Disclaimer : I don't own pokemon or any such stuffs.

Hello everyone, welcome to the fourth chapter of The Journey. Thanks to all who have read the previous chapters. So, with that being said, sit back and enjoy.

Chapter 4: Kalos...Where Dreams Reach A New Height...Part -1: The Battle

Lumiose City, the City of Lights. To many people, it's a great place of tourism; to many people its a place to meet your better half; to some people i houses one of the best gym in Kalos; to some people it's the home of renowned pokemon professor Augustine Sycamore; to many people its the place where Kalos League is held...but to Ash... it's a giant enormous labyrinth. He had been walking in the streets for 30 minutes but couldn't make to any one of the three pokemon centres.

There are three pokemon centres in Lumiose, one at the northern end of the city, near the Lumiose Museum in the North Boulevard Street and the nearest one to the airport. The second one is at the South Boulevard Street near Professor Sycamore's lab. And the third one is located at the center of the city near the Lumiose City Gym...at Magenta Plaza. Now after Ash reached Lumiose City, he searched for the pokemon centre as he was tired and wanted to get a room as soon as possible...and the nearest hotels were too expensive. He had no intention of wasting the Aethers money.

But finding the pokemon centre was proving a challenge. Yes, he had the GPS feature in his pokedex, but that map doesn't count all the smaller streets and alleys in this city. Occasionally Ash would have to take an unexpected turn or meet a dead end. He tried asking some passersby directions but managed to mess up the direction every single time.

A part of him wanted to release Wyvern and just ride to the pokemon centres to avoid hindrances, but another part decided against as he wanted to try a bit more on his own and keep Wyvern as a last resort. Also walking on the streets of Lumiose wouldn't have been that bad if he wasn't so tired already.

Everything in Lumiose is fancy. There are a number of shops, mostly cafes and boutiques in both side of the streets. The streets aren't that crowded, but they weren't empty as well. All the shops were well designed, well lit...overall not bad for a lovely walk. But there is one thing that lacked...atleast to Ash...naturality. The cities of Alola were as if they were blended with nature. But all these lights, fanciness everything destroyed the natural beauty, if there was any, of the place.

Ash kept walking through the street which soon met a much bigger road...the North Boulevard, that's what the GPS showed. Now, all he have to is walk down this road and he will eventually reach the pokemon centre on the opposite side of the road. Without wasting a second, Ash resumed his walk towards the pokemon centre. He isn't used to these long distance travels but if he had to travel through Kanto and collect badges, he has to adapt with the hardship. Man, it's easier said than done, Ash thought continuing his walk.


Ash is sitting in his room of the pokemon centre, relaxing and researching, the only sound that could be heard in his room is the whispering of the air conditioner. The journey was longer than he anticipated and just a walk around maybe one of the largest city of the world drained out all the juice from him. But he finally managed to reach the center and book a room for himself. The pokemon centre was quite busy, but there were rooms available. Most of the tourists prefer staying at the luxury hotels while the pokemon trainers stay at the pokemon centre near the gym.

The room is small, but sufficient for a single person. It had a single bed, a wardrobe, a window, a small desk with a chair and an attached bathroom. Now single rooms cost a bit more than the dormitories, but Ash prefers privacy... also Poipole's pokeball was kept out open. His laptop was open in front of him showing the details of the Goodra line.

It says the Goodra line seems to have crazy 'Special Defense' because of the fatty tissues. So basically physical defense is how hard you are and special defense is how soft you are. Talk about irony!" , Ash thought, chuckling mentally. Ash

"Now let's see, who I will use in battle" , Ash murmured to himself. " Goomy isn't that strong in wild, it can be caught by just throwing pokeballs without any battle. Jangmo-o, Lampent and Dartrix will surely be overkill..I may not be using them in battle...hmmmmm... ". Ash took out his pokedex looking at the details of his pokemons and analysing each one of them.

" Poipole definitely needs training in the wild...otherwise he will be lagging behind. Trapinch is close to mastering sandstorm. My flight to Vermilion is in four days...so I would definitely need Trapinch to evolve by that time. The aerial mobility of Vibrava will surely come in handy against Surge. Ralts didn't had any sort of training, he definitely needs to start as soon as possible. Mimikyu and Duskull also needs training, but it's not that urgent.. Poipole has restrictions and Trapinch needs to evolve and Ralts need immediate training. So ya...they are my priorities for now. Among them...let's see... " Ash thought for a bit comparing who will benefit more from the battle. It isn't like the battle will help them a great deal.

After a serious thought Ash decided to go with Ralts. Poipole and Trapinch may finish the battle within seconds. They won't be benefited that much. But since Ralts doesn't have any prior battling experience, it is a perfect situation with a perfect opponent to begin with.

Ash quickly checked the Ralts moveset on his pokedex, " Double Team, Teleport, Confusion, Destiny Bond. Ability Telepathy... Not bad for beginners", Ash murmured. Ash distracted himself from His work and thought about His team.

His team had grew quite large. Without counting Wyvern he has eight members on his team, soon it will be nine. And maintaining nine pokemons at once is not only difficult, but also expensive. Ash had to buy several packets of frozen meat for Wyvern alone, but that's worth it. Wyvern can fly large distance within a comparably shorter time easing his travel.

It's a good thing that all of his pokemons are in their first or second evolutionary stage. Once they start evolving, he is sure he will have to ask Wyvern carry extra bags for him. Though in wild some of them can hunt smaller pokemons which is a part of their food chain, which he is not going to interfere no matter how bad he felt. It's a law of nature which he had to follow- Arceus had created Mareep, he also had created Arcanine to prey on them.

Ash thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a rumbling sound from his stomach. Ash grinned sheepishly and said to himself, " Looks like it's dinner time now".

Currently Ash has only Poipole's pokeball with him. The rest of the pokemons Ash has given to Nurse Joy for checkup. He will collect them tomorrow morning. Ash though didn't release Poipole out of his pokeball, Poipole was a born painter and mischief maker. If he is released in this room then...well he doesn't want to think about it.

Ash put his laptop down and put on his jacket. Ash locked his room and headed downstairs. But instead of going to cafeteria, Ash decided to try the famed restaurants of Kalos. It would be a shame not to try the Kalosian delicacies. The reception and waiting area was quite empty... Nurse Joy is not present behind the counter though, one of her assistant is sitting in her place...and on a wall was a huge television playing one of the famous movie scenes...four boys were walking down a long railway track...


"The city lifestyle isn't bad at all", Ash said. Ash was sitting in a park after polishing a five course meal at Restaurant Le Wow at the Rouge Plaza. He had Chartuterie Platter, Brioche toasts with pea and ricotta, Gogoat Cheese Salad, Kalosian Ratatouille and to finish with something sweet Cholocate Tart with fresh berries. He definitely would try the varieties of Kalosian Pasta someday.

After dinner, Ash decided to take a walk in a nearby park. The sky was clear, the moon was who and the city lights weren't too flashy either...it was pleasant. He could see the Prism Tower, not far from the place, standing with full glory.

In the park he met up with a boy named Trevor, one of the residents of Lumiose City. Trevor was taking trying to take some candid photographs of the night beauty of Lumiose City. Soon Ash and Trevor became friends and started chatting in a park.

" Ofcourse not! There are much more places to visit apart from Prism Tower and cafes. There is the Lumiose Museum and also the Lumiose University which contains the Battle Institute", Trevor said.

"Battle Institute?! ", Ash asked, " Is it some kind of place where they teach how to battle competitively? ".

" Kind of! ", Trevor replied, " They also have public arenas with computerised randomizer where people can come and battle opponents for free. Though there are no rewards unless they decide to host a tournament ".

" Who cares for rewards", Ash said, " Practice makes trainers perfect. Reward is only a motivation to continue the work".

Trevor deadpanned on hearing it, "I think most will think of reward. It's that you are weird. Reward is not just a motivation, it's an entire reason to chase a dream...a goal. Otherwise you will be like a person walking aimlessly. The title of Master you are running after is also a reward".

"Now that you have mentioned it, it kinda makes sense to me", Ash chuckled, " But enough of me, what about you? Are you a trainer as well? "

Trevor shook his head, " No, in Kalos you will have to be atleast 12 years to get a starter. After that you will have to take a 1 year mandatory training program to get any kind of sponsorship for your journey ".

" Guess I am lucky in that. Do you have any preference regarding starter?", Ash asked.

"As long as I get one, I am fine with whoever I get." , Trevor answered, " It's the training and hard work that matters, not the species".

"Yeah!" , Ash said, " It's nice to meet you Trevor. I can't wait to see what Kalos has to offer next".

Trevor seemed to be lit up like a beaming Christmas tree, " Ohh! In Kalos there is a lot to see, it's the region of creativity! Not only different techniques of pokemon battling, Kalos have developed a new form of pokemon performances. We call it Showcases...it's theme had been inspired by the Pokemon Contests which is more popular around the world, but I can guarantee you will enjoy it. Not only pokemon related stuffs... In the Lumiose Museum you will find various forms of art...paintings, sculptures, texts...everything... Look at the Prism Tower! There are thousands of towers in this world...But how many of them can rival the architecture and design of the tower. The cafes and restaurants...always coming up with new dishes and delicacies. If you go to the Battle Institute you will come across some trainers whose battle strategies will make you look like a rookie regardless of the experience you have! They can literally take inspiration from even the most simplest fact or most obvious activity in this world and turn it into a deadly move combo...This is a place where your thoughts and dreams reach a whole new level, various new roads of future opens. It's like an evolution of ideas! So, what do you say, wan'na try the Battle Institute tomorrow! ", Trevor asked.

Ash gave Trevor an apologetic look, "Sorry, tomorrow I am busy. I am planning to go to catch a Goomy. Though I will visit the institute before going to Kanto", he said.

Trevor didn't seem to mind at all, "Suit yourself", he shrugged, " So, where you will be looking first? Route 14 isn't some local street in front of your house, it's the entire area between Lumiose and Laverre City", Trevor paused for a bit and continued, " By the way this might be the best time to visit Laverre City. Laverre is like a paradise during the autumn season".

Ash laughed at the statement, " Are you some your guide of Kalos! ", he joked. Trevor smiled and replied," No, my hobby is photography. So to shoot the best pictures, I have to know the best place and best time".

"Fair enough", Ash said, " To answer your question, there is a small settlement with a pokemon centre located in Route 14. Near it is a large swampy area, I will be looking there first ".

" Well, then good luck for your journey ", Trevor said. He looked at his watch to check the time," Its getting late, I should get going. Next time you come, I will introduce you to my friends here, 'k".

"Yeah, I need to return too. Nice to meet you Trevor. We will meet again someday! Goodbye", Ash said.

Trevor and Ash shook their hands and said their respective farewells before parting away to their respective ways. Ash made sure to stick to the main roads because if he gets lost now, Wyvern is not there to fly him out.


Wyvern was flying at tremendous speed, with each flap of his wing his speed was becoming double. Ash was holding the handle of the saddle tightly for his dear life. The wind pressure is extremely high and their is a good chance he will get blown away.

Today Ash decided to take a ride to his destination. He was on a time deadline and had no idea how much time it would take to complete the task. So he didn't want to waste another 2 hours in travelling. But he didn't know the ride would be this rough. Never Wyvern had flew at this speed. But he couldn't blame Wyvern, he himself told him he was in a hurry and needed to be transported immediately.

"But I didn't say to fly like some supersonic jet", Ash screamed, hoping that his voice could be heard over the roar of the wind. In response he got a roar which he guessed was pumped with amusement. The very next moment Wyvern started to descend down. Ash could see they were landing on a very small town village. Wyvern glided through the area and landed just in front of the pokemon centre.

There were a few people around. Seeing a powerful pokemon like a Charizard...that too native to another region... gathered some attentions, most of them were unnecessary. Ash didn't pay any attention to those gossips, landed on the ground and was about to enter the pokemon centre when somebody called him from behind,

" Hey you! ", said a voice called," I challenge you and this beast of yours for a battle! ". Ash turned around and found a young boy, slightly talked than him, and seemed to be a bit older than him standing behind with folded hands. He was wearing a blue jacket and jeans with a hat and cocky grin on face.

Now Ash is in hurry, but a few minutes of battle wouldn't hurt that much, also he did come here to train.

" Sure why not", Ash replied," But Wyvern is not my pokemon, so you won't be battling him. I will fight with some other pokemon of mine ". Wyvern gave Ash a pleading look, but Ash whispered to it, " Not today friend, but you will definitely get chance later". Wyvern puffed some smoke out of his mouth, accepting the decision regardless.

The other boy looked a bit sceptical regarding it, " Are your other pokemons as strong like your Charizard? Otherwise I won't be wasting time on wastes! ".

Ash was a bit agitated when this boy called his pokemon waste, but still kept his calm," Sure, they are all powerful. But before that, can I know your name? Or I will have to fight a no-namer! ", he shot back.

The boy became a bit irritated, " I will only tell my name only if you can defeat me! Losers start to trash talk about the person who beat them once they loose... For the time being call me The Topper! ". The voice of the boy was filled with pride when he was completing the sentence.

" The Topper ", Ash asked quizically, " what kind of name is that? It doesn't make any sense? ". The boy looked like he was about to explode, " Obviously it makes sense! ", he shouted," I was the institute topper of my batch in the Battle Institute during graduation! ".

This peaked Ash's interest, he had heard the Battle Institute creates some of the strongest trainers in Kalos. If this boy is telling the truth, he is going to be facing the hardest challenge he had faced so far.

" You are on! But one in one battle, I am in a hurry", Ash said. The boy shrugged," Whatever. You are going to loose either way. One in one battle will save you from the most embarrassing lose".

Ash pretended that he didn't hear the statement. He cannot loose his cool otherwise he may need things up. Competitive battles are different from normal training battles.

There was a battle field behind the pokemon centre, two fields in fact, both were empty. Ash went on one side which his opponent stood. "So, how much you want to bet, Mr. Topper", Ash asked. " As much which won't give you a heart attack if you loose ", his opponent replied.

"50 bucks! That's the standard amount", Ash said, again ignoring the jab. " Fine by me. You may choose the first pokemon...and I will choose a pokemon which has a disadvantage against you".

Ash had already decided before hand who he will go with, he is going with the strongest, " Your funeral...Lampent! I Choose you! ", Ash shouted as he released Lampent out of his pokeball.

Lampent appeared out with a flash and made some weird dancing moves while floating in the air. Now, if Lampent was a wild pokemon it must had been a matter of concern as these movements were hypnotic, but Lampent is under a trainer...so it's not much to worry about.

His opponents face twisted with slight disgust," Ehh! Is this the best you can come up with...after showing a Charizard! Fine, Crush them Crusher ", he said releasing a bipedal, mammalian pokemon which Ash had seen before but couldn't recall any information regarding it. Ash took out his pokedex to scan the pokemon when his opponent called out, " Chesnaught, Grass and Fighting type. You don't need any more information to loose".

This struck a nerve but still Ash kept his calm, he is not going to take the bait and let himself be puppeted by the opponent. Ash looked at the opposing pokemon and tried to analyse it. If it's a fighting type, it's sure to have some power behind it. It also seems to have thick shells covering its back so it should have good defense...atleast physical defense. Also, this pokemon seems rather bulky and heavy...that should make it slow unless it can use some moves like Rock Polish. Speed is something he has to take advantage of, Lampent isn't fast either...But it sure have surprisingly good evasiveness due to its ability to float and sense the changes in the air pressure in the surrounding.

"You may take the first move", his opponent called out. " Thanks! ", Ash replied," Lampent float in the air and keep distance...then use Acid Armour ". Lampent floated higher in the air, further from Chesnaught as it's body was starting to liquify.

Acid Armour can make a solid body jelly like so that the using pokemon can endure physical attacks better. There is limit to which the body can liquify and the defenses can be raised, it will not just be full liquid or the defenses will not be raised to infinity. Scientifically its called some maximum defense point or something like that to put in simple terms. Also this liquification process is slow, it takes around fifteen minutes to reach the maximum defense if uninterrupted, more if The process is interrupted. Still it's a very useful move even if can be pulled out with partial success.

The other boy raised an eyebrow as if he was not expecting that move," To be honest, I am surprised. Most of the rookie trainers would have gone for blind attacks without giving a shit thinking to the probable consequences". Ash gave a smirk," If that's a compliment, well thanks".

"Fine! If you will not attack, I will! Crusher Stone Edge!", the boy ordered. Chesnaught raised its fist and hit the ground hard, the ground cracked upon impact sending a mini earthquake around the field. Almost immediately sharp mountain shaped stones started to protrude out from the ground.

" Dodge it quickly! Follow with Nightshade! ", Ash countered. Lampent glided effortlessly through the rock maze being created and fired a black bean of ghostly energy from its eyes. The attack did hit the target and caused a mild explosion, enough to stir up a cloud of dust and cover the field.

Even Ash couldn't see anything due to the dust, he could feel the earth shaking and hear the sound of more rocks protruding out of the ground. As soon as the dust settled, Ash took a look at the field...and he could not recognise whether its the same field or not. Rocks broke out of the ground and stood strong covering most of the field, and among them stood Chesnaught, unscratched, unharmed etc. etc.

" How, are these rocks not returning back to the ground? I thought the attack was done! ", Ash said. His opponent just smirked, " These rocks will retreat only at Crusher's will. I have trained my pokemons for three years, they have developed the absolute control over the elements. Though I don't expect a rookie to understand all these".

Ash was now finding it hard not to scream at his opponent, still he swallowed down all the curses he was about to say. He looked at Lampent and thought about the next plans. Lampent currently have a very limited offensive movepool being Ember, Smog, Fire Spin, Hex, Night Shade and Energy Ball. He also does know moves like Shadow Ball and Inferno, but he can't pull it out properly.

"That Night Shade was pathetic" , his opponent started to taunt once again, " Night Shade is also known as Black Lightning, because it travels faster than most attacks like electric moves and hit the opponent first. But your attack is not living up to its name", he jeered.

"Just Shut Up!" , this time Ash screamed, " You are talking to much", Ash said glaring at his opponent, " A trainer battles with pokemon...not mouth". Bingo, his opponent cheered mentally.

"Trap it with Fire Spin", Ash ordered. Lampent's flame flared violently as swirling vortex of fire emerged from it and shot towards Chesnaught. But Chesnaught quickly jumped out of the way of the attack and his behind of the rocks. The Fire Spin attack carried forward and hit another rock, trapping it into a mini fire vortex. Soon the flames subsided and the rock stood strong, it's body was a bit sizzling and was a bit heated, but not much damage occurred.

The attack was not powerful enough, Ash could feel it. Strong powerful fire attacks could have just melted away the rocks, but this barely did anything. Ash commanded a few more attacks of Night Shade and Fire Spins but Chesnaught hid behind the boulders and evaded them. Lampent was quite a distance away, so the attacks were taking some time to reach Chesnaught. It was using that time to evade the attacks.

His opponent snorted loudly on seeing this, " Huh! What to expect from a rookie! Since I am in a good mood today, I will be generous and will not go for knockout moves directly. Let's see what other antics your pokemon can pull off", he said laughing out loud, " Pin Missile! ", he commanded all on a sudden.

Chesnaught's pointed horns glowed green as it began firing a series of green darts like missiles towards Lampent.

"Dodge them as much as you can...or destroy them using Night Shade" , Ash countered quickly. Lampent went up in the air and started firing series of Night Shades trying to destroy as many pellets as possible and dodging the rest. A few did hit it, but Lampent being a part fire type didn't affect it that much.

"Great Job Lampent" , Ash encouraged. This boosted Lampent's confidence as it prepared itself for the next attack. Till now he had been just pummeled, both offensively as well as defensively, he wants to turn back now. And suddenly, something came in Ash's mind, it seemed to be more like a memory than an on spot strategy.

"It's been a long time since I used this Pin Missile move! Such were good old days", his opponents spoke up nostalgically, but Ash somehow sensed some intention to insult him with this statement. It was more like a drama than nostalgia. Quickly enough Ash issues his next command," Start firing barrage Energy Balls! " , Ash said, and at the sentence, Ash winked at Lampent which went unnoticed by both his opponent and his pokemon, but Lampent caught it and got the hint of what to do.

"Ho! Let's see what those moves do! Crusher, no need to dodge or counter attack...just defend yourself", his opponent said. Chesnaught got into a defensive position and crossed it's arms in front of its chest and lowered its head behind them. Ash smirked on seeing this, if things go according to his plan, they will be greeted with a surprise.

Lampent on the other hand started preparing balls of solar energy and firing them in quick succession. It was looking a bigger and slower version of bullet seed. The spheres weren't as big as Lampent could have made since Lampent wasn't strong enough for to fire multiple attacks, but still serve the job well.

The ball barrage attack hit Chesnaught all over its body. Most of the spheres exploded like fire crackers on contact with the body, some spheres bounced on hitting the more shielded parts of the body.

Lampent was not stationary during attacking. It was in a zig-zag motion, but to normal eyes, it was a to and fro motion, as if trying to attack from different angles. Lampent was swinging from left to right, and with each swing it was slightly moving forward towards Chesnaught. It's main objective to catching the opponent off guard. If it would have just charged closer at its opponent, it or its trainer may become suspicious and would take precautions. That would have ruined the entire plan. So that's why this arrangement, to remain unsuspected as much possible.

Ash was watching the entire thing closely, so far so good. This better not get messed up in the end. He has full confidence in Lampent, he had pulled out this deception trick before also, but he didn't trust his opponent at all. Ash doesn't know whether these small tricks will actually work on these experienced battlers. Maybe he knows about it, maybe some other people have already used it before. He is bound to have a far better knowledge on different strategies. Amongst all the thoughts, Ash waited for Lampent to look at him. Lampent had gotten quite near. It had moved backwards sometimes going behind rock, as if hiding behind the rocks is its intention and using that as a excuse to move forward at a faster rate hiding behind a rock in front. Lampent was taking full advantage of its current surroundings. Chesnaught was taking all the bits without flinching or moving a single muscle, it was not even looking, and it's trainer...trying to suppress a giggle. Laugh as much you want, Ash thought.

After a more few moments of this hide and seek game Lampent finally turned towards Ash, as if asking for some kind of final attestment. Ash took a good at the surrounding. Lampent was just at the perfect position now, not too close...not too far. Getting too close to the opponent will be more harm than help. The first thing that comes to mind when a pokemon is too close to its opponent is whether it is planning some point blank sneak attacks or not. He will not be giving his opponent that comfort and blow up the entire thing. Just one right, simple move...and the entire game may turn in his favour.

Very slowly and slightly Ash nodded his head, giving permission to carry forward. Lampent fired a few more Energy Balls as it's internal flame began to flare up. And suddenly, instead of a bright yellow ball of solar energy, a five ghostly ball of magical blue flames appeared in place of it and was shot towards Chesnaught.

His opponent did notice the sudden change and shouted a warning at his pokemon. But it was not enough, Lampent was close enough for the attack to get right in front of Chesnaught by the time it noticed this sudden attack, and Chesnaught was no Greninja that it will dodge the attack in the last fraction of second. Still it tried to atleast roll out of the way, but three of the five flame balls hit is body, successfully burning the area.

Flashback

Litwick vs Mimikyu Battle

Litwick fired a few more Energy Balls at Mimikyu, but Mimikyu expertly hit the balls away with its tail Wood Hammer like some batsman hitting a baseball for a home run.

Had this Mimikyu taken training in some Baseball Academy? Ash wondered. Landing an attack on Mimikyu is becoming more and more hectic. Litwick did manage to land a few hits before and busted the Disguise ability, but Mimikyu have turned to be more challenging since then. Going near it isn't a option. Mimikyu is quite fast and quickly make a good distance from them, and all the attacks he is firing, it is just redirecting them with Wood Hammer.

All the attacks, Ash thought, Wait I know!

"Litwick, listen to me! ", Ash called out. Litwick came closer to his trainer and he began whispering something to it. On listening the entire thing Litwick got a mischievous glint in its eyes. Once again it began firing Energy Balls at Mimikyu and once again Mimikyu started hitting them away. This went for quite sometime when Litwick fired some blue flame spheres at Mimikyu. Mimikyu did notice the change, but was unaware of the effects of these special flames. Thinking them to be like normal ball attacks, Mimikyu proceeded to hit it out of the way, but as soon as the tail touched one of the balls, the grassy energy of Wood Hammer dispersed into the air and The tail, which Mimikyu was using as a bat for burnt badly.

No more Wood Hammer for the time being, Ash thought.

Flashback Ends

"Score!" , Ash celebrated in joy. He can't believe this actually worked. He was having doubts in the beginning thinking that such a simple thing would not work as these trainers were used to more complex techniques...but no! He was wrong! These simple things are their weaknesses.

Chesnaught was somehow tolerating the pain from the burn, though it was getting more more worse as time was passing. It's trainer was however trying to comprehend what exactly happened. Willow-Wisp, those were the only words that escaped his lips.

"Can't believe I fell for a stupid thing like this", his opponent finally said with a frown, though their was no anger in his tone, only a bit of frustration and mostly disappointment was there, "Though I admit for a rookie that was smart".

" Again was this a compliment? ", Ash asked smirking. For a instance, Ash thought there was a flicker of respect in his opponents eyes, but it vanished in an instance.

"Crusher, No more playing around!", the other boy declared, "Knock it out quick our new Rollout!".

"Get away as much as you can", Ash shouted," And increase your defense as much as you can with Acid Armour ".

Rollout is a most that he fears very much. If not stopped at the initial stages, this move will become more and more powerful and deadly. And Lampent being a part fire type, this move will hit it harder. Lampent currently does not have any move that is strong enough to stop Rollout, so it's best to increase defense as much as possible to last longer. The more time he could buy the better...that burn will do rest of the work.

In an instant Lampent moves back increasing the distance between him and Chesnaught and once again began the process of Acid Armour. Chesnaught on the other curled into a ball as a brown layer signifying Rocl energy enveloped it. But it wasn't the end, over a Rock energy, another green layer of what Ash assumed to be Grass energy enveloped and several green coloured spikes emerged from the outer layer.

Is it a pokemon mine bomb? Ash thought. He had seen Rollout before but never like this. The weird Rollout was set to rolling motion as it was gathering speed and power for attacks. The perturbated rocks that was standing still on the ground till now was started to shatter to pieces when got hit by this pokemon cannonball. Lampent on seeing this move... moved as much away from it. Nobody in their sane mind would want to get hit by this spike ball.

After gathering enough power Chesnaught went for the first attack, shoting into the air as if fired from a cannon, but unluckly Lampent was a bit out of range. But Chesnaught tried again and again and with each try it was getting closer and closer. Lampent was already levitating at the maximum possible height it could reach, he could not levitate higher...something to do with distorting gravity. Kukui once explained how pokemons levitate, but Ash does not remember a single word from the lecture...too scientific.

Chesnaught was rolling with immense speed now, charging up the power for the next shot. Lampent on the other hand was getting more tired...he wasn't used to this extensive battle. Ash saw Lampent does not have the strength that he will dodge the next attack which is going to come like a bullet. And if the attack makes contact, it's all over. Ash tried to think of any possible way with which Lampent would be able to dodge the attack when something came to his mind,

Flashback

Litwick vs Mimikyu Battle

Mimikyu was dodging all the attacks thrown at it with incredible speed. Litwick fired another Night Shade at Mimikyu at nearly point blank range, but it vanished at an instant and the attack hit a tree just behind it. The tree got only a few scratches, but Litwick was pushed backwards by some mysterious force.

Later...

Ash narrated the entire event to Kukui on reaching home. Prof Kukui, in hearing everything said, "That Ash is called thrust. Same principle used in rocket propulsion. That tree as you said was very near to Litwick. So when the Night Shade hit it, an equal and opposite reaction force hit Litwick and pushed it back. The greater the attack power, greater will be the reaction. Though this works when the target in close to it, otherwise the effects will be negligible".

Flashback Ends

"Lampent, use Night Shade with full power", Ash said, giving one last effort to buy some time. He doesn't know how much that burn had spread, but still hopeful that somehow it will knock out Chesnaught.

Lampent gathered concentrated the every last bit of his power and fired the most powerful Night Shade he had fired till now. At the very same instant, Chesnaught once again shot towards Lampent. Both the attacks collided in mid air and Night Shade seemed to stop the Rollout momentarily. But very quickly Rollout overpowered Night Shade and charged forward towards Lampent.

Ash was holding his breath to see how the events turn on. Chesnaught was getting closer to Lampent every second, if it hits...then Game Over. Looking closely he did notice some movements. And as Chesnaught came closer, Lampent got pushed back in a arc shaped pattern formed from the joint action of thrust and gravity, dodging the attack by a hairline.

Ash was about to cheer but his happiness didn't last long enough. Lampent was fully exhausted and was fell down, he didn't have the strength to maintain his levitating ability as well. Chesnaught came rolling in and rolled over the fallen Lampent, burying it in the ground.

"Lampent!" , Ash cried in horror as he rushed to the field and kneeled down on one knee to check on his pokemon. The rocks from the Stone Edge was starting to retract back in the ground. Lampent was half buried in the ground, knocked out cold. Ash was about to pick it up when he suddenly remembered about the Flame Body ability. So instead he returned it into his pokeball.

Soon Chesnaught uncurled himself from the ball position. Ash took a look at Chesnaught carefully, it was burnt quite badly and but still stood strong. Also it didn't seemed that it had problems during attacking, Ash hadn't seem such a level of endurance until now.

His opponent came walking towards him as Ash slowly got up and looked down. He was fully expecting a train of insults, but his opponent said in a serious voice, " Crusher has experience in dealing with fire type pokemons, I have trained it in such way. Neither power alone not strategy alone can help you win a battle. You need both, you had strategy but you lacked power. That's why you lost today ", he said returning Chesnaught back to its pokeball. He muttered a thank you and promised to give it a burn heal soon.

Ash smiled wryly," Thanks! ", he said," I have not lost before. So it's a bit hard to deal with".

His opponent nodded his head, understanding the situation, " First loss is always hard. Loss is something everybody have to face at some point in life. So sooner you face it the better. All the trainers who is considered unbeatable today have somewhere had a losing streak early in their lives. Losing is nothing to be ashamed of if you can make yourself better from it. And you were not half bad, that Willow Wisp trick threw me of guard. I have seen many trainers who are more experienced than you", he emphasised on the word experienced, "but they are just terrible! On free advice, the more you can surprise your opponent, the better is the chance of winning" .

Ash felt a lot better with the praise, maybe this guy is not some random jerk, " Thanks once again, for the words and for the battle. I did learn from it".

His opponent gave him a genuine smile, " I too learnt something from it...never trust pokemons with those spamming moves! ", he said laughing out loud. He seems to be an entirely different person now.

Ash took out wallet but his opponent shook his head," Forget the bet, the lesson I learnt is more valuable than a fifty dollar bill".

"But you earned it" , Ash pressed. But his opponent kept on refusing until Ash gave up. "Consider it as a appreciation gift from me", he said. His opponent looked at his wrist watch, or some device in his wrist which can show time digitally," I should get going! We will battle someday once again! ", he said. "And that day I will win", Ash challenged. Keep Dreaming was the response as he slowly walked away waving a goodbye.

Ash too waved back and walked to the pokemon centre to get his pokemon treated. He is not forgetting this battle ever in his life. His opponents pokemon were way beyond his level, and he needs to raise his bar if he wants to competite and beat him and the other trainers the world is filled with.

To be Continued...Chapter 5: Kalos... Where Dreams Reach A New Height...Part-2:The Hunt...

And that wraps the fourth chapter. My original intention was to write a single long chapter and end the Kalos episode, I got busy with my schedule regarding college projects and exams and classes etc. etc. and it would have taken a lot of time. So I decided to split it into to two parts. With my new schedule, I get a very little time to write, so the update took time. Anyways, I hope to upload the next chapter soon enough because I will be getting a vacation in a couple of weeks so...let's see.

As per the questions...

mermizle: That ghost fighting type is Marshadow. I liked the idea though and I like the pokemon also. Currently Ash is in no point of catching legendaries or mythicals, they are legendaries and mythicals for a reason. Also I haven't decided whether I will give Ash a legendary or not. Thank you.

Poke-ranger: No spoilers...Ralts is male. I know Gardevoir is more popular due to its fairy typing, but I like Gallade also. I feel like it's just overshadowed by other pokemons. And since no one had used Gallade in their story, I decided to use it. Thank you.

nebulae venandi: Had to put in Google Translate...lol. Thanks for your review, it means a lot.

Guest: Charizard isn't technically Ashes pokemon remember. Also Ash won't be getting Mega Evolution so early and easily. Keystones are hard to find, specific Mega Stones are harder to find. Thanks.

Lugia Moon: I have already sent you the PM you your answer. Hope you understand why I decided to evolve Lampent, it's not just my wish...I had logic. Duskull is the only exception as it should evolve first, but as I said I want to develop its character which will not be possible if it evolves. And in second thought, Jangmo-o can be a good partner pokemon, Ash will definitely need extra hands for carrying luggage also...lol... Thanks for reviewing.

Thanks to all for reading. Suggestions and Criticisms are welcomed.

Fafnir Out ~~~