Hello, it's Shadierre here. I'm so glad that I got a positive reaction to the first chapter. Honestly, that chapter was filler, so that I could set up the story and go along with it. I intend to expand on parts that may not make sense in the original, and I'll also add some other stuff as well, like a surprise character coming in. I'm happy that the readers are happy, which inspires me to continue on. Anyways, time to go the second chapter. Hope you like it!

Chapter 2: Surprises Aren't Always Good

Mount Silver. The desolate place, where veteran trainers die, because of the sheer treacherousness of the mountain. If you were lucky enough to traverse to the top, you'd find peace and quiet. Something that many people long for. Ash Ketchum and Serena Yvonne wanted that peace and quiet, ever since that fateful day. 6 years later, they have elevated to the level of Pokémon gods, having Pokémon that have unimaginable levels of power and speed.

"Serena. Want to get our spar over with today?" Ash asked her as she was currently brushing her Delphox' fur. She stood up and put the brush away as she nodded, returning Delphox shortly after.

"Sometimes, I kinda miss the outside world, y'know?" Serena remarked as the two made their way to the battlefield. Ash nodded.

"Yeah, I do too. But it reminds me of how cruel most people can be." he agreed angrily as he balled his hands into fists. Serena put a hand on his shoulder as he instantly calmed down. The two silently walked towards the large battlefield, that have been ravaged by the intense Pokémon training the two do. The two finally arrived as they made their way to their usual spots.

"Delphox, time to battle!" Serena shouted as she threw her Pokéball into the air. Out came a stoic Delphox who crossed its arms and awaited its opponent. Ash motioned for Pikachu to get off his shoulder to battle.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt." Ash commanded. The air around him heated up as the Mouse Pokémon shot a powerful bolt of lightning that quickly turned from yellow to white, due to the sudden change in energy.

"Block with Flamethrower." Serena countered. Delphox opened its small mouth and released a torrent of flames that turned white as well, due to the intense heat radiating off of it. The two attacks met in the middle and collided with each other. They only seem to strengthen one another as they converged into one attack that shot straight up in the sky.

"That was weird." Ash remarked as he continued to stare up into the sky. Serena smirked and took this as a chance to counter.

"Delphox, Blast Burn with Flamethrower." Serena ordered. Delphox slightly smiled as it let out a burst of extremely hot flames, and quickly transitioned into breathing a larger torrent of fire. Pikachu suddenly felt the incoming heat and smirked.

"Pikachu, spin into the flames and use Volt Tackle with Thunderbolt." Ash countered with a grin as the Mouse Pokémon rode into the white fire, cloaked with white electricity. Pikachu grinned and let loose streams and streams of electricity that made their way towards Delphox.

"Psychic Barrier, now." Serena commanded. Delphox quickly solidified the air around it as Pikachu rammed into an invisible shield. It backed off and cloaked itself in a stronger form of electricity. The white now turned to blue, reminiscent of Zekrom's power. Ash smirked.

"Volt Tackle, full power!" Ash shouted. Pikachu built up more and more energy until the clouds above him started forming thunderstorms. It bashed through the solid barrier and made contact with Delphox as a yelp of pain could be heard. Serena quirked a brow as smoke covered the battlefield. She knew that a Volt Tackle that powerful could do some damage to Delphox.

"Time to show them what you're made of. Delphox, Blast Burn, max power!" Serena yelled. The smoke cleared as Delphox was covered with flames. The fire quickly heated the air around it as she sent a heavy fist towards the ground. A fiery trail spawned at the impact as it made its way towards Pikachu. Delphox merely grinned as an eruption of white-hot fire enveloped Pikachu.

"Well, that's enough. They took less damage than they used to, which is good." Ash said as he stopped the battle. Pikachu shook off the fire and returned to its spot on Ash's shoulder. Serena returned Delphox as she walked over to Ash with a smile.

"That was a nice battle." A voice said behind them. Ash whirled around to see a person with red clothes on and a red cap. Ash could feel the intense power emanating of the guy as he stared at him.

"Thanks. But who are you?" Ash asked curiously. The man turned around and smirked to himself as his red jacket fluttered and whipped around in the snowy wind.

"You don't need to know. But all I wanted to say that you guys are pretty strong. I think we'll see each other again." the man remarked as a powerful wind made Ash and Serena close their eyes. After opening them again, the man was gone. Not even his footsteps were their anymore, nor his presence. Suddenly, Ash could hear flapping near them as he gazed into the sky, spotting a Pidgeot.

"A Pidgeot?" Ash asked as Serena looked up as well. The Pidgeot descended lower and lower until it landed near the two. There was a letter attached to his wing. Ash curiously took the letter as he watched Pidgeot take off again in a random direction.

"Wonder what's in it?" Serena asked him as he unrolled the letter.

Dear Ash K. and Serena Y.

Hey. It's your friend Scott, the one that arranged your private Champion Battles. I hope Pidgeot didn't bother you too much. Anyways, all I wanted to do is to invite you to the Legend Tournament that's starting in 2 weeks, here on Legendary Island. The prize is the right to battle the Pokémon Master, as well as some other neat items. I'm not saying you should come, but I also invited you-know-who.

- Scott

Ash reread the letter over and over again. Scott actually wanted them to participate in the tournament? Baffled, he gave the letter to Serena, who was equally shocked by this. They looked at each other with uneasy expressions.

"Should we do it?" Serena asked.

"I don't know… I guess we could…" Ash mumbled as he folded the letter back up again. He sat on a nearby log as he played multiple scenarios in his head. For one, the traitors would be there, so that would be nice. Two, he could use the training, since battling Serena has gotten old. Three, he could meet new friends. Friends that wouldn't betray him. He stood back up and looked at Serena with a determined face.

"We're doing it?" she asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, we do need some new memories. We can't stay at Mount Silver forever." he explained as they walked over to their cabin. The two packed up their stuff silently as they took all prized possessions. A few minutes later, the two summoned their Flying-Types.

"Ash, do you know where Legend Island is?" Serena asked as she mounted Noivern. He shrugged.

"I think it's near the Middle Region. The one where all regions intersect?" he guessed. She nodded as the two took off into the air and flew towards Legend Island. Meanwhile, Serena had an important thought going through her head. Ash might be angry at the sight of the traitors… she worried.

"Ash. Promise me you won't go berserk on the traitors." Serena asked softly. Ash looked at her with a baffled expression.

"Why shouldn't I!? They were the ones who hurt me, I should hurt them!" he angrily shouted.

"Look, nothing good will come out of hurting them. I'm sure they had their reasons to treat you that way." Serena explained hopefully. Ash seem to calm down a little bit as he heard that thought.

"...Fine. I won't hurt them, but I won't give them a chance to explain, either." Ash agreed. Serena nodded.

"That's fair. As long as you don't hurt them, okay?" she confirmed. Ash grumbled and nodded as they silently flew towards the island. After a couple hours of flying, Charizard yawned a little bit.

"Don't worry buddy; See that island up ahead? We'll go down soon, 'kay?" Ash assured as Charizard roared affectionately. Minutes later, they finally arrived at the island. Returning their Pokémon, Ash couldn't help but feel pretty happy. The island was magnificent. It had multiple beach spots with clear waters. The people seemed to enjoy themselves playing around. Ash could hear multiple battles going on and felt the immense power coursing through all of the trainers.

"Look, Ash. That's the PokéCenter!" Serena announced as she pointed to a nearby building. Ash stared at it as it was an extremely large building with multiple floors. As they made their way inside, there was a cuisine on one side and training facilities on the other. In the middle were holograms, detailing the tournament information and map layout, detailed with explanations of each part.

"We should get our Pokémon-" Ash was about to say until he saw two familiar people up ahead of them. He balled his hands up into fists as he saw the familiar brunette and orange hair. It was Gary and Misty. He shook slightly, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Please?" Serena asked softly. He grumbled and let go of his anger as they made their way towards the counter. Today was not a good day.

Surprises.
They're always meant to be nice.
Surprise party!
Surprise engagement!
Not for me, they aren't
They aren't always good.

FIN

So, how'd you like that chapter? I thought I did a decently nice job with that one. Sorry for the abrupt ending, by the way… I couldn't find another ending, so I just decided to go with what Zierre did. Also, I can't thank you enough for all the support you all are giving me. I already have 10 follows and 5 favorites, which is enough support for me from the first chapter. I'm glad that you are all accepting me as the new writer for this story, and I just wanted to say, thanks. Without you or Zierre, I could have never found my passion for writing. Anyways, the next chapter will be up by tomorrow or Monday. See you then!

Chapter 3: Fighting Them