"Oshawott! I mean Dewott, you evolved!" Ash exclaimed excitedly. His Unovan water type had indeed evolved into his second stage. The newly evolved Pokemon began flexing his muscles and admiring his body.
Ash laughed and hugged his Pokemon. Dewott smiled and blasted him with a water gun.
"Wow! You're even more powerful now!" Ash beamed. He had been training his weaker Pokemon rather intently, especially his lower staged ones. Snivy, Scraggy, Squirtle, Totodile, Corphish, Buizel, Gible, Torkoal, Palpitoad, Bayleef, and Unfezant.
Everyone was exhausted and panting, sweat covering their bruised and battered bodies. Dewott however was flashing his muscle.
Ash sighed, it seemed he had another Pokemon with an ego problem now. "Good work everyone! Let's all get some rest and eat!"
Everyone cheered, even those who were nearby that hadn't eaten. Ash prepared and set out bowl of food for all of his Pokemon, and some of the wild ones.
He beamed at all of his teammates, they were really coming along. According to Dexter, Corphish and Bayleef were really close to evolution, and everyone was soon to follow. He scanned the crowd, and noticed one Pokemon was missing.
"Where's Xatu?" Ash asked, which caused a shudder to go through his group. Not many liked Xatu, and the mystic bird mainly kept to himself. Ash looked around the surrounding area and saw his new flying type atop the living facility, just facing the west and not moving.
He sighed and kicked a pebble. What would he do about that bird?
He sighed again and ate some fruit, watching his Pokemon play with each other. He kept staring at Xatu, he wished he could figure out what was wrong.
"Let's try and think logically," he said out loud, to no one in particular but his Kingler was listening to him. "It was very upset when it was battling Noctowl. It obviously was wild, and seems to have lived here for a long time. It was rather fierce, which means it is a good fighter but is blinded by it's pride and anger. It's probably feeling defeated and lost right now." Ash lowered his head.
His Kingler clicked its claw sadly and decided to help. A look of determination on his face, he (crab?)walked up to the side of the building Xatu was perched.
"Hey Xatu! Don't you wanna come down and train with us?" Ash called to his new addition. The flying/psychic type remained motionless and blinked.
Ash sighed and decided to go inside and check on his egg.
He went into his room, where the incubator sat on his desk. He removed the glass case and held the egg, rubbing it with a cloth and telling the egg all the adventures and battles they'll have once it hatches.
"I do wonder as to what you will hatch as," he spoke aloud. The egg wiggles a little bit, which he smiled at. "Well that's a good sign!" He places the egg back in the incubator and put the glass cover back on.
Ash stretched and walked back outside, everyone that was around had taken a nap. He smiled and looked to see if Xatu has moved. Not to his surprise, the bird remained a statue.
Ash sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What am I gonna do with you?" He muttered to himself.
However, this time Xatu snapped his head to stare into Ash's soul through his eyes. Ash froze as the bird swooped down and landed down in front of him.
"I just want to help you get stronger Xatu. I can't help you when you just isolate yourself."
Xatu just stood there, idle with a blank expression. Ash sighed again. "Why do I always catch hardheaded Pokémon?"
Ash went for a walk through the woods to clear his head. A couple of Zigzagoon watched him from a tree branch. He debated in his head what to do with Xatu. He wanted to keep the Pokémon, but if it wasn't going to listen, or even acknowledge him, what could he do?
Cutting of Ash's thoughts, Pokemon starting running away. He noticed at first it was small Pokémon like Zigzagoon and Caterpie, but soon bigger ones like Stantler, Pinsir, and Swellow soon ran past him.
"What's going on?" Ash questioned out loud. He soon got his answer, as a much larger than normal Trevenant appeared, and it did not happy. It was using a multitude of Shadow Claws and Woodhammers on everything around it.
Ash realized he had none of his Pokémon with him. "I really need to start bringing Pokémon with me," he groaned. He soon realized that this brought attention to him. The Trevenant locked eyes him, and for a second all was calm. Then all hell broke loose as the rogue Pokémon began chasing Ash.
He took off in a sprint back to the compound. He hoped one of his teammates would hear him, but alas no one did.
It felt like an eternity but just about a minute of full on running brought him to the Battle Palace, and Trevenant was breathing down his neck. He looked and ran to his right, as the haunted tree followed him. Soon, an explosion caused him to stop in his tracks. He turned and saw Trevenant recoiling in pain. He looked around and a few of his Pokémon starting showing up, but none were present when the explosion happened.
"Who did that?" He called out in desperation. Low and behold, his quirky Xatu landed in front of him, ready to defend his trainer.
"Xatu?" The bird looked over his shoulder and smirked at Ash.
"Alright!" Ash laughed. Finally his new friend was opening up. Trevenant however was none too pleased and fired a volley of Shadowballs at Xatu.
"Xatu, dodge and use Air Slash!"
Xatu flew around the dark orbs and formed an orb of air energy and launched it at Trevenant.
The ghost type managed to dodge the brunt of the attack, but the shock sent it tumbling over. "Use a Psychic attack!" Xatu called it's name and sent a wave of pink energy at Trevenant, which yelled and got up. Trevenant was surrounded in a purple glow and vanished.
"Xatu! Be careful, it's using Phantom Fo-" Ash was cutoff as Trevenant appeared to Xatu's left and slashed down with dark claws on the flying types wings.
The bird stumbled in the air and fell down. "Come on Xatu! You can do it!" Ash encouraged, hoping his companion to rise. His words rung true, as Xatu stood, albeit shaken, and glared at the opponent.
"We gotta wrap this up, use Psychic!" Xatu nodded and blasted a huge wall of pink energy at the haunted tree, forcing back into one of the many columns around the compound. "Now use Air Slash!" Xatu summoned up a sphere of air energy, and flung it at Trevenant. When it looked up, the Air Slash exploded in its face. The wild Trevenant fell in exhaustion.
Ash pulled up his PokéGear and called Brandon. "Hey Brandon, I found another of those over sized Pokémon."
A sigh could be heard over the phone. "I'll be there in a minute." The call ended.
Ash smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. He walked up to Xatu who was breathing heavy, despite a stoic expression. "Hey Xatu. I just wanted to let you know that you did a really good job today! I know you probably don't like humans, but I'm glad that you stuck around for me. You battled really well, and we can only get stronger together."
Xatu looked at Ash, and after a couple of minutes, the bird managed to smile as best it could. Ash laughed at his new friend that would finally start to listen to him. 'Definitely wasn't as hard as Charizard.'
Ash then realized, he never got Charizard back from the Charicific Valley.
His thoughts were cut short when Brandon pulled up in a jeep. He got out and looked at the knocked out Trevenant. "Wow, that is a big one." He pulled out a spare Pokéball and caught the beast. "I'm gonna send this to Professor Oak and try and get more answers."
Ash nodded as Brandon drove off. "Hey Pikachu?" Pikachu lifted his head, he was playing with some of the other Pokémon. "What do you say we get an old friend back?" Pikachu nodded and jumped onto Ash's shoulder and the two went inside the Battle Palace to use the video phone.
"Come on, pick up," Ash muttered as the phone kept ringing. Eventually, the familiar face appeared.
"Hey Ash!"
"Hey Liza! How's Charizard doing?"
The girl smiled. "He's doing great! He's one of the top Charizards here."
Ash smiled. "I was wondering, could you send Charizard to my location? You see, I've taken on training for the Battle Frontier in Kanto for the Battle Palace, and I need all my friends."
Liza flashed a smile. "Of course! Give me a few minutes and he'll be in his way! He should be there by the end of the day. Let me know when he arrives, okay?"
Ash nodded, "I will, thank you Liza!"
"No problem Ash! Good luck on being a Frontier Brain!"
The communication ended and Ash smiled.
Ash went back outside and resumed the training for the day, the sounds of Pokémon cries and attacks clashing rang through the air well into the night. At about 10:30, he returned inside the palace and went to his room. He collapsed on his bed, with Pikachu curling up next to him. Hopefully tomorrow would be as fruitful as today.
It had been one month since Ash had taken over at the Battle Palace. His team had gotten stronger, and new evolutions and a new team member definitely had his spirits up.
Today, however, was not a good day for Ash.
"Maintenance?"
Brandon looked down at Ash. "Yes. Young man, as the new Battle Palace Maven, you must know how to keep your facility up to date and well taken care of!"
Ash groaned, "But isn't that basically house work?"
Brandon sighed. "Not actually. You need to update your electrical systems and Pokedex to be up to date on everything with Pokémon. Second, you must make sure you have proper accommodations and that the rooms are sparkling clean. Then, you need to check on the local wildlife and make sure that is being well taken care of. It's up keep and necessary."
Ash sighed in defeat.
"Young man, I know you're interests lie in battle and training, but you need to know everything. Even all the stuff you made find insignificant. We can't keep the Battle Frontier going if all our areas look like trash."
Ash nodded and began working. He fixed some of the crumbling architecture, made sure the wildlife was doing good, updated his technology, and was in the process of finishing more paperwork for the League.
"Pikachu this is boring!" Ash pouted. His best friend jumped onto the desk and looked at him. "PikaPi pika chu chu?"
"Yeah, it's just for all the red tape with the league buddy." He turned towards the window in his chair, "I hope Charizad gets here soon."
"Chu.." Pikachu jumped onto Ash's lap. Ash began stroking the mouse while still staring out the window.
"We should check on the egg, huh?" Pikachu smiled and jumped off him, and the two made their way to Ash's bedroom where the egg was. He pulled the egg out of the incubator and held it, recanting stories of his travels. A few of his other Pokémon popped in, sitting down and listening to his tales. He talked about Misty and her bike, how he became Champion of the Orange Crew, meeting May and Max and defeating the Battle Frontier. When he started talking about Dawn, the egg pulsated white, until it shone continuously. The egg began to wobble and POP.
"Vanil?"
After the light died down, Ash was holding a Vanillite. The ice type shook itself and opened it's eyes, looking at Ash.
"Hey little guy, I'm your new trainer," Ash gently spoke to the Pokémon, speaking low and soft. Vanillite smiled and blew an icy wind in Ash's face.
He shivered but kept a smile, "Between you and Charizard, what will I do?"
Pikachu jumped up and introduced himself to Vanillite, who blew an Icy Wind in Pikachu's face as well.
Ash's few others in the room, being Scraggy, Torkoal, and Totodile, introduced themselves also. Vanillite has a big smile on it's face as it made many new friends!
Ash smiled and stood up, "Let's meet everyone else, even Brandon!" Vanillite seemed to jump for joy at this!
Ash walked into the main courtyard and called all his Pokémon together. One by one, everyone was acquainted with the new baby.
A Jeep arriving cut off the meeting. "Young man, we have trouble."
Ash got a more serious face, "What is it?"
"We have poachers."
A chill went down Ash's spine. Nothing perturbed him more than poachers. Well, except Team Rocket. There were rumors of Team Rocket activity spiking in major cities, and Ash was doing his best to be up to date.
"Round up a team and let's go." Brandon mounted into his truck. Ash called Bayleef, Swellow, Boldore, and Scraggy. Pikachu jumped onto Ash's lap, and the two were off into the forest.
After five minutes of driving, Brandon slowed down his vehicle. "We'll have to walk to reduce us being noticed," Brandon murmured. Ash nodded and carefully got out of the vehicle. The two crept up to where they heard voices.
"You sure the boss wanted us to catch these low Pokémon?"
"Yes!" The other hissed with venom, "Every little bit helps." Multitudes of Rattata, Ekans, Pidgey, other low level wild Pokémon were being captured en masse. Even a few Swablu and Pidgeotto were caught.
What caught Brandon's eyes was the Chesnaught and Scyther that seemed to be keeping guard.
"Here's the plan Ash. I take on the guard Pokémon, you take on the poachers. Got it?"
"Yes." Ash released Swellow who took to the air and called out his other companions.
Brandon called out his Solrock and Dusclops and made his move. Brandon whistled which caused the Scyther to fly over to the bushes, where a Shadow Punch sent it flying.
Ash chuckled, "Well, here we go!" He ran into the clearing with Bayleef and Scraggy, Boldore was out near the tree line as a long distance engaged firing Rock Blast attacks at the poachers.
"Bayleef use Vine Whip to wrap them up and Scraggy use Brick Break on that container of Pokeballs!"
Bayleef jumped up and shot forward her vines, wrapping around the waists of the poachers tightly as Scraggy moved up and opened the cage with Pokeballs on it.
"What do you think you're doing kid?"
Ash grinned as Boldore walked up, "Saving those Pokémon you wrongfully captured."
The men growled at Ash. "This is bigger than you or me kid, you wanna stay out of this."
Ash glared at the men as he noticed Brandon taking down their Pokémon. "Not a chance."
"You're making a huge mistake kid."
Ash shook off the dark warning and had Bayleef use Sleep Powder to knock out the goons. Brandon walked over with Solrock and Dusclops. "Excellent young man, well done." The two turned to the pile of Pokeballs.
"What will we do with this Brandon?"
"Give it to the police. They can track down the owners and return all the Pokémon to their rightful owners."
Ash simply nodded and looked at the men. Both looked old and rugged, his estimate was around 45 years old. One had a beard with short hair, while the other was bald. Scars were visible on their skin that was showing, which sent a shiver down Ash's spine.
"The police are on their way. We will wait until they arrive." Ash simply nodded and sat down.
After about a half hour, the police finally arrived. The men were arrested and the Pokeballs confiscated, with the men's Pokémon being sent to a special center for abused and mistreated Pokémon in Sinnoh.
After the whole fiasco, Ash and Brandon wandered into the Battle Palace. "You seem to be troubled, Ash."
Ash looked at Brandon, a bit stunned he used his name and not just 'young man' or 'boy'. "Those poachers… One of them said to me 'This is bigger than you or me, stay out of it. You're making a huge mistake.'. It hit me in a bad way."
Brandon gave a soft smile and walked over to Ash. "Unfortunately, they were most likely trying to just unnerve you or make you nervous so you would slip up. Nothing bad is going to happen Ash."
Ash sighed, "I suppose so. I'm gonna go train with my Pokémon."
Brandon nodded. "I shall start cooking for us."
Ash sweatdropped. Brandon was not the best at cooking.
After a rather burnt meal, Ash and Brandon were discussing the data Professor Oak sent back about the gigantic Seviper.
"It seems that there is a foreign substance in it."
"Do you think people are doing experiments on Pokémon?" Ash asked with a slight tremor.
Brandon closed his eyes, "maybe, whoever it is has been doing this for a while. We have been finding large skeletons and carcasses of Pokémon scattered over Kanto that have the same size and traces of the same substance. There is a higher number near Celadon City than anywhere else."
That sent a chill down Ash's spine. "You think Team Rocket is behind it?"
"They could, Team Rocket has been rather quiet these past few years. Rumor has it that they're rebuilding into something bigger than ever."
Ash sighed. Vanillite floated up to him and sat on his head, gently patting the side of Ash's head in support. Pikachu jumped up on the counter and nuzzled Ash.
"We will be able to handle it Ash. Between the Battle Frontier and the Pokémon League, we will quash this."
Ash smiled at that. Brandon bid his farewell and went to bed. A roar soon echoed throughout.
He picked up Vanillite who smiled at Ash. "What do you say we meet Charizard?"
Vanillite smiled and Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder as they made their way outside. Ash's Charizard landed with a crash and shot a flamethrower in the air. Ash laughed and ran up to the dragon, hugging it tightly.
"Charizard! It's great to see you again!"
Charizard smiled and blasted a flamethrower in the air again. Ash began telling Charizard about the time he's missed, when suddenly Frogadier walked up.
"What's up Frogadier?" Ash asked in a puzzling manner. Frogadier had a stern look on his face. He did not like this new arrival.
Charizard gave a growl and tensed up.
"Uh oh," Ash gulped as he realized what was happening between the two. He sighed as the two launched attacks at each other.
Frogadier launched a Water Pulse, which Charizard deflected with a Wing Attack and surged forward with glowing wings. Frogadier evaded with a Double Team, then surged forward with a Cut. Multiple copies hit Charizard, and while each Cut didn't do much, the sheer number hurt.
Charizard's eyes glowed red and began charging an Overheat attack, trying to quickly end the match. However, a white light quickly began to shine.
"Frogadier!" Ash cried.
Frogadier soon gained height, his hands gaining webbing and a tongue scarf around his head. His legs and arms bulked up and he was soon crouched over.
Ash took out his Pokédex. "Greninja, The Ninja Pokemon. It creates throwing stars out of compressed water. When it spins them and throws them at high speed, these stars can split metal in two. Greninja gains the Dark Type, and has learned the signature moves Water Shuriken and Mat Block."
Power seemed to exude from the water type. He kept his eyes closed as Charizard launched his Overheat. Greninja was surrounded by a red aura and slammed a fist into the earth, raising a square piece of dirt to protect himself from the attack.
"Wow, that must've been Mat Block!" Greninja then began to form water in his hands, and launched what looked like a ninja star at Charizard. But not just one, it was several of them.
"Can't we just talk this out guys?" Ash pleaded.
Charizard roared and flew up, launching Flamethrower attacks at Greninja who dodged with ease. Greninja launched a Water Pulse, then another and another. Charizard dodged one but was hit by two.
Charizard soared at Greninja, pinning him to the ground. Charizard blasted a Flamethrower at Greninja's face, then wrapped him in a bear hug. Charizard flew up and began to circle in the air.
"Charizard stop!"
Charizard growled and with all his might, threw Greninja into the ground. After the cloud of dust settled, Greninja amazingly stood, staring down Charizard who landed a few feet in front of him. Greninja walked up to him, then collapsed.
Charizard flexed his arms and shot a flamethrower in victory. Ash sighed and returned Greninja, walking up to Charizard.
"Did you really have to do that?" Charizard nodded. Ash shook his head, "You're gonna have to get along with everyone, even if they instigate things." Charizard huffed and flew into a shaded area to take a nap. Some things never change.
In the evening, Ash was on the video phone with Professor Oak.
"Some good news Ash! Three of the Taurus you traded me have had offers come in!"
Ash smiled wide. "That's great professor! When can you send them in?"
"Why I can send them in now my boy!"
Ash almost burst with excitement, "please professor!"
Professor Oak smiled and disappeared for a few minutes. Soon, Ash has three Pokeballs on his tray. The two discussed some things and eventually Professor Oak had to hang up, his ramen had finished cooking.
Ash retrieved the three Pokeballs and looked at them. "Alright you guys, come on out!"
Three flashes of light appeared and each took on a form.
One took the form of a pink blob with very minimal facial features. The second took the form of a small lion with big ears and whiskers on the sides of its cheeks. The third form took the shape of what appeared to be something close to human. But once the light died down, it returned and soon the form had four arms and much bigger muscles.
"Wow! A Ditto, Shinx, and a Machamp!" The three shook their heads and took in their new surroundings. Shinx sniffed Ash's legs while Ditto copied Pikachu. Machamp just stood, eyeing up Ash. Finally, Machamp seemed to seem Ash worthy and nodded at him with a smile.
Ash smiled and introduced himself and Pikachu to his newest team members.
At around one in the morning, Ash was awoken by a bright blue light. He looked up, and saw Spenser standing there.
"Ash, you have much more purpose than replacing my position. Follow your heart and find the Staff of the Unown, and soon your future will unfold."
It took a minute to hit him. "W-Wait, what do you mean?"
Spenser gave a sad smile and disappeared into the night. His ghostly figure gave Ash a shiver. Oh boy, he felt in over his head.
AN: This took a bit longer to get out then I wish, oh well. Life is just like that. Yes, three have been confirmed! Ditto, Machamp, and Shinx, I chose relatively random ones so Ash has a good mix of Pokémon. Also, he will catch new Pokémon to his team, and there are a few returns that will happen ;) . Also, to the reviewer asking about Ash getting a Riolu, hopefully that last bit can answer that question, if not no worries, your answer will come soon. I'm still debating on Pidgeot returning, so let me know what you guys think in either reviews or PM. One last also, I'm rewriting World Leaders Tournament into something that's better. I don't like how I left it, I was in a bad time when I first started writing it and I want it to be fresh and better than it would have been. So look forward to that! Hopefully next chapter of this is before my spring break in March so yeah there's that. Apologies for the long note at the end, just clearing up stuff. Hope it was good!