Ash's Realization

by SuperPokeGal123

AU. After the Kalos League, Ash learns things about himself and his abilities after finding out he is linked with someone of his past. Strangely, he doesn't remember her and aspires to figure out what's wrong with his life. Over time, his power increases and... so does his problems. Deviates from anime as lore is revealed. Read and you'll understand. Amourshipping. Aura Ash.

3. The Final Round Part 2

A/N: Hey guys. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

EDIT: Revised once more as of April 22nd 2018. There should be less grammatical mistakes and overall less redundancy at certain areas. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon and blah blah blah. This story is mine, but you already know that. Onward to the story!

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"The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That's real glory. That's the essence of it." -Vince Lombardi Jr.

---

Chapter 2: The Final Round, Part II

Jessie and James approached the area where Ash went. They were wearing one of their many disguises. This time, Jessie was wearing a knee-length black dress with black stockings and red shoes. She wore a reddish plaid shirt with a black vest. She finished the outfit off by wearing red glasses and a fake mole. James was wearing a cameraman's outfit with beige pants and a simple black shirt. They were prepared to go into Ash's waiting room to steal Pikachu. They were out of Ash's earshot, but still close enough to see him.

"It seems like the twerp is feeling down about having his butt handed to him by a Champion." Jessie surmised.

"Yeah. Now would be a perfect time to strike, especially since he's down." James agreed. They were about to enter the room to speak with Ash, but then they saw a silhouette to a woman approaching. They scrambled to look normal as the lady approached. As she got closer, they noticed that the woman had a long black braid and striking yellow eyes. It was Aurora. However, she looked extremely nervous. It looked out of place on her especially considering her lead against Ash.

"Oh?" All traces of her anxiety disappeared upon seeing Jessie and James. Instead, Aurora looked at them with suspicion as she narrowed her eyes. "Who might you three be? I do not believe Ash knows you."

"Uh… he definitely knows us! We're his recording entourage! He's traveled so many regions that he requested us to record his ups and downs." Jessie responded. She was somewhat taken aback by Aurora's harsh tone, but decided to ignore it.

"Recording entourage?" Aurora raised an eyebrow suspiciously. She continued with narrowed eyes, "If that's the case, then why didn't I see you by Ash recording our battle? I mean, this is the final battle of the tournament. Anyone would want to record our match."

Jessie sweat-dropped in surprise. Normally, people were stupid enough to follow what story they said. They were masters of disguises. They had immense pride in their work. Now, some unknown lady was questioning them? They tried to think up of a response. James decided to intervene. "He requested for us to record the second half of the battle."

Aurora sighed. Her eyes seemingly glowed. Jessie and James felt like they were being put under a Foresight attack from a Pokémon. They shivered slightly at the sight. Aurora said, "I don't know who you are, but I can tell you're lying. I can sense you're not in league with the Zurui, but with someone else. Leave Ash alone. He needs some time to reassess his strategy against me. You trying to take advantage of him while he's losing will not be allowed."

"We weren't trying to-" James stammered.

"Stop lying. I've seen through your ruse. Leave now." Aurora growled.

Jessie and James decided to try to push the woman because they had gotten annoyed. Aurora had gotten irritated enough that they both tried to push through her. She decided to give them a taste of their own medicine. Aurora pushed them back simultaneously with a strength they had never even witness a human having. They didn't know where her sudden burst of strength came from. The force of her push was enough to knock them down on the floor.

"I meant what I said. Get outta here!" Aurora folded her arms. A Poké Ball rumbled in her belt. Standing imposingly behind her stood an eight-foot lizard-like Pokémon, raring to attack. Its tail was blazing intensely in blue, even more than it did in the battle and its breath had visible blue flames coming out.

"Chari, if you will, dispose of these two suspicious characters. Send them out of the stadium and come back to me in the next three minutes." Aurora ordered and said in a rough tone. Her voice softened when she said, "My talk with Ash will have to wait. I just wanted to wish him good luck. I hope he isn't taking my lead too badly…"

Aurora sighed as she started to walk away to her waiting room. Chari smiled menacingly. "With pleasure, friend."

Chari grabbed Jessie and James much to their protests. She smothered them against her in order to prevent them from screaming. She went through the back door at the end of the corridor, pushed it open and flew off. She noticed a deflated Meowth balloon below slightly forming and decided to dump them there. Chari didn't see any people and assumed it was abandoned. From the sky, she dropped Jessie and James over a bush together near the balloon and flew off to meet Aurora at her waiting room. Meowth was too busy finalizing the balloon to hear anything.

A few moments later, the bush ruffled as Jessie and James popped their heads out. Jessie seethed in rage as she looked up at the sky to spot the Charizard that did this to her. Much to her dismay, Chari was already nowhere to be seen. Jessie was infuriated and James was a little confused.

"How dare that woman humiliate me like that! If I see her again, I'll destroy her!" Jessie said with fire in her eyes. She had never been tossed aside like an old rag. Whoever that woman was, she would definitely pay.

"I'm wondering how she even knew we weren't who we said we were. No one has ever been able to see through our disguises unless we forget to make fake I.D's and even then, it's rare for anyone to see through. Besides, what is the Zurui she mentioned?" James speculated. Despite being annoyed, Aurora intrigued him. When she mentioned the Zurui, he realized that there was another region that Team Rocket could explore and conquer. The only thing stopping them from taking over the Hokori region in his eyes were these Zurui people.

"Why should you care? Now, we lost our chance to steal Pikachu!" Jessie said annoyed that James could be so distracted. James sighed. There was no used trying to get a good response out of Jessie when she was this mad.

"Not quite," James responded curtly. He pointed to the direction north of him. "Look."

Jessie whipped her head around. She noticed that Chari had dumped them near the Meowth Balloon they know and love. She clasped her hands in delight, "Ahahaha! That stupid Charizard! This was where we wanted to go before we spied on the twerp!"

"Yes. Soon, we will have that Pikachu. We should stick to the original plan of waiting until they tire each other out." James proposed.

Jessie didn't see anything wrong with that. "Sure. Meowth better be done preparing the balloon. I'm cranky now that that pesky champion threw us out."

They moved out of the bush and walked to the balloon. The giant Meowth head at this point was completely filled with air. Meowth himself was in the balloon, finalizing the preparations. He was tinkering with the latest doohickey for trying to capture Pikachu. To test it out, he used a bit of outside electricity from a battery to see if the machine could suck in all the power. Much to his happiness, all of its power was drained and the battery was useless.

"Aaah… there. Now, da twerp can't fight back with his trusty Pika Power," Meowth snickered to himself. He jumped out of the balloon and inspected it. Once he was pleased with its look, he said, "All I gotta do now is do go back to Jessie and James and wait."

"You don't have to," A masculine voice called.

"Huh?" Much to the Scratch Cat Pokémon's surprise, Jessie and James were right outside the stadium, approaching the balloon. "Hey guys. Ya just in time. Did da twerp use Pikachu, yet?"

"No," James replied coolly.

Jessie was still very much annoyed, "Once he does, we need to get back at that Champion. Pikachu will probably weaken her Pokémon as well. They'll both be prime for the taking!"

"True. But for now, we watch from afar and wait…" James said in a low voice.

---

Meanwhile in the stands….

"We should give Ash a bit of space to clear his mind. Losing six to three really isn't a confidence booster." Tierno said sadly.

"If I know Ash, he would be feeling distressed about his current situation," Serena said. "We need to talk to him."

"Serena's right. We both traveled with Ash for a long time. Although he is very confident and cheerful, he can get really disappointed when a battle doesn't go his way. He won't give up, but he will get sad for a little bit." Clemont added.

"If we are going to try to catch up to him, then we should do it right now. We already wasted a few minutes by standing around, discussing it." Trevor spoke up. The rest of Ash's friend's nodded. A break only lasts fifteen minutes and they already wasted a couple of minutes. They swiftly left the stands and headed towards Ash's waiting room.

"Ash!" His friends surrounded him with concern once they caught up. They noticed that his hat was hiding his eyes. Pikachu was looking up at his trainer in concern. Being behind three Pokémon must not be easy for him, especially for the final match. Ash had come in running past them and said he wanted to be alone. Naturally, his friends ignored him because they were too concerned for him. Ash had his eyes covered by his hat. Pikachu and everyone else looked at him, concerned.

"Are you alright?" Serena asked, worrying about him.

Ash perked up to her voice and revealed his eyes. He wasn't crying, but he still looked pretty bummed out. "Serena? Yeah, I'm all right. Just thinking about how to counter Aurora's strategy…"

"What strategy does she have?" Serena asked.

Ash looked to her in slight confusion and Shauna decided to elaborate, "Serena means that Aurora has been changing things around like a pinball, not giving you enough time to adapt."

"They have a point. Aurora used trickery and deception with her Zoroark. She used her Dragonair's length to trap opponents and then attacked them. She used pure power and experience with her Charizard, but haven't we seen too much of her yet to make an accurate guess. She's been very unpredictable up until this point." Clemont summarized for Ash.

"Yeah… I'm having a tough time trying to counter it…" Ash quietly agreed.

"That doesn't mean that you're gonna lose!" Bonnie spoke up. She was sick of the increasingly melancholy atmosphere. She wanted Ash to act the same way he normally does, "So quit acting like ya lost already!"

"I'm not acting like I lost!" Ash defended. Granted, he'd been in worse situations that he currently was in, but he felt like he didn't lose… at least, not yet.

"Then why did you run over here all sad? That's not the Ash I know…" Bonnie folded her arms. Bonnie knew Ash for his spunky personality and his 'never give up' lifestyle. It was one of the many things that she liked about him. It really made her feel down to see Ash feeling down. She had her head down sadly. Ash noticed this and sighed. He didn't want to make her feel bad, even though he was struggling. He wanted to make her feel better. Ash approached her, stood on one knee, and smiled face to face.

"You're right… that's not like me. I'll think of something to win! You know it!" Ash said to cheer her up. He did agree, she had a point. He wasn't known to get down so easily even in the sight of adversity. He'd stand up and fight. That's exactly what he was going to do.

"Yay, Ash!" Bonnie hugged him suddenly. Ash's eyes widened in surprised at the gesture, but he returned the hug. All his other friends simply smiled in approval. Who knew that it would take a ten-year-old girl to convince Ash not to be so sad? Ash suddenly felt silly for feeling down in the first place.

"With this settled, let's head back to the stadium together," Tierno suggested, "It will do us good. We have about seven minutes left until the battle starts." Everyone nodded. Everyone started to leave the room when Serena spoke up.

"You know, I'll catch up with you," Serena said suddenly, "I want to check up on something."

"All right, Serena," Ash said, "Meet you back at the stadium." He didn't know why Serena didn't want to go back to the stands immediately, but wasn't going to question her. Serena nodded as Ash followed his friends back to the stadium.

"I've got to help Ash instead of sitting around! I need to find this Aurora person and see what I can find to help him…" Serena thought with determination.

Serena went deeper inside the building. The room past the waiting room was where the opponent's waiting room was. Serena could hear talking from inside. She peered through the door, trying to be unseen. When she looked inside, she noticed that Aurora wasn't talking to anybody. She was speaking with her Charizard. The Charizard had to sit down and bend her head down slightly in order to fit in the small room.

"How is her Pokémon able to speak the human language anyway? Does Aurora have special powers?" Serena wondered.

"I know I shouldn't be worrying about it, but I can't help it." Serena heard Aurora say. She looked like her face had dried tears, "I want to battle Ash, but at the same time, I don't want to hurt him…"

"Hey, you're not hurting Ash. It's good to give him a challenge! You've been doing a good job of that, actually." Chari said, elbowing her trainer in a friendly manner. Aurora chuckled slightly at the gesture, but quickly regained her gloomy composure. Chari looked at her trainer sadly. She wanted to make her trainer feel better, but didn't know how. She could understand not wanting to hurt someone. After all, Aurora was on the top of that list.

"I know, but I'm afraid that if I push him too hard, I'll push him away and if I push him away, I won't see him again and if I don't see him again… I don't want to risk that after seeing him again after such a long time!" Aurora said, exasperated. She coarsely clutched her hair in frustration. It's clear that they've been discussing something since the break was called. What about, Serena did not know. She suddenly felt guilty for listening on the conservation. It sounded very important and she realized it was a bit rude listening in. She wanted to leave, but at the same time, wanted to find out more. She peeked in a little more.

"In the end, I'm with ya. I'll trust whatever decision you'll make, but be warned. He won't appreciate you going easy on him just because you're his…. well, I'm sorry, do you want to continue talking? Someone is watching us and I'll incinerate her if need be…" Chari growled and looked at the doorway.

Serena gasped in surprise. "H-how did that Charizard know I was here and what were they talking about?" Serena instantly regretted being so snoopy, but now, she was frightened. "If that Charizard is strong enough to beat Greninja so easily, I'm afraid of what it could do to me."

"Don't be so harsh, Chari. I've known that a girl has been looking at us for a few minutes. Most people can't hide from me. You have nothing to fear, child. Step inside." Aurora said while snapping herself back into composure. She looked like she was almost wasn't upset at all. Seeing as she had no choice, Serena timidly stepped inside the room. What she was expecting was an angry woman and her fuming Charizard, ready to scold her. What she wasn't expecting was a woman with soft eyes and a Charizard matching her features. Aurora's yellow eyes looked intimidating at first glance, but she made them seem so soft. Serena could see someone hurting inside those eyes.

"Such a lovely young lady… so beautiful and graceful. You clearly know fashion. Do you like fashion?" Aurora drawled absently.

Serena was confused by the random question, but gave a slight nod anyway. Aurora continued, "That's good. A young girl like you does need to take care of her appearance. I should know that from when I was your age. I want to ask: What's your name, dear?"

"M-my name is Serena." Serena stuttered nervously.

"Hmm… Serena. What a pretty name… clear, tranquil and serene." Aurora complemented. Serena blushed slightly in response.

Aurora continued, "Nice to meet you, Serena, awkward it may be…" Aurora took out a hand, gesturing her to shake. Serena complied. She noticed that Aurora had a firm grip. It was almost as if she was shaking a man's hand. She was afraid that if Aurora was truly shaking a man's hand that she'd crushed his hand. Aurora's yellow eyes hardened faintly when she asked, "Serena… Why were you spying on me? It's not good to do that…"

Serena shivered somewhat at the sight. Serena mulled over in her mind, "She seems so nice, yet intimidating all the same. Should I tell her?"

"Don't worry about it, girl. It's clear that you are Ash's friend."Aurora smiled in amusement and her expression softened once more. Serena winced slightly at the word 'friend'. Aurora took notice and smirked.

"It's amazing what you can find out about someone based on how they react. Does she have a crush on Ash? Interesting… I'm curious to see how she approaches Ash with that," Aurora mused. She played off her thoughts and said, "Please don't do it again, even if it is to help out Ash."

Serena nodded. Aurora looked at the time. She gasped, "Oh boy… I've got three minutes left until the break is over! Well, it's was nice meeting you, Serena. Hurry back to your seat before the action gets too intense!" Aurora started to run out the room with her Charizard following her, somewhat straining.

"Aurora, this is starting to hurt my neck. Can you return me to my Poké Ball and take me back outside?" Chari said, rubbing her neck. There were many advantages in being a larger size. Intimidation. More range. Faster speed. The list goes on. However, small rooms? That was one of the disadvantages she despised. It made it so that her mobility inside buildings was restricted and she hated feeling restricted.

"Sure, Chari. Sorry about that." Aurora scratched her head slightly.

"Aurora?" Serena spoke up in a small voice. She wanted to ask this question, but was a tad afraid to.

Aurora whipped her head around. "Yes? I'm in a bit of hurry now."

"How are all your Pokémon able to speak?" Serena asked.

Aurora's appearance darkened at the sudden question. The elder female looked directly in her eyes for a moment. Serena once again shivered at the weird woman's eyes. It seemed Aurora found what she needed when she said, "That's good. I don't sense any malice or deception in you. Let's just say they can speak because of my strong bond with them."

Serena nodded in slight understanding and in slight confusion. Aurora promptly returned her Pokémon as she ran out of the room in an unbelievable burst of speed. As she was running, she couldn't help but think, "Heh. That Serena… she's a keeper, all right. I wonder if Ash knows this already…"

"I've never seen anyone run out that fast! I gotta get back to my friends, too!" Serena thought as she started to run back into the stands. At Aurora's pace, she could make it make with ease, but Serena wasn't that fast. She hoped that she wouldn't miss too much of the battle.

---

"With the intermission at a close, the field will now change into a water field. As it stands, Aurora is in the lead with six Pokémon to Ash's three. Let's see how a change in the field will benefit or hinder the two trainers." The announcer summarized. The rocky field went underground for a few moments. Awed, the audience looked in anticipation of what would come back up. Would it be a grassy field? A rocky field? After a few moments, it came back up as a watery pool with a few circles that land Pokémon could stand on.

"It's a water field! Water types would have a clear advantage here in terms of mobility. Ash's Greninja has fainted, but Aurora, although she does not have any water types, does have a Dragonair. Dragonairs are known to be aquatic dragons. Will Aurora use that to her advantage? How will both trainers react to this?" The announcer said.

"It's like they specifically chose that field to hinder me and Chari. They know I won't be prone to using Kairyu after I've used him once. No matter." Aurora narrowed her eyes. "I'm not going to give them that satisfaction. I will get around it and make it my own."

"A water field! I gotta make the best of it! I'm not going to let it slow me down!" Ash thought.

"Trainers! Choose your Pokémon!" The referee called out to both trainers.

"Chari, come back with your commanding presence!" Aurora threw up a Poké Ball.

"Gible, I choose you!" Ash did the same.

The two draconian like Pokémon appeared. Chari was still in her Mega Y form flying above the pool. When Chari went back out, the sun suddenly became harsh again. Gible was a short, blue land shark with a large mouth and a chip on its dorsal fin standing on one of the white circles.

"Oh, how adorable. I remember when my partner Garchomp was a Gible. Good times…" Aurora drawled in memories.

"Let the battle begin again!" The referee raised his flags high in the air. Ash and Aurora looked at each other, poker-faced

"All right Chari. You'll think of me as crazy at first, but please, fly high in the air. Make sure you can't attack him from how high up you are." Aurora started. Chari looked at her trainer a little puzzled, but shrugged her shoulders. She trusted Aurora completely and knew that whatever wacky request she had would be a good one. Chari started to gain more and more height above the battlefield. Eventually, it came to the point Chari was an orange speck in the sky. Ash looked up and knew she must come down.

Ash was confused by the battle tactic. She may have been high in the sky, but he felt that Gible could still bring her down. "Gible! Use Draco Meteor to make Chari level with us!"

Gible charged up a strange orange energy inside of him. Once the energy buildup was complete, he opened his mouth and shot an orange ball. It went higher and higher in the air, but looked like it couldn't go near Chari. Aurora smiled a little. He'd done what she wanted. Aurora perked up her eyebrows up in slight interest, but looked up at the rising ball of energy, unimpressed. "He's planning on knocking you down! Let's help him out, shall we?"

"What?" Ash thought in a slight daze.

The ball of energy exploded into multiple streaks of draconian energy, but it was right below Chari. Chari swooped down to be in the range of the attack. Everyone looked at the sight in confusion. Why would she want to get hit by an attack? Chari dodged the majority of the meteors with relative ease. She had a sly smile plastered on her face as one of the meteors struck her. No one could see her smile because she was too high up.

Chari closed her eyes as she started to descend towards Gible's white circle.

"Aurora just allows her Charizard to get hit! Is she trying to sacrifice her Charizard?" The announcer expressed, shocked.

"Gible, jump out of the way!" Ash commanded, noticing that Chari would land on Gible.

"Psych!" Chari's eyes opened abruptly and used Fire Blast directly above right before Gible could think. The stream of fiery energy exploded into five different parts as the pre-pseudo legendary dragon screamed from being struck at point blank. Everyone could see the intensity of Chari's flame. It wasn't blue for nothing. Gible struggled to take the attack well. Once she figured she did enough, Chari took the opportunity fly away and started to hover right in her front of her trainer.

"Do you really think your attack would knock the wind out of me? Not by a longshot!" Chari boasted.

"Gible, are you alright?" Ash asked, concerned. Gible shook away any lingering blue flames and gave Ash a reassuring nod.

"Use Fire Blast again!" Aurora commanded.

Chari nodded in understanding. She took a deep breath and blew another blue Fire Blast. Ash looked at the attack slightly puzzled as it hit the water instead of Gible. The water started to sizzle as steam covered the battlefield. No one could see the two trainers or their Pokémon. Ash looked around to see if he could spot Chari's tail flame, but he couldn't. Ash widened his eyes as he figured out her strategy. He racked his brain for any sort of idea. Ash smirked, "I think found something,"

"All right Chari, can you see anything?" Aurora asked.

Chari tried looking through the steam, but couldn't see Gible or Ash. "No."

"Good. Get a sense of where Gible is. Then, get in close and use Dragon Claw while they're distracted." Aurora told her.

Flap. Flap.

Chari once again nodded and flew slowly into the steam. Her bright flame was hidden well in the steam. The evaporated water didn't irritate her, much to her surprise. Her claws glowed a bright blue as she began searching for Gible. She tried to pick up on where the tiny dragon was standing based on his breathing.

She prepared to swipe the unsuspecting dragon. Since he was small and she was large, that proved to be a bit more arduous than she anticipated. Ash had been listening to Chari's wings flapping. He closed his eyes and concentrated. The audience quieted down, waiting in suspense. This quiet was what he needed. He kept on listening. He could hear Chari getting closer and closer to his side of the battlefield.

Flap. Flap.

He turned his head towards the direction of where the draconian was. He realized that she was coming from above Gible. He opened his eyes suddenly when he called, "Bite into Chari's tail and use Draco Meteor. Dodge whatever attack they dish out on you!" Gible jumped out from the steam and effortlessly dodged the clawing attack. The steam completely withered out from Chari's flapping as Gible's teeth landed its mark.

Chari began to fly around in randomly. "Ow! Get this overgrown fish off of my tail!"

"Overgrown fish?!" Gible thought, enraged. He chomped on Chari's tail even harder. Chari roared in agony. Aurora face-palmed when Chari said that. Though Chari was her strongest Pokémon by far, it still irritated her that she would make rude comments from time to time that would make the match worse for her. Still, Aurora found the insults to make every match she's been in more interesting, so she didn't stop Chari from speaking her mind.

"Bring Chari to the ground!" Ash said.

Gible took a firm hold on Chari. In her moment of confusion, Gible took the opportunity to take control. In the air, he spun around and threw himself and Chari to the now evaporated water stage. Gible began to summon the yellow-orange draconian energy and soon it completely engulfed Chari. As the steam completely cleared, everyone could see a large ball of circular energy four times Gible's size.

"Do it!" Ash yelled.

Gible launched the Draco Meteor with Chari in it. It exploded into multiple different meteors and the largest meteor that fell down had Chari in it. Chari landed onto the battle with a loud thud. To Ash's surprise, Chari stood up with a grin on her face. It looked like the attack did hardly anything. Ash was wondering how she could take so many good hits without feeling fatigued, but then he remembered Aurora was a Champion. She must have trained Chari's endurance to the highest level it could be and it was adversely affecting him.

"Dragon Claw!" Aurora responded to Ash's surprise by attacking. Chari cracked her fists as her claws became enhanced by a bluish hue. She swooped down to swipe Gible. Ash wasn't going to have any of that.

"Dodge and use Dragon Pulse!" Ash brought forth his hand.

"I'm not allowing that. Cut him off with your large wings before he dodges!" Aurora brought out her hand as well.

Chari was about to swipe Gible with her claws. Gible was about to jump out of the way until one of Chari's wings extended out and prevented Gible from escaping. Chari brought her wing down and slammed Gible hard on the ground. The Dragon Claw made contact and Chari knocked Gible back to the edge of the stadium behind Ash. Gible morphed into the wall, struggling to break free. The audience looked with grief; they saw Gible trying so hard against the mega evolved Pokémon. They started to cheer for Gible to get off the wall. Gible tried harder in response to the cheers. Aurora found herself smiling with respect.

"Gee... I wonder who is the crowd favorite is?" Aurora asked sarcastically. She understood their feeling; she'd root for the underdog, too. She continued, "Normally, if Chari was in her X form, that probably would have made Gible faint. Even struggling out of the wall shows how resilient your friend is. I like that. Get Gible out of the wall, Chari. It wouldn't be fair to attack a defenseless opponent."

Chari shook her head in slight annoyance as she flew over to where Gible was and pulled him out. She softly placed him on the ground and flew back in front of Aurora.

"Thanks, Aurora!" Ash thanked.

"It's no problem, Ash. It wouldn't be fair." Aurora smiled, then said with narrowed eyes, "Now… use your own Dragon Pulse, Chari!"

"Dodge it with Dig!" Gible called out.

Chari fired a multicolored draconian beam of energy. As the attack approached him, Gible started to dig into the now dry water field. The ground itself was soft from being wet earlier and this made Gible a little reluctant to dig. However, as the draconian beam drew near, Gible managed to barely escape the special blast from digging in the moist ground.

"Keep calm and pay close attention to your surroundings. Gible can come up at any time." Aurora stated with a neutral expression.

"All right, I have the advantage, but that can only last for so long. Time to end this battle with a decisive blow!" Ash thought with a small smile on his face. His features had him sweating slightly, trying to figure out which move Gible should use. "Should I use my trump card now, while Aurora is unsuspecting?" Ash seemingly nodded as he decided on what he should do.

Aurora, drinking in her surroundings, noticed a slight twitch in Ash's poker face and felt slightly alarmed. She knew he was going to attack soon, but she knew from experience that a Gible's movepool can be unpredictable when played with the right hands. "He's going to attack shortly… but he's showing no sign of giving a specific attack."

---

The audience waited in anticipation for Gible to leave the ground. At this moment, Serena returned to her seat in a slight huff. She had gotten lost trying to find her way back to her seat and now stood exhausted. She had no idea what was happening, or what Pokémon Ash decided to call out next. She noticed that nothing was actually happening. All she could see is a hole and Chari hovering right above it. She looked ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Why is there a hole in the battlefield?" Serena thought.

"Serena, why did you take so long?" Bonnie asked in an impatient tone once she noticed her friend back, "You've missed some of the battle!"

"What did I miss?" She asked.

"Ash chose Gible to be his next Pokémon and now he's hiding underground. We can only wait to see what he does." Trevor responded, pointing to the hole. She visibly sighed in relief.

"I'm glad Ash hasn't lost any more Pokémon… please pull through, my love…" Serena thought, concerned. She wanted Ash to win. Serena knew that he had the ability to come back from any obstacle he'd face if he put his mind to it. She wanted to help him out, but knew that this was his battle. She sat right down next to Bonnie and watched the battle closely.

---

"Is he going to move a move or not? I've given him a chance to attack. Now time is up!" Aurora thought impatiently. Aurora raised her hand into the air. Chari corresponded to her action by flying a little bit away from the hole. However, she still was in range to attack.

"I'm done waiting, Ash. Force Gible out of the hole by using Fire Blast!" Aurora said.

"Jump out before you get hit!" Ash said quickly.

As Chari prepared her blue fire in her mouth, Gible jumped out and bit Chari's tail.

"Yowww! Not again!" Chari roared in annoyance. Chari started to swing her tail around madly, trying to force the land shark off. However, Gible kept a firm stance against the larger draconian, but could feel himself losing his grip. He could only hold on tightly against the large Charizard.

"This time, I'm not letting Gible chomp in your tail for long, girl. Your flames won't bother you! Heat him up with Flare Blitz!" Aurora said calmly. She could tell the bite marks was annoying her partner and wanted to alleviate that as soon as possible.

Ash smirked. He brought out his hand, "Gible! Use what we learned from our training. Stone Edge!"

Aurora's eyes widened in surprise, but then scoffed at the action. "He must not know that a Charizard's flames can melt boulders. Such a shame. There's no way that move will do much when Chari is cloaked in fire."

Ash looked at Aurora with a determined expression. It shocked her to see so much ferocity in his expression. Aurora smirked with pride, but wasn't about to let that attack hurt Chari. Gible summoned a cluster of rocks that went around the both of them like electrons surrounding an atom. Gible bit Chari's tail even harder. Chari howled in pain. This was enough to disorient her from using Flare Blitz for a few seconds.

"Do it!" Ash said, seeing his golden opportunity for attacking. Gible complied as he pointed the rocks directly at Chari before she could cloak herself in flames. It was impressive to see so much control coming from such a little dragon. Normally, Stone Edge was an attack that took time to truly master and it was clear that Gible mastered it.

"Defend yourself!" Aurora yelled. A flash of white light was seen before all the pointed rocks hit Chari at the same time. An explosion ensued and Chari fell to the ground with a large thud. Gible let go of Chari's tail and ran over to Ash. However, he was beginning to pant. Ash noticed this and told Gible to take it easy.

"And Mega Charizard Y is down! Using strategy, Ash has managed to overcome the odds and beat Aurora's strongest Pokémon." The announcer said.

"I… think you may need to check that call." At Aurora's words, Chari stood up almost as if nothing happened. She flapped her wings and expanded them as if to stretch them out. The only thing that was different was that her tail was glowing red with bite marks. Chari winced in pain. She took more damage from Gible biting her tail than the actual Stone Edge.

"Amazing! Charizard shrugged off the move! How is that even possible?!" The announcer said, shocked. Ash also looked shocked. "That was a point blank, super effective Rock-type move! How?"

"Two words: Steel Wing," Aurora said in response to the announcer's question. She folded her arms in annoyance. Her expression was glowering, and her Charizard matched her features. Aurora growled as if she was trying to keep something in.

"I can't believe I let that drag on for so long. I don't want Chari to get hurt in the process of me finding out Ash's strengths. What kind of partner am I? No one hurts her, not even him. His potential is much greater than any of my opponents here." Aurora thought with narrowed eyes. She wanted Chari to feel better and what better way was to actually let her battle the way she's been wanting to. Chari was respectful of Aurora's wishes, but she could tell that the lizard wanted to finish Gible off. Aurora would comply. She valued her partners highly.

"What's going on? What is she upset?" Ash wondered.

Aurora took deep breaths to calm down. Chari followed suit. Soon, neither of them looked mad. "Sorry, I had to cool off a little. Now, I'm annoyed."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"I'm annoyed at myself. I love Chari to death. It wasn't fair to her that I asked her to hold back a little more when we talked during the break…" Aurora said, her arms still folded. Her face softened and her arms unfolded as she said to Chari, "For that, I'm sorry. Let your true self shine."

Ash blinked his eyes in surprise. "She was holding back for me? Wait… then that means… the progress I've made… was that for nothing?"

"Are you sure, Aurora?" Chari questioned her trainer. She wanted to make sure she had permission.

"We've given him a taste of your abilities… now let's give him part of the main course! Don't hold back too much, friend, but give him enough pressure earn his keep." Aurora decided.

Chari smiled. She was glad to see somewhat they've talked about got through to her. Chari's red eyes narrowed and she began to growl menacingly. Her pupils narrowed sharply. Ash could sense a shift in the battling atmosphere. He felt like he was coming back, but now he wasn't so sure, looking at Chari. When he looked at Aurora, she matched Chari's expression perfectly, except her pupils weren't narrowed.

"Time to show off some what we really can do… sadly it's against him," Aurora thought in sadness. Chari stopped growling and regarded Gible with a daunting look.

"It's payback time, little dragon…" Chari spoke in a significantly different tone. Before, she was speaking in a slightly smug and proud tone, but now it was more serious. It appeared that Chari became a new Pokémon in how she was acting.

"Keep up your Steel Wing and wait until my call." Aurora folding her arms again. She closed her eyes and lowered her head slightly, listening... waiting. Chari nodded her head in understanding as she made her wings glow a steely white. She spread them out wide, showcasing her huge wingspan.

Ash thought of his options. "Any move I use, Chari will block with her wings. Gible can't do anything like this. There must be a way to force her out of it…Let's try this…"

"Gible! Use Rock Smash to try to break through Chari's defenses!" One of Gible's fist glowed white as he ran to hit Chari.

Chari shook her head. She let the attack land, but she didn't budge. Gible was trying his hardest to push through Chari's defense and failing. Chari was like an impregnable fortress. No matter how hard Gible hit with Rock Smash, he couldn't do a single thing to budge the Mega Evolved Pokémon.

"Come on, Gible! You can do it! Break through!" Ash encouraged. Gible tried even harder. He hit Chari's wings multiple times, but still no dice. Steel type moves would normally be broken down by fighting types, but the roles were completely reversed. Chari's defense and endurance were too much for the base form of Garchomp.

"Chari… you don't need me to tell you what you to need to do here. Go for it and finish him off in your own way," Aurora said, her eyes still closed. Chari's wings opened up with incredible power. She knocked Gible to sky a few stories above her. Then she flew up and enveloped her claws in both arms in a dragon-like aura. The aura resembled red dragon heads. Gible started to fall face first at the incoming Charizard.

"Gible! Use Stone Edge to knock Chari back!" Ash called out.

Gible aimed pointed stones as he was falling and fired them. This time, Chari took the attack directly and caused an explosion. However, she broke away from the smoke and swiped Gible down with her aura induced Dragon Claw. It made the illusion that the left dragon head ate Gible. The sheer force of the attack made Gible get knocked down into the ground and caused a hole in it about six feet deep.

Gible laid on the ground, nearly unmoving, with swirling marks in his eyes. Chari landed opposite to the hole, made the dragon-like aura disappear and closed her eyes and smiled slightly in satisfaction. It'd been a long time since she did that technique. "This battle is going to be easy now I can hit him with most of what I have," Chari smirked.

"Gible, no!" Ash cried out, but it was futile.

"Gible is unable to battle. Charizard wins!" The referee declared. The picture with Gible darkened to show that it had been defeated. Chari opened her eyes and showed that she still had narrowed red pupils. She smiled at Ash, waiting for him to counter her. She wanted to see what he could do just as much as her trainer did.

"Excellent job as always, bud." Aurora smiled. Chari roared happily in response, though not nearly as strong as earlier. Aurora smiled but told the lizard telepathically, "I think that was a little much, though."

"You said to hit him with part of my power and that's what I did," Chari responded simply. Aurora couldn't argue with that.

"Aspect of Strength or not, you never cease to amaze me. You're right. You did what I asked and I'm thankful for that. Keep doing what you're doing, bud." Aurora encouraged. Chari nodded and puffed out a few flames in response. She looked at Ash appearing slightly curious and slightly emotionless. She wondered who his next Pokemon would be and how they would do against her. Gible gave her a good fight and she wanted another Pokemon like that.

"Gible, you did great! You managed to weaken her…" As said as he returned the land shark back into its Poke Ball. He started to weigh out his options. "It seems no matter what I do, she has an answer for it! I know she's a champion and all, but it's still frustrating. I only have Charizard and Pikachu left. I think I know my choice. Only he has the best shot for defeating Chari."

"All right! Charizard, I choose you!" Ash threw his penultimate Poke Ball and summoned his own Charizard. He was slightly smaller than Aurora's Charizard, but had on a vest with a blue mega stone.

"RAAAR!" Charizard roared proudly. Chari looked at him in interest at the prospect of fighting another Charizard, but remained unimpressed. "I can see he's been training for a while, but I'm many years his senior. I doubt he could beat me, but he may very well surprise me."

"Let's change the tide of this battle through Mega Evolution Charizard! Show everyone the strength of our bond!" Ash said as he tapped on his Mega Bangle and raised his arm up.

Charizard became immersed in a multicolored light. His scales turned black, eyes turned red, and flames turned blue. His underside also turned blue and the tips of his horns were also blue. When the light vanished and the Mega Evolution insignia appeared, standing before everyone was Charizard's second mega evolved form: Mega Charizard X.

---

"Wow! So he's finally using Charizard!" Bonnie said with excitement.

Clemont smiled, "It will be interesting to see how they will battle. Same Pokémon: different appearance." Clemont looked at the black and blue Charizard on Ash's side and the orange and cream Charizard on Aurora's side. "Type-wise, Ash has a slight advantage, but Aurora's Charizard knows a lot of Dragon-type moves. He'll need to be careful.."

"I know that he will find a way. He is Ash, after all." Serena said, curled her fingers onto her chest in concern. She noticed the severity of the situation and knew that Ash could turn it around. She hated being a worrywart; it wasn't like her normally. Still, she felt useless and could only watch to see the outcome.

"If Charizard is able to beat Chari, then Ash may turn this around. Mega Charizard X is powerful and many of her Pokémon are weakened." Tierno chimed with agreement. Serena nodded, but still looked at the battle with a nervous expression. She could never forget the sense of anxiety she felt upon hearing Chari say she would incinerate her. She knew that mega evolved Pokemon were no slouches and had a shiver down her back.

---

"Let's take advantage of how hard you've been training, Charizard." Ash told the flaming lizard. Charizard puffed up flames in response.

Aurora was inwardly smiling. It's been a while since she fought a good trainer who used Mega Evolution, let alone with a Charizard. The thought of it made her giddy with excitement, especially because she could sense that Ash and his Charizard was close. The closer the trainer and Pokémon is, the more interesting the fight. Outwardly, she opened her eyes and kept a neutral appearance.

"It's a battle of the Mega Evolutions! Mega Charizard X vs. Mega Charizard Y!" the announcer surmised.

"All right Charizard! Use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded. Aurora sighed with disappointment. She nodded her head to gesture at Chari. Chari nodded in understanding. Chari closed her smaller wings in an X shape to take the brunt of the attack. It looked like it barely did a thing.

"Use Wing Attack!" Ash commanded.

"Steel Wing!" Aurora countered.

Both Charizards flew at each other at a breakneck speed. Their moves hit each other, each hitting each other for equal strength. The force of both attacks knocked both Charizards back.

"It seems that they are equally matched." Ash noticed.

"You think that, young one. That's just to scope out Charizard's physical strength." Aurora brought her hand out, "Chari! Take a defensive stance with Steel Wing, just like you did with Gible!" Once again, Chari made her wings glow with a steely white and expanded them, expecting anything.

"How am I going to get past that?! Attacking directly didn't work and she will just block off Flamethrower… hmmm?" Ash widened his eyes as if a lightbulb was above his head. "I have an idea… but it will only hold her off."

"Charizard, I want you to use Seismic Toss and wait until I make another move," Ash said. Charizard looked at Ash in confusion, but nevertheless flew to over to Chari. Chari closed her wings to make it harder for Charizard to grab her. Charizard couldn't get a good grab on her, but it was the confusion that Ash wanted.

"There's the opening!" Ash widened his eyes as he seized the opportunity, "Use Dragon Tail!"

"Dragon Tail?" Aurora looked surprised. Then, she realized what Ash was trying to do. She grumbled, being begrudgingly impressed, "Sly kid. Dodge it quickly!"

It was too late. Charizard's tail became a bright teal blue and hit Chari's steel wings. Although it didn't do too much, it forced Chari back into her Poke Ball. A random Pokémon appeared in its place. The Pokémon was an electric cheetah with a small red scar on its left eye. It had a thunderbolt-shape spotted cat tail and several brown spots on its body. It had a cream underside, yellow fur and slightly spiked yellow ears. The Pokémon yawned and started to float up in the air with slight impatience.

"(Wha?)" The Pokémon looked confused. It clearly wasn't expecting to get called out into battle so suddenly.

---

"Who's that Pokémon?" Bonnie asked with wonder. She'd never seen anything like it before, "Big brother, do you know?"

"No, I don't. Interesting…" Clemont inspected the unknown Pokémon further. He held his glasses in observation. "Judging by how it looks, I'd say it's an electric type, but I don't know too much else."

"Whatever it is, it has a clear disadvantage against Charizard. Dragon types resist electric type attacks." Sawyer noted.

"Oh, I hope that Ash can use this to his advantage." Serena watched the battle intently. She still had hope for the battle to turn into Ash's favor, but something about Aurora made her feel weird. It wasn't necessarily a bad vibe, it just felt like she was hiding something.

---

"Meet Chelectsic, the Lightning Cat Pokémon. You won't have any information on her yet as she is from the Hokori region." Aurora explained. "Chi-Chi, stop the façade. They know you all can talk." Aurora told the cat.

"(That's fine. Will you use me?)" Chi-Chi nodded but asked.

"Of course. Now... activate your ability: Ionic Savannah!" Aurora called out.

Chi-Chi winked as she started to run around the perimeter of the field in a wild fashion. She initially ran slowly, but progressively sped up as she ran through the field. Then, her body became pure electricity as the field visibly became a bright yellow. A bright light shone was the ground became electrolyzed. Chi-Chi destroyed any remaining white circles, making the field completely flat. Soon, the ground flashed an extremely bright light. Everyone had to avert their eyes, even Aurora. Once everyone opened their eyes again, the entire field was electrolyzed, crackling with energy. There was a visible electric magnetic field right above the regular evaporated water field.

"I think this is the best one yet! Now, you're sure to lose, young master." Chi-Chi stopped floating. She landed on the ionic field, on all fours, moving around restlessly as if she was skating on an electric ice stadium.

"What does Ionic Savannah do? Ash asked.

"Ionic Savannah is an ability exclusive to Chelectsic and her evolutionary brother, Chelectop. It allows electric types to walk on a magnetic field right above the field. As such, it causes all electric types on the field to become immune to ground type moves and field hazards (besides Stealth Rock), and experience an attack, special attack, and speed boost. However, it's at the expense of losing their defense and special defense by one stage and taking a bit of recoil damage each time they attack." Aurora explained.

This made Ash even more psyched to go against Chi-Chi. He'd never seen a Pokémon like it because and it made him more excited to battle against her. However, he knew that he was losing 6-2 and if he could somehow beat Chari and Chi-Chi, there was a small chance that he could still win since he's already weakened Kairyu and Suzie. "I can't give up! Not until it's over. I'll need to take advantage of Chi-Chi's low defenses if I have a shot."

"Are we going to start? You won't like me if I get bored…" Chi-Chi warned impatiently.

"All right! Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ash commanded. The Mega Evolved Pokémon promptly followed his trainer's call. The stream of blue fire flew, looking to hit its mark. The cat looked directly at the attack, smirked and vanished instantly.

"Where did Chi-Chi go?" Ash asked

"Aura Sphere!" Aurora called out.

Chi-Chi reappeared right above Charizard and formed a sphere of aura energy in her paws. She landed on his back and struck her opponent directly. She laughed slightly and laid down on Charizard, mocking him.

"Raar!" Charizard roared in surprise. He wasn't going to have any of that. He immediately used Wing Attack on his own to knock Chi-Chi off, but Chi-Chi vanished again. Chi-Chi reappeared right in front of her trainer and snickered in amusement.

"You have a faster reaction time than most of my opponents. Oooh, you're gonna be a toughie!" Chi-Chi praised with glee.

"How is she moving that fast?" Ash wondered.

"She and her evolutionary brother are the fastest land Pokemon in the world. If you combine it with the fact that her ability gives any electric type a speed boost, it's almost impossible to hit her when she's really moving." Aurora told the boy.

Ash gritted his teeth in irritation. "How am I supposed to attack her then?" He shrugged off the thought. He had to find some way in hitting her and Charizard was his only viable option to do it.

"Make use of your savannah, Chi-Chi. Turn into lightning and hide!" Aurora urged.

Chi-Chi nodded as she began to run around in the field until she vanished as a volt of electricity moving along rapidly in the magnetic field. Ash was at a loss of what to do. That changed everything. How was he supposed to drive Chi-Chi out? He couldn't do that with Charizard.

"Charizard, return for now." Ash decided. Charizard was clearly disappointed at the call, but knew why he had made it. Charizard returned in a flash of red light back into his Poke Ball. His image on the large screen dimmed, but didn't black out completely. Meanwhile, Chi-Chi regained her physical form and looked at Ash in expectation. She wanted to see what he could do. Not many Pokémon could react to her so quickly. It made the battle all the more interesting.

"Well, I have one other Pokémon left. Pikachu… you've been my best friend for a long time. You've fought so many tough battles and won. I know you're gonna win this! Give it all you've got! Pikachu! I choose you!" Ash said to his partner.

"(Hiya!)" Pikachu eagerly jumped off of his pal's shoulder, ran on the field and started to emit sparks from his cheeks. He had been waiting for this moment this entire battle. Upon closer inspection of Aurora, he looked shocked, stood on his hind feet and tilted his head slightly to the side. He had been so focused on the battle that he really didn't look closely at the trainer opposite to Ash.

"(Auru?) " Pikachu asked. He thought fondly, "I can't believe I didn't see who she was until now…"

Aurora laughed slightly, but not noticeably. She had a feeling she would see Pikachu again somehow and now she's battling him. The expression on her face said, 'Not now…'. She knew what Pikachu wanted to ask. Pikachu understood and soon his confused expression was gone and back into an eager one.

Ash took notice of the silent exchange. Pikachu only titled his head when he was observing something, "Pikachu, you've met Aurora before?"

Pikachu nodded his head slowly. "How?" The boy looked at his partner in interest. Pikachu shook his head in finality. He clearly wasn't going to say anything else. Now wasn't the time or place.

"I'll have to ask him about this later," Ash thought. Pikachu's image appeared on the last spot of Ash's side of the screen.

"Let's start this out well! Thunderbolt!" Ash said.

Using his pent-up energy, Pikachu release a wicked yellow bolt of energy at Chi-Chi. Chi-Chi stood there and took the hit. Chi-Chi became bristled with electricity and her ears perked up.

"That was a good one… for prey. Try mine!" Chi-Chi returned Pikachu his Thunderbolt with her own blue Thunderbolt.

"Wait… prey?" Ash asked distractedly. He decided not to dwell on it and commanded, "Pikachu, dodge it!"

Pikachu tried to jump out of the way, but it wasn't used to being on a magnetic field. Pikachu tripped and was stuck on the field. He tried to move, but found that he couldn't move. The field was apparently attracted to him. There was a saying, 'Opposites attract', but this was ridiculous. Pikachu's electricity was opposite to Chi-Chi's. Unfortunately for Pikachu, the blue Thunderbolt hit him directly.

"(Gah! So strong…)" Pikachu struggled to take the Thunderbolt. Normally, Pikachu had no problems taking any electric type move, but for some reason, Chi-Chi's felt stronger than a normal electric type attack.

"It seems Pikachu isn't used to your field, Chi-Chi." Aurora observed, "We should use this to our advantage. Make sure none of Pikachu's attacks hit you and you should be good for the rest of the battle. Next time, let me tell you which attack to use, even if you have a feeling of which move I would call out." Chi-Chi nodded.

"If I had my way, that Pikachu would be in my stomach…" Chi-Chi thought hungrily.

"Hmm… Aurora did mention that every electric type raises their offenses and loses their defenses, not only hers. That must be why Pikachu took more damage from that Thunderbolt than he normally would. How can I help Pikachu move on this weird field?" Ash snapped his fingers. He had an idea. Pikachu stood up strong and shook off Chi-Chi's Thunderbolt the best way he could. "Atta boy, Pikachu! Look at how Chi-Chi is moving on the field to help you. Mimic her and use Quick Attack! Break through the attraction of the field!"

Pikachu began to start skating around the electrical field similar to Chi-Chi. He started to fidget so much that that field released him. Once he began somewhat comfortable with moving around the field, he began to pick up speed. Soon, Pikachu's Quick Attack developed a streak of yellow, to show Pikachu's boost in speed. Chi-Chi once again stood in place, waiting for her partner's command.

"Nice. You gave Pikachu enough force not to get stuck on the field. Chi-Chi turn into lightning and bolt!" Aurora said. Chi-Chi started to run slightly faster than Pikachu. She turned an electrical bolt of energy and hid into her Ionic Savannah.

"I was waiting for that." Ash smiled. Aurora looked slightly puzzled. Ash brought forth his hand and said, "Pikachu, use a combination of Thunderbolt and Iron Tail to disrupt the magnetic field!"

Pikachu made his tail turn into a steely gray. Then, he used a weak Thunderbolt on his tail by focusing his electricity at that specific point. Afterward, he proceeded to slam his electrolyzed steel tail on Chi-Chi's Ionic Savannah. The attack caused the magnetic field to ripple.

"Huh?" Chi-Chi gasped in surprise. It came as a buzzing sound since she was still in her lightning form. Once the ripple reached her, it forced her out of the magnetic field and she reverted back into her true form, slightly dazed.

"Now's our chance! Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Pikachu made his tail a steely glow as it hit Chi-Chi directly. However, before Pikachu could finish it completely, Chi-Chi grunted and grabbed his tail. She grabbed him not with her paws, but with her electrified claws. The way Chi-Chi had him trapped, she could easily electrocute him badly if he wasn't careful. It was a common technique a Chelectsic or Chelectop used to trap their prey.

"(What?)" Pikachu looked shocked. He wondered how she was able to recover so fast.

"Mistress, let me end him… permanently!" Chi-Chi said in a deep voice. Her eyes dilated and her demeanor changed. She glared at Pikachu with a look full of longing. That longing was not good. She was more threatening than before. Ash couldn't recognize that tone of voice. It was significantly different from the more jovial tone she had earlier. Was that…?

"Chi-Chi, don't you dare. That is your opponent and you will treat him as such." Aurora said with a dangerously low and firm tone, but then commanded, "While you have the upper paw, encase Pikachu in an Energy Ball/Aura Sphere combination!"

She couldn't believe Chi-Chi felt hungry enough to eat her opponent in the middle of the battle. She knew that Chelectsic and Pikachu had a natural rivalry because of their predator-prey relationship. However, she didn't expect it to manifest in the battle. Chi-Chi never liked to hunt in battle. It was odd. Chi-Chi never acted this way towards other Pikachu. It was just to Ash's Pikachu. It made her intrigued, but at the same time, confused. She wanted to find out later.

Chi-Chi sighed, but shivered at her trainer's glowering expression. Her trainer was always very scary when she became extremely annoyed or angry. Chi-Chi made her claws retract back, but summoned a sphere of green energy. The ball of energy expanded until Pikachu was completely submerged into it. The ball later changed from green to become aquamarine, indicating the fusion of moves. Pikachu blew to the opposite of Ash's side in a fierce explosion of combinations.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried out in anguish. Pikachu was struggling to get up. The combination of the two moves did a number on him even though he was one of Ash's strongest Pokémon.

"Pikachu, are you able to continue to battle?" Ash asked his trusty partner. Pikachu slowly got up and shook his fur.

"(Yes…)" Pikachu replied weakly. He wasn't about to give up, especially not that easily. It wouldn't do the battle justice to be knocked out so easily.

Aurora looked at the entire scene with an emotionless expression. She simply observed the interactions between the two with internal fascination. "So he's the Pokémon Ash has the strongest bond with… What are the chances, Little Chu? I'm glad you're much happier with Ash. Maybe I can use that to stop this fight… I don't want to hurt him any more than I have to."

"You know, Ash. I don't want to hurt Pikachu any more than I've had already. Why don't you just forfeit the match? Chi-Chi's Ionic Savannah is affecting Pikachu badly and I know exactly how to take advantage of that. Should you continue, I'm sure Pikachu will be injured by the end of this match..." Aurora said, pointing to the electric mouse.

Ash looked down at Pikachu in concern. He could see that Pikachu was trying his best to be strong for him, but the electric rodent was clearly hurt. Chi-Chi looked unforgiving. She looked ready to pounce on him, but decided against it. Something told her Aurora wouldn't be too pleased if she tried another attempt at the mouse's head. So, she had to restrain herself. Pikachu looked at Ash with a determined face, as if to say: 'Don't worry pal! I got this!'

"Pikachu, if you're up to battle, then let's go for it!" Ash said in response to his friend's behavior.

"(Yeah!)" Pikachu said happily. He said it a bit stronger than before.

Aurora tried to hide her smirk of pride. She had a feeling he wasn't the one to yield when a challenge was presented to him. "Well, I tried to stop things before they got too bad. Oh well. All right Ash! Let's continue this! Chi-Chi, use Aura Sphere!"

Chi-Chi once again disappeared. In a blister of speed, the electric cat reappeared right behind him with a sphere of blue energy in her paw.

"Pikachu, jump on Chi-Chi's back!" Ash brought out his hand.

The determined mouse wasn't going to fall for the same thing Charizard fell for. Pikachu narrowly avoided Chi-Chi's Aura Sphere attack by backflipping away and leaping into the air. Pikachu landed perfectly on the Chelectsic's back.

"Keep using Thunderbolt, buddy! Whittle her down!" Ash called out. Pikachu complied by using Thunderbolt on Chi-Chi. He used it multiple times and soon Chi-Chi roared in pain. Ash was starting to use the field to his advantage and Aurora gritted her teeth at her opponent's progress.

"Get off of me, rat!" Chi-Chi roared fiercely. Aurora looked shocked but pleased at the same time. Chi-Chi never roars unless told to. It was a weird feeling to be worried about losing but at the same time feel happy. "Seems one of my partners is still more in tuned with her wild side. This can be great for training… after the battle."

Aurora was very conscious of the fact that Chi-Chi moving sporadically could very well lose Chi-Chi this match. However, she was happy. Heck, she was ecstatic. She guessed it was one of those moments where the match becomes so fun that she doesn't mind the outcome, especially after she learns something new.

As a champion, tournament matches get very boring over time since trainers bring in the same strategy they think will work on her. She's learned more in this battle with Ash than in her last ten champion matches. The Chelectsic began to move frantically around. On the magnetic field, her speed is augmented so Pikachu felt like he was riding on a wild, super fast and supercharged Tauros just to stay on. Pikachu continually zapped her the best way he could.

"Chi-Chi, stay calm… You have all the cards. All you need to do is place one card in your deck and you're golden!" Upon hearing Aurora, Chi-Chi realized what she was doing. "What am I doing? I'm normally able to contain my feral nature. I think being near him again is starting to influence me. Well, let's start getting back into the swing of things by getting rid of this Pikachu from my back."

Chi-Chi stopped abruptly. The force in which she stopped almost caused Pikachu to jump off of her back, but he held on too tightly.

"Mistress…" Chi-Chi asked a hidden question.

"I know what you want to do and I'll agree. You want to end this. I can tell those Thunderbolts have started to take a toll on you. It seems Pikachu took advantage of his special attack increase and your special defense drop." Aurora said, noticing Chi-Chi beginning to pant. "Use Psychic to force Pikachu to let go of you."

Chi-Chi nodded. She made her red eyes glow a mysterious blue. Pikachu became enveloped in the same color outline. Pikachu's grip was no match for Chi-Chi's Psychic attack and eventually he let go. Chi-Chi made Pikachu float right in front of her teeth. She immediately let out an ear splitting roar in front of Pikachu to see if she could scare him. Much to her surprise, Pikachu didn't flinch. He looked directly into her mouth the entire time. If anything, his cause to win grew stronger.

"(Do you want a piece of me, cat?)" Pikachu cried angrily, with electricity sparking from his cheeks.

"Do I want a piece of you, rodent? Well, of course I do, but I know that this isn't the time or place. Aurora, tell me what move to finish him with." Chi-Chi's red eyes started into Pikachu's brown ones.

"Pikachu, try to get out of Chi-Chi's Psychic attack!" Ash called out frantically. Pikachu tried to comply, but Chi-Chi's psychic attack made it be held firmly in place.

"Sorry Pikachu." Aurora looked at Pikachu in slight remorse. "Chi-Chi, let's wrap this up! Use Supercharge!"

Chi-Chi grew a wide grin. Oh how she was waiting for her trainer to call out her signature move. Chi-Chi abruptly forced Pikachu high up into the air with Psychic. The aquamarine outline around Pikachu disappeared as it started to fall straight towards the ground. Chi-Chi became crackled with electrical energy to the point where she became too bright to see. She made herself turn into a lightning bolt to meet up with Pikachu and deliver the decisive blow.

"Pikachu, let's meet them head on! Use Electro Iron Volt Tackle!" Ash said in determination.

Pikachu somehow had a smile on his face. Pikachu immersed his body in an electrical aura as he was falling. Then, while in the aura, he made his tail turn into pure iron. Finally, Pikachu summoned a ball of electrical energy to surround his steely tail. He then fell tail first towards the lightning bolt turned cat. Chi-Chi met the attack directly.

The cat trapped Pikachu in a bright flash of light. The exceedingly fast attack surrounded him as if there were excited electrons surrounded him. They both fell onto the ground together. Chi-Chi glowed even brighter as the atomic effect became more defined. Chi-Chi was moving so fast around Pikachu that it looked as if electrons were surrounding Pikachu. The light became brighter and brighter. Everyone had to look away from the light. The combination of electric attacks eventually ended off with an explosion. Both Pokémon became knocked back and down. They both had scratch marks surrounding their bodies from the strain of fighting against each other. Neither side looked defeated, but neither side was getting up.

"Pikachu! Get up! I know you got more fight left in you!" Ash said determined. They had gone through too much not to win. Pikachu slowly began to get back up.

"Chi-Chi, stand strong. Show them who's boss!" Aurora said with the same tone. Chi-Chi also began to get back up. After 20 seconds of trying, both sides were back on their feet.

"And both Chelestsic and Pikachu are back on their feet! Which one will last longer than the other?" The announcer said, completely pumped for the outcome. Both Pokémon was panting in exhaustion. A moment of silence ensued. Pikachu fell on one knee. Ash's eyes widened in horror. At the sight, Chi-Chi smiled and said in a hoarse voice, "Good match…" and collapsed on the ground with swirls in her eyes. The electric field above the actual field vanished.

The referee waited a few seconds before saying, "Chelectsic is unable to battle. Pikachu wins!" Chi-Chi's image faded until it was black.

Ash looked at Pikachu in shock, then with amazement. "Pikachu! You did it, buddy!" Pikachu weakly put up a thumb's up, but was panting heavily.

"Unbelievable! Aurora's Chelectsic was just defeated by a Pokémon she considers prey, but not before dishing out some serious damage on said prey."

Aurora ignored the announcer. Aurora found herself smiling and clapping for Ash, "Well, what do you know. He actually knocked Chi-Chi out. I can't help but feel sad, but happy at the same time. It's been a long time since someone knocked out one of my partners." Aurora walked over to the fallen electric cheetah and kissed her forehead. Aurora smiled warmly at her fallen partner.

She said softly, "Pikachu proved he had a little more endurance than you did. It's hard to defeat a battling prodigy's most well bonded Pokémon, dear friend. Next time, you'll get him, but for now, rest. I'm so proud of you." Aurora said with deep emotion. She picked up her Pokémon and slung her over her back, both paws on either side of her shoulders. Slowly, she walked back with her partner to the spot in which she was standing.

Aurora murmured, "It's my fault for letting you use a move with such high recoil, but what's done is done. Do you want me to return you to your Poké Ball or do you want to remain out and watch the battle? The choice is yours."

"I want to watch the rest of the match…" Chi-Chi said in a weak voice.

"Very well." Aurora lied Chi-Chi down on the ground on all fours. Chi-Chi made herself comfortable on the ground and was laying on all fours, sitting upright, watching the battlefield.

"You comfortable?" Aurora asked. Chi-Chi nodded her head.

"Don't worry. I'm fine… Win… like you always do." Chi-Chi said to make Aurora focus on the match. Aurora nodded. "Yes… Chi-Chi could have beaten Pikachu if I wasn't so hasty using Supercharge. Still, Little Chu has a lot of guts. That helped him out here and he proved he had the greater will," Aurora thought, looking at Chi-Chi.

Aurora focused her attention on Ash. "Now… Who should I send out against Pikachu?"

Suddenly, a red grapple hand came from the sky and grabbed the weakened Pikachu. It placed Pikachu in a specially modified steel cage. Pikachu tried to use a Thunderbolt, but the cage sucked up the electricity.

"(Grr…)" Pikachu said with frustration.

"You'd think by know your Thunderbolt won't work with us!" A blue haired man boasted.

A balloon with a large Meowth face suddenly came in. Two people in matching uniform and an upright Meowth was laughing deviously.

"Pikachu! Not you guys again!" Ash said in exasperation.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie recited.

"Make it double!" James continued.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth chimed in.

"(That's right!)" Wobbuffet finished the motto.

"Gah! When will you give up?" Ash said angrily.

"We finally got your Pikachu! There's no reason to give up ever." Jessie said arrogantly. Ash gritted his teeth at Jessie's words.

"Now we have a super powerful Pokémon to give to the boss!" James said happily.

"Yep and there's nothin' you dopes can do about it! Nyahaha!" Meowth boated.

"Amazing… a talking Meowth… I never thought I'd see the day!" Aurora clasped her hands together in excitement. Her eyes began to sparkle in admiration.

"What are you talking about? All of your Pokémon can talk." Ash said slightly confused and annoyed that she would mention this while Pikachu was getting kidnapped. Aurora looked puzzled at Ash's question.

"Yeah, but the way my partners speak is much different from that Meowth. This cat can actually can speak for himself." Aurora argued. She shook her head. She recognized them as the people who wanted to hinder Ash earlier. Her facial features showed one of seriousness, "Er... Never mind. Who are these clowns?"

"Hey! You're the lady from before!" Jessie screeched.

"Besides, we heard that!" James said, annoyed.

"That's Team Rocket. They're a group of bad people who steal other people's Pokémon." Ash explained, ignoring the two. He sighed. This wasn't the first time Team Rocket interrupted one of his very important matches. The first time was his battle in the Orange Islands against Drake.

"Yeah and we're going to steal both Pikachu and that new electric type of that champion. This is payback for earlier, older twerpette!" James said. He pushed a red button. The red grapple hands appeared from under the balloon again, this time to get Chi-Chi. However, before it could get close, an orb of natural energy shot at the mechanical hands and destroyed them. The crowd looked at the Pokémon who shot the attack. To everyone's surprise, it was a fatigued Chi-Chi.

"How's that Aura Sphere, ya chumps?" Chi-Chi was heavily panting because she was still exhausted from her battle with Pikachu. Chi-Chi gasped as she fell her knees, still panting. She growled, "I will not allow myself to be kidnapped by you jokers! Attacking me while I'm weak is a low blow and if I was at my full strength, I'd blast you into the stratosphere!"

"Chi-Chi!" Aurora called out in concern Aurora rushed to where Chi-Chi and helped her up. She flung Chi-Chi's front left limb over her shoulder. Aurora looked and inspected Chi-Chi for any signs of strain. "Chi-Chi, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Just tired. I think you need to take some measures against them so they won't kidnap others like Pikachu." Chi-Chi glared at Team Rocket as she said this.

"Do you mean-"

"Yes. That's exactly what I mean. Do whatever it takes to stop them."

"Oh… I see. I'll follow your request." Aurora gave Ash Chi-Chi's Poké Ball. Aurora swore to herself. "I know what you want me to do, and I will try my best. I'll make sure they'll pay for what they did to you and Pikachu…"

Aurora suddenly reached inside her pouch and gave Ash a Poke Ball. Ash questioned, "Aurora, why are you giving your Chelectsic's Poké Ball?"

"You'll see," She answered evasively. Aurora went over her shoulder and asked Chi-Chi, "Think you'd be able to teleport me up there at your current strength?"

"Wait… let me go up there! He's my best friend." Ash insisted.

"And do what? All of your Pokémon have been weakened and Charizard is the only one who hasn't been damaged badly. Even then, Charizard did get hit by an attack earlier. I have five Pokémon left that can still fight relatively well. Ash, I know you want to get Pikachu, but it is way too dangerous, at least in your current condition." Aurora said, concerned. Chi-Chi looked at Ash with sympathetic red eyes. She hated when Pokémon were mistreated and she couldn't do a thing about it.

Aurora knew he would have no problems using Charizard, but she wanted to see Team Rocket up close by herself. Ash would get in the way of that by fighting immediately. To further deter him from teleportation, she said, "Besides, Charizard may get more damaged than he is now and you can't afford that in this match."

Ash frowned. Sadly, Aurora made some valid points. He noticed Chi-Chi panting heavily on Aurora's shoulder. Just like Pikachu, she looked like she could barely stand and would fall over without Aurora supporting her up. Seeing her like that made him think about how his Pokémon could be if he went against them at his current position. Pikachu was severely weakened and he had one other Pokémon left who hadn't fainted. He didn't like it, but he decided to let Aurora get Pikachu from up there, but that didn't mean he was going to sit around either. "Fine. I'm not going to sit around. I will help." Ash said in compliance.

"Glad to hear. Don't worry. I'll make sure these grunts will give Pikachu back!" She turned to her left to face Chi-Chi. She whispered, "Teleportation, Chi-Chi. Think you can do it at your current strength?"

Chi-Chi looked up to survey how high the balloon was. She purred with content. "Against these jokers? It's not much of a hassle…"

"All right, then. When I go up there, get in your Poke Ball. I know you can trust Ash. I promise to get you after all this, but make sure you rest up." Aurora patted Chi-Chi's head.

"Right." Chi-Chi felt well enough to stand up on her hind legs. From her paws, she summoned purple energy. With a simple touch, Aurora suddenly moved from the battlefield to Team Rocket's balloon.

Ash looked up. "I'll keep the Poké Ball safe for her, but why did she ask to teleport directly up there?"

"What?" Jessie said.

"How'd you get up here?!" James said.

"Never mind that! There's three against one! Grab 'em!" Meowth pounced at Aurora with his claws out. Aurora grabbed one of Meowth's paws before he could swipe her. She twirled him around as if he was a baton and threw him at the balloon part of his head. His claw pierced into the balloon and it started to deflate.

"Nooo! My handsome face!" Meowth widened his eyes in anguish.

"I think you need to get your priorities straightened!" Jessie hissed in annoyance.

"At least we have Pikachu, am I right?" James said in light of the situation.

"Shut up James!" Jessie and Meowth scolded at the same time.

In that moment, the balloon blew towards the forest with Aurora, Pikachu, and Team Rocket still on it.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" Jessie, James and Meowth said in unison.

"(That's right!)" Wobbuffffet said enthusiatically. At the end of their path, there was a twinkle of light.

"Pikachu!" Ash called out. It was too late. Team Rocket, Aurora and Pikachu were out of vision view. "I'm not sure why Aurora wanted to be up there by herself, but I have to find Pikachu." Ash knew what he had to do.

"Good luck, Ash!" Chi-Chi said. Without Aurora there, she could not speak in the human tongue, but as a psychic type, she could speak with telepathy. He returned Chi-Chi in her Poké Ball made a beeline towards leaving the stadium…

---

"Ash!" Serena yelled out. What was Team Rocket's problem with him? Why did that like to follow him so much? It was very irritating to Ash and anyone who traveled with him. Granted, they still kicked their tail every time, but it didn't make it any less infuriating.

"I can't believe Team Rocket would do this now of all times!" Clemont gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Well, I can't sit around and do nothing! Let's go!" Bonnie said, pulling her brother's arm.

"Bonnie's right. We can't just sit down and do nothing." Shauna agreed.

"Let's go!" Sawyer said as he started to exit the stands.

"Right." Clemont, Bonnie, Serena, Shauna, Trevor and Tierno said as they followed suit out of the stadium and into the forest in order to help find Pikachu.

---

From the secret location…

"Both trainers have left the stadium. What should we do about it?" A male employee asked.

"We observe and watch. The match goes on once they come back. I want one of you to follow the path to Team Rocket's balloon. See what you find. I want to confirm that Aurora remembers Ash. Then, report back. Do not directly confront her. Do not get too close or she will be able to sense you." The old man ordered.

"Yes sir! I'll go." The same employee saluted.

"Go do it post haste. We need to know as much about her as possible. Any news could be huge. Fail me and… well… let's just say do not fail me." The elder said with a sadistic glint in his eye.

The employee exited the room, seeking this as a way to get himself promoted. He was definitely scared of his boss and knew that failure was not an option.

"My dear little Champion, will you expose yourself for me?" The old man thought with narrowed eyes, "You've seemed way too flamboyant for too long. I know that you're smarter than you appear. I can feel it. That intelligence of yours has to stem outside of battle and I am going to find out to what extent…."

---

A/N: My dear little old dude, will you stop with your obsession with the Hokori Champion? Just sayin'. Seriously, that dude is messed up. Sadly, you won't find out in this book, but probably in the sequel and last book.

You probably noticed the inclusion of a certain cheetah. *cough* Chi-Chi *cough* The series will include Fakeamon, but they will not be a major focus or too distracting to the plot. I just wanted to make the Hokori region feel a little more like its own. Hokori has the fewest new native Pokemon in the Pokemon world. The reason may surprise you.

Here's some info about Chi-Chi's species (Chelectsic)

Type: Electric/Psychic

Ability: Ionic Savannah: This creates a magnetic field above the actual battle, augmenting an electric type's offensive prowess, but weakening their defensive capabilities. Electric types also take a bit of residual damage every time they attack, similar to Life Orb. Since it is a magnetic field and electric types don't touch the actual ground, it also protects all electric types from field hazards (except Stealth Rock). It's nowhere near broken as you would expect as not many electric types are defensive.

A Chelectsic has pretty high special attack and speed, being based off cheetahs. She is also a glass cannon like cheetahs, but doesn't really excel in too much else. Her defenses are naturally sub-par and her physical attacks aren't going to do squat.

Here's some info about her evolutionary brother. (Chelectop)

Type: Electric/Fighting

Ability: Ionic Savannah: (Same as above)

Chelectop has the same exact base stats as his evolutionary sister, except their attack and special attack stats are swapped and their defense and special defense are swapped. Chelectsic's special defense is slightly better and Chelectop's defense is slightly better.

Two more little quirks: Chelectsic is a female only species while Chelectop is male only. They both start out with the same base form and middle form, but diverge under the right conditions.

Finally, Supercharge, the final move Chi-Chi used against Pikachu is the signature move of Chelectsic and Chelectop. It is basically a slightly weaker version of Volt Tackle, except it doesn't paralyze anything and will change properties depending on the Pokemon using it. It is a special attack for Chelectsic and a physical attack for Chelectop.

Base form: Electcub

Middle Form: Electah

Final Form: Chelectsic (female only) or Chelectop (male only)

Small note: This story was written before the conclusion of the X&Y anime, so some things may be off. Please bear with me and enjoy the ride...

You saw that I let Ash's Charizard be Mega Zard X, yes? In my headcannon before the X and Y anime ended, I thought Alain would give Ash another Mega Charizardite X and Ash would find the Y version during his journey through Kalos.

Since this was written before Ash obtained a way to mega evolve, this is what I decided to do. As the main protagonist, he should have both stones, so he could be flexible. In this match, I decided he should mega evolve his Charizard to Charizard X. I think it would be kinda a homage to Alain since his main Pokemon is Charizard X. Ash and Aurora has both Zard stones, so it could have easily been in reverse.

Next Chapter: Rocket Intervention

Until then...

~SPG123~