KONICHIWA, FOLKS! KAMENCJ HERE WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER OF REVAMPED TIMELINE!
HERE WE GET AOME NEW VERSIONS OF THE S.S ANNE BOAT AND THE FIGHT BETWEEN ASH AND LT. SURGE!
NOW ONTO QUICK RESPONSES TO REVIEWS!
HEROICPONY: THANK YOU! I HAVE FINETUNED IT A BIT IN THIS CHAPTER, SO IT WILL BE CONTINUALLY WORKED ON TILL THE ORANGE ISLANDS!
REDFLARERANGER: AS USUAL, THANK YOU FOR THE LIST OF MOVES!
CIPHERDRAGONITE: YOU THINK I'M GOING TO DENY MISTY AND BROCK THEIR DESERVED TOGEKISS, KINGDRA, AND TOXICROAK?
ROYALFIGTER95: ABSOLUTELY ON SQUIRTLE'S ADVANCE MOVES! AND THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS.
NINTENDOFAN: WE GOT A BIT OF A PRELUDE HERE, BUT YEAH, THEY WILL DEFINITLY BE FIGHTING AGAIN IN THE LEAGUE, BUT HE WONT BE THE FINAL OPPNENT. I PLAN ON HAVING SOMEONE WHOM ASH LACKED HIS ENTIRE LIFE BE HIS FINAL OPPONENT IN THE INDIGO LEAUGE.
MOONLIGHT KING: OH, HE WILL GET ONE BACK BEFORE LT. SURGE, BUT NOT THE OTHER. I HAVE PLANS FOR A CERTAIN MON HE BEFRIENDED IN THE ORIGINAL KANTO JOURNEY. SINCE WE NEVER SAW A CERTAIN GHOST TYPE'S BACKSTORY OR WHY HE IS PURPLE INSTEAD OF BLACK LIKE THE REST OF HIS SPECIES. ALSO THANKS FOR THE SUGGESTIONS ON A BETTER FIGHT FOR LT. SURGE.
SKYLANDER MASTER: THANK YOU AND WHILE I LIKE THE IDEA, FEELS TOO CROWDED SO I WILL SAVE THAT FOR LATER, BUT I WILL KEEP IT IN MIND.
CROSSOVERFAN: THANKS FOR THE HEADS-UP, AND I WILL THINK ABOUT IT.
AURAMASTER ASH: OH, I PLAN ON DOING THAT WITH A CERTAIN GRASS STARTER ASH HAS RIGHT NOW.
ENOUGH TALK! HAVE THE S.S ANNE TOURNAMENT AND THE REMATCH WITH LT. SURGE!
(As a trumpet section starts playing, we see Dialga roaring as time seems to rewind, where we see Mewtwo flying into space while Mew flies in the other direction)
I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST!
(Ash is seen as he looks up, regressing back to what he looked like at the beginning of his journey.)
LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS!
(As we pan out, where once there was a crowd, there is only emptiness.)
TO CATCH THEM IS MY REAL TEST!
(A Pokéball is shown hitting a Sandslash, as Serena celebrates.)
TO TRAIN THEM IS MY CAAAUUUSSSE!
(Ash, Serena, Greninja and a Delphox are shown in a makeshift battle, where the Delphox gets licked by Greninja, causing her to turn to us shaking and blushing.)
I WILL TRAVEL ACROSS THE LAND!
(Ash, Serena, Pikachu and Sylveon are shown running alongside an Arcanine, when a Rapidash appears in front of us.)
SEARCHING FAAARRR AND WIIIIDDE!
(It leaps into the air as Zapdos appears, with Articuno flying behind it, and Moltres flying at us.)
EACH POKÉMON …
(Ash and Pikachu are riding on a Lapras while Serena is on a Gyarados with Sylveon, watching Dragonair and Kingdra swimming around them.)
TO UNDERSTAND …
(A Pokéball is shown to be releasing something.)
THE POWER THAT'S INSIIIIIIIIDE!
(Ash and Greninja go into battle bond form!)
POKÉMON! GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!
(Sylveon is shown avoiding a Body Slam by a Snorlax, while Pikachu is dodging Raichu.)
IT'S YOU AND ME!
(Ash and Pikachu are hugging, when Serena and Sylveon join it.)
I KNOW ITS MY DESTINY!
(Ash and Serena are each holding a Pokéball as the camera spins around them.)
POKÉMON!
(A Steelix suddenly roars in our faces.)
OOOH, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND …
(Brock, Misty, Miette, and Gary are shown appearing behind Ash and Serena, who are getting very squished now …)
IN A WORLD WE MUST DEFEEENNND!
(When they are wiped away from a vision of Cyrus and Lysander, and the Rocket Executives holding a Pokéball appear in front of us.)
POKÉMON! GOTTA CATCH THEM ALLL!
(We run past a Charizard and Delphox breathing fire, a Blastoise and Greninja firing a Hydro Pump into the sky, and a Venasaur and Chesnaught firing off Solar Beam as Pikachu comes into view with Ash juggling a Pokéball in the air.)
A HEART SO TRUE!
(Pikachu then runs in-between Serena's legs as Sylveon joins him in leaping into the air, when an Image of Professor Oak, Delia Ketchum, Giovanni, Grace, and Domino appear in front of us, but for a brief moment, Giovanni is replaced by Pokémon Adventures Red, Delia with Pokémon Adventures Green, Grace with Pokémon Adventures Y, and Domino with Pokémon adventures Yellow, with Pokémon Adventures Blue in the background with his back turned to us.)
OUR COURAGE WILL PULL US THROUGH!
(A Mega Charizard X is shown firing a Flamethrower at everyone, who duck out of the way.)
YOU TEACH ME AND I'LL TEACH YOU!
(A Popplio is running towards Serena, who has her arms outstretched as she catches it in her arms and is shown smiling as Sylveon and Braixen are shown to be very happy.)
POOOOKÉMOOOOOON!
(Greninja is shown standing on the back of Charizard, as Braixen is on Charla, while Pikachu is on Butterfree, Sylveon is on a Pink Butterfree, and a bunch of others.)
GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!
(Ash and Serena are winding up a Pokéball which they throw.)
GOTTA CATCH THEM ALLL!
(The Pokéballs envelope the screen.)
POKÉMON!
(The title is shown with the Pokéball still spinning.)
POKÉMON THE REVAMPED TIMELINE: THE S.S ANNE TOURNAMENT, NEW AND OLD FRIENDS SURGE!
(While the Lyrics sing part of the Pokémon theme, we see the title again, but with different Pokéballs appearing behind it, like a Love Ball, a Great Ball, an Ultra Ball, and a Master Ball.)
Ash and his friends were able to find his old Pokémon, though not without complications.
Serena also was able to get quite the haul when she and Liza decided to share Charla and get a Pokémon that seemed to be tailored made for Performances.
However, while Ash and his old companions were getting his Squirtle back, Serena had gone on ahead to Vermillion City.
Where she saw a brutal beating of a Popplio.
And showed that just because she was a Performer, she could throw down hard.
Now, everyone has seen the Popplio and are rushing with Serena to the Pokémon Center.
Now it was just a matter of time before they would see if Popplio survived.
Popplio was in a surgical machine.
Serena was at the glass, keeping an eye on her. She couldn't believe Popplio even was breathing right now.
Those punks had managed to break her back, cracked skull, bent flippers.
It was a miracle Popplio was still clinging to life.
Ash was beside her, wondering if this happened in the previous timeline. One where he failed to do something.
"Serena, I'm-" Serena stopped him from talking by putting a finger up to his lips.
"It's not your fault Ash. Jenny has those punks in bars now. I just wish I was faster." Serena said, as Popplio was put under for treatment.
"I'll be on the beach if you need me, Serena." He told her, as she nodded.
She looked as Popplio was covered and then left the building.
Ash was walking down the shoreline of the city.
Just trying to calm down from what happened.
If he had been faster with Squirtle, he could have helped Serena with Popplio.
He could have done something!
Well, it's not like Arceus was going to tell him to prevent everything.
He might not be able to save Latios to balance him saving Sir Aaron's Lucario.
Even then, after what happened at the end of the original timeline, he felt responsible for everything now.
He then felt a hand rubbing his back, recognizing the patterns as Serena.
"It will be OK, Ash." Was all she said.
"Maybe, but it still doesn't feel like I didn't help out in some way." He said solemnly as he sat down, watching the waves coming in and out of the shore.
Serena sat down next to him, seeing how angry he was getting.
"Serena, what if Popplio doesn't make it? Arceus sent me back to fix time. What if to make sure it stays fixed, I have to let Popplio … well, ya know." He said with tears coming out of his eyes.
"I doubt Arceus would just let this happen. Even then, Ash, you caught a bunch of other Pokémon and Sir Aaron's Lucario is alive and well!" Serena pointed out as she began to lean on Ash.
"Even then, I failed to save a Latios in the original timeline. Can I really prevent that here?" He asked, still rather unsure of himself.
Plus the fact that when Latios happened, it happened to be his friggin BIRTHDAY.
"Ash, even if it still happens, are you just going to stop after that? Just give up and let things happen the same way?" Ash stared at Serena as she asked that question.
And then he gave his answer.
"You're right. I didn't give up then, and I'm going to make sure I won't give up now." He said, smiling.
Serena smiled at that response.
"Like you said, Ash, 'Never Give up until it's over!' and I don't want you to start now!" She said, as Ash then had a bashful face.
"Honestly, I think you use that quote more than me by this point." Serena giggled as she then began to lean in toward his face.
"Guess you just needed a good reminder, Ash." She said as her face was about 3 inches from Ash's.
"Good point." Ash said as he began to lean toward Serena.
They got closer and closer, Serena savoring this chance for it to be a mutual start.
She was happy to be with Ash again, alone for a bit.
She was hoping nothing was going to ruin this opportunit-
*PINCH!*
"EYOOOOWWWW!" Serena screamed as she nearly tackled Ash to the ground.
"SERENA! WHAT'S WRONG!?" Ash yelled in concern as that was a pained scream.
"IT FEELS LIKE SOMETHING'S PINCHING ME IN THE REAR!" She wailed as Ash felt her tightening her grip on him.
He closed his eyes and laid Serena on top of him, to try and make sure that she didn't get too much pain.
When he noticed a purple Aura at the back of Serena.
Quickly seeing what it was, he sweat dropped.
"Hang on, let me get one of my empty Pokéballs and I'll get it off you!" He reassured her, getting an empty one.
"SURE, JUST HURRY! IT FEELS LIKE IT'S TRYING TO DIG INTO ME!" Serena shouted, as Ash could tell all she wanted was the pain to end.
He quickly tapped it with his Pokéball, and felt the familiar energies of one of his old friends being reminded going in.
Serena took some quick breaths as the pain finally subsided for her.
"Thank you Ash. But did you really need to capture it?" She asked, which Ash began to get nervous.
"One, it was the best way to get it off you without it looking … well." He cut himself off, hoping the implications were good.
"Two, it was a Pokémon I encountered before and got my own finger pinched by it. So I didn't want to put you through more pain than necessary." Serena nodded, understanding that.
Now came the main reason.
"Third and most importantly, it seems even back in this time, my old friends had good taste in girls." He said as he got ready to reveal what had gotten her.
"Wait. Was it one of your old Pokémon?" She asked suspiciously as Ash threw the ball, having put Zorua in the Bag Box PC since Zoroark was vehement that he get punished.
It opened to reveal …
A Kingler.
"So it was a Kingler that was on me?" She asked, hoping that it hadn't evolved when she gripped Ash.
"No, it was a Krabby on you. Did you have anything in your pockets when you were talking to me?" Serena quickly began checking and found a Rawst Berry in the pocket.
"When a Krabby detects something that it likes, it either tries to pull it apart or pull it near its mouth. I'm guessing that it thought you were trying to take his treat away and thus began trying to dig through the pocket and your skin just happened to be around it." He guessed.
Serena rubbed her sore area, and glared at Kingler.
"Guess I should be thankful that you weren't fully evolved. I'll be back after I put something on it to stop the after effects and make sure he didn't generate it too bad." She said as she began to walk back to the Center.
Ash then kissed her cheek as she walked away.
(NOT THAT ONE! Weirdos.)
"A bit of a consolation given how the moment was ruined." Serena smiled and walked faster as Ash waved her away.
"Still, very easy on the claws. She got good taste as well."
Ash then glared at Kingler who had a smug expression.
"Do that again, and I can't guarantee your safety from Oak's Cooking pot of doom."
"Would you like me to do it again while you two are swimming? And make sure I get a good grip?"
"Do ANY of those things and I will personally finish the duel we started back when we first met!"
Kingler then made various martial arts moves and then motioned with one of his claws for Ash to bring it.
Ash stared at Kingler, then began to bring in Aura for an Aura Sphere.
He was about to throw it when Kingler clobbered him with a stick he threw.
Only to realize the Aura Sphere was heading onto his head.
A massive explosion occurred.
Both Ash and Kingler were covered in soot and glaring at each other.
"You're going first against Lt. Surge, Kingler."
He did not look worried in the slightest as Ash shook the soot off and returned to the Center.
"So Popplio should be OK soon?" Serena asked, happy to hear that Popplio would be discharged soon.
"Yes. Thankfully, the damage wasn't as bad as the bruising and scarring suggested. Her spine was damaged, but it was repairable. And she just had a concussion at the top of her head." Nurse Joy reported as she then wheeled Popplio into a different room.
"Thank goodness. I don't want to know what could have happened."
"It will still be at least a full day before I can release her back into the wild."
Serena nodded, then noticed Nurse Joy holding a ticket.
"Officer Jenny wanted to give the ones who stopped them a reward, so she gave your friends 3 tickets to the S. S. Anne, leaving this one for you." Serena smiled a bit, then took it.
With that, she saw Brock and Misty holding tickets, so they headed out.
Ash had just gotten Kingler healed up when he saw his friends running towards him.
"What's got you guys so excited?" Serena then flashed the ticket in front of him.
"We got tickets to the S.S Anne! I know you wanted to hit the gym first, but -" She cut herself off when she noticed the look on his face.
"I don't have a ticket, Serena. It would just be you three going on. Unless I can get tickets in the next few minutes I can't go!" He pointed out as Serena stared at the ticket, realizing he's right as the ticket was for only one person.
She was about to try and give it to someone else …
When something landed on top of Ash.
"Next time you teleport us, DON'T JUST DROP US OUT OF NOWHERE!" A familiar voice shouted.
"Seriously?" Was what was heard from Ash who was under the pile.
"Team Rocket!? How'd you get here so suddenly?" Brock asked, having finally realized the identities of the ones who landed on Ash.
"Hello twerps. Been a while, hasn't it?" James said as he managed to elbow Meowth off him and then glared at a Kadabra.
"What? I got you guys here fast, Mon Ami. You deedn't zay how soft a landing ju wanted." He smugly replied as James just returned him.
"So, I take it you guys are also about to get on the S.S Anne? The boss did give us tickets to get on." Jessie said, as she flashed 3 tickets.
Ash looked at Serena, who was hopeful.
He shrugged and took the offered ticket.
"OK. But once we get on, we better separate. Don't want to be seen together and alert the Team that is stationed here." James said as he returned Weezing, and Jessie returned Arbok.
Meowth then went to James' right shoulder, pretending to be like Pikachu.
After they were on board, Team Rocket quickly left the area around Ash and his friends so that they weren't seen together.
"OK, James, you go and get that Magikarp that evolved into Gyarados. Meowth, you're with me to make sure that they don't plant that bomb that sunk this ship the last time." Jessie ordered.
With that, she and Meowth went down a dark corridor that was not seen by most people.
Serena had separated from her friends, just so that she could enjoy being on the ship for a bit, since they had, according to the captain, three days at sea.
"Hey, little girl." A rather snake like voice said that seemed directed at her.
Looking to her right, she got a red fish Pokémon shoved in her arms, that had a golden crown.
"it's your lucky day. You just got a free money maker." Serena gave him an annoyed look, but kept quiet.
"This Pokémon is like a money machine!" She pretended to quirk an eyebrow in interest.
"This Pokémon lays about a thousand eggs a day." And with that, he went into a spiel about how rich she could get by selling the baby Magikarp.
Which she had NO intention of doing.
Honestly, she was checking the boat to see if Pancham had snuck onboard.
Sadly, no purple anywhere.
Then she noticed the scammer handing her a secondary Pokémon and a blue marble for free.
She mentally smirked when she realized the moron had given her a Pokémon she had been after in Hoenn and a flipping GYARADOSITE for free.
Ready to shout and embarrass the man, she noticed James nearby …
With a look that asked her to wait.
She smiled and headed away, making extra sure that Magikarp and her new Feebas were in good shape and not malnourished.
James carefully scanned and then saw the same salesman that swindled him last time.
Talking to Serena after he gave her a Magikarp with a Megastone and a Feebas.
He mentally hoped that she hadn't been given the Magikarp he originally had.
Then he noticed she was about to signal to everyone that the guy was a swindler when he gave her a look that basically said …
"Leave it to me and take your free stuff."
Thankfully, Serena understood and left.
Quickly checking behind him to make sure the backup he brought was with him, he then walked up to the guy.
"Good day. A man has told me this is a great place to get a very good Pokémon." The little swindler smiled.
"He told you right." And then like with Serena, went onto the whole false blathering of how many eggs Magikarp laid before the man shoved a Magikarp into his hands.
Quickly checking it over, he saw the three marks on the Magikarp that he remembered.
Time to correct a mistake he did in the past.
"How much for those jewels?" He asked, as he also recognized them as Mega Stones for Gyarados.
"Oh, just some worthless babbles for them to look good with. Here. Have one for free." The dumb Swindler said as he gave him a free Gyaradosite.
Idiot.
James smiled …
As an Officer Jenny then walked next to him and glared at him.
The Swindler then got very nervous at this and was about to grab the Magikarp back, but James had made sure the funds went through before he could.
"I'll take good care of this Magikarp, Officer Jenny. Honestly, the real crime here is him giving these out for free." Both the Swindler and Officer Jenny looked at him confused.
"This is Gyaradosite. You could have literally just sold THEM at a 1000 Poké per stone in Kalos AND GOTTEN RICH THE LEGIT WAY, DUM DUM!" He smirked as he called out triumphantly as everyone began swarming him and getting free Magikarps and Gyaradosite.
As the swindler got himself swindled, James pulled out a box that had a disc in it.
He was going to make sure that Magikarp could fight back.
Serena had gotten into her cabin for the 2 day voyage.
After checking Magikarp and Feebas (they definitely were happy to have gotten away from that jerk) she was putting on the dress that she got at Cameran Castle.
Tonight was formal Battle night.
Currently there was a tournament going on.
It would be a Double Battle Tournament with a Triple Battle tournament after that.
She had already chosen her Partners for the evening.
Freya, Sylveon, Fearow, Braixen, Zoroark and if she needed extra power, Charla.
She had opened her door …
When she felt it Smack into someone's face.
"BAWOOF! HEY! WATCH IT!" A voice cried out as she looked behind the door.
A kid with dark skin and a red outfit was holding his nose.
"Sorry! It didn't warn me of anyone behind it!" She apologized as she helped him up.
"FUE! FUECOCO! CO FUE!" Looking at his side, she saw a small upright crocodile like Pokémon helping him up.
"Thanks, Fuecoco. And sorry about my outburst. Thought it was a Team Star kid." He told her as he stood back up.
"Name's Roy. I take it your taking part in the tournament?" He asked, having noticed her dress.
"I'm Serena and yes, I'm taking part with my Boyfriend. Hope you forgive me, but I can't be late!" She said as she began running down the corridor.
She then saw the kid running next to her.
"I ain't participating, but I am watching! C'mon Fuecoco!" The tiny Crocodile was riding his shoulder as they continued to run.
Ash had similarly gotten the outfit from Cameran on as well, knowing Serena was probably doing the same.
Plus it was the ONLY formal piece he actually had.
He was planning on teaming up with her like they did at Pierre's Ball for the tournament.
His plan was Odin, Pikachu, Pidgeot (if there was enough room), Greninja, Lucario and Charizard in case he needed the extra power.
As he got out of his cabin, however, he slammed into someone.
"Oof! Sorry, just in a bit of a hurry to get to the tournament!" He apologized …
As a girl with black hair and what looked like a school outfit and a League hairclip was on the floor.
"Need a hand up?" He asked offering his hand …
When the girl shot up and looked extremely flustered.
"I'MSOSORRY!IWASN'TWATCHINGWHEREIWASGOINGLOOKINGFORSPRIGATITO!" She slathered off at hyper speed as Ash just stared at her.
"You ok?" He asked as the girl took quick breaths and seemed to calm down.
"Sorry. I was looking for Sprigatito and a friend of mine when I bumped into you." She said as Ash chuckled.
"Social Anxiety?" He nonchalantly asked as the girl had an embarrassed blush on her face.
"Yeah. I'm a student from Paldea so this is my first time in Kanto." She said as she picked up her backpack …
Only to suddenly get tackled by a green cat.
"GAH! SPRIGATITO! NOT FUNNY!" She screamed as the now identified Sprigatito smirked and began playing a game of keepaway with the girl.
Only to have Ash suddenly pick it up and hold it in front of her.
"Um, why are you pinching that are on the back of the neck?" She asked as she noticed that Sprigatito, despite moving its eyes, had suddenly calmed down.
"Oh, with most cat Pokémon, this area I'm pinching causes a reflex from when their mothers picked them up. It causes them to relax and let themselves be picked up." He told her as she put her arms around the Sprigatito, who after he released the area, finally began moving again.
"No, Sprigatito. You're not running around anymore! The tournament is happening in 30 minutes!" Sprigatito looked annoyed but stopped trying to get put of her grip.
With that, they both took off down a hallway.
"Oh, sorry. Forgot to introduce myself. Name's Liko!"
"Ash Ketchum!"
With that, no more words were said for the entire duration of the running.
"GOOD DAY, FOLKS! AND WELCOME TO THE S.S ANNE DOUBLE TOURNAMENT! HERE, COUPLES OR PARTNERS WILL BE TAKING PART IN A TOURNAMENT IN ORDER TO WIN A PRIZE!"
The Announcer was enthusiastic about telling everyone the rules since most Kanto places didn't do Double or even Triple battles since Kanto was a bit behind the times.
At least at this point in time.
Ash had just registered him and Serena, having caught up with her in the hall with Liko reuniting with Roy.
They had found seating near Brock and Misty, who had decided not to join.
"THERE WILL BE 5 ROUNDS OF THE DOUBLE TOURNAMENT! WHOEVER WINS WILL RECEIVE A SPECIAL BASKET! WHAT'S IN THE BASKET? WIN AND YOU WILL LEARN!"
A white basket case was seen as it was covered up by a white cloth, completely blocking people from seeing the contents.
"OUR FIRST FIGHT OF THE TOURNAMENT IS GOING TO BE ASH AND SERENA VS AJ AND RITCHIE! THREE TRAINERS ARE BEGINNERS FROM PALLET TOWN WHILE AJ HAS TEAINES TO WHERE HE HAS WON 100 STRAIGHT MATCHES BEFORE STARTING! THIS WILL BE A THREE VS THREE BATTLE FOR EACH COMBATANT!"
With that, Ash and Serena had walked out to the blue side of the Battlefield.
With both cheers from some who had seen these two before in some of the public battles …
And some annoying catcalls.
Serena got those a bit more, and she assumed it was because of the dress she was currently wearing that jacked it up.
"Wasn't expecting to run into you two at this point, but at least we can see how far we have come!" Ritchie called out, breaking their annoyance from the people.
Ash smiled, giving his usual competitive smirk.
"Hope we don't disappoint! AND I hope your partner gives a good challenge!" He called out as he got a Pokéball ready.
Serena then brought out another.
"ODIN! I CHOOSE YOU!"
"FREYA! POISON DANCE!"
With that, both of their Nidoran came out.
Freya seemed to be a bit nervous while Odin, true to his inspiration, was just looking extremely confident at the battle.
"Alright then. ZIPPO! LET'S DO IT TO IT!" Ritchie called out, as his starter Charmander landed on the ground and did an adorable roar.
"RATICATE! BITE THEM IN HALF!" AJ called out, as Ash saw the Kantonian variant of the Rat Evolution that probably evolved from the Rattata he recalled from the original timeline.
"Alright! Odin, Poison Jab!" Odin's horn glowed purple as he made a dash for one of his opponents, having a feeling he knew why he didn't specify a target.
"Raticate! Bite them with Hyper Fang!" With that, Raticate's teeth glowed as he charged for Odin …
Only to get blasted by an Ice Beam from Freya.
Zippo was taken by surprise from Odin, and barely got him with a Slash attack.
When Odin wad flung back, a small Flare exploded off him.
"Of course, Slash gets a Critical. When does it EVER get a Critical When I need it to?" Ash groaned out, though cooled off when Serena held his hand.
"Odin! Use your own Ice Beam! Cover the field!" Leaping off Zippo's head, Odin began spinning around while firing his Ice Beam.
Raticate had no clue what was going on as he charged for Freya …
Only to suddenly slip on Ice while Freya skated by him like she was performing in an ice rink.
Zippo was about to breathe some embers to try and melt the arena when Odin suddenly jabbed his horn into his side.
It soon became clear it left its mark when Zippo glowed purple.
"Use Venoshock!" Ash called out, which Odin smirked.
Zippo had just perked from the Poison damage when he saw Odin bristling his back.
At first, he thought Odin was readying a Pin Missile, so he ran around the field.
That changed when purple darts suddenly ejected from Odin's back and seemed to Home in on him.
As much as he tried to twist and turn out of the way, all the darts found their home as he was in excruciating pain from his poisoning.
Raticate had seen this and used a Quick Attack to try and hit Odin.
"FREYA, USE FOUBLE KICK!" Suddenly, using the Ice to skate faster than him, Freya was suddenly in front of him.
She then front flipped right on his head causing him to bounce in the air.
Then he found himself rocketing toward Zippo, causing them both to crash.
Given the swirly eyes, it was clear who won that match.
"RATICATE AND ZIPPO ARE BOTH UNABLE TO BATTLE! THIS ROUND GOES TO ASH AND SERENA!" The referee called out as Odin and Freya celebrated their victory.
"You two want to come back or stay in?" Ash asked as the two looked at each other and shook their heads.
With that, both Ritchie and A.J released their next Pokémon.
Ritchie released his Butterfree, Happy, while A.J released, to their surprise, a Raticate that had puffed up cheeks and black fur instead of orange brown fur.
"How'd you get an Alolan Raticate?" Serena asked, as unless he actively went to Alola. He shouldn't have that.
"Someone in town offered to trade me a Alolan Rattata for my Kantonian one. I had a Rattata who was having a hard time keeping up, so I traded for it to have a chance at a better trainer." He explained as Raticate gnashed it's teeth together, in an attempt to intimidate his opponents.
"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" The ref announced as he motioned his flags down.
"Odin! USE ICE BEAM ON HAPPY!" Ash called out, remembering how Happy had whittled Pikachu and Squirtle down in the original League.
And it showed he was still as skilled as ever as he acrobatically swerved around the beam and then sprayed a yellow powder right into Odin's face.
Ash grimaced as Odin jerked in place.
Odin suddenly took on a furious expression and his tail suddenly turned to steel as he slammed Happy across the face with it.
"Uh, Dexter? What did Odin just do?" He asked, pulling him out.
"BESIDES SOMEHOW LEARNING IRON TAIL? HIS SECONDARY ABILITY ACTIVATED. RIVALRY. WHEN THIS ABILITY IS UNLOCKED, ATTACKS AGAINST POKÉMON OF THE SAME SEX BECOME MORE POWERFUL, BUT IF ITS OF THE OPPOSITE, IT BECOMES WEAKER." He explained as Odin would only stop the attacks if he was stuck in place with Paralysis.
Serena heard that, as she watched Freya dodging around Alolan Raticate, since the Raticate wasn't giving her a chance to hit him with Double Kick.
She then noticed the look in Freya's eyes and got an idea.
"FREYA! USE ATTRACT!" Skidding to a halt, Freya looked at Raticate, who had stopped in confusion as to what she was doing.
Suddenly she winked at Raticate, as she spun around with hearts swirling around Raticate, before slamming into him.
Raticate suddenly began to rock back and forth unsteady as Freya took on a smirk, and made a motion to Odin, who nodded as he charged at Raticate.
He leaped into the air as he smacked Alolan Raticate in the face with his feet.
Doing quadruple damage with it thanks to the Alolan branch of Rattata family's double weakness to Fighting moves, due to their Dark/Normal typing.
Freya then began to force Happy to move around in patterns as she breathed Ice Beams at him.
"ODIN!"
"FREYA!"
"SWAP PARTNERS AGAIN!"
With that, Odin did one final Double Kick in Raticate's face, using it to propel himself at Happy, charging up electricity as he did.
Freya had been firing an Ice Beam and when she curved it, it created a slide. She flew down it right at Raticate who was still infatuated with her.
Smirking, Freya used the momentum of the slide to give her Double kick more oomph as she almost knocked him off the floor.
"USE HEADBUTT!" A.J cried out.
Despite his infatuation, Raticate was able to directly hit Freya as he charged.
Unfortunately, he didn't exactly stop.
"ODIN! WATCH OUT!" Odin quickly looked behind him …
As Raticate, unable to keep himself under control due to the speed of the Headbutt, the fact that he was infatuated, AND running on ice, crashed into him and Happy.
Happy had been using Psybeam before Ash had called out that warning.
When the pile slammed into him, the Psybeam began arcing around them.
Which was caught by an accidental Ice Beam from Freya.
When they connected, a massive explosion occurred, rocking the mighty S.S Anne from stem to stern.
After a quick moment to check with the ref to make sure they didn't sink the ship, the smoke cleared.
All the Pokémon were in one pile.
Happy was on top of Raticate with swirly eyes, having clearly not been expecting the massive explosion.
Freya and Odin were next to each other, almost looking like they were cuddling.
With the exception that they too had swirly eyes.
"ALL POKÉMON ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE! RITCHIE AND A.J ARE ON THEIR LAST POKÉMON WHILE ASH AND SERENA STILL HAVE TWO EACH!" The ref announced as all combatants withdrew their fallen friends.
"I'm proud of you, Odin. You fought two Pokémon back-to-back. Now take a good long rest." Ash told his newest friend as he put the ball back on his belt.
"Thank you, Freya. I know you don't like battling, but this was still good training for if we did need to fight. Take as long of a rest as you think you need." Serena said to her, already thinking of a way to make it up to Freya for taking part in a tournament.
With that, all four looked up at the screen that had a coin on it.
"WE SHALL NOW FLIP TO SEE WHO RELEASES THEIR POKÉMON FIRST!" The ref announced, as the coin spun in the air.
"HEADS!" Cried Ash.
"TAILS!" Ritchie countered as the coin then began to stop spinning as it then landed on …
"THE COIN HAS LANDED ON TAILS! RITCHIE, A.J, PLEASE DISCUSS BETWEEN YOURSELVES WHETHER YOU WILL RELEASE YOUR POKÉMON FIRST OR SECOND!" With that, A.J and Ritchie began whispering between themselves while Ash brought out a Pokéball and showed it to Serena, who looked at it and nodded.
"We will release our Pokémon first!" A.J announced with the Ref nodding.
"THEN RELEASE THEM!" With that, Ritchie brought out a yellow and black Pokéball while A.J brought out a dirt brown ball.
"Sparky! Time to Party!" With that, the opponent who technically beat his Charizard in the original timeline had appeared, letting out a jolt of electricity.
"SANDSHREW! GROUND OFFENSIVE NOW!" A.J called out, and then Ash smiled at his choice given what happened when he first fought this little guy.
When the Ground Mouse came out, it cracked its little knuckles, which made a lot of people think it was trying to be adorable.
Only to take it back when he took a battle stance and his eyes slanted.
Ash looked at it and looked at the Pokéball in his hand.
He then had a smug grin as he threw it.
"PIDGEOT! IT'S PAYBACK TIME!"
With that, his faithful bird appeared as it landed on the ground and let out it's cry of readiness.
Then it saw who it was fighting, and glared at the tiny Ground Mouse who gave it an embarrassing beat down in the original timeline.
Oh, she was going to enjoy this.
Before anything else could happen, Serena released hers.
"FEAROW! SHINE YOUR FEATHERS!"
With that, Serena's Bird zoomed out and landed roughly on the ground, looking a lot more aggressive than Pidgeot was.
Pidgeot just shook her head.
"Overzealous and eager, aren't you?" Fearow then glared at her.
"You just keep focused on your target and I'll TRY not to get friendly crossfire." Pidgeot just smirked at him as they then looked at their opponents.
"BATTLE START!"
With that, both birds went into the air, with Pidgeot zeroing in on Sandshrew, determined to beat him this time.
Which A.J noticed.
"Hey, um, does your Pidgeot have some kinda beef with my Sandshrew?" He asked as he noticed how Pidgeot seemed to be able to predict where Sandshrew was going.
"Not with your's (at least she shouldn't have held onto it), but a similar Sandshrew had beaten her very badly when she was a Pidgeotto, and your Sandshrew kind of resembles him, so she is really looking for some payback." Ash said, not exactly liking how Pidgeot was wanting to settle an old score.
"Must have been a jerk Sandshrew then. I can understand her anger, but we ain't going down easily! SANDSHREW! METAL CLAW!" Sandshrew jumped over Pidgeot as she tried to Slam him with a Quick Attack as his right Claw then turned silver and slammed it into her back.
Pidgeot, however, wasn't falling to that.
Sandshrew was about to pull his claw back for another strike, but that plan quickly got canceled when Pidgeot pulled up suddenly …
And plowed a hole through the roof.
(In an upper part of the ship.)
Jessie had finally remembered where those 5 grunts were who joined in the attack on Anne in the original timeline.
They were getting ready to pull their trap.
"OK, Impidimp. Get ready to take them out." She told her new partner, who grinned mischievously at the thought of teleporting or doing something to these guys.
Jessie didn't want to KNOW what Impi was planning.
*CRASH!*
Suddenly, a brown blur came up underneath the 5 grunts and they got dragged out.
Jessie and Impi (that's the nickname she has given her Impidimp) watched as they became twinkles in the sky.
"Well, I guess we could just … go hit the gym or go to the spa section?" She said, confused, to Impi, who looked a bit disappointed that he didn't together the chance to do … whatever it was he was planning.
But he shrugged and they left.
Ash was staring gob smacked at what Pidgeot had done …
And nervous as to how much he was going to pay for this and HOW he was going to pay for it.
"THAT WILL COST ABOUT 250,000 POKÉ TO REPAIR, ASH." Dexter piped up as Ash began sweating and worrying about how much damage he was going to rack up with this destruction.
Serena laughed nervously before returning her attention to Fearow, who thankfully was keeping his grudge against the Pikachu race to a minimum.
"Use Drill Peck!" Fears then slammed into Sparky's stomach and began a vicious Fury Attack with his claws.
"Sparky! Use Nuzzle!" With that, Sparky headbutted Fearow's face and then landed on his back, beginning to rub his cheek on Fearow's back.
"DRILL RUN!" Serena called out, hoping the Ground Type move would prevent Paralysis.
Fearow quickly started pouring Ground energy into his spin, specifically over the area Sparky was in.
He did feel a tingle, but he wasn't quite sure if he succeeded at stopping Sparky.
"Use Thundershock, Sparky!" Sparky began charging up the attack, and Fearow knew that if he didn't do something fast, the annoying spark attack would get him, and risk getting Paralyzed if he wasn't Paralyzed already.
Serena saw how Fearow was fighting off Sparky, but even then, approaching this as a trainer probably wouldn't be enough for Fearow to win.
Taking a deep breath, she lifted the right side of her gown, revealing her right foot in a fancy heel.
She lifted the back of it up …
And then tapped it twice.
Ash and A.J had run outside in order to keep up with the fight between Sandshrew and Pidgeot.
Pidgeot was more annoyed with Sandshrew than getting hurt.
The repeated Metal Claws to her back were starting to take their toll.
"PIDGEOT! ARIAL ACE, NOW!" He called out to her.
Pidgeot did start flipping up and down to try and shake Sandshrew off her back, but Sandshrew had stopped striking her back and was now using Metal Claw to just hang on as best he can.
"SANDSHREW! LET HER LAUNCH YOU SKYWARD, THEN USE FISSURE STRIKE ON HER BACK!"
Ash and Pidgeot's eyes widen when they hear A.J call that out, as Sandshrew let himself be flung into the air willingly.
'What do I do!? I can't let Sandshrew land in the water! He's too far away for A.J's Pokeball to recall him, but if he lands on Pidgeot's back, that Fissure will break her back! What do I do!? WHAT DO I DO!?' He mentally shouted in his head, then looked behind when they saw electric shocks coming out of the hole that Pidgeot had tunneled.
Ash then got his idea.
"PIDGEOT! USE WHIRLWIND AND SEND SANDSHREW BACK INTO THE HOLE YOU TORE!" Pidgeot looked confused until she saw the electric attacks coming out of the hole.
Smirking, she angled the Whirlwind underneath Sandshrew and completely took him by surprise.
( THE INTERLUDE TO EXPLAIN THE LIGHTNING!)
WHAT DID IT TAKE TO GET THIS RAT OFF!?
Fearow had been bucking and twisting and turning and doing all sorts of crazy acrobatics to try and shake Sparky off, but the little guy was just as tenacious as the one who zapped him back in the day!
"GET OFF ME YOU TRIPLE A BATTERY!" He demanded as he once again try flicking him off his back.
"LIKE REVERSE WORLD I'M DROPPING! DO YOU SEE HOW HIGH WE ARE!?"
"YEAH, BECAUSE I'M THE REASON WE'RE THIS HIGH! AND YOUR ZAPS ARE CAUSING ME TO LOSE CONTROL OF MY FLIGHT! DO YOU WANT TO CRASH LAND OR CONTROL LAND, SPARKPLUG!?" He yelled in Pokémon as he once again began climbing.
He had to get him off before he tried that stupid Nuzzle strategy again, or he got lucky with the Thundershocks!
If he could just –
*TAP! TAP! *
The moment he heard that, he looked at Serena.
He saw her holding up a part of her dress as her foot was tapping the back of her heel.
*TAP TA TA TAP! TAP! *
Fearow looked at her as she did it …
And then smirked.
He then fancifully spun around, like what they practiced for Showcases.
And just let himself get pulled by gravity, not even bothering to flap his wings.
"WHA – WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Sparky shrieked in fright as he saw the floor coming up fast.
Fearow turned his head and smirked at him.
"My trainer has had a Eureka-king moment!" He said as they both saw the ground floor within range.
Sparky covered his eyes, terrified of what could be happening.
Fearow kept his smirk, paying attention and waiting for her signal.
*TAP TAP TA TA TAP! *
Fearow smirked when he heard the signal.
Sparky still had his eyes covered, not wanting to see the end, when he suddenly felt Fearow twist to the right, and he was no longer on anything solid.
He took his paws off his eyes and saw Fearow flying upwards with a smirk.
Then he felt something solid hit his head and found himself on the ground.
Painfully.
Fearow hovered for a bit, with a satisfied smirk on his face.
"YOSHA LUCKY!" He cried out, thinking he had a good chance of winning.
"Wait. Are you a fan of Kyuranger? One of the worst Sentai ever?" Sparky asked incredulously.
"SO WHAT!? I LIKE THE STORY AND MAIN CHARACTER! Also, the green ranger in that show reminds me a bit of my trainer." Sparky just shook his head.
Ritchie was looking at the scene in shock.
Somehow, Serena had managed to communicate with Fearow through the tapping of her shoe and he couldn't figure out how.
"How did you do that, Serena!?" Ritchie asked.
"Sorry, but that would be telling right now, Ritchie." Serena winked as she then began tapping her foot like crazy.
Ritchie watched Fearow closely, trying to figure out why she was tapping.
Morse code?
Something about how she tapped her foot?
Realizing he couldn't figure it out right away, he just kept his eye on Fearow, with Sparky doing the same as he charged up an electrical attack.
Then, he saw Fearow begin to bank right.
"SPARKY! THUNDERSHOCK TO THE RIGHT!" Sparky watched Fearow as he began to bank hard to the right, and aimed his Thundershock several feet to the right, having a feeling that was where Fearow was going.
Fearow saw the lightning coming right for him and knew that with the way his body was damaged and how he wasn't as maneuverable as Pidgeot was.
Suddenly a brown blur suddenly appeared in the hole Pidgeot had carved through the ship …
And intercepted the Shock that had been heading his way.
Serena had seen it and quickly tapped out her command.
*TAP TA TA TAP TAP TA TAP! (USE ARIAL ACE!) *
With the attack blocked, Fearow flipped around and slammed into the object that had gotten in his way and sent it careening into Sparky.
When the dust settled, it was revealed that the object had been A. J's Sandshrew had unwillingly blocked the attack with his body, with his Ground Typing making him immune to the attack.
Ash and A.J had just gotten back into the battlefield after Pidgeot had Whirlwinded Sandshrew back through the hole and chased after him.
When they arrived, they saw Sandshrew unintentionally block a Thundershock from Sparky, saving Fearow from the attack, though given how he tanked a bunch of Thundebolts from Pikachu in the original timeline.
He then got confused for a bit when he saw Serena holding the right side of her dress up, showing off her heel …
Then figured it out when she tapped it.
They both looked at each other and smirked.
"PIDGEOT! SKY ATTACK!"
*TAP! TAP TA TAP TA TA TAP TAP! (USE DRILL RUN!) *
Everyone saw a brown blur with a bit of red and yellow on the top speeding downwards towards Sandshrew, who, while not affected by the electric attack, got disoriented from being flung back and getting hit by it.
Sparky was just getting his bearings back after getting slammed by his Ground Type cousin …
When both saw 2 blurs coming right for them.
The glowing one on the right streaking straight for Sandshrew, while the one that looked to be spinning on its axis heading straight for Sparky.
"SPARKY! USE QUICK ATTACK!"
"SANDSHREW! USE GYRO BALL!"
Sparky weakly began to run at the spinning Fearow, while Sandshrew began rolling around in a ball glowing silver and then took off.
All four attacks collided, just like with the previous four, a massive explosion took place, as everyone averted their gaze.
"We come here to see how different Kanto is, AND WE GET SOMETHING THAT COULD SINK US!?" Roy yelled, as he and Liko were basically holding on for dear life.
"WELL, HOPEFULLY WE GET SOME EXTRA CREDIT FOR SURVIVING THIS!" Liko yelled out as she was nearly deaf from how loud the explosion was.
Sprigatito and Fuecoco just stared in amazement at the sheer power that was in front of them.
Brock and Misty were just shocked at what they had just seen.
"Sheesh, I'm worried about any future Gyms Ash faces if his Pidgeot can do THAT to a ship!" Brock said in nervousness, hoping the ship would survive the tournament if Ash was doing such damage.
"Did you forget what he did to MY Gym? The roof was absolutely demolished!"
"Didn't you keep using Hydro Pumps and Hyper Beams that were easily deflected?"
"At least I didn't directly aim upwards!"
"Ash blocked it. He couldn't CONTROL the direction in the first place."
Brock then CAUGHT the mallet Misty tried to whack him with, with him turning his head with a stern look.
"He did hold back with Kasumi, remember?" Misty glared but relented and put the mallet away.
Ash had held onto Serena when the massive explosion occurred, sending dust everywhere and averted their eyes from the light.
Finally, the winds died down.
And four silhouettes were seen.
As things became clearer, Pidgeot and Fearow were slowly getting back up, clearly being in bad shape from the massive crash.
Sandshrew and Sparky?
They had swirly eyes and were in craters shaped like them.
Everyone stared for a while, as Pidgeot and Fearow stood up, and just smiled at seeing their opponents taken out.
Then a loud deafening cheer erupted as the referee held up his flags.
"SPARKY AND SANDSHREW ARE BOTH UNABLE TO BATTLE! ASH AND SERENA ARE THE WINNERS!"
Ash and Serena stood dumbfounded for a bit before they then hugged at their victory.
And hoped that they could pay for the damages to the ship with Red's help.
Fearow and Pidgeot just stood there, catching what breath they could from the pounding they took.
"Heh. Just like old times. Him coming up with out of the box strategies, even when he has a partner." She gasped out, as she could already feel the fatigue starting to get to her.
Then she noticed that Fearow was hobbling over to her.
She also noticed that he was in the same shape, not really able to pick a fight.
"This is going to be a bit difficult for me to admit, but …" He averted his gaze in embarrassment.
"You saved my tail feathers from Sparky, so … thanks."
With that, Fearow walks over with haste to Serena, who starts rubbing his head, saying how proud she was of him.
"Strange how things can change, huh, old girl?" Pidgeot looked up and saw her partner, standing there smiling.
"Guess when you haven't had a rock thrown at your head, it doesn't do that much brain damage." She joked as Ash then looked at her.
"Then how do you explain my blunders with you?"
"Rookie, bratty kid with a heart of gold, immature, and outright rockheaded." She smirked as Ash nodded his head at that.
A.J and Ritchie had just returned their partners, thanking them for putting up a great battle.
"Hey A.J, thanks for agreeing to be my partner for this tournament."
"No problem man, we may have gotten three badges, but we still got a ways to go." He said, doing a fist bump with Ritchie.
"Hey Ritchie, A.J." They both turned to look at Ash and Serena, who were standing there.
They then smiled and held out their hands.
"Nice work out there. Get tougher, you got it?" Ash said to A.J, glad to see that he wasn't holding back.
A.J stared at his hand, before he smiled and shook it.
"Work on Pidgeot's understandable anger towards the Sandshrew line, and it's a promise!" He told him.
"Nice work with Fearow, Serena! Tell me, how did you do that tapping?" Serena had an awkward chuckle as she held up her dress again.
"It's something I developed for Showcases. By tapping out a certain rhythm, my Pokémon can understand what moves to use. I'm only battling to get my friends ready for when we do it." She said, demonstrating how different taps meant different things.
"Well, if Ash was able to hold his own with a Pidgeot, I look forward to facing him later!" Serena nodded and held out her hand.
Ritchie didn't hesitate to take it.
Red had just finished a meeting with some of the higher up Rockets.
Since he was just the figure head, he usually tuned out what they said and just said yes or no in order to get out of there as fast as he could.
Not easy to do when YOU'RE the main talk.
"AGAIN AND AGAIN, GIOVANNI, OUR GRUNTS ARE TAKEN DOWN! WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO WHEN YOUR LEADERSHIP IS COSTING US!?" Archer had practically air horned into his ear, as he just sat there slumped.
"In case you forgot, Archer, it was MY advice that kept one of our current top operatives from gwtting caught and beaten by a Lucario in Cameron Castle, an invasion I might add was YOUR idea as you thought they would be defenseless and only gave them a Houndoom and no flying types in case something happened! He was smart enough to get out when things began to go south!"
Ariana then raised a hand.
"And he also got 2 recruits and a talking Meowth to stop 2 trainers who had a fully evolved GRENINJA, a BRAIXEN, and a FEAROW. If anything, they are going around Kanto to better themselves and get new Pokémon to help us!" She pointed out as Petrel, who is usually the one who is the most insane, actually appear sane for a few minutes.
"And we've been keeping an eye on YOU as well, Archer. You tried to, once again, hunt down Arceus to try and get Giovanni back! As Red himself has said, Cosmic Power is too great a risk! Don't you remember that Arceus Damned fiasco you pulled back in Golden Rod!?" Archer flinched slightly from that reminder.
"Also, you've green-lit another Mewtwo! Granted, it's being done better than when Blaine made one, but you still didn't consult with ANY of us, Archer! If anything, I'm pleased that Red here had taken over its control away from you! Like how he has made good points here, you're making Petrel look SANE by comparison!" The last executive, Petrel, growled out after covering his eyes with his hat.
Then, a grunt walked in, one who did not know that Giovanni was actually Red, and then whispered something to him.
Red smirked and made his play.
"Well, when were you going to tell us that you had planned on attacking the S.S Anne, Archer?" Archer turned ghost white at that Revelation.
"How? They were supposed to succeed then I would reveal it!" Ariana, Petrel and Proton then glared at Archer, who then realized he was backed into a corner.
"From what the 2 I had recruited just reported to me, you gave them gadgets to suck up Pokéballs AND GAVE THEM NO WAY OF ESCAPING THE SHIP ONCE THEY HAD DONE SO." Archer began to sweat profusely at that.
"Did it not occur to you that they are out in the middle of the OCEAN today? And you told them to use whatever Pokémon they stole? Ones who would NOT be inclined to help their kidnappers?" Everyone glared right at Archer.
"In fact, remember those 2 you just tried to insult? Well, they had seen those 2 trainers you mentioned boarding the S.S Anne. As such, they tried to warn them. When she found them about to try and sabotage the Anne, a Pidgeot had crashed through the ship itself and sent them flying. You almost costed us 5 RECRUITS DUE TO YOUR STUPIDITY!"
Petrel growled at just how badly things had gone and how Archer was basically digging his own grave.
"As such, it is my motion that Archer steps down, and all his current PROJECTS known and I get put in charge of them, with him giving regular reports to the others." With that, all the executives, Domino (who was just smiling at what was going on) and Matori stood at attention.
"All in favor?" Arianna, Proton, Domino, Matori and even PETREL raised their hands in the air.
"All opposed?" Only Archer held his hand up.
"Motion passes. Archer, I expect a list of all current and future projects you're doing. Until you can prove otherwise, you're under surveillance." Archer was about to try and protest the action …
Until Petrel and Proton gave him quite the death glare.
"Yes, sir." Was all he said as he stood up and left, pulling out his phone and started typing something, with Ariana following him.
"Proton." Said man stood at attention.
"Section off some of the budget towards Archer's projects to fixing the S.S Anne. Good PR is always good." Proton saluted and headed off.
"As you were, Petrel." He nodded and left as well.
Matoru and Yellow then looked at him.
"So, what did your kid do?" Yellow teasingly asked him, having a good hunch that Pidgeot was Ash's.
"Apparantly, his Pidgeot, having a bit of a rivalry with Sandshrew, tore a hole from the battlefield level all the way out the top." He told them as they laughed, remembering his original fight with the original Giovanni.
"At least he didn't sink the ship like he did last time." Matori jokingly said before she saw Red turn to her.
"He didn't sink it last time. That was because of the idiotic 5 Archer sent last time that caused it to sink by destroying the backups on the ship!" Matori held up her hands, not wanting to give him the wrong idea.
Red quickly took a deep breath and calmed himself.
"Just get some of the extra budget ready. That ship's not going to be cheap or easy to repair."
(Skipping to the final round to spare the other trainers the embarrassment of being pummeled.)
It was the final match of the tournament.
Ash and Serena were left with Pikachu, Sylveon, Braixen, Greninja and both Charizards.
They felt extremely ready for the final battle.
Because of how terrified the staff were foe their ship. They had moved to an outside battle arena.
"WELL FOLKS, MINUS SOME DAMAGE, THESE BATTLES HAVE BEEN RAMPING UP IN INTENSENESS! BUT THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE TEAM WHO REIGNS SUPREME! WHO WILL IT BE!?"
With that, Ash and Serena walked out to their side of the field, waving at the crowd who were cheering for them.
Across the field, they were absolutely surprised to see Gary there.
"Hey, Gary. What are you doing here?"
"Needed a good place to brush up my skills, since I was more a researcher than battler by the reset." He then gritted his teeth.
"I just wish Miette was my partner. Whe would have been much better than who they gave me."
Ash and Serena then looked over to his right, which immediately got them on edge.
The guy who was his partner here had black boots, maroon pants, a white t-shirt covered by a black vest, and orange hair that on the front of his face crossed over to make an x.
He stared at them and got the sense that he was not impressed at all with them.
"Hmph, two more weak trainers. This will be over in 10 seconds." He growled out, as a Lycanroc stalked out from behind him, mimicking his expression.
"Lycanroc! Show these weaklings who has the true power here." The Midnight form then leapt onto the field, roaring to show his power.
Gary just looked at him and shook his head.
"Arcanine! Let's heat things up!" With that, the familiar orange dog appeared on the field and looked like it had been heating up in the ball due to the flame aura surrounding it.
"Did you figure out who to use, Serena?" Serena smiled at him, then lifted the left part of her dress …
As Sylveon walked out from underneath it.
"Sylveon! Let's show them some Showcase battling!" With a yip, Sylveon stood in front of Serena, glaring at Lycanroc.
Ash smirked, knowing who his first choice is …
Then looked around confused when he realized Pikachu wasn't on his shoulder or out front.
He then smacked his face and had a look that basically told everyone he had a feeling as to why.
He quickly held up one finger and turned to Sylveon.
"Sylveon."
The little pink Eeveelution looked at him in annoyance at what he was indicating.
"Fetch the Pika from the kitchens."
Dust cloud in the shape of a Sylveon then followed.
"Uh, Ash? What is – "Gary got cut off when something caused the ship to rock back and forth.
"PIKA! PI PIKACHU PIKA PIKAKA!"
"SYLVEON! SYL VEON VE SYLVEON!"
And then something got punted onto the deck, while Sylveon appeared again with a very annoyed look.
It was then revealed that the object was Pikachu …
Who had ketchup on his lips and face.
"C'MON, SYLVIE! I'VE GONE 3 DAYS WITHOUT KETCHUP!"
"IT'S A TREAT, NOT A SOURCE OF ENERGY! YOU NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT SINCE WE'RE BACK BEFORE YOU LOST IT ALL!"
Pikachu groaned, then stood for battle.
The guy looked at both Pokémon and shook his head.
"Weak trainers who get the cute Pokémon. This will be over in 10 seconds." Ash and Serena looked at each other and nodded.
Gary also glared at the guy.
"PIKACHU AND SYLVEON VS ARCANINE AND LYCANROC! BEGIN!"
"Lycanroc, Iron Tail on Sylveon." Smirking, the Lycanroc did a front flip straight for Sylveon.
"Sylveon, Dig!" Sylveon backflipped away from Lycanroc and dug underneath the floor.
"Pikachu! Extreme Tail!" Suddenly, Lycanroc got hit across the face when Pikachu zoomed right in front and whacked him with Iron Tail.
Arcanine then got blindsided by Sylveon as she emerged from underneath him.
"Sorry, but your fight is with me." Ash shouted over ad Lycanroc soon got surprised AGAIN when Pikachu Brick Broke his face.
The guy and his Lycanroc growled at being made a fool of a tiny electric rodent.
"Use Bulldoze!" Lycanroc raised his right foot up, ready to Slam it down.
Ash just smirked.
"Extreme Speed!" The guy just shook his head.
"Man, you're such a weakling. Pikachu can't learn -" He shut up the moment Pikachu vanished from where Lycanroc was about to Slam his foot down.
"WHAT!? HOW!?" Was all he could get out before Pikachu reappeared behind Lycanroc's head and smacked it down with Iron Tail.
"During a battle with Ho-Oh, Pikachu somehow learned Extreme Speed. And he also learned Brick Break, Iron Tail, AND Surf without TM's or HM's." Ash replied, getting fed up with this guy putting everyone down.
He was almost like Gary's old self cranked up to 11 mixed with an unfeeling Paul.
Arcanine, meanwhile was having a hard time nailing Sylveon. Granted, he didn't take as much damage from her Fairy Type attacks, but tanking damage was not an option when you couldn't nail your opponent.
The guy glared at what was happening to Lycanroc, and his "PARTNER'S" Arcanine.
"LYCANROC, USE ROAR ON BOTH OF THEM!" Lycanroc then glared at Pikachu before he then Roared at him, sending him flying back to Ash, who quickly caught him.
Lycanroc then turned and Roared in Sylveon's face, causing the same effect.
"Um, why didn't they go back to their Pokéballs?" the guy asked in thorough confusion.
"They don't really like them, so we made it where if someone uses Roar, we catch them."
"OK, but how do I know you won't cheat in choosing what comes out next?" Ash signaled the referee over to them, and handed him two Pokéballs, same with Serena.
They then turned around and the referee understood.
Closing his own eyes, he began spinning the two sets of two in his hand, before stopping. With the ones at the top of his hands, he hit the button to enlarge the Pokèballs.
Ash and Serena then held out one hand behind them and the ref gave them back the small ones.
They then turned around while the ref threw the balls into the air.
"Lycanroc! Don't hesitate! Use Iron Head!" Lycanroc then got coated in steel and charged at the one Serena's had released.
The Ref was about to call foul on the guy …
When Lycanroc got stopped in his tracks when Charla gripped him by the throat.
The guy then looked intrigued at this development.
"You both had a Charizard, and you didn't start with it? How foolishly naïve." He said, expecting to see Lycanroc smirking …
Until he saw the absolute terrified expression on its face, as well as the death glare Charla was giving it.
Then he saw the bow.
"What? She was just a Charmander when I found her!" He yelled as Charla then turned her attention to him.
Ash and Serena looked at each other confused, until they remembered what Liza told them.
How a guy named Cross had attacked the previous location of the Charicific Valley while most were in the process of moving to the new location in Johto, and how he kidnapped Charla from Liza.
"Are you Cross? The one who kidnapped her from Liza, and then abandoned her?"
The guy then crossed his arms, clearly not denying anything.
"Would explain why you asked not to have your name revealed, since that would probably paint a target on your back." Ash said, as his Charizard and Arcanine had stopped fighting, glaring at Cross.
"Yeah, because I heard that the true Blast Burn could only be taught by those who were from the Charicific Valley. Yet, she refused to listen to me! Trash should be gotten rid of if they don't get stronger!"
Charla then turned to Lycanroc, who was starting to shiver from the death glare she gave it now.
Suddenly, she threw Lycanroc into the air, and with disturbing speed, used Mega Punch on its stomach, throwing him even higher into the air.
Serena then knew her plan.
"Use the move your boyfriend taught you!" Charla smirked as she zoomed up to Lycanroc, who tried to use Thunder Punch on her …
Only to have her grab the fist and start spinning around and around, before releasing him, sending him screeching down to the deck again.
This time, 10 Alakazam appeared, and the ship glowed blue.
When Lycanroc slammed into the deck, the ship did not rock this time, and only the area around Lycanroc was dented.
Not that it cushioned him at all, given his swirly eyes.
Arcanine had held up better thanks to his Flash Fire ability.
But against a Charizard that knew plenty of Dragon Type moves, that didn't last too long.
"ARCANINE AND LYCANROC ARE BOTH UNABLE TO BATTLE! THE VICTORY GOES TO CHARIZARD AND CHARLA!" The ref declared as Ash and Serena, alongside Gary, were glaring at Cross.
"If you're expecting an apology to that sorry excuse of a Charizard, THINK AGAIN! She couldn't evolve with me, so she deserves to rot for it!" Charla growled at him, as if to challenge him to back up what he said.
"GO, INCINEROAR!" Ash inwardly thanked Arceus that this wasn't his Incineroar that was here.
"Blastoise! Let's make up for the Silver Conference!" His faithful Water type emerged from the ball and glared right at Charizard, remembering all too well his loss when he had an advantage.
"Aqua Jet!" Gary cried out as Blastoise suddenly jetted towards Charizard who BARELY got out of the way.
"Priority moves aren't gonna help you that much!" Charizard told him, as he then took to the skies.
"Oh, I shall show you just how improved a Rider can get!" Charizard then looked at him incredulously, worried that Squirtle had gotten someone else obsessed with PokéRiders.
"So, you somehow evolved without us. Can't say I'm impressed. The weak always follow the weak." Incineroar said as he tried to punch Charla, who caught the fist without flinching.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm still here waiting for the proof. By the by, you're open for a Mega Punch." She told him as she socked him across the face with it.
"Arial maneuvers into a Mega Kick, Charla!" Serena called out as Charla lazily dodged Incineroar's retaliation, then swooped in for said kick across his face again.
Cross was clearly about to reach his limit of being made a fool.
"USE FLAMETHROWER! BURN THAT WEAKLING TO SHREDS!" Incineroar then trusted his stomach area forward, spewing the Flamethrower at Charla.
Serena and Charla had already thought of the perfect move to embarrass him with.
"Spirit Blast Burn, 10%." Was all Serena said.
Charla then began to glow orange as she then took a very deep breath.
When the flames were halfway towards her, she spat out an orange flame that resembled a beam, and it shot right through Incineroar's attack, slamming right into his stomach, canceling the Flamethrower.
Incineroar shakily stood, however, thinking that Charla was bluffing the attack …
When he was engulfed by a massive explosion and burned severely.
That knocked out his stamina.
How?
HOW DID SHE BRING OUT THAT POWER!?
Cross had been trying to get the most powerful Pokémon he could for his goal …
And this PERFORMER was not just winning but slaughtering his team with a Weakling that he got rid of!
Well, then he'll just have to bring out the big guns.
Once his useless "PARTNER" lost his Blastoise that is.
Serena immediately grew a shiver when she saw how Cross was eyeing her.
Like she was prey to him, and he was done toying around.
She nervously hugged Ash's shoulder for comfort, who glared right at Cross.
Charizard had finally gotten around Blastoise's constant use of Aqua Jet and was winding up for a Seismic Toss.
Blastoise tried to surprise Charizard with a special trick he and Gary had been working on in the original timeline, at least until they could get a Keystone.
In the center of his back, a third Hydro Cannon revealed itself and fired straight into Charizard's face.
Unfortunately, Blastoise in that moment remembered a key fact.
He was up in the air and he did not have wings.
So while he wasn't sent hurtling down at speed, he did land on his head, knocking him out.
"BLASTOISE AND INCINEROAR ARE BOTH UNABLE TO BATTLE! THE VICTORS ARE ASH AND SERENA'S CHARIZARDS!"
With that announcement, cheers erupted from the crowd, but Ash and Serena didn't celebrate this time.
They and Gary were locked onto Cross, whose face kept getting more and more maniacal as he rubbed his pendant.
"I didn't think such trash could ever force me to such extremes. Guess that just shows how much luck you have. You overpowered kids will soon know what true strength is. TYRANITAR!" With that, he released his next Pokémon.
What came out was a massive green lizard that looked to be made of titanium and ate mountains for breakfast.
It roared to the heavens, then glared at the two Charizards.
Gary shook his head and then …
Turned his head around.
"It's your time to debut, my friend."
With that, a green and brown blur leaped off of his should and revealed a Chespin, who punched the air as if to say bring it.
Charizard looked to Ash, wondering if he would use him.
"Charizard, I'm not returning you, but I am swapping you out. Best to keep the big guns in reserve." Charizard nodded, and flew behind Ash, desiring to watch the fight.
"Do you want to stay out, Charla?" Charla responded by jumping behind Serena. She nodded and brought out her third ball.
Looking to Ash, she recognized who he was bringing out.
Given how this guy seems to have a Mega Stone.
"Greninja! We need the power of our bond!"
"Braixen! Psychic dance!"
Their faithful Kalos Starters emerged from the balls, and glared at Tyranitar, having heard everything.
Greninja looked over to Ash, and nodded, having a feeling he knew why he summoned him.
It was all confirmed when they saw a Tyranitarite around his neck.
That didn't concern themselves that much when a sandstorm began to kick up thanks to SandStream.
"Now, prove how a bond like ours is the true path to victory! TYRANITAR! MEGA EVOLVE!" A sphere consumed Tyranitar, as it bursted out and gained 4 tendrils protruding out of its chest armor.
Cross then began to laugh, putting everyone on edge as to if he was crazy or just didn't care that he might sink the ship.
"I would LOVE to see you match that kind of power, Girly! If you had a Charizardite X, then maybe you could pull it off! Give up!" He clearly would have contiued his power fantasy …
If both he and Tyranitar didn't notice that the sand storm suddenly get replaced by water.
They both then noticed that it was focusing around Greninja.
Cross was confused. What was happening? This kid didn't have a Key Stone, and Greninja doesn't have a Megastone!
"Fine by us."
The whirlpool got crazier as Greninja …
Began to copy his movements?
"We've been holding this in reserve since Cerulean City!"
The water began to shoot up, partially covering Greninja to where he was getting brief glimpses.
"Because we are going to get stronger, Cross! Much, MUCH Stronger! GRENINJA! LET'S DO IT!"
With that, Greninja was completely surrounded by the water, and a illusory image of the kid and Greninja combined as the water dispersed.
Ash immediately felt himself feeling the strain Lucario had warned him about.
But Mega Tyranitar was definitely a life or death situation since they weren't exactly known for holding back.
"GRENINJA! WATER SHURIKEN!"
Cross growled at this as he then glared at Gary.
"Sacrifice your Chespin for once and have him attack that Greninja!"
That was the last straw.
Ash then saw an idea pop into his head from Greninja, and he nodded.
"CHESPIN! USE WOOD HAMMER!" Gary shouted as a giant orange hammer.
Cross smirked, happy to be getting rid of another weakling.
"ON TYRANITAR!"
"WHAT!?"
Chespin smacked Tyranitar right under the chin, which, coupled with the surprise attack, left him open to Greninja's shuriken.
Tyranitar thought a Flamethrower would evaporate it …
Only to realize that the shuriken was made of Ice and not Water.
When Greninja had reached his Shuriken, he infused it with Ice energy to freeze it over.
Cross turned like a rabid animal to face Gary.
"WHY HAVE YOU TURNED ON YOUR PARETNER!?"
"Dee Dee, play recording."
"At once, Gary."
Cross: "Listen here you, I'm going to be carrying your dead weight through this whole tournament. Feel free to attack to make yourself feel better, but trash like you should stay out of my way."
Gary: "And what makes you so entitled to this?"
Cross: "What else would the one chosen by Ho-Oh be?"
"Recording ended."
Cross growled at that, then began to chuckle.
"Well then, if you think your little tricks can work, THEN COME AT ME!"
And with that, the fight was on.
"Chespin! Low Kick!"
Chespin quickly swept Mega Tyranitar's legs, which given the special power of Low Kick, it was definitely taking a good amount of energy from it.
Tyranitar was so focused on stomping Chespin it completely forgot about Ash-Greninja, which it used to its advantage by sending out several ice and Water Shurikensc both super effective against it.
Braixen kept it's field of view to a minimum by sending her own Flamethrowers against it.
Cross was getting more and more infuriated at the fact his secret weapon was having trouble against these weaklings!
"TYRANITAR USE OUTRAGE!"
Tyranitar then had his eyes become suits as he then began to unleash Hyper Beams and Earthquakes left and right in a desperate attempt to kill these idiots.
Ash was feeling the absolute pain as several did connect to Greninja and he became worried, as he didn't want to pull him back as he was the only one Who had the power right now to stop this thing!
Serena could see how Ash was starting to struggle with maintaining the link between him and Greninja.
Braixen could also see how they were losing their consciousness, and looked at her trainer.
Both felt something firing up within them as Braixen leapt in front of Greninja …
And Serena spread her arms.
Gary also saw how this maniac was planning on sinking the ship if he lost, and he refused to allow that.
Chespin glared at its "partner" at the fact it wasn't even caring if it hit someone innocent.
Chespin reared his left fist back …
And Gary threw his punch right at Cross.
Cross was just grinning maniacally at what Tyranitar was doing.
More! More destruction!
'No one will EVER dare question I am Ho-Oh's chosen! My strength will prove it!'
Tyranitar then sent out a massive Earthquake at the strange Greninja, seeing the girl's Braixen Leaping in front of it.
Perfect! Two Mons with one move!
It stopped in front of Greninja, arms splayed out …
And a giant Protect screen appeared in front of the two!
It completely negated the Earthquake and neither took any damage.
Cross sneered at this.
"Fine. You get one extra minute but that I'd all you're going to -"
*BAM!*
Cross was so surprised by the punch that he didn't notice Chespin and used Focus Punch at the same time, sending Tyranitar up into the air a few feet …
And devolving from his Mega state.
Cross, for whatever reason, looked angry with Gary.
"You DARE to hit Ho-Oh's Chosen One in the face!?"
Gary growled at his impetuous nature but smirked when he saw what happened.
"Well, I still managed to BEAT his 'Chosen One' with my friend, Chespin!"
That got Cross to look over and finally realize his secret weapon was down on the ground.
That seemed to get Cross to snap.
He immediately returned Tyranitar, and leapt off the side railing.
Everyone ran to the side, and saw him flying away on a Shiny Fearow.
"OK since he's gone, am I disqualified? "
"Normally, no. But given how much damage has been done, I am going to have to say yes. You have lost."
Ash and Gary sighed, as Greninja returned to normal, helped up by Braixen.
(WITH CHARIZARD DURING THE FIGHT.)
Charizard could only stare in wonder at what Greninja had just done.
He had no stone, and yet he had a power that rivaled a Mega Evolution?
Could he gain something like this?
How powerful is it compared to Mega Evolution?
All should be answered as the Journey continued.
Charla was looking over nervously at Charizard.
She recognized something else in him that he probably didn't realized he had gained.
He was jealous of Greninja's ability.
Ash wasn't in any danger this time, but he definitely needed rest.
"I am afraid this also cancels the planned Triple Tournament we had planned, so we're just going to give you the prizes of both." Ash looked saddened that he had caused a tournament to be canceled.
The ref then brought out a basket that had Evolutionary Stones.
Specifically 2 Fire Stones, a Water Stone, a Thunderstone, a Dawn Stone, 2 more Moon Stones, an oval stone and 2 Water stones.
Serena sighed, having hoped for a Sun Stone at least.
The ref then brought out a basket with three Pokéballs.
"These were meant to be the prize between three people for the Triple Battle Tournament."
Ash looked at the three Pokéballs, then looked to Gary.
"Since this was meant for a three person team, do you want to join in?"
Gary stared at Ash, then smirked.
"I assume this means you were thinking of asking me to be the third member?"
Ash smirked and nodded.
"OK, these are the three you would have the choice of." The Ref then threw the three balls into the air.
Ash immediately recognized Sprigatito, Serena recognized Fuecoco, but neither recognized the white Duck with a blue … Pompadour, was that the right hairstyle?
"QUAXLY!" It cried as it swished it's hair in a FABULOUUUSSS! Style.
"These three are the starters for the Paldea region. Since there are three of you, you may pick which ones you want." The ref told them, as he backed away and each one looked up.
"Gary, you may go first." Gary then looked the three over, and began to think.
"I choose …" ALL three tensed up.
"Quaxly." The little duck swooshed his hair and then walked up to him, acting like he was important.
"I'll go next." Serena said, as she then looked between the adorable croc Pokémon and the tempermental leaf cat.
"I choose Sprigatito." The green cat mowed adorably and began rubbing against her dress.
Fuecoco looked disappointed, at least until Ash picked him up.
"I was going to pick you anyway, Fuecoco. Charizard and my other friends will show ya the ropes. Though it might be a while before you can actually fight."
Fuecoco chirped happily before Ash returned him.
"Well, at least tou got to see the Battle Bond, Gary." Gary smirked and nodded.
"I'm just glad it didn't go to the extremes like it did in Cerulean. Aaron's Lucario can't keep teleworking over here." He then scratched Chespin's Sachin.
"Besides, I got a great friend here, and I'm not giving him up for a moment. Now how about we -GLEMPH!" Gary got cut off when Miette suddenly appeared and brought her arms around Gary's neck, dressed up in the same dress she had worn from Cameron.
"YOU TOLD ME THIS TOURNAMENT WOULD BE FAST! THE BALL GOT DELAYED BECAUSE OF THE FIGHTS AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE ARCEUS DAMN COURTESY TO LET ME KNKW YOU GOR HELS UP!?" She yelled as she began to choke Gary.
"I wAs aBoUt To sAy tO ThEm tHaT We sHoUlD bE GeTtInG tO ThE BaLl bEfOrE YoU sTaRtEd ChOkInG mE!" Gary managed to get out before Miette tried to completely cut off his air supply.
"Yeah, that's why me and Serena are in our best sp we could just head to the ball after the tournament." Ash said, hoping that he could prevent Gary from turning blue.
Miette glared at Gary, then let go of his neck.
"Fine, but you're making it up to me!" Gary nodded quickly and then got dragged by Miette to the ball room that was on the ship.
Ash and Serena looked at each other, and then Ash led her himself.
(With Brock!)
The ball was in full swing, though Brock was just in the library during this time, as you had to have a date before the dance which he didn't have.
As such, he chose to go to the ship's library and began to look for books about Pokémon doctors or anything close enough.
He had gotten the two books that were tailored to breeders when he saw a Lucario grabbing some books.
Knowing that only Ash has a Lucario and that it was currently with him, Brock followed the Lucario.
He saw the Lucario arrive in front of a boy who wore a green shirt covered by what looked like a scientist coat who had 2 more books.
"Thank you Lucario. Hopefully this will contain what I need." He told it, then noticed that Brock was looking at him.
"I take it it's your first time seeing a Lucario?" He asked, motioning his head towards it.
"A friend of mine has one he hatched from an egg from the Lucario kingdom, he has a Zorua, a Greninja that has a special form, a fully evolved Charizard, a Pikachu that has gone toe-to-toe with Ho-Oh, and has a Pidgeot that can go super sonic. Oh he's also a descendant of Sir Aaron." The boy then looked right at him, with a look of outright shock.
"I just wasn't expecting to find one around here on this ship that wasn't his. What are you looking for?" He asked as he then put down the books.
"I'm looking to become a Pokémon Professor. And there are some copies of books that are only on this ship, or in a different region under lock and key. So, when I got the chance to come on the ship, figured it would be best to do it as soon as I could." They then found a place to sit as they then began reading the books they got.
"Any papers?" Brock asked as the boy then pulled out several binders which Brock began to read.
"Been doing this since I was 8 when my family's Luxray froze to death to keep me warm." Brock began to read it and was impressed.
Though the older brother in him was nagging at some of the old outdated information.
"It's all very observant. However, I'm training to be a doctor and I can confidently tell you that a Luxray's heart isn't supercharged. It just has a heightened heartbeat." The boy was surprised at that.
He then double checked his notes and saw what Brock was saying.
"How did you know that!?"
"Remember that friend I mentioned? I traveled with him from Kanto to Sinnoh." He said as he then began reviewing Metagross notes.
"So, you've been all over the known regions. May I ask your name?"
"Brock Harrison." He said holding out his hand for a handshake.
"Sorrel. Soon to be Professor Sorrel."
It was now nighttime on the S.S Anne. Most of the passengers were asleep by this point.
Some staff were still up, doing their night duties, making sure it would be ready for the re-dock in the afternoon.
No one noticed a female Pokémon and 3 young starters.
She and 3 other Pokémon had snuck onto the ship when it had been docked back in Galadriel, where she had been hiding out ever since the day in Geosenge Town.
She had found 3 abandoned starters of Galadriel and had stayed with them as a bit of a mother, making sure they healed from their wounds.
She often remembered her old Trainer while raising them, remembering how she had a young child in her that was almost killed when he had taken over her husband's body.
That was also the last time she saw 2 great friends, Marisso and Salamè. When her old trainer had released her, through their bond, she saw how much she did not want to do it.
It had been 10 years since that day, and she never forgot her old friend.
So imagine her surprise when she finds a young girl that resembled her old trainer, but with dirty blonde hair instead of honey blonde hair.
With a Sylveon coming out from underneath her dress, working together with a Pikachu.
Then both revealing they had Charizard and defeating their next two opponents.
Then the biggest surprise.
The girl revealed she had a Braixen, while the boy had a Greninja.
Their opponent had MegaEvolved a Tyranitar, which would look bleak enough.
But the boy suddenly had his Greninja sync with him, and activate an ability that she thought only she had.
The Battle Bond.
She watched, entranced by how different it was to hers.
Then she saw how in sync the lookalike was with her Braixen, powering up a Protect.
Then saw their opponents "PARTNER" absolutely wreck him despite the Chespin's tiny size.
They got their prizes and went to the ball, while she watched and went off to find the three little scamps that were on the ship.
Then she would get her answers.
And she now saw them on the aft of the deck, nice and alone.
She shouldn't rush in.
That could send the wrong mes-
"You know, if you want to talk, you need to come down here and talk to us face to face!"
The ball had ended 2 hours ago, with Serena very pleased at the fact that, while he still wasn't good enough, Ash had improved with partner dancing.
Sylveon had been surprising Pikachu with how well she could dance with four legs instead of a biped.
Braixen, despite her smaller size, kept up with Greninja …
Who looked like he wanted to be somewhere else during the whole thing.
Freya and Odin had been doing, according to then, "the dance passed down through the generations."
Lucario and Zoroark, despite not being used, were doing an extremely awkward job of trying to come off as them not being interested in each other.
To varying success, given how Zoroark was blushing profusely.
Both Ash and Serena agreed not to release Fearow and Pidgeot, not wanting to know what would happen.
That unfortunately meant that Charizard and Charla couldn't take part.
At least not in the ballroom. As such, they were flying around in the night sky.
She had then changed into her performance dress deciding to practice on the deck of the ship, using Zoroark, Charla (who very nearly had to get Charizard to help her stop hyperventilating at the fact that she was about to do a showcase practice with Serena), Sylveon, Fearow, Braixen and Oddish.
They split into three teams, Fearow and Charla, Sylveon and Oddish, and Zoroark and Braixen.
As they did their contained showcases (the fact that Ash's Pidgeot had torn a hole through the ship was making them watch her suspiciously until she returned them to their balls) Serena practiced her dancing so that she wasn't falling behind.
She was also trying to get a sense of the wind.
After Ash had told her about her mother, how she was actually a legendary sky trainer, she had gotten the idea to incorporate flying or gliding into her routines if she had a flying Pokémon, which could make them more spectacular.
Two problems.
One: Most Showcase outfits weren't fit to be flown around in, and that didn't count just towards skirts. Even if a Male was doing it, a showcase outfit was not as fitting or strong as a sky trainer outfit.
Two: making sure that the dress could have a safety parachute somewhere on it in case her wings broke suddenly.
Sky trainers back that controlled the wings also had a compartment for a parachute in case something was to force them to make a landing.
She decided it would be best left to ask her mother when they got back to Pallet Town.
"Practicing for Contests?" A voice rang out, making her stop her dance practice.
A girl about her age walked up to her with a Piplup on her shoulder.
"I would suggest that you stop dancing around then and attend to them since they seem to be doing their own thing."
"Actually, it's not just practice for Contests. I'm from Kalos, where we have this thing called Performances where you dance alongside your Pokémon while trying to make the moves come together." Serena told her, not exactly liking how people always assumed that Contests were the only thing that looked this nice.
"Really? Then why is it I have never heard of it until now?" The girl asked with a smirk.
"Because it's ONLY in Kalos. Most regions haven't gotten permission yet, so I'm just practicing for when I go back." Serena told her in an annoyed tone.
"Besides, all I see is a Piplup on your character. Do you have enough for a double battle?" The girl then held another ball and released a Lapras.
"If I have the option of having a pool available. Though you are right, I do need to get more that can back up Piplup." She said, dropping the jabs and seemed to take on a friendlier disposition.
"Name's Verity. Let's meet again in Johto. The contest circuit should be there next year." With that she walked off.
Serena stared as her Pokémon came to her, having heard everything.
"And hopefully we can have a good rivalry!" Serena called out as Verity turned back to her and gave her a thumbs up.
"Hey, Serena!" She turned around and saw Ash running towards her in his regular outfit, with Greninja, Pikachu, Odin and Charizard behind him.
"Ash! What took you guys?" Serena asked as Charla tackled Charizard and Freya pinned Odin down, refusing to let him move until he apologized.
"Had a run in with 3 old friends." Serena brightened at that, hoping he found him.
"Was he – "
"Sorry, none of them were Pancham. The three were from Galar." This caused Serena to look down in sadness.
She wanted her family back, but either Arceus completely forgot to put him on the boat, or she would have to wait a little longer.
She just didn't want it to be at Kalos.
"Why am I not allowed him back?"
"Maybe Arceus forgot to remind Dialga?"
(WITH THE OVERGROWN LLAMA!)
*KRAKOOM! *
"HA! TAKE THAT, OFUSULATOR57! HOWS JT FEEL TO BE SNIPED ALL THE WAY OTHER THERE!?"
In case you didn't know what was happening, it was Palkia's turn to pick a game, and he chose Angel Wing, a first-person shooter game with a popular multiplayer system.
Dialga was bending time a little to get internet access for him.
"Palkia. Would you PLEASE stop shouting and trash talking people? This isn't that important to get worked up over!" Dialga told him, as Palkia had been trash talking all throughout the matches.
"Indeed. If you keep acting like this, Seraphina will give your remaining 2 days to Giratina for his 3 days of choice." Aaron told him.
"HA! AS IF THAT PINK EYESORE CAN ACTUALLY HAVE THE POWER TO STOP MY AWESOMNESS FROM OCCURING!" Everyone except Palkia who was laughing his head off then saw who had just logged onto the match and winced.
"She's pissed now." Arceus said, realizing how bad it was about to go for Palkia.
*BANG!*
With that, Palkia's character got sniped.
Moment he respawned, he got sniped again.
And again.
And a-frigging-GAIN!
Palkia stared at the screen, seeing PSYCHICLADY3000 keep spawn killing him.
"GAH! CAN'T THAT PSYKER LEARN TO TAKE A JOKE!" He yelled in anger, then noticed everyone else duck behind the couch.
"Oh what? Afraid of her ability to read a mind? She's just like Serena! More worried about how pretty she is than-"
*TAP TAP TAP TAP."
Palkia immediately felt a chill go up his spine when he heard that tapping.
Looking behind him, he saw a pink high heeled, ankle boot tapping.
Slowly looking up, he saw the angry face of Seraphina.
"Dialga, please stop the internet. Palkia has made it to where I need to put it on probation for now."
"Yes ma'am. I would also like to point out that him making me maintain it caused me to make Serena miss her last partner, and the only other early time I can get him to rejoin with her is when she is in the Orange Island."
Pallia began to make stuttering noises when Seraphina yanked him up to her eyesight.
"Giratina, you now have 2 extra days. I am going to take Mr. Attitude here and teach him again that you do NOT call me a Psyker or insult my descendant!"
With that, Palkia was kicking and begging for help.
"So, what ya gonna play?" Aaron asked, as they then saw Giratina walk (more float over, but you get the idea) over to the CRT TV and pull out the Pokéga Pluto and start up a racing game.
POKÉTONAAAAAAA!
"Of course he starts off with this game." Arceus said as they laid on the bean bags there.
"Honestly? A much needed breath of fresh air given how modern we've been playing. Hey, if I may make a request, can you play the Pluto version of Pokéga Mon 8? I want to see the exclusive mini bosses in that version."
"Already planning on it, time watcher, so how did you not know that?" Giratina asked with a smirk as a stock photo of a car now filled the screen.
"Hey, I can only see potential futures. Nothing is set in stone, not by me or for me and ESPECIALLY not Celebi!" Dialga told him, as Giratina just smirked and got out a racing wheel.
"Why do I suddenly have the urge to strangle the nearest Palkia now?" Serena asked as she hen noticed Ash suddenly get scared and confused.
"And why do I suddenly feel scared of you beating up a teenage Palkia who is a gamer?" Ash said as they then decided to head back inside.
Ash suddenly stopped and looked at one of the ships smokestacks and saw the unmistakable color of Aura.
And he could tell that it was looking at them specifically.
"Hey, Ash! Aren't we going to- "Serena got cut off when he held up his hand and looked up.
"You know, if you want to talk, you need to come down here and talk to us face to face!" He yelled up.
Serena looked at where he was talking, seeing a blur coming towards them.
What landed in front of them was another Greninja.
Serena, however, noticed that this one seemed to be female compared to Ash's Greninja.
"Ash, who is this?"
"Someone I didn't expect to run into all the way out here. If my memory serves me, she might think you're her old trainer." The Greninja looked at him in surprise, as she then stared at Serena.
"What do you mean?" As she said that, Ash's Greninja walked up and started to converse with her. Serena saw Braixen and Sylveon's eyes widen and look at Serena in surprise.
"Yup. It's her." Ash then grabbed Serena's hand and brought her over to the Greninja.
"Serena, meet Croaky. The Greninja that belonged to Yvonne Gabena, or Y Gabena." Serena's eyes widened in shock as she stared at the Greninja.
"You mean, this is my MOTHER'S Greninja!?" Ash nodded as the Greninja looked at Serena in shock.
Serena then walked in front of Croaky as they stared at each other.
Croaky then began to slowly reach for Serena's face, as if she just wanted to focus on her.
Serena then suddenly began to see flashes of … something.
She saw a young woman who looked like her, but had lighter hair and looked to be a Sky Trainer, with tears in her eyes, as they hugged and then Serena saw years flash through her mind as they came to today.
"It must be very stressful seeing a girl who doesn't only just look like your old trainer, but is also her daughter?" Croaky looked away in sadness at that.
"Well, we do have a plan on reminding mom, but it's up to you if you want to stay with her." Croaky looked thoughtful, but shook her head and croaked something out.
"She said as tempting as that is, she needs to keep an eye on the three scamps who showed away with her." Ash then turned to her with a smirk.
"Though, given what happened when I ran into them, I don't think that will be an issue." Croaky then looked at him in suspicion.
"See, I ran into them in the last timeline, and I know who to give them to. All we need to do is wait until we get back to Vermillion." Croaky looked at Ash's Greninja, who nodded as she then sighed.
"ALL RIGHT, all we have to do is wait for tomorrow and then we can continue our journey." Ash shouted the first part as a horn sounded, signaling a turn.
Ash and Serena then returned their Pokémon minis Pikachu and Sylveon as they headed back to their cabins.
Croaky stared for a few moments before jumping up top to get back to the three she was watching over.
Let's just say she was surprised to see how fast they had grown up in her absence since two of them were now fully evolved.
(THE NEXT DAY!)
The S.S. Anne was pulling into port.
That much she could see from the beach.
She had just been discharged from the Pokécenter and was wanting to see the girl who had saved her from the three who wanted her dead.
She had barely been conscious when she was examined, and she very nearly didn't make it.
Thankfully, they were able to save her life by having Chansey use Soft Boil and then having her eat several Citrus Berries.
She had heard how the girl had gone on to this massive ship and would be gone until today.
She saw her coming down the ramp with her Sylveon and several others.
She went with a boy her age to some school where they … did some things.
She couldn't tell as she was trying to hide.
She saw them leave, saying goodbye to someone and how it went with getting some kind of building back.
Then, they met up with the rest of her group and then the boy released 4 Pokémon.
One of which included an adorable Squirtle.
She was hoping that the girl would go with them after the boy returned the Squirtle to the ball.
However, the girl then headed for the beach while the rest of the group headed towards a building that she recognized as the City's Gym.
She went to the beach and saw the girl release a Braixen, a Charizard, a Nidoran, and a Feebas and Magikarp, as she told them to practice swimming and told her remaining ones to practice different … Showcases, was that the right term?
Well given how artistic and acrobatic the moves looked, she had to admit it was like watching art with moves.
She then realized the girl had come back in a dress and was dancing around to the tune playing from some kind of tablet.
She would have to wait until she was done before she could talk to her.
(BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY!)
The S.S Anne had pulled back into the port, and everyone was disembarking.
Ash had kept an eye on Croaky and the other 3 as they exited the great boat, thankful this time it hadn't sunk.
Misty and Brock were heading over to the Gym first just to make sure that Surge had not been beating down opponents like he did in the original timeline that were causing serious injuries.
Ash and Serena, meanwhile, headed to a very familiar school.
Well, familiar to Ash anyway.
Thankfully, the two people they wanted to see were right there.
"HEY GOH! CHLOE!" Both jumped in surprise at hearing their names called, and turned to them.
"Sorry, but we are in the middle of school right now, so we can't talk to you." Chloe quickly said as she tried to grab Goh's hand and drag him away.
"Uh, no. You would already be done with your classes by now, Chloe. And Goh, all this studying isn't going to connect you to Mew."
Goh looked back at Ash with astonishment ad Chloe looked even more suspicious at him.
"And how could you possibly know that?"
"Because the two of us have met you before, Chloe. You had a dream that you didn't know what it was yet, but you knew it wasn't pursuing the same thing your father did." Chloe looked at Serena in surprise when she told her this little fact.
"OK, it seems like we somehow knew you. But how are we supposed to know who you are?" Goh asked as he then saw Ash hold out his hand to him.
"Just shake." Goh looked at the hand, then at Ash, then at the hand again.
After a few seconds, he grabbed it.
Then fell to the ground holding his head.
Ash then held it out for Chloe, who smacked it away …
And then held her head, given the rushing of memories that must be happening right now.
"So, do the two of you remember us now?" Serena asked …
Before Goh got in Ash's face extremely angry about something.
"SERIOUSLY ASH!? YOU COULDN'T HAVE DONE SOMETHING BESIDES THIS!? I'M BACK TO SQUARE ONE WITH HOW CLOSE I AM TO MEW!" He yelled straight in Ash's face.
"Hey, all I could control was when I went back! I had no control over Pokémon caught except what I had by that point!" Ash argued back before Chloe grabbed Goh away.
"Still the impulsive Goh. Still, what exactly happened, Ash?"
(ONE QUICK EXPLANATION!)
Goh and Chloe were nodding their heads at what had happened, and having explained that at the time, both were nowhere near Ash's party, though they had been on their way.
"So, my quest for Mew may have been set back, but I can start earlier now!"
"About that, Goh." Ash quickly took out three Pokéballs from his backpack and threw them up in the air.
"Cinderace?"
"Inteleon?"
"Grookey?"
When they turned around, they lit up when they saw Goh …
And slammed him into the ground in a hug.
"Gah! Cinderace, Inteleon, Grookey! Glad to see you're here, but do you mind not crushing me!?" The three looked to be pondering that …
And shook their heads, and began to crush him tighter.
Seeing this brought a laugh from Chloe, who then realized that Eevee was nowhere here.
"Guess I'll have to find some way to convince dad to go over there." She said, before she noticed that Serena was walking to the side …
Revealing an Eevee imitating her Sylveon.
"Can you?"
"Actually, you can, Chloe. You should have all of Eevee's memories within you." Chloe looked at Eevee, then knelt and petted her.
Eevee blinked twice like she was trying to contest her memories, when she saw Chloe, and launched into her arms.
"HOW!?" She shouted as Eevee continued to snuggle.
"Seems to be a trend with what I do. Those who I reminded can remind those who were closest to them. Misty was able to remind her Gyarados, and then, before we left Cerulean, remind Daisy, who asked us to let us know when Tracy gets back." Both he and Serena had weird looks on their faces as Eevee began to converse and play with Pikachu and Sylveon, catching up on what had happened while they did so.
"That's great but how did you convince Pinery to let Eevee out?" Goh asked, knowing how Eevee couldn't evolve.
"Somehow, in my bag I found several flash drives with research data in them. One of which happened to be Pinery's data on Eevee. She said I could take the Eevee as long as I gave her to a good trainer and as long as the trainer brings Eevee around for checkups." Sylveon then looked nervous.
"She also asked if Sylveon had eggs if she could see what having Pikachu DNA could do." Everyone got a nervous look at that, then confused.
"Wait, since when did Pikachu have feelings for any Pokémon?" Both Ash and Serena began to nervously mumble, which Chloe and Goh stared at them, before finally figuring it out.
"WWAIT! SINCE WHEN THE REVERSE WORLD WERE YOU TWO DATING!?"
"LANGUAGE, MR. GOH!" A voice shouted from within the school.
"We were about to try and do it at the end of the original timeline when the fiasco I mentioned occurred. As such, most of my Pokémon are starting to date Serena's." Goh and Chloe just looked flabbergasted at this.
"How old were you when this occurred?"
"19."
"And we're back at the start of your journey, right?"
"Clearly you're starting to understand time travel."
Goh and Chloe just stared ahead as they then decided that it might be best to end the conversation right there.
"You said anyone close to us would be reminded right?" Ash nodded.
"So, I could remind Dad, Mom, Chrysa and Ren, right?"
"If you do that, could I request that they get the Laboratory they had in the original timeline? I don't want to risk someone else getting Gengar." Both Goh and Chloe nodded, as they heard a bell.
"You might want to make yourselves scarce, before people start asking who you are." Chloe advised them as Goh returned his friends minus Grookey, who took up residence on Goh's shoulder, while Ash handed Chloe a flash drive.
"That should have all his data on it, so he won't have to start from scratch." Chloe nodded as she then picked up Eevee, who looked very excited.
"See ya later!" They all called out as they headed off in opposite directions.
"Ok, my next class should be happening soon, but your dad is interviewing Ren and Chrysa right now, I believe?" Chloe nodded, then got the idea, and headed for the headmaster's office.
Ash and Serena had arrived at the meeting area that they had agreed on and saw Misty and Brock there.
"So, you do what ya needed?" Brock asked.
"Yup, Goh and Chloe are reminded, so I now have an alternate person to give my extra Pokémon to so that Oak isn't stressed out. How did it go with Surge?" Misty then began to rub her temples.
"Idiot very nearly caused the permanent damage to a Water Type, so Nurse Joy is having a talk with him right now." Ash winced at that, knowing that Nurse Joy in general, when angered enough, DON'T go easy on anyone when it came to the safety and wellbeing of Pokémon.
"Besides that, Surge, when we described you, seemed to be excited. So, he might be going all out this time instead of just fighting you with Raichu. Do you have 4 Pokémon to fight him with?" At that, Ash took out three Pokéballs and released Kingler, Squirtle and Bulbasaur.
"Ok, you three and Pikachu are going to be the ones taking on Surge. All I really know is his Raichu, poor guy is slow and not used to fighting quick opponents, but in case he figures out a way around Pikachu, can I count on the move you know, Kingler?"
"Crabsolutely! I shall smother him in so much mud he'll get confused with a Mudsdale!" Ash shook his head at Kingler's pun then turned to Squirtle.
"The ring of the Earth shall grant me the power of the Ground! As such, with Kingler's help, should my comrade fall in battle, my Mud Sport will turn the tide of the battle!" Squirtle declared as he did his usual Pokérider poses.
"I do have Dig, but that seems cheap to me." Bulbasaur replied as Ash thought on that.
"Don't use it as an attack, but to add mobility, and that should be fine. It might also give me the chance to use a technique I did in the Lily of the Valley conference." He said as he then saw Pikachu looking up anxiously at him.
"Don't worry, bud. You'll get your chance at Raichu. But we might need to go through some other opponents this time."
"Fine, though I doubt Raichu could give me a challenge this time." Ash nodded at that, then turned to the Gym.
"Alright then, battle plan set, LET'S GET THAT BADGE!" With that declaration, Ash, Misty and Brock began to head foe the Gym, when Ash noticed a certain someone wasn't coming with them.
"Uh, Serena? Everything OK?" He asked as he noticed Serena heading for the beach.
"Sorry, but Magikarp and Feebas need some training and swimming lessons. Figured it was also best to get practice here while I could. I'll make it up next time."
Ash sighed but nodded.
He had gone through the Kanto circuit without her last timeline, and while he wanted to make up for time lost, he could understand where Serena was coming from.
"OK, we'll meet at the beach once the challenge is done." Serena smiled, then kissed Ash on the cheek, with Sylveon doing the same to Pikachu.
"Take him down and show why Pikachu are superior, my Pikapi." Pikachu seemed to get a thousand-yard stare when that occurred.
Ash shook his head and elbowed Pikachu on the back of the head.
"C'mon, Romeo-mon. You can sleep with her later." Pikachu glared at Ash for ruining his moment.
"Take it out on Raichu." Ash said before Pikachu could let loose a Thunderbolt.
"Fine, but you owe me for this!" The other three just laughed at the scene as they headed for the gym.
(SKIPPING THE WALK FOR OBVIOUS REASONS!)
"Back here again, though hopefully he doesn't insult you again."
"I ain't holding my breath."
Shrugging at the reaction, Ash and Co. Headed inside the building, which was dark.
"Yo, boss! The kid they told us about is here!" One whom Ash recognized from the last time called out.
With that, Lt. Surge walked out of the shadows, and seemed to be looking Ash over.
"Looks like Brock Jr. and Little Misty were telling the truth. You are the spitting image of him back in the day. Right down to the Pikachu." Ash raised an eyebrow at that.
"We told him how similar you looked to Red." Brock whispered.
Ash rolled his eyes, then walked up to Surge.
"Just like him, you got good taste in evolution lines, but you might need to check up on when you need to evolve them." Ash got ticked off by that comment given how many of his Pokémon did not fully evolve.
"Yeah, but unevolved Pokémon aren't weak by default! With the right training, they can be strong!" Surge looked at him and then laughed.
"All too true but compare your Pikachu to my Raichu." With that, he gestured to said Mon.
"Look at his strength and speed, now compared to your Pikachu. Now to Raichu, now back to Pikachu. Pikachu looks a lot tougher than most, but to get him to his full power, you need to evolve him!" Ash gritted his teeth and got in Surge's face, which might have been a bad idea given his military training.
"SO, THE POKÉMON'S OPINION DOESN'T MATTER!? I SHOULD JUST FORCE THEM TO EVOLVE!? THEY ARE JUST TOOLS, IS THAT IT!?" He roared in anger in his face.
Surge stared right at Ash, surprised at this kid not being intimidated.
In fact, Pikachu got in Raichu's face, which scared the evolved Electric Type.
Surge then let out a hearty laugh.
"Just like him! His Pikachu never evolved, but my Arceus, could it take on evolved forms like they were weaker! His Bulbasaur knew Solar Beam despite not evolving until I fought him at Silph Co. Man, do I miss those challenges!" Three men who had appeared behind him, one of whom Ash recognized from the previous timeline, had a nostalgic looking smile on their faces before the lady he remembered from the last time walked up to Surge.
"Sir, his Gym Challenge?" Surge smacked his face as he then got more serious.
"Right! Magneton, TEEEEEN HUT!" He threw a yellow Pokéball, and a cluster of three identical looking Pokémon revealed themselves.
"Alright, Bulbasaur! I choose you!" With that, Ash released his faithful Grass Type.
"HA! Just like him! Magneton! Be careful! This kid's Bulbasaur likely knows Solar Beam!" Magneton buzzed in acknowledgement and stood ready.
"Bulbasaur! Sunny Day!" With that, Bulbasaur shot off an orb into the sky, which caused the inside to heat up and get bright.
"Knew it. Magneton! Rain Dance!" Ash's eyes widened in terror when he heard that.
"BULBASAUR! GET AS MUCH OF A CHARGE AS YOU CAN GET AND THEN GET OUT OF THERE!" Bulbasaur had already been getting as much of a charge as he could when he heard Rain Dancs called out, so he had been about 80% done when the orb had been fired.
"Now Magneton! THUNDER!" Ash began to panic a bit, since if you combine Rain Dance with Thunder, it was almost GURANTEED to hit.
He had to use it.
"USE DIG!"
"SAYWHAT!?" Surge was taken aback at the move Ash had called out.
Thankfully, the rain had moistened the dirty of the arena enough to where it wasn't that hard for Bulbasaur to dig underneath …
Though not before shooting off another orb into the sky.
"Rules say if he is not back up in 5 minutes he forfeits the match!" The woman called out as the Thunder missed and now Sunny day was back in place.
"Magneton! When he comes back up, hit him with a Sonic Boom!" Magneton then began to watch the field, not wanting to be surprised by any attack from Bulbasaur.
Ash stared, having used Aura to see where Bulbasaur had went …
And saw he was ready.
"BULBASAUR! LET LOOSE THE SOLAR BEAM!" With that, a glowing spot was seen …
As the field began to get pushed out.
Magneton was expecting Bulbasaur to shoot up to hit him, not have the field blast out and start hitting him.
He was buffeted by the debris of the field, getting his bearings back slowly …
Only to realize Bulbasaur was right in front of him with a fully charged Solar Beam thanks to the Sunny Day.
Bulbasaur let it loose right in its face, as it was sent crashing down onto the field.
Bulbasaur then slashed at Magneton, inflicting the damage that would have occurred from the Dig move, as Magneton then floated up for a few seconds …
Before falling on its back with swirly eyes.
"MAGNETON IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! THE ROUND GOES TO ASH!" The lady declared, as Bulbasaur roared in victory.
Ash looked over, expecting to see Surge get annoyed at being defeated by a unevolved starter …
Only to get confused when Surge was beaming.
"YES! JUST LIKE HIM! TAKING ME DOWN WITH AN UNEVOLVED POKÉMON!" He yelled in … happiness?
"Lt., I must ask that you refrain from this and get your head back in the present." Surge looked a little annoyed at that, but shrugged.
"Nice work with the Bulbasaur, kid. But let's see how it deals with this! Electabuzz! STAND TO ATTENTION!" With his next ball, a four-foot-tall creature cored black and yellow came out.
Ash grimaced, knowing Electabuzz's move set also included FIRE PUNCH.
He looked at Bulbasaur, who shook his head, which Ash understood what that meant.
"Bulbasaur wants to push his limits! So he's staying in!" He declared as the woman nodded.
"Electabuzz vs Bulbasaur! Battle Begin!"
"Use Dig!" Once again, Bulbasaur tunneled under the arena. And then Surge smirked.
"Use Hammer Arm! On the ground! DOUBLE TIME!" Electabuzz's arm glowed as he smacked the ground …
And Bulbasaur shot out of the ground in surprise.
"NOW USE FIRE PUNCH!" With surprising swiftness, Electabuzz launched off the ground, and slammed his fiery fist into Bulbasaur's gut, launching him across the field.
"Now use Quick Attack to get in close and hit him with Fire Punch again!" Electabuzz zoomed across the field with a white streak, as he slammed Bulbasaur into the ground, and karate chopped him with Fire Punch again.
This time, when the smoke cleared, Bulbasaur was just on the ground, with swirly eyes.
"BULBASAUR IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! SURGE TAKES THE WIN!" The ref announced as Ash returned Bulbasaur to his Pokéball.
"Thanks, Bulbasaur. Get as much rest as you want now." He told it as he faced Lt. Surge.
"Surprised at how fast that Electabuzz went! I thought you'd focus more on dishing out damage!"
"I do usually do that, however, Electabuzz used to train with my Raichu in speed back when they were an Elekid and Pikachu. Since Raichu are inherently slower than Pikachu, Electabuzz has become my main when I need speed!" Ash nodded at that and thought about who to send out next.
He then remembered how he told someone he would send him out first.
Well, he was an idiot for not following through.
"KINGLER! LEND ME YOUR AURA!" With that, Ash's big crab appeared on the field.
"HAHAHAHA! YES! ANOTHER JUST LIKE HIS! ELECTABUZZ! LET'S DO IT TO IT!"
"KINGLER VS ELECTABUZZ! BEGIN!"
"Use Quick Attack and Thunder Punch!"
"Rain Dance!" Kingler quickly shot up an orb into the air, and it began to rain hard.
However, Ash waited for a bit before Electabuzz was about to connect.
"NOW USE MUD SPORT!" Suddenly, Kingler scooped up some of the mud formed by the Rain Dance and shot it right into Electabuzz's face.
This time, when the Punch connected, it seemed to hurt Electabuzz more instead of Kingler.
"Electabuzz! Use Thunder!" Electabuzz charged up its antennae, but suddenly roared in pain.
"What's going on!?"
"Mud Sport cuts back the power of electricity, Surge! Right now, Electabuzz isn't going to be able to use most of its attacks at full power! KINGLER! CRAB HAMMER!" Kingler's huge arm suddenly glowed blue before he struck Electabuzz across the face, sending him flying.
When he crashed, both Ash and Kingler thought they had won, until Kingler shakily stood up.
Most of the mud was off, but it looked angered.
"ALRIGHT, ELECTABUZZ! USE HAMMER ARM!" Without bothering to use Quick Attack, Electabuzz charged for Kingler. Its right arm glowing white.
"Kingler! Use your own Hammer Arm as well!" Kingler's huge claw glowed white as it sped towards Electabuzz.
*KERSMASH! *
Both Pokémon connected, and both created a crater beneath them as both struggled to overpower the other's Hammer Arm.
Soon, an explosion occurred around them, given how both moves created too much energy.
When the smoke cleared, both Kingler and Electabuzz were laying down in the crater with swirly eyes.
"ELECTABUZZ AND KINGLER ARE BOTH UNABLE TO BATTLE! TRAINERS, RELEASE YOUR NEXT POKÉMON!" Ash looked at the last Pokéball he was going to use.
"Squirtle! Let's shell 'em!" Ash then looked behind him and saw the glare that Misty and Brock were giving him.
"OK look, I'm getting tired of constantly saying 'I Choose You' like it's a tag line! It's hard to come up with some original taglines!" He argued, before an explosion of water occurred.
"When a Pokémon reaches their hand out for help, I reach out my hand out as the regret of not doing so would make me wish I was dead! I am Squirtle Rider OOO!" Squirtle declared as his squad. Somehow, appeared behind Ash and began to play music.
Ash then began to rub his temples.
"I swear, if this becomes a Arceus damn recurring headache, I'm gonna -"
"You too, huh, kid?" Ash looked up …
And while he still had swirly eyes Electabuzz was SOMEHOW striking poses.
"Yeah, Elecrabuzz is a huge fan of Pokérangers, hence why he has a lot of physical and close moves. So, trust me, I know how irritating it gets when these Mons get like this." With that, he brought out another Pokéball.
"ELECTRODE! EXPLODE WITH ELECTRICITY!" With that the Pokéball seemed to release a reverse Pokéball with a smirk and two slanted eyes.
"ELECTRODE!"
"Greaat. We got another exploder. Squirtle, don't pretend that this guy is the charges for a Rider show! Use Aqua Jet!"
"Sonic Boom!"
Electrode suddenly made a shouting motion, which cut off Squirtle's attack as he hit something in the way of his attack.
"Now, use Rollout!"
"Jump over it!"
"TOU!"
"For the love of- STOP QUOTING POKÉRIDER!" He yelled in anger at how Squirtle was acting like he was playing around in one of his shows.
"Use Mud Sport!"
"Use Gyro Ball!" Electrode turned silver and slammed right into Squirtle's gut as he flew across the field.
"Gah! I need to field test a new move it seems!" Squirtle called out as his head withdrew into its shell.
"Electrode! He's about to use Skull Bash! Get your Screech ready!" Electrode then began to take several breaths as it then inhaled deeply and waited for Squirtle to attack.
What it wasn't expecting was a sudden torrent of water to accompany the attack which made him slam directly into it, as he then shot his head out of his shell.
Electrode began rolling around wildly out of control, and Ash got an idea.
"USE HYDRO PUMP! COVER THE FIELD IN WATER!" Quickly spinning around in his shell, Squirtle turned the field not into mud, but a very slick area, as Electrode could not right himself due to his speed and disorientation.
"NOW, ICE BEAM IT!" Squirtle revealed his head, as he then fired a light blue beam from his mouth.
The moment it hit the water; it froze over.
If Ash's plan was to make it frictionless, it failed as Electrode stopped rolling the moment it found itself in the path of the Ice Beam.
"Alright, Electrode! DISCHARGE!" Electrode looked at Surge in shock, which confused him until he realized what Electrode thought he meant.
"NO NO, ELECTRODE! I MEAN THE MOVE, DISCHARGE! NOT THE MILATARY TERM!" Electrode let out a sigh of relief before waves of electricity suddenly began to fill the battlefield.
"Squirtle! Use Counter Shield!" Quickly beginning to do a dance move, the electricity suddenly was blocked by the water surrounding Squirtle …
Though when Squirtle stopped, it was clear he was quite dizzy from the spinning.
"Forgot he's used to Rapid Spin and Hydro Pump. If you can hear me, use Ice Punch!"
"Sonic Boom, Electrode!"
Electrode shouted again, however, Squirtle suddenly flipped up and over the attack as it made a giant explosion.
Ash just smacked his forehead at this, while Surge gritted his teeth.
"SQUIRTLE PUNCH!"
As soon as he landed, Squirtle connected the punch with Electrode's face.
Unfortunately, this caused Electrode to get freed from the ice as it flew back in the air.
"Electrode! Use Rollout!" Electrode began rotating again, as it landed and sped towards Squirtle.
Ash then saw Squirtle make a big mistake.
Squirtle, again, leapt into the air and tried to land another Ice Punch on Electrode.
He then saw Surge smirk at this.
"ELECTRODE! EXPLOSION!" Both Ash and Squirtle's eyes widened at hearing that.
"SQUIRTLE, USE PROTECT!" Squirtle quickly canceled the punch attack as he crossed his arms over his chest …
Before Electrode slammed into it with Rollout and gave him a haunting smirk as it glowed white and went kaboom.
Said kaboom blew off the roof.
"SQUIRTLE!" Ash called in horror as Squirtle was sent flying into the wall, leaving a crater on it.
Electrode was in a crater itself, which comprised of what was left of the field.
"BOTH SQUIRTLE AND ELECTRODE ARE UNABLE TO BATTLE! BOTH TRAINERS ARE DOWN TO THEIR LAST POKÉMON! RELEASE THEM!" The ref woman declared as Ash returned Squirtle to his Pokéball and Surge did the same with Electrode.
"Well, looks like it's down to you, bud. Ready for a rematch?"
"I was reborn ready." With that, Pikachu ran out onto what was left of the field.
"Well, old friend. This is it. Ready for the fight of your life?" Raichu stared up at Surge, and unlike the last time where he had an arrogant smirk, Raichu had a look of respect on his face.
"Ready to lose to your previous evolution?" Pikachu said to Raichu as he ran out onto the field.
"If you're half as good as the ones I fought in the past, then yes. Though it would have been a bit better if you were a Pichu." Pikachu growled, thinking this was an insult.
"And what exactly do you mean by that!? I've been training day and night to get this powerful!"
"Ah, forgive me." Pikachu was taken aback by the apology. "You're the spitting image of the Pikachu who kept beating me back in the day. I heard he got a mate and had a Pichu who went to a trainer."
"Wait. I recall other Pikachu telling me that you would insult them for not being fully powered! And telling them they need to evolve!"
"Those were Pikachu who had been caught in Viridian Forest, who had trained and got their speed-based attacks by that point. I pretend that I don't have them most of the time since this Gym's secret challenge is to teach trainers to not give up on unevolved Pokémon."
Pikachu stared at Raichu in amazement, though he quickly got his mind back into the game when he saw Raichu get into a battle position.
"Now, show me if you are as skilled as HE was!" At that declaration, Raichu suddenly shot off in a white streak that completely took Pikachu by surprise, given how Raichu hadn't used anything speedy the last time around.
Ash was staring at the scene dumbfounded, and he could tell that Brock and Misty weren't expecting this turnabout either.
Last time, Surge had only used Raichu and never used any speed type moves, so they didn't know what to expect.
"Try a Thundershock on his Pikachu!" A sudden spark hit Pikachu in the back, but he felt fine.
"A QUICK UPDATE. PIKACHU NOW HAS A NEW ABILITY THAT HAS JUST BEEN UNLOCKED. IT IS CALLED LIGHTNING ROD. IF A POKÉMON HAS LIGHTNING ROD, IT ABSORBS THE ELECTRICITY TO ADD TO ITS SPECIAL ATTACK."
Ash nodded at that, and then saw Raichu was still running around the battlefield at top speed.
But he didn't want to reveal Extreme speed just yet.
"Pikachu! Use your own Thundershock!" Quickly realizing Ash wanted to test something, he fired it.
And it confirmed this Raichu had the same ability as it stopped and allowed the electricity to hit it.
"Yup, it has Lightning Rod as well. Pikachu! Use Quick Tail!" Turning his tail into steel, Pikachu used a Quick Attack to get up to Raichu's speed.
"Raichu! About face and Iron Tail in retaliation!" Slamming his steel tail into the ground, Raichu quickly flipped back over and tried to hit Pikachu, only to get their tails locked together.
"Brick Break!"
"Mega Punch!"
Both attacks collided, though given the extra strength Mega Punch gives in general compared to Brick Break, Raichu was pushing Pikachu back.
"Backflip into Surf!" Letting the punch launch him back, Pikachu quickly used Substitute to make a surfboard and a massive wave of water appeared behind him, heading straight for Raichu.
"Use Hyper Beam!" Not aiming at any place in particular, an orange sphere of energy appeared in front of Raichu's mouth as it shot out a beam at the base of the wave, creating a massive explosion that sent Pikachu skyward.
"Now, FOCUS PUNCH!" Raichu, while still slowed down by the sheer power of the Hyper Beam, quickly began to focus energy into his right paw.
Ash stared at Pikachu flailing in the air as he fell to the earth, then saw his tail was still partially filled with steel.
Then he got a risky idea, but it was worth it.
"PIKACHU! IRON TAIL ON THE GROUND! TRY TO SPLIT IT!" Pikachu's eyes straightened and looked at the ground, realizing was Ash was hoping for.
Summoning more Steel Energy into his tail, he began to flip repeatedly until his tail collided with the ground.
A massive split occurred in the ground as it was sent hurtling into Raichu, who was unable to avoid it due to him being partially frozen from Hyper Beam and getting energy for the focus punch.
Unlike a real Earthquake attack, all it did was drop Raichu into a crack in the ground instead of hitting him with Ground Type energy.
"Raichu! Get out of there!" Raichu was struggling to pull himself out, when he saw Pikachu rushing towards him with another Iron Tail.
"Grass Knot!" Surge cried as Raichu sent a wave of Grass energy beneath Pikachu, who got caught by a knot and faceplanted, his tail whacking him in the back of his head for good measure.
"Now, use Agility and Mega Kick him!" Again, using an impressive amount of speed, Raichu had closed the gap between him and Pikachu, and was sliding to deal the kick.
Ash then decided it was time to pull out their special trick.
"EXTREME SPEED!" Raichu was about to connect with Pikachu's face, when he just suddenly vanished.
"What the- SINCE WHEN CAN PIKACHU LEARN EXTREME SPEED!?" Surge yelled as he saw Raichu react to something hitting him in the back, then the front of his face, then his stomach, and not being able to see what it was.
"NOW COMBINE IT WITH IRON TAIL!" With that, Pikachu appeared in front of Raichu's face, and smacked his tail across the face.
Raichu was sent careening back over to Surge's side of the field, but even then, he stood back up.
Though it was clear he was getting winded.
"OK, Raichu! Grand Finale and Final Mission! USE THUNDER ON THE ARENA!" Raichu let loose all the electricity he had stored up, tearing up what remained of the field as chunks were sent towards Pikachu, though the electricity was going to hit him first.
"PIKACHU! TRY TO SWALLOW IT!" It was a slim chance, but he had faith in Pikachu, as Pikachu widened his mouth as big as it could go and tried not to swallow any debris.
Thankfully, it worked.
A massive electrical aura of a Pikachu appeared on the field, "glaring" at Raichu.
"EXTREME VOLT!" With speed that took Raichu by surprise, he found himself hit with about 20 million volts more than his ability could handle and flew back behind Surge.
Surge stared in disbelief, then turned to look at Raichu, who was in a Raichu shaped hole in the wall, with swirly eyes.
Pikachu landed back on his feet, panting, but could still battle.
"RAICHU IS UNABLE TO BATTLE! BECAUSE PIKACHU IS STILL ABLE TO BATTLE, THE VICTORY GOES TO ASH FROM PALLET TOWN!" The lady declared, as Surge picked up Raichu and put a gold piece in his mouth, which removed the swirly eyes, though Raichu was still weak.
"Closest we could get, huh, old friend?" Raichu stared at Pikachu, and remembered the time in Silph Company when they fought HIM.
Ash had picked up Pikachu and was congratulating him on a job well done when he saw Surge go to a case.
It held a yellow ball that seemed to be pulsing with electricity.
"What's that, Surge?" As Surge pulled it out, he also pulled out a Thunder Badge.
"Alongside the Thunder Badge, I want you to give this to your Pikachu, kid." He said as he held it out to Pikachu, who began to panic and try to get away.
"Surge, Pikachu doesn't want to evolve! I know he would be powerful as a Raichu, but that's up to him!" Surge stared and then laughed.
"This ain't a Thunderstone, kids! It's a Light Ball! It powers up a Pikachu's power tenfold, and the best part? It can ONLY be used by Pikachu! It won't do anything for a Raichu or any other Electric Type!" Pikachu stared in awe at the orb now, as he slowly reached out for it.
Suddenly, it flew into him and he began to spark.
Ash was afraid that it had instead been a disguised Thunderstone, until he saw that Pikachu's cheeks turned orange, but he mostly remained the same.
Surge then sighed.
"It might have been several battles, but battling you, with those Pokémon, especially the Bulbasaur, Kingler and Pikachu? It was just like fighting Red all those years ago." Ash nodded.
"He came here for the Thunder Badge, right?" Surge shook his head.
"Kid, you did not hear this from me, understand?" Ash and his friends nodded.
"Truth is, I used to work for Team Rocket as one of their lieutenants." Everyone had wide eyes at that.
"WHAT!?" They all shouted.
"Before you were born kid, back when Red was your age, 3 of the Gym Leaders of Kanto were Lieutenants for Team Rocket. Giovanni had brought us all together under a goal. I was skilled enough from my years on the military that he sought me out and offered me a place, which I accepted as back then, being a Gym Leader wasn't exactly respected for the most part." Ash then noticed the three men behind Surge take on saddened looks.
"One day, I fought Red while trying to capture Pokémon for Giovanni, and he pounded us good. Then, we kidnapped everyone from Pallet Town and took them to Silph Company. By that time, we had managed to get Zapdos, and we separated him from his companion in an isolated room where I was hooked up to it." He then motioned to Raichu.
"Raichu had managed to pull his Pikachu, Pika, away as I fought him and his Ivysaur, who were determined to beat us and free both his Eevee we had experimented on and his friends from Pallet. He was able to defeat me by cutting my clothes which had rubber in them and break my insulation from the electricity." Ash stared in shock, having heard tales of Red from this time period.
Granted, they were in the form of comic books, so what actually happened could be up to interpretation.
"After that, Gym Leaders began to get better reps and better choices, so I stopped working for them after a major mishap in Golden Rod City, after 4 executives broke one of the credos of Team Rocket. I never saw Red again, or that girl he had begun to fall for, for that matter." Ash could see both sadness and regret in Surge's eyes, guessing that Red wasn't exaggerating when he said that Golden Rod had been a disaster.
Wait. Surge didn't know about Red's survival, right?
"Well, Surge. There is more to me than just looking like Red." Surge turned to him.
"I'm his son. And he's alive." Surge very nearly dropped Raichu, who also looked incredulous.
"WHAT!? HOW!? HOW DID HE SURVIVE! THE RADIO CENTER DISAPPEARED!"
"He was plucked by 4 executives, who told him Green had died. She is my mother. He's the new Giovanni in Viridian City, and thanks to me, he plans on taking it down. You want in?" Surge looked at the three men, who looked at each other, then nodded.
"Charlene, think you can take care of things while we're away?" He asked the woman.
"That is a 10-4, Sir!" Surge then looked at Ash.
"If it's who I think it is, then I am going to take a lot of pleasure in this! We leave for Viridian in the morning tomorrow, men!" The three saluted as they headed to the back.
"Kid, if you are making this up, I will hunt you down and pound you like the Lightning American I am!" He told Ash, who just smirked.
"I highly doubt that. Though if I may ask a question completely unrelated to that …" He said as Surge looked at him.
"What's an American?" Misty face faulted at that question.
"Seriously, Ash!? Don't you know how insensitive that is!?" She asked, until she noticed that Brock was holding his hand up.
"Uh, I too don't know what an American is." Misty then just shook her head.
"Seriously, neither of you know what an American is!? They're … they're …?" It soon dawned on Misty that she too didn't know what that meant.
And then she became aware of Surge rolling around on the ground, with Raichu sharing it.
"Oh, man! That was a good trip! But to answer your question, American is an old derogatory term for those who hail from Orre and Unova. My mother was from the Orre Region and my father was from the Unova Region. Both regions had bad starting points, Orre especially as that place is so inhospitable that there are no wild Pokémon. Part of why I wasn't respected as much as the other Leaders back in the day. People tended to say I was thick headed to get anywhere." With that, he left to get something, though he stopped and turned to Ash one last time.
"Be careful with one of the old Rocket Leaders, kid. Your mother and her had a massive rivalry back in the day, and I don't know how my old partner is going to take to you being her child." Ash gulped at that, and they headed out.
The moment they exited the building, Serena was waiting for them out front.
"So, did it go just as good without me?"
"It did, but we still would have preferred you being there. I think Pikachu could use your nursing skills, Sylveon." With that, he leaned down as Sylveon stared at her boyfriend's condition.
"That Raichu did this!? I thought he was a slow fatso!"
"THAT'S AN ACT I PLAY FOR NEW TRAINERS, FAIRY!"
Everyone sweatdropped at that reaction, as Sylveon grabbed Pikachu and supported him.
"OK, now we head to Cerise Labs. Hopefully they got everything set up and we can get another old friend there." Ash said, which confused everyone as they thought that he would have wanted to go the Center first to get everyone healed up.
"Hey, Ash! Was wondering when you were going to – HOLY GIRATINA! WHAT HAPPENED TO PIKACHU!?" Goh yelled as he saw the condition Pikachu was in.
"Yeah, uh, was Cerise and the others reminded?"
"Indeed, we were, Ash." With that, Cerise came out of the room.
"Let's get him and your others into the healing pods. That should get them back up to strength." He said as he took Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Kingler's Pokéballs to a machine and placed them in, which Ren began to look at while Chrysa took Pikachu and placed him in an electrical shower.
Ash began to look around, hoping to see an old ghostly friend.
"So, has Gengar given you any trouble, Professor?" Cerise then looked at Ash with a confused look, though clearly not like he didn't know what Ash was talking about.
"That's part of why I'm glad you came here, Ash. We've looked up and down this old house, but Gengar is nowhere to be found." Ash was shocked by this.
"What? But this was a few months!"
"That is something that I think was taken advantage of. See, while Gengar was alone here while you were doing the Monarch Challenge, I studied him since he didn't seem like the regular Gengar. And we were surprised by what we found." With that, Chrysa pulled up the data on Ash's Gengar.
"When we looked at his cellular structure, we realized it wasn't the same as a regular Gengar." She told him, as they then pulled up a picture of another Gengar.
"Your Gengar also had characteristics more common with a Haunter than a Gengar, though those began to change as it stayed with you." Ash shrugged.
"I just assumed I found a Shiny, like my Noctowl." Goh grumbled at hearing that, before getting elbowed by Chloe.
"It's not just the coloring. Gengar seemed to have no memory BESIDES being abandoned by his Trainer, nothing of how he became a Gengar, or if he had a previous Trainer." Then she pulled up something that Ash couldn't make heads or tails of.
"Then we found this. Tell Tale signs of someone using something illegal and banned." It showed as strange energy pulsing within Gengar that the other one didn't have.
It seemed Brock knew what this was as Ash heard a very rare growl escape from his throat.
"So, the trainer that had him before Ash used a Link Cable?" Ash and Serena looked confused at this.
"LINK CABLE?" Cerise then looked angry.
"Have you ever wondered how it is that most 'TRADE' Evolutions occur? When a Pokémon that has this kind of Evolution gets traded, the trading seems to activate certain stimuli within the cells. Machamp, Alakazam, Golem, Gengar. Even those that need an Item like Steelix have this energy in their cells." Brock explained, then pointed to the picture Chrysa had pulled up.
"Link Cables also respond to this energy, so one doesn't have to trade their Pokémon in order to evolve them, though some have been able to get them to evolve the normal way, though that takes years." He then glared at the item hatefully.
"However, there are three major drawbacks to this item. One, as you noticed, the Pokémon tends to get slightly discolored from it, often retaining the colors of its previous evolution unlike ones that get traded back and forth. Two, the stats are often weaker than if you traded it with someone else, like ones who were good at Physical Attacks suddenly become better at Special. The last reason, however, is why it's banned." With that, a picture of a Machoke getting the item seemed to have a heart and brain failure.
"When a Link Cable is used, the Pokémon can either do one of wo things. Die on the spot due to its heart basically stopping. Or worse in my opinion, it will suffer memory loss. Everything the Pokémon was before? Gone into a blank slate. Probably why it was loyal at first to whoever used it. It followed him around like a lost child, thinking he was his best friend, until the years of abandonment made it realize what really happened." With that, Pikachu emerged from the tube he had been in, as Ren returned Ash's Pokéballs.
"We don't know where Gengar is right now, but you should be able to recognize him even if he was a Haunter by this point. Given the abilities Goh and Chloe said you have." Ash then handed them a phone number.
"That should be Oak's current number, so you can talk with him on sharing Pokémon in case I need to split it." Cerise nodded, and then handed back Ash's Pokédex.
"GAH! THAT WAS UNCOMFORTABLE! NEXT TIME, USE A SOFT SLOT!" Dexter angrily chattered while Eve just laughed.
"Still having trouble being the oldest Dex around?"
"HARDLY! PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN TO TAKE BETTER CARE OF US!"
"Most are still just glorified encyclepedias. We are still rather new."
Ash and Serena again put them on mute so that no one could hear the argument.
"Well, if anything comes up, you'll be the first to know." Ash told them as they began to head off.
"Hey, Serena! Think you could help me and Eevee out with Coordinating in the future?" Chloe asked as Eevee beamed at Sylveon.
"If you can make yourself available for the Johto Journey, then maybe. Till then, I'm travelling to make new friends and practice Performances." She winked, which caused Chloe to wink as well.
(OUTSIDE ROAD OF VERMILLION!)
The group had travelled for a few miles out of Vermillion when Ash sensed something behind them.
Quickly turning around, he saw a bush rustle, indicating that something had jumped into it.
"I know you're in there. Please come out." And with that …
Emerged the Popplio Serena had saved.
"It's you! I thought you would have returned to the wild!" She said, as Popplio shook her head.
"I think she took a likening to you after you saved her life from those abusers." Brock said, as he recalled Squirtle.
Popplio lit up and then sprayed some water in the air and made a rainbow.
"I think she's also saying she saw you practicing Performances on the beach and wants to train with you on them." Popplio nodded excitedly at that, and then looked at Serena nervously.
"How can I say no to that?" She asked as she knelt down, and held out her arms to Popplio.
"POP! POPLIO! LIOOOO!" With that, Popplio then did her best attempt at a run and leapt into Serena's arms, who grabbed her and then brought her into a hug.
"My first Water Starter! Isn's this great, Sylveon!?" Serena laughed as Sylveon jumped onto Serena's knee to see their new friend.
With the laughter still going, with Ash bringing out Squirtle earlier since it reminded him of when they met, everyone began walking to their next destination.
(CHARICIFIC VALLEY IN JOHTO!)
Liza had finally arrived at the new location of the Valley after Cross had screwed the location of the old one over.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem if Charla wasn't with Serena right now.
She had to use one of her Charizard Whistles in order to get one of the wild ones to give her a ride.
She had just set foot into the valley when she heard HIS voice.
"Strange that you don't have Charla with you. Did something happen." Liza turned nervously towards the sound of the voice.
"She's OK. The Trainer I'm sharing her with is taking good care of her. I doubt you would believe me when I talk about time travel though, sir." She expected him to order his Charizard to flame her, but only heard footsteps coming towards her.
"And what, pray tell, makes you say that? Speak your mind, Liza." Liza then took a deep breath.
"The girl I ran into was the daughter of the Sky Trainer you encountered in Kalos, sir. And her boyfriend, is HIS son." Even though she still couldn't see him, she knew he was looking at her confused.
"HIS son? What do you mean?"
"I met a boy named Ash Ketchum sir. He's Red's son." With that, the man stepped out into full view.
He had on a pendant that one would recognize from the family of Oak, and if you didn't know any better, would think he was an older version of Gary Oak.
He looked right into her eyes, as she backed away in nervousness from them.
"I see you do not lie. Tell me, does he know how his father died?"
"Actually, sir. Red is alive. He is stuck playing the role of Giovanni in Viridian City. And his mother … is the annoying girl." She used his old nickname for Ash's Mother that this person used a lot back in the day.
With that, the man looked out over the wall of the valley, as if contemplating something.
"Then maybe it is time for Blue Oak to return." He said as a massive Charizard stalked behind him, with a look that frightened even the oldest Charizard in the Valley.
DUHN DUHN DUUUUUHHHHNNNN!
YES, NOT ONLY DOES SURGE HAVE ABACKSTORY SIMILAR TO THE EVENTS OF THE ADVENTURES MANGA, BUT BLUE OAK IS IN THE HOUSE!
NOW THEN, I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WANTED PANCHAM TO RETURN ON THE BOAT, BUT I FEEL IT WOULD BE UNFAIR TO THE OTHER CHARACTERS IF SERENA GOT ALL HER OLD FRIENDS BACK FIRST, SINCE MINUS CHLOE, SHE HAS THE LEAST AMOUNT OF ANYONE.
NOW THAT BEING SAID, AS STATED BY DIALGA, I AM NOT WAITING MUCH FURTHER DOWN THE LINE TO REUNITE HER WITH HIM!
HE WILL BE BACK DURING THE EVENTS OF THE ORANGE ISLANDS. SERENA WILL JUST HAVE TO MAKE DO WITH HER CURRENT FRIENDS FOR NOW.
THAT BEING SAID, I AM ALSO GOING TO BE REUNITING ASH WITH AN OLD FRIEND WHO HAS BEEN COMBINED WITH GENGAR FROM THE JOURNEYS SERIES.
WHO? WELL, ASH HAS BEFRIENDED ANOTHER OF THE GHASTLY LINE IN KANTO BEFORE, BUT WE NEVER FOUND OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM AFTER THE EVENTS OF SAFFRON.
GIVEN THAT DESCRIPTION, I THINK PEOPLE CAN GUESS WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT.
AND SORRY FOR HOW LONG THIS CHAPTER TOOK. RIGHT NOW, IM GOING THROUGH A VERY BAD FIT OF DEPRESSION AND BARELY ANYONE SEEMS TO BE ABLE TO HELP ME RIGHT NOW.
IF I DO GO OVER THE DEEP END, I WILL LAY OUT AN OUTLINE OF EVENTS IN CASE SOMEONE ELSE WANTS TO TRY WRITING THIS.
TILL THEN, THIS STORY AND OTHERS ARENT DEAD, I JUST DON'T KNOW WHEN ILL HAVE THE ENERGY TO WRITE THEM AT FULL POWER AGAIN.
UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER, REMEMBER FOLKS …
THE SABER IN YOUR HAAAAANNNNDDD IS A PEN TO WRITE IT DOOOOWWWNNNNN! WORDS TO SAVE THIS WOOOOORRRRLLLLLDDDDD!