Part CVII: Earning a Pokémon's Respect

Pachirisu, Sentret, and Patrat all smiled as they finished gathering the berries they needed for the next week in the hollow at the base of their tree. They all lived in a large tree on the edge of a clearing in the forest that was the last patch of greenery before the baron Kalos Canyon to the north, which was the last big obstacle on the path to Shalour. Of course, none of this was a concern to the trio of friends who called the tree and forest home.

They were small forest Pokémon who loved the place they lived. They had become friends back when they were still being raised by their parents so once they left their nests they found this tree and had decided that this tree was theirs. Even when the two who could evolve did, if they did that is, they would all still be small and living together until they found mates. It was just how the forest was. They looked out for each other and lived in harmony with everyone here.

Well for the most part they did. There were two mean, fully evolved, and large Pokémon that also called the forest home who rather than live in harmony would rather just steal food from the weaker Pokémon that had gathered it. They were big, strong, and with the types commonly found in Pokémon of the forest, one of them had a huge advantage over most of them while the other was just stronger.

Thankfully, they'd always had a forest guardian who looked after the little Pokémon and protected them from the bullies with his own strength that was comparable to the bullies. Then, a year ago or so, a new Pokémon either came to the forest or had finally become strong enough and challenged the guardian for the title and honor of protecting the Pokémon of the forest.

The new one had won the battle and while the other small Pokémon had begged the old one to stay because the two of them together would be better, he hadn't and had gone to the mountain in the forest to train and get stronger. Therefore, the new guardian took up the mantle and defended them.

He was a good guardian though he had one slight problem that the former one didn't have. It was one that came up every time one of the two bullies arrived and was likely the reason why they hadn't seen the end of the bullies. However, before the three friends could think on it more, there was a roar and they all shuddered in fear and turned towards the sound before screaming for help at the sight that greeted them.

Approaching them from and coming out of the trees at the other side of the clearing was one of the two bullies, a fully evolved, and by the standards of the forest, strong Ursaring that was growling at them. As with the other bully who was thankfully not with him, the little Pokémon didn't know where it had come from but likely it was once a Teddiursa that had evolved and had had some bad experiences in life to make it the way it was. Those experiences had made it mean and now ready to attack the trio to get their horded berries that had taken a few days to gather.

"Hawlucha!"

The trio looked up and smiled as the forest guardian declared his presence. Standing at the top of the tree was a Hawlucha, the only one in the forest. A bipedal Pokémon standing a little over two and a half feet tall, Hawlucha was stronger than its sized belied. A fighting and flying type, one that could only actually glide on the green wings it had behind its arms, Hawlucha loved to fight and protect those who needed it from Pokémon who used their strength to take what they want. He also had a flair for the dramatic hence the pose.

He stood, arms raised to the side and wings on display for all to see. The sun gleamed off the white feathers on his chest and legs, contrasting with the red on his neck and arms that ended in 3 clawed fingers. His beaked head was high showing off the mask-like red and green design with a yellow streak along the center that ended in two feathers out the back.

Ursaring growled up at his foe and took an attack stance ready to fight Hawlucha. He was not going to lose to this annoying bird again. He wanted that food, and he was going to get it this time. He was fed up with Hawlucha getting in his way.

Hawlucha just grinned as he leapt of the tree and dove down at the Ursaring to put it in its place once more. He didn't like Pokémon who used their strength to bully others, they should work together for the betterment of all Pokémon and not fight each other unless it was for fun or to get stronger. This Ursaring was a bully and Hawlucha was going to enjoy beating him back again.

Ursaring's claws flashed with power as he used Slash to stop Hawlucha as it reached him, but he missed. Hawlucha was smaller and nimbler than Ursaring and used that advantage to avoid the slashes before he countered. His hands glowed with fighting type power as he activated Karate Chop and unleashed a flurry of attacks, ducking and weaving out of the way of the Slash from Ursaring and landing a few good body hits that were super effective against the large normal type. The last of the hits sent Ursaring staggering back and brought him to one knee. Hawlucha saw the opening and took it.

Running full speed at Ursaring, he leapt at the Hibernator Pokémon and infused his right leg with fighting type power as he activated his High Jump Kick. Hawlucha then slammed it into Ursaring's jaw at full force. Ursaring groaned and fell back dazed, badly hurt, but not yet defeated. However, he was right where Hawlucha wanted him.

Leaping up and climbing the tree again, Hawlucha stood at the top in his victory pose for all to see, his arms wide and eyes closed as he showed off. The trio of Pokémon he was protecting just groaned. This was the problem with Hawlucha. He was strong but he was also prideful and loved to show off before the end, which was fair, but he always took too long as he liked to use a high height before he jumped and his whole body glowed with his Flying Press attack as he fell toward a downed Ursaring.

Ursaring had been moaning on the ground from the pain and waiting for the final attack but it didn't come. Confused, he looked up and grinned at the sight. Hawlucha was still posing way to high. If he had leapt from a lower branch or had not posed for so long he would have landed it, but he wasn't and now he was right where Ursaring wanted him. He just had to wait as Hawlucha leapt off and began to soar down to him with his final move.

Just before Hawlucha landed, Ursaring rolled to the side and a startled Hawlucha slammed into the ground at full speed, kicking up a cloud of dust on impact. Ursaring grinned as he got up and opened his mouth, a ball of orange energy glowing in it, he was going to blast this Hawlucha away once and for all as soon as the dust cleared. Then he'd finally be free to take the food those weaklings had so kindly gathered for him.

Hawlucha moaned as he got up and the dust blew away. He'd failed again and he didn't know why. No matter how hard he practiced Flying Press he always missed, and it left him open to a counter attack. He was too sore to do more than stare at the glowing ball of Hyper Beam that Ursaring was about to unleash on him and accept the hit.

However, it never came as just before the attack came Ursaring was hit in the side by a bolt of electricity that ended the move just before it could be unleashed. He roared in pain as the Hyper Beam was aborted and he fried where he was, but it wasn't enough to take him down despite the earlier attacks.

Instead, Ursaring just snarled, turned, and ran away. He was so close, but it was still not enough. He had to go and find his friend and together they could come up with a plan to end this Hawlucha once and for all. His friend was more cunning than he was so together he knew that they could do this.

Hawlucha turned to look at where the Thunderbolt had come from and saw 5 humans, one he recognized as the human who maintained the forest but the other 4 were new to him, running into the clearing from the other side. With them was a Pikachu who was the one who'd sent the attack and an odd, flightless, blue bird Pokémon waddling behind them.

As grateful as Hawlucha was to them, he needed to recover and get back to practicing his move. He'd helped his fellow Pokémon from the Ursaring, but that bully would be back and this time, this time he would prefect his Flying Press and finally land it. It was the last thing preventing Hawlucha from fully ending the threat the bullies posed so he was determined to finally getting it right.

Turning, Hawlucha ran and headed to his own home in the forest, a small rocky area by the river were there was a tall cliff and waterfall that was perfect for practice. Next time he fought the bullies, he would win.


"What's going on over there?" Ash asked as he heard a commotion in the forest they were traveling through and instantly decided to run towards it. "I think there may be some Pokémon that need our help."

The others didn't have a chance to comment as Ash leapt off the path and into the forest to run towards the sound, a roar of challenge followed by some high-pitched screams. Misty knew that that there was nothing they could do to stop Ash from helping a Pokémon in need so they just ran after him to see if they could help out.

They had left the Poke Puff town behind them two days ago and begun making their way through a large forest that was between them and the Kalos Canyon, their last hurdle they had to traverse before they reached Shalour City in the next week or so. They had parted ways with Miette after her battle with Misty as she was heading to a Contest to the east that sounded promising, but they knew that they would run into her again this year, so it wasn't a farewell parting.

Right now, they were making good timing as they cut through the forest and still had plenty of time to reach Shalour and then Coumarine before the Contest and Showcase there if Misty opted to enter the latter. It would take them about a month from here to reach Coumarine, providing Ash won first time in Shalour and they didn't have more than two or three side adventures slowing them down along the way, which would given them about week in Coumarine to get ready. Of course, this was traveling with Ash so the chances of the trip being straightforward were negligible at best.

This was shown by Ash plunging into the forest to see what was up the moment he heard something amiss. All the others could do was follow him until he came to a clearing at the bottom of a small slope. He had suddenly stopped there and was looking out into it. If Ash had paused then something was up, and they joined him in looking out on the scene before them. What they saw made them all angry.

In the clearing was an Ursaring approaching three small Pokémon, a Sentret, Pachirisu and Patrat, in a menacing fashion. It was clearly going after the berries that the small Pokémon had in their tree. Misty was especially incensed as she had a Pachirisu and a Furret, the latter being Sentret's evolved form, so she felt for the little Pokémon. However, they all knew that this was something Ash would deal with as he really didn't like Pokémon not getting along with each other.

Just as Ash was about to act they heard a cry from the tree that the three Pokémon were cowering beneath and looked up to see a Pokémon none of them had seen before. It looked like a masked wrestler only if one was a Pokémon with wings and had a beak. It was clearly there to protect the other Pokémon, so Ash stayed his challenge and decided to use his Pokedex to scan the mysterious Pokémon.

"Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokémon." The Pokedex chimed as Hawlucha leapt from the tree and down at the Ursaring. "With its wings, it controls its position in the air. It likes to attack from above, a maneuver that is difficult to defend against."

"Huh, it's a fighting and flying type." Ash said noting what his Pokedex was saying before putting it away. "I've never seen that combination before."

"As far as I know it's the only Pokémon species with that particular type combination." A voice said from behind them as Hawlucha engaged Ursaring in combat. "Though I have a colleague in Galar that claims one of the legendary Pokémon in that region has the same combination, but it's not confirmed as of yet."

Ash, Misty, May, and Serena all turned to see a forest ranger, likely the one assigned to maintain this area of the forest, approaching them from the top of the slope. He was wearing the usual uniform of a ranger and carrying a large pack, so he took a moment to reach them.

"That Hawlucha, it's the forest guardian here." The ranger said as he joined them, and they watched Hawlucha land a series of strikes on Ursaring that had to hurt it. "Hawlucha uses its smaller stature to its advantage in battle. Defeated the old guardian about year ago and took over the mantle when the old one disappeared following the battle."

"So, it protects the other Pokémon here." Misty said as Ursaring fell to a knee. "That's a good thing then or else a Pokémon like Ursaring could easily take what it wants."

"That is what it tries to do." The ranger said with a nod. "There are two large, fully evolved Pokémon here that use their strength to bully the smaller ones. The old guardian dealt with them and now Hawlucha does but, well, there's a slight problem."

"What?" Ash asked as Ursaring was leveled by what looked like a High Jump Kick to the jaw. "Hawlucha looks like it is doing pretty well."

"Just watch." The ranger said as Hawlucha jumped into the tree, climbed it, and then took a pose at the top. "Here it comes, Hawlucha's finishing move, Flying Press."

"The Pokedex did say that it liked to attack from above." Ash said amazed. "This could be good and pretty cool."

"Hawluchas do like to do that but, well, this one hasn't perfected it." The ranger said as Hawlucha leapt off the branch and soared down, glowing with power as it fell. "It shows off by leaping from that high up but because of that, it takes too long and that Ursaring always dodges it."

They watched as what the ranger said came true and Ursaring rolled over and Hawlucha hit the ground hard, kicking up dust as it did. Ursaring just grinned as they all saw the ball of orange light form in its mouth and knew what it meant, Piplup leaping off Misty's head to cower behind her at the sight of a move he never wanted to experience again.

"We can't let that attack get off, if it does the Ursaring will be able to steal that food." Ash said with determination in his voice. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt."

"Pikachu." Pikachu said as he ran out, sending his Thunderbolt ahead of him as the dust cleared.

Ash ran out right after Pikachu with the others right behind him, Piplup complaining that he had to run as well, while the Thunderbolt struck Ursaring cleanly in the side. It roared in pain before turning and running away, the Hyper Beam prevented from being fired.

With Ursaring gone, Ash turned his attention to Hawlucha who looked dazed from hitting the ground but was otherwise ok. However, Hawlucha just looked at them before turning and running off itself, after making sure that the coast was clear. The three Pokémon it had helped cheered after it before they returned to what they were doing before Ursaring arrived.

"Where'd it go?" Serena asked as they all came to a stop in middle of the clearing.

"Probably off to where it calls home." The ranger said panting a little due to the weight of the bag on his back. "There is a river that cuts through the forest just north of here. Along the river is a rocky cliff and waterfall with a decently sized clearing around it. Hawlucha uses the cliff to practice its Flying Press and likely lives near it. The cliff is the perfect height both for practice and to keep an eye on the forest for trouble."

"Then that's where we have to go." Ash said with a grin. "Lead the way sir."

"You have another crazy idea don't you Ash." May said while Misty just sighed in agreement. "What is it?"

"I am going to go and find that Hawlucha." Ash said. "And I am going to help it perfect its Flying Press so that it can properly defend this forest."

"Of course, you are Ash." Misty said with a smile as Ash headed off, the ranger running after him to help guide him so that he didn't get lost. "It's why we all fell in love with you. Come one girls, let's go help him out. You know that with Ash this is not going to be straightforward."

May and Serena just nodded as they hurried after Ash and the ranger, Misty picking up Piplup as they left the clearing. They all knew that they'd be here until Ash had helped Hawlucha out so they may as well go with it. They also knew that this was not going to go as planned so it was time to see what crazy adventure they ended up in this time.


"You look like you took a beating." A voice said from a dark patch of woods as Ursaring reached the dark area that he and his friend called home; the only place they were never bothered as their enemy never ventured into their territory. "That Hawlucha again?"

"I found us some berries to enjoy today and was about to take them when Hawlucha intervened again." Ursaring grunted back to the darkness. "It was protecting three weak Pokémon who had helpfully gathered the berries for us and couldn't defend themselves from me."

"It should know the law of the forest." The voice said as Ursaring heard the thumping sound of his friend approaching. "The strong take what they want and the weak suffer what they must. It is how it has always been and how it always should be."

"So true my friend and thanks to those humans we are the strong here." Ursaring said. "We are all that is left of the powerful Pokémon in this forest."

"Well, there is one more." The voice said with a chuckle. "And perhaps it is time we made peace with him. He could be of some use to us."

"What do you have in mind?" Ursaring asked.

"A little trick my friend." The voice said as it neared Ursaring. "We play to his protective nature and get him to confront and beat that Hawlucha for us. It may be a flying type but after facing it for a year we know it has no flying type moves so we have an advantage, and it hasn't perfected that Flying Press."

"You mean you have the advantage." Ursaring grunted. "I'm a normal Pokémon, those fighting moves hurt."

"True, you are at a disadvantage but that is why you will hold back." The voice said. "Besides, he's the same type as me which means that if it would work for me it will work for him."

"So, we get him to confront Hawlucha." Ursaring said. "And then what?"

"And then." The grinning face of a Conkeldurr said as it came out of the dark trees, concrete pillars in its muscular hands looking like it was helping it walk but were in fact his weapons in battle. "We attack both after they beat each other up and hurt them so bad that we drive them away. Then the forest will be ours."

Ursaring just grinned as he nodded to his friend. This was a good plan; one he hadn't thought about but then again Conkeldurr was the one who did the thinking between the two of them. With this plan, they'd crush their two enemies with one blow while using the former to beat the newer one and turn him into one of them in the process. After that, they would rule this area as it should be.

"Come my friend." Conkeldurr said as he began moving. "He is in a cave in the mountain. Let's go make peace with the old guardian and get him to aid in our quest to take full control of this forest."

With that Conkeldurr and Ursaring began to head towards the sole mountain in the forest where the old guardian had retired to in order to train and get stronger after his defeat. They had a plan to execute and a Hawlucha to finally end. Today was going to be a good day.


The old guardian of the forest sat in his cave that he had hand carved with his own, strong, hands as part of his training. After that Hawlucha had beaten him he had realized that he was lacking in skill and that Hawlucha could take up his duties as he trained to get stronger. That was why he had come to this mountain where there were strong rock and ground types to battle but who didn't get involved in the goings on in the forest, and plenty of boulders for strength and move training.

Over the last year he had gotten a lot stronger, perfected at least two new moves, and really strengthen his herculean body. He was almost ready to return to the forest and protect the little Pokémon who needed him there. There were still the two bullies who refused to go away and avoided humans, so they were never caught and removed from the forest. Hopefully Hawlucha was dealing with them as well as he had.

It was as he was thinking that he heard a grinding, thumping sound, and the snarls of a mammalian Pokémon. Sighing he knew what both were. It looked like the old bullies had found him in his reclusive home. He could take the two of them himself if need be, but he didn't want to fight in these small, slightly cramped, quarters, so he turned to look at Conkeldurr and Ursaring and see what they wanted.

"Yo, Machamp, what's up old buddy." Conkeldurr said with a smile that didn't meet his eyes, he always was the smarter of the pair so Machamp was more wary of him than of Ursaring. "How've you been?"

"What do you want Conkeldurr." Machamp said getting to his full height and flexing his four strong arms as he looked at the bullies. "I am in no mood to fight with you."

"We don't want a fight." Conkeldurr said though he didn't raise his hands but rather kept them on his concrete pillars. "Do we Ursaring?"

"No, we don't." Ursaring grunted. "Besides, I am at a serious disadvantage against you. You're a fighting type and been training, I can't match you if we go at it."

"You never could." Machamp said simply, it had always been Conkeldurr who'd been a bigger pain in his toned ass. "Now tell me what you want and then get out of here. I have training to return to and you two have beatings from that Hawlucha to get back to."

"Ah you see that is exactly why we are here old guardian of the forest." Conkeldurr said with a mock bow of his head. "We need to chat to you about your old buddy Hawlucha."

"I wouldn't call him a buddy." Machamp said. "I respect his skill as he beat me and forced me into exile to get better but that is it. What about him?"

"Well, it seems that he's not doing his job anymore." Conkeldurr said sadly though Machamp didn't buy the sadness for a moment. "He was the forest guardian, beat me and Ursaring multiple times, but he has turned on the other Pokémon. Now that he's beaten you and forced you into a shameful exile, as week as beaten us so many times that he knows we aren't a threat to him, he's no longer the guardian of the forest. Rather, he is now it's tyrant."

"What." Machamp said his teeth gritting at that, he'd given Hawlucha his title so that he could train to get better but now it was apparently no better than the two bullies before him. "Are you sure?"

"He beat me today in front of three innocent Pokémon that were too small to defend against me." Ursaring said. "I barely got away from him but as I was down, he stole the berries those three had gathered and ran off with them as his tribute for beating me."

"And why would he do this?" Machamp asked. "He always cared for the other Pokémon. He cared so much he challenged me for my title."

"He no longer needs to protect them." Conkeldurr said. "He says that now that no one can challenge him his real goal, to rule the forest, has been realized. He terrorizes the other Pokémon and have them bring him tributes at the falls but if they fail or horde food he goes after them."

"I see and you have come to me to solve this." Machamp said. "Because my intense training has ensured that I am the only one who can face him now. We only battled once, and he was the clear winner back then but now I know I can beat him."

"Precisely." Conkeldurr said with a nod. "You have been getting stronger, we can see it, so you can go after him put him in his place just as you used to do to us. Remind him and all the Pokémon who the true guardian of the forest is."

"This doesn't end the bad blood between all of us." Machamp said looking at them seriously. "But if it is true, and I cannot ignore this, then it will be a start. I thank you for your information and confront Hawlucha at the falls. It is time I reclaimed my duty to this forest."

With that Machamp pushed passed his two foes and walked out of his cave as he began to make the trek to the falls on the other side of the forest. He was furious that the Pokémon he had trusted with his job was now apparently abusing it. He was going to put Hawlucha in his place and he was going to do it today.


"Remember the plan." Conkeldurr whispered with a sinister grin as he and Ursaring followed Machamp at a fair distance. "Once they are both injured, hit Machamp in the back. Hawlucha is mine. I want to end him personally."

"Will do." Ursaring said with a nod. "It is time for payback and then the forest will finally be ours."

Conkeldurr just nodded as they continued to trail behind Machamp. Soon they would be rid of their two obstacles and then they could claim what was rightfully theirs by right of their might. What could possibly go wrong?


"Alright Hawlucha, I have an idea." Ash said to Hawlucha as he gave Hawlucha a berry that would restore its health. "Are you willing to listen? I think this could really improve your move."

"Hawlucha." Hawlucha said with a nod as he ate the berry and took a break by the water.

Hawlucha had returned to his home, eaten an Oran berry from his personal stash to regain his strength and then gotten to work. He would climb or use his legs and the ledges to get to the top of the falls and then leap off with Flying Press. However, he always felt it was taking too long to land and that was not a good thing. It gave his opponent time to avoid him rather than hitting and beating them. This was his signature move and he couldn't pull it off no matter how hard he practiced it.

He had tried it two more times when the human from earlier, the one who had the Pikachu that had saved him in the clearing, had arrived in his home. At first the human just watched him, studying him and his technique, while letting out some of his own Pokémon to train with him in the area.

Hawlucha had to admit, the human had some strong looking Pokémon. His Pikachu was by far the strongest of its kind that Hawlucha had ever seen. His Riolu, a fellow fighting type to him, carried himself with the grace of a seasoned battler who had won many fights against bigger opponents. His Frogadier had a quiet calm to him that could only come from intense training and a drive to win. Lastly his Fletchinder, a Pokémon that judging by its slightly off grace had recently evolved and was getting used to it, flew smoother than any of the flying types Hawlucha knew in the forest.

He was curious about the kid and his team and took a break to watch them train in the area from the top of the cliff. During it the human, Ash as the Pokémon called him, took out a 5th Pokémon and they worked a little together but not for long.

Hawlucha could see why. The 5th Pokémon was a powerhouse of a Charizard, one that Hawlucha knew he couldn't beat in a battle and who was by far the strongest the human had. Judging by the respect the Charizard garnered from even the Pikachu, it was a seasoned warrior.

Charizard only stayed out for a bit, mainly working and mentoring the Fletchinder as they had the same type combination but given the environment, the human recalled Charizard after a bit which Hawlucha was grateful for as he didn't want to deal with a fire. After that they took a brief break with the other humans who had arrived and set up some food camp with the ranger in charge of this region of the forest.

It was clear they were all friends and so to were the Pokémon the others had and Hawlucha smiled at that. Pokémon should be friends with each other and look out for one another, that was why he did what he did, and these Pokémon exemplified that. Sure, some had rivalries, but they were clearly healthy ones that were meant to push each other to be better. It was what Hawlucha might want one day but he had his priorities in the forest. Still, this human could be useful.

After they had finished their meal and the male had returned to training while the females either talked with the ranger, groomed their Pokémon, or in the case of the one that Hawlucha had pegged as the male's likely mate, did some training with her own Pokémon. She was working with the flightless bird that had to be part water type as it was in the river training with her and a Malamar of all Pokémon, though one that was clearly strong in its own right. At least until the Malamar slapped her and was recalled for it.

It was as this was going on that Hawlucha had approached Ash and his Pokémon after another failed Flying Press and asked for help, pointing to himself and then to the cliff and opening his wings. The human clearly understood and instantly agreed to help him with his Flying Press. If anyone could it was him.

Ash had been thrilled that Hawlucha would want to get his advice and had asked Hawlucha to try it against each of his Pokémon in turn other than Fletchinder who's type made it hard for training the move right now. They had all agreed and one by one they lay beneath the cliff as Hawlucha leapt of it and tried to hit them.

Each one of them easily moved out of the way before he reached them, moving as if they had been injured in a battle, and each time Hawlucha slammed into the ground hard. However, Ash was kind and asked Hawlucha to try again after he ate an Oran berry as Ash needed to figure out the problem, that was why he was using his Pokémon as such.

It took three attempts but finally Ash had the solution. It had been Fletchinder who had shown him it as Fletchinder had been above the whole time helping out with a different view on the move. The Ember Pokémon showed off a dive where he tucked his wings into his body and hurtled down faster before opening them. It was too fancy for Hawlucha as it could only glide, but if Ash set something to the dive like a 720 corkscrew then it would work as it would give Hawlucha a set moment to open its wings right at the end of the move.

"Alright the problem is that you are coming from too high and the drag on your wings is enough to be a problem Ash said to Hawlucha holding out his arms, Fletchinder hopping onto his shoulder to help out with the demonstration. "It slows you down just enough for an opponent with enough strength left in it to get away, but you need them open for the move to work. So, what I suggest is start like that then tuck the wings in, spin twice and then open them. That should increase your falling speed while keeping the move roughly the same. Fletchinder will show you."

Fletchinder tweeted in agreement and Hawlucha followed it to the top of the cliff. Once it was there, it mimicked his Flying Press and leapt off the cliff. Its body type was different, but it could still imitate it as it brought its wings to its body and rolled twice during the dive before opening them and soaring away after skimming just above the ground at the base of the cliff.

Hawlucha's mouth was open at that. It was just what he needed to perfect the move. It kept it as he liked it for the start and end while speeding up the middle where the problem was so that he could land it. Hawlucha was about to go and try it out when a roar of challenge came for him from the trees while also accusing him of being a bully no better than the two he regularly dealt with.

Surprised Hawlucha and all the other people and Pokémon present turned to the trees to see a Machamp walk out of them, a look of fury on its face. Hawlucha knew this Machamp, it was the former forest guardian, the one he'd beaten to take the title and duties of guardian for himself. It was clearly pissed and ready to challenge Hawlucha for the title, that he could accept, but the accusations were odd and Hawlucha responded accepting the challenge but denying the accusations Machamp was making.

That was when he saw the Conkeldurr and Ursaring walking out of the trees behind Machamp and keeping a safe distance from the two guardians. Of course, that had to be it. Those two had almost certainly lied to Machamp about him to get Machamp to come and challenge him.

There had to be more to this and Hawlucha tried to tell Machamp that those two couldn't be trusted but Machamp was too furious to listen to reason and instead took a fighting stance. Hawlucha matched it and got ready, it looked like his new alteration to Flying Press would get a trial by combat.

"Ash get back here with your Pokémon." The ranger called out.

"But they could use my help." Ash pointed out. "I can't ignore that."

"No that would be dishonorable to both Machamp and Hawlucha." The ranger said surprising Ash. "This is a battle of dominance for the title of forest guardian between two wild Pokémon with strong protective instincts. They have to sort it out themselves."

Ash grit his teeth, but he understood as he and his Pokémon quickly ran back to the camp they'd set up to be clear of the two fighting types that were about to throw down in front of them. He just focused on the fight about to happen and hoped that Hawlucha was going to be ok.

They were all focused on the two Pokémon squaring off except for Misty who had a bad feeling about it after seeing the Ursaring from earlier. She was watching the two Pokémon that were holding back from the battle with trepidation.

With a roar, Machamp and Hawlucha charged at each other as their second battle began. Both of them were eager to win this one and had new or improved moves to show off to the other during it.

Hawlucha had a lot of experience and used that to keep up with the bigger and stronger Machamp, using his smaller status to his advantage. They traded blows that weren't attacks to start as they tested each other out, checking their strengths, ranges, and mobility, as any seasoned fighter would. Both had to admit the other was better than the last time they faced off, so this was going to be good when the moves started, which they did without warning.

Hawlucha saw and opening as he used his greater mobility and smaller size to get around Machamp and strike with a Karate Chop to Machamp's broad back. It landed and he kept it up as Machamp groaned but as soon as Hawlucha fell back to the ground, Machamp spun on his left heel and used Low Kick just as Hawlucha's feet touch the ground.

Hawlucha grunted in pain and shock as the fighting type attack hit him in the ankles, taking his feet from under him and propelled him up into the air. It was more mobility than Machamp had showed before and he was about to face the second half of a combo that Machamp had worked hard on over the year to perfect with the aid of a few sparring partners up in the mountain.

As Hawlucha was in the air, Machamp's lower hands glowed green with dragon type power, something Hawlucha hadn't been expecting, and slashed across his chest. The Dual Chop, Machamp's newest move, struck Hawlucha in the chest and drove him into the ground hard, driving the breath from his lungs in the process.

The rocky terrain they were on was unyielding and rather than crater it, Hawlucha bounced off it and flipped back, towards Conkeldurr who was now grinning at his helpless opponent. This was the opening the two bullies had been waiting for.

Hawlucha didn't get a chance to get up before a concrete pillar crashed down on top of him in Conkeldurr's version of Hammer Arm. The attack drove what little breath Hawlucha had recovered from him before it crushed him between the pillar and the ground. Conkeldurr kept grinning as he pulled it up.

Machamp was looking at the cheap, dishonorable, attack in horror. This was not what he'd agreed to. Clearly there was more at play but before he could say anything, a flash of orange struck him squarely in the chest, and he was blasted back at full speed and into the side of the cliff by Ursaring's Hyper Beam. Ursaring had been building it up and waiting for the right moment to attack once Machamp was distracted and Conkeldurr gave the signal by attacking Hawlucha.

Conkeldurr laughed as everything kept going to plan. He raised the pillar again for another arm but Hawlucha, who was battered and hurt, was still nimble and leapt up to avoid it just before it crashed down where he'd been lying a second before. He glided to where the dust was still falling from Machamp's impact. Machamp wasn't out of it but that had hurt, and he grunted as he walked out of dust confused at what had just happened.

"Machamp." Misty called out surprising even herself as she pleaded to the kindness in the Pokémon's heart that had driven it to helping the forest out. "You've been tricked by those two. We saw Ursaring scaring some small Pokémon earlier and trying to steal their food but Hawlucha saved them. It is still the guardian of the forest, clearly those two don't want either of you around. Help Hawlucha, remember that you are a good Pokémon who loves protecting this forest."

Machamp blinked in confusion at the strange girl yelling at him. She was a human, in fact she reminded him of his trainer before she released him when she got too old to be with him and knew the forest needed a Pokémon like him to protect them the way he had protected her when they were together. She was a trainer who had cared for Pokémon and always saw the best in them, and he could feel that this girl was the same in her heart as she called out to him.

Hawlucha interrupted his thoughts by reaching him holding an Oran berry from his personal stash in each hand and handing one to Machamp with a small smile on his face. Despite Machamp's unprovoked attack, Hawlucha was still here to help protect him against those two Pokémon that had sneakily attacked them and give him something to regain his strength.

The act of kindness brought tears to Machamp's eyes as he accepted the berry and ate it to restore health, Hawlucha doing the same with the other. He'd been lied to, attacked a truly good Pokémon for no reason and accidentally led him into an ambush and still Hawlucha was being nice to him. He knew who the true villains were and asked Hawlucha for forgiveness.

Hawlucha nodded and forgave him. He then noted Machamp's improvement with respect in his voice and asked him to help him take out the two Pokémon who were approaching them now that Ursaring's Hyper Beam cool down had ended. Machamp nodded and pointed at Ursaring, that was who he wanted to beat for the cheap shot he'd used, before Machamp saved him. Hawlucha didn't argue and turned to face Conkeldurr.

The Muscular Pokémon was clearly smart and strong but had gone down the wrong path for some reason. That needed to be corrected and Hawlucha had an idea how it could be done but first he had to beat Conkeldurr without help. That was the forest way and as he and Machamp ran together at their real opponents, he was ready for it.

Conkeldurr grinned as he brought down one of his pillars at Hawlucha in another Hammer Arm. However, Hawlucha was ready for this. At the last moment he sidestepped the pillar and then leapt up, his knee glowing and slammed it into the base of Conkeldurr's jaw with a powerful High Jump Kick.

The fully evolved fighting type roared in pain and staggered back with a grimace on his face. Hawlucha saw his advantage and pressed it by activating Karate Chop and striking his opponent in the gut as he staggered back.

Alas Hawlucha was so focused on landing his hits that he didn't notice Conkeldurr was reading a counter until it was too late. As Hawlucha stopped his attack, Conkeldurr suddenly dropped his right pillar, closed his fist, and punched Hawlucha in the chest as hard as he could.

Hawlucha flew back several feet and hit the ground hard, energy streaming out of him as he flew indicating that it had been Drain Punch that had struck him. That was not good as it gave Conkeldurr some health back from the attack. Still, though, Hawlucha wasn't out of the battle yet and he slowly got to his feet to continue fighting until the very end.

Conkeldurr was clearly ready for him and as soon as Hawlucha was standing he flung his left pillar right at Hawlucha with Fling. Rather than dodge it however, Hawlucha saw an opening to end this and see how his altered Flying Press worked in a real-life battle situation. As such, he ran straight at the pillar his arms in a V behind him as he ran.

At the last moment, Hawlucha leapt up and onto the pillar, running along it to the surprise of those watching. Conkeldurr just grit his teeth in frustration and picked up his other pillar and threw it as well, higher this time as Hawlucha was still running on the first pillar as he threw the second one. However, Hawlucha again leapt up and ran along the second pillar gaining even more height as he began to activate his move while running.

All Conkeldurr could do was watch in amazement as Hawlucha leapt up as high as he could from the second pillar, wings spread, and body glowing with fighting type power before he tucked them in and corkscrewed down towards Conkeldurr. This time he was much faster with his Flying Press and as he opened his wings he just had time to see the still stunned locking Conkeldurr before he slammed into its face at full speed and leveled him.

Hawlucha knew that it was over the moment he got off Conkeldurr. He didn't need to look down to see the swirled eyes of his vanquished foe but a loud crash next to him brought his attention back to the other battle and he looked over to see what was going on there before he executed his plan to save Conkeldurr and protect the forest at the same time.

The crash had been the culmination of Machamp's own battle with Ursaring that had been raging while Hawlucha had been defeating Conkeldurr. That had been a more straightforward battle as Ursaring didn't stand a chance in a fair fight against Machamp.

As Machamp was running at Ursaring, he saw his opponents claws elongate and glow indicating either Slash or Fury Swipes. Neither would be enough to take Machamp down so he just continued, crossing all 4 arms over his chest and face as he approached to protect himself for what he needed to do.

Ursaring clearly didn't see that it was outmatched and just grinned as it used Fury Swipes to slash Machamp across the arms 4 times as he reached it. That was the only move that Ursaring was going to get off as now Machamp was too close for Ursaring to dodge anything.

Machamp has taken the attack so that he could land his next move, one that wouldn't miss and would be super effective against Ursaring. As soon as the Fury Swipes were over, Machamp grappled with Ursaring using all 4 arms and then threw it with Vital Throw. Ursaring was taken aback by the attack and couldn't do as it was thrown across the clearing and hit the ground hard with a grunt of pain.

Machamp wasn't done yet and he had already begun running after Ursaring with his powerful legs the moment he'd thrown it. That allowed him to reach Ursaring before it could get up and grab its fur in a vice like grip, again using all 4 hands. Before Ursaring knew what was going on, Machamp roared and spun before he tossed Ursaring as high as he could with Seismic Toss.

Ursaring flew into the air though this was when Hawlucha was running on the pillars, so no one saw it but Machamp who was pleased with the height he got as he tracked the speck that was Ursaring, he may even have broken his personal best for height with that move. All that training had really paid off, bench pressing a Golem he knew back in the mountains did wonders for muscle development.

Finally the Hibernation Pokémon stopped rising and began to fall as Hawlucha was executing his Flying Press. It all worked out so that as soon as Hawlucha had backed off his defeated foe, Ursaring finally slammed into the ground at full speed next to land next to Conkeldurr, spread eagled and swirl eyed in a small crater his impact had created.

Hawlucha looked to the defeated Ursaring and then to Machamp before saying what he wanted to do with Conkeldurr. Machamp nodded and said he was thinking something similar with Ursaring only with one of the other humans that he thought was up to the task and agreed that it was a good idea.

"What is going on?" Ash asked confused at the display between the two Pokémon now that they'd won their individual battles. "It's over, right?"

"Hawlucha." Hawlucha said as if answering him before pointing to Ash and then to Conkeldurr.

"Machamp." Machamp said doing the same with Misty and Ursaring only using one of his lower arms to mime throwing something at Ursaring.

"You want us to catch them?" Misty asked unsure if she was understanding Machamp correctly. "In a Poke Ball?"

"Machamp." Machamp said with a nod glad that the girl who'd spoken the truth to him was smart enough understood what he wanted. "Machamp."

"Why would they want that?" Ash asked but subconsciously pulling out a Poke Ball nonetheless as he couldn't pass up this kind of chance. "You beat them."

"I get it." The ranger said. "Machamp and Hawlucha know that humans catch Pokémon and train them to be better as well as stronger. My guess is that they think you two can take Conkeldurr and Ursaring away and make them good Pokémon while helping protect the forest at the same time by removing them. They must sense you are kind trainers. It would really help the forest as they are the two bullies here so removing them would make all the other Pokémon happier and the forest better as a whole."

"Oh, so like what I did with Spiritomb in a sense." Misty said recalling how the moment she'd caught him the entire area suddenly felt better with Spiritomb separated from it. "That makes sense and I guess I could try. Ursaring isn't really my type of Pokémon though."

"Neither was Malamar, or Pinsir, or Spiritomb." May pointed out and stressing the last one to remind Misty just how unusual it was for her to own one. "That doesn't stop you these days Misty."

"True." Misty said with a shrug. "Well here goes then."

With that Misty threw her Poke Ball at the still unconscious Ursaring. The ball hit it in the center of the oval on its chest and bounced up before opening and engulfing it in red energy and sucking it up into the Poke Ball.

"A Conkeldurr could be useful though this one may take some training and socializing with Professor Oak before its ready." Ash said deciding it was best to go with it, but he'd want something from Hawlucha in return as he threw his own Poke Ball. "I will do my best to change its attitude."

Ash's hit Conkeldurr in the side and did the usual thing, only it also sucked in the two concrete pillars that were several feet away as they were apparently going to come with Conkeldurr as well. Both balls fell to the ground and vibrated several times before finally clicking to indicate successful captures.

"Well guess I have an Ursaring now." Misty said surprised that it had worked as she went over and picked up the ball from the ground. "Though it will take some training and I may have to reserve it for more traditional battles in the future."

"Same with this Conkeldurr." Ash said not doing his usual pose as he felt he couldn't just yet, at least not until after he had done something else. "But I have an idea."

"What?" Misty asked.

"Let's send them back to Professor Oak in Kanto for a bit." Ash said. "I currently have 6 and I'd rather have an open slot for a more traditional catch than this Conkeldurr. I think the Professor, along with Togekiss, Bulbasaur and some of the others on the ranch can help socialize these two into being better Pokémon. Then we can recall them in a few weeks and properly train them while they are part of our Kalos rotations."

"You know that sounds like a good idea." Misty said realizing that Ash was one to something with that. "I already have my hands full dealing with Malamar and Togekiss would be helpful in making them better. She is the ranch's mother at this point so she can make sure Ursaring and Conkeldurr are welcomed and loved. That will help them change their ways."

"Well, there's a transport machine back at the lodge and a compute capable of long-distance calls." The ranger said. "So, we can go back there and sort it out if you want."

"Sounds good but first there is something else I want to do first." Ash said before turning and looking at Hawlucha. "Hawlucha, you are an incredible Pokémon. I would be honored if you let me battle you for the chance to catch you if I win the battle. If I lose I will leave you alone."

"Hawlucha." Hawlucha said thinking on the human's proposal to him.

It was certainly a good one. This human had shown his skill by helping Hawlucha perfect Flying Press, which now worked just as he had always wanted it to. It was a fair deal and Hawlucha knew that he could grow really strong with this human showing him the way, but he was worried about the forest if he left. True Ursaring and Conkeldurr were no longer here but could he leave the small Pokémon alone.

That was when Machamp came over to him and told him that he should take the offer. He was also considering testing the girl that was probably the male's mate, though it was clear all the girls wanted to mate with him so he couldn't be certain, now that the forest was safe.

Machamp pointed out that it didn't need a guardian anymore and after the work they'd done. With Conkeldurr and Ursaring now captured, the small Pokémon would be able to live without fear and grow on their own in happiness and harmony at last.

As if on cue, several small Pokémon briefly came out of the bushes and confirmed it to the two Pokémon who had protected them over the years. They all thanked Hawlucha and Machamp for their work in saving them but now that Ursaring and Conkeldurr had been caught they were free from protection. Sure, new bullies would arise in time but by then some of the small Pokémon would have evolved and could become new protectors thanks to the example that Hawlucha and Machamp had shown them in regards to being compassionate big Pokémon.

That was enough to convince Hawlucha that he could do this without any worries for the forest and the Pokémon who called it home. He turned to look at Ash and nodded at him. He would accept his challenge.

"Great." Ash said. "Who do you want to face? I have 4 available now that can take you on, but I don't think you can handle Charizard yet."

"Hawlucha." Hawlucha said in agreement, he was good, but he knew when he was outclassed and that Charizard, while a goal to reach one day, clearly outclassed him.

Hawlucha looked at the 4 other Pokémon who Ash had, and they all moved forward ready to be the challenge for him. All were clearly battle hardened and would give Hawlucha a good fight so he could pick any and it would be a great battle.

The one he really wanted to face was the Riolu as it was another fighting type but something in his gut told him to hold off against it for the moment. Riolu had the bearing of a Pokémon that had defeated much stronger opponents and would probably have a trick or two that Hawlucha would learn the hard way about. No, the one who would be the fairest and best match was the one who Hawlucha pointed to. That was the one he felt was the most evenly matched against him right now.

"Alright Frogadier, you're up." Ash said as his other Pokémon quickly returned to the group that was just watching what was going on in front of them. "Ready when you are Hawlucha."

"Machamp." Machamp said interrupting them and point to Misty who was still part of the group as they'd all backed up to give Ash, Frogadier, and Hawlucha space to battle. "Machamp."

"You want to face me?" Misty asked surprised and Machamp nodded at her. "And if I win?"

"Machamp." Machamp said pointing to Hawlucha and then Ash.

"The same then." Misty said. "You will join my team?"

"Machamp." Machamp said nodding again, he wanted to test this girl as she reminded him of his original trainer and if she was strong enough he would join her and be her protector with all his strength just as he was with his last trainer. "Machamp."

"Alright, I've never had a fighting type before so this could be interesting." Misty said stepping forward. "Let's do this Machamp."

"Piplup." Piplup said taking a step as well to deal with this muscle-bound Pokémon for Misty, he was her best after all so naturally this duty fell on him. "Pip, Piplup."

"No Piplup." Misty said shaking her head and May quickly stepped forward to pick up the now protesting Pokémon and held him for Misty as he squawked at her. "I know you want to fight but even with your flying type move, you are outclassed by this Machamp's raw strength. No, I have the perfect challenge for both Machamp and the Pokémon I have in mind."

Piplup just huffed but trusted his trainer as Misty pulled out a Poke Ball and opened it. A second later her Malamar appeared before her looking across a rocky area at a muscular, wild, Machamp that was in an attack stance. She turned to look at Misty and cocked her head surprised Misty had taken her out again after teaching her trainer a lesson earlier and being recalled for it.

"Machamp wants to battle me to see if I am worthy enough to catch it." Misty explained. "It's a strong Pokémon so I figured you'd be the best with your psychic type though I know your dark type negates some strengths making it a pretty even matchup."

"Malamar." Malamar said with a nod at Misty's assessment, she was the best for this encounter but not without limitations, so she'd do this for Misty and see how she stacked up against another strong Pokémon. "Malamar."

"Alright good, we're ready." Misty said as she and Ash set themselves. "This isn't a double battle; we will stick with our designated opponents only."

"Agreed." Ash said.

Hawlucha and Machamp looked at each other and nodded. It was time to battle again and see if these humans were worth joining.

"Frogadier start this off with Double Team into Cut." Ash called out.

"Malamar, Psywave." Misty ordered as the battle began.

Machamp grunted as he braced himself with his arms while running at Malamar. His ability was No Guard, that was what his previous trainer had called it at least, and it was both good and bad. It was good in that his attacks always landed. It was bad in that attacks on him did the same. It meant that he would have to take this super effective attack but in return he'd land his own attack and he had a combo idea that he felt would work well on this Malamar.

Malamar didn't know any of this, she just unleashed her wave of psychic type power at the charging Pokémon. It was powerful, she knew it, and she saw it hit Machamp and grinned at the wince of pain showing that it was as effective as she expected it to be.

What she didn't expect though was rather than blast Machamp back on the wave, it simply staggered it for a few paces before it continued to run at her. That shock allowed Machamp to close the distance and attack her.

Before Malamar could react, Machamp had swept his leg low and taken her base from under her with a strong Low Sweep just as he'd done to Hawlucha earlier. She wailed in pain as she went horizontal from the attack, but her psychic type prevented it from being super effective against her. As she was in midair, Machamp grabbed her with all his arms and began to spin on his heel. Misty saw this and knew what was coming so she had to act now, and she knew just the move to use.

"Machamp's about to throw you Malamar." Misty yelled. "As soon as it lets go, hit it with Payback as hard as you can. It should be normally effective after that Low Sweep made contact."

Malamar heard her trainer's order and understood. It wasn't the best attack option, but she wasn't in a good position, so Misty had used the most appropriate move. She was learning, which was good, Malamar's training was finally getting through to her. All Malamar had to do was resign herself to being thrown in the air by this Seismic Toss and focus on Payback. That was what she did and as soon as Machamp let her go with the fighting type move, she unfurled a tentacle and slapped Machamp as hard as she could with Payback.

Her tentacle struck Machamp across the face and he staggered back in pain as Malamar went flying directly up. Despite being a dark type move it was pretty effective against him because to the double damage Payback dealt after being hit with a physical attack. It meant that between it, the super effective Psywave, and the injuries from Hawlucha and Ursaring, Machamp was now dangerously low on health. He'd have to end Malamar the moment it landed.

Malamar herself had no control over what she was doing thanks to the move. She flew up and then came crashing down to earth in an unnatural manner thanks to the Seismic Toss. Again, it was an average effectiveness, but it was all adding up and she wasn't sure how much more she could take as she slammed into the ground hard. Still, she trusted Misty to win this for her.

"Malamar, get up Machamp is closing in on you." Misty yelled. "Send it back with Brutal Swing to open enough space for Hypnosis."

Malamar heard her trainer and instantly leapt up to see Machamp closing in on her, all 4 hands glowing and in a pair of Xs ready for a chop-like attack. She understood what Misty wanted. There was no time for any other move and Brutal Swing had the ability to knock Machamp back and give her the space she needed to use her best move. With that in mind, Malamar extended her tentacles and swung them as hard as she could at Machamp just as he reached her.

What happened next surprised everyone. Malamar's tentacles slammed into Machamp's sides beneath his lower arms at the same time that his double Dual Chop hit Malamar in the chest. The two strong, fully evolved Pokémon held their lock for a moment looking at each other and knowing that neither had won this battle. An instant rivalry formed between them as this battle between them wasn't settled. That was the last thing either of them thought of before both Pokémon fell back to the ground with swirls for eyes.

"Huh, that was unexpected." Misty said surprised. "Well, I guess we have to wait for Ash to finish to decide what to do."

Ash was still battling and hadn't seen any of this. In his battle, Frogadier had started by running at Hawlucha before activating his Double Team and creating multiple shadows of himself. All the shadows then extended blades of Cut in their hand as Frogadier began to run around Hawlucha.

Hawlucha saw this and realized that there wasn't anything he could do so instead he crossed his arms over his face and braced himself while setting his feet to avoid stumbling and focusing on the move he wanted to do. He knew that the real Frogadier would land the cut and the was the moment he would have to counter. It would take quick reflexes by Hawlucha knew that he could land it.

That hit came a second later as Frogadier slashed his Cut at Hawlucha's exposed left side. Hawlucha staggered with the blow, another hit adding to all the damage he'd already taken, but he also rolled with it, spun on his right foot, and then brought his left knee, now glowing with fighting type power, up and into Frogadier's gut with a powerful High Jump Kick.

The blow drove the breath from Frogadier's lungs and broke his concentration so that the Double Team ended abruptly as he doubled over. It was an impressive display of skill and discipline, something that Frogadier wanted to work on for similar situations.

However, he didn't have the time to process anything as Hawlucha followed up his High Jump Kick with a series of jabs from Karate Chop to Frogadier's chest. The second attack rained blows on a defenseless Frogadier before blasting him back to land hard on the ground several feet away.

Hawlucha saw this as his opening and turned as if to run away. However, he was just gaining speed as he opened his wings and leapt into the air. Hawlucha then used the wind currents to gain height as he gracefully backflipped and turned to approach the still downed Frogadier. It was time to end this with his new Flying Press and Hawlucha tucked his wings in as he began to dive.

"Frogadier, I don't think there's time to dodge now that Hawlucha has perfected that move." Ash said. "So instead hit it with Cut as it hits you."

Frogadier was winded and near his limits but he was not out yet. He heard Ash and looked up to see the diving Hawlucha with the perfected move they'd helped it create. Frogadier knew Ash was right and instantly activate a pair of Cut blades in his hands. He may not survive this impact, but he was going to take this Hawlucha with him and force a draw out of it.

Hawlucha had been mid corkscrew when Frogadier activated his Cut. That was why he was startled to see a grinning Frogadier holding the Cut blades in a reverse grip as he opened his wings to land on his opponent just as Frogadier slashed his blades at his exposed sides.

What happened was a massive explosion that kicked up a bunch of dust drawing everyone's attention to the now growing cloud of dust, well everyone but the still unconscious Malamar and Machamp that is. It took a moment for the dust to settle and revealed an interesting sight. Hawlucha was lying, wings splayed, on top of Frogadier on the ground. Both Pokémon had swirls for eyes indicating that it was another draw.

"Another draw." Misty said as they all came over to inspect the Pokémon while the ranger began to help them with some medicine he had in his bag. "What do we do now?"

"We help them recover and then see if a draw is enough to convince them to join us." Ash said as he went to the ranger for some healing items for Frogadier and Hawlucha.

Misty just nodded and did the same with Machamp and Malamar. In short order all 4 Pokémon had come too and were looking around, battered but slowly recovering from their respective battles.

"Well, it was a tie." Ash said to Hawlucha. "Both battles were ties in fact. As such I have no right to try and catch you Hawlucha, but I would be honored if you still agreed to join me."

"Same Machamp." Misty said looking at the Pokémon. "I didn't win so the choice is yours, but I'd really like you to join me, and I know Malamar wants a rematch."

"Malamar." Malamar said with a nod as she made a challenging gesture towards Machamp with her tentacle, she was going to beat this Pokémon even if it was part of her team. "Malamar."

Hawlucha looked to Machamp who nodded in agreement. While they hadn't lost, they hadn't won and had been knocked out by their opponents. That was enough for them to agree to join these humans and grow stronger under their guidance. With that both Pokémon looked to their respective human and nodded their agreement to join them.

"Great there is one thing to mention first." Ash said holding out an empty Poke Ball to Hawlucha. "I have a full team on me after catching Conkeldurr, as does Misty, so you will be sent back to Professor Sycamore's lab in Lumiose City where our Pokémon are registered this year. This will only be temporary though. As soon as we can, which is once we reach the lodge here, we will send Conkeldurr and Ursaring to Kanto and call you in. Is that ok?"

"Hawlucha." Hawlucha said with a nod before he fist bumped the Poke Ball in Ash's hand.

"Machamp." Machamp said nodding as well as he touched the button on the Poke Ball Misty had produced with a finger.

Both Pokémon were sucked into the balls in a flash of red light at the same time. The balls twitched in their palms a few times before both clicked, shrank, and disappeared almost in unison.

"Alright, I just caught a Conkeldurr and a Hawlucha." Ash said standing and striking his catch pose at last with all his Pokémon celebrating with him.

"And I caught a…" Misty began before Malamar got up and slapped her.

"Malamar." Malamar said shaking her head, it was silly behavior for her trainer to do that and she wasn't going to allow it in front of company. "Malamar."

"Oh, come on." Misty said rubbing her cheek indignantly, this one she didn't deserve. "I am allowed to celebrate two new members to the team."

"Malamar." Malamar said in disagreement, Misty could celebrate just in a more mature way and not imitate her stupid mate's childish ways. "Malamar."

"Ok you're not allowed out when I make a catch next time." Misty grumbled recalling Malamar before looking at the ball in her hand. "And we are going to have words after your time out missy. I accept slaps for stupidity, but this is too far you hear me."

"You're Malamar is a character." The ranger said as the ball shook in a negative fashion in Misty's hand and Ash began recalling his own Pokémon.

"Her capture was odd and so is she." Misty said collapsing the ball and putting it back with the others on her waist. "But we're growing close even if she keeps slapping me when she disagrees with something I've done."

"Why do I feel like what just happened is normal for you lot." The ranger said looking over them.

"That's because it is." May said with a sigh. "I just went with everything that happened and I'm still not sure what happened so why don't we go to that station so that Ash and Misty can sort things out, explain everything over a hot meal, and then rest before heading to the Canyon tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan." Ash said. "I can't wait to bring Hawlucha back."

"Alright then follow me." The ranger said. "And you can tell me the story of your Malamar on the way, I am curious to hear it."

"Well, it all began when I wanted to catch an Abra…" Misty began as they all packed up and followed the ranger to the station lodge.

It had been an interesting and very eventful day, so a typical one in a journey with Ash and just one of many that were still to come. Both he and Misty had two new Pokémon, including two that would require some special training but if all went well Ash was going to have a really strong team this year. First though, he had to keep training and getting gym badges so that he could enter the Kalos League. After a day like this though, Ash couldn't help but feel like this year was his year. This time he would become a master.