Pokémon: Road of the Master

by Lezaroth

Ash, a boy who was born in Pallet Town, started his journey together with his friends. He became a legend for his strengths and captured many legendary pokémon. History records him as the true Aura Guardian. Some know him as the Chosen One, others know him as their Hero. This is the story of Ash Ketchum and his friends. A story of their journey to become a master. T for language!

8. Road to Saffron City

Hello y'all! Welcome to another chapter of Road of the Master! This chapter is about reaching Saffron City as well as capturing some Pokémon for future goals. Ash captures two Pokémon for other people here but keeps them for a while to actually train them for their jobs.

You do not capture guards for no reason.

So, let's bring on the reviews.

Q: Is the Claydol that is spoken of the same one from the stone ball in the anime?

A: Yes, yes it is! Giant Pokémon of old age have connections with each other.

Q: Ash and Sabrina coming together?

A: No, I've seen another story do this. A psychic will join though. Only because Vital Info gave me a pretty good review of things I can improve on. Sabrina, in this story, is like the emotionally empty one. I can see her parents refusing her to leave and make her regain her emotions there.

Q: Raichu and Persian?

A: Maybe. Pikachu might evolve if I give it enough time. It won't happen until Hoenn if he does though as until then the power can be reached through training! No limits for Ash's Pokémon, darn it! Persian? Well, Meowth refuses to evolve… As much as I love Persian, I'd have to say no. Perhaps in the very faraway future when Meowth recognizes the need to evolve for a reason.

Q: Mega evolution!

A: Not sure if I answered this before. I'm not opening past chapter through laziness. Yes, Mega Evolution will be in this story! It'll be rare! I like mega evolutions but even now I find them far too soon. Do enjoy the future Mega Gengar though… I have special ideas for him. Actually, I have special ideas for Trickster in general.

Q: Will Ash keep Haunter? Will he capture a Dratini?

A: HarHarHar! Haunter will stay as this is a different one compared to the one that simply joined him and then stayed with Sabrina. This one is the former Aura Guardian, Aaron's, former Zoroark. Special things will happen to it… as for Dratini… Hmm. Maybe? There's a giant, wild Dragonite. That's far future though. None of his Pokémon will be able to beat that monstrous Dragonite yet. Yes, he can befriend but… Dragon-type Pokémon do not follow you easily. You need to battle them. Even Titan.

Now that my answers and all are done! Enjoy this chapter. I worked on it hard with my breaks and little time I have. Damn parties and work! Give me reviews if you see a large mistake!

Update 10-01-2016: Corrected 'Flat' hair... Like, really? My bad. Thanks Vital Info for seeing this! His hair is supposed to be straight in Kanto!.. in my story at least.

---

Ash, Brock and their pokémon have finally reached route 08 after leaving the grounds of Lavender Town. To be honest, now that they actually thought about it, the air was much cleaner here and it felt… more pure? Perhaps it was because of the ghost-types that live in that town.

"So, Haunter… Would you like a nickname? I'm not sure if this Aaron has given you one in the past," Ash started a conversation with his newest friends. This friend was currently hiding within Ash's shadow as he didn't like the fierce sunlight though he could withstand it without any troubles compared to some other ghost-types.

"Actually, I have one. It's Trickster since I used to prank our team a lot," the now known Trickster let out a laughter that sounded… well, haunting. Both Brock and Ash felt a shiver down their spines.

Ash then chuckled a little. "If we find an annoying trainer, you have full permission to prank them."

"Now this is why I will not regret joining you, hahaha!" Laughter filled the air but this time filled with amusement. After all, he received full prank rights on trainers that his new trainer does not like. Hopefully he doesn't like a lot of them.

Brock turned to the group with Vulpix on his shoulder and Roselia next to him, "By the way, Ash. I've heard that it's the season for swarm pokémon. The news said that route 8 will now have a lot of Houndour and Murkrow in the area. Any interest?"

Ash thought about it for a while. Yes, he had six pokémon…

But should he stop there for each region? He decided that it would let him focus on a single team for the ease of use but right now he has slots of 10 pokémon. He can capture four others before he fills his space in Kanto.

He filed the thoughts away for another time.

"No, not now. Dark types don't interest me much since Hermit is, if he disables Protean as he's capable of doing so, part dark type," Ash explained to his friend who nodded in turn.

Brock then chuckled. "I may be interested in capturing a Houndour for home actually. They're perfect guards," Ash couldn't help but laugh.

"If we're lucky enough," He spoke thinking that they'll probably never meet a swarm.

---

"BROCK, I HATE YOU!" Ash shouted as he was running from a giant pack of Houndour and a few Houndoom. Brock wasn't far behind as both of them were practically running for their lives.

How did they get into this trouble? Well… It went like this.

[ Flashback: Start ]

"Haha, I know Ash! We may be lucky with our team and the fact they wanted to join us, but we'll probably have less luck with the Houndour."

You poor, naive fool. Completely forgetting the fact that you're traveling with Ash.

"We'll see…" Ash was more skeptical. After all, didn't he attract all that attention before?

That was also the moment Brock took out a pair of binoculars. A pair of silver colored binoculars.

Shiny binoculars.

He began to search around for any signs of the Houndour swarm. The news did say that there were a lot of them. Why wouldn't they be closeby now?

"Brock, even if they're common they won't be in plain sight. They'll most likely be in a cave or rocky area where they can hide and not set the forest on fire," his traveling partner commented.

Brock nodded with a depressed face. He did look forward to capturing one, or perhaps more for his little brothers and sisters. They'd love the Houndour family.

He sighed, "Ah well. I hoped I could've caught one soon. Guess we'll have to wait until night."

That was until they could hear a cry… of a Pokémon.

From above.

It was a Honchkrow with several other Murkrow staring down at Brock and the shining silver colored binoculars.

Ash turned to his friend and had to ask, "Was this also a method you intended to use in order to capture a Murkrow?"

Brock shook his head before putting his binoculars away. Slowly.

"RUN!"

---

It was getting dark and they managed to finally escape the damned Murkrow. That was not something that Ash would like to do again, nor would Brock.

The binoculars had been thrown at the leader so they were distracted and they ran for dear life. Why would they do so? Because they all carried something shiny. Ash had his cherish balls, Brock his pokéballs and let's not even begin about the badges on Ash's jacket.

What? He liked to show them off! Even if he shows that he is a rookie at the moment, it shows he at least isn't some weak rookie.

"So… We're in the forest," thanks Brock, for your ability to see where we are.

Ash just nodded before grabbing all of his team and he called them out. Right now it was time for a meal. His internal clock said so.

Brock rose a delicate eyebrow at the action before gaining an understanding look. It didn't take long before he too, called out his team. Now with the massive amount of 'Mon standing there wild Pokémon will hesitate.

So they can cook their meal. Let it be known that if you do not hand over Ash's cooking to his 'Mon, they will be mad. That's putting it kindly, too.

---

After having a delicious meal involving various berries and even a Sitrus Berry Smoothie that Ash had made with the help of his Greninja they were cleaning the area.

The trainers' pokémon were already training after dinner as per habit. Right now it was mostly based on movement for dodging as well as endurance in case you get hit.

For example, Onix had to move his body swiftly instead of bulldozing through things. Greninja was firing a lot of Water Pulses at the giant rock snake so if he gets hit, it does a lot of damage… and deals a lot of pain for the Onix.

"It was a pretty good meal. It's night now so I suspect you'll get your wish… if we find a group. Of course we don't want to deal with tons of them…"

Brock chuckled heartily. At least Ash gives him a lot of rights in this travel as well. Well, he just let Ash lead and he followed most of the time but if he wants something, it happens.

Ash is just too kind for his friends. Not that Brock complained about that part of Ash.

However, Pikachu's ears perked up before he began to growl. "Ash! Pokémon! Surrounding us!"

Ash blinked a few times before relaying it to Brock. They both returned their Pokémon except Ash's Pikachu and Brock's Vulpix so that they don't see too threatening.

It was once a lesson of Oak: Do not appear threatening in a possible territory of a Pokémon pack. That's akin to suicide.

That's also when they realized what was surrounding them. A lot of white skulls were appearing in the dark… tell-tale signs of Houndour and Houndoom.

"Brock?" Ash turned to his friend with a calm face.

Brock turned to his friend, "Yes Ash?"

"They're mad at us for being here."

"Oh…"

That's how their predicament started. Yes, Ash also completely forgot that Falcon could carry him up in the sky. Blame a panicking 12-year old will you?

[ Flashback: End ]

Now they're running for their dear lives, still wondering whether it was a good idea to even go in the forest at night… as well as cooking a meal that many Pokémon could smell.

They were still children so mistakes are expected… Well, it came to this point and Pikachu was getting angrier by the second at the insults of those mutts.

Consider them prey? Consider them a meal? Call them weak?

Even Ash could hear it but the last one made him stop running and turn around with a fierce glare. He instantly called out his Greninja and Talonflame. Brock, seeing the anger in the boy's eyes understood that he was getting angry at something the Fire/Dark-type Pokémon were saying.

Seeing no choice but to help him, Brock joined in. He called out Onix, Tyranitar, Graveler and Golett to battle them off as he had more Pokémon with advantages.

Well, some of the Houndour were staring at some of them in slight fear.

The Tyranitar in particular was showing a dangerous gleam in his eyes after some of the stupid dogs kept barking about eating the humans and Pokémon.

"Attack!" Ash ordered as they didn't need orders. That was the start of the chaos that filled the night.

Well.. Two trainers against roughly 40 Houndour and 10 Houndoom. Should be fair, right?

Good thing that they don't have special training equipment or else those dogs would be monsters. That's something the group learnt after battling them all off.

---

"Huff.. Huff.. That's the sixth Houndour and second Houndoom for at home. This should.. huff.. be enough for them," Brock breathed out in a tired voice.

Ash only nodded with a tired expression. He, himself, caught two Houndoom for the simple reasoning of having one at Oak's lab for protection as well as his mother's restaurant as a guard.

Those two Houndoom were also female… So they'll hopefully listen better than the males that Brock caught.

Actually, he captured a breeding pair of Houndour. Pretty impressive start for a breeder as the Houndour family was rare.

Well, Ash had stopped thinking there as he turned to his Pokémon.

Hermit was resting against a tree and you could see his body filled with burn marks of flamethrowers that went around. Despite the type advantage, it's still hard to win against 50 pokémon with so little of their own.

Pikachu seemed fine in this case. He was small and managed to use a few Houndour as meatshields by sliding under some during the battle. It seems that Pikachu had that fantastic body size that many wished yet not wished in battle.

Being small is pretty cool in multiple target battles. Against huge monsters like Kyogre? No thank you, sir.

His Talonflame just flew around without being tired. It seems that he could dodge very well in the air thanks to Ash's aerial maneuvers instructions. Flamethrowers rarely hit the Talonflame and Falcon often used Flame Charge to absorb the flames in its own attack and go straight at the Houndour with a powered up move.

Let's just say that Falcon beat most of them. Pikachu did take care of most of the Houndoom. Hermit protected the human trainers in this case, taking hits and knocking down Pokémon that got too close.

Brock's Pokémon were fairly well. Golett was a complete beast despite its ghost-type disadvantage. Using a lot of Mega Punch and even Thunder Punches had that powerful effect with its ability. A single mega punch took out three Houndour. Brock took count.

Onix was the perfect guard at their back. He took moves that were meant for the trainers and blasted the ones who tried with Rock Slide.

Graveler was using Rollout and steamrolled through the Pokémon as they were distracted.

Tyranitar was being a Tyranitar. A terror for the hounds. Let it also be known that the ones who spoke of eating his trainer was feeling the power of a Hyperbeam.

"Well.. Mission accomplished I suppose. Let's get out of here," Ash didn't even hesitate to return his Pokémon except Falcon. They'll fly away from here in case some of the hounds felt vicious for having some of their pack captured.

"Good idea," Brock quickly agreed with that thought. They really needed to get away… There's even the chance they're a small part of a huge pack. It wouldn't be a surprise considering they're the swarm Pokémon around here. Returning all of his Pokémon he quickly moved to Ash.

"Falcon, pick us up and fly us to a safe area! Next to a river, please," Ash added the latter because they will need a source of water. Sadly, that meant they'll get even further away from the main path into the danger zones but that was alright. They had tough Pokémon and Falcon can fly extremely fast.

The giant Talonflame gave a cry of agreement before smoothly going down and picking up Ash and Brock with practiced effort, lifting them into the air with its claws. Thanks to some use of tailwind and minor control of the wind they didn't even feel like they were flying forward. Something Ash really focused on after Fletchling evolved into Fletchinder.

---

So they finally arrived at a safe place and rested for the night. They each kept out a Pokémon – in this case Trickster and Golett. Both of them were at their peak in the night which made them perfect guards and both Pokémon understood why.

The Pokémon they captured were swiftly healed thanks to Brock and Ash's efforts. To be honest, it was amusing how it all went in Ash's opinion. He definitely got the better end of the stick.

[ Flashback: Start ]

It was finally after Ash and Brock healed up their captured Pokémon that it started. Ash captured both Houndoom with a pair of Luxury Balls so that they at least spent some time in comfort. Brock just used the plain pokéballs as he didn't really consider buying special ones.. Maybe Ash should have a word with him.

Both Ash's Houndoom woke up and perked up. They did notice the scent of natural herbs and that some of their wounds had a slight burning feeling so they must've been treated.

Was it by their pack, or were they captured?

A single sniff was all it took as the two Houndoom instantly knew what happened. They did smell the boy they tried to attack just before.

"It seems you two are awake," Ash walked up to them without any fear. His red eyes were glowing as Ash was reinforcing his body with his aura. The usual kind smile wasn't there but this time a thin line as he was judging them either hostile or friendly. It's known that wild Pokémon first need motivation to join you.

Both Houndoom perked up before carefully standing up and standing in front of the young child. Ash stared them down without any fear and the same was done in his direction.

"It appears that you have caught us both. May we know the reasoning behind the act?" The first of the two spoke up. In Ash's ears it sounded like a mature voice of a perhaps 30 year old woman. This one was definitely the older one of the two.

Ash nodded, "I captured you two for two reasons. One was that my mother owns a restaurant and I do not like the fact that some customers can become… hostile. I wanted a Pokémon that could protect the restaurant and my mother."

The younger one of the two perked up in interest. The older one wasn't too interested in treats which can be understood.

"The other reason?" The mature Houndoom asked, showing a fierce look that said that some consequences will be seen if they were captured from their pack for no reason. While one was very kind, she wanted to know the other one.

Ash nodded as he understood what the Houndoom meant. It was actually funny that they still didn't realize he could understand them. "I studied under the professor of our region, Professor Oak. He owns a ranch where I worked at since I was little and learnt everything I know. Now that I'm no longer there, I wanted to make sure that the fields are protected and a few Growlithe that Oak has isn't enough in my opinion. His Dragonite isn't capable of managing it all, so I wanted a Pokémon that will lead as well as protect the Pokémon in the ranch. To sum it up, I want a Pokémon that will manage everything in that ranch. Do understand that the Pokémon there are either protected from trainers or Pokémon that belong to a trainer so they can be considered a flexible 'pack' for you."

The mature one nodded. This time in interest.

Wait… "Did you just understand us?" the younger one asked. It was the voice of a teenage girl this time. Ash just chuckled at their reaction which showed clear surprise.

The trio could now hear a yelp of pain which definitely belonged to Brock. Turning their heads in unison to their right they could spot Brock jumping around with a still angered Houndour biting his rear.

Ash couldn't help it. He burst out laughing at the sight which was extremely comical for him.

The two Houndoom looked at it with their own versions of laughter and smirks. It was obvious that the other trainer took one of the more… rowdy of the pack.

He did capture a lot of them, actually. It interested them why.

"Houndoom, could you ask the Houndour there to calm down? Brock has a good reason," Ash tried to speak through his laughter though it was obvious he was having a hard time to.

The two Pokémon that were now part of Ash's family nodded as they walked up to the group. The two Houndoom that Brock captured were both males that were considered the 'guards' of the group and so the tougher ones. The Houndour there were a pair of mates and four pups that were recently born.

"Calm down pup!" the mature one barked out and the Houndour instantly let go before growling slightly and arguing with the two obviously stronger ones of its pack. This pup didn't like being captured, it seems.

Houndoom growled back showing its teeth as well as flames that perked out in slight anger. It seems this pup was getting ahead of itself, clearly because this one used to be the pack leader's pup.

A quick tail lash was all it took to shut up the Houndour and they explained the situation.

Brock seemed interested at how Ash's Houndoom were taking care of the situation without any trouble. He also noticed the two Houndoom of his own stirred and were awake, but not do a thing. Possible acting as if they're down.

Ash walked up towards the group letting out a faint yawn. He was understandably tired from what occurred tonight. "Brock, explain why they are captured and the perks of it."

Brock perked up before starting his reasons as well as being a former Gym Leader. Ash let out Meowth to act as translator, telling his two Houndoom to come help him set up a fire as he set up his tent.

His tent was pretty large, meant for at least three people as well as some smaller Pokémon to get in. Putting his sleeping bag in it as well as a pair of bed sheets so the Pokémon wouldn't lay down on the cold floor he called out the two Houndoom to feel free and get inside. Meowth could join them later and Ash let out his Pikachu which usually slept with him at night.

Like that, Ash and his Pokémon fell asleep without a care in the world. They did hear faint yelps of pain every now and then because Brock had to take care of some rowdy pups but they just slept through it all

[ Flashback: End ]

Now it was time for breakfast and today was Brock's turn to cook while Ash did some early morning training as well as giving the two new Houndoom some training methods for when they reach Oak's lab. He taught them how to use Roar efficiently as well as training their Crunch and Fire Fang with some special bite training equipment he got from Oak. They had weight as well as durability which let out a sound depending on the power of the bite-type attack.

The rest were just training physically to build up some good sweat and hunger. They'll train their special attacks another time as they usually change days they do this. His Amaura and Haunter were a surprise to the Houndoom. They recognized the stronger Pokémon instantly. Amaura had this hidden feeling of aggressiveness which only appeared in battle and Haunter was just a terror of the night in case you battle him in the darkness.

Ash felt that he was lucky the room they fought in had lights on because the moment his Haunter used Shadow Sneak it disappeared and he couldn't find it until he felt a shadowy hand on his shoulder.

Even now his Pokémon laughed at his girlish shriek. Thank Arceus that Brock wasn't there.

They kept training like this until they heard Brock call out to them and impatient barks of the Houndour and Houndoom sitting there. They obviously smelled the delicious food the human made and were eager to eat but they waited for the others on Brock's order.

Brock can be quite terrifying when he wants to be because when a pup tried to eat Brock threw a ladle straight at its head with deadly accuracy. His face alone scared the pup that moment because Brock does not appreciate bad manners when he cooks.

Ash nodded and called out to his Pokémon to tell them that they'll take a break and have breakfast. The Pokémon gave tired but eager cries as they all rushed to their respective plates. Even Talonflame, thanks to the use of some enigma berries that Ash receives from Oak every single day with the use of his pokédex's item transfer ability, had a pleasant and filling meal. While the berry's effects were unknown to everyone, even the professor, Talonflame loved them and it filled the giant Pokémon very easily. Brock even used some in Golett's food who carefully ate them and instantly appreciated it.

Ash took notes that royal species Pokémon seem to love the berry during the meal and sent it to Oak.

After their breakfast Ash decided to speak with his Haunter about aura.

"So, Trickster…" Ash started as he sat down on a fallen tree. His Pokémon were already training again to increase their strengths and speed. Even Amaura seemed to train and it appears that Amaura asked one of Brock's Houndoom to attack it while it used defensive moves.

"Yes, Ash?" Like always, it came over as telepathy to the boy but he didn't mind. Ash was too focused on the subject.

Thinking back about the past, Ash was interested in the use of aura. "What can aura actually do? So far, I can enhance my body's abilities, speak to Pokémon and apparently formed a special bond with you before. You did mention that I contain a lot of aura as well."

Trickster nodded. "I am a Ghost-type pokémon. We are considered the dead, the opposite of Aura which is something all Pokémon contain as they live. Before I perished in my life as a Zoroark, Aaron taught me many things.

Aura can be used to, in my words, ignore physics. Aaron managed to run on water and even climb the steepest mountains.

Aura can be used to see everything that is alive. It was something even I could use as a Zoroark. It was called 'Aura Sight'.

Aura was used for battle. Aaron could create aura spheres despite his lesser amount of aura compared to a Pokémon and he could even create temporary constructs like Bone Rush.

Aura can be used to create special bonds like you and I have. We grant each other part of our aura which then creates a link. Thanks to that link, despite you already being capable of listening to Pokémon, you can speak to them through telepathy even when they are far away or inside of a pokéball. It is a very useful tactical ability.

To be honest, I do not know all aspects of aura. You may need to visit Rota in the future," Trickster explained a long list of what Aura can do. Ash understood what it meant though he had gained an anime-like sweatdrop at the thought of ignoring physics. Well, in his Haunter's opinion.

That sounded a little too much like that anime about a boy and a nine tailed fox sealed inside of him. Oh well.

"Then, why did you create a bond with me? You said something about possibly limiting things?"

"Ah yes. Well, I explained that I am what can be considered the owner of energy that is the opposite of aura. Thanks to that, I can limit the use of aura as well as control it somewhat. This allows me to limit your usage during training or when you unconsciously put it in a part of your body. You've noticed that sometimes you run faster than you intend, do you not? That is because you subconsciously add aura to that part of your body. It's instinct. To train how to do it properly is what I am here for and why I created the bond. A bonus was that it allowed me to gain aura again which means life. That allows me to use some moves a normal Haunter will not be able to do and I can possibly use moves or abilities I learnt as a Zoroark."

Ash nodded in interest and wrote down everything that had been said by his new Haunter. He was definitely interested in the fact that he could train his aura with Haunter's instructions as Haunter most likely heard of training methods… if he remembers them.

The fact that Haunter can learn moves it learnt in its past live was the most interesting part though. "Is that why you can use Night Daze?"

Haunter shook its head in amusement. The boy was pretty sharp. "Yes. When I passed away I was still filled with Aaron's aura. Thanks to that it allowed me to use Night Daze again, something no other Haunter will ever be able to learn."

Ash nodded with a grin. "Then… Can you train me in the use of aura?"

Haunter gave him a grin that spread so far Ash was surprised it didn't go past its body. "Why of course, you are an aura user. Let's start with reinforcing your body and making you capable of fighting alongside fighting-type Pokémon."

The training that followed can be considered an experience worse than being beaten up by a Machamp.

---

It was around 2 P.M. that Brock told Ash they'll have to leave if they want to get some ground done. Ash agreed to it only after taking a bath in the river and when he was done, it was a good thing that there were no girls nearby.

Thanks to the use of aura, which Ash learnt from Haunter can heat up things, he let the water steam off of his body. He stood pretty tall for his age, at 1.64 meters. His build was that of a swimmer. Compact, agile and ready for flexible movement. His muscles tensed every now and then under the focus of his aura, making his arms sometime bulge up. To be honest, the only reason he doesn't have a six pack is because in Ash's opinion, it's just a waste of time. He travels for a challenge and fights alongside his family. Not to show off his body.

It was only because Ash trained as much as he was allowed when he was a child that he has such a body. He does not train Pokémon without training himself after all. Gary and Leaf followed that principle though Leaf rarely gained much muscle, she was far more agile than the other two. Gary had a similar build to Ash.

Perfect for adventure. Perfect for combat.

His long, raven black hair that reached his shoulders was wet as it was just above his maroon eyes. It was straight unlike the spikiness it had in the past. The hair was precisely how he kept it these days under his cap, as natural as possible. It was a lot more favourable compared to his past hair style - which made him look like a Haunter - now that he thought about it in amusement. His face still contained some baby fat yet it showed a maturity beyond its years thanks to his very expressive eyes. His cheeks were unmarked and Delia often mentioned how he used to have those cute zigzag marks on his cheeks. He sighed as he stretched his aching muscles thanks to Trickster's training. To be honest, it was brutal but left him satisfied. Perhaps that is how Pokémon feel after training?

His Amaura, Glacia, soon came up to him carrying a black shirt and black boxers. Pretty basic but it at least covered him when he'll pop up at the tents for his change of clothing.

"Thank you, Glacia," Ash thanked his fossil Pokémon who simply showed a kind smile.

"You're welcome, Ash. I like taking walks as my muscles rest after training. You've captured two very loyal Pokémon for your mother and the professor, I'm quite surprised. They used to be wild but in a single night where you allowed them to be close and give them reasons to stay, they took a shine to you. I know you do not intend to have them in your main teams during your journey though. I saw their pokéballs being different," the Amaura spoke up to her trainer.

Ash couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. His peach colored skin that left most women screaming in jealousy shone through the light as he put on his boxers.

Actually, were he to be less fit and more feminine built, he would definitely be mistaken for a beautiful girl from behind. Luckily his muscles changed most views of men. He didn't want to be hit on, thank you kindly.

"Yes, you are correct. The luxury balls are intended to give them luxury and comfort. As they rest inside, they feel much more different compared to you. That is the goal of such a special pokéball and it has the effect of lessening a pokémon's anger to its new trainer. That, alongside showing my trust as well as letting them sleep outside of those luxury balls helped a lot. I hope they'll like it at the lab and restaurant. Mom really needs more protection."

Glacia simply nodded before speaking up about her progress. "My fossilization has caused me much problems with my physical abilities. Luckily, thanks to your training, I'm nearly back to my peak. I wish to evolve after reaching that stage."

"Hm? What changed, to make you wish for evolution, Glacia?" Ash asked his shiny Amaura with a curious look. Putting on the black shirt it instantly latched onto his muscled body. Definitely getting too small for his journey.

"I feel like the rest are leaving me behind. Hermit is starting to get much stronger after the evolution as if his limit from when he was a Frogadier has disappeared. To be honest, I feel like I am limited and need evolution to go further. I wish to get stronger and stand beside you, my trainer."

Such a reason… Ash couldn't really reject. Neither would he if it was a bad reason but he'd tell her why he thought of it as bad if it was.

"I see… While I am glad you wish to stand beside me, you do not need to be the strongest. Yes, I wish for you to become the strongest you can be, but you do not need to force yourself to evolve because of it," Ash told his Amaura with a kind smile. Walking away from the river to the tents, his Amaura just walked beside him. Bare feet touching the pleasant, moist grass.

Glacia couldn't help but enjoy the presence of her trainer. That calm and kind aura of her trainer that made her feel like she was home. That aura that made her want to follow him. That made her want to become the strongest and stand alongside him…

"I still wish to do so. I believe we do need a special moment for it. An Amaura that evolves creates an aurora that will show the entire region of one evolving, something that used to be considered small in the past. When we evolve, we become much larger and gain more intelligence compared to other 'old' Pokémon. I believe you call them fossil Pokémon?"

Ash simply nodded, slightly interested in the story.

"We used to be the Pokémon that others go to for wisdom or the need to solve something that requires intelligence. While we are the top, Cradily and Bastiodon stand just below us. Relicanth don't count as they were only found at extreme depths of the ocean… To be honest, only few Pokémon met them. I believe they survived what occurred back then…"

Ash simply nodded, "What happened?"

Glacia shook her head, not wanting to remember it. "I do not wish to speak of this yet. It was an event I'd rather never remember. Something that spoke of the foolishness of humanity and the Pokémon that followed them in the past," She spoke with extreme distaste and equal amount of hatred.

Ash was surprised at seeing that but his hand reached for her head, stroking it gently. "Calm down, Glacia. We are now beside you as we journey through the lands."

The Amaura simply bowed its head in a submissive manner, letting Ash stroke her head.

"Let's go back soon. We've been away for a while and Brock wants to leave."

Glacia nodded with a smile, walking beside her trainer again.

---

Arriving at the camp he spotted Brock sitting on a fallen tree – the same he sat on before – reading a book about the biology of many kinds of Pokémon. Interesting, albeit very boring if you're not focused on becoming a doctor. Well, in Ash's case a good trainer. He trains his Pokémon and teaches them about weak spots after all... They're just not ready for such accurate combat yet except for Pikachu.

"Hello Ash. Took your time, saw some girl to flirt with?" Brock teased with a grin as he looked up to his traveling partner.

Ash just shook his head in amusement. "Of course Brock, we'll find a girl in a river. If I did, I believe you would've heard a scream and dropped your book to peek."

Brock just laughed at the idea. It was true that he'd do such a thing… Maybe he really should lessen his perverseness… But no! He must become a super pervert! Albeit more tame than others. You need charm after all!

Ash walked into his tent to put on his usual blue traveling jeans, a pair of red and white traveling shoes that are perfect to run on and his red and white jacket. He looked around for his usual red and white cap before finding it in his Amaura's jaws.

"I believe you were looking for this?" Glacia asked in amusement.

"Thanks," Ash thanked his Pokémon as he put on his cap and then put on his necklace and belt. After attaching the belt he made sure all his cherish and spare cherish balls are on them as well as two luxury balls needed to train the two new Houndoom before sending them off.

"You're welcome, Ash. Can you return me for today? I've stretched my legs enough," Glacia asked her trainer who nodded and returned her to her cherish ball where she can rest. Checking all of them he began to return the tent to its previous state.

Honestly, technology can be so surprising. They're as compact as a pokéball when you press the right button and the weight isn't a problem. The technology used to do this is done in extreme secrecy though – not even Ash knows. Kurt also uses the technology without knowing its true functions with his special pokéballs.

After Ash finished he spotted his Talonflame, Greninja, Meowth, Pikachu and Haunter waiting for him. Chuckling, he spoke up, "Who wants to walk alongside me on Route 08?"

"Of course I go!" Pikachu jumped onto his shoulder, his usual place. He liked being under the sun.

Meowth shrugged, not caring. He can see the outside world anyway. "Ya can return me. Not much ta see and I stretched enoff. Feel free Ash," He was promptly returned at the request.

Falcon seemed to think about it before nodding to be returned. Route 08 will most likely have lots of trainers, he doesn't want Ash to attract the wrong attention. "Return me, please. It would be far too troublesome to see trainers haunting you about me," Falcon did speak in amusement there.

"I don't mind at all, Falcon. I'll return you if you wish me though," He returned his second Pokémon and turned to his Greninja and Haunter.

"I wish to be returned, Ash. Right now my muscles need more recovery time," Hermit spoke up with a nod. Ash returned it in respect as he returned his water/dark type Pokémon.

"I'll travel with you in your shadow. To be honest, it's amusing to scare people with it. I can also teach you a bit about aura control on the road. You're still leaking it despite being in a bond with me, which is pretty scary as it speaks for the amount of aura you possess," Trickster chuckled in amusement. The same telepathic way of speaking reached Brock as well whom perked up in interest. Aura eh? Maybe he can learn it in the future for medical uses. Ash uses some kind of heal pulse on his Pokémon at times as well. That's how the Houndour and Houndoom recovered so fast.

"Keep us out of our pokéball. We'll scare off most of our former pack seeing how you've interested us. It's best to return Brock's pups and Houndoom though. They might get second thoughts," The more mature Houndoom spoke up as the younger one nodded in agreement.

Ash shrugged as he put on his red and black bag. He kept his jacket open to reveal his tight black shirt to anyone who looked due to the heat of Kanto. It is one of the hottest regions. Orange Islands and Hoenn are on that list too.

He did relay the news to Brock who nodded and returned all of the captured Pokémon.

Oh, and Ash asked Brock about the capturing limit of his whom replied with the fact that he was a former Gym Leader and the league approves of him having no limit.

He's so damn lucky.

Brock did keep out his Vulpix and Tyranitar, which wanted to keep walking with them.

Ash couldn't help but call out to Brock, "Trying to scare the weaker trainers off?"

"Maybe. Tyranitar wants to stay out, I don't make him return if he doesn't want to."

"Thanks Brock! Always nice to us, that's why I follow you. " Tyranitar's cheerful voice reached Ash's ears but the message was obvious as Tyranitar gave his trainer a bone crushing hug. Vulpix was whining in worry at seeing Brock scream and try to talk Tyranitar out of it.

Really, what a comedy act. Ash and his Pokémon gained an anime-like sweatdrop.

"Let's get going," Brock eventually groaned out when Tyranitar had enough and looked up at the beast that terrorized many having Vulpix on his head.

"Nice hat," Brock joked.

Vulpix wasn't amused and fired an ember in his face. He worried her for no reason it seems.

"OW!"

---

The two humans and their Pokémon were walking along the route. To be honest, the occasional Raticate or Meowth was scared off by the two Houndoom who kept walking around the humans to guard them.

"Houndoom, you don't have to you know. Trainers might think you're wild, please walk alongside us," Ash tried to call out to his recently captured Pokémon. Both perked up and ran back at that. Getting challenged was fun and all but annoying when you travel, the pack taught them that.

Pikachu giggled and jumped onto the mature one's back, riding it carefully. It seems the Houndoom didn't mind in the slightest.

"Ash," Brock called out as he put away his book. He was currently walking next to his Tyranitar. "I'd like to join your training sessions more. I realized this when the pack attacked but I had far better chances against them compared to you yet I ran away. I, as well as my Pokémon, need to become stronger."

Tyranitar and Vulpix both perked up in interest. Their trainer finally admitted he needed more training?

"Sure Brock!" Ash cheerfully spoke. Now his Pokémon had amazing training partners!

Brock smirked slightly as he caught Ash's thoughts. True, his Pokémon were beasts naturally but Ash's were beasts thanks to training.

They soon arrived at a trainer spot as apparently there were tons upon tons of trainers there. Most were battling and some perked up at the new people entering though soon scared off by the Tyranitar and the Houndoom who looked quite threatening.

Only a few were interested and soon enough two people walked up to the two traveling trainers.

"You two, are new here. We wish for a battle," the first one spoke who was apparently a male. This male had his eyes closed and a pokéball levitating on his shoulder.

The other companion was a female who merely gave them a dismissive glance and a nod. It seems that these two are psychic trainers of Kanto.

Brock looked at Ash before looking at the two of them. "Sure, why not?"

Ash merely shrugged. Psychics are a pain, Gary confirms that suspicion when he's set his mind on something. Not that he can complain as he is the same.

"Then, we shall battle! Come forth, Alakazam!" The first one called out an Alakazam which looked young as heck. Possibly evolved as soon as possible from a Kadabra.

The female threw out a pokéball with a smirk. Out of it came a tough looking Slowbro.

Ash blinked a few times at the opponents. It seems the male was far too arrogant for his own good and the silent female was far too haughty… Psychics and their damn personalities!

"Ah well… Go ahead, Pikachu," He nodded to his starter which jumped off of his shoulder. Brock simply shrugged and grabbed a pokéball, calling out his Golett.

The two psychics now stared up at the giant Golett. That Golett was already at the size of a Golurk… They hadn't seen one before either. This was a complete unknown to the psychics… well, so was the Tyranitar and the Houndoom.

"W-what Pokémon is that?!" The male shrieked whereas the female looked calculating at them.

Ash simply tilted his head. Common knowledge suggests that most trainers do not study Pokémon outside of their region… How stupid. No wonder Kanto is considered the 'starter' region as most trainers don't even know about their neighbour region or the fact that there are 700 plus Pokémon around.

"Start the battle," Brock spoke impatiently. He too, noticed the arrogance of the Psychic. Probably some kid under Sabrina's school.

The female instantly made the Slowbro fire a Hydro Pump at the Golett – intent on finishing the 'bigger target' first. The male did the same by ordering his Alakazam to use psychic.

Golett merely stood still using its ghost abilities to cancel the psychic and took the hydro pump head on with a mere grunt and sliding back. It reared its arm back before using thunder punch and hitting the Alakazam which clearly looked surprised at the speed. It seems the trainer didn't command him to dodge as soon as possible either as Brock could only hear 'Oh no, Alakazam!'.

Ash and Pikachu looked irritated though. Pikachu took the lead in this and fired a massive thunder as to teach the lady not to underestimate small Pokémon ever again and the Slowbro never felt more pain.

The two trainers won and let out a sigh. Pikachu returned on Ash's shoulder whereas Golett returned to his pokéball. Such a pitiful battle.

"Anyone else?" Ash called out to the trainers who now looked interested in beating them. It didn't take long before a massive amount of battles occurred for the trainers.

---

It was now midnight when they were finally done. Ash kept using his bastardized Heal Pulse on the Pokémon and even now they were drop-dead tired. Brock was panting a little at how many commands he had to hand out but he was glad for all the experience.

The two had a pair of amazing battles. Brock's Onix fought a Steelix for once and Brock learnt some future combat usage as both Pokémon rammed their heads against each other. Onix lost in the end thanks to Dragonbreath as he wasn't a steel type yet, but it was still a good lesson. His Roselia also lost against a girl's recent Houndoom capture probably lucky finding a stray Houndoom from its pack.

Ash fought against a powerful Jolteon with his Greninja and lost quite badly. That was some serious firepower and Ash was determined to train Hermit to a level so strong that he'd never lose against an electric-type like that again. That Jolteon was speed personified alongside some powerful thunder attacks… Greninja did fight well. Meowth also lost against a tough Vileplume when sleep powder took effect but that battle could have gone either way.

In the end, they did leave with a lot of prizemoney. While they lost a bit at the end, battling so many trainers was good experience. Though Ash was forced not to use his Talonflame and Amaura as those two are far too rare and seeing so many trainers made him hesitate. Brock had no such qualms and used Golett to his heart's content. His Pokémon weren't shiny and/or known to have died off. Most shrugged off Golett as being normal for its species.

Well, you can't hide a shiny's sparkles after being released. Not even Ash's cherish ball. It was probably part of the annoying technology.

"Man… That was tough. We need to visit Nurse Joy for real," Ash complained as they were finally finished.

Brock merely grunted as he was bandaging his Vulpix's back leg. It was hurt thanks to a Scyther's slash attack but Vulpix managed to win that one.

Ash shook his head. "We need to up our training. This is getting ridiculous."

Brock grunted again as they were walking through the night. Trickster kept in the shadows and the two Houndoom were simply tagging along. Pikachu was in the pokéball.

Actually, the two Houndoom beat all of their targets too and weren't hurt seriously. Trickster? Trickster started to battle once it became dark and let it be known that it was only thanks to his Night Daze and extremely enraged expression at hearing some of the trainers speak about getting his trainer's Pokémon after winning.

Zoroark are fiercely loyal when owned. Trickster was the same, even as a Haunter now.

They seemed to have interested a girl that started traveling after deciding to leave the Battle Castle.

When they were finished, a girl with long blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes walked up to them. She wore a pink and white dress alongside some pink and white shoes that looked quite comfortable yet regal. Her entire expression oozed richness yet no arrogance. Inside of her blonde hair were a pair of ribbons gifted to her by Darach.

She said that when they reach Saffron City and finish the gym battle that she'll challenge Ash to a battle and see his progress as a trainer as well as growth. She had seen his Pokémon and was impressed at the sight of a boy, only two years younger than her if she guessed right, battle so well. Even she took a year of training to reach that level.

This boy only had three badges too!

Well, thinking back Ash had to say that he was impressed at her skill as well. She used a Gallade to defeat all her challengers there as she merely sat and drank some tea.

Ash wisely didn't challenge her when he was watching the battle. To be honest, he was surprised that such a girl actually travelled.

Shaking away those thoughts, Ash walked on. "We're near Saffron City so get on with it. I want a warm bed soon."

Brock grunted. He was too tired to give a reply.

---

They did reach the Saffron City Pokémon Center at 4 A.M. and had to fight off another small pack of Houndour. Luckily there were no Houndoom so Ash let his Amaura out to have some fun. A couple of rock-type attacks and the hounds were down for the count.

The Houndoom still looked mollified at seeing their former pack losing so easily. While yes, they saw the training that happened and were exhausted after they finished the minor training Ash did, they expected more of their former group.

Ah well, can't win them all.

When they arrived and let their Pokémon be handled by the surprised Nurse Joy they sat down and drank some water. It took 10 entire minutes to see that Nurse Joy returned and handed over the recovered Pokémon with a compliment at seeing no wounds on them and only exhaustion.

Like that, they went to bed and wouldn't wake up until 12 P.M.

---

"Yaaaawn! Man I slept like a rock!" Ash spoke cheerfully as he walked down. He already took a quick shower and put on some fresh clothing that was now inside of the washing machine. Brock's were there as well as Brock was sipping some coffee while reading over a book that belonged to a Nurse Joy. This book spoke about communication between healer and Pokémon.

He finished his books fast.

"Good morning, Ash," Brock said cheerfully at his companion. It was obvious that he had a pleasant sleep and the coffee helped in that aspect.

Ash nodded in agreement, returning the good morning. "So, today I'll challenge Sabrina. I want to battle that Caitlin girl, she was really strong!"

Brock chuckled in amusement. Ash was always focusing on Pokémon and battles.

"So for now… Time for a warm-up!" Ash ran up to Nurse Joy and rented a special training room in the Pokémon Center and went for some training. Brock joined only after a good 15 minutes as he finished his coffee and book to start the training.

While the Pokémon were training, the trainers weren't idle either. Ash was doing various training such as push ups and aura control whereas Brock was doing the same except for the aura. Trickster explained to Brock that he'll unlock his aura after spending some time with Ash, seeing as Ash is an aura guardian and can share the ability with others but only after some time and learning how to unlock another trainer's aura.

They trained for a good two hours as a warming up for the day, ate their usual food which was still greedily eaten by the Houndoom, Haunter and Golett seeing how they're new to such great meals and rested at Joy's.

It was a good day when they left the Pokémon center. Saffron City is mostly filled with large amounts of hotels and various restaurants around the area for the people who live there. There was zero nature to be seen here and that saddened Ash who was used to it.

"Let's do this, Brock!" Ash cheerfully spoke and ran towards the gym with the excitement of a hyperactive Chimchar.

Brock ran with him seeing how walking could get him lost. Caitlin, who also arrived at Saffron City managed to catch the two running to the gym and smiled in interest. It seems she was on time.

"I wonder if that boy will win. Perhaps, I will teach him more about battling. He is young but very talented and hardworking… I wouldn't mind teaching such a boy, plus I may learn something out of it.." Her soft voice which could charm any heart could be heard by her companion – a Gallade.

"Of course, Mistress. I felt the power of Aura within that boy, he is destined to be a great trainer."

"Oh?" Caitlin turned to her Pokémon. "Do tell me more about this 'aura' you speak of. Let's do so as we'll enter the spectator seats of Sabrina's gym."

"As you wish, milady," the Gallade spoke with manners and a bow. Definitely Darach's fault that her precious little Kirlia became such a gentleman.

---

The moment Ash arrived an old man walked up them with a stern look.

"Don't even think about challenging Sabrina's gym and turn away. Go beat another gym instead of this one, you'll definitely lose kid. You're still too weak and without any type advantages against the psychic-type."

Ash didn't take well to that and called out the younger one of his Houndoom. The Houndoom came out of it with a yawn before focusing and letting a glare out to the old man. Definitely called out to intimidate.

"Eh? What Pokémon is that?"

Ash shook his head and returned Houndoom without saying a word. The hound wasn't complaining as she returned to her luxury ball.

"Just let us pass," Brock commented before Ash got really angry. It seems that Ash can get angered by some old man. Well, he would too if his hard work and Pokémon get insulted.. Tyranitar would've had fun to scare the man.

The man shook his head. "Your grave," He commented without a care and teleported away. It seems his scare tactic didn't work again. Gee? Who knows why?

Ash let out a sigh as he gathered his thoughts and aura began to envelop him and Brock. Ash didn't like to take chances and took the lead to the gym area.

Brock merely followed, interest in the blue glow around him. So this is aura? Trickster was teaching Ash well and it seems Ash knew of Sabrina's emotional instability at the moment too.

When they got inside of the gym they could see a perhaps 15 year old girl sit on top of a oak chair. On top of her lap was a little girl that giggled and held a pokéball in her hands.

Instead of the elder, the younger one spoke. "Are you my challenger? How interesting… I can't read your minds! If we win, we get to play with you! If you win, you get the badge!"

The little girl giggled again as she called out an Abra. This was definitely not a normal Abra as Ash could see the power steamrolling off of the psychic type… That Abra was close to evolution.

"Let's do this, Hermit." Ash called out his water/dark type Pokémon and the little girl's red eyes shone with interest.

"What Pokémon is that?"

Ash chuckled slightly, "It's a Greninja. A Water/Dark type Pokémon from Kalos."

The little girl tilted her head. "What is a dark type?"

"You'll see in our battle, little girl," Ash teased her slightly.

"Grr.. Abra, take out that Pokémon!"

"Hermit, go wild! No Protean!"

Hermit understood the reason and consciously cancelled the use of his hidden ability. The use of Protean would turn him into a single type and since dark types are unable to be affected by psychic attacks…

Abra seemed to teleport in front of Hermit with a thunder punch charged. The Greninja's eyes widened before disappearing and using smokescreen around the area.

Now Abra was in slight disadvantage. He couldn't read the opponent's mind and neither the trainer's so he didn't know what to do… instead, the Abra began to glow.

It grew and grew until it became a yellow, humanoid Pokémon. Its two large, pointed ears poked up and it had a red star on its forehead. From its newly gained snout sprouted two mustaches. Its chest was a dark brown color that almost looked like armor and on its stomach were three lines that had a wave pattern. It also gained a large, thick tail and now held a spoon on its hand.

Hermit seemed to have waited the moment it finished the evolution before appearing with the use of Feint Attack and slammed into the Kadabra with dark type energy. He then disappeared within the smokescreen and re-used it to make sure the field was filled.

Kadabra let out a cry of pain that the elder of the two on the chair let out as well… as if they're connected.

The Kadabra began to growl in anger and used a large amount of psychic energy to blast away the smokescreen. What followed up next was a massive amount of water shuriken being fired at the Kadabra.

Using Psychic, the Kadabra began to turn them around and fire them at the Greninja which began running around the field in a high speed that the stars couldn't seem to follow. It kept moving in complicated maneuvers. Break, right, spin, zigzag. The Greninja didn't stop at all as it dodged the moves and the occasional extra psychic that Kadabra tried to use on the Kalos starter didn't work in the slightest. That surprised the Kadabra to let out a confused grunt before Greninja multiplied with the use of Double Team and now charged at the Kadabra.

Seeing no choice, the Kadabra used psychic on the water stars and began to surround itself to make sure which one is the real deal. Its left fist began to glow white and electricity surrounded it as the Kadabra waited for the Greninja to appear.

All of Greninja's double team clones began to run at the Kadabra with the main one following up in the second row. The clones charged at the Kadabra with Ice Punch but the first row didn't do anything. The second row revealed the real Greninja to the Kadabra and it fired an ice beam at the Kadabra from up close to freeze it.

Sadly, Kadabra had excellent reflexes and teleported backwards. Its long mustaches were now completely frozen and it was clearly surprised. Its bait tactic didn't seem to work on the ninja Pokémon.

Hermit took no chances and began to use another smokescreen that made the Kadabra grunt and use another wave of psychic energy. As if completely forgetting about the earlier move, the Kadabra was yet again hit with the Feint Attack and this time slammed towards the middle of the field.

Ash looked at the teenage girl on the chair, noticing that she was letting out tears out of pain. Why did she feel pain because of the Kadabra?

Seeing the need to end it quickly, Ash decided to take command.

"Dark. Pulse." He muttered softly but his loyal Greninja heard it and grunted. It held its two webbed hands close and inside of it came an orb of dark energy before the Greninja held it forward and out of it came massive pulses of dark energy.

The Kadabra grunted and tried to use another psychic attack on the energy to return it back like with the water shuriken, but just like before, the Kadabra was hit straight on with the full brunt of the attack. This time, both Pokémon and teenage girl let out cries of pain.

---

Caitlin watched the battle and saw the Greninja take down the Kadabra ruthlessly. That's true tactic against those who were made for psychic attacks and the physical attacks made a good impression on her. It seems that Ash trained his Pokémon very well in their aspects. The Greninja was very agile and fast, most likely knowing Acrobatics as well.

The Gallade next to her glowed with blue eyes, using Miracle Eye to read where the Greninja was. It was a very good tactic as the Kadabra didn't seem to know the psychic type move.

"It seems this battle it over milady," the Gallade turned to his trainer and Caitlin let out a pleased hum.

"The boy is good and used the right Pokémon. Sabrina is foolish and lost herself in her desire to train her psychic abilities. I remember when I lost control and showed huge amounts of psychic energy but this… This is just foolish. She linked her mind with the Kadabra's and now feels everything the Kadabra feels as well as using an illusion to show her human side."

"Indeed. Shall we notify the league?"

"No, we wait. I am curious."

---

The child disappeared as the girl grunted and stood up. The connection was gone and for some reason after the pulse's minor effects reached her so did her psychic abilities… Was she disconnected?

Standing up wobbly, she walked to her starter. Her precious Kadabra and went down on her knees to hold up the weakened Kadabra that let out a pained grunt and panted slightly.

"It appears I won, Sabrina," Ash walked up to the girl as he looked at her. His glowing eyes that looked like a fierce red and now a shiny Haunter creeping out of his shadow to lean on his shoulder looked quite intimidating to the girl. Sabrina couldn't help but shiver…

This is a child? That's definitely not true. She lost completely with no chance in winning. Why is that?!

"How…?!" she managed to grit out as Ash looked at her.

Shaking his head he held out his hand for the badge. "I did say I'd tell you after the match. Dark-type Pokémon are immune to psychic type. I'm surprised you haven't heard… you most likely never battled a trainer here with that typing. Typical as they're all rare in Kanto. You might meet more from here on out as there's a recent pack of Houndour and Houndoom in the area."

Sabrina growled slightly as she grabbed a badge in her pocket. She hated losing… But… Wait, hate?

When did she learn to hate? When did she even have emotions?

Surprised at the feelings she had, she blinked a few times and soon enough a worried woman transformed back from her former doll-like state. The husband instantly teleported them to Sabrina's side. "Sabrina!"

"F-father? Mother? What are you doing here?" she asked the two adults as Ash stared at them with his eyes. His Haunter's eyes began to glow a dark red as if daring them to get angry at his trainer.

"Y-you remember? Dear, we missed you!" Her father excitedly embraced his daughter as Ash let out a small grunt of dissatisfaction.

First the arrogant Surge, now this? Kanto's gym leaders have some serious problems. Lance needs to do his Kanto side of the job better… He heard that Johto had no complains other than Whitney crying when she lost or when Clefairy became officially classified as Fairy-type in Johto.

Oh the madness that occurred that day… It was a bad day to be Lance.

"Badge." Ash grit out. He wasn't going to stand here and listen to their emotional conversation. He finally won the battle that so many were afraid of and so easily that he was angered and disappointed. To be honest, he had more fun battling wild Pokémon that followed their instinct than that Kadabra.

Sabrina's mother perked up as she quickly grabbed a badge and threw it at the boy. "Thank you young man. Please visit us whenever you need advice on psychic-type Pokémon. We owe you as much," She smiled kindly at the boy who nodded. This time in appreciation.

At least he got something out of it.

"C'mon Brock, let's leave," Ash turned around and went towards the exit. He was severely disappointed in the psychic gym. An unstable leader that couldn't even battle her own type disadvantage? That's just pathetic Lance. The fact that he could practically hear the psychics in the area talk about winning without a ghost type made it worse. Leaving with Brock, Ash turned around and saw Caitlin walking up to him with a pleasant smile.

"My, my… You're so angered. I can practically feel it in the air, was this not to your liking as you won the battle?" She asked curiously.

Ash shook his head as he took deep breaths. "I was so disappointed. Leaders in Kanto are severely overestimated and wild Pokémon are harder at times. To be honest, I could've lost against Brock and the Cerulean City gym's Daisy. Surge was pretty decent too but this… this is pathetic. She didn't even know of a type immune to psychic."

Caitlin looked slightly apologetic, "True. I can feel your emotions and you're still dissatisfied… How about a battle? I will show you how a real psychic-type user fights." She smiled pleasantly at the end, her cerulean blue eyes glowing with excitement.

Brock chuckled next to Ash. It seems he attracted the attention of a strong trainer. The blue glow around Ash and Brock disappeared as Trickster kept leaning on Ash's other shoulder to stare at the trainer in front of it.

"Hmm… You're strong," Trickster's telepathy reached both Caitlin and her Gallade which let out a grunt of surprise.

"You are not bad either, Haunter. A ghost type that can use telepathy is unique," Gallade replied with his own and soon afterwards the conversation became private to the two as Trickster floated towards Caitlin's Gallade.

"Well… I look forward to a battle. Shall we do it at the dojo next to us? It appears that it counts as a gym so I might as well fight that after our battle," Ash finally smiled.

Brock stayed silent as he walked ahead. He too, was curious about the dojo. He heard of it recently becoming a gym but it wasn't publically known yet or was a secret. Ah well, another badge challenge for Ash right?

Though it seemed that Ash preferred to battle the main 8. Those are the hardest challenges after all.

Caitlin finally showed a challenging grin. "Look forward to our battle, Ash. I will show you the power of one of the elite trainers. I, Caitlin 'Lapis' Lazuli, former battle castle owner will become your opponent. Do not blink when we battle and fight with your best."

Ash grinned. "You shall be challenged by Ash 'Red' Ketchum of Pallet Town, protégé of Professor Oak. Starting trainer of the year… Be surprised by my challenge, for I shall grant you a real one."

---

Getting inside of his battle mode, Ash decided to bring out the big guns. They decided on a two-on-two battle. Caitlin will use one of her recent Pokémon and one of her older ones so Ash will do the same.

They were now standing inside of the dojo. It was surprisingly based on a Japanese dojo which meant tatami mats in the resting areas and a clean, wooden floor for the challengers and training areas. The grounds were made of special wood grown with the use of various Pokémon as to increase the durability. The entire field was the usual League one. Ash stood on the red side whereas Caitlin was on the white side.

"Challenger Ash 'Red' Ketchum shall battle against Caitlin 'Lapis' Lazuli! This battle will be a two on two battle!" Brock's voice reached the ends of the dojo as all of the trainees were sitting in seiza to watch the battle.

"I shall go first. Come on out, my dear Espeon," Caitlin called out her newest Pokémon; Espeon. The psychic type Pokémon let out a cry of its name as it landed with grace that is rarely seen and its eyes began to glow blue with energy. This one definitely trained hard.

Ash showed a grin as he held out a Pokémon he'll reveal to this dojo. It's not like his Pokémon can remain a secret forever. People become suspicious. "Glacia, show them your beauty."

Out of Ash's cherish ball – which Caitlin noted to be custom made – came a Pokémon that shocked even her. A blue dinosaurian Pokémon came out of it. It had a long, white neck and a short, stubby tail. Above its large, sky blue eyes were two sail structures which were a beautiful mix of white and a light lavender. Its white body shone brightly and adorning its body was a sky blue crystal similar to its eyes. This crystal also began to glow as the entire air began to grow cold. Ash told his Pokémon to go all out, so Glacia will do so kindly.

"An Amaura… How rare, and its coloring… A shiny one. Young man, you hold a very special Pokémon," the leader of the Dojo Gym commented with a lack of breath. The beauty of the Pokémon that comes out of a Sail Fossil couldn't be spoken out loud.

Caitlin simply stared with wide eyes at the rarity but that soon changed to a pair of sharp and calculating cerulean. "Espeon, start off with psybeam!"

Ash smiled lightly as he didn't order at all. The Amaura let out a cry before two Lightscreens formed in front of the beam and guided it straight back to the Espeon. The Lightscreen were reinforced to send it backwards similar to Mirror Coat, though this was more like making them act as a mirror to a ray of light.

The Espeon, however, showed graceful movements yet again as she jumped into the air but Glacia didn't let it go so easily. Glacia opened her jaws and fired a concentrated blizzard towards the airborne psychic-type that was immediately regretting the option to jump into the air. Caitlin let out a surprised gasp, "Psychic, Espeon! Guide it away!"

Sadly, Blizzard is not something that is a massive ray of ice. It's a literal blizzard from the ancient ice-type Pokémon and despite protecting itself for a while, the psychic-type Pokémon was sent back into the air with its body appearing to be slightly frozen. Its previous, beautiful purple fur looked white thanks to the cold ice.

Caitlin glared at the Amaura that dared to hurt her Espeon! "Espeon, use Shadow Ball!" The Espeon's mouth opened wide before a giant shadow ball was charged in front of it. That was definitely some power…

Ash didn't speak though. No, he let Glacia take care of this even if she lost. This was a new addition to Caitlin's team and the Amaura was part of his pretty fast. She should be capable of doing this even if the Espeon is a powerhouse.. after all, power means nothing against his Amaura's great defense.

Firing the giant orb of ghost energy at the Amaura, the Espeon let out a loud cry of challenge. The Amaura however, stood still and its eyes began to glow much brighter compared to before as a bright purple began to surround its body. Mirror Coat was active.. She'll definitely take damage from that powerful move, but her amazing defense could handle this. The orb soon hit the Pokémon head on and Caitlin smirked at the cry of pain from the Amaura.

What she didn't expect was what came next.

An even larger, twice as large, shadow ball raced towards her Espeon thanks to the Amaura's mirror coat. She didn't even know that an Amaura can learn that! The powered up shadow ball hit the Espeon dead-on and caused the Pokémon to fall unconscious to the ground, making Ash the winner of this match.

"Espeon!" Caitlin quickly raced to her newest team member which let out a weak cry and was definitely the loser of this match.

Ash called out to Glacia and pet her head like usual. Seeing the light lavender become a pure blue made him smile. Of course his Glacia is happy at winning. "Congratulations at winning one of your first few trainer battles… Wild ones don't beat these, do they?"

The Amaura shook her head as she stood next to her training, awaiting Caitlin's next actions.

"Good job dear.. Please rest well," Caitlin smiled at the Espeon and quickly returned her.

Standing up, she turned to Ash with a far more determined look. "I will give you this win… Let's see if you can beat my next Pokémon," she smirked as she called out another psychic type Pokémon.

A Gardevoir. The looks don't do it justice as the Pokémon curtsied to its opponent before turning to her trainer and nodded.

"Gardevoir is one my first Pokémon. She's the third strongest Pokémon I have," Caitlin smiled pleasantly at her Pokémon and Ash began to grin widely.

"Let's take this outside then. I'm going to call out a Pokémon a little too large for this gym," Ash spoke up. If she used power, he will too.

"Oh? Another one I haven't seen?" Caitlin looked curious as the Dojo Leader eagerly stood up. The battles are very interesting and he'd give the two of them his gym's badge without any problems if they wanted to battle him afterwards.

"Yeah. He's far too rare compared to others so… I'd rather do this in a closed off area," Ash smirked slightly as Brock began to chuckle loudly. This'll be very interesting.

The leader of the dojo guided the two battling trainers to an open field in the forest. Looking around, Ash nodded in agreement. This'll be a good spot.

"Show them your power, Falcon." Throwing out a pokéball, a massive Talonflame came out of its pokéball and it let out a screech that could be heard all the way in Saffron City. The Pokémon began to fly upwards as flames began coating its wings similar to that of a Moltres, as if showing its power. The Talonflame was at least four times the usual size of a normal one and reached the size of the Kyogre that was previously spotted on television.

Didn't they see the shadow of this Pokémon before? They never captured the Talonflame on television because seeing a legendary was far more interesting.

Gardevoir, however, fought many times with Cynthia's Garchomp and was used to extremely taunting Pokémon. The Pokémon began to glow a bright blue as psychic energy was released from its very being.

"Gardevoir, start with Calm Mind. Then move on to Charge Beam," the Gardevoir instantly began to close her eyes as waves of psychic energy began to become more concentrated, far stronger. The energy that surrounded the Gardevoir also became fiercer and soon enough the Gardevoir held out two hands that held a crackling, electric orb. Firing out of it came a massive ray of electricity that the Talonflame was surprised to see.

Surprised, but not unable to dodge. Twisting its body in midair, it dodged it but just barely as it saw the electricity being absorbed by the Gardevoir once again boosting its abilities.

It seems this opponent was gradually becoming tougher and tougher. Seeing the need to start off, Talonflame began to multiply itself because of agility and also began to use tailwind as to boost its speed even further. Speed against power, another typical setup… or was it?

"Gardevoir, thunder wave!" A wave of electricity hit the Talonflame head on as it became half of its speed… but still faster than the Gardevoir in front o fit.

"Unlock Gale Wings, show them your brave bird."

The Talonflame began to let out another massive screech as flames became more visible. They began to glow a fierce white as the Talonflame unlocked its hidden ability, wings of pure white falling down as a result. Soon enough, the Pokémon began to glow a fierce white as well and the flames began to get larger and larger as the flying type attack boosted the fire type.

The massive flying/fire type Pokémon began to fly downwards towards the Gardevoir in surprising speed. Caitlin, however, was used to fighting these opponents with her Gardevoir.

"Teleport! Then move on to another charge beam!" She cried out as the Gardevoir teleported behind the Talonflame. Soon enough, another orb of electricity was in her hands and fired at the Pokémon that was now moving upwards again.

"Spin! Power up the Brave Bird and show them your real speed!" Falcon began to spin at a high rate, becoming a literal tornado of fire as it flew upwards towards the sky. It screeched yet again making trainers that looked at the forest cry out in surprise at seeing a Pokémon looking far too similar to Moltres. It obviously attracted them.

The bird then began to spin faster and faster as it flew higher and finally… it went downwards. Like a real speed demon, it flew towards the Gardevoir with full intention of taking it down as soon as possible.

"Gardevoir, protect," Caitlin called out and Ash had to grunt in surprise. Protect huh? Let's see her protect against that.

The spinning flying and fire type met the green barrier of protect and the flames enveloped the shield and Gardevoir within. The flying/fire type did not give up though, spinning at the same speed as it was trying to penetrate the barrier.

Caitlin saw that the Pokémon wasn't stopping in the slightest and had to get slightly worried. Heck, not even Cynthia would let her Garchomp take such a move. That move can be considered the tougher version of Giga impact, added with an element and penetrating abilities. That Talonflame hadn't even finished training its body physically and it was so strong!

"Gardevoir, teleport. Finish it with thunder! Full power!"

The barrier still stood as the Gardevoir teleported away before it began to glow a bright yellow. Similar to Pikachu, a dress-like fashion of electricity appeared on its body as it fired a massive thunder towards the Talonflame. Thanks to calm mind and the uses of Charge Beam, it was definitely powered up.

A good thing out of this was that the fire around Falcon protected it.. partially. The bad thing? The move was far too much for the Talonflame's current ability. With a single hit as the Talonflame was still focused on the barrier and couldn't move away so easily, it was hit dead on with the massive thunder and a screech of pain reached everyone's ears.

Ash, seeing that, grabbed his cherish ball and returned his second Pokémon without any hesitation. He will not let his Pokémon get hurt more than necessary.

"I lose," He admitted without any shame. That power was far too much for Talonflame. He still had to train for many years if he wanted to catch up to that Gardevoir, which most likely will also train harder.

Caitlin now showed an approving smile. Yes, that was the option a good trainer followed. "Good job, Gardevoir. I expected nothing less of you," She complimented her Psychic/Fairy Pokémon which simply curtsied to her trainer before walking towards Gallade and stand next to it.

Heck, even Glacia had to stare. That is what a Pokémon can reach under a trainer huh? Even wild Pokémon she fought back in the ancient days couldn't beat that… Even that event carried no Pokémon of that amount of power.

This is what the future holds? She looks forward to it, right on Ash's side.

---

"It was a great battle, Ash," Caitlin's cheerful voice reached her former challenger. Yes, her Espeon lost against his Amaura but she did show him that arrogance won't get him far.

Not that he was arrogant. She was probably just reminding him that there was always someone better. She knew that herself.

"Yes, I admit it was. Your Gardevoir is very strong.. I struggle to see what might be your strongest Pokémon," Ash actually shivered. That Gardevoir was nearly at Oak's Dragonite's level in thunder… though the dragon did not boost itself.

"Ah, my strongest is Gothitelle. She was my first Pokémon. Gardevoir and Gallade are my second and third respectively but Gallade likes battling more and so is stronger than Gardevoir," Caitlin introduced her psychic types who nodded in agreement with the assessment of their trainer.

Ash nodded seriously. She was very powerful.

"But, I'm going to heal my Pokémon now," Ash called out his paralyzed, unconscious Talonflame and reached out with his hands.

Glowing bright blue to make sure he didn't miss a single wound of his Pokémon he fired massive waves of healing aura, his version of Heal Pulse. The wounds began to close up extremely fast as the giant Talonflame's burnt body from the thunder also began to become normal.

Heck, even the paralysis went away when Ash swiftly threw a cheri berry in its beak and it swallowed without hesitation. Truly trusting your trainer makes things go faster as the Pokémon was soon fully healed but completely exhausted. Seeing that, Ash quickly returned his Talonflame.

Caitlin was actually staring at the boy performing such feats. "H..how?" she asked for the first time showing hesitance when speaking.

"Hm? Oh! I can use aura… I learnt to do this when I was little," Ash admitted as he was standing there as if it didn't tire him out in the slightest.

It didn't. He's an aura monster. A single Lucario can spot him from miles away. Albeit as a very, very dark red spot in its aura sight.

"Aura.. again. Gallade explained that it's something all living beings contain. How come you can manipulate it?" She asked with a curious voice.

Ash rubbed the back of his head, taking off his cap for a while. He just hung it on his belt.

"Well, I trained my aura after meeting this aura guardian. He told me about aura and his Lucario told me I possessed a lot of aura. Called me the 'Chosen One' or something like that and to be honest it still scares me because I met Kyogre who called me the same…"

Ash rubbed the side of his arm, remembering when he almost died…

"So yes, I can control it. Sometimes it comes naturally, like how I learnt to heal someone," Ash finished quickly before questions could come about Kyogre.

Albeit shocked by the news of a Kyogre, Caitlin managed to keep her cool. "I see," she began as she turned to her Pokémon and both nodded. They could read his emotions as well as potential. Turning back to Ash, she offered a smile. "Let me join you on your journey. I wish to see how you will do. If you wish, I can even train alongside you to prepare you for the league," Caitlin offered.

Seeing the amazing offer, Ash nearly teleported in front of Caitlin and shook her hand without any hesitance. Heck, he even added aura that forced Caitlin to feel what he contains and to say she was shocked was calling a Magikarp weak.

That kid is a monster in disguise. Still, she shook it without any problems and revealed a smile.

"I look forward to it!" Ash grinned happily as Caitlin finally let out a giggle. Such a cute kid.

Sure, he was two years younger but… She's allowed to call him kid until he hits 13.

The leader of the dojo soon interrupted them with a large grin on his face. He was completely in the mood for a battle, right now!

"Kid! Challenge my gym! I'll give you the badge whether you win or lose. After seeing those two powerhouses, you reached the goal of my gym – absolute power and still contain forms of technique! I just want to battle you!"

Oh, just to note… That gym leader can be considered a Machamp in muscles. Holy hell that man trained for his life. He looked around 60 years old with a large beard, wearing a pair of white training gi with a black belt that has a league symbol imprinted on it. His gray hair was slicked back with the use of gel.

"S-sure… Let me battle you tomorrow, I'll leave for Celadon the same day," Ash managed to call out. Heck, even Brock blinked at the sight of seeing Ash being nearly thrown around by the man's powerful grip.

Now that's what he calls… a muscle man.

---

Hello everyone!

I read your comments and decided to work on each point. One was about Ash's looks… Well, some might say that he's like a lot of pictures that were made of Red that you can find in Google Images. His black hair is just slightly longer and reaches his shoulders and his eyes are a far darker colour than Red's.

Now… third traveling companion achievement gained. It's only because someone mentioned Sabrina and psychic connections that this poked up.

Caitlin left the battle tower for a few years to train. After that, she became an elite four.

This fits the story. This fits the requirements I made. This fills the damn goal of teaching Ash about girls.

Expect a lot of comical moments between the two. After all, Caitlin will only travel with a gentleman. Ash can mature with her. Let it be known that her anger can scare off a Gyarados too as she is psychic.

Now… No evolutions. Sabrina's gym was a joke (it is if you think about it. Kadabra, one on one. No commands. Cannot read mind. Easy win and so Caitlin made it worth it later on. Celadon will go different as he'll finally get the right challenges… I just couldn't write Sabrina as 'hard' considering that Ash owns dark type and I seriously doubt that Dark-type Pokémon are often used in Kanto.

For now. You all see that I add swarms and soon-to-be casual Kanto Pokémon to the list. It'll become like Kalos, all kinds of Pokémon can be found.

Also, Vital Info mentioned something I completely overlooked... Love interest for Brock. Right now the ranking's like this!

Daisy: 1 ( Vital Info! Makes me have some good ideas too! )
Clair: 1 ( My input for ideas! )

I hope you like today's chapter though! I tried my best. Mistakes can be seen, if you do… please tell me. I don't like to make big mistakes. I sometimes confuse names as I write simply because I write them while I'm in a car or on the move and I have to think about goals and not the moments.

Still, I do my best for you guys! I hope you all like it and see you next time!

Celadon City will be Trickster's playground and Brock will gain a Steelix and Golem!