Essence

by vincentgrey21

Ash has always wanted to be a pokemon master. When the time comes for him to pick out his first pokemon, he shocks Professor Oak with a peculiar request. One thing leads to another, and he ends up with a loyal Growlithe. How will this unique situation affect the boy's destiny?

15. Kanto 15

Kanto 15: Essence

"She's been taken into League custody," replied Sabrina as she let out a deep sigh, "I leave for the Indigo Plateau in three days. Lance is handling the news as expected. He wants me to continue chipping away at her mental barrier."

"What about Petrel?" asked Ash — thankful to hear that the Champion was being reasonable.

"He wants me to focus on Ariana for now," she explained, "Wallace was gracious enough to send over the twins to start working on Petrel."

"The twins?" asked Ash curiously.

"Tate and Liza Wong. They are fraternal twins that act in tandem as the gym leaders in Mossdeep City," said Sabrina with a blank expression, "they are psychic prodigies. Together, they are almost as strong as I am. But, they are young. We'll see how they fare."

"If they're almost as strong as you…" said Ash, "shouldn't they be able to do it?"

"With enough time, yes," answered Sabrina, "but, Lance says that Petrel's mental barrier is even more formidable than Ariana's. I am expected to join them as soon as I am finished."

"Are you getting closer?"

"Slowly," said Sabrina as she cracked her fingers, "I was beginning to see fragments of the abomination."

"It's terrifying…" expressed Ash

"The images weren't—" started Sabrina, before stopping herself, "what did you—"

Ash interrupted her and disclosed the reason for his call.

He told Sabrina everything…

The cave.

The alpha.

The visions.

Mew.

And his identity.

"I see…" said Sabrina, biting her bottom lip as she used both of her pointer fingers to massage her temples, "I had a feeling…"

Ash knew he should have called her right after it happened, but he couldn't. It had nothing to do with how he felt about Sabrina. He cared for her immensely. But, due to her dry personality and frequent habit of divulging cold, hard truths, Ash needed time to work through his own feelings in concern to his current reality.

"About Mew?" questioned Ash, "or the fact that I'm the Chosen One?"

"Both," replied Sabrina, matter-of-factly.

It's not like they hadn't tossed around the idea that Willow's friend could be Mew. From the very beginning, it made sense. A being that was limitlessly more powerful than a primeval ninetails that had battled legendaries and lived to tell the tale — well…how many possibilities could there be? Likely none that didn't have legendary ramifications. Of those legendaries, the only one that had a motive was Mew. The abomination was artificially spliced together using its DNA. Ash would never presume that he could interpret the thoughts of a being of Mew's caliber. But, if the S-ranked legendary possessed feelings that even somewhat resembled those of a human or other pokemon, they had to be complex in regard to the existence of the abomination. Thus, it wasn't hard to connect the dots.

When it came to the matter regarding whether or not Ash was the Chosen One…to his dismay, it was apparent that he was the only one that was still trying to wrap his mind around the gravity of it.

"What are you thinking?" asked Ash as Sabrina closed her eyes with a look that portrayed deep concentration.

Sabrina let out a heavy sigh before reopening her pink eyes, "I'm trying to decide whether it's good or bad that Mew is involved."

She paused, showing Ash a slight frown before continuing, "I already know how I feel about you being the Chosen One."

"Mew being a part of all of this has got to be a good thing, right?" asked Ash, deciding to temporarily table Sabrina's opinion concerning his destiny. If Sabrina wanted to elaborate, she would do so regardless of whether or not he asked.

"It could be…there's certainly nothing else in Kanto that has a higher probability of annihilating the abomination," muttered Sabrina.

Ash gulped, "annihilate?"

"I grant it that doesn't sit well with you?" queried Sabrina with a blank expression.

"Of course not…" uttered the dark-haired boy — conflicted, "I mean…no matter how it was created, it's still a pokemon, right?"

"If we consider non-organic beings such as magnemite and porygon to be pokemom," explained Sabrina, "then I don't see how the abomination could be distinguished as an exception."

"Well, since it's a pokemon, shouldn't we be trying to reason with it?"

"We should…" said Sabrina, "but according to what Mew showed you, it likely has already tried."

"The meeting in the cave?"questioned Ash, making sure that they were on the same page.

"Yes," replied Sabrina, "the fact that Mew is waiting half a year to confront the copy isn't just to buy time. During your conversation with Willow, she said that the abomination was seeking its purpose and that they were hoping it wasn't as evil as they thought, correct?"

"Yeah," said Ash, "that's what she said."

"If we analyze the visions that Mew presented to you," stated Sabrina, "the scraping of the DNA has without a doubt already happened. The meeting in the cave likely has as well. My assumption is that the only reason Mew knows the abomination is confused, and looking for its purpose, is because they've already had a conversation."

"Couldn't Mew have read its mind?"

"I doubt it," answered the gym leader while using her index finger to twirl her long, jet-black hair, "If Mew could read its mind then waiting wouldn't be necessary. The most likely outcome would already be evident."

"What do you mean?" asked Ash — not following.

"Mew is too powerful of a psychic to not also possess the abilities of an empath. If it could read the abomination's mind, it would know its feelings. Even if it was in a state of confusion, Mew would be able to decipher the outcome with the highest probability. The fact that Mew is waiting, but is aware of its condition, implies that it has at the very least come in contact with the abomination by means of a host. But, due to your vision. I would guess that they have met face-to-face."

"Gotcha…" muttered Ash, attempting to comprehend Sabrina's long oration.

"A clash between two orbs of energy…" uttered Sabrina, placing her hand on her chin, "that must be the future."

"Definitely," replied Ash, "if something like that had already happened, we would know about it. The amount of power was mind boggling."

"Exactly," said Sabrina, "which means the vague vision of salvation and destruction is likely trying to convey two possible outcomes that can result from their battle."

Her expression became dire as she continued, "complete destruction — or a peaceful resolution."

Ash took a deep breath, "so, you're saying we won't know if Mew's involvement is good or bad until it's over?"

"no…" replied Sabrina, "I'm saying that a battle between two S-ranked legendaries can only take place because Mew is involved. If it weren't, our only options would be to negotiate or capture it with the Master Ball."

"Aren't both of those options still on the table?"

"They are," answered Sabrina, "my point is that a battle between powers of that magnitude has the potential to be devastating, and Mew knows that. It wants this to be resolved peacefully, but it showed you a vivid vision of its showdown with the abomination. A vivid vision from a psychic of even my caliber signifies that it's absolute. Meaning, destiny has demanded that the only way to reach either conclusion is for a battle between the two to ensue first. Only then, can we tip the scales towards salvation or destruction."

"Oh…" drawled Ash as his pulse started to hasten.

"Ash Ketchum, try not to freak out with what I'm about to say next," said Sabrina in a serious intonation, "you need to know now."

His stomach started to drop.

"You're the Chosen One," she said gently, "Mew has made it clear that your presence at this pivotal battle is being mandated by fate."

His chest started to tighten.

"It has presented you with three visions that are unconditional."

His legs started to shake.

"And two possible outcomes that can occur depending on what happens."

He started to sweat.

"You have to be there," she placed a hand on her forehead in frustration, "because you are the catalyst. I'm so sorry, Ash Ketchum, but the deciding factor will be you."

This is why he was afraid to call Sabrina.

He leaned forward and vomited all over the mock arena's gravel surface as Growlithe and Charmeleon rushed over to comfort him.

XXX

Most of the drive to Albert Montgomery's old residence was significantly less enjoyable than his trip to the Safari Zone. As they headed east, Fuchsia gradually became more modern. The architecture got taller and more contemporary, and the rustic structures that provided western Fuchsia its unique charm were few and far between. The streets were consumed by heavy traffic, and the shops lacked any semblance of distinctiveness. Every park that they passed by was industrial — and in complete contrast to Old Town Fuchsia — there were hardly any pokemon in sight.

For the majority of the ride, Ash had wondered why a pokemon researcher like Albert would choose to live in this part of the city. It wasn't until the unfriendly cab driver started heading towards the southeastern edge of Fuchsia that Ash understood. There was a pocket that was reminiscent of North Fuchsia. It was quiet, green, and although the neighborhoods weren't bucolic, Ash thought they seemed like pleasant places to live.

The houses in Albert's old neighborhood were modest in size, which was what Ash had expected. His destination had been in the Montgomery family since long before the founding of Silph Co.. Bill had disclosed to him that when his grandmother passed away more than twenty years ago, his grandfather decided to move back to Fuchsia where they shared an abundance of precious memories together. Apparently, the death of his wife was one of the leading causes as to why he began to drown himself in his research.

The old Montgomery residence was a white single-family home with a gable roof made out of terra cotta tiles. There was a picket fence that was painted the same chiffan white as the house. It wrapped around the perimeter in the shape of a rectangle, giving the property a decent-sized front yard. The lawn was mowed and the bushes had been trimmed. It was clear that at the very least someone had been taking care to make sure that everything looked nice from the outside.

As the cab driver drove off, Ash released Growlithe and Eevee.

"Hey, guys, this is it," he said as he pointed at the average-sized home.

Ash had explained to the canine and the kit the night before that they would be visiting Bill's grandpa's old house. They both seemed excited. Growlithe loved Bill, and Eevee had gotten to know him well enough — albeit, from the screen on Ash's xtransceiver.

As they walked atop the pavers that led to the entrance, Ash removed the silver house key from his coat pocket. Earlier that morning, Bill had sent him a copy of the key using the pokemon center's PC transfer system. The moment he opened the door, he could feel an uncomfortable tickle in his nose from all of the dust. Growlithe and Eevee hacked after taking a cloud of tiny dirt particles straight to the face. Ash couldn't help but wonder why Robert and Bill didn't pay a house cleaner to keep the place tidy; they certainly could afford it. He came to the conclusion that it must not hold the same amount of sentimental value to them as it did Albert.

"Are you sure you guys don't want to go back in your pokeballs?" asked Ash as he looked down at his friends, "it's really dusty in here."

Growlithe and Eevee both shook their heads even though they were clearly bothered. His canine seemed to be especially affected on account of his hyper sensitive nose.

Ash's jaw dropped when he saw the sheer volume of books and loose papers that were littered all over what he thought was the living room. They covered the floor. They buried the furniture. And swallowed the coffee table. He had his suspicions because of the egregious amount of dust, but Ash had a feeling that this place hadn't been touched since Albert died.

As they gradually traipsed over the top of the mounds of scholarly material, Ash called Bill.

"Ring…"

"Ring…"

"Ring…"

"Click."

"Are you there?!" answered Bill as Ash's foot slipped off of the hardcover of a book, causing a spurt of dust to disperse.

"What does it look like!?" coughed Ash, listening to Growlithe and Eevee's continuous wheezing, "what the hell, Bill!? This place is filthy!"

"It is?" queried Bill in a confused manner, "but, we've been paying a housekeep—"

"It's a s-cam!" yelled Ash as he tripped and rolled down a heap of manuscripts, causing Growlithe and Eevee to groan from sensory induced agony, "your getting scammed!"

"The bloody mutter!" cursed Bill, seething with rage, "taking advantage of a grieving family! Who the hell does that!?"

"I don't know Bill, but where's the den! I want out of here ASAP!"

"Where are you in the house?" questioned Bill — confused "all I can see is books."

"I think I'm about to cross the living room!" coughed Ash, "I swear this is almost as bad as the smoke in Saffron!"

"It can't be that bad, Ash," replied Bill, "it's only been seven years."

"You've been paying a fake housekeeper for seven years!?" shouted Ash, astonished, "where's the den, Bill!?"

"Once you get past the living room, hang a left down the hall," answered Bill, "it'll be the first door on your right."

"What hall?!" shouted Ash, "there is no hall!"

"There's definitely a hall…" drawled Bill, "unless…"

"Unless what?!"

"The abomination has altered my memories!" cried Bill, "it doesn't want you to reach the bloody den! It wants to make you doubt your identity!"

Ash mentally face palmed. If the abomination was thorough enough to plant fake memories in Bill's head, regarding a hallway to a den, then the world was doomed.

"I think it's just blocked by a bunch of books," stated Ash.

Sometimes, it was hard to believe that his friend was considered a world renowned genius.

"Growlithe use Ember!" bellowed Bill, "burn that blockade to the ground!"

Ash shook his head in disbelief as Growlithe and Eevee looked up at him in a confused manner.

As Bill talked his ear off about how he planned on producing something called Jumbo Pokemon Food — an idea that he came up with while he was researching the shiny dragonite with the king's nature — Ash, Growlithe, and Eevee began to clear the hallway. Every so often, the dark-haired boy would read the title of a book or dissertation that caught his attention: Growth After Final Evolution, Understanding the Developing Nature of Learnsets, The Mystic Elements. He considered asking Bill if he could borrow a couple of them, but who was he kidding? He had enough reading that he had to do when it came to 'The Legend of the Chosen One'.

Once they moved enough books and essays to climb over the top, Ash was thankful to find that the disarray of academic paraphernalia had come to an end. Per Bill's instructions, Ash, Growlithe and Eevee walked through the first open doorway on the right. After finding the switch to turn on the light, he had entered a small study. Other than the slew of dust that was consistent with the rest of the neglected home, the den was relatively organized.

All of the books and coverless manuscripts were on mounted bookshelves, leaving no clutter to be found. There was a small charcoal gray couch accompanied by a matching colored rocking chair. Next to the couch was a tall wooden floor lamp with a cream colored shade. Across from the sitting area was a modest brick fireplace. It was evident that it hadn't been used in a long time, but there was still some brittle firewood on the soot covered, heavy duty fireplace grate. On the wall, opposite of the door, was a wide-ranging golden framed painting in which the details were impossible to make out because of the thick coat of grime.

"Do you see it!?" queried Bill as Ash looked down at his xtransceiver.

Now that the treacherous quest from the front door to the den was complete, he could actually take the time to take a look at Bill. Even though it was the afternoon, his friend was still in his pajamas. Ash tried not to laugh as he took in the appearance of Bill's buttoned up caterpie themed onesie and disheveled hair.

"What in the world are you wearing?" asked Ash with a raised eyebrow and an incredulous expression.

Bill looked down at his outfit, pinching and pulling on the material with an expression of pride, "don't you like my new jammies? I made them myself."

Growlithe and Eevee looked up at their trainer with looks of amusement. There was a palpable reason that all of his pokemon adored Bill.

He was never boring…

Ash shook his head and face palmed as he changed the subject, "anyways, what am I supposed to be looking at?"

"The bloody painting!" squealed Bill, clearly excited.

"You mean this," quipped Ash, pointing the xtransceiver in the direction of the dust covered art piece.

"Wipe it off! Wipe it off! Wipe it off! Wipe it off!" chanted Bill like he was at a sporting event.

Ash let out a deep sigh as he approached the painting with Growlithe and Eevee following behind him.

"Do you think I can just have Wartortle—"

"That will ruin it," interrupted Bill, "you're gonna have to wipe it down yourself. Just use your shirt."

"I don't want to use my shirt!" retorted Ash, "if I do, I'll never be able to wear it again!"

"Your destiny, or a shirt…" crooned Bill, "you must decide…"

"That's the dumbest ultimatum I've ever heard!" blurted the dark-haired boy, "there's got to be something else I can use."

After looking around for a couple of minutes, Ash found a big basket of blankets in a small storage closet a little bit further down the hall. Grabbing the topmost blanket from the surprisingly folded pile, he had Growlithe and Eevee stand back as he shook it out, causing another blowout of filthy grime. Once he made his way back to the den, he dragged the charcoal colored chair over to the wall that the broad painting occupied. In order to reach high enough to clean the art piece from the topdown, Ash proceeded to climb up on the chair.

"Big, isn't it?" said Bill, "Just wait til you see this bloody thing."

As Ash began to wipe away the filth, he saw a gorgeously painted dark blue, early evening sky. The precise silver strokes that formed the night's stars had an intentional, gentle smear enveloping each one in order to convey their sublime glow.

He worked his way from left to right unveiling a large, bright iridescent full moon with a soft bluish tint, and what looked like the end of a large light yellow wing that was engulfed in flames. He carefully uncovered the rest of the image of an archaic, raging, flamed avian that took up the top right corner of the piece.

"That's a moltres," explained Bill, catching a glimpse, "magnificent isn't it. Now clean off the rest."

"Okay, okay…" griped Ash as he found himself lost in the grandeur of the ignited legendary.

When he rubbed off the dust in the middle of the painting, a big bright yellow bird with a long, thin orange beak and a mass of spiky black and yellow feathers was glaring straight at him. It was surrounded by sharp, jagged bolts of streaking gold and white lightning.

"Woah…" muttered Ash in awe.

"Zapdos…" uttered Bill, "what a terrifying sight that's going to be."

With a befuddled expression from Bill's comment, Ash swung the blanket over before cleaning off the center-left part of the painting. A majestic sky blue avian with blood red eyes and icy wings was peering down. It was enveloped in a condensed, swirling hailstorm.

"The elegantly chilling articuno," inserted Bill.

"It's beautiful…" said Ash with a prolonged intonation, particularly captivated by the legendary ice-type.

Before Bill could instruct him, Ash used the blanket to reveal the rest of the art piece. Sprawled across the bottom was the back of a silver-white winged beast. It had dark blue, smooth, plate-like protrusions that jetted out of its back. The ends of its wings resembled large hands. Painted in a way that it faced opposite of Kanto's exalted legendary bird trio, its face could not be seen.

Ash froze.

Sitting atop the nape of its neck was the back of a boy. He faced towards the trio of legendary elemental avians. Like the beast, Ash couldn't see the boy's face, but everything else was the same.

The dark hair.

The backpack.

The fingerless gloves.

The hat.

"That's me…" muttered Ash as he shakily pointed to the boy in the painting."

"I thought so…" replied Bill in a serious manner, "I'd completely forgotten about it…but as I read the prophecy, I started to remember…"

"H-how old is this painting?"

"I don't know," replied Bill, "it's been there since I was a kid."

"Wh-who painted it?"

"I don't know…"

Written in the bottom right corner in dark cursive letters was:

Though the waters great guardian shall rise to quell the fighting, alone its song will fail, thus the earth shall turn to Ash.

"I-it says my n-name," stammered Ash.

"It does?"

"A-ash is c-capitalized."

"Bloody hell…"

"W-what am I riding?" asked Ash.

"'The Guardian of the Sea' — Johto's legendary Lugia…"

"From the p-p-prophecy?" stuttered Ash

"Yes, from the prophecy…" said Bill in a prolonged manner.

"W-what the hell is wrong with m-my life?"

"Nothing!" blurted Bill with a massive grin on his face, "I think it's bloody riveting!"

Welp, at least someone was excited about it…

Maybe his anxiety was gradually getting better. This time…he didn't throw up.

XXX

"Even faster this time," said Ash, "deep breath. Flick your tongue. Quick exhale. Then fire!"

A condensed burst of flames rocketed towards the slate practice target, hissing as it pierced through the air. Upon impact, it blasted outward with breadth, causing the gravel ground to sizzle.

"That was it!" cheered Ash, "great job, Growlithe!

His pup trotted over to his side, looking for affection.

Ash happily crouched down and scratched the fur behind Growlithe's ear with one hand while he reached for Wartortle's pokeball with the other.

"Now, let's try it in a spar," suggested Ash as he let out Wartortle, "if we want to use it against Koga, we're gonna have to practice with movement."

Growlithe nodded as he divulged a determined bark.

Ash pivoted his eyes over to his turtle pokemon, "can you help us out for a second, Wartortle? Growlithe is practicing Flame Burst. I just need you to dodge."

Wartortle let out an affirmative grunt before putting distance between himself and the canine.

"Once we're done," said Ash, keeping his eyes on the shelled reptile, "we'll practice Water Pulse, okay?"

Wartortle smirked.

A gentle smile formed on Ash's face. His turtle pokemon's emotions were slowly starting to surface.

They'd come a long way…

"Alright, let's do this!" commanded Ash, "Growlithe, Flame Burst!"

The canine provoked another concise fusillade of flames as Wartortle rapidly began to evade.

XXX

Ivysaur's legs started to lengthen and bulge as the rest of his body gained mass. His head began to grow, but his bud and leafy green fronds remained stuck.

Growlithe divulged a deflated yowl, watching his friend come up short once again.

"You're still not releasing enough," explained Ash, "I know it's more difficult because it's not located in your bud, but you should be able to do it if you think big and just let it go."

Ivysaur nodded as he let out a spry snort.

They had been working on Growth for a couple of weeks now. Ash wouldn't necessarily say Ivysaur was struggling with the technique, but progress had slowed down. The problem was that Ivysaur was so used to relying on his bud for status techniques that potency was proving to be an issue. Ivysaur had yet to produce enough growth hormone to get the technique to extend to any part of the plant on his back.

Growth was a normal-type move that involved the secretion of a particular enhanced growth hormone that some species could trigger through their pituitary gland. Activation caused the pokemon's size to temporarily increase, boosting their strength. It was also twice as effective when there was harsh sunlight, making it the perfect complement to Ivysaur's inherent ability as well as a number of his moves. Once the saurian grass-type mastered Growth, he could initiate a devastating chain of status-type techniques that would give him a massive advantage in battle.

Sunny Day would activate Chlorophyll to enhance Ivysuar's speed. It would also double the effect of Growth, significantly increasing his size and strength. Ivysuar could then use Sweet Scent to slowdown his opponents. A bigger and faster Ivysaur in contrast to a sluggish adversary would make it easier to land Poison Powder and Sleep Powder. In essence, Ivysaur would become a status-technique wielding technician that would only become even more overwhelming once he evolved into a venusaur.

Ash hoped it would be ready in time for Koga. It wasn't likely that he would use Ivysaur, but there was a chance. It depended on what Koga did. If it was a traditional four-on-four gym battle, he planned on using Growlithe, Pidgeot, Haunter and Rhyhorn. That lineup gave him the best chance to succeed against the pokemon the poison-type specialist was known to use against challenging trainers. The only reason Ivysaur would participate would be if it ended up being a five-on-five or a six-on-six battle. If that happened, then Ash would have to come up with a last second contingency plan depending upon what Koga threw at him.

"Let's try it one more time in a bit," proposed Ash, taking a knee in order to lower himself down to Ivysaur's level, "once you trigger it, release as much as you can. The more you use it — the more you will produce."

Ash waited for the botched Growth attempt to wear off before showing Ivysaur an expression that portrayed confidence, "You've got this."

Growlithe trotted over and gave Ivysuar an encouraging bark.

After flashing Growlithe a soft expression, Ivysuar looked his trainer in the eyes with determination as a green glow enveloped his saurian body. It flared outward. In its immediate aftermath, the saurian grass-type began to grow. Ivysaur's legs swelled as he grew taller. His spots stretched as his body broadened. And his head expanded in proportion with the rest of his body. But this time, despite the fact that his bud didn't budge, Ivysaur's fronds lengthened and enlarged.

All that was left was the bud, and Growth would be complete.

XXX

There was no practical way to work on Drill Run within the public battle facility, so they were just outside of Fuchsia. In order to measure their progress, they needed various-sized targets, and leeway for destruction. On the back of Pidgeot, Ash had spotted a formation of boulders — some were bigger than others — about a half mile west of Fuchsia's city limits at the end of Route 18.

This was where the dark-haired boy had settled upon training his brute.

Ash stroked his rock slated mammal's horn as he looked down at the pulverized boulder with a wide smile.

"That was great," crooned Ash, "you timed that perfectly. We've got some more practicing to do, but I think it will be ready for your big battle."

Growlithe seconded his trainer by divulging a congratulatory yip.

Rhyhorn blithely rocked his hulking body from side-to-side as he let out a bellow of satisfaction, celebrating his advancement.

It had taken a little more than half a week, but Ash had taught Rhyhorn the fundamentals that he needed to perform the vicious ground-type technique. Back when Ash had observed the dual-type's many attempts to perform the technique in the Safari Zone, it was obvious to him what the problem was. Rhyhorn hadn't been shifting his plates.

Although they are not removable, the rhyhorn line has the ability to rearrange and reposition the rock plates that make up their armored hide. The movement of their plates is typically used for grooming and recovery purposes, but Drill Run is one of the few techniques that takes advantage of the species ambulatory stone made exterior.

"This time, pick up as much speed as possible," explained Ash, "when you get close, pick which way you want to spin, then lean and jump. Once you're in the air, drop your plates as low and as hard as you can to that side."

Rhyhorn emitted a breathy snort, blowing air from his nostrils, letting his new trainer know that he was ready.

Ash pointed at a medium-sized boulder. It was significantly smaller than the last one that the brute demolished.

"Let's go for a smaller one this time," said Ash with a smirk, "you're going to have to stay low and be more precise. Most of your opponents won't be as big as you, especially once you evolve."

The dual-type nodded his head vigorously as he carefully listened to everything that Ash said.

Rhyhorn's species wasn't typically known for having a strong intellect, but the young trainer's specimen had fairly prudent processing abilities. He was definitely one-track minded, but Ash kind of liked that. It made him easy to train, and when he thought about the looming challenge of taming the malevolent leviathan that was securely clipped to his waist, the ten-year-old boy couldn't be more grateful.

The brute pawed the ground with his right anterior hoof before initiating his charge. Rhyhorn gained a full head of steam as he barreled forward, kicking up a trailing cloud of grass and dirt. Ahead of the collision, Rhyhorn tilted his body to the right and leaped. He harshly shifted the plates and spikes on his back downward to his right side. He rapidly spiraled at a staggering velocity, but he'd gotten too much air. There was a terse screech as Rhyhorn clipped the highest point of the boulder with his horn. He took the top clean off, causing a fissure that traveled to the base of the large stone.

"Almost!" yelled Ash as he and his canine bounded over to Rhyorn, who stood atop a pile of rubble, "you're going to have to adjust a little more to the size of your opponent, but that will come with time."

Rhyhorn nodded and emitted a low grunt.

"We're also going to have to smoothen out your horn a little bit. I bought a file and a buffer yesterday."

Rhyhorn tilted his head and let out an inquisitive trumpeting sound.

"Most pokemon have way stronger constitutions than those boulders," elucidated Ash, "but, in order to be able to compete in official battles, your horn can't be as sharp as it is right now. We just want to prove we're stronger than our opponents. We don't want to permanently injure them."

Rhyhorn took a minute to comprehend Ash's words before making a noise that portrayed hesitancy.

Ash had gotten a pretty good grasp of Rhyhorn's personality over the past handful of days. He knew the dual-type's uncertain reaction wasn't because he wanted to maim other pokemon. It was because the rhyhorn line took great pride in their horn.

"Don't worry," reassured Ash, "we're just going to dull the tip and polish the sides a little bit. You'll barely notice. Besides, it'll look great."

Growlithe gave the dual-type a look coveying that everything would be okay.

Rhyhorn acknowledged the canine, but still looked slightly unsure.

"There's trained rhyperior out there even stronger than the one's in the valley," said Ash in an encouraging intonation, "all of them get their horn groomed."

Rhyhorn's eyes lightened up for a brief moment before becoming more decisive. He gave his trainer a brusque approving gesture of the head.

"Good. We'll take care of that in a little bit. How about we take a quick break before we practice Take Down?"

The brute responded with a ratifying bellow.

XXX

Every night — even when he felt like his anxiety was going to shatter his consciousness — Ash trained Eevee under the watchful eyes of the moon and the stars. Ever since they had come to the decision to try for and umbreon evolution, the only nights they'd missed were those spent within the Safari Zone.

They had figured out Charm rather quickly, using a low frequency wave of Clefairy's thaumaturgic energy to jumpstart Eevee's congenital knack for interpreting fairy-type properties at a rudimentary level. Ash was a little nervous about teaching Eevee a fairy-type move out of concern that it could possibly influence her evolution. But, everything he read said that it wasn't that big of a deal. Apparently, when it came to achieving a sylveon evolution, there was a lot more involved than faint exposure to thaumaturgic energy

Utilizing the small traces of thaumaturgic energy that Eevee could now conjure on her own, the evolution pokemon was now capable of bewitching her opponents to a degree in which they would be unable to access there full-power. It worked in combination with Eevee's adorable appearance, enrapturing a pokemon to the point where they unknowingly and reflexively held back. During Eevee's sparring sessions with the others, it had proven to be extremely effective. Almost to the point where Ash felt like it was cheating. He wondered if it was more potent because of her alluring silver coat.

Since they had made quick work of Charm, Eevee was now learning Double-Edge, a technique that Ash despised. It was an even more reckless form of Take Down in which Eevee threw her body headfirst at her opponent like a battering ram. Unlike Take Down — where a pokemon could pounce on its target in a way that it was possible to limit the recoil — Double-Edge would always be perilous. It was not a technique that should be used unless Eevee was desperate.

The dark-haired boy had debated skipping over the risky normal-type technique, but his kit was insistent that she learn it. Ash had spent a lot of time sifting through his pokedex — with Eevee's observant eyes glued to the screen — studying her moveset. At the time, he wanted her to master as much of her eevee moveset as possible before some of the techniques became unlearnable post evolution. During this time, his kit had become even more obsessed than him with the idea of carrying over as many moves from her primary stage as she could.

Double-Edge — for whatever reason — couldn't be attained as an umbreon, so Eevee wanted it.

Ash had agreed to help her with it under one condition: she practiced it safely.

He also made a rule for himself. The dark-haired boy would never command her to use it. If she chose to use it of her own volition, then so be it.

"There's not all that much to it," said Ash with his pup beside him as Eevee pulled herself out of the thick bush, "I'm pretty sure you're doing it right. The only way we'd know for sure is if you used it in battle."

Eevee gave him a mischievous look before glancing over at Growlithe.

"I said battle…" groaned Ash, rolling his eyes. "I'm not letting you use it while sparring."

Eevee whimpered, looking up at him with big, pleading eyes.

The canine looked up at Ash with a befuddled expression.

Ash gave Growlithe a shrug before pivoting his attention back to Eevee.

"I'm not gonna budge. You're not spearing your teammates with your skull," chided Ash, shaking his head and waving his finger, "we'll keep practicing your form on safe targets to make sure you feel confident about it, but we're not going to spend too much time on this one."

She lowered her ears and sulked.

Was Eevee a masochist?

XXX

Ash cut his cab ride short. For the past forty-five minutes, all he'd seen were sky scrapers, shopping centers, stodgy looking restaurants, and thousands of people going through the motions. In the young trainer's opinion, sightseeing through Central and East Fuchsia wasn't worth the cost of fare.

He knew it would only get worse as he continued heading east, so he decided to bypass the rest of it entirely by flying to his destination atop Pidgeot. They flew at a low enough altitude to confirm the information that Nurse Joy had disclosed to him on his very first day in Fuchsia.

This part of the city was a dreary concrete jungle.

As they approached the outskirts of the northeastern part of Fuchsia, Ash checked the GPS on his xtransceiver. He had plugged the address in directly, so he knew that they were getting close. About two miles east of where the cityscape ceased, the dark-haired boy saw it.

"Down there!" shouted Ash, pointing at the far-reaching old cattle ranch.

He couldn't help but be reminded of the Safari Zone as he took in the sight of the bounteous tauros. Albeit, in contrast to the stampeding he'd seen in the Center Area of the momentous preserve, these tauros were mild and grazing. There were also a copious amount of ponyta. The cream colored, blazing equidae galloped between the fences and rested within the many stables.

Once the flying-type landed, and Ash disembarked, he let out Growlithe. After overhearing the gasps and astonished chatter of some onlookers in response to the sight of Pidgeot, he hastily returned the avian.

What used to be the main house of the ranch was made out of red brick. It had a brown low-pitched roof with deep eaves. If Ash had to guess, he'd assume it was at least three thousand square-feet. The windows were rectangular and tall, and the front door was wide open. Several people frequented in and out of the converted store that used to be the living space of the family that had owned the Fuchsia City Pokemon Corral.

At one point, it had taken up all of what is now Fuchsia's northeastern district. The Pokemon Corral used to work in tandem with the Safari Zone as a refuge for a handful of hoofed species. Most notably the ponyta line — a species that Baboa had never let into the preserve out of fear that the non-extinguishable flames all over its body would endanger several of the habitats.

Nowadays, the ranch that had been renamed Gourmet Pokemon acted as the most acclaimed pokemon nutritional hub in all of Kanto. Ash had earmarked it prior to arriving in Fuchsia as a place that was a necessity for him to visit before he left the city of soul.

They specialized in concocting highly enriched pokemon food that was custom-made for each distinct evolutionary line in Kanto. According to what Ash had read, they did their best to blend each individualized species' food with what they would normally eat in the wild. Obviously, they had to improvise when it came to instinctually carnivorous pokemon, but they utilized substitutes that contained the same nutrients. Each batch was infused with supplements that contained ample protein, zinc, calcium, carbos, iron, and a multitude of other performance boosting vitamins and minerals. Not to mention, pokemon found it to be doubtlessly delicious. Ash really hoped that they had some for a species as rare as Clefairy. The fairy-type was absolutely obsessed with standard pokemon food. Ash couldn't imagine how infatuated she would be by a blend that was tailor-made to satisfy her taste buds.

"Come on, buddy," said Ash with a laugh as he looked down at his starter, "let's go in."

Growlithe's tail was frenetically wagging back and forth like a windshield wiper during a torrential downpour. His nostrils were pulsing, and if they stayed put any longer his pup would be watering the grass with his dripping saliva. It was too late now, but Ash wondered if it wouldn't have been a bad idea to keep Growlithe in his pokeball until he was done. An environment such as this one might be too overstimulating when it came to aromatic arousal.

As they entered the converted store, Ash was shocked to see that it was rather bare. Outside of what once was the house's living room, no other parts of the one-story structure were accessible to customers. There were no aisles — just one big metal rack on the left side of the store that had some large stand-up pokemon food bags. The packaging was red, and each one had a picture of a pokemon's face in the center of it. He would estimate that there were somewhere around fifty bags in total. Since most of the bags were duplicates, there were only a handful of species accounted for, most of which were pokemon that could be found in the Safari Zone.

Ash must have had quite the befuddled expression on his face because it didn't take long for one of the meandering Gourmet Pokemon employees to approach and explain to him that he was in a place called the order house. Apparently, the pokemon food displayed on the rack was only occupied by some of their most frequently purchased blends — a time-saving strategy used to appease returning customers. They kept their bountiful supply in the five large barns that could be found spread out on the property, which explained why there were a handful of empty handed customers in the long line that led to the order house's wooden service counter.

"Earth to Growlithe," said Ash, as he got in the back of the line, gesturing for Growlithe to follow him, "over here."

Nothing had changed. His pup was still in a fragrance induced trance, but he managed to breakout of it for long enough to mosey over to Ash's side.

Due to the considerably lengthy line, it took about twenty minutes for Ash and his pup to reach the counter.

The woman standing behind the long, tall counter made out of oak looked to be in her early to mid-thirties. She had light brown hair with a bob haircut. Her face was devoid of makeup, and she gave off a granola, naturalistic impression. The employee whose sleek, silver pinned name tag read: Marta, had a cheery disposition. She wore a winsome light blue collared shirt that had the words 'Gourmet Pokemon' sewn into the top left corner.

"Welcome to Gourmet Pokemon, my name is Marta, how may I help you?" said the employee with a pleasant smile that had customer service written all over it.

"I'd like to buy some pokemon food," replied Ash reciprocating the smile.

Ash could feel Growlithe's manic tail rhythmically smacking against his leg like a metronome.

"No problem," said Marta, reaching out her hand, "may I see your identification please?"

Ash reached into his coat pocket and grabbed his pokedex before handing it over to the light brown-haired woman.

She connected it to a pokedex reader as she examined the information that popped up on her tablet, "okay, Ash, I'm not seeing what pokemon you're carrying on here. What species are you looking to purchase food for?"

Ever since the deranged — and now deceased — member of Team Rocket, Reid, had read aloud the pokemon that Ash was carrying while using his pokedex to register him for the tournament aboard the SS. Anne, Ash had turned that feature off.

"I have twelve," answered Ash, "do you just want me to list them all at once?"

"Are you looking to purchase food for all of them?" queried Marta, raising an eyebrow, "it's pretty expensive."

"I am," answered Ash, thankful that no one was currently behind him in line.

"Okay…" drawled Marta, nodding her head as she gave him a look that portrayed that he was in over his head.

He had a feeling this was going to take a while…

She tapped the screen on her work tablet a couple of times before looking back up at him, "I'm ready. We're going to have to go one at a time. It takes a bit to input the information. Why don't we start with that handsome Growlithe you got there?"

She paused as she took in Growlithe's current condition.

"Smells good, doesn't it," she gave the pup a gentle smile, "don't worry honey, we'll get you taken care of soon."

The wood flooring was beginning to get soaked from Growlithe's drool as the canine emphatically nodded.

"I'm sorry, apologized Ash," looking down at the small puddle, "I'll clean it up before I leave."

"Don't worry about it," replied Marta with a reassuring smile and a wink, "it happens all the time. Besides, have you seen all the tauros and ponyta out there? We're used to messes."

Ash laughed, picking up on her implication.

"How many bags do you want for your Growlithe?"

"Is it a two week supply?" asked Ash, wondering if it was the same amount in quantity as the standard bags of pokemon food from the pokemart.

"That depends on how often your pokemon eat," she answered.

It was a fair question. Pokemon didn't get hungrier while they were in suspended animation, so the amount they ate depended on how often they were out of their capture device.

"When I'm on the road most of my pokemon eat at least two meals a day," explained Ash, "Growlithe eats three meals every day, though, because he spends most of his time outside of his pokeball."

"Gotchya," said Marta, "then each of our bags will last you about three weeks. Our blends are way more filling than standard pokemon food."

"Okay," said Ash doing the math in his head, "I want enough to last me for a year…so…eighteen bags.

He paused as a thought popped into his head, "wait…he's probably gonna need more once he evolves. Let's make it twenty-six. If I need more, I can just fly back on Pidgeot."

She looked at him with an incredulous expression.

"You're joking," she said with a wry laugh, "do you now how much money that is going to cost?"

"You guys are sponsored by Silph Co., right?" asked Ash, already knowing the answer.

"We are…" drawled Marta, "but what does that —"

Ash pulled out his Silph Co. Platinum Card that he had ready to go in his coat pocket and placed it on the counter.

"Is that—"

"It is," replied Ash with a toothy grin.

"Oh…" responded Marta slack jawed with a drawn out intonation, "I've never actually seen one of those in person before."

"It's real," said Ash with a shrug, having dealt with reactions like Marta's plenty of times, "I can call Bill or Robert if you need me to."

She shook her head and waved her hands back and forth unequivocally, "no, no, no, I believe you!"

Marta let out a deep sigh, "so are you going to want a year supply for all of your pokemon?"

"Yeah…" drawled Ash, "and like a six month supply for some of the other pokemon I'm on the look out for."

"I'm assuming you're going to want the premium blends then," she said with a bewildered expression.

"Yes, please."

She pulled out a ruled yellow notepad and a pen, "I'll do the math on how many bags you need…Just list your pokemon."

"So, after Growlithe, there's my pidgeot," he paused as he flattened his hand and lifted it up as high as he could in attempt to convey Pidgeot's massive frame, "he's huge though…"

"How big?"

"I don't know how much he weighs," answered Ash with a hand on his chin, "but he's about ten-feet tall."

"T-ten feet!" scoffed Marta with bulging eyes.

She desperately tried to regain her composure.

"Okay, okay, good to know," she said, nodding as she jotted down the word 'giant' next to Pidgeot's name.

"The rest are all normal sized," stated Ash, figuring he should clarify, "I also have a clefairy."

"You have a—" she interrupted herself as she looked up at the line that was beginning to form behind Ash, "never mind, never mind, I don't have time for a story."

"Then there's Ivysaur."

"Professor Oak?" asked Marta with a raised eyebrow — unable to help herself on account of Ivysaur's status as an endangered pokemon.

"No," replied Ash, "I caught mine."

She shook her head in disbelief, "next?"

Ash was using his fingers to keep track, "next would be Charmeleon."

"Your starter I presume?"

"Nope," retorted Ash as he looked down at his canine with a smile, "Growlithe is actually my starter. I found Charmeleon in really bad shape when he was still a charmander, and he decided to join me."

"I hope he's doing well now," said Marta with a heartfelt expression, "so you have two members of Kanto's original elemental trio. That's neat."

"Actually, I have a wartortle, too," added Ash.

She placed her hand on her forehead, "so you have all three, and not a single one of them is your starter?"

"Yup," said Ash with a smile, "pretty crazy, right?"

"Um…yeah, they're not exactly common pokemon in the wild…and the bulbasaur line is nearly extinct."

At this point the line behind him was starting to get long, making Ash feel uncomfortable.

"I also have a haunter, eev—" said Ash attempting to power through before he was interrupted by Marta.

"Does it eat your dreams?" asked Marta, suppressing her reaction over the rare ghost-type.

"He does, but he eats pokemon food, too."

She nodded her head, writing down Haunter's name.

"That leaves Eevee, Rhyhorn, Gyarados, Scyther and Dratini."

She dropped her pen.

"Excuse me…" she said in a prolonged manner with another look of astonishment, "you wouldn't happen to be the kid that caught a dratini in the Safari Zone the other day, would you?"

"That would be me," replied Ash with a smile.

"Wow…" she said, "this is going to be quite the team if you train them well."

"I plan on it," replied Ash with a smirk.

Marta excused herself for a quick moment as she walked around the counter and apologized to the multitude of people that were in line. There were some irritated customers, but most of them seemed to be understanding. As a matter of fact, there were about three or four of them that appeared to be enjoying eavesdropping on their conversation.

When Marta returned she placed a call on her tablet.

"Ring…"

"Ring…"

"Click."

"Hey, Marta, what's up?" answered the deep voice belonging to a man.

"I'm gonna need you to get the truck, Travis," replied Marta, "I've got a big order I'm gonna need brought over here. I'll call you back in a bit once I'm ready."

"Which truck?" said the man named Travis.

"The big one."

"Okay…" he drawled, "I'll get it ready. The order's that big? How many men am I gonna need to load it up?"

"A lot," she said — unvarnished, "I'll call you back soon."

After ending the call, Marta looked up at Ash with a curious expression before picking her pen back up off of the counter.

"So what other species are you looking for in Kanto?" asked the employee, preparing to the write them down.

"Well, let's see…" replied Ash, placing his hand on his chin.

XXX

It had been a little over a week since he left the Safari Zone. Ash had spent some of that time visiting Bill's grandfather's house, loading up on premium pokemon food, exploring the vast majority of Fuchsia, catching up with his friends via his xtransceiver, and replenishing his travel supplies. Even though he wasn't a fan of East Fuchsia, he had even made it a point to go to one of the few reasonably priced shopping centers in the area to purchase some cold weather clothing. Kanto was a relatively warm region for most of the year, but with the start of winter only a few weeks away, he needed to be prepared for the changing weather.

Despite all of the places he had been to in the city of soul, Ash was very proactive in making sure that it didn't impede with his team's training. They got up early. They stayed up late. And they spent most of their time over the course of each day getting stronger.

Today, in particular, had been especially grueling. Besides Dratini, Gyarados, and Scyther — two of which he had yet to officially meet — all of his friends had participated in at least two training sessions. Ash wanted to face Koga within the next week, and for that to happen, they needed to push themselves.

Presently, Ash was carefully observing his dragon-type, who was in a state of sheer bliss. As he scarfed down the premium custom-made pokemon food, the young trainer watched and listened to him hum in delight. Every once in a while, the serpent would look up at Growlithe and Eevee, presumably to ensure that they were still enjoying their food as much as he was.

"They like it, too," said Ash to his dragon-type with a laugh, "don't worry, they won't stop until they're finished."

Dratini cooed, looking up at his trainer with a joyful expression before continuing to eat.

Growlithe and Eevee hadn't once lifted their snouts out of their bowls, vigorously demolishing each and every potent pellet.

Ash recalled earlier today as he steadily watched his dragon-type interact with his new friends. Even though he didn't plan on training Dratini with the same intensity as the rest of his team until after they left Fuchsia, today marked their very first training session together. As expected, the dark-haired boy had already made himself familiar with Dratini's moveset, while he had been getting to know him over the past week.

The serpent's techniques included: Leer, Wrap, Mist, Thunder Wave, Twister, Dragon Rage, Slam and Agility — an excellent baseline. Dratini must have been hard at work, training with the other members of his species within the confines of the dragon habitat in Area Three.

The dragon-type's inherent ability was Marvel Scale. Marvel Scale triggered when Dratini was under duress from status ailments. It could temporarily harden the serpents smooth scales, significantly increasing his defensive capabilities. Ash thought it would pair well with Mist — a technique that was not a part of Dratini's natural moveset.

Sometimes, when pokemon hatched, they were blessed with inborn techniques that researchers called Egg Moves. They were completely random, thus making them impossible to predict. In Ash's opinion, Mist was about as good as it could get when it came to the genetic lottery that best symbolized how the allotment of Egg Moves functioned. The precipitous veil of white energy could temporarily eliminate the effect of status techniques that tried to reduce Dratini's offensive and defensive prowess. When working hand-in-hand with Marvel Scale, the serpent had the potential to put a stranglehold on an opponent that relied on status moves by using both the congenital technique that he received upon hatching and his inherent ability.

Their first training session had gone just about as well as Ash could have hoped. Per usual, the young trainer spent this time making sure that Dratini had good comprehension over the moves he already knew. The serpent passed with flying colors, possessing both solid potency and great awareness when it came to practical application. Sticking to the plan, Ash wouldn't let the fact that his dragon-type had mastery over his current moveset dictate their pace. Their time in Fuchsia would be better served thoroughly getting to know one another. The more they understood each other, the better the results would be in the long run.

In nearly complete contrast to how Eevee had responded to a similarly lengthy onboarding process, Dratini didn't appear to mind whatsoever. As a matter of fact, the serpent didn't seem to have any qualms about anything. It didn't matter what they were doing — he was always happy. The dragon-type's personality was infectious. Even though he could be overly affectionate at times, it wasn't off putting. The entirety of Ash's team seemed to like Dratini, and the jubilant serpent undoubtably loved them.

The dragon-type was particularly enthralled by Clefairy, which was ironic due to her typing. Fairy-type's were a dragon's greatest weakness after all. Either Dratini didn't know, or he didn't care, because when they were both out of their capture-devices at the same time the serpent was all over her. Surprisingly, Clefairy wasn't bothered by it at all. She even seemed to have taken on a big sister role with Dratini, helping him understand the life of a trained pokemon. Obviously, Ash couldn't understand exactly what they said to one another, but he could tell through their non-verbal cues and amiable expressions that a beautiful friendship was blossoming between the two of them.

Ash's rumination came to an end when Dratini cheerfully sidewinded himself over to his trainer before using the tip of his tail to let Clefairy out of her pokeball.

The dark-haired boy couldn't help but smile. The serpent's timing was impeccable.

As the white incandescent light from the release faded, Dratini let out a high pitched squeal the moment Clefairy's form was revealed.

When the dragon-type gently wrapped its body around Clefairy, the fairy-type let out a soft murmur, while being careful not to accidentally release any thaumaturgic energy.

It was moments like these that reminded Ash how much he loved to be a pokemon trainer.

XXX

"Let's see what you've got!" shouted Ash, sensing they were on the verge of a breakthrough.

Growlithe let out an encouraging howl, having been throughly invested from the very beginning.

The apparition initiated Shadow Ball, steadily pouring menacing power in-between his disembodied hands. It swelled, making a sound that was reminiscent of a scalding tea kettle.

The dark-haired boy had a good feeling.

This time would be different.

"Stabilize, stabilize, stabilize…" repeated Ash, crossing his fingers as the Shadow Ball grew.

The sphere of ghoulish energy continued to expand as Haunter's spectral hands widened. His claws began to quake as the orb tried to rebel, but the ghost-type strained his corporal form, willing the unruly power into submission. It hissed and cackled as Haunter continued to build and shape it. Loose energy sporadically escaped, but not enough to compromise the integrity of the technique.

It was big — nearly the same size as Haunter.

Ash could hear Growlithe's jovial yowl as he kept his eyes peeled on his ghoulish friend.

"That's it, that's it! emboldened Ash — unable to contain his excitement.

…Haunter had worked so hard.

"Now fire it!"

The purple and black sphere whizzed forward, perfectly in line with its desired point of contact. It shrieked as it cut through the air, tempting Ash to cover his ears. When it hit, the young trainer got goosebumps from the gong like sound of the reverberating iron target. It buzzed for what felt like forever before suddenly ceasing.

He did it.

Nearly a month of hard work had finally produced the results that they both wanted.

Yes!" cheered Ash as he sprinted over to Haunter, feeling excitement in its purist form, "that was it!"

The jubilant specter let out a joyful guffaw — identical to the distinct outburst he divulged in the dragon cavern.

Ash phased through Haunter as he attempted to give him a congratulatory hug, causing him to fall and roll across the gravel surface.

As the young trainer lifted himself up from the ground with a smile, Growlithe ran to his side, giving his trainer a knowing smirk.

Haunter wafted over to his trainer, pointing his finger as he burst out into a cacophonous laughter.

A gentle smile appeared on Ash's face.

Finally, Haunter was back to his usual self.

XXX

"You just have to trust me with it," said Ash with a sigh as his avian preened his feathers, "I'll take care of the timing. Just act like it's a normal battle."

Pidgeot divulged an obnoxious squawk. He never had to worry about his flying-type's obedience, but his attitude sure could be a pain in the ass.

He turned his attention to Growlithe, "we're going full speed, bud. Don't worry, if Pidgeot can do it right this time, he can heal himself as good as new. Be ready for when he's on the ground."

Ash gave his avian the side eye.

A perturbed Pidgeot glared back.

Growlithe shook his head in exasperation.

The dark-haired boy released Wartortle, beckoning him to his side, "Growlithe and Pidgeot are about to have a mock battle. Use Water Pulse to put out Growlithe's misses. Make sure you hit them before they come in contact with the walls and ceiling. This is good practice for you, too."

Wartortle let out an affirmative grunt, zeroing in on Growlithe's maw.

Ash smirked before raising his voice, "now!"

The avian beat down his wings and took to the air. He couldn't climb too high because of the battle facility's industrial ceiling. For a brief moment, Ash had considered taking this outside, but he decided against it. Koga's gym was indoors, so sparring under these constraints was better for the sake of preparation.

"Start firing!" bellowed Ash.

Growlithe consistently and consecutively fired a barrage of Flame Burst and Ember. Just as Ash had stated beforehand, he stayed away from patterns. His trainer didn't want his opponent — and in this case Pidgeot — to be able to hone in on the way that his flames were behaving.

The avian repeatedly dodged, using Agility to maneuver around the salvo of flames. Every once in a while, he would misinterpret the angle of one of the streaks of fire, but he was able to use Gust to alter its trajectory just enough to evade.

As Pidgeot dodged, Growlithe's bursts of flames exploded into thick clouds of steam, having been extinguished by Wartortle's Water Pulse.

Every time Growlithe got close to hitting his target, he kicked it up a notch, propelling his internal flame at an alarming rate. Pidgeot continued to elude contact before suddenly deciding to close the gap, shackling his wings as he plummeted towards the fire-type. The canine continued firing to no avail until Pidgeot nearly connected with a Quick Attack. Using Flame Wheel to vault himself into a vertical whirl of flames, Growlithe put himself out of harms way. He proceeded to smother his internal furnace, stopping on a dime before executing a full velocity Flame Burst at Pidgeot.

The breadth of the attack clipped Pidgeot's wing, causing him to squawk in frustration. Quickly regaining his composure, the avian launched a Twister in the direction of Growlithe, before using it as cover in attempt to bludgeon Growlithe with a Wing Attack. The canine once again ignited Flame Wheel, avoiding the Twister before meeting Pidgeot head on. Initiating with Flame Wheel before transitioning into Fire Fang, Growlithe clamped down on one of Pidgeot's wings.

The avian screeched in pain before briskly using Wing Attack to pound Growlithe into the ground. The canine bounced across the gravel, emitting a brief yelp before quickly getting back up on his feet.

Ash winced. They were really going at it. Typically, he didn't let matches between his own pokemon get this intense, but he didn't have a choice. They needed to get ready for Koga.

Growlithe looked up with focused eyes as Pidgeot circled above him. Loading his maw, he reinitiated his long-range assault, coupling Flame Burst on top of Ember at an even more rapid pace than before. Pidgeot activated Agility once more, evading as he periodically propelled Gust and Twister at Growlithe in between each dodge.

Growlithe and Pidgeot had known each other longer than any of Ash's other pokemon, and It showed. Ash could tell that his pup was being mindful not to give Pidgeot enough time to use Twin Tempest, and his avian was more often than not able to diagnose the subtle differences between Ember and Flame Burst.

At this point, Ash's vision was beginning to become obscured by the thick layer of hot steam that had settled upon the entirety of the mock arena. Wartortle had yet to let a single stray flame make contact with any part of the building. It had already been made clear to Ash earlier in the week, but this performance had driven the point home even further — the turtle pokemon had mastered Water Pulse. Wartortle was now just as accurate with it as he was with Water Gun.

Simultaneously, Growlithe connected with an expansive Flame Burst as Pidgeot launched the pup across the arena with a forceful Whirlwind. Pidgeot shrilled and Growlithe yelped in subsequence to the exchange.

"Roost!" wailed Ash, deciding it was time.

"Flame Wheel followed by Fire Fang!" shouted the dark-haired boy, attempting to create the most realistic scenario as possible for his avian.

Before Ash finished his sentence, Pidgeot's talons grated against the gravel ground. The avian immediately emanated a surge of sky blue energy. It bursted forth, leaving a spate of fluttering translucent feathers. The flying-type's countenance instantly perked up. He'd wiped away a significant amount of the damage. His wings twitched as he attempted to take off, but he was quickly reminded of Roost's side effect.

"Growlithe's going to be on you fast!" warned Ash, "Use Gust and Twister to fend him off!"

Pidgeot unshackled his wingspan before intermittently throwing numerous waves of Twister and Gust. Growlithe maneuvered around Pidgeot's assault, gradually severing the distance between them. The canine's Flame Wheel spewed mud in every which direction on account of the wet gravel surface that had soaked up the moisture from Wartortle's constant use of Water Pulse.

The avian attempted to use Whirlwind to toss Growlithe across the arena once more in order to buy more time, but the fire-type expertly drifted out of the way. Ash could see the irritation on Pidgeot's face as he was forced to use his legs to elude the pup's spinning inferno. It was the first time Ash had ever seen the giant look so cumbersome in battle. As Growlithe sharply pivoted around, the avian got ready to intercept him. He darted forward — his talons ripping up wet dirt.

Pidgeot met Growlithe with a harsh Wing Attack, and the canine abraded his revolving fiery form up against the avian's feathered club. The avian grimaced, but held strong as the pup attempted to try out a new combination. Growlithe extinguished his Flame Wheel before attempting to utilize Fire Fang and Take Down in concurrence. But, just as the canine was about to land the technique, Pidgeot thrusted his wings, vigorously ascending off of the ground.

"That's enough!" yelled Ash waving his hands and drudging across the arena's muddy surface.

A panting Growlithe extinguished the flame in his maw before sauntering over to his trainer's size.

Pidgeot landed in front of Ash, divulging another pestiferous squawk. He looked slightly tired, but it was clear that Roost had worked wonders.

Ash playfully glared at his avian before checking on the state of his wing, "that happened after you used Roost, right?"

Pidgeot gave him an affirmative nod before shaking his other wing and emitting a trill, signifying that the one that had been hit by Flame Burst had mostly healed.

"Good…" drawled Ash as he unclipped Pidgeot's pokeball, "That was well done. Rest up for now. I'll take you to see Nurse Joy in a little bit."

The avian let out a high-pitched screech as he was returned.

Ash turned his attention towards Growlithe, "Great job, buddy. Your accuracy was good. Pidgeot knows your tendencies. Koga's pokemon won't be able to decipher the difference."

Growlithe let out a jovial yip in-between pants.

"Do you want to take a rest?" asked Ash as he reached for Growlithe's pokeball.

The canine emphatically shook his head, rejecting the idea of going in his pokeball for the time being.

Ash nodded with a wide smile, "alright, alright, clearly you're fine. Let me know if you change your mind, though."

The pup gave Ash a bark of approval.

Ash shifted his eyes over to Wartortle before giving him a gentle pat right between his feather-like ears, "great job. I don't think you missed a single one. Are you ready to start working on a new move?"

Once again, Wartortle smirked before letting out a confident grunt.

"This time we're gonna learn Aqua Tail," explained Ash with a smile, "it's that technique that Gyarados used. The one where her tail glowed…remember?"

Wartortle gave a confirmatory nod.

"I doubt we'll be able to ask her for any pointers anytime soon, though," quipped Ash with a wry smile.

With firm eyes, Wartortle decisively shook his head.

Even if the gargantuan sea serpent was shockingly willing, Ash didn't think his turtle Pokemon would accept the help. The comment that Laina had made about Gyarados being the strongest water-type in Kanto was likely still bothering him. Whenever Wartortle was out of his pokeball, Ash often caught him staring at the Gyarados' safari ball attached to his belt. The young trainer had a feeling that even once he managed to tame the beast, there would be a nasty rivalry between the two water-types.

The dark-haired boy decided he wanted to spend a little more time with Wartortle, keeping him outside of his pokeball. He unclipped Clefairy's capture-device before pivoting his point of focus back over to his pup.

"I want to have a quick training session with Clefairy," said Ash as he looked at his canine, "do you think you can hang tight until we go back to the pokemon center?"

The pup divulged a supportive howl.

They were almost ready.

XXX

"You've got to file the tip and buffer the sides," explained Austin.

"I am…" groaned Ash with an annoyed intonation as he used the large, steel file to smoothen out the razor-sharp point at the end of his brute's horn, "I don't need your help. You just happened to call while I was in the middle of it."

Lying down on the mock arena's rough gravel surface to make it easier for Ash to work, Rhyhorn let out a deep, trumpeting murmur. Apparently, having his horn groomed was a much more pleasant experience than the rock plated mammal was expecting.

"Oh, wow, excuse me…" snickered the teenager, "little Ash finds out he's the Chosen One, and now he doesn't need help from one of his best friends. Unbelievable!"

The dark-haired boy let out a deep sigh, ignoring the bit about his newly realized identity, "I think I'm perfectly capable of taking care of Rhyhorn. Besides, Pinsir's horns are completely different. Are you sure you're even qualified to give me advice?"

"Do you know how many sharp little spikes that guy has on his horns," retorted Austin, "they're way more challenging to groom than the simple one your rhyhorn has."

The dirty-blonde haired teenager paused, "no offense, Rhyhorn. Simple is a compliment. You wear it well."

The brute tilted his head up and down, accepting the back-handed compliment.

Ash looked at his rock-type in disbelief, "that was barely a compliment. Don't let him schmooze you over."

Rhyhorn grunted in a confused manner.

The dual type had great battle instincts, and had a much sharper intellect than most members of his species, but there were still moments in which Ash was reminded that he was still a rhyhorn…

"Where's Growlithe?" asked Austin, deciding to lay off for a moment.

"Growlithe, Haunter, and Pidgeot are getting restored by Nurse Joy," replied Ash, "we just finished our last training session before we head over to Koga's gym."

"I see…" said Austin, "I'm assuming you're using your new rhyhorn, too."

"Yup," answered the young trainer as he put down the file and picked up the buffer, "Rhyhorn finished up his training last night. So he's already seen Nurse Joy."

Ash took a deep breath as he looked over his brute, "you're all ready to go, right, big guy?"

The hulking dual-type divulged a low, affirmative grunt before briskly blowing hot air out from his nostrils.

"Growlithe, Haunter, Pidgeot, and Rhyhorn…" muttered Austin, "that's a good approach. But, you better be prepared to adjust last second. Koga may be old-fashioned as a person, but he's not when it comes to battle. Don't be surprised if he switches things up on you."

"What do you mean?" asked Ash, curiously.

"He's got a lot of pokemon," answered Austin matter-of-factly, "the Kanto circuit won't allow him to use his pokemon from other regions in an official gym battle, but he's got nearly every poison-type in Kanto. Just because he usually sticks to the same ones, doesn't mean he can't change it up. I know a kid from my rookie year that said that Koga used a tentacruel against him."

Ash gulped. He'd have to keep that in mind.

"What did he use against you?" asked Ash.

"It was against his league-registered team," said Austin, "he used a koffing and a golbat."

"Oh, yeah, sometimes I forget that you're from here. Where's your house at?" asked Ash in an inquisitive tone, "I've been pretty much everywhere at this point. Maybe, I've seen it."

Austin shook his head, "my old house was in North Fuchsia. My parents don't live there anymore. They moved to Cerulean last year."

"Gotcha…" said Ash in an elongated manner, "why?"

"Nothing interesting…" muttered Austin with a little bit of sadness in his eyes, "my dad just got a new job."

The teenager took a deep breath before changing the subject, "anyways, just be ready for anything when it comes to Koga. From what you told me, it seems like he's been a little over the top this year."

"Over the top?" scoffed Ash, "you should see the pokemon center, it's completely dead."

"Maybe that's a good thing," said Austin with a smirk, "he probably hasn't had any challengers for a while. Maybe he'll let his guard down."

"Maybe…" said Ash in a prolonged manner as he finished buffering Rhyhorn's horn.

The dark-haired boy stroked the brute's horn, making sure that every part of it was smooth. It had a new shine to it. The tip was duller than before, but it looked strong and sturdy.

"Dammit, you actually did a pretty good job," grumbled Austin.

"Thanks," retorted Ash, rolling his eyes.

Ash picked up the handheld mirror he'd bought earlier that week. He took a couple of steps back, giving Rhyhorn enough space to take a look.

"What do you think?" asked Ash, slightly nervous for his new friend's reaction.

The hulking brute looked intently at his reflected image. He slowly moved his head from side to side, examining the new sheen that emulated from the mirror.

Rhyhorn looked at Ash with soft eyes as he jerked the anterior half of his body up and down, emitting a low ratifying squeal.

"Great!" exclaimed Ash with a grin, "I'm glad you like it. Now let's go pick up the rest of the team."

"Um…I'm still here," said Austin, staying quiet while Ash and Rhyhorn were having there moment.

"I know, I know…we'll talk while I'm on the go." mumbled Ash, "so, right before you started giving me a hard time, I told you about my new pokemon. What about you?"

"Did I tell you about Natu?" queried Austin.

Ash and Rhyhorn stopped at the door. The dark-haired boy thought his brute would fit, but he was wrong.

"Yeah, a couple of weeks ago," said Ash responding to Austin.

"You're too big, buddy," explained Ash, addressing Rhyhorn as he unclipped the brute's safari ball.

"What about Flaafy?" questioned Austin

"Yeah you told me last—" started Ash before Rhyhorn started pawing the ground, preparing to charge, "Rhyhorn, no!"

Ash frantically returned his ground/rock-type right before he destroyed the entrance to the arena.

He sighed in relief as he clipped Rhyorn's safari ball into its designated slot, "sorry, Austin. Rhyhorn is still learning how buildings work…"

As soon as Austin was able to regain his composure after falling to the ground with laughter, he replied, "no worries, dude…he's a rhyhorn, it's kind of his M.O."

Ash laughed, "good point. Anyways, yeah…you told me about Flaafy."

"Well I couldn't have told you about the one I caught this morning…"

Ash raised an eyebrow, "what is it?"

Austin smiled, "it's this really weird, gray metapod looking thing. But, it's actually pretty strong. The second it used Dark Pulse against Golduck I knew I had to catch it. I even used one of the ultra balls I got from the SS. Anne tournament for good measure."

"What's it called…?" asked Ash with bulging eyes and a slack jaw.

He didn't know much about Johto's pokemon. But, he had done research on the region's dark-types.

"I haven't really had a chance to do any research on it," said Austin as he scratched the back of his head, "but, I think it's called a poopytard."

Ash facepalmed so hard that he made the recoil from Double-Edge look like a botched Tackle.

"You really have no idea what you just caught, do you?" asked Ash in an exasperated manner.

"Is poopytard a big deal, or something?" answered Austin with a question.

"First off, it's not poopytard…It's pupitar," said Ash, shaking his head, "how can you even say that with a straight face?"

"Yeah, pupitar," replied Austin matter-of-factly, "that's what I said."

"Um…it's actually not what you said…" muttered Ash, "…and you know that. So, I take it you've never heard of tyranitar then?"

"You mean the awesome pseudo-legendary that evolves from larvitar," replied Austin — offended, "I may not do as much research as a psychopath like you, but I'm not stupid…"

Ash couldn't help but crack up.

Only Austin…

"No, larvitar evolves into pupitar. Pupitar evolves into tyranitar," explained Ash as he watched the expression on Austin's face turn from casual to awestruck.

"You mean—" started Austin unable to finish as he pointed to himself.

"Yup," replied Ash.

"So I—"

"Mhmm…"

"Poopytard will turn into—

"It's Pupitar, but yeah," said Ash, "it'll evolve into a tyranitar…"

"Woah…" said Austin — processing, "so we both will have psuedo legendaries…"

"We will," answered Ash with a smirk.

"That's freaking wild!" exclaimed Austin with a humungous grin on his face.

Ash didn't always agree with his friend.

But this time…

His words were undeniable.

XXX

As he disembarked from atop his avian, Ash's eyes remained glued to the large, traditional Kanto-style structure. It was old — one of the longest standing buildings in Fuchsia. He wasn't the best when it came to history, but it looked like it was from either the Muromachi or Sengoku period. The tall roof was teal in color and thatched, jetting outward and diagonally from the main ridge beam. Out front of the main ridge was a decorative, triangular end panel, and all four corners of the roof sloped down before rising up like the downswept wings of an avian in flight. The entire premises was surrounded by a tall, wooden wall with intricate carvings. Directly in front of Ash was an open arching gateway with the words 'Fuchsia City Gym' in big, bold, purple letters at the very top.

"Alright…" drawled, taking a deep breath as he took off his backpack and removed the depository case that stored his avian's saddle. As soon as he finished depositing it, the young trainer threw his bag back over his shoulder and unclipped Pidgeot's pokeball.

He looked up at his flying-type, "next time I see you, we'll be in the middle of battling Koga. Be ready."

Pidgeot looked down at him with an expression that portrayed an impassioned resolve.

After returning Pidgeot, Ash passed through the tall archway. On the other side was a beautiful spacious, green courtyard that the dark-haired boy had seen from a birds-eye view while flying atop his avian. As he walked along the stone path, he gazed over at the small pond and listened to the tranquil, water flow from the fountain made of stacked ore. Placed amidst the lush green grass were many various-sized, elaborately sculpted figures. Some were of people — most of which were made to look like elegant daimyos and princesses from ancient Kanto, or fierce Sengoku Period shinobi and samurai. The others were pokemon — he recognized some of them, but others were unfamiliar.

He froze when he saw the sculpture of Mew. It sat in a meditative posture, surrounded by a patch of white lilies. Its stone eyes were closed, but Ash felt like they were peering into his soul. As if he were being beckoned, there was a desire to reach out—

"Admiring the sculptures, I see," said the formal voice of a teenaged girl, "that one is of Mew — the great overseer of Kanto."

"A-as in the legendary Mew?" asked Ash — jolted loose from the strange sensation.

Fortunately, despite being startled, he was able to answer in a way that seemed normal. The last thing he wanted was to field questions by a stranger in regard to the legendary, psychic feline that had contacted him in the dragon lair.

"Yes, isn't she beautiful?" queried the young, spiky-haired girl, "I would give anything to lay eyes on such a magnificent being."

"She?" questioned Ash, recalling that Willow had once called Mew by the same feminine pronoun.

Ash had a tough time imagining Mew as such.

The voice he'd heard was both male and female…

…or maybe it was neither.

He wasn't sure.

"Yes, it is scattered amongst the ancient texts that Mew is a female," the girl gave Ash a soft smile, "some manuscripts even state that she is our mother."

"I see…" replied Ash as he took in the girl's appearance.

She was about a half a foot taller than him. Her hair was spiky and ultra violet in color. It was tied back in a high ponytail. The girl wore a tight, sleeveless, black shinobi shozoku with violet cuffs around her wrists and ankles. She had on white socks with sandals that looked to be made of bamboo, and her eyes were as violet as her hair. The girl was pretty but rough around the edges.

Ash watched as she looked him over. When her eyes settled on the capture-devices attached to his belt, she sighed, "I take it you are here to see my father."

"If your father is Koga," answered Ash, "then yes, I'm here for a battle."

"Very well…" said the female shinobi with a serious tone of voice, "and what is the challenger's name?"

"I'm Ash," answered the dark-haired boy as he reached out to shake her hand.

She bowed, bypassing his handshake for a more formal greeting, "greetings, Ash, my name is Janine. Follow me. I shall take you to my father."

As they got ready to step up onto the wooden veranda, Janine turned to him as she took off her sandals, "no shoes beyond this point, please remove them."

Ash quickly complied. This wasn't an uncommon practice in traditional settings like the Fuchsia City Gym.

When they walked through the sliding shoji doors, Ash was greeted by another large sculpture. It was to the right of the entrance. Standing at least seven-feet tall, the massive piece was of a shinobi leaning forward. It had both of its hands on the hilt of its katana, preparing itself to unveil it from its sheath. It wore an imposing white noh mask that made Ash's skin crawl.

Just past the sculpture, to the right and to the left, were long corridors with thin-framed walls. However, Janine led him straight ahead through another pair of wooden, white paneled shoji doors. They opened up to reveal a broad, vaulted space. All around the edges of the massive room was an egregious amount of traditional shinobi equipment. The only reason Ash recognized some of it was because of the old black and white period dramas that his mom loved to watch.

Besides the equipment, the rest of the room was bare. Other than the two white rectangles that looked like trainer boxes embedded into opposite sides of the wide-ranging tatami floor, all that was left to look at was the scene that took place in the center of the room. There was a man, sitting cross-legged that looked to be in deep meditation, and a pokemon that faced him, mirroring his posture. Ash couldn't see its countenance because it was facing the opposite direction, but it was foreign. If the young trainer was being honest with himself, his knowledge on pokemon from other regions was limited. But, he did know the species native to his own region in great detail. There was no pokemon in Kanto with a back that resembled this creature.

The moment Ash stepped out onto the first tatami mat within the perimeter of the room, the man that Ash recognized as Koga snapped open his eyes. He nimbly leaped up from his sitting position, examining the young trainer with his dark eyes that had a slight bluish hue. He was tall and looked to be in exemplary physical shape. Koga appeared to be in about his late-thirties to early-forties. He wore a hoodless, long-sleeved, deep purple, shinobi shozoku as well as a lengthy, black, frayed cape that was much less elegant than the one Wallace wore. On his wrists and ankles were tight black cuffs. His hair was the same dark color as his eyes — also sharing a bluish tint.

The pokemon that was previously sitting across from Koga also bounced up before casually turning around to face Ash and Janine. It was amphibious by nature. Ash had already taken in its dark blue skin and the red claws that protruded from the back of its hands. It had black lines that wrapped around its forearms, shoulders, thighs, eyes and nose. It had a curled spike that lifted upward from the top of its head, and a bulbous red vocal sack that inflated upon inhalation and deflated upon exhalation. Its middle toes were the same color red as its claws and vocal sack, and there were two white lines underneath its pelvic area. In addition to its spikes, Ash thought its most notable features were its bright yellow, menacing eyes and its hair raising, sinister grin.

"Who are you?" questioned Koga in a formal, authoritative voice as he effortlessly bounded forward with an intense expression.

Koga stopped just short of Ash with his imposing foreign pokemon right by his side. His gaze was intimidating, but the young trainer didn't backdown. He'd stood firm in the presence of people with truly evil intentions, and he had a safari ball clipped to his belt that carried a pokemon that was much more frightening than the foreign amphibian.

"My name is Ash Ketchum, "answered the dark-haired boy with an unyielding resolve, "I've come here to challenge you."

"I didn't ask what your name was," replied Koga, curtly holding the same forceful expression, "I said — who are you?"

The dark blue presumed to be poison-type leered at the dark-haired boy as it divulged a strange gargling sound.

Ash was stumped. Was it a trick question?

"What do you mean?" asked Ash — unable to come up with an answer that he thought would satisfy the poison master.

"Your presence is too big for that little body of yours," retorted Koga with skeptical eyes, "are you with the League? Are you here to shutdown my gym?"

The amphibian let out a low, rumbling croak as it squinted its eyes in a threatening way.

Ash waved his hands frantically, "woah, woah, woah! I'm just here to try and earn the Soul Badge. I have nothing to do with the League!"

Koga took a step backward, shifting the angle in which he looked at Ash a number of times. He placed his hand on his chin as he keenly took in the entirety of his disposition.

His foreign pokemon mirrored its master as if it was his shadow.

"Ash Ketchum…" said Koga with a prolonged intonation, "ahhh that is the name of the boy that ended Baboa's dratini drought."

Koga paused as he glared back at Ash, "but could the fact that you are in possession of a dragon explain your inordinate presence! I do not think so. There is something else about you…"

Ash was confused. Koga's bizarre ramblings didn't make any sense, unless…

Was Koga somehow able to perceive that Ash was the Chosen One?

No.

There was no way…

Not even Sabrina was able to do that.

"I did catch a dratini…" replied Ash, "but, I'm just a ten-year-old pokemon trainer that's here for a gym battle."

"I see…" answered Koga — his hand had yet to leave his chin, "well, your appearance certainly resembles that of a rookie. But, your presence… are sure you are not affiliated with the League?"

"Father…" groaned Janine with her hand on her forehead, "you are being far too paranoid. He is just a young boy."

"So was Lance!" snapped Koga, quickly shifting his attention to his daughter before hastily calming himself, "wisdom comes with age, but power can sprout up out of nowhere."

The poison master let out a deep sigh before softening his expression, "so you are merely a challenger? Very well…hand your pokedex over to Janine. If we are to do battle, it must be well documented."

The amphibious creature backed off. It seemed to Ash that it was highly persuaded by the fluctuating mood of its trainer.

The young trainer followed suit, remembering what Erika had said about the League keeping track of how many challenges each gym was getting in order to build a case against Koga. Ash had been staying in Fuchsia's dead pokemon center for two weeks now, and anytime he flew over the gym, there was no trainer traffic. It was highly likely that this gym battle was just as important to Koga as it was to him.

As Janine sauntered off, Koga looked over Ash once more before gesturing over to one of the trainer boxes. He proceeded to reach behind his back — underneath his cape — before pulling out a black and gold capture-device that the dark-haired boy didn't recognize. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he pointed it in the direction of his foreign amphibian.

"Toxicroak, we shall resume your training later," said Koga as he used the black and gold sphere to begin the process of returning his foreign poison-type, "splendid work today."

The poison-type gave its trainer a slightly less sinister smile as it was enveloped in a ruby, red light and returned.

At this point, Ash had stepped into the trainer box that Koga had pointed to. It didn't feel like the rest of the tatami floor. It was hard and cold — like steel. Koga stood opposite of him, folding his arms with a staunch look in his eyes.

"How many badges do you possess!?" asked Koga, raising his voice to be heard from the other end of the tatami arena.

"Four!" shouted Ash, raising just as many fingers.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ash caught a glimpse of Janine, returning with his pokedex.

"The battle has been logged, Father!" announced the kunoichi as she handed the miniature super computer back to Ash.

"Good luck," Janine said before lowering her voice down to a whisper as she started to walk back towards the entrance, "maybe you will be worthy of his badge."

"Four, you say!" bellowed Koga as he removed a pokeball from behind his cape, "this will be a four-on-four battle! We will see how you will fare! Janine, open the pit!"

"The pit?" queried Ash, turning around to see Koga's teenaged daughter press a button on a skinny, metal handheld device.

It sounded like a long row of massive dominos had been pushed over. All of the tatami mats between Ash and Koga jarred loose before pulling apart. Separating from what Ash thought was the center of the arena, the mats retracted outward on both sides. The dark-haired boy's pulse started to accelerate as the mats steadily receded into the walls on his right and left, leaving a deep pit. The steep sides were made out of a sleek metal, and at the bottom was a craggy, deteriorated arena. There were dozens of blackened spots speckled throughout the pit, likely permanent scars left by Koga's efficacious poison-types. If the dark-haired boy took even one step forward, he would plummet to the bottom.

"This is where we do battle!" announced Koga with a smirk, holding out his arms pompously, "this is the poison pit!"

Welp, he was wondering how the tatami mats stayed in such great shape…

"I reckon you know the rules, challenger!" queried Koga, pointing at Ash.

Ash nodded, "on me, right!?"

"That is correct!" replied Koga with fervid eyes and a concise nod, "and you may return your pokemon whenever you please! Last one fighting shall be deemed victorious!"

A confident smile spread across Ash's face.

They'd put in the work.

Now, it was time to cut loose.

The dark-haired boy unclipped a pokeball from his belt, grasping it tightly. Due to the depth of the pit, he pressed the button that he usually only used to return his pokemon. The red light ricocheted off of the dilapidated surface at the bottom of the pit. In concurrence, a second red light emanated from across the arena. Two incandescent bursts of energy erupted, clashing against one another.

In immediate succession, the canine began firing. A storm of fire screamed across the arena as the poison moth harshly flapped its wings. Just like they practiced, Growlithe deceptively alternated between Ember and Flame Burst in attempt to confuse his opponent right from the jump. Some of his shots propelled in a straight forward manner, while others detonated outward with breadth. Ash could count on two hands the amount of times Growlithe got close, but the venomoth did just enough to evade.

"Cover the arena!" howled Koga.

"Burn it!" yelled Ash.

The scales on the gray and purple moth's wings shifted back and forth between bright purple and dark yellow as it dumped Poison Powder and Stun Spore indiscriminately. With its target being the arena itself, Growlithe did his best to torch as much of it as he could. The pup was able to protect the area in his direct vicinity, and salvage the center of the arena, but he couldn't get all of it. Once the venomoth unloaded its concoctions, there was a thick circle of purple and yellow toxic powders that painted a ring around the outer edge of the arena.

Unperturbed, Growlithe went back to propelling his inner flame as his eyes tried to decipher the flight path of the moth. It wasn't necessarily fast or quick, but it flew with no real pattern, making it difficult for Growlithe to pinpoint an accurate trajectory. The moth let out a bizarre squeal as it suddenly emitted a beam of psionic energy from its mandibles while continuously evading the pup's flames.

"Get out of there with Flame Wheel!"

The canine let out an affirmative bark as he took off in a spinning vortex of flames. He avoided the Psybeam, whirling across the arena at a breakneck pace. The poison moth switched back and forth between Psybeam and what Ash deciphered as Signal Beam. The purple psionic energy ripped through the air at a tremendous rate, while the red and blue wave of light was methodical, but more expansive.

Growlithe was able to maneuver around it for a short moment before he ran out of space. The pup smothered his flames before using his legs to catapult himself off of the wall. He managed to avoid the loose Poison Powder and Stun Spore, all the while narrowly getting himself out of the range of the Signal Beam. Sideways and in midair, the pup met the venomoth's psychic beam with four consecutive high-velocity bursts of flame that sounded like the percussion from a silenced sniper. The collision of powers exploded outward, causing a shower of smoke and toxins to cover the arena.

When the smoke and powder from the outburst faded enough for Ash to see, the outer edge of one of the venomoth's light purple wings had been slightly charred. The poison type's flying had become a little more erratic than before, but otherwise it was holding up just fine. Growlithe had a small amount of purple and yellow powder speckled throughout his coat.

It wasn't enough for Ash to be concerned.

"Quiver Dance, now!" commanded the poison master.

"Don't let it!" shouted Ash, "knock it down!"

The Venomoth began to quickly sway from left to right in a rhythmic manner. It emitted a surge of purple and blue light for a brief moment before it had to abort the technique in order to dodge. Growlithe was unable to connect, but he managed to limit the amount of time that the venomoth could boost its offensive and defensive potency. Beginning to move laterally, the canine continued his assault, filling up the air with wide-ranging flames. The poison moth sporadically darted through the air, fluttering its wings even harder than before. The dual-type was consistently able to avoid direct contact, but it was clipped a few times by the very edge of Flame Burst's reach. Each time it let out a terse shriek, but continued to vigorously battle.

Finding a window within the fusillade of fire, the venomous moth shook its wings. It deluged the area directly above Growlithe with a swirling gust of silver powder.

"Dodge, while firing!" bellowed Ash.

Growlithe tried to bolt out of range of Silver Wind, but his back legs were nicked, causing him to divulge a brief yelp. In concurrence with the contact made by the venomoth's bug-type technique, one of the canine's many streaks of fire landed, searing part of the poison moth's gray abdomen. It screamed in agony as it started to descend.

Ash clenched his fist as Growlithe shook off the Silver Wind and discharged another round of Ember and Flame Burst. The dark-haired boy cursed under his breath, though, when the venomoth leveled out, eluding the outburst by a narrow margin.

"Disable then Bug Buzz!" ordered Koga.

The venemoth instantly emitted a propulsive white wave of energy that caught Growlithe by surprise. The pup tried to initiate its flame, but nothing came out.

Shit.

Which one was it?

"Don't think about it!" shouted Ash, "get out of there and fire whatever you got!"

Once again, Growlithe enveloped himself in a swirling inferno before barreling out of the way of the screeching bright green sound wave. Ash covered his ears as the poison moth continuously vibrated its charred wings in attempt to assault the canine with the dynamic bug-type technique. When the sound came to an end, Growlithe extinguished his Flame Wheel, unloading a salvo of Ember that just barely missed.

Dammit.

It was Flame Burst.

Just as Ash noticed that the light amount of Poison Powder and Stun Spore that had seeped into Growlithe's coat was starting to slow his pup down, he saw how low Koga's venomoth was getting. Due to the damage from Growlithe's repetitive coupling of Ember and Flame Burst, venomoth was now fluttering below the dark-haired boy's natural line of sight.

"It's low enough!" commanded Ash to his starter, "use the wall!"

Growlithe moved decisively, reigniting his Flame Wheel before zooming towards the steep, steel wall. The metal wall screeched as the canine began to swirl around the circumference of the pit, hastily climbing to the top.

"Use Psybeam and ascend!" wailed Koga with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Surging forth from its mandibles were a burst of consecutive Psybeams. Each one was more accurate than the next — but none landed. When Growlithe reached the rim of the pit, he launched himself in the direction of the venomoth. The canine halted his flame wheel, loading his maw with sweltering flames. The illusory poison-type was able to ascend just enough to where Growlithe was only able to chomp down on the lower half of its left wing and part of its abdomen. The effect of the Fire Fang was significant though. As Growlithe dug into the poison moth's flesh and unloaded his internal flame, the dual-type let out a dreadful shriek.

"Shake it off with Sleep Powder!" directed Koga.

Fighting to stay conscious, the scales on the venomoth's right wing turned bright blue as they began to plunge towards the bottom of the pit.

"Let go!" commanded Ash, "burn the Sleep Powder!

Growlithe opened his maw, letting go of the poison moth. As they neared impact with the decrepit arena floor, the dual-type flapped its right appendage, unleashing a respectable amount of Sleep Powder, considering it could only use one moderately charred wing. Growlithe intercepted the bright blue dust with Ember right before impact. Once again, there was another combustion of smoke — this time blended with shimmering blue toxins.

Ash covered his nose and mouth as the curtain of gas spread outward. He blinked several times as he tried to make out what was going on at the bottom of the pit. As the picture became clearer, he could see a worn down Growlithe loading his maw. The poison moth was floundering about, using one wing to keep itself barely afloat.

Emitting a couple of rounds of Ember, the puppy pokemon charged behind their course. The poison-type was able to divert one with Gust but was pelted by the other. Severing the gap quickly, Growlithe clamped down with another Fire Fang between the venomoth's thorax and abdomen, causing another piercing shrill. Somehow, the poison moth had enough strength to dig into the back of the pup's neck with its two sharp, white teeth for a fleeting moment, using Poison Fang before Growlithe blasted it at point blank range with another Ember.

There was a quiet thump as the venomoth's limp body hit the craggy ground. Its eyes were stark white, signifying that it had succumbed to comatose. An exhausted Growlithe stood above its unconscious form for a brief moment before divulging a victorious howl.

"Good job, Growlithe!" cheered Ash, wiping the sweat from his forehead as the weakened puppy pokemon gingerly trotted back to his trainer's side of the arena.

The dark-haired boy was relieved. They needed that one. It would have been extremely discouraging if they weren't able to capitalize on such a significant type-advantage. The closeness of the battle could only be chalked up to one thing: Koga's venomoth was strong. If Growlithe had faced it when they first got to Fuchsia, it would have resulted in a loss.

…Good thing they took the time to train.

A red beam of light streaked across Ash's line of sight as the venomoth was returned. The dark-haired boy observed as Koga whispered something to his dual-type's capture-device before putting it back underneath his cape. The poison master proceeded to pull out another pokeball, laying his eyes on Ash.

"How long have you been training that canine!?" queried Koga with intense eyes.

"Four months!" replied Ash with a smile.

"Impressive!" praised Koga with a smirk, "Lavender is no slouch! She has overcome nearly every fire-type she has faced this year! You must have trained it diligently!"

"Thanks!" answered Ash, reciprocating the poison master's smirk, "we've worked hard!"

Ash lowered his line of sight down to his starter, registering the look of resolve in his eyes, "are you good to keep going?!"

The exhausted pup let out an affirmative bark as he turned around to face Koga.

Temporarily returning the pup might be the smarter move, but the conviction in Growlithe's countenance wouldn't allow him to. The canine wouldn't last long, but Ash was confident that his pup could at the very least make an impact that could affect the outcome for one of his friends.

A fresh beam of red light appeared on Koga's side of the arena. The canine didn't even wait to catch a glimpse of his opponent, initiating his barrage the moment the white light erupted off of the battered surface. Disable had finally worn off, so Growlithe was once again sequencing Ember and Flame Burst. There was a loud, hollow groan before multiple thick globs of dark purple poison were hurled in Growlithe's direction. With stellar awareness, the pup managed to elude them all as he darted back and forth across the arena before igniting Flame Wheel.

When the smoke cleared from Growlithe's salvo of scorching fire, the form of a craggy purplish gray pokemon with two uneven, spherical heads appeared. One of its heads was much larger than the other and had an expression that portrayed that it was irritated. Protruding out of the lower jaw of its wide mouth were two sharp teeth. The two teeth coming out of its upper jaw were wide and flat. There was a cream colored skull and a pair of corresponding cross bones embedded below its mouth. The second head was conjoined to the first head; its expression looked anguished. It had a frown on its face with two sharp teeth that protruded out from its upper jaw, and there was a small circle beneath its mouth that was the same color as the skull and crossbones on the larger head. It was constantly expelling puffs of toxic gas out of the many geyser-like holes on its heads. Ash instantly recognized the bizarre creature as one of Koga's many pokemon belonging to the koffing line.

Whether or not this was the specimen that was on Koga's real team, Ash didn't know. Regardless, it would be a challenge.

As Growlithe rapidly approached the wheezing, the poison-type continuously spurted purple globs of thick, liquid toxins out of its larger head's mouth. There were three distinct kinds. One came out as a non-concentrated outburst — Sludge. Another came out as a condensed ball of poison before exploding upon contact — Sludge Bomb. The last one was darker in color, signifying its higher concentration, but came out lazily before spreading outward — Toxic. Sludge and Sludge Bomb could inflict immediate damage, whereas Toxic was a status move meant to thoroughly poison Growlithe.

"Keep dodging! Try to get in close!" shouted Ash.

The canine was able to narrowly avoid most of them, but he was splashed a few times when Toxic and Sludge made contact with the ground. Each time the pup's Flame Wheel burned it away before it could reach his body. Right before Growlithe was about to make contact, he disengaged from his Flame Wheel before releasing two point blank Flame Bursts. They detonated upon impact, causing a gas filled explosion.

The pup was blasted backward, battered and shaking from exhaustion. The wheezing had some light scorch marks, and Ash thought he could see a little bit of a grimace on its face, but it didn't last long.

"Smoke Screen!" bellowed Koga.

All of a sudden, it sucked in a bunch of air through the many holes on its body, making a loud whistling sound before expunging an extensive Smoke Screen that clouded the entirety of the arena in black.

"Try and blow it away with Flame Wheel!" shouted Ash.

"Too late!" replied Koga.

Growlithe's flame never ignited. When the obscuration faded, the pup was lying unconscious soaked in thick purple poison.

Ash quickly returned Growlithe with a look of concern on his face. He knew that the poison master's pokemon were too skilled and disciplined to ever discharge anything close to a lethal dose, but his pup had to have been hit by a rather potent Sludge Bomb. Regardless of the outcome, as soon as the battle was over, Ash would rush to the pokemon center to see Nurse Joy.

"That was awesome, Growlithe," said Ash, bringing his pup's capture device close to his face, "you've gotten so much stronger."

He attached Growlithe's pokeball to its designated spot on his belt before letting out a deep sigh. He would have liked to use Rhyhorn here, but the wheezing's ability to levitate would nullify some of his techniques. The dark-haired boy unclipped the only great ball on his belt that was occupied by a pokemon.

"Now, what will you do next, challenger?!" asked Koga.

The gym leader had a massive grin on his face. It wasn't hard to tell that he was enjoying himself.

Ash replied with a smirk as he pressed the button on the great ball.

Once the white light faded, there was nothing.

"It's a ghost!" yelled Koga as his wheezing's eyes darted back and forth, looking for its opponent.

All of sudden, Haunter emerged from beneath the wheezing. With a forceful uppercut infused with ghoulish energy, the poison gas pokemon went flying up and out of the pit. Ash quickly adjusted his line of sight as he watched the wheezing involuntarily rocket towards the vaulted ceiling.

"Shadow Ball!" bellowed Ash, recognizing the poison-type was in a vulnerable position.

Haunter started to build up ghoulish energy between his disembodied hands as he let out a sinister guffaw.

The wheezing hastily expelled gas and hot air out of the holes on its body, desperately trying to stop its ascension. It was able to slow itself down just enough so that the collision wasn't catastrophic. Groaning as it ricocheted off of the ceiling, the wheezing plummeted back towards the ground. A medium-sized Shadow Ball shrieked through the air in perfect alignment with the poison gas pokemon.

"Dodge with Heat Wave!" shouted Koga with a hint of desperation in his voice.

By the sound of it, Haunter had caught the poison master off guard.

The wheezing emitted a surge of torridity out of both of its heads as it tried to force its way out of the Shadow Ball's trajectory. Just as Ash thought it had managed to succeed, Haunter appeared right in front of its face. Mercilessly, the apparition used another Shadow Punch to pummel the wheezing, sandwiching it in-between his fist and the Shadow Ball. It made a sound similar to air being let out of a ballon before there was a sharp wave of ghoulish energy that briskly swelled outward.

"Poison Gas! Sludge Bomb!" bellowed Koga.

As the wheezing descended towards the ground — somehow still conscious — it expelled a thick purple cloud of gas. Clouding his eyesight, the Poison Gas caused the ghost-type to miss landing another Shadow Punch.

After a rough landing, the resilient wheezing spat out a condensed ball of poison that blew up in Haunter's face. There was a momentary ghostly shriek that caused Ash to tense up. But when Haunter wiped away the poison using both of his hands, while making a funny face, the dark-haired boy laughed under his breath.

Haunter was messing with it.

Getting up close and personal, the apparition used Lick, letting the back of his big slimy tongue cascade down the face of the wheezing's larger head.

Ash fought the urge to gag. He was already nauseated from the smell of the poison-type, so his ghoulish friend using a technique like Lick on such a filthy pokemon definitely wasn't going to help him keep his lunch down.

"Hypnosis!" commanded Ash, "then use Night Shade!"

The temporarily stunned wheezing bounced off of the ground defenseless as Haunter emitted a lazy wave of psychic energy, hastily putting it to sleep. In direct succession, the apparition released an incursion of ghostly energy to finish it off. With only the whites of its eyes showing, a beam of light streaked across the arena and enveloped the poison gas pokemon. Koga wasted no time returning the wheezing's pokeball to whatever kept them secure under his cape before pulling out another one.

Haunter — after taking very little damage — proceeded to float up to Ash, laughing as he loaded up to give him a high-five.

"Good job, Haunter!" cheered Ash, reciprocating his triumphant gesture, "that Shadow Punch/Shadow Ball combo was perfect!"

As Haunter let out another burst of ghoulish laughter, Ash glanced over in Koga's direction.

Despite his wheezing's defeat, the poison master had a big grin on his face.

Ash wasn't sure how to feel about it. He could tell it was genuine, and yet, it was foreboding…

"Training a Haunter at such a young age!" Impressive! Impressive!" complemented Koga, retaining his cheerful expression, "with such great battle instincts, too! Ahh it could one day reach the same heights as one of Agatha's ghouls! I see, I see, you are no ordinary rookie! Your skills do not disappoint! They align with your presence!"

The poison master's expression suddenly shifted to display anger, "the League keeps saying, Koga you are being too hard on this year's trainers! Koga, you are punishing challengers because of your defeat against Tanner! Nonsense! I am a shinobi! I was trained to handle defeat with honor! But, I cannot dictate the strength of this year's trainers! And I will not compromise the level that I believe a trainer should be at in order to earn my badge!"

He paused and let out a deep sigh before smiling, "but you! In four months, you have trained a pup that has defeated my venomoth! You have captured a dragon and tamed a powerful ghoul! You, challenger, Ash Ketchum, are the type of trainer worthy of bearing the Soul Badge! But, first! You must earn it!"

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" replied Ash as Koga's pokeball emanated a stream of ruby, red light.

As a burst of incandescent light burst forth, the apparition zoomed forward.

"Haunter, wait!" demanded Ash, "let's see what it is."

The ghost-type came to a sudden stop, heeding his trainer's command as they waited for the white light to fade.

In wake of the surge of energy was a bright yellow eyed, purple bat. Its body was large for its species, and it had two long, pointed ears that protruded out of the top of its head. It had a small mouth, baring its teeth, and it had two pairs of wings — an upper pair and a lower pair. The upper pair had a large wingspan with two claws at the top. The lower pair had a shorter wingspan that angled downward. All four of its wings had greenish-blue membranes, and it had two stubby feet that poked out of the bottom of body.

It was a crobat.

But was it the crobat.

By the cavalier look on Koga's face, it was.

The atmosphere had changed.

This was going to take everything they had.

"Haunter, return!" shouted Ash.

As the ghost-type was concealed in a ray of red light, he let out a befuddled guffaw.

Ash brought Haunter's pokeball up near his lips before whispering, "I'm going to need you later, but this needs to start out as his battle."

"You returned the ghoul!?" shouted Koga, "even though you had the type advantage!? Interesting!"

Ash locked eyes with the menacing crobat.

Could his friends really defeat a pokemon of this level?

"Koga!" yelled Ash with an intense look in his eyes, "I have a question!?"

"What is it challenger!?" asked Koga, folding his arms with a furrowed brow.

"Are that venomoth and that wheezing a part of your real team!?" questioned Ash.

Koga gave him a surprised look before a subtle smirk appeared on his face, "no! They are not a part of my true team!"

"Do you usually use members of your real team against challengers!?" asked Ash.

"Only when it's necessary!" answered Koga, "I have not this year!"

Ash nodded. The League was wrong about Koga. He wasn't the problem. It was the challengers that he had faced.

Koga was fair.

"Is that crobat a part of your real team!?" queried Ash, pointing to the compelling bat pokemon.

"He is!" replied Koga with a big mischievous grin.

"I see…" said Ash in a drawn out manner.

…Koga had decided that this was fair.

Three versus two.

Ash versus Koga.

The dark-haired boy pressed the button on his avian's pokeball.

Pidgeot verses the crobat.

As the white burst of light from the release faded a massive avian was unveiled.

"The boy has a king!" announced Koga, "Echo, engage!"

Koga knows about the king's nature?

The crobat jetted towards Ash's flying-type at an incredible speed. Using its wings, it sliced up the air, sending a rush of razor-sharp wind in the direction of the avian. Pidgeot powerfully beat his wings, ascending at a rapid pace, avoiding the powerful Air Cutter. Both winged pokemon quickly soared up and out of the pit, discarding it as their place of battle.

"Twister! Follow it up with Quick Attack! shouted Ash, taking the reigns earlier than normal.

Pidgeot conjured a gale of draconian wind that tore through the air. It howled as it expeditiously moved towards its target. The massive avian flew behind his Twister, attempting to use it as cover in order to close the gap. The crobat easily saw through Pidgeot's plan, thwarting the Quick Attack. It smoothly maneuvered around the Twister, opening its mouth before emitting a blood curdling screech. A harsh wave of violet and orchid colored sound waves were deluged in the direction of the avian. However, the Supersonic missed when Pidgeot swiftly ducked underneath, activating Agility. To Ash's surprise, his flying-type shook loose a multitude of feathers, using Feather Dance to cover the crobat in order to soften its blows.

Pidgeot didn't use status moves unless he was backed into a corner. This time he was using them right from the jump.

This told Ash that the avian knew how dangerous his opponent was.

Aggravated by the feathers, the crobat coated its wings in a potent poison, aggressively slashing at Pidgeot with Cross Poison. Ash's flying-type did his best to elude with Agilty, narrowly avoiding the flagrant assault. The avian attempted to use Whirlwind to put distance between them, but the dual-type used a blade of air to sever the heavy swirl of wind in two. The Air Slash hissed, losing no momentum as it clipped Pidgeot's torso, causing the avian to divulge a discordant squawk.

The avian responded by using Agility to get in close, manifesting a Twister and combining it with Wing Attack before striking the crobat across the back. The dual-type involuntarily nose-dived for a brief moment, showing a slight grimace before leveling out and countering with another Air Slash. This time Pidgeot dodged, banking sharply before unexpectedly getting blasted with a geyser of dark purple liquid. Ash could tell the moment that it hit that the Venoshock had done a significant amount damage, but Pidgeot didn't so much as make a sound. After being knocked back, Pidgeot shook off the poison to keep it from seeping down deep enough to where it would reach his down feathers.

"Twin Tempest!" bellowed Ash, "combine it with Wing Attack!"

Hearing his trainer's command, the avian proceeded to invoke two highly condensed Twisters — one in each wing — before phasing into Agility. He briefly vanished before reappearing directly adjacent to the bat pokemon. The crobat tried to intercept with its wings, shrouding them in ghost-type energy. Ash wasn't sure what the technique was, but it wasn't fast enough. Pidgeot used both wings, smacking the crobat in between a condensed Twin Tempest like a cymbal mankey.

The crobat shrieked as it plummeted to the surface of the arena, but right before it collided it promptly flattened out its wings, coming to an abrupt stop. Ash caught a glimpse of its face. The bat pokemon's red pupils were dilated, and it had a malicious grin.

The crowbat was about to get serious.

Ash took a quick moment to examine Koga. Nothing had changed. He was still grinning ear to ear.

The poison-type took off like a missile, its back wings frequently pounding downward as it used Tailwind to accelerate up to an inconceivable speed.

"Agil—"

Pidgeot beat him to it, jettisoning himself out of the way as the crobat unleashed a devastating Air Slash that cleaved upward through the air like a mighty glaive. The avian just barely dodged it, throwing himself into a shackled winged nose-dive. The two flying-types collided at full speed. Pidgeot hammered downward with a vigorous Wing Attack, while the crobat carved upward with a vicious Cross Poison. Both took damage, but Pidgeot was forced back, losing the exchange. The avian wavered for a moment as the crobat used Tailwind to seemingly teleport behind him.

"Leech Life!" bellowed Koga, giving his first command of the battle between flying-types.

"Pidgeot, get out of there!" screamed Ash with desperation in his voice.

The avian couldn't react in time. Sinking its teeth into Pidgeot's back, the crobat emanated a bright green glow. Ash's flying-type let out a strident screech as he had the strength drained from his body. He furiously thrashed in the air in order to shake off the crobat. By the time he was finally successful, a lot of the damage that Pidgeot had managed to inflict on the crobat over the course of the battle had vanished. In contrast, the avian was badly hurt and haggard, valiantly hanging on by a thread.

"Whirlwind then descend!" directed Ash, sensing that it was now or never.

Mustering the little strength he still had, Pidgeot propelled a gyrating flurry of wind that just managed to grab ahold of one of the crobat's anterior wings. The avian immediately dove towards the arena's surface as fast as he could. After being modestly tossed by the Whirlwind, the poison-type followed.

But, there was enough distance between them.

Pidgeot landed first, instantly emanating a sky blue burst of energy that surged, expelling several feather shaped illuminations of white light.

"Cut it off, Echo!" wailed Koga.

The avian held the rejuvenating technique for as long as he could before the crobat closed in.

They clashed.

Pidgeot desperately fought to fend it off until he could fly again, sequencing Whirlwind, Twister and Wing Attack. Simultaneously, the crobat put together a barbarous assault, consisting of Air Cutter, Cross Poison and Venoshock. The avian was able to intercept the Air Cutter with his Twister and divert the Venoshock with Whirlwind. However, Pidgeot once again lost the exchange as his Wing Attack gave way to the crobat's Cross Poison, resulting in a considerable toxic blow to the chest.

Pidgeot shrieked for a short moment from the pain before activating Agility on the ground. He indignantly stacked it with a combination of Quick Attack and Wing Attack, brusquely bludgeoning his wing into the crobat's side. The dual-type was launched across the arena at a high-velocity. As it smashed into the pit's metal wall, the crowbat let out a concise shrill before being further bombarded by a large hissing Twister. There was another course outcry that lasted for only a fragment of a moment before the bat pokemon started its counterattack.

In a fit of furious rage, the dual-type screeched as it scraped itself out from behind the Twister and speedily positioned itself on Pidgeot's flank with Tail Wind. Ash bit the inside of his mouth as it attempted to connect with a point blank Air Slash. Fortunately, the negative side effect from Roost had already run its course. Rocketing into the air just in the nick of time, the two flying-types' battle resumed in its rightful place well above the pit.

They exchanged blows from long range. Pidgeot landed a forceful, spiraling Twister, and the crobat connected with a sharp, cogent Air Cutter. The battle then swung the other way, shifting to close combat. They repetitively parried one another — Pidgeot hitting hard with Wing Attack and Quick Attack, while the crobat swiftly sequenced Air Cutter and Cross Poison. This time Pidgeot got the better of the crobat, knocking it back with Quick Attack before pelting it with three consecutive harsh outbursts of Gust that resulted in the bat pokemon crashing into the rim of the pit, directly in front of Koga.

"Echo, there is two more after this one!" yelled Koga sternly, "I need you to finish off the king now!"

Ash glanced back and forth between Pidgeot and the crobat. It was apparent that his avian was in much worse shape than the poison-type, but it was closer than he expected. If they could—

Before Ash could finish his thought, the crobat was gone.

"Pidgeot, above you!" shouted Ash, fearing that all of the avian's hard work was about to be erased again.

The crobat was only centimeters away from digging its teeth into Pidgeot — likely to perform Leech Life — when the avian spun his body and used Wing Attack to get just enough of the top of the bat pokemon's head to keep it from biting down. The poison-type showed a sliver of a wince before emitting an ear-splitting Screech at close range that stunned Pidgeot. It then proceeded to blast the dark-haired boy's flying-type with a potent Venoshock, causing the avian to suddenly go limp.

As Pidgeot rapidly descended towards the arena's deteriorated surface, Ash focused intently, using his eyes to try and accurately predict his trajectory. When his instincts triggered, the young trainer pressed the button on the pokeball. It emanated a ruby, red beam of light that enveloped the avian, returning him to his pokeball right before he crashed.

Pidgeot had lost, but in Ash's opinion, he had done more than enough.

The dark-haired boy had never been more proud of his avian.

"That was the best you've ever battled," said Ash, talking to Pidgeot's pokeball quietly, "don't be ashamed. You held your own against a big time opponent."

As he clipped Pidgeot's pokeball back to his belt, he laid his eyes on the crobat and the poison master.

The bat pokemon was damaged and weary, but Ash could tell it still had quite a bit of fight left in it. The crobat was a part of Koga's real team after all. It had battled against countless elite-level pokemon. Pidgeot was special. He was a fully-evolved king. But, he was never going to beat a pokemon of this caliber.

At least not by himself…

Koga was vigorously clapping.

"Impressive! Impressive! A dragon, an admirable canine, a lively ghoul, and a king! Your pidgeot was magnificent!" his already big smile grew even bigger, "this is what I needed! This is the essence of combat! This is the power of the soul!"

He paused as he gave Ash a smirk, "now, is it time for the ghoul to come back out!?"

Ash flashed Koga a confident smile as he unclipped Haunter's great ball, "how'd you know!?"

The dark-haired boy released his ghost-type. This time around, the apparition didn't bother to conceal his corporal form.

After spending some time in his pokeball, you would be hard pressed to tell that Haunter had already participated in the battle against the poison master.

He looked refreshed and ready for carnage.

Koga would soon find out why he had Pidgeot go first.

"No matter what don't let it bite you!" shouted Ash, warning Haunter, "it has a technique that can steal your energy!"

Bobbing up and down, Haunter let out an affirmative guffaw.

"It also has a close-range ghost-type move!" informed Ash, "try not to let it hit you with that!"

While facing the opposite direction, the apparition waved one of its disembodied hands, gesturing that he understood.

"It's strong!" warned Ash, "it's on a whole different level than that wheezing you faced!"

The ghoul looked back at his trainer. Ash could tell by his countenance that he didn't need to be told.

Haunter knew how strong the crobat was, and he had no intention of backing down.

"It's had enough time to catch its breath!" exclaimed Ash with fire in his eyes, "let's go!"

Haunter zoomed across the arena.

The crobat beat down its back wings to meet him.

They collided in the center.

Haunter made the first move with a fist enshrouded in ghoulish energy, thrusting it at the bat pokemon with tremendous force. The crobat circumvented with Cross Poison, using its anterior wings to ward off the ghost-type's Shadow Punch. There was a fervent exchange as they felt one another out. The apparition had one fist doused in dark energy while the other was enclosed in energy that corresponded with his own typing. He repetitively utilized Shadow Punch in an offensive manner to initiate and provoke, while he relied on Sucker Punch to counter. The crobat switched back and forth between Cross Poison and its ghost-type technique. It used the aggressive poison-type move to parry, while looking to deal super-effective damage with the physical assailment that channeled ghoulish energy.

The close range engagement lasted for about a half a minute before the crobat soared up and out of the pit. Both pokemon had taken some damage, having landed a few solid hits each. Haunter followed, releasing a wave of dark purple power to try and knock the flying-type out of the air. The crobat responded by vertically cleaving the Night Daze in two, bringing to mind an image of a shinobi's downward katana slash.

The ghoul quickly phased out of corporeality before reappearing in the crobat's blind spot.

"Spite!" commanded Ash.

"Echo, intercept it!" bellowed Koga.

The crobat was unable to react in time as it was hit by a vast wave of purple and black energy.

Ash clenched his fist. Spite was a status move that greatly reduced the amount of times a pokemon could use the technique that it had activated prior to being hit by the enigmatic ghost-type technique. It put a minor curse on the targeted move, causing extreme fatigue anytime the opponent used it.

Simply put, Air Slash had been compromised.

Now, if only Haunter could do the same thing to the crobat's ghost-type technique.

"Forget about Air Slash for now!" hollered Koga, "hit it with Air Cutter!"

Ash could tell Koga was starting to sense a shift in the momentum.

...The poison master was getting more involved.

The crobat used its wings to slice up the air around Haunter, clipping the side of the ghost-type's head, causing his expression to contort for a fraction of a second. The ghoul reacted by enveloping himself in a black aura as he stored up Payback. In the meantime, the bat pokemon emitted a spherical ray of yellow light that Ash immediately identified as Confuse Ray due to Haunter's mastery of the discombobulating technique. The apparition had no problem recognizing it either. He briskly ducked under, and out of range, before popping up on the other side of it, expelling the fully loaded dark-type technique.

"Assurance!" directed the poison master.

Ah…that's what it was.

There was a loud, ominous sound as the two mystic elements slammed into one another. The two energies wailed before the Assurance ruptured. Having overpowered the crobat's technique on account of Payback's type advantage, the bat pokemon took the majority of the damage, but Haunter didn't come out of it unscathed. Parts of the Assurance managed to find their way through, hitting Haunter with a surge of ghost-type power. Both pokemon shrilled — pain evident in their intonations.

But, the battle didn't slowdown.

Haunter began to charge up a Shadow Ball as the crobat tried to disrupt the newly learned move by unleashing an onslaught of Air Cutters. The apparition took a couple of razor-sharp cuts on both sides of his body, but he managed to hold any sort of reaction in, staying put to finish forming a menacing orb of condensed black and purple energy that was bigger than his own body.

"Don't let that hit you!" demanded Koga.

The massive sphere of power howled as it ripped through the air at a ridiculous speed in the direction of the crobat. It was at this point in the battle that Ash could tell that the poison/flying-type was really struggling. It was beaten down and exhausted. Earlier in the battle — and against Pidgeot — it would have easily evaded the Shadow Ball with Tailwind. This time, it was only able to jettison itself out of the way just enough to where it wasn't a direct hit. When the calamitous orb made contact with one of the bat pokemon's posterior wings, and part of its side, it let out a cacophonous outcry before flailing with rage.

The crobat desperately began to flap its three working wings as hard as it could in the direction of Haunter.

"Leech Life!" ordered Koga, having been backed into a corner.

The only way for the poison master and the crobat to swing the momentum of this battle back in their favor was with the devastating energy absorption technique.

And Ash knew that.

"Now!" bellowed Ash — right before the crobat was about to pierce Haunter's corporal form.

Haunter's eyes glowed as he emanated a harsh burst of psionic energy that stopped the crobat dead in its tracks. The bat pokemon emitted a bizarre, deafening sound that was something between a gargle and a shrill as the apparition proceeded to club it over the back of the head with Shadow Punch for good measure.

"Echo!" wailed Koga as he moved fast to return his dual-type before it crashed into the surface.

A smile formed on Ash's face as a panting Haunter wafted over to him.

The ghoul was clearly tired, and he had taken quite a bit of damage, but he had succeeded.

Pidgeot and Haunter had beaten the crobat.

"That was fantastic, Haunter!" cheered Ash as he gave his ghost-type a firm high-five, "wait to hold off on using Psychic until the end there."

Haunter divulged an affirmative, but fatigued guffaw as he gingerly bobbed his body up and down.

Once again, Koga clapped as he smiled at Ash from across the arena.

"Well done!" flattered the poison master, "concealing a powerful super-effective technique like Psychic until the end was brilliant! Getting a ghoul to show that much restraint is no small task! Astounding, Ash Ketchum!"

He paused his oration as a tenacious expression formed on his face, "so...I am down to my last pokemon! I should have foreseen a situation like this after sensing your presence!"

Koga reached behind his cape, pulling out a black and yellow capture device.

Ash took a deep breath. It was an ultra ball.

"This pokemon is not yet on my true team, challenger!" informed Koga, "but, it undoubtedly will be sometime in the near future! That much was decided by fate from the moment I first encountered it! I had no intention of using it in a gym battle, but your Pidgeot has inspired me to do so! Venin, come forth!"

The moment the poison master pressed the button in the center of the ultra ball, the foulest stench that Ash had ever smelled in his life penetrated his nostrils. It took every fragment of the dark-haired boy's willpower to not bend over and retch into the bottom of the poison pit.

Even Haunter had a look of absolute disgust on his face, which was a good indication of just how repugnant the odor was because the apparition didn't even flinch after licking a wheezing not that long ago.

When the red light from the ultra ball receded, there was a muk.

But, not just any ordinary muk.

The steaming pile of purple, toxic sludge was absolutely gigantic. It was at the very least three times the size of the muk belonging to Ariana that Ash had seen Kent's arcanine and Sabrina's espeon finish off. Muk were known to vary in size, depending on how many grimer had merged in order to achieve evolution. But, this was different.

The only thing that could explain something like this would be the king's nature.

No wonder Koga had called Pidgeot a king.

He had one of his own.

This would be tough.

All it took was one quick look at its gargantuan form to be able to tell that the muk with the king's nature was strong.

Fortunately, Haunter still had a little bit left in the tank, and Ash had Rhyhorn waiting on deck.

"Go get it Haunter, use Psychic!" commanded Ash.

"Sludge Wave!" directed Koga.

The ghoul emitted a compelling wave of psionic energy that rippled forward towards the giant muk. Despite, the vast wave of sludge that the pile of poison vomited out of its mouth, It cut through, assailing the disgusting behemoth. The creature let out a gurgling roar, seemingly in pain. Even though Psychic got through just fine, Haunter was also hit. The sheer amount of toxins that the poison-type spewed out was too much for the ghost-type to elude. The apparition's side was smothered by thick nasty grime. Unlike the poison that Haunter had shaken off without a problem from Koga's wheezing, the ghost-type's facial expression contorted dramatically. It's potency was clearly on a completely different level.

"Keep firing, don't stop!" demanded Koga.

Haunter responded exactly how Ash expected him to, which was to continuously assault the muk with Psychic. There was no better technique to use against the pure poison-type, and there wasn't anyway it could dodge at its size. In between using Sludge Wave, Sludge and Sludge Bomb — all of which were steadily wearing Haunter down — the muk raised its defense by coating itself in a thick layer of acid. The Acid Armor was certainly helpful when it came to allowing the monstrosity to continuously tank the numerous super-effective assailments, but it couldn't stop Psychic from repetitively inflicting damage.

"Hang in there, Haunter!" encouraged Ash, "keep using Psychic!"

Unfortunately, because of the muk's unique construct, Ash had no way of telling how much damage Haunter had actually done. It continued to divulge gurgling outcries every time it was hit, and there were several piles of gunk belonging to its body spread out throughout the arena, so it had lost some of its mass. However, in terms of trying to predict how much longer the vile beast could battle, the dark-haired boy had no clue.

What he did know was that Haunter was running out of time. At this point, the ghoul had been bombarded by more clumps, blobs, and globs of poison than Ash could count. It was a true testament to Haunter's ability and willpower that he was even still conscious. He had done so much throughout the course of the gym battle that Ash was starting to feel a severe sense of guilt when he took in the condition that the apparition was currently in.

Just when Ash unclipped Haunter's great ball to return him, the ghost-type activated a technique that made Ash's stomach drop. An outburst of ghost-type energy emanated from Haunter's body in the form of a large, ominous spectral nail.

"Haunter don't!" shouted Ash with desperation in his voice.

"Venin, do not let it—"

The apparitional nail skewered the apparition right above the eyes.

Haunter's form began to phase in and out of corporeality before a beam of red light enveloped him, vacuuming the ghost-type back into suspended animation.

"You didn't have to do that..." said Ash with a hint of frustration in his voice as he heard the muk grumble in agony.

Ash looked up to see a giant ghostly nail penetrating the massive mound of animated sludge.

The young trainer quickly returned Haunter's great ball to its designated slot on his belt before unclipping Rhyhorn's safari ball. He didn't think Koga would hold it against him, but now that there was a devilish countdown connected to his egregiously large muk's consciousness, Ash didn't want to come off as being a bad sport by delaying the battle any more than necessary.

He pressed the button on Rhyhorn's safari ball. It emitted a beam of ruby, red light that bounced off of the bottom of the poison pit before erupting with a surge of white light. In its wake was a rock plated mammal that instantly began to charge.

In the near future, Ash would need to teach Rhyhorn how to be a little more discreet at the beginning of a battle, but in this situation, his brute's overaggressiveness would be an advantage.

"Rhyhorn, use Drill Run!" shouted Ash at the top of his lungs.

The hulking dual-type barreled ahead at full speed, disregarding the multitude of toxins that were being hurled at him. The muk landed a plethora of long-range poison-type techniques, but it didn't matter. Due to his typing and stubborn desire for combat, he stampeded through them as if they were nothing.

Right before he collided with the revolting giant, Rhyhorn leaned to his right before leaping and harshly shifting his plates. He spun expeditiously, especially when you took into account his hulking size. Upon contact, the muk's body started to splatter. Globs of sludge plopped against the metal sides of the arena. The giant pile of grime grumbled in pain as its mass marginally diminished.

In subsequence to Rhyhorn's Drill Run, another sizable apparitional nail brutally burrowed into the muk's billowing, polluted body, causing it to groan even more. Ash couldn't see Rhyorn. He had either pierced straight through the muk, or he was somewhere within its mass.

Suddenly, numerous fissures began to show up across the poison pit's surface before they detonated. The ground violently bulged outward, afflicting the muk even further. After using Bulldoze, Ash spotted Rhyhorn on the muk's flank, digging his horn into the arena's craggy ground before thrusting his head upward, launching large pieces of stone at the behemoth.

The muk divulged a discordant outcry as it released a Poison Gas that filled the entire arena. Ash used the inside of his elbow to cover his mouth and nose, trying his best to protect himself from the thin cloud of toxins that had inevitably risen up above the rim of the pit. He peered down at the bottom, never once taking his eyes off of his brute. His eyes started to water and sting, but he mustered the determination needed to keep them pried open.

Another spectral nail pierced muk as Rhyhorn continued to mercilessly shower it with Rock Blast. Once again the putrid monster let out a low rumbling groan as more of its inorganic body was scattered throughout the pit.

"Sludge Wave!" commanded Koga with a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Drill Run!" shouted Ash.

As a thick wave of dark purple liquid shot across the arena, Rhyhorn trudged through it at full speed. He had taken some damage, and by the sound of his periodic grunts of discomfort, Ash had a feeling that he had been poisoned, but the brute continued to move forward without hesitation as if he was unaffected. This time when he neared the muk, Rhyhorn leaned to the left, splashing up toxins as he leaped through the air. The dual-type dropped his plates even harder than before, revolving at a rate that Ash hadn't even seen during one of their many training sessions.

When Rhyhorn collided with the muk's liquid form, it let out a bleak gasp as a significant amount of its body was sprayed in every which direction. In concurrence, another immense, supernatural nail that oozed malevolence perforated the steaming accumulation of toxic waste. The vile behemoth's small, slanted eyes turned white and became vacant, conveying that it had slipped into comatose.

Ash clenched his fist triumphantly.

They did it.

They beat the poison master.

They defeated Koga of Fuchsia City.

They earned the Soul Badge.

All the hard work had paid off. There is no way they could have done it when they first arrived in Fuchsia.

They needed Flame Burst.

They needed Roost.

They needed Shadow Ball.

They needed Rhyhorn.

"You did it Rhyhorn!" cheered Ash, fighting the urge to slide down the poison pit's steep wall in order to congratulate him in a more affectionate manner.

The brute elatedly tilted his body back and forth, letting out a trumpeting squeal followed by a breathy snort.

As a red beam of light streaked down into the pit, enveloping and returning the muk with the king's nature, Ash pressed the button on Rhyhorn's safari ball. After returning his friend, he lifted the camouflage designed capture-device up to his face.

"Get some rest," said Ash to his sequestered dual-type, "Nurse Joy will have you feeling good in no time."

All of a sudden, the tatami mats reemerged from the walls, making the same clattering noise that they made when they receded. Once the floor was back in place, Koga ambled over to him with soft smile. He dropped both of his arms down to his sides in a rigid manner before giving Ash a deep, respectful bow.

"Congratulations, challenger," said the poison master, "you are victorious. That was a magnificent duel."

"Thank you," replied Ash with a smile as he clipped Rhyhorn's safari ball back to his belt, "that was tough. I wasn't sure how things were going to shake out when you let out that humongous muk."

The poison master laughed as he crouched down to Ash's level, "Venin may be a king, but he still has a lot of training to do before he can do battle at a level that equals his presence."

He paused as he gave Ash a light nod, "although, if it were not for your ghoul's courageous act, Venin would have made things a little more interesting at the end."

As much as Ash didn't want to admit it, Koga was right. Rhyhorn had battled well, but if Haunter hadn't used Curse, the outcome of the battle may have been different. The amount of damage that the toxic behemoth was able to endure was uncanny. The young trainer wasn't sure if his brute would have had enough stamina to outlast it without the help of the abhorrent, sacrificial technique.

"I'm not happy he used it," said the dark-haired boy with a frown, "but, you're right. Things would have been a lot different."

Koga placed an affectionate hand on Ash's head as he looked him in the eyes, "the ghoul immolated itself out of adoration for you. It will recover, and you should be proud of its bravery and selflessness. Most ghouls are greedy and self-centered. They do not use a technique like Curse in something as banal as competition unless they have reverence for their trainer. I've battled very few that have been willing to go that far, and all of them have belonged to Agatha."

Ash felt a knot of guilt well up inside of his gut.

He hadn't thought about it like that.

"I see…" drawled Ash before letting out a deep sigh.

"Janine, bring the challenger his prize!" bellowed Koga with a grin as he disheveled Ash's hat.

Before Ash could blink, the teenaged kunoichi appeared alongside her father. She held out a small, fuchsia colored trinket that was shaped like a heart. The young trainer took out his badge case that he had placed in one of his coat pockets prior to the gym battle.

"I present to you, the Soul Badge," said Janine, grinning as she handed it over to Ash, "I was starting to think I would never get to say that again."

Koga let out a roaring burst of laughter as he stood up from his crouched position, "the tide can be fickle. Will it recede, or will it linger? We try to predict, but can never know for sure…"

Ash placed the Soul Badge in its proper slot as he tried to decipher the words of the poison master.

He probably could have given it some more thought, but he decided to ask as he put his badge case back in his pocket.

"What does that mean?"

"All I will say is that it is a metaphor about desire," answered Koga with a smirk, "if you find it interesting, its meaning is for you to uncover on your own."

Ash kind of figured he wouldn't get a straightforward answer from the shinobi.

"Anyhow, where will your travels take you next, Ash Ketchum?" asked Koga with a look of intrigue.

"I'm gonna head south until I reach the ocean, replied Ash with excitement in his voice, "then I'm gonna ride Pidgeot to see the Seafoam Islands before heading to Cinnabar."

"Ahh, off to challenge Blaine, I see…" said Koga as he placed his hand on his chin, "if you want to find his gym, do not ignore even the slightest of riddles. That kooky old man is very fond of ambiguity."

He scratched the back of his head with a minor look of frustration before letting out an exasperated sigh, "honestly, the League should be bothering the geezer rather than I. At least I am easy to find."

Ash let out a light chuckle. Koga had a good point.

They talked for a little bit longer before Ash decided it was time for him to get going, "I should probably head out. I would like to start my trip down Route 19 by tomorrow, so I've got to get back to the pokemon center."

Koga nodded, "then you must move swiftly. Fuchsia's Nurse Joy is an expert when it comes to treating poison, she will take good care of your pokemon."

Ash nodded, smiling as he acknowledged both the poison master and his daughter, "thank you for the battle, Koga. I'll never forget it. It was nice to meet you, Janine."

As Ash headed for the door, Koga called out to him.

The dark-haired boy turned around.

"About halfway through our battle it dawned on me who you are!" shouted Koga with a bow as he gently pushed down the back of his daughter's head so that it was even with his own, "please return to Fuchsia someday, so we can do battle once more! Maybe then, you can battle my true team, oh Chosen One!"

Ash wasn't sure why, but for some reason when the two words that gave him more anxiety than anything else in the world exited Koga's mouth, he had a profound feeling of dèjá vu.

XXX

As Ash and Growlithe stood in front of the welcome sign that symbolized a visual farewell to the city of soul, the young trainer ruminated.

So much had happened…

The Safari Zone.

Training.

The painting.

Gourmet Pokemon.

Koga.

He had come to Fuchsia with eight pokemon.

Now he had twelve.

He had come to Fuchsia with four badges.

Now he had five.

He had come to Fuchsia unsure of who he was.

Now he knew.

"Come on, Growlithe, it's time we got moving," said Ash as they took their first steps outside of city limits.

The pup let out a joyful yip, elated to be back on the road.

There was a lot for him still to unpack, but if Ash had to explain his time in Fuchsia with one word, it would be…

…Clarity.

As they trekked ahead with the city of soul facing their backs, Ash looked forward to exploring the southern islands with his friends.

XXX

To be continued…

XXX

A/N: I cannot explain to you guys how much fun I'm having writing. The Fuchsia arc has come to a close. Thanks to everyone that has picked up Essence again. We're off to the islands next.

Thank for reading!

Much love, vincentgrey21