Quick note. Ash is going to be rather out of character in this story. Why will be revealed in a chapter down the road. Enjoy.
"Did you really have to kill him, Ash?" asked a girl. She was sitting opposite of Ash near a campfire, playing with her long, dark black hair. She had eyes that shown like onyx underscored by red eyeliner, with black jeans and a black jacket. And she was confused. Sure, Ash had grown kinda different since she had first met him but this was extreme. It wasn't cruel- Ash had finished the grunt off quickly. But it was certainly harsh. "You've never had to deal with poachers before, Zoey. They're ruthless, relentless, and cruel. Had I let that man walk away, the rest of his team, whatever team he may be a member of, would be swarming this island within a few weeks. No, we did what needed to be done." Ash replied, shrugging. "Did you get anything from him?"
"Yes. He was part of a group known as Team Infinite. He used to be a member of Team Galactic, and then part of Team Rocket up until it's dispersion. He was sent to find any pokemon that he could acquire and quickly as well." Zoey replied, uninterested. Talking about that weakling was just soooo boring. "Can we get back to training now? You know I've been trying to master a new move!" She groaned
Ash sighed, stretching. "Yes, and somehow you've still kept it from me. Fine. Lets head outside." he relented. The pair walked outside and were greeted by numerous pokemon. "Infernape ,Seismitoad, pair up. Seismitoad, I want you to practice that strategy we worked on. Infernape, focus on dodging and staying out of reach this time. Sceptile, try to knock Melmetal off balance. Noivern, you're with Zoey." Ash shouted, getting nods of affirmation and cries of anticipation from the five he had singled out. "So? Are you going to show me or not?" he inquired, turning to Zoey. "Fine" she muttered, shooting him a look. "You're such a spoilsport" Then she began to waver as if seen on a hot sunny day until she vanished altogether, and what appeared in her place was a pokemon. It was a black, fox like bipedal pokemon with long hair and red highlights. Mischievous energy practically radiated from it. She turned to her trainer, grinning and with a sparkle in her eye
"Try to keep up"
Training was going well enough, but Ash was disappointed to say the least. He had matched his pokemon together in order for them to learn to cover their weaknesses, something that, five years ago, he never would have done. He scoffed, Arceus above was I naive. Thinking that focusing only on strength was enough. We need to change how we fight. As it was, not all his pokemon were learning at the same rate. He watched as Zoey dodged and weaved, with Noivern close on her tail. She lead him into the woods, and from then on all Ash could hear from their fight was the occasional cry or collision.
Then there was Infernape and Seismitoad. Infernape was using his agility to keep his distance. He was using the move acrobatics to weave through the trees, and in a far cry from his past self, was remaining calm and collected, observing his opponent. Seismitoad was having more trouble. His one goal for this fight was to entrap his opponent, using a strategy that Ash had tailor made for him. But his opponent was crafty and quick, and so Seismitoad had to focus on controlling where his opponent moved. As such, he resorted to using hydro pump in order to knock it out of the trees, but Infernape was just too quick.
He was most disappointed in the fight between Sceptile and Melmetal. Melmetal was using Double Iron Bash, presumably trying to knock Sceptile off It's feet. Sceptile was using it's agility to dodge, leaping through the air and over the swinging arms of the metal titan. Ash had specifically paired these two up in hopes that they may use more long range attacks. It was true that Melmetal was a physical beast, and that Sceptile's speed and agility gave it an advantage in close quarters, but relying solely on implicit strength would be their downfall. They needed to incorporate ranged attacks in order to throw their opponents off balance. " Sceptile, you need to get some distance and try a ranged special attack, such as energy ball. Melmetal, if he continues to dodge, hit him with flash canon." Ash admonished.
He turned, hearing Infernape cry out, and understood immediately what had happened. Seismitoad had finally scored a direct hit, knocking Infernape out of a tree. Seismitoad wasted no time, using bulldoze the keep his opponent off it's feet, then blasted him with scald. Infernape retaliated by burrowing underground swiftly, but Seismitoad merely grinned. It quickly backpedaled, and just in the knick of time, as Infenape came barreling from the earth. It was all close quarters from there, Infernape using close combat while Seismitoad countered with drain punch. Then, Infernape used fake out, causing Seismitoad to flinch, before following it up with mach punch, sending Seismitoad flying back a few yards right into a tree. BAM! Seismitoad groaned, getting shakely to his feet, and Infernape, sensing victory, rushed in.
Seismitoad let lose a powerful hydro pump, not at Infernape, but rather at his feet. Stunned, Infernape had no time to react as he slipped and fell face first into a marshy puddle of mud. Bulldoze had softened the ground, and hydro pump finished the job. Now it was Seismitoad's turn to be quick, using the terrain to his advantage. He was on top of Infernape in mere seconds, engaging him in close quarters, before sending him flying with hydro pump, knocking him out cold. "Seismitoad", the frog pokemon roared out in victory.