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.

24. Chapter 24: The Preliminaries, Pt 2

"Come in." Ash said, dazed at Steven's unexpected arrival. He hadn't expected the former Champion to arrive yet, let alone approach him at his home.

Steven smiled and stepped past Ash, who stood to the side to hold the door open. There was a nostalgic glint in the tall man's expression as he wistfully glanced around the airy room. A slight smile crossed his pale face as he saw the pokemon arrayed before him, several of whom obviously recognized him.

"You have quite the team now, don't you?" Steven said quietly as he smiled at each of them. Sneasel, who was still trying to fight Seeker for who had the rights to hold onto his back, peered over Ash's shoulder at the unfamiliar human. "Oh, and who's this?"

"Sneasel." Ash stated as he casually pulled Sneasel off of his shoulders by the scruff of his neck, the dark-type's angry sputters at the indignity enough to bring a small smirk to his lips. "Say hello, won't you?"

Sneasel just growled and extended his claws, a murderous look in his small, sharp eyes. Steven just laughed at the angry creature and kept his fingers away from his claws. After a few more moments Ash gently returned him to his previous spot. Sneasel just growled and kept his head low.

Normally Ash wouldn't antagonize Sneasel like that, but he was just trying to get him back for jumping on him earlier. Ever since his impressive victory against the Golbat he'd been completely insufferable. Even Tangrowth hadn't been able to get past his new arrogance.

It was exasperating. Normally Ash would have had one of his friends remind him that, despite his improvement, Sneasel was still one of the weakest on the team. He'd become much stronger thanks to training with Vibrava, Gible, and Bagon during their time with Lance but he was just reaching the point the rest of his friends were at months ago.

The problem with that was he was in a highly populated area. His friends could be rather enthusiastic about beating Sneasel senseless when he'd finally pushed his limits too far. After months of putting up with his pranks and assorted mischief they had a lot of tension to let out.

There was a reason he'd stopped letting Infernus do the job. And it wasn't just because of the staggering amount of power he'd gained since his evolution into Magmortar. Infernus enjoyed his payback a little bit too much for Sneasel's safety.

Since they usually liked to assert their dominance through a myriad of powerful techniques – Dazed and Bruiser preferred Focus Blast, while Torrent preferred to just shoot the dark-type with a low-powered Water Gun and then coat his fur with enough frost to leave even Sneasel shivering – he would have to take them out into the wilderness to snap Sneasel back to normal. For some reason he didn't think the League would appreciate one of their very expensive, luxurious Village homes being destroyed.

The only problem was that he didn't know when he would have time to leave. Jonathan and Amelia had him busy and kept dragging him out of the quiet confines of their home, heedless of his protests. Plus there were sure to be plenty of people wandering around. He'd rather not let anybody see his full team. It would only be accessible on the computers once they reached the Top 32.

He inwardly sighed and shrugged it off for now. Ash needed to focus on talking with Steven.

"He's not the friendliest, is he?" Steven murmured as he glanced back at Sneasel's narrowed eyes. Ash just smirked at the understatement and lead them over to the couches. "Any other additions I don't know about?"

Ash frowned. He thought that Steven knew about Tangrowth since he'd acquired him during their mission to Knot Island, but he most likely didn't know that he'd evolved unless Lance had mentioned it sometime.

"Only Oz." He pointed out the Electabuzz, who met Steven's interested gaze unflinchingly. Her fur crackled with electricity as she snorted and shook her head, bored of the human. She stormed back over to the wall and placed the plug back into her mouth before she curled back up and returned to her nap. "A lot of my friends have evolved, though."

"I see." Steven remarked as he glanced over the assorted pokemon, almost all of which were in their final evolutions. "You've done well for yourself. Lance said you had a strong team, but I hadn't expected this."

Ash just crossed and smiled proudly at his team at the compliment. "I couldn't have gotten here without them."

"No, you couldn't have. None of us could." Steven agreed as he took a seat. Ash finally took a moment to take in his appearance. He wasn't wearing his usual suit, which made Ash raise an eyebrow. Steven seemed pretty attached to it. The former Champion had even gone into battle with it on. Instead he wore a fairly casual pair of pants and a plain white shirt.

He supposed it would have attracted too much attention otherwise, which didn't seem like something Steven would want. The former Champion didn't have the glory-seeking tendencies of Lance. From what Ash had gleaned from the man he preferred to let others take the spotlight in his place.

"I'm not just here to talk to you about your team, of course." Steven told him, although his voice didn't seem too serious. "There are a few things we need to discuss."

Ash leaned forward interestedly, resting his legs against Nidoking's thick plates of armor. He made sure to keep away from his friend's head. It would be rather unfortunate if he got himself poisoned and was unable to compete in the Conference.

"First and foremost, Pierce." Steven said, his nose wrinkled in distaste as he mentioned his traitorous cousin. Ash glared at the name, hatred for the man who had almost murdered him and his team welling up inside his stomach. He despised the man more than Mewtwo. "I know I told you that he was imprisoned, but I thought you'd like an update on his status."

"He's still under lock and key." The former Champion assured Ash when the boy's eyes grew stormy. "He won't be getting out anytime soon. Not after what he's done. Pierce won't see the light of day ever again."

A quick grin flashed across Ash's face before he suppressed it, although he had to focus to keep his expression straight. It was nothing less than what Pierce deserved. The man was a monster.

"Anyways, I just wanted to tell you that, with Metagross' help, we extracted the names of Team Rocket's benefactors from him." Steven said, his slate eyes bright as Ash's lips curled upward. "Thanks to him, we shut down any chance of Team Rocket reforming in Kanto and put away some dangerous people. It's the only time he's helped anyone in his life, no doubt – even if it was unwillingly."

Steven leaned further back into the soft couch, although Ash noted he was always a bit rigid. It was like his own habits were fighting his urge to relax.

"So, I saw your last battle." Steven changed the subject abruptly. "Very impressive. You have some eyes on you. Surge wouldn't stop singing your praises."

Ash couldn't hold back his grin at that. He'd missed Surge. The giant of a man was loud, callous, and enjoyed beating down challengers a bit too much but he was a friend that had taught Ash a lot. It was hard to be around someone for a few weeks and not grow to like them.

"Was Bruno there?" He asked, a note of hope in his voice. Bruno had taught Bruiser how to become a fighting-type, how to use technique and the strength within himself rather than blindly punching and flailing like a normal-type. Ash had helped to train Bruiser in techniques, but without Bruno's assistance they would have been nothing.

"He was." Steven nodded with a dip of his head. Ash could see the hint of a smile. "He was rather impressed, you know. I didn't know that you'd trained under him. Lance never mentioned that."

"It wasn't for very long." Ash shrugged. He met Steven's eyes curiously. "What did Lance tell you about, then?"

Steven snorted, a very undignified noise coming from the former Champion. "Just about everything you could imagine."

When he didn't say anything else Ash raised an eyebrow. "Any specifics?"

"Aside from his numerous attempts to corrupt you into doing stupid things, he mentioned that you gained a Feather of Moltres." Steven remarked. Ash wondered what stupid things Lance had tried to corrupt him into. He'd offered him alcohol a few times, but that was about it.

Wait. Moltres. That was probably what Steven was referring to. He'd certainly see their challenge of Moltres as absurdly stupid and dangerous. Which it was.

Ash nodded to the second half of Steven's answer and glanced down at his chest, where the Feather flickered and sent pulses of warmth. The obsidian frame had sunken into his skin slightly, as though it didn't want to be removed.

Nevertheless, he stuck one of his hands up his shirt to grasp the thin, impossibly strong material and pull the Feather away. Despite its apparent bonding, it was easy to detach it from his skin. It flickered with the golden and white flames of Moltres as it came into contact with his hand, the harmless flames leaving his hand a torch of sacred fire.

"Incredible." Steven murmured, eyes wide as he examined the Feather and its properties. "Not even the Moon Stone…"

He couldn't hear the rest of what Steven said, but that reminded him. "We made it to the Moon Stone, by the way."

Nidoking's head lurched up at the mention of the sacred object, almost manic at the thought of it. His eyes almost appeared to hold a gleam of silver, although the glint disappeared once Ash took a second look.

"Good. You met its guardians, I presume?" The older man said. It was more a statement than a question.

Ash nodded, his mind flashing back to the Patriarch and Matriarch. The two Nidos were truly the greatest of their kind, what the greatest Nidoking and Nidoqueen could be. He remembered everything: Their size, the sheer power they exuded, the limitless devotion they gave to the Moon Stone.

They were nothing to the ancient Clefable that acted as the true Guardian, however. Clefable had strange powers and the ability to access techniques few other pokemon could utilize. Normally it simply made them tricky opponents. But the Guardian had managed to transcend its limits – whether through age and experience or long exposure to the Moon Stone he didn't know.

"Do not speak of them to anyone you don't trust implicitly. Lance and the Elite Four know. As do the Sisters and Brock. Nobody else should hear about them." Steven warned. Ash stared at him, surprised at the vehemence in his tone. The man's voice was usually utterly calm, devoid of any stress or passion.

Realization flashed through his mind. "You don't want people going after them."

"Exactly." Steven nodded tersely. "There are some things humanity shouldn't intrude upon. Natural treasures that we have no right to claim. The Moon Stone is one of them. At the moment it is just a rumor, a legend known amongst the ancient Pewter and Cerulean clans. I intend to keep it that way."

"I understand." Ash replied. He did. The Moon Stone's guardians weren't the only hidden treasures he had discovered. Articuno. Zapdos. Moltres. Mew – even its twisted shadow, he admitted grudgingly. They weren't things that most people should see. They were dangerous.

He couldn't help but smile all of a sudden, which defused the tension somewhat. Steven raised a silver eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"I just remembered something." Ash told the former Champion. "How'd you get the Guardians to let you take a piece of the Moon Stone? The Nidoking almost killed us just for looking at it."

Steven nodded, apparently lost in his own memories of the Moon Stone. He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "I didn't do anything, actually. When I found the Moon Stone the Clefable appeared. After I paid my respects it gave me the shard. It was rather surprising, to say the least."

"What? It gave it to you?" Ash asked with wide eyes, completely dumbstruck. He made sure to keep his jaw tight lest it fall open. He couldn't believe it – the Clefable had given Steven the shard of the Moon Stone?

"It was unexpected." Steven mused as he unconsciously tapped his fingers against the couch's armrest. "I almost thought it was an illusion, or maybe a test. Until I actually touched the shard. It has a presence to it, as I'm sure you know."

Ash recalled the cold sensation that seemed to emanate from the Moon Stone's shard, the feeling of utter nothingness that pulsed from it even as it appeared to absorb all light. Yes, he knew what Steven was talking about.

"Why?" Ash muttered to himself, curious as to what the Clefable could have been thinking. The Moon Stone was the thing that mattered most to it and all the other pokemon under Mt. Moon. The other guardians were willing to attack him just for being near the celestial object.

"A good question – and one I can't claim to know the definitive answer to." The former Champion admitted as he leaned forward, his fist on his chin as he gazed thoughtfully past Ash at the white wall. "The Clefable displayed some strange abilities. It used techniques it shouldn't have been capable of. I don't know for certain, but I believe that it is using an advanced, fine-tuned version of –"

"—Metronome." Ash interrupted, a little grin erupting on his face when he saw Steven's surprised expression. His smile only grew wider when Steven's look of surprise shifted to a pleased smirk.

The former Champion nodded, impressed. "Indeed." He frowned seriously. "Its abilities are just one more reason I don't want word getting out. Can you imagine the demand for it? Trainers from all over the Leagues would come searching for the Clefable and ruin the balance of Mt. Moon. If any of them actually made it to the Moon Stone or hurt any of the pokemon...well, they'd see what mastery of Metronome could achieve. No doubt Mt. Moon would no longer be available as a passage between Pewter and Cerulean."

Steven sighed and raked a hand through his head of silver hair as he peered at Ash, who was listening raptly. "I know I don't have to worry about you telling. You have more common sense than that. I'm just worried. The Clefable gave me a great gift for reasons I don't understand. Perhaps its abilities allowed it to see the one who needed the Moon Stone's power the most."

Ash unconsciously glanced down at Nidoking, whose ears were still upright from the mention of the Moon Stone. The rest of his friends had returned to whatever they were doing before. Even Sneasel was curled up on one of the nearby chairs, although he still watched Ash and Steven curiously with his perceptive eyes.

"Where is the shard?" Steven inquired after a few moments of silence. "Do you have it on you?"

"It's at home with the Dragon Scale Lance gave me." Ash replied shortly. He didn't need to tell Steven that his greatest treasures were far too precious to risk losing on the road. Considering the strange situations he found himself in Ash thought it was a sensible precaution.

Steven nodded and hummed his understanding. He glanced around the house again. "Who are your rooming with? Those kids you were travelling with when I first met you?"

"Jonathan and Amelia." Ash confirmed. He looked around and frowned. "I don't know where they are right now, actually. Amelia had a match. Jonathan probably went to watch it."

"And you didn't?" Steven leaned forward quizzically. He didn't sound disapproving, just curious. "Why not?"

Ash froze. "I was tired after I won my match. I'll see her next battle."

Steven just glanced over at him, although he didn't inquire further. It seemed like the subject didn't interest him quite enough for the former Champion to pursue the topic.

They sat in companionable silence for a few seconds until Steven finally spoke up again.

"How did your training with Lance go?"

He grinned at that. That month training with Lance was the most brutal time of his life but it also held some of his best memories. He'd learned so much in that time and had gotten much, much stronger. Aside from that he'd actually gotten to know the Lance that wasn't the Champion, the man behind the title.

"Fantastic!" He exclaimed, real excitement shooting through his voice. "You won't believe how much I learned! Lance made my team and I stronger than we could have believed…"

Ash was aware he was rambling, but he couldn't help it. Finally, after nearly a minute of gushing about the training, Steven stopped him with a raised hand and an amused smile.

"I think I get the picture." The former Champion snorted. The edges of his mouth turned up into a faint smile. "At least Lance didn't corrupt you. He has plenty of bad habits to share."

"He's gotten much better!" Ash protested insincerely. "He only offered me alcohol a few times!"

"It's rather sad that only offering an eleven-year old alcohol a few times is actually an improvement." Steven sighed with a roll of his eyes. "He truly deserves far less credit than I give him."

Ash's eyes suddenly lit up. Now that he'd finally gotten comfortable with Steven again excitement flooded his veins. He'd been waiting to tell the former Champion about this for months. It had been so long he'd almost forgotten about it.

"Speaking of Lance, did you know that they sell capes like his in the Celadon Department Store?"

"No. No I did not." Steven grinned, eyebrows raised high. He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. "Please, tell me more."

XX

Ash glanced over at his opponent, the one he had to defeat to take his place in the Top 64.

Pete Pebbleman.

He was an older competitor, probably in his mid-twenties. Anyone much older than that was rare in the Conference. The League usually snatched up anyone that went far in the Conference, so most entrants were in their teens, usually close to twenty.

Powerful trainers weren't exactly common, and it was much better to offer them a fat, stable paycheck and something productive to do. Otherwise someone with far less scruples might give them a deal that they couldn't refuse. Even weak pokemon could cause great destruction and the League preferred to keep the teams capable of causing real chaos out of trouble.

Ash shook himself back into focus. Now was not the time to get distracted. There was too much at stake.

The trainer took the moment to analyze the other competitor. From his name Pebbleman was probably from one of the old, powerful clans around Pewter. The inhabitants of the Pewter territory's rough wilds and craggy mountains had adopted such names after swearing fealty to the League since their former names and titles weren't easily understood by their new brothers-in-arms.

It didn't necessarily mean he was a rock specialist, but it was something to watch out for. Considering that they were battling in the Ice Stadium it could make this easier than it would already be.

If. He knew that people weren't defined by their ancestry, even though the culture they grew up in undoubtedly had an effect. The prime example of that course was Lance. If he hadn't been born to one of Johto's most respected clans with an ancient legacy of mastering the dragon-type Ash doubted if he would have become the most powerful Dragon Master in the world.

Lance's chosen type were rather hard to procure if you didn't have some connections, after all.

Still, he supposed it was of no use to ponder things like that now. He wasn't sure why the referee was taking so long to get back onto the field but at least it gave him time to breathe.

Pebbleman was watching him too as the referee finally appeared from underneath the Ice Stadium to the loud cheers of the crowd. Ash could feel the man's sharp gaze measuring him up, assessing him as a threat.

There was no doubt Pebbleman had heard about him. Flawless victories were rare in the Conference. The level of the battlers made it extremely difficult to achieve. One would be enough to attract some attention.

Two perfect victories? People were watching him now, just like Lance had told him. He tried to stay in his house for the most part, but he could heard the whispers when people noticed him. Not everyone had heard of him yet, but a good number could recognize him.

He wasn't sure how much he liked that. It was nice to cruise around in obscurity. Ash didn't want everyone to recognize him as long as the people he cared about could. It didn't matter to him if a random group on the street knew his face. What mattered was if a fellow fighter knew him.

So he knew Pebbleman wouldn't underestimate him. It wasn't exactly late in the competition, but at this point it was important to know the opposition.

Ash wasn't too proud of the fact that he hadn't held true to that maxim. He knew Pebbleman was skilled to make it this far but had no idea about his team or strategies. The slight arrogance he'd gained after flattening his competition so far had gone to his head.

He resolved that it would not happen again. Ash could not afford to get complacent. Complacency and overconfidence had been the cause of as many losses as lack of skill.

"Begin!" The referee shouted.

Ash dimly realized he had ignored the announcer's entire speech about Pete Pebbleman, which left him with a scowl on his face. He listened to the crowd chanting happily and glanced around at the arena.

It didn't hold nearly as many obstacles as the Rock Stadium, but it opened up plenty of its own problems. The Ice Stadium was completely bare aside from a handful of ice boulders that dotted its outer borders, with the middle made of smooth ice.

He had to be careful. Ash knew that the ice would be extremely thick, but if Pebbleman had a fire-type he could easily melt the ice and leave any of his friends defenseless in the freezing water.

His choices for this battle were Sneasel, Plume, and Torrent. They wouldn't have to worry about slipping on the ice or getting trapped underwater. Sneasel could traverse the entire field with his natural speed enhanced by Agility, while Plume wouldn't even have to touch the field.

Unlike most dragon-types, Torrent wouldn't be at a disadvantage if he was exposed to the icy temperatures of this field. Kingdra naturally lived in the darkest depths of the ocean, exposed to pressure and freezing temperatures that would kill lesser creatures. If anything the cold water would strengthen him.

Sneasel went out first. He wouldn't be useful if the field was destroyed so Ash wanted to get what use out of him that he could.

"Let's go, Ursaring!" Pete barked as the gigantic mountain of fur and muscle appeared on the opposite end of the field. Ursaring snarled and crushed its claws together, releasing a dull scraping sound that made Ash cringe. "Crush it!"

Sneasel just glared and hissed menacingly at the massive normal-type, his claws unsheathed and ready to rend through fur and flesh. He didn't move a muscle as both trainers watched each other.

It was a habit trained into him by Ash. Sneasel was dangerous if he wasn't controlled. Too volatile. Aside from that, he didn't have the experience that the rest of the team did. He needed much more direction in a battle.

Besides, Ash didn't want him to do anything that could have far-reaching consequences. Sneasel needed a firm hand.

"Let's start this off, shall we?" Pebbleman grinned dangerously to Ursaring. His voice carried far, clearly meant to unnerve Ash. A good tactic, but it wouldn't work. Ash had seen and heard much worse from entities far more powerful than Pete Pebbleman. "Earthquake!"

Ash raised an eyebrow at the strange opening move. He didn't need to tell Sneasel to dodge as Ursaring jumped up and slammed its paws into the ground. It was a very crude version of Earthquake, but nonetheless effective. Whereas Nidoking shifted the earth and used far less energy for a more powerful effect, Ursaring didn't bother. It just transferred massive amounts of energy through the ice, causing thick cracks to trace their way through the glassy sheet and leave fractures all around it.

Pebbleman must be getting towards something. Ash didn't care to find out what it was.

"Ice Beam. Don't let up." Ash directed. Sneasel hissed from his position on one of the ice boulders and fired several of the beams of jagged, icy blue energy in rapid succession. Ursaring dodged two of the four, but it wasn't built for agility. It didn't seem to have much trouble weathering the two Ice Beams that did strike it, though.

Such a reaction was expected from an Ursaring. They lived up in the mountains, usually in extremely cold areas. Their fur and thick reserves of fat and muscle were more than enough to give them a strong resistance to the cold. Additionally, considering how strong this specimen seemed to be, it would probably barely notice ice-type attacks.

That was okay. He could work around that.

"Stone Edge!" Pebbleman snarled, his eyes narrowed at Sneasel. Ursaring and Sneasel weren't exactly the most ideal matchup. Sneasel could dodge most of Ursaring's attacks from this distance but couldn't do any decisive damage. Ursaring was too slow and Sneasel too fast. "Get rid of those boulders and go after it!"

"Evasion." Ash commanded lazily. He wanted to get a better handle on Pebbleman's skills. So far he seemed to have raw power, but hadn't really done anything but show off with that Earthquake.

At the vague command Sneasel grew ready. The moment the orbs of energy around Ursaring solidified into daggers of stone he was moving, a small black blur amongst the white battlefield.

Ursaring roared furiously as it launched the barrage of stone towards Sneasel's position, right ahead of where he would be. Sneasel just activated Agility and easily ran circles around the normal-type's attack, his cunning mind more than capable of ascertaining where Ursaring would attack.

When the normal-type finally tired of the game, it spared no time in charging furiously into the fray, its massive fangs bared and paws ready to smash into anything that looked out of place. One good hit would be enough to take Sneasel out of the fray for good.

Ash regarded the situation carefully as he made his next decision. "Rush. Jab."

They weren't complicated techniques, but Sneasel had impressed Ash in how far he had taken them. It displayed much more endurance and focus than the trainer would have expected from the mischievous dark-type.

Rush, he thought as he saw Sneasel charge into the fray in a blur of motion, was exceptionally useful for a fighter as fragile as Sneasel. It was complicated to pull off since it utilized several techniques at one time, but its applications were worth it.

The technique consisted of several moves that, combined, made Sneasel almost untouchable: Agility for unmatched speed, Double Team to confuse the foe and leave Sneasel plenty of openings to attack, and Ice Punch to enhance his physical power.

It was relatively useless against powerful, experienced opponents, however. They'd just use an area of effect attack that didn't rely on precision or knowledge of which Sneasel was the real one. That was its only major weakness aside from the constant concentration it required. One good hit would completely neutralize the technique since Sneasel wouldn't be able to keep both Agility and Double Team activated at once.

That was where Sap came in. Ash knew that Sneasel didn't have the raw power to defeat particularly tough foes. He was still learning. When he had the power of his evolution behind him he'd be a match for most of the team, but right now he had to use tricks to achieve his victory.

Jab was just short for Poison Jab. Once they'd mastered Rush during the week before the Conference Ash wanted Sneasel capable of using Shadow Claw and Poison Jab in tandem, but Sneasel didn't have enough experience wielding different energies to meld them into seamless weapons of destruction. He was still limited.

He renewed his focus on Sneasel when the dark-type Rushed Ursaring. The massive normal-type was briefly dazed as dozens of Sneasel's after-images danced past him, utterly immune to its clumsy strikes and snapping jaws.

At least it proved that Ursaring wasn't too intelligent. Strong, but not very adaptable. It needed direction to reach its true potential in battle.

Unfortunately, Pebbleman wasn't so gullible. He just scowled and angrily pointed at Sneasel, who had filled the air with shards of ice and frosty air with Icy Wind, blinding Ursaring and leaving it helpless in the sudden blizzard.

"Earthquake! Smash the thing to bits with Hammer Arm!"

Ash sighed when he realized that Sneasel had interfered with his own visibility as well. That would cause some problems.

But it wasn't a bad idea – Ursaring's sudden pained roar was a testament to that. It seemed that Sneasel had finally made contact. It didn't last long, however, as the mist Sneasel had created was dispelled easily by the winds created by the massive release of force Ursaring released into the ice. More cracks gouged the surface of the arena and revealed deep blue water underneath the thick sheet of white.

Sneasel whined as he was suddenly hurled backwards by the blast and slammed heavily into one of the boulders. He slowly pulled himself up, but not fast enough to hide as Ursaring charged him and reared back its thick arm, which glowed with white power.

"Razor Dash!" Ash shouted desperately to his friend. A Hammer Arm from something with the raw physical power of that Ursaring would hurt. Sneasel would probably spend the next few days in the Pokemon Center if it made contact – something he'd really rather avoid. Bruiser had just gotten out.

At his command, reflex took over. Sneasel bared his fangs and suddenly disappeared in a flicker of motion, his mind barely aware of what had happened. Before Sneasel consciously realized what he'd done, he had used Quick Attack to charge straight through Ursaring's trunk-like legs and slashed through fur and muscle with his sharp claws, enhanced by Metal Claw to be even more dangerous.

Ursaring screamed in pain, but such superficial injuries weren't enough to drop the monster of a normal-type. It just roared and turned around with a quick slash of its own claws, which Sneasel barely managed to avoid as he went stumbling backwards.

Ash winced as the disoriented Sneasel fell backward, unable to keep up thanks to the hard impact he'd suffered. He was too fragile to take a hit like that.

A feral grin stretched over Pebblestone's features. "Now! Hammer Arm!"

Sneasel bared his teeth and shot an Ice Beam into his attacker, but it barely slowed Ursaring down as the giant roared and backhanded Sneasel with its glowing arm.

He winced as Sneasel flew into yet another boulder, even his urge to kill his enemy not enough to keep him going. Sneasel weakly tried to pull himself up by hooking his claws into the ground, but collapsed helplessly in the face of an utterly superior opponent.

"Sneasel is unconscious! Victory for the Red Trainer!" The referee shouted and raised his flag. Ash just frowned. It looked like his flawless record had been broken.

It didn't matter. Sneasel got some battle experience. That was all he was trying to do at the moment. He'd wanted to see those techniques in action for a while now.

Besides, it wasn't as if Sneasel hadn't accomplished anything. The bleeding wounds, frosted fur, and deep breaths Ursaring took attested to that. Ash could easily recognize the effects of Poison Jab. It delivered a very potent poison.

Ursaring was done for, even if Pebbleman didn't know it yet.

"And Ash Ketchum, the rookie that has amazed us so far, loses his first pokemon of the Conference!" The announcer roared to the crowd. "Will Pebbleman stop this rookie in his tracks, or will he show us what he's really got?"

Ash just recalled Sneasel and glanced down at the pokeball. "You did great, buddy. Just as good as I expected. Rest well."

He frowned at Ursaring as he released Plume. She screamed her arrival as she appeared in a flash of red light and soared into the sky, careful to keep in Ash's side until the referee blew his whistle and signaled for the match to commence.

"It hurt Sneasel!" He shouted up to his friend, who shrieked furiously and glared down at Ursaring with her sharp eyes. Sneasel annoyed her, but Ash knew that she had a soft spot for the dark-type. She mothered him the most, aside from Tangrowth. "Let's finish this! Super Speed!"

Plume vanished. Ash could just see the barest flicker of motion as she activated Agility and Tailwind in tandem, which increased her speed so drastically that she made Sneasel look as though he were just trudging along at his fastest.

The next second Ursaring was unconscious, hit so hard that it had utterly smashed one of the boulders. Its claws that hooked into the ice and gave it traction were no match for Plume's speed. Plume casually slipped out of the draining technique and circled above the massive battlefield as the onlookers gaped, having expected a much more prolonged battle than what Plume had given them.

Pete Pebbleman scowled and recalled Ursaring. He gave Ash a measuring glare before he sent him a nasty grin. Ash watched passively and crossed his arms as Pebbleman released a particularly large Cloyster, its shell weathered and marked from years of battle.

"Not much your birdy can do against Cloyster, you know." Pebbleman shouted over conversationally as Cloyster appeared in the center of the arena, completely in the open. "Her defenses haven't been broken yet!"

"Yet." Ash frowned back. He glanced up at Plume, who was naught but a great black figure highlighted against the harsh light of the midday sun. "Plume, smash it."

Plume's furious screech of understanding split the air, rising high above the chanting of the crowd. It was just noise to Ash at this point. His partner was much more important.

"Big words. You caught us by surprise last time." Pebbleman growled, his canines exposed as he glared over at the younger trainer. "We know what's up."

The referee signaled for them to begin. Ash waited, his ears attentive for any commands from Pebbleman. Plume would strike when ready.

"Icy Mist. Keep that up and hit that Pidgeot with Spike Cannon!" Pebbleman commanded quickly. Cloyster groaned back, a nasty grin on its strange face as it received the orders. In less than a second it spewed out freezing air that surrounded it, hiding it from the prying eyes of the stadium and relying on the bright glare of the sun to disorient Plume.

It was a nice trick, but it wouldn't work. Lance had made sure they'd be ready for almost any environmental manipulation an enemy could use. Light, frost, glare, darkness – all planned for.

He was quiet. Ash would let Plume handle this. She knew how to approach the situation. He'd told her what techniques to hold in reserve. Unless the situation was dire she'd never use the. Ash wanted to have a few tricks hidden in reserve for the final matches. To do otherwise would be monumentally stupid.

As expected, she avoided Hurricane. It was such a high-level technique that it would draw even more attention, which was something Ash would prefer to avoid. Instead she used Multislash, which was simply a barrage of weaker Air Slashes that would get rid of the freezing mist and hopefully knock Cloyster around a bit.

Cloyster never saw them coming. Plume wasn't in Super Speed anymore but she was still incredibly fast. Training with Lance's Dragonite trio and Magnus had really done her good in every department. She still had issues when it came to offense and durability, but they'd been minimized by the harsh trials she'd faced.

He winced as he saw deep gouges carved into the surface of the ice, although he got over it. It was just another reminder to everyone that Pidgeot were truly powerful beyond their size. They just weren't blatant about it. If an Air Slash struck a human they'd be torn apart by the powerful blade of air, reduced to scraps of flesh and bone.

Now that the mist was blown away he could see the battlefield in perfect clarity. As he'd expected, Cloyster was completely fine. It had just closed its shell and hid behind the ridiculously strong shield. Pebbleman hadn't lied. The shell would be tough to crack.

"Razor Wing!" He shouted up to Plume, hoping that she was able to hear him over the gasps of the stadium and ramblings of the announcer. "Let's finish this!"

"It's not over yet!" Pebbleman sneered and curled his lip up menacingly. "Use your damn Spike Cannon! Shoot it out of the air! Ice Barrage!"

Cloyster didn't respond, but Ash watched curiously as the tips of its shell glowed a bright white and shot several concealed spikes straight into the sky, directed with perfect precision towards Plume. Secondsd later a flurry of Aurora Beams shot out with no particular aim other than to cover the entire sky in the rainbow-hued energy.

Ash could feel the freezing air even through the psychic barriers, although the Feather embedded in his chest pulsed and restored warmth to his cold limbs with a comforting heat. He felt the fire rush through his veins with the roaring passion to inspire and ignite a lust for battle that rivalled even that of Lance.

Not that he needed it. He had a more-than-healthy love for battling himself.

He felt a grin pull at his mouth as Plume flickered away in a burst of speed, obviously utilizing Tailwind to enhance her speed, agility, and ability to evade the waves of projectiles sent to tear her out of the side with casual ease. She suddenly appeared behind Cloyster, her wing suddenly bright and shiny under the searing light of the sun, and smashed into it with a sickening crack that sent shivers rushing down Ash's spine.

Cloyster gurgled in agony as its shielded frame flew forward as though it were weightless, the force behind Plume's Steel Wing and Quick Attack combination enough to make the psychic barriers protecting the stadium flare into visibility for a few seconds as they absorbed the energy.

The defensive water-type collapsed to the thick ice, still locked into its shell. Pebbleman had a look of shock in his face. He must not have faced many powerful flying-types or that wouldn't have been a surprise. An enhanced Steel Wing – whether through raw practice or a technique to boost its power – was one of the most common ways for a flying-type to deal damage against an armored foe. It was one of the few moves available to them that had enough power to get past their shells or defenses.

Ash's grin became even more apparent as Cloyter helplessly rolled over onto its other side and revealed a long crack in the thick shell, which webbed into dozens of smaller cracks at the point of impact and looked like it could be caved in without much difficulty.

"Carry it up!" Ash shouted. Plume, still a blur as she regained her momentum, screeched and swooped down again in a bubble of air, massive talons open and ready as she shot down and latched onto the stunned Cloyster's notched shell and rushed high into the sky, her burden helpless in her grasp.

"Wha –" Pebbleman said, his mouth agape as he watched his most defensive pokemon carried hundreds of feet above the battlefield. "That's such bullshit! Spike Cannon and Protect on the way down!"

Plume's ears might have been sharp enough to hear Pebbleman's voice as she ripped through the sky, but Cloyster was incapable of making sense of it. Considering how terrified and confused it must be in its predicament Ash couldn't blame it. It was doubtful that it had any idea of what was going on, although he knew it had to have some way to sense outside of its shell.

He didn't have to tell Plume when to drop Cloyster. She released a piercing, victorious shriek as the water-type plummeted to the ground, its immediate concern not the massive bird of prey that was its opponent but the drop that would easily leave it unconscious.

Ash waited for it to test the power of the Protect it instinctively activated, but was rather surprised when the Cloyster disappeared halfway down its long journey in a flash of red light. Pebbleman scowled as he placed its pokeball on his belt.

"Well, looks like I've got no choice." He grunted. "Arcanine, get out there!"

The Arcanine was impressive. Its fur seemed to burn with a subtle fire that was invigorated by the sun. Its body was heavy with dense, packed muscle but graceful enough to dance around projectile attacks. Flame spewed with every breath, the flickers enough to make the ice in front of the great creature melt slightly.

"Keep up Double Team. It's a Pidgeot and its fast." Pebbleman said grimly. Arcanine snorted and casually stepped further onto the ice, dozens of illusory copies appearing as it suddenly began to sprint. "Get ready for Extreme Speed!"

Ash sighed. This could be troublesome. Arcanine would be limited since its greatest offensive asset, fire-type moves, would melt the ice and leave it helpless against Plume. Its speed was its greatest asset right now since it could actually match Plume.

He wasn't sure if Plume would be able to actually score a hit on it physically. She was ridiculously fast, but Arcanine were renowned for their legendary speed. Even without their Extreme Speed, which had accounted for their reputation, they were strong, fast, and agile. Every Arcanine was a huge threat, capable of powerful elemental attacks and tearing their opponents apart with their fearsome claws and fangs.

Fortunately for him, Plume didn't have to get a physical hit in. She had plenty of other weapons at her disposal.

But he'd rather have some fun and not reveal too much more of Plume's skillset. With her speed she could easily become an incredibly powerful weapon in the higher battles of the Conference, despite her lack of overwhelming power. Speed was a boon of its own.

The battle was relatively boring for the next minute or so. Plume couldn't keep track of Arcanine, so she just fired off Multislash a few times to keep it on its toes. The blades of air never made contact, but they kept Arcanine from attacking for a while and hopefully tested the fire-type's incredible endurance.

Ash held back a slight smirk as Pebbleman finally lost all patience with their little game.

"That's enough, Arcanine!" He roared and jabbed his finger at Plume, who soared through the sky without a single concern. "Hyper Beam Split!"

He didn't see Arcanine move. It just vanished in a flicker before it reappeared on top of an ice boulder and immediately leapt dozens of feet in the air with the incredible power in its hind legs.

Ash supposed that the Arcanine was lucky its pads were so rough. If they weren't it would have been hopeless on the slick ice. It was only thanks to the amazing traction that it had even managed to get moving like that, let alone jump off the boulder.

"Mirror Move." He shouted as an orb of molten orange energy formed in Arcanine's flaming maw, obscuring the massive fangs that could easily penetrate stone.

Horror gleamed in Pebbleman's eyes, but he was helpless to do anything as Arcanine fired a Hyper Beam that split into several smaller ones the moment the energy was released, which Plume directed herself towards.

Plume screeched in victory as she used Mirror Move, which created a small shield of silvery energy that seemed to absorb the massive amounts of energy poured into the Hyper Beam and suddenly fired it back in a straight blast of bright heat and light, its aim perfect. Arcanine yipped in pain as the Hyper Beam struck it and exploded, firing it down to the ice.

Ash winced as it slammed into the battlefield with a thunderous crash that left it in a tiny crater of cracked ice and shattered boulders. Pebbleman recalled it moments later, but the anguished look on his face showed that he hated that he hadn't been fast enough.

"And the Green Trainer, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, wins again thanks to his powerful Pidgeot! It looks like even Pebbleman wasn't enough to stop this prodigious trainer!" The announcer crowed to the crowd's delight. "And next we have George Grey of Unova as the Red Trainer and Amelia Franklin of Pallet Town as the Green Trainer! I wonder if she'll show as much skill as Ketchum! Let's find out!"

Ash's bones trembled at the chants of his name and wild cheers. He just grinned back and waved, although he spared a glance at Pebbleman before he began to head off. The older trainer had a stormy, enraged look on his face, although he shut it down when he noticed Ash's glance and sneered back as he walked off the battlefield with his defeated team.

What an unpleasant individual. Ash could understand some of the man's dislike. It couldn't have been easy to lose to a trainer so much younger than him. He didn't think Pebbleman handled it very well, but he could understand.

He just didn't approve.

Regardless of his current thoughts, he realized that he needed to get off the field. Ash silently wished Amelia luck as he left through the tunnel that would take him up to the surface.

He'd be coming back for Amelia's battle, of course. It wouldn't do to disappoint Steven. Besides, he wanted to see her really cut loose. Ash had only seen bits and pieces of her skill so far and he'd like a more complete picture.

XX

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" Jonathan muttered next to him, his hands white from the tight grip they had on the seat. "Come on, not yet. Get through this!"

Ash had similar thoughts, if more reserved. He watched with a troubled expression on his face as Amelia faced off against George Grey.

It was not going well for her.

George Grey was strong. He'd been training for years and had the overwhelmingly powerful team to prove it. Amelia had been on the defensive from the very beginning, ever since Grey had released an absolute monster of a pokemon that was black, gigantic, and had three spitting and snarling heads, two of which were in its "hands" and each capable of using their own attacks.

The announcer had called it Hydreigon. From the awed timbre of the man's voice he assumed it was a ridiculously powerful pokemon, along the vein of Dragonite or Metagross. It was certainly imposing enough to be counted amongst such esteemed species.

He was impressed at the teen's guts. Hydreigon was clearly a dragon-type, inherently risky to use in a field that greatly favored ice-types. It had enough raw power and a savage, ruthless battle style that equalized things for it, unfortunately. Amelia's Dewgong had been knocked unconscious in a trio of Hyper Beams the moment the battle began.

From that moment on everyone knew how the battle was going to go.

Grey himself seemed to be enjoying this. His eyes were dark with glee and a sadistic grin was permanently stretched across his face. It was rather unnerving.

Ash would rather not have to battle the unbalanced trainer. Not only was he from far-off Unova, which was thousands of miles away and Ash knew next to nothing about, he was clearly powerful. He knew from personal experience the kind of will and strength it took to earn a dragon's respect.

Amelia frantically called out commands as her second pokemon, Raichu, skittered away from the slowly advancing Hydreigon, sparks flying from its cheeks as it swished its tail nervously. Hyrdreigon roared and suddenly rushed forward, its second and third heads spitting and thrashing frantically as though they wanted to rip free from their body and tear into Raichu themselves.

"Charge up! Thunder Wave Feint!" Amelia shrieked, her voice reaching higher and higher pitches as she saw Hydreigon's raging form rush closer and closer to her small friend. "Put everything you've got into it!"

"That ain't gonna be enough to stop Hydreigon, girly." Grey smirked lazily, his first words of the battle. So far he'd seen fit to let his monster of a dragon-type rampage mindlessly across the battlefield, barely noticing as it tore deep into the ice and exposed itself to the icy waters. "He's seen a lot worse than your rat and lived to tell the tale."

Amelia just scowled helplessly as she watched the scene play out. Raichu, backed up into one of the boulders, growled and focused tightly for just a second as Hydreigon's massive form rushed in, heedless of the sparks crackling around Raichu's body and the barely restrained power that flowed through its electrical sacs.

When Hydreigon was about to attack, Raichu fired off a few thin arcs of electricity that impacted the dragon-type and caused it to stumble and slow, but didn't cause it to actually stop. It was just too strong for Thunder Wave – at least Raichu's.

Ash watched with a frown as Raichu suddenly released all its pent up energy and shot forward in a raging aura of lightning and sparks, a sign that it had actually mastered Volt Tackle. Impressive, but not enough. The fact that Hydreigon took the blow and was still standing was enough to tell him that.

"Nice try." Grey yawned scornfully. It was actually impressive how much sarcasm he managed to inject into the gesture. "My turn."

Hydreigon raised one of its arms high and slashed downwards at the exhausted Raichu, its head's mouth wide open to tear into the electric-type's flesh with its jagged fangs.

It only found ice, which left the head to sputter and roar in confusion as it dully blinked and looked around for its prey. At least Ash knew that it wasn't very smart. The main head did most of the thinking, even though the other heads could attack of their own volition.

Ash nodded approvingly as Amelia put Raichu's pokeball on her belt. It would have been no use to continue that fight. Raichu was the member of her team with the most brute force behind it, meant to clean up what her traps couldn't take out, but it was no match for the might of Hydreigon.

He expected that the Hydreigon was around Torrent's level, only with more experience. A dangerous prospect, considering its unrestrained savagery. It held none of Dragonite's kind nature or Torrent's regal dignity. It was just a beast on a leash that was far too long.

Ash could only feel sorry for the ancient people of Unova to have lived around such a brutish species. Somehow he got the feeling that it wasn't just this specimen that was bloodthirsty.

Amelia had bit her lip as she thought it over. Ash could recognize the signs. He'd been in that situation himself more than a few times. It was a terrible feeling. He hated feeling so helpless in the face of an obviously superior opponent.

He knew that she didn't have anything that could turn the battle around. Her chances of victory had died with Dewgong's quick defeat. Now all she could do was try to finish Hydreigon off.

"What does the idiot think she's doing?" Jonathan snarled as Politoed appeared on the sheet of rent ice. It cheerfully stood up and hopped about as it examined Hydreigon, who had enough presence of mind to back off until the referee announced the renewal of the battle. "Politoed sucks. It barely even knows what battling is!"

"I'm sure she has a good reason." Ash said quietly, curiosity layered underneath his stoic tone. He wanted to see what she would do. The trainer had to admit that he didn't know too much about the Politoed species himself. They were exceptionally rare, after all.

The second the referee shouted for the match to begin, Hydreigon lunged. All three heads snapped their menacing jaws and roared with pure hatred in their eyes as they began their rampage for Politoed.

"Get out of there! Ice Beam it and stay far away!" Amelia shrieked frantically, waving her arms at Politoed to get the point across even though it wasn't looking at her. It happily followed her commands, however, and jumped away from Hydreigon as fast as it could, although it was clearly in pain from landing on the ice.

"Stop. It's leading you into a trap, you idiot." Grey said, apparently rather amused as Politoed leapt high onto one of the ice boulders, a perfect vantage point to hit Hydreigon with its Ice Beam. "I thought I taught you better than that. Blow it up."

Hydreigon happily acquiesced to the request, its hateful scarlet eyes, the opposite of Torrent's wise red, shining as all three heads suddenly released Hyper Beams to meet Politoed's sudden Ice Beam.

It was no contest.

"No!" Amelia shouted desperately as Politoed was struck by all three of the beams, which had been barely weakened by the water-type's Ice Beam, and was hurled backwards as the Hyper Beams detonated in an explosion of fiery orange and white energy.

Politoed smashed into the psychic barriers and fell to the ground, seared with painful burns and barely breathing. Amelia quickly returned it and stared at the pokeball as she was ordered off the stage by a sympathetic League official.

Grey got plenty of cheers, but less than what Ash would have expected. Apparently he unnerved people with his brutal style of battling. It was similar to Giovanni's.

The Unovan didn't seem to care and just smirked as he recalled Hydreigon and walked away.

"Ouch." Jonathan murmured. "She just got her ass kicked. Let's go catch up with her."

Ash just nodded as Jonathan stood up and walked off. He lingered for a moment to watch Grey as the much older trainer swaggered off the battlefield without a care in the world.

Grey was strong. His Hydreigon was probably his trump card, what he relied on to smash through most opponents, but Ash expected that the rest of his team wouldn't be pushovers. Anyone that could train something as ill-natured as that Hydreigon had to be capable of raising a strong team.

He wanted to fight him. Not just because he'd utterly thrashed Amelia, but because Grey was dangerous. Ash didn't know anything about him, but he didn't seem like someone he wanted to walk free, especially with a team like that.

He reminded him too much of Giovanni. The thought made ice rush through his veins, but the Feather embedded in his chest released soothing warmth that drove the bitterness away and calmed his emotions.

Ash knew it would come down to him, Grey, and Michael. There were other strong trainers, like Jessica and the others that had been on New Island, but Grey – or at least his Hydreigon – was a monster. Just like Ash and Michael.

"Hey, you coming?" Jonathan shouted up at him. Ash blinked and realized he'd been staring at empty space for the last few seconds. He nodded and headed down the stands.

He needed to think.

XX

"So, how you feeling?" Jonathan asked as he swallowed a mouthful of noodles. Ash just listened to the conversation as he dug into his own food, which was rather good. The League certainly set up some excellent restaurants to accommodate the influx of visitors to Indigo Plateau.

"About as good as you'd expect." Amelia sighed, crestfallen as she just stared at the soup she'd ordered. "I really thought I'd make it farther. Jessica made it to the Top 16 her first try."

Ash frowned and finally spoke up. "You aren't Jessica. Don't compare yourself to her. Your opponent was very powerful. There's no shame in losing to him."

"Yeah!" Jonathan said as brightly as he could through a mouthful of noodles. Ash just wrinkled his nose in distaste and made sure not to look at the other boy directly. "I bet you could have made it to the Top 16 if you hadn't had to fight that guy. He was crazy strong!"

He hummed in assent. "You did about as well as could be expected from any rookie trainer. Grey is going to the top unless he meets a few certain people on his way there. The Hydreigon is too strong for most people to face unprepared."

Not that he was included in the rank of most people, or so he hoped. Ash felt that Hydreigon would be a complete pushover compared to even Saph. The reason he never achieved much success against Lance's team was that they were all ridiculously fast. The Dragonite trio, Aerodactyl, Magnus…any of his pokemon that could fly were almost impossible to hit.

Hydreigon looked to lack that capability, or at least it preferred to rush enemies on the ground. He felt that Torrent could defeat it without too much trouble, especially if he pulled out Ice Storm. It was an incredibly powerful technique, even if he'd discovered it extremely early in his career as a trainer.

Amelia looked a bit happier, so he supposed it was a successful endeavor. He'd leave the rest up to Jonathan. He was better at this than him.

"Just come back next year. I know I will – if I don't win the whole thing right now!" Jonathan boasted through another mouthful of noodles. Ash rolled his eyes and snorted in amusement, which attracted the other boy's attention. "Oh yeah, there's a pretty good chance we'll battle each other next, Ash!"

"Really?" Ash raised an eyebrow. "I haven't looked at the projected brackets yet."

"Yep!" Jonathan grinned and pushed his spotless bowl away from him. "This is where it gets serious, ya know? Everything up to this point has been a warm up. They're making sure to find the best of the best, and everyone not good enough to fight for real is getting cut – no offense, Amelia."

She just sighed at the thoughtless comment, although she didn't seem insulted. Amelia seemed used to it. Jonathan didn't exactly think before he spoke, even though Ash knew by now that didn't apply in battling.

As much, anyway.

"It's fine." She waved it off. "I know my team isn't strong enough to compete in the top ranks. We're good, but not that good. I'll just come back next year and hope it's enough."

"That's the spirit!" Jonathan cheered. He looked back to Ash. "Anyway, I think they're pitting rookies against each other. Most of us have been eliminated, but there's a few left. Me, you, Gary, and some other kid. Starts with an 'R' I think."

"Where'd you hear this?" He inquired. Nobody had mentioned it to him before, even though he could see it as the truth. There were a lot of rookies in the League this year. Normally they were all wiped out by this point. The League would probably want to narrow it down to see which of them was the best.

Of course, it could just be chance. Now that they were down to an eighth of the original competitors it was much more likely that he'd be placed against whatever rookies hadn't been culled.

"Guesswork, for the most part." Jonathan shrugged. Ash found his confidence in the other boy's claim fading at that. Apparently Jonathan was astute enough to notice, as he quickly moved to assure Ash. "Don't worry, man. I heard some of the older competitors talking about it too."

Ash hummed in response and finished off his own meal, content with the comfortable silence that had fallen over their meeting.

Comfortable for him, anyway. Jonathan and Amelia looked like they wanted to say something. He just hoped that they didn't start bickering again. He'd rather not have to leave the restaurant already.

It was Amelia who broke the silence.

"So…what did you do after the St. Anne?"

He froze and looked at her. They hadn't breached this topic yet, even though both parties wanted to. Ash wasn't sure how he was supposed to go into this, though. It wasn't like when he was talking to his mother or Lance about something serious. Then he could just let them talk and glean what information he could.

No, he'd actually have to get involved this time.

"I trained. Trained and traveled and found my family." He smiled softly at the thought of his team, although he was a bit worried about Sneasel. He'd had to drop him off at the Pokemon Center before this, although he'd pick him up before he returned to the house. "There's not that much to it."

"Oh, come on!" Jonathan prodded. "I know there's more to it than that. You're way more different than you used to be. It's like you got old, or something."

Ash shrugged. "I saw a lot. Not all of it good."

"Any details?" Amelia asked, before she hastily added in, "Not about the bad stuff, if you don't want to tell us! We've just been wondering about you. We tried to find you every now and then, but you must have been taking a completely different route."

He nodded slowly and thought for a moment. There wasn't a lot he could actually say. Lance probably wouldn't want him discussing Team Rocket with them, even if he did think they could keep their mouths shut, and he definitely wouldn't tell them about Mewtwo. The Legendaries were also off-limit, if only because he didn't want to put any crazy ideas like trying to catch one into their heads.

Ash inwardly flinched at the notion. Jonathan would be crazy enough to try and Amelia was loyal enough to tag along, even if he warned them explicitly of the dangers.

No, he wouldn't mention the Legends. They deserved their peace.

"I went into the Seafoam Caverns during the Ice Time." He mentioned. "That was probably about a month and a half after we split up."

"Ooh!" Amelia said, interest dancing in her brown eyes. "What was it like? That's where Gyarados dropped us off, but it wasn't the Ice Time yet. I really wanted to see how it looked. The Caverns were supposed to be beautiful!"

Ash thought back to the miserable experience. It was a long time ago but stuck out brightly in his memories. It was the first time he'd seen a true Legend. Articuno, the Bird of Ice. The first time he'd seen the terrible power wielded by the forces of nature made manifest.

"It was cold." He said simply. "I had to rely on Infer – Magmar to keep me alive. It was dangerous, as well – I was hunted by groups of Dewgong a few times."

"Ah, come on!" Jonathan whined to Amelia. "Why didn't we wait for the Ice Time? That sounds awesome! You just went in and caught a Seel while I was still knocked out."

Amelia just shrugged and motioned for Ash to continue.

"Then I trained with Bruno a few months after that." He mentioned. That wasn't confidential, not like his training with Lance. "It was –"

"Woah, slow down there." Jonathan said, eyes wide. "You mean the Bruno. Awesome, Elite Four Bruno?"

He nodded.

"Man, no wonder that Machoke of yours is such a badass!" Jonathan laughed. Amelia nodded in assent, just as amazed as her friend. "Wish I got to train with Bruno…much better than that jerk who traveled with us for a few days."

"What jerk?" He raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued. "Who was it?"

"Some guy named Paul." Amelia spat with distaste. "He's a year older than us and knew a lot, but he's very…disagreeable."

"Why'd you train with him?"

Jonathan took over at that point, despite the angry scowl on his face. "It's not like we wanted to. We had to leave Lavender Town while that crazy storm was going through and the League made us stick together while we evacuated to Vermillion. There was a Ranger with us, too. He just didn't talk much."

"Was he strong?" Ash asked. He knew that Jonathan was no pushover, but from the anger in his face it seemed like Paul had overwhelmed him. Maybe he'd battle him someday.

The other boy's scowl deepened as he grudgingly replied, "Yeah. That was a while ago, though! I bet I'm way stronger than him now. Freakin' prick…"

Ash just sighed at the rather blunt comment and looked over to Amelia, who was hiding a grin. "I should –"

"At least he got knocked out of the Conference pretty early!" Jonathan interrupted brightly. He ignored the annoyed sigh from Ash. "He went up against Michael – he's a pretty cool guy, you know? – and got curbstomped. Jerk deserved it."

"I'll take your word for it." Ash replied drily. He glanced at the time. There was still another hour before he was set to pick Sneasel up from the Pokemon Center, so he might as well stay here and burn what time he could. "Have you talked to Michael lately? I ran into him once, not too long after the St. Anne, but neither of us stuck around for long. We were busy."

Amelia took a sip of her water before she replied. "Not really. We met him again in the Safari Zone while we stuck around Fuchsia and when we were registering for the Conference, but we aren't close to him."

"What's this about Michael?" A voice he hadn't heard in months asked from behind him. He didn't miss the delighted looks on Jonathan and Amelia's faces and put the pieces together. Jessica.

Ash felt a bit awkward as Jessica sat down in one of the empty chairs beside Amelia. He still felt like a bit of an outsider to his former traveling companions' close friendship. This wasn't helping matters.

"Heard you lost to that guy from Unova." Jessica frowned and patted Amelia's shoulder sympathetically as the younger girl frowned. "Hey, don't do that. You did great! Barely anyone as young as you even makes it into the Conference, let alone this far. Just get back on your feet and try again next year."

"Yeah." Amelia smiled up at her older sister. "I already got that speech from those two. Thanks, though. How'd your battle go?"

Jessica smirked back and patted her Persian, which had somehow managed to stay unnoticed up to this point. Ash frowned at the massive feline as it laid its head in Jessica's lap and purred as its ears were scratched. He couldn't get the thought of Giovanni's own Persian out of his head.

"Fine. Persian didn't even break a sweat." She boasted and slipped a treat down to the normal-type. Persian blinked and pondered the treat for a few moments before it lazily opened its mouth and swallowed it whole. "Ugh, lazy cat."

Ash sat back and listened to the conversation for a few more minutes. He finally glanced at the clock on the wall and stood up. "Sorry, but I've got to go. I don't want to get caught up in the line at the Pokemon Center."

"Alright. Bye, then." Jonathan said to him as Ash stood up and walked away. He heard the other two bid their own farewells before he stepped outside into the bright sun.

He felt some of the stress of being around people slide off of him and blinked a few times to adjust to the sunlight. Ash took a moment to orient himself and headed off to the Pokemon Center.

Ash would feel guilty if he made them put up with an angry Sneasel for any longer than necessary. As he knew from personal experience, it wasn't exactly pleasant.

XX

"Good luck on your battle, Ash!" His mother waved cheerfully at him from the PokeNav's screen. She was in Professor Oak's lab with several bags of luggage, presumably full of clothes and other necessities since the Conference was still going to last for another two weeks or so. "We're about to teleport to Professor Oak's house at Indigo Plateau now, so I'll do my best to get there before your battle is over! How much longer do you have?"

"Probably half an hour, give or take a few minutes." Ash shrugged in response. "It's not too important. I just want you to be here for the Finals."

His mother rolled her eyes at his attitude. "But you're battling Jonathan! How is that not important?"

"Because I'm going to beat him." Ash said bluntly, the faint hint of a grin on his lips. "He's pretty cocky now. I'm going to put him down."

"Of course you are." His mother smiled serenely. "Just try not to push your team too hard, alright? I know this must be stressful for all of you."

He nodded. "I won't. Everything this far has been practice. Jonathan is just the last before I get to the real tests."

His mother frowned, but she didn't say anything before she turned and responded to a loud call from another room, presumably from Professor Oak. "Oh! Sorry, Ashy, but I've got to go. Professor Oak wants to get to the Plateau as soon as he can."

"I understand. Bye, Mom."

She just smiled and waved at him cheerily before she cut the message off. Ash stared at it for a moment before he pocketed it.

He honestly hadn't expected to battle Jonathan. Their brackets offered the potential, but he'd never actually thought they would be matched up. It was a lucky coincidence. For him, at least. He really, really wanted to battle Jonathan.

There was no doubt that he was strong, even if Ash didn't expect too much tact from his friend. Jonathan seemed like an improviser. Ash could sympathize. He didn't usually have explicit strategies planned out either, he just adapted to the battle and used on-the-go tactics to achieve victory.

He had always battled like that. Training with Lance, who favored a brute force approach to battling, only emphasized those traits in him.

In this battle brute force would meet brute force. Ash would ensure that he'd win this confrontation.

Charizard, Rhydon, Gyarados, Kingler, Magneton, and Pinsir. A strong team, but one with many counters.

He'd elected Nidoking, Torrent, and Oz for this battle. Nidoking, thanks to his extreme versatility, would be capable of striking down any of his team without too much trouble, even Magneton and Pinsir thanks to Flamethrower. It was a key element to Nidoking's own Triad technique, which Ash had honed alongside Bruiser's.

Torrent was a no-brainer. Only Infernus was on par with him when it came to brute power and Ash had confidence that he'd be able to take down any of Jonathan's team easily. He could only see Gyarados as a proper threat, especially since it was almost guaranteed that Jonathan would use such an overwhelmingly powerful pokemon against him. Jonathan had a big head but he wasn't stupid enough to dismiss Ash as a threat.

Oz would be an excellent counter as well if it came down to her and Gyarados or Charizard. Kingler wasn't as much of a concern, but it was also susceptible. Magneton and Rhydon were the only ones that would actually be strong against her and he had ways around that.

Ash sighed as plans flashed through his mind rapidly, each one analyzed for flaws and strengths. There were countless simulations played out, and each one was judged.

He knew he was stronger than Jonathan, but he wasn't going to be arrogant when it came to the other boy. Jonathan was strong enough to make it here, after all.

Ash would just have to make sure that he didn't go any farther.

XX

"And the Green Trainer, the prodigious rookie Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, arrives on the field! Now watch as another highly skilled young man, Jonathan Lindon of Pallet Town, arrives as well! Which of these neighbors will emerge victorious? Who has the stronger spirit? Let's find out!"

The referee wasn't on the field yet, so Jonathan took the chance to glance over to Ash and give him a gleeful grin after he'd finished waving and dramatically bowing to the crowd, who seemed to love his act.

"It's gonna be me! I hope you'll stick around for the Finals!" Jonathan yelled across the Grass Stadium. Ash could barely hear it over the roar of the crowd, who loved hearing trash talk before the matches. "Somebody has to be cheering me on!"

Ash just snorted and let a tight grin slide over his face as he casually bounced Nidoking's worn, scratched pokeball in his palm. He felt the ball quiver slightly as Nidoking responded to his proximity as well as the fire of the Feather as it burned and inspired his spirit.

"Ah, come on! Don't you have anything to say?" Jonathan shouted, disappointed. "Don't be like that! You might as well have fun while you can. You'll be on a bit of a dry streak after I'm done with ya!"

"We'll see about that." He murmured and flipped his hat around. It was twilight, so he didn't need the protection against the sun. The additional visibility would serve him well when Charizard took to the field.

Jonathan pressed a hand to his heart in faux fear. "Watch out, everybody! He turned the hat around! He's getting serious."

Ash just sighed and let his grin turn dangerous as the referee finally arrived and stared up at both of them. "Begin!"

As the Green Trainer, he released Nidoking first. He wasn't surprised in the least when Jonathan released Charizard, who flared up his tail flame as he recognized Nidoking. Nidoking lowered his head and grunted at his old friend, horn ready to release a blast of electricity at a moment's notice.

"I've been waiting for this since we split up!" Jonathan shouted to him. "Charizard's been going crazy for this! I hope you're ready for him. We're way tougher than we were last time we met!"

Ash just nodded as Charizard took flight and soared up into the darkness of the heavens, easily identifiable only because of his bright orange skin and blazing tail flame. Charizard didn't do anything yet, but seemed to be waiting for Jonathan's orders.

"Burn this field up! Let's get this over with!" Jonathan roared to his starter. Charizard just snarled and soared low to spit a large stream of crackling orange flame across the Grass Stadium, leaving blackened earth and an ignited field behind.

Nidoking didn't need Ash's direction to take advantage of the nearby Charizard. The second Charizard wasn't ready to retaliate, a lance of electricity shot off of his horn and, honed by many hours of practice, struck Charizard in the spot between his huge, unfurled wings.

Ash grinned as Charizard, surprised by the unexpected attack, lost some altitude as the electricity shot through his body. He recovered quickly, showing more experience than Ash had expected, but was a bit slower and much more wary of Nidoking.

"C'mon, Flamethrower! Don't get close to it and be careful!"

Charizard roared and shot down low again as he released another torrent of fire that shot straight toward Nidoking, who countered it with a Shadow Ball that managed to absorb most of the flames before the mixed attacks exploded in a gigantic flash of energy.

"Up the power a bit." He whispered to Nidoking. Judging from the specific way his ears twitched, he'd heard him over Charizard's furious roars.

"Trap it with Fire Spin and hit it with a Flare Blitz!" Jonathan shouted, uncaring of the advantage it gave Ash. It looked like he thought Charizard had enough of an advantage that Nidoking wouldn't be a problem.

Ash just watched with his arms crossed. They'd fought Magnus enough to know how to counter this. Fire Spin would keep Nidoking trapped, helpless to escape from Charizard's Flare Blitz, which was certainly enough to seriously injure Nidoking if it hit.

He was impressed, to be honest. Flare Blitz was an incredibly powerful technique. Ash hadn't expected Jonathan to have been able to teach it to Charizard. It was actually a good thing, in this instance. Nidoking would finally get a good workout.

Nidoking knew what to do as Charizard spewed a torrent of fire from his gaping maw, which spiraled down around Nidoking in a furious vortex that ignited the grass he stood on. A quick Ice Beam from Nidoking put an end to that. His armor was strong but couldn't fully protect against the heat of the Fire Spin.

"I thought this would be a lot harder!" Jonathan crowed up to Charizard, who roared in agreement as his huge body became wreathed in fire, although it was much weaker than what Infernus was capable of. Not only did Charizard not match his power, he couldn't handle fires of the intensity Infernus activated in combat. "Let's finish this! Flare Blitz!"

Charizard, consumed in the raging orange fires of the Flare Blitz, released all of his pent up power and shot down at the trapped Nidoking, who just watched with a bored look in his narrow eyes.

Ash waited as Charizard grew ever closer, the destructive potential in its body ready to release at its full power. Trickles and streams of flame lived on in the sky behind him, crackling for several seconds after Charizard had raged past in his comet-like form.

Just as Charizard came in range, Nidoking focused and released an immense blast of lightning from his horn, just enough to penetrate Charizard's protective aura of fire and shatter its concentration. As Charizard's focus broke the Flare Blitz weakened slightly, just enough for Nidoking to survive it without ill effect.

He grinned as Nidoking suddenly turned around just in time to smash his huge, muscular tail straight into Charizard's side and crush the massive fire-type straight into the field. As Charizard recovered Nidoking reared his head back and spat a huge quantity of toxic sludge onto the draconic pokemon's back, weighing it down so much that it couldn't fly.

He'd known that it would be enough. That was the kind of power Nidoking put into his attacks to bring Magnus to the ground. Jonathan's Charizard would barely have control of his body for the next minute or two.

"Wha – no! Charizard, do it!" Jonathan frantically screamed to his friend as Nidoking fired a barrage of Poison Stings into Charizard's thick hide, where they stuck, deeply imbedded in the flesh as they pumped poison into his tissues and bloodstream. "BLAZE!"

Charizard's eyes, formerly shut in agony and completely disoriented, reflexively snapped open at the command and exploded with dangerous red light, flames far stronger than those of his Flare Blitz wreathed around him. Charizard stood up, roared with the fury to cause the receding embers of its previous techniques explode with new life, and spat a huge cone of fire at Nidoking.

Ugh. He hated Blaze. He'd hated it ever since that first time he encountered it when he'd battled Jonathan and his Charmeleon on the St. Anne. It was basically an adrenaline-powered disaster – like Super Power for badly injured fire-types.

As one could imagine, that was a terrible thing to battle. For the minute or so it would take for Nidoking's poison to finish him off or for a decisive blow to be struck Charizard would be a monster, a juggernaut with as much destructive power as Infernus in his normal state. That was the kind of strength that had left villages in ashes back in the old days, when Charizard were the ultimate weapon one could bring to the battlefield.

And Jonathan seemed to have turned that potent, feared ability into a weapon. It was probably his ultimate trump card. Little could stand against a powerful Charizard further enhanced by its natural ability.

They'd defeated Magnus before, but Lance had always returned him if he slipped into Blaze. It gave a Charizard incredible power, but they lost some of their necessary self-control in the process. Lance had told him that Magnus would be the equal to Dov while under Blaze, if not the nigh undefeatable Dragonite.

This would not be fun.

"Yeah! Screw you, Ash! After you beat me in that tournament I knew what I had to do!" Jonathan whooped to the delight of the crowd. He had a ridiculously large grin stretched across his face. "If Charizard's angry or hurting, he can fire up whenever he wants. You are going down! Blast Burn that stupid Nidoking!"

Charizard, his entire body ignited and burning away the poison needles and sludge that Nidoking had hit him with, roared and took off in an explosion of fire until it soared high above the fiery field. Nidoking sat in the middle in a circle of tranquility amongst the destruction wreaked around him, ready for Charizard's next attack.

Blast Burn? Where'd Jonathan learn the exceptionally rare fire-type variant of Hyper Beam? It was a closely guarded secret amongst the Masters and specialists of the fire-type.

He frowned.

This wouldn't be fun.

Charizard, high above the arena, let out another roar of fury as it hung in the air like a stationary comet. He reared his huge head back, created an absolutely massive orb of fire, only enhanced by the incredible power boost given to him by Blaze, and leered down at Nidoking with his hateful red eyes for just a moment.

"Earth Power." He murmured to Nidoking, who instantly understood what he wanted. As Charizard focused the last of his power into the Blast Burn, Nidoking subtly twisted his foot on the scorched earth and allowed a deep, narrow chasm to open up beneath him. Ash heard a slight grunt as Nidoking landed in his hiding spot underneath the surface but knew that the slight pain was much better than the alternative.

"No!" Jonathan wailed dramatically. Ash smiled slightly as the Feather flared against his chest. The other boy knew that he'd been outplayed.

A second later Ash saw a firestorm that Infernus would have been proud of engulf the arena, so bright and furiously powerful that Ash had to avert his eyes lest they be overwhelmed by the raging inferno that exploded and burned and destroyed.

The fires raged on, even on the spots where the grass had long since been burned away. Ash felt the Feather pulse and react to his own feeling of triumph as Charizard fell from the heavens where he had released the last of his wrath and power in a single fell attack.

Jonathan recalled the helpless Charizard before he hit the ground. Everyone knew that he was unconscious the second the ridiculously powerful Blast Burn had ceased. Blaze made it even more destructive but that kind of power was dangerous to use when Charizard's body had already been worn out to exhaustion.

When Nidoking felt the power fuelling the inferno fade he emerged from his sanctum, not a scratch on him. Ash could see that he was uncomfortable, though. The enhanced Blast Burn might have been stopped at the surface but its heat penetrated far beneath.

"Come on – that was going to be so epic and you ruined it!" Jonathan pointed his finger at Ash accusingly. "That was supposed to be my great victory!"

"Did you think Nidoking would stand there and take it?" Ash raised an eyebrow. Nidoking grunted in agreement as he squared himself and waited for the next battle. "It was a nice display, but you'll have to think much harder than that."

Jonathan just scowled as the referee stepped up and did his routine. He instantly released the pokemon Ash had expected: Gyarados. The gigantic sea serpent roared and seemed to drink up the astonished reactions of the crowd if its apparent preening was anything to go by. It was odd to see a Gyarados preen, of all things.

"Act afraid." He whispered to Nidoking. His friend snorted in disgust at the plan, but made a dramatic showing of rearing back. Nobody that knew Nidoking would believe it was genuine for a second. He was just like Ash. He didn't let fear show. "Get underneath and penetrate it. Same plan as in Dandra."

"Gyarados, Hydro Pump! If that doesn't work blast it with Hyper Beam!" Jonathan shouted, enraged at Charizard's defeat. Good. That was what Ash wanted. "Don't stop until it's knocked out!"

Gyarados screamed happily at the command as it saw Nidoking back away in what seemed to be fear. Its gaping maw opened wide as it spat a seemingly limitless stream of water at Nidoking, who was quick enough to open another slight chasm that would let him drop down and avoid the worst of the powerful water-type attack.

And, just as he had done in the Dandra Tournament so long ago, Nidoking fired an overpowered Thunderbolt directly into the unending stream of high-pressure water, enough to make even the strongest Gyarados pause as the electrical current rushed up the blast and into the unprotected interior of the sea serpent.

Jonathan's Gyarados was strong, but it certainly wasn't the strongest.

It thrashed helplessly as its body, sensitive to electricity as it was thanks to its high water composition and extremely high muscle density, was consumed by the overcharged bolt of electricity and lost all control.

The water – or, rather, the impurities within it such as salt and minerals – that suffused every bit of Gyarados' insides would force debilitating cramps and contractions upon the sea serpent. Gyarados' nervous system, which had never evolved to resist electricity given the lack of them in the ocean, would be completely fried for the next few minutes and make it almost impossible for Gyarados to fight back aside from its undisciplined flailing.

The tactic wouldn't have been nearly as effective if Nidoking had just used Thunderbolt. Gyarados might not have evolved to resist electricity, but their thick armor was excellent at blocking it. They hardly liked it, but it would just make a Gyarados even more enraged than usual. To truly cripple a Gyarados like that he needed to hit it on the inside.

He knew it was a "cheap" tactic, but he couldn't find it within himself to care. Gyarados were monstrously powerful, whether they were trained by a rookie with no idea what they were doing or Lance, the greatest Dragon Master of all time. Ash felt that being pragmatic was a much better option than getting his friends hurt.

And he'd stick by that belief, even if Jonathan's annoyed shout told him that he'd have to put up with the other boy's whining later. So be it.

"You know what to do." He called out to Nidoking, who had dropped his rather unconvincing act and now stood tall and proud, although only his torso was visible. The rest was hidden beneath the charred earth.

Nidoking snorted as he watched the massive, convulsing form of the broken sea serpent. Ash knew that his friend could tell that it would be too dangerous to try and get close to the thrashing Gyarados. It didn't have any control of its movements anymore. There was no limit on its physical power, even though all of its control had been cut off in return.

Ash grinned as his friend opened a deeper chasm, relying on his intimate control over the Earth Power technique to go as far underneath the surface as he could. He knew that Nidoking would hit the extremely complicated machinery that controlled the stadium around twenty feet deep, but he wouldn't need to go any further than that.

The poison-type disappeared. Normally Ash would be a bit more wary, but Gyarados was still thrashing helplessly. He'd have Nidoking back off and attack from range again if Gyarados went limp. That would be a sign that its control was returning, even if it would be terribly drained from the cramps and the pseudo-seizure he'd put it through.

He smiled as he watched Nidoking seamlessly travel underneath the earth. It wasn't a tactic they were experienced with. It was more of an improvisation than anything – a way to make up for Nidoking's lack of defensive techniques. He'd rather not rely on his friend's armor, tough as it was.

It certainly wasn't the safest technique, but it was perfect for dealing with Jonathan. Earthquake and other ground-type moves that relied on shaking the earth could do serious damage and bury Nidoking alive. He'd be able to get out of it without much trouble, but that kind of weight could do some serious damage.

That didn't matter at the moment, of course. Nidoking had just exploded up from the earth directly beneath the badly injured Gyarados, his horn devoid of any evidence of poison but covered with arcs of electricity that jumped up and down the length in an erratic manner. The earth slid smoothly off of his bulky frame at the ground-type's command.

Gyarados roared hatefully as its spasms slowly simmered and died, but couldn't do a thing as Nidoking rushed forward and built up his momentum before he easily drove his horn straight through the thick plate of armor and released yet another overpowered Thunderbolt directly into the sea serpent's thin hide underneath the huge, ridged carapace.

Before Gyarados could be knocked out, Jonathan recalled it with a scowl. "You fight dirty, Ash. Not cool."

He just shrugged and stayed silent as Nidoking headed back over to his side of the field. It wasn't as if they'd enjoyed such a brutal tactic. Ash didn't like causing pain to pokemon, but Nidoking could have suffered far worse in a real battle and he knew Gyarados could take that kind of abuse.

"Let's do this, Rhydon!" Jonathan shouted and released the gigantic creature. She snorted and looked around curiously at the burned and charred battlefield, although she soon stopped caring and curled up where she'd been released. "Ugh. Get up! It's time to battle!"

Rhydon yawned and lazily got to her feet and glanced over at Nidoking, who had taken his place back in front of Ash. Nidoking watched her warily. He remembered the rock-type's odd temperament. She could go from peaceful to aggressive in the blink of an eye.

"Finish this quickly." He murmured. Nidoking grunted and squared himself in understanding. Rhydon certainly wasn't weak, but she wouldn't be a challenge. Not after they'd encountered the First's Rhydon and experienced its legendary power firsthand.

Nidoking hadn't revealed anything other than Thunderbolt to Jonathan yet. Normally the other boy would be more wary of Ash and whatever tricks he had waiting for him, but Ash felt that he'd managed to enrage Jonathan to the point that he wouldn't be thinking clearly.

And, with Jonathan's next command, it appeared that his assumption was correct.

"Charge! Try and hit him with a Stone Edge while you're at it." Jonathan said halfheartedly, his tired voice an indicator that he knew he was beaten. There wasn't that same cocky fire to it as before. Rhydon was strong but she didn't seem to have a particularly advanced arsenal of techniques.

Rhydon faithfully followed his commands without a second thought. She took a moment to get going, but her charge was completely blind and reckless. Regardless, it held the potential to do a great deal of damage if she actually slammed into Nidoking.

"You know what to do." He said quietly. Ash didn't enjoy this. Rhydon deserved a better battle, one where she actually stood a chance and had an opportunity to use her strength. This charge was just a side effect of Jonathan's broken spirit. It held no chance of success, even if she did manage to barrage Nidoking with Stone Edge.

Nidoking grunted softly, his feelings similar to Ash's if he had to hazard a guess. The moment Rhydon charged into range he fired off three Ice Beams, each of the jagged arcs of frosty blue energy aimed with the utmost precision.

Her legs were frozen first. Rhydon growled as she toppled over, her charge broken as the powerful limbs were encased in a thick layer of frost. Ash had no doubt that she could break it, given time, but he wasn't about to give her the opportunity.

Rhydon went silent as her head was frozen, the rapid temperature change too much for her. Jonathan recalled her just a second later, a deep look of regret etched onto his face as he said something too quiet to hear to her pokeball. It was odd to see on Jonathan's ordinarily jovial face.

Ash frowned. It was a good fight, but he hadn't enjoyed it like he'd expected himself to. This let him finally get back at Jonathan's cocky attitude and let Nidoking prove who was the stronger between the two.

He'd been too caught up in the preparation to defeat Jonathan to remember that, although he'd never been incredibly close to him or Amelia outside of the short time they traveled together, he was his friend. Ash enjoyed the feeling of victory, but he couldn't find it in himself to rejoice at Jonathan's loss.

Jonathan just gave him a short nod before he walked off quietly. Apparently he'd expected to beat Ash – or, at the very least, put up more of a fight than that.

"You did amazing, buddy." He said to his friend's pokeball once he'd recalled him. It shook slightly in acknowledgement, hot with pride. The Feather matched the heat with its own pulse and warmed his thoughts. "Rest easy. Now the real games begin."

"Ash Ketchum!" A cheerful, portly man greeted him as he stepped off the stage. Another man with a camera mounted on his shoulder stayed behind him as the first man stepped forward and took a place beside Ash, holding up a microphone to the young victor. "It's an honor to meet you! Johnson Brant here for Viridian News!"

Ash just smiled a bit warily and shook the offered hand. It was rather calloused, surprisingly enough. Perhaps the man had been a trainer many years ago.

"Hi." He greeted and released the man from his grip. After dealing with people like Lance and Surge he'd had to learn how to make it particularly tight lest the older men crush him.

"Don't be shy! Wave for the camera, why don't you? I'm certain the viewers would appreciate it!" Brant said cheerfully as he waved to the camera as well. Ash hesitantly joined him. He couldn't detect any of the unsavory qualities Lance had warned him about in the reporter. "I'm afraid we'll have to make this fast, my boy. We don't have a lot of time, unfortunately."

That was perfectly fine with Ash. He felt it would be better for everyone if he didn't voice that opinion, however. He just nodded and smiled again.

"Now," Brant began in a more professional manner, "how do you feel about making it this far? Did you expect it, given your age? Do you think you can continue to advance? The competition only gets steeper from this point forward."

Ash thought for a moment and the Feather pulsed with comfortable heat as he let word's spill from his mouth. "I feel good. I don't know how far I expected to get, but I don't think my age will have anything to do with my success. My team and I are rookies, true, but we've worked hard to get here. We'll keep fighting until we can't go on anymore and then we'll get back up and go again. We'll fight until we win this if we can. I don't know how strong the best person here is, but we're ready for them."

It was odd how easily the words flowed out of him. He barely knew what he was saying, but the pleased smile on Brant's face let him assume that he hadn't made too much a fool of himself. Ash wished he could project the sort of aura that Lance could. Every word that flowed out of the Champion's mouth on camera was pure gold, able to inspire the most broken of spirits and keep the attention of all Indigo.

"Confident words from an exceptional trainer!" Brant grinned to the camera as he clasped Ash's shoulder in a familiar manner. Ash didn't particularly like the contact, but he was just grateful Sneasel still wasn't ready to be in the excitement of the stadiums yet. He'd have done his absolute best to take Brant's hand off if he was released. "I really hope that your skills can back up your attitude! Now, your last opponent, Jonathan Lindon, is from your hometown, correct?"

Ash nodded.

"How did it feel to face him in the Conference, in front of the eyes of so many people? Were you worried? Battles like this can rock any friendship, after all."

He chose his words carefully. Ash could hear Lance's warning about coming off as arrogant echo through his head as he spoke up. "It felt good, and I wasn't worried. We traveled together with another friend of ours when we first started out and battled a few times. This was a good way to settle things once and for all."

Brant smiled and nodded, as though he understood the feelings behind Ash's words. "I'm glad to hear it! Now, I'm afraid that we'll have to wrap this up. The next battle is about to begin! Good luck, Ash! We're rooting for you!"

Ash gave the man a slight smile and nodded his thanks as he stepped out of the camera's sight and headed down the tunnel. The interview certainly could have been worse. Brant seemed like he was in a rush, so at least he hadn't asked Ash to go too in-depth with the questions.

He glanced up at the dark night sky before he headed through the tunnel. The stars shined down upon him, the pinpricks of light strangely calming after the battle that had just been fought.

He frowned. Beating Jonathan was just the beginning. Now he had to go find and talk to him just to make sure the other boy didn't hold his victory against him for whatever reason, find his mother and Professor Oak so that he could catch up, and then begin his preparations for the Final rounds of the Conference.

The Top 16 would be more difficult than this, he was certain. Even if his next opponent was on Jonathan's level having access to a full team of pokemon would make things much more interesting. He couldn't play around anymore. Sneasel's battles were at an end.

Ash readjusted his hat to its normal position. He probably looked a little strange wearing it in the waning hours of twilight, but he couldn't find it in himself to care.

As he emerged from the tunnel and staging area for the Grass Stadium he turned his eyes up to the moon, which was in the shape of a silvery crescent. He felt the Feather pulse in tune with the beats of heart as he felt the last of adrenaline leave his body and grinned as the heat spread throughout his body and a single fact impressed itself firmly upon his mind.

He'd made it to the Finals of the Indigo Conference. It had taken a lot of hard work and dedication, but his friends had fought through the worst of odds and brought him here. Every single member of his team deserved some treats for this – he'd been meaning to get them whatever ridiculously overpriced luxury they wanted for a while now.

They had three days until their next battle. He had time to indulge them as long as he made sure they'd burned it off.

Then it would be time to get serious.

XX

And there it is. Thanks to everybody who read and reviewed last chapter! The support and suggestions help out a lot. Hopefully I made this run smoother than last chapter, but if you think there's something I could improve on or a suggestion make sure to leave a review or PM me!

I'll try and keep a similar update rate of about two weeks for the rest of the Conference, give or take a few days.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading!