"Undella Town, we're making decent progress getting to Opelucid City." Ash said, stretching his arms up into the air.
"Can we actually enjoy the beach for once, without Team Rocket interrupting us?" Rosa asked.
"I can't make promises on the interrupting part, but I guess one last beach day won't hurt right now. Everyone else okay with that?" Ash asked, as Elliot and N agreed with only slight murmuring.
"Okay one last beach day." Rosa said, going off to relax.
A bit later
"Alright everyone come on out!" Ash said, tossing five Pokeballs into the air; Serperior, Darmanitan, Larvesta, Golett, and Duosion appearing on the beach.
"You two come out too!" Rosa said, sending out Herdier and Minccino.
"Elliot, are you not going to join them?" N asked, seeing Elliot at a nearby table away from the water and sand.
"My computer isn't really water proof." Elliot said, looking at some videos.
"Is that some of the matches of the Unova League?" N asked curiously, leaning close.
"Yes, and please, don't touch me." Elliot said, moving just enough out of the way.
"Apologies, I was simply curious." N admitted, backing away, seeing Ash running along the beach with Serperior and Pikachu, and Rosa relaxing with Herdier, Darmanitan, and Larvesta.
"Rosa, may I ask you something?" N asked.
'I guess so, what is on your mind?" Rosa asked.
"Well Herdier speaks of some interesting things of your past." N admitted. "She has not said anything about what it was, but I was curious, what is it you have changed about so much since meeting Ash, if you were able to change for the better, perhaps I could learn from it."
"I don't feel comfortable talking about that, or talking anymore." Rosa said getting up to move.
"Hmm, perhaps Ash can shed some light on what I said or did this time." N said to himself, as he went over to the trainer.
"N, hey." Ash said, wiping some sweat from the run. "Is everything alright?"
"I, am not sure. I tried connecting with Rosa and Elliot however I feel I made things worse in doing so." N admitted. "I tried seeing what Elliot was doing on his computer and he quickly became closed off. Then when I spoke with Rosa about her past which Herdier had mentioned that she had changed for the better since meeting you, she became angry and went somewhere else.'
"N, you have to realize that Elliot and Rosa are going to have some hesitance around you, but from what I know about them, you pushed their buttons. Elliot is big about his personal space, and Rosa's past is, complicated, she doesn't like talking about it even with us." ash admitted.
"And I am already aware of what not to do around you." N recalled.
"Look, you're trying to be a better person, and thats great, but it also takes time to change peoples opinions." Ash pointed out. "Just give them some time and they'll become close to you."
"Then may I ask something else?" N asked.
"Of course." Ash said.
"What did you and your Pokemon run?" N asked, noticing distinct marks in the sand.
"Oh it's a regulation sized field." Ash said. "I figured we could have a battle, but… you released all of your Pokemon except for Reshiram and it probably isn't a great idea for us to battle with them so soon."
"Sounds to me like you need an opponent." A familiar voice to Ash and Pikachu said.
"Miss Cynthia!" Ash said in shock to see the Sinnoh regions champion. "What are you doing here?"
"I was on vacation here when the debacle with Team Plasma went down and I had to help a researcher protect the town and her work." Cynthia said. "Congratulations on your win by the way Ash."
'Thanks, oh and this is N, we're traveling together." Ash said, introducing the green haired boy.
"It's wonderful to meet you N.' Cynthia said. "Now Ash, we both know an arena is waisted if no one battles on it, so how does a match between champions sound?"
"Seriously?! That would be great!" Ash exclaimed. "How big of a match?"
"One on one, I would like to see that Serperior of yours in action myself." Cynthia said, holding out one of her own Pokeballs.
"Works for us! Serperior, it's battle time!" Ash called out.
"Perior!" Serperior said uncoiling slightly, ready for battle.
"Garchomp come out!" Cynthia proclaimed.
"Gar!" Garchomp yelled, sand rippling around their feet.
"Alright! Garchomp!" Ash exclaimed. "Serperior use Wring Out!"
"Garchomp use Fire Blast!"
Serperior slid across the sand, wrapping around Garchomp, only getting slightly singed from the fire attack.
"Now Serperior power up with Leaf Storm!"
"Garchomp use Dragon Rush!"
Garchomp rushed forward through the leafy attack, absorbing the damage before throwing Serperior's serpentine body off of them with great force.
"Now Garchomp use Stone Edge!"
"Serperior counter with Aqua Tail!" Ash called out.
Garchomp slammed their arms into the sandy beach, stones launching into the air at Serperior who managed to counter most of them with his aqua tail, powered up by the proximity to the ocean.
"Garchomp use Fire Blast!"
"Serperior get out of there!"
Serperior slid across the sand, keeping as low to the ground as possible, avoiding the fiery attack with minimal damage.
"Now who would be fighting on a beach on a day like today?" Rosa asked, sitting across from Elliot.
"I'll give you two guesses, and we both know who the first is." Elliot admitted, standing up to see who the other opponent was.
"Serperior use another Leaf Storm!"
"Garchomp use Stone Edge!"
More stones launched out of the ground towards Serperior, the grass type doing their best to counter all of the stones with their grass attack, slowly slicing the stones more and more.
"Incredible, thats the Sinnoh Champion Cynthia!" Elliot said, immediately beginning recording data.
"Okay, and Ash fights tough trainers all the time." Rosa pointed out.
"Maybe, but none like her, that Garchomp is her ace and nearly unbeatable." Elliot commented.
"Serperior keep stacking those Leaf Storms!" Ash called out.
Serperior flicked their tail once more, whipping up not only leaves, but sand and other debris on the beach, heading towards Garchomp.
"Garchomp disrupt their attack with Earthquake!" Cynthia called out.
"But will that do anything on such a loose battlefield?" Rosa asked.
"It can change depending on where the beach is." Elliot said. "Major coasts on the edge of continents like this one are usually fault lines, and are often the high areas of earthquakes."
"I'm not asking about natural earthquakes, I'm asking about the attack." Rosa reminded.
"No, on a sandy field like this a powerful ground type attack like Earthquake, Magnitude, or Bulldoze wouldn't be able to travel across it." Elliot admitted.
"Then what was the point?" Rosa asked.
"It stopped Leaf Tornado in it's tracks, even with how strong it was, it couldn't even reach Garchomp." N pointed out.
"Garchomp use Dragon Rush!"
"Serperior use Energy Ball!"
Serperior flicked his tail, creating a massive ball of built up energy, slamming into Garchomp, stopping their rush like attack momentarily before it finally pushed through, slamming Serperior into the ground with a resounding shockwave.
"Serperior you were amazing!" Ash said, recalling the grass type. "I can't believe we did that well against Cynthia."
"But you still lost." N commented.
'Maybe he did, but a minor league champion and a regional champion are on very different levels, although for Ash's level of power, that difference isn't too big right now, another few good hits and Garchomp might not have won that fight." Cynthia said. "Though I was hoping as thanks for the battle, I could get your help with something my researcher friend is looking into."
"Of course, what is it?" Ash asked curiously.