The Battle Castle

Ash and his friends were on their way to the Battle Castle located not far off from Lake Verity when they came across a rather familiar trainer who adjusted his glasses and let out a rather unsettling laugh as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello Dawn, good to see you again!" Conway said with a rather creepy smile, Dawn began looking nervous at his sudden appearance while Zach let out a protective growl. "You look as fine as always I must say."

"Stop being such a creep, she has a boyfriend now!" Zach growled out.

"Yeah so... goodbye." Dawn gave Conway an awkward wave, hoping that he'd disappear again however the man merely turned to lock his eyes onto Zach.

"Surely not you?" Conway laughed with a mocking tone as it was now May's turn to growl out defensively. "You look like a pushover, my Slowking could easily destroy you!"

"Well then why don't we battle? I win and you leave Dawn alone forever, if I lose well... I won't." Zach smirked lightly as he didn't plan on going easy on him, normally he didn't like picking fights but he wasn't about to just let Conway creep on her, he'd do the same even if she wasn't dating him!

Conway adjusted his glasses and let out his creepy laugh. "I'll show you who the true man is, Dawn! Let's see... Slowking, I need you!"

"King!" Slowking out burst from his ball and gave a similar smile to his trainer as the two stared Zach down.

"Cinderace, let's go!"

"Seriously?!" Conway asked in shock before bursting out into laughter. "Oh this will be too fun, how did an idiot like you even win her over? Slowking's a Water type!"

Dawn cast Conway a harsh glare but remained silent.

"Flame Charge!" Zach gave Conway a glare but didn't give him the satisfaction of replying as Cinderace's body became cloaked in flame while she raced towards Slowking before throwing her body against him!

Conway shook his head before laughing out. "Rain Dance!" Slowking waved his arms as a raincloud appeared overhead before rain began pouring down upon the battlefield.

"Now use Electro Ball!"

"Huh?!" Conway asked in shock as Cinderace began forming the electrical energy sphere between her paws, the rabbit flashing him and Slowking a smirk before dropping the ball and delivering a swift kick that sent it flying across the battlefield, striking Slowking square in the chest with the Water/Psychic typed Pokemon being rather quick to keel over in defeat on account of how outclassed he was in Speed and the power bonus granted by the downpour!

Conway's jaw dropped at the sight before hanging his head in disappointment. "Well I'm a man of my word, perhaps I was wrong about you after all." He returned Slowking to his ball before giving Zach a light nod. "I'll leave Dawn alone, you certainly proved your dominance here."

As Conway turned to walk away Dawn let out an excited squeal before pulling Zach right into a hug and kissing him for the first time as their lips made contact, Zach's eyes widened from surprise from her sudden action but didn't fight it as Dawn soon pulled away.

"S-Sorry, we probably didn't earn that yet but I'm so grateful to be done with that creep following me around!"

"Don't worry about it, Dawn. I'd have done that even if we weren't together!" Zach stated as Dawn couldn't help but blush heavily.

"Yeah, Zach's just a nice guy like that!" May smiled as she wrapped an arm around him before leaning her head against his shoulder. "It's part of why he won my heart!"


The Battle Castle stood a mile down the road and although it was most certainly a castle as far as design goes, it wasn't nearly as big as castle ruins that Ash had seen nor as old as it looked rather modern as far as design goes. As they got closer Ash recognized one of his more recent rivals stepping out the door, seeming to have won against the Frontier Brain as he held what appeared to be a frontier symbol of some sort in his hands.

"Hugh, hey!" Ash called out, giving his rival a wave along with a smile. "You beat the Frontier Brain?!"

"I don't see how this is your business but yes, I have." Hugh rolled his eyes. "I doubt you'll have much luck if I hardly won then there's no way that you will seeing how I've beaten you already." Hugh placed his hands into his pockets before continuing on his way.

"Whose that guy?" Lillie asked.

"That's Hugh, one of my World Championship rivals similar to Bea. We battled a few months back during a tournament in the Hoenn region, that's where I received the invitation to participate in the Sinnoh Battle Frontier!" Ash explained.

"He doesn't seem like a nice guy," Lillie commented as she watched Hugh walking away.

"He also had this edgy attitude and a desire to beat Team Rocket from what I recall," Zach had only gotten a glimpse of him before as he was recovering from his injuries at the time.

Ash stared after Hugh for a moment longer before eventually turning around as he gave the others a wave. "Come on, let's get going before the Frontier Brain goes on break!"

"Pika!" Ash and Pikachu were rather quick on rushing inside, it'd been awhile since they had gone up against a powerful opponent and they were quite excited to get things underway!

"Lady Caitlin I'm so pleased that you've returned!" Two figures stood in the middle of the battlefield, one he recognized as the Unova Elite Four member Caitlin but the other was somebody he'd yet to meet. The man was dressed up in proper butler attire, wearing a black and suit suit top with purple dress pants, his amber eyes were behind a pair of glasses and his short black hair was slicked back in a rather fashionable manner.

"Darach, I trust you've been taking care of our castle?"

"Of course my lady, it's just like how you left it!" Darach reassured her.

"Good, I may be a Elite Four member now but I still care about this place. Brings back so many fond memories..." Caitlin sighed out before taking a glance to the side as she noticed Ash, recognizing him as one of the top participants from the Unova League a few years prior. His performance there wasn't exactly impressive but she still thought it worth keeping an eye open for him someday. "Heh, looks like you've got yourself a challenger dear."

"Hm? Oh why hello there, you must be Ash Ketchum!"

"How do you know my name?" Ash tilted his head as the others soon arrived behind him.

"Scott informed me that you'd be coming eventually, said you'd be easily recognizable due to the Pikachu on your shoulder." Darach pointed out Pikachu who nervously rubbed the back of his neck upon being pointed out. "So you've come here for a battle I presume? Sorry but I must decline, lady Caitlin's here and I haven't seen her in over a year. I'd very much like to spend some time with her-"

"Hold up Darach, we could do a double battle!" Caitlin proposed as Ash's heart started to excitedly race, getting to battle an Elite Four member and the first of the Sinnoh Frontier Brains?! He was literally shaking from excitement, especially as he hadn't done a double battle in what felt like a long time!

Darach gave Caitlin a look before looking towards Ash. "Do you accept then? You'll need to choose a partner of your own to face against us, keep things fair. Two brains fighting against one isn't exactly fair."

"I accept!" Ash pumped his fists with excitement before looking towards Marnie, Marnie shook her head before pointing towards Zach as she pointed out that it'd been awhile since him and Ash had done something together. "Zach, would you like to team up?"

"Huh?" Zach was shocked for a moment before quickly nodding in agreement as he stepped forward. "S-Sure! I'll try my best not to let you down!"

"Good luck you two!" Marnie called out as Darach and Caitlin got into position on the opposite side of the field while the others went to the sidelines where they were soon joined by Scott.

"My looks like I got here just in time!" Scott grinned as his gaze turned towards the battlefield. "It's been sometime since I've gotten to see Caitlin battle in person, this'll be a treat!"

"This will be a full six on six battle with each trainer utilizing three of their Pokemon!" Darach explained the rules. "Both sides are allowed to switch at any time and once a team is no longer able to battle, the winner will be declared!"

Ash and Zach nodded in agreement as they reached for their Pokeballs at the same time as Caitlin and Darach.

"Staraptor, let's fly!" Darach shouted as a Staraptor burst from his ball, this one was a different coloring from Ash's as his feathers were brown rather than black while the red feathers atop his head were a shade of blue instead!

"Sigilyph, let's do this!" Caitlin shouted as Sigilyph burst from his ball and hovered in the air before her.

"Sigi!"

"Vibrava, let's go!" Zach called out.

"Quilava, I choose you!"

"Vibra!"

"Gabite!" The two Pokemon appeared in a flash of light before locking eyes with the opposing side.

"Sandstorm!" Zach called out. Vibrava fluttered his wings before a fierce sandstorm appeared, pelting the opposing side while also obscuring their view. Vibrava and Gabite still saw perfectly however due to Gabite's eyes being able to see through thick desert storms for prey while Vibrava had goggles protecting his eyes.

"Whirlwind!" Darach called out as Staraptor began flapping his wings to blow away the thick blanket of sand.

"Ice Beam!" Caitlin called out once they got a good line of fire on Gabite.

"Sandstorm!" Ash called out as Gabite made the sandstorm even stronger, blocking the view once more and making the beam of ice miss the dragon by a long shot!

"Rock Slide!" Vibrava let out a shout through the sandstorm and a white orb centered above the opposing side before rocks began falling downwards and pelting both Staraptor and Sigilyph as the birds cried out from the pain!

"Dragon Breath!" Green-blue fire blasted out through the sand and landed against Sigilyph!

"I don't need eyes to see you," Caitlin closed her eyes. "Sigilyph focus on Gabite's mind and fire off Psychic!"

"Staraptor you use Close Combat once Gabite starts glowing!" Darach called out.

Sigilyph's eyes shot a bright blue color as she gazed through the sandstorm, a similar glow appeared as it surrounded Gabite's body! Staraptor tucked in his wings and flew right into the sandstorm as he prepared to strike while Gabite was pinned down!

"Dragon Rush!"

Vibrava burst from the sandstorm while surrounded in a bright blue aura, slamming his body up against Sigilyph and knocking her off balance which resulted in Gabite becoming free of her control!

"Bite!" Ash called out followed shortly by a loud crunch and a fierce cry as Gabite had sank his teeth into his opponent. A thud could be heard as Staraptor dropped in defeat.

"Now let's finish this," Ash gave Zach a nod before they both threw out their arms.

"Draco Meteor!"

"Dragon Rush!" Vibrava blasted through the sand at a rapid speed before slamming his body up against Sigilyph while multiple glowing meteors formed above the Psychic/Flying type and once Vibrava was clear, Gabite waved his arms and proceeded to fire the attack down upon Sigilyph as the bird let out a terrified screech before dropping from the sky as it fell down in defeat!

Darach returned Staraptor as the storm settled while Caitlin recalled her own Pokemon. "You did great Sigilyph, rest now."

"Alright, we did it!" Ash high fived Zach before their attention was diverted as the two dragons became encased in a bright blue glow.

"Gabite?!"

"Vibrava!" Zach's eyes lit up with excitement as they watched their Pokemon undergo the transformation of evolution, Gabite's scales turned an even darker coloring while it's appearance became more fierce. His arms had also began to change form as Garchomp was now capable of flying Ash around much like the Aether Pokeride Garchomp!

Vibrava's body turned a light green coloring as his body began losing a majority of his insectoid trait's, now standing on two legs while his formerly bright green wings had changed to match the light green coloring along the rest of his body, his wings and tail surrounded in a red outline while his goggles were now a similar shade of red.

"Flygon, fly!"

"Garchomp!"

"Alright Flygon!" Zach shouted out before racing out to hug his newly evolved dragon. Garchomp on the other hand proceed to rush Ash and bite down on his head showing that despite being fully evolved he was still rather playful and affectionate towards his trainer.

"Garrr!"

Darach and Caitlin smiled at the sight before reaching for their next Pokemon.

"Entei, enough games!"

"Metagross, let's go darling!"

"Entei!" Ash and his friends were briefly startled at the sight though Lillie, Marnie and Zach gave it questioning looks as they didn't know what it was.

"Meta!"

"Entei the Volcano Pokemon, Entei embodies the passion of magma. This Pokemon is thought to have been born in the eruption of a volcano. It sends up massive bursts of fire that utterly consume all that they touch!"

Zach's Rotom Phone read out upon him scanning the legendary.

"You still able to fight?" Flygon nodded his head in agreement while Garchomp gave Ash a similar nod of confirmation.

"Alright then, Flygon use Earthquake!"

"Garchomp fly up!" Ash called out.

Flygon leaped up before slamming his feet against the ground causing it to shake beneath him before breaking apart beneath Metagross and Entei, both Pokemon appeared to be greatly affected but not out!

"Bullet Punch!" Metagross' arms glowed red as he dashed forward and slammed them against Flygon in a heavy and repetitive manner, Flygon let out a shriek of pain before instantly collapsing as his eyes turned to swirls.

"Draco Meteor!" Ash called out as Garchomp began dropping meteors down upon both Metagross and Entei.

"Sunny Day then follow up with Solar Beam!" Entei caused a massive burst of sunlight to shine into the room, allowing for him to instantly charge up a beam of solar energy before firing it off in Garchomp's direction! Garchomp let out a grunt but remained standing as he gave out a growl.

"Well if the kid gloves are off, Dragonite let's go!" Zach called out as he sent out one of his most reliable and strongest Pokemon!

"Drago!" Dragonite stood before Zach with a confident expression as she gazed across the field, not wanting to let her trainer down.

"Surf!"

"Drago!" Dragonite raised up her arms as a massive wave of water formed beneath her, Entei looked up and went pale as the powerful wave came crashing down upon him and Metagross!

"Flamethrower!" Ash called out as Garchomp opened his mouth and began releasing a steady stream of fire which blasted Metagross and caused it even further damage!

"Bullet Punch!" Metagross shot across the field and quickly brought it's fists against Garchomp, nailing the land shark in the stomach and finally putting an end to it's time on the field as Garchomp fell to his side with a thud.

"Fire Blast!" Darach called out.

"Dodge it by flying above then blast him with Hyper Beam!" Zach called out.

Dragonite let out a cry as she opened her mouth before firing the orange-yellow energy beam down upon her opponent, it exploded almost immediately upon making contact and sent Entei flying back but the Fire type still proved ready and eager to fight!

"Garchomp return, Quilava I choose you!"

"Quilava!" Quilava burst out as his flames heavily ignited, the Fire type looking eager to prove itself.

"Use Flame Charge on Metagross!" Quilava's body burst into flame as he raced across the field before throwing himself against Metagross, pushing the Hoenn pseudo back.

"Solar Beam that Quilava!" Darach shouted.

"Pick Quilava up and fly up!" Dragonite obeyed his trainer, holding Quilava within her arms before flying directly upwards and getting a good vantage point on the two opposing Pokemon.

"Use Hyper Beam on Entei!" Dragonite opened up her mouth and fired down the orange-yellow energy blast upon Entei!

"Use Rollout!" Quilava's body began rapidly spinning as Dragonite let him go, spinning on down towards Entei before crashing into him as the Fire type keeled over shortly afterwards, Quilava then leaped off and slammed against Metagross as it similarly dropped in defeat.

"Woohoo, you guys rock!" Marnie shouted.

"Quilava!" Quilava shouted out as he too ignited in a burst of blue light, his body developing into that of a bipedal species while his facial appearance became quite fierce as his eyes lost their cuteness and sharp fangs were visible from his mouth!

"Typhlo!" Typhlosion cried out as Ash excitedly pumped his fist.

"Alright buddy, you evolved!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried out as Typhlosion gave the two a quick smile before darting his attention back to the battlefield.

"Well Caitlin I guess this looks like the end... or is it?" Darach smirked as Caitlin let out a faint giggle before smirking as well. "Gallade, let's rock!"

"Gardevoir, let's dance!"

Gallade and Gardevoir both burst from their Pokeballs before grabbing each other's hands and dancing about as they posed for the opposing side.

"Aw, it's just like our Umbreon and Glaceon!" May gushed out while Zach blushed lightly.

"Yeah, it is. That makes it more challenging if the two are in perfect synch though." Zach stated before letting out a sigh as Darach and Caitlin raised their arms to reveal Mega Rings.

"Seriously?! Am I the only one without one?" Zach groaned out as Dawn giggled before looking to May.

"We should really find him one." She suggested.

"Definitely!" May smirked.

Mega Gallade and Mega Gardevoir soon stood opposite Dragonite and Typhlosion as the two stared back at their opponents while looking unnerved.

"Hurricane!" Zach called out as Dragonite quickly flapped her wings and encased Gallade in a streak of wind that knocked and battered the Mega about, Gallade's eyes turned to swirls for a brief moment while Caitlin called out her move.

"Moonblast!" Gardevoir summoned a pink orb between her hands before firing it off across the field at Dragonite, the Dragon type let out a groan and fell over for a second before slowly rising back up with a determined gaze.

"Gyro Ball!" Ash called out as Typhlosion began rapidly spinning at a high speed before flying across the field and nailing Gardevoir in the chest as he knocked her back!

"Night Slash!" Gallade's arms glowed bright blue as he slashed at Typhlosion, knocking the Fire type back!

"Dragonite, grab Typhlosion and use Surf!" Dragonite grabbed a tight hold of Typlosion before lifting her arms as a powerful wave formed beneath her, rising up above before shortly towering over the rivaling Megas and soon crashing down upon them!

"Psychic!" A simple command from both resulted in both Dragonite and Typhlosion being frozen in place as their bodies were surrounded by the familiar blue telekinetic energy, the two were then thrown against one another before being dropped onto the ground where they laid in defeat as Darach and Caitlin let off a smirk.

"Ready to give up kiddies?" Darach asked.

"Never!" Ash shouted.

"No way, I'm not letting Ash down!" Zach shouted as he returned Dragonite to her ball. "You did great Dragonite, rest up!"

"You've earned a rest Typhlosion," Ash praised his newly evolved Fire type before the two trainers reached for their final Pokemon.

"Cinderace, let's go!" As he didn't have a Mega of his own he resorted to using his second strongest Pokemon seeing how Lucario was at a heavy disadvantage here.

"Latias, I choose you!"

"Ace, Cinderace!" Cinderace leaped out onto the field with a smirk while Latias appeared next to her with a cry.

"Let's show them our own bond Latias, Mega Evolve!" The familiar pink glow surrounded Latias' body as she began undergoing the transformation into her Mega Evolution!

"Latias!" Mega Latias cried out before giving Ash a nod. "Ready!"

"Cinderuse use Bounce!" Zach called out.

"Ace!" Cinderace sprang into the air and kicked her feet out before landing on top of Gallade and squashing the Mega evolution as it let out a grunt.

"Night Slash on Latias!" Darach called out as Gallade's arms glowed bright blue once more before taking a swing at his opponent!

"Fly over and fire Dragon Pulse!" Latias cried out as she flew up above, narrowly avoiding the attack as Gallade slashed at midair! Latias then opened up her mouth and fired down the green-blue dragon energy at Gallade causing the Mega to pause in it's tracks as it cried from pain!

"Moonblast!" Gardevoir fired off the pink energy sphere at Latias while she was distracted, nailing her in the wing and causing her to go off balance for a bit.

"Flame Charge on Gallade!" Zach called out as Cinderace's body ignited in flame before racing across the field, throwing herself at Gallade and knocking him away!

"Psychic!" Both Pokemon's eyes glowed as Latias and Cinderace became surrounded in a similar blue glow.

"Counter with Psychic!" Ash called out as Latias fought it with her own Psychic, being able to successfully overcome Gallade's control over her and send him flying with her own Psychic! Gallade landed against the castle wall before slowly sliding down it's walls and collapsing in defeat as the pink glow surrounded it once more before turning him back to standard form.

"Ace!" Cinderace was dropped next to Latias and looking visibly weakened from the attack.

"Heal Pulse!" Latias began glowing pink as a similar glow surrounded Cinderace, restoring her health as she slowly stood back up and looked herself over before smirking as she raised her fists.

"Ace!"

"Flame Charge!" Cinderace's body ignited in flame once more as she raced across the field towards Gardevoir. Ash knew what they were building towards so he aimed to distract Gardevoir, knowing that Latias could afford the hits.

"Zen Headbutt!" Latias' head began glowing blue as she lowered it before charging across the field like a bullet and striking Gardevoir head on right as Cinderace slammed into her from behind!

"Moonblast!" Caitlin called out as Gardevoir fired off the pink energy sphere at Latias, knocking her away but she was still able to battle!

"Electro Ball!"

Cinderace smirked as she formed the electrical sphere between her paws before dropping it, giving Gardevoir a smirk before sending it flying in her direction!

"Zen Headbutt!" Latias lowered her head and blasted towards Gardevoir as the shock was delivered to her system, Gardevoir cried out in pain before having the air knocked out of her by Latias' headbutt! Gardevoir's eyes rolled upwards and she toppled over in defeat with her eyes reduced to swirls.

"Alright!" Ash shouted out, pumping his fists before Latias shot over and pinned him down with an ecstatic cry before nuzzling against him. Ash let out a laugh as he ran his hands across the back of her neck. "Yeah, you were great out there Latias!"

"Ace, Cinderace!" Cinderace flexed her arms with a light smirk.

"That experience will definitely come in handy against Raihan," Zach laughed before giving her a hug. "You were great out there!"

"Ace!"

Caitlin and Darach returned their Pokemon before approaching Ash. Darach held out a Frontier Symbol in his hand while giving him a smile. "This is the Valor Symbol, take it and I wish you luck on the remainder of your Frontier Quest!"

Ash took a hold of it before giving them an appreciative nod. "Thank you," He then turned to Pikachu and Latias before posing. "We just got... the Valor Symbol!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Lati!"

"Alder was right about you, you really were something. I'm sure the other Elite Four members will be eager to battle you if you ask now that you've beaten me," Caitlin laughed before giving Ash a polite nod. "Maybe we'll even have a full six on six someday!"

Scott let out a laugh before approaching Ash. "He sure is something alright, he cleared out the entire Kanto branch!"

"No way, you beat Brandon?!" Darach's face was that of pure shock as Ash rubbed the back of his neck with a nervous laugh of confirmation.

"Anyways enough of that, I'm sure Ash is eager to get going so I'll go ahead and tell him where he's to go next." Scott turned to Ash before handing him a piece of paper with directions and also as a reminder in case he'd forget. "The Battle Factory is your next destination, it's in Canalave City so you've got quite the walk!"

Ash took the directions from Scott and gave him a nod of respect before thanking him. "Thank you Scott, and thanks to the two of you for that awesome battle!"

"It was no problem, look me up if you're ever in Unova again!" Caitlin called out.

"Take care!" Darach waved. "And good luck, you'll need it to beat Palmer!"

One Frontier Brain down, four to go!

I thought making it a double battle would be interesting, originally they were going to team up to fight Roark and his dad and Flygon/Garchomp happened there but I thought this would be more exciting! Caitlin also got in a fight so I don't have to worry about forgetting her later, focus on the guys who didn't appear like best Elite Four member Grimsley!

Darkrai's coming.