Pokemon: Remix Hearts

by Seanzilla1988

During an expedition for a Grimoir, the girls of Team Remix Heart are caught up in a strange wormhole and end up in a world filled with creatures known as Pokemon. Will they find a way home, or will they be stuck here? (Contains elements from the Pokemon games, manga, and anime. Set after the end of the Blazblue Remix Heart manga)

53. Chapter 53

SZ: Greetings folks! Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are out! And and you can tell…*motions to the dozens of new Pokemon from the game*we are having a blast.

GT: Eeyup. We're excited for when we adapt, but we're not there yet. For now…We move on to the epic conclusion to Ash's Badge journey!

Z0: *does Akira Bike Slide on Miraidon* The ride begins now readers…no more delays…

SZ: We own nothing aside from original content, so..*hops onto Koraidon while slipping a helmet on*LET'S RIDE!

GT: Aye! *riding on a Shiny Gogoat* …This is Lady Shiney. I caught her on the third day the game was out as a Skiddo.

Z0: You just love to change things up. Ah well hya! *rides off and into the screen*

---

Entry 052: Well this was a rather fortuitous and informative entry. While Ashton and I were going over strategies for the Viridian City Gym, Professor Oak received an EMail from a young Professor Sakurai who was living nearby for better research on his expertise: Extinct Pokemon Species. He was requesting assistance with an issue involving them as our group volunteered to go. Upon arrival, we discovered what the ruckus was about…an ancient version of Arcanine from the era when the Sinnoh Region was known as 'Hisui.' I…oh the new information..the studies…so many ancient forms of Modern Pokemon…I didn't even know Houdini was in truth a Hisuian Zorua! A Shiny at that!

She was so dumbfounded when she found out, she dropped her book.

Mai…

Sorry…but you kinda blanked a bit when his mother forced him to transform back. …Guh…Seriously, Mama-san was terrifying…but also kinda nice, too? Sorta? I mean…she did get that Hachi to give Noel her Egg as a gift.

Yes, and it's also quite amazing seeing all the various revived Pokemon Professor Sakurai aided in reviving. And all the information he added to Dexter was just icing on the cake!

Uh…Kajun…Did you forget about what else we found out?

Hm?

Jin? He was in Hisui? With that Ragna the BloodEdge criminal that blew up that one NOL base? And that they're brothers?

Oh…right…that didn't interest me as much except for the theory of temporal travel being possible. But I suppose that is rather important to note. But technically you just did it for me. So back to the interesting topic.

You mean how all the Hisuian Zorua and Mama-san can tell that Ash died and was revived by Ho-Oh? And how they're wanting to gift Ash something?

Oh right…Huh…I wonder what it is they wanted to give Ashton…But we don't really have the time to stay if Ashton wants to keep his schedule on getting to Viridian City in time.

I'll say...plus Makoto is training with Honey to get her to learn Close Combat thanks to those tips that Hisuian Lilligant of Professor Sakurai's gave them.

Indeed. Still…I am rather excited myself. Hopefully, Ashton is more than prepared for what may come in this final Gym.

---

"Route 1…" Ash noted, the group walking along a dirt road.

"Pika..." Pikachu whispered as he cautiously looked around.

"Yeah, I know…Seems like yesterday, huh buddy?"

"Cha…" Pikachu agreed.

"Hey…I think I know this part," Makoto realized, Berry laying atop her head as she looked around, "Berry…This was where we met, wasn't it?"

"Chipa!" Berry beamed as she pointed at a nearby tree.

"Yeah, I think that's the tree, too," Makoto agreed.

"Oh?" Misty pondered.

"Yeah. She was eating a berry and spotted us. Next thing I know, she's in my clothes, broke the top two buttons of my uniform when she came out with a chestnut that fell in my shirt, and hid in my tail," Makoto explained, the white and blue squirrel giggling mischievously.

"Huh…That explains why your uniform was worse off than the others before you switched for new ones in Pewter," Misty recalled.

"Not much further to Viridian City then," Ash spoke.

"You have your team picked?" Mai asked.

"Yep," Ash replied, looking down at the five PokeBalls on his belt.

"Perfect. Got your strategies in mind?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yep."

"Then we're all set to kick some butt!" Makoto cheered, pumping a fist.

"Chipa!" Berry cheered.

"Just be careful, Ash," Brock advised, "The Viridian City Gym Leader is one of the strongest Trainers out there."

"How so?" Mai asked, causing Brock and Misty to share looks with one another.

"Ash, since you're the one going in to battle them, can you…?" Misty began.

"Yeah, yeah. No spoilers," Ash waved her off as he ran off ahead as the rest slowed.

"..." Misty looked at the girls, "The Gym Leader is named Giovanni, one of the most affluent men in all of Kanto."

"The guy invests in so many different fields of research here in the region," Brock added, "His business savvy also translates into how he battles, taking command of the entire field."

"I remember when I was little and Dad showed me a video Giovanni once shared on the site of a Trainer going for their eighth badge," Misty recalled, "Despite being the Ground-Type Gym Leader, he didn't use many Ground-Types for the battle, but instead utilized the terrain itself."

"He uses his Pokemon's Moves to set up the field to his advantage and the opponent's disadvantage," Brock spoke, crossing his arms over his chest, "It's why Giovanni's secret test is seeing how well a Trainer adapts and overcomes his command of the Earth itself while on the field of battle." he frowned, "Though recently…he hasn't shared any videos of his five or higher Gym Badge battles, which is a bit unusual."

"Really?" Mai asked.

"Yeah. It's kinda weird. Normally, those are the only ones he shared," Misty explained.

"But now…it's as if he's gone completely under the radar," Brock added.

"...Hmm…" Tsubaki frowned a bit at that, 'Very suspicious…'

---

"I can't believe it's been almost a whole year since we last came here!" Ash awed, looking around.

"...Oh!" Noel gasped, looking out to the Pokemon Center, "It looks like they finished repairing the center!"

"That's good to see," Mai noted, Noble in her arms, 'Hard to believe that nearly a year ago, we had little to no clue as to what was going on…'

"Cubone?" Noble tilted his head while looking up at Mai.

"I'm alright, Noble," Mai assured, patting the Cubone's head in her arms, "Just thinking about that explosion Pikachu and James's Weezing when it was a Koffing caused. How the heck did we come out of that with barely anything worse than a few scratches?"

"Eh, just our luck, I guess," Makoto shrugged before snickering, "Ah…next time we see Jessie, Imma pull Arbok over and tie him into a knot again."

"Huh?!" Brock gawked.

"He tried to bite Makoto constantly when he was an Ekans," Tsubaki explained, "Back then, we were all new to Pokemon Training and only Makoto had a Pokemon."

"Huh…That makes a bit of sense. I mean…" Brock frowned in thought, "You girls said you were from a Region where people don't fully understand or know Pokemon all that well."

"That's correct," Kajun lied casually with a nod before looking down the road and spotted a Roman-themed structure with several columns lining the path to a massive pair of bronze sliding doors with the emblem of the Pokemon League atop the building, "And I do believe that is the Gym, correct?"

"That's right," Brock replied, "And inside, there's an Earth Badge battle with Ash's name on it."

"Alright!" Ash cheered, pumping a fist before picking up the pace and approached the bronze doors to see a pair of men wearing armor resembling Roman soldier attire, "Huh? Um…Excuse me, sirs?"

"Greetings," the guard on the left replied, "Are you here to challenge the Gym Leader?"

"Yeah," Ash replied, "My name is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and I'm here for my eighth Gym Badge."

"I see…apologies but you'll have to wait your turn," the guard explained.

"HUH?!" Ash gawked.

"Yeah…someone called ahead for a match with the Gym Leader and he is a very busy man," he explained.

"Who?! Who c-" Ash began before a car drove up near the gym, "...Gary…"

"Sup, Ashy Boy?" Gary smirked, hanging off the side of the door before hopping off.

"What's with the new look?" Makoto asked, seeing Gary had replaced his normal purple clothes for baggy brown pants, a thick brown jacket with light-brown trim, and a purple t-shirt beneath.

"Eh, had to get a change of clothes," Gary replied, "My old outfit got wrecked from what I've been up to since I last ran into Ashy Boy on Cinnabar."

"But…don't you have all eight Badges you need?" Ash asked, tilting his head as he recalled it being mentioned before.

"...Heh," Gary smirked as he reached into his jacket, pulling out a case as he opened it...and revealed fifteen Badges inside, "Gotta complete the set."

"Hah?!" Ash gawked.

"Hey…That's the Gold Badge!" Makoto recognized, "How was the Master there?"

"Oh, you know that big guy? His team was a pain to fight! I've never seen a Primeape like his! And my PokeDex seemed to not recognize it as one, either," Gary recalled, "Said he got it from another Region or something like that."

"Is…Is that even allowed?" Mai asked Brock and Misty.

"Actually…yes," Brock replied, "While Trainers only need eight of the Gym Badges in a Region to participate in their Pokemon League, they can still challenge other Gyms to get their Badges as well as a way to help train for the League."

"When they do, though, the Gym Leader can use their strongest Pokemon so long as they keep with the theme of their Gyms," Misty added.

"And I swept most of them, too," Gary smirked as he closed the case and put it away, "Just got the Earth Badge left to get, then I'm off to the Pokemon League."

"Gh…" Ash frowned before Kajun put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Ashton," Kajun assured, "We should've expected something like this to happen. It will just give you a bit more time to review your strategy."

"..." Ash nodded, narrowing his eyes at the smirking Gary as he walked to the door as it slid open to allow him in with his cheerleaders, their outfits also more suited for a colder environment, "...Where do you think they were before here?"

"Based on how they looked ready for Winter, I'd have to say Ivory City," Brock recalled, "The Gym Leader there loves battling in a swimsuit on an outside battlefield."

"Seriously?" Tsubaki gawked.

"So I need to wait a bit before I can battle Giovanni," Ash frowned before the other guard gave a quick bark of a laugh, "Huh?"

"Sorry, but…Lord Giovanni isn't here at this time due to prior commitments. Therefore, his eldest daughter is running the Gym with approval from the Pokemon League Committee," the other guard explained.

"She seems much more…emotional…lately. Up until a few months ago, she was extremely cold and emotionless most of the time unless it involved food," the first explained, "But I feel sorry for that guy. That girl has spent the last three years going to several different Regions and came back with quite the arsenal to surprise Gym Challengers with."

"Really?"

"From what I've heard, it was due to a family tragedy that happened when she was young, rendering her unable to emote correctly," the other noted, a somber frown on his partially-hidden face, "None of us try to ask since no one wants to upset anyone in their family."

"It's a shame really…before the incident, she…" the first guard began before the other quickly hushed him, "Oh right…"

'Incident?' Noel pondered, holding Yuki a little closer.

---

Gary looked around, his cheerleaders all quiet and tense at the atmosphere of the gym arena, the area dimly lit with several torches on the walls while the battlefield looked far more like a gladiator's arena than a Pokemon arena. Footsteps echoed from a hallway connected to the balcony across from where Gary stood. Moments passed until Kira entered, her eyes gazing down at the brunette before her while she wore a silver coat over a black shirt and white pants. She snapped her fingers and the flames extinguished before lights turned on, fully illuminating the Gym.

"I am Kira, daughter of Giovanni and temporary Gym Leader while he is out on business," Kira calmly informed, "I have heard of you, Gary Oak. Of your many accomplishments and of your battles against the Gym Leaders of Kanto, gathering all their badges but Viridian's. You have a great legacy to uphold just as I do. Let us see if you can fly high like the feather the Earth Badge is made to resemble…or be devoured by the Earth itself from my Pokemon and their unrelenting assault."

Gary narrowed his eyes before smirking, "You may talk big, but I'd rather see if that's actual fact or just you flapping your lips."

Kira nodded, "This will be a Six-on-Six Pokemon Battle, Doubles Format."

"Heh…should be easy enough," Gary grinned.

"...Hmm," Kira gave a light smirk at that, "Then by all means…send out your first two Pokemon."

"Gladly. Go, Gyarados and Nidoking!" Gary declared, sending out the two bulky Pokemon that let out loud roars.

"Hm…interesting choices…" Kira noted as she held up a pair of PokeBalls that were black with gold detailing in place of the red, "Go Hippowdon, Gliscor."

With that, she dropped them from the balcony. They bounced once before opening up, unleashing the Pokemon inside. The first resembled a pitch black hippo with red eyes and several holes on its body. The other was a large gray and red Pokemon that looked like a hybrid of bat and scorpion with large red eyes. Gary took out his PokeDex and glanced at it.

'Hippowdon, the Heavyweight Pokemon, and Gliscor, the Fang Scorpion Pokemon…' Gary thought before narrowing his eyes, 'Never seen these before…but it doesn't matter. I'm going to get past this just like all the others.'

"Begin," was all Kira said as she snapped her fingers.

"POW!" Hippowdon roared out as she stomped the ground, causing a massive sandstorm to engulf the entire arena.

"What? A Sandstorm already?!" Gary grunted as he raised his arm to shield his face.

"Sand Stream," Kira spoke up within the sandstorm, "An ability that automatically summons a sandstorm when the Pokemon that has said ability appears in battle."

'I've never heard of this Ability…' Gary thought, "Gyarados, Rain Dance!"

"Thunder Fang." Kira simply ordered.

"Wh-"

"GLI!" Gliscor shouted as he appeared from within the sandstorm, his fangs sparking as he bit into Gyarados…only for his eyes to widen when his electrified fangs were digging into a plush of the beast, "?!" thunder rumbled as the sandstorm gave way to rainfall.

"Interesting…" Kira noted before Nidoking rammed a fist on the ground, unleashing a tidal wave from the rainfall, "That was code for a combination."

"Heh. That's what you get for underestimating me," Gary smirked as his cheerleaders cheered him on.

"...Now who says I was?" Kira replied before snapping her fingers, "Protect."

"POW!" Hippowdon roared as she stomped the ground, causing a massive barrier to appear before her and Gliscor as the tidal wave crashed into it.

"What the?!"

"I'll admit, a Substitute within a Rain Dane is a clever strategy…but even the strongest shield will lose once a chink is found in it," Kira explained, "Toxic on the Gyarados. Sand Tomb the Nidoking."

"Pow~don!" Hippowdon roared as sand began escaping from her body and rapidly moving along the arena before forming under Nidoking…before it began bubbling like quicksand and sucking the Pokemon down into it.

"Nidoking, hurry and use…!" Gary began before Glascor appeared before Gyarados, making him tense before he sprayed out a thick fog of purple mist in its face, "Gyarados!" Gyarados let out a groaning growled as purple bags appeared under its eyes, "Tch…Not good…" he smirked, "...for you."

"Hm?"

"Facade!"

Gyarados bellowed as it flailed about wildly, letting out a purple aura from its body. Gliscor cried out as it was smacked by Gyarados's tail, sending it crashing into Hippowdon. Nearby, Nidoking grunted as the loss of concentration on the hippo-like Pokemon's end allowed it to pull itself out of the sand trap, allowing both to slam a tail on the ground and slam a Surf on both Pokémon, knocking them out.

"Hm…not bad," Kira noted as she returned them.

"I've had to fight a ton of strong Pokemon once I finished getting the Eight I needed to qualify," Gary replied, "I'm not going down without a fight!"

"I see…" Kira calmly noted as she pulled out a new pair of PokeBalls, "Then a fight you'll receive. But a simple question before I send out my next pair; what Region was I at before returning to Kanto?"

"Huh?" Gary blinked at that, "...How should I know that?!"

"Mmm…Oh!" one of the cheerleaders gasped.

"I see one of our audience has recognized it. Meet the two I caught for Father to use in our Eight Badge Teams so that we can retire the two oldest members," Kira noted before gently tossing the PokeBalls out, "Paldea. Come forth, Toedscruel and Clodsire."

"Wha…?" Gary began as the PokeBalls let out a pair of Pokmeon, one that looked like a really...odd-looking Tentacruel that was in shades of green and brown with the 'nose' replaced with what looked like a green tube, and a big brown…blobish fish-like Pokemon? "What are they…?"

=No Data Available= Gary's PokeDex went off when he scanned them.

"No data?" Gary blinked before looking at the 'Tentacruel,' "...That's impossible! That has to be a Tentacruel!"

"Close…Toadscruel, the evolved form of Toadscool," Kira clarified, "And, no, it's not a Regional variant of the Pokemon Tentacruel. It's what's known as a Convergent Species of Pokemon. It may look like a Tentacruel, but that is just from sheer coincidence." she gestured to the dopey-looking Pokemon, "And this is a Clodsire, the evolved form of the Paldean Wooper."

"Paldean Wooper?" he blinked, "Wooper is a Water and Ground type…but Regional forms tend to have a different Typing."

"Shall we resume?" Kira questioned.

"You bet! Gyarados, use Dragon Tail on the Clodsire! Nidoking, Megahorn the weird Tentacruel!"

"Toedscruel…" the 'Tentacruel' deadpanned.

"Hmm…" Kira mused as Clodsire let the Dragon Tail impact…only for six purple spikes to suddenly extend from their body and pierce into Gyrados's tail, "Clodsire is a very sturdy Pokemon, and his ability poisons those who dare attack him. Toedscruel, use Spore on Nidoking." she ordered as Toedscruel used his tentacles to stop Nidoking before blasting a cloud of spores that made the Pokemon groan and his eyelids grow heavy until he fell asleep in the tentacles holding it, "Giga Drain." Nidoking groaned in its slumber until it went slack in the tentacles, allowing Toedscruel to drop it on the ground, revealing Nidoking's eyes to be replaced with swirls.

"Wha…how did…?"

"Now both of you aim at Gyarados and use Venoshock and Hex!" At that, both turned as Clodsire unleashed a glob of poisonous liquid that upon impacting Gyarados seemed to explode to twice its size, followed by a massive orb of dark energy that slammed into the Water and Flying-Type, making its body convulse in pain.

Gyarados groaned as dark purple blush formed under its eyes denoting the poison rapidly spreading and growing worse. The two attacks only compounded the pain racking its body…before falling over in a heap as the poison did its work and finished what the opposing Pokémon started with their attacks.

"I shall commend you for being a strong trainer. But there are more tactics than simply hitting very hard," Kira pointed out, "Both my Pokemon are incredibly strong and sturdy. Come at me with something more creative."

Gary grit his teeth, 'This girl…is on another level…'

---

Giovanni walked through the semi-lit hallways of the Rocket base he had arrived at just a few minutes ago. Grunts and Scientists were quick to move to the sides, bowing in respect to their leader. Electronic, reinforced steel doors beeped and slid open as he approached each one, his very presence being an official bypass to normal security measures. His eyes narrowed upon Agent M2, sitting before a chess board with all the piece put into starting positions while his armor was connected to a multitude of red cables that fed into a machine that seemed to resemble a giant Ariados. Neither spoke as Giovanni sat down across from the armored Pokemon.

"..." Giovanni moved a pawn ahead two spaces, "It has been some time since you personally requested my audience."

"I have been feeling…nostalgic recently," M2 telepathically replied, a pawn glowing as it moved ahead just one.

"Nostalgic?" he asked in interest, a Knight moved.

"Yes, Nostalgic, don't you ever feel such Nostalgia? Days passed, memories, places…people?" M2 asked after a pause while straight at him.

"...depends…" was all Giovanni replied as he moved another piece.

"I suppose that's fair. What I consider worth remembering and what you consider are really different things," M2 moved another pawn, "So…I've been remembering things…things I believe someone wanted me to forget. Or…things someone considered unneeded for me to recall. But I have to disagree, as…I choose what is worth remembering. Afterall shouldn't that be my choice?"

"Indeed," Giovanni replied, a Bishop finally allowed to move freely, "Do you have an idea for whom to blame?"

"They are already buried and forgotten," M2 replied, his Knight taking the first casualty in the form of one of the moved Pawns, "Yet the memories will not be."

"I see…"

"However…one memory seems to keep popping up recently…"

"Hmm?"

"From when I was still in the chamber…a friend…" M2 replied, one of his Pawns a victim of Giovanni's Bishop, "She taught me many things about the world…her and another."

"Hm?"

"Their names were AmberTwo…and MuTwo."

"?!" Giovanni paused in moving his first Knight for a moment before resuming, "Ah…I…I see…"

"And you know what…I feel something…similar to the latter somewhere…" he continued, moving yet another piece, "Care to explain that…Giovanni?"

"..." Giovanni was silent as they continued to move their pieces, the board eventually narrowing down.

"It's been getting closer with each passing day," M2 noted, moving his Queen into Check with Giovanni's King, "The one I sense that is like her…she's in Viridian City."

"?!" Giovanni tensed at that, dropping his King by accident.

"Hmm…It appears I've won," M2 spoke.

"...yes…it would appear so…" Giovanni whispered with a frown

"I suppose given the reaction, you were not prepared for this revelation. I think you've been slipping in your ability to notice what happens in your palace, as the metaphor would be," M2 noted, "I do believe she is in the company of a child, a favored child trying to earn a badge." he pointed out as he reset the board slowly.

"...And your intentions with her?"

"A promise to fulfill between MuTwo and myself," M2 replied.

"...noted," Giovanni frowned as he stood up.

"Hmm? Done for the day?"

"Yes, actually," Giovanni replied as he moved to head for the doors.

"...You know I am faster than you."

"Hm?" Giovanni paused, daring to not look back at the Pokemon.

"I can be there faster than you or anyone else can," M2 stated.

"...Why tell me that? I'm well aware of how accurate and skilled your Teleport is," Giovanni noted.

"Just an offer possibly…unless you have a problem with that…partner?"

"...I'd rather we wait before introducing you to her. We may not have all the facts yet," Giovanni replied after a moment, still keeping his back to the armored Pokemon.

"You do not. I do, however," M2 replied.

"...You've been using your Psychic powers to connect to her," Giovanni realized, his eyes widening.

"Heh…you failed to remember who you are dealing with," M2 responded as their eyes glowed a bit behind their helmet before tensing as his legs and arms suddenly snapped together followed by the 'wings' of his armor swinging around and snapping around his body, "What?!"

"I should have listened better to the few recordings that remained from the lab's footage," Giovanni noted as M2 started to struggle in his bindings as the armor began to glow with a dark-red/crimson aura.

"Gh! Giovanni!" M2 growled.

"This was a precaution I had built into your powered suit. Once activated, it channels energy through the Houndoom fur that lines the inside of it, letting out a 'Dark Aura' of sorts to prevent you from using anything more than your telepathy," Giovanni informed, turning around and showing a small device in his hand, "She may be my daughter, she may just be a pure coincidence-a person from the other side of an Ultra Wormhole. But regardless, all I know is that our DNA matches. Until I meet her, I will consider her as one of my children." he narrowed his eyes, "And any threats to them I will deal with personally."

"I am not a threat to her!" M2 argued.

"By Arceus! Mewtwo, you are forcibly connecting to her mind without consent!" Giovanni pointed out, "How is that not being considered a threat?!" he scowled, "Creating you was a mistake. I never should have requested that from the late doctor."

"You dare to control me…after all I accomplished for you? I will not be denied the only bond I ever had," Mewtwo declared, "You can't control everything, Giovanni, least of all me!"

Sparks began to crackle off the armor as his body began to glow a rich lavender. With a grunt, the armor's binding parts shot off his body, exposing more of the coarse purple furs and knocking Giovanni into the door, the psychic forces released causing the walls to cave in outwards. Outside of the structure, nestled out in the middle of the wilderness, cracks began to form on it…all releasing a lavender light. In just four seconds of the cracks appearing, the entire structure shined brightly before unleashing a massive explosion. From the smoke, Mewtwo erupted out of it, bits and pieces of what remained of the armor falling off as he flew off into the distance. As the smoke and debris settled, a Nidoqueen pushed a large piece of rubble away, revealing Giovanni. More rubble shook as several Pokemon pushed the debris away, exposing Grunts and scientists in various states.

"Report!" Giovanni shouted before a female Grunt approached.

"Sir, no confirmed casualties at this moment in time," she informed, "We are having several Abra deployed to take the injured to one of the Rocket-owned hospitals for treatment."

Giovanni nodded, "Send an emergency message to White Truth, Black Ideal, and Empty Void. Agent M2 has gone rogue and is targeting a civilian girl by the name of Noel Vermillion. Do not allow M2 to encounter her."

"Yes sir!" she replied with a salute before going off to find the nearest Abra that other grunts were deploying to teleport the injured.

'That girl…if she is you…Please, my daughter, be safe,' Giovanni thought while everyone was Teleported off, leaving just him, "..." he reached into his suit to pull out a PokeBall containing his own Abra before pausing on hearing footsteps, "?" he turned to see Red approach, "You again?"

"..." Red looked around before raising a brow at Giovanni.

"This matter doesn't concern you, interloper," Giovanni replied, narrowing his eyes as he turned to him…before a soft tinkle made him and Red look to see a Badge resembling a green feather had fallen from a hole in his suit pocket, "Ah…"

"..." Red blinked a few times.

"..." Giovanni chuckled, "Indeed. I am the Gym Leader of Viridian City and also the Leader of Team Rocket!" Red pulled out a PokeBall and held it towards Giovanni, "Hmm…In all honesty, I could use a good Pokemon Battle to vent over the disaster that just happened."

"..." Red narrowed his eyes as Giovanni prepared his own PokeBall.

"Understand this, Red, even if I were to be caught, Team Rocket will never die," Giovanni informed as he threw it out, unleashing a Rhydon that let out a loud roar, "Now let's see if you can fly high or be devoured by the very Earth itself with my team!"

---

"Your Pokemon are all good and healthy," Nurse Joy spoke, Pikachu hopping back onto Ash's shoulder as Cherry hopped into Makoto's tail, "And I see you've run into a Pokemon with Pokerus recently. All your Pokemon have it."

"Ah…That's from Vale," Tsubaki explained, feeding her Dratini, "She was born with it."

"Ahh. I see," Nurse Joy noted before smiling, "It's quite nostalgic. Almost an entire eight months since we last met and you all look like you've grown up quite a bit from the girls in muddy uniforms with only a Pachirisu shared by you all and the young beginning Trainer that fought an entire flock of Spearow with just a Pikachu in the middle of a thunderstorm."

"Yeah, we have come a reeaallly long way…" Makoto chuckled, "But it's kinda neat to be back to where it all started. We will try not to let things get crazy again…key word being 'try.'"

"I'm sure you will," Joy assured with a smile, "The Gym actually donated enough funding for the center to have it be reinforced to avoid another repeat of that incident."

"Oh that's nice," Makoto muttered, "Man, the Gym Leader must be loaded if he can do that and afford to not be there today."

"Mr. Giovanni is actually a man who has shares in several companies in the Kanto region and also runs his own known as Space Corp," Nurse Joy explained, "Recently, they acquired a mobile stadium that Pokebase teams can rent out for games."

"...Baseball with Pokemon?" Mai guessed.

"It's quite the fun pastime," Nurse Joy giggled, "I'm a fan of the Castellia Corviknights." she shook her head with an annoyed expression, "Jenny, however, is a fan of those infuriating Vermillion Vivillons."

"Ah sports team love, makes even the peppiest and sweetest of people feisty~" Makoto giggled.

"Oh M-" Tsubaki began with a sigh before the doors were kicked open, "?!"

"Gh…ah…h…help…" Gary grunted as he staggered in, covered in dust and some bruises before he fell over when his cheerleaders couldn't hold him up.

"Gary?" Ash gasped as he quickly ran over, "What happened?!"

"Ash…that gym…" Gary grunted as he forced himself to look up, "Don't…go there. That gym leader, she…" he paused as he forced himself to sit up, "She's in a different league of her own…"

"What?"

"After I managed to beat these two Pokemon from a place called Paldea…she said she was gonna use two of her own personal Pokemon," Gary explained as a haunting look appeared on his face, "Moment she brought those two out…I…I couldn't even do a thing to either of them."

"Whoa, Gary, calm down. I can't even understand what you're saying," Ash held his arms up, "What even happened to you? You look like you got blasted by something…"

"I did..." Gary replied as he held up one of his PokeBalls, "The moment the battle began…one of her Pokemon sent one of mine flying right into me…with one attack."

"Huh? But…doesn't this Gym…"

"Ash…did you not hear what I said?" Gary grunted as he forced himself up to grab his shirt, "She used two Pokemon…from her personal team."

"Wow you're…actually scared…" Ash noted, his eyes widening; for the longest time, he wanted to see his childhood rival put in his place, but…not like this. Especially given how frightened he seemed.

"Please help him~!" Gary's cheerleaders begged as they cried out in fear.

"Hmm…" Kajun walked over and looked at Gary as Nurse Joy came over to him, "...Right. Your Pokemon first?"

"H-Here," Gary replied, handing the six PokeBalls to Nurse Joy, allowing her to get to work on them.

"And now for you," Kajun stated…before slapping Gary across the face.

"?!"

"Better?" Kajun asked.

"..." Gary blinked several times before shaking his head, "Ugh…Th-Think I needed that…"

"Okay," Kajun nodded, "Just know that if you slip again during your explanation of events, it will be Makoto who will slap you next."

"Fair warning: I'm her sparring partner and she leaves me aching at times," Luca warned, "And my bones are on-par with the hardest types of steel."

"D…Did that Pokemon speak?" a cheerleader asked.

"He does that with Aura," Mai replied as Misty, herself, and Noel quickly helped the girls over to one of the tables as Ash helped Gary over to another, "For now, just get something to drink and get your nerves settled."

"R…right…"

"...This is concerning though…" Tsubaki whispered before looking at Brock, "Didn't you tell us what Type of Pokemon the Gym here uses?"

"Yeah…but it's rare for a Gym Leader, temporary or not, to use a Pokemon from their personal team," Brock responded.

"Considering how many Badges Gary has, she must have felt he would be able to handle it," Makoto guessed, "And what's a Paldea?"

"I'm not sure," Brock replied.

"Probably another region like Galar," Tsubaki guessed.

"Huh? One of them was a weird Tentacruel?" Ash pondered, earning the others' attention.

"She called in a Toedscruel or something," Gary replied, wincing as Misty applied some medicine to one of his scrapes, "From what I figured out, it was Grass and Ground with some weird Ability. It used Poison Powder, but it moved so slow…only for the powder to go so fast that my Pokemon couldn't dodge. It was like they got hit with a Lock On Move."

"But…how can that be?" Misty pondered, "Tentacruel are supposed to be Water and Poison Types…not Grass and Ground."

"That's what I thought!" Gary exclaimed before frowning, "Now I'm curious just how different Pokemon from Paldea are compared to Kanto…"

"And her actual Pokemon?" Ash asked, making Gary tense.

"...I've never seen Pokemon like them before in person," Gary replied, "A Spiritomb and a Metagross…" he grimaced, "She put this weird crystal on this band on her arm, did some poses, and suddenly the latter turned into this massive drill!"

"She has a Z-Ring and a Steelium Z?" Ash recognized.

"Huh?"

"She must have been to Alola then. Your Pokemon got hit with a Move called a Z-Move," Ash noted, "I traveled with this older girl named La and she has one for every type and even had one specifically for Eevee to use!"

"It seems like she's been to many different regions," Kajun noted, "Many unique and rare techniques are common in other regions, but often rare to the point of myth in others. Such as Mega Evolution being more common in Hoenn and Kalos. Or the Z-Moves of Alola. No doubt she must have even more tricks from other Regions she never thought…of using on you…" she lingered on how rude that sounded, "Or…or not…"

"What's a Paldea?" Makoto blinked.

"It's a Region close to Kalos," Kajun explained before whispering to the Beastkin, "Think of…Spain and how it's connected to France."

"Oh~...Wait. How did…"

"I found some books on it at Professor Sakurai's place while you were busy training with Honey," Kajun replied, "It seems he was a student of two professors who work there. He studied extensively on their notes of Prehistoric forms of modern Pokemon, which I copied to read myself. But from what I gathered Paldea is a Region…that produces the most Champion Rank Trainers."

"Woah…so we're talking A-tier…"

"Wrong…S-Tier…possibly higher," Kajun stated.

"Eh!?"

"They have a long history and learned to tame and work with Pokemon before many other regions. They even have a centuries old school that teaches and trains Trainers," Kajun added, "I even asked him about it and he said that sometimes even the weaker Trainers in their final year of this school are still scary powerful."

"Woah…that's scary…" Makoto whispered.

"You think that's scary? From what I read, a new evolution of Primape was discovered there that's unaffected…by other Fighting types."

"..."

"...Makoto, you are not going to call Professor Sakurai to ask about how to get a Primeape to evolve and tell Ashton and his Primeape about it."

"How will you stop me?" Makoto asked simply, "I am more sneaky than the rest of you. And I already took your phone and found your code to unlock it…" she held up said phone.

"Hmm…fair point. Counter point…" Kajun began as she knelt down and picked up Hikari, her eyes glowing faintly.

"Wh-nigh nigh…" Makoto slurred as she plopped onto the floor, "Zzz…."

"And I will take that," Kajun said as she snatched her phone back from the sleeping Beastkin, "Good work, Hikari."

"Kirli…" she nodded as she hopped out of Kajun's arms...before going back to the book she was reading.

"Still...if the Gym Leader is using Pokemon from Paldea…" Kajun paused as she tapped her cheek in thought, "...Ashton may have more of a struggle than I originally thought. But knowing him…he'll shatter expectations once more."

"Plus, unlike Gary…Ash hasn't gone above and beyond to get all the badges, so…he won't be tempting fate," Tsubaki pointed out.

"And from how Ash's Aura is acting, he's all the more determined to win," Luca noted, glancing over at Ash as he listened to what Gary spoke of.

---

"Easy…Easy…" Serenade 'whispered' as she used Psychic to carefully hold up a pair of thin cutters that carefully clipped a piece off the plastic frame and then cutting off the extra from the piece; she followed by sanding the piece, scrubbing it with a soapy toothbrush, place tiny bits of tape onto the connecting parts of the piece, and then applied a coat of primer to it before placing it underneath a heating lamp to help dry the paint quicker.

"Another model kit?" Aoiro questioned, gently petting the Shiny Eevee Meowth had 'given' to her as she read a novel.

"It's good practice for Psychic-Types," Serenade defended, "Plus, I don't need to worry about the smell of the spray because I put it all in a psychic bubble that I'll toss outside once I'm done with painting everything with the primer."

"Ah…Fair enough," Aoiro nodded a bit as she flipped a page in her book.

"I've finished the battle," Kira informed, walking into the living room, "He was…interesting."

"Who?" Karai asked, pausing in her guitar tuning.

"Gary Oak."

"Oh that fucker!" Karai growled, "Ruined the operation I was doing with that stupid brunette that fined me P500! Fined me!"

"The other Pallet Town Trainer known as Leaf or 'Green of the Four Colors of Pallet,' correct?" Kira asked.

"Yeah, that bimbo."

"So how did he fare?"

"He was able to receive the badge from overcoming the two Paldean Pokemon I brought back for the Eight Badge Team," Kira replied, "But…he interested me."

"?!" both her sisters tensed.

"...Kira…Wh-Who did you use…?" Aoiro cautiously asked.

"Hades and Mercury in a Double Format."

"...Sweet Arceus! That was fucking overkill, sis!" Karai exclaimed, "I mean…I like overkill as much as the next gal, but that…that's curb stomp city right there…"

"Oh! There you are, Lady Kira!" Velvet exclaimed as she entered, wearing reading glasses and having a tablet in her paws, "You have another battle for the Earth Badge in an hour."

"How many?"

"Seven Badges."

"Take these to Nurse Joy," Kira ordered, giving the four Pokemon she used to Serenade as she tossed a pink bubble of psychic energy out the window as she walked past Kira.

"Right, right. Gotta remember to pantomime and speak like usual," Serenade replied as she put on a pink scarf before Teleporting away.

"Who am I battling?"

"Oh, I never checked. I'm sorry, Lady Kira," Velvet apologized as she tapped on the tablet, "Um…It's…oh! It's that young man Lord Ho-Oh chose to be the Rainbow Hero. Ash Ketchum "

"...Sonuva…" Karai groaned as she pulled out P1000 and put it into Aoiro's hand.

"It seems you'll be getting a nice pillow for your bed, Eve," Aoiro noted, petting the Shiny Eevee and earning a happy trill.

"...Get the rest of my team," Kira ordered, "...and be ready."

"M-Milady?" Velvet looked up from the tablet.

"That boy…Ash Ketchum…he managed to beat Hades the first time…and faced Ho-Oh…He interests me…no…I am…excited."

"?!" Karai and Aoiro tensed as Eve looked up at his owner in confusion.

---

"Okay…One last time," Ash muttered as he looked at his five PokeBalls and Pikachu as he stood outside the Gym and a bit away from the two guards, "This is going to be intense…"

"Are you sure this is your team for this battle?" Kajun asked as she looked at the semi-transparent tops at the five inside.

"Of course," Ash replied as he looked over at her, "After seeing Gary earlier…I decided to change things up."

"Even with how they were…you're still wanting to do this?" Misty asked.

"Yep!" Ash replied, "This is the Gym I'm going to get my eighth Badge from."

"If you're sure, Ash…just be careful," Brock advised.

"Have you met Ash?" Makoto quietly deadpanned, earning an elbow to her sides by Tsubaki and Kajun, "Goi!"

"I'm all set!" Ash pumped a fist before walking up the guards and showed his Badges, "I'm here to battle the temporary Gym Leader."

"Welcome, Trainer," the first guard greeted before the two stepped to the sides and the door slid open.

"Prepare yourself for the onslaught of the Earth itself," the second declared before the group entered.

"Huh…Ya know, I was distracted by Gary and his cheerleaders…but this is kinda ominous," Makoto admitted as they followed Ash down the dimly lit hallway, torches lightning up as they walked down it and revealed marble statues of fearsome-looking Kantonian Pokemon that made Misty cover Togepi's eyes with Noel doing the same for Yuki and Kenny.

"Creepy…" Mai whispered as they all stayed close to each other.

"Why does it have to be so intimidating…?" Misty shuddered.

"Mmm…" Noel whimpered, scooting a bit closer to the others when they passed a Scyther statue that was posed in mid-swing of its arms.

The group soon arrived at the main arena for the Gym and Ash spoke up, "Hello?"

Footsteps echoed as Kira emerged from the hallway and arrived upon the upper balcony on the other side of the field, "Greetings, Ash Ketchum."

"Huh? You…know who I am?"

"Indeed. The Trainer whom several Gym Leaders have had nothing but praise for in their battles," Kira replied, "You…excite me."

"Huh?" Ash tilted his head.

"As such…I accept your challenge for the Earth Badge," Kira informed, "But unlike the others before who battled you with the Team meant for a Badge higher than the one you challenged them for…you face my personal team."

"?!" Both Misty and Brock tensed at that.

"So Gary was right about her using Pokemon from her personal team…" Brock whispered.

"This will be a six-on-six Pokemon battle. You are allowed to switch between your Pokemon at anytime while I may only do so utilizing Moves," Kira informed, "You'll receive the Badge if you can best three of my Pokemon, but…I will give you something else if you best all six."

"...Is that allowed?" Mai quietly asked their Gym Leader friends.

"When TMs were around, Gym Leaders often gave one they liked to use to Trainers who won," Brock quietly explained, "My grandfather used to give out Rock Slide TMs."

"My grandma gave out Water Pulse," Misty added, "Her doing this isn't really against any rules, but it's rare for this to happen these days."

"Ah…I see," Mai noted.

"So…Ash Ketchum, do you accept these terms, or will you flee?" Kira spoke as she looked down at him, "Will you attempt to become a legend like Lance of the Elite 4…or be forgotten to time?"

"...I accept," Ash responded with a serious look, Pikachu's cheeks sparking as he glared up at her, "I've come this far in my dream to be a Pokemon Master…I won't quit now."

"Very well…Then let us see if you can soar high in the sky…or be devoured and crushed by the Earth itself," Kira declared as the lights turned on and she pulled out a Cherish Ball, "Come forth, Apollo."

She tossed the ball into the air and it opened up, unleashing the Pokemon within. It was a large black moth-like Pokemon covered in a white fur. Upon its back was a pair of large leaf-like wings in the colors of the sun. It let out a cry as it hovered in the air.

"Oh~!" Noel awed as Ash took out Dexter, "B-Beautiful…!"

=Volcarona, the Sun Pokemon. Once known as Ulgamoth to Native Unovans, Volcarona releases burning scales from its wings to engulf the battlefield in a sea of fire. Volcarona's flames are said to provide a replacement for the sun when the atmosphere is dark with volcanic ash, and some legends claim that it hatched from a cocoon of raging flames to save people and Pokémon in freezing climates. It was feared as the rage of the sun by ancient people, and it was even worshiped as a deity of fire in some places, even being referred to as the embodiment of the sun= Dexter informed =Despite being worshiped in cold regions, it is unpopular in hot regions due to its burning body. Volcarona is also considered dangerous due to how it scatters hot burning scales, which can rob the surrounding air of its oxygen=

"Volcarona…" Ash whispered, "Okay then! Thunderhoof, I choose you!" the leader of the Tauros bellowed as he was sent out of his Safari Ball.

"So…you nickname your Pokemon as well…"

"I had to ask Luca since I have six Tauros," Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "Didn't want to make a mistake and grab one when I was going for another…well…aside from Dennis. He's pretty cool and I think he's a Shiny."

"Ahh…noted," Kira nodded before she snapped her fingers, "Begin."

"Thunderhoof, use Swagger!"

Thunderhoof huffed before taking a few steps in a perfect swagger and let out a cry. Apollo glowed for a moment as its eyes began to glow while its flight…began to wobble.

"...Quiver Dance," Kira simply ordered, making Apollo's eyes flash as its wobbly movements...began to change into a weird flying formation.

"Quiver Dance?" Mai repeated.

"It's a move that increases the user's Special Attack and Speed," Kajun explained, "And Thunderhoof's Swagger made its Attack stronger but also caused it to become confused."

"Rock Throw!" Ash called.

Thunderhoof bellowed before slamming his front hooves onto the ground, causing a large chunk of rock to rise up from the ground. He spun around and slammed his hind hooves into the chunk, shattering it and sending the shards at Apollo.

"Quiver Dance."

Apollo's eyes flashed again as it ended up flying right into the Rock Throw, knocking it down to the ground.

"Yes! Got it!" Ash beamed before Kira chuckled a bit, "?"

"Thank you...for knocking him back to his senses," Kira responded as Apollo began to rise up, "Fiery Dance."

"?!" Kajun's eyes widened at that, "Hikari, Protect quick!"

"Kirl!" her Starter complied before she spread her arms out, creating a barrier around the group before a flash of flames began to envelope Apollo's wings, which flapped as it sent the flames all over the room as the shiny Kirlia struggled to keep it up, "Ngh~!"

"Gh! Wh...What is that move!?" Ash grunted, using his arms to shield himself.

"Pika…!" Pikachu cried out as he felt the heat beginning to rise up in the room.

"Ash, be careful!" Kajun called out, "Fiery Dance is the signature move of Volcarona that can deal massive damage while often boosting its Special Attack!"

"Ghh…!" Ash grunted, "We gotta plow through it, then! Thunderhoof, go for the Wild Charge!"

"Hurricane."

The waves of heat were sucked up into a spiraling vortex that engulfed Thunderhoof. The Tauros looked around…before smirking.

"(You believe this is a Hurricane? Your breeze is nothing compared to the Totem Dragonair whom I enjoyed a good battle with in my upbringing in the Safari Zone)," Thunderhoof stated before stomping a hoof, dispersing the Hurricane…and making the sound of thunder rumble from the stomp as electricity began to crackle off him, "(Let me show you why I am named Thunderhoof.)"

"What?" Kira whispered in slight surprise as Thunderhoof leapt right at Apollo, "Fiery Dance!"

Just as Apollo flapped its wings to unleash its attack, a spark of electricity surged from Thunderhoof upon making impact, lighting up the entire area as if an actual lightning flash had gone off. Just as soon as it happened, both Pokemon were launched back and fell to the ground. The two sparked with faint bits of static as they twitched from pain. Apollo was the first to try and get up...only to cry out weakly as he fell to the ground.

"...heh…well, this is interesting," Kira noted, an amused smile on her face as she returned Apollo, "Not many have been able to knock out Apollo. I commend you at least on that."

"It looks like Thunderhoof had enough power to take your Apollo down." Ash sighed, letting out a tense breath, "But that was a crazy combination of moves."

"Indeed…and there are more like myself in terms of how my Pokémon battle as you climb the proverbial mountain higher and higher," Kira stated before holding up a gunmetal gray PokeBall with blue bumps on the upper half, "Let's move on then. Mercury, come forth."

"A HeavyBall?" Brock pondered as Kira held it over the edge of the balcony and let it drop.

The ball bounced once before opening and releasing the Pokemon within. Thunderhoof tensed as a large Pokemon formed across from him. It was bulky and looked to have been carved from a teal stone. The top of it was flat while its front was its face, composed of a mouth, two red eyes in black, and a metal 'X' in the center and wrapping around it. It stood upon four legs all made of the same stone with metal claws on the ends.

"Meta…gross!" the Pokemon bellowed as Ash took out Dexter.

=Metagross, the Iron Leg Pokemon, and the final form of Beldum. Metagross is the result of two Metang fusing together. This gives Metagross four brains in total, all connected by a complex network of neurons. Because of these complex connections and the number of brains, this Pokémon is capable of performing complex calculations and is more intelligent than a supercomputer. It uses its intelligence to analyze its opponents during battle. Metagross uses its fantastic strength to pin down a victim using its four claws and body. This allows Metagross to use its large mouth and teeth to chew its victim to pieces= Dexter informed.

"Mercury…use Meteor Mash," Kira ordered.

"META!" Mercury roared as they raised an arm up, the claws engulfed in a silver energy that shaped into the shape of a meteor, before swinging it at Thunderhoof.

"Wild Charge!" Ash called out.

Thunderhoof bellowed as he charged back, a mass surge of electricity covering him as the two clashed, resulting in a large shockwave.

"...Meteor Shower!"

"META!" Mercury roared as its other fist slammed into Thunderhoof, making him grunt out before he was suddenly caught in a barrage of punches from the Metagross, "Metametametametameta!" it proceeded with an uppercut to finish the barrage, "GROSS!"

"Ahh! Thunderhoof!" Ash gasped as his Taurus was sent flying, crashing into the ground as a large dust cloud kicked up the area. The bull Pokemon attempted to get up…only to groan as he fainted on the spot.

"...What…just happened?" Mai slowly blinked.

"Bullet Punch, a fast acting move where the user performs a series of punches so fast, it all acts as one strike," Kajun explained, "And Meteor Mash, a powerful Steel Type move that can boost the attack of the user. If you combine both…it would be as if you've been struck by a meteor shower."

"Send out your next Pokemon," Kira ordered.

"R-Right…" Ash was still processing that move and let alone what just happened, "That's one strong Rock-Type…"

"Steel/Psychic," Kira corrected.

"Huh?"

"Metagross is a Steel and Psychic-Type Pokemon," Kira explained.

"Oh! S-Sorry," Ash apologized before blinking a few times, "Ah! I know!" he pulled out a PokeBall, "I choose you!"

He tossed the PokeBall out and it opened up, letting out the Pokemon within. Primeape cried out as he landed before Metagross, punching a few times ahead of him while glaring at Metagross.

"Primeape?!" nearly everyone exclaimed as Kira merely raised a brow.

"Huh…" Makoto brought a hand to her chin as she looked Primeape over…before grinning, "Alright! Brains against brawn!"

"Makoto…" Kajun began.

"Aw trust Ash on this, Kajun!" Makoto encouraged, "He hasn't faltered yet in the big battles. Sure, he did get his butt whooped at times like that one guy with the Shuckle."

"I swear that thing was a Legendary in disguise with that Rollout it had!" Ash argued.

"...Are you mocking me, child?" Kira scowled.

"Why don't you tell me?" Ash grinned and Kira narrowed her eyes, "Let's go! Shadow Claw!"

"Psyshock," Kira ordered.

Primeape shifted his body and reeled his right fist back. His shadow shook before rising up and engulfing his fist, taking the shape of three sharp claws. Kira grinned lightly as several psychic bubbles appeared around Primeape. Before he could move, they pulsed before turning into beams that slammed into Primeape and engulfed Ash's side of the field in an explosion. Kira huffed before her eyes widened just a fraction as an unharmed Primeape erupted from the smoke and slammed the claw right into Mercury's face, leaving behind three slash marks that made the large Pokemon bellow out in pain and surprise.

"What?" Kira whispered.

"What?!" Misty gasped, "But...Primeape's a Fighting-Type!"

"Wow! Primeape must have really trained up on how to avoid fast attacks!" Noel awed.

"Calm Mind."

"Taunt!" Ash declared.

Primeape spun around and spanked his behind at Metagross while his eyes glowed red for a few moments. Mercury began to close his eyes before they glowed red as well and he let out a roar before firing another Psyshock, letting Primeape jumped out of the smoke again and deliver another Shadow Claw to Mercury's face, making several 'X' marks from the two attacks.

"What just happened?" Brock asked.

"Taunt…That's a move that prevents the enemy Pokemon from not attacking," Kajun recalled.

"But…why would he want it to attack more?" Mai asked.

"So it can't do any real setup," Tsubaki realized.

"Meteor Shower!"

"Encore!"

Mercury began to raise a fist up to begin its assault when Primeape began to applaud, his hands and eyes glowing blue. The blue glow came off him and went into Mercury…who froze for a moment before unleashing another Psyshock and earning a Shadow Claw once more in return from a still unharmed Primeape.

"Wait…Why did he attack with Psyshock when it knows Primeape is too fast for it to hit with that move?" Mai asked.

"Because of Encore," Kajun replied, "Encore is a move that causes an enemy Pokemon to continuously repeat its last attack for a period of time."

"What kind of Primeape is this?" Kira asked, trying to make sense of it all.

"It's a special combo we've been working on," Ash explained as he smiled, "You thought we weren't taking this seriously, but this is serious for us! We just like thinking outside the box." he looked to Primeape, "Now let's finish this with Night Slash!"

Mercury tried to pull off another attack, but could only let loose another Psystrike. The supercomputer mind of the larger Pokemon rapidly processed everything as it looked around in the smoke. It froze as a new sensation registered: Pain…from below. Mercury bellowed as it shot up into the air, carried along by a slash of pure darkness shaped into a curved blade from the uppercut Primeape delivered from underneath Mercury. The Psychic/Steel-Type slammed into the ceiling before dropping back down. It groaned, getting back up…only to fall over with its red eyes now swirls. Primeape's eyes curved to look like smiles as he patted his chest in victory.

"...Grr…" Kira's eyes narrowed as she returned her Pokemon, "Congratulations…you're the first Trainer to make me lose two of my Pokemon…and make me angry."

---

"Oh fuck…" Karai paled, the two watching on a monitor in another room.

"And father isn't here or able to send a message to distract her from her fury," Aoiro gulped as Serenade teleported onto the couch cushion between them with a bag of fast food.

"Okay, I'm back with your orders and…" Serenade trailed off to see the screen, "...Wow. What happened?"

"Apparently, Ash Ketchum trained his Primeape to be faster than a Psychic-Type's attacks," Aoiro explained, "And he just defeated Apollo and then Mercury."

"She's angry now," Karai added.

"Oh dear…" Serenade squeaked, hiding behind the couch now.

---

"I wonder if you are anything like Gary Oak in terms of knowledge," Kira spoke as she pulled out another UltraBall, "What do you know of the Paldea Region?"

"Paldea?" Ash repeated, tilting his head.

"It's a region that breeds Champion level Trainers…and the Pokemon that reside there are no exemption to that," Kira explained, tossing the ball instead of dropping it, "Come forth, Poseidon! Unleash your fury!"

"She has a love of mythology doesn't she…" Mai muttered sheepishly, feeling the rising tension.

From the UltraBall…the cold was what first hit. Ash exhaled and his eyes widened, seeing his breath. He looked out as the Pokemon fully formed and slowly rose up to its full height. It was a theropod-like Pokemon with its body predominantly navy blue in color. Along its chest and going down to the underside of its tail was a series of scales ice-blue in color shaped into hexagons with more on its kneecaps. At first, Ash thought it sported three red claws…before seeing the ice-blue ones underneath them and realized the red 'claws' were just natural growths in the shape of sharp claws. He looked up at its face and, at first, thought that it was just wearing a mask of ice only to realize that its 'mask' was actually its jagged, intimidating visage, a pair of spikes growing from it on the end of its snout. It opened its eyes, revealing the sharp intimating golden yellow irises within. It let out a roar as it moved a bit, revealing that upon its back as a massive pitch black scale looking as if it were the color of frostbite itself with an ice-blue/silver trimming that made it look like its back had a hunting ax growing out of it. Ash pulled out Dexter and held it up.

=No data available= Dexter informed.

"No data?" Ash gulped.

"This is Poseidon. He is a Pokemon called Baxcalibur, the Ice Dragon Pokemon," Kira informed, "Baxcalibur's breath is so cold that even a volcano will freeze over from contact with it. It is known as Paldea's Pseudo-Legendary."

"Pseudo-Legendary?" Mai repeated.

"In every Region, there's a native Pokemon that is said to be a rival to the Legendary Pokemon," Brock explained, "Often, that Pokemon is a Dragon-Type."

"This one gives me the chills," Misty shuddered, holding a shivering Togepi closer while Makoto sent out Booster to curl up by her to try to help warm things up.

"I-I-I-It's…a…a…F-Frozen Godzilla…" Makoto chattered out, Cherry, Berry, and Honey peeking out of her tail in winter jackets, scarves, and earmuffs.

"Night Slash!" Ash called.

"Ice Shard."

Poseidon roared as shards of ice formed around him. He turned and swiped his tail out, sending the shards shooting at Primeape before he could attack. Primeape let out a cry as he was knocked away and skid along his back to stop a few feet from Ash's feet. His body glowed…before an Unova Zoroark took his place, the red of its fur a rich purple…and wearing an explorer's button up jacket with a white button shirt under it, a red tie, an explorer's hat, tiny black-rimmed glasses, and a satchel…which oddly had some jellybeans spilling out of it.

"HAH!?" Mai gawked.

"That's…That's a Zoroark!" Brock gawked.

"...Ohh…So that's what their gift was that Mama-san talked about giving Ash," Tsubaki realized.

"So that's how…Zoroark are Dark-Type Pokemon…meaning Mercury's Psystrike couldn't affect it," Kira spoke as Zoroark slowly got up…before yelping on seeing its dropped jellybeans and scurried to pick them back up.

"You okay, girl?" Ash asked.

"Zor!" Zoroark replied, giving a thumbs up once she put away the second-to-last one and eating the last one.

"Guess the jig's up," Ash noted.

"Oroa…" Zoroark nodded with a shrug.

"Yeah…But, hey! Now we can go all out!" Ash grinned, earning a thumbs up from his surprise Pokemon.

"Did you know this, Makoto?" Kajun demanded.

"Of course I do! Primeape's a lefty and her opening stance was lacking in several points that I know Ash and I worked out of Primeape," Makoto replied.

"...you sneaky girl…"

"Well if I told you not to worry, the scary lady would notice something fishy and probably do something insane and scary," Makoto pointed out.

"Resume the battle," Kira ordered.

"You got it!" Ash grinned, "Let's warm things up! Sunny Side Up!"

Zoroark tipped her head before swinging a paw up. Poseidon roared as he fired another Ice Shards at the fox-like Pokemon, who held up her other paw and produced a green barrier of light that took the attack while keeping her hand up to the sky. Light gathered in her paw before shooting up and lit up, looking like a miniature sun. She quickly followed up with a flamethrower right at the Baxcalibur, earning a roar of anger from the Ice/Dragon-Type.

"Nice one!" Brock cheered.

"Hold on. There's something up with that Pokemon," Tsubaki noted, seeing the 'silver' on its 'ax' starting to glow red.

"Huh? What's that glow?" Ash pondered, looking at Dexter.

=Ability Unknown= Dexter informed.

"A new Ability?" Ash pondered.

"Dragon Claw!" Kira ordered.

Baxcalibur's eyes shone as it unleashed a roar, its claws glowing as he slashed at Zoroark, making her yelp as she barely dodged.

"Now Breaking Swipe!"

"Breaking Swipe?" Ash repeated before Zoroark yelped, making him look as she was sent flying, "?!"

"A Dragon-Type move where the user uses their tail to attack," Kira explained as Poseidon's tail slammed on the ground, "It also makes those hit by it weaker in terms of their attack status."

"Flamethrower again!" Ash called as Zoroark got up, her clothes scuffed up.

She inhaled and let out another stream of flames at Poseidon. The flames hit and the glow on his 'ax' grew stronger. The attack ended and Poseidon huffed, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Winter Wonderland," Kira ordered.

The Baxcalibur roared, firing a beam of ice at the 'sun' above them. The impact caused the 'sun' to burst and disperse…before snow began to fall. Yuki let out an awed mewl from Noel's arms on seeing all the snow. Poseidon inhaled before letting out another roar at Zoroark, unleashing a massive blizzard from his maw. The frozen winds slammed into Zoroark, sending her flying past Ash and crashing into a wall. She groaned before falling flat into a pile of snow, her glasses askew and swirls in her eyes.

"Both of us down two Pokemon. While I am still angered, this is quite the thrill," Kira noted, "Often…I am ahead with the challenger having just a single Pokemon when I am down two."

"Well, you're gonna be down three after this," Ash replied as he returned Zoroark and smiled at the PokeBall, "You did a great job for your first big battle, Zoroark." he swapped it for a new one, "Primeape, I choose you!"

"PRIME~!" Primeape bellowed as he came out and did a few practice punches at Poseidon, who snarled.

"...Frosty the Godzilla…against Tournament Champion King Kong…" Makoto noted before grinning excitedly, "Oh, I am so excited~!"

"So this is the P1 Grand Prix's latest Champion…'Wild Beast' Primeape," Kira noted.

"Prime!" Primeape flexed before Posiedon huffed, "Prime?!"

"Let's begin," Kira stated.

"Dragon Claw/Ice Punch!" the two called out.

Poseidon and Primeape roared as they charged at one another, slamming dragon energy-coated claws met ice-engulfed fist, dispersing the snow that had fallen on the arena part of the floor. Kajun narrowed her eyes, looking between the Dragon Claw/Ice Punch stalemate and the backfin of the Baxcalibur.

"Again/Fire Punch!" both shouted as Dragon Claw was parried with a flame-engulfed right hook.

"..." Kajun tensed as she saw the fin's glow increasing and the Dragon Claw's energy growing, "It's taking the damage…but it's getting stronger."

"Huh?" Ash pondered as Dragon Claws and Fire Punches kept hitting and stalemating, each time the glow of both claw and back fin getting stronger, "?!" he looked up at Kira, "Your Pokemon's Ability activated when he's hit with Fire-Type Moves!"

"Indeed," Kira replied, "Thermal Exchange is an exclusive Ability of the Baxcalibur line. Not only can he never be Burned by a Fire-Type Move, but his physical might increases. So thank you for getting him fully empowered. In fact…let me reward you with its signature move…" she smirked before holding her hand up high into the air, acting as if she was about to slash down, "Glaive Rush!"

Poseidon roared as he slammed his tail on the ground, propelling him into the air as he turned around, making sure his glowing backfin was aimed at Primeape.

'...Is he about to do…' Makoto began before Poseidon unleashed a blizzard from his mouth, propelling him towards Primeape as he rocketed towards him, 'AHH~! HE DID THE THING~!'

'Oh, I get the feeling Makoto is not going to rest until she gets a Baxcalibur…' Tsubaki and Mai thought, seeing the stars in her eyes.

"Use Bulk Up into Beast Onslaught!" Ash called.

"(You want a wild beast…)" Primeape growled as he began to glow red as his muscles bulged before he charged, the ground shaking with the stomping of his feet in his charge as the red aura around his fists taking on the shape of dragon heads, "(THEN IT'S A WILD BEAST YA GET! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!-!-!-!)"

"What is that?!" Misty gawked.

"Oh, it was our ace in the hole for the tournament," Makoto grinned, "It's Outrage mixed with Close Combat, Stomping Tantrum, aaaand…Thrash."

"Oh this is gonna be bad…" Noel squeaked as she covered Yuki and Kenny's eyes at the same time Misty did to Togepi's.

Both Poseidon and Primape roared out as they charged at one another, their attacks clashing midair as it resulted in a large shockwave, causing the entire area to rumble as nearly everyone lost their footing. The smoke and dust slowly settled as everyone was regaining their balance, and hearing. Soon as the dust thinned out to see again everyone saw both Pokemon…just laying in the ground with spiral eyes as they groaned and twitched in pain and probably regret from their admittedly dumb double edged sword attacks.

"Hmm…Double Knockout," Kira noted, giving a nod as she returned Poseidon, "Very well."

"That was a really strong Pokemon. You gave it your all, Primeape, thanks" Ash smiled as he returned Primeape.

"You've done well to survive this far….however…" Kira paused as she held out a Heal Ball, "This is where things become much more difficult….Calliope, come forth…and perform your aria."

She let the ball drop onto the floor, letting it open up…and a beautiful melody began to fill the room. What emerged from the PokeBall was a selkie-like Pokemon with long golden locks of hair pulled into a ponytail and bunched up in two spots by a string of pearls. Her body was primarily a smooth pearl white in a pale pink 'fabric' of sorts forming a skirt and top for her while the lower half of her body was a rich navy blue. On the tip of her snout was a pale pink clown-like nose. Atop her head was a 'crown' made of a pale pink fabric, a string of pearls, and two starfish-like objects. As the Pokemon finished singing, she opened her navy blue eyes and gave a bow, a ring of sparkling stars appearing around her for a moment.

"Whoa~" Ash awed, taking out Dexter.

=Primarina, the Soloist Pokemon, and the final form of Popplio. Primarina uses water balloons and its voice as its main weapons. Because its voice is instrumental in its battle strategy, its care should be a priority for Trainers. The melody it uses has been passed down for generations. Water balloons are released as it dances, and are controlled by its voice. In the moonlight, the balloons glitter and create a beautiful scene. However, some of the balloons are explosive and triggered by touch. This theatrical Pokémon considers every battle a stage and uses the non-explosive balloons as platforms to tease opponents=

"Oohh~~" Misty awed with stars in her eyes, "I never thought I'd get to see one…and a Shiny at that!"

"Alright then," Ash nodded, "Pikachu, I choose you!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cheered as he ran onto the field.

"Oh? Starting with your ace already?" Kira questioned, recalling reports on his Pikachu and how it was able to help him pull wins in certain battles.

"I like surprising opponents," Ash replied with a smile.

Kira nodded, "The videos that the other Gym Leaders have posted prove that. Now let's begin. Calliope, Aqua Ring."

"Prima~~" the Primarina sang as a ball of water began to form above her head, growing more and more in size until it literally popped, the falling drops beginning to spin around Calliope as they formed into rapidly spinning rings.

"That's not good," Misty noted softly so Ash wouldn't hear.

"Why?"

"Aqua Ring is a Move that heals the Pokemon whenever it attacks," Misty explained, "Our Six through Eight Badge Pokemon all have one of them with the move."

"Thunderbolt!" Ash ordered.

"PikaCHU!" Pikachu shouted as he sent a blast of lightning at the selkie-like Pokemon.

Kira, however, merely smiled as the electric attack headed towards her Pokemon, only for it to suddenly deflect off one of the rings and into the arena floor.

"What the…?!" Ash's eyes widened.

"Hyper Voice."

"PriMA~~~~~~!" Calliope cried out as she sang a powerful aria, sending out a blue-tinted soundwave straight at Pikachu as a trail of water followed behind it.

"Spring Zap!" Ash quickly ordered.

Pikachu quickly got on his tail and shot up on it like a spring, shooting over the attack and letting him fire another Thunderbolt that the Aqua Ring reflected.

"What was that?" Ash pondered, Dexter out.

=Liquid Voice, the Hidden Ability of the Primarina Line. Liquid Voice gives all sound-based moves the Water-Typing= Dexter informed.

"Wait…but how's Aqua Ring reflecting Thunderbolt back?"

"Calliope is a master of water," Kira explained as the rings around Calliope spun faster, "She is able to manipulate the liquid in the air and on the battlefield, allowing her to replace parts of the ring that were hit by moves such as Electric-Type moves and deflect them away or back at the opponent. In short…it's an anti-electric move barrier while also healing my Pokemon."

"Whoa…" Ash couldn't help but let out an awed noise at that.

"Ash, you realize that means none of Pikachu's electric attacks won't work on her, right?!" Misty called out.

"O-Oh, right!" Ash grimaced, 'We're gonna have to get creative.'

"Moonblast," Kira ordered.

"Pirma~" Calliope sang as she raised her head up, forming an energy ball of pink energy before sending it out towards Pikachu.

"Big mistake," Ash smirked, "Pikachu, Service!"

"Service?" most of the group repeated as Kajun smiled a little.

"Pika!" Pikachu beamed as he got on all fours.

His tail straightened up as his friends recognized it going into Ion Tail…yet Pikachu didn't move. As the Moonblast got closer, Pikachu just stayed in place. His grin grew devious as it was almost upon him. At the last moment, he backflipped, the flat of his Ion Tail slamming into the Moonblast, causing the Thunderbolt going through it to go into the sphere and shoot off, a metallic sheen added to the Moonblast. The Aqua Ring met the sphere and it tore through it, losing its electrical coating before slamming into Calliope, knocking her back.

"What in the world?" Kira pondered, raising a brow.

"Kajun?" Makoto asked, looking at the purplette.

"There was a ping-pong table at the inn at Cinnabar we were staying at and the idea came up while listening to one of the previous Indigo League's matches," Kajun explained quietly to the others so Kira didn't hear, "Think of it as an anti-long range technique Ash and Pikachu developed to not only send the attack back, but also infuse Steel-Type energy and a Thunderbolt into it for extra power. It lost the Thunderbolt from the Aqua Ring defense, but the Steel-Type energy in it still struck the Water/Fairy-Type."

"...Interesting," Kira noted as Calliope slowly got up, a few bruises from the returned attack gracing her figure, "The files compiled about you don't lie. You are rather…unorthodox with your battle style. You broke the Aqua Ring and landed an attack upon Calliope."

"Thanks, but it's not over yet!" Ash grinned, "Pikachu, PVT!"

"Pika!" Pikachu grinned before charging at Calliope, activating the combination attack and engulfing himself in lightning, "Pikapikapikapika…!"

"Calliope, Ocean's Ballad," Kira ordered.

The Shiny Primarina rose up fully as a sphere of energy formed in her open mouth. With a resounding cry, a blue-tinted beam resembling a stave erupted from the sphere. The charging Pikachu and the beam collided, making a shockwave as the two forces struggled with one another. Pikachu grimaced as he felt a harsh ringing in his ears. He grit his teeth as he started to skid back…before his cheeks shined and more electricity began to engulf his body.

"Pika…Pika…" Pikachu grunted, starting to push the beam back at her.

"Could it be…?" Kajun pondered.

"Huh? What's up, Kajun?" Brock asked as Pikachu starting to push it further back to Calliope.

"Ashton, did you give Pikachu that gift from Raikou?" Kajun asked.

"Huh? Gift?" Makoto repeated.

"...Oh! I think I remember," Noel recalled, "It was kinda hard to remember because you, well…got a little excited about Luca evolving and everything else went out of my mind about that bit before it."

"Pika…Pikapika…" Pikachu grunted before he managed to jump onto the beam and started running along it, "PIKA! Pikapikapikapikapika!" before Calliope could react, Pikachu was upon her and slammed right into her face, "PI-KA!"

*BA-BANG!*

Thunder rumbled like a gunshot from the impact as smoke engulfed most of the field. Kira pushed a button and emergency vents quickly activated, pulling the smoke away to expose Pikachu standing tall as small shocks came off him as Calliope laid on her side, swirls replacing her eyes.

"Alright, Pikachu!" Ash cheered before tilting his head, "Huh…That PVT was a lot stronger than normal." Pikachu walked over to him, stumbling a little, "Did you use Thunder instead of Thunderbolt, buddy?"

"Pika…?" Pikachu tilted his head while Kira returned her Primarina.

'I expected as much from the Pikachu who, in despair, unleashed lighting so mighty that it stunned several Legendary Pokemon at once,' Kira thought before pulling out another of her balls, "Go, Hades!"

The Spiritomb emerged with a bellowing screech, causing Ash and Pikachu to look at it. Ash's eyes widened as he noticed a crack on the stone it was emerging from.

"Hey…I know that Spiritomb!" Ash recognized.

"You do? I found them outside of Stone Town, looking lost and without anyone there," Kira noted.

"That Team Rocket Admin that scared even those two gals…" Makoto scowled, realizing what she was implying.

"How cruel," Brock whispered, frowning.

"Uh-oh…" Ash muttered, recalling the last time they faced this Pokemon, "This is gonna be a challenge. But we can't back down now, Pikachu, you feeling good to go?"

"Pi-ka!" Pikachu nodded before turning to face Hades with sparks coming off his cheeks.

"Then let us begin," Kira stated, "Dante's Arrival."

Hades cackled before a Smokescreen erupted from it, quickly coating the field in it. Ash grit his teeth as he looked out at the smoke before hearing a familiar noise of shadows gathering. His eyes widened as he looked above the smoke to see a barrage of Shadow Balls to shoot up into it and go into an arc.

"Pikachu! Double-Team to dodge the Shadow Balls!" Ash called into the Smokescreen.

"Pika!" Pikachu's voice called out as the barrage of Shadow Balls began to descend fast into the Smokescreen, explosions going off in the smoke as each one hit the ground.

"It's a game of chance," Misty compared, "Smokescreen hides both of them inside of it while Shadow Balls rain down to try to hit Pikachu inside of it as he scrambling around with Double Team to avoid them."

"So many Shadow Balls…so little time for Pikachu to get a Double Team clone in," Makoto added, her ears slightly twitching a bit to keep track of Pikachu.

"Not to mention Spiritomb are very tanky Pokemon to begin with," Brock added, "Meaning Ash will need to do something to damage it."

"Well, good thing Pikachu is a heavy hitter," Kajun noted, "Especially with what he just did."

"Huh?" Mai pondered as Ash looked around the smoke-covered field.

"Mmm…Oh! Pikachu, Quick Attack and Agility in a circle with an Ion Tail straight up in the air!"

"Huh? Why is he doing that?" Mai blinked.

"Oh, a little something he learned from watching Takuma having his Incineroar spar with La's Magnezone," Kajun replied as sparks came out through the smoke…before the smoke began to spiral around, following the glowing tail.

"What the…?" Tsubaki pondered, "Wait…is…is Pikachu ionizing the air?!"

"Ionizing the air?" Misty pondered.

"It's a bit of a theoretical thing back home," Kajun noted, "If one could ionize the air, they could-in theory-be able to control the air with a magnetic pull. What Ashton is having Pikachu do with Ion Tail is ionize the air with the Thunderbolt going through it…while making his tail into a magnet with the Iron Tail. And as the air is being pulled…" the smokescreen turned into a large swirling vortex of smoke, exposing an intrigued Spiritomb, "...so is the smokescreen that's in it."

"Dark Pulse," Kira ordered.

Ash grinned, "Spring Railgun!"

Spiritomb roared as it let loose a wave of darkness at the vortex of smoke and ionized air near its base. The powerful attack dispersed the vortex and slammed into a wall, causing several cracks to form in it on impact. Spiritomb narrowed its eyes to see no sight of Pikachu before electricity crackling made it look in time to see Pikachu upside-down in the air and his cheeks sparking.

"Pika-pika…" Pikachu smirked before firing the Zap Cannon, "PIKACHU!"

Hades cried out as he was sent flying back by the Zap Cannon, shooting past Kira as he crashed right into the wall. The Odd Keystone tumbled over to beside her before wisps of smoke came out, looking reminiscent to a waving flag before going back into it. Kira blinked slowly before chuckling. Slowly, the chuckle changed to a laugh that only grew louder.

---

"Oh shit…" Karai paled.

"What's wrong?" Serenade asked.

"She's actually excited," Aoiro gulped, "Someone's managed to get her down to her last Pokemon in a six-on-six battle. She's only done this three times in her life. Once when she tried the Sinnoh League and battled Cynthia…another when she took on Galar's rather…unique…League challenge and reached Champion Leon…and now this."

---

Kira returned Hades to his ball, "You…You truly are interesting, Ash Ketchum. An anomaly of the world…" she held a hand to her face, "Is this truly just your first year as a Pokemon Trainer? You grew up in Pallet, near Professor Oak's Pokemon Lab, so you would've had time to see many of the Pokemon there…but perhaps it is something else." she closed her eyes while letting her hand drop, "A talent like this I have not seen since I was a child half your age…will you be like her, Ash Ketchum? A starting Trainer whom earns Arceus's favor and reach new heights unseen before in their career? Will you last longer than her when faced with the unknown that comes forth or be devoured like she had been before her family's eyes and leave only the scars behind?"

"Her?" Ash repeated before Kira swung an arm up.

"Arise! Oh great Sage! Born of a soul of Light, forged in the Darkness of my soul! Come forth through the Gateway of Chaos! Become the winds of unstoppable might! Let nature itself tremble through your great flames and indomitable will!" Kira recited, "Controller of Insanity!"

As if on perfect timing, a pillar of black and white flames erupted from the ground. Pikachu jumped back, tensed as they spiraled before the Electric-Type. Ash gulped as a light sweat began to fall off his body as two glowing golden 'eyes' pierced the darkness, almost as if they were piercing into his soul. The flames of black and white bled away into magenta and then their natural colors. An ornate black staff coated in gold shaped to resemble a Kantonian Ninetails wrapping itself around it on one side and an Alolan Ninetails on the other spun about, dispersing the flames and revealing Velvet. She tapped the staff down on the Alolan Ninetails's side as the flames dispersed while opening her eyes, her usual warmth and kindness snuffed out within them as only what could be perceived as a judge's emotionless, neutral gaze looked upon Ash and Pikachu.

"Master of all Magicians! My Very Starter! Velvet!" Kira finished.

"Y…your Starter…" Ash repeated as he pulled his PokeDex out.

=Delphox, the Fox Pokemon and the final evolved form of Fenniken. It gazes into the flame at the tip of its branch to achieve a focused state, which allows it to see into the future. Using psychic power, it generates a fiery vortex of 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit, incinerating foes swept into this whirl of flame=

"If this is her last Pokemon, it must be her strongest." Makoto noted.

"Final Evolution of Fenniken?" Noel blinked, looking down at the small fox Pokemon in her arms with Yuki.

"Fen~" Kenny awed.

"What power…" Brock whispered.

"Such an intimidating aura, too…" Mai added, "As if a master magician has come to place judgment upon Ash and his Pokemon…"

"Ash is in for it now," Misty gulped.

"True…A Trainer's Starter is often the strongest member of their Party," Brock agreed, "And Pikachu's been fighting two other Pokemon so isn't at full strength like her."

"Pikachu has used a lot of power to take down two incredibly powerful enemies. Ash's best option would be to switch out," Tsubaki spoke.

"You doing alright, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pi…Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Good..then let's do this, buddy!" Ash grinned, "Thunderbolt!"

"Pika…CHU~!" Pikachu cried out, letting loose his attack.

'Velvet…Psychic,' Kira thought.

Velvet nodded, her eyes glowing softly. A psychic aura caught the Thunderbolt as it reached her before going around her body and shooting right back at Pikachu, startling the mouse and knocking him away with the impact.

"Whoa!" Makoto gawked, "Why didn't his Ability go off?"

"That psychic aura around the attack must have canceled it out," Kajun guessed as she glanced at Kira and Velvet, "And…I believe that her Pokemon is strong enough to read her Trainer's thoughts, so she doesn't need verbal commands."

"Meaning it'll be harder for him to predict what move comes next," Tsubaki noted.

"Maybe we can confuse her… Pikachu, Shroud!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu groaned before getting back up and shook his head. He slapped his cheeks a few times before shooting off in an Agility and zipped about, Double Team overlaying it to have a chain of Pikachus zipping all over.

'Trick Room.'

Velvet flipped her 'wand' to have the Kantonian side aimed down as she stabbed it into the ground, causing the entire area to ripple, causing Pikachu to slow down exponentially fast as his clones began to fade and slow down as well.

"Pi…ka!?"

'Metronome…'

Velvet wagged her free hand's pointer finger in a scolding manner, the tip glowing. Togepi seemed to be chirping happily as she mimicked Velvet's wagging, only to stop once the room began to shake violently. Pikachu gave a slow yelp as he tried to stay balanced, only for a large pillar of the Earth to send him flying high into the air. Ash stepped back and caught the Electric-Type.

"Pikachu?" Ash looked down at the rodent.

"Pi~" Pikachu groaned, swirls replacing his eyes.

"That was Metronome," Tsubaki recognized the Move as Koko used Psychic to float Pikachu over to Kajun.

"Who next falls?" Kira questioned.

Ash narrowed his eyes as he pulled out his next PokeBall, "Charizard, I choose you!" Charizard bellowed as he appeared, glaring at Velvet, "You ready for this, buddy?" Charizard nodded with a growl, "Then let's give it our best shot!"

Kira nodded, "Blaine's battle showcased this one. Let us see how the dragon who quelled a living volcano can handle my master of magicians."

"I have no idea how to respond, but I know Dragons are cooler than wizards!" Ash replied.

"Rawr!" Charizard nodded in agreement..

"Oh Ashton…" Kajun sighed, facepalming.

"Then let us see," Kira countered, 'Future Sight hidden in a Rain Dance.'

"What are they gonna do…?" Ash blinked as he and Charizard looked up as a localized rain cloud formed above them, "Rain Dance…but she's also a Fire-Type?"

"Rawr?" Charizard tilted his head in equal confusion before blinking and turning to Ash, he growled as he raised his claws and formed a fist.

"Oh! Right, we learned you could do that!" Ash smirked, "Charizard, use Thunder Punch!"

'Substitute and Reflect hidden in a Will-O-Wisp and then return with your own Thunder Punch.'

Lightning crackled above before it shot down to Charizard's right claws, engulfing them in its energy. He flew at Velvet, reeling his electrified claw back and swung it at her…only to collide with a thick wall of psychic energy that let loose ghostly flames upon the Fire/Flying-Type. Charizard backed away from the ghostly flames and barrier that had blocked the blow with numerous cracks in it. Velvet crouched down before another barrier appeared beneath her feet and launched her like a catapult at Charizard while she let go of her staff. She reeled her fist back before lightning struck it as well. The Thunder Punch landed and Charizard was knocked down to the floor. Charizard got up, brushing off the spot she struck with a wince as sparks crackled off him, before looking up to see her standing on another Reflect panel, looking down upon him with the storm clouds helping to add a shadow around her eyes.

"Charizard, you okay?" Ash asked in concern, his Pokemon nodding as he snorted flames from his nostrils to add to that, "Alright, I'm not liking those clouds one bit…Charizard aim up with Flamethrower!"

"RAWR!" he roared in understanding as he raised his head and unleashed a massive stream of fire into the rain clouds, the heat and force of the flames pushing through them and sending the clouds up with the rising heat to be dispersed.

'Have you used enough Calm Minds and Nasty Plots?' Kira asked, earning a slight nod, 'Good. Stored Power with Dazzling Gleam.'

Velvet raised her hand up and the staff snapped into place in the palm of it. She began to spin it around, slowly at first and building up momentum.

"I don't like what she's doing," Ash noted, "Charizard, Fire Assault, quick!"

Charizard roared before unleashing a Fire Spin at the Delphox before the fox-like Pokemon saw a Flamethrower within. Her eyes widened as the flames engulfed her, smaller pellets of Ember sandwiched between the other two flames. The attack died down after several moments and a burning plush of a Delphox fell off the platform, showing Velvet none the worse as the ends of her staff shined with Psychic and Fairy-Type energy.

"Substitute?" Ash blinked, "I guess she really didn't want that punch to land…that must be it! All her power…but she's not strong physically!"

"Rawr!" Charizard nodded in agreement.

"That makes sense…most Pokemon have their own strengths, no one Pokemon can be good at everything," Tsubaki spoke.

"She's fast with crazy special attack and special defense and a wide array of moves to take down big threats and prevent anyone from touching her," Makoto added.

"But what is she using now?" Noel pondered.

"It looks like she's been charging up a special move, one you need to charge up for a long while to hit hard like in a fighting game," Makoto noted.

"Makoto, that's…actually…rather well said," Tsubaki blinked.

"Thanks," Makoto grinned, "...Though that's not good for Charizard if he can't get a hit in time."

"How can he? She's trained to use all the best moves to prevent exactly that," Kajun pointed out.

"...We may have to overpower whatever she's got coming for us, buddy," Ash noted, narrowing his eyes, "Charizard…Blast Burn!"

Charizard's eyes dilated as he let out a bellowing roar. A glow began to emanate from within Charizard's mouth as the area around him began to heat up. Velvet swung her staff, unleashing a wave of psychic energy intermingled with glistening 'stars' of Fairy-Type energy. At the same time, Charizard swung his neck back before swinging his ahead and unleashed the Blast Burn. The cutting wave and small 'seed' of flames collided before everyone was nearly knocked back by the explosion that followed. The ground cracked and broke apart as several of the pillars surrounding the room crumbled to the ground. Alarms went off before two panels on opposite sides opened and several Rhyhorn and Machamp wearing hardhats ran out, carrying spare pillars and began to quickly replace the shattered ones and ran back in through the secret doors before another group of Machamps with brooms and dustpans swiftly cleaned the destroyed pillars and went through. As the smoke settled from the attacks, everyone was treated to the sight of Velvet beneath Charizard…a Thunder Punch embedded into his gut while wisps of a Protect faded away from her unharmed form. Charizard groaned before collapsing, swirls replacing his eyes. Velvet walked back over to Kira's side of the field as Ash returned his strongest Fire-Type.

"Hoo boy…Even Protect?" Makoto grimaced.

"That is one specialized Delphox," Mai noted.

"And now Ash is down to his last Pokemon, too," Misty noted as Ash took out his last PokeBall.

"It's all on you now," Ash spoke before holding it out, "Come on out, Gengar!"

The PokeBall opened and shadows erupted from it. They gathered around into a ball…before popping into confetti as Gengar landed on his feet with a cheer. He looked around and let out a long whistle of surprise at the damaged floor. He looked to Velvet and gestured to it, who merely shrugged. He grinned with a mad cackle before allowing the Gengarite to appear on his forehead. Ash held up his Mega Glove and pressed his finger to it, causing the energy bolts to erupt from it along with Gengar's Mega Stone.

"Here we go, Gengar! Evolution beyond Evolution!" Ash shouted, "MEGA EVOLUTION!"

Gengar cackled as the energy raced into him before spinning around into a tornado of Gengar and Mega Evolution energy. It spun around all over the field before skidding to a halt in his original spot, revealing Mega Gengar wearing a yellow zoot suit and large yellow hat with an oversized fake Rainbow Wing in it.

"(Sssssssssmokin'~)" Mega Gegar grinned, his three eyes opening up as he grinned deviously at the powerful Delphox before doing a double take, "?!" he let out a loud wolf whistle before shifting his head into a Houndoom's and let out a howl and panted heavily while stomping a foot, "(YOWZA! What a babe!)"

"Wow, you're a lot more exaggerated when you Mega Evolve," Ash blinked in surprise as his Mega Gengar shifted to its normal looks, "And…Squishy and Stretchy?"

"Mega Gengar…trading out your Poison-Type for a Dark-Type…a good effort," Kira noted before pulling out what looked like a pitch black PokeBall with a crystal star in it, "But Velvet and I are prepared for her weaknesses when Dark-Types and Ghost-Types are around."

"What's that?" Brock pondered.

The black 'PokeBall' glistened before letting out a bright light. Kira's arm shook before she threw it out and it fell to above Velvet's head…before crystals erupted all around the fox. They twinkled before shattering…and caused everyone to pause for a moment in surprise. Her fur had taken on a crystalline sheen, almost as if she had become crystal itself. Resting atop her head was a large crown of sorts, looking as if it were made from a giant diamond held in place with a gold-colored crystal band. She let loose a cry of power as her body let out a glistening light.

"What just happened?" Ash blinked as Mega Gengar stared with a thousand yard stare and a stupefied look.

"A power Trainers can obtain from the Paldea Region," Kira explained, "It is known as Terastalization. You will understand as the battle goes on what this can do. But for now…Let the final Battle of this Match commence."

"Well…that's not good. Gengar!" his Pokemon turned to look at him, "I…don't know what to do." he bluntly admitted, making Mega Gengar slap his face and gasp, "So…I'm counting on you to be you 'till I can. Can you do that, buddy?" Mega Gengar beamed and gave a thumbs up, "Alright! Go for it then!"

"What is he…?" literally everyone asked before Mega Gengar began laughing and running around like crazy before appearing from Velvet's shadow and giving the Delphox a big kiss on the head before running off again.

Velvet shook her head before lifting up pieces of the broken pillars the Machamps had missed and sent them in a volley at Mega Gengar. The Mega-Evolved Gengar cackled, bending, stretching, and weaving through them all before whipping out a deflated balloon. He inhaled deeply before blowing into it, causing it to swell up and pop…exposing a myriad of toy guns that he had aimed at her. He pulled the triggers and a barrage of Shadow Balls rained down upon her…as she simply stood there. The barrage engulfed her…and she calmly walked out of it as if they weren't even there. Mega Gengar's eyes bulged out a good two feet from their sockets while his jaw dropped down to the floor as the fox giggled and wagged a finger at him.

"It didn't work?" Ash asked, "But the only thing Ghost-Type Moves don't work on…are Normal-Types!" he shouted.

Kira nodded, "You're correct. Terastalization turns a Pokemon into their Tera-Type, such as Velvet and her Normal Tera-Type."

"Tera-Type?" Ash repeated.

"Yes. All Pokemon have a hidden 'Tera-Type' to them that is brought out through the Tera Orb and the Terastalization Phenomenon discovered in Paldea," Kira explained before Velvet's finger stopped wagging and her eyes glowed red for a moment.

"(?! Brrr…)" Mega Gengar shivered as he quickly donned a purple parka, "(Felt a chill all of a sudden down me spine…It's as if something ripped away my protections and…)" a large sphere of Psychic energy shot out of nowhere and slammed into his back, creating a large explosion that settled, revealing Mega Gengar covered in ash and soot, "(...Owwwwww…)"

"Gengar?!" Ash called out, "Are you okay?" he asked as his Pokemon raised his arm weakly as it looked crooked and broken, before giving a shaky thumbs up.

"It looks like her Metronome this time was Foresight, stripping Mega Gengar of his protections from Normal-Type and Psychic-Type Moves," Tsubaki recognized the Move as Mega Gengar slapped himself and ripped off his destroyed parka, "And that was a Future Sight attack."

"(I must confess…you are different from other Mega Gengar I have fought in Kalos)," Velvet noted.

Mega Gengar chuckled, "(Honey, you ain't seen nothin' yet! They musta been some pretty boys and gals barely in their fifties! So that means you don't know what I've~ got~!)"

"(And that is…?)"

Mega Gengar chuckled, looking directly at you, the Reader, "(I love it when they ask that, folks.)" he looked back at Velvet before laughing and vanishing, "(I~)" he popped out of her shadow, shoving a packful of cigars into her mouth and lighting them with a lighter, "(Gotcha with my winning smile~ I'm a livin' lesson in flair and style!)" he backflipped away from her swinging her a Thunder Punch at him before the cigars exploded, leaving her face covered in ash and soot, "(Just can't help but stare at my savoir faire~!)"

"Pfft…D-Did he just really pull the exploding cigar on her…?" Makoto covered her mouth, trying to force down the laugh.

"What is happening?" Tsubaki asked.

"Ashton…let him have full control of his actions…" Kajun pointed out, a notebook with the symbol of Mega Evolution in her lap, "Gengar seems worse in his chaos while Mega Evolved…who knows what nonsense will come?"

"(Hey, when they made me? YEAH! They broke the mold!)" Mega Gengar declared before stretching down flat on the ground to avoid a Shadow Ball fired by her, "(And nonsense?! I'll have you know I'm wholesome and kind, the state of refine…)" he dug his hands into the shadows between the cracks in the ground…before a multitude of them erupted from the ground…and all armed with rubber chickens, "(TOTALLY OUTTA MY MIND~!)"

"Hehehehe…" Ash laughed, "Hahaha! Ah…you always know how to make things better, Gengar." he pulled out his Pokedex, "You know a lot of moves, too, so let's take a quick look," he aimed at Gengar and scanned him to pull up his known moves, "There!"

Kira blinked in confusion, both at this utter chaotic nonsense that honestly kind of broke the tension and mood she kind of worked hard to set up. But also that for some reason…it was so much chaos her beloved partner was…actually being overstimulated and had difficulty keeping up telepathic contact.

---

"What the actual fuck am I watching?!" Karai asked, struggling to not laugh like the Meowstic between the two sisters that had given up the ghost.

Aoiro's eye twitched madly, "That…That Gengar…is repeating himself…" 'It's Sabrina all over again…but on crushed Revives!'

---

"Gengar!" Ash called out as the nonsense stopped on a dime, the Pokemon turning to his Trainer with an inquisitive look, "I got an idea now! Keep doing what you're doing…but charge up Focus Blast!"

"(Ooh~! I lo~ve the way you think, Ashy my boy~!)" Mega Gengar swooned.

"He knows Focus Blast?!" most of Ash's friends and companions shouted.

"Yeah, he actually knows like…a lot of moves!" Ash smiled, "He's like a multitool of moves he never shows off!"

"(And I've got a ton more Imma showin' my fellow jokesters!)" Mega Gengar laughed before a blast of Flamethrower engulfed his face, leaving it covered in ash once more, "..." he opened his mouth and smoke escaped, "(Can I get some water here~?)" one of the shadowy arms went back down before popping out of Brock's shadow, dug into his bag, and pulled out a bottle of water that it tossed at Mega Gengar, who swallowed it whole, "(Ahhh~ Thanks! You've been rather handy, my hand!)" he pulled out several sutra, suddenly donned in a monk's robes while slapping the Will-O-Wisp coming for him, "(Oh no ya don't! My buns shall not be burned this time!)" he spun around and was donned in a lion tamer suit, cracking a whip and poking the Move with a wooden chair, "(Back, foul spirits! Back I say!)"

"Is…Is that even possible, Lady Kira?" Velvet asked, managing a psychic link to her Trainer.

'I should've read more reports about this Gengar…' Kira thought, feeling a headache forming, 'Wish hidden behind Sunny Day then Heat Wave.'

Velvet ducked under a kitchen sink before aiming her staff up at the sky with the Kantonian side facing up. A light shot out of it before creating a bright sun-like object in the ceiling above. Several arms shot out to grab her before they burned away from a blast of heat coming in several waves at them.

"(Phew~! Is it already back to Summer?)" Mega Gengar asked…behind Velvet, causing her to scream and spin around to see him lying on a beach chair in an Alolan shirt with sunglasses, a lei…and a fruity drink in a coconut with a tiny umbrella and colorful straw, "(Oh don't mind me, sexy foxy mama, just catching up on my tan is all. Haven't been to the beach in decades!)"

'I can't even predict its actions…It's like a…a…'

"A Cartoon…an old time cartoon before modern rules for them…" Velvet finished.

"(Oh? I hope you don't mind, but…I'm gonna turn up the heat more now, m'kay~?)" Mega Gengar winked…before all the shadowy hands emerging from the cracks in the field erupted with Fire Punches.

"...(Because of course you know Fire Punch)..." Velvet muttered before yelping as she used Teleport to avoid the first wave of strikes and then Reflect and Protect to make barriers against more.

"(What? I love me some go~od fried eggs and the best way to make 'em is with a trusty Fire Punch or two)," Mega Gengar replied.

"I gotta admit, Ash's Gengar is a fun time!" Makoto laughed, "I don't know what crazy cartoon thing he plans to do next~"

"C…Oh you've gotta be kidding me…" Tsubaki groaned, facepalming, "Of course it's cartoons…"

"D-Did you only recently figure that out?" Mai asked, "I think Gengar really is the perfect trump card against serious types…"

'Too fast…Trick Room!' Kira ordered.

Mega Gengar hummed as he took a sip of his fruity drink before noticing the area turning pink for a moment, "(Oh-hoh~! Trick Rooming, are we? Well…Two can play at this game! Let's play House~!)" he slapped the floor and another pink glow went off.

"(Ah! The hands are still going fast!)" Velvet panicked before yelping as she was grabbed and spun around into a chair.

"(Well of course things feeling they're going fast, hun~)" Mega Gengar replied in a falsetto voice and dressed as a TV mom, "(You just have so many things going on at once that you've overworked yourself! Now you just stay right here and let the masseuse take care of those cracks you've started forming on you now, m'kay~?)"

"(Wait, cracks? I've never heard of Terastalized Pokemon cracking!)" Velvet panicked, looking herself over, "Mistress! Am I cracking?!"

'Ah, no! Velvet, you're being tricked! He…' Kira began before several hands covered in a poisonous aura slammed into Velvet at several angles, '...got you wide open…'

"(Ugh…)" Velvet groaned, purple bags appearing under her eyes as purple bubbles began to come off the top of her head, "(P-Poison…N-Need to use…Lum B…)"

"(Ooh~! A Lum Berry!)" a shadowy hand slapped her across the face as another took it and tossed it into a blender Mega Gengar had plugged into another hand that was crackling with a Thunder Punch, "(Just what I needed for a homemade smoothie!)"

'Wh-What is happening…I…I can't even think, focus…it's like my brain just wants to turn off from all this nonsense,' Kira thought, 'This…this shouldn't be working as well as it is…he's just letting his Pokemon run wild, no orders…no commands…but wait…' she paused upon seeing the smile on both Ash and Mega Gengar, 'Are…are they actually that deeply synchronized that instinctually Gengar just knows what to do? Or is this all just random Nonsense?!'

"(Yeesh…not too bright this lady, is she? So grim and serious…no wonder she's blowing so many fuses. She needs to get out more, perhaps a nice Herbal Tea or relaxant?)" Mega Gengar offered, holding up his hand with a teacup in hand before roughly tossing it away and letting it crack against a wall, "(No no no no…too weak! She needs that Dank Stuff! Yes! The Strong type~!)" he laughed, "(That…or she really needs to find a special someone, someone who gets them and isn't afraid to slap some sense into them! Yeah, probably that. She strikes me as a lonely type…)"

"(I-I'm sorry, but…Do you-HURP!-ever be quiet…?)" Velvet asked.

"(Mmm…Well~There's one last thing I gotta talk about.)"

"(What?)"

"(Focus Blast in the shape of a Grand Prize if you answer say the word 'What.')"

"(What?)" Velvet blinked before party favors went off as the shadowy hands all applauded as Mega Gengar walked over in a game show host's outfit with a stylistic slicked-back wig, "?!"

"(And she's done it! Take it away, Mega Gengar! Tell her what's she won~?)" Mega Gengar asked, looking up at the sky…where he was suddenly standing upside down on it, "(Well, Mega Gengar~! Our lovely contestant tonight has won a Venoshock!)" the bubbles above Velvet paused before reshaping into needles that attacked her, "(Followed by an Ice Punch massage~!)" ice formed along her legs as several spectral hands struck in unison, sticking her in place, "(And last, but certainly not least, is a brand new car~!)" a Ford F150 made of an orange energy slammed down on Velvet, "(Made from pure Focus Blast~!)"

Everyone flinched as a massive explosion went off that cleared the field of any and all debris and dust. Once the light settled, it revealed a downed Velvet with spiraling eyes. Her body glowed before the crystalline coating on her shattered, dissipating into the air. Mega Gengar walked over, dressed as a game show host once more.

"(Good night, everybody! And don't forget to spay or neuter your pet!)" Mega Gengar waved before he lost his Mega Evolution, "..." he waved a hand before his face, "(Aw~! I can't feel out the galaxy, hear the flow of time, smell the universe, taste the sky, nor can I see each molecule through my cosmic eye~)"

"Gengar, you did it!" Ash shouted, running up to hug his Pokemon with a laugh, "And that was hilarious, too!"

"(Aw~)" Gengar chuckled as he returned the hug, "(Well…A happy Trainer is all I need in the end.)"

"I…I'm still…processing…" Kira spoke, having to take a seat as she returned Velvet, "I…I didn't even see where I messed up…where I made a mistake, where did I fail?"

"You didn't!" Ash laughed, "Me and Gengar just don't fight like normal. To get used to him, I had to just…stop thinking! It's more fun that way, right?" Gengar nodded rapidly…before pausing and reached into his own ear to pull out a cowbell much to the Ghost-Type's surprise, "Pfft…S-See?"

"(I…I honestly don't know where I got this…)" Gengar muttered, looking it over in confusion.

Kira inhaled deeply before chuckling, "Oh Arceus above…" she slowly stood up and pushed a button under the railing, causing the balcony to lower down and part of the railing moved to the side, allowing her to walk up to him, "I do not fully understand the how and why…but it matters little. You defeated my team of six…and all that are personally mine and not used by the Gym. And you have showed a control of the battlefield in a way unprecedented." she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a Badge resembling a green feather or fern, "To you, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, I award to you a hard-earned Earth Badge and congratulate you on achieving the required Eight Badges. The Pokemon League begins in three months."

"..." Ash smiled as he accepted it, "Alright! We got the Earth Badge!"

"Gengar~!" Gengar cheered, blowing a party popper before the two blinked as she held up a second Tera Orb to Ash.

"Huh?" Ash pondered.

"I said I would award you with a gift should you overcome my entire team," Kira reminded, "To you, I award a spare Tera Orb I was given. To recharge these, deliver them to a Pokemon Center. The machine they use to heal Pokemon in their PokeBalls can be used to charge these for they can only be used once per charge."

"Whoa…" Ash awed as he accepted it, "So with this we can do the sparkly sparkly thing~"

"It is called Terastalizing," Kira replied, "You simply press the center and toss it to your Pokemon while it is out. But it does not work on Pokemon that are Dynamaxed or Mega Evolved."

"I guess that seems fair. Might be weird to mix a lot of energies like those all at once…" Ash nodded, Gengar nodding with him.

'Oh…Ash is in for a lot of training…' Mai thought, seeing how Kajun was looking at the Tera Orb.

---

Giovanni and Red stood across from one another on their makeshift battlefield. A Rhydon stood before Giovanni, growling at Red's Charizard. For the leader of Team Rocket, he should've been feeling frustration over this upset. His Rhyhorn had easily decimated Red's team of Pikachu, Victreebell, and Jolteon only to have been dealt a double knockout by the Hitmonlee he let out. His Poliwhirl had managed to take down almost all the other Pokemon he had on hand when he had come to speak with M2, only to succumb to a double knockout with his prized Persian. Yet, when he had just his Rhydon left…Giovanni felt a strange sensation: excitement.

'How long has it been since I actually felt this?' Giovanni pondered, looking to Rhydon, seeing a Rhyhorn that newly hatched being cuddled by a blond-haired six-year-old with stars in her eyes, '...Not since that monster took her from…from us. She was much like this boy, loving Pokemon above all else…much like I had been.' he closed his eyes, 'When she was lost…it all changed. I couldn't see Pokemon as anything but tools. Yet…fighting this child…it's as if…I see her again.' he smirked and opened his eyes, "Alright, kid. This is it. Time for the final battle."

Red nodded. He slammed his fist into the palm of his hand and Charizard roared, shooting at Rhydon with a Mega Punch blazing in claw. Giovanni whistled and Rhydon bellowed, charging in with his own. The two swung and their punches missed a stalemate blow, instead slamming into the stride of Rhydon's face and the underside of Charizard's jaw. Red stomped the floor and dragged it clockwise behind him. Charizard snapped his eyes open and swung his tail at Rhydon, an Iron Tail shining from it. Giovanni whistled sharply and Rhydon slammed his tail on the ground, sending up a Rock Throw that took the Iron Tail before rushing in and delivering several jabs of a Fury Attack into the dragon-like Pokemon's stomach. A click of Giovanni's tongue and Rhydon opened his mouth and fired a point-blank Hyper Beam at Charizard, sending him crashing through the debris that had once been one of the base's walls. A moment passed and Charizard broke the rubble around him apart with a roar before panting, several bruises decorating his form with an eye closed shut to keep the blood from a cut caused by the rubble from getting into it. Giovanni snapped his pinkie and thumb and Rhydon charged at him, the telltale signs of a Giga Impact engulfing the beast as its horn spun rapidly. Red spread his arms out before slamming the palms together and Charizard jumped to the side, missing the charge of the Rhydon. Before Rhydon could react, Charizard grabbed Rhydon and flew up into the air. He spun around like a top while performing several aerial flips, a Dragonbreath and Flamethrower billowing out of his jaws to create a spiraling ring of red and purple flames before shooting down and slamming Rhydon with the empowered Seismic Toss, unleashing a wave of dust and debris to engulf the field. For several moments, the two looked into it until it settled…revealing Rhydon knocked out and Charizard landing and giving a victorious roar.

"..." Giovanni held up the Ultra Ball it came from and returned Rhydon, "Impressive. I didn't expect you to have trained your Charizard to achieve this level of power in your first year as a Pokemon Trainer. Then again…this year's batch from Pallet Town is filled with surprises." he approached Red and presented an Earth Badge to him…before Red scowled and shook his head, "Hm? Why not?" Red gestured to the destroyed base around them, particularly to a familiar red 'R' partially buried nearby, "Ah…I see. You don't wish to receive a badge from the leader of Team Rocket." he smirked, "You continually get on my nerves more than the other three from Pallet Town. I suppose I have no choice then." he pulled out a phone and dialed a number, putting it on speaker for Red to hear as well.

=Father!= Aoiro answered =Kira, she was…=

"I'm stepping down from Leadership of Team Rocket effective immediately," Giovanni informed, causing Red to blink several times in surprise.

=?! Y-You're stepping down?= Aorio gasped.

=Pops, pardon my language, but what the fuck!?= Karai gawked.

"Language," Giovanni scolded, "Spread the word out. I am leaving."

=...But….f-father…=

"I'm trusting you three to handle what comes next," Giovanni informed, "I've had a…revelation. With what I've been dealt with this year…what we've had brought up with that Trainer with Ash Ketchum…and the events that have occurred today, I am not able to be the leader Team Rocket needs going forward."

=...Oh snap. This is really happening…= Karai whispered in disbelief.

"We'll discuss more later when I visit your brother," Giovanni stated, "This is my last order as the head of Team Rocket: inform all personnel of my leave and cease all projects involving utilizing Pokemon as mere tools." he hung up and looked over at the surprised Red, "Now then…This isn't from the Boss of Team Rocket, but instead…" he offered the Earth Badge once more, "...Please accept this from the Viridian City Gym Leader, Giovanni Sakaki." he smiled at Red, "It was…honestly a good battle." Red nodded after a moment, accepting the Badge, "Take this Earth Badge and continue to reach for greater heights, Red." Red looked around once more, a confused look on his face, "...What was in here…is a threat to all life, human and Pokemon alike." Red looked back at Giovanni with wide eyes, "It was a mistake that I helped to create through funding and working with a man who understood my pain of losing a daughter to events unforeseen. The Master Ball was meant to be the way I could finally control it to protect this world from monsters beyond its reaches…but I feel that even if I had…Mewtwo would have overpowered even the Master Ball's ability of capturing Pokemon without fail." he let out his Abra, "Red, find your fellow Pallet Town Trainers. Make sure to find Ash Ketchum and his traveling companions especially. Mewtwo is coming for the one he calls Noel Vermillion…the one who I know of as Mu Sakaki, my eldest daughter."

With that, Giovanni left through Abra's Teleport. Red's Charizard looked at Red with a soft growl of concern and confusion as his Trainer looked at where Giovanni had been with eyes wide in shock…and recognition. He pulled off his backpack and opened it, pulling several items out until he pulled out an album and opened it. He knew that blond-haired member had been familiar. He flipped through it until stopping at an article from well over a decade ago…showing a long-haired Noel in a red jacket, black shirt, and blue jeans shaking hands with Cynthia, a big-screen monitor in the background showing Mu's mugshot surrounded by six grayed out PokeBalls and Cynthia with five and a Garchomp.

---

"Father is…retiring?" Kira questioned, her Pokemon being healed up in their HQ's personal healing machine.

"That….That is what he said," Aoiro replied, still…taken aback by her father's sudden order.

"What the hell happened that made Pops do that shit?!" Karai demanded.

"He said he was going to see SIlver, so we'll need to have Velvet and Serenade Teleport us there once your Pokemon are healed, Kira," Aoiro spoke, "Why now of all times is he leaving?" the doors slid open and a Rocket Grunt ran in, "Report."

"W-Word from…from the Boss…" the grunt spoke, panting.

"We know he's retiring. What else is new?" Karai growled.

"A-Agent M2…has…has gone rogue."

"?!" Aoiro and Karai tensed as Kira raised a brow.

"...Wait…wh-what was that about…?"

"Forget that until later. What do you mean M2 has gone rogue?" Aoiro demanded.

"He…The Boss said that you need to find and keep an eye on someone named 'Noel Vermillion' because…Agent M2 is gunning for her."

"?!"

"...Shit shit shit…!" Karai began to panic.

"And she just left with Ash Ketchum and their companions hours ago," Kira noted, frowning.

"Get all available agents mobilized and in stealth operations. Keep a constant surveillance on Noel Vermillion. If Agent M2 appears, they are to deploy their Abra and perform an emergency evac with Noel Vermillion straight to here at once," Aoiro ordered.

"Yes, ma'am!" the grunt saluted as they ran out.

"Ya think Pops is leaving…because he's gonna try ta protect her?" Karai asked.

"We have to ask him once we get to where Silver is staying at on the Sevii Islands," Aoiro replied, 'Father…'

---

"Seriously…they gave you a Zoroark?!" Misty asked in disbelief, the group all in the Pokemon Center as they ate.

"Well…yeah. Houdini's mom said she asked for a volunteer and she…" he gestured to where the Pokemon all were eating as Houdini was sitting beside the clothed Zoroark, "...honestly jumped into the PokeBall."

"No wonder you kept it quiet what you got from them," Kajun sighed, "Quite the surprise."

"The one thing I'm curious about…what's with the jelly beans?" Makoto asked, watching as the Dark-Type pulled one out of her satchel and flicked it up into the air to catch in her mouth…before doing a double-take when Cherry swooped by before it could fall and slumping in defeat.

Ash shrugged, "No idea. Hey, Luca!"

"Professor Sakurai's nieces fed her one as a Zorua and the rest is history," Luca summed up what he had gotten off her, "Just like Pikachu and his ketchup add…" he paused as burning ozone reached his snout as electricity crackling off red cheeks reached his ears, "...no further comments."

"(Say, isn't your Trainer the one who enjoys learning about history?)" Zoroark asked, "(Any chance you could translate for me? I'd love to enjoy a good conversation about it with a fellow history lover.)"

"Yes, but I think that can be done another day please."

"Hm?" Tsubaki raised a brow.

"Nothing of importance for today, Lady Tsubaki!" Luca quickly replied, sweating a little.

"Well I suppose that's fair. It's been a long and stressful, but rewarding day," Tsubaki smiled as she patted Ash on the shoulder.

"Congratulations, Ash," Noel spoke, "This Badge means you get to enter the finals?"

"The Indigo League, yeah," Misty confirmed, "You've got three months, so more than enough time to train up."

"Hey…Three months? That means we can finally relax for at least a week!" Makoto cheered, "Maybe stay in a place with indoor plumbing for more than a weekend."

"Could always stay at mine and Mom's house," Ash offered.

"Oh, if it's not too much trouble?" Noel muttered as she looked at Makoto.

"GASP!? You mean me?!" Makoto declared dramatically.

"Food Budget…" Tsubaki bluntly stated, looking at both her and Ash.

"What? I like food," Ash defended himself, "And I'm still a growing kid."

"Oh like you haven't had issues with a food yourself, Ms. Chocoholic," Makoto grumbled.

"Let's just go ask first," Kajun sighed, "We can, at least, be guests and maybe stay with the Profesor before we wear out our welcome with our endless nonsense, arguing, overeating, and overreactions."

"We're not that bad," Noel noted, "...Right?"

"I don't have any complaints," Ash smiled.

"Well…" Tsubaki, Makoto, and Mai all replied sheepishly.

"Have we been traveling in the same group?" Misty muttered, shaking her head in exasperation with Ash and Noel, "Two words, Ash: Rainbow. Hero."

Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "W-Well…maybe a little bit of shenanigans…"

"(Fair warning, Zoroark. We, as in everyone here and all of the other Pokemon Ash has at the Professor's ranch, are training up to fight a genetically modified clone of Mew that we're likely gonna end up encountering because of the luck of everyone in our Pack)," Berry warned.

"(Wait, what?)" Zoroark asked, pausing in grabbing another jelly bean from her satchel before Houdini ate it, "(AH! Why~?)"

"(Too slow~)" Houdini snickered, "(But yeah…You're in for a lot of surprises traveling with us, my adorable sister of mine from an older egg group)!"

"(I just wanna go home with a bottle of ketchup and sleep for a few days.)" Pikachu sighed, "(Why did I have to fight so many battle freaks one after another…?)" he slumped before falling flat on his face, "(I can't move my body…)"

"(A night's rest should hopefully do you some good,)" Hikari suggested, reading a science book.

"(Right)," Charizard agreed, "(Even with the healing tech here, I'm still aching from that fight with the Delphox)."

"(Not fun at all…)" Pikachu agreed, "(...Though…is it just me or did she look familiar?)"

"(Familiar?)" Berry repeated.

"(I don't know. I just feel like I know that Delphox from somewhere…)"

"(Seriously?)" Cherry raised a brow.

"(Mmm…She did)," Yuki agreed, "(She looks familiar, too.)"

"(Oh great…Now this is gonna bother me)," Houdini groaned.

"Oh, that reminds me, Ashton," Kajun noted, "You were given an object that allows you to do what she did with her Delphox from her, yes?"

"Uh…yeah. This Tera Orb thingy," Ash replied as he held it up.

"You are aware that this is a brand new mechanic we've never seen, much like Mega Evolution and Z-Moves and Dynamax, yes?"

"..."

"Run, Ash, run!" Makoto panicked, already picking up Ash and running off.

"You two get back here!" Kajun barked, chasing them with a notebook in hand.

"(Survive Ash…Survive…)" Pikachu groaned, trying to get up.

"I don't wanna go through Science Mode today!" Ash panicked.

"...Asking Professor Oak if we can stay with him is sounding a whole lot better," Brock admitted, sharing looks with the girls of the group.

"I don't know. Most of them feel more like Ash's sisters," Misty giggled.

"Hm?" Tsubaki raised a brow at that.

"Sisters?" Noel pondered, wincing a little that went unnoticed by the others due to focusing on the runaway Beastkin and eleven-year-old from the purplette with a notebook in hand and a maniacal scientific gleam in her eyes.

---

Waves crashed and fell off the steep cliffsides that reached high into the air. One large tidal wave managed to get a few splashes of water onto the rocky surface at the top. Two feet landed on the ground…before M2's helmet dropped down beside them. Mewtwo looked around the crater he stood upon on the moderately large barren island. It had been a long time since he had been here…not since he had been completed. He turned around to gaze upon the ocean…and, for a brief moment, he witnessed a vast jungle with a mountain in the distance, its top piercing the clouds above as if reaching to the heavens themself. He blinked and the ocean replaced it all.

"...Who am I? Why am I here? Who wanted me to be created?" he pondered aloud before shaking his head as his Psychic power flowed into the air and began to move everything upon the barren island about, "There is much that I despise about my creation! …Except for the one who protected me in my time in that tube and the elder who preferred to try to help me find answers, you all have attacked me, tried to use me! And so…this is neither an attack…nor a declaration of war." he narrowed his eyes, a purple glow erupting inside of them as a dark aura emanated from his body, "You are the ones who created MuTwo and I…and we will strike back…against you!"

---

Z0: Oh crapbaskets…uh…am I supposed to let him run around or do I go collect him? *cracks knuckles for emphasis to question*

GT: Sorry, Z0. But he's gotta be left to his own devices for now.

Z0: I mean we all saw the movie…is it ethical to let him do what he did?

GT: Movies. Remember, they remade the original in that weird animation style with the freaky lips of the human characters.

Z0: I mean…it's practically the same movie with a few small extra scenes.

SZ: True…still…hoo boy.

GT: Will be honest here, folks. Things are picking up big time here. We did plan on Kira going to use a Z-Move with one of her Pokemon, but we had her use one before on Ash and the others, so that would've broken the cover she had going on since she barely avoided discovery with that lie of 'finding' Hades abandoned. But aside from that, there is a lot being exposed here! For one, Ash now has all his Gym Badges for the Pokemon League and was given a Tera Orb as an extra prize for beating Kira's personal team. Then there's Giovanni stepping down and warning Red of the oncoming crisis. Oh, trust us, folks…you're in for a big treat! …After several other adventures. *gets pulled into a headlock by Z0* ACK! We need time to build! We need time to build!

Z0: I am the bringer of Chaotic Equinox! For each chaos brought in I must bring Order! You make me do work! Fool! *tosses GT into a wall* How do I bring order…*holds up hand* I unleash creation of my mind…Bring Order to this chaotic world! *sends it into the fic world* And done.

SZ: 0-0…uh….*looks at the readers*read, like and review folks…and please don't be like Z0…or a certain shark from this one isekai m-oh god why did I mention the shark?!

Z0: *rides off on a three headed sharktopus* NOW CHAOS!