Back again with another chapter! Sorry for the long wait, I'll explain a bit more at the end.
Review Responses:
NobuNobuNobu (Ch. 2): Well, we'll just have to see how he feels about those two...
Guest [Guest] (Ch.3) I mean, if it bothers you so much, you should probably just not click on these stories. I'm not gonna stop, and I don't expect to win people like you over either. It's an Ash betrayed story, what you see is what you get, I suppose. Also, you could say the anime itself has bad writing, seeing as Ash has done everything you said and still loses to scrubs like Cameron and Trip in the Unova anime. And don't even get me started on how many times Ash has been written 'out of character' in the anime. But by all means, leave me another comment on this chapter so I can hear more about how you feel.
Broken Brother Matthew (Ch.3): Pairings concerning Ash were something I had trouble with concerning the first version of this fic, but I can definitely say that Serena isn't going to be in the picture concerning Ash. Concerning her, I've only been trying to write her in terms of knowing she loves Ash. Of course, I haven't shown the present version of Serena, so there's that.
zero fullbuster (Ch.3): I'm glad to hear it, and I hope you enjoy this one!
William032 (Ch.3): Whoa, those are a lot of questions. We'd be here for a while if I took the time to answer them all, so I'll answer what I can. For starters, here's the list of all the Pokémon Ash has with him; (Old, with those that have evolved forms having yet to be revealed.): Pikachu, Charizard, Bulbasaur, Totodile, Heracross, Swellow, Sceptile, Donphan, Gible, Pignite, Snivy, and Noivern. (Returning): Pidegeot, Lapras, Butterfree, Gliscor, Goodra, and Greninja. (New): Umbreon, Incineroar, Rowlett, Lycanroc, Gardevoir, Lucario, Gengar, Dragonite, and Naganadel.
Reader [Guest] (Ch.3): I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Guest 2 [Guest] (Ch.3): Updates don't come out in a day, y'know.
thor94 (Ch.3): Glad to hear you enjoyed it, and for the Champions believing Oak, that's kinda something that needs to happen for stories such as this. I'll write it as best as I can to either make it believable or not one of the main points of the actual betrayal, but it is what it is.
Yaw6113 (Ch.3): Well, here's the next chapter, and glad to hear you liked the last one!
Empoleon66 (Ch.3): And here's another!
Rockadoodle88 (Ch.3): Glad to hear things in the fic work so well for you so far! Hopefully, this story continues to be one of your favorites!
Guest 3 [Guest] (Ch.3): Happy you hear you enjoy it!
(Present Day; Malie City, Region of Alola)
The island of Ula'ula was beautiful, to say the least, Misty acknowledged as she walked on one of its beaches. She hadn't wandered too far from Malie City, currently checking out one of the few beaches the island had to offer. She'd heard that one of Alola's other islands, Melemele, offered beaches far greater in both beauty and number, but she could hardly believe it at the moment.
"Ahh, this place sure is beautiful, don't you think?" Misty let out, the redhead smiling as she looked down at her Starmie. It was certainly nice to have some time to herself before the tournament, and she was happy to enjoy it with her Pokemon, even if that meant leaving her boyfriend unattended for a while.
Her Starmie's gem lit up happily in agreement, an emotion that Misty could read well, whereas others would be unable to. It just went to show how great the bond was between Misty and her Pokemon, even her team in general.
Bonds, huh... The word repeated itself in Misty's head, her expression falling slightly as she recalled the event that had occurred before. Max had lost his temper against that one guy with the two girls, but Misty couldn't help but feel that his words were supposed to mean something. But when she thought about it, there was only one thing that he could be referring to...
Misty shook her head at that, there was no way that he could know about that, what was she thinking? It was a silly thought anyway, and she was wasting her time out here just thinking about that guy. She was much more interested in the thought of getting to see some of the water Pokemon around here!
Speaking of which, there were a couple of them that were catching her eye at that very moment; a bunch of blue seal Pokemon that were playing in the sand together. Eager to see them, Misty began to make her way over there, noticing that there was a blue-haired girl crouching off to the side, smiling as she watched them play.
"Hey there!" Misty greeted, smiling as she called over to the girl, holding up a hand in greeting.
"Alola," The girl replied, a small smile on her face as she returned Misty's greeting, her blue eyes looking her over. "Hmm... you don't look like you're from around here, are you a tourist?"
Misty nodded in reply, bending down to crouch beside the girl, waving over to the Pokemon as well. "I guess you could say that, I came here with some friends of mine to compete in the Isle of the Stars tournament. Those Pokemon caught my eye, though, they look so cute!"
"They're called Popplio," The other girl explained, her smile growing wider as the Pokemon took notice of them, cheerfully making their way over. "Seeing as they're starter Pokemon, you won't find them often around here. These are actually pretty young, and most of them don't know how to battle yet."
The orange-haired girl giggled in response as the Popplio came up to them, smiling as one of them leapt onto her, cradling it in her arms. She couldn't help but inwardly gush how cute it was in her arms like that, she missed this feeling from having Togepi... "Yeah, it's the same with Squirtle back in Kanto. I suppose that means I wouldn't be able to catch one?"
"Well, normally with these specific Popplio, you wouldn't be able to, since we keep them for starting trainers," The blue-haired girl explained, pausing slightly after glancing at Misty and the Popplio once again. "But... seeing as that one seems to like you so much, it'd be a shame not to let it go with you, right?"
"Really?" Misty asked, her brow raising in surprise. The Popplio only nodded in agreement, however, looking around her body before finding an empty Pokeball, tapping it before going inside. "By the way, it's nice to meet you, um...?"
"Lana," The girl finished, smiling at Misty as she held her newly caught Popplio's Pokeball in her hands. "Otherwise known as the Gym Leader of the Brooklet Hill gym over on Akala Island. Now it's your turn."
"Right," Misty nodded, thrilled that she had caught a new Pokemon and was able to meet one of the Gym Leaders that ran the new Alolan gym circuit. "Well, my name's-"
"Hey, Misty!" The orange-haired trainer found herself being cut off by a familiar voice, turning to find that Max had followed her all the way to the beach, walking in the same confident manner he always did. "Oh whoa, looks like you found a bunch of starter Pokemon! What were they called again...? Whatever, they're perfect for me to train against!"
"What?" Misty said, aghast as she stood up, turning to look at Max. "You can't seriously be thinking about training against these cute Popplio, right?"
"Of course I am, I thought you guys wanted me to train!" The teen replied, adjusting his glasses as he pulled out one of his Pokeballs, sending out one of his Pokemon, a Sceptile. "And these little guys are some of the easiest enemies to get stronger with, it's literally free training!"
"Wait, you can't do that, they can't fend for themselves!" Lana let out in an attempt to protest, but her pleas did nothing, the spectacled boy adjusting his glasses cockily.
"Well, duh!" He replied, as if his reasoning should've been blatantly obvious. "That's what makes it such a good way to train!"
Before Misty or Lana could say much else, however, Max thrust out his hand, commanding his Sceptile. "Let's go Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!"
"Scep!" Max's Pokemon responded, crouching onto the sand as it got into a battle position, the leaves on its elbows glowing before merging together and forming two sharp blades. Within seconds, it launched forward, preparing to slash the Popplio!
"Steelix, Gyro Ball!" Both Max's and Misty's eyes widened upon hearing that voice, watching as a Steelix barged onto the scene, parts of its body glowing and spinning in an attempt to repel Max's Pokemon's attack. Both attacks clashed for a couple of seconds, sparks flying before Steelix managed to shove the Sceptile away, launching it back to Max's side.
"Looks like I made it just in time, huh, Lana?" The voice rang out again, Max and Misty continuing to be surprised as Brock came onto the scene as well, the man panting slightly as he took a stance between them and the Popplio.
"B-Brock?" Misty found herself saying, a smile on her face as her voice elated. "It's been so long since I-"
Her voice cut off however, the orange-haired girl unable to bring herself to continue speaking after seeing the darkened expression on Brock's face. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen on him in all the years they'd known each other for, and to see such a look on his face after not seeing him for so long...
"I suggest the two of you clear out of here," Brock let out, bringing Misty out of her inner thoughts as his Steelix moved to his side. His voice was as cold as steel, a stark contrast from what Misty was used to hearing. "As a Pokemon Doctor, I'm currently making my rounds for these Popplio. I'd appreciate it if you'd take your fighting elsewhere."
'W-Why is he acting this way...?' Misty thought to herself, getting lost in her thoughts as Max only grew frustrated with the way Brock was treating them. 'Is he still upset over what happened on that day? Even so, I need to-'
"Is that any way to treat the friends you haven't seen in five years?!" Max questioned, his expression shifting to a frustrated frown. "I suggest you get out of the way, before Sceptile and I teach you a lesson!"
"Max-" Misty tried to say, but Brock cut her off once again, his next words sent towards Max.
"You mean the friends who turned their back on the one who brought them all together?" Brock said, confirming Misty's suspicions, scowling towards the two before calling out to his Steelix. "I've got nothing more to say to the two of you, Steelix, Iron Tail!"
"Ha, you're an idiot if you think you're good enough to take me on!" Max said confidently, his frown shifting to a cocky smirk. "Sceptile, we can dodge that easily!"
Brock's Steelix let out a growl as its tail began to glow, lifting it up before slamming it down onto the sand, aiming for the spot in between the former friends. Misty let out a yelp as she jumped back, while Max stood his ground stubbornly as Steelix's tail smashed into the ground in front of them.
Sceptile dashed forward, however, completely dodging the attack, closing the distance between it and Steelix once more, the look on its face just as cocky as its trainers'. Brock's scowl didn't leave his face however, stretching out his hand to call out his next move to his Pokemon.
"Steelix, now that he's close, use Dragon Breath!" Letting out another growl, Steelix opened its maw, purplish energy building up as it turned its head down towards the ground in order to aim at Sceptile.
"Stop it in its tracks, Sceptile, use Leaf Blade again!" Max called out as well, although he was having difficulty seeing due to the sand that had gathered on his glasses.
Nevertheless, his Pokemon let out a cry, its leaves sharpening into glowing blades once more as it leapt up and struck at Steelix's neck. To both Max's and Sceptile's surprise, Steelix barely even flinched from the attack, letting out a roar as it blasted Sceptile dead on with its Dragon Breath attack, sending the Grass-type crashing back down to the ground.
Yet another spray of sand was released from the ground from the impact of Sceptile hitting the ground, causing Max to pull up his shirt in an attempt to cover his mouth. The sand had started to build up in the air above the ground, now, obscuring Max's view of both Pokémon.
"For future reference, Grass-type moves aren't too effective against my Steelix here," Brock called out from across the sand, his voice taking on a mocking tone.
"S-Shut up!" Max said, managing to clear the sand from his glasses before yelling back at Brock, squinting as he tried to see his Sceptile. "Types aren't all that matter in a battle!"
"No, but for someone of your skill level, I'd imagine they'd help out a great deal," Brock retorted, much to the Hoenn native's frustrations. "Now, Steelix, use Iron Tail to pin Sceptile to the ground!"
The spectacled boy could do nothing as Steelix brought its tail up once more, both he and his Pokémon unable to act due to their inability to see in the sand. The Iron Tail hit Sceptile dead on once again, the Grass-type letting out a cry as sand sprayed into the air once again, this time burying Sceptile's legs and feet as it landed.
"This battle's over, use Dig, Steelix!" Brock called, much to Max's dismay, doing his best to see into the sand. "We'll finish this here!"
"He's basically created his own Sandstorm like that..." Misty let out to herself, standing a good distance away from the battle itself, clutching her hand to her chest. "While Max and Sceptile can't do anything, Steelix is a Steel-type Pokémon, so he can trust that Steelix will be able to carry out his commands."
Still, even though Brock was acting cold towards both her and Max, something felt off about this battle to the Cerulean City Gym Leader. Last she'd heard, Brock had walked away from being the Pewter City Gym Leader in pursuit of his dream of becoming a Pokémon Doctor. And yet, he was battling better than ever before, even overwhelming Max, who had made it to the finals of the Unova League tournament.
"When did Brock get so good at battling...?"
As Misty was thinking to herself again, Max was busy trying to figure out his next move as Steelix burrowed itself into the ground, striking his Sceptile again and again.
"There's gotta be some reason Sceptile doesn't just dodge, right...?" He let out, biting his lip slightly. With the sand, Max could assume that it'd be harder than usual to see where Steelix was coming from, but why didn't Sceptile just dash out of the sand?
The boy let out a gasp, however, as he was able to vaguely make out Sceptile's figure amidst the sand, noticing that it was struggling to move. "Sceptile, quick, use Leaf Storm on the ground before Steelix can get another hit in!" Max called out, Brock's brow raising at that call.
"About time you figured our strategy out," He let out before letting out another command. "Hit 'em dead on this time, Steelix, send Sceptile flying!"
Sceptile's tail, while partially buried by the sand that Steelix had thrown onto it, had started to glow, glowing leaves swirling around it before the Grass-type let out a cry unleashing its attack onto the ground, spraying more sand into the air while pushing Steelix away from it, sending the Steel-type down further into the ground.
"Now, use Extreme Speed to jump into the air, Sceptile!" Max yelled, quick to follow up. Heeding his command, Sceptile let out a cry, its body glowing from within the sand before it leapt into the air, zooming up above the sand at high speeds. Now above the air, both trainers could see that Sceptile had taken major damage from Steelix's attack, and was barely hanging on.
Brock merely scoffed at the state of Max's Sceptile, a wry smirk on his face as he called out to Max. "That was a smart move, there, but you took too long to figure it out. We can both see that you're not going to win this, so how about we-"
"Experience is still experience, Sceptile, use Solar Beam on those Popplio!" Max called out, a desperate smirk on his face as he took his focus off of the battle entirely, cutting Brock off this time as the Grass-type began to charge its attack while still in midair.
"B-Brock!" Lana called out from behind Brock, gathering the Popplio in her arms while Brock silently cursed in the back of his mind. Lana normally left her Pokémon at her gym while she went out on walks like these, and Brock had just left his Pokémon with his wife, figuring his Steelix would be enough.
"Steelix, come up with Dig, now!" Under normal conditions, Brock would've been sure that Steelix would've been able to come up and strike Sceptile before it could fire, but with how far under Steelix was, and with the Alolan sun beaming down on Sceptile, it would only be a matter of time before the Solar Beam was-
"Tile!" Max's Sceptile cried out, confirming Brock's worst fears as the four bulb-like growths on its back started to glow, the reptile Pokémon firing a green-colored beam at where Lana and the Popplio were. Brock found himself throwing his body in front of them, standing in the way of the blast. He wasn't about to let one of Ash's Gym Leaders get hurt by one of these people, not after everything that they'd done to him...!
"Now, use Hydro Pump!" In an instant, Brock saw a brown shell come in between him and the Solar Beam, spinning rapidly before unleashing a compressed blast of water, both blasts colliding before canceling each other out, creating an explosion that shook the beach.
When the sand cleared, Brock was faced with the sight of Misty standing in the space in between him and Max, a Wartortle standing by her side. It took him a second to realize, but the implications were soon clear as day, Brock's expression growing enraged as he realized just who that Wartortle was.
"Why you-!" He started to let out, but Misty's attention was more than focused on Max as she smacked the young teen upside the head, sending him reeling before she grabbed his ear, starting to pull him away from the scene.
"H-Hey, what're you-?" Max tried to say before receiving yet another slap, Misty giving him a couple more before turning back to Brock, giving him a smile that was clearly strained.
"Consider that a favor for an old friend," She let out, her expression turning wistful for a brief second before becoming cold, matching the face Brock had seen her wear on that fateful night.
"You know I could report you to the authorities for launching an unprovoked attack on a civilian, don't you?" Brock called out, barely able to keep his anger out of his voice as he chose his words wisely, not letting on that, as a member of the Elite 4, he had the authority to arrest them himself. Steelix had already come out of the ground at this point, the Pokémon moving to Brock's side.
"Then be sure to report this bozo, then," Misty said back, continuing to pull Max by the ear as she walked off, turning back to recall Wartortle into a Poké Ball. Sceptile looked confused for a second before following, leaving Brock alone with Lana, Steelix, and the Popplio. "That battle had nothing to do with me."
"Are you and the Popplio alright, Lana?" Brock let out, doing his best not to chase after Misty and Max right then and there, crouching to look at the blue-haired girl.
"Thanks to Misty..." Lana let out, although judging by the expression on her face she wasn't too happy about it either. Ash's identity was common knowledge to the people of Alola, but they only knew so much as that he wasn't the person the world believed him to be, that common belief being key to keeping his identity as the Champion a secret from the world.
It was the people that were close to him that were privy to the fact that he was actually innocent, and had some clue as to just how much he had suffered since he had been betrayed. Lana, like the rest of the Gym Leaders that Ash had set up in his new gym circuit, was one of these people, and she had felt sick to her stomach ever since she had heard Max call out Misty's name. The last thing she wanted to do right now was admit that she had given a person like that one of the Popplio...
"Forget about her, you should finish preparing for the tournament tomorrow," Brock let out, doing his best to hide his anger from his face as he looked over the Popplio. "I'll swing by to perform a check-up on them late, okay?"
Lana nodded, giving Brock a thankful smile before she walked to walk off, the blue-haired girl's expression shifting to one of worry as she walked off to the nearest Pokémon Center.
Brock didn't notice it, however, his expression pained as he looked over at where Misty and Max were. He'd thought that he'd gotten over the fact that two of the people he'd traveled with, one of them being his closest friends, had done something so terrible to Ash, but being face to face with them wasn't nearly as easy as he had imagined it to be. He could hardly imagine how it would be for Ash when the time came...
"For now, I'll call Ash to tell him just where his old Pokémon went..." Brock let out, bringing out his Rotom phone to ring up Ash.
"Hmph, what a drab cafe," Trip let out, snapping a picture before stuffing his camera back into his jacket. The Unova native had seen his fair share of the trainers that had gathered for the Isle of the Stars tournament, challenging and winning against all he had encountered.
His ego well inflated, he had opted to get something to find, finding a cafe that had been originally based on Akala Island. Apparently they had set up shop to try and capitalize on the increased number of people that would be coming to Malie for the tournament, but Trip couldn't see why.
He'd taken one spoonful of the soup that they had served to him and was immediately disgusted by it, tossing his spoon onto the floor before taking a picture of the place. Along with becoming a renowned trainer among the battling circuits, Trip had become a rather well-known blogger in the past five years, documenting his travels and experiences on a blog.
His distaste for this place was just another thing that would be going into his blog, although it seemed like he'd been getting entertainment along with his meal, seeing as a tanned girl with green hair was currently making her way over to him.
"Excuse me, sir," She let out through a strained smile, obviously not preferring to be so polite as she came up to his table. "Would you mind me asking you to pick up that spoon?"
"Why would I?" Trip said back, leaning back in his chair with a cocky smirk on his face, taking out his camera once again to snap a picture of the girl's strained smile. "The food here's subpar, hardly worth me putting in the effort to pick up a spoon."
"If you refuse, then I'll have to ask you to leave. Right now," She let out, her smile falling from her face to be replaced by a frown. "This restaurant reserves the right to refuse our business to certain customers."
"Do you even know who I am?" Trip let out, chuckling as he stood up from his seat, a confident smirk on his face as he looked down at the green-haired girl.
"Oh, I've come across your type before," She replied, crossing her arms over her chest as she looked right back at him, a frustrated smirk of her own forming on her face. "Get a few good battles in, and suddenly you think you're the king of the world, coming into places with a big ego to compensate for a little, well..."
Trip scowled at that remark, clenching his teeth along with his fists, positioning himself as if he was about to strike the girl. "Why you...! I'll make sure your little restaurant here goes under, you little-"
WHAM! Trip suddenly felt a fist collide with his face out of the blue, the Unova native being sent reeling. "W-What the hell-" He tried to let out before getting hit in the face yet again, letting out a yelp before falling to the ground. Feeling a wet substance run down his face, he clutched his nose, his brow furrowing as he glared upward.
Greeting his view was a face he hadn't seen in a long while, none other than one of Ash's old rivals, Paul. The purple-haired Sinnoh native was more than eager to match Trip's glare with one of his own, his familiar scowl greeting him.
"You alright, Mallow? Sorry it took me a while, it's always hard to step from your food," Paul let out, momentarily looking away to glance at the green-haired girl, who was cheekily smiling back at him, a far cry from the fake smile she had worn while talking to Trip.
"No worries, I was just about to sic Lurantis on him anyway," The girl, Mallow, replied, just as Trip shakily got up, gesturing to a Poké Ball on her waist.
"The hell's your problem?" He let out, raising his voice and drawing attention from some of the other people in the restaurant in the process. Paul only scoffed in response, a wry smirk forming across his face, a sight that only pissed Trip off even more than he already was.
"Tch, if you think I'm just gonna sit here and take this, then you've got another thing coming!" Trip let out once he got back onto his feet, bringing out a Poké Ball of his own, ready to send out a Pokémon.
Bringing a hand to his own waist, Paul responded in kind, although his had was stopped by Mallow, a worried look on her face. "Hey, you guys can't fight have a Pokémon battle here! There are customers here, you'll sink our business!"
Paul reluctantly relented, pulling his hand away from his waist. It was Trip's turn to scoff, however, a smirk appearing on his face soon after as he kept his Poké Ball in his hands. "Heh, you think I care about what happens to this dump? Well, I guess I'd have to expect this from the guy who ran away 5 years ago-"
Trip found his words catching in his mouth, however, as he received the deadliest glare Paul could muster. The purple-haired trainer shook himself free from Mallow's grasp, aggressively pulling a Poké Ball from his waist. Trip responded in kind, both trainers readying their Pokémon.
Both of them were stopped once again, however, Paul getting stopped by Mallow for a second time while another hand grabbed Trip's wrist, the blonde-haired boy widening his eyes as he realized just who was grabbing onto him. Standing right by his side was a dark-skinned adult with purple hair, wearing a jersey and shorts that any trainer worth their profession would recognize. He was currently without his cape, but both Trip and Paul easily recognized him as none other than Leon.
"Bit of a commotion you guys have going on here, eh?" The Champion of Galar let out, a smile on his face as Trip reluctantly put his Poké Ball back to his waist, taking this new development as his cue to save face, realizing that all eyes in the restaurant were currently on them. The anger that had been unleashed in Paul's eyes was now reluctantly subsiding, giving an apologetic glance towards Mallow as his Poké Ball went back to his waist.
"The both of you look like pretty good trainers, if either of you still wants to battle, I'd be down to take you on outside!" Leon offered once it seemed both trainers had calmed down, although Trip took his hand away from Leon's wrist, his face taking on a neutral expression as he started to walk away, heading out of the restaurant.
"The two of you have probably entered the tournament tomorrow anyway, I'll just have to settle things with you then," Trip said, turning back to look at Paul and Leon, a smirk on his face, rubbing his nose briefly before walking out the door.
A sigh left Mallow's lips as Trip finally left, although Paul found his attention drawn more towards Leon, the dark-skinned man rubbing the back of his head as he watched Trip leave, the slightest bit of disappointment starting to form on his face.
"I don't mean to be rude," Paul let out, drawing both Leon's and Mallow's attention. "But you're the Galar Champion, aren't you? What's someone like you doing in a place like this?" He received a chuckle from Leon at that, along with a slap from Mallow, an indignant look on her face.
"Former Champion, actually," Leon started off by correcting Paul, the purple-haired trainer's brow furrowing for a second before relaxing.
"Ah, I remember hearing something about that," He let out, bringing a hand to his shoulder to rub the spot where Mallow had slapped him. "Someone challenged you this year, right?"
Leon nodded in response, gesturing over to the table where a young boy and girl were sitting, both couldn't have been over 15. The boy looked similar to Leon, so Paul reasoned that the two must've been related somehow. The girl, however, was dressed in a jersey of her own, a magenta-colored beret on her head. "Yep, that girl over there's the one who beat me and became the Galar Champion!"
"Really now?" Paul let out, raising a brow as he looked over in her direction, a smirk eventually forming on his face. "Well, if you're both entering the tournament, I've got a couple more things to be looking forward to."
(Present Day; Alolan Pokémon League, Region of Alola)
"Lillie? Serena?" Dawn let out, the blue-haired coordinator walking into the skybox that Ash had set up for his close friends to watch during the tournament's course, spotting both girls looking down into the arena. About to question what the two of them were looking at, the bluenette followed their gaze, looking down into the arena as well.
She quickly spotted Ash and his Pokemon training, having been doing so for a while by the looks of it. He currently had six of his strongest Pokemon out on the field at the moment, having them spar and test their moves against each other. This kind of training wasn't anything new for Ash, but it seems he had added a variable to their training; the use of Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves.
Out of the Pokemon that could Mega Evolve, he seemed to be practicing the power of their enhanced moves, also testing his own ability to use successive Megas and Z-Moves, something he'd been trying to do for a while. Even Greninja was sparring, using his 'Battle Bond' power with Ash. Thanks to the Mega-Z Ring Kukui had given to him, Ash had been able to do one Mega and one Z-Move per battle, but ever wanting to better himself and his team, Ash had started trying to do multiple, albeit with little success.
"How... how long has he been going at this?" Dawn let out, after having effectively having her question answered, Serena giving her a shrug in response. "It's just about sundown, and he's still practicing?"
"I got here about an hour ago, so I wouldn't know," The honey-blonde Performer let out, casting a glance over at Lillie. "Lillie's apparently been here since he started, though, maybe she-?"
"Since the afternoon," Lillie cut in, a strangely confident smile on her face as she continued to watch Ash train alongside his team. "He's getting ready for tomorrow."
Both Dawn and Serena smiled in understanding at that, all three girls falling into silence as they continued to watch, knowing that Ash would be ready for the days that would come. And in Dawn's and Lillie's case, they were both ready to do everything that they could to help the boy that they loved through it.
Hey, sorry for the shorter chapter. I know it's been a while, so I just wanted to push this out so I could get back into the mood of writing for this again. To all of you who are still reading this, I just wanna say thank you for all the support and your reviews, reading them really does make my day.
I'll try to make the next chapter twice as long to make it up to you guys; we should be covering Ash's reveal to the entire world as well as the beginning of the tournament!