Crossroads Chapter 9: The Heart of a Turtle!

Previously on Crossroads, Ash and Anabel spent quality time together and got to know each other better. Anabel ensured Ash knew she would help him as much as possible to become the best Frontier Brain he could be. As they fell asleep next to the tree, they were unaware of somebody watching them who would reveal himself in time.


Tohjo Falls, Battle Tower – Kanto Region

The following days were like a blur to Ash; it was almost the same daily routine.

Anabel would wake Ash up at around 7:30 AM, eat breakfast, and then head over to the Battle Tower for the day, where Ash continued his training.

Most of the time the two worked together, Anabel usually taught Ash what went on daily at her facility. For instance, Anabel typically hosted Pokémon tournaments on the battling floors on weekends. Hosting took up a lot of time, but it was worth it - she enjoyed watching the competition and the improvement it fostered in many of the participating trainers.

On other days, events were much more mundane - sometimes, she walked around the different floors watching all the people and Pokémon using the various facilities. Of course, such inspection had a less superficial reason than one might think - she had to be on the lookout for potential mishaps, accidents, and other problems so if anything went wrong, she could get it fixed.

All in all, it was a time-consuming job, and yet the battle tower seemed to run almost flawlessly. Ash was very impressed with Anabel's ability to hold it all together.

He learned all this during the first week of his "indentured servitude" under Anabel. Their relationship had been much less formal than the "Master-Apprentice" dynamic that would typically be present. Even in small events, like their hands brushing against each other or Ash complimenting Anabel on how intelligent she was, they both were beginning to realize their connection was more profound than it had initially seemed. However, neither wanted to rush into anything, so they were content with letting things play out and seeing what developed.

Today, since Anabel was battling the dreaded enemy of all Frontier Brains - paperwork - in her office, she told Ash to perform the customary circuit around the battle floors and see if anybody needed help or some advice for improvement.

As the raven-haired trainer walked around on the fifth floor, he noticed a small blonde-haired boy who appeared to be a relatively new trainer - around the age Ash himself had been during his Kanto journeys. The boy (unlike Ash) had prepared well for his travels - his hair was cut short to prevent it from obscuring his vision; he wore a loosely-fitting blue t-shirt, matching dark blue cargo shorts, and white sneakers; however, he had a gloomy look on his face.

Ash did a double-take when he spotted the last of these items and decided to see what was happening. Upon closer inspection, it appeared that the kid was trying to train his Pidgeotto to use Aerial Ace, but he was having quite a bit of trouble - either the bird failed to gather enough speed, or it almost collided with the ground. Reminiscing slightly about when his Swellow or Staraptor learned the move, Ash decided to help.

He walked over and tapped the boy on the shoulder. "Hey there! My name's Ash. I was walking by, and I saw you looking sort of down. Is there something I can help you with?"

The boy looked up, blue eyes full of barely suppressed tears. "Thanks, that'd be great, Mr. Ash." His eyes widened as he realized precisely which Ash he was talking with, "Wait a minute, you're the Ash Ketchum?! The one who beat that guy's Darkrai in the Sinnoh league?"

Ash grinned proudly. "Yup, that's me! What's your name?"

"My name is Dave, and my dream is to become a Pokémon Master - just like you!" the boy exclaimed.

Before his loss against Tobias, Ash would have just taken that comment as fuel for his ego, but, well, he was older now. "I'm not a Pokémon Master or anything yet - I did end up losing, unfortunately - but that's still my dream, and I'm going to do everything I can to make that a reality! I saw you're trying to teach your Pidgeotto Aerial Ace! I have a couple of Flying types I've taught it and could give you some pointers!"

"Oh yes, please! I would love your help, Mr. Ketchum!"

"Alright, you got it, Dave! Oh, by the way, you don't need to call me Mr. Ketchum. Ash is perfectly fine."

Dave nodded in agreement as Ash detached a Pokeball from his belt, calling, "Alright, Pidgeot, we need your help!"

Ash threw the ball into the air, and Pidgeot emerged in a flash of white light.

"Pidgeot-ooooo" exclaimed Pidgeot, executing a quick barrel roll as he flew down next to Ash.

"WOW! You have a Pidgeot! That's so cool!" Yelled Dave with stars in his eyes.

Ash laughed. "Yup, he sure is. I first caught him as a Pidgeotto back when I started my journey, and after several years of guarding Viridian Forest against a flock of Spearow and Fearow, he's the strongest Flying-type I have! But he only got that strong through hard work, so if you keep at it, I'm sure that one day your Pidgeotto will grow up to be big and strong like Pidgeot is!"

"Really? Thanks, Ash!" Said Dave happily.

Ash smiled again. Turning back to the battlefield, he gained a determined look and said, "Let's do this! Pidgeot, show them an Aerial Ace so Pidgeotto can see how to do it right."

Pidgeot nodded his head and took flight. When he was high enough, Ash called out, "Now, Pidgeot, use Aerial Ace!"

Looping in mid-air to gain speed, Pidgeot shot towards the ground, white streaks blazing all around him. Before hitting the ground, though, he quickly leveled his flight and sped past the group just above the floor, striking the practice target before pulling back up and landing beside Ash again.

"Way to go, Pidgeot, that was great!" Ash exclaimed, patting him on the head when he returned to his side.

"Ash, that was incredible! How did Pidgeot do that?" an eager Dave questioned.

"Um, lemme see if I can explain it properly... Well, before Pidgeot went into his dive, he made a quick loop to pick up some speed. Then, he used the dive to pick up even more speed, but before hitting the ground, he leveled himself out to better aim at the target. It's tricky, but the secret is keeping a good balance of speed and maneuverability. It's not enough to just dive at the target - the ability for the user to change its aim and follow the target makes Aerial Ace so hard to avoid!"

"So, you're saying I need not just to try and increase Pidgeotto's speed but also its level of control?"

"Yup, that's right; as long as Pidgeotto keeps its flight under control, then the speed at which it moves can reach pretty high levels."

"Alright, I think I get what you're saying. Can I try it out now?" Dave looked questioningly at Ash, determination evident on his face.

"Of course, you can try! Let's see if you can pull it off now." Ash recalled Pidgeot, walking over to a nearby chair and sitting down to watch.

"Great!" Dave turned back to the field, gesturing Pidgeotto forwards. "Alright, Pidgeotto, let's do it! Use Aerial Ace just like Pidgeot did!"

Pidgeotto flew out onto the field, gathering momentum. It then looped just like Pidgeot and headed towards the ground, the attack's trademark white streaks appearing around it.

"There you go, Pidgeotto, keep it up!" Dave encouraged. "Then level out on my command!" When Pidgeotto was about five feet above the ground, Dave commanded, "Pidgeotto, now!"

Responding to its trainer's instruction, Pidgeotto quickly leveled itself out, shooting across the ground toward Ash and Dave. As Pidgeotto got closer, however, his trajectory became slightly wobbly as his focus dissipated.

"Hang in there, Pidgeotto! You can do it!" Dave called out. When Pidgeotto heard its trainer's encouragement, it refocused and stabilized itself before pulling out of the streak as Pidgeot had. It shouted its name ecstatically as it landed back next to the celebrating Dave.

"Alright, Pidgeotto! That was a great try!"

Ash walked back up to the pair with a wide smile. "Wow, Dave, I'm impressed! Your Pidgeotto really improved its Aerial Ace! With just a little more practice, I'm sure Pidgeotto will be able to use the move perfectly."

"Really? Thanks a lot, Ash! I appreciate your help!"

"Anytime, Dave. I'm glad I could help." Ash responded, still smiling.

The pair then shook hands, and Dave recalled Pidgeotto, heading towards the elevator to his next destination. As he entered the elevator, happy about his progress, he passed by a figure leaning up against the wall, hidden by the shadows of the equipment.

"Well, I see you're on your way to becoming our number one trainer here, aren't you?" The mysterious figure commented. As the raven-haired trainer turned around, the unidentified person emerged from the shadows, revealing the face, not of a stranger, but the Salon Maiden herself.

Now that she was no longer swamped by paperwork, Anabel seemed much more lighthearted, disturbing the Butterfree in Ash's stomach. He could subdue them somewhat, though, and he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Oh, you saw that? It looked like he needed help, so I thought I could…."

Anabel put her finger up, shushing her apprentice. "No need to explain, Ash. I don't think I could have done it better myself - great job!"

Blushing profusely, the raven-haired trainer stuttered, "Uh, th…thanks, Anabel."

He still couldn't figure out why he was acting like this, but it didn't bother him much - a hidden part of his brain told him not to worry. He still would have liked to control his mouth back.

Anabel was about to reply but was interrupted by Maron on the intercom system. "Salon Maiden Anabel, please report to the first floor; you have a challenger waiting for you. Ash Ketchum, you are also requested, so please accompany her to the arena." With a click, the intercom turned off.

"Well… Ash, I guess we have to go - but before that…." Anabel walked forward and kissed Ash on the cheek. At Ash's surprised look, she blushed, trying to come up with a reason for her action. "That was... uh... for doing such a good job with that kid. Let's go; we don't want to keep the challenger waiting." With that, she turned around and headed quickly for the elevator.

"Right…" said Ash, touching his cheek in shock. Hearing the elevator ding, he ran to catch up with the Salon Maiden. "Hey, wait for me!"

Once the pair made it down to the first level, they exited the elevator and began to look for the person they were supposed to meet. That question was promptly answered when a voice yelled, "Hey, over here, Ashy-boy!"

"Oh no… of course it's him of all people…" Ash groaned, looking over to where the voice originated and seeing none other than Gary Oak.

Anabel, who now had an amused smirk, asked, "Ashy-boy?"

"Ugh… you don't want to know," responded Ash as the pair made their way towards Gary.

Once they made it over, Gary looked Anabel up and down appraisingly. "So, this is the Frontier Brain that you chose. She's a nice one, Ash. I wouldn't let this one slip away if I were you."

Anabel's cheeks flushed madly as Ash's natural denseness kicked in. "What do you mean, 'let this one slip away? It's not like she's a mischievous Arbok, a clueless Togepi, or anything like that." Gary chuckled at Ash's statement, infuriating him. "Do you have to do that, Gary? Just get on with it and tell us why you're here."

Still laughing at the duo's reaction, Gary said, "Whoa, alright, relax a bit, Ash. I was just complimenting you on your choice of girls..." - here he winked at the two, intensifying their respective reactions - "...But anyway, I came here to win my 6th Frontier Symbol. I made an appointment for about... five minutes ago."

Anabel, once again the businesslike Salon Maiden, answered, "Well, thank you for the compliment, Gary. If you follow me, we'll head up to the battle floor, and we can get our battle underway."

"Sounds good to me. Remember, Ash, you're watching a professional in action," Gary said with a smirk.

"Professional, eh?" Ash retorted. "I think you forgot - I already defeated the Battle Frontier, so I think it's you that's going to need a bit of luck to pull this one off. Anabel isn't a pushover. I bet she'd be the strongest if it weren't for the secret Frontier Brain."

Anabel blushed again at Ash's compliment, while Gary continued smirking maddeningly. "Whatever you say, Ashy-boy, now let's go."

Ash, Gary, Anabel, and Maron (who had arrived just as their conversation finished) headed up to floor 39 to begin the battle. Once they reached the appropriate level, Anabel and Gary went to their respective sides of the field while Ash headed up into the stands to watch.

Maron went to the referee's box and announced, "The Frontier battle between the challenger, Gary Oak from Pallet Town, and Anabel, the Frontier Brain and Salon Maiden, is about to begin! This will be a three-on-three battle with no time limit, and only the challenger will be able to substitute Pokémon!"

"Come on out, my friend!" Anabel announced, releasing her first Pokémon.

"Meta, Metagross!" Called the pseudo-legendary Pokémon as it got ready for the day's first battle.

"Nice, a Metagross. What a way to start a Frontier Battle. Good thing I know how to beat it - Arcanine, let's go!" Gary released the Pokédex-deemed "Legendary Pokémon" onto the field.

"Rooof!" Arcanine howled as it took its battle stance, attempting to intimidate its opponent.

Maron looked at both teams and called out, "This matchup will be Metagross vs. Arcanine, let the Frontier Battle begin!"

"You have the first move, Gary," called Anabel from across the field.

"Alright then, Arcanine, start it off with Flamethrower!" Gary yelled, and the canine Pokémon unleashed a torrent of flames from its mouth toward Metagross.

"Metagross, use Psychic to redirect Arcanine's Flamethrower right back at him!" Anabel countered, pointing her finger at the Fire-type. Metagross grunted in agreement and surrounded the Flamethrower with the blue aura of Psychic, redirecting it back towards Arcanine.

"Arcanine, take it!" Gary ordered. The Fire-type stayed stalwart as the Flamethrower attack engulfed it. Instead of doing damage like expected, Arcanine was shrouded by a reddish-white glow, which it dispelled with a roar, revealing itself to be unharmed.

"What! I know Arcanine is a Fire-type, but why didn't it do any damage?" asked Anabel, slightly shocked at the situation.

Gary looked back at her, sporting his classic smirk as he answered, "You see, Anabel, Arcanine's ability isn't Intimidate like you thought - it's Flash Fire. I like fooling the opponent into trying to use Fire-type attacks on Arcanine, thinking they can damage it. Instead, we get a power boost! Thanks, by the way."

"Nice play, Gary! You'll need that boost if you want to compete with my Metagross." Anabel responded. "But enough talking, why don't we continue? Metagross, Meteor Mash!" In response, Metagross dashed forward, one of its steel claws lighting up white as stars circled it.

"Dodge with Extremespeed, then follow with Flame Wheel!" As Metagross was about to make contact, Arcanine vanished into thin air and reappeared behind Metagross, engulfed in a circling sphere of fire.

"Metagross, turn around, but keep up the Meteor Mash!" Anabel ordered.

"Arcanine, charge in!" Gary punched the air, anticipating his victory as Arcanine sped towards Metagross. However, thanks to Anabel, Metagross had enough time to turn around and meet Arcanine straight on with its Meteor Mash as Arcanine reached the center of the field.

After a short power struggle between the pair, Arcanine broke off from the contact and dashed back to Gary's side of the field, temporarily out of range. Gary then called out, "Now use Wild Charge!"

The Fire-type began to crackle with electricity, speeding forward again to try to make contact with the pseudo-legendary Pokémon. However, Anabel would have none of that, calling out, "Metagross, block it with Protect!"

As Arcanine approached Metagross, the Steel/Psychic-type created a light green spherical shield around itself, which Arcanine bashed its head into in an attempt to break through. The effort was ultimately in vain, and Arcanine was knocked back.

"Metagross, Hyper Beam while it's stunned," Anabel messaged mentally as Arcanine flew backward, and Metagross quickly powered up an orange ball of energy. It fired towards Arcanine, who had just gotten over the impact of the previous attack.

"Wait, WHAT? You didn't say anything, and it's attacking?" yelled Gary in disbelief. "Arcanine, push it back with your Flamethrower!" Arcanine fired the Flamethrower right into the Hyper Beam, but even the extra power granted by Flash Fire wasn't enough to overcome the more powerful attack. The Orange Beam engulfed the canine Pokémon's Flamethrower and then Arcanine itself.

"Arcanine, NO!" Gary called worriedly as the Hyper Beam dissipated. Arcanine's defenses had not been strong enough to survive the beam of destruction, and the Pokémon slowly keeled over, swirly-eyed.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, which means Metagross wins!" Maron called, raising Anabel's flag to signify her victory. "Gary, please select your second Pokémon."

Gary returned Arcanine, praising its efforts before stowing away the Pokeball and pulling out another one, which he looked at for a moment. "Well, I had intended to save this guy for later, but after seeing how you handled Arcanine even after our trick, it looks like I don't have much choice. Blastoise, let's go!"

The Pokémon, Gary's strongest, roared out "Blast-OISE!" as it formed, nearly shaking the floor upon landing.

"Wow, Gary, your Blastoise sure looks like it's gotten a lot stronger since the Silver Conference," called Ash from the stands.

His signature smirk adorning his face, Gary replied, "Well, of course, and you're about to see it in battle first-hand. If you're polite, I may even let you watch me beat the 'mystery Frontier Brain.'"

Ash laughed, saying, "Yeah, right, Gary. I think you should get through this battle before you start thinking about defeating Br- I mean, the secret Brain."

"Umm, hello?" Anabel interrupted. "Ash, we're in the middle of a battle here, so if you wouldn't mind being a little quieter…."

"Oh, sorry, Anabel," Ash chuckled. "Don't mind me; please continue. Eh-heh-heh-heh."

Gary, of course, could not turn down an opportunity to tease Ash. "Well, it's good to know we have finally found a girl who can control Ashy-boy over here. You know, Anabel, when that happens, it usually means he likes her." Both blushed in embarrassment before Ash started yelling again at Gary from the stands, forgetting about the initial request that sparked the teasing.

Gary just tuned him out (as he had learned to do during the years of their childhood) and turned his focus back to the battlefield, where the Pokémon were waiting for their instructions. Seeing them reminded him of something he was curious about. "Hey, Anabel!"

"Hmm?" she responded, still trying to tame her flaming cheeks.

"I was thinking, earlier it seemed like you were communicating with your Pokémon without using words, and my researcher side wants to know how you did that. Care to explain?"

Anabel shook off the remainder of her blush and answered Gary's question, telling him about her empathetic Pokémon communication abilities. Once Gary had heard, he nodded in understanding. "Well, it makes sense. But now that my curiosity has been sated, let's continue."

Anabel nodded and looked towards Maron, who was waiting patiently for them to finish - Anabel explaining her mental abilities was pretty much an everyday occurrence. Once notified they were ready to continue, Maron raised his arms and announced, "Match two: Metagross vs. Blastoise. Begin!"

"Let's go, Blastoise; use Hydro Pump!" yelled Gary. Blastoise aimed its trademark cannons and fired a mighty torrent of water toward Metagross, who, although it had had plenty of time during the conversation to recharge from its usage of Hyper Beam, decided to honorably take the hit as if it did still have to recharge. The strong water attack hit it straight on, sending it skidding backward a couple of feet towards Anabel.

Now Gary knew about Anabel's telepathic ability and would be prepared for it; she decided to continue using it for the rest of the match to enhance the challenge. She then mentally directed Metagross to "Charge in with Zen Headbutt," causing it to tuck in its 'arms' and charge towards Blastoise, main body glowing light blue.

"Blastoise, counter it with Skull Bash!" Gary responded, and Blastoise tucked in its head as it charged towards Metagross, white streaks surrounding its body.

The pair collided at the center of the field, causing yet another struggle for dominance. Unlike the last battle, though, Metagross was much more evenly matched; Blastoise seemed to have the strength of a pseudo-legendary (albeit a somewhat exhausted one), pushing Metagross back. The steel behemoth was unable to maintain its attack. As one final push came from Blastoise, the dissipation of its attack's energy sent Metagross flying backward past Anabel and into the outer wall.

"Meta…" groaned the pseudo legendary as it lay against the wall, swirls in its eyes.

Maron raised his left arm towards Gary and Blastoise and declared, "Metagross is unable to battle, so Blastoise is the winner! Salon Maiden Anabel, please select your next Pokémon."

Anabel reached out towards the field and returned Metagross to its Pokéball, complimenting it as Gary did with Arcanine. She then took out her next Pokeball and threw it into the air, calling, "It's your turn, my friend!"

In a burst of light, the Gardevoir Anabel had selected floated elegantly down onto the field, emitting a peaceful aura.

Maron, as dutiful as ever, announced the next match. "Match three: Gardevoir vs. Blastoise. Begin!"

"Alright, Blastoise, let's start with Hydro Pump again!" Gary instructed, causing Blastoise to shoot out another torrent of water, only this time towards Gardevoir.

"Gardevoir, dodge with Teleport, and then follow it up with Energy Ball!" called Anabel telepathically. Gardevoir successfully vanished from the torrent's destination, appearing to the right of Blastoise with a ball of green energy forming in its hands. It floated slightly backward to aim better and fired the sphere towards the hulking turtle.

Because he couldn't tell beforehand what was coming, Gary knew he needed to be extra observant to counter his opponent's strategy. His mind raced as he noticed the Grass-type attack and yelled, "Use Rapid Spin to block Energy Ball!"

Luckily for him, Blastoise could hide in its rapidly rotating shell before the Energy Ball connected, negating most of its effectiveness.

Anabel wasn't done yet, though, continuing to press the attack. "Now use Shock Wave!" Gardevoir, who still wasn't far from Blastoise, performed a few arm waves, shooting out a streak of lighting. The electric attack flew through the air, hitting Blastoise through the holes in its shell while spinning.

Instead of exploding on contact like the Energy Ball, the Shock Wave engulfed the final form of Kanto's water starter in electricity inside and outside the shell, causing Blastoise to stop spinning and emerge from inside its shell reflexively.

The giant turtle winced in pain from the attack, and as it locked eyes with Gary, the researcher knew he had to start putting pressure on Gardevoir rather than just staying on the defense, or it would be a short battle. His eyes lit up as he figured out how to do both simultaneously. Better yet, even the usage of Teleport wouldn't be able to overcome that strategy. But to implement it, Gardevoir needed to be far enough away to give him time to set it up.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!" he called, eyes flicking to the other end of the field. Blastoise understood, firing another torrent of water in a calculatedly more scattered fashion.

As the attack approached, Anabel mentally instructed, "Gardevoir, Teleport again." Gardevoir easily avoided the attack, reappearing in a safe zone further away.

Unfortunately, that was exactly what Gary wanted. "Now, Blastoise! Rapid Spin while using Hydro Pump!"

Blastoise's face grew a smirk that matched Gary's as it quickly receded into its shell. Once it was ready, the Water-type began to spin rapidly, firing out a seemingly endless stream of water in different directions, eliminating all safe zones. The attack was almost a carbon copy of the Counter Shield Ash developed in Sinnoh!

"No! Gardevoir, keep using Teleport to avoid the water!" Anabel ordered frantically. Sadly, it did no good - trying to avoid the streams of water was almost as hard as touching a Tentacruel's underbelly without hitting any tentacles. No matter where Gardevoir teleported, it kept getting grazed by the powerful Water-type attack, and the damage was slowly building up.

Thankfully, Anabel soon figured out a way to counter Gary's strategy - one she thought Ash would be proud of, "Gardevoir, use Light Screen! But use it on Blastoise, not yourself!"

Gardevoir nodded in acknowledgment and teleported to the safest area it could see - above Blastoise. The attacks still hit, but with a low enough frequency to allow it to concentrate on forming the barriers. Its eyes flashed a bright yellow as it pushed its arms forward, creating a yellow box around Blastoise that trapped all the water streams inside. That result had two effects: First, it stopped all the water streams from hitting Gardevoir, and secondly, it caused Blastoise's attacks to hinder itself.

"What the Mew? Since when does Light Screen work like that?" Gary yelled, annoyed and impressed with Anabel's defusing of his combination attack. "Blastoise, switch to Aqua Tail and get yourself out of there!"

Blastoise quickly stopped spinning and emerged from its shell, panicking slightly as it cloaked its tail in Water-type energy and began hammering away at the Light Screen.

"Great job, Gardevoir; now release Blastoise and use Shock Wave!" Gardevoir released the Light Screen, dropping Blastoise to the ground, and quickly fired out another wave of lightning. Once again, the Electric-type energy engulfed Blastoise, the damage amplified by the water covering the turtle from the Counter Shield. Nerve endings firing wildly, Blastoise fell backward onto the back of its shell.

Gary could only grit his teeth at the scene before him, his Blastoise struggling back to its feet in evident pain. Being a naturally defensive Pokémon, it had a massive pain tolerance and damage resistance, soon squaring its shoulders and facing its opponent again.

Gardevoir didn't look much better than Blastoise - the Hydro Pumps had drained a lot of its endurance, and it was mentally exhausted from sustaining the Light Screen against so strong an attack for so long.

Both Pokémon were still ready for one last clash, and both trainers knew this would be the deciding attack. They both called out their attacks at the same time.

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump one last time!"

"Gardevoir, fly up and use your most powerful Energy Ball!"

Gardevoir quickly levitated higher and charged up a massive Energy Ball in its hands as Blastoise unleashed an incredible blast of water into the sky toward the Salon Maiden's Psychic-type Pokémon.

Gardevoir transferred the green ball of energy into one hand and held it above its head for a second, trying to gather as much energy as possible before throwing it down towards the incoming stream of water.

As the two attacks collided, Blastoise felt its Torrent ability about to kick in and grinned wickedly, using it to put a little extra power surge into the attack. The result looked vaguely similar to a spear as the excess water pressure vaulted up the stream, reaching the stalemate with the Energy Ball. Gardevoir's attack managed to hold its own for a couple of seconds, fighting against the inevitable push of the Hydro Pump. Still, it was for naught, as the extra spear of pressure penetrated the Grass-type attack, removing it from the equation.

Gardevoir tried to teleport out of the way but was too exhausted. The best it could summon was a headache, immediately augmented by a blast of water to the face. The impact was too much for the Embrace Pokémon, and it fell to the ground and fainted.

Blastoise let out a roar of victory as Maron examined Gardevoir, who was quite knocked out by the powerful attack.

Returning to his spot as the referee, Maron announced, "Gardevoir is unable to battle, meaning Blastoise wins again! Salon Maiden Anabel, please select your final Pokémon."

Anabel recalled Gardevoir, telling the Psychic-type it did a fantastic job, and pocketed the Pokéball, bringing out what would be her last partner for this match. She threw the Pokéball containing her prized Pokémon into the air, calling, "Let's finish this, my friend!"

In a bright white light reminiscent of the sun, Espeon emerged onto the field.

"Espi, Espeon!" the Johto eeveelution cried out.

"An Espeon, eh? This should be interesting..." Gary mused as he looked over at Maron, waiting for the battle to begin.

Maron confirmed that both teams were ready before announcing, "The challenger's second Pokémon, Blastoise, will be taking on the Salon Maiden's final Pokémon, Espeon! Let the match begin!"

Gary pointed his finger towards the Sun Pokémon. "Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!" Blastoise responded by aiming its hydro cannons at Espeon and releasing a surge of water toward its third opponent.

"Espeon, dodge with quick attack," the Salon Maiden called, momentarily forgetting to use mental communication. When she remembered, she added, "get in close and follow it up with Zap Cannon!" Espeon easily avoided the torrent of water, dashing over to Blastoise so it could no longer target her with its Hydro Pump attack. Before the Kanto starter reacted, Espeon conjured a glowing ball of electricity from the jewel on her forehead and fired it into Blastoise's stomach, sending the Water-type hurtling back into the barriers surrounding the field.

Blastoise fell in a heap next to several small boulders with a thud.

Maron looked toward the fallen turtle and called out, "Blastoise is unable to battle! meanin -" Maron was cut off as a bolder next to Blastoise moved, the turtle pushing itself up stubbornly. It slowly regained footing and turned back toward Espeon, determined to take the cat-like Pokémon out.

Anabel stood there, shocked at Blastoise's incredible resilience and willpower. "Wow... what determination! After an attack like that, Blastoise should be finished…."

"Yeah, way to go, Blastoise!" yelled Gary, knowing that Blastoise's Torrent would be at full force now. With that power available, maybe he could finish the battle now, and then he wouldn't even need to use...

Gary's thoughts were cut off as Blastoise dropped to all fours for stability, directing its hydro cannons towards Espeon, who (Gary realized) was far enough away to target properly again.

Gary was about to call for one last Hydro Pump attack, but the inside of Blastoise's hydro cannons began to glow blue, silencing him. He quickly scanned his brain to figure out which move Blastoise was using, coming to an encouraging conclusion.

"All right, Blastoise, you finally learned it after all this time!" the researcher cheered. "Now we're going to give it to them! Hydro Cannon!" He smirked triumphantly as Blastoise released two massive orbs of water toward Espeon, who had no time to get out of the way. As the shots contacted Espeon's hastily constructed attempt at a Psychic defense, they created a massive explosion, obscuring the battlers' views.

After a few moments, the dust settled, showing Espeon still standing. It was slightly scratched but still standing strong nonetheless.

Gary's smirk turned to a frown as he realized that Blastoise still needed to work on focusing its new attack - much of the damage had been to the field surrounding Espeon rather than the Pokémon herself. Blastoise, also disappointed, turned to Gary, who nodded, acknowledging its effort. Satisfied that it had softened up Espeon enough for Gary's final partner, the exhausted turtle gave up the struggle to remain conscious.

Maron walked over to check this time, more certain of what he would find this time. He had assumed correctly; Blastoise was laying limp with swirls in its eyes.

The secretary/referee returned to his spot and raised his arm towards Anabel, announcing, "Blastoise is unable to battle, which means Espeon wins! Gary, please select your third and final Pokémon."

Gary raised Blastoise's Pokéball and shot out the red beam, which engulfed the turtle and sucked it back into its Pokeball. Gary looked down at the ball containing his strongest Pokémon and simply put it back on his belt, knowing his appreciation couldn't be conveyed with mere words.

"I knew there was a reason I chose him as my trump card, but this was astounding!" Gary commented loudly, directing his voice towards Ash. "I don't think you could even pull that off with your Charizard, could you? Oh, wait. Your Charizard is still in Johto, being trained by somebody else. Guess that just proves how much better than you I am..."

Ash, instead of listening, was mentally groaning. "And here comes the ego. I swear, if I weren't confident Anabel could give his Umbreon a run for its money, I wouldn't be so angry - he doesn't know what it's like to try and face down two Legendaries in a row..." He interrupted Gary, saying, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. But don't forget what I said about Anabel's strength - she could still take you out!" He turned to Anabel. "Hey, Anabel! Whup him good in this last match!"

Anabel nodded in acknowledgment, too confused about the small surge of power she had sensed from Ash to be flustered by his compliment. "I thought he said he couldn't read people's hearts/thoughts - so why does it feel like he does?"

"Anyway," Gary announced, returning her attention to him, "I think I have the perfect Pokémon to finish this match!. Let's go, Umbreon!"

In a flash of white light, he released the Moonlight Pokémon onto the field, where it faced its polar opposite.

"Haha, I knew he would use Umbreon!" Ash congratulated himself before realizing something. "Wait a minute - he never announced who he was using, so how did I know that?" He shook his head and focused back on the battlefield as Maron announced the matchup.

"Both trainers are down to their last Pokémon; this match will determine the victor! The matchup is Umbreon vs. Espeon. Let the final battle begin!"

Gary again took the initiative, calling, "Alright, Umbreon, start it off with Shadow Ball!" Umbreon nodded, creating a ball of ghostly energy in its mouth and firing it towards Espeon.

"Espeon, counter with Zap Cannon!" Anabel instructed, and Espeon shot out another ball of high-powered electricity towards the incoming attack as the balls of light and dark energy collided in the center of the field, creating an explosion.

"Time to get in close," Gary thought. "Umbreon, chain Quick Attack and Night Slash!"

"Espeon, you do the same, but with Iron Tail!"

Both Pokémon dashed forward at blinding speed, white streaks surrounding them. As they approached, Umbreon's claws began glowing with a black aura, and Espeon's forked tail lit up bright white in the form of Iron Tail. When they collided, it kicked up a cloud of dust.

Inside the cloud, it was an all-out brawl. Espeon pummeled Umbreon with her Iron Tail attack at every opportunity, but in return, was subject to several Night Slashes. Umbreon gave as good as it was getting, the type effectiveness of its attacks balancing out the higher speed with which Espeon was striking.

Even so, Umbreon was relieved when Gary told it to "break off and use Dark Pulse." Dodging a strike from Espeon's Iron Tail, it retreated to a safe distance to begin its attack.

"Espeon, return to sender!" Anabel telepathically instructed as Umbreon created another orb of dark energy in its mouth. Unlike last time, however, what shot towards Espeon was a beam of blackish-purple rings. The Sun Pokémon's eyes glowed a light blue as she attempted to take control of her opponent's move.

Unfortunately, the psychic energy only created a smoother path for the Dark-type attack to travel along, and Espeon barely cut off her power in time to dodge. That did spark an idea in her mind, though.

As Umbreon repeated the attack at Gary's prompting, Espeon sent a mass of psychic power towards Umbreon, confusing both trainers. Espeon had a plan, though, halting her mental aura around the unaffected Dark-type and extending a tendril of it towards the recently launched Dark Pulse.

Following the path of least resistance, the attack reversed direction and headed back towards Umbreon, who was too shocked to dodge, hitting it head-on.

As both Pokémon were tiring, Umbreon from the Iron Tails and Dark Pulse and Espeon from the Night Slashes and Hydro Cannon (although unfocused, was still quite powerful), each trainer decided it was time to heal up a bit.

"Espeon, use Morning Sun!"

"Umbreon, use Moonlight to heal yourself!"

As the Pokémon fulfilled their trainers' orders, it caused a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon - the sun and the moon blazed brightly above the field, causing a sharp division between dark and light. Both battlers basked in the healing radiation provided by their respective symbols, injuries disappearing in a gentle glow.

After another few seconds, both the sun and the moon vanished from sight, leaving both Pokémon better than they were before. Espeon, however, had been lower on health and so was still breathing slightly heavily.

"Alright, Umbreon, use your Shadow Ball!" Gary yelled as Umbreon finished recovering. In response, the Moonlight Pokémon fired another ball of ghostly energy toward its psychic counterpart.

"Let's see if this works like last time. Espeon, use Quick Attack to dodge, then get in close and use Zap Cannon from close range!" called Anabel mentally. Espeon responded to the call, quickly avoiding the incoming Shadow Ball and dashing in close to Umbreon, charging up another ball of electricity in front of her forehead.

Fortunately for Gary, though, he was ready for Anabel's tactic, calling out, " dodge whatever's coming with Quick Attack!"

Espeon appeared right in front of Umbreon, startling it - but sadly for her, it was able to regain its composure and retreat backward as she fired.

Gary, seeing the attack and betting on its accuracy, tried one more maneuver that could win him the match.

"Umbreon, head right for Espeon with a full power Night Slash and finish it!" Trusting its trainer, Umbreon dashed forward, charging up its Dark-type attack as it did so. Just as the attack was about to make contact, the ball of electricity curved upwards slightly, giving Umbreon an open lane to finish Espeon.

Umbreon finished the charge and struck Espeon with a powerful Night Slash, sending her flying backward towards Anabel. Espeon landed hard with swirls in her eyes, succumbing to almost the same circumstances as had been present against Pikachu.

Maron, acting in his official role as referee, voiced this. "Espeon is unable to battle, which means Umbreon wins. Salon Maiden Anabel has officially lost all three of her Pokémon, so the Frontier Battle goes to the challenger, Gary Oak!"

Instead of cheering for joy at his victory like Ash usually did, Gary put Umbreon back into its Pokeball and praised it for a job well done before exiting the trainer's box.

Anabel, too, had recalled her fallen prized Pokémon to its Pokeball, praising its efforts as she exited her trainer's box and headed towards Maron.

Ash, at this point, ran down from the stands and talked with Gary. He had just finished complimenting Blastoise and was about to mention the prediction phenomenon when Anabel coughed to interrupt the pair. "Ash, you should remember there's still more to come - and you ought to pay attention to this part since you'll have to give away your Frontier Symbol at some point."

"Anyway, Gary Oak, you have shown immense courage and trust in your abilities and those of your Pokémon. While that kind of bond may not be uncommon, the depth of your connection with your Pokémon is. You have demonstrated the ability to work hard and think of new, creative strategies on the fly; the power of your Pokémon shows you train them well. You care deeply for all of your Pokémon. Thus, it is my absolute pleasure to present you with the Ability Symbol." Anabel cheerfully presented an open case, allowing Gary to obtain his sixth symbol.

"Thank you very much, Anabel; I appreciate it," said Gary, taking the object from the case and putting it in his Frontier Symbol holder.

Ash pouted. "Aw, no cheesy pose?"

"That's your thing, Ash," Gary answered before turning back to Anabel. "So when do I find out who the seventh Frontier Brain is?"

"Here, I can handle that for you. May I have your Poke-Nav?" Maron asked, holding out his hand.

"Sure, what for?" Gary wondered as he handed Maron the navigational machine.

"Ever since the Battle Frontier opened, a special coding has been implemented in all Poké-Navs, so if someone ever gets to the seventh Frontier Brain, all I have to do is put in the authorization code, and you will be all ready to find him." After another minute, he gave the device back to Gary, a new light flashing on the map.

"So I assume that must be where the seventh Brain is?" Gary pointed to the blip, located near Saffron City.

"You are correct," Maron answered. "The seventh Frontier Brain is Brandon, the Pyramid King, and his Battle Facility is called the Battle Pyramid."

Maron's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "Just some advice; you want to get there as soon as possible because it might not be there much longer."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" asked Gary, annoyed.

"Don't worry; you'll understand when you get there." Ash chuckled, placing a hand on Gary's shoulder.

Gary gave the laughing Ash a look, trying to figure out what was so funny, but when Anabel and Maron joined in, he thought to himself, "Do I even need to know?" With that, he started chuckling also.


After leaving the field, Maron decided to go home for the day, and Ash and Anabel showed Gary out. He wanted to get to Saffron City before Brandon left, so the trio bid each other farewell as they stood in the sunset outside the Battle tower.

"You know Gary, you're more than welcome to stay at my house for the night with Ash and me," Anabel offered.

Gary would have no part in that, though, and replied, "Thanks for the offer, Anabel, but if getting to Saffron City quickly is so important, I want to get a head start." His smirk reappeared as he added, "Besides, if I were to stay at your house, then I would be breaking up yours and Ashy-boy's alone time, and I just couldn't bring myself to do that."

Ash's and Anabel's mouths dropped open at that statement, faces flaming red. Gary snickered at the effects of his teasing. "Ahhh, that was funny. Anyway, it was good seeing you again, Ash, and great to meet you too, Anabel. I'm sure I'll see both of you again soon; by the time I get to Ash's Battle Facility, you should be a couple by then, right?"

Ash was about to deliver a (not-so) cutting response to Gary's teasing, but the researcher quickly turned on his heel and began walking the other way. Ash's retort died on his lips as his old Kanto rival walked into the distance, leaving the pair behind.

The night was fast approaching, Umbreon's element taking over the skies with the rapidity of Espeon. Ash and Anabel were thankful for the growing darkness, as it hid the blushes from each other that Gary's comments caused.

Anabel finally broke the silence and said, "Well, it's getting pretty dark now. I think we should head back to my house."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ash admitted. With that, the pair began to walk back to Anabel's house - a much easier trek for Ash than it had been a week ago, even in the dark.

The trip there was relatively silent, but Ash's brain was not. First, he was confused about what had happened during the battle, where he had known Gary's next choice of Pokémon. Upon examining his memory, he came across two incidents in his travels where he had experienced similar intuition - once in northern Kanto and another time in Sinnoh.

Another thought kept intruding on his mind as well - he simply could not disregard Gary's parting words. Though he assumed his rival had been teasing him, that mysterious intuition whispered that there may have been a spark of truth in his statement.

As Ash concentrated on deciphering this feeling, his hand almost instinctively found Anabel's in the dark, making her jump somewhat at the unexpected contact. Worried about the spike of emotion within her mind, he looked at her barely visible form and attempted to give her a comforting smile.

Anabel quickly calmed down and, instead of pulling away, intertwined their fingers and gave his hand a small squeeze, her feelings resonating with his oddly radiant ones.

They walked on in silence, not needing to look at each other to know they were both thinking the same thing.


Author's Note:

Alright, that was undoubtedly a fun chapter to write. I wanted to give Blastoise a good section in this story since he was one of the Pokémon I grew up with.

I know that was a monster chapter, but at the time when I wrote it, I was going for length, but I abbreviated it a bunch and hope you all enjoyed the battle, romance, and the chapter overall; so with that, I will leave you with the next chapter's name:

Crossroads Chapter 10: Oh Brother...
Cyclone20