**I FINALLY found a way to turn on Reader View that should work regardless of device
So, if you wanna read without those ******* google ads infecting your page – go to the URL and replace the 'www' with an 'm'

It's less detailed, so navigation is more annoying. But that's the fault of the website for letting the ads start appearing**

Mizuro: So, filler?

Ohirume: Nope.

Mizuro: *sighs* Fine. Let's just get it over- wait, what?

Ohirume: *smiles* The filler's over. We're finally getting to the next Gym.

Omega: *eyes widen, pulls out PokéSins clipboard, and flips through pages* He's serious…

Illavera: Oh my- Finally! Why the **** did it take so long?!

Seishin: *shrugs*

I don't own Pokémon or Ben 10.

.

.

Here We Are Cinnabar!

.

"Y'know, I still can't believe he actually had a mini-printer in his bag." Soot said with a smirk.

Misty smiled, "Yeah. Maybe Todd's whole 'photo master' thing really wasn't just big talk."

Pikachu smirked, "Or, at least, maybe just the title was."

Ash translated before everyone chuckled. He looked back at the picture in his hand.

The image depicted himself, Brock, and Misty crowded around Todd with the non-Gym Leaders holding up a V-sign and all four of them smiling. Pikachu and Clefairy stood on either of Ash's shoulders while smiling like the others. Electra and Togepi were waving from Brock's shoulder and Misty's arms; respectively. And Soot sat at the front of the group while grinning with only her left eye in its inherent state.

Brock frowned, "Still, I can't help but feel a little bad about him leaving the way he did. I keep feeling like we drove him away with all of that stuff about… well-"

Ash chuckled somberly; still looking at the picture, "Our version of 'normal'. And same, kinda." He looked at his friends, "But you heard him. He didn't feel like he was cut out for that kind of action that often. I'm not sure anything would've changed that."

He smiled sadly, "If anything, it's probably for the best that he found out the way he did. As opposed to having to experience something like Grandpa Canyon a second time … or worse."

Misty nodded with a small smile, "You're probably right." She smiled normally, "Still, it will be nice to be able to use the Lenses again whenever we want." She perked up in realization, "Oh, speaking of." She reached into her pocket, pulled out the Lens case, and handed it back to Ash, "I almost forgot to give these back."

Ash looked at her before smiling, "Oh right." He pocketed the photo and took the case back, "Thank you." He opened the case and smiled, "Huh. You actually left one."

Brock, Electra, Clefairy, and Soot looked at him in surprise.

Misty grinned, "Well, Lockdown mode helped for the night." She sweat dropped, "Though it made the dumpster smell ten times worse."

Ash perked up and looked at her with a raised brow, "Wait, you slept in the alley?"

Misty sighed, "Yeah, we weren't sure we should risk going to a hotel."

Pikachu looked at her, "Yeah, but thank Arc you pack a sleeping back."

Ash translated.

Misty smiled, "No kidding."

Brock raised a brow, "What are you talking about?"

Ash looked at him before perking up, "Oh, right." He removed the note from the case and handed it to the breeder, "Here."

Brock took the note and looked over it before jerking and looking at Ash in shock, "You set up a default?!"

Soot perked up and looked at Ash in surprise, "Wait, you already finished that?"

Electra looked at Clefairy, "What are they talking about?"

Clefairy shrugged.

.

*The next day; sunset

The group found a forest clearing to break for the night and got started on another training session. One where they didn't have to go somewhere else.

The Gym Leaders were relaxing with their Pokémon; both Lens locked. Misty was in the vaporeon form for five and a half hours and was in the pool with Squirtle and her team; now including Psyduck. Brock was in pikachu form for seven hours and lazed around with his team on the grass.

Most of Ash's Pokémon were training solo or in pairs.

The Cobra Pokémon glanced at the Gym Leaders curiously, "So," He looked at the braviary who was using a left Steel Wing to hold back a Poison Jab protruding from his tail, "you can do that to other humans too."

Ash smiled, "I call them Change Lenses." He lit up his right wing.

Arbok noticed and vanished in a blur as Ash slashed at the Poison-type. The Valiant Pokémon immediately crossed his Steel Wings behind his back. Arbok reappeared and slashed down at Ash; only for it to be blocked. Arbok's eyes widened in shock.

Ash glanced back and spread his wings out. Poison Jab shattered out of existence as Ash pivoted on a talon, lit up both of them red, and slashed at the Poison-type with one.

Arbok flinched and moved back as Crush Claw just barely grazed his chest; making him flinch in pain. Ash skidded to a halt to face Arbok, jumped back, and flapped forcefully as Tailwind propelled him back.

Arbok looked at Ash in shock, "How the Yvel did you know where I was gonna attack from?"

Ash smiled, "Well attacking from behind seems to be your go to. It'll work against an opponent who doesn't know you too well, but that doesn't mean they won't catch on. You should try mixing it up every now and then to make yourself harder to predict."

Arbok smiled and nodded, "Alright. I'll keep that in mind." His eyes narrowed and flashed light blue.

Ash tensed up and grimaced as Glare induced Paralysis. Arbok smirked and shot at Ash. He opened his mouth as Ice Fang extended and he lunged.

Ash smirked slyly and glared as his body became engulfed in golden energy.

Arbok's eyes widened fearfully, 'Oh crag.'

Ice Fang collided with Brave Bird and a large explosion erupted from the pair. Arbok was thrown back by the blast and crash landed on his back.

Arbok groaned and started getting back up. He grimaced at the sight of a glowing wing pointing at his face.

Ash smiled despite the scorch marks covering his body, "You're getting better." He let the glow fade and put his wings back to his side.

Arbok smiled sadly and moved back up, "Thanks." He brought up and looked at his tail as a glowing purple blade popped out of it, "But I have to admit, when I imagined learning Poison Jab, I thought I'd get a tougher style."

Ash smiled, "Well, materialize blade-style isn't really known for its durability. Still, nice to see you're getting the hang of its secondary effect."

Arbok perked up and looked at him in surprise, "Wait, secondary effect?" He dispelled the blade from his tail, formed another extending from the ridge of his hood, and glanced at it, "So this isn't what you meant with all of the tail-tip and hood ridge stuff?"

Soot walked up and smiled, "That, it was not. We only meant one position." She pointed a claw at his Poison-type attack, "Those other styles don't form a blade and usually involve that section of the user's body glowing some shade of purple."

Ash held a wing to the side, "Your style has a few different rules, kinda like you and your stats. You'll only ever be able to form one blade at a time and its durability won't hold off any attack stronger than a Metal Claw. In return, the stamina required to continuously use the move is little to none and you should be able to form it literally anywhere on your body with enough practice."

Arbok flinched and his eyes widened in shock, "Wait, what?! Anywhere?!"

Soot snickered, "Well, anywhere on the outside of your body. Not like you'd be able to put it at the end of your tongue."

Arbok sweat dropped, "Okay, yeah. That'd be kinda creepy." He glanced at the blade and smiled, "Still, that is pretty cool." He looked at the pair, "So, how do I do it from other spots?"

Ash smiled, "Practice and experimenting. And a lot of it."

Soot smiled sadly and raised a claw, "Which you'll have to do without our help. There aren't any methods that can help speed that up."

Arbok frowned, "Oh." He shook it off and smiled, "Aw, whatever. I'll make sure to practice when I can."

"Sounds good." Ash said with a smile, "Just don't go and overwork yourself. That doesn't help anyone."

Arbok chuckled softly, "Don't worry. We had the same policy at the Exam Center." He looked at the pair curiously, "So, do I go ahead and get started on that or should we spar some more?"

Ash smiled, "Well that or we can get started on-"

"PSYYYYY!"

Everyone in the clearing jumped and looked over to find Psyduck flailing wildly in the pool and screaming at the top of his lungs. Misty shielded Togepi from the splashing and the rest of Misty's team and Squirtle shielded themselves.

.

*Pool

"PSYDUCK!" Misty screamed.

The Duck Pokémon jerked as his eyes flashed blue. He stopped flailing and blinked before looking around.

Psyduck sweat dropped, "I freaked out again, didn't I?"

Goldeen looked at him; deadpanned, "Yup…"

Psyduck groaned and sat back down in the water.

Starmie looked around and waved a spike, "We're good, everyone! Calm Mind just wore off again!"

Everyone went back to what they were doing.

Squirtle looked at Psyduck; sweat dropping, "So, uh … definitely happy for you for figuring out how to … is 'function' too rude?"

Psyduck looked at him, "A little but go on."

"I'm happy for you, but" Squirtle continued, "is there any way to make the fix more permanent?"

Psyduck sighed, "I've tried." He started rubbing his temples, "I know it's not healthy to dwell on what you don't have but, freaking Yvel, I wish I had a more manageable headache. Or at least one that doesn't prevent me from talking."

Seadra chuckled sheepishly, "Well, you guys did say it'd go away once you evolve, right?"

Goldeen smiled, "Yeah. Now that you can start training, that's actually a possibility."

Psyduck crossed his arms, "Yeah but it won't be quick. My kind evolve through experience, my best move is Confusion, and I'm already three. By psyduck standards, I am way behind."

Misty smiled, "Well then we'll just have to work extra-" She stopped and her eyes widened, "wait, you're three years old?"

Psyduck sighed, "Yup. Like I said, way behind."

Squirtle and Goldeen frowned, 'Ouch.'

Misty frowned, "Hm." She shook her head rapidly and smiled again, "Well, that still doesn't mean it'll be impossible. We just have to put in the work to get you there, Psyduck."

Seadra glared determinedly and nodded, "And we'll all pitch in to make it happen."

Starmie and Staryu nodded.

Squirtle smirked and pointed a thumb at his trainer, "And you already know Ash is onboard."

Togepi smiled happily and raised an arm, "Yeah! You'll be a golduck in no time!"

Psyduck perked up and looked at the Bubble Jet Pokémon, his teammates, and the Tiny Turtle Pokémon in mild surprise. He smiled softly, "Thanks." He leaned back against the inflated wall of the pool and put his hands behind his head, "But, for now, I just wanna enjoy this. I haven't been able to relax in water since … well, ever."

Misty smiled and nodded, "Gotcha. We'll get started when you're ready."

Everyone else smiled before going back to relaxing in the pool.

Misty glanced at Psyduck, "Quick question, though-"

"It'll wear off in five minutes." Psyduck said quickly, "I'll bring it up at the ten second mark."

.

*Primeape

The Pig Monkey reeled back with Thunder Punch at the ready and prepared to strike a Rock Slide boulder. He perked up and blinked in surprise when he felt a tug. He looked back to find Electra walking past with a sitrus berry in her paws.

Electra looked at him, noticed his hand, and smiled nervously with her ears drooping, "Oh, sorry." She continued walking towards Brock's group.

Primeape blinked in surprise, looked down at his sparking fist, and looked at the clothed Mouse Pokémon curiously, "Huh…"

.

*Three days later

After a long and action filled journey, Ash and friends are finally on their last few steps in reaching Cinnabar Island; the site of Ash's seventh Gym Challenge.

To get there, they traveled across the sea on a fine cruise ship filled with all sorts of luxuries like service from waiters and a massive pool on the deck for them to enjoy. Or … that would be what they were doing if it weren't for the surplus of tourists.

Misty sweat dropped while frowning, "Jeez. I didn't think this many people would be heading to Cinnabar."

Soot sweat dropped as well, "Well, the island is also a resort. It's got hot springs all over the place. Some on par with or just above Giva."

Electra cocked her head as she wore her raichu T, "Hot spring?"

Soot smiled at her, "Like a hot and soothing bath. Trust me, you'll love it."

Clefairy smiled excitedly and nodded, "Yeah! It feels great."

Brock smiled at his Electric-type, "Not to mention the laboratory. It's one of the best public ones in the world. Trainers come from all over to learn new techniques and try out their exercise equipment."

Ash smiled at her too, "That and it's one of the few places in Kanto with a fossil restoration machine."

Electra perked up at looked at Ash in shock, "Wait! You mean one of those machines you talked about at Grandpa Canyon?!"

Soot grinned, "The one and the same."

The female Mouse Pokémon smiled excitedly, "Insane! I can't wait to get there!"

Pikachu was glancing around warily; not paying attention to the conversation. He noticed one of the ship's waiters pass by and flinched. The man didn't notice and continued walking inside.

Ash noticed and looked at him, "You okay, bud?"

Pikachu looked back and smiled nervously; ears drooping, "Yeah. Sorry." He looked around again, "Just … the Saint Anne. I keep imagining the workers being Team Rocket agents."

Electra and Togepi perked up and looked at him in surprise, "Huh?"

Clefairy perked up, frowned, and looked around worriedly, "Oh. Right."

Soot chuckled softly, "Hey, don't worry. We bought these tickets from a legitimate booth, and I haven't seen anything suspicious."

Ash smiled and nodded, "Yeah. I even took a peek at one of the computers at the helpdesk and security cameras to make sure. We're fine."

Pikachu and Clefairy sighed in relief.

Brock raised a brow, "Saint Anne, right?"

Ash looked at him and nodded, "Yeah. They were a little on edge."

Misty smiled, "Well, nice to know this cruise ship isn't a trap. Once was enough." She sweat dropped, "Y'know, Todd might've had a really good point about us."

Togepi looked up at Misty worriedly, "T- trap?"

Electra looked around and frowned, "Okay, what exactly happened on the-"

"Don't worry girls! You'll all get a chance to take a picture with me!"

Almost everyone tensed up and groaned upon recognizing the voice. They looked over to find Gary in a pink shirt with blue pom tree leaves on it, red shorts, sunglasses, and a straw hat with a black band walking their way.

His fan club followed close behind him in various non-cheerleader outfits.

Mizuro: *sighs in relief* Oh, thank goodness. No cheering.

Togepi blinked in confusion and looked up at Misty, "Meema, who's the brown hair human?"

Gary noticed the group before smirking and removing his shades, "Well, what do you know? Ashy-boy and his little friends. And here I thought you gave up and went back to Pallet."

Ash sighed, "Hello to you too, Gary. So, you heading to Cinnabar for a Volcano Badge too?"

Gary's eyes widened before he burst out into laughter, "O- oh man, that's rich! You really are as dumb as they come!"

His fans started laughing with him. Pikachu, Clefairy, and Electra glared. Brock deadpanned. Misty's eye twitched.

Soot smirked, "Oh, of course. How silly of us. As if you'd actually challenge a main eight Gym. Those are way too difficult for you, Gare-bare."

Pikachu and Misty snorted.

Gary jerked and glared at her, "I told you not to call me that!" He straightened up and looked at Ash, "And I meant that Cinnabar doesn't have a Gym. It closed down years ago."

Misty and Brock perked up in surprise.

Pikachu's eyes widened in shock, "Wait, what?!"

Clefairy frowned worriedly, "B- but we've come all this way…"

Ash smiled and petted his Fairy-type, "Hey, don't worry. We'll find it."

Gary smirked slyly, "Wait, you're not actually telling me you believe those rumors, do you?"

Brock and Misty perked up in realization, 'Rumors?!'

Ash smiled at Gary, "Actually, yes. Because there have been reports and images of trainers obtaining Volcano Badges even after the Gym supposedly shut down."

Gary smirked slyly and reached into his pocket, "Images, huh?" He pulled out a badge case, opened it, and pulled out a thin dark red badge. It had three prongs on the top, barbs near the curved bottom, an orange line overlapping a light orange oval in the center, and silver rimming all around it, "You mean of this?"

Brock sweat dropped, "That's not a Volcano Badge."

"Of course, it isn't." Gary said cockily, "It's a Burner Badge from Sable City. The designs are just similar." He put the badge back in his case, closed it, and pocketed it, "Looks like your little hunch fell flat, Ashy-boy."

He turned and waved back, "Have fun wasting your time!" The girls all giggled before following.

Togepi pouted sourly, "I don't like him."

Electra sweat dropped, "None of us do."

Pikachu looked at Ash anxiously, "So did the Cinnabar Gym really shut down?"

Ash looked at him, "The original location did. But the rumors say that Blaine moved it to another part of the island. We have to find it."

Misty perked up, "Oh, so kinda like the Fuchsia Gym."

Brock looked at Ash curiously, "Do the rumors say anything about where it is, now?"

"Well," Soot said while frowning, "that's the thing."

Misty looked at Soot in surprise before perking up, deadpanning, and looking at Ash, "You can't tell us yet, can you?"

Ash chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head, "Sorry."

Misty sighed, "Yeah, yeah, I get it."

Brock sweat dropped, "Can we know the reason, at least?"

Ash looked at them stoically, "Mostly, it's to make sure we act natural." He looked at the island in the distance, "Finding the Cinnabar Gym isn't a scavenger hunt like Fuchsia. It's more like a puzzle mixed with a rite of passage."

Misty blinked in surprise, "Rite of passage?"

Ash nodded before looking at them again, "There are just two things I need you to remember. First, if you hear a riddle, answer it if Soot or I can't. Second, act uneasy about how crowded everything is."

Brock perked up in surprise, "How do you know it'll be crowded?"

Ash smirked, "Trust me, it will be. I promise I'll explain everything after we find a place to stay."

The Cerulean and Pewter Gym Leaders stared in surprise before sharing a look. Pikachu and Clefairy did as well and Togepi looked up at Misty.

Electra blinked in confusion, "Place to stay?" She perked up before smiling excitedly, "Like a hotel?!"

Soot sweat dropped while smirking, "We'll see…"

.

**Time Skip**

The ship docked and everyone began unloading from the vessel. The group made their way through a street and looked around curiously. The area was filled with stands, shops, and all sorts of decoration. All of which were crowded with tourists.

Electra and Togepi looked around at all of the decorations and stands curiously.

Pikachu blinked, "Huh. I didn't expect is to look so much like the carnival."

Clefairy nodded, "It kinda reminds me of Maiden's Peak, too."

Brock looked around, 'Ash wasn't kidding.' "I didn't expect this place to be so crowded."

Misty frowned, "No kidding. I guess Cinnabar really has become a tourist trap."

"And the answer why can be found in a riddle."

Everyone flinched a bit and looked over. They found a man with long blond hair and a moustache wearing a long-sleeved red shirt, red pants, circular sunglasses, and a green bead necklace. The Gym Leaders and shoulder riders looked at him in surprise. Ash and Soot's eyes narrowed.

"What do tourists think is hot and cool?" The man asked.

Brock and Misty perked up in realization, 'Riddles.'

Ash looked at a nearby sign, over at the mountain in the distance, and looked back at the man with a raised brow, "I'm guessing either the volcano or the hot springs."

The man smiled, "The hot springs are correct. Though both are right, in a way." He looked over at the volcano, "Ya see, it's because of the volcano that natural hot springs can be found all over Cinnabar Island." He frowned, "And every year, more and more tourists come to visit just because of them."

He looked around at the stands somberly, "Now they've pretty much taken over. Businesses big and small have been setting up stands all over for a piece of the fame. This entire Island has basically become a huge attraction."

Pikachu sweat dropped, 'Didn't we already know most of that?'

Soot looked up at the man, "So, it kinda sounds like you know your way around here. Do you know where the Gym is, by chance?"

The man looked at her with a smile, "The Cinnabar Gym is right where you put your glasses."

Clefairy tilted in confusion, "But none of us wear glasses."

Soot looked back at her, "Not what he meant." She looked back at the man and sweat dropped, "If you mean 'in front of your eyes', that doesn't completely work. Most of us are looking at you."

"…" The man put a hand to his chin, "You're not wrong." He turned around and pointed, "The Gym's right over there."

Everyone looked over and most flinched when they found an old building sitting on a field of weed infested grass with splintered wooden fence all around it. The walls were white and covered in cracks and breaks, and the entire structure was leaning to its side; looking ready to collapse at any second. The entrance was blocked off by a pair of large planks making an X-shape.

Brock stared in shock, "Th- that is a Gym?"

Misty stared blankly, "It's a total wreck."

Electra frowned, "Really not insane."

The man frowned and crossed his arms, "Blaine got tired of all the tourists who cared more about postcards and t-shirts. He just up and abandoned the Gym after a while."

Ash looked at him, "But we came all this way so I could try and get a Volcano Badge."

The man looked at him, "Well I'm sorry to disappoint but you came to the wrong place." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a light blue card with a picture of a volcano and the word 'Big Riddle Inn' written on it, and handed it too Ash, "If you're lookin' for a place to stay, here's my card."

Ash took it and looked at the card curiously, "The Big Riddle Inn?" He looked at the bottom of the card.

The others crowded around him and looked.

Misty raised a brow, "You're that upset about all the tourists but still run an Inn?"

Soot shrugged, "Well a guy's still gotta make a living."

Electra looked back at the man and perked up in surprise, "Hey, he's gone."

Everyone else followed her gaze to find the man nowhere to be seen.

Soot sniffed the air for a second, 'Behind the fence, huh?' She sighed, "Well, that stinks. Guess we'll have to find a lesser Gym."

Ash glanced at her before looking back at the others with a smile, "But, in the mean time, we can still have some fun here. Wanna check out the lab?"

Brock and Misty smiled and nodded, "Sure."

Electra smiled excitedly and raised a paw, "Yes!"

.

*Cinnabar Lab

Electra stared blankly, "Uh…"

The entire front yard of the laboratory was practically covered in stands and booths; just like the rest of the streets. The only leeway was the fact that the walkway leading to the entrance was still usable. Albeit, crowded with tourists.

Soot sweat dropped, "Freaking Yvel. It's just as bad here as everywhere else."

Misty sweat dropped while smirking, "Why am I not surprised?"

Brock looked at Electra, "Do you still wanna check it out?"

Electra frowned, "Um…" She looked at Soot, "They still have one of those restoration machines, right?"

Soot smirked, "Oh, Yvel yeah. Those things are way too expensive and popular to discontinue."

Ash smiled, "We might even see one in use if there are other trainers here for it."

Electra smiled excitedly and pointed at the building, "Then let's go, right now!" She tensed up and blushed when she heard her stomach growl.

Pikachu smiled sheepishly as his ears drooped, "Maybe we should get something to eat first."

Brock looked around, "I guess it is around lunch time. Maybe we can find a restaurant."

Electra groaned sadly.

"Well we could, or" Soot said before looking back at them and pointing ahead, "we could just get a snack from one of these joints real quick. No reason we can't, right?"

Everyone else perked up and shared a look.

.

*Inside the lab; moments later

"Insane!" Electra said excitedly while pressing her paws against the glass with a bright smile on her face.

On the other side of the glass was a white room with a large device that had a glass casing and a monitor sitting next to it. Two people in lab coats as well as an excited looking girl trainer stood around the machine and waited.

Thankfully, the window was two-way glass so everyone inside wasn't unnerved by the overexcited Mouse Pokémon. Though, being told how the glass worked only gave Electra more things to be excited about.

The rest of the group and an attendant accompanying them stood at the window and watched curiously. They weren't allowed inside since they weren't planning to use the machine, but that didn't really bother them.

The man in a lab coat blinked in surprise, "I didn't think a pikachu would be this interested in fossil restoration machines."

Brock smiled, "She actually gets this way over all kinds of machines. Electra's kind of a human fanatic. We came here because she wanted to see them."

The attendant looked at the breeder in surprise. He smiled and looked back through the window, "Well, she's in luck. That trainer came in yesterday to restore a skull fossil. It should be done soon."

The female Electric-type squealed happily, her smile brightened even more, and she started bouncing.

Brock perked up and looked at him in confusion, "Wait a second. Where do you find a skull fossil in Kanto?"

The man chuckled, "I asked the same thing when she came in. Her friend shipped it from overseas."

Misty nodded, "Huh. Neat."

"It's opening!" Electra said excitedly.

Everyone else looked as the glass hatch slowly slid upward as a wave of steam came out of it.

The steam cleared to the reveal the newly revived cranidos sitting in the machine. Pikachu, Clefairy, and Togepi's eyes widened.

Electra squealed again as her tail started wagging, "Insane!"

Cranidos opened their eyes and blinked, "Crani?" They started looking around curiously.

The trainer smiled happily and kneeled down in front of the Rock-type, "Hi there, Cranidos. I'm you're new trainer."

Cranidos looked at the girl, glared, and scooted back in the machine.

Ash and Soot frowned as their eyes widened. Brock, Misty, Pikachu, Clefairy, and Togepi noticed and looked at them. Electra perked up and blinked in surprise.

The girl blinked in surprise before frowning, "Cranidos?" She held out a hand to them.

"Dos!" Cranidos cried out as they jumped out of the machine and growled at the humans in the room. They began scratching at the floor with their head pointing at them.

Ash grimaced, "Crag! Cranidos is about to try and break out!"

The attendant smiled, "Don't worry. This isn't the first time this has happened."

One of the workers inside reached into his pocket.

Cranidos flinched when they heard a loud clank and turned around. They saw a hidden door slide open on the wall. Electra looked at the opening wall in awe.

"Crani?" Cranidos asked in shock. They shook it off before running through the opening and disappearing.

"Cranidos!" The girl cried out worriedly.

One of the workers smiled at her, "Don't worry, it's just in a wild enclosure." He pulled a small remote out of his pocket and pressed the button again to close the wall.

The other worker looked at her, "We just need to wait until Cranidos tires itself out. We can work on getting it to trust you then." She gestured to the entrance, "There's a room you can watch it from if you want."

The girl smiled sadly and nodded, "Thanks."

The female scientist led the trainer out the door. The male scientist started looking over the report on Cranidos's vitals.

Ash blinked in surprise, "Wow." He smiled, "Not bad."

Soot sweat dropped while smirking, "Yeah, I half expected a whole fiasco where they'd let out some other fossil Pokémon and start a riot." She deadpanned, "If I just jinxed it, I swear to Arceus…"

Pikachu sweat dropped, "Knowing our track record, we should probably head out before that actually happens … or before Ash gets a new form."

Ash tensed up.

Misty noticed and smiled at the man with them, "Thank you again for this. We really appreciate it."

The attendant smiled, "It was no trouble. Feel free to come by if you ever find fossil."

Brock smiled and nodded, "Thank you, sir. We will."

With that, Ash and co. made their way back out of the Cinnabar Laboratory and back through the crowd of stands in front of it.

Brock smiled back at Electra, "So, what'd you think?"

Electra smiled brightly, "It was so awesome! Way cooler than I imagined!"

Pikachu sweat dropped while smirking, "Still kinda just seems like she came out of a box."

Ash chuckled, "Yeah. Because we didn't see the whole process." He translated for Pikachu.

Brock perked up, "Oh, so that cranidos was a girl. That trainer got pretty lucky." He smiled, "So, should we go ahead and find a hotel?"

Misty smiled and raised a hand, "Sounds good to me."

.

*Three hours later

Misty trudged along through the hotel's courtyard with Togepi in her backpack, "How much longer do we have to do this? I'm exhausted…"

Brock frowned as Electra laid on his backpack, "I don't get it. We've must've checked over fifteen hotels and inns already. Not even the Pokémon Center had any rooms available." He looked towards a tree line, "Maybe we should just camp out."

Electra yawned, "Fine by me."

Ash smirked with Pikachu and Clefairy sitting tiredly on his shoulders and leaning against his head, "Well, there's one more place we can check."

The Pewter and Cerulean natives perked up and looked at him. Pikachu and Clefairy glanced back at him tiredly.

"I thought I heard something out here."

Everyone flinched from hearing the voice, deadpanned, and looked towards the hotel to find Gary standing in the doorway wearing a brown kimono.

The Oak boy smirked, "So what hotel are you four staying at?" He smiled cockily, "Wait, let me guess. You didn't get any reservations and have to camp out in the street."

Misty glared, "None of your business."

"Hah!" Gary laughed, "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Too bad you don't have a place like this." He grabbed the sliding door and pushed it aside, "Take a look."

The door slid open to reveal his cheerleaders kneeling around a low table covered in food and wearing the same outfit as Gary. There was also a hitmonlee and electabuzz dressed up as geishas with a guitar in hand.

The group stared in shock.

"Woah." Soot said.

"I know, right?" Gary said obnoxiously, "and those are just the appetizers."

He perked up as he heard a door slide open, smiled, and looked back, "Ah. And that must be the entertainment."

Everyone else looked to find a jigglypuff standing in the doorway with a microphone in her hand and a smile on her face.

The group perked up, shared a look, and smirked. They turned and started walking away.

Misty smiled happily, "Welp, enjoy the performance."

Brock smiled as well, "So sorry we can't listen in."

Soot smiled too, "If only we managed to get a reservation."

Gary looked back at the group in confusion as they walked through the entrance to the courtyard and disappeared from view, "Okay?" He smirked and started walking over, "Well they don't know what they're missing."

.

*Ash and co.

Ash perked up, glanced back, and smiled, "Sounds like she just started."

Soot sighed in relief, "We left right on time, then."

Misty glanced back curiously, "Y'know, I'm kinda surprised none of them recognized her from Grandpa Canyon. Jenny said everything except her was a dream, right?"

Soot smirked, "Well, we are talking about the same guy who didn't realize the Porta Vista dragonite and Grandpa Canyon dragonite were the same dragonite."

Brock looked up curiously, "Oh yeah." He looked ahead again, "Still, I doubt he's hung up on it. He probably still thinks it was a-" He perked up and looked at the others, "Wait, didn't Todd's picture prove that it wasn't a dream?"

Soot continued smirking, "Yeah, but that still doesn't change the fact that Gary can't recognize a Pokémon as an individual. That or he didn't see the article."

Misty snickered, "True." She looked at Ash, "So, you said something about a place we can stay, right?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah and I know where to find it." He gestured ahead, "Follow me."

.

**Short Skip**

Misty raised a brow, "And you brought us to a swing set, why?"

Ash reached into his pocket, pulled out the Big Riddle Inn card, and held it out, "This is why. Look at the riddle on the bottom."

Brock looked at the card, "'If you look towards the swings, you'll see my hands. Or at least my face.'"

Electra frowned as her ears drooped, "What does that mean?"

Clefairy looked around, "I don't see anyone around here."

Misty looked down thoughtfully, "you'll see my hands. Or at least my face…" She perked up and smiled, "Oh! It's a clock!"

Ash snapped and pointed at her, "Bingo." He looked up at the volcano, "That one to be specific."

Everyone else perked up and followed his gaze. Past the swings and on the side of the mountain, they found a large building with white walls, a pink roof, and a large clock on the front.

Ash smiled, "That's the Big Riddle Inn."

"Are you sure that's it?" Brock asked, "They're have to be other playgrounds around the island, right?"

Soot smiled, "Yeah. But this is the one closest to the volcano. That picture of it on the card isn't just decoration relating to Cinnabar."

Misty smiled, "Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go!"

.

*Big Riddle Inn

The Mouse, Fairy, and Spike Ball Pokémon all looked around the lobby curiously.

The man from behind smiled, "Welcome. Happy to see you managed to crack the code. As a prize, I'll give each of you a room here at the hotel for half-price."

Misty sighed in relief, "Oh, thank Arceus." She looked at him, "Please tell me what my room number is. I need sleep."

The man smiled, looked over the counter, grabbed something, and held out a fist, "It's a three-digit number. The second digit is four times as big as the third digit, while the first digit is three less than the second digit."

Misty groaned and slumped forward, "Too tired to think…"

"Room one-hundred forty-one." Soot said.

The man smiled and opened his hand to reveal a key with '141' on it, "Correct." He handed the key to Misty, "Here you are, miss." He pointed to his right, "The rooms are that way."

"Thank you." Misty said blissfully before looking at the Bite Pokémon, "Soot, you are a lifesaver." She walked down the hallway and turned the corner.

Soot looked at the man with a raised brow, "So do you actually have over a hundred rooms or are they all just answers to math riddles?"

The man sweat dropped, "… no comment." He grabbed another key from the other side of the counter, checked it, and glanced away for a second. He looked at Brock, "Two-hundred thirty-three-"

Brock perked up in surprise, "Huh?"

"I'm not done." The man continued, "Two-hundred thirty-three is but a facade. If you flip it over, it'll remain odd. What is the flipped number?"

Electra raised a brow, "What?"

Brock sweat dropped and frowned uncomfortably, "I, uh…"

Ash smirked and glanced at his daughter.

Soot glanced away thoughtfully and mumbled, "Two thirty-three… flip to make it odd…" She perked up, 'Wait.' Her eyes narrowed, 'One twenty-eight, sixty-four, thirty-two, eight, one. So … one, two, four, sixteen, one twenty-eight.'

She looked at the man, "It's one-hundred fifty-one."

The owner smiled and opened his hand to reveal the key to room 151, "And here I was gonna offer you a pen and paper."

Brock stared in shock before looking back at Soot, "How the Yvel does that work?"

Soot smiled, "It's binary. Two-hundred thirty-three is one-one-one zero one zero-zero one. Flipping it horizontally turns it into one zero-zero one zero one-one-one. A.k.a. one fifty-one. Calling the first value a 'facade' is him saying that the real format is more complex and less desirable than decimal."

Electra, Pikachu, and Clefairy stared at her blankly.

"… huh" Brock muttered before taking the key, "Thank you." He looked at Soot, "And thank you." He started walking towards his room.

Ash smiled at the hotel owner, "So that just leaves me, right?"

The man smiled, "That it does." He grabbed another key, closed his hand around it, and held out a fist, "You're a double A away from two for the room AC."

Pikachu scratched the side of his head, "The room's air conditioning needs a second battery?"

Soot glanced around a bit before perking up and snickering. She smiled at the owner, "It's hexadecimal. You were saying our room is AC; one-hundred seventy-two." She looked at Pikachu, "AA is one-hundred seventy. Two less than AC."

Pikachu sweat dropped while deadpanning, "Huh?"

Clefairy put her hand on her head while frowning uncomfortably, "My brain hurts."

The owner grinned and held out the 172 key, "Correct once again. You know your mathematics."

Soot grinned, "Well, I used to be a calculus tutor."

The man flinched and stared in shock, "Wait, seriously?"

Soot smirked and started walking to where the others went, "Meet ya at the room, dad."

Pikachu and Clefairy looked at her before looking at Ash.

Ash noticed and smiled, "Go ahead, I know you're tired."

Pikachu nudged up against him, "Thank you."

Clefairy quickly hugged his head before she and Pikachu jumped down and ran after Soot. Ash watched as they did.

Soot poked her head around the corner, "Hey, quick question. What would've happened if I answered incorrectly? Or is everyone that comes here a math genius?"

"I have multiple riddles for the same key." The man answered, "I upped the difficulty as we continued since you were breezing through them."

Soot nodded, "Ah." She ducked around the corner again.

The man looked at Ash, "Aren't you gonna head to your room, too?"

"I will in a bit. There's just something I wanna ask you," Ash said before looking back at him with a smirk, "Blaine."

The man tensed up and stared in surprise. He chuckled softly and removed his wig and glasses; revealing black eyes and a stretch of white hair across the back of his bald head, "Not bad."

Ash smirked, "And you can drop the whole disguise. I've seen your real picture."

Blaine chuckled, "Alright, alright." He pulled off the stretch of hair around the back of his head. The sound of tape being removed could be heard as he did so.

He put his glasses back on, "But you're gonna have to put up with the mustache. The dye may be cheap, but I still need to wash it off."

Ash shrugged, "Fair enough."

"So," Blaine said; still smiling, "how long have you known it was me?"

"Since the first riddle." Ash responded, "I heard about your game for finding the Gym and determining whether someone's actually a League trainer or a tourist trying to find the Gym for a rare picture."

He grinned, "Act negatively about the tourism crowding everything, answer all your riddles, ask about the Gym, get your business card for the Big Riddle Inn, stop by the other hotels, inns, and Pokémon Center to make sure you told them not to let us in, and finally meet with you here so you can show us the entrance to the battlefield in the volcano."

The Fire Gym Leader stared at the boy in pure shock before bursting out into laughter. He regained his composure after a bit and wiped away a tear, "O- oh, man. You've done your research."

Ash shrugged; still smiling, "I try. So, do you accept my challenge?"

Blaine smiled, "I actually would've accepted if you just asked when I ran into you all." Ash perked up in surprise as he continued, "You've built up quite a reputation among the main eight."

Ash blinked in surprise, "Really? I know most people don't do the whole route, but I didn't think it was that impressive."

"It's not because of that." Blaine said, "Risking yourself to save the Slate kids, saving the Cerulean Gym, annihilating Surge -his words, not mine-, helping Sabrina, charging into a burning building just for Erika's gloom, and impressing Koga of all people."

The Gym Leader smirked, "You really have made a name for yourself. Even Giovanni's looking forward to your challenge."

Ash blinked in shock before smiling, "Wow. So I guess I don't have to worry about Viridian, either." He sweat dropped, "Well, more than I already do."

Blaine chuckled, "I suppose so." He held out the 172 key, "We can have the battle sometime tomorrow. For now, you are still a paying guest. You might as well enjoy your stay here."

He smirked and raised a finger, "But there's still one more riddle you have to solve if you wanna find the entrance to the field. There's a lot of water above yet a lot of fire below."

Gem: *raises brow* Wait, I thought the riddle was about a firefighter.

Seishin: Well, in English, yeah. The Japanese riddle was the water above, fire below thing. That's why they were in the hot springs when they were trying to find it.

Ohirume: That and he already said that he knows about the field being in the volcano.

Faux: Oh … *glances away thoughtfully* Huh. That does make more sense.

Ash smiled, "Oh. So, there's a hidden, underground passage at the hot spring."

"…" Blaine groaned and slumped forward, "You couldn't have at least acted like you had to think about it?"

Ash chuckled nervously, "Sorry." He took the key, turned, and started walking towards the room, "See ya in the morning, Blaine."

Blaine looked back, smiled, and waved, "Goodnight. Be ready for tomorrow."

Ash glanced back with a smirk, "Oh, I will be." He turned the corner and disappeared from view.

Blaine put his hand down, 'So that's Ash Ketchum. The others weren't kidding.' He smiled softly, 'Still, none of them seemed distressed or overly alert.' His smile saddened, 'Let's hope it really is a good scenario.'

.

*Ash

The trainer stared down a hallway blankly.

Every door was numbered 101 to 142 counting in intervals of ten. All ten of them. The doors on his left ended in 1 and all the ones on his right ended in 2.

He turned back towards the other hallway to find rooms that were numbered 151 through 192. Same system.

"Wow…" Ash muttered, "How long did it take him to come up with this system? Or this many riddles, for that matter?"

Ohirume: *deadpans and raises hand* Please don't ask for the other simpler riddles or the ones for all the other rooms. I did not think of any.

You wanna make up riddles for any of the other rooms, go for it.

.

*The following morning

After a much-needed nights rest, an explanation about the Inn and its owner from Ash, and breakfast, the group made their way to the Inn's resident hot spring. Ash also said it'd be a good idea to leave their bags in their rooms. So, Electra was on Brock's shoulder.

The hot spring consisted of a large, single body of water split into two parts by a wooden divider with the entire thing bordered off by a wooden fence at the rocky side of the volcano. There was also a stone walkway around the entire pool and a few boulders or dull spires in the water.

Electra and Togepi looked around in awe. Pikachu and Clefairy looked around curiously due to not expecting that it would be so different from the Giva Resort hot springs.

Misty looked around curiously, "So the entrance is a round here?"

Soot smiled, "Yup. We just have to find a switch or trapdoor or something."

Brock frowned and sweat dropped, "But how are we supposed to find it? Did Blaine give anyone another riddle?"

"No. But I'm working on it." Ash said while staring around the area, "There are a lot of rocks here and a few underground pumps, so it could take a minute."

The Gym Leaders looked at him before catching on and nodding, "Ah."

Misty looked at the spring and pouted, "Starting to wish we wore our swimsuits. It would've been nice to relax while you look."

Brock smiled, "Well, no reason we can't use the springs after the battle."

Misty shrugged, "Aright, fair. Not like we're in a huge rush…" She glanced at Soot, "Right?"

Soot snickered, "Nah, we should be good. We can probably stay another two days before heading back to the mainland."

Electra blinked curiously; still in the raichu t-shirt, "Humans have clothes just for swimming?"

Soot looked at Brock and translated.

Misty perked up and glanced at her, 'Have I seriously not worn a swimsuit since she joined us?'

Brock smiled at his Electric-type, "Yeah. Regular clothes usually get heavy and uncomfortable when they're soaking wet and can even get damaged depending on the fabric. Swimsuits are mostly made of water-resistant fibers like nylon. The same material your tent was made of."

Electra smiled excitedly, "Really?!" She perked up in realization, "Oh…" She looked down at her shirt and pulled the ridge out, "In that case it is a good thing I haven't gone swimming since I got these." She looked at the springs curiously before looking at Soot, "Do swimsuits include pants?"

Soot nodded, "That and/or bras."

Misty jerked and looked at Soot.

Electra pouted, "Crag." She shrugged, "Eh. I guess I just won't wear anything when we get in."

Soot snorted as she held back a laugh. The rest of the Pokémon looked at the Bite Pokémon in surprise.

Ash sweat dropped; still looking around, "Soot, she's a Pokémon."

Brock looked at Ash and then at Electra before looking at the Dark-type warily, "What did she say?"

Soot smirked, "Oh, nothing you need to worry about."

Brock sweat dropped, "If you're sure…"

After another minute, Ash perked up and pointed at a stone waterspout that was carved into the shape of a gyarados, "Found it!" He hurried over.

Everyone looked over in surprise before following him.

Clefairy looked at the spout curiously, "This thing?"

Ash smiled and nodded, "There's a pressure-based mechanism near the base. We just have to push it down."

Brock looked at the fixture, put a hand on the head, and pushed down, "Like this?"

Everyone perked up when they heard a click. The spout and the entire boulder it was attached to started sliding downward. Brock pulled his hand back and everyone looked towards the rock wall as part of it slowly slid away to reveal a tunnel.

Electra smiled excitedly, "Insane!" 'It's just like at the lab!'

Everyone flinched when they heard a snap and looked at the hot spring as the wooden divider crumbled and fell into the water. They all just stared in shock.

"I guess the hot spring is gender neutral now." Soot commented.

Pikachu sweat dropped, "Well, it's his fault for building it like that."

Ash sighed before entering the tunnel, "Come on."

Everyone followed and they began making their way down a carved stone stairway with nothing but a series of candles lighting the way.

Misty let out a breath and wiped her forehead, "Is it just me or is it getting hotter?"

Togepi frowned, "A lot hotter."

"It's not just you." Soot said; eyes in their inherent state, "We're going into a volcano, remember? I've already turned off my ability to recognize temperature. I'll apologize to my feet later."

Brock pulled at the collar of his shirt, "Lucky you."

Electra glanced at Brock and mimicked him.

Pikachu leaned against Ash; ears drooping, "We have to battle in this kind of heat?"

Ash looked back at him and smiled sadly, "Don't worry. You and Clefairy are sitting this one out. I already have a lineup in mind." He looked back at the humans, "And I'm sure Blaine already has something set up for guests."

Clefairy smiled tiredly while sitting on Ash's shoulder, "Thanks."

Misty sighed as she started fanning Togepi with her hand, "I hope so."

Soon enough, they came up to a large metal door at the base of the stairs.

Ash grabbed the handle and his eyes widened, "Woah." He looked back at the others; hand still on the handle, "Guys, whatever you do, don't touch this. It's blazing hot."

Brock and Misty looked at his hand and sweat dropped, "Got it…"

Ash looked ahead again, grabbed the second handle, and pulled. When it didn't budge, he looked around for the hinges, sweat dropped, and pushed.

The doors creaked open to reveal a thick stone battlefield suspended over the volcano's magma chamber by four chains attached at the corners.

Blaine stood on the opposing trainer area. He wore a black shirt, tan slacks, a lab coat, orange rimmed circular sunglasses, and no wig. His mustache was back to white.

Everyone stared at the set up in shock.

"Alright!" Blaine called out; catching their attention, "I have been asked countless questions about the safety of this set up, so getting this out now!"

He took a deep breath and pointed at the chains, "The chains are made of an alloy comprised of tungsten and legally obtained, shed armor from aron and Steel-types with physical-style Autotomize! No amount of heat will weaken them, and they can stand up to a flurry of Sacred Sword from a furious aegislash that is acting like the chains called its mother a glitch!"

Mizuro: *bursts out into laughter* Holy ****, that analogy! *perks up in realization* Wait, armor? Isn't that Soul Steel?

Faux: *looks at Mizuro in confusion* What? No. Why would you think that?

Mizuro: … because it comes from a Pokémon?

Luke: Well, sort of. Soul Steel is harvested directly from living Pokémon, hence the reason it is illegal.

Aron armor sheds naturally and painlessly and Autotomize involves shedding parts of the outer body to increase speed and lessen weight. For the physical-style, regeneration can be shortened to a day so long as sustenance is available.

Illavera: *sweat drops* So why was Soul Steel ever harvested in the first place?

Luke: Shed metal is comparatively less durable than Soul Steel.

Blaine pointed at the field, "The battlefield is thick enough for the move Dig to be used effectively! It has a bottom layer of basalt, a layer of the same alloy as the chains on top of that, and the rest is standard terra! No Pokémon weaker than a legendary should be able to Dig clean through the field and the layer between the crust and metal is only too hot for a snover! And, yes, I realize they can't learn Dig! The only hazard on top of the field is the steam and temperature in this room!"

He held out his hands, "There are six darmanitan around the room that have been specially trained to be able to switch to and from Zen Mode at will and they all know Psychic!" Everyone looked around and found the blue Blazing Pokémon in question sitting around the room, "You and you're Pokémon will not fall in the lava! If you use a Dark-type, at least two of them will switch back to Standard Mode the instant it enters the field and one of them will catch it if necessary! They will also prevent any potential lava splashes from reaching anyone!"

One of the darmanitan switch to Standard Mode and waved at the group with a grin on their face. Togepi smiled and waved back. Darmanitan returned to Zen Mode.

Blaine pointed to the side and they all followed his finger to find an Alolan ninetales sitting on the ground, "Finally, that Alolan ninetales is essentially the guest area! She's been conditioned to withstand the heat thanks to her mate -my Kantonian ninetales- and her natural body temperature will keep you all in good condition!"

"Nine!/Hi!" The Ice/Fairy-type called out happily.

Blaine let out a breath and put his hands behind his back, "The battling trainer has to put up with this heat as part of the challenge! If you want to have one of your own Pokémon by your side to help with that, feel free! If you don't have one and still don't wanna put up with this, you know where the door is! Also, no referee! Same reason as the Fuchsia Gym! Any questions?!"

Everyone looked at the Gym Leader blankly before sharing a look.

They looked again and Soot called out, "No, I think that's everything!"

Blaine sighed in relief and whispered, "Thank Arceus." He looked back at them with a smile, "Alright, good! Let's get started!"

Ash smiled and gave a thumbs up, "Alright!" He looked at his shoulder riders, "Pikachu, Clefairy, Soot, go with the others. I'll call you over if necessary."

Pikachu smiled, "Thank you." He jumped over to stand on Brock's other shoulder.

Clefairy jumped to Soot's back and smiled up at him happily, "We'll be cheering on the whole time!"

Brock smiled, "Good luck, Ash."

Misty smiled determinedly, "You've got this!"

Togepi mimicked Misty, "Yeah!"

Everyone except Ash made their way over to the ninetales.

Blaine watched curiously, 'Huh. I guess Koga was serious about the increased carrying limit.'

Misty smiled at the Fox Pokémon, "Hi. So, we pretty much just sit around you, right?"

Ninetales smiled, "Yeah, pretty much." She looked at Soot, "You speak human, right?"

Soot smiled, "I do." She looked at the Gym Leaders, "Yeah, just sit around her."

The pair smiled and sat on the ground next to Ninetales. Pikachu, Electra, and Clefairy jumped to the ground and sat back against her, and Misty put Togepi in her lap. Soot smiled and turned to sit down and look out at the field.

Clefairy smiled blissfully, "It feels cooler already."

Ninetales smiled, "Happy to be of service."

Blaine looked across at Ash, "You've already been through six Gym Battles, so I'm sure you understand the basic rules! This'll be a five-on-five battle and your prize if you win will be a Volcano Badge! Also, ring outs resulting in darmanitan assistance will not deem a Pokémon unable to battle! The battle will just be put on pause until the caught Pokémon is safely back on the field! If you wanna return it after it's safe, that's why you're allowed to substitute!"

Ash smiled and nodded, "Got it!" He pulled a pokéball off his belt, "On three?!"

Blaine brought out a pokéball as well, "Works for me!" He enlarged the ball and reeled back, "One!"

Ash did the same, "Two!"

"Three!" Both called out as they threw their pokéballs.

"Arbok, your move!"

"Arcanine, go!"

The spheres burst open as the Cobra and Legendary Pokémon materialized on the field. Both side's eyes narrowed before each tensed up and gritted their teeth. They shook it off and moved into their fighting stances.

Ash's eyes narrowed, 'So Arcanine's ability is Intimidate, too.'

Blaine looked at the Poison-type, 'Arbok, huh? They're reptilian, so it's not a bad choice for this environment.' He swept a hand outward, "Arcanine, Wild Charge!"

Ash held out a hand, "Arbok, stop them with Poison Jab!"

Arcanine kicked off and ran towards Arbok as a cloak of electricity covered them. Arbok pointed his tail ahead as a glowing purple blade jutted out of it.

Blaine smirked, 'He can't actually think-' His smile faded, and his eyes widen as Arbok shot forward and stopped next to Arcanine faster than the Fire-type could react.

Arcanine could only glance at him in shock as Arbok spun and slashed at their side with the Poison-type attack.

"ARC!" The Fire-type yelped as their cloak dissipated and they crashed to the ground.

Arbok shot back to his side of the field; still brandishing the blade-style attack.

Blaine stared at Arcanine in shock, 'What?' He looked at Arbok in shock, 'How did it-' His eyes widened again upon noticing the Cobra Pokémon's chest, "Wait! Those markings!"

Ash smirked, "Yeah! Surprised me when I met him, too!" He held out a hand, "Poison Jab again!"

Blaine gritted his teeth, "Arcanine! Extreme Speed!"

Arbok's eyes widened as Arcanine took on a green outline and kicked off.

"Protect!" Ash shouted.

Arbok dispelled Poison Jab as the 'eyes' on his markings lit up blue. A circular, turquoise wall appeared right in front of him. Arcanine vanish for a split second and crashed into the barrier.

Blaine gritted his teeth, 'Crag.'

Ash smirked, "Poison Jab!"

The barrier faded as Arbok formed the blade and twirled to slash Arcanine again.

"AH!" Arcanine cried out as he launched back and tumbled along the ground before landing in a heap.

Blaine grimaced, "Arcanine!"

The Fire-type slowly but shakily started standing back up. He flinched as a few purple bubbles floated up from his head; a purple tint now visible on his face.

Ash clenched a fist and smiled determinedly, "Yes! Nice one, Arbok!"

Arbok smiled happily.

Blaine sighed, "Great." He looked back at the field, 'Still, guess now's a good a time as any.'

'I don't think you'll need to be a psychology expert to get something out of them. If Overheat is a negative factor, an unsettled or startled reaction to the name being blurted out like a warning would be clue enough. Your type specialty should help with that.'

Blaine sweat dropped, 'Still, who wouldn't jump a bit from hearing someone scream out the name of a high-powered Fire-type attack?'

He inhaled, pointed at the door to the hot spring -and straight ahead by default-, and shouted, "OVERHEAT!" He quickly glanced at the Ice/Fairy-type.

Soot sweat dropped, "Kinda dramatic…"

Brock smiled; also sweat dropping, "I mean, it is his Gym…"

"hm…" Blaine muttered, 'Well, they don't seem-'

"Poison Sting!"

Blaine perked up and looked back at the field. He found Arcanine back on all fours with a large fireball on his forehead. Ash was pointing at it.

Arbok reeled back before firing a swarm of purple needles from his mouth at the fireball. The barrage pelted away at the Fire-type attack and detonated it on the spot.

"NINE!" Arcanine cried out from the cloud of smoke.

Arbok panted softly, 'Did that do it?'

Ash stared intently. As did the rest of the group.

The smoke cleared slowly to reveal Arcanine lying on his stomach with his tongue out and eyes swirling. Brock, Misty, and the Pokémon with them cheered. Ninetales flinched slightly.

Misty noticed, looked at her, and smiled apologetically, "Oh, sorry."

Ninetales smiled sheepishly, "I- I'm good."

Arbok sighed in relief and smiled, 'That went better than expected.'

Blaine smiled sadly and held a pokéball, "Well done, Arcanine. Return."

The beam shot out as Arcanine disappeared into it. Blaine put the ball away, pulled out another one, and tossed it, "Rapidash! Go!"

The sphere burst open as the Fire Horse Pokémon emerged on the field.

Rapidash looked at his opponent and perked up in surprise, "An arbok?" He moved into his fighting stance while staring intently and muttered, "Why would the boss choose me for this opponent? I guess Drill Run helps, but wouldn't Rhydon be the better choice?"

Ash smiled, 'He doesn't realize it either.' He looked at his Poison-type, "Arbok, you good for another round?"

Arbok glanced back with a smile and nodded. He turned to face his opponent and moved back into his fighting stance.

Blaine nodded, "Alright." He held out a hand, "Rapidash, Flame Charge!"

Rapidash charged forward as a cloak of fire covered him.

Ash's eyes narrowed, 'Crag. Can't let this drag for too long.' "Dodge! Then Poison Sting!"

Arbok zipped out of the way as Rapidash barreled through; much to the Fire-type's surprise. Rapidash's flames faded as Arbok reeled back and fired the swarm of poison needles. Rapidash braced himself as the attack barraged him.

"Another Flame Charge!"

Rapidash glared and shot forward as he became shrouded in flames and charged Arbok again; much faster than before.

Arbok grimaced and lurched out of the way. This time, Rapidash managed to graze him in the side.

"Fury Attack!" Blaine called out.

Ash's eyes widened, "Counter with Poison Jab!"

Rapidash lit his horn up yellow and began rapidly thrusting it at the Cobra Pokémon. At the same time, Arbok extended the blade from his tail and used it to repeatedly parry the Normal-type attack. Though, Arbok failed to notice his blade start to crack as the assault continued.

Rapidash and Arbok shot their horn/tail forward once more. The Poison-type's eyes widened as Poison Jab shattered on the spot. Rapidash capitalized and struck Arbok in the chest with his horn. And then did it again.

"CHA!" Arbok cried out as the attack launched him back. He glared and managed to recover in the air before skidding back to a halt. He glared ahead before flinching as his entire body lit up a pale red.

Ash grimaced, 'Flame Body.'

Blaine smirked and held out a hand, "Now, Drill Run!"

"Protect!" Ash called out.

Rapidash jumped forward as his entire body spun into a large drill and shot forward. Arbok glared as the barrier appeared in front of him again. Rapidash connected and ground against the force field.

Rapidash cut off the attack and jumped back before Arbok's shield faded. Arbok smirked but immediately tensed up and grimaced as a shroud of flames covered him. The flames faded and Arbok slumped forward while panting heavily.

Ash gritted his teeth and held out a pokéball, "Arbok, return!"

Arbok frowned as he disappeared into the red beam.

Misty sighed in relief and smiled, "Good. Arbok's still in this."

Soot frowned, "I don't think he is." Everyone else looked at her in surprise as she continued, "Arbok's already been grazed by Flame Charge, taken two hits from Fury Attack, and gone through a dose of burn damage. It's honestly a miracle for a speed pattern arbok to withstand all of that. If he comes back out, he might be able to land one more blow before a burn dose finishes him."

Electra frowned worriedly as her ears drooped, "Oh…"

Clefairy frowned, "Poor Arbok."

Brock put a hand to his chin, "In that case, Ash made the right call in returning him. Even if Arbok can't battle, he's still currently recognized as being able to. So long as everyone else can at least tie with Rapidash and Blaine's remaining three Pokémon, Ash should be able to secure a win."

Pikachu smiled, "And Arbok did manage to beat Arcanine and weaken Rapidash a bit. He got us the advantage."

Ash smiled down at the ball, "Nice work out there. Get some rest." He put the ball into stasis, put it away, and pulled out a second before enlarging it. He reeled back and threw, "Aerodactyl! Take the field!"

Blaine, Rapidash, and Ninetales's eyes widened as the ball burst open and the Fossil Pokémon appeared. He glared at the Fire Horse Pokémon while grinning excitedly. Rapidash tensed up as Pressure made itself known.

The Gym Leader stared in surprise, 'An aerodactyl? He couldn't have just revived it at the lab, right?' He shook it off, 'No, not important right now.' He stared intently, 'This isn't good. Rapidash doesn't know anything that's effective against it. We might just have to try and whittle it down.'

Ash held out a hand, "Aerodactyl! Wing Attack!"

Blaine perked up in surprise, 'He's starting with a Flying-type attack?' He glared, "Meet it with Flame Charge!"

Aerodactyl lifted off and glided towards Rapidash as his wings lit up light blue. Rapidash charged at Aerodactyl as his flame cloak burst into appearance yet again. Once they were close enough-

"Hold!"

Blaine and Rapidash's eyes widened as Aerodactyl skidded to a halt and slammed his wings into the Fire-type's sides.

"DASH!" Rapidash cried out in alarm; cutting off Flame Charge in the process.

"Iron Head!" Ash called out.

Aerodactyl grinned and brought up his head as it lit up white.

Blaine glared, "Push it back with Flamethrower!"

Rapidash inhaled and blew a large stream of flames at Aerodactyl's face. Aerodactyl pushed through the flames and bashed heads with Rapidash.

"Gah!" Rapidash cried out as he cut off his attack. Aerodactyl let go and Rapidash stumbled back dizzily.

Ash smirked, "Giga Impact!"

Aerodactyl jumped and soared up high to the peak of the volcano. Before he could reach the opening, he cut off his ascent and dove down at Rapidash as he became shrouded in purple energy with orange streaks.

"Rapidash, above you!" Blaine shouted.

Rapidash jerked, shook it off, and blinked rapidly, "Huh?" He looked up at the approaching Rock/Flying-type and flinched as his eyes widened, "Oh crag."

Aerodactyl crashed down onto the Fire Horse Pokémon and kicked up a cloud of dust; shaking the entire battlefield in the process. Aerodactyl jumped back out of the cloud and landed on his side of the field.

The dust cleared to reveal Rapidash lying on his side in the middle of a shallow crater; eyes swirling.

Aerodactyl blinked and looked over at the spectator's, "Eyes like that mean battle over, right?"

Ninetales jerked and blinked in surprise.

Pikachu put a paw to his mouth and called out, "Yes, Rapidash can't continue! You won the battle!"

Aerodactyl nodded, "Okay." He raised a brow, "So, that mean I done or-"

Blaine held out a pokéball, "Nice work, Rapidash! Return!"

Aerodactyl looked back at his defeated opponent as he disappeared into the beam.

Blaine brought out another pokéball and threw, "Rhydon, go!"

The ball burst open as the Rock/Ground-type appeared on the field and stared down his opponent.

Misty perked up and blinked in surprise, "Wait, isn't this a Fire-type Gym?"

Soot sweat dropped while smirking, "Yup. I heard he gets away with a Rock and Ground-type because of the volcano theme. Thankfully, the League only allowed him the one."

Brock looked at Soot, "Oh. So Ash already knows about them?"

Soot smiled, "Yes, dad already knew about him. Don't worry."

Aerodactyl grinned excitedly and returned to his fighting stance, "Good. Not done."

Ash frowned worriedly.

Clefairy perked up in surprise, "Shouldn't Ash return Aerodactyl? He's still stuck on recharge."

Soot translated.

Brock frowned, "Unfortunately, he can't. It's a rule for official battles that you have to wait until your Pokémon can move to return them. In situations like this, it can be a major problem."

Electra looked at her trainer in confusion, "Huh? Why's that?"

Pikachu looked at the field intently before grimacing, "Crag. Because the opponent can pick a Pokémon with a Super Effective move."

Soot frowned, "Or worse."

Blaine held out a hand, "Rhydon! Horn Drill!"

Ash, Aerodactyl, and everyone else's -except Soot and Ninetales- eyes widened. Soot gritted her teeth.

Ninetales frowned, "Hm."

Rhydon held up his horn as it began spinning wildly. He pointed it ahead and started running at Aerodactyl. Aerodactyl grimaced and crossed his wings in front of him.

Ash grimaced, 'That won't help.'

Rhydon jumped forward and nailed Aerodactyl in the gut. The Fossil Pokémon's wings did nothing to help.

"Ro!" Aerodactyl coughed in pain. His eyes started losing focus.

Rhydon stood back up and jumped back as Aerodactyl fell to his knees and flopped onto the ground; eyes swirling.

Ash just stared in shock before taking a deep breath, frowned sadly, reached back, and pulled out a pokéball. The beam shot out and Aerodactyl disappeared.

Blaine frowned worriedly, 'Might've taken that too far…'

Ash put the pokéball away, pulled out another, and tossed it.

Primeape appeared on the field, looked at his opponent with a determined glare, and moved into his fighting stance immediately.

"Primeape." Ash said.

Primeape looked back at him. He perked up in surprise upon seeing his trainer's somber expression.

"Aerodactyl was stuck on recharge from Giga Impact and Rhydon got him with Horn Drill." Ash said as the Pig Monkey Pokémon tensed up. Blaine perked up in surprise as Ash continued, "I doubt I need to say anything else."

Primeape clenched a fist before turning to face Rhydon again. Rhydon tensed up as Primeape just glared at him coldly.

Blaine jerked and stared in surprise, 'What the Yvel?'

Primeape held out his arms as they both burst out with a shroud of flames. He kicked off and charged the Rock/Ground-type.

Blaine flinched, 'No command?' He shook it off and pointed, "Rhydon, Hammer Arm!"

Rhydon held out his right arm as it lit up pure white. Once he was close enough, Primeape jumped and clapped downward.

Rhydon flinched as an explosion erupted from the Fighting-type and propelled him into the air. Primeape cut off the Fire Punch and straightened his left hand as it lit up white. Primeape flipped and swung his attack down at Rhydon.

Rhydon grimaced and held up Hammer Arm to block the Brick Break.

Blaine smirked, "Nice job, Rhydon! Now Thunder Punch!"

Rhydon's left arm became shrouded in electricity. Primeape's eyes narrowed as his right arm started sparking. Rhydon swung his Electric-type attack at Primeape only for the Pig Monkey Pokémon to meet it with the same attack.

Blaine grimaced, 'Seriously?!'

Rhydon managed to push at the suspended Fighting-type and shoved him back. Primeape recovered in the air and skidded back to a halt; right arm still sparking. The Fighting-type glanced at his Thunder Punch for a second.

Primeape's eyes narrowed before he canceled the attack and moved into his fighting stance again.

Blaine gritted his teeth, 'Freaking Yvel, it's like battling a Pokémon that was just released.' He took a deep breath and stared intently, 'Okay, stay calm. Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, and what looked like either Brick Break or Karate Chop. From what I've seen so far, last move's probably a Dark or Bug-type move. We might need to keep our distance.' He held out a hand, "Rhydon! Stone Edge!"

Rhydon glared and punched the ground. A massive glowing blue rock pillar burst out of the ground from the spot Rhydon punched and a chain of them began approaching Primeape.

Primeape glared at the oncoming Rock-type attack before it struck him in the chest and shot him back. Right over the edge of the field.

Blaine, Rhydon, and Ninetales's eyes widened fearfully. One of the darmanitan took on a blue outline. After a second, they perked up and the glow faded. Ninetales perked up and blinked in shock. The rest of the spectators' stared in surprise. Except Soot, who smirked.

Blaine jerked and looked at the Blazing Pokémon that lit up in shock, "Darmanitan, what's going on?! Why haven't you caught it?!"

Ash smirked, "Because Primeape doesn't need any help!"

Blaine looked at the trainer in shock, "What do you-" He flinched and his eyes widened, "Wha-"

Rhydon looked back at Blaine only to find Primeape shooting at him with Brick Break charged on his right hand. Rhydon could do nothing but stare in shock as Primeape shot past and slashed him in the chest with the Super Effective attack.

"Rhy-" Rhydon coughed in pain. He fell to his knees and flopped onto his chest; making the field shake in the process.

Primeape landed with a skid and looked back at his downed opponent. His eyes narrowed before he started walking back towards Ash.

Blaine stared in shock, "Wh- what? How?"

Ash smirked and called out, "Primeape's Thunder Punch is enhance-style!" Blaine looked at him as he raised a finger, "While shroud-style and sphere-style cover the user's fist in electricity, enhance-style builds it up inside the user's hand and leaks out a bit! Hence the sparks!" His smirk turned sly, "So what do you think can happen if a lightweight Pokémon holds onto that energy when there's a heavyweight to attract it?!"

Blaine's eyes widened, "Wait! You mean-"

"Yup!" Ash called out; still smirking, "Primeape used Rhydon's Lightning Rod as a magnet! Both to keep him from falling in the lava and swing under the field, and to draw himself close for that last shot!"

He looked at the spectators while smiling, "Thanks again for helping us figure that out, Electra!" 'And Franz for making Trace Porygon's ability.'

Electra perked up before rubbing the back of her head and chuckling sheepishly.

Ninetales looked down at the Electric-type in shock before looking at the field again, "Woah…"

Ash looked at Blaine again, "As for the one-shot, Primeape's ability is Anger Point! Sorry, but Stone Edge was a very bad choice!"

Primeape crossed his arms and looked at the Gym Leader slyly … despite the bruise on his chest.

Blaine stared in pure shock before cracking a smirk and mumbling, "Son of a glitch…" He returned his Drill Pokémon, "Nice work, Rhydon! Get some rest!"

The beam shot out and Rhydon disappeared. The Fire-type user brought out another pokéball and threw it, "Ninetales! Go!"

The ball burst open as the Fire-type Fox Pokémon appeared on the field.

"Good luck, sweetie!" Ninetales called out from the sidelines.

Ninetales perked up, looked over, and smiled upon seeing his mate, "Thanks, dear!" He glared back ahead and moved into his fighting stance.

Togepi blinked in surprise, looked at the white ninetales, and back at the blond one before tilting in confusion, "Wait, what?"

Soot looked at him with a smile, "They're regional variants of each other. Kanto ninetales are Fire-types and Alola ninetales are Ice and Fairy-types. There are a handful of other Pokémon with Alolan forms too."

Electra smiled and raised a paw, "Yeah. Alolan raichu are part Psychic-type."

Togepi stared curiously, "Oh. So, is it just Alola with rig- regi- uh, different Pokémon like that or do other regions have those too?"

Soot perked up and blinked before looking up thoughtfully, "Um … actually, no. Just Alola in terms of actual variants. I mean, some of the Orange Islands like Valencia are lousy with variant Pokémon but none of them are distinct enough to be a different type. It's just stuff like colors and patterns."

She raised a brow, "Though, there was some speculation a long time ago about alomomola being Unovan luvdisc or luvdisc being Kantonian alomomola, but that was disproven pretty fast." She looked at the Gym Leaders and translated the conversation.

Brock perked up upon realizing something and looked at Electra, "Hey, come to think of it, how did you and the tribe know about Alolan raichu before we met?"

Electra looked at him and smiled, "Oh, the major elder told us about them. Brother said the elders have been passing down info like that for centuries."

Soot translated again.

Brock stared in shock before groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose, "You think he would've mentioned that when I asked."

Ninetales perked up and looked at the breeder in confusion, "Wait, what?"

Pikachu sweat dropped while smirking, "Well, they didn't seem too fond of you guys at first, remember?"

Misty sighed; having guessed the comment, "Yeah yeah, I remember…"

Ninetales flinched and looked at the Water-type trainer and male Mouse Pokémon in shock.

Primeape glared at Ninetales excitedly and moved back into his fighting stance.

"Come back, Primeape!" Ash called while motioning for him to come.

Primeape flinched, "Prime?!" He glared and raised a fist, "Prime prime ape prime ape!"

Ash glared back, "Hey, you have to give the others a chance! You weren't the only one excited for today!"

Blaine sweat dropped, 'Yelling back at an angry primeape … not even sure I should be surprised anymore.'

The ninetales on the field just blinked in shock.

"But-" The Pig Monkey Pokémon tried to argue.

"And" Ash continued, "Ninetales is his second to last Pokémon! If things go poorly, you will have another chance to battle here!"

Primeape looked back at the Fire-type before groaning and crossing his arms, "Fine."

Ash smiled, "Good!" He held out a pokéball, "Return!"

Primeape disappeared and Ash brought out another pokéball.

"Squirtle! Your move!" Ash called out as he threw the ball.

It burst open as the Tiny Turtle Pokémon appeared on the field. He crossed his arms and grinned.

Blaine perked up, 'What? Why would he use a primeape against Rhydon if he has a squirtle?' He shook it off, 'Eh, I'll ask later.'

Blaine pointed ahead, "Ninetales, Sunny Day!"

Ninetales opened his muzzle as a white ball of light appeared in front of it. He pointed upward and shot it towards the main vent. The sphere froze in place in midair and lit up brighter. Squirtle gritted his teeth and shielded his eyes as the fake sun shone overhead.

Ash frowned and held out a hand, "Squirtle, Water Gun!"

Squirtle inhaled and fired the stream of water from his mouth. Ninetales shied away as the attack struck. He shook it off and smirked at the Water-type.

Blaine grinned, "Now Fire Spin!"

"Stop it with Ice Beam!" Ash called out.

Ninetales inhaled and spewed a condense vortex of flames at the Tiny Turtle Pokémon. Squirtle responded by forming a light blue ball of energy in front of his mouth and firing off a set of matching color bolts from it. The attacks collided and exploded violently; covering the center of the field in smoke.

"Aqua Tail!"

Squirtle charged through the smoke with a spiral of water wrapped around his tail and jumped into the air.

Blaine swept a hand outward, "Extrasensory!"

Ninetales glared up at Squirtle as his eyes and body lit up gold. He straightened his tails as a series of gold rings began expanding outward towards Squirtle.

The Water-type smirked and spun to swing his tail forward right as the Psychic-type attack struck and propelled him away. The water from the interrupted attack continued towards Ninetales.

"Gah!" Ninetales cried out in pain as the splash struck him in the face.

Blaine grimaced. Ninetales tensed up slightly from the sidelines.

Ash smirked, 'Just like before.' He shot a quick glance up at the 'sun' before looking ahead again.

"Use Energy Ball!" Blaine called out.

Ninetales pointed all of his tails ahead as a green sphere appeared at the collective tips of his three leftmost, rightmost, and center tails. All three shot out towards Squirtle.

Ash glared, "Ice Beam! Dodge the remainder!"

Squirtle formed the Ice-type attack again and shot it out at the oncoming Grass-type spheres. The bolts spread out and detonated two of them. Squirtle jumped to the side as the third one shot by.

"Use Bite!" Ash called out.

Squirtle kicked off and ran at Ninetales.

Blaine held out a hand, "Fire Spin!"

The Fox Pokémon inhaled and fired another flame vortex at the approaching Water-type.

Ash grinned, "Water Gun the ground!"

Squirtle jumped and fired his attack downward to shoot himself over the Fire Spin and high into the air. Ninetales watched as he flew up to eclipse the-

The male Fox Pokémon's eyes widened, 'Wait, where's my sun?'

Blaine noticed Ninetales's reaction and followed his gaze. He tensed up and grimaced, 'Crag! It wore off!'

Ash smirked, "Aqua Tail!"

Squirtle grinned and formed the tail attack yet again. He fell down towards Ninetales, flipped forward, and bashed him in the head. A large cloud of dust erupted from the pair. Ash perked up as he saw something shoot out of the cloud.

The dust cleared to reveal Squirtle still on his feet but panting slightly with a scuff mark on his chest. Ninetales was panting heavily and trembling on all fours. After a second, he yelped and fell to his side.

Squirtle sighed in relief and sat down, "Oh, thank Arceus."

Ninetales looked at the unconscious ninetales somberly. Brock and Misty noticed and looked ahead before sharing a look and smiling. Pikachu, Clefairy, Electra, and Togepi noticed and looked at them curiously. Soot glanced at them and smiled softly.

Blaine sighed, smiled sadly, and held out a pokéball, "Well fought Ninetales! Re-"

"Hey, Blaine?!" Misty called out; catching the fellow Gym Leader's attention, "Just one second!" She placed Togepi down next to Pikachu, got up, and ran over to the nearest darmanitan.

Blaine and Ninetales watched in confusion.

Misty stopped at the base and waved up at the darmanitan sitting on the rock, "Excuse me…"

"Miss!" Soot called out.

"Excuse me, miss!" Misty said again.

Darmanitan looked down at her, switched to Standard Mode, and leapt down to look at Misty curiously, "Dar?"

Misty moved closer to whisper something. Darmanitan perked up and looked at her in surprise.

The Fire-type smiled and gave a thumbs up, "Darmanitan!" She jumped back up to her rock and switched back to Zen Mode before her eyes lit up purple.

Blaine and the Alolan ninetales perked up in surprise when the Kantonian ninetales took on a purple outline and started hovering over to the spectator area. Ash smiled softly.

Misty waved up at Darmanitan, "Thank you!" She hurried back to the others.

By the time she got back, Darmanitan laid Ninetales down next to Ninetales.

Ninetales stared in surprise and looked at Misty. She noticed, smiled, and gave a thumbs up before sitting back down next to her.

The Ice/Fairy-type smiled and nudged her head against Misty's, "Thank you." She turned to the Fire-type, did the same, and then started licking him in the face. The blond ninetales stirred awake and looked at the white ninetales tiredly.

The male ninetales jerked -feeling much more awake- and blinked in shock, "Wha- Dear?" He started looking around, "When did I-" He noticed the humans and Pokémon with them and stared in surprise.

Brock smiled, "We thought you might prefer it over here with your mate. Especially after the battle."

Misty waved her hand, "We don't mind." She glared while smirking and picked up Togepi, "Though, telling you now, please keep in mind we have a hatchling with us."

Togepi waved an arm happily, "Hi there!"

Ninetales flinched and smiled sheepishly as his ears drooped, "N- noted…"

Ninetales snickered before nuzzling her mate. Ninetales smiled softly and nuzzled her back.

Blaine stared in surprise and looked down at the Fire-type's pokéball. He looked across at Ash, "Do you mind if Ninetales remains out like this?!"

Ash smiled and raised a brow, "Of course not! Why would I have a problem with that?!"

Blaine continued staring in surprise before chuckling softly and mumbling, "You'd be surprised how many do…" He put the empty pokéball away and smiled excitedly, "Now, then, I feel it's only appropriate to congratulate you for making it this far! It's obvious the others were right about you!"

He smirked, "So before I bring out my last Pokémon, here's one last riddle! I gained over fifty pounds in an instant, I have my 'izer' to blame, and I surprisingly can't learn any move with the word 'cannon' in its name! What am I?!"

Ash perked up and stared in surprise. He grinned excitedly, "Magmortar!"

Blaine grinned, knelt down to pick up a rock, and stood back up, "Correct!" He tossed the rock to the side and into the magma chamber below. Everyone heard a rough flop as the rock hit the lava.

About a second later, a geyser of lava erupted from the side of the field as a large figure jumped out and landed on the field. All of the darmanitan lit up in one way or another as every drop of thrown magma froze in the air. It all moved back down to the magma chamber below.

Magmortar looked over at Squirtle and smirked. Squirtle tensed up, gulped, and smirked back.

Clefairy smiled, "Cool."

Electra stared in shock and gulped, "Y- yeah… cool…" 'Thank Arceus, the darmanitan were here.'

Pikachu blinked in surprise while staring at Magmortar, "Has he been down there this whole time?"

Soot smirked, "Woah. Now this is a surprise."

Misty perked up and looked at her in surprise, "Wait, you and Ash didn't know about this?"

"That we did not … sorta." Soot responded, "We expected a magmar." She smirked, "Blaine's really going all out."

Brock frowned and looked ahead, "Will that be an issue?"

Soot frowned, "It depends. Magmortar are a little slower than magmar but make up for it in just about everything else. Especially Special Attack." Her eyes narrowed, "If Blaine's done his job in raising him, he'll want this to be a ranged battle."

Ash looked at his Water-type, "Squirtle, you good to keep going?"

Squirtle looked back and gave a thumbs up, "Squirt!" He looked back ahead and moved into his fighting stance.

Ash smiled, "Alright!" He pointed ahead, "Aqua Tail!"

The water spiral appeared around Squirtle's tail again and he kicked off to run at the Blast Pokémon.

Blaine pointed, "Magmortar! Solar Beam!"

Magmortar's right claws retracted into his arm as he held it up and started absorbing light particles.

Squirtle grinned as he continued running, 'Nice try. By the time he's done charging, I'll have-'

"Squirtle, get out of there!" Ash shouted, "Ninetales renewed Sunny Day!"

Squirtle's grin disappeared as he glanced upward in shock. The false sun was shining brightly overhead once again. Squirtle looked back at Magmortar to find him already pointing a cannon filled with light green energy at him.

"Oh…" Squirtle said. He stopped in his tracks, canceled Aqua Tail, and fired a Water Gun at Magmortar's chest.

Magmortar tensed up slightly as the attack struck. He smirked and fired a massive beam of energy from the cannon. Squirtle grimaced and retracted back into his shell as the attack struck.

"Squirtle!" Ash cried out worriedly.

The withdrawn Tiny Turtle Pokémon shot back and crashed into a chamber wall before falling down; on course with the lava pit. A darmanitan lit up light blue and caught the falling Water-type before he even got below the space level to the field.

Ash sighed in relief and held his arms out, "Bring him here!"

Darmanitan complied and levitated Squirtle over to Ash.

The trainer caught the unevolved Pokémon and waved at the darmanitan, "Thank you!" He looked back at the shell, "Squirtle, you okay?"

Squirtle popped his limbs and head back out and held up a digit; eyes swirling, "Yeah, sure." He muttered dizzily, "I could go for another…" He went limp, "Tuesday…"

Ash chuckled softly, smiled, and petted his head, "You did good, buddy." He brought out Squirtle's pokéball and returned him. He put the ball away, brought out another, and threw it, "Primeape, enter the fray!"

The Pig Monkey Pokémon appeared on the field again and looked across at his new opponent. He glared determinedly and cracked his knuckles, "Oh, now this could be fun."

Ash looked at his Fighting-type, "Don't get careless! He has Solar Beam and Ninetales's Sunny Day is still in effect!"

Primeape looked upward to find the white ball of energy overhead, "Hm." He looked ahead and moved back into his fighting stance, "Got it!"

"Magmortar! Another Solar Beam!" Blaine called out.

"Thunder Punch!" Ash called out.

Blaine perked up in surprise, 'He's giving commands this time?' He smirked, 'Still, bad call.'

Magmortar held up his right arm again and charged. Primeape ran towards the Fire-type with both of his arms sparking. Magmortar aimed and fired about a second later.

Primeape continued running as the beam approached. Before it could hit, the Fighting-type side jumped and jumped forward to nail Magmortar in the gut with the Electric-type attack in a dual punch. Magmortar grimaced.

Blaine flinched, "What the?!" He shook it off and pointed, "Focus Blast!"

Magmortar's left claws retracted as a blue sphere appeared in his cannon. He pointed it down at Primeape.

"Brick Break!"

Primeape glared, lit up his left hand, and shoved it into the glowing cannon. Magmortar's eyes widened in shock as his unfired attack detonated inside his arm and shrouded the pair in smoke.

"TAR!" Magmortar cried out right before Primeape jumped back out of the smoke.

Primeape skidded back to a halt and started panting with a few new scuff marks on his body; mostly his left arm. The smoke faded to reveal Magmortar slumped forward slightly; left arm also covered in scorch marks. He tensed up as a bolt of electricity traveled across his body.

Blaine stared in shock, 'Paralysis?! Did it use Thunder Punch again?! But why isn't air lens work-' He perked up again and his eyes widened, 'Wait a second.'

'While shroud-style and sphere-style cover the user's fist in electricity, enhance-style builds it up inside the user's hand and leaks out a bit! Hence the sparks!'

Blaine stared in shock, 'Builds up inside their fist! It conducts through their very body! There's nothing outside for air lens to negate!' He let out a brief chuckle and smirked, 'Outplayed twice by the exact same move. Freaking Yvel…'

Primeape flinched as a pillar of flames erupted around him and subsided shortly after.

Blaine continued smirking, 'Alright.' He held out a hand, "We're still in this, Magmortar! Fire Blast!"

"Brick Break!"

Magmortar glared ahead and held out his right cannon again. A fireball formed and fired before bursting out into a 大-shape and shooting towards Primeape. Primeape ran at the symbol with his Fighting-type attack at the ready. He dropped to slide under the flames and continued his run.

"Uproar!"

Primeape and Ash's eyes widened. Magmortar inhaled before letting out a massive scream towards Primeape.

The Pig Monkey Pokémon stopped in his tracks, cut off his attack, and covered his ears and closed his eyes as the sound attack assaulted him.

Ash frowned, 'Note to self. Learn Throat Chop in banette form to teach Primeape later.'

"We've got it!" Blaine called out before shooting a glance upward. He gritted his teeth and glared ahead, "Fire Blast!"

Magmortar cut off his attack and fired another fireball from his right cannon. It broke into the five-prong form again and shot at Primeape.

Primeape opened one eye and flinched. He deadpanned, "Great." The attack struck and blew up in Primeape's face.

Magmortar's claws popped back out as he put his hands back down. He tensed up a bit as the paralysis reminded him it was there. The smoke cleared to reveal Primeape lying on his back; eyes swirling.

Blaine sighed in relief.

Ash smiled sadly and held out a pokéball, "Nice work, Primeape! Return!"

The Fighting-type disappeared.

Pikachu frowned, "Aw man."

Clefairy and Togepi frowned worriedly.

Misty looked at the field worriedly, "This isn't good. Ash is losing his advantage and fast."

Brock looked at the trainer in question, "Ash doesn't look worried."

Everyone else looked to find Ash staring at Magmortar intently with a hand to his chin.

Soot smirked, "I'm not surprised. Magmortar's shown his entire hand. Solar Beam, Focus Blast, Fire Blast, and Uproar, all but the latter are cannon-style, his ability is obviously Flame Body, he's paralyzed," She looked upward, "and Sunny Day's worn off again." She glared at Magmortar determinedly, "Potential move applications aside, dad has him all figured out."

Ninetales stared at the Bite Pokémon in surprise before looking at his mate again, "Have things been like this the whole battle?"

Ninetales giggled, "Eh, more or less."

Electra frowned, "Still, you said Arbok can't battle anymore. Ash can only send out one more Pokémon, right?"

Soot smirked, "Yeah. But who's left?"

Clefairy blinked in surprise, "Who's left?" She looked down thoughtfully, "Well, the three of us are over here. Squirtle, Primeape, and Aerodactyl lost. Arbok kinda lost. So that just leaves Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, and" She perked up and her eyes widened.

"Yup." Soot said.

"Charizard!" Ash called out as he threw the pokéball, "Enter the fray!"

The ball burst open as the Flame Pokémon appeared on the field. Charizard held up his head and let out a roar. He looked at his opponent with a smirk, jumped up, and started flapping. Magmortar gritted his teeth and glared.

Brock perked up and smiled excitedly, "That's right. Charizard's resistant to most of Magmortar's attacks and can't be burned."

Misty smiled too, "Sweet!"

"Yay!" Togepi cheered.

Blaine blinked in surprise, 'He has a squirtle and a charizard?'

Ash held out a hand, "Dragon Rage!"

Blaine snapped out of it and pointed, "Counter with Focus Blast!"

Charizard opened his mouth, formed a fireball, and fired. Magmortar brought his right claws in, aimed with a blue energy ball in the cannon, and fired. The spheres crashed into each other and began struggling to push the other back.

Ash stared at the attacks intently before gritting his teeth, "Flame Charge!"

Charizard immediately erupted in a shroud of flames as Focus Blast overpowered and burst the Dragon Rage. He shot out of the way as the attack flew through where he was and hit the chamber wall behind him.

Charizard changed course and made a beeline for Magmortar.

"Use Uproar!"

Magmortar inhaled and screamed.

"Reignite! Go through it!" Ash shouted.

Blaine's eyes widened, "What?!"

Charizard cut off his attack, formed it again, and shot toward the Normal-type sound waves. He tensed up slightly as he collided with them but kept going; eyes narrow and teeth grit.

Magmortar continued screaming as Charizard approached at an alarming rate. His eyes widened as Charizard crashed down and headbutted him.

"Ow!" Magmortar cried out as he stumbled back with an arm on his head. Charizard flapped back to stand on his side of the field.

Magmortar shook it off and grinned at his opponent, "Times two resistance. I've taken Tackles that hurt more than that."

Charizard smirked, "Yeah. I'd imagine."

Magmortar's smiled faded as he stared in confusion.

"Air Slash!" Ash called out.

"Counter with Fire Blast!" Blaine shouted.

Charizard shot back into the air, lit his wings up light blue, and began flapping. A swarm of light blue circular saws shot out of his wings.

Magmortar held up his right cannon and shot the fireball before it burst out into the 大-shape. The symbol shot into the swarm of blades and destroyed them on contact before continuing towards Charizard. Though, a few of the Air Slash managed to slip through and hit Magmortar.

Charizard crossed his arms over his chest as the fire attack nailed him; covering him in smoke. Charizard continued flapping and dispersed the smoke in the process. Blaine, Magmortar, and the ninetales couple's eyes widened when they saw Charizard glowing red from head to tail and smirking determinedly; arms still crossed.

Soot smirked, "Neat. He triggered Blaze."

Blaine grimaced, "Crag!" He held out a hand and called out, "Solar Beam! Quick!" He flinched and his eyes widened upon realizing what he just said, "No wait!"

But it came too late. Magmortar was already holding up his right arm and drawing in sunlight.

Ash grinned, "Air Slash! Rapid fire!"

Charizard grinned, lit up his wings again, and started flapping circular saws at the pure Fire-type like crazy. Magmortar grimaced and put his left arm over his face as the attack pelted him relentlessly.

Magmortar glared, swung out his left arm, and aimed his right. The Grass-type attack erupted and crashed into Charizard as a cloud of smoke covered him.

"Flame Charge!"

Charizard shot through the smoke like a missile and crashed headfirst into the Blast Pokémon's gut; faster than anyone could react.

"Mor…" Magmortar coughed. He groaned before falling back and crashing to the ground.

Blaine stared in shock before smiling sadly, "Crag."

Ninetales tensed up and lied down with her paws over her ears. Ninetales looked at her in surprise before flinching as Brock, Misty, Electra, and Togepi erupted into cheer.

Ash smiled in awe before being knocked over by the overexcited mightyena, pikachu, and clefairy.

Magmortar pushed himself to sit up when he noticed something lightly touch down in front of him. He looked over to find the Flame Pokémon he was just battling holding out a claw to him. The red glow had already faded.

Charizard smiled, "Times four resistance. I've taken a Giga Drain that hurt more." He shrugged, "Granted, I was a charmander back then."

Magmortar chuckled softly and rolled his eyes, "Very funny." He took the claw to pull himself back up before crossing his arms, "For the record, I was just following the boss's orders. Mistakes happen every now and then."

Charizard chuckled softly, "Yeah, I get it. Kinda." He smirked, "Ash just has this thing about thinking for yourself. I can bet one of your teammates learned that firsthand against Primeape."

Magmortar blinked in surprise and looked at Charizard's trainer, "Huh. Kind of a weird choice for a trainer to make."

Charizard snorted, "I know, right?" He glanced back at Ash as the trio of his teammates covered him, "But that's just how he is."

.

*Hot springs

With the battle at its end and after a quick stop by the Pokémon Center, everyone made their way back to the hot springs to relax and celebrate. And I mean everyone. Ash, Brock, Misty, and even Blaine brought out all of their Pokémon to join in.

Nearly every non-Rock-type, Brock, and Misty were lounging around or swimming in the springs in some way. Some exceptions included Charizard as he sat at the edge with just his feet in the water and two of the darmanitan who were psychically tossing Squirtle back and forth while he was tucked into his shell.

Weird part, that was the Water-type's idea. He justified it with the excuse 'aerial recovery training'. No one bought that, but no one stopped them either.

Rhydon, Onix, and Geodude stood off to the side and lounged around to enjoy the steam. Primeape was sitting next to the mildly upset Aerodactyl and was patting him on the wing.

Misty and the ninetales couple laid in the spring as they all kept an eye on Togepi and a hatchling Alolan vulpix as they ran around and played together. Turned out the young Ice-type had been waiting in the Inn up until this point.

And Magmar -Magmortar's younger brother- was getting the rundown of the Gym Battle from two of the darmanitan. Magmortar stood off to the side and waited until they got to his battles. So he could gloat.

Soot and Blaine currently stood off to the side and watched all of them.

Soot looked up at the Inn owner, "So, no problem with us having the party here, right?"

Blaine smiled, "Of course not. You all are still paying guests. The springs are part of that deal."

Soot raised a brow, "Hey, um, speaking of that. I know you said half-price but we … haven't paid a dime since we got here."

Blaine nodded, "Yeah, I know. I collect payments on way out." He smirked, "Not like any scammers can actually get away with ripping me off. I've got the police on speed dial and a freaking rapidash."

Soot smirked, "And I can only imagine how your Gym Leader status helps with stuff like that."

Blaine chuckled, "No kidding." He looked over at Primeape and Aerodactyl curiously. Primeape noticed and glared at him.

Blaine tensed up slightly. "Hey, so" He looked at Soot, "what's up with the primeape and aerodactyl? Are they half-brothers or something? Y'know, like a farfetch'd or swoobat as the father."

Soot snickered, "Nah. They're just close friends with a similar fondness for battles." She smiled sadly, "This was their first Gym Battle and they've been training like Yvel for it. Primeape really just got upset about hearing how Aerodactyl lost. Aerodactyl didn't really like it either."

Blaine raised a brow, "Well, sure, but it was an official battle. You can't only expect to win."

Soot looked at him, "Yeah, that's not the reason. Primeape really just thought the O.H.K.O. on the recharge was a cheap hit. I already asked, and he said he wouldn't have minded if Rhydon won in any other way. Neither would Aerodactyl for that matter. Show of strength and all that crag."

Blaine frowned and sweat dropped, "Oh." He looked back at the pair, "Yeah, maybe that was kinda cheap. I probably should've had Rhydon use Thunder Punch, instead."

He shook it off and pointed a thumb back, "Anyway, I'll be back in a bit. Gotta make a call."

Soot grinned, "Gotcha."

Blaine turned and walked back inside.

Soot looked around and found Ash lying back on a lounge chair in his swimsuit with his backpack propped up against the chair. He was smiling contently and looking at the Volcano Badge in his hand.

Soot walked up to him while smirking, "Y'know you've been staring at that thing for a half-hour, right?"

Ash looked at her, chuckled, sat back up, and petted her, "Yeah, yeah." He looked around the hot spring and smiled softly, "I just… we're only one more badge away from the League. Everyone's put in so much work to get us this far and we're so close."

Soot smiled softly, "Yeah. But the last Gym is … y'know."

Ash's smile saddened slightly, "Yeah… We'll have our work cut out for us." He shook it off and smiled at his Bite Pokémon, "But let's save those worries for tomorrow. Today, we celebrate."

Soot grinned, "Couldn't have said it better myself, pops."

"…" Ash sweat dropped, "Since when did you start calling me that?"

Soot shrugged, "Eh. Thought I'd try it. What do you think?"

"I think I prefer 'dad'." Ash responded.

Soot nodded, "Yeah, I think I do too." She turned and started walking over to the hot springs, "Come on."

Ash smiled, put the badge in his backpack, stood back up, and followed. The pair got in and settled next to the others.

Soot sighed blissfully, "This is the life."

Misty smiled calmly; still watching Togepi, "Yeah, we haven't been able to do this since Fuchsia."

Rapidash perked up and looked at her in surprise, "Really? I didn't realize Fuchsia City had any hot springs."

Ash looked at him, "Technically, they don't. She meant the Giva Resort in the neighboring mountain range."

Rapidash, Arcanine, the two darmanitan within earshot, and the ninetales flinched and looked at him in shock.

Pidgeotto chuckled softly and looked at the Fire-types, "Yeah, that's our trainer for you. And before anyone asks, only Rapidash is on the list."

Rapidash stared blankly, shot Ash a wary glance, and looked at the Bird Pokémon again, "Uh … list?"

Ash looked at him with a smile, "I can't understand every Pokémon species. Just the ones that-"

"I got him!"

Everyone perked up and looked over as one of the darmanitan switched back to Standard Mode and jumped to physically catch the tossed Squirtle. And began falling directly into the center of the hot spring; back first.

Ash grimaced, hurried over, and held up his hands to catch the two-hundred-pound ape. A small wake shot out from the impact.

Arcanine's jaw dropped. The other five darmanitan, the two ninetales, Rapidash, Rhydon, Magmar, and Magmortar stared in shock.

The Alolan vulpix stared in awe, "Wooooooah."

Magmar stared in shock and pointed, "H- how did he-"

"Yeah, I uh-" Magmortar muttered in shock, "I'm just as shocked as you are, sibling."

Brock smiled, "Nice catch."

Ash groaned in pain with his arms trembling slightly and had a forced smile on his face, "Th- thanks…" He put the Fire-type holding the withdrawn Water-type down in the water with a splash. He started rubbing his shoulder and muttered, "That's gonna ache for a while…"

Darmanitan stared ahead blankly and turned to look at Ash, "Woah." He went back to his usual grin and grabbed Ash's right hand to shake; covering half the trainer's limb in the process due to the size of his hand, "Hey, thanks. You're pretty strong for a human."

Ash gave a forced, somewhat pained smile as Darmanitan shook his … arm, "N- no problem." He flinched upon realizing something and quickly pulled his hand back; startling Darmanitan slightly.

The trainer looked down at the watch before deadpanning, "the ones that do that…"

Darmanitan raised a brow, "What?"

Psyduck raised a brow, perked up in realization, and raised a hand immediately, "I call first for Psychic training!"

Vulpix looked at him in confusion, "What do you mean Psyc-" Her eyes widened before she looked back and forth between Ash and the Blazing Pokémon, "Oh!" She smiled, "Sweet."

Everyone else caught on and looked at Ash in surprise. Some grinned excitedly. Blaine's Pokémon stared in confusion.

Squirtle popped his head and limbs out of his shell and looked around in confusion, "Hey, why'd we stop? We takin' a break?"

.

*Blaine

"Hey, it's me." Blaine said into the cell phone.

He looked back toward the entrance to the spring, "Yeah, the battle just ended. Him and his friends are at the spring right now." He smirked, "It was a good battle. Kid came prepared."

He deadpanned, "Yes, that means he won."

He leaned against a wall and looked up thoughtfully, "No, they all seemed fine. I even tried the whole 'Overheat' thing like you said. Not even a flinch."

He smiled softly, "Yeah. Kinda comforting, really. The Slates and Waterflowers will definitely be hap-"

He deadpanned, "Yes, I have been keeping a lookout for it."

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, I'm positive it's not hiding anywhere in the volcano. Magmar and Magmortar would've informed me."

He sighed, "Yeah, I get it."

He nodded, "Alright, cool. By the way, told Ash that Giovanni's expecting him. Mind passing on the message?"

"Thank you." The Gym Leader said before glaring, "No, I didn't tell him the rest. That'd be like making the Gym public."

"Alright alright, sorry." "Yeah." "Nice talking to you too, Inspector. Bye."

Blaine hung up.

.

.

Seishin: What's next for Ash and his friends? Where was Team Rocket in this episode? And what was Blaine talking about in those inner monologues and during that phone call?!

*smiles* Find out all of this and more, as the journey continues!

Luke: *looks at Seishin in confusion* What are you doing?

Seishin: End of episode narration.

Illavera: *raised brow* You've never done that before.

Seishin: *shrugs*

…

*****Pseudo-Comment Response*****

From Red Mad Man (Trix chapter 61):

(This comment has been split up as follows. Not for length, but or convenience)

So when j said a while back i really meant a while. I started reading when you were around St. Anne i believe.

Seishin: *smiles brightly* My debut!

Ohirume: *perks up* Oh, you started reading back then.

*scratches cheek and smiles sheepishly* Sorry. When you said that in your last review, I misinterpreted it as 'The last time I read this was a while back' or 'I finished reading a while back'.

It was a story with a concept i havent really seen done and characters repourposed in a way that they still feel like the originals but are built up upon and improve rather then stay the same or have a very "jump from point A to point Z" kinda development.

Ohirume: *soft smile* Thanks.

Also sorry Faux if i offended you in any kind of way.

Faux: *flinches and eyes widen* Huh?! *waves paws rapidly* No no no no no no! I was not offended in the slightest!

*nervous smile* I was only replying to your guess. Honest. You have nothing to apologize for.

.

From Guest (Trix chapter 61):

Can I request my favorite Pokemon? It's mimikyu

Seishin: *raises brow* We talkin' teammate or Omnitrix form?

Ohirume: *smiles* Well, for a team member, that's entirely possible in the long run.

*smile saddens* Though, I am trying to keep deviations from canon at believable levels. I.e. Primeape still on the team, Growlie, Aerodactyl, and Arbok.

I really can't imagine a wild Pokémon indigenous to a region that far away from Kanto showing up for the sole purpose of Ash catching them. If he were in Alola for whatever reason, there'd be much less of a problem.

Yugo: For a form, that's actually much easier thanks to the lenient and near unpredictable factor known as other trainers. Take the new darmanitan form for example.