Couple of days after Lillie's battle against Fantina; Ash, Lillie, and Dawn have finally arrived in the Celestic Town.
Currently, all three of them are in the Pokémon Center, where Dawn is talking with her mother over a video call. It has been a while since the last time they've talked, as Johanna has been busy with her job, and since Dawn has no way of contacting her, she has to wait for Johanna to call her.
Now, the problem at first was, how would Johann know where Dawn is to call her. That was dealt with by Ash who gave Johanna the number of his Pokedex, which also acts as a cellular. As such, every time Johanna wishes to speak with Dawn, all she has to do is call her on Ash's Pokedex, or send a message to ask where she is, so she can call her over the video call at that place.
The message from Johanna came the day before, and Dawn sent back a reply that she will be in the Celestic Town before noon of the next day.
Right now, it's the noon of the next day, and Dawn was seating in front of the phone with her mother, while Ash and Lillie were standing behind her. Dawn's Piplup was seating in her lap.
"Wow, I can't believe you actually had a contest battle with THE Lila." Dawn said to her mother.
"That's right," Johanna said. From what can be seen of her face, she looks exactly the same as she did, with long blue hair, and blue eyes. The background shows that she seems to be in the Pokémon Center somewhere, so no one can guess where exactly she is. She most certainly wasn't in her own house.
Overall, she seems fine, so Dawn didn't push to find out where she is, or what she's doing, when they started their conversation.
"You see, Dawn. Up until that match against Lila, I haven't lost a single battle. She was the one who ended my winning streak." Johanna said.
"Who is this, Lila?" Ash said Dawn.
"You've never heard of her," Dawn said with surprise in her voice, before she pulled out some magazine from somewhere, and showed it to Ash. "She's the Top Poke Stylists, and she styles trainers, and Pokémon."
"Hm… she's a looker." Ash commented, making Dawn, and Lillie narrow their eyes at him, while Johanna – who has heard Ash's comment – looked at him with raised eyebrows, before she smirked a little.
Ash didn't pay any attention at Dawn, and Lillie as they looked strangely at him. Instead, he looked back toward Johanna. Dawn decided to do the same.
"What happened with Lila after she defeated you?" Dawn asked her mother.
"Sadly, she ended up retiring from contests, and being a Pokémon Coordinator, before I could get a rematch with her." Johanna said.
"So the loss still stands, ha?" Dawn said.
"Its fine," Johanna said with a smile. "Fond memories, plus she's doing great as a Poke Stylist."
"If I remember correctly, I read somewhere that her store is in Celestic Town." Lillie said.
"Well then, we all have to go." Dawn shouted as she stood from the chair.
XXX
Once Dawn finally finished conversation with her mother, she, Ash, and Lillie decided to split up. Dawn, and Lillie wanted to go and visit Lila's shop, while Ash said that he will go and meet up with Cynthia.
So, while in front of the Pokémon Center, they agreed to meet later, before they went different ways.
XXX
As for Johanna, once she ended her call with Dawn, she left the Pokémon Center, and went back to where she's currently working.
The place she's currently at, doesn't look like a very nice place. The place is a big city with large buildings, but the buildings themselves are very run down. The whole place seems to exude darkness, and the streets, while not necessarily dirty, or covered in trash; they are definitely much worse than any streets in regular City's, Town's, or even Villages in every region. The fact that a sun is at the sky, but the city is covered in darkness as if it's a night, makes it look even worse than it actually is.
Johanna is currently walked down one of those streets, while all around her there are small shops, with a lot of light around the entrances, so that they can be seen in the darkness of the City.
As she was walking, Johanna had a frown on her face. She wasn't happy right now. Not happy at all. She has left this life, and the job ages ago, and now she's back at it again.
She didn't know why she has accepted to get back at it. Maybe it's because she was running out of money, or maybe because now that Dawn is at her journey, she was all alone. Or maybe… it's both of those things. She wasn't really sure, but she was sure that she hates being back in this… rat hole, in which the worst people in the Sinnoh Region live, and even worse people come to enjoy it's delights.
As she walked down the street, Johanna wondered how Dawn would react if she knew the kind of job she used to do, and is now doing again.
XXX
Ash met with Cynthia just minutes after he split way with Lillie and Dawn.
As soon as his eyes met Cynthia, he didn't say anything but 'come here', before he dragged the Sinnoh Champion into the back alley.
That's where the two of them currently are. Cynthia was with her back pressed on the wall of the building, with her pants around her ankles, and her long coat tossed aside, leaving her only in her black t-shirt.
As for Ash, he was also with his pants, and underwear around his ankles, as he was pressed into Cynthia. His 9 incher pushing in and out of Cynthia's tight cunt, making the poor girl squeal in delight.
Their playful time was interrupted when they heard a gasp coming from few meters away from them.
Ash, and Cynthia broke their kiss, and looked toward where the gasp came from. Ash has a normal look on his face, as he was doing this, only his eyes narrowed. As for Cynthia, her eyes were half opened, and seemed glazed. She seems to be a little out of it.
"W-What are you doing?" A very beautiful woman with purple hair tied in a bun, as well as maroon eyes, was standing there and looking at Ash and Cynthia with wide eyes, and gapping mouth.
The moment Ash saw her, he recognized her as Lila, the woman he only heard about less than an hour ago when he was in the Pokémon Center.
Ash looked her up and down, and though that she was much better looking in person then on that picture in the magazine he saw earlier.
"I know you," Ash suddenly said, making the woman show a surprised look on her face, instead of shocked. "You are Lila. I heard about you earlier from Johanna, and Dawn."
Now Lila was really surprised. Not only because Ash looks as cool as Ice, even though he was caught with his pants down… literally, and in the middle of having sex in the back street with no less than the Sinnoh Champion; and he doesn't seem to care about it; but also because he seems to know her old rival, Johanna, as well as Johanna's daughter, Dawn.
"You know Johanna and Dawn?" Lila questioned.
"Yes," Ash said, before he did something that shocked Lila. He pulled his dick out of Cynthia, and let the blonde haired Champion fall on her knees, while he stood naked from the waist down, and with his nine inch dick pointing straight toward Lila.
The purple haired woman saw Ash's dick, and blushed crimson. She unconsciously licked her lips as she stared at Ash's package. "That must be the biggest dick I've ever seen." Lila thought in her head. She licked her lips once again, but then she finally caught herself what she is doing, and what Ash was doing.
"W-What are you doing," Lila asked again? "Pull your pants up."
"Why," Ash asked, seemingly without a care in the world. "If you are offended, then you should leave. It was you who interrupted me having some private time with my girlfriend."
Lila was shocked to hear that this… boy… man, was Cynthia's boyfriend. Subconsciously, she thought it was a shame, as she wouldn't mind to get her hands on him.
Of course, she immediately locked those thoughts at that back of her mind, and focused on what was going on.
"You can't do that here," Lila said to Ash. "It's a public place, and anyone can see you. What if some children came here and saw this."
Ash shrugged. "They'll start to learn early."
Lila was shocked to hear this, and didn't know what to say.
As for Ash, he went and lifted his pants up, making Lila want to groan at the loss of such a sight. Then, Ash picked Cynthia up, and kissed her right on the lips. The blonde haired girl returned the kiss, until both of them were lost in it.
It took a minute for them to pull back from each other, and once they did Ash looked at where Lila was standing. Unfortunately, she seems to have left.
Ash shrugged, before he looked at Cynthia, and then removed his pants once again, and went back to work.
XXX
The time for the Celestic Contest has finally arrived.
Ash, and Lillie were seating at the bleachers among the crowd, who were all cheering as Marian was announcing the start of the contest. Dawn's Piplup, Pachirisu, and Swinub were all dressed up as cheerleaders, and were standing in front of Ash, and Lillie.
Cynthia has decided not to come with Ash and watch Dawn competing, because if she did, she would be drawing too much attention from the crowd, and that would be a bad thing.
While her friends and Pokémon were at the bleachers, Dawn, and he Buneary were in the special room at the stadium, getting ready for the contest.
As Dawn was messing with her hair in front of the mirror, and was having problems with it, Lila passed by the room where Dawn was in, and saw this. She immediately went inside of the room, and fixed Dawn's hair.
When Dawn's turned around, and thanked the woman, she immediately recognized her. "Wait, you are Lila." Dawn said in shock.
Lila took off her glasses, and looked at Dawn with narrowed eyes. "You are Dawn, aren't you?" Lila said with a smile.
"How do you know my name?" Dawn asked, but before Lila could answer, and woman wearing a black suit, entered the room, and dragged Lila out, saying how they don't have time for this.
Dawn stood there looking in shock at what just happened.
XXX
Not long after, it was finally time for the contest to start, and the very first coordinator to appear for the appeal round, was Lila.
She was dressed in a sleeveless purple kimono with flower pattern at the bottom of it. She was wearing white socks, and slippers.
"This lovely lady is making her first appearance in almost 20 years," Marian spoke! "Please welcome the Tiger Lily of Celestic Town… Lila!"
Dawn, and Lillie were shocked to see that Lila is making a comeback after almost 20 years of being away from the Contests. Ash was surprised, but he wasn't showing it. He was wondering how Lila would react if they were to see each other again.
"Cherrim, out you come!" Lila said as she released her Pokémon.
Lila's Grass Type Pokémon came in its Overcast Form, while flower petals were floating around its body. Cherrim opened its eyes, before it glowed, and changing into its Sunshine Form.
Lila started by having her Cherrim spin in the air, while performing Magical Leaf. Then this was followed by Sunny Day, where Cherrim threw two glowing orbs into the air, where they joined together, and created a green flower with the sun in the middle.
Everyone, from the crowd, to the judges, and other competitors loved Lila's presentation.
After Lila, many other trainers had their shot at the appeal round. Some did well, while some did better, so it will be up to the judges to decide who goes into the next round.
Finally, it was time for Dawn to make her appearance. She came out at the presentation field, before she released her Buneary.
Buneary started by using Bounce to jump high in the air, before she started to spin through the air on her ears. Then, Buneary used an Ice Beam to create a slide, on which she then slid down, and started skating over the ice.
Buneary used Dizzy Punch, and then started to slid and spin around on her ears.
Sadly, Buneary lost her form, and started to uncontrollably spin in the air. Luckily, Dawn run to catch her Pokémon before she fell down, and caught her right on top of her right hand, and held her like that, making it look like that's what she was planning to do.
XXX
"I almost messed it all up." Dawn said while walking through a corridor with Lillie, Ash, and her Piplup, Pachirisu, Ambipom, Buneary, and Swinub. It's all of the Pokémon she currently has with her, as her Pineco, Cubone, Onix, and Gible are at Professor Rowan's Lab. Those four are the ones who like battles, but not contests, so they are seating behind for now.
"Yeah, but you did manage to save yourself in the end, so it's all good." Lillie said.
They run into Lila in the backstage, so Dawn went and talked with her mother's old rival.
Lila had some trouble around Ash, as she had to fight back a blush every time she saw him and remembered how she caught him; but she was able to explain to Dawn about her and Johanna's rivalry, and about her reason for deciding to quit being a coordinator, and focus on being a Poke Stylist.
"Why did you become a coordinator again, when you gave up all those years ago?" Dawn asked.
"Actually, it's thanks to you, Dawn." Lila's answer surprised Dawn.
"Why me," Dawn asked?
"I find the work I do now, fulfilling," Lila said. "But when I saw you battling on TV, looking so full of life, the memories of my days as a coordinator flooded back in my head. I started thinking of how wonderful it would be to earn my fifth ribbon, in a battle against you, Dawn."
"And if you win, you would be able to enter the Grand Festival, as the ribbons you won back when you were a coordinator, still count." Lillie said. Lila nodded.
"There is another reason I'm doing this," Lila said, with narrowed eyes. "I knew I can learn something about myself by battling Dawn the same way I used to battle against Johanna. I will tell you, we really went at it back in the day."
Before anything else could be said, Marian's voice was heard on the large screen which was located in the room. She was announcing the 8 coordinators who will be moving to the next round.
Dawn stood with Ash and Lillie, while Lila was behind them. They were all looking at the screen, and waiting to see if Dawn, and Lila have passed into the battle stage.
Luckily, they didn't have to wait long, as one by one, the pictures of the coordinators who passed, started to appear on the screen.
Lila's face appeared first, so she passed into the next round. As for Dawn, her picture appeared last. By then, she was sweating with nervousness, but once she saw her face on the screen, she breathed out in relief.
Dawn shouted, as she cheered for herself, and her Buneary, who jumped into Dawn's arms. "It was all thanks to you, Buneary," Dawn said. "Thank you."
The matches for the round two were chosen immediately by the random shuffle of the computer. Once the pictures and the bracket were revealed, Dawn, and everyone else saw that Lila is in the first match, while Dawn is in the last, which means that they won't have to battle against each other until the final, if they both make it to the final round.
"Let's make sure it all comes down to us, Dawn." Lila said to Dawn.
"OK." Dawn said.
"Well, I look forward to see the battle between the two of you," Ash said, drawing Dawn's and Lila's attention. "It should be a great one."
Lila blushed again when her eyes landed on Ash, and she looked away when she saw him smirk at her.
Dawn hasn't noticed this, but Lillie did, and she wondered if Lila is actually attracted to Ash. She knew that she isn't the first, and definitely wouldn't be the last mature woman to be attracted to Ash.
Dawn looked at Ambipom, and told her that it will be her turn to battle. Ambipom was overjoyed to hear this.
The round two started immediately, as Lila went to the stage.
XXX
Lila, and Dawn won their quarterfinal, and semifinal matches, and reached the final round, where they are going up against each other.
Right now, they are both on their sides of the battlefield, both ready to call out their Pokémon, and start the battle.
"Let the time, BEGIN!" Mariam shouted, as the five minutes on the clock started counting down.
Dawn went first and released her Ambipom in the shower of hearts. Then Lila went, and released her Delcatty. The very same Pokémon she used to battle against Johanna and her Glameow almost 20 years ago.
Dawn started the battle with her Ambipom using Swift. The furry of yellow stars seemingly hit Delcatty, but it turned out that Lila's Pokémon has used Substitute, as he disappeared in the cloud of smoke.
Delcatty appeared in the air, right behind Ambipom, and then started to spin around until Ambipom's tails were wrapped around him. Then, he used Shockwave.
Ambipom cried out as she was hit by a powerful light blue electricity, which then formed into a multicolored flower, with Ambipom, and Delcatty in the middle of it.
"Well done, Delcatty." Lila said as she performed her famous Tiger Lily pose, and a smile.
Ambipom used Double Team, and disappeared from Delcatty's hold. She appeared all around Delcatty, and used Focus Punch, which hit Delcatty from eight different sides.
But then, Ambipom's eyes turned into hearts, and she started to swing her hips. Ambipom ended up being affected with Attract Status.
"Damn, that Delcatty has a Cute Charm as a Special Ability." Lillie said to Ash, as they were seating on the bleachers and watching the match with Piplup, Pachirisu, and Swinub.
"Yeah, this is going to be tough for Dawn, as her Ambipom won't be able to attack directly, because every time she does, she will be affected by the male Delcatty." Ash explained, and Lillie nodded.
Lila told Delcatty to use Sing, which ended up with Ambipom put to sleep in the middle of the battlefield.
Dawn called Ambipom to wake up, but it was useless. Then to make matters worse, Delcatty used Iron Tail on the sleeping Ambipom.
And then, Lila again perform her famous pose, and a Tiger Lily smile.
Ambipom was then hit by Shockwave, which lost Dawn even more points, leaving her with less than half. The good thing is that Ambipom woke up after the Shockwave, so she can battle again, and isn't a seating duck for Delcatty's attacks.
Ambipom used Swift, but Delcatty used Substitute to dodge it. Ambipom quickly jumped after Delcatty, and appeared right behind him, and then used Double Hit, which sent Delcatty to the ground.
Unfortunately, Ambipom was again affected by the Cute Charm.
Dawn decided to try her luck, and told Ambipom to use Double Team. Much to everyone's surprise, Ambipom did use the attack, even though she was still in the Cute Charm Status.
Delcatty used Sing, once again, and destroyed several of Ambipom's clones. Before the real Ambipom could be hit, though, she used Double Hit, and sent Delcatty back to the ground.
The status effect wore off at that moment, and Ambipom started to spin around, and used Swift, to attack from the distance, and not touch Delcatty.
Delcatty used Substitute to once again escape, but this time, the amount of stars sent by Ambipom was staggering, and Delcatty didn't have where to escape, so he was hit. Lila lost some more of her points, and now she has just a bit more then Dawn, while there was only 45 seconds left until the time for the match runs out.
Delcatty used Shockwave to block the approaching storm of stars. The two attacks clashed mid-air, and pushed at each other, creating a beautiful sight above the battlefield.
Ambipom pushed some more power into her attack, which eventually broke through Delcatty's Shockwave, and sent the cat Pokémon to the ground, where he was then practically buried under the storm of stars.
Time run out at that exact moment, and now everyone looked at the big screen, to see who among the two coordinators has more points left.
It turned out that Dawn was able to come back, and overcome Lila, thus, winning the battle by having just a little more points left.
At first, Dawn couldn't believe that she won, but that only lasted for a few seconds, before she cheered at her win, and the fact that she has just gotten her third ribbon, which means that she has passed the halfway point, and only needs two more to qualify for the Grand Festival.
Dawn jumped at her Ambipom, and hugged her. "Thanks' Ambipom," Dawn said. "It was all thanks to you. You are the best."
Ash, Lillie and practically everyone cheered and clapped with their hands for the great match they've just seen, and also for Dawn's win.
"Hope you are watching mom," Dawn said! "I won it!"
XXX
What Dawn didn't know, is that Johanna was actually watching her match, and had a small smile on her face. "Congratulations, Dawn." Johanna said, before she stood up from where she was seating, and walked away.
XXX
Back at the Celestic Stadium, Lila approached her depressed Delcatty, and comforted him. 'You were great," Lila said to her Pokémon. "Thank you, Delcatty."
This fixed Delcatty's mood, as he and Lila watched Dawn, and Ambipom still hug each other.
Dawn, and Lila shock hands at the middle of the battlefield, and both congratulated each other. Lila congratulated Dawn for the win, and the great battle, while Dawn congratulated Lila for an amazing match, even though she has been away from the contests for almost two decades.
Dawn was soon presented with the Celestic Town Contest Ribbon, and congratulated on the win by the judges of the match.
XXX
Johanna walked through a barely lit corridor. The place is so dark, that her form can't be seen besides her blue eyes which seems to be glowing in the dark.
At the end of the corridor she is walking through, a light can be seen, and Johanna seems to be going toward it. In the background, a lot of noise can be heard. It's questionable, at least because of how the corridor is so dark, but the place she is at, could be some kind of stadium, and the noise is coming from the crowd.
As she was getting close to the light, Johanna noticed a pair of red eyes looking at her. Those eyes belong to Mayfeng, a long-time colleague of Johanna.
"Have you watched your daughters contest?" Mayfeng asked Johanna, once the blue-haired woman was close enough for her to hear her.
"I have." Johanna replied shortly.
"Did she win?" Mayfeng asked.
"She did." Johanna said.
"You should be happy then." Mayfeng said.
"I'm happy for Dawn," Johanna said. "I'm not happy to be here."
"You accepted to return to us," Mayfeng said with a smile. "No one forced you. You could have just said no."
"I know," Johanna said. "That's the worst part. That I came back here of my own free will."
"Come on, it's not that bad," Mayfeng said. "You are getting your old pay, and you are only doing one half of your old job. You must admit that's a good deal you've gotten from the boss."
Johanna scoffed. "He only offered me that deal because I told him I wouldn't do the second part of the job, for all the money in the world, and he knew that I would walk away if he tries to force me."
"Yeah, I know," Mayfeng said. "Still, you get more money than I do, and you only do half the job. I envy you."
"Well, you can always threaten the boss to leave," Johanna said. "Maybe that way you can get more money."
Now it was time for Mayfeng to scoff. "Yeah, right," she said. "I'm not you. Only you can get away with stuff like that. I would get a knife in the heart."
Johanna didn't say anything at that. While it sounds that Mayfeng is exaggerating, she isn't. The boss would really kill her if she tries to blackmail him.
Not feeling like speaking more with Mayfeng, Johanna walked toward the light. Moments later, she came out in the middle of the huge arena, which seems to be completely made out of black stone. There are no seats, so those who come to watch, have to seat on a cold, hard stone. Another amazing, and somewhat scary thing about the arena is that there are many demonic statues all over it, while at the lowest level right next to a large ring, there are multiple large doors, which have iron gates. At the top level of the arena, there are several large screens, with some of them showing pairings for the battles, as well as betting quotas.
The whole arena seems to be almost bursting with people who have come to watch the battles. They are all yelling, and screaming, and some cheering for their favorite battlers.
"Ladies, and gentleman, welcome to the Demon Arena," the male voice spoke loudly so that everyone can hear him! "On today's schedule, we have an amazing battle between two well-known trainers! In the red corner, we have a challenger, the Masked Woman!"
Through one of the iron gates, came a very muscular woman with long green hair, blue eyes, large tits, and wearing a black body suit which is revealing more than its covering. She's also wearing a cat mask on the top half of her head, covering her hair, forehead, and the area bellow her eyes.
Once the crowd saw her, they cheered loudly for the cat masked beauty.
"And in the blue corner," the announcer spoke again! "We have by some accounts the best battler we have ever had grace us with her presence. It's our one, and only… The Water Mistress, Johanna!"
Now, the crowd cheered and yelled even louder than before. They all had their eyes on the amazingly sexy woman who just walked out through another entrance, opposite of the one Masked Woman came out of.
Johanna walked toward the battlefield, among the cheering of the crowd. Some were even whistling due to Johanna's current look.
Johanna is currently wearing a dark blue mini skirt, tied with a brown buckle belt. Her feet are bare, as well as her thigs. On her left thigh, she has a tattoo of a demonic face with two large horns coming from the temples, as well as red eyes, and two fangs. On her upper body, she wears a blue corset which is showing her large breast. Finally, her long blue hair is flowing freely, and perfectly framing her beautiful face.
At that moment, Johanna didn't even come close to look like a 29 year old woman, who has a 10 year old daughter. At most, she looks like a 19 year old virgin, who looks so good that guys would rip their own hearts out if it means a night with her in bed.
As Johanna and the Masked Girl stood at their sides of the battlefield, the announcer said that this will be a three-on-three battle, with the winner being the one who has any Pokémon left to battle.
And with that announcement, the battle has started.
XXX
Ash, Lillie and Dawn have decided to stay for another day in Celestic Town.
They did this because Lillie, and Dawn wanted to do some sightseeing, while Ash planned to do some training with his Pokémon, in preparation for the gym battle against Fantina.
This has also given Ash a chance to spend some more time with Cynthia, as once he leaves Celestic Town, who knows when they'll be able to see each other again.
Surprisingly, there was also one more woman who has spent a night with Ash. It was the night after the Celestic Contest, when Ash was in his room in the Pokémon Center with Cynthia. Their fun time was interrupted by the knock on the door. Once Ash opened the door, he saw Lila standing there, with a full on blush on her face, and wiggling a little in embarrassment.
Lila came to Ash to see if she can spend a night with him, even though he has a girlfriend, but ended up in bed with him, AND his girlfriend, who just happens to be none other than the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia.
Right now, Lillie, and Dawn have just packed their stuff in their backpacks, and were leaving the Pokémon Center. Ash wasn't with them, as he was outside on the Pokémon Center Battlefield, where he is training with his Pokémon.
Ash was currently working with his Chimchar, who was spinning mid-air, and was using Flamethrower, which is going all over the place. It's like a hose with high pressure water, which is throwing water everywhere.
"Great job, Chimchar," Ash said from where he was standing next to the battlefield with his other Pokémon. "Next time we will try to use Flamethrower, as you are using Flame Wheel."
Chimchar nodded at that.
Before they could continue their training, Ash was interrupted by Dawn's arrival.
"Hey Ash, we are leaving now." Dawn said.
"Maybe we should wait a little longer," Ash said. "It's not like we are in a hurry, and I want to do some more training with my Pokémon."
"What are you working on?" Dawn asked.
"I'm working on a new move, which will be a perfect counter to Fantina's Pokémon using Hypnosis, as well as the tricky way her Pokémon are attacking and defending," Ash said. "I know I can simply deal with Hypnosis, and most of her attacks by using Protect, but I wanted something new. Watching your battle against Lila yesterday, I've got some good ideas. Like for example to use moves which can block the opponents attacks, and allow me to attack at the same time."
"You are talking about Ambipom's Double Hit?" Dawn questioned, and Ash nodded.
"Didn't you use moves to attack and defend at the same time in the past?" Lillie has just arrived, and has asked Ash.
"Yeah, but as I said, Fantina's Ghost Types a different thing," Ash said. "They are very tricky, and Hypnosis can be hard to deal with if your Pokémon don't know Protect, or have other ways to defend. Not to mention the way her Pokémon move is hard to get a grip on."
"I guess you are right," Dawn said. "Drifblim, and Mismagius are always floating, and you can't really guess what they are going to do."
"The best way to deal with Fantina's Ghost Type, is to attack, and defend at the same time," Ash said, before he petted Ambipom on the head. "I thank you for giving me this ideas Ambipom."
"There are other ways to win," Lillie said. "I mean, I won in a different way."
"Yeah," Ash agreed. "You won with speed and power of your strongest Pokémon. I want to win with my weaker Pokémon. If you want to defeat Fantina again, you better start working on doing the same thing I am, or find something new. Unless of course, you want to use Pidgeot again."
Lillie shock her head. "I won't use Pidgeot," she said. "I will use some of my other Pokémon. I also agree with your suggested. I need to start training."
"Say, Ash," Dawn spoke. "Ambipom can pull of attack and defense at the same time as she has two tails. How can you replicate that with your Pokémon?"
"That's what we've worked on." Ash responded to Dawn's question, before he turned to Buizel, and told him to show what he's got.
Buizel jumped in the air above the battlefield, and started to spin around. Ash told him to use Aqua Jet, and then Buizel enveloped himself in water, while still spinning, creating a spinning vortex. He then jumped to the ground, and ended the Aqua Jet, but the water spread around the battlefield in all directions.
"By putting an attack into a spin, we can attack and defend at the same time," Ash said. "That way we can defend against sleep moves, and do damage while at it."
"That means that Ambipom's little spin has evolved into an awesome new attack." Dawn said with excitement, and with a large smile on her face.
"I want to really master this move, before we go to the Hearthome Gym," Ash said. "There is also a downside that not every Pokémon I have can pull this move, or something similar. So far, only Floatzel, Buizel, and Chimchar can do it, as they are the only of the Pokémon I have with me, which can spin like that, and still have attacks to match the spinning. I would want to have an electric move like that, but Shinx can't spin that way."
Shinx slumped down a little bit when he heard that. He felt bad, but Ash reassured him that it's fine, and that while he can't use moves like this, he can do other stuff, which Floatzel, Buizel and Chimchar, can't.
"What about your older Pokémon," Dawn asked? "Maybe one of the older Electric Types you have can do this."
Ash nodded. "Pikachu can," Ash said. "Maybe Alolan Golem as well. But I don't want to bring them into this. Especially not Pikachu."
"Why not," Dawn asked? "I would want to meet your Pikachu, as you said that it's one of your first Pokémon."
"Yeah, and it's also one of the strongest," Ash said. "A Thunderbolt from Pikachu can turn the Hearthome Gym into cosmic dust. So trust me when I say that, bringing Pikachu would be a really bad idea, and completely unnecessary."
Dawn was shocked by the power Ash's Pikachu seems to have, and actually wondered if Ash might not be exaggerating a little bit.
XXX
Not long later, Ash, Lillie and Dawn were inside the Pokémon Center, where they heard the news on TV, about the theft of the Adamant Orb. They also learned that the theft was done by Team Galactic.
"Well, that's bad." Ash said with a sigh.
"At the time of the theft, the Legendary Adamant Orb was in the process of being transported from the Eterna City Museum, and headed toward the Celestic Town Historical Research Center," the news reporter said. "The research Center is currently conducting research on the Adamant Orb's counterpart, the Lustrous Orb, and has tightened the security in light of the recent criminal incident.
"The Adamant Orb was on route so both objects can be researched together, now, it is widely expected that this morning's incident will seriously put in danger the progress of the research."
"We should go to the Historical Research Center," Ash suggested.
"Why?" Dawn asked.
"Cynthia left this morning in a hurry, and didn't say where she's going," Ash said. "Hearing this news, I believe that she went to the Research Center, as her grandmother is in charge of everything that goes on in it. The two of them will definitely be there, and know what's going on, and we could even help in making sure that the Lustrous Orb is safe."
"Well then, let's go." Lillie said.
XXX
Ash, Lillie and Dawn arrived in front of the Historical Research Center very quickly after they left the Pokémon Center. They hurried, as they wanted to be there as soon as possible, and help if needed.
When they arrived, they saw that there were many police cars in front of the place, as well as many policeman.
"So this is the Historical Research Center." Dawn stated.
"Yeah," Lillie said. "The Celestic Ruins are right behind it."
"It's in the Celestic Ruins where they found the Lustrous Orb, right?" Dawn questioned.
"That's right." Lillie said.
They were quickly noticed standing near the gate leading to the Research Center. The ones who noticed them were Cynthia, along with an older woman, and one policeman.
"Ash," Cynthia spoke. "What are you doing here?"
Ash, Lillie and Dawn approached to Cynthia, and the older woman, and Ash spoke. "We just heard on the news about the theft of the Adamant Orb. We decided to come here and see that the Lustrous Orb is safe."
"I appreciate it, Ash." Cynthia said.
"So, you are the famous Ash Ketchum." The older woman spoke as she looked at Ash with a smile on her face.
Ash looked at her, and raised his eyebrows. He didn't know for sure, but he had a feeling that this is Cynthia's grandmother. He wasn't sure as he has never actually met the woman. "I don't know about famous," Ash said with a smile. "But I am Ash Ketchum."
"Yeah, you are famous," Cynthia's grandmother said. "At least here in Sinnoh. I don't know about the other regions, though."
Ash rose his eyebrows. "Why am I so famous here in Sinnoh?" He asked.
"Oh, I don't know," the woman spoke. "Maybe because my dear granddaughter jumped into your arms among a group of young trainers, and then kissed you, without a care in the world."
"How do you know about that?" Ash asked, before he looked at Cynthia. She just shook her head, while looking slightly flustered.
"The young trainers I mentioned," the woman spoke. "Some of them took photos, and videos of you two kissing. Those same photos, and videos are all over the Sinnoh Region now. People are actually wondering, who is the 'insanely good looking man', who has captured the Champion's heart to the point that she would kiss him in the middle of the street?"
Ash actually smiled, while rubbing the back of his head. He should feel embarrassed, but he didn't. Still, his girlfriend's grandmother was telling him some stuff he didn't know, and he wonders why he hasn't heard of this before. He also wondered if Cynthia might be hounded by people who want to know who he is. He wouldn't want for some people only chasing after a story, to hound his girlfriend, and take her time.
"Sorry about that," Ash said. "We just haven't seen each other in a while before that, and I didn't even pay attention if there are others around us."
"Yeah, apparently neither did Cynthia." The woman said, making Cynthia groan.
"Let's not talk about that now, grandmother," Cynthia said to her grandma, before she introduced her to Ash, Lillie, and Dawn, and also introduced the two young girls, and Ash to Carolina, which is the name of Cynthia's grandmother.
"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am," Ash said. "I heard about you from Cynthia, but unfortunately we never had a chance to meet each other."
"Better late than never, I always said." Carolina said. "Besides, I heard so much about you that I feel like I've known you for some time now."
Ash looked at Cynthia with a smirk on his face, while Cynthia blushed.
XXX
On top of the large building not far from the Research Center, Saturn, a member of Team Galactic, as well as some grunt, were overlooking the area in front of the Research Center.
Saturn was using binoculars, and was able to see that on top of the large number of police officers, and Cynthia, Ash, Lillie and Dawn were also there. Saturn remembers them well from their encounter in the Veilstone City, as such, he saw their appearance there as a problem.
Saturn proceeded to talk with someone over the communication device, and said that they need to begin Phase 1, but to be prepared to switch to backup plan if necessary.
XXX
"Say, Ash," Carolina spoke as she, Cynthia, Ash, Lillie, and Dawn were standing in front of the entrance of the Research Center. "Cynthia told me all about you, starting with how you defeated her in the Indigo League finals, all those years ago. If you are such a great trainer, how come you aren't a champion like Cynthia?"
"I am not interested in being a champion," Ash said. "At least not until I finish my journey's through different regions. Once I decide to stop traveling, I'll go for a title of Monarch."
Carolina nodded. "Well, I can respect that," she said. "It's a great goal to travel as much as possible. I always told Cynthia that she should have traveled some more before she became a champion. Now she's always busy, and barely has time for anything."
"I'm fine with my job, grandma," Cynthia said. "I wish that I have more free time, but its fine. I can usually find the time when I need it for something other than my job."
Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of a tall man, with blue hair, and wearing a black suit. From the first glance, he seems like a nice guy, with his bright smile, so no one, not even Ash could think anything bad of him.
Usually, Ash would use his mind reading on a new people he meets, but he was convinced by Lillie not to do that, as it's a breach of privacy. She told him this after he revealed that Gardenia is a lesbian, which he found out by reading her mind.
As such, since he didn't suspect anything unusual, or bad about the blue haired man, Ash didn't read his mind when he first saw him.
"There sure are a lot of visitors here, today." Carolina said when she saw the blue-haired man.
"You must be the World Famous Mogul of Sinnoh's Industrial Complex, Cyrus." Cynthia said as she saw the man.
"It's an honor to make an acquaintance of a true Champion," Cyrus said, with a bow.
"You see, Cyrus is responsible for building libraries around Sinnoh." Cynthia said to Ash, Lillie and Dawn.
"Cyrus is quite a big deal around this parts, for sure." Carolina said with a smirk, while Cyrus rubbed the back of his head, with a kind-looking smile on his face.
"Stop that, you are all very kind." Cyrus said. "At this point, I would just rather be known as an amateur history scholar."
"Did you come here out of concern for the Lustrous Orb?" Carolina asked.
"Yes," Cyrus admitted. "When I heard about the Adamant Orb theft, I thought I had to do something."
XXX
Two man, wearing police uniforms walked in front of the gate of the Research Center.
The first man, who appeared to be older of the two, looks to be around 30 years old. He seems to be about 6 feet tall, with a thin body. He has yellow eyes, and black hair, as well as black-framed glasses.
The other man is younger, by at least a decade. He has brown, and yellow hair, with the top of his head having yellow hair, while the part in line with his eyebrows, and below, is brown. He is slightly taller than the first man, and though it can't be seen due to the police uniform, he seems very muscular.
As they approached to the gate, they met two other police officers, and their Pokémon Companion, Growlithe.
The two stood in front of the other two, and saluted them. "Backup, reporting for duty," the younger one said. His voice seems deep. "Requesting assignment, sir!"
The two guards nodded at them, before they let them in. None of the guards saw a vicious smile which appeared on the face of the black-haired, yellow-eyed individual.
XXX
Inside the Research Center, Ash, and everyone else, were walking down the corridor toward somewhere.
They were all led by Carolina, who spoke. "Since ancient times, out town has had a deep connection with Dialga, and Palkia. Throughout my extensive research of town's ancient history, I've acquired mountain of material as a result."
They walked through a corridor which has many shelves full with different books. They soon arrived in front of a large double door, which Carolina then opened, allowing everyone to enter inside.
They found themselves in a room, which had many stone tablets, with some inscriptions on them. There was also a large symbol on the wall right across from the door. It looks like a triangle, with a sun in the middle, and with each of the three sides, having an image of some Pokémon. There were also more shelves with books, and some boxes in the corner.
"Wow," Dawn said as she saw the triangle. "What an impressive piece." She then took a better look, and recognized something. "Wait, we've seen that before." Her Piplup agreed with her, as she pointed at the image of a Pokémon with two tails, and four protrusions out of its head; in the left corner of triangle.
Cynthia, Cyrus, and Carolina were shocked to hear this.
Ash really didn't want to, but in the end he decided to come clean as well. "I saw this one." He said as he pointed at the Pokémon in the right corner.
"I'm speechless." Carolina said.
"Where have you seen them?" Cynthia asked.
"I saw it at Lake Verity," Dawn said. "It was hard to make out, as all I saw seemed like a hazy figure floating mid-air. I'm sure that it's the same thing, though."
"I saw the other one at Lake Valor, during the Wallace Cup." Ash said. "It was hazy, just like Dawn's, but that was Azelf for sure."
"I'm really surprised," Cynthia said. "I can't think of a single example where I've heard of people seeing the Lake Guardians.
"What Dawn saw, is a Pokémon of Emotion, Mesprit. As for Ash, he saw the Pokémon of Willpower, Azelf. There is also a third Pokémon, Pokémon of knowledge, Uxie, rumored to live at Lake Acuity in the northern Sinnoh. It's been said for countless generations that all three Lake Guardians live in the Sinnoh Region Lakes. But they've only existed in legends until now."
"One of the legends states that only the spirits of the Lake Guardians emerge from their lakes," Carolina explained. "So that they are able to watch, and protect the human kind. There is a possibility that what you saw were those spirits."
"But why would Ash, and Dawn see them," Lillie asked? "Also, what's that in the middle of the picture." She was referring to the sun-like symbol.
"Our research says it's either Adamant Orb, or the Lustrous Orb." Cynthia responded to Lillie's second question. "As for your first question, I honestly don't know."
At this point, Ash sighed, and spoke. "You know, the Legendary Pokémon are considered Legendary not just because they are very rare, and much more powerful than the other Pokémon. They are also considered Legendary because hardly anyone sees them.
"Now, I'm not saying that it's impossible for a Legendary Pokémon to show themselves to humans, but it's very rare, and most of the time it's NOT a good thing, regardless of what everyone thinks."
"What do you mean, Ash?" Cynthia asked, as she and the others were looking at Ash with strange looks on their faces.
Ash sighed again, and shock his head. "Never mind."
Cyrus seemed to want to know more, so he suggested to Carolina that, since Ash and Dawn have seen Azelf, and Mesprit; perhaps they should be shown the Lustrous Orb.
Carolina thought that it was a good idea, so she led everyone to see the Lustrous Orb.
None noticed a smirk which appeared on Cyrus's face.