AN: It's been a year since I last updated. This story is (most likely) abandoned. Maybe not though, if I can find the time. This is chapter 5. I didn't intend to publish it like this, but I never got the chance to finish it, and I feel like an unedited raw copy is better than nothing. There may be a chapter 6, probably not though. I really don't have time, with my second year of college starting soon, I have to hit the books.

Anyways, enjoy.

Chapter 5:

The next logical destination for Ash and crew would be Lavender Town. Though Lavender Town lacked the gym that the majority of other cities had, it made up for it with its amazing diversity of Pokemon, and multiple different battling opportunities. Before setting off on his path to Lavender, however, Ash wanted to train up his Pokemon for the upcoming Battle Expo, held annually in Vermillion, in one week.

Throughout the week, Ash worked on individual skills with each of his Pokemon. Torchic, who unfortunately still hadn't evolved, focused on his special attacks, making his flames hotter and his flame wheel attack a lot stronger. Zoura, on the other hand, focused on her physical power, resulting in incredibly powerful sucker-punches. Gyarados focused on pure power, and nothing more. Before the week of training, he was hitting like a truck. Afterwards, his abilities, including an incredibly powerful Hydro Pump, hit like a monster truck. And last, but certainly not least, Scyther honed in on his agility. After the week of training, he could dodge attacks from all three other Pokemon with ease.

Ash's Pokemon's skill levels began to even out after the training. Each pokemon had a weakness which could be exploited by at least one other pokemon on Ash's team. Torchic was quick, agile, and fairly powerful. However, when large, area-of-effect moves targeted him, it was hard to dodge, and he didn't have as much resistance as Zoura or Scyther. As a result, his counter was Gyarados, and when they matched up against each other, Gyarados usually won. Although Scyther was quicker than Torchic, he didn't have as much power as the fire type, and as a result, Torchic took most matches against Scyther. Torchic could also reliably defeat Zoura, but this was because of his presence on Ash's team dating all the way back to the beginning. Ash was confident that, with time, Zoura would be able to go even with Torchic. However, Scyther's speed and power coupled with his type advantage allowed him to take most of his matches against Zoura. But perhaps the most surprising of outcomes was Zoura vs Gyarados, going to Zoura. Zoura's small frame and type neutrality allowed her to weather the storm of Gyarados's powerful attacks, and her agility, coupled with her powerful special attacks proved stronger than Gyarados's defense.

Misty was essential in helping him with his training, and as she wanted to enter the tournament as well, her Pokemon needed to be strong. Misty had a powerful Starmie, a slightly less powerful Staryu, a Psyduck which she severely disliked because of his tendency to pop up out of nowhere, and a Wartortle, one of Misty's newer Pokemon which wasn't as strong as her other ones. Her Pokemon's powerful water attacks allowed Torchic to develop necessary water resistances, and her Starmie got along well with Zoura, both motivating each other to get stronger.

All in all, in one week, Ash's pokemon looked many times stronger than they did when they got dumpstered by Lance, and Ash was ready for the tournament. The tournament was only open to rookie trainers, and as a result, Ash was certain that he could perform well.

The morning of the competition, Ash woke up from his Pokemon center bed at precisely 7 AM. Ash was a teenager of habit, and rain or shine he would wake up no later than 7 AM. After his morning routine, which involved waking up his stubborn Pokemon, who insisted every morning that 7 AM was much too early, brushing his teeth, taking a quick shower, and feeding his Pokemon breakfast before getting his own food, he was ready to destroy his opposition in the upcoming tournament. Misty, despite Ash's fervent pleas, refused to wake up any earlier than 9, and as a result, Ash decided to go for some early morning training.

Ash's Pokemon weren't the only ones who trained up. Ash too did some strength, speed, and endurance physical training, as well as some mental training, learning strategies and ideas for training his own Pokemon. Ash went to the open field in which he usually trained, and decided to give his Pokemon a pep talk for the upcoming matches.

"I know that we haven't known each other for that long of a time, I mean it's only been a month," he lead off. "But I feel like you guys have really changed my life, and changed me for the better. Right now, I couldn't imagine a life without any of you, … Anyways, that's not important. What is important is that we destroy our competition in this tournament. You and I both know how much this means to us, and together, we can do anything. So, today let's go out there and kick some ass!"

Torchic, Scyther, Zoura, and Gyarados looked sufficiently pumped up for the tournament, and after a bit of easy training (wouldn't want to tire the team out), they made their way over to the reception hall. Held in the Vermillion gym, the rookie tournament would put their skills to the test.

As Ash walked up to the receptionist desk to fill out his starting form, he saw a familiar face among the hundreds of other rookies looking for their chance to make it big. And it looked like that face had spotted him back.

"Ashy-boy," the boisterous teenager yelled, "Don't tell me you're joining this tournament as well. I thought that this was a serious demonstration of talent, not an exposition for pathetic trainers like you."

Gary. Of course he was here, the self-proclaimed best rookie trainer since Lance wouldn't pass this up for the world. He sauntered over to him, cheerleaders in tow, like a kid in a candy store.

Ash looked up at his "rival", and simply shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't worth Ash's time, and as such, Ash failed to respond and just walked away.

"Oh what Ashy-boy. You're afraid you're going to lose to me again? Well it's good to be afraid of such raw power!" Gary taunted. His cheerleaders, who backed him up almost always, began to cheer another rendition of "Bash on Ash". Gary was starting to get on his nerves. First of all, he had never lost to Gary, and never intended on losing to the pathetic trainer. And Gary's cheerleaders were so annoying. Gary was starting to make a scene, and the loud voices in the hall lowered to a hush. Everyone knew who Gary Oak was. He was the son of the legendary trainer Red, and grandson of Professor Oak, and him calling out a nobody was surprising. Gary was favored to win the tournament; he already had 4 gym badges and had caught 40 different Pokemon. Misty, however, saw the situation differently. She knew that Gary was a terrible person with a huge ego, whose Pokemon were gifted to him by his grandfather, and stepped in to diffuse the situation.

"Listen Gary Oak," she said. "Leave Ash alone, and go back to your stupid cheerleaders. Settle who's better in the tournament."

"Whatever bitch," Gary snarled, and turned to Ash. "Listen Ashy-boy, you are nothing to me. I will crush you under my feet."

Ash still didn't respond. He knew that Gary was baiting him into a verbal match, and didn't really want to deal with that right now. Even though Misty was very offended, he knew it wasn't worth it to honor that with a response. Instead, he turned back to the receptionist, and submitted his completed form. The winner of the tournament would get 100,000 Pokedollars, second place would receive 50,000, and third and fourth place would each receive 25,000 Pokedollars. That was a lot of money, especially for a rookie trainer, and Ash knew that he could walk away with it. He didn't want to be disqualified before the tournament even began.

Misty knew better than to respond to Gary's taunts, and let the situation resolve itself with Gary walking away. She knew that she had to crush Gary in the tournament, and resolved to do so.

The tournament began with quick one-on-one battles to eliminate the weaker trainer, reducing the original pool of 481 combatants to 256. Gary was one of the few who got byes, and as a result, he was up in the stands watching Ash's match, his cheerleaders cheering "Bash on Ash".

Ash shut it out, focusing solely on his opponent in front of him. His opponent was a "youngster", a twelve year old who dressed in baggy shorts and a T-shirt, and thought too highly of his own prowess to realize that he was outmatched by practically everybody else at the tournament. He didn't care to learn his opponent's name, rather simply focused on destroying him. it would be better to send out Zoura, disguised as a Pidgey for this matchup, so that he was underestimated.

"Are you ready to lose?" the youngster taunted on the other side of the field. Ash just ignored him; he and Zoura had worked out this plane earlier, and they were ready for battle. Torchic, Scyther, and Zoura were all in their Poke-balls for the tournament; he didn't want his opponents to know which Pokemon he had. Usually though, they spent most time outside their Pokeballs.

"Begin!" the referee announced. It was customary practice for trainers to not reveal their Pokemon until their opponent had already gripped the Pokeball that he or she was going to use for the match. That way, players couldn't force an unfair type advantage. However, this youngster had no sense of strategy, and instead chose to throw out the first Pokeball his hands could reach.

"Go Spearow," the youngster yelled. Ash merely released Zoura from her Pokeball, already disguised as a Pidgey.

"A Pidgey," the youngster scoffed. "My Spearow eats pokemon like that for breakfast. Spearow, gust."

Ash didn't even have to bother with giving Zoura a command. She knew what to do. Dodging the weak gust of wind, Zoura dashed in with a Quick Attack/Dark Pulse combo, rendering the Spearow useless. With a final Sucker Punch, Zoura disposed of her prey.

It must have looked very odd for a Pidgey to dash in with a Quick Attack. But a match was a match, and Ash walked over to shake the crestfallen youngster, as was customary for the conclusion of a Pokemon battle.

A few matches later, and Ash, Misty, and Gary had all made it to the top 16. From here, throughout the rest of the tournament, matches became 3v3, and the competition grew harder. Ash wasn't really worried though. Gary was in the opposite bracket, and he would only face Gary in the finals if they both got there.

In his first match in the octo-finals, Ash was up against a trainer named A.J. Ash had scouted A.J.'s matches, and his Pokemon seemed incredibly powerful, and destroyed his competition. A.J. had boasted 99 consecutive wins in his "gym" on the way from Cerulean to Vermillion. He had a Butterfree that he used to defeat his opposition, but Ash wasn't sure which other Pokemon he had. He was about to find out.

"And here we have the first octo-final match between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and A.J. of Cerulean City. Ash's known Pokemon so far include only a Pidgey, while AJ's only revealed Pokemon is a Butterfree. Both trainers must have a few tricks up their sleeves," Rory Hawkins, one of the match casters, said. "Who would you give the edge in this match Mike?"

"Well Rory, it's going to be tough to say. A lot of us have heard of both A.J. and Ash from word of mouth. We know that A.J. uses some questionable methods in training his Pokemon; he puts braces on them so that they're used to fighting in difficult conditions. No one knows anything about how Ash trains, so we're in for a treat right now. If I had to call it though, I'd say that A.J. will take it. Because of his 99 match win streak in his gym, he just feels like the stronger contender." Mike said.

"Well the match is going to get under way shortly, as the players make their way to the battlefield. On the left side, Ash!" Rory roared.

Ash walked up to the platform. The stages were bigger and there were cameras that caught all of the action. The matches were being broadcasted on television, and Ash knew that he was going to put on a good show. There were a decent amount of fans in the audience, as well as eliminated trainers, and Ash had gained a following because of his decimation of his opponents with a Pidgey. He got a few good cheers from the Kanto audience.

"And on the right side, A.J." Rory hollered.

Far more people knew A.J. than Ash, and it showed, with all of the people cheering and applauding for A.J. As both trainers grasped the Poke-balls they were going to be using in the match, the referee yelled "Begin".

A.J. and Ash both threw their Pokeballs at the same time, A.J. choosing to lead with his Sandshrew, while Ash chose Zoura again, this time disguised as a Ratatta.

Sandshrew immediately dug a hole in the ground. Ash knew that Zoura had the ability to sense the ground Pokemon underneath her, and said, "Nasty Plot, Zoura".

Zoura began channeling energy. By Ash's calculations, Sandshrew wouldn't be up before Zoura could finish. Unfortunately, A.J.'s Sandshrew was incredibly fast, and raced his way to Zoura, striking as Zoura had just finished her channel, knocking her down. "Rollout Sandshrew," A.J. yelled.

As Zoura took a good hit, her illusion faded, and the audience saw her for what she truly was. "And would you believe it ladies and gentlemen. Ash Ketchum is actually using a Zoura. For those of you who don't know, Zoura is a Pokemon with the ability illusion, allowing her to take the form of any other Pokemon. Zoura is one of the strongest dark type Pokemon, and is usually only found in the Unova region. This is incredible strategy by Ash," Rory said.

Zoura dodged the rolling rock Pokemon with relative ease, forcing him to crash into the stadium wall. Although she had taken quite a hit, she still had the Nasty Plot channel. "Quick Attack, Zoura," Ash said. Zoura nodded, and rushed toward Sandshrew, knocking him to the ground again. Without needing Ash's command, she automatically followed it up with a Dark Pulse, leaving Sandshrew very weak.

"Dig," A.J. yelled frantically. Sandshrew was his strongest Pokemon, he couldn't lose on the first battle! Sandshrew dug again, and Ash knew not to get too greedy. He just needed Zoura to wait it out.

Sandshrew struck from under Zoura, spinning and going for a Dig/Rollout combo. Zoura, however, was ready for it. With a quick juke, Zoura was out of harms way, and went in for a powerful Sucker-punch straight to Sandshrew's stomach. However, she hadn't calculated Sandshrew's rotational energy, and found herself flinged back to the ground away from Sandshrew.

"And would you believe it? It's a double knockout. Both Sandshrew and Zoura are out of the equation for this round," Rory yelled.

"Sandshrew showed great power, while Zoura showed great technical skill in this matchup. Zoura's prediction of Sandshrew's Dig attack allowed her to dodge the attack. But Sandshrew's raw power in his Rollout attack allowed him to fling Zoura away. Excellent work from both of these Pokemon, and excellent work from these trainers. I feel like, had things gone differently, this matchup could have been the finals." Mike commented.

Ash and A.J. both recalled their Pokemon. As per standard, when both Pokemon die, a blind pick is necessary to determine the next two combatants. Ash decided to stay safe and go with Scyther, while A.J. chose his second strongest Pokemon, Butterfree.

"And the next round is about to get underway. Ash Ketchum will be bringing out his Scyther, while A.J. is going to go with his tried and true Butterfree. Interesting that both chose bug Pokemon, Mike. Who do you think is going to win?" Rory said.

"It's again a tough call. Ash and A.J. seem evenly matched, and their Pokemon do as well. Scyther has the agility edge over Butterfree, and can fight better melee. But Butterfree is a lot stronger at a large range." Mike replied.

"Scyther Swords Dance, Agility!" Ash coached. Over the week, he and Scyther had perfected an amalgamation of the two moves that gave Scyther the necessary speed he needed to dodge Butterfree's attacks, while increasing the power of his own attacks. As Scyther warmed himself up, A.J. yelled "Butterfree, Psybeam."

Scyther, having practiced dodging Gyarados's Hydro Pumps, found that dodging an attack from a Butterfree considerably easier, and quickly avoided the Psybeam. After his power boost, he was ready to wreck the enemy Butterfree.

"Scyther, Wing Attack," Ash said. Scyther's rotating scythes created a sharp burst of wind that Butterfree easily dodged. Ash frowned. It seemed he would have to get closer to do some real damage.

"Butterfree, Sleep Powder," A.J. said. Butterfree shot out sleeping powder, which Scyther easily avoided. It seemed that A.J.'s other Pokemon weren't as good as his Sandshrew.

"Time to end this. Scyther, Aerial Ace into Slash." Aerial Ace was an ability that couldn't be dodged, and Scyther leaped onto Butterfree, engulfed in bright white light, slashing his scythes down onto the enemy Pokemon, finishing by throwing in a Slash.

The end result was a fainted Butterfree, and a healthy and boosted Scyther.

"Butterfree, return," A.J. said, trying to keep it together. He knew his last Pokemon was his weakest, and he honestly hadn't expected it to come to this. He had never lost a match before. Rather than subject his Pokemon to unnecessary pain, it was best to quit now.

"I forfeit," A.J. said in shame. Ash walked to A.J., as convention dictated. His opponent was distraught; the least he could do was honor him for a match well played.

"And the winner is Ash Ketchum," Rory yelled. "Congratulations Ash, for one of the most thrilling matches I've ever seen. That kid is going to go far in this tournament, I can tell you that."

As the tournament went on, Misty faced a trainer nowhere near A.J.'s strength, and defeated her handily. Gary also won his match, but did so with 0 strategy, just by sending out his strongest Pokemon, Dragonair, to do battle for him. Ash knew that Gary's Pokemon had to be powerful, but he was confident that he could out-strategize his "rival".

In the quarterfinals, Ash battled against a no-name fire-type trainer. He 3-0'd her with Scyther, despite the type disadvantage, and she took it in stride, resolving to better herself. Misty and Gary both won their matches as well, and Ash was now facing Misty in the quarterfinals. He knew that Misty wouldn't be a challenge for him; while he respected Misty as a trainer, she simply wasn't on his level.

"The battle between Misty Waterflower and Ash Ketchum has begun. Misty, a water-type purist trainer, so far has shown a powerful Starmie and a strong Wartortle. Whereas Ash has only shown his so far undefeated Scyther, and his strong Zoura. Let's see what will happen in this clash of titans. Mikey, your thoughts on the outcome of this match," Rory's voice boomed from the commentator's booth.

"I'd have to give this match to Ash. He and his Pokemon shown remarkable technical skill and raw power. Even though Misty does seem fairly strong, I'd have to give it to Ash," Mike replied.

"Well then, let's get into the match," Rory said.

Ash, wanting a challenge for this match, decided to break out his Torchic, to do battle against Misty's water Pokemon. Despite the type disadvantage, he felt secure in Torchic's ability to take out two or more of Misty's Pokemon.

Misty decided to lead with her strongest, Starmie, knowing that she was against Ash, who definitely outclassed her.

"Torchic, Dig," Ash commanded. He knew that fire abilities wouldn't work too well against a Starmie, and he decided instead to go for ground and normal type moves. Torchic followed the command, and dug underground.

"Starmie, Calm Mind," Misty retorted. Dig took a while to get to Starmie, and Misty's Pokemon could take advantage of this with a quick power boost.

But just as Starmie finished channeling, Ash commanded Torchic, "Strike, and follow up with Slash!" Torchic attacked, resulting in a fallen Starmie. As Starmie was starting to get up, Torchic unleashed a powerful Flame Wheel, that, despite the type disadvantage, did significant damage. Starmie was down for the count.

"And what an excellent series of moves by Ketchum. I think that he can give Gary Oak a run for his money." Mike said.

Misty returned Starmie, intending to send out her next strongest Pokemon, Staryu. However, out of the Pokeball came Psyduck!

"Psyduck, not now," Misty exclaimed. But rules were rules, and Psyduck had to compete.

"Okay Psyduck, Confusion," Misty said. Psyduck refused, simply sitting down. Ash smirked, he didn't think it would be this easy.

"Torchic, Quick Attack, and follow up with Flame Wheel," Ash said. Torchic's Quick Attack was executed properly, pushing over Psyduck. And as the Flame Wheel shot towards Psyduck, he was engulfed in a bright pink light, and Torchic's attack was reflected back onto him, much more powerful than it came toward Psyduck, knocking Torchic down, and forcing him out of the fight.

"That was incredible; Psyduck used Mirror Coat to deal double the damage back to Ash's Torchic. We'll have to see what Ash can counter with now." Rory said.

Ash growled, Psyduck had never done anything useful before. No matter, he'd just have to leave the rest of the battle to Gyarados. "Gyarados, go," Ash said as he threw the Pokeball.

The gargantuan water-type Pokemon took to the field, staring down Psyduck, who seemed incredibly uninterested. Rather than fight, Psyduck hopped back into his Pokeball, leaving Misty on her last Pokemon.

"Okay, go Staryu," Misty said. The weaker version of Starmie took to the field. After a relatively uneventful battle, Gyarados defeated Staryu, promoting Ash to the finals.

Ash climbed back into the spectator's stands with Misty, after congratulating her on a strong showing. Psyduck had truly impressed him; he'd have to ask Zoura what was up with the stubborn Pokemon.

"The next match between Gary Oak from Pallet Town and Timothy Zulch from Saffron City will begin shortly. Now Mike, what do you think of this match?" Rory asked.

"Hands down, 100% I'd give it to Gary. He's just a lot stronger than Timothy; the fact that he smoked through his competition with his Dragonair proves that. Whereas Timothy honestly looked lucky to get this far. I think A.J. and Misty are far stronger contenders than Timothy." Mike replied.

"And we're getting into the battle. Gary sends out, no surprise, his Dragonair. Timothy responds with his strongest Pokemon, an Arbok. And wow, would you look at that damage. A simple Twister attack, and Arbok is down for the count!" Rory said.

Ash frowned. He knew his Pokemon were a lot stronger than Arbok, but this Dragonair seemed immensely strong. He wasn't sure if he could do it.

"Next up from Timothy is his trusty Absol, a Hoenn Pokemon. Oh and what's that! Gary has left the stadium, and is making his way to this very desk." Rory said.

Gary had confidently left his Dragonair to take out the relatively weak Absol, walking up to the desk with swagger. He tore the microphone from Rory's hands, and waved to the crowd, eliciting loud cheers.

"Here we can see an absolutely pathetic Absol facing off against an incredibly strong Dragonair," Gary commentated as his Pokemon started a Twister attack of its own accord. The dragon-type move encircled Absol, rendering it unable to attack.

"It looks like Absol is too scared to attack. As you can see, Dragonair can inflict more fear than a Ghost-type Pokemon." Gary said, as the crowd laughed and Timothy shrunk back. Dragonair followed up with a final Dragon Rage to finish the job, leading Absol out of the match.

"Well, that looks like another failed attempt from a terrible trainer. Let's see what else he has to offer," Gary spoke. Rory made no attempt to take back his microphone; the crowd seemed to love it, so who was he to stop it.

"And it seems like a Pidgeotto has been brought out. An interesting Pokemon, Pidgeotto. In a competent trainer's hands, it could be devastating. In this trash trainer's hands though, it's probably not going to impress." Gary spoke. Timothy looked almost in tears as he recalled his Pokemon and fled the stadium, forfeiting the match.

"I have a message for one Ash Ketchum," Gary arrogantly said. "You may have lucked your way to this point, but tonight, you're going down."

Ash growled, looking forward for the chance to put the cocky asshole in his place.