Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon or any such stuff

Hello everyone, welcome to the tenth chapter of The Journey. First of all...Merry Christmas, even though I believe its a bit late. This chapter was supposed to come yesterday, but I got a busy.

Anyway, an important announcement. For a long time I have been juggling with personalities for Ash, and finally I settled down on one, kinda similar to how Ben was in Ben 10 Alien Force. Now, it is too matured for a 10 year old... so I am making Ash's age 13 years... I believe it's quite fair.

So, with that being said, sit back and enjoy...

Chapter 10: Road to Saffron...Part 2

After finishing up, both of them decided to head upwards to their room as there was nothing to do down here. As they were crossing that orange haired teen, he suddenly spoke up, "Fancy meeting you here…. Ilima", he spat without bothering to look up.

Ash and Ilima stopped in their tracks and turned around looking confused.

"Excuse me… but have we met before sir?", Ilima asked politely.

The teen this time stood up and fully turned towards them, giving them a hateful glare, "Oh! Don't tell me that you have already forgotten me Romeo".

Realization suddenly hit Ilima. There is only one person who calls him by this name, "CROSS!", he asked with wide eyes, "You are a trainer?".

The individual, now identified as Cross, laughed miserably, "Why wouldn't I be? You thought your jealousy filled pathetic accusation would keep me out? Only the strongest survives here in this world…. And I AM THE STRONGEST".

"That doesn't make sense? You have a third degree pokemon abuse charge on your head! No way you can get a legal trainer license?"

"Oh! My license is perfectly legal…. as said, if there is will, there is a way" Cross sneered.

Ilima's mind has gone total blank as he couldn't process what was going on, when he was suddenly interrupted,

"Umm…. Hello! Am I missing something here", Ash asked in annoyed voice. There are two things which frustrates him the most, one when people keep on speaking as if he doesn't exist, or when he has no idea of what is going on. And here, both the cases stand valid.

Cross gave him dirty look as if he was irritated by his interference. Before he could open his mouth, Ilima spoke up with a firm voice, "What are you doing here Cross?"

Cross turned his attention back to Ilima and said," Same reason why you are here, Indigo League! Well, it's a good thing that you are participating, I can finally show how that how better I am than you".

"Sorry, but I am not participating", pointing towards Ash he said, "but he is. I am merely a guide of him".

Cross looked stunned for a moment and looked between Ilima and Ash. Narrowing his eyes, he crossed his arms and snorted, "Yeah! Like I am going to buy that! That little shit? Indigo League?"

Ash looked offended by the statement and answered back," What was that!?".

"Exactly what you have heard", Crossed shot back, "You newbie freshly got out of your diapers and want to play with the big boys now".

Ash got a little annoyed with this remark; this jerk was literally crawling under his skin. He was considering the idea to come out with a perfect retort, when a firm hand grabbed his shoulder which magically helped him to cool down. He looked up to find Ilima staring at him with steely hard eyes, telling him not to do something stupid.

Ash took a breath to calm down his nerves as Ilima spoke up, "Why don't we decide who is better at the League battle itself instead to fighting in such an uncivilized manner?"

"Why League? Why not now?", Ash cried out, wanting to totally sweep this guy's team. Cross however mocked, "As if this total wastage of space is going to make it to the League!"

"Hey, I have won the Vermilion Badge", Ash shot back.

"Probably with that concession policies", Cross mocked, "Trainers like you win first one or two battles and once the real challenge begins, run away crying with your tails between your legs. And what were you saying, Vermilion Badge", saying this Cross took out a small case from inside of jacket and opened it in front of them. Inside there were six badges, out of which three Ash could recognize... and that made Ash's jaw hit the floor – Boulder Badge, Cascade Badge and Marsh Badge?

This guy had beaten Sabrina? One of the most fearsome trainer in the entire world… on par with Kanto's third elite Agatha? And given the fact challengers need at least five badges to challenge Sabrina, which means Marsh Badge is his sixth badge and this guy defeated Sabrina's main gym team! Is this guy that strong? The Lycanroc looks pretty strong and aggressive though….

Cross smirked at Ash's Magikarp out of water reaction, and putting the badge case away said, "So, little rattata, still think you can beat me?".

Ash was starting to have doubts so couldn't come with a proper comeback. But Ilima had other plans, "Definitely he can, not today…. But mark my words Cross, by the time the league arrives, he will be strong enough to beat you", he replied.

Cross was more amused than irritated by that reply," We shall see", then suddenly his expression became darker and his voice filled with venom, "But no matter how hard you try to keep me away, the title of Alolan Champion belongs to me…. and me only…. no one else is more worthy than me".

Saying that he took a sharp turn and walked away, vanishing down the hall with his Lycanroc, who have been ignoring them the entire time, following him.

"What no goodbye? What a flat top!", Ash scoffed.

Ilima shook his head and sighed, disappointment written over his face," Guess some people never change".

"Who was he by the way? A friend? Can't believe that you have such a jackass friend", Ash said.

"Maybe I will tell you later one day. Just know, this competition had become a lot more complicated. Now you have a strong opponent. Cross has a habit of pushing his pokemons to a level one can't even imagine…. so far that most regions had labelled it as abuse. If he has pokemon that have survived his training, then fat chance they are crazy powerful, merciless and brutal. You must prepare so that your pokemon is ready to at least face his in battle", Ilima said with an emotionless face.

An uneasy feeling washed over Ash as he slowly asked," What do you mean by survive?"

"Never mind…. still can't believe though he got rid of all the charges. Let's get to bed, we have to start tomorrow", saying that Ilima started walking towards their rented room without waiting for him.

He is surprisingly calm given he just met a ghost from his past, Ash thought. Things just got interesting in his life, he just made a strong opponent, a motivation to work harder. He can live with it. Ash unknowingly got a small grin on his face as he followed Ilima to his room.


"Power-Up Punch", Ilima commanded. Kangaskhan fist glowed and countered incoming Jangmo-o's Dragon Tail and sent him flying several feet back. Ilima and Kangaskhan had taken the initiative to train Jangmo-o on Dragon Tail, by giving him a real battle. And once Dragon Tail is fully learnt, they can move to Dragon Claw.

Ash is focusing fully on Poipole today. He felt he had been neglecting her for far too long. Ash wanted to groom her as a secret ace in his sleeve, but never got the chance to give his full attention to her. Or was it because he saw better potential in others? If that's the case he would die out of shame! Not something he would have expected from himself.

He can't get what is going inside Poipole's mind. Being locked up most of the time inside that pokeball, and when released, to find your trainer giving most of his attention to others. But still, it didn't seem to him that Poipole is sad or holding any kind of grudge against him. She is as cheerful as ever, always coming like a daughter. Still, he didn't do anything to make her feel special. How about giving her name? He himself didn't give any of his pokemon any name, so that would make her special, right? Except the fact that he totally sucks at naming…. but he will think of something.

Poipole is showing progress in her training. A factor is that she was already trained on the basics by his dad, then by the Aether employees, and finally for the past six months buy him and Professor Kukui. But he found some interesting news yesterday. Professor Kukui had finished mapping Poipole's genetics and had run it under several stimulated conditions and noted the results. From the report he got, Poipole will evolve when she will learn Dragon Pulse, and that's when her true potential will shine. Now that he has a clear picture how to proceed, he can plan accordingly.

His other pokemon were exercising along with Ilima's pokemons as per schedule. Now he understood why new trainers are encouraged to begin their journey with one or two pokemons, they are easier to manage. It is a good thing Ilima and his team are with him and doing most of the heavy lifting since he is experienced, for which he is thankful…. otherwise, he is damm sure he would have messed things up sooner or later. There is no way he could have given attention to all at the same time.

Ash and Ilima set out on foot early in the morning. It is a three day walk and around a day if they fly at full speed. But they didn't want to tire their pokemon fully out, so set out the first half of the travel on foot. In the second half, they would try to cover as much distance as possible by flying. This way they can reach Saffron by tomorrow evening. When they decided to take a break, Ilima thought to get some training done. Because high chance tomorrow their will be no training.

Ash looked back at Poipole trying to get down Dragon Pulse. But it always ended as a…. well…. Poison Pulse. Poipole would make a slight purple cloud of energy, which would immediately get consumed by an acidic globe which she would shoot at the targeted tree. A look of disappointment flashed over Poipole's generally cheerful face, which made Ash feel strange.

"Hey, nice aim, you know", Ash said trying to cheer her up. Poipole looked up at him for a moment with teary eyes and looked down once again. She had been good with poison attacks, but always messes with dragon moves.

"No, really your shots are as accurate as Artemis", Ash said…. when suddenly it struck him, wait a second, Artemis sounds like a decent name.

"You just have to try, keep trying until it's over. I can very easily give you a TM, but I want you to achieve your goals on your own. So, what do you say, wanna keep trying", Ash said with a huge goofy grin on his face. Poipole seem to feel better as she keep a shrill squeal of agreement.

"Hey, you have done pretty well…. So, how about I give you a name, since you are the most precious to me?" Ash asked already knowing the reaction.

Yup, looks like she forgot all the grief…. Just look at her dancing in the air, Ash thought with a smile, watching Poipole's movements.

"Well, since you seem to have really good aim, I will call you…. Artemis…. Ok?", Ash said.

Poipole, or now Artemis, seen to be overjoyed with the new name, maybe she is a bit too much overjoyed, causing Ash to laugh lightly.

"So, ready for Round 2?", Ash asked. He was met with a pair of eyes with newly found determination.

Progress was negligible after that, but still Ash appreciated the effort put by Poi…. I mean Artemis. Maybe he will research a bit later on how can he modify the training schedule. After a light lunch, they packed everything and set out for their aerial travel. They will try to cover as much distance as possible today.

On their way, Ash was taking detailed progress report of his other pokemons from Ilima. Jangmo-o's endurance and power has significantly increased today. He was able to hit harder with Dragon Tail and had been able to hold it for longer duration. If things progress then by the end of this week, they can start training on Dragon Claw.

Mimikyu was starting to get the hang of Hone Claws. Things looked pretty satisfactory. Two to three days more and she will be able to test her newly learnt move in real battles.

Dartrix has used Synthesis for the first time. Today Dartrix had an aerial battle with Pidgeot, whose name was Vela, and got quite a bit of injury, but was able to recover a bit using Synthesis. Though it was not enough and Ash had to patch him up, but it is good start. It won't be long for Dartrix to use the full potential of the chlorophyllic stem cells.

And the rest of the time did their exercises as instructed. Overall, a very productive session. The only one who isn't able to train is Wyvern, because fire attacks from a Charizard in the middle of a forest isn't a great match. But that will change once they get to Saffron.

"You know, I want to visit my hometown, Pallet Town". Ash was surprised he said this aloud, this statement came out of nowhere, "I have heard stories, but never got the chance to see it in person", he said lowering his head.

Ilima looked at Ash with sympathy," It's natural, when you are forced to live away from the place you actually belong, to never know your parents….".

Ash laughed a bit," It's funny right, I have more attachment to a place which I haven't seen with my eyes, than a place where you have been raised".

"Look, don't take it the wrong way, but you don't belong to Alola, you actually belong to Kanto. No matter how hard do we try, Alola will be your second home always, not your real home. And probably you know it as well, that's why you miss Pallet", Ilima said.

Ash sighed on hearing it," I know it very well, but sometimes I wonder, why me of all people?".

"All I can say is, it's a very unfortunate fate. But hope that things will be better in future".

"I need answers Ilima. And that's one of the reasons I am going to Saffron. Because someone is there who may have the answers I am seeking for", Ash said firmly.

Ilima thought the atmosphere is becoming a bit too serious, so he decided to change the subject to a lighter one, "So, what pokemon are you planning to capture next?".

"None for now, but I will be needing a water pokemon later. And not just any water pokemon, someone who can I use for water transport as well, you know, like Lapras", Ash said.

"Eh! Lapras catching is actually banned in Kanto. Over hunting of Lapras has driving the species to critically endangered in Kanto. The Suiren family could help you though, they breed Lapras for their fishing business", Ilima said.

"No No No…. I never said I want Lapras, I said I want a pokemon like Lapras…. Like a Blastoise…. Or Gyarados…. or something big like them, something which can fight on both land and water, something strong enough to ferry one or two people", Ash said.

"Hmmm…. Cerulean has vast diversity of water pokemon species, you can catch a Magikarp or a Horsea there, they are pretty common there. If you want, we can directly go to Cerulean after Saffron, instead of Celadon. A water type pokemon can give you advantage in a rock type gym", Ilima suggested.

"Na…. no need to change course. I want to reach Pallet Town as soon as possible while collecting as many badges as possible on the way. Cerulean can wait", Ash replied, "And Horsea and Magikarp are found all over Kanto, not only Cerulean. I could have caught one in Vermilion if I wanted".

"Alright", Ilima said. Ash didn't say anything more and maintained his silence during the entire flight. Ilima can't figure what was going in his head. One second he is cheerful as sunshine, in the next second he is full serious as hell.

The spot they decided to camp for the night was just around 150 km away from Saffron. As the night became darker, and the everything became quieter, not far away from their camp, in a hidden underground base…. a telephone rang.

"Hello", said a deep, creepy voice picking up the phone. The owner of the voice, a dark figure wrapped in darkness, with only a large red glowing R distinguishable in the background.

"Sir, the two agents have lost track of the Ketchum kid. Turns out the kid they were following was a Ditto", a monotonous female voice spoke over the line.

"Oh dear! What a disappointment! I expected more from grunts", the figure said in a dramatic tone.

"Sir, shall we waste them for their failure?", the voice on line asked.

"Now Now…. Dearie…. Looks like Proton had been a very bad influence on you. Why waste two perfectly fine agents when they can be useful for me. I have invented a compound, and I need to do human trials to study it's effects" ….

"Understood sir, it will be arranged"

"Make sure you do…. and TRACK DOWN KETCHUM AND BRING HIM TO MEE!", the figure snarled at the end, and without waiting for a reply slammed down the phone.

Ditto huh…. either Ketchum is smart enough to notice or somebody else is protecting him…. Boss won't be happy with this development, the figure thought picking up the receiver of the phone and dialing another number, wherever you are hiding Ketchum, you won't escape for long…...

Unknown to him, from a remote location near Mount Moon, a lone figure sitting in a huge factory like building had tapped into their secure line, listening to every word spoken in the conversation with a cunning smirk on his face.


Next Day, Noon

"We have reached", Ilima said hoping out of Vela's back in front of the Saffron City pokemon center. They had arrived sooner than expected, the sun was just starting to get above their head.

"Yeah, as if I can't see that", Ash stated distastefully. He also jumped down from Wyvern's and stretched out a bit.

Ilima looked around to see the view the place as to offer, "No kidding…. when people say Saffron is a Steel Jungle", he said staring at the tall skyscrapers surrounding them.

"Keep the luggage and all quickly inside…. because we will challenge the gym!", Ash said.

Ilima looked at Ash with confusion, "But you cannot challenge the Saffron Gym with one badge, you know it very well".

Ash just smirked in response.


"Dojo?", Ilima asked.

"Yup, I actually went through the history, and the Saffron Dojo was one of the league funded gyms in Kanto. Until the psychic gym was opened. Even today, the dojo is considered a tougher challenge than gyms like Pewter or Vermillion or Celadon. Now, it is one of the league's weird policy that one city can have only one gym backed and funded by the league that the dojo lost its status as a main gym. Now, technically it's one of the minor gyms, so anyone can challenge it", Ash said.

"We never had so many complexities in Kalos…. things were so much simpler", Ilima wondered.

"Maybe because Kalos didn't have as much participation from trainers as much Kanto-Johto has. Eight gyms can't handle the entire batch of trainers who participate in the league. So, are we going inside?"

Nodding his head, Ash and Ilima went through a wide-open massive gates of the dojo leading them to a vast court yard, bigger than Ash had ever seen. Series of trainers and gym students in white marshal art uniform were either practicing hand to hand combat, or having a pokemon battle.

The building beyond the field was also massive, technically double storied, but in comparison two a normal building, it could have been easily five storied building…. the ground floor itself is almost three storeys high. The architecture was traditional Johtonian, ancient, but still very new…. like it had been built just yesterday.

Ilima whistled lightly, looking impressed, "For a gym to be not league sponsored, they did a terrific job maintaining it", walking down the graveled pathway towards the main building.

"They probably get a lot of students…. let's not forget Kanto Elite Bruno graduated from this dojo. They can probably advertise this fact for years and people will come", Ash replied.

They passed through the courtyard where people had been training and reached the steps of the building. If somebody had noticed them, they did a pretty good job ignoring them. Climbing up the fleet of stairs they reached a big door made of polished wood. If one looks closely, they will find several patterns carved into the wood, a work of a very unique craftmanship. On the two sides of the door stood two muscular guards, dressed in martial arts clothes and looking very proud.

The guards turned a stern look at them as they came closer, but they weren't close to intimidating. One of them spoke up in a deep voice," State your purpose kids".

Ash waved his hand slightly and said, "Ummm…. Hi! You see…. I am a challenger. I want to challenge the gym leader.

The guards just blinked and kept staring at them, as if measuring him up. For a second Ash thought they are going to shoo them away. But the guard spoke up," Very Well! Get inside…. Sensei would be here very soon", he said as he opened the door for them to pass.

Beyond the door stood the battle arena…. empty. Just like the Vermillion Gym, there was a gallery for spectators.

"You think you should challenge dojo this early. From what you told me, this is a very strong gym and there are no rules holding them back", Ilima asked.

"Well, no harm in trying. Also, if I don't challenge a gym completely challengeable, I get this itchy feeling crawling under my skin until I get my battle", Ash said.

Ilima snorted out hearing it," Yeah…. That's you alright", he said chuckling a bit, "Look I don't think you are going to win, but still…. good luck I guess".

This made Ash roll his eyes, "Jeezz…. Thanks for having so much confidence I me", he said sarcastically.

At that very moment, the door on the opposite side of the room opened and two people walked into the arena.

"Welcome to Saffron Dojo young challengers! I am the head sensei of this dojo, Ichina Yajiro, as well as the acting gym leader. Who will be my opponent", the elder one among them asked.

Ash stared at the person for a moment," Dude, you are old", he blurted out. That earned him a jab in his ribs from Ilima who glared at him," That was rude!", he said in a hushed voice.

The person he referred to, as well as his assistant who Ash thought to be the referee, didn't look too pleased either.

"Yes, thanks for stating the obvious", the Sensei said in an annoyed voice. The Sensei would easily be in his sixties…. maybe even seventies. He had a completely shaven head and wore a dark maroon robe.

Ash apologized quickly. "I didn't mean any disrespect Sensei".

The Sensei smiled at it, "No worries kid, when I was of your age…. I was also very honest. Now who are you two…. and who is going to be my challenger".

"I am the challenger. The name is Ash Ke…. I mean Aether", Ash said quickly correcting himself. Seemed like the Sensei didn't catch his slip up, which made him give some relief.

"Very Well, as the Saffron Dojo Gym Leader…. I accept your challenge. But first things first, we need to see your pokedex".

Ash took out his pokedex and handed it out without any argument. The other person took it from him and fiddled with the controls for a bit. "This definitely is a newer model, never seen one in Kanto", he muttered.

"Yeah. It's an advanced one", Ash shrugged.

Verifying his id, the man returned the pokedex back to Ash," Your id is authentic. We may proceed with the battle", he said nodding his head at the Sensei.

"Alright son. The battle will be one on one. No time limit", Sensei declared.

"One on one?", Ash asked," I thought gym battles are atleast two on two?"

"Yeah, well, you see…. I had three more challenges today. So, most of my pokemon are healing, and I have only one left…. the strongest one", Sensei said.

Crap! His strongest! Whose idea it was to challenge the gym…. Oh! Wait! It was mine. Well then….",

"I accept", Ash declared.

Sensei nodded and said, "Well, then let's begin".

Both of them took their positions on their respective boxes. Ilima went to sit in the spectator's gallery, and the referee also took his position. Psychic shields were raised for protection.

"This is going to be an official gym battle between Sensei of Saffron Dojo Master Yajiro and Anderson Aether from Alola region! Each person will use only one pokemon and the match will continue until either one of them is unable to battle. If the rules are clear, we may proceed with the battle", getting a nod of confirmation from both ends the referee continued," Alright then, trainers choose your pokemon".

"I will choose first", Sensei said taking out a pokeball from one of the pockets of his robe, "Machamp", he said. In a flash, one of the known powerhouse of Kanto is standing in front of him.

Ok…. Let's see…. I know it's a stupid decision…. but when did that stopped me, Ash mentally grinned.

"Jangmo-o…. I choose you", Ash said releasing his own pokemon. In another flash of light, Jangmo-o stood proud on his four giving his battle cry. After Jangmo-o was done, suddenly silence befell in the room. Sensei, referee, Ilima even Machamp all were looking at them strangely. It lasted a few seconds though, broken by Ilima,

"ASH! What are you thinking? You have a ghost type pokemon…. You have a Charizard! And you are sending out Jangmo-o?"

"Hey, I know what I am doing. Jangmo-o needs to fight real battles as well….", Ash replied back.

"But— ", Ilima started, but Ash cut him off," You only said that I need to evolve Jangmo-o before Pewter. And dragons develop very slowly…. we don't know how much time it may take to get him evolve".

"And sending him against a super powerful opponent will develop him faster?", Ilima asked, though it seemed to be more rhetorical than an actual question.

"I believe so…. my pokemon seems to develop faster under real stressful environment…. where your opponent will hold nothing back. I have been training Wyvern for months, but only in Vermillion when he got his ass handed, he learnt Blaze and Heat Wave"

Ilima gave a long…. exasperated sigh and said," Sometimes I don't understand you".

Ash flashed a quick toothy grin at it," Me neither". He was interrupted by a soft awkward cough," If you and your friend have finished, may we begin", Sensei asked.

"Definitely", Ash said," Jangmo-o get ready for your first major battle". Jangmo-o wasn't bothered that he was facing an opponent who was probably ten times his size, instead he stomped his front foot and challenged Machamp to the brawl.

"I don't know if it's a joke to you or not, but as a gym leader this is none of my concern. This will be quick. Machamp…. Focus Punch", Sensei ordered.

With a giant leap Machamp was on top of Jangmo-o in an instant ready to bring down a glowing white fist. But Jangmo-o was quick enough get out of the way and dodge the blow.

Ash looked at the place of impact closely. There was hardly any damage to the floor. Which means Machamp isn't using full power, Jangmo-o has a chance to counter head-on.

As Machamp charged with another Focus Punch, but this time Ash said," Counter with Dragon Tail!". The scales of Jangmo-o's tail glowed with energy and he swung his tail with his might. Dragon Tail and Focus Punch met head-on as but after a second of clash, Focus Punch pushed through Dragon Tail pushing Jangmo-o in the air.

Jangmo-o balanced itself in the air quite well, as he flipped and landed on his four legs. A deep snarl escaped from his throat as he charged towards Machamp with a Headbutt. Headbutt it's mark, but that's probably because Machamp didn't bother to dodge.

Machamp easily shrugged the attack off and picked up Jangmo-o by it's neck with one hand and slapped hard with another hand sending him back.

Common, bring out your hidden ability, Ash thought. If he had learnt anything on training dragons, then use their pride as driving force.

Not giving up, Jangmo-o got up once again and charged with another dragon tail.

"Machamp, Karate Chop", Sensei ordered. Jangmo-o had to halt his attack midway to dodge a bullet fast fist which kept on raining one after the other.

"Aim for the legs", Ash said. Ash noticed that Machamp was leaning too much during attack, transferring most of its body weight forward. A well placed attack should atleast destabilise it.

Jangmo-o got the hint and dodging another Karate Chop landed a Dragon Tail right at Machamp's foot. This got better results than Ash expected. Machamp led out a deafening roar and fell on it's butt holding it's foot in extreme pain.

Ash was mildly surprised at first, but realization slowly dawned him. Machamp is covered with hardened muscles throughout it's body which absorbs most of the hits, except his feet which is mostly bones and skin. Now, Machamp has a very hard bone structure by human standards, but they are pretty average by pokemon standards, nowhere near something like Umbreon. This isn't what Ash had in his mind, but hey, he will take it.

Judging by the looks, Sensei also didn't expect it either," Sneaky Brat", he said with slight annoyance.

"Hey, I didn't knew Achilles Heel phrase was so... literal" , Ash said back. He looked down at Jangmo-o who looked very proud of his accomplishment, if it could be called as one.

"Fine, playtime is over," Sensei said with a hardened look," Machamp... Get Up! ".

Despite winching slightly, Machamp stood up and tried his best to ignore the pain on his feet, "Muay Thai stance!". Machamp complied and took a fighting stance which Ash hadn't seen before.

" Dragon Tail into Headbutt ", Ash said.

Jangmo-o darted forward with preparing a Dragon Tail and jumped to dodge a leg sweep aiming to hit in the head, but was intercepted by a sharp hit from one of the elbows followed by a strong hit from the knee sending him upwards.

" Jangmo-o! ", Ash cried with mild shock on seeing this new form of fighting. Sensei didn't waste a second in giving the next command," End this fight with Superpower!".

Ash eyes suddenly opened wide. Machamp line was known for this move... Superpower and Close Combat were two of the most powerful fighting moves out there. If it hits the opponent, well... good luck in recovering from shattered bones.

Machamp, though slightly limping rushed forward to where Jangmo-o would be landing, flexing his muscles to the extent that veins popped out. A light blue aura enveloped Machamp and white flashes erupted from their contact as Machamp punched Jangmo-o hard. Jangmo-o flew like a bullet past Ash's head into the wall, before slumping down on the floor.

Ash rushed towards Jangmo-o but halted after seeing a pale white light envelope Jangmo-o. For a second Ash thought Jangmo-o was evolving. But he quickly discarded the thought as this light didn't resemble the bright blinding light of evolution, it's more dull and like a protective barrier. Jangmo-o tried to get up on his feet but quickly fell back and the light died with it as well.

Ash quickly took out Jangmo-o's pokeball and returned him back, but his mind were somewhere else, he only faintly heard the referee calling the match.

And that wraps the tenth chapter. Thanks everyone for reading, and I will see you in the next chapter.

Suggestion and Criticism are welcomed.

Fafnir Out ~~~