Battles Aboard the SS Anne!

"You got six badges? That's awesome, I guess we'll be seeing you all at the League then!" Flash loudly exclaimed. Ash and his friends had arrived in Vermillion City once more and had been passing through when they ran into their old friends Flash and Giselle.

"He still needs two more badges silly." Giselle giggled out.

"So I take it you two graduated then?" Chloe questioned.

"Of course, we just have some final preparations to make to our teams!" Giselle pointed out with a sly smirk. "That's why I booked the two of us quick passage to a far away region!"

"And we can't tell you which one as it'd spoil the surprise!" Flash added with a smirk of his own. "In fact we were on our way to the boat when we came across the three of you, I just need to stop and say goodbye to my dad first as it'll be awhile before we see each other again!"

Chloe's eyes darted between the two. She had a slight suspicion which region it was as she'd heard about Cubone evolving differently in the Alola region but decided to humor them, there was always the possibility they were going somewhere else.

"Well good luck with whatever it is you're doing, I look forward to seeing what Pokemon the two of you have!" Ash excitedly exclaimed. He was admittingly jealous of the two but he'd never put a halt to his journey and travel the globe solely to catch a Pokemon or gain an evolution, heading to a different area within the region was one thing but traveling the world like that was time consuming and took away from his training time! He'd just have to hope that he had more chance encounters with non-native Pokemon like he managed with Treecko during his first week as a Pokemon trainer!

"Thanks and good luck getting your last two badges, you should have just enough time to pull that off!" The two groups said their farewells and waved each other off. Flash shot a look back at the others as he and Giselle walked towards the Vermillion Gym. "Strange, I thought Chloe and Ash would be dating by now..."

Giselle let out a laugh as she placed her arm around his once more. "It's not always that simple, their love for each other is quite clear but something's holding them back. If I were to guess perhaps one of them just hasn't realized they love the other yet, not every couple gets together as quick as we did!" She giggled out before planting a kiss on his cheek.

Flash let out a light chuckle before returning the kiss with one of his own. "Yeah, it's almost as if we're simply side characters!"

Ash and the others continued making their way towards the docks and began checking the price for tickets.

"Man the SS Anne will get to Cinnabar Island in a matter of days but it's so expensive!" Ash groaned out. The others took up to one or two weeks to reach the destination as they weren't quite as fast or tech savvy as the massive cruise liner!

"Well it is a cruise line, most the passengers won't be getting off at Cinnabar Island unless it's to sightsee before the cruise continues towards the... Sevii Islands." Chloe checked the remaining destination.

"That's true," Brock eyed the other ship lines. "We could take that one, it's affordable and will get us there within seven days."

"I guess, I just wanted to get there now!" Ash let out an impatient groan. Gary, Flash and Giselle were already prepared for the League and Leaf was surely on her way as well. And with the League quickly approaching with each passing day, every moment was precious and they couldn't afford too many delays!

"Well you're in luck, you can have our tickets!"

"Huh?" Ash and the others turned towards what was obviously the Team Rocket trio and Wobbuffet dressed up like college girls. Jessie let her hair down while the other three wore wigs of various hair colors.

"I'm afraid our friend here, Wendy has come over with the blues!" Jessie exclaimed as she gave Wobbuffet a comforting hug.

"Wobbu..." Wobbuffet uttered a sad cry as he played along, though it was rather hard for him as every moment he found himself with his three friends brought him immense joy!

"Sick with blue fever, it's quite contagious!" James quickly added on while speaking with a lighter tone.

"That's right so we can't go on the cruise, we can't bare to see these tickets go to waste though so why don't the three of you tw-lovely kids take them?"

"That's quite generous of you but we have to offer you payment of some kind." Brock attempted to barter with the four only for them to hastily wave their hands.

"T-There's no need!" Jessie quickly exclaimed.

"Yeah we're all quite rich, we just hate things going to waste!" James exclaimed.

"That's right!" Meowth added on.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. She knew it was them and honestly didn't understand how Ash and the others always fell for their disguises, they were clearly up to something. She shot a quick glance towards Ash and saw how excited he was upon being offered the tickets and didn't have the heart to turn them down, whatever Team Rocket was up to they'd put a stop to it like usual. It was just the Rocket trio after all, how bad could it be? They'd likely blunder up and blast off like they usually did!

"Thanks so much!" Ash was quick to snatch the tickets out of their hands before bowing in appreciation. "This means so much, but I do hope your friend gets better!"

"Oh don't worry, just a bit of bed rest and she'll be as good as new!" Jessie flashed her teammates a smirk which they gleefully returned.

Ash excitedly looked through the tickets and was quick to discover that the three of them would have different cabins, which was rather odd considering the four girls were friends but it saved them from issues regarding sharing a room with Chloe. Unfortunately however their cabins were on different floors entirely, Chloe's was on level C while Ash and Brock's cabins were both on the B level of the ship!

"Well I guess that means we'll be splitting up once we're onboard, least we have our Rotom Phones so it shouldn't be difficult finding each other." Chloe laughed.

"Probably be best if we find our cabins first thing so we know where they are later. We can look into the various festivities the boat has to offer afterwards," Brock suggested.

"Good point," Chloe gave a light nod. She hated the idea of getting lost trying to find it later on when she was all by herself in the empty ship corridors trying to locate her cabin. "We should probably get food after that." She received a rather loud reply from Ash's stomach as it grumbled out causing the boy to nervously chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Food sounds great to me!"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu copied his trainer's actions.

A ship horned blared off followed by a voice over a loudspeaker.

"The SS Anne will embark in five minutes, last call for passengers!"

The three bolted towards the boat as the Rocket Trio and Wobbuffet gleefully rubbed their hands together.

"All is going to plan!" Jessie smirked.

"Yeah soon we'll have a boatload of Pokemon along with Pikachu and Eevee!" James laughed.

"Da boss will be so pleased with us that I bet he gives that ugly Persian of his the boot!" Meowth grinned.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet joined in. The four goofballs found themselves getting lost in the moment that they didn't even notice the boat taking off without them!

"Oh crud, the boat!" Jessie shouted, the four quickly raced down the dock before throwing themselves off the side where they successfully latched onto the ship's anchor as it reeled upwards!

"Success!" James gleefully exclaimed.

"Yeah but how do we get up from here?" Meowth questioned.

"Wobbu?"

"Wow who knew this cruise would be this packed?" Ash muttered as he and Brock attempted to make their way down to the lower levels of the ship. Chloe had broken off from them to find her cabin a few moments ago but they'd already lost sight of her. One thing did manage to stick out through the crowd however and that was Ash's stomach which began growling out rather loudly.

Brock couldn't help but utter out a light chuckle. "Perhaps we should stop and get a quick bite to eat? I'm sure there's a burger stand around here somewhere."

Ash flashed his friend a grateful smile, it wasn't as if they'd be eating without Chloe as it was essentially just a quick snack to hold him over until lunch. Brock shot a quick look around before taking notice of a fairly large map that displayed the layout of the current level. "Let's see... if we head down that way, take a right and head on through the corridor we should see a burger stand at the end of it!"

"Sounds great to me, let's go!"

"Pi Pikachu!" The two excitedly took off however rather than go right, Ash ended up pushing herded down the left corridor instead as a large crowd stampeded past upon him stepping out.

"E-Excuse me, I-I'm trying to get through!"

"P-Pika pi!" The two grunted and Pikachu did his best to avoid electrocuting the crowd as his cheeks began sparking out of annoyance. "Pika..."

"Step right up, step right up! The Battle Cruise Tournament is about to get underway, registration will be closing in just a few minutes!"

"A battle tournament?!"

"Pika?!" Ash and Pikachu temporarily forgot all about their empty stomachs as there was one thing they loved more than anything and that was Pokemon battles! Though he was being herded the wrong direction just a few moments prior, Ash had a sudden burst of energy and burst straight through the crowd and made his way towards the announcer. The announcer was dressed in quite the unusual attire and didn't appear to be from Kanto or Johto based on his appearance. The thing that stuck out the most was the man's blue Alolan shirt and white cargo shorts suggesting he came from somewhere with a much warmer climate than that of Kanto, that or he just dressed comfortably as his white shoes look quite comfy and didn't appear to have much wear to them. He was possibly in his early thirties or late twenties as his curly bald hair appeared to be receding near the top of his forehead revealing the light skin beneath, one couldn't see the color of his eyes as he hid them behind a pair of black sunglasses!

"Excuse me but what's the Battle Cruise Tournament?" Ash couldn't help but ask as he reached the desk, he had the feeling Chloe would chew him out if she found out he just entered a tournament without even knowing what it entailed.

The man's eyebrow raised as he seemed to give off a look of recognition though Ash was used to receiving that look from older individuals by now, his father used to be the Champion after all. The man then clasped his hands together as a fairly large grin crossed his face. "Have you ever heard of the Battle Frontier?"

"I've heard of it but I don't know much about it, far as I know Kanto doesn't have one." Ash tilted his head once more as a curious expression moved across his face. "But what does this have to do with the tournament?" He anxiously asked.

"Well I'll give you the gist of it, the Hoenn Battle Frontier is made up of six elite trainers. Trainers that proved themselves either through winning a Pokemon League or various other methods to be trainers of incredible strength, rivaling that of the Elite Four! Heck one of the Sinnoh Frontier Brains regularly engages in battle against the Sinnoh Champion and actually holds his own so that should give you a good idea of what I'm referring to here," The man laughed.

Ash couldn't help but nervously sweat. "T-Those Frontier Brains aren't here today are they?" This was an excellent opportunity to get in some battling experience with Muk, Pidgeot and Larvitar but a Frontier Brain? That was too much for them!

"Oh no, not at all!" The man waved his hands before gently sweating. "Well one is but she's not participating in the tournament in fact she should be around here somewh-"

"Oh wow!" Ash heard Brock loudly exclaim in his usual manner causing the boy to quickly turn to see his friend staring at an fairly attractive older woman that appeared to be around the same age as Brock. Much like Scott she had a lighter skin tone though it was really her attire that made her stick out, she wore a short purple top that exposed her waist line while she had wrappings of a similar color around the lower halves of her arms. She wore black pants with a yellow zigzag stylization near the top that reminded Ash of a foreign Pokemon he saw on television once though the name currently escaped him. Her hair stuck out a bit as well, it was long waist length and a darker shade of black than Ash's own hair with some red highlights at the front of it. Her red eyes flickered towards Brock as he reached over and her friends didn't appear to appreciate that one bit as they crossed their arms and gave him harsh looks. "Hello there my name is Brock and must I say out of all the ladies here, you're the most alluring of them all!" A red color filled the woman's cheeks as he clasped his hands around hers. "If I may be so bold I'd like to ask you out on a date, I have a feeling that you are the on-Ow!"

"Get away from her!"

"Yeah, get away! Don't you know royalty when you see it?!"

"This is Battle Pike Queen Lucy and she deserves your respect!" The girls began swatting Brock's face with paper fans, knocking him towards the ground as Croagunk stood behind him with Poison Jab active as he'd been beaten to the punch. Croagunk silently croaked before gazing upwards towards the woman his trainer had attempted to flirt with and to his surprise Lucy didn't appear to be confused or unaware like most girls he attempted this with, she was actually blushing?!

"Croagunk?!" Croagunk let out a startled cry before dragging his trainer away to save him from the wrath of Lucy's friends!

Ash uttered a nervous chuckle. "So that's Lucy?"

"Yep, she along with the owner of the Battle Frontier are both here to scout out potential recruits for the Battle Frontier challenge!" The announcer informed with a sly smirk. "The purpose of this tournament is to draw out challengers with the winner receiving a rare Pokemon along with the honor of receiving a one on one match against the Battle Pike Queen herself!" They had to give out a real prize as not every winner had potential of giving the Battle Frontier heads a proper challenge.

"Well if that's the case then sign me up!"

"Count me in as well!" Brock shot up and quickly signed up alongside Ash before turning his gaze back towards Lucy as he boldly exclaimed. "Lucy, I'm determined to win your heart no matter what it costs! I feel as if destiny is trying to pair us together and I won't give up without a fight!" Lucy looked away to hide a light blush while her friends rolled their eyes at Brock.

"What's that loser thinking?"

"Yeah he's way out of Lucy's league!"

Ash shot her friends a glare as he didn't appreciate them trash talking Brock.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu's cheeks sparked as he was tempted to teach them a lesson!

"No Pikachu, we're better than that." Pikachu shot the girls as the announcer closed the registration book.

"Ash Ketchum and Brock Takeshi, perfect! The name's Scott by the way, figured it only fair to give you mine now that I know yours." Though Ash couldn't see the man's eyes he couldn't help but think they were fixated upon him! "Course with a fairly notable Kalos celebrity starring in a Pokemon Contest downstairs, that doesn't leave a whole lot of competition for you two today." Scott chuckled as he recalled several challengers returned and politely revealed that they'd be backing out of the competition as it wasn't every day that you got to see the one and only Aria in action!

"Alright everyone if you'd clear out from the designated battlefield that'd be most appreciated as we're about to get the Battle Cruise Tournament underway!"

Brock had the luck of going first and Ash had to admit he was rather relieved the two of them weren't fighting right off the bat, though Brock did dispatch his opponent's Wartortle rather quickly with the help of Croagunk allowing him to proceed to the next round!

"Don't worry Chase, I'll win this tournament for the both of us!" A brunette trainer placed her hand upon his shoulder resulting in him flashing her an appreciative gaze.

"Thanks Elaine, I hope you win!"

Elaine winded up beating the opponent she was set up against utilizing her Ivysaur although she did struggle a bit as the opponent's Golbat had her on the ropes for awhile! It was Ash's turn next and he found himself going against a fellow Kanto native, the trainer had a rather unusual hairstyle as his hair was spiked and dyed a dark shade of green. He wore a black and red zigzag style shirt and appeared to have quite the cocky look to him as he stood across from Ash. "So you're the son of Red Ketchum, eh? Don't look so special to me... I'm AJ, future Kanto/Johto Champion and I know that for a fact as I've won ninety nine battles in a row so this'll be my one hundredth! Only fitting that the son of a former Champion is my hundredth victim!" AJ boasted.

Ash couldn't help but grit his teeth as he growled out, not appreciating AJ's tone and blatant lack of respect.

"Sandslash let's win this!"

"Slash!" A Sandslash burst out and grinded his claws against each other as he gazed towards Ash with an eager expression!

"Krabby I choose you!"

"P-Pika pi?!"

"What?!" Pikachu and Brock both face faulted as this was Krabby's first Pokemon battle!

"Cookie, cookie!" Ash's Krabby menacingly pinched his pincers as he burst from his Pokeball. AJ and Sandslash merely stared at Krabby before bursting out from laughter.

"What? What's so funny?!" Ash's eye twitched before he shot a quick glance towards the ground. So that's what Gary meant, Gary's Krabby wasn't monstrous it was Ash's who was sized differently than normal!

"Your Krabby's a midget! Oh this is too good, that one hundredth win is as good as ours!" AJ howled out from laughter. "A simple Slash should do it just fine!"

"Slash!" Sandslash nodded in agreement before rushing across the field while pulling back his arm as he prepared to slash his opponent!

"Guillotine!" Ash called out in retaliation. Krabby's pincer began glowing a bright blue as he lashed out in front of him and locked his pincers onto Sandslash's arm right as the mouse Pokemon slashed at him!

"S-Slash?!" Sandslash began frantically waving his arm around in a bid to shake Krabby loose before his energy quickly began to drain out, his eyes rolled up into his head as he collapsed face first against the battlefield!

"What?!" AJ clasped his hands against the side of his head as he couldn't believe what he was seeing! "T-This isn't over Ketchum, I'll beat you someday!" AJ quickly scooped Sandslash up before racing off. "Come on Sandslash, we've got a streak to recover!"

"S-Slash!"

"Alright Krabby, way to go!"

"Pika pi!"

"Cookie, cookie!" Krabby cheerfully cried as he pinched his pincers in celebration before a bright blue light completely enveloped his body! Krabby began growing much taller and wider as he stretched out across the field while his appearance didn't change that much other than more head spikes growing atop his head while his mouth grew more jagged looking. "Cookie, cookie!"

"Kingler the Pincer Pokemon, Kingler has an enormous oversized claw. It waves this huge claw in the air to communicate with others. However because the claw is so heavy, this Pokemon quickly tires!"

Ash's eyes filled with excitement as he gazed upon his newly evolved Pokemon. "You evolved!"

"Cookie cookie!" Both trainer and Pokemon were excited to see what new moves laid in store but there wasn't much time to celebrate as the final trainers needed to participate so the tournament could proceed! Upon the next group going and the winner being revealed Ash anxiously watched as Scott shuffled the four remaining trainer's name in a box, there was a fifty fifty chance of him and Brock being paired up and he'd rather that happen in the finals as he didn't wish for either of them to be taken out beforehand!

"Ash and Elaine, you'll be the first to battle!" Scott revealed before turning his attention towards Brock. "Brock you and Isabella will be facing off against one another to finish the round, now let's get things underway shall we?!"

"Muk I choose you!"

"Ivysaur I need you!" The two trainers called out simultaneously as Muk and Ivysaur burst out onto the field.

"Muk!"

"Ivysaur!"

"Use Razor Leaf!"

"Ivy!" Ivysaur shook her body resulting in several razor sharp leaves flying out the plant atop her back before making their way towards Muk! Muk didn't seem bothered in the slightest as the leaves made contact with his body before rather quickly disappearing as his body absorbed them!

"Muk!"

"H-Huh?!" Elaine gasped from shock.

"Muk use Body Slam!"

"Muk!" Muk sprang forward and pinned Ivysaur against the ground, his body stuck out as Ivysaur kicked and struggled to get out from beneath but Muk's massive body easily dwarfed Ivysaur's resulting in the Pokemon beneath losing conscious rather quickly as she fell limp!

"..." Ash and the others remained silent as Muk backed away from the unconscious Pokemon revealing himself to be the winner! "Well that was rather anti climatic."

"Muk!"

"Ah!"

"Pi!" Muk tackled Ash and Pikachu to the ground and began showering them with affection as he held them in his grasp.

"Muk! Muk!"

"A-Alright Muk, that's enough!"

"Pika pi!" The two laughed out but Muk didn't seem willing to stop the hug resulting in Ash having no choice but to return him to his Pokeball for the time being so Brock could have his turn on the field. Ash watched on as Brock's Kangaskhan beat down Isabella's Onix with surprising speed and force as the massive rock snake collapsed with a heavy thud shortly upon being beat down by Dizzy Punch!

"Wow that Kangaskhan sure is something..."

"Pika..." The two gasped in amazement and stood there in silence for a moment before Scott let out a light cough.

"Ash you're up, you and Brock will be facing off for the rare Pokemon and the honor of facing Battle Pike Queen Lucy. Are the two of you ready?" Scott asked with an excitable smirk.

"Ready!" Ash eagerly exclaimed.

"Of course," Brock then turned towards Lucy and gazed at her with clenched fists. "Don't you worry Lucy, my love for you will prevail against all odds!" Lucy lightly blushed once more while her friends continued giving Brock harsh looks.

"Kangaskhan let's do this!"

"Kanga!" Kangaskhan burst out from her Pokeball while Croagunk silently watched on as the newest member of their group got into battling position.

Ash bit his lip as he carefully considered his options, Kangaskhan were quite fast and could hit hard too so this wasn't something to be taken lightly! His eyes flickered about as he thought his decision over before coming to a conclusion. "That's it! Larvitar I choose you!"

"Larvitar!" Larvitar burst out and gazed confidently up towards Kangaskhan, despite the size difference he didn't seem the least bit intimidated!

"Stomping Tantrum!"

"Lar, Larvitar!" Larvitar began repeatedly stomping against the ground resulting in large pieces of the field splintering out and make their way towards his opponent! Kangaskhan grunted out as the ground splinters struck against her face but she remained willing and able to continue!

"Dizzy Punch!" Brock shouted.

"Kanga!" Kangaskhan pulled back her fist as she prepared to lash out!

"Screech!"

"Larrrrr!" Kangaskhan and everyone else present covered their ears as Larvitar's Screech was still fairly loud despite him no longer being a baby!

"Now use Bite!"

"Lar!" Larvitar leaped up and bit Kangaskhan's arm resulting in her yowling out before attempting to shake him off!

"Mega Kick!"

"Kanga!" Kangaskhan's leg glowed bright white as she moved her arm and positioned Larvitar in front of her before delivering a swift kick that sent Larvitar flying across the field like a soccer ball!

"Larrrr!" Larvitar cried as he flew through the air and Ash quickly dived forward to catch Larvitar in his arms, grunting out from the weight while Larvitar shot him a look of concern. "Lar?"

"Don't worry about me Larvitar, are you okay?" Larvitar swiftly nodded resulting in a quick smirk forming across Ash's cheek. "Alright let's try Rockslide!"

Larvitar leaped from Ash's arms and raised his own arms resulting in a bunch of rocks forming in the air above Kangaskhan before they came crashing down on top of her! Kangaskhan grunted as she was buried beneath the rocks and for a moment it appeared as if it was over but a loud pound could be heard as her fist came crashing through the rocks!

"Kanga!"

Brock smirked before stretching out his arm. "Dizzy Punch!"

"Stomping Tantrum!"

"Lar!" As Kangaskhan rushed towards Larvitar large pieces of the ground splintered up before blasting their way towards her, nailing her directly in the chest resulting in her eyes bulging out as the breath was knocked clean out of her! Kangaskhan was sent flying through the air before coming to a collapsed heap before Brock as swirls filled her eyes!

"Kangaskhan!" Brock immediately rushed to check on his Pokemon while Scott clapped his hands.

"Congratulations for a job well done Ash, I must say you're definitely quite the unusual trainer. Perhaps you just might have what it takes to take on the Battle Frontier, there is one final test however but before we get that underway may I see your Pokedex?" Scott held out his hand.

"Uh yeah sure," Ash pulled out his Rotom Phone and activated the Pokedex app before handing it over.

Scott appeared to be lost in thought for a moment, it was hard to tell with his eyes hidden behind sunglasses. After a few moments he reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out a Pokeball before placing it in the palm of Ash's hand. "I believe you'll get the most use out of this fella, take good care of each other."

Ash was about to open the ball to see who the Pokemon was but before he could react the ball was engulfed in a bright white light and transported to Professor Oak's lab! "Oh right, I have a full team with me..." Ash lightly commented with a disappointed expression as he'd been hoping to introduce himself or at least see what it was. His Rotom Phone dinged out as the new Pokemon was registered within the Pokedex system.

"Sandslash the Mouse Pokemon, Alolan form." Ash was greeted with an image of what appeared to be a light blue Sandslash with large spikes of ice atop his back rather than the ground shards that adorned most Sandslash! "It uses large, hooked claws to cut a path through deep snow as it runs. On snowy mountains, this Sandslash is faster than any other Pokemon!"

"Ice/Steel, eh?" An excited look crossed his face as both those types were entirely new to his team!

Scott crossed his arms as a satisfied smirk formed on his lips. "I figured you'd enjoy him, now I believe you and Battle Pike Queen Lucy have an engagement?" Scott beckoned towards the opposite side of the field where Brock could be seen frozen in a love stricken state as Lucy made her approach!

Ash thought for a moment before turning towards Scott once more. "Would it be okay if my friend takes my place? It'd mean a lot to him if he got to face Lucy."

Scott smiled upon hearing Ash's words. There was more to being worthy than just being a skilled battler and Ash was proving his worth in spades! "Of course but honor such as that can't go unrewarded, I believe the owner of the Battle Frontier will be gracing you with a battle once your friend and Lucy wrap up theirs."

"Owner? The owner's here? Where is he?!"

"Pika?!" Ash and Pikachu quickly jerked their heads back and forth as if they hoped to spot the owner of the Battle Frontier. Scott released an amused chuckle as neither seemed to know the truth.

Lucy flashed Brock a warm smile before giving a polite wave. "Hello again, my name's Lucy. I believe you'll be my challenger for today?"

"Y-Yes ma'am!" Brock would thank Ash later for now as usual whenever he was around a beautiful lady he became overwhelmed with passion and desire and often lost track of other emotion and thought! "I'd be honored to date you-er go out with you-I mean battle you!" Brock flustered while his cheeks burned a dark shade of red.

Lucy giggled out while her friends continued giving Brock harsh looks with one even giving a rude hand gesture from behind Lucy's back. "I'd be honored to go out with you if you can beat me!" Lucy grasped at a Pokeball and tossed it up and down before throwing it forward. "Seviper let's dance!"

"Seviper!" Ash couldn't help but leap back as a large serpent Pokemon which greatly resembled Lucy's pants came bursting out from the ball!

"Excuse me but is this the Contest-? Oh my gosh, it's so beautiful!" Jessilina squealed out beside Ash, her eyes turned to stars as they gazed upon Seviper!

James and Meowth gave looks of unamusement as their friend displayed her unusual taste for beauty once more.

"That's beautiful?" James questioned while Meowth merely face palmed and silently shook his head.

"Seviper the Fang Snake Pokemon, Seviper's swordlike tail serves two purposes—it slashes foes and douses them with secreted poison. This Pokemon will not give up its long-running blood feud with Zangoose!"

"What's a Zangoose?" Though Ash didn't have long to dwell on that question as the battle started getting underway!

"Croagunk, I'm counting on you!" Brock exclaimed as he threw his arm forward.

"Croagunk!" Croagunk leaped out onto the field and immediately got into a combat stance.

"Focus Punch!" Croagunk pulled back his arm as a bright orange light surrounded his fist. Croagunk locked his gaze onto Seviper and lashed out, striking Seviper with surprising strength resulting in Scott, Lucy and her friends gasping out as Seviper let out a rather loud pained hiss!

"Sevi..."

Lucy raised an eyebrow before stretching out her arm as she shouted out an attack! "Iron Tail!" Seviper's tail glowed a bright silver color as it lashed out, striking Croagunk with it and causing the poison frog to drop to his knees. Although the attack would normally only deal a regular amount of damage it proved just how strong Seviper could be as one hit nearly took Croagunk out!

"Croagunk you okay?!"

"C-Croagunk..." Croagunk slowly rose to his feet with a determined gaze. Brock briefly hesitated before withdrawing a white rag from his pocket and raising it above his head. "I forfeit!" It wasn't worth his partner Pokemon getting hurt in a hopeful attempt at winning a date, they were clearly outmatched and if it continued Croagunk may get seriously hurt!

Scott crossed his arms as a smirk crossed his face once more. It appeared as if Ash's friend had a heart of gold as well! Lucy gave a brief glimpse of admiration before her friends lead her away. "Come on Lucy let's go find somewhere else to hang out."

"You okay Brock?" Ash questioned as he made his way towards his friend while Brock helped Croagunk off the battlefield.

"My heart aches but other than that I'm fine but thanks, just a bit of rest and Croagunk should be as good as new!"

"Croagunk!" Croagunk croaked in agreement.

Scott clapped his hands together as he stepped out to take Lucy's position on the opposite side of the battlefield. "Well then I believe we have our own battle to get underway?"

"Huh? What are you-Oh..." Ash trailed off as his confusion began fading away. "It's you, you're the owner of the Battle Frontier?!"

"Indeed I am!" Scott twirled a Pokeball on his finger. "Same rules as before, each of us may utilize one Pokemon and the battle will come to an end once one of us is unable to continue or forfeit. This sound good to you?"

"Of course!" Ash excitedly clenched his fists before turning towards Pikachu. "This is all up to you buddy!"

"Pika!" Pikachu gave his trainer a quick nod before leaping out onto the battlefield, cheeks sparking with anticipation as both trainer and Pokemon eagerly awaited what Pokemon Scott had in store for them!

"Swampert, let's get things started!"

"Swampert!" A large bulky bright blue amphibian Pokemon burst out before them!

"Who's that Pokemon?" Ash quickly retrieved his Rotom Phone and scanned the strange bulky amphibian Pokemon.

"Swampert the Mud Fish Pokemon and the fully evolved form of the Hoenn starter Pokemon Mudkip. Swampert is very strong. It has enough power to easily drag a boulder weighing more than a ton. This Pokemon also has powerful vision that lets it see even in murky water!"

"Alright Pikachu let's use Splishy Splash!"

"Pika!"

"Hm?" Scott tilted his head with a look of amusement as he watched on while Pikachu raised up his arms resulting in a massive wave of electrified water forming beneath the electric mouse's feet. Pikachu then let out a cry as he rode the wave before it came crashing down on top of Swampert!

"Whoa that move was quite something!" Scott exclaimed with an excitable expression while Swampert shook himself off. "I wonder just what else you have in store for us, Stone Edge!"

Swampert slammed his hands against the ground and large rock pillars burst out across the field before rushing towards Pikachu! Pikachu tried to avoid them before winded up getting crushed between them as he cried out in pain! "P-Pika..."

"Voltage Vortex!"

"Hm?" Scott tilted his head as once more Ash issued a command he never heard of.

"Pika!" Pikachu's eyes shot bright blue shortly before he stretched out his arms resulting in the rock pillars being telekinetically pushed back as blue electricity crackled out of his cheeks. "Pika pika pika!" Blue electrically began flowing around his body as telekinetic energy flowed around him in the shape of a vortex causing the electricity to swirl about within! Pikachu lashed out with his arms and sent the vortex flying towards Swampert, scooping the amphibian Pokemon out before the strong wind force blasted him back and forth while occasionally dealing him a shock!

"S-Swam..."

"Incredible, that attack is somehow letting Swampert be electrocuted..." Scott trailed off with a look full of amazement.

"Pert!" Swampert crashed face first against the ground as the vortex died out however that wasn't the end for him as he stood back up and gazed towards Pikachu with a look full of determination though it was clear that the attack had taken quite a toll on him!

"Alright no more holding back, let's show them our true strength with Mega Evolution!" Scott retrieved a Mega Ring from his shorts and slapped it into his wrist before activating it as a bright pink light enveloped Swampert's body resulting in the Pokemon becoming even bulkier than usual!

"Now let's finish this, Earthquake!" Mega Swampert slammed his fists against the battlefield resulting in it shaking heavily before the ground gave way beneath Pikachu!

"Pikaaaaa!" Pikachu fell in and got crushed as the ground formed around him, his eyes turned to swirls shortly after and Swampert casually walked over before yanking him out.

"Swamp." Swampert handed the defeated Electric type to Ash before making his way back towards Scott who clapped his hands despite Ash's loss.

"Well done Ash with the honor and skill you displayed here today I think you're more than prepared to take on the Hoenn Battle Frontier! What do you say? You can hitch a ride with me and we'll be there before you-"

"No thanks," Ash shook his head as he politely declined. "Pikachu and I aren't ready yet, besides I'd like to see what the rest of Kanto and Johto has to offer before making my way to other regions!"

"Pika." Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Scott smiled as he didn't take ill of their refusal. "That's alright with me," Scott wrote down his number on a slip of paper before handing it to Ash. "Feel free to look me up if you ever reach Hoenn, I look forward to seeing how you fare against my Battle Frontier!"

"Count on it!" Ash grinned as he couldn't help but wonder just what the other five Battle Frontier Brains had in store for him, who knows maybe there will be more by the time he reached Hoenn! "Alright Pikachu let's get you healed-Oh right, there's a Contest! Do you think-?" Ash turned to Brock who could only chuckle in response.

"She hasn't called or come looking for us so I imagine she's there, once Pikachu's healed up we can hurry down and try to catch the end of it!"

Ash gave a swift nod before the two raced off leaving Scott watching them with a smirk of amusement. He had a feeling he wouldn't have to wait that long to see them again.

In the ballroom a figure let out a groan of pain and held onto his arm before quickly rushing out of there. "Oh no, no no no no! Not here!"

"Heheheheh..." He heard the voice that haunted his dreams ever since the day he became overpowered by the darkness and lost his best friend!

"No, no I won't let you! Not here, there's ten thousand people aboard this ship! I won't let you do this!"

"Oh come now, you couldn't even overcome it to save your best friend. There's no way you'll beat me when it comes to saving innocents!" The voice cackled as the man ripped off the sleeve of his suit to reveal his arm fully encased with shadow!

"No..."

"Oh yes, you can't stop this!"

Originally this was going to end with the ship being destroyed but it became longer than I anticipated so I decided to split the chapter up with the first half revolving around Ash and Brock while part two revolves around Chloe and setting up what comes next!

I debated giving Ash Alolan Raticate here as a reference to the Raticate he owned but ended up deciding against it as I figured Raticate would likely collect dust, Alolan Sandslash provides more usage and also is one of my dream Pokemon for him. Well Sandslash in general is but I spent the entire Sun Moon saga hoping he'd catch it as his sixth Pokemon!

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this, next time Chloe and Aria will meet and engage in a Contest battle! :)