Thanks for the reviews guys I really appreciate you taking the time to write one.

The new poll has been put up on where Ash should go in the sequel so please take a look at it and vote on it.

If you're looking for a good story about Ash getting abandoned by Pikachu at the start of his adventure take a look at either 'When One Door Closes, Two More Open' by Dragonsrule18 or 'Hurt and Abandoned' by Sheanon13. They are both very good stories written by two very talented writers. Also Sheanon13 asked for permission to use an idea similar to Ksher in her story.

Here's chapter 46 I hope you enjoy it.

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it. Ash can get the gist of what his Pokémon are saying due to his close bond with them.

"- Human speech

'- Thoughts'

"- Telepathy

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

Three days later the Trading Battle Event began, Ash stood outside the main building and he couldn't wait to see what Pokémon he could get in exchange for his Tauros. This time Ash intended to go about his trading in a different way, last time he came here he hadn't really explored the main building as it had been incredibly busy however this time it appeared that the outside battlefields appeared to be busier.

He walked inside and was not surprised to see that it was jam packed, he really had no idea how he was going to find someone to trade with considering the long line of trainers next to every single battlefield. This meant that unless he willing to wait for a very long time to battle someone he would struggle to trade his Tauros. He sighed and started walking towards one of the queue's when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He turned around and saw a woman who was wearing a staff uniform and carrying a sign which had 'Trading Assistant' written on it in bold letters.

"If you don't fancy waiting for a battle I suggest that you go over to the computers over there." The woman said as she pointed towards the west wall.

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Well you can use those to help you find people who want the Pokémon you want to trade and vice versa."

"That will make things a lot easier. Thanks for the help."

"It's my pleasure. I hope that you find what you're looking for."

Ash nodded and then walked over to the computers, he stood in front of a screen and wondered how he actually used them. He looked at the other people using similar machines and saw that the machine appeared to be voice activated.

"Um I'm looking to do some trading can you help?"

The screen flickered on and a girl with oddly styled blonde hair, a red shirt and blue denim overalls appeared and smiled at him. Ash looked at her and was sure that she seemed familiar but he just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Hello, my name is Julie. I am here to help you find a person to trade Pokémon with. So what Pokémon are you offering for trade?"

"Four Tauros."

"Okay and what Pokémon do you want to receive in exchange?"

"Any Pokémon really, I'm not fussy."

A virtual computer suddenly popped up next to Julie, Ash watched as Julie appeared to enter his info into the databases and a series of names and pictures started flashing on the screen however all of them had 'not applicable' appeared underneath their name. Ash waited patiently while Julie tried to find someone for him to trade with but after a few minutes Ash's patience started to wear thin and he was sorely tempted to just walk away and look for someone on his owns. Just as he was about to walk away a picture of a man with a Pawniard, Axew, Zorua and an Eelektrik appeared on the screen.

"Compatible trade has been found. This is the Pokénav number for Frank, call him and arrange a meeting spot."

"Okay thanks Julie."

"I'm happy to help."

Ash quickly noted down Frank's number and then the screen suddenly went black. Ash walked away from the area and looked around the now jam packed room, he started thinking about where to meet up as due to how busy it had gotten he knew that there would be no room to let out one of his Tauros let alone all four of them. He finally decided that outside of the Pokémon Centre would be a good place to meet since pretty much the entirety of Slateport was either in this building or battling outside of it.

Ash started making his way towards the exit, pushing his way through the crowd and muttering apologies to anyone he accidentally collided with. He finally got free of the crowd and left the jam-packed building, he breathed in the fresh air and basked in the space he now had. He looked around and saw that even more people had gathered around the battlefield and a horde more people squeezed into the building. As he watched the people walk inside he was glad that he'd gotten there early and avoided the majority of the crowd.

Ash moved away from the building to find a quieter place, when he got a reasonable distance away and the noise had died down Ash pulled out his Pokénav and dialed the number he had written down. He stood patiently as he waited for Frank to pick up, he couldn't wait to do the trade. Every time he thought about trading he was surprised that he'd actually found the courage to trade, at first he had been reluctant as memories of Butterfree had flashed to mind however his Tauros had assured him that they wanted to see new places and were happy to be traded to help him. Ash was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed that his call had been received.

"Hello, hello? Is someone there?" a voice asked.

The voice snapped Ash out of his daze and he raised his Pokénav to his ear.

"Oh hi, sorry I was just daydreaming a bit." Ash said and then laughed nervously.

"Don't worry about. We all do that every once in a while. So who are you?"

"I'm Ash Ketchum. I heard from Julie that you're looking for some Tauros. You are Frank right."

"I am indeed. How many Tauros have you got?"

"I have four."

"Okay where do you want to meet up?"

"How about the Pokémon Centre? It'll be quiet there and there's plenty of room to let out my Tauros."

"That sounds like a good idea. I'll see you at the Pokémon Centre in a few minutes."

"Sure."

Ash hung up and placed his Pokénav back on his belt, he then started walking away from the trading battlefields and headed towards the Pokémon Centre. While he walked Ash started to think about the Pokémon he would hopefully be getting in exchange for his Tauros, all four of them would add their own strengths to the team. Zorua in particular already gave Ash a few ideas of how to confuse opponents thanks to Zorua's ability.

A few minutes later Ash was leaning up against the wall of the Pokémon Centre, he kept looking around hoping to see Frank walking towards him. After about ten minutes a figure came into view, Ash squinted so he could get a better look at the figure and saw that it was Frank, Ash pushed himself off of the wall and made his way to Frank.

"Hello Ash."

"Hi Frank."

"So shall we let out our Pokémon?"

Frank nodded and both of them threw four Pokéballs each which revealed four Tauros, a Pawniard, Zorua, Axew and an Eelektrik. Frank immediately started to closely examine the Tauros, looking for any signs of illness, malnutrition or mistreatment although he didn't expect to find any of those things since Ash seemed like a responsible trainer. Frank stood up a few minutes later and looked straight at Ash.

"They are all excellent. You've taken very good care of them."

"I can't take the praise Frank. Professor Oak looks after them so he deserves the credit."

"Well tell him that he did an incredible job."

"I will do when I next talk to him. So if you don't mind me asking why do you want to trade these rarer Pokémon for so many Tauros?"

"Well I'm setting up a Safari Zone in Unova and I want to bring in some Pokémon from other regions for some variety. The Pokémon I'm trading are ones that I found when I first started building the Safari Zone and I knew from the beginning that they won't be happy living in the Safari Zone and would prefer to be with a trainer which is why I'm trading them. As for why I want so many Tauros well the reason is that I've seen herds of Tauros charging across the plains and it's an impressive sight so I wanted to get a few that could breed with our Ditto's and create an impressive spectacle for anyone who enters the Safari Zone."

Ash nodded as Frank's reasoning made sense.

"They are also incredibly good at defending land so they will be a big help against anyone who tries to steal from the Safari Zone." Ash said.

"Yes I had heard about their land patrolling from some of the farmers I know. Well I'm sure that you'll want to check these guys before you agree to a trade so have a good look over them if you want."

Ash crouched down in front of the four Pokémon, he took a quick glance over them and wasn't disappointed by what he saw. He could see that they were incredibly healthy and they all had a determined glint in their eyes which showed Ash that they would be strong battlers.

"They all look great to me."

"I'm glad to hear that. So shall we trade?"

Ash nodded and said a quick farewell to the Tauros, he then handed all four Tauros' Safari balls to Frank who returned the bulls and placed the Safari balls in his pocket. Frank then passed the Safari balls belonging to Pawniard, Zorua, Eelektrik and Axew to Ash, he then crouched in front of the four Pokémon and smiled at them.

"Goodbye guys, I know that you will find success with Ash."

Pawniard, Zorua, Eelektrik and Axew all hugged Frank and then stepped back, Frank stood up and shook Ash's hand.

"Good luck Ash, I'll be cheering for you guys when I'm watching the Ever Grande Conference."

"Thanks Frank, I hope that your Safari Zone will be very popular."

Frank and Ash shook hands again and then the former started to walk away towards the port. Ash then crouched down in front of his four new Pokémon and smiled.

"I'm gonna return you guys for now. I promise that I'll let you back out soon. Is that okay?"

All four Pokémon nodded and allowed Ash to return them, Ash then placed their Pokéballs on his belt and he headed north. He considered looking around for someone to battle so he could see Pawniard, Zorua, Axew and Eelektrik's battle skills but he decided that he'd rather get in some training with them first so he could expand their move sets and find out their battle styles. He started walking north and hoped that he'd get to the main clearing in the forest so that he could set up camp and get training as soon as possible.

Notes

Julie is a character in a Pokémon game – does anyone know what game she's from?

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like. It really helps me know what I am doing right and what I can improve on.

If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

Ash:

Kanto - Raichu, Meowth, Butterfree, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Kingler, Muk, Tauros (x20), Snorlax, Sandshrew, Jolteon (Shiny), Vaporeon (Shiny) & Aerodactyl

Johto - Croconaw, Meganium, Quilava, Heracross, Noctowl (Shiny), Phanpy, Hitmontop, Togetic, Sneasel, Espeon (Shiny) & Celebi

Hoenn - Marshtomp, Ninjask, Shedinja, Treecko, Vibrava, Zangoose, Sableye, Plusle, Minun, Raimodo & Kirlia

Sinnoh - Monferno & Glaceon (Shiny)

Unova – Axew, Eelektrik, Pawniard & Zorua

Kalos - Meowstic & Amaura

Pokémon currently on hand – Raichu, Meowth, Celebi, Togetic, Raimodo, Sandshrew, Vibrava, Phanpy, Pidgeot, Axew, Eelektrik, Pawniard & Zorua