Reunion

"So that's Skyla?" Ash questioned upon noticing Hilda's brother hugging a beautiful red headed Latina.

"I must say I understand why lots of people asked her out." Brock commented, noticing how tight Skyla's outfit was.

"Don't get any ideas, she only has eyes for him." Hilda gave Brock's ear a pinch.

"Ow! Relax, I wasn't going to make a move on her!"

"Sure fooled me." Hilda countered.

"So they're basically what me and Misty could have been." Ash breathed, recalling the brief period where he had a crush on her. Though his crush ended up fading away at some point during the Johto region and he never really thought about it that until now.

"Whose Misty?" Hilda asked.

"A girl that Ash and I used to travel with, she's the Cerulean Gym Leader and doesn't do much traveling nowadays." Brock explained. "They had a thing for each other but Ash never noticed."

"Wait she liked me?!" Ash exclaimed with a shocked expression.

"Pika?!" Pikachu looked shocked as well.

Brock chuckled as he shook his head. "You were too er-dense to notice and she primarily hid it by teasing you. Neither of you were open about your feelings for each other so you ended up growing out of it."

"I never knew that..." Ash trailed off. "Hold up, did that end up happening again?!"

"Oh yeah, enough times that I can count on two fingers." Brock smirked. "There was Anabel, Angie, Macy, Bayleef and Aipom, not to mention Iris."

"What?!" Ash's jaw dropped.

"I don't like him!" Iris defensively shouted out, her face burned red as her eyes flickered back and forth.

"Oh yes you do." Bianca giggled out.

Ash stared at Iris for a few seconds as if he was considering it before shaking his head. "Nah."

"Good cause I wasn't interested anyways!" Iris laughed while her eye slightly twitched. "Now if you excuse me, I think I left the stove on!"

"What stove?!" Cheren questioned but Iris was gone in a flash.

"We are 'together' but we're taking things slow for his sake," Skyla spoke as the two approached, her arm wrapped around his shoulder. He was looking more emotional but he still appeared as if he wasn't fully there yet. "We'll go on an actual date when we reach Nimbasa City."

"Yep, playing some games will be a nice distraction." Zach spoke with a light smile.

"You're going to the fair?! Lucky, I'd kill to go on a date there." Hilda pouted. "Sharing a kiss atop the Ferris wheel would be so romantic."

"You read my mind, precisely why I suggested it!" Skyla smirked.

"He's only in the group for two and a half days and he has a date?!" Brock exclaimed while dropping to his knees. At this rate he was starting to believe Ash would get a date before he did.

"Don't sweat it Brock, you'll definitely find a date at some point!" Cilan pat his shoulder.

"Yeah, you got this!" Ash shouted.

"Pikachu!"

"You know, Elesa is around our age and single." Cilan casually spoke causing Brock to instinctively perk up.

"Alright, I knew there was still a chance!" Brock slicked back his hair while showing a look of confidence. "I'll win her over by showing her that she and I are destined to be together!"

"Or you know, you could just try casually asking her out. No need to do the whole destiny speech, just because I believe in it doesn't mean most girls do." Hilda offered some friendly device.

"Nah, I think I'll stick with what I've been doing. It's bound to work at some point!" Brock exclaimed.

"That's the spirit, Brock! Never give up on your dreams!"

"Pika pika!"

"Don't encourage that!" Hilda sweated.

"Hey it could work this time, stranger things have happened." Cilan shrugged.


"Ugh," Skyla glanced towards Zach as he twitched and turned in bed, both of them were fully clothed. Skyla just wanted to keep him company as apart from when Jigglypuff made him take a whiff of Munna's dream gas he'd had consistent nightmares ever since Ghetsis captured and murdered his entire team in front of him. Though strangely enough he found himself wearing the same attire back then, seemingly a continuation of that dream.

"Gah!" He ducked and rolled as what appeared to be a Scyther with a rocky coating and large axes instead of the usual scythes lashed out in a feral fashion. He felt a chill running through him as the rocky Scyther cut the tip of his hair. He quickly collapsed to his back and reached for his sword only to find it wasn't there. "What the-?!"

He was about to cut and run as there wasn't much a Shinx or Lucario could do as Lucario's levels had regressed significantly due to years of inactivity, levels were a lot like muscle mass in humans. If you don't battle for so long, a Pokémon could potentially regress and Lucario was stuck in place for seven years.

"Ah!" Zach perked up upon noticing another person was there, a blue haired girl who was the same age as him and also wearing the same uniform he wore could be seen cowering in fear as the armored Scyther turned its attention to her.

"No!" His fists clenched as he really didn't want to experience somebody dying in front of him again. "Shinx use Iron Tail!"

"Shinx!" Shinx's tail shined silver as leaped into and twirled in the air before crashing his tail against the Scyther's head. The armored Scyther grunted out before turning around with a feral expression.

"Kleav!" The Scyther rushed at him again, he quickly ducked and rolled away before instinctively reaching for his back.

"Bone Rush!"

"Carrr!" Lucario leaped up and slammed his aura club down against Scyther's forehead causing the Scyther to go cross eyed before it collapsed against the ground in defeat.

Shinx, Lucario and the girl began cheering upon the Scyther's defeat and didn't appear as confused as he was leading to him becoming more confused, especially when the blue haired girl pulled him into a hug.

"You did it, Zach!" She beamed.

"Huh?!" His face burned red as he felt his body shaking.

"Zach?! Zach?!" Skyla began frantically shaking him in an attempt to wake him from his nightmare.

"Skyla...?" Zach quickly wrapped his arms around her while pressing his head against her shoulder. It felt just as real as the last time he had the dream, he didn't understand what was going on but the lack of Skyla and Hilda made him feel a sense of dread.

"It was just a dream, relax. We're together again and I'm not letting you out of my sights this time." Skyla kissed his forehead in an affectionate manner while assuming he was dreaming about Team Plasma as he did inform her that he often relived the moment of his capture. "I'll be here if they come for you again."

The dread slowly began to fade away as she held him, he slowly placed an arm around her and began to ease into a peaceful sleep as they laid in each other's grasp.


"Welcome back one and all to another action packed day! Today's first match up and the start of the top eight round up will see Cilan and Hilda Phoenix facing off in battle. It's the same rules as before, each of you will send out a single Pokémon rather it's the same one as yesterday is up to you just be warned that your opponents might be expecting you to." Don George raised his arm. "Alright you two, you may send out your first Pokémon on my mark. Ready, get set and... GO!"

"Pansage!" Cilan shouted while hurling a Pokeball forward.

"Let's go, Eevee!" Hilda shouted while pointing towards the battlefield.

"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out as she sprang onto the battlefield.

"Seed Bomb!" Cilan shouted out.

"Pansage!" Pansage screeched out as multiple large seeds burst from his arms. The grass monkey quickly hurled them across the field, sending them flying towards Eevee.

"Dodge with Quick Attack!" Hilda shouted out.

"Eevoi!" Eevee swiftly maneuvered around the incoming seed bombs before crying out as one exploded against her face.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out while firing a ball of ghastly energy towards Pansage. Pansage grunted out as the attack exploded against him, the monkey rubbed his forehead before shaking it as he looked towards his opponent.

"Fury Swipes!" Cilan ordered out.

"Sage!" Pansage sprang forward and repeatedly scratched Eevee's face with his claws causing her to cry out from pain.

"Stay strong, Eevee! Counter with Swift!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out. Energy flared off her body and took on the shape of stars as they flew towards Pansage. Pansage grunted out as the stars exploded against his feet causing him to faceplant against the ground.

"Pansage..."

"Acrobatics!"

"Pansage!" Pansage leaped into the air and performed a backflip before crashing his feet against Eevee's backside.

"Eevoi!" Eevee screeched as she was pinned against the ground, exhaustion started taking hold as her breath began to grow heavy.

"Dig!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee quickly burrowed beneath the dirt, vanishing from view as Pansage frantically looked from side to side.

"Pansage...?"

"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out as she burst out from beneath Pansage, headbutting him into the air.

"Sage!" Pansage screeched out while flailing his arms and legs as he fell towards the ground below. "Pansage..." He groaned out, swirls filled his eyes as he laid in defeat.

"Pansage is unable to continue battling, Hilda and Eevee advance into the top four!" Don George declared while raising an arm.

"That was a great battle, Hilda." Cilan stated with a proud smile as he recalled Pansage to his ball. "I thought I had you for a second there."

"Thanks, I thought I was a goner too." Hilda chuckled while rubbing the back of her neck. Zach watched on with pride, she'd definitely come a long way since he'd seen her lose to Brooke during the Daycare heist. He was glad she was able to defend herself now.


"Been a long time since we last battled Brock." Ash spoke with a challenging smirk as the two stood across from one another.

"It has, I must admit that I've been looking forward to this!" Brock exclaimed. The two did spar against each other but they never outright fought for real for a long while.

"The battle between Ash Ketchum and Brock will now get underway!" Don George spoke while raising up his hands. "Release your first Pokémon on my mark. Ready? Get set and... GO!"

"Croagunk, let's do this!" Brock shouted while hurling a ball forward.

"Corphish, I choose you!" Ash shouted out.

"Corphish!" The lobster cried out as it burst onto the field.

"That's one of his older Pokémon!" Hilda exclaimed, shocked that he was using him.

"Makes sense, most of Brock's team are stronger than Ash's Unova team. Both of them probably wanted to give this their all." Cilan theorized.

"Poison Jab!"

"Croagunk!" Croagunk cried out as he jabbed at Corphish.

"Crabhammer!" Ash countered.

"Corphish!" Corphish's pincer glowed white as he clashed it against Croagunk's Poison Jab. Both Pokémon grunted out as they pushed against each other, a purple tint began shining upon Corphish's forehead as he overcame the attack. "Corphish!"

"Croagunk!" Croagunk grunted out as Corphish knocked him onto his backside.

"Night Slash!" Ash shouted out.

"Corphish!" Corphish's pincers glowed black-purple as he charged at his opponent.

"Sucker Punch!" Brock countered.

"Croagunk!" Croagunk swiftly evaded the attack and punched the back of Corphish's head.

"Corphish!" Corphish cried out before grunting out as the poison sapped away his strength.

"Metal Claw!" Ash shouted out.

"Corphish!" Corphish's pincers glowed silver as he lashed forward, pinching Croagunk's forehead.

"Croagunk..." Croagunk grunted out.

"Focus Punch!"

"Croa..." Croagunk's fist glowed orange as he pulled back his fist, preparing to strike.

"Counter with Crabhammer!"

"Corphish!" Corphish's pincers glowed white as he swept across the field, the two grunt out as their attacks clashed against each other. Corphish grunted out from the poison causing Croagunk to gain ground but Corphish summoned up some strength and pushed back, allowing himself to send Croagunk flying across the battlefield.

"Croa!" Croagunk grunted out as he crashed against the battlefield, swirls formed within his eyes as he laid in defeat.

Brock chuckled as he shook his head while recalling Croagunk to his Pokeball. "Just as skilled as ever, Ash!"

"Thanks Brock, it was quite the battle!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

"Corphish!" Corphish enthusiastically cried out as a bright blue glow engulfed his body, the orange parts of his protective shell grew darker in color as it changed to a red coloring. His pincers grew in size while growing sharper and more jagged as a large yellow star formed atop his forehead. "Crawdaunt!" The newly evolved Pokémon cried out.

"Corphish, you evolved!" Ash excitedly cried out before hugging the Water/Dark type.

"Crawdaunt!" Crawdaunt beamed from the praise while Hilda pulled out her Pokedex.

"Crawdaunt the Rogue Pokémon, it is a ruffian that uses its pincers to pick up and toss out other Pokémon from its pond."

"Croagunk is unable to continue battling so Ash and Cor-er Crawdaunt advance to the top four!" Don George exclaimed with a raise of his arm while the crowd cheered. Ash smiled at Crawdaunt, it felt good using one of his older Pokémon again. He wasn't going to make a habit out of it though as the Unova team still had some growing to do before then. He couldn't help but overhear from other trainers how Elesa was quite challenging to beat so he didn't want to breeze past her by using his reserves, he wanted to earn that victory.


"The battle between Cheren and Trip will now get underway, trainers please send out your Pokémon on my mark. Get set and... GO!"

"Ivysaur, let's go!" Cheren shouted while hurling a ball into the air.

"Lampent!" Trip shouted, hurling his own ball forward which burst open to reveal a levitating gas lamp Pokémon.

"Who's that Pokémon?" Ash questioned while scanning it with his Pokedex.

"Lampent the Lamp Pokémon, the spirits it absorbs fuel its baleful fire. It hangs around hospitals waiting for people to pass on."

"Good luck, Trip. May the best trainer win!" Cheren offered him a friendly smile.

"Overheat!" Trip simply shouted out, ignoring Cheren.

"Lampent!" Lampent lowered his body and aimed it towards Ivysaur as the flame within his lantern ignited. The lamp flared up and blasted Ivysaur back. Ivysaur grunted out before shaking off the attack while offering his opponent a leer.

"Sludge Bomb!" Cheren shouted out.

"Ivysaur!" A large blob of sludge flew from Ivysaur's mouth and exploded against Lampent, knocking him out of the air.

"Psychic!" Trip shouted out.

"Lamp!" Lampent's eyes glowed bright blue while a similar glow formed around Ivysaur. Ivysaur began flailing about as he was tossed about within the air before Lampent slammed him down against the ground. Ivysaur slowly raised back to his feet before collapsing from exhaustion as swirls formed within his eyes.

"Saur..."

"Ivysaur is unable to continue battling, Trip and Lampent advance into the next round!" Don George declared.

"Cheren!" Bianca cried out.

Trip swiftly returned Lampent to his ball and scoffed as he walked away from the battlefield. "You're much too soft."

Cheren clenched his fists as he watched Trip walk off while Ash's gaze followed Trip. There was a pretty good chance that he'd face him in the next round, he was looking forward to finally having the opportunity to put Trip in his place.


"No!" Iris' opponent dropped to his knees as his Tranquill laid in defeat before Iris' Axew.

"Alright, we won again! Way to go, Axew!"

"Axew ew ew!" Axew exclaimed.

Don George cleared his throat as the winner's screen changed to show Ash, Hilda, Trip and Iris' pictures. The images began to flip as they rotated across the screen before pairing Ash up with Trip while Hilda got paired against Iris.

Hilda gasped as she flickered her attention towards Iris who merely flashed a challenging smirk in response. "You better give it your all cause I'm not going easy on you!" Iris boastfully exclaimed. Hilda gulped lightly as she nodded in response.

"Hey Trip, looking forward to finally battling you!" Ash called out in an attempt to get Trip's attention but he rudely turned away without a word in response causing Ash's eye to twitch. "The nerve of that guy!"

"Pi Pikachu!"

Ash and Pikachu raced back down to the battlefield where Trip was currently waiting along with Don George. "Alright we're starting off the top four strong with a match against Ash Ketchum and Trip. Trainers you may send out your first Pokémon on my mark, ready... get set... and GO!"

"Servine, I choose you!"

"Serperior!"

"Servine!"

Servine smirked up at a large green snake Pokémon that bore a resemblance to Servine, only he was much more serpent-like as he lacked arms and legs.

"Is that Snivy's final form?" Ash questioned while reaching for his Pokedex.

Trip scoffed while shaking his head. "Only someone from the boonies wouldn't know what a Serperior is."

Ash tightly clutched his Pokedex as rage began filling his body.

"Serperior the Regal Pokémon, it only gives its all against strong opponents who are not fazed by the glare from Serperior's noble eyes."

"Servine!" Servine gazed up with a proud smirk, not the least bit phased or concerned by the fact she was fighting her evolution.

"Calm Mind."

"Serperior!" Serperior closed his eyes as he began relaxing.

"Magical Leaf!" Ash shouted out.

"Servine!" Multiple glowing green leaves expelled from her body and began pelting Serperior causing the grass snake to grunt out.

"Leaf Storm!"

"Serperior!" Serperior hissed out as a flurry of glowing leaves formed around him, the leaves rapidly formed into a twister began flowing towards Servine.

"Servine!" Servine cried out as she fell onto her side, uttering out a grunt as she slowly rose back up.

"Take Down!"

"Servine!" Servine slammed headfirst into Serperior, bashing against him and pushing him a few inches.

Trip flashed a smirk. "Leaf Blade."

"Serperior!" The grass snake's tail flashed green as he took a swing, bashing it against Servine which sent her flying across the field.

"Servine!" Servine crashed against the battlefield with a thud as swirls formed within her eyes.

"Servine is unable to continue battling, Serperior and Trip advance into the finals!" Don George declared.

"Servine return, you tried your best and I couldn't ask for anything more." Ash offered Servine a smile as he recalled her to her Pokeball. His fists tightly clenched as he gazed towards Trip.

"It's over just like that? How's Trip stronger than Ash? They both left Nuvema Town at the same time!" Hilda exclaimed with a shocked expression.

"Isn't it obvious?" Cheren asked while gesturing around. "Trip travels by himself and doesn't surround himself with friends, giving him minimal distraction."

"Neither does Iris but she's not a jerk about it." Bianca commented. Although Iris teased Ash, it was only because she liked him.


"The final battle of the top four will now get underway!" Don George declared while looking towards Hilda and Iris as they stood on opposite ends of the battlefield. "Trainers you may send out your Pokémon on my mark. Ready, get set and... GO!"

"Axew, I need you!" Iris shouted while hurling a ball forward.

"Axew ew ew!" Axew cried out as he burst onto the battlefield.

"Let's go, Eevee!" Hilda shouted out.

"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out as she leaped onto the battlefield.

"Shadow Ball!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out as she fired a ball of ghastly energy towards Axew. Axew grunted out as the Shadow Ball exploded in his face.

"Dragon Claw!"

"Axew!" Axew's claws glowed blue-green as he leaped towards Eevee.

"Dig!" Hilda shouted out.

"Eevoi!" Eevee hastily burrowed beneath the ground causing Iris to flash a smirk.

"Surf!"

"Oh no!" Bianca gasped out as a large wave of water quickly formed and filled up the hole the Eevee burrowed into. Bubbles formed up beneath the water before Eevee resurfaced, coughing out for breath.

"Quick Attack!"

"Eevoi!" Eevee swiftly maneuvered across the field before crashing into Axew. Axew grunted out before pushing Eevee away from him.

"Night Slash!"

"Axew!" Axew's claws shined black-purple as he slashed at Eevee.

"Eevoi!" Eevee cried out in pain before promptly dropping to her side as swirls filled her eyes.

Skyla noticed her boyfriend staring at the ground and wrapped her arm around him while leaning her head against him in a comforting fashion, knowing that seeing Axew fight likely reminded him of Haxorus.

"Alright Axew, that's the way to do it!" Iris enthusiastically shouted out.

"Axew ew ew!"

"Eevee is unable to continue battling, Iris and Axew advance into the finals!" Don George declared. "As soon as Iris takes a brief break to recharge Axew, we'll be ready to start the finals!"

"Nah I'm good, get Trip down here so I can kick his butt!" Iris shouted out with a determined expression.

"Fair enough, Trip if you're ready then come on down!" Don George shouted out.

"Here I am," Trip spoke as he stepped back onto the battlefield. "I'm ready."

"The finals will now get underway!" Don George declared while flicking his attention between Iris and Trip. "Trainers you may send out your Pokémon on my mark. Ready, get set and... GO!"

"Serperior!" Trip shouted while hurling a ball forward.

"Zweilous!" Iris shouted while hurling her own ball forward.

"Serperior!" Serperior hissed out.

"Zweilous!" A two headed Dragon burst out of the ball, it greatly resembled the three headed beast that Ash briefly saw within the Desert Resort ruins only it was roughly half the size, lacked wings and had two heads instead of three.

"Who's that Pokémon?"

"Zweilous the Hostile Pokémon, their two heads will fight each other over a single piece of food. Zweilous are covered in scars even without battling others."

"Leaf Storm!" A flurry of leaves expelled from Serperior's body and spiraled into a tornado before flowing towards Zweilous, pelting him with razor sharp leaves.

"Zweilous..." Zweilous grunted.

"Fire Fang!" Zweilous' fangs ignited as fire flared around it. Zweilous lunged forward before sinking his fangs into Serperior's body.

"Serp!" Serperior hissed out.

"Leaf Blade!"

"Serperior!" Serperior's tail glowed green as he slashed it against his opponent.

"Fire Fang!" Iris quickly snapped while Serperior was still in range. Zweilous shook himself off and sank his teeth into Serperior's tail causing the snake to gasp as Zweilous hoisted him upwards before slamming him into the ground.

"Zweilous..." He grunted out after releasing Serperior from his grasp.

"Serperior..." Serperior laid in defeat as swirls formed within his eyes.

Trip clenched his fists as frustration flared across his face, he recalled Serperior to his ball and left without a word as Don George confirmed the results.

"Serperior is unable to continue so Iris and Zweilous win the Castelia Battle Club Tournament and the Feather collection!" Don George declared while handing the plaque to Iris. "Congratulations, Iris!"

"Woohoo!" Iris excitedly leaped into the air while holding up the plaque. "We won!"

"Zweilous!" Zweilous cheered alongside his trainer while Ash looked on.

"She's so strong." Ash breathed out. Although she spoke truthfully about having Dragon adjacent Pokémon like Charmeleon, she still had at least three Dragon types on hand and possibly more stashed away at the Dragon Village. "I've got to find a Fairy type!" He spoke with determination while his fists tightly clenched.

Iris was always going to win this, I felt like Trip beating Ash out would be better for the long run though as they haven't had much interaction. Sure Ash could have kicked Trip's butt but he does need people to face at the League cause I'm not having Virgil compete and he sure ain't losing to Cameron I'll tell you that. Nothing against Virgil, I just think him competing was stupid.

Next time the group finally prepare to leave Castelia behind them and head back for the desert.