Before we get started with this new chapter, I need to go over one quick thing. As of the time of this chapter being posted, episode 2 of Vol. 8 is viewable to the public which came out yesterday. Let me make this clear…I DO NOT HAVE A FIRST MEMBERSHIP! Keep all spoilers, and even subtleties of future episodes to yourself and not in the reviews/comments section. If anything is a spoiler, the one responsible will be blocked until at least when the volume comes to a final conclusion. Consider this your only warning. With that out of the way, onto the story.
"…"-Normal talking
'…'-Thinking and Pokémon talking
That night, Ash remained asleep on the chair. He was kind of fidgeting because he was in a nightmare.
Ash was running away from Grimm and had gone onto the high grounds. While Ash was able to kill some of them, he had a few near misses. Ash slashed at the Grimm that nearly killed him and killed them.
Ash then looked at the center of the Grimm and saw humanoid Grimm that looks like the traitors, their Pokémon, and much to his horror, his mother.
"You must give up. You must give in to your depression." Delia said with a blank voice and stare.
"You are worthless." Max said.
"You must die." Serena said.
Ash was now shaking to his core. He fell onto his knees and his Keyblade vanished. Max then aimed a gun at his face. He grinned as Ash saw fangs under that smile. Max then fired a shot at Ash, and everything went blank.
Ash screamed and awoke. He fell off the chair and held his fast beating heart. As he was calming down, he went towards the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He was pale and sweating. He rinsed off his face and just looked down.
Unbeknownst to him, Blake slowly looked towards where Ash went to. She did wake up from his scream, but hearing what's happening in the bathroom, she connected the dots about him recovering from a nightmare. To her, she couldn't blame him. She wanted to make sure that he was safe during the tournament, even going out of her own way if needed.
The next morning, Ash woke up and saw that Blake was already gone. Ash tried to get that nightmare out of his head as he went to the bathroom to wash up. The first round was beginning soon, and he and Blake were one of the first to battle.
Ash went to the lobby to get some breakfast. Blake was already there reading a book with her Liepard next to her.
Liepard LVL 89 Dark Limber Black Glasses
Fake out Night Slash Laser Focus Play Rough
"Morning Blake." Ash said while bringing his breakfast with him.
"Hey. You had a really bad dream last night, didn't you?" Blake asked without even looking at him.
"Yeah…the traitors were Grimm-like." Ash said while barely getting into his breakfast.
Blake looked up and him with a raised eyebrow. She was all too familiar with humanoid Grimm, especially Salem.
"They killed you in your dream, didn't they?" Blake asked. He nodded and just covered his eyes with one hand and rubbed them. "At least you didn't have to deal with one in real life. Salem was a monster, and it took so much to finally put an end to her." Blake explained.
"I can't blame you guys." Ash said.
"You should've been there. We could've used someone with your talents to combat against the Grimm." Blake said while putting her book down.
"Arceus sent me away to be a better champion and trainer. I couldn't let everyone see a failure that couldn't save entire Pokémon League from them. And besides, the Grimm would've highly likely killed me if I was there because I was too weak and frail." Ash retaliated.
Blake's ears drooped from when he said that. Those years in hiding must've really taken a toll on him. She briefly saw his bandaged arm again and back at Ash while he went back to eating.
"You know Ash, maybe you're right. You really have been channeling too much negative emotions that all of them would've gone after you. So, I take back what I said." Blake said they finished up eating. After a while, they cleaned up their messes. "How about since we sill have about a couple hours till our match, let's have our Pokémon meet and get to know each other." Blake suggested.
"Good idea. You got any locations in mind?" Ash asked her.
"I have a few great spots in mind. They will be away from everyone in the area, and nearby the woods. Fortunately, they are Grimm free so we can have a better chance of training and getting to know our Pokémon a heck of a lot better." Blake explained.
"Alright. Then lead the way." Ash said with a small smile.
They made their way towards the woods that Blake specified. Ash was a bit twitchy as he looked around and hoped to not to see the traitors. When they got there, they saw a great view of the kingdom and saw wild Pokémon all around.
"Alright everybody, come on out!" Ash yelled as he sent out all of his Pokémon.
Blake then took out the balls she had on her belt.
"Everyone, it's time to meet your partners!" Blake yelled as she sent out her team as well. Ash watched as her Liepard, along with an Aerodactyl, an Accelgor, an Umbreon, a Luxray, and a Greninja emerged.
Aerodactyl LVL 86 Rock/Flying Pressure Hard Stone
Thunder Fang Ancient Power Wing Attack Giga Impact
Accelgor LVL 84 Bug Sticky Hold Scope Lens
Toxic Bug Buzz Giga Drain Bug Bite
Umbreon LVL 87 Dark Synchronize Quick Claw
Foul Play Confuse Ray Moonlight Last Resort
Luxray LVL 88 Electric Intimidate Lax Incense
Thunder Fang Electric Terrain Swagger Crunch
Greninja LVL 90 Water/Dark Torrent Mystic Water
Water Shuriken Night Slash Gunk Shot Hydro Cannon
"Alright everyone, it's time to get to know your new partners for this tournament." Ash said to his team.
"Let's take this time to understand one another and learn as much as possible." Blake said to her team.
As the two teams got to know everyone, Ash was watching to see how his Pokémon would behave around them. Grace did keep an eye on Ash from time to time, but she needn't worry about him at the moment.
Meanwhile, Blake's Umbreon approached Mirage. Mirage looked at it, but just looked away with a huff.
"Hey! Don't be like that little lady. Umbreon is going to be our ally in this tournament." Ash said with a bit of anger at her.
'Sorry. Just not use to this.' Mirage said before looking back at a sad Umbreon. She approached Umbreon gently wrapped her tail around its tail.
As the teams were getting to know each other, Ash and Blake stood by each other.
"You have quite the impressive team." Ash said with a small smile.
"Thanks. Although, my Aerodactyl is a bit of a hassle, but his heart is in the right place. So, you have any ideas for combination tactics?" Blake asked.
"Oh yeah. I think it's time I taught you some moves that may come in handy. Since we got a little bit of some time, I'll tell you a bit more of those moves." Ash said.
They spent about half an hour of learning each other's moves, abilities, and techniques. Once they got everything taken care of, they selected their Pokémon for the first round. Ash chose Dust Devil and Monarch for his team. Blake chose Greninja and Aerodactyl for her team.
When they arrived at Amity Colosseum, they entered the elevator that would lead them to the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck were doing commentary.
"After that intense battle, I think it's time we got into our next battle of the first round." Port said.
"Our next combatants are now rising from the elevator." Oobleck said as Ash and Blake along with their opponents Shauna, and much to Ash's anger, Serena came from the other side. "On the east side are Blake Belladonna from Kuo Kuana, Menagerie and the first Champion of Alola Ash Ketchum." Oobleck said just before the stadium cheered for Ash and Blake. "On the west side from Vaniville Town is the Kalos Queen Shauna Williams and Serena Yvonne also from Vaniville Town." Oobleck said as more cheers were made.
Ash's fist was clenched so much that he could almost spill blood from it. Serena eyed him and huffed at him while she and Shauna left for their side of the field.
Glynda arrived as the referee of the match.
"The next battle of the first round is about to commence. This will be a four on four match, and each trainer will use only two Pokémon. When all four on one side is unable to fight will end the match. Furthermore, no substitutions will be made for this match. Shauna and Serena have first pick." Glynda announced.
"Alright! Come on out Goodra!" Shauna yelled as she sent out her first Pokémon.
Goodra LVL 88 Dragon Sap Sipper
Dragon Pulse Water Pulse Rain Dance Power Whip
"Now it's time to put you in your place Ketchum and for breaking my heart all those years ago. Come on out Jolteon!" Serena yelled as she sent out her first Pokémon.
Jolteon LVL 90 Electric Volt Absorb
Thunder Agility Baton Pass Double Kick
"Time to take this to the sky. Aerodactyl, show no mercy!" Blake yelled as she sent out her first Pokémon.
"I guess we'll have to do things the fun way. Dust Devil, I choose you!" Ash yelled as he sent out his first Pokémon.
"Well! Looks like we got some great matchups with this battle today!" Port said with excitement.
"You can just feel the fun in the air." Oobleck said with a bit of glee himself.
"Battle commence!" Glynda yelled.
"Aerodactyl, use Ancient Power at Jolteon!" Blake yelled. Aerodactyl then levitated some rocks from the ground and flung them at it.
"Jolteon, use your Agility to dodge them!" Serena yelled. Jolteon ran as fast as it could, and it dodged the rocks.
"Dust Devil, you know what to do." Ash said calmly said to him.
'Okey-doke.' Dust Devil said before charging up a Boomburst at the remaining rocks that were being levitated. 'OPEN WIDE!' He shouted and he fired a shockwave of sound at the rocks, causing them to hit Jolteon at the speed of sound.
Meanwhile, Aerodactyl got a power boost from the successful hits.
'Thanks partner.' Aerodactyl said to Dust Devil.
'Of course.' Dust Devil said with a grin.
Meanwhile, everyone was shocked that Dust Devil did an attack without a command from Ash.
"That is very unusual. Typically, Pokémon are ordered by their trainers to strike, but this is new." Oobleck said.
Blake looked at Ash with confusion that he didn't do practically anything.
"Ash? What was that?" Blake asked.
"It's a part of my training during those six years. Sneaky isn't it?" Ash asked with a small grin.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Blake said as she noticed Shauna was preparing for her attack.
"Goodra, use Dragon Pulse on Flygon." Shauna commanded.
Goodra charged up a powerful multi color energy from its mouth. It then fired the beam right at Dust Devil. Dust Devil flew up and dodged the attack.
"Now Jolteon, Double Kick!" Serena yelled.
Jolteon ran to Aerodactyl and jumped up. It successfully hit him in the head, causing him to retaliate.
"Use another Ancient Power, this time on Goodra!" Blake yelled.
He launched more rocks right at the intended target.
"Oh no!" Shauna yelled with fright as the attack collided with Goodra. Goodra was barely standing. "Serena! I could use some help here!" Shauna yelled at her partner.
"Walk it off!" Serena snapped at her. Shauna gasped when she said that to her.
Ash sensed this and his anger for Serena grew.
"Finish it." Ash said to Dust Devil.
'Boom or rumble?' Dust Devil asked.
"Rumble." Ash answered.
'Music to my ears.' Dust Devil said as he began to fly upwards and began to drop.
"What's he doing?" Blake asked.
"You might want to hold onto something." Ash warned her. Blake got onto her knees and prepared herself.
'INCOMING!' Dust Devil shouted and slammed onto the ground, creating a powerful Earthquake.
He sent massive shockwaves on the ground and the opposing Pokémon got a full hit of them, knocking both Pokémon out.
"Both Jolteon and Goodra are unable to battle! Aerodactyl and Flygon take the win!" Glynda announced and the stadium exploded with cheers.
"Alright! Not too shabby Ash. But you haven't seen anything yet." Blake said with a smirk.
"Surprise me then." Ash requested.
Back with Shauna and Serena, they returned their Pokémon.
"You fought well Goodra. Just rest up." Shauna said before pulling out her next Pokémon.
"Quit being so nice Shauna! Delphox, go!" Serena yelled as she sent out her starter Pokémon
Delphox LVL 88 Fire/Psychic Blaze Fire Gem
Flamethrower Psyshock Psychic Sunny Day
Shauna looked at Serena with shock and sadness, especially since she saw how much Serena changed for the worst. But she needed to continue on, and she readied her last Pokémon.
"Okay Sylveon, take the stage!" Shauna yelled as she sent out her final Pokémon.
Sylveon LVL 90 Fairy Pixilate Babiri Berry
Dazzling Gleam Double-Edge Misty Terrain Misty Explosion
"Battle commence!" Glynda yelled.
"Delphox, use Psyshock…at him!" Serena commanded Delphox.
Delphox used her wand and created a ball of purple energy. Shet then fired it right at Dust Devil. Dust Devil dodged with ease; however, the attack was going straight towards Ash.
'ASH! LOOK OUT!' Dust Devil screamed with fright.
"ASH!" Blake screamed.
Ash grew angry and channeled his semblance. He raised a hand at the attack and used his aura to create a shield, blocking the attack.
"DUST DEVIL! GET DELPHOX!" Ash screamed as he held back the attack.
'RIGHT!' Dust Devil shouted and flew right at Delphox. He then charged up energy on his body and aimed it point blank at it. 'EAT BOOMBURST!' Dust Devil shouted and fired a powerful sound wave at her, sending her flying.
Ash lowered the aura barrier when the attack stopped and glared at Serena.
"Ash! Are you okay?" Blake asked with concern from how much of an unnecessary move on Serena's end.
"Yeah, I took worst than this." Ash said.
"That was an act of unsportsmanlike conduct! Blake Belladonna has a free shot at Delphox!" Glynda yelled with anger.
"WHAT!?" Serena screamed with shock.
"With pleasure. Aerodactyl, use Giga Impact!" Blake yelled with a smirk on her face.
Aerodactyl flew up high and began to dive right at Delphox at high speed. Orange energy began to surround him. His head began to channel now purple energy as he reached maximum speed. His head then collided onto Delphox hard, sending her into a wall and knocked her out.
"Delphox is unable to battle! Aerodactyl and Flygon take the win!" Glynda yelled.
The stadium exploded in cheers after that announcement. Serena returned her defeated Pokémon with anger and frustration.
"You better not mess this up." Serena yelled at Shauna.
"I can only try. Sylveon, use Misty Terrain!" Shauna yelled.
Sylveon squealed with happiness as a blue and pink gas came out of its body.
"Uh oh. This is not good." Ash said, especially since Dust Devil is vulnerable to the terrain, despite not always being on the ground, and Aerodactyl can't make a move.
Dust Devil decided fire off another Boomburst. While it did do damage to Sylveon, it also cause a bit of damage to Aerodactyl.
'Sorry Aerodactyl.' Dust Devil said to him.
'Don't worry about me. What the!?' Aerodactyl yelled when Shauna gave Sylveon its next attack.
Sylveon began to glow and the terrain began to glow as well.
"LOOK OUT! THAT'S MISTY EXPLOSION!" Blake screamed, but it was too late.
Sylveon screamed as it and the terrain exploded, causing Aerodactyl and Dust Devil to take massive damage, knocking them both out.
"Both Aerodactyl and Flygon are unable to battle. Sylveon takes the win!" Glynda yelled.
The stadium cheered from that spectacular performance. Ash and Blake returned their Pokémon.
"Aerodactyl, that was awesome. Rest up." Blake said before she put the ball away and pulled out Greninja's ball. "Greninja, avenge your partner." Blake said as she sent out her starter.
"Time we ended this once and for all. Monarch, I choose you!" Ash yelled as he sent out his last Pokémon.
"Battle commence!" Glynda yelled.
"Monarch, time to end this." Ash said with a bit of anger.
'With pleasure. Greninja, care to lend a hand and a tongue?' Monarch asked Greninja.
'Let's do it.' Greninja said to her.
"Greninja, use Hydro Cannon!" Blake yelled.
Greninja created an orb of water in front of his head. He then used his tongue and hit it towards Sylveon.
"Sylveon, dodge it!" Shauna yelled.
Sylveon jumped away from the blast, but just barely.
"MONARCH NOW!" Ash shouted.
Monarch charged at it as her fangs began to catch fire. She then chomped down at Sylveon, causing it to scream in pain. She then threw it towards Shauna, and it landed in front of her knocked out.
"Sylveon is unable to battle! Greninja and Pyroar take the win! The winners of this battle of the first round goes to Blake Belladonna and Ash Ketchum!" Glynda announced.
"YES! THAT'S HOW IT FELT SERENA!" Ash screamed at Serena over the cheering crowd.
"NO! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!" Serena screamed as she pulled out a collapsed weapon. She then pushed a button and it turned into double bladed sword. "GET OVER HERE!" Serena screamed as she charged forward at blinding speed, literally. Her body glowed as she ran towards Ash.
Semblance Analysis
Serena: Flash Point
This semblance gives the user increase speed and turns the users body into a flare. The faster and brighter the flare is used, the more aura is used.
"WHOA!" Ash shouted in fright as he pulled out Warrior's Heart and intercepted the attack.
"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Blake shouted as she pulled out Gambol Shroud.
Serena continued to attack Ash, who just blocked her attack with ease while also amplifying his aura into his sword. He did more of it as the two of them gotten into a lock.
"I've had enough of this!" Ash yelled before he threw Serena off of him. He then shot a powerful uppercut at her, sending her flying and landed on her face. "Give it up Serena!" Ash yelled as he and Blake aimed their weapons at her.
Serena looked at them with anger as their weapons were aimed at her.
"You broke my heart Ash! Don't you even care!?" Serena asked with venom.
Blake looked at Ash with confusion. Ash continued to glare at Serena.
"I've always cared Serena. You could've gone with me to Alola, but instead you went to Hoenn to continue with your dream. I don't know what went through your head after all this time, but it ends now." Ash answered.
"FREEZE!" Someone shouted nearby. Ash and Blake looked over and saw multiple officers and Glynda running towards them. "Serena Yvonne, you're under arrest for violations of tournaments rules and unnecessary sportsmanlike conduct." The head officer said as they cuffed her.
Ash and Blake put their weapons away and they watched as they took Serena away. Glynda approached them while she put her crop, the Disciplinarian into her scabbard on her boot.
"Are you two okay?" She asked them.
"I'm fine. Just wasn't expecting her to use her semblance on me that quickly. But why…why did she attack me like that?" Ash asked while looking at where Serena was taken away from.
"Or better yet, why did she say that to you? Did you have feelings for her or something?" Blake asked.
"Not really. I treated her like a close friend before we parted ways. Why she'd join the traitors like this is something I really want to know." Ash said.
"Speaking of which…Ash I am so sorry from last night. Anabel informed me about why you were away and at Beacon last night. I was too quick to judge and really wanted to tell you this sooner." Glynda said with a bit of sorrow.
"I'm sorry too." Ash said with a small smile at Glynda.
"Anyway, head out to the Pokémon Center to get your Pokémon taken care of. We will take care of the mess that Serena made." Glynda said as she bent down and took Serena's weapon.
Ash and Blake left the colosseum and headed straight for the Pokémon Center to get their team healed up. After they left their Pokémon to Nurse Joy, they took a seat nearby a window and waited.
"I have to admit Ash, that was very impressive out there, and I don't impress easily. Why didn't any of your Pokémon wait for your command?" Blake asked.
"I wanted to be unpredictable to my opponents. They've been trained to handle both single and double related battles." Ash explained while rubbing his injured arm a bit.
"Ash, are you positive that you're okay? That's looking more serious than you think." Blake asked while looking at his arm.
"It's nothing, I promise." Ash insisted.
Blake just remained silent while looking at his arm. Ash just looked outside and just watched as everyone went by. Just then, they saw Team RWBY and JNPR heading for the Pokémon Center.
"Hey Blakey! You guys really kicked ass out there today." Yang said with a bit of a spring in her step.
"Thanks. When will your match be?" Blake asked.
"Not until tomorrow afternoon. This is a massive tournament after all." Yang answered.
"By the way Ash, how did you have your Pokémon take action without a command?" Jaune asked.
"It is very unusual that they would do that. Don't they listen to their trainers?" Ren asked.
"Well you see…" Ash said before he explained to them about how he trained his team over the years, exactly how he explained it to Blake a bit ago.
"That's quite remarkable. I just can't believe that Serena would do that to you. What has the world done to you?" Pyrrha asked with pity.
"The unspeakable Pyrrha. The unspeakable." Ash said before looking down at the table as his anger grew a bit.
Blake saw this and immediately placed a hand over his wrist, causing him to look at her. Blake smiled a bit and just rubbed his knuckle.
"We'll do this together. No and, if, or buts about it." Blake said.
"But- ""No buts!" Blake interrupted him and spoke a bit louder at him, causing him to flinch. Ash then looked away a bit.
"I just don't want you guys getting into this mess that I'm in. It won't be fai-OW!" Ash yelled as Yang slightly punched his shoulder.
"Ash! You need more friends that will help you, and we will help you. And besides, all of us, well most of us in this group, have been through more shit than you can possibly imagine." Yang explained.
"Excuse me!" Shauna's voice called out from the group. Everyone looked where Shauna stood with a bit of a worried look.
Ash saw her and sensed her aura. She wasn't one of them and she felt guilty that she didn't do something with Serena sooner.
"Hello Shauna. You doing okay after Serena's actions?" Ash asked as she approached him.
"I'm still a bit shaken up, but I'm glad you're okay. After you disappeared, I feared the worst happened. What they did was unfair, and you should've given them justice sooner for their actions." Shauna said as her eyes began to get glossy.
Ash looked at her with a smile. He was happy that he still had a friend that he held onto during his travels before he became champion.
"Come here you." He said before he hugged her. Shauna held him for a little bit before she broke away.
"Anyway, I got some Pokémon to take care of. See you around?" Shauna asked.
"I'll be here." He whispered before she left.
"Ash! Blake! You're Pokémon are all fighting fit!" Nurse Joy called over the intercom. The both of them went to the desk and Nurse Joy handed them their Pokémon. "Good luck with your next match in a couple of days." She said to them.
"Thanks." Ash and Blake said together before they went back to the others.
"Anyway Ash, we got your back. This…we promise." Yang said while showing him her Huntress License.
Ash looked at it for a moment until he nodded.
"Don't say I didn't warn you though." Ash said wit ha bit of uncertainty.
"Well anyway, are you sure you don't want to get those wounds on your arm checked out? When we saw your match, you barely used it." Ren asked with concern.
"I'll be fine Ren. I'm just letting it heal on its own." Ash answered while looking at the arm.
"By the way Ash!" Shauna called out as she returned to her. "What's wrong with your arm?" Shauna asked while reaching out for it.
Ash held it and pulled himself away from her.
"It's nothing. It's just a wound I got not long ago before the tournament." Ash said with a bit of fright in his voice.
"But…" Shauna was saying but couldn't bring herself to ask more.
"Excuse me for a while. I need to rest." Ash said before he walked off.
They watched as he left. Shauna was more worried than ever.
"Anyone want to fill me in?" Shauna asked.
"We noticed that wounded arm when we met yesterday. He claims that it's nothing and said that he'd tended to it, but I don't trust that." Blake answered.
"Not only that, but his Gardevoir threatened to harm me while I was trying to aide him." Ruby said while looking down.
"I think I have a hunch what it could be." Ren said.
"Renny?" Nora asked.
"What could you possibly know that we don't?" Weiss asked with a but of frustration.
"He and I have something in common. We lost almost everything years ago. Seeing him like that reminded me of when I lost my parents, most of my friends, almost everything back in Anima. The only one I have left from that day was Nora." Ren explained.
"Oh…I take it back. I am most sincerely sorry for my tone." Weiss said with shame.
"Don't worry about it. What's done is done, and it just gotten better as the years went by." Ren said while smiling and held his fiancée's hand.
The first round of the tournament is almost coming to a close. One traitor down, many more to go. How far will Ash and Blake go for this tournament? Can Ash open up to them ore about his depression? Find out more next time as the story continues.
This concludes Ash and Blake's first match of the tournament. Just want to let you all know, everything is already set in stone for how the story goes. If it's different in canon, oh well. I may include a new character or two in future volumes, but they'll very likely be cameo appearances. But either way thank you for reading as always. TheD-Rock900 is signing off, see you next time.