Zach vs Allister

"So this is Stow-on-Side, eh? I wonder if Bea's around." Ash remembered her mentioning to him that she was the former Gym Leader of the city and that her rival Allister had taken over it.

"It's doubtful, she's probably moved on to another location by now. Remember that very few Galar trainers are even participating in the World Championship as they're more obsessed with the Galar League itself, Bea would likely be traveling around to other regions just like you." Marnie spoke up only to immediately eat her words as Bea's voice could be heard shouting out causing Ash to quickly race on ahead to find his rival while Marnie couldn't help but utter out a growl. She was the one that ended up with Ash, not that it was much of a contest given Ash never saw Bea after they parted ways, but Bea would likely not be aware of the knowledge and she remembered the Fighting specialist having some sort of a crush on him.

Ash eventually reached a small section of the city street which had a small crowd gathered around it watching Bea and some trainer Ash had never saw before battling it out with one another. He excused himself as he pushed through the crowd in order to see what exactly was going on, immediately being greeted by the sight of a large black bear Pokemon, there was a singular streak of white fur on the upper half of the Pokemon's body making it appear as if it was wearing a karate uniform while it had it's arms and legs positioned in a combat stance of some sort. Ash tilted his head as he wondered what Pokemon it could be before pulling out his Rotom Phone.

"Urshifu Rapid Strike Form, the evolved form of Kubfu. This form of Urshifu is a strong believer in defeating foes by raining many blows down on them. Its strikes are nonstop, flowing like a river!"

"That is what Kubfu evolves into?!" Ash stared at the bear Pokemon in awe for a moment as he wondered how exactly his Kubfu would evolve into one. Perhaps he ought to ask Bea as he'd tried every trick in the book, he briefly did a swap with Marnie in case it required a trade and no dice, he tested out the evolution stones at a market place after promising to buy them if one worked only for a similar situation to occur, and it sure wasn't happiness based as Kubfu seemed to have a strong connection to him.

"Surging Strikes!" Bea ordered, surprising Ash once more as it was an attack that he'd yet to see but based on the sound of it and Urshifu's form he assumed that it was likely exclusive to the species.

Urshifu let out a cry as he placed his hands out in front of him while he looked up into the sky and let out a loud roar as water burst around him like a geyser before quickly rushing towards the rivaling Cinderace and rapidly striking out with his foot as water continued flowing around his body. Cinderace let out a grunt before collapsing from the attack as it's trainer lowered their head before returning him as the crowd uttered out a loud cheer for Bea and her mysterious Pokemon!

Bea flashed a cocky smirk much like Ash sometimes had, giving the crowd a bit of a wave before her eyes were rather quick to set upon Ash. "Well look whose back in Galar it feels like it's been forever since I saw you last, tracked me down for a rematch have you?"

"If I remember correctly I won," Ash exclaimed as his eyes were locked upon Urshifu. "So you got a Kubfu too, eh? How did you evolve it if you don't mind me asking."

Bea let out a light tsk before waving her finger at him. "Not so fast, don't think I'm gonna give out the information that easily. You and I will have a Pokemon battle for it, if you beat Urshifu then I'll tell you how Kubfu evolves and where you need to go to get it done. If you lose well, how about a date?" Bea shrugged before flashing him a cocky smirk. Due to Ash being so much faster than the others whenever he got excited, everyone else was still back in the crowded street somewhere and unable to stop or talk some sense into him.

"It's a deal!" Ash grinned, not even processing what she'd just said at the time or perhaps he was just that confident that he'd win?

"Hold up, what did you just agree to?" Marnie asked with slightly narrowed eyes while Lillie gave him a worrisome look.

Ash's mind was solely focused upon the incoming battle that he didn't hear a word Marnie said, walking on up to take the other trainer's place on the field as a cocky smirk crossed his own face. He beat Bea last time so surely he'd win again!

"Toxtricity, I choose you!" Toxtricity leaped forward and let out a cry while Pikachu gave Ash an annoyed look before crossing his arms.

"Well done you seem to have guessed that my Urshifu is Water typed!" Bea let out a light laugh. "But type advantage alone won't save you, Body Press!" Urshifu quickly dashed forward and sprang into the air before before slamming his body against Toxtricity as the lizard let out a grunt in pain.

"Use Overdrive!" A guitar made from electrical energy appeared in Toxtricity's hands as the lizard uttered out a cry before rushing forward and slamming it directly against the top of Urshifu's head, giving the bear Pokemon quite a shock as it grunted out however the Pokemon appeared strong enough to almost withstand the shock causing Ash and Toxtricity's eyes to widen from shock, despite Urshifu being a recent addition to her team it appeared to far surpass Toxtricity in strength!

"Close Combat!" Urshifu was quick to lash out despite the electrical flow going through his body, striking Toxtricity directly in the chest with his fist causing the lizard to gasp out for air before Urshifu repeatedly punched his opponent all over with his fists before kicking his body away from him as Toxtricity was flung through the air before landing in a collapsed heap in front of Ash, swirls in his eyes as he let out a groan of defeat.

"Pika?!" Pikachu gasped out.

"I've been practicing withstanding electrical attacks on my spare time, I had a feeling that Urshifu might be put up against your Pikachu someday. I never expected to fight a different Electric type though, I honestly thought you'd never own any other than Pikachu." Bea explained as she returned Urshifu to her Pokeball.

Ash clenched his fists as he realized that his recent winning streak had gotten to him, he was better than he used to be but there were still times when he'd get too cocky. At least they didn't make this an official Championship match or he'd have likely lost a good deal of points and fall behind!

"As for our deal," Bea spoke up causing Ash to tilt his head as he honestly forgot what Bea had asked of him. "Let's move the date to tomorrow night, I already have training plans and I know your friend is probably itching to get his gym battle underway." She recalled his male companion, the name escaped her as she only remembered Ash's name, was gathering Galar badges so if Ash was here then his friend was likely getting ready to fight Allister!

"Wait a sec, you agreed to what?!" Marnie growled out as she glared at Bea. "You're aware that we're his girlfriends, right?" Marnie asked, pointing to herself and Lillie.

"Y-Yeah!" Lillie stuttered as she stood up for herself. Bea gave Lillie a light look.

"You got a new companion? I thought she was just part of the crowd," Bea then turned to Marnie and bowed lightly. "I'm so sorry about that, last I saw him he was single. I never expected that the two of you would get together, I'll cancel-"

"Don't, I'm a man of my word. I may not have been in the right mind but if I'm gonna be the World Champion then I can't go breaking deals!" Ash exclaimed while giving Marnie a defensive look. "It's just one date, nothing will happen I promise you! It'll just be two friends hanging out!"

Marnie crossed her arms before rolling her eyes lightly as she let out a sigh. "Alright fine, but Lillie and I will watch just in case she gets ideas." Lillie nodded in agreement to that idea, trusting Ash.


"You sure you're okay on going right out there?" May asked with a light head tilt. "The stadium is a lot bigger than the previous one and you seem to have formed quite the fanbase." May noted as she pointed towards the television that was attached to the locker room's wall, currently displaying a small selection of the stadium where quite a few rows were packed with fans holding signs with '64!' or 'Go Zach' or just loudly cheering for him, and of course there were some obnoxious fangirls as was common with pretty much any individual that got famous in the Galar League, rather you were male or female you were sure to get crazed fans! May gave that area a light scowl before turning her attention back to Zach as he spoke up.

Zach shivered lightly at the sight of the crowd before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath as he turned to gaze into her eyes. "I'll be fine, after all I've got the most beautiful woman in the world standing here waiting for me!" Zach smirked lightly as May let out a giggle before rushing forward as she planted a kiss right on his lips with him returning it before they'd separate as the announcer called for him once more.

"Good luck babe, go kick the Gym Leader's butt!" May called out watching as Zach flashed her a thumps up before rushing out onto the field as Lucario and Cinderace raced after him.

"And here we are folks the final battle of the evening, Challenger 64 also known as Zach is here to face Allister for his fourth gym badge! He's shown off quite an impressive cache of Pokemon so far so I wonder what Pokemon we'll see today! Today's challenge consists of a maze that the trainer must get through without the help of his Pokemon! Challenging his skills and patience as a trainer!"

A large maze appeared on the field and Zach took a deep breath before walking into it, he wasn't perfect as he hit pretty much every dead end possible but never hitting the same one twice as he appeared to memorize his pathing, eventually coming out on the other side where Lucario and Cinderace were waiting for him. The crowd began to cheer as the announcer spoke up.

"And Zach has proved himself a success! We'll now proceed to the battle portion of the challenge where our beloved Gym Leader Allister will go up against him!" The maze lowered into the ground as the field changed into a battlefield while Allister phased right through the ground and into his position almost as if he were a ghost himself! Quite a few girls could be heard screaming from within the crowd as they found the mystique behind his mask alluring and attractive. "This will be a four on four battle with only the challenger being allowed to switch out Pokemon, the winner will be declared once one said is unable to battle or the challenger forfeits. You all ready for this?!" He asked the crowd as they let out a loud cheer.

"Then let the battle begin!" The announcer declared as Zach and Allister both grabbed onto Pokeballs.

"Chandelure, I require your assistance."

"Raichu, let's go!"

"Rai rai!" Raichu cried out as he burst out alongside Chandelure, the two rivaling Pokemon giving one another a hard stare.

"Overheat!" Chandelure's body began glowing red as it fired off a massive stream of fire towards it's opponent!

"Rain Dance!" Zach shouted as Raichu was quick to raise his hands causing a heavy downpour to appear and cause part of the flame to die out as it continued approaching Raichu before striking against him, the electrical rodent uttered a soft grunt before regaining his balance as he locked eyes with his opponent.

"Now use Surf!" The crowd let out a gasp as he revealed Raichu to know quite the surprising and almost unheard of move for an Electric type such as he. A powerful wave grew beneath Raichu before quickly rising up and towering over Chandelure, the Ghost/Fire type began visibly sweating before the wave came crashing down hard on him. Chandelure disappeared beneath the waves as Raichu surfed back to his trainer's side while the two waited to see what Chandelure's status was, as the water soon died down they'd get their answer as Chandelure laid on the battlefield ground in defeat with swirls in his eyes.

"Chandelure is unable to battle, Allister please send out your next Pokemon!"

Allister returned Chandelure, his expression being unreadable on account of his mask. He placed the ball back onto his belt before reaching out and grabbing hold of a different ball. "Runerigus, I need your assistance!"

"Runerigus the Grudge Pokemon and the evolved form of Galarian Yamask, a powerful curse was woven into an ancient painting, after absorbing the spirit of a Yamask the painting began to move!" Ash's Pokedex read out as he scanned the strange looking Pokemon.

"Still up for this?" Zach asked as Raichu clenched his fists.

"Rai rai!"

"Then let's go with another Surf before the Rain Dance wears off!" Raichu raised up his arms before riding another massive wave towards his opponent and bringing it crashing down upon him! Runerigus was pushed back before shaking itself off and locking it's eyes onto Raichu's body.

"Earthquake!" Runerigus slammed into the ground causing the ground to shake and vibrate all around them as Raichu began losing his balance before toppling right off his tail and onto his back as the ground opened up beneath him. "Rai!"

Raichu was still able to fight but with the rain wearing down and Raichu looking weakened, Zach decided to return Raichu and let him conserve his strength for now. "Scizor, let's go!"

"Scizor!" Scizor burst out followed by a series of loud cheers as he revealed Scizor to his Galar audience for the first time. "Zor..." Scizor tensed up for a moment, showing up a bit of traits not unlike his new trainer before taking on a battle hardened look as he pointed his claws at Runerigus. "Scizor!"

"Bullet Punch!"

Scizor's claw glowed light blue as he swiftly moved across the field faster than one could blink as he got ready to strike!

"Destiny Bond!" Allister shouted causing Zach to grit his teeth as a bright light surrounded both Pokemon. Scizor struck out mere moments later, bringing Runerigus crashing down in defeat before Scizor fell face forward seconds later as both Pokemon laid in defeated slumps before their trainers.

"Scizor and Runerigus are both unable to battle, trainers please go ahead and pick out your next Pokemon!" The scoreboard adjusted to gray out both Pokemon while Raichu's face was the only currently shown Pokemon still lit up on the screen.

Zach returned Scizor with a regretful expression. "Sorry your first Galar match ended in a draw, I'll make sure you get a slot in the next gym."

"Cursola, I need your assistance!" Allister called out as he released what appeared to be a white Corsola only it's branches were far longer and it's body appeared to have died as it didn't show any visible signs of breathing.

"Cursola the Coral Pokemon and the evolution of Galarian Corsola, it's shell is overflowing with its heightened otherworldly energy. The ectoplasm serves as protection for this Pokemon's core spirit!"

"...what's the story with Corsola?" Ash wondered as he used the search function, bringing up a picture of Corsola.

"Corsola Galarian Form, sudden climate change wiped out this ancient kind of Corsola. This Pokemon absorbs others' life-force through its branches!"

The data caused Ash and Lillie's faces to be full of sorrow.

"Let's go Eevee!" Zach called out as he threw forward the ball containing the shiny Normal type, Eevee burst out with a happy cry and gave his trainer an expression full of love before locking his eyes onto Cursola as the audience let out an 'Awww!' at the sight of the adorable Pokemon.

"Use Dig!" Zach ordered as Eevee burrowed beneath the ground, that wasn't his plan of attack but he hoped Allister would take the bait.

"Fly in and use Ancient Power!" Allister ordered behind his mask. Cursola flew in the hole after Eevee while he burrowed right out the other end.

"Quick, go back to the other end and fire off a Shadow Ball!"

"Eevee!" Eevee cried out, rushing across the field at a surprisingly quick speed as the ball of black and purple static energy formed inside his mouth. An explosion was heard within the tunnel and Cursola was sent flying right out the other end!

"Now use Iron Tail!" Eevee's tail turned bright steel as he leaped up into the air before striking it against Cursola! Cursola now flew in the opposite direction before landing against the ground with a thud as the crowd let out an excited murmur at the strategy that Zach and Eevee had utilized as Cursola currently laid in defeat before them. Eevee smirked and leaped up onto his trainer's face before affectionately nuzzling him and licking his cheek while Zach couldn't hold back his laughter as he gave him a pet. Bede was watching from the stands with crossed arms though a light smile crossed his face at the sight of Eevee performing quite well under his new trainer.

"Unbelievable Cursola didn't even get in a single hit!" The announcer gasped out in shock as Allister returned Cursola to his ball. "An excellent strategy that shows how skilled of a strategist he is, no doubt the upcoming Gym Leaders have quite a challenge on their hands unless Allister can pull a recovery?!"

"Gengar, I need your assistance!" Allister didn't need to throw a ball as Gengar popped right out of his shadow, revealing how Allister had phased through the battlefield earlier. Ash's eyes widened as he wondered if perhaps his own Gengar could do that? He wouldn't notice from the distance but Allister's Gengar was even a slightly different shade of purple that you'd really only notice if you were up close!

"Gengar!" Gengar gave Eevee a sinister smirk but rather than back down Eevee kept his cool and gave Gengar a confident and brave stare as the crowd roared out in excitement of what was to come!

"We need to even the field, let's Dynamax!" Allister activated his Dynamax as the familiar purple and sinister looking clouds took form around Gengar's body as the Pokemon grew larger, his mouth stretching open and honestly starting to resemble a funhouse at a Halloween carnival! His purple coloring had also changed into a bright white coloring, revealing that Allister's Gengar was actually a shiny one!

"We're gonna Dynamax as well, right?!" Zach smirked at Eevee, knowing that this would likely be the only shot they had of utilizing his Gigantamax form!

"Eevee!" Eevee flashed his trainer a smirk, Eevee walked down his arm and tapped the Dynamax band to activate it before leaping off as he began to transform! He became kaiju sized and his physical appearance didn't change too much other than his fur collar greatly enhancing into a massive ball of fluff that covered up the majority of his lower half! "Evoi!"

"Max Darkness!"

"Max Quake!" Gengar released a massive burst of dark energy while Eevee slammed his tail into the ground, causing it to shake before cracking beneath Gengar and sucking the Ghost type in! Both Pokemon looked effected by the attacks with Gengar taking the worse of it due to his type disadvantage!

"Max Ooze!" Allister shouted.

"Mas Phantasm!" Zach shouted out as the two Max Moves began clashing against one another, poisonous ooze fighting phantasm energy before Eevee's Ghost attack eventually prevailed, breaking apart the Max Poison attack as it continued moving towards Gengar! Gengar widened his eyes and let out a shout before an explosion went off as he returned to his normal form after taking the hit, laying on the ground in defeat as Eevee let out a happy cheer as he returned to his normal form as well.

"I-I can't believe it... Zach just managed to sweep Allister! A challenger hasn't swept a Gym Leader since before Mustard's time! He's truly worth keeping an eye on in the future as who knows what his next battle will look like!"

The crowd began cheering loudly as Zach looked around for a brief moment, giving them a wave before letting out a cheerful laugh while Lucario and Cinderace cheered for their buddy and Eevee! "We did it Eevee, we did it! We won, we-"

"Evoi!" Eevee began absorbing moonlight as his body became encased in a bright blue glow, his pelt turning into a black coloring while his eyes turned a bright orange. Bright blue rings began forming around his body as he raised up his head and cried out at the moonlight above before looking back at his trainer with an affectionate look. "Umbreon!"

Zach's eyes lit up before he threw his arms around his newly evolved Pokemon, and pulling him into a hug. "You evolved!" He had a feeling Eevee would be evolving soon but he tried avoiding the topic of evolution as he didn't want to risk offending Eevee and making him think he was gonna ditch him like Bede did if Eevee chose the wrong option or refuse to evolve.

"Umbre!" Umbreon let out a happy cry before leaping up and nuzzling against his trainer who let out another series of laughter before Allister started his approach. The younger male held out the badge before speaking.

"This is the Ghost badge, thank you for the fun battle. And don't worry, no hard feelings! I haven't had this much fun since I beat Bea!" Allister let out a chuckle beneath his mask before giving Zach a light wave. "And good luck against Opal, see you around!"

Zach took the badge from Allister's grasp and smiled before bowing his head. "Thank you, I too found that battle exciting!" Umbreon smirked at his trainer with a wide grin as he was merely thankful for the chance to finally prove himself for a change and ensure that he'd found his forever home as part of Zach's team!


"You did it, you won!" May rushed for Zach as he entered the locker room before planting her lips up against his as she wrapped her arms around his body, the two of them holding each other in a passionate kiss that last for a few minutes before Zach eventually pulled away causing May to tilt her head as it was unlike him, usually he waited for her to have enough first.

"Zach...?" May asked with light concern before feeling her heart race excitedly as Zach fished a small box out of his pocket before opening it up.

"I-I've been putting money aside for awhile as I aimed to do this after I beat Mustard and become champion but I wanna make things right! I-I don't want people to think badly about you when they find out," May could tell from his words that he was being truthful and more concerned about her wellbeing than his. "I've been used to people talking bad about me all my life but you don't deserve that!"

May looked down at the ring and looked up with a warm smile before pulling him in for another kiss as a way of saying 'Yes!', not allowing him to speak a word as the two held each other closely.

And so another gym battle is done, Ash has swept quite a few gyms over the years so I thought it right to let Zach do it once. Besides 40 chapters, only three badges... it dragged on long enough haha!

And a shiny G-Max battle happened! While Ash learned of Kubfu's evolution. First four on four... at least I think it was? I'll be honest battles were mostly three on three for awhile as I wasn't confident in my ability at writing them, now that I am they'll start getting bigger.

'Wait, did Zach and May had sex off-screen? If so, write a one-shot lemon about it. I was caught off-guard at that!' They did, look back at Kabu's chapter. I never edited that, there's been other places too since. I've hinted at it but I never outright said it until now. As for a lemon... if enough people asked I could be convinced, I just don't think most people here wanna see that though even if it's in a one shot story.

It's been approximately two months in world since he beat Kabu so yeah~

'I love Ash x Lillie and if harem then would've liked Dawn, Lillie and Serena in it' Hi and thanks for binging, coincidently you started while I was working on chapter 40 yesterday. Um honestly if I paired Dawn with anyone, it'd likely be Zach and May in a polyamory like Ash and Marnie/Lillie. Just never been a fan of Pearl shipping? Sorry