"This will be a four on four pokemon battle with unlimited substitutions by the challenger!" The announcer shouted, gaining everyone's attention. Lt. Surge had immediately challenged Ash to a rematch, claiming that he was finished with his training for the time being. Word must have gotten around, because a small crowd formed to watch the match, with many whispering about Ash.
"Is that…?" a teenage boy whispered.
"It can't be!" another said, rolling his eyes.
"He is!" a teen girl squealed, hugging her 'I heart Ash Ketchum' poster to her chest.
Ash was kinda uncomfortable under all the looks the people in the stands were giving him, but they hadn't all figured out who he was just yet. That's not surprising, to be honest. Ash had grown at least six inches taller over the past five years he spent in self imposed exile. And he had grown a beard.
"Let's get this started, kid!" Lt. Surge roared gleefully, cracking his knuckles. His Raichu stood by his side, stretching and doing jumping jacks, sparks crackling in the air around his cheeks. The grin on Raichu's face matched his trainer's.
Ash nodded, adjusting his hat and pushing a few locks of hair away from his eyes. Inside, he was crackling with excitement, but outwardly he appeared nervous. "Let's start this off right! Gliscor!" he shouted dramatically. Gliscor took the field hovering in place, his wings dipping from side to side with his swaying tail. A red grin underpinned his golden eyes.
Lt. Surge scoffed. "And here I was hoping for that insane pikachu of yours!" he grumbled, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Raichu, just like we practiced. Take it down quickly." Raichu leapt forward, landing in the middle of the dirt field.
"Battle begin!" the announcer shouted.
Raichu sprinted forward, glowing… green?
"Dodge it, Gliscor!" Ash instructed, but it was a little too late.
The electric type slammed into Gliscor, who wheeled back through the air, eventually coming to a stop just in front of Ash, glaring at Raichu.
"Dig, Gliscor!"
The purple pokemon grinned, tunneling beneath the floor in seconds. His opponent froze and looked around cautiously.
"Double team!" Lt. Surge commanded gruffly. Raichu shimmered, and numerous clones of it appeared around the arena floor. Ash counted fifteen before giving up. It doesn't matter. He'll still find it. He though confidently.
The floor erupted not a moment later, and Gliscor struck out at one of the raichus, slamming a pincer into it's head. The flying type struck true; Raichu flew backwards, slamming into the far wall beneath the raised stands, causing the crowd to roar in approval. Raichu slid to the ground and groaned, struggling to it's feet.
Lt. Surge scowled. "Well now. Not many pokemon could find Raichu like that. I should have known your pokemon would be more capable. Return, Raichu." Raichu bounded over to the gym leader, standing by his side as he grabbed the lone ultra ball at his waist. "Vikavolt, standby for battle!"
There was a red flash, and before Ash knew it a vikavolt hovered by Surge's side, just in front of Riachu. Gliscor could take this one, but… I kinda want to give everyone a chance to shine. Besides, ground type moves might never connect with vikavolt. Ash thought, aware that Vikavolt's ability meant that damaging it with ground type attacks would be difficult.
"Come back for now, Gliscor. Take a rest." Gliscor nodded, flying back to Ash's side of the arena and resting on the ground behind him.
"Lycanroc! Take the field." Ash commanded, and the luxury ball flashed red. Ash hadn't even grabbed the thing. Lycanroc had freed himself, so eager was he for the battle. The orange rock type pawed at the ground and howled, announcing his challenge for everyone to hear and drowning out the roar of the crowd.
"I've heard about this one!" Lt. Surge shouted across the way. "I've heard this one was part of the team that won you the title of Champion in Alola!" Lt. Surge chuckled heartily, his arms resting on his hips as he doubled over. "Show me just how strong it is! Vikavolt, energy ball!"
The bug type zipped past it's trainer, bearing down on Lycanroc with beady eyes. As it sped forward a ball of green energy began to form between the massive mandibles that hang out in front of it.
Time slowed down for Ash as Lt. Surge's Vikavolt let off it's attack, the green ball of energy sailing towards Lycanrock. Even with his advanced perception, which was due entirely to the fact that he knew this exact scenario would happen, Ash still didn't see Lycanroc move. One moment the energy ball was about to collide with him, and the next it was carving a shallow groove in the ground where Lycanroc once stood. The rock type reappeared dashing towards Vikavolt at a blistering speed, claws extended and eyes red with battle rage.
Ash nodded, immensely pleased. Lycanrock was using accelerock. So our training was worth it, then. He thought, grinning widely. Lycanroc had always been a powerful pokemon. He lacked initiative, however. In the past there was a battle in which Ash couldn't think straight, resulting in a loss despite Lycanrock doing his best. Ash had trained with each and every one of his pokemon while in exile, drilling the numerous techniques and strategies into every one of them, even the ones they couldn't use. He wanted them to be prepared for every eventuality, and there was always the chance that he could be incapacitated some time in the future. While he would still be giving the orders, he wanted his pokemon to make the moves they thought necessary. He was far from omniscient, after all.
Lycanroc slammed into the stunned bug type with all the force and acceleration of a small car, sending Vikavolt careening back through the air with a chittering screech. The crowd let out a collective "oooooh!" at the blow, and Lt. Surge's grin turned into a grimace.
"Now that's a hit!" he shouted, half grimacing and half grinning. The gym leader crossed his arms over his chest, his biceps bulging. "Let's turn this around! Use electro web!"
Vikavolt came to a halt in midair, shaking it's head. It reared back, firing a web of lines crackling with energy directly at it's opponent.
"Stealth rock!" Ash directed. Lycanroc barked in affirmation, and chucks of the arena floor tore themselves from the ground. The newly minted rocks settled midair, intercepting the electric net and tearing it to shreds. "Now, get close with accelerock!" Lycanroc vanished a second time.
"Dodge." Lt. Surge commanded calmly. Vikavolt leaned to the side, still hovering mid air. An orange form shot past; Lycanroc skidded to a stop off to the left of his opponent with an aggravated snarl.
"Rock blast!" Ash shouted urgently. Lycanroc growled, and a barage of small rocks took form in front of him. Two, four, seven, multiple rocks shot forward at dizzying speeds. Vikavolt did a summersault and rolled to dodge the first three projectiles, but the fourth nailed the bug type right between the mandibles, and the fifth clipped one of it's wings, sending Vikavolt plummeting to the ground.
"Once more! Accelerock!" Ash said, grinning widely. Lycanroc dashed forward faster than anyone could see, and then it was all over.
Lt. Surge's smile hadn't wavered for a second during the fight. He had heard that Ash had grown much stronger since their original battle, but this?!
"Hahahaha! This is the battle I've been waiting for!"
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"He always was one for putting on a big show." Misty sighed. She was sitting on the edge of one of the beds in the girls' room at the Pokemon Center.
Serena laid asleep on the bed to the right, her soft breathing punctuating the sounds coming from the tv. Pikachu snored in her arms.
Apparently someone had leaked what was happening, and now the match was being televised all around Kanto. The feed on her phone was updating nearly every second, and more than half of the posts were about the reemergence of the 'Wandering Champion' Ash Ketchum.
I wonder if she'll continue to come along with us. Misty wondered idly, her thoughts straying to Serena and what had happened to her. From what she had told them, the Team Infinite members at Diglett Cave intended to sell both her and her pokemon on the black market. Misty had heard about pokemon trafficking. She, Ash, and Brock had fought Team Rocket too many times to count in the past. But selling people? That was something that had taken all of them by surprise. It made sense. As a young woman Misty had always known that a man might one day try to use her for something perverse and perverted. But this was different. It was organized and planned. What if we hadn't found her in time? What if it had been me that they grabbed? Or even both of us… Misty shuddered.
She turned as the door to the room opened and Brock walked in. He looked over at Serena, still sleeping, and nodded quietly.
"How did it go with the police?" Misty asked quietly.
Brock shook his head. "I filed a report, but they said there isn't much they can do now. They offered to get Serena a check up with a psychologist but I didn't want to make that decision for her."
Misty nodded absentmindedly, still staring at the tv screen. Ash's Lycanroc had just finished dealing with Lt. Surge's Vikavolt, and now the dual bug/electric type was plummeting to the ground.
"He's really tearing it up, isn't he?" Brock asked, taking a seat next to her on the bed.
Misty nodded again, still not taking her eyes off the tv in front of them.
"And Serena?" Brock asked, not caring that she was still so engrossed in Ash's battle. Misty might dispute it, but she had always been Ash's biggest fan, always unable to take her eyes off his battles in the two or so years traveled together. Thoughts of their past travels made Brock grin, if only for a moment.
"She didn't say much. Honestly, I think it would have been better if Ash stayed with her." MIsty commented offhand. Brock's grin melted, replaced instead by a frown. Ash hadn't been the same since the… even, the day before.
He hasn't been the same since he left, to be honest. Brock mused silently. Loosing his mother clearly changed him, but just how far? How much has he changed that he would go out of his way to hurt his enemies? Ash never used to seek fights like that. He thought, thinking back to the events of Ash's raid on Diglett Tunnel. The old Ash would have at least attempted to contact his friends before rushing in like he did the day before. He had always been rash, yes, but now he was acting reckless.
"So what do you think is next?" Misty asked, turning to face Brock for the first time.
Brock stroked his chin, once again deep in thought. "Ash told me that he wanted to rechallenge every gym and elite four around the world. I assume he meant only those he had already challenged, but that's still over a hundred battles spread across eight different continents."
Misty nodded, apparently having thought about it herself. "That is an awful lot ot traveling to do. And we'd have to leave our gyms for at least a few years…" Misty said quietly, trailing off. She turned to Brock once again. "What will you do?"
Brock returned his gaze to the tv, finding that Ashand his Krookodile were finishing off Lt. Surge's manectric. "I think… I wasn't there for Ash last time he needed me. I'll be here for him now." He replied slowly. Misty nodded, her mind made up.
Of course she wanted to tag along, but if it was only going to be her, Ash, and Serena, it would be extraordinarily awkward. Then again, the idea of leaving Ash alone with Serena for a few years as they traveled the world together made a pit tug at Misty's stomach, and she felt that she would do anything to prevent that.
"What about you?" Brock asked with a smirk. "Arceus knows the two of you have a lot to talk about."
Misty felt her face flare up at what Brock was alluding to.
"I-I'll be here!" she stammered, eager to end the conversation.
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In a dark room sat a slender, fair skinned person with blonde hair, their face hidden by shadow. Behind them stood a tall, navy and red skinned dragon type pokemon. The two of them were watching a television, the blonde haired human sitting upon a comfy leather couch. They reached a hand up behind them, their eyes never leaving the tv, and stroked one of the dragon type's finned, clawed arms.
"My, my. Ash certainly has a flare for the dramatic, doesn't he?" they asked, turning to look their garchomp in the eyes as they did so. The menacing pokemon growled in agreement, his eyes drawn to the spectacle in front of him.
"He is certainly worthy of his father's title, don't you think? Truly a hero in his own right." The mysterious blonde trainer shifted, chuckling, and pressed a button on the arm rest of the couch. A panel slid to the side in the wall behind them, and Archer stepped forth.
"Yes, Boss?" he inquired, bowing his head in difference.
The Team Infinite Boss giggled maniacally, but quietly.
"Arceus has played his hand. No one is to hinder Ash Ketchum in his journey, but all teams are to carry on as usual. If he and his friends interfere they are to be driven off. Not hurt, and not killed. Am I understood?"
Archer bowed, stepping back into the shadows. "As you command."
The Boss continued to laugh jovially, their hand continuing their ministrations with their very first pokemon, Garchomp. "A few more years, now, Champion of Arceus. And then we will meet, once again, in Sinnoh." They said to themselves, watching as Ash declared to a reporter that he would be challenging every gym leader, elite four member, and champion across the world, starting with Kanto and ending with Sinnoh. "Soon."