with an eager expression as he greatly anticipated his turn at proving himself to Ash!

"Way to go Ash!" Dawn cheered.

"Ya did it!" Marnie cheered.

Wallace returned Milotic before clapping his hands together, Ash turned to face him and thank him for the battle only to feel a circular stone being dropped into his hands. "Congratulations on the victory Ash, being a former Gym Leader it doesn't feel right not giving out a prize to the winner. I don't have much use for it myself given my specialty but I'm sure that you and your Sceptile will greatly enjoy it!"

Ash looked down at the palm of his hands and saw that the Mega Evolution stone known as Sceptilite sat there, Ash looked up and gave the former champion an appreciative smile before pocketing it and reaching out to shake his hand. "Thanks so much, Sceptile and I will be sure to get some good use of it!"

"Don't mention it, and good luck with your World Championship goal... and your date." Wallace smirked before giving him a light wave as he started walking off. "Give Steven my regards when you beat him!"


The celebratory moment didn't last too long as Ash noticed the time and realized that they should get going back or else risk missing the start of the Wind Festival! There would be plenty of time to celebrate later. Upon their return to the city however Dawn separated from the rest of them before bowing her head.

"Much as I'd like to stay, I promised my mom that I'd be back once the Wallace Cup is over. I'm helping her set up for the Twinleaf Festival."

"No sweat Dawn, it was good to see you again!" Ash smiled and gave her hand a light shake while May reached out as she and Dawn shared a farewell hug.

"Whenever you're in Sinnoh, let me know. I wouldn't mind traveling around with you guys for a bit," Dawn smiled before walking off towards the airport to catch a flight back home, leaving the others behind to attend the Wind Festival. They gradually began making their way there as they walked through the town and headed towards the walkway that'd lead out to the island that housed the Wind Festival's activities.

"Good afternoon Fula City!" The mayor stood on a podium that was built in front of the walkway to the park, blocking the entrance as it was clear that they weren't opening the actual festival itself just yet. "As we do every year in Fula City we're doing the annual Pokemon Catch Race! A competition that showcases a trainer's ability to catch Pokemon, there are Pokemon roaming the city with stickers on them that mark them as part of the competition and you're to use our special Catch Race Pokeballs on them. Don't try a normal Pokeball now, it won't work! The balls are specifically designed to capture the participating Pokemon without fail, all it takes is your skill in order to catch one! You'll be forced to hand over the Pokemon and the remaining Pokeballs at the end of the competition and the winner will be crowned to mark the opening of the festivities! The winner will of course receive this large trophy and be allowed to keep one of the Pokemon they capture if they so desire. You've got a one hour time limit which starts now, if any listening trainers want to compete now's a good time to quickly register and head on out!"

Ash glanced towards Marnie. "You don't mind if-?"

"Of course not, I'll compete as well! Better than just standing around waiting for an hour!" Marnie laughed before giving him a light nudge with her arm. "And may the best woman win!"

"Righ-HEY!" Ash realized that she meant herself as she raced off while letting off a friendly laugh as the two got registered for the event. The mayor gave the two tourists a welcoming smile before tensing up as his eyes landed upon Ash. "Something the matter sir?"

"Uh-" The mayor's tone changed for a very brief moment before retaining the usual tone after a cough. "Nono, everything's fine! Just thought I recognized you from somewhere!" He handed the pair several blue Pokeballs that had a white line across the middle instead of the usual black stripe donning most Pokeballs. "You're free to go," Ash merely shrugged before taking the balls, proceeding to rush off with Marnie to go search the city for Pokemon to catch.

The mayor finished up registering the remaining tourists, including May, Zach and Chloe before quickly sneaking off into an outhouse not far from his location as he hissed into it. "Boss man this is Brodie the Phantom Thief speaking, you've got a bit of a problem. I've got the location free of cops for the day but you're not gonna like this, that meddling brat Ash Ketchum is here!" The man then quickly scrambled to keep a firm grip on the phone as a loud shouting could be heard from the other side.

Ash was currently racing through the city as he kept an eye out for Pokemon, soon spotting a Ekans slithering through some nearby bushes with the sticker visible at the back of his head before quickly hurling a ball at it.

As soon as Ash picked up the ball Pikachu spoke up while pointing at the roof of a nearby building. "Pika Pika!" A Murkrow was perched on the roof's edge which at first didn't look anywhere out of the ordinary due to it being the Johto region but Ash spotted the sticker attached to Murkrow's head feathers as the bird turned his head. He reached out and threw another ball, successfully catching Murkrow!

"Great job, Pikachu!" He looked around to see if any other Pokemon were around and discovered that other competitors had shown up, making the space a bit crowded. "Let's go a bit further away, we'll fall behind if we stay here." The two raced by Chloe who could be seen attempting to capture a Pidgey only for somebody else to have faster aim than her as they'd gotten to it first! He also saw Zach and Lucario chasing after a Furret as it played hard to get.

"Get back here!"

"Carrr!"

"Furret!" The Furret looked back with a playful expression and did the opposite by picking up speed instead!

"Good luck!" Ash called after him as the two disappeared around a nearby corner. A Sentret raised itself up with it's tail and did a quick look around of the area before being hit with a Pokeball. Ash picked the ball up before turning to Pikachu. "There's still time to squeeze in a fourth or fifth, shall we keep going?"

"Pika!" Pikachu flicked his tail as the two raced off once more!


"And so the competition has come to an end," The mayor clasped his hands together. "Those of you who managed to catch something please step forward and submit your catches so that they can be tallied!"

Chloe hung her head as she'd been unfortunate enough to come up empty handed, Zach placed his hand on her shoulder before going up to hand over a single Pokeball, having spent the entire hour chasing the same Pokemon all over the city! May came up after him and placed down two Pokeballs while flashing Zach a teasing smirk.

"Darn Furret had me running all over..." He muttered.

"Hey at least you're persistent, you never gave up on catching it!" May laughed before taking his hand as they walked offstage together. Marnie came up after and placed down four Pokeballs, turning out to have the most of the competition as everyone else in the competition capped out at two!

"And we have our winner-!" The mayor called out after noticing that Marnie was the last in line.

"Wait!" Ash raced through the crowd before taking a leap right onto the stage, his breathing had grown heavy as he held out his hands to reveal five Pokeballs!

"Unbelievable, this kid's actually used up every Pokeball given to him for the competition!" The mayor cried out before handing Ash the trophy, resulting in Ash toppling over due to the sheer size of it along with his out of breath state!

"That trophy's half his size! How's he gonna lug that thing around?" Chloe asked.

"S-Simple, I'll have it sent off to my mom. She likes looking after my trophies while I'm away!" Ash pulled himself off the ground with a smile across his face.

"Well there's also the matter of your second prize, do you want to keep any of the Pokemon that you captured during the competition? You can only choose one though." The mayor reminded him.

Ash looked thoughtful for a moment before glancing towards Marnie. "I'd like to keep Murkrow please," As soon as he was handed the ball containing Murkrow, Ash handed it over to Marnie. "Here you go, I know you're trying to capture Dark types from around the world so hopefully he'll be happy with you!"

Marnie stared at the Pokeball for a moment as she was momentarily shocked from what had just transpired before accepting the ball with a delighted expression before wrapping her arms around Ash's body and giving him a kiss on the lips in appreciation, Ash's eyes had gone wide as that was the first he'd ever been kissed like that!

"Thank you," Marnie breathed out before the two separated, they were still in front of a crowd so being that close was a bit awkward with everyone watching.

"Well then, let the festivities begin!" The mayor cried out as he cut the tape that blocked off the passageway to the pier, marking the opening of the actual Wind Festival itself!


Screaming could be heard as some people had already made a mad dash for the rollercoaster, the cart racing across the track and flying down the hill giving them a collection of fright and joy! Multiple other rides were also present like a merry go round, a haunted house that seemed to actually be filled with Ghost types as the familiar cries of "Ghast!" and "Haunt!" could be heard while fun games were also set up along with food stands, a certain violet and magenta haired individuals could be seen in disguise along with a shorter individual serving food in one of them, along with a fortune teller booth that adorned most carnivals!

"Fortune tellers, I always thought they were just a scam... but wanna go anyways? Y'know for the fun of it?" Marnie asked Ash as the two were walking along, May had dragged Zach off somewhere while Chloe had gone to enjoy the rides.

"Yeah sure, sounds like it could be fun." Ash shrugged as Marnie began leading the way.

"Hello there chosen one," Ash jumped from surprise as he saw the old man that was present during his Mega Evolution trial within the tent. A Xatu stood by the man's side as the pair looked towards Ash.

"You?!" Ash exclaimed, the old man merely smirked in response before turning his gaze towards Marnie.

"Found love you did, now fortune you seek? Come come you must!" He grabbed Ash and Marnie's hands and pulled them towards the table with surprising strength for an old man as he set their hands upon the crystal ball. "Now close your eyes and Xatu will show the two of you the future!"

Ash wanted to ask the man what he was doing there, part of him wondered if the old man was following him around but he decided to humor him for now as he and Marnie closed their eyes. Visions briefly flew through Ash's mind as he saw Zekrom facing off against a strange Pokemon that resembled Reshiram but clearly wasn't, followed by a vision of Lillie and Gladion fighting off against individuals in space suits, a vision of Groudon and Kyogre running amok again but looking unusually different than before, another vision of the sword wolf before the dream capped off with a view of a black demonic looking Lugia that let out a unholy screech! Ash quickly opened his eyes to escape the nightmare and discovered that the old man much like he had done before during the Mega Evolution trial had disappeared! Ash cast a glance towards Marnie and noticed her smiling, suggesting that the two of them saw different things.

Marnie soon opened her own eyes before casting a glance around. "Huh, guess the old man needed to use the bathroom." She shrugged before turning back to Ash. "Shall we get going? I'm sure you're eager to try out some of the food here!" She knew Ash well as his thoughts immediately drifted towards food as his stomach let out a loud rumble, Ash sweated while Marnie let out a giggle in response.

"Yeah, let's go eat!"

The two left the tent and ventured to a nearby food stand where four individuals stood behind a counter, one of them had short violet hair, the other had long magenta hair, the third was short and the fourth was an unusual shade of blue! Ash instantly recognized them as the Team Rocket trio but decided that he wouldn't say anything, they hadn't caused him problems in awhile and they didn't appear to be here to do so either.

"Two malasadas please!"

"Coming right up-!" The four sang out as they prepared the meal.


"And we have a winner!" A carnival attendant called out as somebody had successfully knocked over the bottles with a ball. Quite a few balls were scattered about the floor of the tent, suggesting that whoever had just done that had been at it for some time.

"That one please!" Zach pointed towards an Eevee plush, immediately handing it to May after he'd received it.

"You didn't have to waste all that money..." May formed a light sweat drop but had an appreciative smile nonetheless.

"I promised ya that I would win you something here, I wasn't going to give up until I did!" May planted a kiss on his cheek before glancing towards his partner Pokemon, the two appeared to be distracted by sweets that their trainer had bought for them allowing the perfect chance for a bit of alone time with him.

"Let's go ride the ferris wheel, the Pokemon are distracted and I'd love for it to be just us for a bit." May grabbed a hold of his hand with her free one as the two locked eyes. Zach flashed a nervous glance towards his Pokemon before giving her a light nod as a smile formed across his lips as the two hurried towards the ride!


Ash and Marnie leaned over the edge of the pier as they ate their sweets, they had decided to briefly escape from the crowd and just appreciate the view of the ocean as the moonlight cast down upon and cast off quite the beautiful view. Ash sensed something familiar swimming in the water not far off but didn't think too much of it at the time, wondering if he was imagining the sensation.

"I had a wonderful time today," Marnie breathed out while leaning her head up against Ash's as quite the content smile formed across her face. "I love the others but it's nice that it was just the two of us for a change... well us and them anyways." She thumbed behind her where Pikachu, Morpeko and Toxel were eating their own sweets together.

"Yeah, I... I've never had this feeling before but it's great! It's like winning a battle only... different." Marnie rolled her eyes lightly at his words before grabbing a hold of his hand. Ash had an obsession with battling but she wouldn't change a single thing about him, he was just perfect the way he was in her eyes. She cast a glance around to make sure that they were alone again before leaning forward to give him another kiss.

"LUUUUU!" A large wave of water splashed onto the pier, soaking the two as a Lugia burst from the water followed by loud cheers from the people at the carnival. Lugia let out a happy cry in response and began flapping his wings as he started producing wind for the town, his gaze flickered downwards towards the pier as he moved his wings about and was rather quick on noticing Ash! Lugia formed an excited look before swooping downwards and lowering his head with a happy coo while Ash and Marnie were busy trying to shake the water out of their hair.

"Luuu!" Lugia had his head inches away from Ash's before giving him a light head tap, causing a telepathic image of a younger Silver to flow through Ash's mind, the boy quickly realizing that the Lugia was Silver after all!

"I thought I sensed something familiar, how's life been?!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu raced over and hopped onto Ash's shoulder, giving Silver a friendly wave as the three friends were briefly united. Marnie glanced between them as she had no idea what was going on due to the events happening years and years ago back when Ash was merely eleven years old and traveling through the Johto region!

"Luuu!" Lugia sang out happily, appearing to be trying to tell them his story before a stream of fire shot from the air above, followed by a beam of ice, and finished with a streak of electricity! All three attacks met Silver's back and knocked him right back into the water, Ash let off a light growl as he looked up at where the sudden attack had come from and a horrified gasp emitted from both him and Marnie as the Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos hybrid hovered in the air above them, letting out an unholy shriek of agony and pain along with aggression! Panicked screams could be heard as the citizens began running away in a stampede, Lugia burst back out and let out a cry before blasting the hybrid away from the pier with Ancient Power, aiming to protect the civilians and Ash as the abomination let out an unholy cry of pain as the attack struck! Lugia then took to the skies and the hybrid gave chase after him!

"Come on, we've got to help Lugia!" Ash shouted as he reached for Charizard's Pokeball.

"I don't think so, Ketchum!" The voice caused Ash to growl out as he turned his head and saw Arlo standing there along with some woman he'd never met along with the ninja and blonde girl from Mt. Silver!

"Team Rocket, I should have known you had something to do with that!" Ash growled out. Arlo, Sierra and Sasuke all shared a sinister looking smirk as they glanced up with pride at their creation while Domino watched on with a brief look of guilt, quickly shaking it away as the ninja trainer cast a glance at her.

"Seeing as how you won't be around to tell the tale much longer I see no harm in telling the truth!" Arlo let out a cackle. "Yes, it was us! After I captured Zapdos, Sierra caught Articuno and Sasuke finished up with Moltres. Then thanks to the genius of Dr. Zager, Thu-Fi-Zer was born!"

"How could ya do that?! It's an abomination to nature and clearly in pain!" Marnie shouted.

"Why else? The world will belong to Team Rocket before the year is done, it's a shame that you won't be around to see it!" Arlo spoke up while adjusting his glasses before throwing forth a Pokeball followed quickly by his companions as Mega Aggron, Mega Alakazam, and Mega Scizor all burst out followed by Domino's Roserade. What was strange though was that the Mega forms were already active upon release! Ash took a nervous gulp before clenching his fists as he knew they'd be in for the fight of their lives if they wished to save Silver from Team Rocket!