At a school in Pallet Town, class was taking place for students with the potential to become Pokemon trainers in the future.
The most promising individuals happened to be Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Leaf Green. There were other promising prospects such as the twins Selene Mizuki and Elio Yo as well.
Sitting in their chairs behind their desks with the rest of the students, they paid close attention to their teacher, Professor Oak, and his lecture.
"Pokemon as you all know have typings and abilities without any exceptions. However, that doesn't mean that's all there is to them. In many they have special racial traits." Professor Oak explained to the classroom.
"You mean like how Pikachu store electricity in their cheek pouches, or how the Charmander evolution line have the flames on their tails indicating their vitality?" Leaf helpfully added in.
"That is correct, Leaf. I want you kids to pay attention to details like these when you form your lifetime bonds with Pokemon." Professor Oak caught the excited look of one student who spoke up next.
"So you're saying there's a lot more to learn about Pokemon battles than just remembering typings, abilities, and moves!?" Ash perked up with a glimmer in his eyes.
Professor Oak chuckled at the enthusiasm of his class's Pokemon battling obsessed idiot. "Indeed, there are many mysteries that are still being found about them today and how much knowing about them can benefit you, whether for battling or for a different career, depends on you and how much they will matter."
"Yeah, sure, gramps. Anyways, you haven't gotten to the most exciting part." Gary commented idly from his seat.
"I was getting there, Gary." Professor Oak sighed. "But yes, the most obvious examples for these special racial traits goes to none other than the authorities legendary Pokemon possess."
Lots of murmurs were roused in the classroom at the mention of legendary Pokemon.
"Legendary Pokemon… They're like gods in fairy tales who can command natural phenomena using their authorities, right?" Leaf had an enchanted look on her face.
"That sounds awesome! I wanna take them on a Pokemon battle in the future!" Ash shouted.
"Ashy-boy, you idiot. You'd be toast in a battle against a god. This is without mentioning how someone like you couldn't possibly catch the attention of legendary Pokemon to begin with." Gary snarked with a smirk.
"Gary raises a good point. Humans go through entire lifetimes without seeing a legendary Pokemon. That's how rare they are. They have eluded researchers for many centuries and our understanding of them remains severely wanting." Time passed as the class continued until the bell of the classroom rang. "Alright, class is dismissed. Everyone, be sure to stay safe when getting back to your homes."
Students rushed to pack up their things and exit the school. Selene ran up to and pounced on Ash's back when the group of friends reached outside the school's entrance.
"Hey Ash, wanna play together again!?" Selene asked as she snuggled up to him. Looking at the scene irked Leaf.
"Sorry, I can't today. I have to help mom with the family diner." The girl's weight on his back didn't bother Ash in the slightest.
Selene wasn't upset at the refusal, instead tightening her arms around Ash's neck. "Then let's spend time at the diner while you work!"
"Hey, that's a good idea. I'm feeling pretty hungry so how about you serve me something?" Gary commented to the side, smirk still present.
Ash sighed, not really enthused at the idea of having to serve food for Gary. The group of seven year old kids reached the only restaurant in the town, Pallet House, where Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum worked.
"Oh hi there, Ash! I see you've brought your friends along too." Delia greeted them from the door to the back kitchen.
"Yeah, they came to hang out. I'm here to help again too."
"Thanks, Ash. You know where the aprons are." Delia finished as she went back inside the kitchen.
Ash turned to his friends. "You guys make yourself comfortable…" He noticed all four were already in the seats of the front counter. "…Maybe too comfortable."
"I want noodles served real hot and some tea to go with it." Gary ordered.
"I could go for some tofu." Leaf pointed to the menu.
"Some sushi would be nice." Selene decided.
"Hey dude, think you can cook a hamburger for me?" Elio passed everyone's menu into Ash's hands.
"Alright, I got it. You guys stick tight." Ash went to the back and changed into his waiter outfit. He came back after some time to hand out the dishes to his friends, then continued on to deliver food to the rest of the customers. He acted with much more care and awareness of his surroundings, making sure the customers had a good time eating. He greeted everyone with a smile and they returned with theirs.
"Ash really does appear like a different person when his head isn't full of Pokemon battles." Leaf smiled as she paid close attention to Ash's mellowed and warm expression as he served the customers.
"Yeah, he looks really cool!" Selene beamed and stayed blissfully unaware of Leaf dropping her smile.
Gary drank his tea and went into reminiscing about the past. It started with how Ash's father had completely disappeared from Pallet Town and the radar when Ash was five years old. Feeling a sense of responsibility as the remaining man of the house, something Gary didn't expect from Ash, he volunteered to assist his devastated mother in running the diner. Learning to interact with older people and helping others led to Ash maturing much faster. However, the kid his age could still be seen when obsessing over Pokemon battles.
Ash returned to the front counter after tending to all of the older people.
"Waiter, waiter, more tea, please!" Gary called with his empty cup in the air.
"Yeah, sure…" Ash deadpanned as he refilled Gary's cup.
"Did you guys watch last night's Pokemon League match? Lance was crazy awesome for winning against Agatha." Elio's words roused up everyone's interest.
"It was amazing to see! His dragon pokemon were some of the coolest." The explosive strength and dignity of Lance's pokemon on screen captivated Leaf.
"I can't believe he's only fifteen years old! Not many people can reach that far at his age." Gary said with awe.
It wasn't easy making it as a pokemon trainer. For someone so young it was almost unheard of to accomplish so much.
"When I become a Pokemon trainer, I'll battle Lance and surpass him by defeating the champion!" Ash shouted with a competitive glint in his eye.
"Yeah, I believe in you, Ash!" Selene loudly proclaimed her support for Ash. The sentiment was shared by Leaf and Elio, but Gary shook his head snickering.
"It's not okay to be delusional, Ashy-boy. Let's say you could beat Lance in that one in a million chance, you'll never be able to defeat the future champion that's me."
"What was that!?"
Ash glared at Gary who smugly smiled.
To defuse the situation, Elio pointed at the monitor of the diner to get their attention. "Why don't we watch some tv while eating dessert."
Gary nodded with his arms crossed. "Good idea. Bring out the mochi and rice crackers, Ash!"
The group of friends munched on their snacks Ash brought out as the monitor displayed the match between Lance and the current Kanto champion. Right on time luckily for them too as it was just about to begin.
Ash couldn't rip his eyes away from the impressive battle tactics and overwhelming strength of both trainers. He tightened his fist, full of confidence and determination when imagining himself on the same stage as them.
I'm going to be the very best. A Pokemon Master! This Summer Camp, I'm aiming to reach the top!
The school year ended and summer arrived. For the Pokemon Summer Camp, students were ushered to a field prepared by Professor Oak and the school staff to further develop their understanding of pokemon as well as what to expect when beginning their journey as trainers.
There happened to be students coming from abroad from other regions to participate in this Summer Camp due to the prestige Professor Oak carried as well.
"Where is Ash? He was supposed to be with us catching Poliwags." A confused Gary swept his eyes around the forest.
Leaf did the same, wondering where the hyperactive kid wandered off to. "You think he found one ahead of us?"
"It's more fun searching as a group. I can't believe he disappeared and left us behind." Selene cutely pouted.
On the first day, students were split into teams and were assigned to search for pokemon that have been scattered across the field by the staff. This was to cultivate teamwork within the teams and be a learning experience on exploring and searching for Pokemon in the wild, studying their behavior and habitat.
The locals of Pallet Town gathered together and formed the Charmander team.
"Look over there, he's back." Elio pointed to the thicket as a figure emerged. Or rather, two figures.
One was obviously Ash. The other was an unfamiliar girl accompanying him.
"Hey guys, sorry for splitting up. I got caught up with seeing a Poliwag and chased after it." Ash laughed and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "I met up with Serena here who injured her knee. I was hoping it's not too much trouble letting her be a part of the team."
"H-Hello." Serena clung to Ash from behind and shyly greeted the rest.
Everyone was eager to respond back and accepted Serena into the group. Leaf and Selene struck a conversation with the blonde girl once she separated from Ash.
"Where are you from? You don't look like a local." Leaf surmised from her appearance and clothes. She had never seen this girl around Pallet Town either.
"W-Well, I'm from the Kalos region. My mom signed me up for the Summer Camp because it was hosted by Professor Oak, so here I am." Serena explained, feeling uncomfortable around new people.
"From another region! Kalos is pretty far though." Selene mused to herself.
Over with the boys, Gary crossed his arms and stared at Ash. "You're pretty quick to drag someone over here with us."
"There's no real limit to how many people can be in one team. And Serena had trouble finding one to be with since she's the only person from Kalos here."
"Pretty typical of Ash to help out a complete stranger." Elio remarked with amusement.
"Eh, it won't hurt to have an extra set of hands and feet on the team." Gary shrugged his shoulders before changing the subject. "By the way, you mentioned you saw a Poliwag. Where is it?"
"That one ran away from me. I'm going to take some time off from searching to help Serena get out of the forest first."
"Suit yourself. Not like I expected much from you, so go ahead and save your princess instead." Gary made sure to say the last part out loud for the girls in earshot range. The reactions he saw were priceless.
Serena madly blushed and pulled her straw hat down to obscure her face. Selene and Leaf had a bad premonition.
"I can escort Serena out instead!" Selene shouted, not wanting to leave this unknown girl alone with Ash for another second. "Leaf here also wants to help out."
Leaf gawked at this. Just when she was about to celebrate with being the only girl left together with Ash, she had to pull this.
"You two don't have to do this. I'd feel bad taking away your fun at searching for the Poliwag."
"It's not a problem! We also wanna hang out and get to know Serena better. You think so too, right, Serena?" Leaf, now willingly jumping onboard with Selene's idea, directed her question to the poor girl.
"I…would prefer staying with Ash. He makes me feel safer." Serena squeaked. She had her face hidden so she did not see the two's shocked expressions.
"That settles that then." Ash nodded and then grabbed Serena's hand, pulling her away with him out of the forest.
"Pfft." Gary covered his mouth with his hand to stifle his laugh. Elio maintained his poker face albeit the corners of his lips twitched.
Leaf and Selene's faces darkened, glaring at the boys.
Having returned after escorting Serena out, Ash snuck around the bushes in a crouch position. "There are a bunch of Sunkern, Pidgeys, and Oddish but no Poliwags." He spoke to the walkie talkie in his hand.
"That can't be. You're right next to a pond, their main habitat. You must be blind. Check again." Gary's voice responded back from the walkie talkie.
"Why don't you come over here and find them if you're so smart!?" Ash shot back.
"Fine then, I'll show you how the master does it." The smugness in Gary's voice was palpable.
Leaf off to the side watched with a dead look in her eyes. "Boys, this is embarrassing. You are right behind each other, just talk directly to one another!"
And she was right, both were crouched down with their backs to each other. They turned to look at Leaf for a moment and went back to look straight ahead.
"Leaf sounds like she's mad at you." Ash said.
"I'm gonna split then." Gary dashed off to the other side of the pond to avoid Leaf. "She hasn't been very helpful this entire time."
"I can hear you from the walkie talkie!" Leaf slapped her forehead and groaned. Selene held her belly as she laughed while Elio had his hands on his knees wheezing.
On the second day, students were assigned with cooking their own food as well as food for the Pokemon they brought back.
Team Charmander chose to make rice balls for the Poliwag following them.
Leaf and Selene struggled to keep the rice from falling apart when molding it into shape. Ash, Serena, Elio, and Gary had way more success in comparison.
"And I'm the first to finish! As usual." Gary held the rice ball in his hand proudly. He quickly protested when it was snatched by Elio.
Elio took a bite and disappointment laced his face. "Gary, this is really bland."
"Trainers aren't expecting to eat luxury cuisine out on the road. This is more than serviceable." Gary defended himself.
"They at least expect the food to be tasty." Ash said. He finished his set of rice balls and handed them out to his friends and the Poliwag.
"This. Now this is food." Elio did an OK hand gesture and an eye smile after taking a bite. The Poliwag cried in agreement, munching on the rice ball with gusto. "All that time in the kitchen has paid off for you, huh."
"I give up." Leaf hung her head and Selene moaned in defeat. Even after numerous attempts, they still couldn't make a single one that didn't fall apart.
"Um, would you like some help?" Serena asked as she completed her set of three.
"Please! I can't stand for being worse than Gary at cooking!" Leaf said.
"Me too!" Selene cried.
With Serena's guidance, the two made one decent rice ball each. Both were offered to the Poliwag and it was more than happy to savor them, though its reaction was less pronounced than when it ate Ash's.
"As expected, you can't win against Ash so easily." Leaf said in observation.
Serena looked down at the three rice balls she made, feeling unconfident all of a sudden. Ash noticed this and took one to eat to her surprise.
"Hey, this is pretty tasty. You're a natural at this, Serena." Ash complimented her skill. He took another to offer it to the Poliwag who devoured it in his hand with a happy smile.
"T-Thanks, Ash." Serena bashfully said, a smile across her face.
When it was time for judging, they were slightly dejected after earning second place but celebrated nonetheless, losing to the team of students from Galar and their curry dishes.
The third day's event was a team on team obstacle course. Teams competed by crossing and hopping across race tracks and platforms with staff Pokemon acting as hurdles and hindering their progress. The teams had to pick two people from their own to represent them while the rest spectate.
For team Charmander, they all hinged on Ash and his amazing athleticism to carry the team to victory followed by Gary who barely matched Ash surprisingly.
The first obstacle in the students' path was rock climbing. A wall of stone was erected from the ground thanks to some Geodudes.
"This is a piece of cake!" Ash declared. He ran forward and climbed the wall, outdoing everyone else.
"Whatever you can do, I can do as well!" Gary's competitiveness was tickled and he rushed up the wall right behind Ash.
"Amazing, he reached the top in no time at all!" Serena exclaimed when Ash climbed over to the top of the wall and ran down the slope to the next course.
"Yeah, and Gary's no slouch either. He really doesn't want to lose against Ash more than anything else." Elio said. It was impressive to see the motivated Gary almost catch up to his rival.
"They do know they're on the same team, right?" Leaf deadpanned.
"Go Ash, Go!" Selene cheered while the Poliwag next to her jumped along.
The second obstacle was crossing a lake by jumping through the unstable platforms available. In the way were bubbles floating around the air and Marils in the water that would shoot Water Guns at the runners.
Ash looked at the obstacle with a careful eye. A brilliant idea formed in his head and he jumped towards a hovering bubble without any hesitation. "Haha!" The bubbles formed by the Marils were much more stable and didn't easily burst apart like regular ones. "This is more like it!"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Gary shouted incredulously as he hopped across the platforms, avoiding the Water Guns aimed at him, but not without getting wet.
The bubbles were affected by the force from Ash's step, carrying him forward slowly each time he landed on them. Meanwhile, Gary had a slower pace due to needing to cling to the platforms to stabilize himself from their shaky foundations. The Marils apparently were only assigned to shoot at those who crossed the platforms.
"Is that even humanly possible?" Elio asked.
"Of course it's not." Leaf said.
"But Ash is really doing it." Serena avidly watched him perform the unthinkable.
The final obstacle was a dash track, but there were pitfalls and Tangelas using vine whip to catch the ankles of runners who couldn't avoid them.
Ash was doing okay at keeping his pace while dodging the many attempts the Tangelas tried to catch him.
Weird. I don't know why, but I can somehow tell when they're about to use Vine Whip before they even do it.
It was like an unknown sixth sense ingrained into Ash that partly helped him run smoothly through the track.
Ash leaped over a pitfall, but he put too much strength into it, leaving him in the air for too long. Long enough for a Tangela to snatch his leg in midair.
Oh no! I messed up!
There was no way to maneuver away from it in the air even if he could tell it was coming.
He was then thrown down into the pit, landing on a sturdy spider web spun by a Spinarak.
"Ash!" Serena exclaimed worriedly.
"Oof, that definitely ruined his chances." Elio winced.
Inside the pit, Ash untangled himself from the spider web. It took far too much effort with his clumsy movements, costing him a lot of time.
"I'm not going to let something like this stop me!" Ash climbed up and was about to make it out until he grasped a loose clot of earth, causing him to stumble and descend. "Aaaahh!"
That's when a hand grabbed one of his, stopping his fall.
"What an embarrassing sight to see."
"Gary!"
Ash was surprised to see his friend stop by and help him. He believed he would take this chance to win the race instead.
"Hurry up and put some effort into getting out already!" Gary grunted as he pulled Ash up with him using his feet to step up.
"Thanks…"
"Don't sweat it. It's not like I can overcome the last hurdle on my own."
"What do you mean?"
Ash looked towards the end of the track to see a strong gust of wind blown out from the Pidgeottos flapping their wings.
"I doubt either of us can make it through without getting swept away on our own." Gary helpfully explained.
"So you want to combine our strength?" Ash said.
"Right. You walk forward while I push you from behind and keep our feet rooted to the ground."
"I like the sound of that!" Ash shared a grin with Gary, the both of them feeling pumped up.
"Look at them go!" Selene shouted.
"That's what I'm talking about!" Elio felt the excitement as well.
"Seriously, for a second I was worried about those two idiots." Leaf crossed her arms and smiled at their teamwork.
Serena entwined her fingers together to pray for them with a wide smile.
Ash took heavy steps forward to push through the strong winds. Meanwhile, Gary was right behind him to keep them steady with his body. They stumbled several times when making their way, but eventually they reached the end. The two exchanged a fist bump once they secured first place for their team.
The fourth day was meant for students to learn how to properly groom Pokemon. Teams had their members look after their chosen Pokemon in rotation so as to not make them uncomfortable with being surrounded by too many people.
The Pallet Town locals made passable attempts to care for the Poliwag, but the one who excelled the most was Serena, earning them a high spot on the ranking.
Finally, it was the fifth and final day. Teams had to pick one member to command Pokemon in a battle against the other team's Pokemon.
To allow everyone an equal opportunity to participate, the representative would be chosen through elimination battles with rental Pokemon trained to obey.
"I've been looking forward to this day the most!" Ash pumped his fists excitedly.
"Hmph. As if we need something this tedious to pick the most obvious among us. But I won't say no to having more battles." Gary said confidently.
Professor Oak stepped forward to address the group of students. A tray of pokeballs was pushed alongside him. "In here we have the rental pokemon that you will be fighting together with. After the winner is decided amongst your team, you can pick any three of your team's Pokemon against the others in the second part in a 3v3 elimination process. Now step forward one at a time."
Gradually, students picked up one pokeball each carrying an unknown Pokemon until they released them out.
Serena had chosen a Nidoran. "Hi there. Let's do our best, okay?" The Nidoran cried affirmatively to her.
Leaf's Pokemon turned out to be a Seel. "Looks like you'll be my partner."
A Sandshrew appeared from Selene's pokeball. "You look so cute." She stroked the Ground-type's head.
Elio's Pokemon was a Vulpix. "Not bad at all." He nodded to it and it answered with a small cry.
When Gary's Pokemon was released, a wave of surprised murmurs rose from the crowd of students. Gary looked at the Dratini with a satisfied smile, his good mood elevated. "My luck is just that good."
Ash shook his head to dispel his own shock and released the Pokemon in his pokeball. What he saw was the Normal-type Jigglypuff. "So you're my Pokemon. Let's win, alright?" Ash smiled at the Jigglypuff bouncing happily.
Matches were decided and battles ended at a rapid pace.
Serena did not have much talent for Pokemon battles, stumbling on her commands and being slow to react to the ever-changing tides of battle. Therefore, she and Nidoran lost to Selene and her Sandshrew almost immediately.
Gary crushed Elio in battle like a natural with his Dratini dominating his Vulpix.
Ash's Jigglypuff and Leaf's Seel were an even match with both sides competing to see who rose over the other. After much struggling, Ash won his hard-earned victory.
The next match was decided between Ash, Selene, and Gary through rock-paper-scissors. Ash won against both, allowing him to fight the winner between Selene and Gary much to his disappointment at missing out on another battle.
"First time I've felt like losing would've been more preferable…" Ash moped.
"Hehe, quite the bummer for you, Ash." Selene giggled.
"You can wait and shake in your boots until it's your turn after I kick Selene's butt." Gary was unbothered by the glares from his two friends.
When it came to the battle between Selene and Gary, the boy swept her Sandshrew and won without much fanfare.
Selene was discouraged at her loss, returning Sandshrew and running into Ash's arms. "Ash, Gary was such a meanie! You have to take revenge for me!" She implored him with tears at the corner of her eyes.
"Yeah, leave it to me!" He reassured her with a confident smile and determined eyes.
The two faced off against each other in the open field, trading intense glares.
"You ready to get your butt whooped, Ash?"
"I'm more worried you'll run all the way back to your mom once I win."
"That's my line."
Exchanging smirks, they both released their Pokemon simultaneously.
"Jigglypuff, put it to sleep with Sing!" A sonorous song was performed by Jigglypuff, the notes floating towards Dratini. The Dragon Pokémon hung its head asleep.
"That was smart, I'll give you that. But it's useless against Dratini."
"What do you mean?" Ash frowned.
"Heh. Wake up, Dratini!"
Ash was in disbelief as the skin from Dratini was shed and fell off. Its eyes were brimming, clearly fully awake.
"Shed Skin, Dratini's ability allows it to cast off its own skin to cure its own status conditions." Gary explained. "Fight back with Wrap!" The Dratini launched itself towards Jigglypuff and wrapped its serpentine body around the Balloon Pokemon.
"Inflate your body!" Ash called to Gary's shock. Jigglypuff breathed in a large amount of air, knocking Dratini off its enlarged body in which its small size could no longer wrap around.
"Send it flying with Twister!" Dratini spun around, creating a twister that flew towards Jigglypuff, catching it inside it.
"Don't fight it, jump and let it drag you up!" Jigglypuff did as he said and gained a much higher altitude from flying inside the eye of the tornado. "Blow air from your mouth and spin your body in the air." The Pokemon released the air from its inflated body and spun, generating a ton of momentum. "Now use Rollout!" Jigglypuff fell to the ground while still rotating, launching itself forward and striking its body against Dratini with devastating power, sending it flying back.
Gary grit his teeth, then a small smile formed on his lips. "I wasn't expecting you to use Jigglypuff's racial characteristics to inflate for something like that. Color me surprised to know you actually do listen to gramps in class."
"You feeling nervous?" Ash goaded him.
"Hardly. Use Water Pulse!" Water energy condensed inside Dratini's mouth into an orb and casted towards Jigglypuff.
"You do the same, Copycat!" A similar orb of water formed inside Jigglypuff's mouth and was thrown against the other, the impact generating a small burst that sent water flying everywhere.
"Aqua Jet!" Dratini rushed through the air covered in a stream of water.
"Gravity!" A sudden pressure came down on Dratini, pressing it hard on the ground. "Quick, Rollout!" Jigglypuff spun its body towards the downed dragon.
"Receive it, then use Wrap!" Dratini tanked the Rollout and wrapped around Jigglypuff once again. "While it's still in motion, use Aqua Jet!" Dratini carried the still rolling Jigglypuff into the air together like a spear of water.
Both Pokemon flew around, the combined momentum from Aqua Jet and Rollout increased the speed of their flight.
"Now come down and throw Jigglypuff to the ground!"
"In that case… use Gravity!"
Dratini pulled Jigglypuff downwards to the ground like a meteor, but the Normal-type's eyes glowed and an immense gravity pulled both down. A loud crash occurred and dust unfolded, obscuring the aftermath. Once it settled, it revealed a heavily damaged Jigglypuff and a fainted Dratini.
"Alright, we won!" Ash cheered and threw his arms up in celebration. Jigglypuff ran and jumped into Ash's arm in a hug happily.
"That was so awesome!" Elio shouted.
"It was really intense." Leaf said in a trance.
"My heart couldn't stop beating." Serena said with a hand over her chest.
"Yeah, Ash is the winner!" Selene hopped joyfully.
"Man, this sucks… you did well, Dratini." Gary sighed and returned Dratini to their pokeball. He stretched his hand out to Ash. "That was a nice battle."
Ash shook his offered hand briefly. "You were really tough yourself."
That's when they belatedly realized the crowd they attracted. Many stares were on them and discussions ran rampant.
Many were impressed at the spectacle of their battle, others were worried that they'd have to battle Ash, and the rest were eager to fight.
One student from Galar kept her eye on Ash and then departed from the crowd.
Even Professor Oak was keenly watching their battle that deeply impressed him in his heart. "Those two prodigies might bring a new generation upon us." And he did not refer to others as prodigies lightly. In his opinion, those two were gems worth polishing into stars that could serve as light for others to follow in their paths.
"Looks like our battle sparked a fire in our competition. You better come out on top to avoid embarrassing the rest of us." Gary said with a stern stare.
Ash waved it off. "Yeah, yeah, I got this in the bag." He raised his head proudly.
Leaf rolled her eyes. "Don't let it get to your head. Here, take good care of Seel." She handed Ash Seel's pokeball.
"Be sure to use this little guy to win." Selene presented Sandshrew's pokeball to Ash with both hands.
"I think in your hands, Nidoran will do better." Serena also offered up her pokeball.
"Catch." Elio simply said before throwing his pokeball to Ash.
"Thanks…I haven't forgotten this fight is for you guys too, make no doubt about it." Ash declared.
Everyone shared a smile, pinning all their faith in Ash as he moved on to the second part of the event.
Afterword:
Yes, that Jigglypuff was just a Normal-type, that was intentional.
The first two chapters are to establish a foundation for some differences in this anime AU, such as Ash's heightened competence in battle from the get-go and his friendly relationship with Gary, the two of them doing silly little things before they officially become Pokemon trainers. There was also a hint of Ash's use of aura if only subconsciously in this chapter. What I plan to do with aura in this fic, well, you can imagine it to have picked up elements from Jujutsu Kaisen.
I was inspired by other fics such as Fighting Dreamers and Timeless Wonders to write my own, both from the same author, Holdonlupin. Seriously, check them out later. Another was As Arceus Decrees It by J the Stickybeak, but it's a shame that's been on indefinite hiatus.
If you have any questions be sure to include them in the reviews.