Traveler

by The Straight Elf

Ash Ketchum has been determined to become the best since he was a toddler. He has his eyes set on a charmander, but a twist of fate led him to the humble Nidoran. Note: Mix between anime and the games.

8. Chapter 8: Cinnabar Island

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and supported this story! Thanks to all of you, I finally broke the one hundred mark! This one is a bit heavy on battling, but overall I liked it.

Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

"That Golduck's nothing but trouble." Captain Stewart sighed as he sat down on a large box. Ash nodded in agreement and sat down across from the older man. "He's got a bit of potential, but he's too angry and arrogant to use it. It'll take time to reach him."

Ash shrugged helplessly. It was their last day at sea and they would be able to see Cinnabar Island within a few minutes. They had been trying to train Golduck over the three day journey, but even with the old trainer's help Golduck proved to be far too stubborn to properly train. He followed Ash's commands every now and then, but only really obeyed when Ash reminded him of their deal or when his own pride was at stake.

While Golduck refused to train, Ash was sure that he would do his best if Ash actually put him into battle. Golduck was too prideful to accept anything less than his best when it actually mattered. In the battles Ash had with the off-duty sailors Golduck performed quite well, following every order and managing to use some semblance of strategy.

That was why Ash would be using him against Blaine. It was a risk and Ash had thought about choosing a different pokemon to open with, but he decided that there wasn't a way that using Golduck would hurt him. Even if he lost with Golduck, he would at least do some damage and it might help to drive into Golduck's thick skull that he wasn't as powerful as he thought. If Golduck won a battle then he would have proved his worth on the team, although Ash would still have to work on the attitude.

"By the way, kid, are you coming back to Fuschia?" Stewart asked as he removed his pipe from his mouth and blew a ring of smoke into the frigid air. "That's where we're headed after we dock. I've got to make another few circuits."

Ash shook his head. "I'm thinking of heading back to my home town after I'm done here. I'll see if the Viridian Gym is open. If not I'll just get someone I know to teleport me to Saffron."

He'd come up with his plan on the first day back. Once he hit Cinnabar he would be the closest to home he had been in months. Ash was sure that Professor Oak would let him borrow his Alakazam in order to teleport to Saffron. If not he could just fly there on Plume, although he felt incredibly nervous about trying something like that. Plenty of trainers flew on the backs of pidgeot, but he would prefer to just be teleported.

Captain Stewart absentmindedly nodded. "Never been to either of those places myself. I've never wandered far from the coast. Heard about Sabrina though – most of the trainers I take are terrified of the woman."

The trainer smiled, remembering how easily she defeated him. He could definitely believe that people complained about battling her.

Suddenly the ferry's horn blared, shattering the calm silence that had prevailed over the last hour of the ride. Stewart's head snapped over and he stood up.

"I've got to go. It looks like we're getting close to Cinnabar." Stewart said lazily as he stretched out his tired muscles. "Good luck on your journey, kid. I hope you get that Golduck under control."

Ash nodded in understanding. "Aren't you going to have to come back down to give out instructions?"

"Nope." Stewart replied with a shake of his head. He was already walking away. "I've got someone else to take care of that. Sorry, kid, but there's a lot of paperwork I've got to fill out. Cinnabar's a stickler about that kind of thing."

"Alright." Ash said shortly. "Maybe I'll see you again sometime."

Stewart nodded and walked into the cabin area, his long coat flapping around his legs. Ash watched the old man walk away for a moment before sighing and looking out to the west. While most of what he could see was nothing but calm, gently rolling waves, he could see Cinnabar coming up

The trainer felt a little sad that he had to say goodbye to the old sailor. Although Stewart could be a little coarse and desperately needed to shave, Ash liked him and Stewart had taught him a lot. Ash doubted that Golduck would have trained at all if the Captain hadn't told him how to approach the arrogant water-type.

He sighed and stood up. Now that he was done attempting to train Golduck and didn't have anything else to do he should go back to his cabin. Ash had forgotten to pack the previous night, and he assumed that he only had an hour or two left before they disembarked.

XX

An hour and a half later they landed. One of the sailors that Ash had never talked to delivered the speech that told them when the ship would be leaving, the main attractions, and what pokemon could be found on the island.

Ash found it curious that the sailor didn't mention the gym at all. Gyms were one of the dominant features of any city – the gym leader was responsible for protecting cities and towns in their territory from any threats and headed the League forces in the area. It was odd that its location wouldn't be given to newcomers.

He shrugged it off, though. It shouldn't be too hard to discover the gym. They were hardly inconspicuous.

The first thing he noticed about Cinnabar Island was that it was hot – it was a tropical resort just like the Seafoam Islands but on a larger scale. And since it didn't have an "Ice Time" Cinnabar was just as hot and bright as Ash would expect a tropical paradise to be.

The second thing was the volcano. It was the dominant feature of the island and was what Ash had been able to make out an hour ago, but he hadn't expected it to actually be the entire island. The volcano proper was at the very center of the island, and small mountains covered in forests jutted up around it. Cinnabar was built on one of the bottom slopes of those mountains, where the land had almost flattened.

Ash wondered if any powerful pokemon lived in the immense mountain. He was sure that he would probably find solitary magmar wandering around somewhere nearby – volcanoes were their favored habitat and magmar weren't particularly shy or afraid of humans – but figured that there had to be some other fire-types thriving in or around the volcano.

He promised himself that he would search around the slopes. Ash wasn't sure that he was up for actually looking inside the volcano – that seemed stupidly dangerous – but there couldn't be any harm in being around it. Maybe he would get lucky and find another magmar that Infernus could battle. It would be interesting to see how his friend compared.

But for now he should just focus on finding the gym. Once he beat Blaine he could explore to his heart's content. It wasn't as if he was short on time.

Ash sighed and looked around the town. It was a typical tourist trap. Bright colors and countless vendors vied for the crowds' attention; all seeking to take their own bite into the tourists' wallet. He did his best to ignore the vendors and various tourist attractions.

What he couldn't ignore was the stereotypical music playing in the background, the same tune that seemed to play in every resort he'd ever seen on television. It made Ash want to run out to the wilderness and embrace its silence.

"Excuse me." Ash said as he went up to one of the vendors. The tall, broad-shouldered woman seemed to think that he was a customer and went into a spiel about her product.

"Hello!" She exclaimed with a great deal of almost convincing cheer as she waved her hands over a wide selection of pokeballs. Most were just painted different colors but Ash spotted some of the rarer variants. "You've found Regina's stall of balls! Poke, great, lu –"

Ash raised his hands up. "Sorry, but I just need to know the directions to the gym."

The vendor frowned and the excitement instantly drained out of her body. "Head down that road for about a minute until you reach the end. Now shoo. I've got business to do."

"Thanks." Ash replied stonily. The vendor ignored him and looked for more potential customers with keen, predatory eyes.

Although he had his misgivings about the validity of the woman's directions, he followed them anyways. It wasn't as if he had anywhere else to go. He suspected that the rest of the advice would be just as unhelpful. If it led him to a dead end he could always just find the Pokemon Center and ask the Nurse Joy in charge.

Ash managed to slip through the crowd until he reached the very end of the road. He got out of the bustling crowd and looked around for the gym. When he saw nothing but a few merchandise stands and the ruins of some old wooden building he frowned.

"I guess she was just messing with me." Ash said with a scowl. "Where's the gym?"

"You're looking for Blaine's gym?" A soft, low voice asked. Ash snapped around in surprise and stepped back when he realized a tall man was right behind him. He took a moment to take the man in.

The man was aged, although the wrinkles on his face were faded and barely noticeable. He had a large, bristly mustache and long, light brown hair. A pair of sunglasses covered his eyes, glinting with the sun's light. He wore a bright red shirt and pants, and a necklace made of large green beads. Ash suspected that if he looked at the man's eyes they would be red and glazed over.

"Yes." Ash replied warily. He didn't particularly want to be around the strange man. "Do you know where I could find it?"

"I do, in fact." The old man said with a smirk. "The answer is a riddle. His gym is where you put your glasses."

Ash sighed. He suspected the man was wasting his time. "Could you just tell me?"

"No." The old man quickly replied, amusement coloring the tone. Ash had a scowl on his face as he thought it over. He wasn't the best at riddles. Battling was much easier.

The obvious answer was on his face. But, as he had learned from Gary when his former friend went through an odd phase where he was obsessed with riddles, the answer was rarely the most obvious one.

Ash thought about it for a few more seconds before it struck him. "In front of my eyes?"

"You are correct!" The old man exclaimed sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air. "Look over there to see your prize."

He turned to the old, overgrown ruins that the old man pointed at. Ash sighed. "Are you serious? That's a wreck."

The strange man grinned, although it had a sad undertone to it. "Blaine got tired of battling tourists that cared more about postcards and t-shirts than pokemon. That's when he abandoned the gym." His words took on a particularly strong tone of disgust when he mentioned tourists.

Ash frowned. It sounded as though Blaine had just moved the location instead of actually abandoning his gym leader status. But if Blaine had abandoned it without telling anyone the location of the new gym, the League would probably put him in all sorts of trouble. So he had to have told someone.

"I'm a real challenger though, not a tourist. Blaine has to give me a battle." Ash replied with a bit of fire in his voice. "Do you know where the real gym is? Blaine had to have told someone where he moved."

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my friend. Blaine only has to accept your challenge if you can actually find the gym. But if you need anything, here's my card."

Ash carefully took the proffered card from the old man's fingers, glancing down at it. "The Big Riddle Inn?"

An odd name for a hotel, but Ash supposed that it fit the man perfectly. Ash glanced up to ask a few more questions but realized that the old man had vanished. He frowned and looked around. Still no sign of the strange man.

Ash suspected that the old man was more than he seemed. He was just a bit too knowledgeable about everything. He was probably just someone in the know – possibly even one of the people Blaine had told the location to.

Although he could probably learn a bit from the man, Ash decided to avoid the Big Riddle Inn as best he could. He didn't want to put up with his oddities if he didn't have to, especially since it just seemed like the old man was only trying to waste his time.

Nevertheless, he placed the card in the pocket of his jacket. The town looked as though it were filled to capacity. While the Pokemon Center should have plenty of room it was best to be on the safe side.

He figured that he should probably head to the Pokemon Center. Ash could remember the directions to it pretty easily, and perhaps one of the nurses would know where he could find the gym.

Ash walked away from the ruined gym a few moments later. He wanted to be able to look around the town and island before nightfall, so it was best to get started.

XX

"What do you mean there's no room?" Ash asked in annoyance. He tried to keep his patience with Nurse Joy – she looked horribly stressed out and exhausted – but he couldn't keep all of it out of his tone. "Are any of these people actual trainers?"

Nurse Joy shook her head. "Maybe one or two are real trainers, but most are just tourists that have a trainer's license. They're abusing the system, but I can't legally force them out. I'm really sorry, but we just don't have enough room. People are even sleeping in the lobby."

Ash sighed. "Thanks for your time. But do you know where the gym is?"

"The gym? I have no idea." Nurse Joy frowned. "Blaine just took off one day and set a fire in his old gym. It has to be somewhere on the island, but I wasn't informed about it. But if I know Blaine, it'll be somewhere that no one will expect – somewhere that only the smartest or the strongest would be able to reach. I'm sorry that I can't help you."

He grinned and waved it off. Nurse Joy just gave him a hint. Maybe he would be able to find it on his own, even if it would take a while. "It's fine, and thanks for taking the time to talk to me."

Nurse Joy smiled at him before leaving to attend to the tourists. Ash scowled at the tourists clogging up the Pokemon Center before he left. He would have to spend even more time looking for a place to sleep now. While he would be fine curled up somewhere on his sleeping mat and with his friends, he would prefer to stay under a roof for at least tonight.

Unfortunately, even after two hours of searching that had put him in a very bad mood, he had no such luck. Although Ash went to almost all of the hotels that he could find – and there were a lot considering that this was a resort town – they were all completely full. Apparently he'd had the misfortune to come during the busy season, so there was no chance of him finding a room.

Ash hesitantly pulled out the card that the old man had given him. While he really didn't want to see the stranger again, it looked like he had no choice. Unless he wanted to be searching the town for the foreseeable future in the vain hope that he could find a place to stay he had to at least try the Big Riddle Inn.

It had the name of the hotel in the upper right corner, under which was a simple drawing of a volcano. A house and clouds were on the left side of the card. Under the volcano were a few lines of text. Ash angled the card into the light and squinted at the small words.

"If you look near the swings you'll see my hands, or at least my face." He read aloud.

Ash's eye twitched as he realized that it was another riddle. He wouldn't be surprised if the old man printed these out just to mess with people, although he couldn't see how the Big Riddle Inn stayed in business if nobody knew where to find it.

He scowled and put the card back in his pocket. While it wasn't doing anything for his somewhat short temper at the moment, it might be useful later. Ash made sure not to "accidentally" tear it as he put it in.

Unfortunately the Inn was his best bet, so he would do his best to find it. If he couldn't find it then he would just set up camp outside of the city. It wouldn't be too bad, although he preferred sleeping in an actual bed when he was in a city.

The trainer turned back into the hotel he'd just left. While the receptionist hadn't been able to get him a room, maybe she could tell him where the Inn was.

She was reading a magazine when he came in. Ash supposed that there weren't that many people coming in this late – it was sunset by now – and she didn't have to pay as much attention. The receptionist quickly put the magazine away when he walked up and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Look, I've already told you that we don't have rooms. I doubt any of the other hotels do either, come to think of it." She said in an annoyed tone. Ash frowned and brushed her off.

"I just need to know where I can find the Big Riddle Inn." He said stonily, not bothering to be particularly polite. Ash had gotten fed up with this about an hour ago.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "That's the one that crazy guy runs, right?"

Ash wordlessly nodded, figuring that was an apt description of its proprietor.

"Sorry, no one knows where that place is. I think a few trainers have gone there, but they never say anything. All I know is that it's somewhere outside the city proper."

"Thanks." Ash sighed. He should have figured that it wouldn't be that easy. Oh well, at least this made his choices somewhat easier. If he didn't find the inn he could just make camp wherever he felt like.

The receptionist was already back to her magazine and waved him away. Ash frowned at her for a moment before leaving the brightly lit hotel, just a bit annoyed with the teenager.

But he didn't have time to be annoyed. Ash didn't want to be stumbling around outside the city at night so he needed to hurry up. Hopefully he wouldn't have to. Plume didn't have the best night vision, but he hoped that she could use the little daylight they had left to find the hotel.

He wasted no time in heading towards the main gate. Ash had passed it several times while looking for a hotel, so didn't have to ask directions. The walk to it took only about five minutes, so Ash didn't burn up too much precious daylight.

Ash quickly walked out of the confines of the city, releasing Nidorino and Plume once he did so. Plume quickly soared up into the air with a single beat of her powerful wings. She took her position high above Ash, scanning for any danger. Nidorino took Ash's side, staying just a little bit behind the trainer.

"Hey, guys." Ash said with a grin, his mood lightening a bit thanks to his pokemon. "I'm looking for a hotel called the Big Riddle Inn. Plume, could you help me out?"

Plume shrieked an affirmative and took off. Ash slowly walked down the trail. His friend would easily be able to find him even if it was dark, and he might get lucky and find the hotel in an area where Plume's vision might be unable to penetrate.

He wandered around for a bit, although he always stuck to the trail. Cinnabar Island had similar trees and plants to the mainland, although most of the trees here were much taller and thinner. There were a few large patches of the light forest that had been completely burned down. Ash figured that it proved at least some fire-types made their home on the island.

About fifteen minutes later, he heard a loud shriek coming from above. Ash looked up and smiled at Plume as she gracefully landed in the space just a few feet in front of him, her massive bulk not inhibiting her in the least.

"Did you find it?" Ash asked hopefully. The sun was almost completely down and he would have to set up camp soon, even if he was only about a mile from the city.

Plume nodded proudly and puffed out her chest. Ash smiled and gently stroked her crest, whispering his thanks to her. She soaked up the attention, chirping brightly.

"Can you show me where it is, or do we need to wait until tomorrow?" Ash asked, not wanting Plume to fly at night if it might cause her problems.

His friend seemed to snort at him as best a bird could and took off, sending a gale of powerful wind to the ground that kicked up a huge cloud of dust and sent Ash stumbling back. Plume shrieked out her position to him once he had recovered, prompting him to look up. She slowly flew forward, pausing and circling around when Ash didn't follow fast enough.

Ash coughed a bit to get some of the dust out of his lungs and followed Plume, his eyes locked onto her dark form. It was getting dark, but he figured that the hotel couldn't be too far away. So he followed his friend's direction, doing his best to get around every minor obstacle the terrain threw in his path. Nidorino managed to guide him around small gaps in the earth caused by the constant seismic activity.

Eventually the journey took them up several steep hills, causing Ash to believe that they were starting to climb one of the mountains or the volcano itself. Night was converging quickly, so Ash increased his already brisk pace. He saw a small playground at the base of one of the hills. Ash's mind flashed back to the riddle, "If you look near the swings you'll see my hands, or at least my face". It looked like he was getting close unless, of course, the old man had given him the card purely to mess with him.

But after scaling the steep hill – he felt a little annoyed at Plume for being able to fly; she constantly shrieked at him in order to get him to go faster and flew over his head now and then, apparently unable to understand that hills were difficult to climb up – he was able to see a faint glow coming from a large, dim shape.

Ash's hopes rose drastically in the moment Plume lazily glided over to the shape, which he recognized as a large building. The fatigue in his legs from the climb practically vanished as he jogged towards the building. Plume circled over the building and he could hear Nidorino's large, heavy feet pattering the ground as his friend charged behind him.

He slowed down to a brisk walk as he neared the building. From here he could vaguely make out the sign above the door proclaiming the building to be the "Big Riddle Inn".

"Finally!" He exclaimed. Nidorino growled in agreement. Ash looked up to Plume, who was still circling over the building. "Thanks, Plume. You did great!"

Plume cried out in response before he returned her. Ash pulled the door open – it was a bit of a struggle considering that it was thick, heavy wood, but he managed – and stepped inside. He held the door so that Nidorino could get in as well and looked around.

The room was quite large, although the ceiling was a bit low. Several large windows opened up an incredible view that showed off the glowing lights of the town and the wide expanse of untouched forest that provided a buffer between the town and the Big Riddle Inn.

A small, empty desk was right in front of him. Several small tables holding various pictures of the sights around Cinnabar Island dotted the room. He noticed that most of them focused on the volcano. More pictures showed off the forest or some of the wild fire-types. Ash counted a ninetales, vulpix, arcanine, and several magmar in the portraits.

"So you managed to find me." The low, soft voice of the old man spoke up from his left. Ash snapped his attention to the old man, who was leaning on the brown wooden wall with his arms crossed. "As a prize, I give you free rooms here at the hotel."

Ash nodded. "Thanks."

He blushed as his stomach suddenly growled. Ash hadn't eaten since he got off the ship and it was beginning to show. The old man grinned.

"I guess I'd better get started on supper. Your room's over there." He said, pointing to a hallway. "First one on the right. The hot springs are through those stairs. They'll take you out back." The old man continued, gesturing towards a set of stairs that descended into the ground. "I'll just call you when dinner's ready."

Ash nodded his thanks and headed to his room, Nidorino calmly following. He saw the proprietor go off to wherever the kitchen was before he went out of sight.

He wrinkled his nose when he stepped into the room. It was fine – the furniture was well-looked after and everything looked fresh and clean – but there was the slight stench of sulfur in the air. Ash sighed and figured he'd get used to it in a few minutes. The smell was probably from the hot springs underneath the hotel. There probably wasn't any getting around it.

Despite the unpleasant smell, Ash found the rest of the room to be satisfactory. He placed his pack underneath the bed and found a toothbrush and other toiletries inside the small connected bathroom. Ash looked around and let Nidorino jump up on the bed.

Ash sat down next to his friend a few moments later, done exploring. The room was pretty small, so there wasn't that much to see. He just patiently waited for dinner, patting his friend every now and then and making a plan of what to do tomorrow.

He figured that he would explore the island in search of the gym tomorrow. Blaine might have hidden it well, but Ash would find it even if he had to walk over the entire island. The gym leader couldn't hide it from Plume's eyes, and Ash knew that he would find it.

After that he would probably stay in Cinnabar for a few days to relax and hopefully let Infernus test his strength against others of his kind. Infernus was the most powerful member of his team, although Nidorino was a close match in both power and experience. It would be interesting to see how he compared against other magmar.

And then it was back home. Ash still had two badges to get, but he figured a bit of relaxation wouldn't hurt him too badly. Besides, if he was at the Oak Corral he could stay and train with all of his pokemon. It would be nice to not have to switch out just to train them.

Suddenly, the call for dinner reached his ears. Ash snapped out of his thoughts and rushed out of the room, pausing only to let Nidorino out. His stomach had a far stronger hold on him than his mind did at the moment.

XX

"Huh. Is that how I used to eat when I was a trainer? You're worse than a snorlax." The old man said as Ash tore into the food, staring at the boy in disbelief. Several empty plates and bowls were littered around him and Ash was half-way through another. Ash's utensils were almost a blur as he dug in. Nidorino was little better. The poison-type was devouring bowl after bowl of food.

Ash just ignored the man. He had barely realized how hungry he was until he reached the hotel. It was nice to have a practically unlimited supply of food. When he was finished that bowl, he sat back and sighed. The proprietor decided that was the best time to cut in.

"Well, now that you're done eating most of my food, what's your name, kid?"

"Ash Ketchum." He replied, sitting up a little bit. "What's yours?"

The old man ignored Ash's question. "So you're a pokemon trainer. What pokemon do you have? Aside from your Nidorino, that is."

"A pidgeot, seadra, hypno, magmar, and golduck." Ash said, listing the pokemon he currently had. "Those are the ones I have on me, at least."

He noticed that the man's eyes brightened when he mentioned Infernus. The man leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "You've got a magmar? How well-trained is it?"

"He's one of the most powerful members of my team, along with Nidorino here." Ash grinned, patting his friend on the head. Nidorino grunted in thanks and quickly dove back into his dinner.

A wide grin split the old man's face. "I'm glad. I've grown up around magmar. They can be devastatingly powerful if trained correctly. If it's doing so well, I suppose you must be quite the trainer. If you can find Blaine's gym, I'm sure you'll put up a fight."

"Thanks." Ash replied. "Are you sure that you don't know where the gym is?"

The old man shook his head. "Sorry, Ash, but Blaine's gone. Those ruins are all that's left of the gym. Damn tourists ruined it for all the real trainers."

He frowned. While he hardly thought that the old man was telling the whole truth, it was clear that he wouldn't get anything out of him. It looked like he'd have to find the gym leader himself.

The rest of their dinner was quiet, with only a few snippets of conversation here and there. Ash finally grew full a few minutes later and went to his room after telling the strange old man good night. He released Dazed and took a shower before heading to bed, despite how early it was.

He wanted to get up early tomorrow so that he could have as much time as he could to search for the gym. If he had to sacrifice a few hours of scanning the pokedex database, so be it.

Ash took nearly an hour to go to sleep. He couldn't help but twist and turn as he fruitlessly sought sleep. Normally he was either exhausted when he went to bed this early. All the other times he went to bed at an incredibly late hour, so it wasn't that hard.

But he finally got himself tired enough to sleep. His last thoughts were that Dazed might have been helping him out.

XX

He woke up just as early as he'd hoped. It looked like the sun had only just risen and the air still held an early morning nip, although it was still warmer than most places on the mainland. Ash carefully slid out from under his covers, taking care not to disturb Nidorino. His friend was still curled up on the bed, ears twitching as he slept.

Ash nodded a hello at Dazed who was staring at him. She blinked in return and returned to staring out the window. Dazed's odd habit of staring into space or at walls had lessened since she had evolved. Instead she stared at sources of light or living creatures, analyzing their every movement. It had disconcerted some of the passengers and sailors aboard the Roaring Wailmer, but Ash didn't particularly care. Dazed could do what she wanted. She wasn't hurting anyone.

The trainer quietly got ready in the bathroom, brushing his teeth and taking his shower in just a few minutes. When he was done, Ash left the room and entered the main room. Dazed quietly followed him, shuffling behind the trainer and curiously examining the furniture and lightbulbs.

He didn't see any breakfast, unfortunately. Ash shrugged it off. There was some food in his bag that he needed to eat. It was getting a bit old and he didn't want to waste any of it. Besides, he was still feeling a little bit full from the huge meal he had gorged himself on last night.

Ash looked around a bit more but soon realized that the there wasn't very much to look at. While everything was clean and in good condition, the old man didn't decorate beyond the bare minimum.

Since there wasn't anything to do in here and he could hear the old man's loud snores coming from the lone bedroom near the flight of stairs that led to the hot springs Ash figured that he could just leave. He'd be coming back anyways, so it wasn't as if he needed to wake the old man up.

The trainer walked back into his room and woke Nidorino up. His friend frantically looked around and growled until he realized it was Ash. Nidorino grunted an apology at Ash and stretched before jumping off of the crumpled, balled up sheets.

Ash accepted his friend's apology before tidying up the room. He figured it was the least he could do since the old man had given it to him for free. Afterwards he left the hotel, although he remembered to recall Dazed before he did so. She had more endurance as a hypno, but she still didn't enjoy walking for long periods.

When he left he released Plume. She shrieked in happiness at being released and took to the skies. Ash grinned and looked around. He hadn't been able to see his surroundings very good last night.

It turned out that they were on the slope of the volcano. The fiery mountain loomed above him, its presence a reminder of nature's power. The Big Riddle Inn was on a carved out, flat piece of the mountain, almost a quarter of the way up. Ash supposed that the slight slope he had been travelling on had added up to quite a bit of height.

He turned his attention away from the volcano. Ash needed to focus on the important thing: finding Blaine and his hidden gym. Sight-seeing could come later.

A few moments later he set off. Ash decided to explore around the base of the volcano first. Blaine would probably set it up somewhere around the mountain of fire just for symbolic purposes. It would make sense.

But as he began the first steps of his search, Ash began to have a bad feeling that he would be searching for a very long time.

XX

It turned out that his prediction came true. For two hours he searched, finding nothing except a few clawed out burrows and several very annoyed vulpix. Ash managed to get away from the foxes quite easily – they weren't aggressive enough to chase him very far. After that he'd had lunch, feeding all of his pokemon the last bits of spare food. They deserved the treat.

Then he'd searched for another three hours. That hadn't turned up anything besides a few tourists that apparently had no idea it wasn't safe to be outside the city walls without any pokemon. Ash sent them back to the city, knowing that any mischievous or aggressive pokemon would terrorize them.

After that, he'd looked higher up on the base of the volcano. Ash wouldn't be surprised if Blaine had managed to hide a gym on the volcano's slopes, disguised and camouflaged from all but the most perceptive seekers.

And then even that hadn't turned up anything. He'd found evidence of magmar living around the volcano, but nothing else. Ash was beginning to get incredibly frustrated with the search and had finally retreated down past the slope of the volcano until he was back in the forest. At least this way he might find a trainer to battle, even if it was probably wistful thinking.

But right now he was investigating a massive stretch of charred earth. The blackened stumps of trees littered the area, showing that it was once a forest. A thin layer of ash and soot covered the entire clearing, causing each of his steps to leave an imprint. Gouges were ripped out of the earth and partially-hardened magma covered the area around it. All in all it looked as though a huge battle had taken place.

Ash kneeled and examined one of the tree stumps. The entire area was still quite hot and the ash in particular was still painful to the touch. Cinders burning in some of the tree stumps – Ash noticed that some of them looked like they'd been torn apart instead of just incinerated – told him that whatever did this couldn't be very far away.

He looked down at Nidorino. "Get ready. I think that whatever did this is close. Do you hear anything?"

Nidorino's face tightened in concentration and his long ears twitched. A few moments later he shook his head, although Ash noticed that he didn't seem completely sure. His friend seemed quite wary of something, although not even Nidorino knew what it was.

"Should I be on guard?"

Nidorino nodded and glared around the destroyed portion of the forest. Ash looked up at Plume. She still hadn't attacked, so Ash assumed that she hadn't seen anything from her lofty position. Hopefully that meant he would be fine.

Just to be safe he released Infernus. Judging from the sheer amount of devastation the area had been put through he assumed that a magmar had battled. The gouges in the earth resembled Infernus' lava plume attack. Still, Ash doubted that a single magmar could have wreaked this much destruction unless it was quite powerful. More likely it had been two fighting over territory. Magmar weren't exactly the most sociable pokemon, after all.

Infernus seemed to sense something the others didn't. He immediately walked to a safe distance from Ash and flared up, releasing a huge wave of heat from his body as he roared a challenge. Ash quickly backed away and was quickly followed by Nidorino.

"Be careful. This could get ugly." He warned his friend. Nidorino nodded and got ready to protect Ash from any threat. Ash released Dazed just to be on the safe side. She hadn't gotten much action lately and she would be invaluable against a fire-type.

And then a gigantic explosion occurred. Ash covered his eyes and was grateful that he had released Dazed – she instantly threw up a psychic barrier that easily shielded the three of them from the flames, heat, and lava that had accompanied the blast.

Wait, lava?

Ash watched with wide eyes as the familiar form of a magmar erupted from beneath the layer of ash and hardened magma at the edge of the clearing. Only this time it wasn't on his side.

Infernus roared again, challenging the newcomer. The magmar roared back, blasting a huge wave of flames toward Infernus. They were easily dodged, and Infernus sent a powerful blast of flames blazing back in response.

While the magmar dodged them, Infernus beat his tail around and roared again. The other magmar repeated the ritual and gave Ash the chance to examine it closer, although the waves of heat produced by the two battlers caused the other magmar's natural camouflage to act up and shroud some details.

From what he could see, this magmar was smaller than Infernus, but built stockier. It seemed older, however, as Ash could make out a few massive scars crossing over its body. In addition its attacks seemed more focused than the reckless, powerful attacks of Infernus.

Ash decided to let Infernus handle this. He'd heard that Blaine had an old, powerful magmar on his team, back from his days of being in the Elite Four. This way he could learn what worked and what didn't work against it.

Infernus made the first move. He stamped his foot, sending the earth around him blasting upward and causing lava to explode from around him. Magmar roared and expertly dodged the attack, displaying speed and agility beyond what Infernus was capable of.

Magmar quickly closed the ground against Infernus, dodging or taking the blasts of flame Infernus constantly sent at it. The older fire-type slowed for a second as it neared Infernus. Its eyes burned a bright red and a purple ball of energy flashed towards Infernus. Ash winced – he recognized a confuse ray when he saw one.

Ash's friend roared and suddenly attacked in all directions, releasing massive blasts of flames from all over its body. Magmar seemed smug about its successful attack and turned its head up to the sky. Its arms glowed brightly for a moment before firing a beam of bright, golden energy into the sky.

He began to pant as the sun suddenly intensified, casting a bright glare over the area. Ash was glad that he had his hat. It managed to block the worst of it, although the heat continued to be a problem. Dazed's barrier only blocked some of the heat from the battle itself, so this addition just amplified the discomfort he was feeling.

Magmar casually walked up to the wildly flailing Infernus and punched him in the gut. Ash winced at the attack. It didn't do much, but it had to have hurt his friend. The wild pokemon wreathed its fist in flame and punched Infernus in the face, clearly expecting the blow to be the end of the battle.

That's when Infernus breathed a stream of white smog from his mouth, covering Magmar and sending the older pokemon reeling and clutching at its face. Infernus quickly took advantage and spit a stream of powerful flame at Magmar, distracting it as Infernus slammed a flaming fist into its face.

Infernus continued the relentless assault, hurting Magmar not with the flames on his fists but by the sheer force and power behind them. The previously confident Magmar was helpless underneath the constant blows and was finally knocked to the ground. It wasn't unconscious thanks to its immense durability and energy, but it was defeated.

His friend suddenly slammed a shackled foot onto Magmar's chest. An instant later the earth around him exploded, sending chunks of earth slamming into Magmar's back. Infernus stepped off of Magmar and blasted it with a flamethrower, adding insult to injury. The attack did little, but it made Magmar realize that it had made a mistake.

The older fire-type suddenly blasted flames everywhere – Ash noticed that quite a few of the blasts were aimed at him and the other pokemon, although the barrier managed to hold up – and ran away. It blended in perfectly with the rippling flames, but Infernus didn't seem fooled. He charged after Magmar, blasting huge streams of flame with a newfound ferocity.

Infernus angrily roared when he realized that his foe had eluded him and turned back to Ash. With a stamp of his foot the flames covering him were extinguished, although the inferno around them blazed, albeit far away from Infernus and the others.

"You did great, Infernus!" Ash shouted. Dazed lowered the barrier and let Ash run up to his friend. Infernus roared at the praise and shot a huge blast of flame into the air, apparently not even tired from his recent battle. The trainer grinned – he really liked how tireless Infernus was. He'd be up for a battle in just a few hours.

Then he turned to the inferno. It was still roaring and the heat was brutal – he was sweating like crazy – but Ash figured Plume could get rid of it easily enough. He whistled and called her down. While it might have been smart to call out Golduck, Ash didn't expect the water-type to actually do anything. Golduck refused to do anything outside of battles.

Plume quickly extinguished it with great gusts of wind. The flame had already begun to weaken and die once Infernus stopped powering it, but now it was being swept away, leaving nothing but a few cinders that would soon die in the charred surroundings.

Ash wiped a bit of sweat from his brow. He looked at his hand in distaste. His sweat was gritty and black from the soot.

"Thanks, Dazed. Infernus, you did awesome. I bet you'll beat anything Blaine throws at us!" Ash said. Dazed nodded with a bowed head while Infernus roared again and blasted even more fire into the atmosphere. With that he returned them, letting them rest inside their pokeballs.

Once the last of the flames were gone, Plume landed in front of him. He grinned at her and lightly scratched her head. Plume chirped at the contact and leaned into him, causing Ash to stumble back and laugh.

"You did good, girl. I'm going to head back to the hotel." Ash said, observing the world around him. Sunset had just begun, and he knew that it would be useless to try to find anything in the dark. He couldn't even find that accursed gym in the day.

Plume nodded her understanding and took off, leaving large talon marks in the ash. He looked down at Nidorino, who seemed much more relaxed now that the hidden threat had been vanquished.

"Alright, buddy, are you ready?"

Nidorino nodded. Ash grinned and set off. He might not have had the most productive day, but at least it had been kind of fun. At least the walk back wouldn't be too bad. He was only about half a mile from the Big Riddle Inn.

XX

As he left the huge clearing, he almost ran into a tall figure. Ash leapt back and looked at the shadowed figure with careful eyes. Nidorino growled and squared himself for battle.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there." The figure replied. The deep voice revealed the figure as a man. Despite the casual words, the voice carried with it a powerful undertone of authority and power. Ash noticed that it had a slight accent that Ash couldn't place. "I'm just going to investigate a fire I saw a few minutes ago. Do you know what they are?"

Ash took in the man before answering.

The first thing he noticed was how absolutely massive the man was. He was quite tall, although not to a ridiculous extent, and his burly frame balanced it out. His build was powerful, filling out his height without seeming odd or disfiguring.

The second thing was the hair. It was long and styled backwards in order to keep out of his eyes, but what attracted Ash's attention was that it was light red. Not quite pink, but closer to it than any other shade. The color seemed to fit the man, however, and didn't detract from his intimidating appearance.

His clothes were also unique. He wore combat boots and an odd sort of suit. It was mostly dark blue, although the chest and stomach area were a bright crimson, as were the cuffs. The suit was made of some odd material that Ash couldn't really describe, although it looked highly durable and somewhat shiny.

Ash couldn't help but notice the cape. It was small enough to be relatively practical, but at the same time it was a cape. He didn't think that he had ever seen anyone wear a cape before out of movies, and all in all it seemed like an odd clothing choice.

The man's face was fierce looking, although it was relaxed and calm at the moment. It was angular, a characteristic only augmented by his hair.

All in all it wasn't a look that Ash ever expected to see travelling in the forest, although he had the funniest feeling that he'd seen the man before. It was at the back of his mind, but it was like something was keeping him from realizing it.

Ash shook his head and answered the tall man. "Me and my pokemon got into a battle with another magmar. It ran off, though, so everything's fine."

The man frowned. "Are you alright? Magmar can be pretty dangerous."

"I'm fine." Ash confirmed. He went out on a limb, figuring he had nothing else to lose. "Do you know where I can find the gym here?"

Ash was met with an ambiguous expression. "I might. What's your name?"

"Ash Ketchum." He replied honestly. "What's yours?"

"My name is Wataru. Anyways, I can give you help. Of a sorts, at least. You see, Blaine built another gym, one that tourists never see. It's in a place where firefighters can never win." The man said with a grin. Ash scowled – what was it with weird strangers and their riddles?

Fortunately, this was an easy one considering where they were. The place where firefighters could never win – a volcano.

"No way." He whispered, eyes growing wide. "Blaine built his gym in the volcano?"

Wataru nodded, a slight smile on his face. "Correct. Since you figured it out, I'll give you another hint. Have you come across the Big Riddle Inn?"

Ash slowly nodded, mind racing at the possibilities. And then Ash pieced it together. The riddles along the same vein as the one Wataru just gave him, the hotel that was the only building even close to the immense volcano.

"You've got to be kidding me. The hotel owner is Blaine?" He said incredulously. Wataru smiled.

"Indeed. Anyways, look for a gyarados. Blaine is waiting."

Ash nodded distractedly, disbelief overtaking his other thoughts. He couldn't believe he'd missed it. After talking to the man and even spending the night there, he hadn't even been suspicious of the old man. Maybe he'd thought that the old man – Blaine, he corrected – knew something about the gym's location, but never that he was the gym leader himself.

"Thanks. But how'd you know that any—" Ash suddenly stopped talking, finally noticing that Wataru had vanished. He sighed, slightly annoyed at the helpful man's disappearance. It just didn't seem right that such a large man was able to slip away like that.

Oh well. That didn't matter at the moment. What did matter was that he knew where the gym was and how to enter it.

Ash had a wide grin on his face as he set off, no longer feeling the accumulated fatigue of the day.

Blaine awaited him.

XX

Sunset was just beginning to end when Ash reached the Big Riddle Inn. He was heedless of his own exhaustion that had accumulated over the day of constant searching, too focused on his task to let such a minor thing inconvenience him. Ash had a badge to earn.

Nidorino, on the other hand, didn't show any hint of tiredness. Ash had to envy him for the immense endurance and durability that his friend possessed, although it had been helped by the fact that Nidorino never had to battle all day.

Blaine wasn't in the hotel. Ash figured that the gym leader was waiting in the gym. That just pushed him on more – he remembered Wataru's hint to look for a gyarados. He assumed that it was some sort of statue or picture – there was no way a real gyarados would fit in the hotel.

But he didn't go blindly rushing in. Ash looked around the hotel's main room and thought for a moment. If the entrance was somewhere in the hotel, than it had to be connected to the volcano. None of the hotel proper actually touched the volcano, which meant that it had to be out back or underground. That meant his best bet was to search those hot springs Blaine had told him about.

Ash briskly walked over to the stairs and went down. Nidorino slowly followed him, able to traverse stairs with little difficulty but uncomfortable with the narrow, carved wood. The air grew hot and a strong smell of sulfur entered his nose.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust and waited on Nidorino, who was only halfway down the stairs. When his friend caught up with him, Ash looked around the hot springs. They were pretty small, but looked comfortably warm. That didn't attract his attention though. What did was the large statue of a gyarados' head that supplied the springs with their water.

They carefully walked up to it, managing to walk along the damp, slick stone that surrounded the springs. Ash was slow, not wanting to get all of his things wet. Nidorino didn't care about that. He gleefully jumped into the hot, bubbling water and swam over to the statue. His friend leapt out of the water and patiently waited for Ash to arrive.

Ash smiled at his wet friend before curiously examining the area around the statue. There wasn't a door or anything hidden behind it, so it looked like something about the statue itself would let him enter the gym.

He ran his fingers over the rough, grey stone. Ash winced at the heat radiating from the statue but got used to it after a few second. The trainer sighed when he found nothing around the neck or the sides of the head and lightly searched the burning top of the stone, careful to keep his hands from touching it for more than a moment or two.

Ash suddenly grinned when he felt something press down a bit as he applied pressure. He figured that that was his way into the gym. The trainer carefully angled his hand so that only his light glove would make contact with the hot stone before pressing down.

The moment it wouldn't go anymore he yanked his hand back. Even with the barrier his glove provided it was still quite painful to put his hand on the gyarados' head. Ash waited for a moment before the stone suddenly began to grind.

He stepped back carefully as the gyarados statue suddenly swung away, nearly hitting him and knocking him into the hot springs. The water that fell from its mouth was suddenly cut off, and a huge section of the cavern wall smoothly slid into the ground.

Ash curiously peered at the large pathway that had been provided for him. It glowed ominously with dim red light, but he couldn't actually see into it. A little thing like that wouldn't dissuade him, however.

"Let's go, Nidorino." He said to his friend as he stepped into the pathway. Now that he was closer, he could see that it was a short staircase carved from the stone. The steps were uneven and ragged, so he assumed that a pokemon had done it in a hurry. It was lit by candles placed into alcoves by the stairs.

He traipsed down the stairs casually, noting the growing heat but ignoring it. Blaine's gym was in the volcano, so he'd be experiencing a lot worse in a few minutes. Before he reached the bottom of the stairs, Ash was able to make out two huge, steel doors that hid the next area from his eyes.

Ash had to admit that he was feeling a bit nervous. Blaine certainly had a flair for the dramatic.

The trainer almost tried to pull the doors open himself, then realized how stupid that was. He had entered the side of a volcano. Those doors would probably be burning hot.

He quickly released Infernus. "Hey, could you open those doors for me?" Infernus seemed disappointed at the lack of the battle but prepared to do as he asked. "Carefully, please." Ash hastily added.

Infernus growled but did as he asked. His burning hands weren't even affected by the intense heat blazing off from the massive doors and he looked almost bored as he yanked them open with his immense strength.

"Thanks." Ash said before returning the fire-type. Infernus would get a battle he wouldn't be forgetting soon enough.

Ash couldn't help but freeze when he entered the next area. Aside from the huge wave of heat that crashed into him, imparting upon his skin a burning sensation and causing him to sweat, the huge room he entered was simply awe-inspiring.

They were in the heart of the volcano. A huge platform that was suspended over the bright, burning magma by huge, thick chains sat in the center, the lone protection against a fall. Smoke hovered everywhere, stagnant and shrouding the other side of the arena from his view. When he looked up, he could see out of the volcano's dome. The darkness of night was easily banished by the bright, molten magma.

He shook himself out of his shock and stepped forward, drawing closer to the edge of the stone. Ash didn't dare look down – he'd probably jump back and make himself look weak in front of Blaine, wherever the old man was.

Suddenly the volcano was illuminated by several massive lines of lights. Ash could see that the rest of the area, previously shrouded in the darkness, was mostly just a large ring of stone around the very edge of the arena. The other side of the arena was also illuminated, showing that a set of doors similar to the ones he had come in through blocked the entrance.

Ash had to blink at the sudden light. When he heard the familiar voice of the old man, however, he quickly glanced up and ignored the slight pain in his eyes.

"It looks like you found your way here after all." The soft voice called, easily reaching Ash's ears despite the bubbling of the magma. Ash looked up and saw the familiar form of Blaine, casually standing on the edge of the volcano.

"Hello, Blaine." Ash called out, placing particular emphasis on his name. He could see that the man had a wide grin on his face.

Blaine didn't acknowledge his statement with anything other than a slight nod. "It's not a hat, but it keeps your head dry. If you wear it, it's only because you already lost it."

Ash groaned as Blaine gave him yet another riddle. Even though he glared at the gym leader, Blaine just patiently stared at him. He finally gave in and thought it over, realizing that Blaine wouldn't battle him until he solved it.

It took him a while, but he finally solved it. Ash would be quite happy to never hear another riddle again. Blaine had given him enough for a lifetime.

"A wig!" He shouted in an annoyed tone. Blaine nodded with a pleased look on his face.

"And you're right again!" He exclaimed, suddenly tearing off his long hair and pulling his glasses off. Ash took the moment to look at the Fire Master.

Blaine was almost completely bald aside from two shocks of hair on the sides of his head. His eyes were narrow and fierce looking. They also had the effect of making his face look far less calm and relaxed. Now it seemed bony and sharp, a far cry from his former appearance.

"Now, are you ready to battle?" He shouted, his voice shifting from the mellow and soft pitch to a sharp, harsh bite. It made him seem far more intimidating.

But Ash just nodded, a wide grin on his face. This looked like it would be an awesome battle.

Before they went any further, Ash went over what he knew about Blaine.

Until about fifteen years ago, Blaine had been one of the Elite Four and had reached the rank of a Master. He left the prestigious position once he and his pokemon grew older and more frail, although he was still a powerful battler and more than worthy of the Gym Leader title.

He was also incredibly intelligent, which showed itself in the construction of this gym. Not just anyone could have built their own arena over a lake of burning magma. The fact that they weren't burning up just from being this close to the volcano proved that he had some method of draining the heat.

All of that just made him all the more appealing to defeat. The things Ash had to go through just to find this gym made it all the better.

"This will be a three-on-three battle." Blaine barked; a pokeball already in his hand. He adopted a slightly sadistic tone before putting his black sunglasses back on. "Ready to begin? I hope you have a burn heal!"

Ash groaned at the pun but nodded and stared at the gym leader with a determined expression on his face. He reached down for Golduck's pokeball. It would be best to get the weakest member of his team out of the way first and let him do some damage. Besides, he didn't have any better members aside from Nidorino, who he wanted to use as a safety in case Golduck messed up, and Infernus, who he wanted to save for last.

"Go, Rhydon!" Blaine shouted, sending the massive rock-type onto the field. Ash grinned and sent out Golduck. He wasn't sure why Blaine had a rhydon, although he supposed it might be to defeat trainers that thought they could win as long as they had something effective against fire-types.

Golduck quacked angrily when he was released. He glared at Blaine and Rhydon before turning to Ash.

"This is a gym battle!" Ash shouted, hoping that the statement would get Golduck pumped up. "If you want to show how strong you are, now's the time!"

The water-type suddenly tensed up and prepared to fight. Ash grinned at that. It looked like Golduck would come through for him in this battle.

"A water-type. How predictable!" Blaine sneered. "You'll find that your victory isn't as easy as you think."

Ash frowned as the powerful rock-type stretched. It yawned as it looked at Golduck with a disinterested expression. Golduck quacked and prepared to move.

"Hydro pump!" Ash ordered, starting the battle off. He remembered the sheer physical force of the last rhydon he had fought and added "Keep it away!" as an afterthought.

Golduck quacked and followed Ash's command, rearing his head back and spitting a powerful jet of water at Rhydon.

"Rock blast." Blaine said sharply. Several rings formed around Rhydon's huge body before forming into large stones. Rhydon quickly hurled them into the water, blocking it and preventing most of it from even touching the rock-type. One went around the hydro pump and slammed into Golduck, sending the water-type to the ground. "Now use take down. Knock it off the platform."

Rhydon roared and charged at the fallen Golduck. Ash frantically shouted out commands.

"Aqua pulse. Knock it off with aqua tail!" Ash ordered. Golduck quacked and quickly formed a blue ball in his hand and blasted it towards Rhydon. It slammed into the rock-type and formed a huge wave that slowed Rhydon down and caused it to stumble as it neared Golduck. The water quickly burned away into steam when it touched the platform.

Even then Rhydon was too close to avoid. The confused rock-type was still charging at Golduck, but it had slowed down enough that Golduck was able to stand up and jump away before slamming his short tail that was suddenly covered with a spiral of water into the passing Rhydon.

It didn't knock Rhydon over the edge or even knock it over, but it did throw Rhydon off course and send it away from Golduck. Golduck quickly fired a water gun into its back, although it did little. Ash glared at Golduck for acting without his permission but came up with a strategy during the short break.

Blaine's Rhydon lacked the pure power and size of the rhydon he had fought before, but it was still too durable for him to defeat through ordinarily means. Not with Golduck, anyway. The only way he would win was if he either switched pokemon – which he didn't want to do – or knock it into the bubbling magma. He didn't feel guilty about the strategy since rhydon were capable of living in magma, their stone hides granting them an immunity to it.

"Earthquake!" Blaine suddenly commanded. Rhydon roared and pulled its massive foot up, preparing to slam it down and send shockwaves blasting throughout the suspended battlefield. Ash knew he had to act fast.

"Confusion! Throw it off the platform!"

Golduck thankfully followed his command. With bright, glowing eyes he stared at Rhydon, enveloping the behemoth with a blue aura. He did his best to stop the beast, but the foot went down and a massive wave of force travelled through the ground, quickly throwing Golduck off of his feet. The disobedient water-type managed to throw Rhydon to the very edge of the platform before his concentration shattered.

Blaine didn't seem to particularly care about the battle. Ash suspected that this was just to test him and see if he was a worthy challenger. The man was a highly skilled trainer, but he'd barely used Rhydon to do anything.

"Use thunderbolt!" Blaine barked. Rhydon roared and slowly became enveloped in running, writhing currents of electricity. Small arcs of it jumped off every now and then as the rock-type leisurely charged the attack.

"Hydro pump!" Ash cried, realizing that this would spell the end for Golduck. Golduck almost didn't obey – Ash saw that he seemed to struggle with the command – but shot a powerful blast of water from his mouth just as Rhydon fired off the thunderbolt.

The thunderbolt was aimed to meet the hydro pump in midflight. While it wouldn't stop the attack the lightning would be greatly amplified by being conducted through the water. Combined with Golduck's great weakness to electricity in the first place, it ensured that the water-type would be taken out of the battle.

And it worked. Golduck shuddered and twitched as the huge amount of electricity coursed through his body before collapsing, clearly knocked out. But the hydro pump did its job as well. Ash knew that it wouldn't knock Rhydon out, but it carried enough force behind it to knock the huge pokemon off of the edge.

Both trainers quickly recalled their pokemon, now with more of an understanding of each other's abilities. Ash figured that Blaine won out in this situation – he knew more about how Ash worked without revealing too much about his own skills.

"Looks like you aren't too weak after all!" The old man laughed with another pokeball in hand. "But that was just a wake-up call. Get ready to feel the burn!"

Ash frowned and placed Golduck's pokeball back on his belt. He looked down at Nidorino to see how his friend was doing. Nidorino was sweating, but looked more than ready to battle.

"You're up, buddy." Ash said. Nidorino growled in happiness and casually leapt the distance to the platform. He roared and extended his barbs, which were already leaking potent venom. The poison-type lowered his head and prepared to charge.

"I hope you're ready." Blaine grinned as he released his next pokemon. "This is the only one of my pokemon older than I am!"

A large, beautiful ninetales appeared on the field. It luxuriously stretched and yawned, unaffected by the intense heat. Ninetales looked at Nidorino with bored scarlet eyes, its shining golden fur glistening as it moved into a combat position.

"Fire spin." Blaine ordered, beginning the battle with the most powerful attack at Ninetales' disposal. Ninetales leapt forward with its elegant mouth wide open, exposing its fangs for a moment before releasing a huge stream of spinning red-orange fire with a yellow flame spiraling around it.

Nidorino quickly dodged without being told, knowing the attack would quickly end the battle against him. He quickly followed Ash's shouted order of, "Poison sting!" and launched dozens of small needles filled with poison towards Ninetales.

A quick burst of flame destroyed most of the barbs, but a small number struck their target and injected their venom into the fire-type. Nidorino squared off and prepared to attack again.

"Use confusion and get in close!" Ash ordered. Normally he would have had Nidorino just use confusion and then focus horn, but he suspected that even the shortest period of vulnerability would be exploited by Blaine. This Ninetales seemed to be the first pokemon Blaine would actually be using against him and, judging from the fire spin, it was packing a lot of power.

Nidorino charged while using confusion. Ash had had him and Dazed work on using the minor psychic attack while moving, preventing Nidorino from being a sitting duck while using it. His friend's eyes glowed a bright purple before enveloping Ninetales in a bright aura.

Ninetales didn't need a command to respond to the confusion attack. Its crimson eyes flashed brightly for a moment, easily breaking the psychic attack's power and sending the aura dissipating into nothingness.

"Incinerate." Blaine growled. Ninetales calmly reared its head back and blasted a huge stream of purple-blue flame towards the charging Nidorino. Nidorino barely leapt out of the way of the powerful attack, the flames nearly enveloping him. "Now quick attack to the side."

The fire-type blurred away a mere moment before Nidorino would have slammed into it, gracefully appearing on the other side of the battlefield. Nidorino quickly halted and barely managed to avoid going over the edge. He turned as fast as he could and resumed his charge.

"Flamethrower!"

"Use ice beam!" Ash said, a strategy forming in his mind. As Nidorino charged, he opened his mouth and fired the three beams of icy energy at Ninetales. They all landed just as Ninetales blasted the stream of orange flame from its mouth, causing the energy beams to shift into water and douse the Ninetales.

Now that the Ninetales was temporarily weakened, Ash used the chance to get focus horn ready. He shouted out the command, causing Nidorino to slow his charge as he amplified his strength with focus energy. Ash grinned as Nidorino resumed his charge, barreling straight into the stunned Ninetales.

Ninetales yelped as Nidorino's sharp horn jabbed it and threw it several feet backwards. Ash grinned when he saw that it was already growing more sluggish. It looked like Nidorino had managed to pump the Ninetales full of venom.

But Blaine wasn't done yet. "Ninetales, use fire race!"

Ash furrowed his brow. "Nidorino, get ready."

The fire-type suddenly flickered away, displaying surprising endurance. Despite the fact that it was poisoned, Ninetales still used quick attack. But it left a huge trail of fire wherever it went, quickly surrounding Nidorino in a circle of roaring flames and blasting his friend with some of them.

Ninetales suddenly appeared behind Nidorino, looking haggard but still able to battle. It suddenly jumped at Nidorino's back with bared fangs and a dawning orange glow in its mouth. Nidorino didn't need Ash's warning to respond – his sharp hearing enabled him to dodge the attack before Ninetales could land it.

"Ice beam!" Ash said. Nidorino quickly followed through, launching an ice beam at the surprised Ninetales' back. The ice beam did very little, as Ninetales' incredible body heat melted the thin layer of ice in an instant. But Ash wasn't done yet. "Now, thunderbolt."

Nidorino instantly complied, blasting a huge arc of electricity into the drenched Ninetales. Ninetales twitched and collapsed to the ground, clearly spent but not yet unconscious. Ash's friend quickly charged towards the fallen pokemon, intent on finishing it off.

"Overheat." Blaine said with a grin. Ninetales complied, using the last of its energy to blast the charging Nidorino with a huge release of flame. Nidorino survived the powerful attack, but was badly weakened. Ninetales was completely spent. Its head collapsed to the ground, finally unconscious.

"Good strategy, but you got stupid at the end." Blaine scolded as he recalled Ninetales. "Don't get close. There's always one last trick when everything else is lost. But I suppose it's time for my most powerful pokemon to make an appearance. I can guarantee that this pokemon is too hot to handle! And it has a power that should interest you – it turns all of its opponents into ash!"

Ash groaned at both of the puns. He had hoped that Blaine would stop making the terrible jokes during the battle, at least.

"I choose…Magmar!" Blaine roared, throwing his arms into the air for dramatic effect. Ash watched curiously as a huge wave of magma surged up into the air, remaining stable thanks to being controlled by an incredible power. A dark shape was suspended in the sheet of magma, barely visible through the molten rock.

Then it uncurled, allowing the magma to fall back into the volcano. Magmar hung suspended in the air through some power that Ash wasn't aware of, although he supposed it might be the minor psychic abilities he was informed of through the pokedex. Whatever it was, it was very impressive.

Magmar was a beast. It was old and battle-scarred, but it was no less powerful for it. The fire-type arrogantly glared down at Ash and Nidorino, staying stable in the air for a moment before lightly falling to the platform. Ash heard an audible sizzle as it touched the ground.

The absolutely massive Magmar looked powerful. It was even larger than Infernus and its hulking form wavered and shimmered in the volcano's heat. Ash knew that this thing would be brutal to fight.

He knew that he would have to switch to Infernus once Nidorino was defeated. There was no way Nidorino would be able to defeat Magmar in his current condition and none of his others would be able to battle it in these conditions. Dazed was too sensitive to the temperature, Plume was vulnerable to the heat it produced and its flames, Torrent would just flop around, and Golduck was out of the running.

But he knew that he and Nidorino would do their best to weaken it. Nidorino was tough and could take a few more hits before going down.

Blaine began the battle. "Fire punch!"

"Poison sting." Ash ordered. Nidorino managed to dodge the first fire punch and shot the poisonous pins into Magmar, but Magmar simply exploded with flame in order to destroy most of them before punching the tired Nidorino and sending him across the battlefield.

Ash frowned. After knowing Infernus for so long, he knew that the minor dose of toxins Magmar had received wouldn't do anything. Magmar just had too good of endurance and its high body heat would neutralize most of the venom before it grew into a problem. He had to try something else.

"Icebeam, then use thunderbolt!" He cried, hoping that he would be able to do some damage. Ash didn't think Infernus could defeat Magmar unless he managed to weaken it in some way first. Hopefully the trick would do something, even if Blaine could block the worst of it.

The ice beam didn't work out quite as well as he had hoped. Magmar simply caused flames to burst from his body in order to reduce the effect of the ice beam, although most of it just evaporated into steam instead of into water as he had hoped. But it was still better than the thunderbolt – the thunderbolt didn't do anything. Magmar just crossed its arms and somehow caused the thunderbolt to diffuse into nothingness.

Nidorino was just as shocked as he was and stumbled a little bit before trying again. Magmar just had a sadistic look on its face as Nidorino attempted the ineffectual attack.

Ash quickly raced through everything he had learned about magmar in a wild hope to understand what was going on. He couldn't think of anything for a few moments, but then he remembered reading a minor note about an ability called "Air Lens" that particularly well-trained and powerful magmar could learn. Although he couldn't remember how it worked, he knew that it wasn't too big a surprise that Blaine would have taught Magmar that trick.

Blaine just grinned widely. "Flamethrower."

Magmar quickly launched a huge stream of white-hot flame from his mouth, bathing the entire battlefield with the powerful attack. Ash cried out in concern for Nidorino, but when the flames cleared he could see that Nidorino was still standing. Badly weakened and covered in soot, but able to battle just a bit longer.

"Horn attack!" Ash shouted, desperate to do at least some damage to the powerful Magmar. Nidorino grunted in exhaustion but leapt towards the nearby Magmar, ignoring the heat radiating from the fire-type and driving his horn into Magmar's stomach.

The fire-type grunted before grabbing Nidorino with burning hands and hurling him over the edge. Ash recalled Nidorino before he even began to descend down into the lava. He glared at Blaine, who didn't seem too concerned with Magmar's action.

"What?" The old man grinned. "I have systems in place for that kind of thing. Now get focused – this has been a good battle so far and I want to see what you've got."

Ash scowled and released Infernus. The powerful fire-type roared and stamped his foot as he was released. Magma blasted upwards from the lake at the bottom of the volcano, the molten rock showering the battlefield with the burning substance.

Blaine had a wide grin on his face as he observed the display. Magmar roared in return, sending a massive stream of white-hot flame bursting from his mouth, reaching high up into the air before dissipating. The display of strength didn't tire it at all.

Infernus roared and tensed up, awaiting Ash's commands. Ash smiled at that. It was nice knowing that Infernus liked and respected him enough to hold back his own battle-lust and frenzied instincts.

Ash began the battle, seeking to begin on the offensive. "Clear smog!"

Infernus quickly heeded the command, squaring himself before spewing torrents of white smog from his mouth, spreading it all over the battlefield. Thankfully for Ash it wasn't so opaque as to obscure his view of the arena.

The smog would hopefully weaken the older Magmar. It wouldn't do much and could probably be burned up relatively quickly, but it would drain Magmar's strength for a while.

"Fire Combat!" Blaine commanded as he crossed his arms. Magmar quickly wreathed itself in flame and charged at Infernus, using what Ash recognized as a flame charge. That meant that Blaine was using some sort of combination.

"Dodge and fire punch." Ash shouted. Infernus sidestepped at the last possible moment and sent a burning fist into Magmar's side. But Magmar managed to twist out of the way and used both fists to attack Infernus with its fire punch.

Infernus easily dodged the attacks and retaliated with his own fire punch. Ash noticed that Infernus was incredibly fast in the volcano. While never slow aside from in the Caverns, right now he was moving at an unprecedented speed. He supposed that the information about magmar moving faster in high temperatures wasn't an exaggeration.

Unfortunately, Magmar was sped up as well. It dodged just as many attacks as Infernus did and retaliated with an unending barrage of fire punches. The flames did little to either magmar, but the force behind the two fire-types' punches dealt a moderate amount of damage.

Ash noticed that Magmar was slowly winning. Its punches were stronger, its attacks faster. Infernus was slowly being pushed back towards the edge, although he was dealing quite a bit of damage to his foe himself.

But at the same time Ash could see that Nidorino had managed to pump his powerful venom into Magmar. Magmar was growing more and more sluggish, allowing Infernus to almost match the well-trained fire-type. Still, it was clear that Infernus would be defeated long before the toxins completed their work.

Blaine seemed content to let Magmar and Infernus' fierce battle rage on without his interference. He obviously had confidence in his pokemon's abilities.

Ash frowned. Blaine had more experience with magmar than he did. If Blaine thought that Magmar would win, then Magmar would win. Unless, of course, Ash decided to shift the battle and give Infernus a bit of rejuvenation.

"Flamethrower! Then use fire punch!" Ash ordered, finally interrupting the brutal duel. Infernus leapt back and roared at Magmar, releasing a huge blast of flame as he did so. The flames washed over Magmar, doing little other than distracting it.

Infernus roared again and rushed forward, slamming his fist into Magmar's chest and sending the other fire-type stumbling backward. His friend tried to continue the attack, but it seemed that Blaine had had enough.

"Giga impact!" The gym leader roared. Magmar quickly recovered when it heard the command and tensed up before charging. Yellow-orange energy covered its body and a sphere of purple energy surrounded Magmar.

Magmar suddenly rushed forward at an incredible speed, catching both Ash and Infernus off guard and throwing Infernus off of the platform. Ash cried out in worry for his friend, but a statement from Blaine cut him off.

"It'll be fine." Blaine said dismissively. "Your magmar is just trapped down there. I'll have mine fish it out in a few minutes. Good job, though. I almost thought you would beat me for a –"

Then the entire volcano rumbled. Both of the trainers' attention snapped to the lava lake, which was bubbling and shaking, sending waves of heat upward. Ash winced at the heat but continued watching.

He stumbled backwards in surprise when a massive wave of magma blasted upwards, given form by a will born of rage and pain. Ash shielded his eyes and watched in awe as Infernus revealed himself, completely rejuvenated thanks to the magma and completely enraged.

His friend launched himself out of the large column of molten rock, slamming into Magmar with incredible force and sending the surprised fire-type crashing to the ground. Before Magmar could recover, Infernus roared and began to savagely slam his fists into his foe over and over again, although Magmar's incredible endurance allowed it to resist and do a bit of damage to Infernus.

"Clear smog!" Ash shouted, seeing an opening. Infernus quickly followed through, spitting the thin, opaque smog directly into Magmar's face. It roared and began thrashing as it breathed in the toxins, using all of its dwindling strength in an attempt to struggle free from Infernus.

Unfortunately, the poison that Nidorino had injected into it had begun taking effect for a while now. The wild struggle was only causing Nidorino's toxins to work faster, pumping through the hot blood with increasing frequency. In turn, Magmar's monumental endurance was whittled down and its struggles were slow and sluggish despite the beneficial environment.

"Confuse ray!" Blaine snapped, a wide frown splitting his face. Magmar's eyes glowed as it began to access the power, but Ash had his own reply.

"Hit him."

Infernus' eyes lit up brightly at that remark, and almost seemed to smile as he brought his fist directly onto Magmar's burning forehead. The older fire-type grunted and collapsed again, stunned from the powerful blow.

After that, Ash let Infernus have his fun. Infernus didn't have anything that would be more effective on Magmar than ordinary kicks and punches – the flames of a fire punch did more to help Magmar than hurt it – and quickly began to beat Magmar. Magmar constantly spit and struggled, sending massive streams of flame bursting into Infernus' face to little avail.

Still, Magmar refused to go down. Their tremendous endurance, only heightened by their proximity to the volcano, allowed each to take blows far more powerful than they normally could. Infernus had the edge now, though.

Even Infernus got bored of the slug-fest after a minute or so. Through a combination of the toxins coursing through its body and the injuries it had suffered during the battle, Magmar was putting up little fight, in turn leaving Infernus with little fun.

So his friend stood up, ignited the entire sky with a huge flamethrower, and slammed his shackled foot into Magmar's chest. The older magmar roared in pain and renewed its struggles. Another stomp from Infernus stopped the newfound resistance in its tracks, however, and Infernus slammed his other foot to the ground.

While it did nothing to actually contribute to the dwindling fight, the display Infernus put forth was quite impressive and helped to show just who had the dominance in this particular battle. When he stamped his foot to the ground, the entire magma lake trembled and bubbled before exploding upwards, surging and staying in the air for a few moments before sluggishly dropping back down to its previous position.

Infernus roared and allowed flames to burst from his entire body, an instinctual show of dominance over powerful foes. Ash just grinned at his friend, seeing that Magmar had slackened and fallen unconscious.

Blaine returned Magmar with a wide, manic grin on his face. He looked over at Ash and quickly walked over, although he released Magmar into the lava . Ash patiently waited for the old man to meet him, allowing Infernus to continue roaring in celebration of his victory. His friend deserved it.

"Well, looks like you aren't weak after all." Blaine laughed when he finally reached him. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out the Volcano Badge. "I haven't had to give one of these out in a while, but I think you deserve it."

Ash gladly took the badge, taking a moment to examine it. It was red and shaped like a flame. A small pink diamond was embedded in the center, surrounded by the glossy red material.

"I would have crushed you in my younger days." Blaine mused. "But those are long gone. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Ash replied as he pocketed the badge. "How has anyone else gotten this badge if you hide down here?"

Blaine snorted. "They don't, obviously. I get maybe three challengers a year, and usually only one manages to beat me. Most are just idiots playing around in the hot springs."

Ash nodded thoughtfully, but Blaine cut his thoughts off.

"Here's some advice: You're good and your pokemon are strong, but you can be better. I don't know much about that Nidorino, but your golduck was terrible. That rhydon was a baby and she still crushed it."

He frowned. "Golduck is new. I'm still trying to catch him up."

Blaine snorted again. "And you used it in a gym battle? That's stupid. But I don't really care. What I want to talk about is that Magmar of yours. Infernus, I think you called it?"

At Ash's silent nod, he continued. "That magmar is powerful. It probably has the same amount of power behind it as mine and knows how to use it. But its technique is pathetic. If Magmar hadn't been poisoned, I would have wiped the floor with you. Teach it some techniques besides those blasts and Clear Smog. Unpowered punches aren't going to cut it against a real opponent in the Conference – you need someone that can help teach it."

Ash nodded again, grateful for the advice even if it was something he'd begun to notice himself. "Thanks for the advice."

Blaine smirked. "You're welcome. But I'm willing to make a deal with you. You aren't as completely useless as most of the people I've met lately, and I consider magmar to be my specialty, so I'm going to extend a training offer. When you're done getting your badges, come back here for a few days. I'll help your Magmar shape up so it won't be a complete disgrace to the species."

A wide grin shaped on Ash's face, awe overshadowing everything else in his mind. He was being invited to train with a former member of the Elite Four, even if it was only for a few days! That was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

The gym leader seemed to take that as a yes. "I'll give you two days to train with me. Don't bother trying to call – just show up. Anyways, this isn't just for you." He said with a dangerous grin. "Magmar here wants a rematch just as much as I do."

Ash blinked when an explosion of magma erupted from the lake, Magmar's distinctive shape shadowed and blurred inside the protective cocoon of molten rock. A moment later the floating magma fell back to the lake, leaving only a floating Magmar in its wake. It gave a mockery of a grin towards Ash, which Ash hesitantly returned.

Infernus suddenly roared, blasting a stream of flame at Magmar. The fire-type, who seemed to have been fully healed by the short amount of time spent in the magma, casually absorbed the burst of flame. Magmar didn't even bother retaliating.

"It's all right! The battles over, Infernus." Ash shouted to his friend. Infernus roared and seemed enraged by the presence of Magmar. He didn't attack, but quickly leapt from the suspended battlefield over to the large ring of rock. When he took his position next to Ash he calmed down a bit, although he still glared at Magmar. "Hey, good job. You did great."

His friend roared in response and spat a small blast of flame into the air. Blaine and Magmar just snorted, unimpressed by the display.

"Well, you've got your badge now." Blaine said in a friendlier tone. "Run along. I'll let you stay one more night for free. Anymore than that and you're paying for everything."

Ash blinked.

"Well, I've got to stay in business somehow." Blaine said, cackling at the look on Ash's face. "It's not as though I get many visitors. Or League funding, for that matter." He muttered with a scowl. "Bastards."

"By the way, next time you come here, I expect a hot battle." Blaine said before waving him off. Ash groaned at the pun but supposed he was lucky Blaine hadn't come up with a worse pun. That one was fairly minor in comparison, and anything was better than another riddle.

Ash went out the way he came. He returned Infernus before edging around the hot springs. His friend probably wouldn't bother going over the stone. Infernus would probably just walk through the hot water and turn it all into steam.

He gave himself a reminder to return to the hot springs tomorrow. While he wouldn't be getting in, he knew that Nidorino and Golduck would probably enjoy it. Infernus could just take a short bath in the lava lake if it turned out that he was injured.

But he didn't really pay attention to much else than that as he walked back into the hotel. It was getting late, and the fierce battle with Blaine had worn him and his pokemon down. Golduck would be fine in the morning and hadn't sustained any serious injuries, so he didn't need to rush to the Pokemon Center.

The trainer pulled out his PokeNav and checked the time. It was nearly nine. Ash shrugged. While it was almost as early as he'd gone to bed yesterday, he didn't care that much. He'd had a busy day and was completely worn out. His pokemon were probably just as bad.

Ash didn't even bother getting dinner. He was sure he'd hate himself for it in the morning, but for now he just wanted to sleep. Something about the volcano's heat had just drained him completely, taking any energy that he hadn't used in his long search during the day.

He released Dazed and Nidorino. Nidorino was still unconscious, so Ash released him onto the bed. Dazed looked at him with questioning, sleepy eyes and cocked her head to Nidorino.

"We found the gym." Ash said tiredly, although a grin spread his face as he thought of his victory. "It was a hard battle, but we managed to pull out a win."

Dazed cocked her head at him, clearly expecting the location. Ash grinned.

"It turned out that we were pretty close to it the entire time. You know those hot springs behind the hotel?" Dazed nodded slowly, her expressive eyes narrowing as she realized what he was aiming at. "Well, it turns out that Blaine hid a secret door to his gym inside it. The door led to the inside of the volcano."

His friend froze. Ash smiled. "That was about my reaction. Anyways, do you want to know anything else? I'm about to go to bed."

Dazed looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. She stared at him for a moment as he plopped down into the bed, pausing only long enough to take off his shoes and jacket and to pull the sheets up a bit so he could slip in.

The psychic-type cocked her head at him for a moment before turning and staring out the window. Ash watched his friend stay like that for a while before exhaustion and fatigue suddenly piled onto him as if from nowhere and sent him into a deep sleep.

XX

A freezing splash of water woke Ash up. He sputtered and tried his best to twist out of the cocoon his sheets had formed around him, wildly flailing all the while. Ash coughed and glared up at the old man that was standing by his bed with a bucket in hand and a smirk on his face.

"Get up." Blaine barked, his tone belying the grin on his face. "You have company."

Ash frowned and continued glaring at the man, although his interest was peaked. He quickly untangled himself from the soaked sheets and put his jacket that was lying crumpled on the floor on. "Who is it?"

"You'll see." Blaine grinned, casually throwing the bucket onto the ground with a loud clang. Ash scowled at him. "Hurry up. This is important."

The trainer continued to glare at the old man as he walked out, leaving a dripping, annoyed trainer behind him. Ash sighed and looked over at Nidorino. His friend was still in a deep sleep, apparently more tired than Ash had thought. While he hadn't been knocked unconscious last night, Nidorino had still been in a tough fight and taken a good deal of damage. It wasn't a surprise he was so out of it.

But for the moment he glanced around for Dazed. She should have stopped Blaine from throwing that water on him. All of his friends tended to be protective over him, and Dazed had proven to be no exception to the rule.

She wasn't there, although her pokeball was still empty. Ash shrugged it off, supposing that she was probably looking around. Dazed had never gotten the chance to properly explore the hotel, although, now that he thought of it, he hadn't seen the upper floors either.

Oh well, he thought. Right now he just needed to get dry. He wouldn't forget this little trick. Hopefully he would be good enough to get some payback on Blaine when he came back here to train.

Ash quickly pulled out the spare set of clothes that were practically identical to his ordinary set and put them on in the bathroom. He didn't bother drying his hair with one of the towels. If everything went to plan he would be leaving in an hour or two anyways, so it didn't really matter what he looked like.

He left Nidorino dozing on the bed. Nidorino had earned the rest, and Ash wasn't one to take that from him.

The trainer was curious about who could possibly be looking for him. There weren't that many people he'd gotten to know very well during his journey. Most people he met were just good for quick battles before he moved on. The two that he had gotten to know quite well were traipsing around Kanto themselves now, far from him.

But when he entered the main room, he froze. Steven Stone was casually sprawled out in one of the chairs, easily chatting with Blaine. Blaine actually seemed quite animated, and from what Ash could make out they were talking about technology of some sort.

"Steven? What are you doing here?" Ash questioned, making his presence known to the two men. Steven snapped his focus to Ash and he smiled reservedly.

"Hello to you too, Ash." He replied easily. "I'm sorry to say that I'm not here to make small talk."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, still surprised at the Champion's appearance. "And how did you find me?"

The Champion smiled. "Someone we both know – Professor Oak. Normally he wouldn't tell me your location and I wouldn't ask, but when I let him know what a pressing matter this was he told me that you were heading to Cinnabar. One of my friends in the League called up Blaine here and asked him about you yesterday, although my friend said that he talked to you last night as well."

Ash took on a puzzled expression, trying to remember the name of the stranger that had given him the gym's location. "Wataru?"

"That's one of his names." The Champion replied with a grin. He looked as though there was some hidden joke that Ash hadn't quite gotten yet. "Anyways, back to business."

Steven sighed and his face became hard, shifting from Steven to the former Champion of Hoenn. "I've tracked down someone that we both have had trouble with. Normally I wouldn't ask anyone other than a gym leader or a member of the Elite Four to accompany me on this venture, but I thought that you were strong enough to stay safe and had more of a right to bring him in than anyone else."

Ash's face grew pale as the blood drained from it. "You found Pierce?" He whispered, white-hot hatred flashing through him as he thought of the Rocket Executive. His fists curled up into balls and he could feel the bite of his nails into his skin.

"Indeed." Steven replied, looking no more pleased about the Executive than Ash. "He's hiding in the Sevii Islands, where he's serving as the commander of a Rocket branch. We were going there anyway to stamp them out before they could get a foothold in the islands, but when I discovered Pierce was there I decided to see if you wanted to come."

"Of course I do!" Ash said. His voice was determined and as strong as he could make it even as flashbacks to a drowning ship ran through his mind. "I'll do anything to help out."

The Champion nodded. "Good. I won't be placing you into direct danger, but you'll be in the fighting. From what Blaine has told me, your pokemon are more than ready for the task. In fact, they've been sufficient for a while now, if the reports from Celadon are anything to go by. Good work, by the way." Steven added. Ash nodded his thanks and smiled. The Champion quickly continued, however. He leaned forward with his clasped hands and serious eyes.

"I'm not going to lie to you. This is going to be dangerous. You know what Pierce is capable of more than anyone. He won't be a danger to the three of us, but you need to be prepared."

That's when Ash realized something. "The three of us? Someone else is coming?"

Steven grinned, letting his hard exterior crack a little. "Indeed. I think you've already met."

A large, burly man suddenly ducked up through the stairs that led to the hot springs. Ash instantly recognized him as Wataru, and the man nodded at him with a grin. His cape flared out dramatically behind him, showing that a row of six pokeballs lined his waist.

"Ash, here's our other companion. You would probably know him better by his first name and title: Lance, Champion of Indigo Plateau and Master of the Indigo Elite Four."