A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of my first serious story. It is the Road to a Master Guardian Series. This is the first book: Ash's Realization. I hope you'll like it~
The story starts out incredibly slow, so please bare with me in the first upcoming chapters. I want to build this Pokemon story from the ground up. This is set when Ash is 16, and the rest of his companions are around this age (sans Max and Bonnie). Max is 13 and Bonnie is 10. This story is a first piece to the main storyline. I hope you guys enjoy.
NOTE: Edited again as of April 22nd 2018! There should be significantly less grammar mistakes than before. Happy reading!
Certain things make note of:
"..."- This denotes regular speech
"..." This denotes thoughts, flashback or telepathy when stated directly.
"..." This denotes a Pokemon's speech.
"..." This denotes a Pokemon's thoughts or telepathy or Pokemon speech in flashbacks when stated directly.
"(...)" (This denotes a Pokemon's speech, but only select characters can understand it).
Right. Umm... Disclaimers and junk. I don't own Pokemon whatsoever. This plot, however, is mine, so that's something, I guess.
Onward to the story!
"With each passing moment, I'm becoming part of the past. There is no future for me, just the past steadily accumulating." -Haruki Murakami
Chapter 1: The Final Round, Part I
It was the final round of the Kalos League with Ashton finally defeating Sawyer in the semi-final round. The Renaissance Conference proved to be one of the toughest competitions that he has ever fought in. Now, it was all up to this. Ashton finally reached the finals. The only opponent that stood in his way was me. I defeated anyone who stood in my way with relative ease and now the grand prize was near. And yet... the prize isn't important to me.
In some cruel fate, I have to face Ashton in the finals. Something tells me this wasn't by accident.. especially since he hasn't won a league yet. Smartly played, ya pompous matchmakers, smartly played. Unfortunately, one of us will have to lose. I don't want to go against him, but I'm not going to just lose to him either. I feel this is the best way to get to know him. After all, the best way to a Ketchum's heart is through Pokemon and battling. I definitely want to see how much he's grown.
All of his Kalos friends were sitting at a dinner table with him: Clemont, Bonnie, Serena, Sawyer, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor. It was the night before the final battle when they were discussing how to defeat me…
I… can't wait to battle you. Show me what you got... young... one...
"I'm so proud of you, Ash," Serena said happily. Her face converted into a serious one. "Please… be careful in the finals."
"Don't worry, Serena, I'll be careful," Ash replied.
"Ash, congratulations on making it into the final round," Shauna said.
"You were awesome," Bonnie squealed in excitement.
"Yeah, you really deserved it," Tierno seconded.
"Yep," Trevor agreed.
With all the praise, Ash bashfully rubbed his head. Sawyer was writing down some notes on his notebook. After Ash battled and beat his Mega Sceptile with Greninja, he began to look up to him even more.
"I think you should take this opportunity to analyze your opponent, Ash." Clemont interrupted.
Ash nodded in response. He was so close to winning his first major league tournament, he could almost taste it. He didn't want to lose when he was this close to winning the entire thing.
"Throughout the entire tournament, this mysterious person hasn't taken off his or her mask once. He or she made his or her voice in a way that it could sound either like a boy or a girl," Clemont started.
"How about we call the hooded person a girl? She may have been hiding her voice and hair well, but you could still tell somewhat," Serena suggested.
"Fine." Clemont continued, "For whatever reason, she's made it this far. So far, she's only used a Charizard, Dragonair, Sylveon, and Lucario. She doesn't seem to have a set type preference. Even worse, she's only used those four to defeat all of her opponents, even in full battles. Whoever this person is, she's clearly tough."
"Whatever. We'll take down any opponent, right Pikachu?" Ash said.
"(You got it!)" Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Don't be so quick to disregard what I said, Ash. There is a chance that she may switch up her Pokémon to face you since you are the last person standing. She's been very unpredictable up to this point. It seemed like she was using a different strategy every time she battled. She has an unorthodox strategy like you, Ash." Clemont frowned.
"Don't worry about it, Clemont. You've helped me a lot throughout our journey and I appreciate that. It's time I've put my battle experience to the test." Ash comforted, "You guys are my good friends. Without your support, I would have never made it this far. For that, I thank each and every one of you. There is nothing stopping me from winning the Renaissance Conference with you guys by my side!" Ash stood up, poker-faced.
"The one thing that puzzles me still is that the Pokémon League is letting her compete without even revealing her face," Sawyer spoke up for the first time.
"That is weird. How has she gotten away with that?" Serena wondered.
"Apparently, she gave Nurse Joy her Pokédex and it showed her face, but when I asked Nurse Joy about it earlier today, she said that this person wanted to keep her face and name anonymous. It was a protection of her privacy. I don't know why she'd want that, but it is one of her rights," Clemont frowned.
"All I can do now try my hardest tomorrow. G'night guys," Ash yawned as he walked to his room. The gang finished the rest of their dinner and went to bed.
Ash couldn't fall asleep right away. He had changed into his pajamas, but the excitement was still there. The boy was much too excited. Ash looked up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. He had a somewhat bored expression on his face. Ash claimed excitedly,"After six years of being a trainer comes down to this… I will not lose this time!"
Sighing, he decided to go outside to let off some steam. Pikachu was still sleeping soundly sleeping, but when Ash left the bed, he immediately woke up. He tilted his head slightly.
"(Where are you going, Ash?)," Pikachu asked.
"I'm just going outside. I feel too excited about tomorrow's match to fall asleep," Ash responded. Pikachu nodded and felt a smirk creeping on his face. Ash will be Ash. Ash had the ability to easily understand Pikachu after being with him for a long time. "You wanna run with me?"
"(Yeah! Of course!)"
"Well, let's go!"
Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder as they started to head outside. Ash dashed through the league as fast as he could. He passed by multiple Renaissance pictures of old people. Some people were in a portrait pose while others were doing some sort of lively activity. Some were caught in a dance and others were reading a book. The art looked beautiful, but Ash didn't really pay attention to them. He zipped right past them. Once he left outside the actual building, he passed by various closed shops and looked up in the nightly sky. He took in a deep breath. The starry night sky was gorgeous.
"Enjoying the nightly run Pikachu?" Ash said as he neared the Kalosian League pond. He sat down with his best buddy.
"(Yep)," Pikachu responded happily.
"It's hard to believe we've finally made it this far, ya know?" Ash smiled. Pikachu smiled back. "Soon, we'll be the winners of the Kalos League! I don't know who the Masked Master is, but I do know that she doesn't stand a chance against us!" Ash pumped his fist up into the air excitedly. Suddenly, a stream of fire was shot in the air.
"What was that?" Ash wondered. As soon as he said it, a few aura spheres were launched into the sky.
"I think we should go check it out," Ash said, both curious and serious.
The line of fire and aura sphere came from the same place right near a forest. Pikachu nodded and jumped on his trainer's shoulder as they went to find out the source of the two attacks. Eventually, they reached a clearing right near the forest. This clearing, though mostly flat, had multiple large rocks littered across it. The rocks were far apart and the grassy plain gave the impression that it was a battlefield. He could see a Charizard and a Lucario sparring against each other. Ash decided to hide behind one of the rocks, observing the two.
"Chari, use Fire Punch! Rio, counter that with Bone Rush!" Ash heard a woman yell. It sounded hard, but soft in commanding.
The woman had her hair hidden inside her cloak. She was wearing a blue Swanna mask with feathers on either end. The feathers peeked out of either end of the Swanna mask, but it hid her face well. Her cloak was completely black. She also wore tight black linen pants, but that's all Ash could observe about her. Ash felt like he'd met her before, but couldn't place where.
The Charizard lit her fist ablaze with blue fire and flew towards the fighting and steel type. The jackal-like Pokémon nimbly dodged the attack and formed a blue bone out of pure energy. The lizard effortlessly dodged the slashing club. To counterattack, the Charizard slammed her right wing down on the Lucario and knocked him on the ground while his guard was down. Lucario looked at Charizard like he was slightly annoyed at the sudden move while Charizard snickered slightly. Charizard went over to Lucario and helped him up. Lucario still had an annoyed look on his face.
"You're both doing great," The Masked Master said, "Rio, it's good that you're using your aura more efficiently, but you always need to expect anything, including counterattacks. Chari, excellent use of your wings, but it's not polite to laugh at others. Keep it up and I'm sure we'll toast our opponent tomorrow. You guys have been training a lot. You deserve a break, but first…" The figure reached inside a sleeve of her cloak and took out two Sitrus Berries.
"Go on, eat up. You deserve the best!" She said, giving each Pokémon a berry and proceeding to pat their heads. The Charizard and Lucario sighed contentedly. The Lucario suddenly perked up his ears and growled.
"Don't worry, Rio. Our little spy just came to see some of our late-night training." The mysterious fellow then called out, "Right?"
She noticed no change in the rock. Ash knew she was acknowledging him, but wasn't sure if he should move. He decided to stay put. "You can come out, boy. I won't bite." She saw no movement from the rock. Sighing, she gestured her Charizard to head to the rock. A surprised Ash yelped as the lizard picked him and Pikachu up and hovered above the ground. The Charizard presented Ash in her arms as if she found a stick in a game of 'Fetch'. The woman looked at the Charizard and nodded her head expectantly.
The hooded trainer's Charizard immediately dumped Ash on the ground with a large thud. She didn't look hostile, but her expression was guarded. She looked ready to act at a moment's glance.
"Ow!" Ash said, falling on his stomach. He immediately rubbed his sides and belly. The Lucario summoned a bone of pure energy in his paws and the tip of the Charizard's tail became blazing blue flames.
"Any reason you were snooping around this late at night?" She inquired. Ash didn't know how to respond. Her very presence baffled him enough not to be able to speak. He didn't know why he felt that way, but he was feeling a sense of… longing?
"Scared, I see. That's not surprising considering you are seeing a weird woman like me. I'm sorry for letting Chari do that to you. You two can stop that. This young man means us no harm." Charizard's tail flame waned slightly, yet still maintained its blue color. Lucario relaxed his shoulders slightly as he made his bone shaped attack disappear.
The masked woman inspected Ash a little further. Her eyes glinted slightly, then sparkled in surprise. She gasped, "Wait... are you... Ashton Ketchum?"
"Yeah… but that's my full name. Just call me Ash," Ash said slightly annoyed. He was grateful that she had helped him up but, he hated being called 'Ashton'.
"Wait… how does she know my actual name?" Ash thought. He didn't ponder it further because she was backing away slowly. "Are you alright?" Ash said, growing increasingly worried. Even though her face was concealed, some of her tears fell on her hands. He asked, "Why are you crying?"
"Ash…" She softly said it with slight curiosity, as if trying something out.
"Um... are you alright?" Ash asked with concern. The lady laughed slowly and bitterly. She shook her head.
"Ash… You absolutely have no idea why you bring me so much joy, but yet so much ache..." The masked lady said with her voice cracking. Her tears were dropping on the ground. She thought somewhat bitterly, "So much I want to say to you while we are alone, but time is too short. I have to wait… I know now is not the time."
"What are you talking about?" Ash furrowed his eyebrowls.
"I didn't expect to see you this soon, Ashton er… Ash," The masked trainer corrected herself. She said in an urgent tone, "Our meeting was fated, young one. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go. Good luck in your final match. May the better trainer win," She returned her two Pokémon in their capsules and then ran away towards the league building, leaving a streak of tears.
"What just happened? Why did she go from training hard to crying? I'm not sure how she'll answer my question, but I'll just have to beat her to find out." Ash decided to himself. He shrugged his shoulders and started walking towards his room, confused but still eager for his battle tomorrow.
The next day…
"Good afternoon, everybody! Welcome to the final battle between Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and the mysterious Masked Master from Shingetsu Town!" The announcer explained.
"Shingetsu Town? I never heard of it… Is it from another region?" Clemont wondered.
"Go, Ash! You can do it!" Serena called from the sidelines. "Oh, dear Arceus… Please let Ash win this match. It means so much to him…"
"You really have it bad for him, do you?" Shauna said, shaking Serena out of her thoughts. Serena didn't respond, she just maintained a small pink blush on her face. This only amplified Shauna's smug smirk.
The announcer gestured to the large screen. It had Ash's face and the Masked Master's cloaked face, showing only her chin. It had six question marks for both sides. "This will be a 6v6 battle. Each side is able to substitute Pokémon and after the first trainer loses three Pokémon there will be a 15-minute break. The battle will start out on a rocky field and will change once one of the trainers loses three Pokémon." The announcer finished.
"Both trainers ready?" The referee asked, raising his flags. Both Ash and the Masked Master nodded.
"Then begin!" He said as he brought down his flags.
"Ash, you're my last obstacle before I win this tournament. Make sure to give me everything you've got," The mysterious lady suddenly spoke. Ash was a little surprised to see that she wasn't sad anymore and was happier to see her show him some excitement. The lady smiled and said, "I'm curious to find out how strong you've gotten up to this point. I'm so psyched to finally battle you!"
"I'm so psyched, too! I've seen you battle and you're really strong. Best of luck to you, but I'll be winning this battle! This is the closest I've been to becoming a Pokémon Master and I'm not going to waste it!" Ash flashed his first Poke Ball.
"(You're going down!)" Pikachu agreed with his trainer.
"Pokémon Master, eh? We will see about that, young one." The mysterious person looked at Pikachu and Ash with slight fascination and quickly shrugged it off. She smiled with satisfaction at the two. Her expression grew a bit more serious as she flashed her Poké Ball.
"In earlier matches, the lady was much colder than she is acting now. Is Ash the reason?" Clemont wondered from the stands.
"Seems like it. I wonder why…" Serena agreed
"Who cares? Ash made it to the finals and he's gonna win!" Bonnie said excitedly.
"I just hope that Ash will be careful against her," Serena said. Ash had been at her side when she tried out for Kalos Queen. She wanted to be at his side. She wanted to be his. She decided after everyone went to bed last night that she would express her true feelings to her dense crush.
"Serena, are you alright? You kinda spaced out there." Clemont asked.
"I'm all right. Just was thinking about some things, that's all." Serena tried to cover up what that she had been thinking about Ash and confessing her feelings. Clemont wanted to find out more, but decided against it. He deemed it wasn't any of his business.
"Let's just watch the battle," He said. Serena nodded, thankful that he hadn't asked further.
"Let's start this off well! Go, Noctowl!" Ash threw the Poké Ball and out came a smaller than normal red owl-like Pokémon with a dim gold underside and a large 'U' shaped crest. It appeared in a beautiful way, being surrounded by a shiny golden light.
"I like Shiny Pokémon. They always look pretty…" The mysterious woman drawled in her real voice. He noticed her devious smirk in the light of the hood, leaving Ash puzzled. "Sadly, I'll have to defeat him. Chari, come, make your presence known!" At that call, the Charizard appeared. She tilted her head slightly in observation of the Noctowl and then grinned. Images of Chari and Noctowl appeared on screen, in place of the first question mark near both Ash and his opponent.
"Why are they smiling like that? Can't worry about that now…" Ash thought, "Noctowl, use Air Slash!"
"Counter that with Flamethrower!" She replied.
The two Pokémon launched their attacks. The flurry of air and flames combined, creating an explosion. However, Chari's Flamethrower went past the smoke and hit Noctowl directly. Noctowl started to fall from the blow.
"Noctowl, you can do it," Hearing Ash's encouragement caused Noctowl to stop falling. He recovered his bearings and began to fly in place. He stared down the fire and flying type Pokemon. "Great job! Now use Take Down!"
"Shadow Claw!" The cloaked person called back.
Noctowl's body became cloaked in a white light as he attempted to slam into Chari. The claws in Chari's hands formed a shadowy silhouette. However, instead of attacking Noctowl directly, she dodged Noctowl's attack and dug her claws into the ground, dug up the ground and started to chuck dirt at the Owl Pokémon. Some dirt landed in his eyes.
He started to fly erratically in panic. Chari looked at the sight in mild amusement.
"Noctowl, please calm down!" Ash pleaded. Noctowl slowly began to slow his flying and soon was flying in place. It slowly opened its eyes and looked down at Chari in mild annoyance.
"Good job! Now use Extrasensory!" Noctowl's eyes gave a golden glow and its beak formed a vortex of psychic energy. Neither the Masked Master nor Chari made a move. The attack made a direct hit. Smoke formed from the impact. Once the smoke cleared, Chari was scratching her torso in mock boredom.
"The Extrasensory did nothing to the fully evolved Fire type! How will Ash counter this?" The announcer surmised.
"Um… you expected that to hurt me? I'm sorry Mistress... but I cannot stay silent for any longer..." Chari looked away from Noctowl, unhappy with his battling performance. Noctowl looked enraged.
"Chari!" The mysteriously cloaked person chided.
"Noctowl, don't!" Ash warned. Noctowl immediately cloaked itself in a harsher bright light than in his Take Down attack.
"Temper, temper, Noctowl…" Chari waggled a claw in tandem with her statement, "Using Sky Attack isn't going to help you out. I… I think it's time for us to finish this up."
"I couldn't agree more. There's no reason to keep up this ruse. Use Night Daze to end this!" The masked trainer said, extending her arm out.
Chari nimbly dodged Noctowl's attack. Chari's eyes started to glow bloody red as she slammed her arms down onto the ground. It caused a large shockwave of dark aura to engulf the field.
"Noctowl, dodge it!" Ash called. Noctowl tried his hardest to fly out of range. It was too late. The shockwave of dark energy hit Noctowl and caused him to fall on the ground with a loud thud. It had black swirling marks for eyes.
"Noctowl is unable to battle. Chari is the winner." The referee waited for a while before calling out the result Noctowl's picture on the screen blackened to show that he had fainted.
"Excellent job, bud, but I think I just blew your cover." The Masked Master went over and petted Chari's head. Chari sighed with content and smiled.
"Amazing! Ash's Noctowl is down and out after a devastating Night Daze attack! Wait… a normal Charizard does not normally learn that move. Does this mean...?" When the announcer said this, Chari changed shape. She became blacker and started to have red fur on top of her head. Her eyes changed from red to blue and she resembled a two-legged black fox.
"Chari isn't really Charizard! It's Zoroark!" Ash pointed out.
"Yes..." Zoroark tapped her claws nervously.
"How are you able to speak?" Ash wondered.
"Sorry… I can't answer that," Zoroark shook her head bashfully.
"All of my current party members can talk. I just told them not to speak until the final battle," The mysterious trainer shrugged.
"How can they?" Ash persisted.
"You'll have to find out once the battle is done. Although, someone should have waited a little longer to reveal that bit of info…" The hooded woman looked at the Zoroark accusingly.
The Zoroark looked down shyly in remorse for a split second. A silent understanding came between the fox and her trainer. Almost as fast as her demeanor changed, the Zoroark turned back to the way she was acting.
"Please choose your next Pokémon, Ash." The referee told him.
"Hmm… That Zoroark looks ruthless. She taunted my Pokémon without actually using the move! I know the perfect counter to her, but I gotta be careful, too." Ash thought critically.
"Go, Heracross!" Ash threw his Poké Ball and summoned the bug and fighting type Pokémon. He stared at the Zoroark with a determined gaze. Suzie showed no emotion towards Heracross's appearance. The only emotion she showed was a mix a challenge and curiosity, even though she was at a huge disadvantage.
"That's a good choice on Ash's part." Serena commented, "I think he's gonna win this matchup!"
"Pay attention to how the Zoroark and her trainer are acting. They don't look too overly concerned at all." Trevor commented.
"Still, bug and fighting types are good against dark types. Ash has a good shot in this matchup." Clemont said, "All we can do is watch how things go."
"Suzie, stay put." The Masked Master commanded. Suzie stood where she was with a sharp gaze.
"Heracross, use Megahorn!" Ash started. The stag beetle's horn glowed in a brilliant light. He started to charge towards the dark fox.
"You know what to do, Suzie." The Zoroark smiled giddily when she heard the call. She ran directly towards Heracross. Right when Heracross's attack was about to land, Suzie jumped, used Flamethrower and spun near Heracross to avoid the attack. However, Heracross got hit directly with the line of fire and collapsed on the ground.
"(Gaaaaah!)" The bug type howled in pain and collapsed on the ground.
"A variation of my spin technique from Sinnoh?" Ash thought incredulously.
"That's unfortunate." The cloaked mistress sighed. "I was really looking forward to battling Heracross more."
"Heracross is not down!" Ash gritted his teeth. "Come on, Heracross! I know you can stand up. Show them your spirit!" Heracross's eyes opened quickly and he got back up. Ash's opponent found herself pleasantly surprised.
"(I won't be taken down so easily!)" Heracross declared.
"Really now?" Suzie asked. She glared at the bug type determinedly. "Good. I like that."
"Heracross! Use Megahorn again!" Ash demanded
"The same thing will happen no matter what you do. Suzie, if you please…" The Masked Master shrugged off.
Heracross and Suzie started to run towards each other. Suzie, being naturally faster, used Flamethrower first, but Heracross was prepared for that. As the Zoroark spun, Heracross started to spin himself. He activated his wings to fly above Suzie before the flames hit him again. Disengaging its wings, Heracross started to fall horn first towards the shocked Zoroark. Its horn radiated white with power as it slammed the move directly at Suzie.
"Ow!" Suzie howled in pain as she held her side. "That smarts!"
"I didn't expect that to land. Good one." The mysterious woman said absently and shrugged, The woman held out a Poke Ball to return the Zoroark. The fox visibly pouted. She murmured, "You've done what you've needed to. I know the perfect counter against him. Thanks, friend."
"Right, Mistress..." Suzie suddenly smirked as it returned to her capsule. Ash looked at the strange woman and Pokémon in confusion. Suzie's picture on the screen dimmed, but not completely.
"Wouldn't want you to gain momentum, now would we?" The master said in a taunting tone. Ash scowled at the lady. The Masked Master decided suddenly."You forced a switch out of me. Good on you. As a reward, I'll reveal my face. It has nothing to do with the tournament, but I might as well before I possibly win."
"Will you recognize me, young one?"
Ash was slightly spooked upon hearing the voice. It sounded just like the lady's, but she hadn't said anything. He shook his head and dismissed it as a minor hallucination. Ash looked at the woman in interest. "Maybe I'll figure out why she seems familiar to me…"
"After a quick substitution of Zoroark, the mysterious Masked Master is going to reveal her face for the first time this tournament!" The announcer announced.
The Masked Master first took off her cloak and kept it draped around her neck so it looked like she was wearing a black cape with a hood. She revealed she had on a blue shirt, blue bow, and black hair. The blue bow had a weird multicolored symbol on the middle that resembled DNA. Her black hair fell up to her knees and was tied up into a long braid. Then, the woman took off her Swanna mask and it fell beside her. The audience gasped in surprise.
"Is… is that Aurora?" Clemont raised his glasses in interest.
"Who's Aurora?" Bonnie wondered.
"I've heard tales of a scary strong trainer from a distant region. That region itself is super tough to enter, but apparently, she's the Champion!" Clemont explained further.
"WHAT?!" Everyone yelled.
"Ash is fighting a Champion?" Serena asked, concerned.
"How come you know all this Clemont?" Sawyer questioned.
"Don't forget that I'm a gym leader, Sawyer. Of course, any gym leader will keep tabs about other regions, just in case we want to go there ourselves. I mean look at Koga. He went from being a Kanto gym leader to being on the Johto Elite Four." Clemont explained. They quieted down once they noticed the announcer speaking.
"The Masked Master is none other than Aurora from the Hokori region. She's said to be one of the strongest champions in the world. She's said to almost always hold back in her matches. On the rare occasions where she does exhibit her full strength, she becomes an entirely different person. Why is she in Kalos at all times?" The announcer pointed out.
The middle-aged woman had spiky knee-length black hair and amber eyes. They were unnerving to look at directly. She had a small moon shaped bang over the middle of her forehead and fair skin. The sides of her hair was combed down symmetrically up to her shoulder, then morphed into a braid. On her head, she was wearing a large blue bow with a mysterious stone in the middle. She was wearing a blue tee-shirt with a mysterious symbol on it. Her look gave her the sense that she was wearing something casual, but at the same time, she radiated power.
Her face showed that she was clearly elated not to have her mask on. She had a sense of experience and adventure. She smiled at Ash fondly. She noticed his confused expression and looked disappointed.
The explanation from the announcer confirmed what Clemont said was true. Sawyer was the first to acknowledge it. He was thoroughly shocked as he said, "Wow! How is he going to win now?"
"Don't say something like that!" Serena snapped. The green haired boy blinked in surprise. Serena isn't known to give sudden outbursts like that.
"Look. Aurora may be a champion, but that doesn't mean she will win. Ash got this. As long as his head stays in the battle, I know he will win the battle… you just have to have faith!" Serena continued. She's never defended him like that before.
Clemont agreed, "Serena's right. Ash can win this if he stays focused." Sawyer nodded as he eagerly observed the battle to take more notes.
"You better believe it!" Bonnie gave a thumbs-up. They all quieted to watch the match again.
"It feels so good to be free! It felt weird hiding my face when the crowds normally love a good spectacle." Aurora said happily. She explained, "In the Hokori region, I'm known as 'The Lady Who Shares the Hearts of Pokémon'. Long title I know, but I have the ability to speak with Pokémon and allow them to speak back. The reason for me not being mentioned in official Pokémon League Tournaments is a little because of the Hokori region only being known to elite trainers and people that works under the league or G-Men. The other reason is because I've been labeled as a freak to most because people say I'm too strong to take out in battle."
"No one is too strong to ever get taken out." Ash retorted.
Aurora shrugged her shoulders, "I'm glad someone else thinks like that. You have no idea how annoying it is when someone says, 'Oh my Arceus, she's too strong' or something along those lines. That annoys the hell outta me. I do like to modify my strength depending on who battles me to see the opponent's potential. The higher the potential, the fiercer I become. Because of that ferocity, no one has beaten me in an official battle since my debut as Champion five years ago."
"Huh. Hokori region? Maybe I'll go there next. I wonder what she thinks of my potential so far, being a Champion. Is she fighting at her full strength?" Ash thought, wondering about what Aurora said.
From an unknown location…
"I told that crazy woman not to compete outside of the Hokori region!" An old man said, visibly upset. He had liver spots on his head that head that he liked to cover in a hat. He thought, "If she realizes who Ash is, we're toast!"
"Disqualify her then. Ash Ketchum would be the winner." An employee offered.
"I can't do that. It's not in my power. If I did that, it would look suspicious. The people want to see battling and we'll give them battling. Continue it on!" The old man decided reluctantly. "I've been trying for years to make sure left her place as Champion, but that's nearly impossible since she hasn't lost in a long time. Even when we rig the matches from the inside, she hasn't been beaten. Some of the Pokémon League employees are already at my heels. I don't need to give them another reason. Maybe Ash will bring her down few pegs… I'll finally get rid of that wretched woman… and the plan will proceed…"
"Yes, sir!" All the workers said at the same time.
"Her memory is gone, though. Why is she in Kalos of all times? I know that pest loves to battle and will appear in tournaments from time to time, but the Renaissance Conference? Something isn't right. Did… did she get her memory back and if so how...?" The old man thought critically.
"Am I actually battling a Champion? Man, that's awesome! How is she considered to be a freak? I mean, being really strong shouldn't be the reason! How will I beat her and why does she look so familiar to me…?" Ash rubbed his chin, filled with questions.
"Ash," Aurora spoke up, snapping Ash out of his thoughts. "Just because I'm a Champion, don't get demoralized. Try your best to win this battle at my expense." Aurora gave Ash two thumbs up. Ash smiled.
"With that sudden reveal by Aurora of the Hokori region, let the match continue once more!" The announcer said, still shocked to see Aurora in the flesh.
"Aurora, choose your next Pokémon." The referee told her.
"Our cover is blown, so you have nothing to hide. Kairyu, come, make your presence known!" Aurora threw her Poke Ball and revealed a blue serpentine-like Pokémon. He had wings on the top of his head and a large blue orb on his neck.
"And Aurora has chosen her next Pokémon: a Dragonair." At the announcer's words, an image of Dragonair appeared on the screen, replacing the second question mark on Aurora's side.
"Huh… I thought Champions always fully evolved their Pokémon…" Ash said absently.
"Not all Champions are the same. Kairyu has a very specific way he wants to evolve in battle. When Kairyu is ready, he will evolve in his own right. Do you not share the same feelings about Lit- I mean Pikachu?" Aurora countered, noting that Pikachu hasn't evolved to his final form yet.
"Of course!" Ash answered automatically.
"Then there's your answer."
"Good luck…" Kairyu said in a small voice.
"Kairyu, you don't have to maintain that nervousness from earlier matches. I meant what I said: you have nothing to hide…"
"But Mistress…" Kairyu as about to argue, but Aurora cut him off.
"And don't call me Mistress! You know we're friends and equals. Show them some of your dormant power! Let's give the crowd a good battle on both sides!"
"As you wish…" Kairyu looked at his opponents with a timid look and then suddenly with a sharp gaze, which intimidated Ash and Heracross slightly at the sudden change.
"Let the battle begin once more!" The referee called.
Meanwhile…
"A Champion, eh? She's bound to have some powerful Pokémon." Jessie commented elsewhere in the stands.
"Yeah. Powerful enough to give to the boss!" James agreed.
Meowth looked enraged compared to the two. "Didn't ya notice dat her Pokémon could talk? Do ya know da hard work I've done tryin' to impress a prissy Meowth? Here, some stupid Champion comes in and bam! Instant Pokemon lingo understood. Like, what da heck?" He ranted in rage. He thought about how hard he worked just to utter a few human words and felt like his effort was wasted because of Aurora. Meowth took a few moments to calm down. Then, he wondered, "But... how's we gonna get their Pokémon?"
"Good question…" James said, somewhat fizzled out.
"Simple. We wait until the twerp tires out the adult twerpette's Pokémon and Pikachu. Then, it will be like taking candy from two glorified babies! They'll be too tired to do anything about it." Jessie explained.
"Good thinking!" James praised.
"Nows we's gotta lie and wait for da right opportunity…" Meowth chuckled deviously, "In the meantime, I'll get da balloon ready near da stadium. There's so many dopes in here that the chances of it bein' seen are small." Meowth got up out of his seat and started to head outside. "I'll be back in 'bout ten minutes."
"While we wait, we might as well analyze both of them…" James suggested.
"The only thing I'm concerned about is catching that Pikachu to improve my beauty sleep," Jessie said in response. James sighed, but decided to say nothing else as he looked at the battle intently.
"Heracross! Horn Attack!" Ash called out.
"Be still, Kairyu." Aurora stood passively, closing her eyes. Kairyu nodded as he stood at the same spot. Heracross ran as fast as he could to Kairyu, looking to impale him with his horn.
"Wait for it…" She murmured.
Heracross continued to run.
"Wait for it…"
Heracross was almost to Kairyu, seeking the decisive blow.
Her yellow eyes opened suddenly, "Now! Use your tail to wrap Heracross's horn and bind him!" The Dragonair grabbed Heracross with the end of his tail and pinned him down.
"Heracross, no! Get out of there!" Ash said frantically.
Heracross wriggled fiercely to escape Dragonair's grip. "(Let go of me!)" Heracross strained.
"There's no way Heracross will escape at this point. Kairyu, now use Flamethrower!" Aurora said, extending her arm. Kairyu grinned as he complied. He launched the Flamethrower at close range and struck Heracross directly. Heracross became surrounded in a crest of orange-yellow flames. His power started to rapidly diminish.
"Heracross! Endure!" Ash called out in panic. Heracross body glowed slightly as he took the Flamethrower attack barely.
"All right, Kairyu. That's enough." Aurora relented. Kairyu returned to being right in front of his trainer. Heracross stood, charred, but not completely out.
"Heracross doesn't have too much left in him… He'll probably only use one more attack before fainting. I gotta make the most of it!" Ash thought.
"Heracross, are you still good to battle?" Ash asked. Heracross weakly nodded, but still held a determined look. "All right then. I want you to pour all of your power into this one move. Use Focus Punch!"
"Let's meet their attack head on! Use Dragon Rush!" Aurora decided.
Heracross's fist glowed in a white aura while the Dragonair's body became surrounded in a blue dragon-shaped aura. They moved directly to one another, each looking for the decisive blow. The two powerful moves clashed and then went directly past each other. Both Pokémon was in the field opposite field of their trainer and a moment of silence ensued. Kairyu smirked in satisfaction. In the same moment, he winced slightly in pain. Eventually after a moment of waiting, Heracross's legs gave out and he collapsed on the ground with swirling marks replacing his eyes.
"Heracross is unable to battle. Dragonair wins!" At the referee's words, Heracross's image blackened to show that he fainted.
"Great job, Kairyu!" Aurora high-fived her draconian pal on the tail.
"You've done really well, Heracross. Take a long rest." Ash said to Heracross as he was returned to his Poké Ball.
"And Heracross is down and out, but not before dishing some damage on Zoroark and Dragonair!" the announcer surmised.
"I have to get around that Dragonair's ability to wrap around his opponents. He completely shut down Heracross! If he could do that to a physical attacker, let's see what he can do to a special one…" Ash thought with a smirk.
"Greninja, I choose you!" Ash threw his Poké Ball in the air and summoned the ninja frog. Greninja immediately took a battle stance upon facing his opponent.
"(Bring it on!)" Greninja said.
"I like a water type with such a fiery spirit! Consider it brung…" Kairyu commented.
"All right Greninja, use Double Team!" Ash commanded. Multiple copies of Greninja leaped forth towards Dragonair. The dragon sweatdropped, but still tried to look intimidating to try to hide his bewilderment.
"Now use Water Shuriken!" Greninja and its copies compiled by summoning shurikens of pure water.
"Try to stop that attack with Thunderbolt!" Aurora said. Kairyu summoned an electrical blast from its horn. It managed to get rid of most of the water shurikens but still ended up getting hit by the real attack.
"Ack!" Kairyu groaned. He wasn't hurt, just surprised.
"Keep up the pressure! Use Ice Beam!" Ash brought out his hand. From its hands, Greninja summoned a beam of icy energy and directed it towards Kairyu.
"Dodge it!" At his trainer's call, the Dragonair skillfully slithered past the move.
"Water Pulse!" Greninja nodded as it summoned a ball of water and flung it at Kairyu.
"Now's our chance…" Aurora thought. She called out, "Use this as an opportunity, Kairyu! Use your flexibility to dodge and get close and bind him!" Dragonair jumped over the attack and quickly got close to Greninja. Ash and Greninja looked at Kairyu in alarm at the sudden burst of speed. Kairyu wrapped himself around Greninja tightly and he screamed in pain.
"(Gah!)"
"Oh no, Greninja!" Ash gritted his teeth in slight frustration.
"Thunderbolt, while you can!" The dragon type complied by directing his electrical energy directly at Greninja. Greninja screamed in pain.
"(Aaaaah!)"
"Hang in there, Greninja. Let's use Ice Beam to get you out of there!" Ash said, slightly in panic. Greninja formed a beam of icy energy to counteract the electrical attack. Soon, the icy attack overtook the electrical energy and stuck the Dragonair directly. It was just enough that Greninja was able to jump past Kairyu's grasp. He shook off the shock the best way he could.
"Brr… I hate the cold…" Kairyu complained, shivering.
"Well isn't that an understatement…" Aurora shook her head in annoyance. She smiled, "I may have to stop going easy on him. It'll be fun pushing his limit a little further."
"Return, Kairyu!" Aurora suddenly called. "You've done very well for being so contained. It's time I kick it up a notch… you know."
Kairyu nodded in understanding and smiled at Ash, knowing what's to come will show Aurora's pride. The red light consumed Kairyu as it returned to its Poké Ball. On the screen, the Dragonair's image dimmed slightly.
"And other substitution by Aurora. What will be her next Pokémon?" The announcer said.
"Ash. You're the first trainer this tournament to damage any Pokémon I've used well. With that being said, I think it's best to reward you by summoning my best friend and sister. How does that sound?" Aurora started.
"I appreciate the compliment. I like a good challenge. Bring it on!" Ash said eagerly.
"That's what I like to hear. I like your spunk. Let's dance, boy." Aurora said, kissing a red Poké Ball with a blue flame sticker in the middle. "All right, Chari! Show him why you're the Queen of Hokori!"
At her throw, an extremely large, eight-foot tall lizard-like Pokémon with blue wings was summoned. This Charizard was a lot larger than the illusion Suzie had posed earlier. She had a distinctive blue flame at the tip of her tail and sharp red eyes. She also had a large red bow with a mysterious stone at the middle on her left horn. Other than those features she looked like a regular Charizard.
"This is the real Chari, Ash. You can tell by the bow. She's my pride and joy and I've had her ever since I've started my journey." Aurora told him.
"Oh stop, Aurora. You're making me blush…" Chari responded, looking down bashfully.
"I mean it. This strong trainer was able to make trouble for Suzie and Kairyu. Let's show him our appreciation of finding someone decent here." Aurora smiled.
Chari's expression changed from being bashful, to being determined. "I'm with ya, Aurora!"
"The bright flames of change are here thanks to the future! Let's demonstrate the power of our infallible bond through the undying passion of Mega Evolution!" She tapped her bow and Chari became engulfed in a harsh multicolored light.
Chari became encased in her stone and changed forms. Once she was out, she had a longer tail, tiny wings growing on its arms and had a third horn. Her body overall maintained its orange and cream color scheme and had the mega evolution insignia right above her as the multicolored light ended. The sun suddenly turned harsh. A picture of Chari's Mega Y form appeared and replaced Chari's image on the screen.
"I'm no longer holding back as much, Ash. Good luck… young one," Aurora's eyes softened somewhat as she said the last part, but quickly hardened them again.
"How will Ash deal with Aurora's change of tact? It's now Mega Charizard Y vs. Greninja. Let the battle begin once again!" the announcer proclaimed.
"Why would she switch in a fire type into a water type? In my notes, water types are great against fire types!" Sawyer asked confused, "Greninja is one of Ash's most powerful Pokémon. She's compromising her lead by doing that."
"You have to consider that Greninja has already taken quite a bit of damage. It's possible that she's looking to finish this," Clemont said, analyzing the situation.
"It still doesn't make sense. Greninja will probably do a lot of damage before or even if he goes down," Sawyer said.
"That Charizard is huge!" Bonnie said in contrast, "I've never seen a Charizard that big! It's gonna be super strong. Either way, it's gonna be an awesome battle to watch! Go Ash!"
"Yeah! Go Ash!" Serena repeated, "You can do it!"
"Fire Punch!" Aurora called out. Chari wasted no time in cloaking her fist in blue flames as she made her way towards Greninja.
"Dodge it using Double Team!" Ash said. Greninja once again created multiple copies of himself and the fire attack one hit one of the copies. Chari remained calm seeing the copies surround her and smirked. "Now use Hydro Pump!" Ash said, continuing his onslaught. Greninja forced a lot of pressure of water to be unleashed towards the Mega Evolved Pokémon.
"Block it with your wings." Aurora folded her arms in observation. Chari closed up her wings in front of her to take the water attack. Ash smiled that the super effective move had made a direct hit, but his eyes widened in horror as Chari shrugged off the water attack like it was nothing.
"You must know that Chari's ability is Drought, right? And that her special defense gets boosted the minute she mega evolves? Assuming that what I read about you was true, you've used a Charizard as well. The harsh sun cancels out Chari's water weakness." Ash's eyes widened in realization as he remembered what the ability did. Aurora shook her head in disappointment, "That's a costly mistake, especially for someone who trains a Charizard. Use Solar Beam to end this."
Chari then flew up into the sky to prepare the grass type attack. In no time at all, Chari fired a devastating solar powered attack. Greninja had no time to dodge as he was stuck promptly.
"(Waaah!)" Greninja screamed.
"Greninja, no!" Ash screamed, but it was too late. The force from the blast knocked the ninja frog back behind Ash and into a wall. His body was badly beaten as his eyes were replaced by swirling marks.
"Greninja is unable to battle. Charizard wins!" The referee called. The audience cheered.
"Excellent work, Chari!" Aurora congratulated. Chari puffed up a few flames in delight.
"Greninja, return," Ash said as he made Greninja go back into its capsule. He smiled as he said, "You did great out there. Now, it's time for you to rest."
"Incredible! Aurora's Charizard was able to knock out Ash's Greninja in one move!" The announcer said in slight shock. "With that Pokémon, Ash is down to three Pokémon compared to Aurora's six. We will take a 15-minute break before heading back into things. Will Ash be able to come from behind from a 6 to 3 handicap? We will see…"
Ash went to the back, strategizing how to beat Aurora. "I really have to pull a rabbit out of the hat in order to have a chance so every move from here on out was crucial."
Meanwhile, Aurora went to the back with a single tear on her face.
"Now that the break started, we can start our plan!" Jessie said giddily. She started to leave the stadium.
"Patience." James placed a hand on her shoulder. Jessie was surprised at the sudden touch. "We wouldn't want to have a repeat of the Dragonite from the Orange Island, do we? It was weakened and still managed to blast us off anyway."
Jessie stopped dead in her tracks. "Shoot! He's right. I hate being wrong. I have to play off that I was right the entire time…"
"I knew that!" Jessie growled.
"Sure you did." James rolled his eyes, "I say we wait a little longer. Besides, Pikachu hasn't battled yet and would Thunderbolt us into next week."
"We have an electrical device to suck up its energy, though." Jesse argued.
"And look where that's got us. We've had multiple versions and the same thing has happened: us blasting off." James retorted.
"What are you saying, James?" Jessie said, increasingly irritated. He was implying something that she couldn't quite yet figure out.
"Don't worry about it. I'm not saying anything. All I am saying is we should wait until they knock each other out." James put his hands up in defense.
Jessie blinked in surprise. It wasn't what James said that shocked her, but how direct he was being… at least until the last statement. "All right. But what should we tell Meowth when he comes back?"
"We'll just wait it out. Come on, we've got some spying to do." James smirked as he walked towards where Ash was. Jessie smiled as she followed him. Meowth would probably know where they would go.
A/N: I wanna get feedback for what I've written. I would really appreciate it (like seriously appreciate it). It's the only way I know people actually like this little series I've put together. Trust me, reviews have more influence than ya think. ;)
If you want a more detailed summary of the story and its sequels, head on over to my profile or just contact me. Who knows? I'll totally Gabite. In all seriousness, though, I won't bite. I'm pretty friendly. Ask me anything you want to know (as long it's not something that would have a major spoiler, of course). That wouldn't be fun to get the surprises ruined early, right? Happy reading and please, tell me what you think!
EDIT: I wrote this before the inclusion of Ash-Greninja in the anime. I probably will incorporate him into the story. :)
Next Chapter: The Final Round, Part 2
~SPG123~