AN:This is the Same Chapter 3 but been remade and checked for grammar I'd like to thank Kitsune Dragon for Betaing my Fic.
Thirteen reviewer's for chapter 3 fancy that thank's for the support and please vote on my Poll I need some help deciding a certain outcome.
AN: Once more I don't own Pokemon or any of it characters (but if I did there'd be a hell of a lot more of ash's comeback king Charizard in it!, meaning more Ash Ownage!).
There are slight changes from the original so please enjoy and some of Ash's Old Pokémon will make appearances.
'thought's'
"Talking" anyway on with the show:
Dreamscape
A packed stadium watched the heated battle currently brewing on the battlefield.
BOOM! A blast of dark energy narrowly zoomed past Ash's head as he ducked. Quickly getting up and looking over the battlefield, Ash was glad to see Pikachu had dodged the lightning fast attack, chills were going down Ash's spine as he quickly counterattacked.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack to get in close" Ash ordered, his expression uncharacteristically nervous.
Pikachu charged his opponent with all the speed it could muster, crossing the field in only a few seconds.
"Darkrai, stop that mouse in its track's with Icebeam" ordered Tobias, and the ice blue beam was launched as quickly as it was formed.
"Jump over it and use the momentum to spin into an Iron tail" Ash quickly countered. The electric mouse jumped over the beam as it froze the ground and spun horizontally head over tail; coming out of the spin Pikachu used the momentum to add power to the Iron tail. It connected and Darkrai was launched into the ground forming a small crater from the extra force of the blow.
"Darkrai, use Dark Pulse." Tobias said calmly. Darkrai quickly got up brushed off the blow, quickly forming rings of dark energy and fired with extreme force.
"Pikachu counter with Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted quickly. Pikachu cheeks sparked brightly before launching the electric blast in return. The Dark Pulse sheared through the thunderbolt like it didn't exist and continued unopposed.
"Quick, dodge it!" Ash screamed with a tone of desperation. Pikachu was able to narrowly dodge to the left, but was quickly bombarded by several more Dark Pulse attacks. Ash was screaming for Pikachu to dodge, worried for his little friend's safety.
Due to the exhaustion that started to wash over the electric type, Pikachu was unable to dodge on of the Dark Pulse attacks that zoomed towards it. Pikachu instinctively launched the strongest Thunder it could in order to defend against the barrage.
"Pikachu!" Ash yelled in desperation and worry as the Dark Pulse attacks collided. The explosion knocked Ash off his feet and temporarily blinded the whole stadium.
"Ketchum's Pikachu has been hit by a flurry of Dark Pulse attacks. Is this it for the Electric Mouse?" Yelled the M.C. through the speakers which echoed through the stadium .
"Pikachu! "There was a tense silence over stadium as Ash looked at the smoke screen in front of him, his head bending at every possible angle, thinking that that will help him see through the thick cloud of dust and smoke. When the dust cleared enough for Ash to see, he quickly spotted the mouse close by on the ground, still conscious and facing his direction and struggling as it tried to move.
"Pikachu get up, come on buddy! You can do it" Ash yelled, trying to motivated the mouse. Pikachu was slowly struggling to get onto all fours as Darkrai approached from behind forming another Dark Pulse between its claws.
"Oh no...Pikachu get up! Get out of there" Ash yelled, now very worried for his little buddy's safety. The double helix of concentrated dark energy was launched as Ash continued to yell at Pikachu to get up "Get up, get out of there! Please get up, get up Ash! ASH! Get up"…!
Lily of the Valley Lake 10:08 pm
"AHH!" Eye's flashed upon as the startled youth jump in the air from the literal shock he just took from the chuckling mouse. As Ash looked up to the night sky, a familiar face in brock looks down at him.
"Good Morning Sleeping beauty or should I say night" said the chuckling Brock.
Ash rolled his eye "What are you doing here".
"Looking for you off course, you said it was just short walk and now it's already 10pm"Brock said.
"What!" Ash jumped to his feet and looked as his Poketch.
(AN: I think it's called that)
"I've been asleep for over 3 hours!" yelled Ash. Brock chuckled but now looked a bit confused.
"You, were gone longer than that what we you doing the rest of the time".
" I ran into Paul" Ash said as they walked back to the Pokémon Centre with Pikachu again placed on his left shoulder.
"And?" , " And we talked" Ash said evasively.
"About What?" asked Brock.
"Can we talk about this tomorrow, please it's a bit hard to explain" Ash said hurriedly as they walked into the Pokémon centre. They climb up 2 flights of stairs reaching their room's floor. They reached a door with the number 205 on the front and Brock pulled out the key for the room and opened the door.
The room itself was quite simple in terms of interior design. A couple of bunk beds with a small dressing table with 2 drawers in between the 2 beds which were placed against the wall under the window. Dawn was snoring away with Piplup on one of the top bunks. There were 2 other doors on opposite sides of the room, and one led to a small bathroom with a shower. The other leading to a small lounge area with a coffee table facing a TV, a conjoined kitchen with a bench top that had 3 stools under it, and finally a small computer in a corner of the room. All in all, it was a lot more spacious then their sleeping quarters.
Ash collapsed on the bottom bunk of the bed under Dawn, not bothering to take off his clothes.
Brock walked to the bathroom with a change of clothes' as he went in he stuck his head out facing ash "Aren't you going to change". Ash stared at the top bunk with Pikachu curled into a ball near his feet already asleep again.
"Nah I'm alright I'll just take off my shoes". Draping his feet over the side of the lower bunk ash took off said shoes and socks before just collapsing back on top of the cover's instantly falling asleep.
Brock came back out to this and stared at Ash for a minute as he snored away considering to wake him up. Brock was still curious in finding out what got into Ash, and what Paul had said to get this kind of reaction.
Deciding against it, Brock climbed into the lower bunk bed adjacent to Ash and got comfortable.
'I'll ask Ash tomorrow he won't be able hold it for long' was Brock's final thought as he descended into sleep, dreaming of Nurse Joy and their future dates.
A pair of eye's snapped open as soon as Brock fell asleep and glanced in his direction who was now mumbling Nurse Joy's name into his pillow.
'Thank God I fooled him, I probably would have caved if he kept probing' thought Ash as he stared above himself once more.
'What was that dream? I mean I've dreamt of the Sinnoh League before and winning, but never losing and viewing something so horrifying like this'.
"What does it mean" Ash whispered out loud.
'Am I doubting myself? Has what Paul said really been affecting me, and that Darkrai, ….. No!, it may be a legendary but it is still a Pokémon and a Pokémon can be beaten'. Ash's eye's narrowed. 'Plus, I've beaten one before' Ash nodded to himself thinking about the Battle frontier with Charizard beating Noland's Articuno for the knowledge symbol.
'And Charizard can do it again' Ash nodded to himself again, a smirk forming on his face as he thought of his old fire type. 'Looks like I'm giving Liza a ring tomorrow.'
'I can do this. I just need to pick the right Pokémon and make a proper strategy and I'm set and I have Brock to help me'. Ash thought, now satisfied.
Ash glanced out the window seeing a few Murkrow flying by, cawing under the full moon.
'I'll worry about this tomorrow. I just got to keep positive'. Taking a quick, final glance down at Pikachu, ' I won't ever let that happen to you for real you can count on it buddy' thought Ash as he buried his head into the soft pillows and slept once more, but this time a lot more peacefully.
Pokémon centre-The Gang's Bedroom-7:30 am
The young hero's eye's slowly opened. Ash rubbed his eyes and looked around, still very drowsy. Ash slowly got out of bed, hoping not to wake Pikachu up who was releasing soft 'pika's' from its mouth. Carefully opening the door to the bathroom, Ash opened the tap for the cold water in the sink splashing water into his eyes. Feeling a bit more awake now, Ash slowly exited the bathroom to grab some clean clothes to take a shower, Ash could already hear his mother in the back of his head demanding clean underwear for her 'baby'.
Now feeling very disturbed, Ash quickly grabbed the clean clothes and went to have his shower, closing the door behind him.
Ash came out feeling refreshed, both in appearance and mentally. Ash noticed Dawn, Piplup and Pikachu were still asleep, but Brock was missing,
'Probably making breakfast' thought a shrugging Ash as he opened the door to the lounge area before gently closing it behind him.
Ash glanced to the kitchen and saw Brock slaving away at the stove. Deciding not to bother him, Ash went to lounge and sat down. He figured he should prepare for the questions which will soon follow from his best friend.
'Why am I trying avoid it so much? wouldn't it be better to get a second opinion?' Ash continued thinking about what to do, but was brought out of his mind by the heavenly smell coming from kitchen. Quickly getting up, Ash took a stool under the bench-top and simply waited for Brock to finish.
Five minutes later, Brock came across setting two plates, each one with three pancakes stacked with banana, butter & maple syrup on the bench top.
" Good morning! I heard you up get up, so I made breakfast" Brock took a stool next to Ash.
"Thanks" Ash said, taking the plate. "What about Dawn?".
"I have more in the kitchen waiting for her if she wants them when she gets up" There was a moment of silence as the two friends ate their breakfast before Brock spoke up once more.
"Dawn said last night she was going to go shopping today to get out of your hair so you can prepare for the battle in peace". Brock said as he took a bite.
"I would say she knows that she doesn't bother me when training, but I think this more of an excuse." Ash said chuckling to himself. "What about Barry?".
"She's taking him along, I don't think the guy has ever been shopping before with a girl" Brock said chuckling and Ash joined him.
" Don't we know it?" The raven haired trainer chuckled as they remembered their times with May in the Hoenn region. God that girl could shop. Since her father was a gym leader, she'd no doubt be able to buy as much as she could...of course Norman had to pay back Ash and Brock as the two older boys often had to pay for May's things. Norman's wallet felt noticeable lighter on those days.
A loud bang was heard from a closing door and Brock and Ash quickly faced in that direction looking like Deerling caught in headlights. Now seeing Dawn, they both paled, feeling impending doom.
Dawn stared at the two idiots with a now pissed expression.
"I'll let that go this time because I'm running late, I'm supposed to meet Barry at eight so we can go on my shopping spree today" Dawn pissed expression quickly turned gleeful as she jumped up and down Piplup joined her not really understanding what Dawn meant by shopping spree.
(AN: That poor, poor little penguin. May Arceus have mercy on his little penguin soul.)
Both guys in the room sweat dropped.
'Does she have MPD?' both thought.
"Don't think for I second I forgot what you guys said. I'll get you both later." Dawn said quickly turning, pissed again. "I'll see you guy's later!" turning around Dawn and Piplup exited the room.
"I fear for both our wallets Brock" said a nervous Ash.
"You and me both" Seeing shopping in their futures the two quickly changed subject. Ash conveniently forgot to mention the pancakes so helped himself to another stack.
"Ash I didn't bother to ask you last night because you looked exhausted, but now that your restored and your stomach is now raring on all cylinders, I want to know what bothered you so much." Ash realising it will probably be better to just get it over with, agreed.
"What do you want to know?"
"You said you talked to Paul last night, right?" Ash nodded in confirmation, "I want to know what he said that disturbed you so much." Brock said calmly.
Sighing, Ash told Brock all the events of the previous night leading up to the mood he was currently in. There was a silence which lasted a few minutes before Brock finally responded to the info he was just given.
"I see.." Brock began, "So basically he pointed out all your flaws when it comes to being a trainer and the reason he bothered to say all this was to get a challenge which could push him past his current limits."
"Yeah" Ash said now looking down, not feeling hungry anymore. Feeling an arm across his shoulder, Ash quickly looked at Brock seeing him smiling at him.
"I'm glad" Brock said still smiling. Now Ash looked a bit shocked, not expecting that response at all.
"What!".
"Ash do you know how many time we've meaning both me and misty have said to you that you need to strategize more before your battles in the past? Plus there's the fact we've mentioned before that you could rotate your Pokémon so they all could get a good workout and more experience. You've just never listened till now." Brock took a pause and continued.
"Misty and I both realised by the Johto league it would probably take someone on the 'other side of the fence', you could say, to get through to you."
"You mean my opponents?" questioned Ash, who was now pensive.
"Not quite, they could point it out like we have to you before, but it won't have the same impact as certain trainer's".
"Like who, Paul?" said an inquisitive Ash.
"Yes, but who is he to you" asked Brock.
"A rival and now a friend" Ash said with smile on his face.
"Exactly! A rival! In the past you have taken on board what they've said about you and what you could work on, and it's not just Paul you've listened to. Gary, Harrison and Tyson, you've listened to them just as much if not more." Finished Brock.
"That is true, I suppose" muttered Ash now staring at his now cold pancakes.
Chuckling Brock got up and grabbed the plates and emptied them in the bin, before moving to the sink to wash up. He continued speaking to Ash as he washed, his back facing the teenage trainer.
"Now that you know your flaws and understand them, you just gotta try and work on them. I'll help you as much as I can Ash, but the one who needs to change is you. Are you up for the challenge?" Brock glanced over his shoulder looking for an answer.
Ash slowly started chuckling before outright laughing, causing Brock to fully turn around wondering what got into Ash. When Ash had finally calmed down enough speak, the answer honestly made Brock's day.
"I'm ready Brock like I should have been at the Indigo League" and both grinned at that.
After washing up the two went to the PC to check out Ash's opponent, Tobias and see if they've missed something. Ash stared at screen looking over Brock shoulder as he clicked away.
"Anything different Brock" with a sigh ash got the response he was regrettably expecting.
"Sorry Ash all they got info on is his Darkrai. It's only shown four move throughout the whole tournament; Dark void, Dream Eater, Ice beam and Dark Pulse"
A shiver came down Ash's spine at the last move Brock listed. "It also notes that Tobias has beat the entirety of Sinnoh's Gym leader's with ONLY his Darkrai"
Both Brock and Ash looked bit worried with that piece of info. Sure legendary Pokemon were known to be really strong, but...just how powerful was this Pokémon? .
"So he's never used another Pokémon in an official battle?" questioned Ash, who really hoped this wasn't the case otherwise he feel really outgunned.
"Sorry Ash. He's never been forced into a position of needing his second Pokemon" answered Brock.
Ash was shaking and slowly asked "So that Darkrai…clean-sweeped every match! Every single one...3 vs. 3!, … 6 vs. 6! All OF THEM!" Screamed Ash who paused several times in speaking.
"Yes" Brock said with as straight of a face he could make considering the information just produced. Ash looked like someone killed his Growlithe, his brain whirling from all this new info.
'How can I win? I don't even know what I'm up against...how I can I even plan for this guy?' Ash was screaming in his head. Taking some deep breath, Ash tried to calm down and not collapse.
'Alright calm down, if I lose it now I have no chance whatsoever.' Feeling a bit better with that reassurance, the younger trainer looked at the Pewter City gym leader who seemed to be waiting for Ash to finish his inner tantrum.
"You alright?"
"Alright as I can be, but what can I do against this guy, Brock? He's a complete mystery" Ash said as calmly as he could.
"This is where you need to use your head, Ash. Not just in battle and not just completely rely on me. I won't always be here to hold your hand." Brock said facing him still sitting on the computer chair.
"I'll help you train for the battle, but this is where you need to shine Ash. Use this as your test of character, if you will. Can you back up what you said, Ash? Are you really ready to change?" Ash was going to respond, but Brock raised a hand to stop him saying he's not finished.
"Before you say anything, Ash...I know this is a big battle for you considering it's a semi-final and the highest you've ever placed". Brock then got out of the chair and got into Ash's face poking his chest to express his views.
"But, this is also your best opportunity to set you on the path of redemption. Paul said your biggest flaw is you don't plan ahead before battles. I agree!" Brock poked Ash chest extra hard to show that he meant it.
"And now you're against a practically unknown opponent, you only know one of his Pokémon and how powerful it could be and absolutely nothing on the rest of his team. Not even a hint of what type could be. For all you know Tobias could have more Legendary Pokémon, so you are practically fighting blind." Brock paused to allow the information to sink into Ash who looked to be close to collapsing before continuing.
"But this also gives you the chance to really think about which of your Pokémon you believe could adapt and prove to be most effective against Tobias'. It's like chess. You need the right pieces in play for you to have a chance to win. It's up to you to decide who and what those pieces are?" Brock then sat back down on the chair and stared at Ash quietly giving him some time to think.
Ash was really confused. How the hell is a Pokémon battle like chess? How would a pawn or even a king, be useful here?
"Brock who would be the King in my Team?" Ash asked trying to make sense of it all.
Brock chuckled and answered "Answer me this Ash. Who is the most important piece in the game?"
"The queen" was Ash's instant answer. "She can do more than any other piece and if you lose it you're at a disadvantage" Ash said nodding to himself.
"You're wrong. It's the king for without the leader, the others fall into disarray leading to defeat" Brock said simply. "As for who's the king...that should be obvious."
Ash really wasn't sure about the answer. 'Who could it be Pikachu? Without him in my life I'd probably die. Maybe Charizard, he is my Strongest Pokemon. If he were a chess piece and I lost it, I'd be at a big disadvantage'.
"I think it's Pikachu or Charizard" Ash finally answered.
"Wrong" was Brock's quick response. Really looking annoyed, Brock answered for Ash.
"Ash it's not a Pokémon" Ash's eyes widened in surprise. "The King is YOU, Ash!". Now Ash looked really shocked.
"But why me I'm not strong like Pikachu and the others"
"Remember what I said...with the King out of the way, the rest of the pieces pretty much fall over and in chess that's a defeat. The King rules over his subjects, protecting his kingdom. Ash, your Pokémon are your subjects and you are their leader or as I said, King. You protect them as best you can and raise them to get stronger."
"A king also gives commands to his subjects who follow those orders to protect the kingdom. It's the same as being a trainer. You give your Pokémon commands to help them succeed in battle and victory to them is like showing they can protect their 'King' from any threat to the 'Kingdom'." Brock said.
"So it's like chess...an actual kingdom with 2 types of kings, but with the same purpose." Ash concluded. "That's really deep, I've never thought of battles like that. I honestly don't think many others do either" said Ash as he let it all sink in. Brock rubbed the back of his head looking a bit sheepish.
"Well that's just my opinion, I'm sure there are other's better than mine."
Ash smiled "But I think your right. Brock they do sound similar to me, I just have to figure out my 'pieces'".
"Well good luck with that, and look over your Pokémon carefully then wake me up. We'll make the changes. Then we'll go out and train them as best we can." Finished Brock, now smiling.
Ash agreed "Right!"
"I'm going to take a nap Ash. I'm still a bit tired. Come get me when you're ready." Brock yawned and turned around and walked to the bedroom door. After opening it slightly, a flash of yellow went flying past.
(AN: No it's not the Yondaime Hokage)
Said flash was scurrying across the room before it climbed up Ash's left shoulder, who was sitting down at the computer again for some more info. This time on himself to see how accurate the system was .
"Enjoy your nap Brock" said Ash with Pikachu now licking his cheek in greeting.
A 'Thanks' was heard by Ash, followed by a closing door.
"Good morning buddy, enjoy your long nap" Ash said jokingly and receiving a slight jolt in reply.
"Pikapi Pikachu!" Was all he got as he looked at his own info page.
"Check this out Pikachu, very accurate isn't it." Ash's page had a picture of all his Pokémon that had used in official battles along with his achievements.
Trainer: Ash 'Satoshi' Ketchum
Home town: Pallet Town, Kanto Region
Age: 15
Trainer Id Number: 8654870PJ
Leagues competed: Indigo League: Top 16
Silver Conference: Top 8
Ever Grande Conference: Top 8
Lily of the Valley Conference: Currently Competing
Other accomplishments: Orange Island League Winner
Kanto Battle Frontier Completed
Position to be the new Pyramid King: Declined
"They actually recognised The Orange Island League now, Pikachu! Isn't that awesome?"
"PIKACHU!" Both were happy with this and exited the page and logged off the PC.
Ash got up out of the chair and went to the coffee Table, he took Pikachu off his shoulder, startling the Mouse Pokemon, and placed of him on the table.
"I'll be back in a second Pikachu" Ash went towards the bedroom as quietly as he could and opened door and snuck into the room.
Brock was asleep again, but this time there was no mumbling of Nurse Joy.
'Probably got that date he wanted' mused Ash as he went to his backpack and pulled out a pen and some paper. His mother really knew what to pack.
'I'd be lost without her.' The young trainer laughed in his mind. Quietly exiting the room and closing the door behind him, Ash went back to the couch and placed the paper and pen on the table by Pikachu.
"Alright, here we go...it's probably best to write down all the Pokémon I own currently and go from there" Ash said to himself. "If I include Gible, I have 17 Pokémon at the lab, the rest of my Sinnoh team and Pikachu make another 6". Ash noted "Plus there's Charizard, Squirtle and Primeape to call on if I need him. Speaking of Primeape, I need to apologise to him for not coming to see him" said Ash as he looked guilty. He had neglected the fighting type for a while.
"And I had Pidgeot, but he could be anywhere right now since he's travelling with that flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto. Lapras is with his herd...Butterfree..." Ash sighed to himself as he remembered his old friends that he released. Pidgeot, Lapras and Butterfree were his first few Pokemon that he ever caught. Getting over his feeling of melancholy, Ash returned to work.
Doing some quick math in his head Ash came up with himself currently owning twenty-six, 'Well fifty-five if I take into account the total amount of Tauros I have.' Ash sweatdropped. 'Why did I catch so many of those things?'
"We got a lot of partners, don't we buddy? Now we just gotta pick a team." stated Ash and glanced at Pikachu who nodded in agreement.
"With you in the team we need to pick five more and I think it's a no brainer considering that we could be out classed in power is to counter with even greater power which spells out...Charizard".
Pikachu nodded to that selection. "Going on that trend Snorlax, Sceptile and Infernape would be other options, but I should go over all my Pokemon first." Ash decided to write the names of the Pokemon he owned excluding Pikachu & Charizard and split them into groups by Region.
The Kanto team had Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Kingler, Muk, Tauros, Primeape and Snorlax.
Ash was in deep thought looking at the group.
'Bulbasaur and Squirtle have been with me the longest and have a lot of battle experience, but what they have in experience, they lack in power which is my current problem as it is' Ash thought with a groan.
'Kingler and Muk are the opposite, they have power, but lack experience and Primeape...I've only ever used once so I don't really know how to go about training and battling with him I need more time before using him. Wow Paul and Brock were right...I really need to start training with my other Pokemon." Ash said as he looked at the electric mouse. The yellow Pokemon nodded.
"Pika Pikachu Pikapi." Ash chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess I really should start rotating more. Well, I guess that leaves Snorlax which would fit this mould perfectly he has a lot of experience with a ton of power, plus he clean-sweeped the match previous to facing Paul.
Ash wrote Snorlax's name on the 'Maybe' list for now, deciding to leave it till the end and see what he had to choose from.
The Johto Team consisted of Totodile, Quilava, Bayleef, Noctowl, Donphan and Heracross.
'Again...same problem as before, except this time almost all of them lack experience other than Heracross and Donphan. Quilava only evolved recently and even with a strong move like Eruption, he's not really ready yet for this kind of power. Adding Heracross and Donphan to the list he moved on.
The Hoenn Group Consisted of Sceptile, Swellow, Torkoal, Corphish , and Glalie.
Now this group was a bit tougher for Ash.
'The big contender here would definitely be Sceptile, plus he has experience against Legendary Pokemon'. Ash thought as his mind placed the image of the grass type when it was fighting the wild Deoxys and Brandon's Regirock.
'That's one more to the list. I can't add Corphish and Torkoal. They're not quite there power-wise, Swellow has a lot of guts and determination like me and he can take multiple Thunderbolts from Pikachu but would it hold out against a Legendary is the question.'
"I'm not sure about Swellow, what do you think Pikachu" turning to face mouse Pokemon who seemed to be in thought. Pikachu turned to face him and shook his head sadly. Ash turned back to the screen in acceptance but, his face was grabbed and turned to face the mouse again by Pikachu's tiny Paws. Pikachu then pointed to it check and pointed at Swellow's picture.
"Pi Pika! Pikachu Pika Pi Chuuuu!"
"I know Swellow can take a hit from your Thunderbolts, but Darkrai can probably still take him out even if Swellow had move to protect itself….." Ash paused in his explanation and an idea struck him.
"Pikachu didn't Swellow absorb your Thunder once? If we could do that again, Swellow might have a chance. I'd have to switch you instantly after you use Thunder for it to work, though."
"PIKACHUUU!" Pikachu jumped up in down in excitement of that idea being used again. Though biologically impossible, it was a great move for Swellow to absorb the Thunder attack.
'Thunder amour...that sounds like a good name, but I'm still not quite sure. I'll still add him though.' Pencilling Swellow's name in, Ash looked at his biggest problem of the group.
'Glalie...what do I do with you? He has a lot of power going for him, but he's one of the youngest and least experienced Pokémon I own.' Ash groaned again realising it was his fault he didn't train Glalie more and he'd be a lot more comfortable in using him ,then he'd have a good choice to use against a mystery team. Considering how powerful this guy was, there was a good chance he has a Dragon type on his team somewhere.
'There's always a dragon type.' Ash thought back to Drake from the Orange Islands, Clair the gym leader of Blackthorn City, Drake from the Hoenn League's Elite Four and Lance the Dragon Champion. Every single one them were unbelievably strong and the thing in common between them all was that they all trained at least one dragon type Pokemon.
'But do I risk him this is an even bigger risk than Swellow since he's more likely to make a mistake because of the inexperience.' Deciding to pencil down Glalie on the list anyway, he'd decide what do when he finished.
The last team and his current team would be difficult as well since this had been his most evolved team but also one of his most inexperienced as well.
The list consisted of Staraptor, Torterra, Infernape, Buizel, Gliscor and Gible.
'I can't pick Torterra this time. I'm still not quite comfortable with his battle style and I need to build up his defence more so some training with Snorlax should fix that. Also, that Darkrai is said to move really quickly and without a countermove like Earthquake which affects the entire battlefield, Torterra would be defeated easily.' Moving on Ash decided against Staraptor as well considering he was already uncertain with Swellow and Staraptor couldn't take a thunderbolt as well as Swellow can.
'Gible's Draco Meteor and Gliscor's Giga Impact would both be useful, but their defensive capabilities aren't very good. They can dodge well, especially Gliscor, but Darkrai is very fast as well so any speed advantage is negated, even Sceptile, my fastest Pokemon, would have trouble keeping up. So I can't use them either'.
'Buizel has a lot of spirit and confidence, but power wise...I'm not so sure I can use him against this opponent.'
"Man I really need to seriously think about my training from now on and I should really think about making some of my Pokemon evolve like Paul suggested. I don't have enough real options that could take on a Legendary Pokemon, let alone the rest of Tobia's team."
Sighing Ash looked at his last real option...the fire monkey that was Infernape.
'Of this group, he is by far the Strongest and coupled with Blaze, just like Charizard, he might give us a shot . But then again I've noticed some his inexperience shine through in that battle against Paul when he got caught by Electivire's tail. Then again it was my fault as well for not realising that fact either.' Adding Infernape's name to the list, he picked up the paper and read the name's he had.
Team:
1) Pikachu
2) Charizard
3)…..
4)…..
5)…..
6)…..
Options: Snorlax, Heracross , Donphan , Sceptile , Swellow , Glalie , Infernape.
'So I have 7 option's to fill 4 slots. This is not good again I'm really lacking in powerhouses and only 2 names scream at me that they have the strength needed for this team and that's Snorlax & Sceptile, although Infernape's not far behind either, but no one else really.' Ash pencilled in Snorlax and Sceptile to the line up, but paused on Infernape.
'Do I really want to use two fire types and if I did only use one there's no way I'm taking out Charizard, but that would leave Infernape out and he deserves a chance with how he battled Paul.'
Ash thought a bit more about Infernape's typing and realised he was part fighting as well. ' But Heracross is also part fighting as well and knows a variety of moves including Sleep Talk. Can I ignore that? I could go with Infernape who has more power and I could teach Infernape some fighting moves to help give him more variety with the few days I have and Infernape is also able to learn more moves rather than just fighting type moves. It could learn moves like Aerial Ace, Shadow Claw, Earthquake and other powerful moves to give it more variety.'
This was a tough decision for Ash. He stared at the 2 names carefully, but the decision was simple when he thought about it.
'I have to go with Infernape, of the rest of group he's the strongest and I need power and speed against this guy if I want a shot to win, plus Heracross's Sleep Talk advantage is negated since Darkrai knows Dream Eater.' Ash pencilled in Infernape for the fifth slot and crossed out Heracross.
'If I'm going on this kind of thinking, Swellow would be out as well. It would be very difficult to even execute the Thunder amour for a power up in a one-on-one battle anyway.' Ash realized because from his battle with Tate and Lize, he realized the thunderbolt had taken a while to return from the clouds to strike down at Swellow.
This left two names.
'The 2 Babies of the group Donphan and Glalie' Ash was in slight disbelief that he even thought about using these two.
'They're both too young for this kind of battle and lack experience, but there probably next in line when it comes to pure power, I..I have to use one of them' Ash gaze was fixated on the two names, constantly switching between the two names and sweat trickled down his head.
'I've had Donphan longer then Glalie so he's not as much of a child anymore and has a lot more experience than him either. Plus with Rollout, a move that gains strength with each time it's used, it could give me an edge. Donphan also knows Hyper Beam, but Glalie's Ice Beam can give me an advantage as I can use it to change the layout of the battlefield.'
Ash groaned really struggling to decide. Pikachu patted its trainer on the head as an act of consoling the teenager.
Professor Oak had mentioned that the two have been getting into fights at the lab with a lot of them being draws and some victories both ways.
"But Glalie is Stronger than Donphan according to Proffesor Oak he just lacks the insight to use his attacks properly and proper direction".
'But that doesn't mean he'd follow my directions perfectly, he did get knocked out by Tyson's Sceptile when I said use Ice Beam on the field , but instead fired to counter the solar beam coming at him instead.'
'If Glalie had followed my instructions to the letter, Sceptile's balance would have been put off so the Solarbeam would have missed its mark and with the newly made ice field, Sceptile's speed advantage would have been sealed making it easier for Glalie to get a win.'
'I would have started a whole Pokémon ahead.' Ash thought now feeling a bit depressed at the lost opportunity to have gotten a higher placing.
'But that can be fixed with some solid training, but it would take a lot of work and I don't know if I have enough time. Is it worth the gamble? This could backfire in my face if I'm not careful and I'd already be a Pokémon behind at the start'.
'Glalie may be more powerful then Donphan, but it only knows 4 moves, but he could have learned some while I was away and Donphan has some powerful moves in its own arsenal Rollout, Earthquake and Hyper Beam are all very useful offensive moves'.
'Enough dawdling I need to make a decision'. It took a solid 10 minutes before Ash finally made a decision and decided to go wake up Brock.
Ash went into the bedroom and shook Brock's shoulder's waking him up. Brock was pretty quick to get up and stated he was only dozing so he was relatively refreshed and ready to go.
They both exited through the front door with Brock locking the door behind them. They went down the two flights of stairs and entered healing part of the Pokémon centre.
"Brock I'm going to call Professor Oak to make the switches, can you use another phone and call Liza to send Charizard over here?" Asked Ash as they walked to the phone booths.
"Sure plus I get to speak to the beautiful Liza" Heart's forming in Brock's normally closed eye's.
Ash looked bit uncomfortable after that statement and went to his booth. He sweatdropped as he saw Brock suddenly float...that's right, float, over to the other phone.
"You do that."
Ash had a brief conversation with Professor Oak who then said "I'll see you soon". This confused Ash, but let the thought go. He had more important matters to deal with, so he quickly finished the call and walked over to Brock's booth just as he got off the phone with Pikachu on his shoulder and four Pokeballs on his belt.
"Is he coming?" asked Ash
"Yes, he'll be here later this afternoon, it's only 10:30 am right now so you've got plenty of time when he arrives to train him." Said a down Brock who trundled next to Ash out of the Pokémon centre.
"What's got you so down, she reject you?" Ash said now giggling with Pikachu.
"Liza said she had a boyfriend." muttered Brock who now looked half hunched over as he walked.
"That all? You look the same as when misty or myself mention Professor Ivy". No longer hearing footstep's next to him Ash turned around and spotted Brock curled into ball and he suddenly teleported to a corner of the hospital. Waves of Depression seemingly seeping off him.
"Don't mention That Name!" muttered the ball that was Brock.
Both Pikachu and Ash sweat dropped, 'I really got to stop mentioning Professor Ivy in front of Brock...I will always wonder what the hell happened there.'
When Brock had regained his composure, they walked along the path leading to the Lily of the Valley Lake. Ash chose to train in this location as a reminder of why he's making these changes, Pikachu jump off Ash's shoulder and stretched its back releasing a loud "CHAA!".
(AN: An odd sound for a PikaCHU to make, isn't it?)
"Ok Ash show me what you've decided on." stated Brock who stood by the Water.
Ash took a deep breath and released three of the four Poke ball's.
After the light was cleared from the initial release, an oversized and overweight bear was shown with a green, bipedal lizard and a flaming monkey. Snorlax released a yawn, Sceptile put a twig in its mouth and crossed its arm waiting for instructions and Infernape starting stretching it legs and hopping around to get the blood going.
Brock analysed the three "So Snorlax, Sceptile and Infernape...good choices. I don't think you could have picked any better with Snorlax's high defence stat, it could hang in there for a prolonged battle and has strong attacking moves. Ice Punch and Hyper Beam makes it a tank and possibly your team's anchor."
Snorlax was busy looking around for food before suddenly feeling tired and plopped down on the soft grass and fell asleep, causing everyone to sweatdrop at the gargantuan Pokemon.
"Sceptile is probably your fastest Pokémon if you could teach it more variety in move's he is pretty much set and its power is nothing to scoff at either." Brock mused out loud and Sceptile took a bit of pride in what Brock said.
"Sceptile." The Grass type puffed its chest out as it swelled with the feeling of pride.
"Infernape has a lot of power going for it even though it lacks some experience compared to these 2" glancing at Snorlax & Sceptile.
"If you teach it to have a cool head and a few more moves, Infernape will be very helpful and increase your chances. These combined with Pikachu and Charizard would probably be the strongest team you've ever assembled." Concluded Brock who then stared at Ash. The brown haired gym leader then noticed the other Pokeball on Ash's belt and raised an eyebrow.
"Where's your sixth Pokémon?" asked Brock.
"I had a lot of trouble deciding on my last one it was really down to either experience or a real gamble." The 2 looked at each other for a moment before both broke out into grins.
"When you think about it as someone who knows you well, the choice is obvious and it's not something me or any of our group really expect to ever change." Said Brock who was now chuckling to himself as Ash sixth Pokemon was released.
Ash just grinned along with Pikachu. "You know me too well, Brock. And you should know that it's either All In or Go Home! And hopefully this is a gamble, that will go my way, right Glalie?"
"Glalllliieee!" cried the frozen Horned Globe who then quickly froze Ash in greeting.
"So cold...oh so very cold."
And done my longest Chapter so Far, hopefully I don't sound insane writing this.
I Know Glalie is not really a child, but with how that Snorunt acted you'd think it was recently hatched.
AN: read and review, more review will make me happier and maybe a quicker update.
Peace out Lightningblade49