AN: Sorry it's taken me so long to update but my English professor just loves piling crap tons of busy work so I've been busy with that along with the work for all my other classes. I'm quite literally having to rely on Monster to get me through most days, but hey that's the college life haha.

Anyways I realize that while the last chapter was a step above the previous ones in respects to the style and everything I kind of dropped the ball on editing. There were some rather bad grammar mistakes and just fuck ups that shouldn't have happened. Obviously some stuff is gonna pass my eye but the amount that I let slip through was not ok. For that I'm sorry. Within the first hour or so I had people messaging me and reviewing that I fucked up with the whole Machamp thing.

Thanks to those who caught that and let me know. I rushed to fix it as fast as I could.

In other news, THEYRE GIVING PIDGEOT A MEGA! I AM SO HYPED FOR RUBY AMD SAPPHIRE! The game is starting to sound like a pretty big overhaul with the addition of the whole fly mechanic and being able to encounter legends in the sky. Despite being an old school Pokemon fan, Gen IV was my personal favorite with Gen III not too far behind. Thusly I'm super stoked for the remakes.

Still hate what they did to Altaria though. I mean Altaria was always one of my favorite pokemon, but her Mega...blegh. The Fairy typing thing will be cool cuz I'll have yet another tank dragon type, Kingdra being the other. FEAR THE DRAGONS.

In story related news I don't think I'm including anything, pokemon included, from Gen V or VI. That means probably no Fairy types, no Megas, and all that other stuff. I was wholly disinterested in both Black/White and X/Y. Only thing I liked from em was Hydreigon, Reshiram, Kyuurem, Zekrom, and Yveltal.

I would like to add that I am still debating on that though. I am leaning towards not including them, but someone (can't find the review or pm, forgot which it was) said something to the extent of making Mega evolution truly rare and only having a small grouping of pokemon and trainers who can do it and honestly? I kind of like that idea. I may just go with that.

I would like to say thanks to The False King, DarkPirate69, and Astuhn for their reviews and critiques. There was some interesting stuff there and definitely good critiques that I could take into account so thanks for that!

Before I blabber on even more lets get the story going!

Dawn observed the situation around her quietly, not wanting to break the silence that had engulfed the clearing since Pikachu had unleashed his unreal Thunderbolt attack. Both poachers were being kept in the middle of a circle that consisted of Typhlosion, Primeape, and Umbreon. Neither of the two had the courage to dare try and escape after seeing what had happened to their own pokemon. The pokemon themselves were back in their Pokéballs and being kept in Ash's bag.

Ash meanwhile was busy doing his best to clean and wrap both Buneary and Piplup's wounds. Both pokemon were rather banged up with Piplup being the worst off having taken a direct hit from the Cacturne's Needle Arm. Lucky for the little Water type, the dual type hadn't laced its needles with any poison. Nonetheless Dawn knew that Piplup would be out of commission for a day or so.

While she was more than grateful for Ash's timely arrival she was also still trying to come to grips with what she had just witnessed. Her mind was struggling to connect the cold and ruthless person Ash had become when dealing with the poachers and the normally kind and happy person he usually was. Admittedly she hadn't known him for very long nor had she seen him battle all that often but the detached way he had ordered the adorable electric mouse pokemon to brutalize those two Pokemon had sent a chill down her spine.

Ash himself had taken a look at Dawn and knew what she was thinking, or at least he felt he had a pretty good guess as to what was running through her mind. A few months ago he probably would have been just as shocked at his own actions as she was, but a few months ago he had still been rather naive about the world. Not to say he didn't know that there some twisted people out there, having stopped numerous such people on several occasions throughout his journeys.

Now however with the stronger bond he shared with all of his pokemon and the realization that those twisted individuals would have no qualms about putting others in danger, Ash had come to accept the necessity for some force where such people were involved, especially when his friends were concerned. It was a hard decision to come to grips with but looking back at all the situations he had found himself involved in, it only made sense.

Too many times had he and his friends found themselves in perilous situations with their lives on the line and most of the time it was due to the machinations of some madman who wanted to harness the power of a legendary for their own gain. One of the most notable and heinous was Giovanni's creating the "ultimate pokemon" in the form of Mewtwo. Thanks to that and Giovanni's horrid treatment of the powerful Psychic type Ash had been the one to pay the price with his own life. Had it not been for Mew and whatever other forces there were that were looking out for him that would have been the end of it all. No more journey. No more Ash Ketchum.

Mewtwo had tried to and succeeded in wiping the memory of New Island from everyone's mind, but thanks to Ash's continued interactions with other Legends and his own Aura the memories were brought back to the surface, bringing with them the memory of his own death at the hands of Mew and Mewtwo. It was a horrible feeling, remembering your own death. To this day he would still occasionally suffer nightmares of that day. The only one Ash could go to to talk about said nightmares was Pikachu who was just as haunted by the memory of his trainer's death.

The worst part? That hadn't been the only time he had died. Ash could easily recall exactly how he met a certain trio of Ghost types in Lavender town.

Part of Ash had repressed these memories and more in an attempt to maintain that joy of his journey but when he had accepted that he would never be able to relive the joy and excitement of his first journey he had also accepted that the world was not all Oddish and Beautifly.

Ash's thoughts were interrupted when he heard an all too familiar voice, "Why am not surprised to find you involved Ash?"

The young trainer stood from his crouched position and turned with a grin of his own, "Solana! How's it going?"

There, standing with her hands on her hips, was the teal haired Pokemon Ranger Ash had bumped into several times during his trek through Hoenn.

"Pretty darn good, especially seeing those two bozos in cuffs," Solana replied with an equally happy grin.

The two greeted each other with a hug, smiling all the while. Ash had become better aquatinted with the Ranger after he was asked to not only help out but also train with some of the Rangers during his little break from traveling after Hoenn.

"Glad to see you finally decided to start traveling again though!"

Ash laughed as he rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah me and my pokemon figured we had spent enough time just sitting around in Pallet so we decided to head here to Sinnoh and challenge the League here."

Before the two could continue a certain yellow mouse happily climbed his way up to Solana's shoulder before nuzzling her cheek in greeting.

"Cha!"

Solana laughed at the adorable pokemon, "Good to see you too Pikachu! Have fun handling those two dirtbags?"

Pikachu grinned and allowed a few small sparks to escape his cheeks, "Pika!"

Solana turned and whistled appreciatively at the gathering of pokemon Ash had, "Looks like you got yourself some powerhouses here. No wonder these two were taken care." Turning her eyes she saw a certain blue haired coordinator tending to her pokemon, "And who might this be Ash?"

Noticing that the Ranger was talking about her, Dawn stood to her feet and smiled in greeting before shaking Solana's offered hand, "Nice to meet you! I'm Dawn."

Solana gained a teasing grin as she turned to Ash, "Wow already got yourself a girlfriend? You work fast don't you Mr. Ketchum?"

Dawn's face was alit with a dark blush while Ash childishly blew a raspberry at the older Ranger, "Yeah well I don't think you can say anything since you still haven't confessed to Lunick!"

Now it was Solana's turn to blush heavily.

While Ash had worked with the Rangers he had met Solana's usual partner Lunick and within minutes of seeing the two interact even he could see that the two liked each other but both were far too shy to admit it. Of course Ash was all too happy to join the other Rangers in teasing the two which had led to Solana looking for any reason to tease the younger teen in retaliation.

It was at this time that Officer Jenny chose to interrupt the conversation, "The two perps are cuffed and ready to be taken back to Jubilife where they'll be held until they are properly sentenced. Did they have any pokemon on them?"

Quickly becoming serious Ash nodded before rummaging through his bag, gathering the six Pokéballs he had liberated from the poachers.

"The poachers themselves used Machamp, Honchcrow, Cacturne, and a Skuntank. The two Luxio were just caught here."

Jenny nodded and took the offered Pokéballs, "I'll have Nurse Joy look em over and from there decide what we should do with these pokemon. The two Luxio will probably just be released back here while the other four will be rehabilitated."

Both Ash and Solana nodded, already knowing the standard procedure for cases like this. If the poachers' pokemon could be rehabilitated they would be put to work somewhere. Unfortunately they wouldn't be able to become another trainer's pokemon due to any slight chances of them falling back into old habits. Had they been younger then that would have been a possibility however seeing as they were all well within adulthood it would be too much of a risk. You know what they say, "You can't teach an old Arcanine new tricks."

"Does anybody need a ride back to Jubilife for treatment or anything else?" Jenny asked the three teens.

Giving a quick glance at the pokemon Ash shook his head, "No thanks. Piplup was the only one injured, but nothing that needs serious care."

Jenny nodded before giving a salute, "Ranger Solana. Ranger Ketchum, thank you for your assistance."

Both Ash and Solana returned the salute, easing up as they saw Jenny climb onto her bike and drive off back down the road.

Dawn turned a curious look to Ash, "How come she referred to you like you were a full fledged Ranger?

Ash only laughed and rubbed the back of his head, "I'm gonna go ahead and gather some supplies and set up camp."

Before either bluenette could say anything Ash was gone, still unsure of how to react to such praise. His younger self would have just bragged about it but that was when he had been a snot nosed trainer out to prove himself. Now that he'd matured he wasn't quite too sure just what to do in such situations.

Seeing Ash busying himself Dawn turned her question to Solana, "So why exactly is Ash an honorary Ranger?"

Motioning with her hand Solana led Dawn near the small lake that was a few yards away from where Ash was setting up camp. Dawn gently picked up Piplup and carried him with her, knowing the Water type would like to be near the water as well.

Solana kicked off her shoes before dipping her feet into the cold water. Dawn and Piplup followed suit, slowly kicking their feet and creating small ripples on the water's surface.

"Well we offered him the opportunity to become a full fledged Ranger and the head of the Ranger Corps. even said he'd allow Ash to keep and use any and all of his pokemon on missions , but even still he turned down the offer. Our boss still wanted Ash in and so they came to an agreement that Ash would become an 'honorary' member. It just means Ash can continue challenging Leagues while also taking missions as a Ranger when necessary."

Dawn had good guess as to why Ash had turned down the offer. As much as the teen loved helping pokemon he loved battling and competing just as much. She'd never heard of a Ranger competing in a gym battles or a League tournament and figured that it was some kind of rule that they couldn't. That would obviously put a huge damper on Ash's goal to become a Pokemon Master.

Solana continued though, "Funny thing is I've heard that this wasn't the first high profile job Ash turned down. A few years back he was the first in a long while to beat the Orange Crew and they even offered him a spot as a member. Then a few months back he was the first trainer to ever beat the Kanto Battle Frontier and the guy in charge of the Frontier offered Ash a job as a Frontier Brain."

Dawn smiled gently at hearing some of the achievements of her mentor and friend. It made her feel pretty lucky knowing that despite all of that Ash had no complaints on taking a newbie trainer like her under his wing.

Again Solana interrupted her thoughts, "You saw it today huh?"

The young coordinator had an idea of what Solana meant but gave her a curious look to make sure.

"That...colder side of him. Looking at the damage to this clearing I can see that he let Pikachu let loose a bit. Normally the two are just a really powerful but amazingly kind duo, even in battle. But when it comes to his friends in danger? It's like a switch flips in him, turning him from that goofy guy into this detached and ruthless battler. I've only seen it once, and it was with a poacher that had threatened one of the younger trainees."

Solana sighed as she seemed to engulf herself in the memory, "I had heard stories and seen the power his Pokemon have, especially his older team, but it was...scary to see the limits of that. Before we could even blink his Sceptile was on the guy, Leaf Blade at the guy's throat. The poor bastard's pokemon weren't much better off. His Pidgeot tore through them so fast that it was unreal. Even scarier is what those pokemon will do to protect Ash himself. I've never seen pokemon so fiercely defensive of their trainer. It's scary to think about, but those pokemon of his are more than willing to do whatever they have to to keep him safe."

For a moment neither said anything, Solana lost in her own thoughts and Dawn not knowing what to feel. It was almost too much for her. Here she was only about a week into her journey dealing with poachers and some of the darker aspects of the world she lived in. Sure she knew that there some less than pleasant people out there and that Pokemon weren't exactly all just cute and cuddly, but still it all seemed too real.

Then there was Ash, a boy who she had known was a strong trainer and had done his fair share of traveling, but hearing just what he and his Pokemon were capable of? It was a little frightening. The scary part was that she knew it was true. If it came down to it she knew that any of Ash's pokemon would do whatever they felt was necessary to protect their trainer.

His Primeape had broken a Skuntank's bones because Ash had ordered him to. His Typhlosion had roasted a Cacturne, again because Ash had ordered him to.

A small part of her argued the logic of it though. Ash was not at all a bad person, far from it. Neither he nor his Pokemon were killers. Would they do what they had to protect him and his friends? Without a doubt. She had seen that first hand today. She had been in danger and Ash and his Pokemon did what they had to to make sure she was okay. The thought that Ash cared enough to go to such lengths to keep her safe made her smile.

As if to compound those thoughts Solana broke the silence, "I don't wanna make you scared of Ash or his Pokemon or even Pokemon in general. Ash and his Pokemon will never hurt you and if anything will do all they can to protect you. Ash is one of the nicest if not goofiest guys I know and no matter what that'll never change."

Dawn realized the truth in the older teens words. Despite only knowing the raven haired trainer for about a week Ash wasn't at all a complicated type of person and had happily let Dawn into his fold. Ash wasn't going around thrashing every pokemon he battled, in fact it was quite the opposite. Sure part of her would still be frightened by that brutal side of him, but that wasn't all of who Ash was.

Ash was her mentor. Ash was her friend and in the end that's all that mattered.

"Thanks Solana. I needed that," Dawn smiled.

The teal haired Ranger returned the gesture, "Not a problem Dawn."

"Hey Solana! You gonna eat with us!?" Ash called out.

Without missing a beat Solana replied, "You know it Ash!"

The two girls spent a few more minutes talking to each other as they normally didn't have anybody to have "girl time" with. Dawn didn't have many friends growing up, not that she was complaining, at all and even fewer that were girls. Ash was a great friend but there was just certain things she couldn't talk to the raven haired teen about.

Solana was more often than not immersed in her work and there were very few female Rangers in the first place so interactions with those of her own gender was limited at best.

On top of that the Pokemon world wasn't exactly the best place to be "girly" especially as a trainer who traverses the wilds of nature in between cities. That wasn't to say that femininity was a weakness. It was just that there wasn't exactly salons and what not in the middle of a forest or desert. Carrying around makeup and other such beauty products wasn't smart either as they took up space that could be better used by medical supplies or some other equally important item.

Still Dawn was rather lucky as she was traveling with Ash who was a bare necessities type of guy and so she was able to get away with having some minor luxuries. Part of it was also due to her being a coordinator and coordinators were expected to look just as good as their pokemon.

As the two, plus Piplup, got up to join Ash they giggled as they caught sight of said trainer playing with his pokemon like a kid. Corphish was atop his head calling out orders like a naval commander while Ash chased after the various pokemon in an odd game of tag. Starly was flying closer to the ground to make the game fair while Bayleef was cheating by using her vines to tag the others. Even Buneary had joined in the game and was eagerly using it as an excuse to chase after Pikachu. The only ones not playing were Umbreon, Typhlosion, Noctowl, and Primeape though they all looked to be just as amused by the sight as everyone else.

Dawn suddenly grinned as a childish idea struck her and before anyone knew what was going on the coordinator was racing towards Ash with a goofy smile lighting up her face.

"Dogpile on Ash!" Was the rally call and with wide eyes Ash stopped like a dear caught in the headlights. Dawn took advantage and attempted to tackle the teen to the ground. Unfortunately she was a little too small to take the taller teen down and instead ended up with his arms wrapped around her in a hug.

However the pokemon were all too happy to help and soon Ash and Dawn lay beneath a dogpile of Turtwig, Growlithe, Buneary, Pikachu, and Corphish standing proudly at the top. Umbreon was grinning from its spot underneath a tree and Primeape looked to be as gruff as usual, but if one looked close enough you could see the barest of smiles on the fighting type's snout. Ash's two flying types were sitting in a tree looking equally as amused as the other pokemon. Bayleef was meanwhile off to the side pouting as she was far too big to join and could accidentally hurt someone if she tried to.

The sounds of laughter echoed throughout the clearing which had caught the attention of some of the wild Pokemon who lived in the area surrounding it. Coming upon the sight of humans and pokemon playing and laughing together even they could only smile in happiness at the sight.

Minutes later everyone was seated throughout the clearing, cheeks still aching from all the laughing and smiling, with bowls of food in front of them.

The three humans of the group were sitting on the cool grassy floor while they watched the pokemon enjoy their time out and about.

"So why are you all the way out here in Sinnoh?" Ash asked.

Swallowing her food first the Ranger replied, "I was actually sent here on a little mission to find you. Of course that wasn't too hard considering how much trouble you find yourself in."

Ash hung his head sadly knowing Solona wasn't at all wrong. Trouble seemed to find him wherever he went.

Dawn giggled quietly at the not so hidden jab at Ash. Though she realized that she really shouldn't be laughing considering she was just as equally likely to find herself in trouble as Ash.

Shaking off the faked sadness Ash continued, "Why come all the way here to Sinnoh though? I mean wouldn't it have been easier to just send me a message through my PokéNav or something?"

Solana just grinned knowingly, "Normally yes, but this isn't a mission request or anything." Seeing she had Ash's full attention the teal haired Ranger continued, "Well about a week or so ago a little somebody wandered into a station out in Johto, specifically the one near Mt. Silver."

Ash wracked his memories for anyone he would know that lived out in that area, but considering that Mt. Silver was known to be one of, if not, the most harsh and dangerous place in all of the Pokemon world, that list was small at best. The massive mountain that split the Kanto and Johto regions was home to Pokemon of such monstrous power that only the Champions of each region were allowed to enter it and even they were hesitant to do so. The extreme tundra that encased the mountain made it dangerous for even most Fire types to enter and only made people even more hesitant to even go near the place.

The only people he knew had specific permission to be out there were the Rangers stationed at the base of the mountain and they had to be the best of the best to get assigned there. The only such Ranger he knew personally was Mason and that was because he had bumped into the guy during the whole fiasco with Larvitar.

And that's when it clicked and Ash openly gaped as Solana held out a Pokéball in her palm.

"Is that...who I think it is?" Ash asked in barely suppressed awe.

Dawn was deeply confused and could only wonder what Pokemon could be in the ball for Ash to react in such a way.

Seeing and hearing how shocked their trainer was the other Pokemon gathered around the humans and stared in curiosity at the Pokéball that had so entranced their trainer.

Pikachu perched himself on Ash's shoulder and nudged his friend, "Pika?"

Ash took the ball from Solana's hand and turned to give his partner a huge grin, "Solana says that a certain somebody we knew in Johto went looking for us and she came here to bring him to us."

Pikachu just tilted his head in confusion, "Pika?"

No one could really blame the small electric mouse. He had been with Ash since the start of their journey together and had seen and met just as many people and Pokemon as Ash had. The hint of Johto did very little to narrow down that list.

Ash quickly stood up and tossed the ball into the air, "C'mon out Larvitar!"

As soon as Ash called the name Pikachu's face was split by a huge grin of pure happiness, now realizing why Ash had been so happy and stunned.

Emerging from the glowing light of the ball was a small bipedal reptilian Pokemon. The Rock type was encased in the hard shell of a green rock like hide with a small patch of red scales forming a diamond on its stomach. Black markings trailed down the corners of its eyes while a small blunted horn sat atop its head. This was the dual Rock/Ground type and first stage of Johto's pseudo-legend, Larvitar.

Larvitar was one of the Pokemon Ash had raised from an egg and thusly there was a very close connection between the two. Larvitar had been glued to Ash's side from the second he hatched and saw Ash as a sort of surrogate father. In accordance with that it had grown to see Pikachu as an elder brother, something the electric mouse was all too happy to allow.

Of course due to Larvitar's troubled childhood, Ash and Pikachu had been literally the only two beings it would allow near him. If any other person or Pokemon were to come near him he would instantly use Harden and wait till either Ash or Pikachu was near.

Eventually they managed to get the little guy to open up around Misty, Brock, and any of Ash's other Pokemon. Sadly they soon had to return the baby Rock type to his mother, and that had been the last Ash had seen of the Pokemon he had hatched and spent months raising.

Not knowing any of this Dawn was surprised to see Ash rush the small shin high pokemon and wrap it in a hug, Pikachu joining its trainer. Of course the pokemon was far too heavy to lift now, something he had been capable of when it was just a newborn, and so he had to kneel to give the Larvitar a hug.

Of course the small pokemon looked frightened at first, but upon recognizing just who was hugging him it gave out a happy cry and tried to return the hug with its stubby arms.

Dawn along with some of Ash's pokemon, Noctowl, Typhlosion, and Bayleef excluded, turned to ask Solana who only stood there smiling at the reunited group.

Noticing the questioning stares directed at her Solana spoke, "From what I heard Ash got that Larvitar when it was just an egg and managed to hatch it. He then returned the little thing to its mother at Mt. Silver and managed to save the two from some poachers while he was at it. Ash being Ash he never officially caught Larvitar, but it looks like the little guy wanted to join Ash again and officially join his team."

Dawn had to resist the urge to gush at the adorable situation. It sounded like some sort of bed time story parents told their kids to make sure they were nice to their pokemon.

Meanwhile the subject of their conversation was happily watching as Pikachu and Larvitar got reacquainted with Pikachu telling the now older and bigger pokemon about the adventures they had after they had parted ways.

It was a little odd to him how, now that he had matured and begun to mend the fractured bonds between him and his pokemon, a lot of the Pokemon he had released or befriended and never caught were finding their way back to him. One of the most notable had been his beloved Pidgeot. While in Pallet Town the massive Flying type had sought him out at Oak's Ranch and upon finding him had given him a good pecking.

He felt terrible knowing that he had all but left one of his first pokemon friends there with the promise to come back for her. Had she not gone out to find him herself he probably would have just let her be, which made him feel even worse. Of course Pidgeot had always been one of his most loyal pokemon. She had never once questioned him or disobeyed him, even when he was asking her to put herself in harms way. Not even Pikachu had been as loyal as the Kanto bird from the start. So it came as little surprise when, after Ash promised to bring her back into his team, the Flying type had let out a melodious shriek and rocketed off into the air with Ash on her back, a sign of her forgiveness.

Ash was knocked out of his little trip down memory lane when he felt both Solana and Dawn walk up to his sides, watching with smiles as Larvitar was welcomed into the little family of Pokemon.

"So the Rangers are fine with me taking Larvitar?" Ash asked curiously. He knew very well about the laws regarding not just the Pokemon of Mt. Silver but more so about Pokemon like Larvitar.

Each region was known for having at least one species of Pokemon who were born into a naturally high amount of power, power that if nurtured was said to rival that of some Legendary Pokemon. Thusly they had earned the title of Psuedo-Legends. The League was very strict about just who could raise these pokemon, them not wanting newbie trainers or anyone else getting hurt due to not knowing how to handle the pokemon and their strength.

That was why Ash was a little surprised that he was getting to keep Larvitar. That meant he was cleared by not just the Rangers, but by the World Committee itself to raise Larvitar. A Larvitar he knew would eventually grow into Johto's feared Psuedo-Legend, Tyranitar, and a strong one at that. Not just any pokemon could survive in or even around Mt. Silver.

Solana just nodded, "Yup! They said it only makes sense seeing as how you were the one to hatch the little guy. Plus with your track record with rare and sometimes dangerous pokemon, the Committee had no problem clearing you to keep Larvitar."

Ash smiled before he kneeled down and caught Larvitar's attention, "Hey buddy. So are you sure you want to come with me and help me win this League?"

The small green pokemon gave Ash a determined look before thumping its chest with a tiny paw, "Lar!"

Ash smiled before opening his arms, "Welcome to the team Larvitar!"

The dual type smiled before rushing Ash and giving his new trainer a hug. Sadly for Ash Larvitar had put on the appropriate amount of weight for its species and so he was hit by the equivalent of a green and rocky missile.

Everyone else laughed as Ash nursed his possibly bruised ribs.

After a day of relaxing and getting reacquainted with Larvitar, Solana had left the group, her mission done.

Ash was all too happy to finally make it to Oreburgh City the following day, eager to challenge the city's gym and claim his first badge in Sinnoh. And that's where we find the raven haired trainer, standing in front of Oreburgh's gym, an excited grin stretching across his face as he stared at the imposing stone structure. The gym looked to have been carved out of a small mountain and was situated just outside of the mining city, surrounded by rocky terrain and rugged hills.

It was a little funny to Ash when he noticed how similar the theme was to both Kanto and Hoenn's Rock gyms. All three looked to be made out of the element itself, though Roxanne of Hoenn had given hers a more refined and modern look, where both Sinnoh's and Kanto's appeared much more rugged and natural. Ash had to admit that Oreburgh's gym was a little more intimidating than Pewter's though.

"You ready Ash?" Dawn asked with a smile, fully knowing that Ash would have no problem winning this badge. She was more so excited to see Ash and his team in an official battle for herself.

Ash just gave her a cheesy thumbs up, "You know it Dawn!"

Pikachu chose to chime in as well, offering his own thumbs up, "Pika pika!"

Umbreon meanwhile maintained its calm attitude and just nodded his head, being just as confident in the abilities of his trainer and fellow pokemon.

As Ash confidently strode towards the gym's entrance with Pikachu on his shoulder and Umbreon and Dawn on either side of him a certain purple haired trainer walked out. Giving Ash and the group a brief glance he sneered, "Tch. Some elite trainer you are. Took you long enough to get here."

While Dawn had to resist the urge to slap the rude purple haired teen Ash merely brushed off the jab at his skills. The scathing insults from Gary had hurt a lot more when he was still a wet behind the ears trainer who wasn't confident in his own skills.

Now? Such petty insults barely registered with him. He wasn't an insecure amateur trainer anymore. He had rightfully earned his ranking as an Elite level trainer and he knew it. Still he couldn't pass up the chance to mess with cocky brat of a trainer.

"Really? Cuz I'm the Elite trainer who beat you in a battle so what does that say about you Paul?"

Paul's cocky visage instantly melted into one of anger while he curled his hands into fists. Ash just grinned at seeing the cold teen react in such a way while Dawn just giggled. Hearing the giggle the purple haired trainer sneered at Dawn who just stuck her tug out at the angry trainer, not at all fazed by Paul and his actions.

Turning on his foot Paul began to walk away, "Whatever. I got what I came here for. I'm out of here."

Ash just shook his head, while Dawn huffed in annoyance.

"Arceus! That guy just irritates me!"

"Don't let him get to you. You're gonna meet a lot of people like him and it's best if you just ignore em. They're not worth the time and effort of trying to fight," Ash spoke.

Dawn turned to Ash and shook her own head, "How in the world can you not want to punch him or something?"

Ash laughed at Dawn's bluntness, "Trust me I do, but I had to deal with a guy like that for my first two years as a trainer. We both came from Pallet and started our journey the same day, but he's Professor Oak's grandson and that made him think he was better than everyone else and he made sure to let everyone else know how much better he was than them, especially me."

"How the heck did you deal with him?" Dawn asked in curiosity.

The blue haired coordinator looked in surprise as Ash pulled out a necklace from one of the pockets in his bag. Hanging from the chain was a broken and damaged white half of a Pokéball.

Smiling in fondness at the memories the item brought up Ash explained, "Eventually we decided to put an end to our stupid little rivalry at our match in the Silver Conference in Johto. In the end I managed to pull out the win and it was after that we decided to let our petty rivalry stay in the past. He eventually decided that he no longer wanted to be a trainer and instead began to follow in his grandfather's footsteps. He's actually getting pretty well known for his research on fossil Pokemon."

Placing the memento back in his bag Ash offered Dawn a smile, "But enough about that! Right now I'm here to claim my Coal badge!"

"Well unless you wanna try against some of my stronger team you're gonna have to wait till tomorrow," came a voice from the entrance of the gym.

Out of the sliding doors walked a male who looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. He was garbed in a grey set of miner's clothing, a hard hat sitting atop his burgundy hair completed the look.

Ash offered his hand as a form of greeting and as the man took it Ash spoke, "So that means you're Roark, the gym leader."

The now named Roark nodded his head, "You would be correct..."

"Ash. Ash Ketchum."

Roark smiled as he looked Ash over, "You don't look like a newbie trainer. I'm gonna take a guess and say that you actually still wanna challenge me huh?"

Ash shrugged and gave a cocky grin, "Hadn't planned on it but I welcome the challenge."

The Rock type specialist laughed before motioning for Ash to follow him into the gym, "Well then let's get to it!"

Noticing Dawn for the first time as they walked into the much different looking interior of the gym Roark said, "I'll have one of my assistants take your girlfriend to the stands."

Dawn's face was almost instantly lit up by a heavy blush while Ash nearly choked on his own spit. Pikachu was near dying of laughter while Umbreon looked to be snickering at his trainer.

"Uh...she's...um...she's not my girlfriend."

Roark stopped walking and turned to look at the two blushing trainers with a skeptical look, "...yeah, sure she's not."

The burgundy haired Gym Leader shrugged to himself before waving over one of the nearby assistants and asked him to take a still blushing Dawn to the stands.

Meanwhile he led Ash to a pair of massive metal doors. With a heave and show of strength Roark pushed open the doors, allowing the bright lights of the battlefield to stream in and near blind Ash.

As Ash adjusted to the much brighter lights Roark strode out onto the field and made his way to the other side. Emerging from a much smaller set of doors was another of the gym's workers who would be refereeing the match.

Finally with his eyes adjusted to the light difference Ash took up his own end of the field. As the referee was about to explain the rules of the battle the sound of Dawn loudly cheering caught Ash's attention. Normally that would be of no real consequence but it was what Dawn was wearing that had Ash's jaw on the floor while Roark just sent a knowing grin at the teen.

Dawn had taken off her white beanie and swapped out her normal outfit for a pink cheerleading outfit, compete with pink pom-poms. Of course the skirt was cut quite short leaving quite a bit of skin visible. Buneary was dressed in a similar outfit, also complete with smaller pom-poms. All in all it sent Ash's hormones into a frenzy, seeing the attractive coordinator dressed in such an alluring outfit.

Roark just crossed his arms and grinned, "Yeah she's definitely not your girlfriend."

Ash made no response as his brain was far too busy trying to burn the sight into his memory while also attempting to reboot its higher thinking faculties.

It took a laughing Pikachu's slight jolt of electricity to get Ash to regain his focus. Even then it still took a few seconds for Ash to get rid of the blush that colored his face and get his mind back on the battle at hand.

Seeing that both battlers were ready the referee spoke in a booming voice that echoed throughout the gym, "This will be a three on three match between challenger Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and the Gym Leader Roark! Only the challenger is allowed substitutions! Are both trainers ready?" Getting a confirmation nod from both the referee called out, "Both trainers call out your Pokemon!"

"C'mon out Turtwig!"

"Geodude let's do this!"

On Ash's side of the filed emerged the Sinnoh Grass starter while a much larger than normal Geodude appeared on Roark's side. Ash knew that this Geodude was much stronger and more experienced than the norm, having spent so much time with Brock, who was a Rock type specialist himself, had let him pick up some of the type's finer points.

He had thought to save the little grass turtle for last, but seeing as how he was challenging some of Roark's stronger team he had to change his strategy to accommodate the change of difficulty.

Turtwig stamped at the ground while a big toothless grin stretched across its beak, excitement and adrenaline coursing through its small body. This is why he and the others had. Even training for, this is what their trainer loved to do. In no small part this was also what they loved to do. It was practically encoded in their very DNA. They were creatures of battle. It was through battle that they grew and evolved. It was through battle that they as Pokemon were able to show off not just their own power, but the bond between them and their trainer.

The referee stretched his hand into the sky and with a swift downward swing called out, "Begin!"

"Razor Leaf!"

"Defense Curl!"

Shaking itself, Turtwig summoned forth a flurry of leaves with edges so sharp they easily carved through any obstacle in their way. Roark however was not a gym leader for nothing and was prepared for the attack. His Geodude had curled in on itself while light began to refract off its body, signaling the successful use of Defense Curl which added to the stone creature's already impressive defenses.

As the razor sharp leaves bombarded Geodude and bounced off its hardened exterior Ash's mind was already working to come up with a game plan. In a brief flash his eyes scanned the battlefield, looking for anything that he could use to his advantage. In a match like this he would have to use anything and everything. Turtwig was far too inexperienced of a pokemon for him to just go straight in and badger Roark's Geodude with attacks, a plan only possible with his stronger and older pokemon.

Taking note of the various rocks that jutted out across the field, most likely there for Roark's Rock types to use, Ash quickly began to put together a plan.

"Tackle!"

Moving at impressive speeds for a pokemon with such small limbs, Turtwig was quickly closing the gap between it and the Geodude. Despite this Roark stayed calm, his own mind quickly trying to figure out Ash's plan and find a counter to it.

"Catch it Geodude!"

The command was given none too soon with Turtwig only feet away from Geodude, its head lowered in preparation. Geodude gave a show of its quick reflexes, stretching out its only two limbs and stopping the Grass turtle dead in its path with minimal effort on the Rock type's part whole Turtwig struggled against the strength of the grip it was in.

Turtwig may have been strong when compared to other Pokemon, but Rock types were known not just for their sturdiness, but for their impossible strength as well, most being made of their element. That strength was only bested by the insane muscle power of the Fighting type.

"Toss it into the ground!"

"Razor Leaf!"

Due to Ash's Turtwig literally being within arm's length Geodude could do nothing but take the barrage of razor sharp leaves as they cut into its hardened skin. However it seemed that Geodude was no stranger to pain and despite being bombarded by a Razor Leaf attack it persevered and followed through with Roark's orders. With a great heave Geodude painfully slammed Turtwig into the ground with enough force to kick up a small cloud of debris, briefly obscuring the view.

Ash winced knowing that Turtwig would have sustained some heavy damage from that slam. Roark himself felt bad for having done that to what seemed to be a young pokemon, but he was not going to go easy on Ash and just hand him the badge, he was going to make Ash work for it, as was his job.

"Geodude! Use Tackle!"

"Geo!" Came the Rock type's call of confirmation.

Seconds later a badly battered and bruised Turtwig was sent flying out of the mini dust cloud. Mind overcome with pain the Grass starter could do nothing but allow itself to impact harshly with a nearby rock with enough force to crack it. Most of the pain from the impact was absorbed by Turtwig's shell, saving it from being knocked out. Even still the small pokemon sported a rather nasty looking bruise on its cheek from where the Geodude had slammed into it with Tackle.

Concerned for his pokemon Ash asked, "You wanna keep going buddy?"

Turtwig shakily rose back to its feet, pain coursing through its body as it did so. Even still the small pokemon refused to go down and gave a nod to its trainer, intent on proving itself in this match.

In the stands Dawn watched anxiously as Ash's Turtwig took a beating. It was odd to her though that neither had really used many attacks. In fact so far both Ash and Roark had only used two actual attacks, the rest of the match so far being a mix of strategy and maneuvering of their pokemon. Both of the previous battles she had seen Ash in had involved much more of the typical pokemon battle style, but here it seemed to be a far cry from that.

With a resolute nod Ash called out, "Razor Leaf on the ground!"

Roark narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Ash had to have come up with some form of a plan, and he was not exactly keen on letting that plan come to fruition, whatever it was.

"Rock Throw!"

Turtwig moved faster and was able to follow its trainer's orders. Too late Roark realized what Ash had planned as a dust cloud began to obscure Turtwig and a portion of the field.

The rock that Geodude had torn out of the ground to hurl at Turtwig flew into the cloud, only for it to be heard hitting the ground without ever meeting its target.

Roark's eyes widened further at Ash's next command.

"Synthesis!"

The Rock type gym leader grew some respect for Ash realizing what Ash was trying to do. He also realized that if he let Turtwig have even a few moments to rest and gather strength the match would become that much harder to win.

"Earthquake into Rock Tomb!" Was Roark's orders. He hoped that the combination of the two wide area attacks would both stop Turtwig and reveal its location within the dust cloud.

Geodude called out its name before climbing atop one of the higher rocks that rose from the ground. Using its two arms it propelled itself higher into the air. With the aid of gravity it delivered a powerful haymaker to the ground with such force that the entire gym began to shake and rumble from the shockwaves. Portions of the ground erupted and were upturned, giving birth to even more spires of rocks throughout the field.

The referee fell to his knees, unable to keep his balance as the ground underneath his feet shook violently. Dawn held tightly to the railing of the stands in an attempt to keep from falling to the ground while both Ash and Roark managed to keep their own footing.

Seeing Ash keep his balance through the shaking raised Roark's respect for the teenager more. Only those who had been exposed to moves like Earthquake often enough knew how to maintain their balance and keep from falling over like a newborn Stantler.

Not finished though Geodude quickly shoved its hands further into the ground and with strength that did not match its size ripped out a chunk of rock easily twice its size. A heave and call of "Geodude!" later and the massive rock was sent hurtling into the dust cloud that still hid Turtwig from view.

For a solid minute Geodude continued this process, tearing the once pristine and rough terrain of the arena asunder. Where once there had been a flat field with an outcropping of a few stones was now a veritable forest of stone spires and craters.

However despite its best efforts Geodude had been unable to find Turtwig, with even Roark being unable to spot even a speck of green to give him even so much as a hint as to where the Grass type was hiding.

As the seconds passed in tense silence Roark soon realized that he would have to change up his strategy. Geodude was quickly becoming fatigued from its continued attempts of finding Turtwig. While the Sinnoh Grass starter was becoming more rested, his pokemon was tiring itself out and the massive rocks Geodude was throwing were just serving to keep the dust cloud alive.

With a sigh Roark called out, "Enough Geodude! Rest and keep and eye out for Turtwig!"

Panting from its efforts Geodude did just that, taking up residence on of the many mini mountains that now dotted the field.

Silence engulfed the gym, all eyes trained on the field, waiting for someone to make a move.

Seconds ticked by before a grinning Ash gave a call, "Tackle!"

Everyone was shocked when the small Grass turtle did not emerge from the dust cloud, but instead came out rushing Geoudude from behind. Roark and his pokemon were unable to react quick enough and Geodude took a surprisingly powerful Tackle attack directly to the back. The Rock type was sent crashing into a nearby rock spire from the impact.

Not wanting to let Roark come back Ash quickly gave a follow up command, "Razor Leaf!"

The refreshed Turtwig summoned forth a small storm of the blade like leaves and sent them flying at Geodude who had been attempting to pry itself free from the hole it had made in the spire. Unable to protect itself yet again, Geodude took a direct hit from the barrage of leaves, painfully putting a stop to its attempts at freeing itself and getting back into the battle.

"Turtwig finish it! Tackle!"

Bouncing from one spire to another like a pinball Turtwig gathered a surprising amount of momentum and slammed itself into Geodude yet again. This time the attack hit with enough force to send the rock spire tumbling down around Geodude while Turtwig had just enough time to keep from being buried underneath the rubble by jumping away.

Despite having used quite a bit of time to heal itself Turtwig was panting while it stared intently at the pile of rocks Geodude was buried under, still prepared to fight on.

Roark however knew that Geodude would be in no condition to continue fighting. It had exhausted itself trying to find Turtwig and had sustained far too much damage from that last combo to be in any shape to fight.

With a sigh Roark enlarged Geodude's Pokéball, allowing the beam of red light that followed to suck the no doubt unconscious Pokemon back into its confines.

Smiling at the ball Roark softly spoke, "You did good Geodude."

The referee raised his hand into the air, "Winner of the first round, the challenger Ash Ketchum!"

Despite winning Ash knew that Turtwig would also be in no shape to fight any of Roark's other two pokemon, having thoroughly exhausted itself in its match.

Copying Roark, Ash recalled Turtwig back into its Pokéball, "Great job Turtwig. Take a rest, you deserve it."

Ash's smile grew as Dawn began to loudly cheer from the stands, waving her pom poms around, "Go Ash, number one! Battle right and get it done!"

Chuckling to himself Ash turned his eyes back onto Roark with a stray thought passing through his mind, 'Now I see why Gary liked having that group of cheerleaders travel with him back in Kanto.'

The referee's booming voice rang through the gym again, "Are both combatants ready for the next round?"

In response both Ash and Roark silently stared each other down while palming a pokeball. Taking that as a go ahead the referee boomed, "Call out your pokemon!"

"Probopass let's go!"

"C'mon out Typhlosion!"

A large floating statue like pokemon appeared in Roark's side of the field. The mostly blue dual Rock/Steel type blankly stared at Ash while its smaller mini noses orbited around its body.

The Volcano pokemon erupted from his Pokéball with a roar of power that rang throughout the gym, the flames on its neck flaring to life in an instant bringing with them a spike in temperature. The Fire type defiantly stared down its blank faced opponent, eager to test the limits of its newly aquifer form against an actual opponent.

"Trainers ready?...BEGIN!"

AN: there! Now you can all stop bugging me! Haha

In all honesty though I wanted to have this done a week or so ago, but I went and bought a DS, Pokemon Y, and well...went on a binge. The last pokemon game I had bought was Diamond and since then have only played other people's copies of BW/BW2 and X/Y. But I really wanted to get ORAS, because Gen III was one of my favorite gens ever. I remember buying Ruby and then Emerald and spending hours on my Gameboy playing through and just loving it all. So yeah I'm super hyped for the remakes, especially with the new additions. Little sad that character customization won't be a thing, was a cool little feature in X/Y. BUT MEGA PIDGEOT

In regards to the story! Got a little dark there last chapter and this chapter but hopefully I evened it all out. I know some might think that some of the stuff I included might be "trying too hard" or whatever but I don't really much care. Go read The Traveller and then you'll get why I'm doing this. Not trying to fully copy that but I loved it and wanna borrow some elements from it.

As for the updated list of new pokemon Dawn and Ash will get,

Ash: Growlithe (caught), Beldum, Lucario (possible change with Mienfoo MAYBE), Weavile, and Gardevoir.

Dawn: Absol, Bellosom, Leafeon, Ponyta, Altaria.

Note that how their listed doesn't necessarily mean that's how they'll catch them. For example Ash will get a Ralts that will evolve into a Gardevoir and so on and so forth.

The Lucario, thing. I admit it is somewhat cliche, but Lucario has always been one of my personal favorites. On top of that, like I said I am hesitant to add anything from Gens V and VI which Mienfoo is from. On the other hand...Mega Lucario...

At this point I will say that I'm about 99% sure I'm gonna include Megas, BUT I will not be including all Megas, only a select handful or so and they will be rare beyond all belief, like probably only a small handful of people will be capable of it rare.

As for Ash getting a Gardevoir and not Dawn, I like the idea of Ash getting a "pretty" pokemon that most see as a contest pokemon and turning it into an op battler. Also it would be cool to have Ash have a psychic type he can actually talk with. Goes with the whole better bonds with his pokemon thing.

Others are curious to know where Ash got the Eevee that became his Umbreon. Path at will be answered later on.

Anyways I think I've blabber enough. Anymore questions or comments? Leave a review. Want it answered ASAP? Send me a pm. I tend to not respond to reviews outside of a chapter update.

Go check out my profile for links to various things I would like you to see.

Until next chapter!

PEACE

OUT