Ash's battle against Juan was the next day, and not right after Serena defeated Juan. The gym leaders Pokemon had to be taken to the Pokemon center, and get a good rest and recovery, before he can battle against Ash, so the match was postponed for the next day.

Now truthfully, Juan did have other Pokemon which he can use to battle Ash, but the ones he used against Serena are the ones he always used in gym battles, and with Milotic being his strongest Pokemon, he had to use her, so even if he decides to use four other Pokemon, he would still have to wait until tomorrow for his Milotic to recover.

In the battle against Juan, Ash had a bit more trouble than in the previous battles against the Hoenn gym leaders, but still won more easily then Serena did.

In the first round, he used Mudkip and Finizen, to battle against Juan's Seaking and Sealeo. He defeated both of Juan's Pokemon without losing any of his, unlike Serena, who's Crawdaunt was defeated. Then, in a second round, first match was between Juan's Luvdisc and Ash's Finizen. This time, Finizen was defeated, so Ash sent out his Mudkip, which defeated Luvdisc. In the next battle, Mudkip defeated Whiscash, but only after he evolved into Marshtomp. Before that, they were about equal.

Finally, Juan sent his Milotic as his final Pokemon, and she was able to defeat Marshtomp, who by then was tired, and couldn't go against a fully healed Milotic.

To battle against Juan's Milotic, Ash sent his own Milotic, much to Juan's surprise, as he didn't expect Ash to have a Milotic. That battle was quite one-sided, as Ash's Milotic, even though she was younger and less trained then Juan's, was still more powerful, and was able to easily defeat Juan's Milotic, earning Ash his eight Hoenn Gym badge.

With them having all the necessary badges, and with still over a month left until the tournament starts, Ash and Serena decided to visit several islands on their way to the Ever Grande City, where they plan to train their Pokemon, until they drop. Then, the last week before the League starts, they will let their Pokemon rest from the training, so they can be ready for the tournament, and not tired.

The first stop was a place called the Giban Island, where Ash and Serena spent several days training for the Ever Grange Conference, while May and Max met some kid and his family, after some of May's Poke Balls were stolen by the kids Linoone. The siblings ended up helping the kid figure out why his Linoone was going all over the place, and collecting a bunch of stuff, mostly round objects, while also stealing most of them from their owners.

In the process of doing that, they have found some stash of items, which Linoone took from others and stored inside of the hole of a tree stump. Since Kimmy (the kid), wasn't a trainer and had no need for the items, May and Max took them all, as they could have some use for them, especially the few evolutionary items. They decided that May will take one item, which she might need eventually, as it was a Reaper Cloth, while the other items, she simply let Max take them as she won't have any use for them, except maybe trade them or sell them.

In the end, Kimmy realized that his Linoone was stealing stuff and picking round objects because when he was Zigzagoon, Kimmy and it, used to play fetch with a Poke ball, but have stopped after Zigzagoon evolved into a Linoone. Linoone missed that, and so it went and gathered stuff from all over the place, even the ones which belonged to someone. Considering the fact that Linoone has the ability called Pickup, it was able to find a gather a LOT of stuff.

After several days on the Giban Island, the gang left, with May and Max waving goodbye to Kimmy and his family.

The next stop was a Mirage Island. It's actually Ash's decision to go to that place, instead of it just being an island they came across.

Ash knew that Mirage Island has the largest number of Liechi Berry trees on the world, and he wanted to get his hands on some seeds so he can send them to the Pallet Town to be planted in the Town as well as in the PPA, so that they can grow there are well.

Getting to the island though, normally isn't easy. The island was shielded by a thick mist, as well as surrounded by the whirlpools, so getting there by the boat is - if not impossible - then extremely hard. Ash though, he travels via his Lapras's, and they can get pass the whirlpools, so he and his friends, didn't have trouble getting to the island.

The gang didn't spend a lot of time there, as besides finding the seeds, there was no other reason to be there. They did see some wild Wynaut, and Ash thought about catching them for the PPA, but in the he just left them there. It's their home, and they are pretty safe there, so there is no need to send them to the PPA.

The next island they visited though, Ash did catch a bunch of Pokemon for the PPA. A Donto Island had a lot of wild Donphan, with one of them being a Shiny Donphan.

Ash and Serena already have Donphan's, so they don't need another one, as for May, she isn't interested in one. Max would want one, but he isn't ready to handle a Pokemon like Donphan, so Ash went and caught two dozen of them, pretty much all which were on the island, and sent them all to Professor Oak, who will then release them to the PPA, which by then was already filing-up quite nicely, with all the Pokemon that Ash has sent since the place was first built.

With nothing else to be done on Donto Island, the gang left toward the next island on their journey toward the Every Grande City.

On the next few islands, nothing major happened, except that on one of them, Max caught himself a Munchlax. It's a Pokemon not easy to care for, as it's a big eater, but it's a Normal Type, just like its evolved form, Snorlax, and Max loves Normal Types, so he caught it.

The food costs have risen for the gang after that day, though, not to mention that Max had a lot of trouble with Munchlax for the next few weeks, as its stomach is a bottomless pit. Max thanked the god that it's just Munchlax, and not a Snorlax. That thing would be the end of him.

Three weeks before the start of the Ever Grange Conference, the gang have visited the final island on their journey, before they head to the Ever Grande City. There, Ash met some kid, about his age, called Morrison. The kid was quite hyperactive, likes to scream to relax when he gets angry, and on top of everything likes to boosts, saying how he will defeat Ash at the Conference, even though Ash is clearly a much better trainer. Morrison said that even with Ash being one of the best trainers in the world, he will be the one to defeat him, and win the Conference, before he moves on to win against the Hoenn Elite Four and then the Champion, Steven Stone.

Ash found Morrison to be a little annoying, but also amusing and generally a good guy. Ash can tell those things about someone, which is why he let Morrison around himself and his friends without worry. He most definitely wouldn't have done that if Morrison was a bad guy.

Ash and Morrison even had a one-on-one match, where Morrison used his Beldum. Seeing this, Ash pulled out his Shiny Metang, making Morrison's eyes widened when he saw the evolved form of the Pokemon he chose for the battle, and on top of that, it's shiny.

The only attack Beldum can use, is a Take Down, and Ash knew that before the battle even started, so he decided to drag the battle out, instead of simply defeating Morrison right away. He did this in order to help Morrison's Beldum get the battle experience needed to be able to evolve. As a Beldum, it's all but useless, but once it evolves into a Metang, it can be a very powerful Pokemon.

Ash dragged the battle for a while, mostly dodging or blocking Beldum's tries to use Take Down, and without attacking back. Eventually, Beldum ran out of steam, and got defeated without even being hit once. It was very embarrassing for Morrison, who couldn't believe how he lost.

Still, Ash decided to help Morrison, so they had a couple of more battles later that day, and even May, Serena and Max had some one-on-one battles against Morrison, though he was using different Pokemon each time.

In one of those battles, Ash's Snorunt evolved into a Glalie, right after he learned Ice Beam. Ash was very happy for his Pokemon, and his progress in such a short time since he caught him.

As a result of training and battles to gain the experience, Morrison's Beldum finally evolved while battling against Serena's Shelgon, who by then, was decimating the Beldum.

The next day, Ash and his friends left for Ever Grande City, while Morrison stayed behind for a few more days, before he will also head to the location of the Ever Grande Conference.

Ash and the gang arrived in the Ever Grande City, 15 days before the start of the Ever Grande Conference. Once they got there, they met with Amber, Marina, Macy and Casey, who have revealed that they've been there for almost a month by then, as they have arrived early and have been training their Pokemon in preparation for the Pokemon League, ever since.

When he arrived in the Ever Grande City, Ash called his mother and Professor Oak, and informed them that he is there, and that he has reunited with Amber. He also called his girlfriends, all of them, and they informed him that they have talked with each other, and that they have agreed to come and watch the Ever Grande Conference. They also thanked him for the Pokemon he has sent them, before they warned him to prepare himself, because they are not happy with him for what happened with Caroline and Jane. It's been a while since then, but Ash's girlfriends didn't forget about it, and they will make him pay for it, one way or another. Ash knew he was in deep shit, right then and there.

Another person that Ash, May and Serena met again, with Max meeting her for the first time, was Venus Haxord, the Poison Type Trainer they met on the abandoned ship a while ago while they were traveling from the Dewford Island to the Slateport City.

"It's been a while, Ash." Venus said.

"It sure has," Ash said. "How've you been since we've met? I hope your journey was productive."

"I've been fine," Venus shrugged. "I've traveled, trained and got the badges, and now I'm here to compete. I hope you are ready for me, because I will give you the toughest battle you've ever had."

Ash smiled at this. "Let's hope so."

They talked a little more after that, before Venus went back to train her Pokemon, while Ash and the gang, went to train their own Pokemon.

XXX

For the next week, Ash, Serena, along with Amber and her three friends, trained in preparation for the Conference, while on the final week, Amber, and the girls all decided to let their Pokemon rest, after they heard that that's what Ash and Serena plan to do.

As for May and Max, since they weren't participating, and had nothing else to do, they mostly spent their days around the City, looking at all the shops and souvenirs; or resting in their hotel rooms. They were both tired from the year of journey and they deserve a nice rest for a couple of weeks.

Of Ash's girlfriends, the first to arrive was Zinnia, as she was the closest one to the Ever Grande City, and she had nothing else to do at the time.

When they met, the two shared a passionate kiss, much to the embarrassment of all those around them, as they've done it on the middle of the street. After that, they spent a while together, just the two of them, talking about all that they've done since they last saw each other.

Unlike his older girlfriends, well most of them, Zinnia wasn't so angry at Ash for sleeping with Jane and Caroline. She knew that she has pretty much forcefully pushed herself into a relationship with Ash, and has no right to judge him, but she was still a little… annoyed that Ash has fucked some old woman, before she had a chance to sleep with him.

When she has heard that Ash has already had sex with Serena and May, Zinnia was half annoyed. She was OK with him sleeping with Serena, as she was his girlfriend, before herself, but with May, it's another story, as May has come after her, and Zinnia wanted to have a go at Ash, before May. It was at that moment that Zinnia realized why Misty, Cynthia and Diantha, were so angry at Ash. The three of them, along with Leaf, were Ash's first girlfriends, and had the right to be the first who had sex with him, but then, he went and fucked some woman who are old enough to be his mothers.

So, with her being there, and since she wanted a chance to sleep with Ash before Misty, Cynthia and Diantha, neuter him, Zinnia dragged Ash to his hotel room, and no one has seen or heard from them for the remaining of that day, of that night.

XXX

The next to arrive, were Misty, Leaf and Whitney, along with Delia Ketchum. Misty, Leaf and Whitney were the gym leaders, so they had a lot of work to do with all the challenges, but they've all taken a vacation for a week, and arrived at the Ever Grande City three days before the start of the conference, and will be there until it's finished.

When they arrived, and Ash met with them, it was visible on Misty's face, that she was angry. As for Leaf and Whitney, they were annoyed, but not angry. In fact, Ash noticed some amusement on their faces, while they watched as Misty was tearing Ash a new asshole.

He was lucky that they were not around other people when that happened, otherwise, Ash wouldn't be able to live through the embarrassment of his girlfriend, tearing him a new one.

Ash hasn't been seen or heard from, for the rest of that day, and night, just like when Zinnia first arrived.

XXX

The last two to arrive, were Cynthia and Diantha. The two of them were the Champions of their respective regions, Sinnoh and Kalos, and so, they had even less free time then Misty, Leaf and Whitney had.

Still, they made enough free time in their schedules, to come and have a go at Ash, before they watch him in the Ever Grande Conference. Just like with Misty, the two oldest of Ash's girlfriends, were angry at him, and just as Zinnia, Misty, Leaf, and Whitney, the two champions have had a go at Ash for half a day and a whole night.

XXX

With all the sex he has been having lately, the day before the Ever Grande Conference was to start, Ash was tired as all hell, and looked like a zombie.

Those who saw him, but didn't know him, really though that he was a zombie, and were afraid of him, while those who knew him and knew what happened to him in the last few days, were either pitying him, or they thought that he got what he deserved for daring to cheat on his girlfriends. Then again, some though he was a lucky son or a bitch for having sex with all these girls, and with none of them having a problem with that.

While Ash was in the world of pleasure/suffering, some other people have arrived at the Ever Grande City. They were Brendan, Sawyer, Wally and Morrison, all the trainers that Ash has meet on his journey through the Hoenn Region. Besides them, many other trainers have arrived, which Ash hasn't met before, so he doesn't know what to expect from them, but as they all got eight badges, he was sure that they at least have some skill. He just hopes that some of them will give him a good fight.

XXX

Besides Ash's mother, no one else from the Pallet Town has arrived to watch his battles.

Red and Riley didn't come, as they were busy, besides, they can't even be classified to be from the Pallet Town, as they are never there, even though Red's wife and son live there. Ilene has always watched Ash on the TV, so she didn't have to leave the Rota Kingdom, thus, leaving Ash's mother as the only one who came to watch him in person.

Professor Oak and Tracy also didn't come, as they have a lot of work on the Ranch. As for Caroline, Grace and Jane, they are still settling in their new lives, so they didn't want to leave the Pallet Town, and will watch it all on TV, along with Professor Oak and Tracy.

The one who did come to watch it all live, was Professor Birch. He was interested to see in person how Ash, along with Brendan, Sawyer and Wally will do at the Ever Grande Conference, so he took a few days of off work, and left his assistants to keep a watch of his lab and do the work.

Still, even with his father, uncle and aunt not being there, Ash isn't feeling down because of that. He is used to not being around them that much, not only since he started as a trainer, but even before when he was younger. They have jobs, which take a lot of their time, and he understands that they can't always be there for him. He was happy though that his mother and all of his girlfriends are there to watch him battle. His girls are his family at this point, even though they are not married yet, and won't be for a while, if ever, but he does see them as family and they care about him, and that's what's important to him.

XXX

The Ever Grande Stadium is at the middle of the lake in the Ever Grande City. The main stadium, is surrounded by several smaller ones, and they are all connected to each other, as well as the shore, via a bunch of roads which start outside of the shore, and lead into the forest with several buildings at the beginning of each road.

Right now, it's the first day of the Ever Grande Conference, and hundreds of trainers are competing in the preliminary round, until only 256 trainers are left, and only they will compete further. The preliminary round are all one-on-one battles, and the trainers have to register the Pokemon they will use, and can't use any other after the registration is made. As such, they all have to be very careful with which Pokemon they chose, because a mistake can make it to be their first and last in this year's Ever Grande Conference.

With the bunch of his friends, and acquaintances competing, Ash couldn't go and watch all of their preliminary matches, especially since he had his own matches, but he did make sure to at least watch Amber's and Serena's match, as well as one more.

Ash, Serena, May and Max watched a match where Amber and her Scizor, defeated another trainer who was using a Raichu. It was a very fast and clean victory for Amber, who was a much better trainer then her opponent and her Pokemon was more powerful then opponents.

The second match Ash was able to watch was Morrison's, as he and his Metang, defeated a trainer with an Electabuzz. It was a relatively easy victory for Morrison, whose Metang was quite powerful. Watching that match, Ash was sure that if Metang didn't evolve few weeks ago when he was helping Morrison, the orange haired trainer, would have had a lot more trouble to defeat that Electabuzz.

As for Serena, she battled an opponent who used Skarmory. Serena used Magneton as her Pokemon in the preliminary round, and won pretty easily. With both Pokemon being part Steel Type, Magneton's Electric Type had an advantage against Skarmory's Flying type, so in the end, it went down pretty easily.

Ash didn't watch any other match before his own, but he heard that besides Amber, Morrison and Serena; Wally, Marina and Macy have already passed into the next round. As for the others, they still didn't have their round.

Finally, it was a time for Ash to have his match. He was going up against a trainer named, Gilbert, who chose Hitmonlee as his Pokemon.

Just as he did in the Johto Region, before the start of the Conference, Ash decided to only use the Pokemon he caught in the Hoenn Region, which means that he has 12 Pokemon at his disposal, as he only got 12 Pokemon since he came in Hoenn. Technically, he could have used Tyranitar and Aggron, even though he caught them in Johto Region, but he didn't train them until he came to Hoenn. As such, they can be classified as his Hoenn Pokemon, but the thing is, they are far too powerful at that point and it just wouldn't be fair for him to use them, especially since if he uses them, some of his other Pokemon he caught in the Hoenn Region, might not get a chance to battle, and Ash wants all of them to battle.

So, with 12 Pokemon to choose from, Ash decided that in the first round of the preliminary, he will go with his Frigibax.

The appearance of an unknown Pokemon, has shocked everyone in the stadium. None have ever seen a Pokemon like Frigibax, and didn't know what to expect from it, but they were all excited about it, none the less.

Ash chose Frigibax for the first round because he was strong enough to get him through the round, but not strong enough for some of the later rounds, so he wanted to have him battle now, because he might not get the chance later. Then again, seeing his opponent, Ash wasn't so sure that he has trained his Frigibax enough to be able to fight against a Fighting Type Pokemon, which is one of his main weaknesses.

Among his family and friends who are there to cheer for Ash, there are all of his girlfriends, along with Max, Brock, Delia, Amber and all of Amber's friends. They all came to watch the battle, support Ash, and at the same time, see how he battles, as it's been awhile since the Silver Conference when they last saw his battling.

"BEGIN!" The referee started the match.

"Lets' go, Hitmonlee!" Gilbert said to his Pokemon, who nodded and run toward Frigibax.

"Let's do this, Frigibax." Ash said, with his Pokemon nodding as well, before he also run toward his opponent, though at the much slower pace, as he is smaller, has shorter legs, and isn't built for speed.

"Hitmonlee, Rolling Kick!" Gilbert started the battle by calling his Pokémon's first move.

"Use, Ice Fang!" Ash called his first attack.

Hitmonlee rolled to the side, with his right leg lifted up, and was about to hit Frigibax, but the Dragon and Ice Pokemon jumped above the kick, before his fangs become covered in light blue, icy energy, and he bit down on Hitmonlee's right arm, causing it to start to freeze.

"OH NO, Hitmonlee," Gilbert shouted in worry for his Pokemon, seeing that the ice was spreading over his arm and toward the head! "Shake it off!"

Hitmonlee managed to swing his arm, while Frigibax was still biting on it, and then slammed Ash's Pokemon into the ground, causing it to cry out in pain, and release the fighting type Pokemon from his teeth.

"Great job, Hitmonlee," Gilbert said! "Now, use High-Jump Kick!"

Hitmonlee jumped high into the air, and then started to fall down toward Frigibax, knee first. In the last moment though, Ash said to his Pokemon to dodge, and he did, causing Hitmonlee to hit the ground with his knee causing himself damage and strong pain.

"Icicle Crash!" Ash called out his next move. Frigibax created multiple sharp icicles in the air above Hitmonlee, which then rained down upon the injured fighting type Pokemon.

Several icicles hit Hitmonlee, causing it more damage and pain.

"Finish it with Dragon Breath!" Ash called.

"Hitmonlee, dodge and use Mega Kick!" Gilbert called his own attack, trying to stay in the fight some more, but it was useless. With his injured knee from the missed High-Jump Kick, and then the Icicles crashing down on it, Hitmonlee was pretty much finished, with only the finishing touch on the battle needed. That touch came in the form of a light blue beam of energy, which Frigibax fired from his mouth.

The attack hit Hitmonlee head-on, causing an explosion, which sent Hitmonlee flying out of the field, and into his defeat.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle," the referee said! "The victory goes to Ash and Frigibax!"

The crowd cheered for Ash and the battle they watched, even though it was nothing special. Just like the rest of the crowd, Ash's family and friends also cheered for him, all wearing smiles on their faces.

"That was a good battle, Frigibax," Ash said to his Pokemon, as he patted him on the head, causing a small dragon/ice type to smile. "Now take a nice rest. You deserve it." With that, Ash returned his Pokemon to his Poke Ball, and walked out of the field.

XXX

By the end of the day, the preliminary round was over, and 256 trainers were standing on the main battlefield watching as Ash was carrying the torch to light the fire, signifying the start of the Ever Grande Conference.

Ash was given the honor to be the one to run the final leg, as he was the winner of the Indigo League, Orange League and the Silver Conference. As such, there is no one more qualified then him to run that last leg and light the fire.

On the stadium seats, were all of Ash's girlfriends, his mother, May, Max and Brock. Amber, her friends, and Serena were on the stadium floor along with the other competitors who have passed the preliminary rounds.

Around the world, many people are watching on TV the lighting of the fire of the Ever Grande Conference, which signified the official start of the tournament.

In the Rota Kingdom, Ilene, Urahara and Shelly were watching together with smiles on their faces, as they can see Ash's run.

In the Pallet Town the same situation is at Oaks' Ranch, where Professor Oak was watching the start of the tournament along with his assistant, Tracy, as well as Grace, Caroline and Jane.

Red and Riley were also watching the start of the Ever Grande Conference, but they were watching from the former Mauville City, which is now completely demolished, and the construction of the Mauville Tower is going fast, with about a quarter of it already being built.

Just as Ash's family and friends were watching Ash's run with the torch, so were his enemies. Deep in the castle of the Shadow Legion, Freya is currently seating on her throne, watching on TV the start of the Ever Grande Conference. Around her, most of her closest subordinates - them being the numbered agents - were also watching the start.

The reason they are all watching this, is because Freya wanted to see how Ash and Serena battle, see their Pokemon and their skill level. So far, she never had a chance to see them in person, but seeing them on TV will be better than simply being updated on the progress of those two by her spies who are following them all the time.

Thinking about the spies which are following Ash and Serena, Freya remembered Shelly, and frowned as she still didn't know what happened to her. Ever since Shelly was given a go on releasing the Giant Claydol from the Izabe Lake so that Ash and Serena could be tested, no one has seen or heard from her again. It's been almost two months since then, and Freya has even sent some agents to search around the Izabe Lake and the Island, but there was nothing indicating what happened to Shelly. It made Freya wonder if she might have been killed if she was caught by Ash Ketchum. She knew that Ash is not someone how has a problem with killing, as he has killed Proton and was close to kill several other people. As such, it's not impossible that he might have killed Shelly, but the question is, what happened to her body, and why wasn't she able to find some news about anyone's death, when her agents have been very thorough in their search for Shelly and all the information about what happened near Izabe Lake.

Right now, Freya has Blaise and Ann in the Ever Grande City, as they've been following Ash ever since he left Izabe Island. At the same time, she has several agents - lower level agents - searching for Shelly, and finally, she has Jane in deep covered operation in Pallet Town. From the last information she was given by Jane, she was able to become friends with Delia, Caroline and Professor Oak, but Red, Riley and Grace still don't trust her and think that she might be an agent of the Shadow Legion. Even with her powers in use, she couldn't bring those three on her side, and it's frustrating.

That mistrust that Red, Riley and Grace have for Jane, and her inability to manipulate them with her powers, is what's keeping Jane from proceeding with the plans that Freya came up with, but Freya is a patient person - at times at least - and can wait for the right opportunity to strike. There is no hurry, she can play a long game with the Ketchum Family, but in the end, she will win and get what she wants the most.

Anyway, with Shelly gone, and no news about her whereabouts, Freya was left with #7 spot empty, and since she didn't know if Shelly is still alive, even though she is searching for her, she had to make some changes in the ranking of her subordinates. As such, agent #8, became #7. Agent #9, which was Jane, is now #8. #10 used to be Julian, until his death, after which he was replaced by the 13-year old girl, named, Athena. Athena was currently traveling as a Pokemon Trainer, but she is still a member of the Shadow Legion, and highly skilled one for her age. She will most certainly become one of the highest ranked ones in the few years, and Freya has great expectation of her, especially because of who she is. Now though, with Shelly gone, and with the ranking changed, Athena was once again promoted and from #10 was moved to #9.

There is no new #10, as there is no one in the organization capable of taking that place… well, actually, there is one, but she isn't a numbered agent, even if her skills are high enough for her to be #1 agent. She is an enforcer, and she will stay like that, away from the spotlight and from the eyes of other members.

Because she lost several members of her organization lately, starting with Lawrence, and then Julian, Martin, David and now Shelly, Freya had to make many changes in the ranking, but she also has to find new members who have some skill to become ranking officers, because of what she has left, and some which have joined lately, none of them have skills or talent to become numbered agents any time soon. So, after the Ever Grande Conference ends, she plans to send some agents around the world, to find new people with high skills in any field, to make them join her organization, so that when the times comes, she will have people with skill and power to rival the Ketchum Family and their allies.

With that decided, Freya focused back on the TV, which was currently showing Ash, waiving at the crowd from the top of the stadium where he has just lit the fire for the start of the Ever Grande Conference.