Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon at all...

He had woken early after discovering from Nurse Joy that the majority of the trainers in the area preferred to battle Forrest around mid-day, so if he wanted to get a good battle he would want to get there early.
It didn't take him long to get back to the gym, noticing that in fact the fence was already open, as well as the front door. Slipping in, he was surprised to see a battle was already going on. He was gobsmacked when he saw that the challenger was in fact using a Togekiss and was battling a Golem; it wasn't the nicest of match ups, but if the Togekiss was trained well enough then it could stand a chance. Making his way over to the stands, he noticed that there was a girl cheering on the boy, bringing back the memories of how his past friends used to do that.

However Ash soon found out that it wasn't the nicest of battles ever; the Togekiss was lacking in any decent moves that could deal any harmful damage, and was relying on its Serene Grace ability more often than not. The Golem wasn't that good as well, it just waited patiently whilst dodging moves with protect, before using a more deadly move such as stone edge when the Togekiss was close enough. Ash was tempted to shout out to the trainer to do something more useful, but he bit his tongue back in order to keep his presence sealed. It was a good timing as well, as the Togekiss finally went down after a rollout attack.

"Come on Josh. That what…the fifth battle we've had now, and yet my brilliance is still destroying you. Looks like you're going to be stuck here for a while longer now then." Forrest said with a laugh as he recalled his Golem back to his ball, before snapping his fingers. It was only then that Ash noticed Brock residing in the shadows as he scuttled forward as grabbed Golem's ball and placed it in what seemed to be a healing machine, before he came back and placed the ball back in Forrest's hands.

"Josh! I told you that your strategy wasn't going to work, but like always you ignore me! When are you going to learn?" The girl shouted out as Josh made his way up into the stands.

"Like I said Cindy, this is my battle and my battle alone! I don't need your advice at all." Josh snorted as he sat down, obviously annoyed at having lost again.

"Your friend is right you know. You focus too much on attacking rather than sitting back and observing; if I had been battling you then, you wouldn't have been standing that long at all. Forrest isn't that good at all, but it was your lack of skill that held you back." Ash said with his eyes closed. Both Josh and Cindy were both shocked at how a trainer merely butted into their conversation, let alone not noticing him before, but it was Forrest's reaction that actually snapped Ash's eyes open.

"What do you mean not good? I'll have you know that I'm the best gym leader that there is out there, and even the elite 4 have trouble battling against me! So why do you have the right to claim that I'm not that good at all?" Forrest fumed, angry that he was being put down by a no-body.

"Simple, I'll show you in a battle. 1v1 with your strongest against my strongest. And you might want to take notes Josh if I was you." Ash said before he jumped from the stands and onto the pitch, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the two teenagers. Forrest was speechless at what had been said, but he wasn't going to do anything at all. "Fine! I'll battle you and you will take back what you said….What was your name again?"

"The name's Red. A name you won't forget in a long time."

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Ash just made his way over to his place on the battlefield as Forrest did the same; for the first time in a long time he was actually looking forward to a battle. Sure the one he had not long ago against Gary was ok, but it didn't bring back hardly any of his fighting passion though. That's why he was looking forward to this battle; where he could show of his flair and ability easily.

"The battle between the challenger Red and the gym leader Forest shall commence. It shall be a 1 vs. 1 battle with no substitutions. Begin!" Brock said from the centre of the battlefield, lacking any enthusiasm inside him at all as he took the role of the referee for the match.

"Pikachu, up and running lets go." Ash said quietly to his partner, who was perching on shoulder. It was strange Brock thought; never had he seen a pokemon come forward with an electric pokemon in a battle, and the only person that had done that was… No. He was long gone. Everyone had said he had just disappeared into thin air.

"Huh a measly Pikachu; this will be easier than expected. Rhyperior, blast him away." Forest said with a cocky grin on his face before throwing out a pokeball onto the field; out of it materialised the drill Pokémon. Ash had seen many of these in his travels, but this one certainly looked like the most powerful one he had encountered; perhaps this wouldn't be as boring as he thought it would be.

"Rhyperior, rock wrecker to finish this off quickly; Brock's got to make my dinner soon." the teenager said with a cocky grin. The rock type roaring in agreement as it began glowing a dull orange and green colour as it raised its arms slowly in the air. Within seconds, parts of the ground around it quickly broke away to form a massive rock in front of it, which was continuously growing larger by the second. Placing its arms on the rock, the Rhyperior closed its eyes for a second before giving a grunt, the Rhyperior pushed it towards the mouse Pokémon who just stood there watching the rock.

The rock closed in rapidly, and Forest have a cheer if delight when he saw that the attack was going to land direct; however he failed to notice Ash whisper a command to Pikachu, who nodded as he glowed a light blue colour. The rock went flying into Pikachu while Rhyperior roared in victory whilst flexing its arms; Forrest have a triumph look as he began to grab Rhyperior's ball, before he was stopped by Ash's waving hand in the air.

"I wouldn't be so hasty if I was you; Pikachu attack position Bravo." Ash said with a grin on his face; the Pikachu on the floor began wobbling, until it melted and another Pikachu appeared from it.

"Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" it said with a smile on its face before it started glowing pinkish; but this was not the end, as the electric mouse began doing some small stretches as it moved its body from one side to the other. Without any warning he rushed forward at an extraordinary speed towards the rock type with its hands glowing white.

The rock type had no chance to defend itself as it was struck in the head. The attack obviously hurt as it clutched its head in roared out in agony. Brock on the other hand was simply flabbergasted at what had happened; how on earth had a little electric pokemon like that been able to survive such powerful moves in no time at all? It was simply remarkable how powerful it must have been.

"What the...? How the hell could a stupid mouse like yours survive a super power attack like that, and then come and give massive damage to me instead?"

"Simple." Ash said as he looked at his hand. "It's called substitute, a move that even the most experienced trainers in the world fail to actually take note of its existence."

"Are you calling me inexperienced?"

"No not at all. I'm calling you arrogant and inexperienced as well."

"That's coming from a beginner trainer as well!"

"Beginner? Hardly the word in fact...How about 10 times as experienced as you, with all the badges of Kanto as well." Ash said as he pulled out his case, showing his gleaming badges. It wasn't just these that were shiny; he kept all his badges shiny as a reminder to him of the good times he had in his past life.

"But how have you got the Boulder Badge? Only a few people have actually been able to beat me, and I've remembered all of their faces as well."

"Well that's your problem you have to try and think about. But let's get back to the battle I think; Pikachu attack position Gin" Ash said with a sly grin in his face. Pikachu nodded before he began glowing again, but this time a yellow colour.

"Whatever you're trying to do, it's not going to work at all. Rhyperior earthquake now!" Forrest shouted out, trembling at the aspect of losing to an unknown trainer who was battling him with the type disadvantage as well. It just didn't seem right at all in his mind, but regardless he wasn't going to lose at all.

The rock type let out a huge roar as it stamped its foot hard on the ground, sending the shock waves flying across the ground. However Pikachu had merely stood up on its tail with a smug grin plastered all over its face. This made the Rhyperior to go over the top as a massive vein appeared on its head as it started charging forward at the electric mouse. With a small giggle Pikachu just waited for the dual type to come closer, before suddenly it appeared right behind the rock type in the blink of the eye.
Needless to say this was infuriating the Rhyperior immensely as it turned around, and with a grunt it started running at Pikachu again.

"God damn it; Rhyperior do something now! Get rid of that pesky Pikachu! I have a reputation to hold up here, and you're not doing a very good job!" Forrest shouted as he waved his hands in all random directions, his rage getting to the better of him.
Rhyperior on the other hand just gave a snort at his trainer's reaction, before he raised his arms in the air. With a small grunt and repositioning of his feet, the ground around the dual type began wobbling, until large chunks began floating up. With some hidden mental power, the Rock Type shoved the rocks at the electric type, until more and more stones came up, with the same pattern happening over and over again.

However once again Pikachu was not fazed by this at all; it actually just gave a small yawn as it looked lazily on at the oncoming armada of stones coming in his direction. With one swift movement, his body began producing all sorts of sparks before he began spinning on its tail, until its whole body was a blur. What was impressive though was that whenever any on the jagged stones came in its direction, they were quickly turned into dust via the bolts of lightning that were being emitted from the Pikachu's body.

After a while, the Rhyperior had to stop to gain its breath back, and all it did was glare at the rodent that had returned back onto its feet, with a few brushed of dirt covering its coat of fur. "Now now Pikachu, there's no need to show off now at all." Ash said with a slight chuckle as he looked on at his starter; Forrest was simply flabbergasted at what to say, whereas Brock's eyes has closed into small slits…well, they were already small slits, but they were even smaller than before. Where on earth had Red managed to get that move from, and more importantly how did he and his Pikachu know how to use it.

"Pikachu finish this off now." Ash said with a yawn. As much as he had looked forward to crushing Forrest, it had been a bit of a disappointment really. Pikachu nodded slightly before its body began glowing a bright green; it was if nothing was happening at until the Rhyperior suddenly feel over whilst it was running towards the electric type. The collision it made with the ground was even greater than the earthquake attack it produced moment ago.

"Hmm. I guess this was easier than I thought it would be." Ash said with a shrug as Pikachu made its way back onto his shoulder. "I hope you two were making notes from that battle. See you later Brock." Ash said with a wave as he turned his back on the 4 shocked expressions that were being directed in his direction. But perhaps what was the most shocking was on Brock's face as he tried to comprehend what he had just seen; why had Red said he was going to see him later? Brock had the niggling feeling that he had seen Red before, but where was it?

Moments after Ash had left, Josh and Cindy were up on their feet after the trainer, hoping to try and get some more tips form him on how to do better; in no time at all, Brock was left on his own as Forrest had stormed out of their gym in a huff, tears in his eyes as the embarrassment of being made a fool. Brock slowly reached into his trouser pockets and pulled out the old red cap from his pocket; ever since he had been told that Ash had just left with no warning, he had searched the entire area for Ash, and his whole family had to convince him that he was gone when they presented him the hat that had been found on the ground. It seemed impossible, but there was that slight chance perhaps…

Author Note: Well here's the next chapter for the story. Thanks to korne-pokemon-luv for pointing out the mistake on the pokeballs; I had accidently pressed 6 instead of 5, but I've gone and changed it now. So I left on a mini cliffhanger as to what Brock is going to do, but you will have to wait unitl the next chapter comes up to see what happens :D And I think its time to show one of the new pokemon as well. So as always, review with your opinions, and I'll see you next time!