Luke: You mentioned that my student would be here.

Laura: Yeah, where's A- um, I mean Faux?

Ohirume: He got into a fight with Omega and Yukiro. They're in timeout.

Pike: What a rip-off! Why did you invite us if our team leader isn't even here?

Ohirume: We needed characters.

Laura: To do what?

Ohirume: Well … this.

Luke: Seems lazy.

Gem: Hey, team ALPN.

Pike: Really? You kicked out my brother but let him stay?

I don't own Pokémon or Ben 10.

.

.

Pokémon Technical Institute: The Best Place to Learn Failure

.

The group made their way through a dense fog, en route to Vermillion. They had already attempted to remove it with one of their Flying-types, but it always rolled back in within the hour.

Ash sighed, "Geez, I didn't think fog could move this fast."

Misty scratched her head, "Yeah, I know what you mean. This is getting unsettling."

Brock spoke up, "Maybe we should take a break until it clears. How about I make some herbal tea to pass the time?"

Soot blinked, "You have a tea set?"

Brock smiled as he dug through his backpack, "Of course. I never leave home without my official Pokémon League Tea set."

The oldest among them then proceeded to pull out a collapsible table, his tea set, a bottle of Mount Moon spring water, and various other things.

Ash stared as this happened, "Wow. You take this tea thing seriously."

Brock looked back, "Of course. Now, how do crepes sound?"

Misty's eyes lit up, "Great! Kalosian cuisine is the best."

Brock looked over to Ash, "Ash, do we have any firewood left?"

Ash scratched the side of his head, "I'm afraid not. Don't worry, I'll go get some."

Misty snapped out of her daydream, "But what about the fog?"

Ash smiled, "My eyesight is better than you might think. I actually haven't had any trouble looking where I was going, so far."

Soot nodded, "And I'm going with him. Just in case he's wrong."

Ash chuckled and pet her, "We'll be back soon."

Ash and his Pokémon made their way into the woods. Brock and Misty watched as they disappeared into the sea of fog.

Misty frowned, "Should we be worried?"

Brock crossed his arms, "Ash can take care of himself, but we should probably start looking if he's not back in a few minutes." Brock pulled out a map and laid it on the table "In the meantime, let's try and figure out where, exactly, we are."

Misty nodded, "Yeah, sounds good."

They got to work in trying to retrace their steps on the map.

.

*Ash and the others

They had been looking for over ten minutes and hadn't found any usable wood. At all!

Soot groaned, "This is forest. How are their no dried-up branches anywhere?"

Pikachu frowned, "It's like someone's been cleaning them all up."

Clefairy looked her trainer, "Is that not normal?"

Ash shook his head, "No, it isn't. Could we have stumbled onto private land by mistake?"

Soot looked around, "If we did, then they need to put up a fence." She noticed a few small, moving light sources, "Hey, is that a fire?!"

Ash looked and sniffed the air, "I don't smell anything burning. Lanterns?"

Soot shrugged, "One way to find out."

They started walking towards the light source. They found a small group of boys in uniforms. There was one boy running on a treadmill and one holding a set of flashcards. The rest just watched while holding the lanterns in question.

"Now, tell me what this is." The boy with the flashcards asked.

The one on the treadmill looked uneasy, "A zubat?"

One of the others scowled, "Come on! Just because it's foggy out here doesn't mean your head has to be full of fog!"

Soot frowned, "Kinda harsh."

Treadmill boy squinted, "Pidgey!"

Flashcards frowned, "Lucky guess. Now, tell us about it."

The boy began, "At level 1, Pidgey learns Tackle, at level 5: Sand Attack, level 12-"

Someone interrupted, "Everyone knows that. Tell us how it evolves and what it's evolved form is called."

Ash frowned, "What? Pidgey doesn't learn anything at 12. The next attack should have been Gust at 9."

The running boy stuttered, "I-I can't remember."

The boy closest to the treadmill frowned, "And you call yourself a Pokémon tech student? Disgraceful."

Soot groaned, "Great, these guys."

Pikachu blinked, "You know them?"

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, "Not them specifically, just their school. It's a place where students can go through classes to get accepted into the Pokémon League. They've been trying to get me to go there for almost two years now."

Soot growled, "None of the trainers from here have ever made it past their first league match." She stopped and reconsidered her statement, "Actually, there was one, but her opponent overslept."

The heard a crash and say that boy on treadmill had fallen off. The others just stood over him; throwing around insults.

Ash growled, "That tears it." His pupils shifted into slits.

'

*Tech students

One of the students laughed, "How pathetic. You'll never make it to the fourth badge rank if you're this bad."

The one with the flashcards snickered, "Yeah, you should just-"

He was cut off when he felt something behind him. He and the other students turned around. In the bushes, they saw a pair of eyes glaring at them. They were frozen with fear. Joe looked as well and started trembling like mad.

"Wild Pokémon! RUN!" one of his friends shouted.

Everyone, except Joe, started running as fast as they could.

Joe grabbed one of their arms, "Hey, wait for me!"

The boy swatted his arm away, "Let go! You'll just slow me down."

"No, wait!" Joe got up but tripped and fell to the hard ground. He looked up to see the others running into the fog. None of them even looked back.

Joe was about to shout when he heard footsteps. He turned and saw something walk towards him; it was shrouded by the fog. It had the same eyes as the thing in the bush. Joe trembled and crouched down; eyes closed.

"Hey, is everything alright?"

Joe's eyes shot open. He turned around to see another ten-year old looking down at him with an outstretched hand.

Joe took it and pulled himself up, "We have to get out of here! There's a savage Pokémon in the bushes!"

Ash blinked and looked to his side, "You mean Soot?" Joe followed his gaze and found a large black Pokémon sitting next to the boy, "I'm mean, she's a bit of a hand full, but I wouldn't call her savage."

Soot glared at Ash, "Gee, thanks dad."

Joe fell backwards again, "Ah! I-it spoke! But that's impossible!"

Soot frowned, "Then, I must be impossible. Because I can, sure as Yvel, speak."

Joe blinked. Ash held out his hand again, "Let's start over. My name is Ash. These two are Pikachu and Clefairy. And the talking mightyena is Soot."

Joe let Ash help him up again, "My name is Joe. How did you find a talking Pokémon?"

Ash smiled, "I raised her, actually."

Joe eyes widened, "What?! You actually taught a Pokémon how to talk?!"

Soot's eyes narrowed. She was about to respond when Brock and Misty showed up.

Brock noticed him, "Ash, there you are!"

Misty was breathing heavily, "Finally."

Ash blinked, "Why are you guys out of breath?"

Misty glared, "We were trying to find you! You left to get firewood and vanished."

Soot deadpanned, "Guys, it's been 10 minutes."

Brock chuckled, "Well, you can't blame us for worrying. Anyway, I think I found out where we are."

Ash nodded, "Yeah, same. We're in the forest surrounding the Pokémon Technical Institution."

Misty blinked and glared at Brock, "You said we were just outside Saffron City."

Brock chuckled nervously.

Joe blinked and looked at Ash, "How did you know that?"

Ash turned to face Joe, "I overheard what those jerks were saying. Why were they picking on you, anyway?"

Joe shook his head, "They weren't picking on me. My friends were just trying to help me."

Soot blinked, "Your joking, right? They called you a wimp and abandoned you when they thought they were about to be attacked."

Brock and Misty looked over at Ash. He noticed, blew a puff of wind up to his hair, and pointed at his eyes. Brock and Misty caught on.

Misty crossed her arms, "With friends like them, who needs enemies."

Pikachu looked at Soot, "I thought you made that up."

Joe shook his head again, "But they were helping. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't know that Pidgey evolves into Pidgeotto at level 18, learns Wing Attack at level 31, and evolves again into Pidgeot at level 36."

Ash rubbed the back of head, "That's close but not completely right. If it doesn't evolve, Pidgey learns Wing Attack at level 33. Pidgeotto learns Wing Attack at level 37. Pidgeot learns it at level 38."

Joe blinked, "But, that's not what my friends said."

Ash sighed, "That just proves my point. How are they helping if they give you the wrong information?"

Joe glared and pointed, "You're wrong, they knew exactly what they were talking about. You're probably just jealous that you didn't get in."

Brock tried to ease the tension, "Do the teachers know about how your 'friends' treat you?"

Joe turned to look at him, "They don't care. Giselle is in charge of tutoring. She's the top student here." He pulled out a picture from his shirt pocket, "this is her."

Brock stared at the picture, blushing, "She's beautiful."

Soot deadpanned, "She lets the other's treat you like that, yet you carry around her picture?"

Joe smiled as he looked at the picture, "Yeah, I like the way she looks."

Misty frowned, "Well, I think she needs to be taught a lesson. Where is she?"

Joe pointed into the fog bank, "In the school."

The fog cleared to reveal the school. An electronic voice rang out: Today's special class, Fog Battle Techniques, has now ended. Tomorrow's lesson will be Snow Competition Secrets

Joe sighed, "I guess tomorrow they'll turn me into a snowman again."

Ash frowned, "Misty's right. We're teaching this girl a lesson."

Ash walked off towards the building with Soot and Misty next to him. The others followed soon after.

.

*Pokétech

Joe led the group through the halls. Every student that they passed either stared at Soot or started talking about Ash in hushed voices. Some students ran off as the group passed. Joe led them to a room with computers lining the side walls and a large battlefield in the center.

He went over to computer and sat down, "This is the simulation room. In here, students learn about type combinations and matchups. Giselle practices here all the time."

Ash looked at the battlefield. It was covered in dust and not it the normal way.

Ash spoke up, "Do you guys use the field?"

Joe laughed, "Why would we? Everything we need is on here." He typed and pulled up a battle simulation. It ended with a victory screen, "See, I win."

Misty glared, "Well what if you went against someone from the Cerulean City gym?"

"Oh, yeah. Water Pokémon" Joe turned back towards the screen, "I always win against them. See?"

The simulation showed a starmie facing a weepinbell. The starmie was defeated in one hit and 'Weepinbell Wins' flashed across the screen.

Joe smiled, "See? Easy."

Soot sweat dropped, 'you can't be serious.'

Misty glared, "That doesn't prove anything! It was just some computer program!"

Joe looked confused, "Why do you care?"

Misty stood up straight, "Because I'm Misty Waterflower, one of the Cerulean City gym leaders. And I challenge you to a battle!"

Joe chuckled, "Fine but you're just gonna lose."

Joe and Misty stood off on either side on the battlefield. They each pulled out a pokéball.

"Go, Starmie!"

The starfish emerged on the battlefield.

Joe laughed, "Too bad your water Pokémon can't do anything against my plant. Weepinbell, let's go."

The Flycatcher Pokémon emerged on the field and looked around, confused.

Ash's frowned, 'It looks like it's never battled in its life. Poor thing.'

Misty smirked, "You can take the first move, Joe,"

Joe grinned, "Then this battle is already over! Weepinbell, use Vine Whip!"

Misty did nothing.

The vines shot from Weepinbell, towards Starmie. They hit it right in the core.

Joe cheered, "Alright, I won!"

Soot broke out into laughter, "Oh man, that's rich!"

Joe glared, "What are you talking about? Starmie is defeated."

Soot laughed harder, "Joe, Starmie is still standing."

Joe looked back at the Water-type. It shrugged off the attack and stood strong.

Joe's eyes widened, "What?! But that's impossible!"

Misty sweat dropped, "Oh, boy. Starmie, use Water Gun."

Starmie washed away Weepinbell and knocked it out instantly.

Joe sank to his knees, "B-but how? How could a water Pokémon beat a grass Pokémon?"

"Weepinbell may have had the type advantage but, your opponent was a higher level. In battle, the level always decides the outcome." A mocking voice responded.

Ash sighed and turned to face the source, "You must be Giselle."

Giselle smirked "And you must be a fan of mine. It only makes sense, I'm the top of the Beginner Class."

Ash sweat dropped, "And you see that as something to brag about?"

Giselle glared, "Who do you think you are to talk to me like that?"

Ash sighed, he knew what was coming next, "My name is Ashton Satoshi Ketchum."

Joe snapped out of it and stared at Ash in shock.

Giselle's eyes widened, "W-what?"

Soot rolled her eyes, "Here we go."

Giselle stared at the canine, "Th-that's-"

A large man in a business suit ran into the room. He was sweating like he just ran a marathon. Which he probably did, "Is he really here?!"

Ash frowned and, begrudgingly, raised a hand.

The man noticed and got right in Ash's face, "Mr. Ketchum, it's an honor to meet you! I'm the principal of this fine establishment. We look forward to-"

Soot interrupted, "Let me stop you right there. Dad still isn't joining your little school."

Misty blinked, "Ash, what's Soot talking about?"

The principal walked up to Misty and glared, "Do not address him so casually! You will show respect to pokétech's newest and most promising student!"

Ash growled, "I'm not joining!"

The principal turned and smiled, "Now, Mr. Ketchum, let's not be hasty. We'll just escort this riff raff off-"

Ash flashed intimidate. The man stopped talking immediately.

Ash took a breath and let his eyes return to normal, "I'm sorry about that, but you need to get this through your head. I. Am. Not. Joining. And don't insult my friends."

"Ash, what's going on?" Brock asked.

Ash looked over and frowned, "You guys remember that whole 'Phantom Child' thing that Seymour was obsessed with?"

Misty frowned, "Kinda hard to forget."

Ash chuckled, "Well, after that, these guys tried getting me to sign up for their school. They've tried everything from 'one-in-a-lifetime' scholarships to 'surprise raffles'. That started two years ago." Ash glared the principal, "And they haven't given up since."

Joe was shocked, "Y-you can't be serious! How could you just pass up an opportunity like that?!"

Ash frowned, "Opportunity? They only wanted me because of something I did by accident. And even if it wasn't because of that, it'd be because of the horrible curriculum."

Giselle snapped out of it, "Now hold on a second! Pokémon tech is the most prestigious school in the world! Even if you are a prodigy, that doesn't give the right to talk down to us."

Ash's eye twitched, "Two things. First: I'm not a prodigy, I just read a lot as a kid. Second: I'm only speaking the truth. This place has never put a promising trainer into the league. And after seeing how this place is run, I'm not surprised anymore."

Giselle glared, "What was that?!"

Ash continued, "This place basically forces the students to fend for themselves and not in a way that makes sense for trainers. They teach you all half-baked and outdated information; most of which would never hold up in a real battle. This school is a joke."

Brock and Misty just stared as Ash ranted. They'd only ever seen him this annoyed when Team Rocket was around.

Giselle clenched her fists, "You're wrong!" She held up a pokéball, "I'll defeat you and prove that we aren't a joke!"

Ash sighed, "If it'll show you what I mean, then fine."

Ash and Giselle stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Ash's friends and a large crowd of students stood by and watched. Word about Ash spread fast. Pikachu and Clefairy were standing on Ash's left side and Soot sat down on his right.

The principle spoke up, "I propose a wager."

Ash glared, "I already know what it is, and the answer is no! I will not join if Giselle beats me."

"That's not what I was going to propose." The principal responded.

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose, "I also won't join if I defeat Giselle."

The principal stopped talking.

Ash shook his head, 'pathetic' "Let's get started. What's the match-up?"

Giselle blinked, "How am I supposed to know? We haven't brought out our Pokémon yet."

Ash sweat dropped, "Not the type match-up. How many Pokémon we'll use and what kind of battle should we go with?"

Giselle glared, "That doesn't make any sense. There's only one kind of battle. One vs. One."

Ash's eye twitched, 'Freaking Arceus.' "Fine, but how many Pokémon?"

Giselle smirked, "We'll both use two."

Ash nodded, "Okay."

Giselle pulled out a pokéball. She waited for Ash to do the same.

Ash pointed to the field, "Clefairy, your move!"

The pink Pokémon smiled brightly and jumped onto the field.

Giselle blinked, "Wait a second, why wasn't your Pokémon in its pokéball?"

Ash shrugged, "She prefers to stay out."

Giselle smirked, "Fine. But your Normal-type won't stand a chance against this. Go, Graveler!"

Graveler appeared and stared down Clefairy. She readied herself. Her first real battle as finally about to start.

Ash blinked, "I'm sorry, what was that last part? It sounded like you said Clefairy was a Normal-type."

Giselle laughed, "Of course it is. I guess that makes me smarter than you."

Ash frowned, "Giselle, before we start, would you mind naming the different types."

Giselle laughed, "Easy. Normal, Fire, Water, Fighting, Flying, Grass, Electric, Poison, Ground, Psychic, Ice, Rock, Bug, Ghost, Dragon and unclassified, for the move Curse."

Ash sighed, "I was afraid of that." The girl frowned, "Giselle, the unclassified-type was disproven a long time ago. Curse is a Ghost-type move. Also, you missed three types: Steel, Dark, and Fairy. The second, of which, is Soot's types and the last is Clefairy's type. You just helped prove that the school's information is outdated and full of holes."

Giselle glared, "Can we just battle already?!"

Ash nodded.

Giselle too the first move, "I don't care what you say. A Fighting-type move will still be super effective! Graveler, use Brick Break!"

Ash raised his eyebrows, 'Not bad, that actually takes a lot of training. But…'

Graveler ran forward with one of its hands glowing. It struck Clefairy right on the head.

Clefairy blinked and looked up at the hand on her head, "huh?"

Ash sighed, "Clefairy, use Wake-Up Slap."

Clefairy giggled and slapped Graveler. The Rock/Ground-type stumbled back and fell to its knees.

Giselle was shocked, "What?! But that should have worked!"

"Yeah, not really." Soot called out, "Fairy-types are resistant to Fighting-type attacks."

Giselle glared, "Graveler, use Rollout."

Graveler complied. Clefairy responded by jumping out of the way of the boulder. Unfortunately, Graveler was out of control and heading for Ash.

"Ash lookout!" Brock shouted.

Ash frowned, 'We're on the second story and a pool is right outside. Not a good combination for a graveler.' He crouched down; bracing himself.

Misty panicked, "Ash, what are you doing?!"

Ash held out his hands as Graveler rolled at him. He was pushed back as he tried hold it. He felt something push him forward and turned to see Soot. Ash smiled and focused on focused on the struggle. Graveler started to slow down and came to stop after a few more seconds.

The room was speechless.

Giselle was wide eyed, "H-how did you do that?!"

Soot grinned, "I have Banette inheritance. I was able to phase through and help."

Everyone bought that. Giselle grimaced, "But, why? You could have just moved out of the way, like your Pokémon did."

Ash stood back up, "Giselle, we're on the second floor, there is a window behind me, and a pool right outside."

Giselle's eyes widened, "Then, Graveler would have-"

Ash snapped his fingers, "Exactly."

Giselle stared, wide eyed, 'How could I have made a mistake like that?'

She shook it off and held up a pokéball, "Graveler, return."

Ash looked over to the field, "Clefairy, come back."

Clefairy hurried back with smile on her face, "How'd I do?!"

Ash smiled and knelt down to pet her, "You were great out there. Go relax for now."

Clefairy cheered and ran over to Soot. She was chattering nonstop about the short battle. Ash couldn't help but smile at the hyperactive Fairy-type.

Giselle pulled out another pokéball, "Go, Cubone!"

Ash sighed, 'guess we're still going.' "Pikachu, you're next!"

Cubone emerged on the battlefield. Pikachu ran onto the battlefield and crouched down into his fighting stance.

Giselle laughed, "You can't be serious. An Electric-type won't have any effect against my Ground-type."

Ash rolled his eyes, "Pikachu, use Iron Tail."

Pikachu shot forward and nailed Cubone. The Lonely Pokémon was out like a light.

Giselle was shocked, "What?! What kind of move was that?"

Soot cleared her throat, catching everyone's attention, "Steel-type. As in, another of the types you missed. It's super effective against Fairy, Ice, and Rock."

Giselle frowned, "But, Cubone is a Ground-type."

Soot nodded, "Yeah. That attack just did normal damage."

Giselle fell to her knees and hung her head in despair, "I lost."

Only one person cheered at Ash's victory, "Congratulations Mr. Ketchum! I never had any doubts." the principal declared. He brought out a large stack of papers, "Now if you'll just sign here, we can have you in class by the morning."

Ash took the forms and glared at the man, "Your top student was just defeated and you're still doing this?"

Ash looked over. Giselle on her hands and knees; crying about the loss. The other students, even Joe, were all around her and trying to comfort her.

Ash glared at the principal, "It's because of people like you that this school is a joke." he held up of the forms and tore them in half.

Ash walked over to the group of students before the man could respond.

One of the students glared at Ash, "What do you want now? If you're here to insult Giselle, then you can just-"

Ash smiled, "I came over to congratulate her on the battle."

The students stopped glaring. Giselle looked up, surprised, "But, I lost."

Ash held out a hand, "So what? You probably would have thrashed me if this place actually did its job." Ash helped Giselle up and looked around, "You guys have potential that's being wasted here. If I were you, I'd-" Ash's eyes widened, "GET DOWN!"

The glass windows shattered behind them. A round of laughs- ugh, do I even need to say it at this point?

Soot sighed, "Yup."

Team Rocket floated outside the window in a hot air balloon shaped like Meowth's head.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

Ash ran over to the window, "What the heck are you doing here?!"

James smirked, "Simple. We're here for Pikachu and Mice-ey-ulga."

"IT'S MIGHTYENA! STOP GETTING MY SPECIES WRONG!" Soot shouted.

Giselle put a hand to her chin, "Jessie and James. Team Rocket." She snapped her fingers, "Oh, that's right. You two got the worst Entrance Exam test scores in history. We actually use you guys as incentive to work harder."

Jessie glared, "That test was rigged!"

Soot started rolling on the floor, laughing, "O-oh dear Arceus, this is too good!" her laughing didn't stop.

James glared too, "It's not funny!"

"Your comin' with us!" Meowth pressed a button on the basket.

Two mechanical arms came out of the front of the balloon basket and shot towards Pikachu and Soot. They responded by smashing the claws with Iron Tail and Sucker Punch.

Soot shook her head, "Again with the robot arms?"

Jessie clenched her teeth and pulled out a pokéball, "We're not done!" James pulled out a pokéball as well.

"Go, Ekans!" "Go, Koffing!"

The Poison-types emerged in front of the crowd. Many of the students started to back up in fear.

Ash looked back at them, "Stay behind us. We'll handle this." He noticed the principal behind them; using his students as shields. Ash's eye twitched, 'the nerve of that guy.'

Ash looked back towards the attackers, 'We need to be careful. If we let up or get sloppy, we could end up with a hostage situation.'

Ash turned to his friends, "Brock, Misty, I'll handle Team Rocket, you guys protect the students." He looked to Soot, "Soot, help them out. Pikachu, Clefiary, and I will handle this."

They nodded, "Staryu, Starmie, come on out!" "Geodude, Zubat, let's go!"

The group of Pokémon stood guard in front of the crowd.

Ash turned to face Team Rocket, "Pikachu, Clefairy, take the field!"

The duo ran out to face the Snake and Poison Gas Pokémon.

Meowth blinked, "Wait a sec, yous dat clefairy from Mount Moon. Da one with da Moon Stone piece."

Ash sweat dropped, "She was with us in Cerulean City and at A.J.'s gym. How is this the first time you've noticed her?"

Jessie ignored him, "Ekans attack Clefairy with Dig!"

James followed, "Koffing, use Sludge on Pikachu!"

Ash sighed, 'wrong targets' "Pikachu, block with Iron Tail! Clefairy, be ready!"

Koffing fired and Ekans dug underground. Pikachu intercepted the Poison-type attack with his glowing tail and Clefairy closed her eyes.

Joe got worried, "What's going on?! Why is Clefairy just standing there?"

Clefairy opened her eyes and jumped. Ekans shot out of the ground a second later; it's opponent way above it.

Ash smiled, "Now, diving Pound!"

Clefairy dropped towards Ekans and slapped the Yvel out it.

The students watched in awe.

"Woah!"

"I thought that tail move was an attack. How did it block Sludge?"

"It's like Clefairy knew were Ekans was going to pop up"

"The stimulators never covered this."

Ash smiled, "It's because we trained to do this. Your simulators only show moves in their most basic form: attacking moves attack, Defensive moves defend, and Status moves affect status. The truth is: attacking and status moves can defend, and even defensive moves can be channeled into an attack."

Soot spoke up, "Yeah, a while ago, I went against a Sandshrew that was immune to water and could attack using Defense Curl."

The students looked at her, wide eyed.

Ash continued, "As for Clefairy, she felt for the vibrations in the ground and reacted accordingly. A simulation can't teach that."

Jessie glared, "Stop ignoring us! Ekans use Bite on Clefairy!"

James followed, "Koffing, Tackle Pikachu!"

Ash rolled his eyes, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt on Koffing. Clefairy, take it, then Metronome."

Giselle's eye widened, "What?!"

Pikachu shocked Koffing before it could hit. Ekans bit Clefairy on the head. The Fairy Pokémon frowned slightly and started waving her fingers.

Joe was shocked, "How is Clefairy not being hurt?!"

Soot looked over, "Oh she is, just not that much. Fairy-types are resistant to Dark-type moves."

Giselle blinked, "I thought Bite was a Normal-type move."

Clefairy stopped and pointed at Ekans. A blue beam shot out from between Clefairy's hands and froze Ekans solid.

Ash whistled, "Ice Beam. Not bad." Ash raised an arm, "Clefairy, Pound! Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Clefairy hit the frozen snake towards Team Rocket's balloon and Pikachu did the same with Koffing.

The Rockets grimaced "Oh no, Koffing!" "Ekans, are you alright?!"

Ash shook his head, "You guys really are idiots."

Jessie glared, "What did you just say?!"

Ash sighed, "You made countless mistakes in that battle, all of which included types. I mean, come on! You used Dig against Clefairy when Pikachu is an Electric-type. I don't even know where to start with the rest."

Ash shook his head, "Let's get this over with. Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Clefairy, Disarming Voice! Soot, Shadow Ball!"

The three fired their attacks at the balloon. And as usual: *boom*.

.

*Blast-off scene

Jessie scratched her head furiously, "Why does this always happen?!"

James had a hand to his chin, "What do you think the twerp meant about all that type stuff?"

Meowth shrugged, "Nothin' important I bet."

"We're blasting off again!"

.

*School and heroes

Everyone watched as Team Rocket disappeared.

Giselle looked over to Ash, "Will they be alright?"

Ash looked back, "Surprisingly, yes. This is the 7th time this has happened to them."

Soot shook her head, "I'm starting to think those three are immortal."

Then the principal- "Incredible! Spectacular! Genius! Undoubtably Pokétech materi-"

Ash was done, "I am not joining! And, just so you know, you blew any chance you might have had when you used your own students as meat shields!" he took a deep breath and turned to face the students, "And I was serious about earlier."

Giselle blinked, "What?"

Ash smiled, "You guys have potential that this school doesn't care about. The curriculum only cares about facts. And, while I admit it helps, that isn't all that makes a trainer."

Joe frowned, "So, what does make a trainer?"

Soot walked over to Ash, "It's creativity. The main thing that separates humans from Pokémon." She sat next to Ash, "Wild Pokémon battle using instinct alone. Humans can see combinations and come up with ideas that most Pokémon could never hope to do. That's why we started letting humans train us in the first place." She chuckled, "Or so I've heard."

The students looked at each other, starting to feel ashamed.

Ash smiled sadly, "Don't worry about not knowing that. Over time, people and Pokémon have gotten so used to this reality that most have forgotten." Ash shrugged "Heck, I didn't know until Soot heard about it."

Joe perked up, "So, what do we do?"

Ash smiled sadly and shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I can't make that decision for you. The best I can say is- don't let this place decide everything for you." Ash turned to the man currently trying to pick up the torn acceptance forms and glared, "Especially when people like him are in charge."

The students looked around at each other. They had a lot to think about.

.

**Time Skip**

Ash, Brock, Misty, and Ash's Pokémon stood out in front of the school. Giselle and Joe were there to see them off.

Ash held out a hand, "It was nice meeting the two of you."

Giselle shook Ash's hand, "You too. You've given us a lot to think about."

Joe still looked uneasy. Giselle noticed, "Joe, I'm sorry about before. I promise I'll make the others stop messing with you."

Joe smiled, "Thanks, but it's something else." he turned to face the 'prodigy,' "Ash, I know you don't like the school, but there's something I still don't get. With everything you know, you could have enrolled and graduated in no time. You might already be in the league if you did that."

Ash frowned, "It's more than that. Joe, Giselle, how did you get all of your Pokémon?"

Giselle raised a brow, "The school gave them to us. That's how everyone here gets there Pokémon."

Ash nodded, "That's why I didn't join." He looked to Soot, "Enrolling would mean that I'd have to leave Soot behind."

Everyone's eyes widened at that.

Ash smiled, "When we first found out about the school, Soot and I were ecstatic, and mom was so proud of us. It seemed like my dream of becoming a master was right around the corner." Ash frowned, "But, then we found out about the school's policy on their students' Pokémon. No matter what, they weren't going to allow Soot to come with me." He looked down and started petting her, "That was something I couldn't accept. I made a promise that I would always be there for her."

Soot pushed up against him, "I love you too, dad."

Misty and Brock smiled at the scene.

Joe frowned, "I'm sorry."

Ash chuckled, "Don't be. It was a fair question."

Joe smiled, "And, I think I made a decision. I'm going to go back home and start my journey right. Just like you did, Ash."

Giselle smiled, "I'm going to stay. You were right, the school needs help and I want to be the one to fix it." She smiled at Joe, "I look forward to meeting you in the league, Joe."

Joe nodded, "I hope you're right." He pulled his picture of her, "Giselle, would you mind if I kept your picture."

Giselle smiled, "Not at all. I have pictures of all of my friends, see?" she held up a picture of Joe.

Ash and friends looked towards Soot.

She blinked, "What?"

"You don't have something to say about the picture thing?" Misty asked.

Soot glared, "I'm not that judgey. Am I?"

Everyone looked uneasy.

Soot's pouted, "Humph."

.

.

Pike: Oh yeah, that place. I feel embarrassed for almost losing to that cubone.

Luke: It seems rather irresponsible to allow these students to enter the League with so little experience.

Laura: Humans really like shortcuts, don't they?

Gem: *growling* I never liked that Giselle girl. She insulted Pikachu.

Ohirume: See? This is why I needed you guys.

Laura: But, I'm a girl.

…

Yeah, yeah, I know what I said last time.

Shortly after I posted the chapter, I thought: 'you're doubling the post delay before lengthening it?! Dude, not cool!'

So, I decided to go ahead and post this one to make up for the upcoming delay.

The next chapter will still be on the 10th.