Part CXCI: The Winner's Right
"Great, I expected as much but I had to get confirmation to proceed with the next step as there have been refusals in the past." Charles said with a nod smiling under his beard. "Very well, let us go over the rules for how this will work so that you can properly prepare for it, as well as allowing us to answer any questions that you may have."
"Of course." Ash said as the rest of the people present just watched the exchange, this was all for Ash so it was best to leave it to him and then they could all discuss this afterwards and see what Ash's plan was after learning the rules for the Elite Four challenge. "What are they?"
"First off, this is a formal Pokémon League event that will begin one week from today so that is the time that you will have to prepare for it." Charles said. "The reason for the week's preparation is that the 4 matches will take place over the course of 4 days with the matches occurring in the early afternoon giving you the evening before and morning of to make final adjustments but having a full week will allow you to get fully ready for them."
"I understand, this can't drag on too long so it makes sense that it happen within a few weeks of the Lumiose Conference ending and before the next season really starts." Ash said. "Basically it's a two week event, the week to prepare and then the week with the battles."
"Precisely." Charles said. "And if you do beat all 4 members of the Elite Four you will have two days off to recover and prepare before the final match against Diantha for the title of Champion of Kalos but I will get into that after we go over the battles with the Elite Four as those are the guaranteed battles while the battle with the Champion is not. It has been a long time since any challenger swept an Elite Four and to face a Champion, I think the last time was Cynthia in Sinnoh several years back and she beat the Champion as well, but you should be informed of all the rules regardless. Let's start with the Elite Four though."
"Of course." Ash said before he realized something. "Um… on that note, who are they?"
That caused everyone to blink but Ash was serious, he didn't know who any of the Kalos Elite Four were. He was sure he'd heard their names, well he might have heard at least one of them as he felt that someone had told him about losing to one of the Kalos Elite Four, but over the last year that he'd spent in Kalos he'd never met any of them he was sure of that.
That wasn't really a surprise though, throughout his travels the only complete Elite Four that he'd met during a year in a region had been the Sinnoh Elite Four having met all 4 of them throughout his year there. He'd met Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four the day he'd been recruited to face the Battle Frontier and had met one of the Hoenn Elite Four as well though Drake was now retired but otherwise he'd not really met any, or at least any that he could recall at the moment.
True he'd met Koga when he battled him during his first year in Kanto but that was before he became a member of the Johto Elite Four when he was still the Fuchsia Gym Leader in Kanto so that didn't count. Same with one of the Unova Elite Four who he'd seen battle Cynthia in an exhibition match in Unova when he was briefly reunited with Misty there but that was really it.
Honestly, Ash had a better track record of meeting regional Champions as he'd met Cynthia, Alder, Diantha, and Lance at least, he wasn't really sure who the Hoenn one was as there was some changeover it seemed but he was sure that the current one was called Steven who he may or may not have met without realizing it. If he had met Steven, which he had back in Hoenn though that had been before he beat Wallace for the title, then he'd met the regional Champions for all the regions that he'd visited as Lance was also the Johto Champion in addition to being the Kanto one.
So it really shouldn't have been that big of a surprise to anyone that Ash had no clue who the Kalos Elite Four were. In fact, only two members of the Kalos Elite Four had even been mentioned to Ash during his time in Kalos, those being Wikstrom who was once mentioned by Valarie in relation to his Dedenne being used to confirm that species' addition of the still new fairy type, and Siebold who was mentioned twice once by Clemont and once by Alain and even then only Siebold had been referred to as a member of the Elite Four, both times.
Regardless, Ash had forgotten them and knew nothing about them hence the question. It took everyone else a moment to fully grasp that before they recovered and just let it slide, it didn't matter in the end because Ash would now learn who they were regardless.
"Well that is a little unusual but not unheard of, the members of a region's Elite Four are often lesser known than the Champion, especially to those who travel to other regions like yourself." Charles said with a chuckle at the reaction and not fazed by it all. "And the ones here tend to keep a bit of a lower profile so it's easy to miss them while traveling through Kalos."
"It's not that they're not known." Diantha said. "Just that they have their own lives and jobs though Malva has been dealing with the Team Flare fallout since then which has kept her busy. Almost lost her place in the Elite Four immediately upon the revelation of her affiliation because of it if not for her help in the incident and afterwards. Still, she's on a bit of a short leash and it's up in the air if she'll keep her position or not once all is said and done."
"Huh?" Ash asked.
"Guess this is as good a time as ever to mention who the Elite Four are and at least in Malva's case her current situation." Charles said looking to Diantha. "Diantha, care to do the honors."
"Naturally, I am the Kalos Champion so I should introduce our Elite Four." Diantha said with a smile looking at Ash. "And as I mentioned her I may as well start with the fire type master of the Kalos Elite Four, Malva."
"You said she was tied to Team Flare." Ash said. "That was the group that May fought the first year she spent in Kalos, right?"
"Correct, May, Clemont, Korrina, Sycamore, Alain, myself, and all the gym leaders of Kalos worked together when Lysander revealed his true intentions for Mega Energy so that we could stop him." Diantha said. "Amongst us was Malva, the only member of the Elite Four to assist in it but it was more than that. See, Malva is, by profession, a reporter but that was just part of her overall cover as she was also a high ranking member of Team Flare."
"Wait so a member of the Kalos Elite Four was part of Team Flare?" Ash asked stunned. "I've met a few Elite Four members, mainly the Sinnoh ones, and none were part of any criminal organization."
"Alas in Kalos that was the case though it has not been made public yet as part of the deal Malva struck but she has since betrayed them despite having been a member." Diantha said with a nod. "It was a bit of a surprise when it was revealed by Alain that she was one but she turned on Lysander, something to do with seeing how hard Alain and May worked to save the region gave her a change of heart though she's not been clear on that, and she joined us in providing them the opportunity to take down Zygarde and save Mairin's Chespin. Afterwards she gave a full confession and provided all the evidence that she could against Team Flare as part of her cooperation."
"And she was allowed to remain in the Elite Four?" Ash asked a little confused. "I get that she helped but wasn't that incident really bad?"
"It was which is why she was given two conditions for staying in the Elite Four and not being replaced by a tournament of previous Conference winners as is the case when a vacancy appears without supplanting a member." Diantha said. "The first condition, and why her membership is still a secret, was that she take charge of tracking down and bringing in all remaining members of Team Flare."
"So by not telling the public you allow her to pretend to still be a member?" Ash asked to clarify.
"Secrecy allows her to be more efficient as it ensures that she can get close to the remaining members and with her battle skills they don't stand a chance." Diantha said in answer to Ash's question. "Even so, it's a job that she's been on all year as there were a lot more members than we realized but she has almost completed. As such, she was allowed to return to Lumiose City, she's based her normally, to prepare for the challenge the Conference winner would give the Elite Four when the Conference ended. She will resume her mission when the challenge is over."
"Oh ok that makes sense." Ash said. "And the other condition?"
"That when it's over she turn herself in and face whatever justice the Kalos Region deems fit to hand down for her crimes." Diantha said. "And if the authorities deem that she should be sent to prison for her actions then she will be formally stripped of her status as a member of the Elite Four. Of course, should she lose she will be removed from the Elite Four for it. In fact, she's gone as far as saying that if multiple of them lose to the challenger this year as well as her then she won't request the special playoff to decide who loses Elite Four status if the challenger becomes one of the Elite Four, she'll resign without it leaving the other losers as members."
"Um…" Ash said now confused. "I don't get that."
"It is a rule in all Elite Fours." Charles said. "If the challenger beats one of the members then the challenger has the right to claim that member's spot if he or she wishes. If the challenger beats multiple members and wishes to become a member of the Elite Four then the losing members battle under the same rules that were used when they faced the challenger to decide who steps down. Obviously if it's 2 it's a simple battle, if it is 3 then it's a round robin like how the preliminaries are don in Johto, and if all 4 a randomly drawn mini tournament."
"Er…" Ash said and he wasn't the only one confused as several of the others were as well.
"It's fine if you don't get it, it's a bit complicated and you don't have to worry about that." Charles said. "All you need to really know at this stage is that if you beat just one you can claim that spot, if multiple you can join while the losers decide amongst themselves who drops out."
"Also if you beat me then I am relegated to the Elite Four and they have the four way tournament to see who drops out as you still beat 4 of them so that is the system used." Diantha said. "Unless I chose to retire that is, in which case nothing happens, but you've got to get to me first."
"Oh I intend to; we have a battle to finish." Ash said with a grin that Diantha smiled at that as she too wanted to finish their battle from a few months back, especially now that Ash and Greninja had perfected that Battle Bond thing they could do. "But yes I need to get through the Elite Four first so I should know as much as I'm allowed to know about them. Malva is one and she's a fire type specialist. Who are the other 3?"
"Other than Malva, the other three are called Siebold, Wikstrom, and Drasna." Diantha said. "You may have heard of them in passing this year or even in the past if you had friends from Kalos or who follow the fields those three are in as all are well known, but you may not have made the connection to the Elite Four."
"I think I've heard of Siebold." Ash said as the name sounded familiar, he was sure that Alain told him about the guy and that was the name that felt familiar when he thought of the Kalos Elite Four. "Did he face Alain at some point?"
"He did, in fact he was the last person to beat Alain and his Charizard before you and Greninja managed that outside the Chamber of Emptiness." Professor Sycamore said getting in on the conversation to confirm this to Ash before shutting up to let the trio explain the rest to him. "Alain mentioned it after you victory over him. Siebold is also the only one to defeat Alain's Charizard after Charizard was Mega Evolved that we know of. Thanks to your battle, Alain has regained a spark of competition and a desire to get stronger. He even found a new Mega and Key Stone for his Charizard but he can tell you that himself when you see him tomorrow."
"Right, I want to face his Charizard at full power so that's good." Ash said with a grin. "And if this Siebold beat Alain's Charizard then that's a really good challenge for me as that was one tough Charizard."
"Well Siebold is a water specialist so he had the advantage before Mega Evolution." Professor Sycamore said which really peaked Dawn's interest as she always enjoyed watching a fellow specialist work and until now she'd never heard of a water specialist being in a regional Elite Four. "Though seeing as Alain's Charizard uses what I've called the X variant of Charizardite while yours uses the Y variant that advantage was negated after Mega Evolution happened, in terms of water type attacks that is."
"Right, I think I recall someone saying that the other Mega Charizard version changes its flying type to dragon." Ash said recalling something Brendan had said back in Kanto when they first met. "Man I want to see that. It does come in handy though, negates a Charizard's weakness to electric and water type attacks while the fire negates dragon's weakness to ice. Course it adds a weakness to dragon type attacks so if Siebold's Pokémon knew one of those then it would regain the advantage."
"Pikachu." Pikachu said in agreement.
"The change in that variant of Mega Charizard does do that but it also restores the ground weakness as the ability isn't Levitate and negates the Fairy resistance that fire types have." Professor Sycamore said. "But the fire still balances it out so that fairy type attacks are not super effective against that Mega Charizard. Rock remains a weakness though and as you pointed out dragon becomes one so it does change a lot."
"Yeah, really makes you tactically think things over." Ash said. "And as Greninja is a water and dark type it would be tougher against Alain's Mega Charizard than normal, especially because it knows an electric attack which is a great counter to the water type weakness before Mega Evolution."
"You've got a good battle mind, that will serve you well in your coming challenge." Diantha said getting Ash's attention back though she was pleased to see that Ash's instincts were sharp as if he employed them correctly the battles could go well for him. "So yes, as Sycamore said, Siebold is a water type specialist."
"Right got it." Ash said. "And the other two?"
"Wikstrom is a steel type specialist and Drasna a dragon type specialist." Diantha said as there wasn't much more needed to say about them as neither had had had any contact with people Ash knew it seemed and she wasn't going to give away more about them than their specialties as that would defeat the purpose. "So those are the types that you are up against. Course, as any trainer knows, dual types are a possibility and so you've got to be ready for that as well."
"Oh I know that well, I've used that to my own advantage in the past so I expect some tricks and challenges to come." Ash said. "But now that I know who I am facing, what are the rules?"
"The battle rules are simple." The Kalos rep said speaking for the first time as he took over due to being the one to actually coordinate this event. "You will face each member in a randomly drawn order that will be drawn by Diantha right here when the rules have been fully explained to you and as already stated you will one match each day over the four day event. However, for reasons that have never truly been understood, the Kalos Elite Four official matches are neither three on three battles nor full battles. Rather they are four on four battles."
"Four on four?" Ash asked surprised. "Really?"
"They are." Diantha said with a nod. "Even we don't know why but that's just how it developed over time so when rules finally got codified, long before any of our times in the Elite Four or as Champion, including my own predecessor as Champion, they were officially set as four on four battles and we've never wanted to change that."
"That's odd but not unheard of." Ash said. "I myself have had some four on four matches in the past, just wasn't expecting it from an Elite Four challenge."
"That's just how it's done here and it's worked fine so there has been no need or desire to change it." Diantha said with a shrug. "Regardless, in recent years with the discovery of Mega Evolution and its proliferation, the rules have been changed to allow it in these battles so both you and the members of the Elite Four may Mega Evolve one Pokémon during the battle. Before you ask, yes all four of them have a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve and the corresponding stones just as I have but I won't say more than that."
"Not an issue, I'm looking forward to facing more Mega Pokémon and the challenges they pose." Ash said looking forward to that and wondering which Mega Pokémon he'd be facing. "And I take it that my Greninja's Battle Bond ability applies as well."
"Correct." Charles said. "That threw us a bit when it was first realized but given how it is similar enough to Mega Evolution to basically be the same thing minus they use of Key and Mega Stones it has been classified as such."
"We are aware, thanks to my own personal research after facing your Greninja, that it is an ability caused by, from what I can gather, a friendship bond." Diantha said. "But the results are on par with Mega Evolution so it will be treated as such for the purposes of this challenge. A rule unique to you but I hope you understand why it is needed."
"I do and I accept that." Ash said, he had no reason to disagree with the rule so he was fine abiding by it. "I'll make sure my plans are in accordance with that."
"To be secure, I suggest that you remove any Mega Stones you have if Greninja is in the lineup with that Pokémon as well, should you chose that for that opponent." Diantha said. "Given how the change works with Greninja it is safest for you to have him be the Mega Pokémon because if you forget you will be disqualified."
"No worries, I won't let that happen." Ash said serious as he had no intentions of getting disqualified in this challenge. "On the note of teams though, how will that work when it comes to them? Am I bound by the same team throughout that I can choose 4 from or can I mix it up for each battle?"
"The latter, you are free to use any Pokémon that you've caught." The rep said. "So long as that Pokémon is registered to you as a trainer it's fair game. The only condition is that you must, by noon on the day of the battle, officially register with me which 4 you will use for that battle and you will be bound by that."
"Perfectly reasonable." Ash said. "So long as only you are aware of who they are."
"That is a guarantee, only I will know which Pokémon you have registered, that information will not be shared with the members of the Elite Four." The rep confirmed. "Of course, that does mean that their Pokémon will not be shared with you either though those who know the members of the Elite Four may mention which Pokémon they have if they want just as the Elite Four can watch your old footage and see what you have. Naturally all members of the Elite Four have more than 4 and will do the same requirement as you in terms of registration so even if you're told what they have it might not be what they use against you."
"Yeah that's fine, it's all within what I'd expect from this." Ash said. "And I know that even though they're type specialists, type advantages only get me so far and that dual types can at times not only negate an advantage but outright remove it as is the case for dual water and ground types. I need to plan for anything basically."
"Very astute and any trainers who get this far, yourself included, know this and I have followed your progress this year Ash, I am aware that you've used Pokémon with type disadvantages in gym battles." Diantha said. "Though this is different to a regular gym battle, you only get one shot at this challenge."
"I know, these four battles will be the biggest of my life until I face you." Ash said boldly. "So I'm not taking this lightly at all. I fully intend to use the next week to prepare as much as possible for what is to come."
"I expect no less." Diantha said with a smile. "So beat them and face me for my title. I've met many trainers but you're one of the few to truly push me in years, besides the current Elite Four that is, when we battled before you went to Snowbelle City so I am hoping to face you once again. That said, if you reach me our battle will be different because you will face me in a full battle."
"With what's on the line the only thing that it can be is a full battle." Ash said. "And I will be there, mark my word."
"I can already tell that this is going to be a good challenge." The rep said clearly a little excited for what was to come. "And of course the battles will be held in the Lumiose Stadium on standard, themeless, battlefields and broadcast nationwide though global viewers have access as well via certain services as there is a good audience for these challenges. The winner's challenge is always a grand event in Kalos, and those who live here love watching it. Last year Sawyer, the challenger, did very well but alas he failed to win any battles and it's been 5 years since anyone did beat a member of the Elite Four when Malva did it so it's always exciting."
"Well I intend to end that streak." Ash said his plans for the battles was already beginning to form in his head. "I don't care the order; I'll beat all of them."
"Well unlike other regions which do have a set order, we don't have one." Diantha said looking to the rep who nodded at that and reached into his jacket pocket to pull out a small drawstring bag and handed it to Diantha. "So shall we see what the order you will face is, Ash?"
"Let's." Ash said with a grin. "Who am I going to battle first?"
"One more thing before you draw." Charles said looking at Ash. "Ash, remember that if you win at least one of the coming battles and opt to take your place in the Kalos Elite Four as is your right then you must declare a type specialty that is not represented by either the current Elite Four, with the exception of who you replace, or the Kalos gyms as yours. There are other rules as a member of the Elite Four but those can be explained if you become a member of it but the type specialty is one that all should think on."
"Oh right yeah I've never really had one so that is a good question." Ash said thinking on it and deciding to at least get an idea just in case. "What would my options be?"
"Normal, flying, poison, dark, ghost, and ground types are the ones currently unrepresented in gyms or the Elite Four though you will also get the type of who you replace as an option as well so fire, water, steel, and dragon types are possibilities as well." Charles said. "And you must have at least 4, and ideally 6, of one type to declare it so remember that."
"Huh, well that limits me to normal, flying, and ground as I have more than 4 for each of those types." Ash said after a moment to think on all his Pokémon and realizing while he had one for each type, the last to get for him had been steel when Riolu had evolved, there were some like the aforementioned steel that he only had one of and plenty didn't reach 4. "And of the other four I could do all but steel as I have more than 4 fire and water types and exactly 4 dragon types. I'll consider this more when I win though."
"Of course." Charles said. "Very well, you may proceed Diantha."
"Thank you Charles, Ash." Diantha said seriously as she opened the bag, which now had Ash's undivided attention on it, and drew out the first name from it to reveal that it was on a simple laminated card which likely was the same size for all the cards in the bag. "It's time to see your order and first up you will be facing…Malva."
"So it's fire that I'm up against first." Ash said as Diantha showed him the name on the laminated card and then handed it to Charles who also read it out as well while the rep pulled out some service to record it on in what seemed like to be some official manner. "When will she be notified?"
"All 4 are at their main homes right now awaiting this draw, they know that it is occurring tonight as they were informed of our planned meeting with you, and will be contacted with the precise order at the same time the moment the third name is confirmed as that will also confirm the fourth so that they can prepare as well." Diantha said as she reaching into the bag as she was speaking and withdrawing the second name. "And the second member who you will face will be…Siebold."
"Alright so I'll be facing water is second." Ash said knowing that Dawn would be really exited to watch that match given her specialty in the type so hopefully she, as well as all the others of course, could stay to help him prepare and then watch him, which they were all going to and Misty was already planning out the cheer squad and debating whether or not to include Cilan again like she had for the Indigo Conference final. "So that leaves the steel and dragon type specialists."
"It does and so this will decide between them as your third opponent will be…" Diantha said having repeated the process with Siebold's name to get the confirmation of his spot in the order logged in the official manner before she withdrew the third one. "…Wikstrom. That means that Drasna will be your last opponent."
"Alright so my order is fire, water, steel, and dragon." Ash said thinking over the types that he'd be facing as Diantha handed Wikstrom's name to Charles, who read it out and then pulled Drasna's out of the bag to finish the process and the rep added them before hitting a button and putting the device away. "And I have a week to plan for them."
"You do and they have now been informed of the order as well so they know when they will be facing you as well." Diantha said looking to the rep who nodded in confirmation at that. "Naturally they now have the same time as you will to prepare for it. So will I in case you beat them."
"I'll give it my all." Ash said his eagerness coming through. "I can't wait for this."
"Neither can I, I look forward to seeing what you can do against the Kalos Elite Four, Ash." Diantha said. "But that is all that we have for you and I for one have some things to sort out so we will take our leave and let you continue your celebration for winning the Lumiose Conference and earning this right that you have accepted. I will see you in one week when your challenge begins."
"Good luck Ash, I'll be watching it as well just not in person." Charles said. "But for now enjoy your celebration."
"I will." Ash said with a smile at the trio.
The three people who'd crashed the party just nodded at that before they turned and left the room. Once they had left everyone turned to Ash. They'd left him alone, other than Sycamore's intervention about Siebold as he was best suited for that, during the rules because that was for him but now that Charles, Diantha, and the rep were gone it was time to get Ash's reaction to what had just happened as well as begin the preparations for what he was about to face.
"So, what are you thinking Ash?" Misty asked as they huddled up and Ash had had a moment to think about the rules that had just been explained to him. "For the upcoming battles that is."
"Yeah, if you need help training I've got the water type covered." Dawn said with a grin. "I'll bring in all my team and you can practice against them all to really give you a variety of Pokémon to face. I even caught a Clauncher when I was last here and this can help me evolve it as well."
"Yeah, we're here until you're done." May said to which the other girls, and Max, nodded at that as Brock, Cilan, and Clemont were still sorting out the food. "So just mention it and we'll help you prep."
"Thanks, I'll take that Dawn, I could use some training against a range of water types, especially dual types as I expect to face a few so I should be ready for those." Ash said with a smile as he looked around his friend. "The key ones being dual types being ground, flying, grass, dragon, poison, bug, steel and fire as they negate water's weakness to either electric or grass types, or both in the case of dragon. I know it's a stretch for a few, especially as there is only one water and steel type that I know of and no water and fire types but…"
"That's not actually the case." Professor Sycamore said surprising them. "Kalos has the only known dual water and fire type, a mythical Pokémon called Volcanion. Not much is known about it though and it's highly unlikely you'll face it. Similarly, Empoleon is the only water and steel type out there."
"Good to know then." Ash said. "Regardless, help from all of you will be needed, especially with the types I'm likely to face as well as the potential dual types and subsequent changes in strengths and weaknesses."
"Right then let's plan." Misty said. "Dawn will take charge of water type training though I have Piplup who can help out."
"Piplup." Piplup said with a nod, his friend Pikachu would need his aid and guidance after all so it was only natural that he lend it. "Pip, Piplup."
"Don't forget that I have a Marshtomp which covers the ground type though I know you have a Seismitoad." Brock said having joined them during Professor Sycamore's explanation of Volcanion. "And Max has Swampert, right?"
"Correct so there are a few with that combo between all of us though Bonnie and I need to discuss our plans first as we didn't realize that the challenge would be in a week's time." Max said to which Bonnie nodded. "That right exists but we didn't plan around it as we aren't sure when Owen is heading the Kanto and I'd like to get a start there as soon as possible so we may head out early if that's ok. That or we might go to Galar to see Owen and train there for a few days, maybe catch something in that region, but I promise we'll watch it regardless and help before we leave."
"No worries, I understand Max." Ash said. "I never stayed for my rivals' challenges either, I was so inspired that I had to go and get stronger and besides this is your journey, walk it as you see fit. All I ask is that you keep getting stronger and that we battle again one day."
"Will do." Max said. "I too look forward to that day but until then, and until I leave, I will aid where I can. As you know I have a Barbaracle who you've faced and that's a water and rock type."
"Pikachu." Pikachu said remembering that Pokémon and already knowing that he'd be on the team to face the water type specialist so he'd train really hard for that. "Pi, Pikachu."
"I recall, it was a good fight indeed." Ash said. "Right so that's water sorted but what about the others?"
"I've got one fire type in Blaziken." May said. "Serena has Delphox, Bonnie has a Chandelure, and Misty has Typhlosion, Ninetales, and Pyroar so we've got at least five fire types between us."
"Any will help." Ash said. "I'll battle all of them to train and I know that at least three of those are dual types which adds to it."
"I've got Steelix and I can Mega Evolve him so that's good training there as well." Brock said. "Along with Fortress as a bug and steel type so we should battle like old time Ash."
"Definitely." Ash said with a grin. "May, don't you have a steel type as well?"
"I do and it's a Kalos native steel and ghost type so one that is highly likely." May said. "Aegislash, remember it evolved earlier this year when I caught Phantump."
"Yeah I remember it, the part ghost type, that's good." Ash said with a grin. "Korrina, you've got a Lucario so can you…"
"Nah, can't with this." Korrina said shaking her head. "I'd like to help Ash but I'm a gym leader and already you're using the Lumiose Gym because of Clemont so it's for the best that I stay out of this. Sorry."
"No worries, I understand that." Ash said. "So that just leaves dragon types. This is where Iris would be great but I know she's busy."
"Yeah but some of us have dragon types as well." Misty pointed out. "I've got a Dragalge which is a Kalos native Pokémon."
"Same for my dragon type, Tyrantrum." May added. "So yeah we got that covered a bit as well. Plus there are your own ones Ash so it's a solid team all around."
"Oh, I've got a Dragonair." Lucy piped up surprising them. "What? It's a serpentine Pokémon and she doesn't want to evolve so I've got an Everstone for her as well. I love a good battle so this will be fun."
"Great then I just need to sort out my teams." Ash said happy for all the help as he began to consider who'd be good for the coming battles. "I'm going to have a think about it tonight and then bring in all the Pokémon that may be good so that we can all train together and decide who's best for which match as well as come up with the final team for Diantha should I win against all 4, which I intend to."
"Well on that Ash, seeing as you are coming by tomorrow morning we can sort it out then." Professor Sycamore said. "You're registered at my lab so we can bring all you need in and try out that new device that Samuel brought for you so that we can ensure that it works."
"Good idea." Ash said with a nod. "And doesn't Alain have something for me?"
"He does and I think it will come in handy." Professor Sycamore said. "Course we need to make sure it works but if it does I'm sure it will be useful to you next week."
"Do you mind if I tag along, I'd love to see all of Ash's new Pokémon as well as what other Pokémon are there." Brock said. "I can also help determine the right diets for the coming battles while also conducting some checkups on the Pokémon to make sure all is good."
"Of course, it will be great." Ash said.
"It's a small lab, why don't we let the boys have their moment." Misty said looking to the girls and grinning. "We need to get ready as well, right ladies?"
"It's for Ash so I'm in." Dawn said smiling. "I'd only do this for him but you know I'm down."
"A fun day shopping, can't wait." Serena said. "I need a new outfit for Unova regardless so I can find it then."
"Oh this will be good." Miette added.
"It's a girls day then." May said though she already had her next year outfit ready.
"Lucy, Ms. Ketchum?" Misty asked.
"Misty, you can just call me Delia." Delia said though she refrained from adding that she hoped to be a mother-in-law soon especially because she could tell that at least 4 of the other girls were in love with her son as well, Ash really had a way that he was totally oblivious to it seemed. "But of course, I can help guide you young ladies."
"Sure, I will need Dawn, May, and Misty's measurements anyway." Lucy said surprising them and getting a look. "What? Other than my followers I don't really have many female friends and only Barbara will be in the wedding party as the others would rather help in other ways so I want all of you as bridesmaids as you traveled with Brock. Barbara is my Maid of Honor of course and she'll be running that but this will save some time. I'll be asking Anabel and Greta as well they're my fellow Frontier Brains, and Janine because of longstanding rivalry and friendship, so it will be an eclectic group."
"We're honored." May said as Dawn and Misty nodded a little surprised by the offer but more than willing to accept.
"Great then I'm in." Lucy said.
"Clemont and I have plans tomorrow so we can't be with either group but we'll be around to help out throughout the week." Cilan added coming over now that everything was over and making it clear that he wouldn't be part of the girls day as he had no desire to go through that humiliation again. "Though we should probably eat first, before the food gets cold."
"Right, food." Ash said and he turned and headed straight for it without another word.
"Looks like we'll plan as we eat." Misty said with a chuckle. "But this was delayed, let's properly celebrate Ash's win tonight. Tomorrow, his prep work for his Kalos Elite Four challenge begins."
The others nodded at that and they headed off to get food and celebrate. This was for Ash and it had turned from a pure celebration into something more. Tonight was for all that because starting tomorrow they had to get ready for the next big thing that all were eager for, Ash's challenge of the Kalos Elite Four.
