Apologies for the slow update. Lack of motivation was the main reason. I literally had to force this chapter out of me, so I hope the quality holds up. :P Anyway, enjoy! ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon! If I did, I would've never came up with the genius idea that is Rainbow Team Rocket!

~DragonClawFromQ: Please let someone else win just for once, pretty please.

Nope, sorry.

''Meloetta'' Speech

'Meloetta' Thoughts

After Team Rocket's sudden attack, Ash and his pokemon decided to get a nice meal first, before heading towards the gym for their seventh badge.

The leader, Blaine, was a fire-type specialist, and welcomed the raven haired trainer inside jovially. There, he explained the match was going to be a three versus three battle.

Ash understood and agreed with the rules. Blaine had used a Flareon and a Magmar so far, who both put up a very decent fight, but inevitably lost to Azumarill and Pikachu respectively. Now, Blaine was down to his last pokemon, but it wasn't just a random fire-type, oh no.

The Arcanine he'd sent out was big, bulky and intimidating. His powerful muscles contracted visibly under his beautiful, lush fur, and his teeth were as sharp as knives. It was obvious Blaine kept him in perfect condition, and it showed when he was in battle.

''No, Pikachu,'' Ash cried out when his starter pokemon was knocked out by a Flare Blitz. It was unbelievable, but Blaine's Arcanine easily kept up with Azumarill and Pikachu, and managed to defeat both of them.

''A respectable effort, Ash. Both your Azumarill and Pikachu are very strong. However, my Arcanine has been at my side when I was just a wee lad. It'll take more than that to overcome him,'' Blaine said, who hadn't been the least bit worried when he was down one pokemon to three.

Meloetta floated over the field and took care of Pikachu while Ash contemplated what to do next. She gave him a reassuring smile and blew him a kiss, telling him it was going to be fine. Ash couldn't help but to smile at the adorable gesture, before sinking deeply in his thoughts again. 'Sylveon doesn't match very well against Arcanine, and Dragonite and Meloetta are out, which means I can only use Rapidash.'

Ash had seen how excited she was when he told her he was probably going to use her in the upcoming battle. It was going to be her very first official battle, and her opponent was going to be a powerful one. But Ash had all the confidence she was going to win. He'd prepared and trained her well, so when he threw her pokeball high in the air, his voice was filled with excitement.

''All right! Rapidash, I choose you!'' he yelled.

The fire equine appeared on the field, her incredible size making Blaine's Arcanine almost look like a puppy. Her personality, however, was the complete opposite; it wasn't rock-hard as Arcanine's, who narrowed his sharp eyes at the big threat in front of him.

Instead, she was prancing in place, desperately trying to keep a giggle from escaping her throat. ''Oh gosh, my very first battle!'' She whinnied excitedly, like she was a small foal entering a confectionery shop for the first time.

''Is that so?'' The Arcanine's deep voice rumbled between his steadily growing growls. ''Good. Then you'll be even easier to take down than your friends,'' he taunted.

''Oh? Did you defeat Azumarill and Pikachu?'' She cocked her head a bit, her flames burning a bit brighter. ''You must be strong then. I'm honoured to be your opponent,'' she said respectfully.

''Spare me your flattery. You're just another pokemon I've to face daily. You mean nothing to me, Rapidash,'' he responded coldly.

Now, Rapidash frowned. She definitely saw a growing resemblance of her father in this Arcanine, and immediately, she felt a surge of pure rage well up in her body at the thought, like somebody injected an adrenaline shot into her. She flexed her well-developed muscles, making her even more intimidating while her flames ignited to a whole different temperature altogether.

''Fine. You mean nothing to me either, mutt. You're just another obstacle for my trainer to overcome in his road to be the very best, and I'll burn that obstacle down to soot.''

Arcanine stayed focused, although he couldn't suppress the nagging feeling of fear gnawing at him from the inside. He'd never seen such a big Rapidash before, and he was sure his trainer hadn't either.

Blaine said nothing. Instead, he gave Ash a friendly gesture, indicating the first move was his.

''Rapidash, let's start this off with a Drill Run!'' Ash said, his voice steadfast and filled with confidence. It gave Rapidash the reassurance she needed to go all out. Ash believed in her, and she knew he would always believe in her. So, with a mighty cry, she began to run at the Arcanine, her massive hooves slamming down powerfully on the ground, cracking it and sending a large shock wave his way.

Arcanine could feel the ground rumbling under his paws, like a massive stampede was heading his way. Only difference was that this was a stampede consisting of just one pokemon. He could see the ground tearing apart in front of the fire-type and pebbles flying up, like the earth was personally coming for him to swallow him up whole.

However, his trainer reacted adequately. Smooth like silk, Blaine commanded, ''Arcanine, jump over that attack, then use Wild Charge in return.''

Immediately, Arcanine's muscles contracted; like a well-oiled machine he jumped over Rapidash's Drill Run, his fur standing on end as static buzzed through it. In the air, he leapt to Rapidash like a Lycanroc about to steal a Mareep from a herd, his whole body glowing and flashing white with the incredibly high-voltage of electricity surrounding him.

Unfortunately for Blaine, Ash had predicted something like this would happen. Smiling slightly, he gave Rapidash her next order.

''Now use Stomp in return, Rapidash!'' he cried at Blaine's offense.

The fire-type nodded her head, gave a snort at the incoming Arcanine and made a sharp u-turn in place. All the momentum she had picked up when running was suddenly converted into her back legs. With all the strength she had, she kicked them upwards, stomping Arcanine square in the face. The attack could've just as easily been mistaken for a High Horsepower, because it was simply devastating

A deep howl of pain was heard from Arcanine, immediately followed by a cry from Rapidash, whose back legs still took the majority of the Wild Charge. A loud explosion followed, and a plume of smoke rose from the center of the collision.

''Arcanine! Are you all right?'' Blaine shouted worriedly.

''Rapidash, are you okay?'' Ash shouted, equally as worried.

Two affirmative cries were their answers. Arcanine was damaged heavily. Rapidash's powerful Stomp coupled with the recoil of the Wild Charge had taken its toll. Not to mention, he had been battling Pikachu and Azumarill before this too.

Rapidash was relatively fine, but one of her back legs was pretty hurt. As such, she was walking with a slight limp, but her fiery spirit was anything but diminished. The flames on her body burned an eerie blue with power, just like her shiny-form. She was the most elegant and epic looking pokemon Ash had seen in a while.

''You're doing great so far, Rapidash! But the battle isn't over yet. It's time for a final attack,'' Ash said, his eyes burning with just as much raw passion as his fire-type. He knew that Blaine's Arcanine was almost at his end, but he also knew he had to be very careful with Rapidash's back leg too. That's why he wasn't planning to attack head on at all, but the slight panic in Blaine's eyes said everything; he had taken Ash's bait.

''Not so fast,'' Blaine shouted, ''Arcanine, finish this off with another Wild Charge!'' He knew it was a risky move, but he also knew if it hit, Rapidash would go down for sure.

Arcanine didn't doubt his trainer for a moment. Despite his injuries, he was charging Rapidash like nothing had happened to him at all, a loud bark coming out of his mouth as his body mustered the energy needed to produce the same electricity as he had last time.

Ash simply waited, much to the confusion and the growing panic on Blaine's face. Hadn't he told his Rapidash to go for a final attack just a moment ago? Usually this meant a trump card of some sorts, but the raven haired didn't do anything.

'Is he waiting for the right moment to strike?' Blaine thought incredulously, and with growing realization, he noticed that this was exactly the case. His Arcanine was running precisely over the damaged and weakened ground caused by Rapidash's Drill Run, and at that moment, Ash let his voice be heard.

''Rapidash, Drill Run again!''

She stomped her front hooves in place on the ground, creating a weaker, but still potent attack that ripped through the floor and created a massive crater as it traveled through the incoming canine.

There was no way Arcanine could dodge. Instinctively, he was going to jump over it like last time, but the weakened floor creaked under him in protest. The moment he was about to lift his heavy body from the earth and into the air, the ground gave away under him, halting his momentum to nothing and trapping his back leg.

He gave a cry of surprise, his Wild Charge cancelling as he could only look with growing eyes of defeat at the Drill Run that was about to hit him.

The super-effective attack did his job. Blaine looked baffled at the trap Ash had set, and he gave little grunts of disbelief as he saw his Arcanine get pelted with rock debris from beneath while the earth shook, his final cry and heavy frame dropping down in defeat, indicating that Rapidash was the victor in this battle.

''Unbelievable,'' Blaine muttered, not comprehending his Arcanine got defeated like this.

For a moment, Rapidash felt like time was frozen, until she heard the exuberant cheer of her trainer behind her, and felt his body hugging her around her middle.

''Rapidash, you did it! You won! I'm so proud of you!'' Ash praised his hard working pokemon.

At that moment, Rapidash felt pure happiness surge through her veins. She made a soft whinny that sounded like she was about to burst into tears at any second. She rubbed her head against Ash's and nuzzled him, soft snorts of appreciation escaping her nose.

Ash giggled, and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek. ''Thank you,'' he whispered, ''why don't you take a well deserved rest? Return.''

Once Ash had returned her, Meloetta floated over with her hands clasped together. ''Melo mel.'' She almost swooned at how incredibly cute the scene was she just saw.

Pikachu, who had recovered slightly, rolled his eyes at Meloetta's exaggerated reaction, but couldn't find the strength to tease her like he usually did.

Ash laughed at the antics of his pokemon, and then turned his attention to Blaine, who was approaching him already.

''Ash Ketchum, you've defeated me fair and square. Your Rapidash is truly amazing. Take this to commemorate your victory over me today.'' He held out a Volcano badge, which Ash gratefully took.

''All right! I got a Volcano badge!'' Ash said cheerfully while doing his silly victory pose.

Blaine chuckled and patted Ash on the back. ''You've come quite far, Ash. There's only one badge left to obtain. However, this gym leader is the strongest of us all. Prepare yourself for a hard battle; even if you have a legendary and ancient pokemon in your team.''

Ash nodded and bowed respectfully. ''I will, Blaine. Thanks for the advice.'' With Meloetta on his left shoulder, and Pikachu on his right, he left the gym in high spirit. He only needed one badge to go.

There you have it, people. Did you guys like it, love it, hate it? Review please! I love to read them! :D Next chapter, Ash goes on safari on One Island, meeting the fossil pokemon of the past. Jurassic Park shenanigans ensue! Until then. ^^

~Syrup-Waffle