Pokemon: The Revamped Timeline Chapter 12: Rivals challenged, Rockets Galore!, a pokémon fanfic

KONICHIWA, FOLKS! KAMENCJ HERE WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER OF POKÉMON: THE REVAMPED TIMELINE!

NOW THEN, I'M HAPPY WITH HOW PEOPLE ARE RECEIVING THE LAST CHAPTER!

ALSO, A SLIGHT ADDITION I PUT IN WAS THE RAGE FIST COUNTER, I LITERALLY FORGOT THAT WHEN I WAS TYPING.

HYDRARECUS, IF I MISCOUNTED LET ME KNOW!

REVAMPED REVIEWS!

REDFLARE RANGER: THANK YOU AS ALWAYS FOR THE LIST AND THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING BROCK AND MISTY'S MOVES AS WELL! ON THE PROFILE LIST, I SWEAR I TYPED RALTS! AND I SWEAR I PUT HITMONCHAN UNDER ASH! I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!

ROYALFIGHTER95: THANKS AGAIN FOR THE COMBO MOVES! REST ASSURED THEY ARE IN THE WORD DOCUMENT AS WELL!

NOW THEN, TIME FOR A LONG OVERDUE FIGHT WITH A CERTAIN KALOS RIVAL, A TRIP TO CELADON GYM, AND A SHOWDOWN AT HQ!

HENSHIN!

(As a trumpet section starts playing, we see Dialga roaring as time seems to rewind, where we see Mewtwo flying into space while Mew flies in the other direction)

I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST!

(Ash is seen as he looks up, regressing back to what he looked like at the beginning of his journey.)

LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS!

(As we pan out, where once there was a crowd, there is only emptiness.)

TO CATCH THEM IS MY REAL TEST!

(A Pokéball is shown hitting a Sandslash, as Serena celebrates.)

TO TRAIN THEM IS MY CAAAUUUSSSE!

(Ash, Serena, Greninja and a Delphox are shown in a makeshift battle, where the Delphox gets licked by Greninja, causing her to turn to us shaking and blushing.)

I WILL TRAVEL ACROSS THE LAND!

(Ash, Serena, Pikachu and Sylveon are shown running alongside an Arcanine, when a Rapidash appears in front of us.)

SEARCHING FAAARRR AND WIIIIDDE!

(It leaps into the air as Zapdos appears, with Articuno flying behind it, and Moltres flying at us.)

EACH POKÉMON …

(Ash and Pikachu are riding on a Lapras while Serena is on a Gyarados with Sylveon, watching Dragonair and Kingdra swimming around them.)

TO UNDERSTAND …

(A Pokéball is shown to be releasing something.)

THE POWER THAT'S INSIIIIIIIIDE!

(Ash and Greninja go into battle bond form!)

POKÉMON! GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!

(Sylveon is shown avoiding a Body Slam by a Snorlax, while Pikachu is dodging Raichu.)

IT'S YOU AND ME!

(Ash and Pikachu are hugging, when Serena and Sylveon join it.)

I KNOW ITS MY DESTINY!

(Ash and Serena are each holding a Pokéball as the camera spins around them.)

POKÉMON!

(A Steelix suddenly roars in our faces.)

OOOH, YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND …

(Brock, Misty, Miette, and Gary are shown appearing behind Ash and Serena, who are getting very squished now …)

IN A WORLD WE MUST DEFEEENNND!

(When they are wiped away from a vision of Cyrus and Lysander, and the Rocket Executives holding a Pokéball appear in front of us.)

POKÉMON! GOTTA CATCH THEM ALLL!

(We run past a Charizard and Delphox breathing fire, a Blastoise and Greninja firing a Hydro Pump into the sky, and a Venasaur and Chesnaught firing off Solar Beam as Pikachu comes into view with Ash juggling a Pokéball in the air.)

A HEART SO TRUE!

(Pikachu then runs in-between Serena's legs as Sylveon joins him in leaping into the air, when an Image of Professor Oak, Delia Ketchum, Giovanni, Grace, and Domino appear in front of us, but for a brief moment, Giovanni is replaced by Pokémon Adventures Red, Delia with Pokémon Adventures Green, Grace with Pokémon Adventures Y, and Domino with Pokémon adventures Yellow, with Pokémon Adventures Blue in the background with his back turned to us.)

OUR COURAGE WILL PULL US THROUGH!

(A Mega Charizard X is shown firing a Flamethrower at everyone, who ducks out of the way.)

YOU TEACH ME AND I'LL TEACH YOU!

(Popplio is running towards Serena, who has her arms outstretched as she catches her in her arms and is shown smiling as Sylveon and Braixen are shown to be very happy.)

POOOOKÉMOOOOOON!

(Greninja is shown standing on the back of Charizard, as Braixen is on Charla, while Pikachu is on Butterfree, Sylveon is on a Pink Butterfree, and a bunch of others.)

GOTTA CATCH THEM ALL!

(Ash and Serena are winding up a Pokéball which they throw.)

GOTTA CATCH THEM ALLL!

(The Pokéballs envelope the screen.)

POKÉMON!

(The title is shown with the Pokéball still spinning.)

POKÉMON THE REVAMPED TIMELINE: A NEW RIVALRY, SCENTS GALORE, AND THE DARK SIDE!

(While the Lyrics sing a part of the Pokémon Theme, we see the title again, but with different Pokéballs appearing behind it, such as a Love Ball, Beast Ball, Timer Ball and Repeat Ball.)

DURING SERENA'S TRAINING AS A PSYCHIC, HER THREE FRIENDS HAD ADVENTURES OF THEIR OWN IN SAFFRON CITY.

ASH, WANTING TO IMPROVE HIMSELF WITH HIS FIGHTING TYPES AND LEARN SOME CLOSE COMBAT ATTACKS, HAD GONE TO THE SAFFRON FIGHTING DOJO.

THERE, HE HAD 3 HARD 2-1 FIGHTS, AS PIKACHU LEARNED TO COMBINE BRICK BREAK WITH HIS ELECTRICAL ATTACKS TO MAKE THUNDERPUNCH.

THEN, HIS PRIMEAPE UNINTENTIONALLY USED RAGE FIST ABOUT 2-3 TIMES MORE THAN HE WANTED, AS HE TAUGHT ANOTHER PRIMEAPE THE MOVE.

THEN, WITH HIS LUCARIO, ASH WAS ABLE TO DEFEAT THE BLACK BELT OF THE DOJO AND LEARN THUNDERPUNCH AS WELL, ALONGSIDE BLAZE KICK.

WHILE THERE, HE RAN INTO HIS OLD FARFETCH'D, WHO ONCE AGAIN BECAME SIRFETCH'D AS HE WAS REMINDED.

AFTER THAT, BROCK HAD GONE TO THE BATTLE CHATEAU IN ORDER TO GET SOME MUCH NEEDED TRAINING IN, GIVEN HOW OUT OF TOUCH HE HAD BEEN WITH CROBAT, STEELIX AND GEODUDE.

AFTER THE FIRST 3 BATTLES, HE HAD A SURPRISE REUNION WITH HIS OLD SINNOH ACE.

THEN IN THE LAST BATTLE, BROCK TOOK ON MORGAN OF THE BATTLE MAISON FOR THE RANK OF GRAND DUKE.

AFTER THE FIGHT WAS OVER, BROCK HAD BEEN GIVEN A POKÉMON EGG, AND NO MONEY GIVEN THE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE HE HAD DONE TO THE BATTLEFIELD.

HOWEVER, MORGAN GAVE HIM A LITTLE … GOODBYE GIFT AFTER SHE REVEALED SHE WAS ACTUALLY PHILENA IVY.

UNFORTUNATELY, THIS COSTED MISTY SOME OF HER DIGNITY AS SHE LOST A BET WITH HER SISTERS AND COUSIN.

AS SUCH, SHE WAS FORCED TO WEAR A GOLDEEN OUTFIT AS SHE TOOK ON TEAM ROCKET WHEN THEY INVADED SILPH CO.

DESPITE THAT, SHE WAS ABLE TO FREE THE CAPTURED POKÉMON AND FREE THE SCIENTISTS WHO WERE WORKING ON A NEW MASTER BALL.

BECAUSE OF THAT, SHE WAS ABLE TO DEFEAT GIOVANNI WITH A NEWLY GIFTED POKÉMON CALLED PALAFIN.

WHO CHANGED FORMS AND DEFEATED GIOVANNI'S NIDOQUEEN AFTER A HARD FOUGHT BATTLE.

NOW, SERENA WAS HEADING BACK TO SABRINA'S GYM.

SHE HAD BEEN GIVEN A SHINY RALTS, BUT SHE ALSO WANTED TO JUST ASK ONE SIMPLE QUESTION.

AND NOW …

"THERE'S NO WAY TO BE CERTAIN!?" Serena shouted as she fell to her knees.

"Unfortunately. Given how your father has ANOTHER psychic within him, I can't be sure if the same trick my parents and Pokémon did would work." Sabrina said sadly.

Serena had decided to make a quick pit stop at the Gym to ask if the techniques that Sabrina's parents and her Pokémon could be done to save X.

"So, all we have for Ash is a new unknown with the trick he did to try and free you." Sabrina nodded sadly.

"Indeed. It might be best to also not limit yourself to MY knowledge. I have been trapped by a dark version of me in my own mind for 7 years. So, I am not the authority on Psychic or Aura powers." Sabrina replied, as they then heard the door open.

"Where's the pathetic Gym Leader?" Serena froze, recognizing that voice.

Someone she hadn't heard from since S.S Anne.

Turning around, she saw Cross staring at Sabrina, before he turned to her.

"Argh, YOU'RE here? Is that other weakling here as well?" He insulted before Sabrina put herself in between them.

"Watch your tongue, boy. She is my student, you are in my building, and Officer Jenny has been alerted to your position." Cross just rolled his eyes at that.

"Whatever, all it's going to take me is 30 seconds to win this badge and get out of here. I am Ho-Oh's chosen one after all." He arrogantly told Sabrina as he released Incineroar.

Sabrina looked unimpressed as she called out Mr. Mime.

(30 SECONDS LATER!)

Cross just looked STUPIFIED at the battlefield as Lycanroc was knocked out by Mr. Mime.

He clenched his teeth as he returned his fallen partner, as Sabrina just gave him a look.

"Ho-Oh's Chosen One? I find that hard to believe. I've met one before, and he was FAR from being as arrogant as YOU." She told him, as he then threw out his Shiny Fearow, and took off through the roof.

"That's going to be quite the repair bill." Serena said, as Jenny then arrived and saw the hole.

"Missed him again, Ma'am?" She asked Sabrina who nodded.

"Indeed. I don't know if he's running to another city, or is still within Saffron, so keep up the patrols." Jenny saluted as she left.

Sabrina then looked at Serena.

"Let me at least give you this piece of advice. Don't become so focused on saving your father that you lose your connection with the world. That's what caused my dark half to emerge prematurely." She told her as Serena listened.

"Keep your mind focused on the here and now. And only start to think of this when the days get closer. As it might prevent you from learning the skills to save your father." Serena nodded and then brought out Braixen.

"One last thing. When we were training, I swear I could see through Braixen's eyes, despite her not being Psychic Type yet. Did I do something?" Instead of being unsure, Sabrina smirked.

"You might want to talk to ASH and GRENINJA about that." With that, Sabrina picked up the briefcase that Misty had given her and walked away.

Both Serena and Braixen looked at each other, wondering why Sabrina had told them to talk to them.

Meanwhile, Misty was upset.

Oh, not with Ash, though that was usually a short fuse anyway.

"HOW DOES NOBODY RECOGNIZE ME!?" She shouted as she saw a rerun of her fight with Giovanni.

Despite having a good view of her face, for some reason …

Nobody recognized her when she was out of the Golden outfit.

Even though she had a close up of her face from the helicopter.

And she sure as Reverse World wasn't going to wear that thing 24/7.

Not only did she still not like those outfits, but she also didn't trust Serena's Ghastly.

So, she would only wear it for special occasions.

And NOT because she was starting to like it!

It also now held sentimental value to her since she now had Palafin, who was currently at Professor Oak's getting a checkup.

Still, Saffron and other cities were calling her "THE GOLDEEN AVENGER" and now she felt she had to talk to Charla about lawyering up.

"Seriously, Super Poké man at least had glasses that made him look different! You don't have any makeup, and it was POINTED AT YOUR FACE IN HD!" Ash said in agreement, as Brock was busy taking care of his new PokéEgg.

"Bet my sisters are also being stupid with Kasumi yelling at them." Misty said sadly.

(CERULEAN!)

They were smarter than Misty gave them credit for.

"For the love of- HOW DO YOU NOT JUST RUN A MATCH!?" Violet shouted as she saw Misty's face clear as day on the TV.

"I know we aren't as smart as the rest of these people, BUT WE WOULD RECOGNIZE OUR OWN FAMILY!" Lily shouted in unison as Daisy and Kasumi were with Staryu and Starmie looking up good lawyers.

Misty just rubbed her head as she saw a "IF YOU RECOGNIZE THIS PERSON, CALL THIS NUMBER" pass by on the screen as the PC blinked as Oak sent back Palafin's Pokéball.

"So, plans?" Brock asked as he put the Egg away.

The door dinged and they saw Serena and Braixen coming through the door.

"Ah, Serena, Braixen, we were getting ready to head out to Celadon City." Ash said, before he noticed Serena and Braixen eyeing him in confusion.

"IS everything alright?" He asked as Greninja tried to pull one of his jokes on Braixen …

Only to have her grab him and shove him next to Ash.

"When me and Braixen were training under Sabrina, I began to look through Braixen's eyes. I asked her about it, but she told me to ask you and Greninja." With that, they walked up to the boys in unison.

"So, what's happening to us?" They asked in unison, as Ash and Greninja looked between the two and then at each other.

"You seriously didn't realize you two just copies each other's movements and words without knowing?" Serena and Braixen looked at each other, having just now registered that.

Before further interrogations could commence, the door dinged again.

"So, we rest up here, then we go for Saffron's Gym?" A young female voice asked.

"Apparently, Sabrina changed from a ruthless individual to be caring overnight." An older male voice told the other as Ash and Serena whirled around …

And saw Alain and Mairin walking into the center.

"I believe she doe fight. Do you know who's going to fight?" Mairin asked Alain.

"Might be worth contacting Sycamore to swap for Houndour and Aerodactyl." Alain replied as he was about to head over to the phone …

When he saw Ash and Serena looking at them.

"Well, guess we have some catching up to do." Mairin turned and saw the group.

"Hey, Serena! How's it been training for Performances!?" She excitedly asked as Serena then smiled.

"Eh, it should go easier now that I can read their minds as a Psychic." Mairin nodded.

"Oh yeah definitely. Definitely helps that your- YOU'RE ABLE TO READ THEIR MINDS!?" Mairin shouted as she launched into Serena's face.

"Um, yeah, he beat Sabrina, my father X was a psychic, and she taught me the basics." She nervously said as Chespie fell off Mairin's back.

"Well, before Mairin has a heart attack, how has your journey been?" Alain quickly asked, as his Charizard began conversing with Greninja.

"Still can't risk Bond unless it's an emergency right now, but I fought Sabrina and Lt. Surge, so I have 4 badges. I also got several old friends from here and from the end of the last journey. You?" Alain pulled out a Badge Case and opened it to reveal a Boulder Badge, a Volcano Badge, a Soul Badge and a Rainbow Badge.

"Leaving Viridian for last, but a Gym Trainer told me that Sabrina-"

"Yeah, I helped her get free from her dark half, so you are safe to fight her now. Side question, how did you get the Volcano Badge?" Alain then looked at Charizard.

"Oh, his Magmar put up quite the fight, almost forcing me to pull him back and-"

"Uh, I meant how did you get into the battlefield? Blaine hides his gym from tourists since he wants genuine Gym challengers not enthusiasts." Mairin then broke out in a cold sweat as she noticed Alain, Charizard and Chespie were smirking at her.

"Mairin had actually broken off from us as we explored the area around the volcano as she thought she saw a different Growlithe." Chespie then pantomimed himself falling something while pointing at Mairin's feet.

"Unfortunately, she didn't check what the ground was and ended up falling down a side entrance like a trapdoor water slide. Thankfully Blaine was there with his Rhydon to catch her." Mairin paled as Everyone tried to stifle their laughter at that.

"Then, I had been exploring the Hot Bathes as I was following the riddles from our hotel room when Blaine opened the entrance as I was about to do so and then accepted my challenge." Everyone finally laughed, as Mairin began to strangle Chespie and Alain.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY! I THOUGHT TEAM ROCKET OR FLARE HAD CAPTURED ME!" She shouted as Chespie rolled around on the floor laughing.

"Be glad that Ghastly wasn't out here! He would be so taking notes!" Ash told Serena, who stopped laughing when she realized that while he wasn't out …

"Um, I have his Pokéball here, Ash." Ash, Brock and Misty stopped laughing, as Ash swore, he saw a glistening smile coming out of the ball.

"Anyway, do you have time for a battle, Alain?" Ash asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from that awkward moment.

"Can't do a full 6v6, but I can do a 3v3. Sound good?" Ash smirked.

Greninja began to step forward, but Ash held his arm out.

"Sorry, Greninja, but I think it's best you sit this one out. Just because Alain has Charizard X, doesn't mean we're ready to use the Bond Phenomenon yet." Greninja sighed but nodded. Then Ash turned to Alain.

"That being said, please use Charizard. I want to test him against someone I have." Alain was confused but nodded.

"Well, good thing someone here knows a good place for you two to battle." Everyone looked and saw Gary and Miette standing in the doorway.

(BRIEF SABRINA INTERMISSION!)

Sabrina stared at the screen that had Rocket base locations, some she recognized, some she saw from her time being out of commission, and a bunch of new ones.

Sabrina knew who Giovanni actually was here.

She had retired after the Delta event from Team Rocket to try and turn her life around as an actress in Unova, but while she was very successful, she didn't quite feel at home with that.

Still, this data was useful, where the ones Red wanted gone were going to be, which ones to avoid capturing.

She quickly made a copy of all the locations, which personnel to capture, which to leave alone.

"OK, let's hope that they didn't suddenly decide to close down the base in Celadon."

(BACK AT THE BATTLE SIGHT!)

Ash and Alain had gotten onto the opposite ends of the battlefield, which was separated from their platforms.

Apparently, this was untested technology from Saffron that they had just gotten from Clemont's dad.

A holographic referee then appeared.

"ARE BOTH TRAINERS READY WITH THEIR REGISTERED POKÉMON?" It asked as Ash and Alain nodded.

"Tyranitar! Let's do it!" With that, the Johto Psuedo-Legendary roared, waiting for the opponent Ash had in mind.

Ash looked at Pikachu, who smirked.

"Want to test out the new moves you got from the Fighting Dojo?"

"Against a Rock/Dark type? Put me in, Mr. packets!" Ash rolled his eyes at the pun Pikachu did on his name and he launched Pikachu into the field.

"PIKACHU VS TYRANITAR! BEGIN!"

"START OFF WITH QUICK ATTACK!" Ash called out, wanting to get a feeling for what Tyranitar could do.

"Do you think I forgot what happened at the Lumiose Conference? EARTHQUAKE!" Tyranitar roared as it stomped its feet into the ground, shaking the stadium.

"Springboard Tail!" Coiling up his tail, Pikachu vaulted off the floor as the cracks tried to hit him.

"Dark Pulse!" Tyranitar fired off the attack, as Pikachu twirled out of the way.

Ash, while both he and Pikachu were happy that the attack had missed, were confused by something.

Last time, Tyranitar had used Sand Stream to kick up a Sandstorm.

That hadn't happened at all now.

Did Tyranitar now have Unnerve?

"I see you're confused on why there is no sandstorm, Ash." Alain called out, which caught Ash's attention as Pikachu had tried to connect with Iron Tail, but Tyranitar used Protect to block it.

"Tyranitar does still have Sandstream, but we figured out ways to turn on and off when he comes out of the ball. Cause otherwise, it would make it hard to do THIS!" He snapped his fingers as Tyranitar stomped one of his feet forward, erecting a massive column of stone.

"ROCK TANTRUM!" He called out, as while Pikachu had dodged being stuck at the top, he was still within range of the downward slope.

Which turned out to be quite painful …

As Tyranitar used Stomping Tantrum to run up the other side and connect with Pikachu with the other side of the hill.

Each stomp sent out tons of stone empowered with Ground energy, as Pikachu slammed into the ground.

Despite that, Pikachu began to spin and release electricity, blocking the stones from connecting again.

"Good job on the Counter shield! Now Extreme Surf!" Pikachu zoomed off when Tyranitar had tried to Stomp on Pikachu.

"Tyranitar! Think you can pull off something similar to what Pikachu did, but with Stone edge?" Tyranitar looked back and gave a thumbs up.

"Then wait!" Tyranitar braced himself, as he closed his eyes, trying to figure out where Pikachu was.

Pikachu had gotten the wave to a good size to hit Tyranitar, as he sped up to bulls eye him.

Tyranitar shot his eyes open, which Alain knew what that meant.

"NOW!" Tyranitar had Stone Edge spin around him.

Ash and Pikachu realized what Alain had done.

He created a Counter shield …

And it broke the wave that Pikachu was riding.

"Hope you don't mind, but after our fights in Kalos, I looked up your previous travels through the regions. Quite clever turning a Contest move into a protection technique!" Alain told him …

Before realizing Ash was smirking.

"Yes, but I also know the LIMITATIONS of the technique as well. It obscures your Pokémon from view, and once it has blocked the thing you were defending against …" Alain then suddenly realized that Pikachu was WITHIN the shield …

And his fist was reared back.

"You create a massive entry point, and they can't easily MOVE. FOCUS PUNCH!" Pikachu let the Fighting Type attack loose right into Tyranitar's stomach, sending him flying into a pile of rocks.

Despite that, Tyranitar shakily stood, and roared.

"Earthquake!" Tyranitar began again to Stomp the arena floor, but this time the area didn't crack, given the ground was now muddied from the Surf and Ground energies recently.

Ash, however, knew Alain had a different plan.

He then noticed that with each stomp, Tyranitar sank deeper and deeper into the muddied ground, till its ankles couldn't keep Stomping.

Alain smirked.

"HYPER BEAM!" Ash suddenly realized what Alain had been planning.

"PIKACHU! EXTREME SPEED OUT OF THERE!" Pikachu quickly began to try to run, only to start slipping and lose control

He did dodge the main projectile of Hyper Beam, but he was close enough that the blast radius sent him sliding.

And because his feet were deep in the mud, Tyranitar combatted the recoil from Hyper Beam and kept himself from sliding off the battlefield.

Pikachu quickly turned his tail into an Iron Tail and slammed it into the ground, making sure he had a way of stopping himself from also going off the edge.

Tyranitar was breathing heavily from the draining power of the Hyper Beam.

Pikachu had gotten dangerously close to the edge of the battlefield and was looking over the side.

"Jeez! What's next, is he gonna use Surf or something to make a Muddy Water attack!? Or just tilt this thing-" Both he and Ash looked at each other when that idea came into their heads.

"Pikachu! Put some Steel energy into an Electro Ball!" Partially turning his tail silver, Pikachu sent a yellow and grey ball towards Tyranitar.

"Use Thunder Punch to knock it back!" Quickly punching the ball back towards Pikachu, Pikachu vaulted into the air by slamming his Iron Tail into the ground.

And quickly swallowed the Electric Steel ball.

This time, Pikachu wasn't surrounded by an electrical aura, but his tail seemed to grow and was completely covered with steel.

"First strike the arena! ON THE EDGE!" Alain was looking at the edge Pikachu was heading for.

What was Ash's plan here?

"Does anyone know what Ash is trying to accomplish here?" Mairin asked, as she held out a camera to record the fight and send it back to Professor Sycamore.

"Well, Ash once used Charizard to melt a rock stadium in order to have my Blastoise hose it down since Blastoise wasn't able to withstand the heat." Gary replied.

Miette was looking, and remembering the battlefields of the Kalos League, how it was balanced on –

"THAT'S IT! WITH THAT MUCH ENERGY, IT'S GOING TO SUDDENLY TILT!" Miette called out, as everyone suddenly realized what had happened.

"When Tyranitar had used Earthquake and that Combination of Rock Climb and Stomping Tantrum, he accidentally took out the supports of the battlefield!" Brock said, as the attack connected …

And while he didn't get thrown like a catapult, Tyranitar was sent straight up into the air, getting unstuck from the ground.

Alain saw this and decided to try a new attack given how high he was.

"Use Giga Impact!" Quickly getting surrounded by a big green dome, Tyranitar corrected himself and shot straight for Pikachu.

"Now leap above Tyranitar and dodge the Giga Impact!" Smacking the tail into the ground again, Pikachu vaulted towards Tyranitar.

Tyranitar tried to swerve into Pikachu, who barely dodged …

And then hooked Tyranitar with the giant Iron Tail.

He quickly began to spin around and around, like Charizard's Seismic Toss, before throwing Tyranitar right into the ground.

Tyranitar groaned as he slowly came back to consciousness.

Then he saw Pikachu speeding right towards him.

With a giant tail of iron.

And the gulping ensued.

*KEEEERRRAAASSSHHHH! *

Pikachu stumbled the landing as his gigantic Iron Tail disappeared.

Tyranitar was still in the crater.

With Swirly eyes.

"TYRANITAR IS UNABLE TO BATTLE. PIKACHU WINS. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUBSTITUTE PIKACHU, ASH KETCHUM?"

Ash nodded, and then noticed Sylveon ready to jump.

"Sorry, Sylveon. But Pikachu must come back to me, as I'm just substituting him, he can still fight." Sylveon glared but acquiesced to Ash.

"ARE YOU GOING TO RETURN HIM TO HIS POKÉBALL?"

"Pikachu doesn't like his Pokéball, he will just be returning to the platform with me."

"UNDERSTOOD. SENDING RETRIEVAL PLATFORM." A small platform appeared out of the ground, as Pikachu hopped on and was returned to the platform Ash stood on.

"PREPARE YOUR POKÉMON WHILE THE BATTLEFIELD IS REPAIRED." Several support beams then pushed the battlefield back to its original starting point, as the field heated up and evaporated all the moisture that had been there.

"Here's one that is new from last time. GO SCYTHER!" With that, the Bug/Flying type with scythes for hands came out.

However, Ash noticed that this Scyther was a darker green, and the tops of its legs and the square on its chest were pink.

"Did you …?" Ash began to ask before Alain nodded.

"Lucked out when I found him in the Safari Zone. Sycamore hasn't yet found Trainers willing to let him study their Shinies! So, who will you answer us with?" Ash looked down at his choice and nodded.

"SIRFETCH'D! IT'S CHIVALRY TIME!" With that, his Knight Bird appeared, raising his sword in the air.

"BY THE OATH OF MY BLADE, I HAVE COME HERE TO CHEW BUBBLEGUM AND KICK BUG BUTT …"

He then stared right at the Shiny Scyther.

"And tis a shame, but I'm all out of Bubblegum."

"Scyther."

"Verily, you would have gotten a stick too if I had the chance to get some of the stuff, specifically melon."

"SCYTHER VS SIRFETCH'D. BEGIN!"

"Sirfetch'd use Night Slash!" Ash called out, as the leek blade Sirfetch'd held turned black as the night as he charged for Scyther.

"Arial Ace!" Scyther shot off into the sky as Sirfetch'd just missed him.

Scyther then flipped and charged straight for Sirfetch'd.

"Wait for it, Sirfetch'd." Sirfetch'd quickly turned and nodded once at Ash.

Ash smiled, knowing that Sirfetch'd knew what he wanted him to do.

Scyther sped closer and closer, his speed ever increasing, ready to slam into Sirfetch'd, until …

"USE IRON DEFENSE NOW!"

An unstoppable force met an immoveable object.

Said object being the leek top shield turning into steel, which Scyther ran face first into.

Scyther stumbled around for a bit, trying to tell up from down again.

"Use Air Slash!" Sirfetch'd spun the Leek sword around his fingers as a mini tornado began to swirl around it, before Sirfetch'd spun around and sent a slash across the field towards Scyther.

"Agility!" Scyther quickly sped out of the way of the attack as it got in close to Sirfetch'd.

"FURY CUTTER!" Both Ash and Alain called out, as Scyther's arm scythes glowed green while the Leek Sword Sirfetch'd held also glowed the same color.

Both blades met and they pushed each other back.

"AGAIN!" Again, both collided, though Scyther did seem to be slightly more powerful than Sirfetch'd.

This happened 3 more times, and then, Scyther broke through Sirfetch'd's Fury Cutter, causing him to lose his footing.

Scyther then again used Fury Cutter.

Alain then realized that Sirfetch'd wasn't getting Fury Cutter ready.

He then realized what was about to happen.

"SCYTHER, WAIT!"

"USE COUNTER!" Sirfetch'd glowed red as he then caught Scyther's blade arm, then flung him across the field, slamming into a pile of rocks.

"NOW BRAVE BIRD!" Sirfetch'd put his shield in front of his body, and his Leek Sword behind his back with it sticking out.

It then charged for Scyther, slamming right into his gut, as he skidded across the floor.

Sirfetch'd then jolted as the recoil damage was dealt.

Despite the massive Super Effective attack, Scyther stood up.

Albeit in a knee down position as it glared at the white bird.

Ash and Sirfetch'd nodded at each other.

"USE GIGA IMPACT!" Alain called out.

"USE FINAL GAMBIT!" Ash shouted, as Sirfetch'd charged forward, holding his sword out front as he then leapt and began to spin.

Both attacks collided and pushed each other back and forth …

Before Sirfetch'd ended up on the other side of Scyther, and Scyther ended up on the side Sirfetch'd had been on.

Both stood motionless, as everyone held expectantly to see who would fall first.

Finally, as his strength gave out from how hard he had pushed his body …

Scyther fell forward with swirls in his eyes.

"SCYTHER IS UNABLE TO BATTLE. SIR-" But the holographic ref stopped when Sirfetch'd fell forward as well, not getting up.

"SIRFETCH'D IS ALSO UNABLE TO BATTLE. THIS FIGHT IS A TIE, WITH ASH LEADING 2-1. TRAINERS, PREPARE YOUR NEXT POKÉMON!" Ash took out a Pokéball and stared at it.

"Go, Charizard!" He heard Alain call out, as his faithful Mega Starter appeared on the battlefield, roaring.

Then, making a confused sound when he saw Greninja up in the viewer stands with Braixen.

"Sorry, buddy, but Ash requested that I use you even though he's not using Greninja." Charizard huffed, wondering what Ash could possibly use against him.

"Well, after my old friend found out about me losing to a Charizard, he wanted to fight him. Then I told him about Mega Evolution." Ash then looked up at Alain.

"Do you feel it's necessary to win battles?" Alain was a bit taken aback from this question.

"Not really, I think it is a good way to show off the bond you have with a super powerful form. I don't know why a Pokémon would actively avoid it." Ash then looked back at the ball.

"Well, you're going to have to prove a Mega's power to him. CHARIZARD, I CHOOSE YOU!" With that, Ash's Charizard slammed onto the battlefield and let loose a deafening roar.

Alain's Charizard actually backed up slightly from intimidation.

He fought other Charizard before, but Ash's?

He looked to be built from pure MUSCLE!

"HOLY ARCEUS! WHAT DID ASH TRAIN HIS CHARIZARD WITH!? GIRATINA!?" Mairin asked/shouted as Chespie hid behind her out of fear.

Miette was clutching her Pokéball with Venus in fright, actually scared of his Charizard.

Gary just chuckled as Blastoise released himself and let Chespin run up top to his head.

Serena was engrossed with the fight, she almost missed Charla releasing herself.

"OF course you would come out to cheer your boyfriend." Charla smirked and shrugged.

"Only way it could have been better is if you were in-"

"Charla, I don't trust Ghastly around something like this, so it will have to wait till Celadon." Charla shrugged again as Braixen then saw Greninja rolling his hands.

"Greninja, is everything alright?" Greninja just stared at Ash's Charizard.

"Why did he choose his Charizard over me? Alain's Charizard was my rival! And we could have practiced the Bond Phenomenon!" He said, angered at being asked to not take part.

"Maybe he just wanted to make sure no one else would accidentally see it. It was a hinderance and a major spectacle whenever you guys did it." Braixen suggested as the Ref began to speak.

"ASH'S CHARIZARD VS ALAIN'S CHARIZARD. BEGIN." Alain and his Charizard stared at Ash and his.

They were sizing up their opponent, since they had never encountered him before.

"Use Thunderpunch!" He ordered, just to see what would happen.

Ash looked at his Charizard, ready to issue a command, before Charizard held up his left claw.

Ash knew what that mean …

And he let them come.

"Why is Ash not issuing a command? Surely he knows that Thunderpunch will be super effective!" Alain thought in his head as his Charizard came closer and closer.

"Why isn't Ash telling Charizard to retaliate or even move?" Mairin asked, which also confused both Miette and Serena.

"Yeah, Thunderpunch will be extremely painful for Charizard if it connects!" Miette agreed, as Serena clasped her hands in worry.

Braixen was worried, while Greninja just looked at Charizard in annoyance.

"Arrogant idiot. Ash should have found a way to get you to listen to him." He said under his breath.

Charla heard them all …

And laughed.

"What's so funny, Charla?" Sylveon asked.

"The fact that you think that we will fall to a measly Thunderpunch." That got Serena to turn her head.

"What do you mean, Charla?" She asked, as everyone who didn't know Charizard looked at her.

"If it were a regular Charizard, it would be hurting. However, we at the Charicific Valley have a LOT more tolerance to this, and a Thunderpunch ISN'T going to be doing us in or actually damage us unless they ALSO were from the valley." Everyone then turned as they saw the Thunderpunch …

"WHAT THE REVERSE WORLD!?"

Alain just watched as Ash's Charizard just crossed his arms as his own friend finally let the Thunderpunch rip.

It connected, making a massive dust cloud that temporarily obscured his vision.

When it began to die down, he saw that his Charizard was still in the punching motion.

As for Ash's …

"WHAT THE REVERSE WORLD!?"

Alain's Charizard was about to connect with Thunderpunch.

He didn't understand WHY he had backed up in panic when he roared.

Maybe he just wasn't completely sure what Ash's Charizard could do.

Or why he motioned for Ash to not do anything.

Well, he was going to show how powerful he was.

He had beaten Ash-Greninja back in the Kalos League!

Once this Thunderpunch connects, he will know his power!

The punch connected and he was staring straight into his eyes!

Which …

"WHAT THE REVERSE WORLD!?"

Ash watched as his Charizard got punched in the face.

He knew that Charizard was confident.

And he didn't really blame him.

Charizard used to train with PIKACHU.

Someone who shocked WELL above their usual numbers.

And he had also been training in the Charicific Valley for years before he called for him again in Unova.

Even then, Ash knew something else.

Charizard wasn't completely sold on the idea of Mega Evolution.

So, he wanted to test out this Charizard first before he Mega Evolved.

As the dust cleared, Ash saw that Charizard had gotten his answer.

And he was very …

Annoyed to say the least.

He had seen the Kalos conference on TV in the original timeline.

He had seen the amazing form Ash, and that frog had become during that time.

He had seen how this Alain had a Charizard that used a stone to become a form above his final evolution.

And he had seen how, even though they had redirected a false Blast Burn back at the weaker dragon, they had lost because they had pushed themselves too far.

S.S Anne was the first time he had seen this "BOND PHENOMENON" in person.

He saw the raw power, and how it and the aid of the other 2 had taken down a Mega Evolution.

Now here was the opponent who had knocked him out.

He wanted a good fight, yes.

But he also wanted to test his limits against a Mega Evolution.

Ash had asked him about finding their own stone the day before, but he wanted to face a Mega Evolved Charizard first before he decided.

And right now, facing this Charizard after it connected a Super Effective attack on him, he had to be honest …

Wasn't really living up to his expectations.

And it was very annoying.

Everyone had expected Charizard to get knocked around in some way.

Given his Flying subtype was weak to Electric attacks.

So when the Thunderpunch connected, those who didn't know Charizard personally thought he was going to be in extreme pain.

So imagine their shock when the smoke cleared and Alain's Charizard was hovering over Ash's Charizard …

Who didn't budge, didn't even FLINCH …

And was looking at Alain's Charizard.

And he was very …

Very …

ANNOYED.

He then narrowed his eyes at Alain's Charizard, and began Slashing in a rapid sequence, completely throwing the dragon off his game …

Before grabbing his arm, yanking him down, and Mega Punching him into a pile of rocks.

"HOW DID HIS CHARIZARD DO THAT!? ALAIN'S HAS BEEN WITH HIM LONGER!" Mairin yelled as she very nearly toppled over the railing jumping in shock.

"Not surprised, given how my Blastoise had hit him several times with Hydro Pump and he still beat him with Seismic Toss." Mairin and Miette looked at Gary in astonishment.

Serena was glued to the action, worried that Charizard was about to get over confident.

"Brock, Misty. What do you think Charizard's chances are? Alain has been the only rival I'm aware of who Ash has never beat." Brock and Misty looked at each other …

And smirked.

"Oh, we're sure Charizard will be holding out for a while." They told her, as they knew how Ash's Charizard had taken on LEGENDARIES and won.

Greninja was just waiting.

Waiting for the overgrown fire lizard who usurped his spot to get beaten badly that is.

He just got lucky with that Thunderpunch.

Alain's Charizard had been holding back, that's all.

Ash's Charizard roared as his tail glowed green and he smacked Alain's Charizard across the face.

The smaller Charizard crashed across the field through rocks and debris, barely stopping himself from falling off the edge.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain called out, as his Charizard had a glowing green claw and tried to strike Ash's Charizard across the face.

Keyword being TRY.

Ash's Charizard could see where Alain's was about to strike.

His muscles firmed up when he was about to try and claw him from the downward left.

His wrist muscles would engage 3 seconds before it twisted which told him that he was about to try to claw him across the face from the right.

He had trained with the Charicific Valley starters for years, and they always avoided tells like this.

If that Greninja was as skilled as he claimed, how did he fall to this rookie?

"Try Flamethrower!" Alain called out, trying to find some way to throw Ash's Charizard off his game.

Alain's Charizard took a deep breath to get as much oxygen in to sustain the Flamethrower.

Ash's Charizard just took a quick whiff of fresh air.

Alain's released a massive torrent of flame, that would have put his old one to shame.

Old one being his time before the Charicific Valley.

Charizard released his Flamethrower and both attacks collided.

And then, much to the confusion of both Alain and his Charizard, despite not taking as deep a breath as Alain's, their Flamethrower was being beaten BACK.

Ash's Charizard slightly pushed his head forward as it then tore right through Alain's Flamethrower and connected with the main body.

And again, Alain's Charizard was pushed back.

Oh, he tried to fight back, but the Flamethrower was on such a different level that he was pushed into a wall, and trapped there until Charizard cut the breath off, not wanting to kill him by accident.

Despite the cooking he endured, Alain's Charizard got back up immediately and tried to land something, ANYTHING, on his opponent.

Alain grit his teeth.

He was used to Ash's Kalos team, not whatever this beast was.

And Ash had never thought to bring him over to Kalos?

"Charizard!" He called out as Ash's Charizard pushed him back with Alain's Charizard's own Thunderpunch, making Alain's Charizard bend his knee as he tried to catch his breath.

"Let's see how he deals with our specialty!" Charizard looked back and nodded.

If THAT was what was needed to even the playing field, so be it!

"KEYSTONE, RESPOND TO MY HEART! BEYOND EVOLUTION! MEGA EVOLUTION!" Once Alain's phrase was done, his Charizard became engulfed in an orange sphere.

When it exploded, Alain's Charizard was now black and blue, with spikes on his shoulders and a blue flame dripping from the sides of his mouth.

He let out a mighty roar, expecting Charizard to be intimidated …

Only to see him with his arms crossed.

"Is that costume change supposed to frighten me BOY?" He asked, as Mega X growled.

"It took me and Alain YEARS to actually attain this! It isn't just something that ANY Charizard and their trainer can do!" Alain's fired back, but Charizard just looked unimpressed.

"So, instead of training yourself to get stronger, you use a cheap TOY to try and get a leg up on me?" He mocked, still not impressed by the power of the Mega Evolution.

"I'LL SHOW YOU HOW MUCH POWER THIS GIVES ME!" He shouted as he flew at Charizard at an incredible rate of speed, ready with Dragon Claw.

"Oh, Ash's Charizard is in for a beating now!" Mairin said excitedly, thinking that Alain was going to win this.

"Yeah, a Mega Charizard is much stronger than a regular one, plus it's Dragon type alongside Fire now!" Miette said, as Mega X got closer with Dragon Claw.

Greninja stayed silent.

He remembered this Mega Form, and how his own Battle Bond had failed after catching a Blast Burn and turning it on him.

As such, he really didn't get why Ash's Charizard wasn't showing any interest in it.

Such a rookie mistake.

This Charizard had grown so used to the Mega Evolution that he had lost his natural battle prowess without it.

The Dragon Claw was definitely more powerful, he would give him that.

Problem, he didn't NEED to learn it right now.

As such, he powered up a Slash …

And cut right through the Dragon Claw, striking across the chin to the belly …

And then whacked him with Dragon Tail.

"That's the best you can do?" He asked, as Mega X staggered to his feet.

Mega X then tried a Thunderpunch, and while he FINALLY pushed Charizard back …

It was only about 2 inches.

Charizard again struck him with Dragon Tail, though this was just a glancing blow.

And then fired a Dragon Pulse right into his face, sending him straight into the ground.

Even THEN, Mega X climbed out of the crater, refusing to back down.

However, Charizard saw that he was running on fumes.

Probably a few hits away.

So, he looked to Ash, and gave him THAT look, asking if he could perform an old favorite.

Ash then nodded …

And gave the only order he had given to Charizard this entire round.

"CHARIZARD USE SEISMIC TOSS!" Alain looked shocked to hear that.

"Use Dragon Claw fast!" He called out, thinking Charizard was going to fly at him.

Mega X tried to slash Charizard again, but this time when Charizard dodged, he grabbed the claw hand …

And took to the air.

Mega X tried desperately to break the grip, but his energy had already been spent.

Once he got to the right height, Charizard began to spin around and around with Mega X being a flail.

Then Charizard sent him to have a nice meeting with the ground.

HARD.

The battlefield nearly toppled over from the damage from the big lizard crashing down into the field, as Charizard landed near the edge, launching a Flamethrower into the air.

When the dust settled over the crater, everyone saw that it was a regular Charizard in the hole with swirly eyes.

"ALAIN'S CHARIZARD IS UNABLE TO BATTLE. ASH'S CHARIZARD WINS. ASH IS THE OVERALL WINNER." The holographic ref announced before he blinked out of existence and the battlefield closed.

Mairin, Miette and Serena's mouths were at very high risk of getting bugs in their mouths from how wide they were from the sight.

Mairin had NEVER seen Alain's Charizard lose to anything EXCEPT other Mega Evolutions.

Miette was trying to wrap her head around the fact that Ash's Charizard had managed to beat a superior form without using it himself!

THROUGH SHEER RAW POWER AND STRATEGY!

Serena was trying to imagine scenarios where Ash had brought Charizard to Kalos, wondering how it could have gone if he brought him over even for just 5 days of training with the Kalos team.

"Like we said, Charizard used to be his ace before he went to other regions, when he listened anyway." Misty said, remembering the fight with Blaine and the replay of the fight with Mewtwo's Charizard.

"I doubt anyone has as close a bond with their Pokémon or any specific Pokémon like Ash, Pikachu and Charizard." Serena then took on a scared expression.

"Maybe you shouldn't have said that when a certain FROG was nearby?" Gary said, remembering the special Pokémon to their left.

*SKREONK! *

Braixen was just staring dumbfounded at seeing Greninja's rival be taken out that bad.

"Jeez! I guess you had good reason to be confident in him. I don't think. I've seen any of Ash's Pokémon give quite a beat down like that!" Charla smirked at that.

"Mega Evolution might be more powerful, but you need to know when to use it right. But if you rely on it like that guy did, you're at a major disadvantage."

Braixen nodded at that, seeing Charla's point.

"Still, has he shown any interest in-"

*SKREONK! *

Braixen and Charla turned to the source of the sound …

And found him gripping the rail so tight he had squeezed it like tissue paper.

How?

HOW DID HE DO THAT!?

HE COULDN'T BEAT HIM EVEN WITH HIS SPECIAL FORM!

AND THIS GUY, WHO HAS BEATEN A BLASTOISE, SOMEONE WHO HE IS WEAK AGAINST, BEATS HIM IN HIS MEGA FORM WITHOUT ANY SPECIAL NEEDS!?

WHILE HE COULDN'T BEAT HIM WHEN HE HAD A TYPE ADVANTAGE!?

This could not stand …

*SKREONK! *

THIS COULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO STAAAANNNDD!

"Alright, Charizard!" Ash called out.

It may not have been with Greninja, but at least he got ONE victory against Alain now.

Charizard looked at the Charizard who had beaten Ash in Kalos.

He had to say, either that frog was very weak, or that this Charizard was weak without Mega Evolution.

So far, he wasn't sold on Mega Evolution.

Alain went down to his beaten friend, who had just regained consciousness as he looked disappointed in himself.

"Well, we'll have to start working on strategies to combat Ash in general. And start upping our training when you're in regular form. Guess this was the wake up call we needed." He said as his Charizard nodded before he shakily stood up.

"Not bad but do train harder. That was really not what I was hoping for from a Mega Evolution." Alain's Charizard growled, but admitted Ash's had a point.

Just before they could continue, a Water Shuriken suddenly splashed down.

Charizard looked up …

Only to suddenly get tackled by Greninja.

"GRENINJA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Ash called out in shock as Greninja tried striking Charizard across the face with Cut, only for Charizard to hit him with Dragon Tail.

"HOW!? HOW DID YOU DO IT!?" He demanded as Charizard looked at him in annoyance.

"What? Upset I beat your rival before you? Why did you have so much trouble against him?" He sarcastically asked before he dodged a Liquidation blade.

"I COULDN'T BEAT HIM IN HIS MEGA FORM EVEN WITH THE BOND ME AND ASH HAVE! THERE IS NO WAY A NON-MEGA EVOLVED POKÉMON SHOULD TAKE HIM DOWN!"

"Maybe it's because YOU'RE WEAK! IF YOU CAN'T BEAT AN OPPONENT YOU HAVE A DIRECT ADVANTAGE OVER AND YOU FALL DUE TO STRAIN, YOU ARENT CHAMPION MATERIAL!" Charizard and Greninja pushed each other into their faces as literal sparks began to fly.

"Greninja, Charizard! STOP!" Ash shouted, but Greninja was already busy trying to hit Charizard with Night Slash and Charizard was parrying each and every strike with Slash.

"Why is Greninja ignoring Ash!?" Mairin shouted in worry.

"And why did Charizard insult Greninja!?" Brock asked, as he could tell from how Charizard acted, it was to provoke Greninja.

Charla and Braixen glared angrily at the two boys, who were now also dodging the return beams Ash was trying to get them with.

They looked at each other and nodded.

Greninja was winding up for a Liquidation attack while Charizard was preparing a Blast Burn to hit Greninja …

When a yellow blur slammed into the side of Greninja, pinning him down on the ground while an orange blur cut off Charizard's concentration and pinned his throat, unable to breathe any flames.

Greninja turned his head and saw Braixen holding him down by sitting on his back and pressing her stick on his neck.

Charizard saw Charla standing on top of him and having her foot on his neck, not enough to keep him from breathing normally, but enough to make sure he couldn't get any breath attacks going.

"GRENINJA! EITHER YOU STOP THIS OR I MAKE YOU STOP!" Braixen shouted as Greninja wrestled against her.

"THIS ISN'T THE CHARIZARD I GOT FEELINGS FOR! THIS CHARIZARD IS ACTING EXTREMELY PETTY RIGHT NOW!" Charizard seemed to calm down a bit …

At least until Greninja talked again.

"Yeah it's not like you're weaker since you ABANDONED ASH AFTER YOU EVOLVED! WHY HE KEPT YOU AROUND WHEN YOU DIDN'T OBEY IS BEYOND ME, WEAKLING!" Charizard blinked at that, then became enraged.

"YOU LITTLE FROG!" He roared as he slipped underneath Charla, making a beeline for Greninja.

Greninja spun, making Braixen lose her balance and getting a Liquidation blade ready.

Braixen growled and then held out her stick.

Greninja thought she was getting a Flamethrower ready, so he dodged to the right.

Charizard sensed Charla preparing something behind him, so he tried flying a bit higher to avoid whatever she was planning.

Greninja brought his blade up, ready to strike Charizard …

Only to suddenly fall flat on his face as something grabbed his foot and he face planted.

Charizard had gotten his breath ready to fire, only to suddenly have Charla wrapping her arms around his neck, and then body slamming him into the ground.

Charizard then realized that he had lost his flames from his mouth as Charla crossed her arms over his neck.

Ash saw the opportunities as Greninja cut the Grass Knot off his foot, only to get caught by the return beam along with Charizard.

"Ash?" Serena asked cautiously, as Ash stared at the two balls.

Greninja and Charizard were two of his closest friends, almost like Pokémon brothers.

If they were at each other's throats like this, what was going to happen when he needed them the most?

"Yo, Ashy-boy. You in there?" Gary asked as he snapped his fingers.

"Yeah, but this is going to be tricky." Ash admitted as Alain walked over.

"I didn't think Greninja would have that kind of reaction. Hopefully, me and Charizard can figure out how to beat him without Mega Evolving." Alain suggested, but he wasn't entirely sure himself.

"Wow, I see what you meant back on the S.S Anne, Brock." Everyone turned around and Brock recognized Sorrel immediately.

"Hey, Serena!" Verity called out as she revealed herself from behind Sorrel.

"What brings you to Saffron?" Brock asked as Sorrel then produced a library card.

"Studying Ho-Oh. Want to join in? Think I've found a book on what Ash has." He replied, as everyone nodded.

Everyone was crowded around Sorrel as he had a book laid flat on the table.

"The Rainbow Feather. Said to show that one is worthy of being the Rainbow Hero, only granted to a person by Ho-Oh himself." He began as Ash pulled out the feather.

"But I already fought Ho-Oh, and he said he wanted to fight Serena when we go to Mt. Tensei." He pointed out as Sorrel then pointed to the next passage.

"That would be what happens when Ho-Oh finds 2 people worthy of being the Rainbow Hero. HE will fight one, give him the Rainbow Feather, and then have them come to Mt. Tensei and challenge the other one." He continued as Serena remembered how Ho-Oh had already sensed she had her psychic powers, but he never clarified when she would meet him again after Saffron.

"So, is there some kind of time limit to when this can happen?" Serena asked, as Sorrel flipped the page.

"Apparently, as long as it's within the year of when Ho-Oh gives it, it doesn't matter when you get there." He replied as Ash brought out a colander.

"I fought Ho-Oh on the start of my journey in, I think, February, am I getting that right, Serena?" He asked, as Serena did a 'kind of' motion.

"Feels about right. Where's Mt. Tensei?" She asked, as Eve and Dexter showed a holographic map.

"MT. TENSEI IS IN THE MOUNTAIN RANGES PAST FUCHSIA CITY. MEANING THAT WE WILL HAVE TO GET ASH'S NEXT TWO BADGES IN ORDER TO GET TO MT. TENSEI."

"THANKFULLY WE HAVE ABOUT 5 MONTHS AND IT SHOULD ONLY TAKE 2 MONTHS TO GET TO MT. TENSEI. AS LONG AS WE DON'T TAKE TOO MANY SHORTCUTS OR DETOURS."

"Hey, Dexter. Do you and/or Eve have phone capabilities?" Ash asked, as everyone stared at him.

"I SADLY DO NOT, BUT EVE IS."

"CLEARLY I'M-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Eve. Just help me figure out how to set it up please." Serena stopped, as Sorrel got his number out as well as Verity.

"Give me a call in case something delays you guys. I want to see it in person." Alain and Mairin also handed over some paper.

"Same, and I'm sure Gary and Miette would like to join in." He said, as Gary and Miette nodded.

"Probably Miette thinks it's going to be a great dating spot." Ash joked as Miette nodded.

"NOT FUNNY ASH!" Gary shouted, as everyone laughed.

"So, next stop, Celadon?" Misty asked, as Ash nodded.

"Let's get going."

No one had noticed that Cross had been listening in.

And he was furious.

"That kid gets the feather, and Ho-Oh wants to fight that little girl!? One who was trained by Sabrina? Why?" He asked mentally, as he had been sure he was Ho-Oh's chosen one.

"I have to get that feather from them. I have to prove to Ho-Oh that he chose wrong!"

"HEY! IT'S THAT WANTED PERSON, CROSS!" Cross growled and then leapt out a window, releasing Fearow and taking flight …

For Fuchsia City.

He had been asked by Lord Ho-Oh to travel with these two and keep an eye on them.

Not that Ho-Oh didn't have faith, but with ones like that Cross person who was spying on them, best to have backup.

They had done well so far, and he was pleased.

But there were still 2 months before he could fulfill HIS duty as the balancer.

"I promise you my lord, it shall be done."

"So, have you thought about which Pokémon to use against Erika, Ash?" Misty asked as they were about halfway to Celadon.

"Well, I recall her using 3 Pokémon. Is there some kind of challenge she does that she didn't last time?" He asked, as Misty began smirking.

"Well, Alain told us that she had challenged him to show how his Pokémon grow. What was supposed to happen is that you had one first stage, one second stage, and one final stage. Reason she didn't last time is that you didn't HAVE a final stage last time." Brock said as he picked some berries off a bush.

"Plus, you did insult her when you said you didn't like perfumes!" Misty said with a smirk, and then looked at Serena.

"Shame, huh?"

"Actually, I hate perfumes as well." You could almost hear a record scratch as Misty stared at Serena.

"What?"

"I hate perfumes as well. I can't stand the smell." Serena told her as Misty crashed to the ground.

"I think you broke Misty's brain, Serena." Brock said as Misty twitched uncontrollably.

"Well, maybe I should make a 3 team and a 5 team since I got the Marsh Badge." Ash said, really hoping to steer the conversation away from a … certain subject.

"Indeed. You had planned on using Zorua last time, but Rocket Sabrina screwed that plan up." Ash nodded and looked at Fuecoco's Pokéball.

"I think Fuecoco would also be a good choice for a 5 member team in case she asks for 2 first stagers." Ash said, as Misty was staring at him in shock.

"You're seriously trying to plan ahead?" She asked, with Ash nodding.

"Then having Ivysaur and Lucario as second stagers, if she's that fickle. Then …" Ash's face dropped as he stared at Greninja and Charizard's balls.

"I was planning on using these two, but after what happened in Saffron …" Ash trailed off, as Brock patted his back and Serena held his hand.

"Trust me, I think they will still obey you as long as the other isn't out at the moment." Brock said, as Serena then brought out Braixen and Charla.

"Can you help us make sure that if these two start acting up, you're on crowd control duty?" Braixen saluted with her branch as Charla gave a thumbs up.

"OK, head to the perfume shop, turn off nose to avoid the smell, then get the badge!" Ash shouted as Misty rolled her eyes.

"Giving you class is the equivalent of teaching a Rock type to swim." Misty said, until she noticed Brock who had a notebook out.

"List of Water/Rock types.

Corsola, Omanyte, Omastar, Kabuto, Kabutops, Rhydon can learn Surf, Binacle, Barbaracle, Relicanth, Tirtouga, Carracosta, and Drednaw." Misty growled, as she tried to wack Brock with her mallet.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEANT!" She shouted.

(CELADON GYM!)

"Hello and welcome to Celadon Gym!" A girl in a green dress, blue hair with a red hair and red low heeled ballet shoes said as they entered the gym.

"I am Erika, owner of Erika's Scent-Sation and the Celadon Gym leader! Who is challenging me?" She asked, as Ash stepped forward.

"I am. IF I may, why do you ban people who say they don't like perfumes?" Erika stared, then slowly turned her neck around to glare at a couple of Gym Trainers.

"Part of the reason why I keep reminding them that boys are allowed to challenge me! They do this without my permission and SAY that I ordered it!" She growled, as the two then hugged each other.

"Just had a friend with a Fearow who said he almost got banned from here." Ash replied as she nodded.

"Yes. Anyway, Do you have 2 of each first, second and final stage? Only one evolution phase counts as second stage and those who don't evolve count as first." Ash nodded.

"I have 2 of each." Erika nodded, then stepped on a button as a slot machine came out and started spinning.

"How many badges do you have?" She asked, as Ash flashed the ones he had.

"4, including the Marsh Badge. Very impressive. It will be a 5v5 match then. And which numbers to use …" She moved her foot off the button as the slots stopped.

"2 first stagers, 1 mid, and 2 final." She finished, as she then retrieved 5 Pokéballs from the machine, and moved to the raised platform on one side.

"Alright! Tropics! Come on out!" She called as she pirouetted around and threw the ball.

What came out was a massive brown and green beast with wings and strange fruit on its neck.

"Alright. Zorua! Time to make up for the training!" He called out as the familiar Mischievous Pokémon came out looking excited to actually be called.

"ALRIGHT! FINALLY, I CAN FIGHT AGAIN!" He shouted as Zoroark and Riolu came out to watch him.

"Alright Zorua! Start off with Night Daze!" HE called out as Zorua slammed his feet into the ground, it making a mad dash for Tropius.

"Take to the air!" Extending his wings outwards, Tropius shot up at a surprising amount of speed for a Pokémon his size, as the Night Daze missed …

And almost made an embarrassing scene when it landed in front of Erika.

"HEY!" She shouted as Ash and Zorua looked apologetic.

"OK, use Dark Pulse!" Ash shouted as Zorua shot a 2-stranded beam out of his mouth, clipping Tropius in the wing.

"Alright! Razor Leaf!" Erika shouted as Tropius, while still in free fall, flung his two wings, and connected two massive leaves with Zorua's chest.

"YOUCH! OK! Avoid the sharp leaves, note taken!" Zorua said as he skidded across the floor and glared at the flying grass type.

"LET'S SEE YOU FIGURE OUT THIS ILLUSION!" He shouted as a yellow sphere emerged from his eyes as Tropius suddenly began to pound his head against the nearby trees.

"TROPIUS, SNAP OUT OF IT!" Erika shouted as Tropius shot off a Sunny Day.

And then Zorua shot off another Night Daze, connecting with Tropius JUST as he got off a Solar Beam …

Which made Zorua glow red as the Beam was sent back to him at double the force.

When the smoke cleared, Tropius was on the ground with swirls in his eyes.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that to happen, then again, I haven't been able to train Tropius for a while. So, well done!" She said as she returned him to the ball.

"Next, final stage! Let's go, Jumpluff!" What came out was a blue Pokémon that had dandelions on its body.

"Jumpluff has the ability Chlorophyll, right?" Serena asked, knowing the signature ability of Jumpluff was the Hidden Ability that Bulbasaur had wanted to learn from Saur.

"Yeah, and they naturally learn Sunny Day. So Ash's first Final Stage better be a quick one." Brock said, as Ash returned Zorua to his ball.

Ash then brought out a Pokéball and stared at it.

Serena recognized which one it was and prepared her own.

Ash then took out his choice and stared at it.

Would he still listen, or were they now at a worse point than what happened with Wulfric?

"Well, no time like the present to test it out. GRENINJA! NINJA BATTLE!" He shouted as he released his Kalos Starter.

Greninja had his eyes closed, like he was contemplating something, as he looked back at Ash.

Ash looked back, and sensed no hostility, no hatred towards him.

Just … Charizard.

That was who his anger was geared towards.

"I do not hate you, but I will not work with that orange lizard." He told him, as Ash nodded.

"I won't do it unless it's a life and death problem." Greninja nodded and turned back to get ready for his fight with Jumpluff.

"Alright, Jumpluff! Sunny Day!" Jumpluff shot an orb into the sky as it then vanished into thin air.

Greninja quickly closed his eyes …

And produced a Night Slash that took Jumpluff by surprise.

"Alright! Let's try a new move, Greninja! ICE LIQUIDATION!" Greninja's hands began to form ice around then as he did the process of creating the liquidation blades.

Only this time, instead of combining them into one, Greninja now had two short swords made of ice as Jumpluff tried to again strike him.

Greninja blocked each strike and took a swipe with his new ice swords.

"Alright Jumpluff! Solar Beam!" Needing no time to charge, Jumpluff sent out a massive beam towards Greninja, who swiftly dodged …

Only to almost hit the speedy little Grass type who hit him with a Mega Drain.

Greninja crashed down to the ground, his ice blades shattering on impact, as he staggered to his feet.

Jumpluff then landed with a smirk as the damage Greninja had dealt had been healed up.

"Water Shuriken!" Ash called out as Greninja sent out several tiny water stars.

Thanks to Chlorophyll, Jumpluff had no trouble dodging the attacks …

At least until it suddenly began to rain, which caused her to slow down as she became bogged with water.

Ash stared in amazement.

Somehow, those tiny Water Shurikens had enough water to activate a Rain Dance!

"Alright, Greninja! Let's use Ice Liquidation again!" Knowing what Ash was wanting, Greninja again created the 2 ice swords, and vanished.

Jumpluff was busy building up an orb to get another Sunny Day going, only to get blind sided by Greninja.

"Greninja! Smack Down into Surf then into Ice Beam!" Quickly putting one of his swords into his other hand, Greninja created an orange sphere as it connected on top of Jumpluff's head.

Then, landing in a puddled area of the arena, Greninja summoned a massive Tidal Wave as it washed over Jumpluff.

The water had gotten so high it lapped Erika's platform, splashing her red shoes with water.

Ash and his friends noticed that Erika seemed to grimace at the water hitting her heels as she stared at the water.

"Either I shell out the money for a good drain system or I start investing in water plants too." She said as she then saw Jumpluff, despite the rapid attacks, bob to the surface.

"Jumpluff! Get a Sunny Day off!" Again, the orb began to form …

Only for the water around Jumpluff to freeze as it shot off the orb and it got frozen along with the water.

"Now use Ice Shuriken!" Ash called out as Greninja froze his hands and then created two big shuriken out of ice.

When he threw them, he pined Jumpluff's left and right arms, as he then used Cut and whacked it on the head.

Jumpluff had a massive bump on its head and swirly eyes after it connected.

"Well then, that's two to none. Let's see how we'll you deal with MY starter! Go Gloom!" Erika shouted as her mid stage evolution appeared.

Ash heard Serena release a Pokémon and saw that she had released Oddish.

"Alright then, here's MY mid stage choice! Go Ivysaur!" Ash called out as his faithful Grass starter appeared.

"Leech Seed!" Erika called out as Ivysaur had trouble moving around on the ice to effectively use Chlorophyll.

"Use Synthesis!" Ivysaur glowed yellow as the damage from the Leech seed was counteracts.

"Use Razor Leaf!" Erika called out as Ivysaur copied and sent out his own Razor Leaf.

"Use Solar Beam!" Ash called out as the Sunny Day made it charge instantly.

"You too, Gloom!" Erika called out …

And both attacks ended up cancelling each other AGAIN.

"Ummm, seems we're at a bit of a stalemate." Ivysaur said as he tapped the ice.

"Nope. Too hard." He then used Synthesis again to counteract the amount of time Leech Seed had been used.

"This might take a while, get a computer, somebody!" Erika called out as she prepared to get off the platform.

"Erika, WAIT! THE ICE IS STILL-" Ash tried to warn but …

*SLIP! *

"KYAAAA!" Erika shouted as she slid on her back, her footing having slipped while trying to get off her platform.

And she was heading towards an ice wave that had been frozen by Greninja.

"WAAAAHHHHHH!" Erika was heard screaming as she launched off the ramp and began to backfill.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end …

As she saw herself heading straight for a mud pit.

"Oh no."

*SPLATSH! *

"Erika! Are you all right!?" Serena shouted in worry …

As Erika had landed front first into a mud pit.

"BAH!" Erika coughed as she pulled her face out of the mud, it being covered in the brown wet dirt.

"Here, let us help you out of that!" Brock called as he and Misty helped their fellow Gym Leader out of the pit.

Erika lost her footing a couple of times as she nearly slid back into the pit.

"I JUST BOUGHT THIS OUTFIT AND THESE SHOES!" She wailed as she shook to try and get the mud off her.

Serena then released Popplio as Ash hid behind a tree.

"Popplio, start hosing down Erika."

(15 MINUTES LATER!)

"So, the trick is that Oddish need a lot of natural sunlight, and they can't get that in the ball." Serena was writing down as Erika was ringing her green dress free of mud, as Popplio had been hosing her down.

Ash was a bit farther away as he and Dexter were doing research.

"Seriously?" He asked as Dexter showed him the result.

"INDEED. THE LONGEST BATTLE RECORDED IS BETWEEN TWO IDIOTS WHO BOTH HAD A METAPOD. BOTH WERE USING HARDEN.

IT TOOK 3 HOURS FOR ONE OF THEM TO REMEMBER HIS METAPOD HAD TACKLE, AND ANOTHER 4 HOURS TO DEAL THE NECCESAARY DAMAGE TO MAKE THE OPPOSING METAPOD FAINT."

Ash rubbed his temple, as he sincerely hoped that he wouldn't take this long.

"Hey Erika?" He chanced asking, as he heard a growl.

"WHAT?"

"Why do you have a mud pit in the first place? It seems to be near the front door and easy to fall into if you trip over your feet." He pointed out, as Erika sighed.

"Some plants and Grass Types need thick mud to take root and get proper nutrients. The Cacao Bean to make chocolate, for example." She then motioned to a filtration system for water.

"And the reason it's next to the front door is because that was the best place to put it without risking the water system." She said as she dumped the water that had gathered up in her heels into a bucket.

"Just saying it was strange that you had something like that old kids show. What was it called again? Zaboomamon?" He asked as Serena was trying to remember the same thing.

"I think it was Pokéfoo. That one with that Vigoroth right?" Ash nodded, as Misty took a sip of tea.

"Sludge Bomb?"

"Know it. Can't do enough damage with the fact you keep synthesizing and counteracting Leech Seed."

Ivysaur and Gloom were huddled around a laptop on a site called Bulpapedia.

And they had two pages open displaying the moves they could learn.

"Seed bomb, don't know it, need to add that to the training regiment." Ivysaur sighed as he hit space to move the page down.

"Magical Leaf, but never miss attacks isn't going to work all that well if we can't damage each other enough." Gloom growled as she hit the space bar on the Gloom page up.

"OK, I don't have any TM moves right now. You?"

"Mega Drain. Same problem."

"OK, onto EGG moves. Let's see here, with this ankle strap it should tell us what egg moves we should know right now." Ivysaur said as it began to scan him and Gloom.

"Let's see here. RAZOR LEAF!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" Gloom shouted as she then pouted.

"Curse, Ingrained, Toxic, who in my family knew Petal Dance? And …" Ivysaur's eyes widened, as he somehow had an Egg Move that he shouldn't have without TMs.

"I am winning this fight. Fury Cutter." Gloom felt something hit her head, while rubbing it in annoyance.

"THAT'S your winning move? It's not-"

"Fury Cutter."

*BAP! *

"OK, THAT time I felt something-"

"FURY CUTTER!"

"OOOUUUCCH!" Gloom screamed as she was sent flying, while Ivysaur suddenly zoomed in with one final Fury Cutter and Gloom was stuck in the ground with swirly eyes.

"OK, wish that battle had happened faster and that I hadn't gotten a mud bath, but at least we can do this in one day. TANGELA!" Erika said as Braixen and Charla were heating her up a bit to evaporate the water.

"FUECOCO!" With that, Ash's newest addition came out and made various motions.

"Tangela! Use Ingrain!" Erika commanded as several roots slammed into the ground, as Tangela was ready for a drawn-out fight.

"OK, Fuecoco, let's-!" Ash stopped when he saw Fuecoco's mouth begin to slobber.

"Uh, Fuecoco?" Fuecoco was staring at Tangela, which was making it quite nervous.

"SPAAAAGHETTTTIIIIIIIIII!" He cried as his mouth gave off a Fire Fang …

And he bit Tangela on a core root.

"FUECOCO! TANGELA IS NOT FOOD!" Ash cried out in horror, as Fuecoco tried to chomp on another vine.

"Jeesh! It needs some more time in the pot and some Marinara Sauce. I wonder if I could make a Spaghetti, but beggars can't be choosers!" Fuecoco happily called out, as he then unleashed an Ember at Tangela, setting one of Tangela's vines on fire as it panicked and put it in water to stop the flames.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHH! I'm getting tired." Fuecoco said as Tangela suddenly seemed to get Drowsy.

"FUECOCO! USE EMBER ON THE CENTER! COOK IT FROM THE INSIDE!" Ash said, hoping it would be the way to get Fuecoco to focus.

"Tenderize the center then cook at 450 degrees!" Fuecoco shouted as his Emeber hit right on the money, as the face of Tangela grimaced as it felt the hot embers connect.

"WHAT!? WHY IT NO GET COOKED!? THIS MAKES ME SO ANGRY!" Fuecoco shouted …

As he began to glow red.

"Wait, WAIT! FUECOCO!" A massive torrent of fire came out as the entire arena was bathed in flames.

When it was over, Tangela was knocked out on the ground, looking rather cooked.

Erika wasted no time returning it after Fuecoco tried to again eat Tangela.

"How long have you had him?" Ash quickly counted on his hand, with Serena nodding.

"About 4 months. I have trained him, but this was to test and see what would happen and where we need to improve." He told her as she rubbed her head.

"First you ruin my new dress and shoes, now you're about to turn my garden into a flipping Barbecue because of that tiny crocodile!" She then held out her last Pokémon.

"One more and you win, however. VENASAUR!" With that, the final evolution of the Bulbasaur line roared as it shot off a Sunny Day.

"Alright then, apologies in advance. CHARIZARD!" With that, his Fire Starter roared even harder, causing Venasaur to back up in fright of this beast.

"Use Flamethrower!" Charizard didn't hesitate.

He may not be on good terms with the ninja frog, but he refused to let Ash down again like he did in the League.

So, he was pleasantly surprised when the Venasaur suddenly vanished and avoided his powered-up Flamethrower.

"Use Leech Seed!" He felt the annoying little seed hit the back of his head.

Unfortunately for Venasaur, it tipped off Charizard to where he was.

Venasaur had to skid to a halt to avoid connecting headfirst with the Flamethrower Charizard had spewed …

Only to then have its main stalk whacked by a Wing Attack.

"SOLAR BEAM!" Erika shouted in worry, as it connected with Charizard, sending him crashing into the ground.

Charizard just elbowed the ground around him and took to the skies again.

Venasaur then began to zip around the battlefield, trying to avoid the attacks Charizard was dishing out.

Only to be surprised when Charizard appeared in front and spewed a Flamethrower attack right in his face.

And unfortunately, a Burn occurred.

"USE SOLAR BEAM ONE MORE TIME!" Once again, Venasaur sent out a massive beam at Charizard.

This time, however, Charizard's body became surrounded by flames, and he crashed right into the beam.

Venasaur kept trying to pump out more and more power, but Charizard just pushed right through.

Then, Charizard spun around in an aileron roll and collided with Venasaur's head, flipping him onto the ground.

And that left him open to a massive Flamethrower powered up by the sun.

When he rolled in front of Erika, he had swirly eyes and was moaning.

"Well, bright side is that he held back and only affected the arena and the heat has dried out my dress. Well Ash, here's the Rainbow Badge." Erika said as she held out the badge …

Not getting off the platform given the amount of mud surrounding the area.

"Sorry. How much would repairs be?" He asked as Erika's Gym Trainers began to scribble something.

"Here."

"Let's see here … 300 Poké for the draining of the Gym, that makes sense … 450 Poké to get a new draining system in, acceptable." He then nodded at the price for the burnt and drowned plants.

"You guys forgot something." He said as he handed the sheet back.

"What?"

"Dry Cleaning."

*THUD! *

"Hehe. Just like Red. Are you related to him in some way?" Erika asked as she got a giggle at the joke Ash did.

"Does every Gym Leader in Kanto know my dad!?"

(HIGH ABOVE THE SKIES!)

"OK, Ash should be in Celadon City by this point. He should be able to direct me to Red, and maybe Annoying Girl." Blue said as he was on the back of his Charizard.

"YES. THAT IS WHAT YOUR DADDY SAID."

"SHUT IT, MIDORI! Why Dad named you THAT color is beyond me!"

Before Blue had headed off from Pallet Town, his father had taken his old Pokédex and dumped a massive amount of data into it.

It turned green and then, just like the one his Father now had, his Dex was alive and talking.

He still questioned why it was green instead of blue like his namesake.

"MAYBE BECAUSE I AM NOW GREEN, AND I RECALL YOUR MOTHER CALLING YOU GREENY BLUE."

"I TOLD YOU TO NEVER MENTION THAT!"

(BACK IN CELADON!)

"Well, any idea on what to give Fearow?"

"Well, given how he's a fan of PokéSentai, I was thinking of seeing if Celadon Department had any toys of the new one that was released. Also seeing if they have any outfits for Sylveon and Braixen."

Ash and Serena were still in Celadon, as Oddish was out the entire time, as Erika had said that she was close to evolving, but she needed more time out of the ball so it wouldn't feel cramped when she did.

"SO, I look in the toy section, you go to the clothes section?" He asked as Serena winked.

"Misty's already here! Have fun with Brock!" She then took off like a bullet.

"Serena, please go easy on the wallet." He said as, earlier that morning, Ghastly had been looking around the city, revealing that some punks had broken into the room and stole some things from their room.

And Serena lost some ingredients thanks to those boneheads.

So, she was a bit miffed.

"Let's just get this over with. Fearow has been yapping about some Sentai called Shuugo Sentai Shinkaiger." Pikachu said, as Pidgeot then came out.

"You look high, we'll look low."

(15 MINHTES LATER!)

Ash had figured out where the toy section was and found the toy, he wanted to give to Fearow.

When they arrived at the top of the Department Store, Ash saw Serena looking a bit glum.

"No luck?"

"Worst kind. They had the materials to make their outfits, but there was a sale on them, and they got cleaned out." Ash grimaced at that.

"Well, I got the last one of the newest additions of Shinkaiger toys." He told her as she then released Fearow.

"Alright Rock Boy. What do you want?"

"This is to say that I am sorry for what happened back in the original timeline. And that I would like to move past that as best we can. Here." He then pulled a toy sword from the bag, colored orange at the hilt themed after fire, with a dark red outer blade and a granulate orange to red inner blade.

Fearow stared at it before he swiped it.

"THE INFERNAL BLADE FOR THE SHINKAIGERS! DID THEY HAVE THE EVOLBRACELET?"

"Sorry, huge sale on those so no luck, but we could try again as we go."

Fearow shrugged and then took his Pokéball and put the toy in the ball.

"Well, at least now I have Takeru's blade! Who happens to be a more competent foul mouthed version of you."

"Watch it Fearow! I'll bet he'll have one of the best out there!"

Fearow turned to him with a confused look at how defensive Ash had gotten, then saw Serena glaring at him.

"What is he your dream child?" He asked as both Ash and Serena looked at each other in confusion.

"No."

"Well, you two certainly got defensive about it for some reason. Anyway, I'm off for a nap." With that. He vanished into his Pokéball.

"Awkward moment?" Both Ash and Serena whirled around in shock when they saw Sabrina there.

"Uh, what are you doing here, master?" Serena asked as Sabrina looked around and came closer.

"IF you can let your friends know without tipping them off, there is a secret base here in Celadon City for Team Rocket. I think they are using an old location for it. You two want in?" Ash and Serena looked at each other, then brought out both of their Butterfree.

"You two take this note to Misty and Brock." Was all Ash and Serena said to them, as both nodded and flew off.

"Let's go."

Misty and Brock were currently sparring with each other with their Mega Evolutions just outside of town, as they really wanted to catch up with Ash and Serena.

"Steelix use ThunderFang!"

"Gyarados, use Hyper Beam!"

The ground snake ducked underneath the blast and connected on Gyarados' neck with the super effective attack.

"HEY GUYS! TIME OUT!" Looking up, they saw both Butterfree and Sakura flying towards them.

"Ash and Serena are about to aid Sabrina in taking down a Rocket Base! They might need your backup!" Brock and Misty then looked at each other.

"Full Force with Mega's once Sabrina gives the signal?" Brock asked as Misty nodded.

"You bet!"

"OK, so we basically go in and search the joint. You come in after us, and then try to use your old Rocket connections to try and get a meeting with the leader here?" Serena asked, as she and Ash were specially dressed for this to try and make themselves seem richer than they were supposed to.

Specifically, Ash was wearing the outfit from Rota and Serena, ONCE AGAIN, was forced to wear her Showcase Dress.

And she was really starting to feel it was wearing thin.

"Just one chapter I would like to go WITHOUT slipping into this outfit!" She groaned as she and Ash put on several masks alongside Sylveon and Pikachu.

"I know. Right now, though, we don't have much of a choice. They might recognize you in your regular outfits, though Misty might have a harder time with her "GOLDEEN AVENGER" dress and we don't have a bunch of time." Sabrina said as they then looked at the front door of the Casino.

"OK. Get going."

Two grunts were guarding the front of the casino, waiting for some poor rich SMUCK to come by and try their hand at WINNING their tokens and rare Pokémon.

At least, that's what they said aloud.

In truth, these two were loyal ONLY to Giovanni, and they had no intentions of following through Archer's orders.

As such, when Ash and his little girlfriend showed up, they followed his secret orders.

"So, Ash. Did Sabrina get the suitcase?" One asked as he turned off his radio, which shocked him.

"Yeah, she did." He asked in confusion as the two made sure that no one was listening in.

"We'll let you and her in for free. Usually, we do have a 1000 Poké entry fee, but since you're on the boss's special list, we can make an exception." The grunt then pointed to a badge that resembled the Earth Badge on their chest.

"Keep an eye out for ones who have this pin. IT shows that we don't listen to the Admins orders and only listen to Giovanni. Avoid everyone as much as possible if they don't have this."

"And if one says they only listen to him, but they forgot to wear it?"

"They will do the Universal Greeting from Pokéformers and you must answer them back as Wreck-Mon did."

"Did Wreck-mon hear Bah-weep-grah-nah-weep-ni-ni-bong?" He asked, which the grunt nodded.

Ash then saw a grunt without the pin approaching.

"Yeah, well if you don't let me and my lady friend in, I will report this to Officer Jenny and have the place searched! I payed the toll!" He acted, which the two quickly got into character.

"Yeah, well we are also obeying the law since you're underage! Now-"

"Easy there, Sato. No need to start yelling. Kid, do you give your word that you WON'T go into the adult section and just hang out around the teen section?" Ash nodded, as the other grunt finally spoke.

"Apologies sir, he says his father has already come in and that he had been delayed trying to get his girlfriend here straightened out in Celadon City." He said, as the grunt that was SUPPOSEDLY their superior nodded.

"Understandable but we should be able to check the names. What's the father's name?" Before Ash could panic at not knowing what to say, the grunt spoke up.

"Satoshi Taijiri, sir." The grunt pulled out a tablet and typed the name in.

"OK, that checks out. I'll try and get you guys some tablets so that you can have an easier time. Anyway, let him in." They nodded and slid out of the way.

Ash and Serena then walked in, and saw the Teen section with various Video Games and merch.

Sabrina had been waiting for 5 minutes, so that it wasn't suspicious when she went over with a mask on her face.

"Got the message." She turned around and saw Misty and Brock in special outfits with masks on.

Thankfully, Misty had done some things to the Goldeen dress she had worn last time, thanks to some Horsea Ink making the outfit darker and the frills looked more like a fancy skirt.

"Should be easy to run water through this and not ruin it." Misty said as they looked at the door guardians.

"Ash and Serena have gone in, I'm about to as well. You two come in 5 minutes after me, that should avoid suspicion. And you two should be able to pass off as adults. So, here's 1000 Poké for the entrance fee." She said as she handed 3 rolls of money.

"Just in case." She then walked over with her mask on, the grunts nodded and moved aside.

5 more minutes later, Misty and Brock walked up to the door.

"I recognize you two. But to avoid suspicion, entry is 1000 Pokè." Misty presented the money, and the other grunt nodded.

"You may enter." The doors opened and Misty was the first to go in.

She never heard a tracking device attach itself to the bottom of her right heel.

"OK. So, what do we do now?" Serena asked as she and Ash stuck to the Teen area, peering into the main adult area of the casino.

"Keeping an eye. Areas they are constantly moving around in, punching in codes somewhere, not fighting to avoid suspicion." Ash replied, as he took note of a pass code a green pin was typing in a way that he could see.

Ash then noticed Sabrina, Misty, and Brock were in the adult section, which he saluted.

"OK, we now have backup. Let's try and maneuver around and get a better layout." He said as they then separated and began to check out the various areas.

Misty and Brock were playing along with Sabrina, acting like regular gamblers in the slots.

"Anything?" Misty asked, as Brock quickly pulled a lever to spin the slots and made it look like he was nervously checking everyone else's results.

"Seen 2 Rockets go down a particular hallway. Not seeing anything that suggests suspicion, but one of us should probably check it out, while looking for the restroom." Brock said as Misty nodded and got up after winning a 777 on the wheels.

"Cash out the 1000 coins I won, and see if there might be something in the prize corner that I might be interested in." She told Brock as he quickly took her winnings as she left to investigate.

Misty had seen 2 grunts walking down the hallway, as she stayed out of sight, watching them go.

"Excuse me." She nearly jumped when a Rocket with a green pin surprised her.

"Is everything alright?" Misty quickly looked back and forth, making sure they were safe.

"Just trying to figure out a secret way into your base." The Rocket nodded and then held out a sheet of paper.

"Write down this and I will deliver it to the other 4 in this building." She quickly read it and then copied it in her own handwriting.

"One of the posters in this building will activate the stairs to the secret base." It read as she then made 3 more copies and handed them to the Rocket.

She then looked down the hallway as the Rocket left …

Only to realize that, despite ending in a dead end the grunts had disappeared.

Running to the end of the hallway, Misty began to feel around the wall.

"They couldn't have just disappeared! Maybe there's a secret passage-"

*THWACK! *

"RIGHT UNDER MY FEET!?" She partially shouted as a trapdoor opened underneath her and she disappeared.

(5 MINUTES EARLIER!)

Rudy had been tasked to watch the security monitors and to keep an eye for anyone trying to get into the base.

He had recognized Misty and her 3 other friends but made no indication that he recognized them.

"OK, Boss says to make sure the trapdoor defense pipeline reroutes them to me instead of the prison cells. Now to just make sure they stay safe." He talked to himself as he saw Misty see two grunts walk down the hallway to one of the side entrances to the base.

All you had to do was flip the wall panel around, pull the lever, and then you had a 30 second timer to go through the door to the stairs.

Thankfully, one of his friends had distracted her from seeing them actually flip the panel, and give her the main entrance location, which she did write down and send to her friends.

Then she made the mistake of turning back and actually investigating the wall.

"Anyone suspicious trying to get in?" Rudy jumped as one of the Rockets had just appeared behind him.

Unfortunately, it was one who DIDIN'T have a green pin, and he was about to see Misty.

"About to drop this girl who's investigating the wall two others used to get into the base." The Rocket looked and nodded.

"Reroute her here, and then we restrain her." Rudy nodded and waited for Misty to be right above the trapdoor.

"Forgive me, Misty." He whispered as he hit the button.

And the camera showed her dropping out of view.

"IF THIS IS GHASTLY'S DOING, HE IS SO DEADER AFTER THIS!" Misty declared as she was sliding down a shaft the trapdoor had opened for her.

Finally, she saw light coming at the end as she came out the roof …

And into someone's arms.

Unfortunately, while it was the grunt from Silph Co. that had her, he restrained her as he began to cover her mouth.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOERRRMPH!" The Silph Grunt quickly shoved a towel into her mouth and restrained her as his partner pulled out two sets off cuffs.

"Go for the ankles first!" He advised as the grunt cuffed her ankles, as he gave the other set to Rudy while he pulled out a cloth.

"GET ready to tie her to the pole there. I'll make sure she can't make any more sounds." He told him as the Silph Grunt put one cuff on her wrist as the grunt tied the clothe tightly around Misty's mouth.

"MHMHMPH!" Misty protested as the two then led her to a pole in the room as the grunt held her against it and the Silph Grunt cuffed her wrists around the pole, preventing her from actually getting any of her balls.

"RHMHPH!" As she protested, the grunt creepily ran a finger under her chin

"Quite the catch if I do say so myself. I think this girl is the one who stopped our operations in Saffron. Won't Giovanni be surprised at how easily we captured her."

"Hold up! We got another near the Teen section!" The Silph Grunt quickly pointed to a girl in a red dress snooping around a hallway.

Misty's eyes widened when she saw who it was …

And was afraid of what this grunt was about to do.

"SFFERENAMP!" She muffled out, getting the grunt's attention.

"Oh, you know this teen? Well then, far be it from me to let two pretty girls have the best tea party ever." He mocked as he activated another trapdoor underneath her.

"NEEEEMPH!"

(FIVE MINUTES EARLIER WITH SERENA!)

Serena and Ash had received the note from Misty about the secret passage.

She had seen several posters around and was checking them to see if they had the lever to the base.

"OK, no poster here has the lever, hopefully Ash had better luck than me." She said as she was about to leave the hallway to rejoin him …

When a trapdoor opened underneath her feet.

"GHASTLY!" She shouted as she fell down it.

"Hey, Serena. Any … where'd you go?"

Meanwhile Serena was falling down the chute as she kept thinking Ghastly had gotten out again.

"I swear, Ghastly, I WILL be finding a way to pay you back for this!" She called as she then fell into a room …

Only to have two Rocket grunts restrain her and cover her mouth.

"Got her ankles!" One called out, as she felt her ankles get cuffs on them.

"What are you MMPH!" Serena choked as the grunt then shoved a towel in her mouth and used a handkerchief to restrain her mouth.

Then she felt herself get dragged over to something and the one behind her cuff her wrists.

What no one saw was one of Serena's Pokéballs rolling off her belt.

"SERMMMPH!" Serena looked to her left and saw Misty had been restrained in a similar way.

"Alright ladies. Get nice and cozy. It's going to be a bit before the Psychic types come and erase your memory, and we take your Pokémon!" The senior grunt mocked as he walked out of the room.

The grunt from Silph CO. Had returned to the console, keeping watch on the above.

Serena looked at Misty fearfully, while Misty looked like she was trying to wordlessly calm her down.

Serena then noticed near her feet was one of her Pokéballs as she then got an idea.

She tried to move the chain of her ankle cuffs around the ball to try and get it closer.

After 2 failures, she was successful in rolling it closer, as she pressed her feet together to get a grip on the ball …

Only to have the grunt grab it.

"HEMPH!" She fearfully said, as the grunt nodded …

And released Ghastly.

"Head out this door and make a right. You'll see a set of staircases. We are on the 2nd bottom floor right now and there are 4 in total. Keep track of the location the stairs come out of and lead their friends here. I'm sure Misty can do something to get her friend here one of her Pokéballs off her waist." Serena and Ghastly looked in amazement at this.

Ghastly looked at Misty, who nodded and then he headed off after going invisible to make sure he wasn't seen.

"I am now going to ignore you two so you can plan your escape and maybe get a Pokéball ready in case someone comes here, and you need to protect yourselves." He said, not looking at them as he returned to the security monitors.

Misty looked at the door making sure no one was about to come in.

She then laid down on her left side, moving her Pokéballs closer to Serena's hands.

Serena felt her fingers brush against them, as she tapped on one, looking at Misty.

She shook her head no, as she then went to the left middle ball.

Again no.

She went to the middle right ball as Misty nodded.

After Serena plucked the ball off her belt, Misty repositioned herself to be on her knees as she patted the back of her heels.

Serena understood she meant to press the Pokéball button on it since her moving her fingers to press the ball might tip off others.

(BACL WOTH THE OTHERS!)

"Great! Now Misty and Serena are probably being held hostage by Rocket Grunts who aren't on our side!" Ash whispered angrily as Brock had used the winnings to get a Water Pokémon egg and gave it to Nurse Joy for safe keeping alongside his egg.

He refused to put baby Pokémon in danger.

"Indeed, and I will not leave until my student is safe." Sabrina said as they were hiding out of sight of any Rocket Cameras.

"Hey guys!" Ash and Sabrina looked up and saw Brock running towards them through a crowd.

"Ran into someone on my way back in." He said as he moved aside to reveal …

Serena's Ghastly.

"OK, what did you do?" He asked suspiciously, before Ghastly motioned to hide.

"I know where the secret entrance is. They have Serena and Misty tied up down on the Bottom Floor 2. And NO, I didn't drop them!" He protested as Gengar looked at him closely, before nodding.

"He's telling the truth, let's go." Ash nodded at Gengar as Ghastly went invisible while Ash could still see him with Aura Sight.

He then led them to a wall with a poster of a rocket.

"In retrospect, that should have been more obvious." Ash said as he peeled back the poster and pulled the lever.

A doorway opened up to some stairs as they made their way down.

"OK, this must be their main base. Ghastly said Misty and Serena are on the 2nd bottom floor, out of a total of 4." Sabrina said, as she then made shaky mental contact with Serena.

"I say we get their attention and distract them. Knowing Misty's resourcefulness, she probably has a plan." Ash replied …

As a Grunt without a pin came around the corner.

"HEY! KIDS ARENT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! AND HOW DID YOU FIGURE OUT OUR SECRET BASE!?" He shouted, until Ghastly spooked him into falling down a set of stairs.

"OK! I will get Serena and Misty free! You guys focus on doing as much damage as you can!" Ash called out as he ran down the stairs.

"Guess that means we go wild! Croagunk!" His purple frog was crouched down on the ground with his eyes closed, waiting for something …

Only to dodge a digging Rattata and throw an exploding Electrode away.

"OK Sabrina! We should be … covered?" Brock was looking around, trying to figure out where Sabrina had gone to.

The SIlph Co grunt was busy trying to redirect grunts around the base to take care of the intruders when the Senior Greunt entered again.

"Change in plans! We eliminate them and make sure that they don't tell anyone about us!" He said as he then brought out a Weezing.

"Fill their lungs with poison!" He ordered as the giant gas bomb drew closer.

*VRRROOP! *

"What was-"

Serena then threw the ball out as Cloyster appeared and connected an Icicle Crash with Weezing's face and smacking him into the Senior Grunt.

"OH no! I'm so scared I ACCIDENTALLY dropped the keys to the cuffs!" The Silph Grunt said as he just dropped the keys to the floor.

"And I'M here to make sure you look like you got knocked out as well!" A voice rang out of the door, as Ash appeared.

"I wouldn't count on it!" A grunt yelled as Ash and Pikachu began to wrestle with him.

Unfortunately, this grunt happened to have a GUN.

Ash barely pushed the gun away as the bullet sheared the hair band Misty had in half, causing her hair to fall.

"HEMMPH! WATCHTH IMPH APHHM!" She growled as her hair became loose and fell.

"Sorry! WHOA!" Before Ash could continue his apology, the grunt grabbed Ash and dragged him out, not seeing him kick the keys to Misty.

She quickly caught them with her feet and lightly tossed them behind her, grabbing them again and unlocking Serena's hands first as she ripped off the clithe and spat out the towel.

"Hang on! I'll get you free in a jiffy!" Serena said as she then unlocked Misty's wrists as she then unlocked both her ankles and Misty's.

"BAH! OK! Now to knock out the grunt!" Misty told her as Serena ran out to help Ash.

As the Silph Grunt was on the ground, dirtied and bruised to make it look like he had been knocked out, Misty smiled as she got an idea.

Rudy had used the commotion from the new grunt rushing the security room to pretend to be knocked out.

He was in the wrecked console of the security monitors, though one was still active.

That should hopefully be enough to trick the Admins into thinking he had been knocked out.

He could hear Misty's feet as she came closer to him, probably aiding in the deception to make it look like he had been-

"HERUMPH!"

Any other thoughts left as his eyes bugged out slightly as Misty gave him a kiss on his lips.

When she pulled back, she smiled and tapped his head.

It did help with the act as he was paralyzed from it now.

Misty couldn't help but smile at what she did.

Now he could pass off being knocked out.

Helped that not only had he helped her out several times, but he was rather handsome.

Well, right now at least.

Still, fun was over, she ran out to help her friends with the base.

"GYARADOS!"

Sabrina knew this base better than anyone, since she was basically the next city over from Celadon.

She had come here plenty of times with the original Giovanni as he was setting up Team Rocket in Kanto.

It didn't mean she was prepared for the number of Grunts that had been patrolling around here.

And she finally hit her destination of the 4th bottom floor.

"Good day, Sabrina." A voice said as she opened the door to the main office.

And right there, was Giovanni.

At least, someone who was ATTEMPTING to come off as Giovanni.

Which if you knew him for as long as Sabrina did, you would have picked up the telltale signs of a voice modulator and the specific words he chose.

"We have been expecting you. Perhaps we can just talk before we start fighting?" He asked as he gestured towards a chair.

"Sorry, but I'm NOT rejoining Team Rocket anytime soon!" Sabrina told him as she released Alakazam.

"Then you will die!" Archer said as he walked out of the shadows and released Houndoom.

"Archer, I believe I told you to REFRAIN from-"

"I'M DONE PLAYING THINGS YOUR WAY! THIS $# %$ IS GOING DOWN!" Giovanni rubbed his temples, which Sabrina noticed moved more like a mask than actual skin.

"I would follow his advice, Archer. If you-"

"FLAMETHROWER! THEN DARK PULSE!"

"(SIGH) Miracle Eye and then have him pointed up when he does the Pulse." Sabrina said lazily.

She recalled that Archer's last team consisted of just a Crobat and Houndoom, but Misty told her that he had used a Weezing and confusingly a Houndour.

Archer was never this sloppy.

And she could tell her was thinking straight.

So what was he doing?

"DID YOU FORGET THAT HOUNDOOM IS-"

"HAS lost its Dark Type immunity. Seriously how is it you've lost so much experience since the Delta Incident?" Sabrina said in annoyance as Alakazam then pointed Houndoom up.

"And what will pointing up do?"

"Alert anyone above ground and in the sky when a sudden attack comes out from underground."

Ash and Serena had managed to get one of the Lift Keys from a guard, after his "PARTNER" screwed him over by having the Electrode he was commanding Explode right next to him.

"OK, 4th floor, like Sabrina said." Serena repeated as Ash hit the button.

"So, what's the plan once we get inside?"

"My vote is what we usually do. Wreck the place, do the best we can."

The elevator suddenly jerked as Ash looked up and saw a sharp leaf begin slicing through the top.

"I think one of the grunts is trying to get in through the roof!"

Thankfully, the door opened, and they rushed out.

When they looked behind them, they saw James walking forward with his Weezing and Kadabra walking out of the wrecked elevator with a Victreebel.

"Is that?" James smiled as he patted the Victreebel on the top.

"Indeed, twerp. I found my Victreebel early and he evolved when I touched him. He is also no longer holding back, so I suggest you start running." Victreebel began to advance towards them when a Steelix suddenly burst from the roof and got in between them.

"I'll handle him, Ash! You and Serena get to the office!" Ash smiled as Brock and Misty landed on the floor and nodded.

At least until Pikachu suddenly got tackled off Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu!" He called out …

Until Pikachu threw whatever it was that was on him off and they both froze.

"HOW? How are you one who has come back early!?" Pikachu asked …

As a Mimikyu creepily turned its "HEAD" to look at him.

"Last week, a Rocket Cell had been deployed to Alola, to see if there were any good places to set up shop." Arbok and Impidimp then walked onto the scene.

"Unfortunately, one of them had a Pikachu on them and as you might recall I had a … bit of a hard time ADJUSTING to being near any Pikachu back in the day. So, She was deployed because of my Typing and having some familiarity with THAT specific region of Alola." Jessie then walked out of the shadows with a smirk.

"So, she forced me to a secluded area of the island and was able to avoid LOOKING under by cloak while touching the mist areas. SO, I am back, and I am here to make things REVERSE WORLD for anyone in my path." It stated, as Pikachu was flabbergasted.

"SERIOUSLY!? EVEN AFTER ALL THAT HAPPENED IN ALOLA, YOU STILL WANT TO-"

"I said for ANYONE in my path. I'm moving forward, and I think we both know who's the speedier one here." Pikachu looked confused at that …

Until he looked around and saw a door that said "POWER PLANT. DANGER: DO NOT HAVE SPARING MATCHES."

"Ohhhhh I get it, ya puppet reject!" Pikachu shouted, hoping that would be enough to set off Mimikyu's old habits.

"HEY, I'M ON YOUR SIDE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO THAT DEEP!" It shouted as it charged headfirst at Pikachu, who leapt out of the way, and it crashed into the door.

"MIMIKYU, FOCUS! HE'S TRYING TO GET YOU TO WRECK THE POWER FOR THE BASE!" Jessie screamed in concern, as Sylveon then appeared from one of Serena's balls and took off for Pikachu.

"HANG ON MY DARLING PIKAPI! SYLVEON IS COMING!" Arbok and Impidimp were getting ready to attack Sylveon when Horsea and Tentacruel got in the way.

"GET GOING, YOU TWO!" Ash and Serena looked at their Icon Starters in concern, before nodding and booking it for the door to the main office.

"Impidimp, take out that Horsea!" Impidimp ran toward Horsea, his arms glowing pink as it began to play with Horsea.

"SMOKESCREEN, HORSEA! TENTACRUEL, BIND ARBOK AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!"

"That's it Geodude! Hold Kadabra there!" Brock called out as he held the Psychic type by both arms, not letting him use his Psychic powers.

"Weezing, block that Fighting Frog's vision with Sludge Bomb!" Weezing quickly spat out some black sludge right into Croagunk's face.

Even though it was only a second, it was enough of a distraction that Weezing got off a Body Slam on the frog.

Victreebel was not having a good time.

For one, he had just gotten back with James and was out of practice.

Two, his move set was still being explored since they used some money to get a move guide.

And the most important part was the fact that he is fighting Crobat, an arial opponent who was exceptionally quick.

Didn't stop him from getting some good strikes with his close-range Razor Leaf arms.

"Well, good thing you don't have anymore Pokémon, James. I dread to think what would happen if you did." Brock said …

Before James brought out a golden ball.

"OK, let's see if you're past the motion sickness." Brock tensed up, ready for whatever James had.

"Go, Magikarp!" He called out as the red fish then landed on the ground.

Brock and his Pokémon stared at what James had just released …

Then began laughing.

"A MAGIKARP!? SERIOUSLY!? OH, THIS WILL BE THE EASIEST MATCH STEELIX EVER GETS!" Brock said in between wheezes as he nodded at his Steel Type.

"Use-"

"HYDRO PUMP GEODUDE!" James shouted as a torrent of water erupted from Magikarp's mouth, taking Geodude by surprise.

Thankfully his Sturdy ability kicked in, and he barely dodged the Psycho Cut from Kadabra.

"Well dodged Mon Ennemi. But you are on your last pieces. I suggest you give up." Geodude glared at Kadabra, then grabbed his head as he began to roll towards Magikarp at high speeds.

"MAGIKARP! USE HYDROPUMP AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!" Wasting no time, Magikarp began to shoot water at Geodude, who used Kadabra as a shield to block it.

He then began to glow white as he then pinned both Pokémon to the ground, finally letting the Explode come out.

When the smoke cleared and the other Pokémon had gotten to cover, they risked looking.

Kadabra and Geodude were both knocked out and singed from the kaboom.

Through some Arceus Miracle, Magikarp wiggled out of the hand holding him down and shakily looked around.

"Who's next?" He weakly asked …

Before he began to glow silver.

"Oh no." Brock gulped as a massive Gyarados roared, before firing a Hyper Beam at Croagunk, who dodged just in time to avoid the brunt.

Both he and Weezing, however, didn't FULLY dodge the beam completely, as a massive hole was made in the floor, and they slammed into the wall.

"Cover Victreebel! He can't fight Crobat! Once you recharge, swap!" James called out as Gyarados stopped glowing orange and wrapped his body around Crobat, forcing the bat to dodge.

Victreebel took the chance and charged at Croagunk, aiding Weezing.

"Hopefully Ash has better luck than us!" Brock whispered to Misty, as the fights ramped up.

Ash and Serena charged through the door as Sabrina was fighting Archer.

"Even more uninvited guests. Lovely." A voice rang out as Giovanni turned to face them.

"Giovanni. I thought I told you-"

"Did you honestly think I would listen to a child?" He asked, though Ash could sense his disgust at using those words.

"Onix, Kangaskhan. Dispose of these annoyances." He ordered as a massive Onix, even bigger than what Bruno had caught, emerged and nearly brought the roof down.

"GIOVANNI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU'LL BREAK THE ROOF!"

"Says the one who isn't ordering his Houndoom to stop from using a Dark Pulse?"

As soon as Houndoom was pointing up, Giovanni's Kangaskhan was grabbed by Ash's Charizard as he followed the beam out of the hideout.

Onix began to fight Hitmonlee as it tried to use Hi Jump Kick, only to get knocked upside the head by its tail.

Blue had just finished flying to Celadon and they were flying low to try and get a good look around to see if they couldn't find any sign of a young-looking Red or something.

"Hopefully he hasn't left yet. Now if he were like Red …"

A sudden Darkpulse coming up from the roof of a casino got his attention as people began to scream and run out.

"FOLLOW THE TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION TO HIM? CLEARLY, HE GOT THE OVER-THE-TOP ATTACKS FROM HIM."

"I was hoping that Annoying Girl's side would have calmed that down."

Suddenly, a massive Charizard erupted out of the rooftop, holding a Kangaskhan and preparing for a Seismic Toss.

"That must be the Charizard Liza was telling us about! Dive!" Blue's Charizard wasted no time, folding his wings in as he headed straight for the ground.

Charizard was crashing through the floors, ready to deliver the Toss.

"USE MEGA PUNCH!" Giovanni called out as Kangaskhan got one of her arms free and socked Charizard in the face, loosening his grip enough to slip out while still in free fall.

"Now Body Slam!" Giovanni called out as Kangaskhan grabbed Charizard by the wings and folded them in, to where nothing was dragging them.

And he hit the ground HARD.

With a hard Kangaskhan on his back.

"CHARIZARD!" Ash called out in concern as his Kanto Ace struggled to stand after that.

"BLAST BURN 10%!" Ash called out as he shot the attack off at Kangaskhan.

"Surf!" Similar to Nidoqueen back at the Silph Company, Kangaskhan gathered water energy into a ball and blocked the Blast Burn spear with it.

"Use Hyper Beam!" Gathering an orange sphere in her mouth, Kangaskhan TORE the Blast Burn apart as the Hyper Beam connected with Charizard …

Who impacted the wall and left his impression in it.

Ash stared in amazement at what happened to Charizard.

Charizard was his original ace!

Sure, he could go down, but he never went down this fast or this hard!

Ash stared at Giovanni as Kangaskhan cracked her neck and smiled.

"What's your next choice, boy?"

"Gengar!" Gengar smiled as he got ready to fight the Kangaroo Pokémon.

"Use Mega Punch!"

"Counter with Ice Punch!" Gengar smirked, thinking that his Ice Punch was going to connect with Kangaskhan's chin …

Only to have the longer arm connect with Mega Punch and send him straight back into the wall.

"OOOOWWWWW! HOW DID YOU?"

"Scrappy, little ghost." Both Ash and Gengar paled when they heard that.

"Great. The one ability that allows a Pokémon to connect with ghosts." Ash groaned as Giovanni smirked and Kangaskhan quickly grabbed Gengar and jumped into the air.

"Use your own Seismic Toss!" Kangaskhan whirled around and around with Gengar unable to get out of her grasp.

Then Gengar got the rare sensation of hitting the ground face first.

He rolled over to see what was about to happen.

And got Stomp to the face.

Gengar was completely knocked out in a crater as Kangaskhan again cracked her neck back and forth, obviously looking forward to the next battle.

It only got worse when Onix slammed down Hitmonlee into the ground, and he was not getting back up.

Serena and Ash returned their fallen friends and stared.

Ash knew Red had earned the title of Battler, but this was different from the battles he read!

Granted, those were back when Red had his own adventures, but still!

Ash then pulled out another ball, and Serena then pulled out a light blue ball.

Ash stared at it, then swapped to a purple ball.

"ODIN, LET'S ROCK AND ROLL!"

"FREYA, DAZZLE US!" Both of their Poison types emerged, with Freya looking nervous at seeing the massive Onix.

"Odin, use Ice Beam on Onix!"

"Block it with your tail and smash it on them!" Quickly whipping his tail in front, Onix waited until it was about a third way down before spinning out of the way and slamming it down on the ground.

Freya and Odin jumped out of the way, before Odin flipped over and blocked 2 Mega Punches from Kangaskhan with his Double Kick.

Unfortunately, he couldn't block the next two.

Freya quickly danced around and cushioned the landing of Odin, before he grabbed her and backflipped out of the way of a Stomp.

Freya was trying to use Ice beam herself, but unlike Odin, she didn't have as much practice.

Onix slammed his tail into the ground AGAIN as Freya shot a small amount of Ice at it, which it looked annoyed at and then wrapped up Freya.

"NIDDOOOORRAAAAAANNNN!" She choked as Odin bounded off Kangaskhan and Double Kicked Onix in the face, letting go of Freya who drew some quick breaths.

She had just turned her head up to see Odin get wrapped up by Onix same as she had …

Only this time, he was getting wailed on by Kangaskhan.

"NIDORAN!" She wailed as she tried her own Double kick on Kangaskhan.

Only to get batted aside and then seeing Odin get raised into the air by Onix …

And a massive crater in the middle was created.

"ORAN!" She charged down the crater and saw Odin's limp body.

"Oran?" She asked worriedly as she gently nudged him.

Thankfully, he was stirring, showing he was still alive and able to fight.

But that happiness washed away when she saw Kangaskhan walking menacingly down the hole.

She cracked her knuckles as Freya stood in front of Odin.

Sadly, she again got thrown aside as Kangaskhan reared back for a Mega punch …

Only for Odin to use Thunderbolt and send her straight into Onix, knocking both back.

"ORAN! NIDO RAN NID ORAN!" She begged as Odin shakily stood up.

"I'm sorry love, but I can't stop now!" Odin told her as he charged out and Double Kicked Kangaskhan, before shooting another Ice Beam at Onix.

Onix got struck in the mid-section this time, but the freeze process didn't stop him from moving.

Freya got out of the hole and stared at Odin.

The Kangaskhan grabbed him by the throat, and began to apply pressure to where he couldn't breathe.

Then, the Onix began charging up a Hyper Beam.

"Oran … do ran Nidoran. ORAN!"

"PLEASE STOP!" A younger Freya begged her older sister, a Nidorina with a scar across her lip and left eye, stomped her hoof on her back.

"GET UP, WEAKLING! WHY MOM AND DAD KEEP YOU AROUND IS BEYOND ME!" She insulted as she pressed more into her spine.

"PLEASE! THIS ISN'T TRAINING! IT'S KILLING!" She begged as her sister finally got off her back …

Only to kick her into a tree, where some nasty cracks were heard from her bones.

"Please, I don't want this kind of life." She begged before her sister pressed against her neck.

"Until you realize your dream of dancing is worthless in the Pokémon world, SISTER, you are not welcome back in our family." She cruelly told her before leaving her.

"But I love doing it. Is that so wrong?" She questioned as she then ran away.

In pain, but happy to still be alive.

It took 4 minutes, but she ended up at the edge of the Safari Zone.

She took one step toward it then looked back.

"I will find a way to beat you, and I will continue my dream!" She declared, as she slipped out from under the wire fence and ran into the forest.

Soon, however, she learned just how tough living out of the safety of the Safari zone was.

She had to keep dodging dangerous people, and Trainers who saw her and tried to capture her to train her to be a Nidoqueen.

"NO, I will find a way to beat her, and I won't use a trainer to do it!" She declared, 5 days later.

Unfortunately, she had been surviving only through scraps left by other wild Pokémon, and some rather hazard meetings with Water Types trying to quench her thirst.

5 more days later, she was on her last leg.

Having wandered all the way to Route 22, she barely had the strength to fight off any Mankey.

"I … I must get … stronger …" She moaned out before the lead Mankey kicked her in the face.

"Heh! You left the safety of the Safari zone, and you thought you'd just get stronger!? RIP HER TO PIECES!" He yelled as the other Mankey began to swipe and punch her.

She felt her skin getting pierced, her back legs breaking.

"Well, sis. You got your wish. I am leaving this world." She whispered as she began to close her eyes, feeling her wounds take her over.

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" A male voice shouted as the last thing she saw was a purple blur slam the leader Mankey, then shoot a blue beam at two and zapped another two before she lost conscious.

She regained consciousness when she felt a stinging sensation on the cuts on her body.

"OOOWWWW!"

"SORRY, BUT THIS IS THE BEST I CAN DO!" A male voice told her as she finally looked up to see who had been helping her.

She saw a male Nidoran who was using a bunch of leaves to crush some Oran and Sitrus Berries and applying them to the cuts.

"Who are you?" She asked, having only seen Nidorino in the Safari zone.

She had seen some male Nidoran, but never here.

"I don't have a name, so I'm kind of like you." He said as he applied the leaf with the healing berries to her back.

"ARGH!"

"Sorry, but this was the best way I could get you healed. Those Mankey have a habit of trailing their prey to the Viridian City PokéCenter. And slipping in." He told her as he then walked back.

"You should be able to get back up after about 2 days. Then you can leave and do whatever you want." He told her as she stared at him.

"Why?" He turned around to look at her confused.

"Why what?"

"Why help me? I was weak." The male seemed to stare at her for that.

"Well, for one, I know all the Nidoran around this area, and they can take on those Mankey no problem. Second, I wouldn't hesitate to help a fellow Pokémon if they are in trouble." She looked at him in confusion.

"Why though?" The male seemed to get saddened at that.

"Because … I lost my most important friends one day when they needed me, and a random bystander got caught in the crossfire with them. I saw it happen in front of my eyes as I held out my paws to them." He then seemed to shake his head as he then went to a hole in the wall.

"Wait!" She called as he looked at her again.

"How did you know I wasn't from around here?" He seemed to grin as he walked up to her face …

And brushed a paw across her cheek.

"Besides the fact that you couldn't fight off those Mankey? Your whiskers are too short, as they function as our guide at nighttime. And your horn is too small, which female Nidoran are usually smaller than ours, but the ones on Route 22 have slightly longer horns because they're the best defense in the wild." He then went to the hole again and sat down.

"Now, sleep and let the berries do their work." He told her as she then felt exhaustion take her over and she fell asleep.

(2 DAYS OF HEALING LATER!)

"There, that's the last." He told her as she felt the leaves coming off her body"

"Th-thank you." She told him as he then moved out of her way, and she saw the hole.

"You should have gotten at least some more experience from that. There's the door out of my home." He told her as he began to put several berries into holes.

She began to head over to the hole, before stopping and turning back to him.

He noticed she was staring at him.

"You, ok?" He asked before she walked over to him.

"Would you … would you train me?" She asked, as he cocked his head at her.

"Why?" She then looked ashamed, deciding to hide her dancing dreams for now.

"I want to grow stronger, but my sister in the Safari Zone kept beating me up, saying I shouldn't come back." She told him, as he then nodded.

"I am stronger than most Nidoran in the area. What do you want me to teach you?" She looked apprehensive before taking a determined expression.

"I want to beat her! I want to show my family I can be strong too in my own way! Teach me to where I can become strong on my own!" She begged, as the Male looked at her in surprise …

Before chuckling.

"Very well. I don't know if I can teach you the Ice Beam or Thunderbolt, but we can at least get the ball rolling on you finding your own path." He told her, as she smiled.

No one in the Safari Zone had tried to help her out, not even her family.

They had told her to stand up to her sister, but never once tried to help her in any significant way.

"When do we start?" The male motioned his head towards a tree across from them.

"When your able to put several dents in that tree with your kicks." He told her, as he then showed off his Double Kick.

Her training had been going well.

She couldn't fully utilize Ice beam yet, but she would discover that in time.

She was more than happy to learn how to kick something in the face.

It had been 3 months since the male had found her, and she had kept her dream a secret from him.

She would often use her free time to go to a downed tree to practice.

It reminded her of those things the humans called "AMPITHEATERS" and often practiced using her moves to get better at dancing.

It had been another thorough day of training, as they had finished up.

"OK, your almost as strong as me! Do you want to head off to get some water?" He asked, as she nodded.

"Then private time, right?" The Male had looked at her suspiciously.

"Yeah? You've been obsessed with free time a lot lately. Are you seeing someone?" He asked, as she began to sweat.

She couldn't reveal her dream to him, HE'D ABANDON HER!

"YES! YES, I AM SEEING SOMEONE SOMEWHERE!" She shouted, hoping to divert it.

"OK, OK! You don't need to get defensive like that. I'm happy you … found someone." He said, which she noted his sadness in hearing that.

She honestly had gotten attached to him as well.

She regretted her choice of words, but she thought he didn't see much in her as … well … THAT.

"Sorry, I'm not saying you're not worthy of an amazing mate its just-" He held up a paw.

"What you do with your life is beyond me to dictate. I just wish you told me earlier." He said as they arrived at the river and quenched their thirsts.

"Just let me know if this person ever screws with you." She smiled at his protectiveness.

"I doubt it will!" She called as she ran off, leaving the Male there.

Soon she arrived at her stage and smiled.

"I was almost able to perfect that twirl, now let's see what happens when I add the beginning of the Ice Beam to it!" She said as she then walked to the center and bowed.

She began to imagine a massive amount of Pokémon watching her as she began her dance.

She stood on her hind legs and kicked up dirt in a fanciful way as she began to prance and roll around.

The imaginary friends began to clap for her as she then spun around and bound from one side to the other.

Then she began to breath light energy as she used her not perfected Ice Beam to create glitter.

Then, she used the slick spots to slide around and make a fanciful display with her Poison Sting as she shot off tree branches and let leaves fall to the ground.

She grabbed a couple and began to kick them in the air as she leapt though them

She then imagined seeing the Male who had helped her so much in the middle of all of them as she winked at him …

And did a massive spin in the air, freezing several leaves with Ice Beam, then shattering them with Double Kick.

She then landed gracefully as the Imaginary Friends began to cheer for her with a round of applause, with the Male sitting in the middle clapping for her.

"Thank you everyone, and thank YOU, Male Nidoran, for helping me with everything." She said out loud, knowing full well he couldn't hear her.

It was nice to dream he was this nice though.

'I just wish … I was good enough for you.' She whispered as she saw the male smile at her, in this imaginary world where it was as idyllic as she wished reality was.

She closed her eyes, expecting to hear the cheering and clapping die down …

Only to realize she WAS hearing clapping.

When she opened her eyes, she had indeed returned to reality, seeing that none of those imaginary friends were there …

But the Male was, and he was clapping.

"BRAVO! BRAVO, I SAY! THAT WAS AMAZING!" He cheered as she then blushed and began to stammer.

"We-well I- PLEASE DON'T BE ANGRY!" She cried, thinking she was about to be left behind.

"Angry? Why would I be angry? You were seeing yourself!" He said as he walked over to her.

"BUT I WAS DANCING!" She shouted, thinking he was denying it.

"Yeah! I wish I could do that!" That took her by surprise.

"What? What do you mean?" She asked.

"Those moves are so useful in dodging attacks! And even then, you looked amazing and happy!" He told her as she then sighed.

"But isn't that not allowed in the world of Pokémon?" The Male looked at her confused.

"Why? I have never heard of that anywhere."

"Because that's why I was an outcast in my original home. My sister mocked me for having a dream of performing a dance routine in front of all the Safari Pokémon, and often beat me up, telling me I had to get stronger. I used the dance routines to get stronger, but my sister always beat me." She cried …

Until the Male wiped her tears.

"I say, she was just using her more trained body to try and break it." He told her as she began to cry.

"I don't want to lose the only friend I ever had!" She begged as he then …

Rubbed her cheek.

"And you're not. Especially after that confession you unknowingly did." She paled as she realized he had heard her confession of wishing to be good enough for him.

"But-"

"Don't even finish that self-deprecation. You're the first one I ever felt a connection like that to. I'm not interested in any of the Females around here, too much getting strong enough to be my mate and all that." He dismissed as he walked closer to her.

"You took the time to see me past that. You took the time to see me for myself, and now I've seen the true you." He then grabbed one of her paws and held it up.

"The three months you've been here, I felt like I could do anything as you watched me. I felt my Thunderbolt getting better, my Ice Beam more focused. As long as you watched me with that smile, I felt like I could take on the world." She stared at him in amazement.

"I would like to stay with you, if you'll have me." She began to tear up.

5 months ago, she had left the Safari Zone to get stronger.

Now, she had not only gotten stronger, but better at dancing.

And she had also picked up something else.

Something that made her decide to not return to the Safari Zone anytime soon.

"YES! YES, I WILL STAY WITH YOU AS MATES!" She cried happily, as she hugged him.

He smiled and they went back home.

Yes, THEIR home now.

(3 MONTHS LATER!)

"Hey, just a small curiosity." She said as the day was ending and they were getting ready to sleep in their home.

"What is it?"

"Have you ever though about having a Trainer?" She asked, as the Male looked like he was thinking about it.

"On the condition of both of us going, yes. I would like to have a Trainer to get stronger with. But I'm rather picky." He answered as she nodded.

"I guess a regular Trainer wouldn't be interested in me."

"Well, I heard someone talking about this thing in Kalos called Performances." She looked at him.

"Basically, alongside the Trainer dancing, you and a few others would have to dance and perform moves and get judged on them." That intrigued her as she laid her head down.

"Yeah, but we have no way to get to Kalos."

"And I'm not planning on leaving your side anytime soon, m'dear." He answered back as they went to sleep.

"But I would love to evolve into a Nidoking and you into a Nidoqueen, just so we could have our own family that we treat right." She smiled as she dozed off into slumber land.

And then 4 months later, she met Serena, and her training and friends expanded.

And both she and her mate found their names of Freya and Odin.

Freya looked on with Tears in her eyes as she left her memories.

She didn't know if Serena had seen them, now that she was Pyschic, but it didn't matter.

She saw Odin was still being choked by Kangaskhan, and Onix had almost finished charging the Hyper Beam.

If it hit, well, she wasn't sure if a trip to the Pokémon Center would be enough.

"Freya." She jumped when she heard her Trainer's voice in her mind.

"I saw Freya, and I know your story now." Freya began to bawl her eyes out as she lowered her head.

"Freya, I never thought you were weak at all in your life, and I'm touched." Freya looked back up as Kangaskhan took on a smirk.

Then, the Pokémon changed as Freya gasped.

In place of Kangaskhan …

Was her sister, smirking as she held down Odin, while Onix became the Mankey Leader who had beaten her up and got a Karate Chop ready.

"Freya, if it were these two, would you stay down?" Freya stared for a minute longer …

Before charging in.

Serena gave her a new purpose besides dancing for herself …

But Odin was the first who helped her get stronger and let her follow her dream.

Ash never once mocked her, and was ecstatic to see his girlfriend catch her.

And she was DONE hiding behind Odin, especially after the S.S. Anne.

She didn't hesitate.

She ran at Kangaskhan and leapt at her face.

When she tried to bat her away, she twirled around her arm, and Double Kicked her in the face, making her let go of Odin.

Then, kicking off as the last Kick ended, she leaped to Onix's height.

And prepared to try an Ice Beam again.

Instead, something else answered.

A blue orb formed in her mouth as she shot it off at Onix, who tried to fire his Hyper Beam.

Instead, the blue orb collided with him, and it impacted the orange orb in his mouth as an explosion occurred with water splashing out.

Onix fell to the side as his eyes began spinning around.

Freya landed and backflipped back to in front of her trainer, as Odin skidded in front of his.

"Awesome, Freya! You learned Water Pulse!" Freya smiled, as they saw Kangaskhan and Onix stand again.

"Onix get ready to bind them!" Onix partially followed orders, as he did use Bind …

But instead, he used it on Kangaskhan.

"ONIX! SNAP OUT OF THE CONFUSION!" Giovanni called, but Onix couldn't unwrap himself from Kangaskhan.

Kangaskhan was forced to uppercut Onix's jaw with Ice Punch to get him off her.

Odin smiled at Freya as she smiled back.

"I wouldn't be laughing like that! Once Onix gets his bearings again, those two are done for!" Giovanni shouted as both Freya and Odin looked ready.

"Doesn't mean we'll give up! I have faith in Odin! He has saved my bacon several times, against Steelix and against Sabrina! He may not be able to beat them, but he will leave his mark!" Ash shouted back, as Odin smiled at him.

"Freya may be more of a dancer than a fighter, but she's still my friend! I wouldn't give her up for the world, and I will work with her to achieve our dreams!" Serena shouted as well, with Freya looking back and smiling.

She then turned to Odin, who smiled at her.

She smiled back, with determination.

She was DONE cowering.

She WOULD one day face her sister again, and this time, win.

She would NOT do it alone, however.

Her friends, Serena and her MATE would be with her.

So why keep holding back?

To dance?

Yes, but she would incorporate her power into becoming the best fighter as well!

She would become the Queen alongside them, with Odin being the King of Battlers!

She and Odin roared to the sky …

As they glowed white with more power than they ever imagined flowing through them.

"Odin?"

"Freya?"

Both Ash and Serena looked in amazement as their Poison Types began to glow and grow bigger.

Kangaskhan was looking worried as Sabrina, Archer and their Pokémon stopped fighting as they looked in amazement at what had happened.

"NIDOOOOORRRAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!" A cry was heard as both suddenly gained deeper voices as they then took a broader stand as they grew.

From where Odin stood, a bigger purple Pokémon stood with two canines coming out of the back of the mouth, with four spikes traveling down his spine on his back and a more aggressive look on his face, ears that ended in a point as he growled.

"NIDORINO!" Ash stared in happiness as Serena was still watching Freya.

When the light died down on her, a light blue Pokémon stood on her hind legs, almost like a T-Rex with two canines coming out of her broader mouth and four spikes, two on her left and two on her right sides of her back, with a more fierce looking glare with her red eyes looking like she was ready to throttle anything, as her bigger ears arched back.

"NIDORINA!" She declared as she took a fighting stance.

"Odin …"

"Freya …" Both Ash and Serena said in wonder, before smiling broadly.

"YOU BOTH EVOLVED!" They happily cried as Freya took on a smug look with Odin cracking his neck similar to how Kangaskhan had been doing earlier.

"Just because they evolved doesn't mean you can beat me! Onix! Bind!" Unfortunately, Onix was still Confused as he AGAIN Binded Kangaskhan.

This time, Kangaskhan tried to fire a Hyper Beam at the two evolutions …

Only for BOTH to dodge and start dancing.

Everyone was confused until rain began to come down, waking Onix up as he panicked at the water and got off Kangaskhan.

Odin smirked as he unleashed an amount of electricity that Ash knew wasn't Thunderbolt as it connected with Kangaskhan, who screamed in pain.

"Odin, you just learned Rain Dance AND Thunder! Any other moves!?" Ash asked in excitement as Odin suddenly took off for Kangaskhan, who tried to use her own Thunder …

Only for Odin to start spinning around as brown energy covered him as he collided with her chest, sending her sprawling into a wall.

Freya, meanwhile, was blasting Water Pulses along Onix's body, who was still clobbering himself, until she stopped.

Onix finally got free of the Confusion as he glared at Freya, who smirked …

And began prancing around like a ballerina.

Onix thought she was just mocking him, as he tried to slam his tail on her …

Until he began to feel each step suddenly shake his area until she leapt ONTO him.

Freya began to stomp relentlessly along Onix's body as he roared in pain until she got up to his head and Double Kicked his face.

He too was sent sprawling into a wall near Kangaskhan …

And when the dust settled, BOTH were knocked out with swirls in their eyes.

"Freya, did you learn STOMPING TANTRUM BY UTELIZING YOUR DANCE SKILLS!?" Serena called out in amazement as Freya took on a smug smile.

"That doesn't mean you've won yet!" Giovanni reminded them as he returned his two fallen to their balls.

"Marowak, Persian!" Giovanni threw out a ball as a shadow suddenly leaped out from behind him as Persian smirked as the evolved Cubone stood ready with its bone like a staff.

"Odin use-"

"BONERANG THEM AND THUNDER!" Giovanni didn't hesitate as Persian got behind Odin and zapped him with an unmissable Thunder attack.

And then BOTH got hit 5 TIMES EACH from Bonerang and were sent sprawling.

And then, Marowak used Earthquake.

And both hit the ground.

"ODIN!"

"FREYA!"

Giovanni smirked as the Rain Dance came to an end, with Persian licking itself as Marowak spun the bone around.

"Congratulations on defeating those two, but you still have to take these two on." Ash gulped.

Truthfully, he had no more Pokémon on him.

Stupid, but necessary to avoid suspicion from the Rockets.

And since Pikachu and Sylveon were taking on that Mimikyu, he had no more friends to rely on.

And all Serena now had was Ghastly, who would not be having a good time.

True, he had Levitate to avoid Ground Type moves, but Marowak more than likely had been given the Smack Down TM and the move pool of Persian, despite who he was, was diverse enough to pose a real threat.

Thankfully, they didn't have to worry about fighting anymore.

Because of a Charizard stomping Marowak into the ground and breathing a Fire Blast at Persian.

"Late, but at least they are unharmed!" A voice rang out as the rider of the Charizard jumped off his back.

Ash was shocked to see what looked like an older Gary with a stern look glaring at Giovanni.

"Ah, the legendary son of Professor Oak. Blue Oak." Giovanni said as he smirked.

"Giovanni. I had heard you disappeared after the Delta Incident, and then your misled ROCKETS attempted to contact you in Goldenrod City. You cost me a friend that day." He said as he brought out another Ball.

"So, either you tell me where you hid him, or I force it out of you." He said as he released the Pokémon from the ball.

A massive Rhyperior emerged and roared as it charged for Persian.

Persian struck back with Iron Tail and forced Rhyperior to slam into Charizard, getting him off Marowak.

"All I know is that boy behind you is his son, and you're in the way of my trouncing him." He told Blue as he finally registered the two kids behind him.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to find out the location of the lab you're keeping him in OUT OF YOU!" He yelled as both of his Pokémon roared.

Rudy had finally gotten his brain back into working order as he tried desperately to stand.

"Ouch, she hurts a lot worse than any attack." He groggily said, trying to pass off as Misty introducing something into his systems than him playing dead.

He used the console to steady himself as he honestly accidently pushed one of the buttons …

And saw 2 more guests coming down from the one monitor still working.

"Oops." That was all he said aloud when he saw WHO he had invited.

Mentally?

"Not the way I would have done it, but it works."

(EARLIER UP TOP!)

Officer Jenny and Erika were investigating the Casino as they got reports of a massive Pokémon attack from underground.

Something about them emerging from underneath the Casino.

Erika and Jenny always had their suspicions, but without explicit proof, they couldn't investigate.

Until people began screaming for help and running out of the casino.

"Has anyone been seen that's missing?" Erika asked an officer.

"No one new coming up, but someone riding a Charizard flew down the massive hole another Charizard had made!" He reported as Jenny and Erika investigated.

"Indeed, seems like there WAS a secret base down here. No Grunts have come up, and I don't want to go down THIS particular hole." Jenny told Erika who nodded.

"We might be on top of a battle happening right now. Get equipment to scan the area!" Erika ordered as the officer saluted.

"YES MA'AM!" Erika and Jenny began to investigate the structure, looking for an alternative solution.

"Wish there was an easier way to find a way into this base." Officer Jenny moaned as she and Erika walked down a smashed-up corridor.

"Yeah, but we have to be careful as the entrance may be booby-trapped now." Erika pointed out …

Until a trapdoor suddenly opened underneath their feet.

"YIPE!"

"WHOA!" They both cried in surprise as they disappeared from view.

"OK, we have the scanning equipment, where do- uh, Officer Jenny? Erika?" The officer said in confusion about the disappearance of his bosses.

"QUITE SQUIRMING AROUND, RODENT!" Mimikyu shouted as it AGAIN tried to "HIT" Pikachu with Wood Hammer.

"NOT A CHANCE! YOU HIT LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN! AND ARE ABOUT AS MANEUVERABLE!" Pikachu shouted as Sylveon AGAIN used Helping Hand to get Pikachu out of the way, as Mimikyu collided with another Power Plant.

"JUST HOLD STILL!" It called out as it tried to go for Sylveon this time …

Only to hit the most important part.

The lights began to flicker as the base lost most power.

Officer Jenny and Erika were sliding down the pipe that had opened underneath them.

"WELL, AT LEAST WE CAN FILE A SAFETY LAWSUIT!" Jenny called out as she saw something coming up.

"WELL, GIVEN HOW IT OPERATES, I DOUBT THEY EXPECTED TO GET US!" Erika pointed out as they then fell out of the pipe and landed butt first on the floor.

And then Erika saw Misty and Brock fighting two Rockets with Croagunk holding back a Victreebel and Weezing, while Crobat was wrapped up by a Gyarados.

Misty, meanwhile, was trying to hold back an Impidimp and Arbok with a Horsea out of water and a Tentacruel trying to smack them with his tentacles.

"GLOOM, STUN SPORE!" Erika shouted as she released her starter.

"GROWLITHE, FLAME CHARGE!" Jenny ordered as Victreebel was frozen by the Stun Spore and got hit in the stomach by the fast little doggy.

"Now use-" But Jenny was cut off when the lights suddenly began to flicker.

"Jessie, James! We're pulling out!" A voice shouted as Jessie returned all her Pokémon to their balls, several grunts showed up and James revealed his Kadabra.

Archer then ran out, who Erika recognized.

"YOU!"

"GET US OUT OF HERE YOU IDIOTS!" He ordered as James' Kadabra teleported them away.

"What's happening!?" Serena said in fright as she held onto Ash for protection.

Blue's Charizard was the only other source of light as Marowak and Persian disappeared.

Giovanni vanished, before he appeared around Charizard's tail.

"What do you think you're doing!" Blue demanded as Giovanni smiled …

And pulled slightly on his mask to reveal his right side of the face.

Blue stared in shock at the face that was under the mask.

"But … how … WHY ARE YOU-?" Red put a finger to his lips.

"I'll need your help soon to end this nightmare, Blue. Just get your application for the Viridian Gym ready. Ash will be earning the badge from me. And don't tell anyone it was me." He said before he resettled the mask and vanished.

Blue and Ash stared as they then registered that the roof was about to come down on top of their heads.

Blue quickly returned his friends to their balls as they ran out of the room.

"Sabrina! Do you have anyone who knows Teleport!?" Erika shouted as she recognized the Psychic Gym Leader.

"Unfortunately, the area they are registered to teleport to is SAFFRON!" Sabrina pointed out as they all got into a huddle.

"I DON'T CARE WHERE WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!" Jenny shouted as the ceiling collapsed some debris in front of the stairwell.

"Perhaps I can help." A voice rang out in their minds …

As everyone disappeared in a flash.

"LET'S GO! MOVE BACK MOVE BACK MOVE BACK DAMMIT!" An officer was shouting to his teammates as they saw the Casino falling downward into a hole.

"Did you get all those Pokémon!?" Another asked as the sinking stopped.

"Yes, but I'm more concerned about our Gym Leader and Office Jenny!" The other pointed out …

Until they heard screaming.

Brock landed first on the ground as Misty, Officer Jenny, and Erika landed on his back.

Feet first.

"OOOOOOWWWWWWCCCCHHHHHHHH! GET THOSE HEELS OFF MY BACK!" He barked as the three girls jumped off.

"Sorry, Brock!" Misty apologized as she helped him stand.

Croagunk then appeared and socked him in the stomach, as it fixed his spine.

"Thanks, Croagunk!" He said as Croagunk nodded.

Ash had slammed into the ground, then scrambled to catch Serena.

Pikachu did the same, but unlike Ash who was successful in capturing Serena with his arms, Pikachu got a sore back from Sylveon landing on his back.

Sabrina floated down with her Psychic powers as Blue landed as he looked back at the destruction.

"Well, shame we lost any more clues." Sabrina said as Blue looked at her suspiciously.

"And why should I trust you?"

"Ash was the one who freed me from the one you know." Blue nodded as he then looked around.

"Did anyone see who it was that teleported us out of there?" He asked as everyone looked around.

"That would be me." Everyone jumped when an Abra just appeared out of nowhere.

"ARCEUS! Is that your way of amusement?"

"No, I managed to teleport you to the top, I myself went to the PokéCenter." It said as it then looked at Sabrina.

"OK, why did you help us?" She asked as it walked over to her.

"Because I couldn't let my oldest friend and the one who freed her get an end down there." It told her as it then glowed blue and Sabrina glowed blue.

When the glowing stopped, Sabrina was in tears.

And she pulled the Abra into a hug.

"So THAT'S what happened to you! I'm so happy you're free now!" Abra nodded as he hugged Sabrina back.

"Well, I suppose you want to come back with me?" She asked, before Abra shook his head.

"To let them know I'm alright, yes. However, I would really like to travel with …" He began to point at …

"Me?" Ash said, pointing at himself as Abra nodded.

"I am thankful she is free, and that I know she no longer has to worry about her dark half. However, she has an Alakazam and Kadabra, so I don't know what she would need me for. And I saw your potential, and I know your mission. I would like to join you." Ash stared in amazement as Sabrina picked up Abra.

"Ash, this Abra was the one you saw in my memories. While I am Saddened that he won't be joining me permanently, I am happy that he found someone just as worthy." She then walked over to him.

"I would be very happy if you helped him get stronger and raised him like you have all your others. Will you take him?" Ash thought about it for a while before nodding.

"If he wants to come with me, then sure thing! However, I would like him to establish a Teleport beacon or something with you so that he can visit you and you can make sure I am raising him right." He said as Abra nodded.

"Indeed. But thank you, Ash. I'll send his Pokéball that you capture him with to Oak once he has set it up." Sabrina said as one of the officers walked up.

"Not to be rude, but why didn't Abra just use a Psychic attack to free himself?" Sabrina and Blue looked at him annoyed.

"Because the only move an Abra can learn is TELEPORT unless you have TMs. Do you really think they'd be stupid enough to teach him a move that he could easily use to free himself?" Blue asked as Jenny smacked the officer in the head.

"Just start digging and see if the computers still have SOMETHING." She ordered as Erika walked up to Blue.

"Been a long while, Blue. And yes, Ash is Red's son." Blue looked over and sized up Ash.

"You, me. Private talk. NOW." He ordered as Ash quickly went back to the Center with him.

"By the way, Misty, I pooled our winnings together and you have a new Egg waiting for you in the Center." Misty was excited as she ran all the way to the Center.

(TWO HOURS LATER!)

"So that's what's going on." Blue said as Ash finished his rundown on what had happened.

"I know he has gotten Kingler, Poli and he always had Pika with him. I have Ditty and Vee and Saur right now. I sent Ditty to a girl who has a problem with her own Ditto, so he should be on his way back to Pallet Town now. Cleffy and Jiggly should be waiting for him when he gets there." Ash finished as Blue nodded.

"So, where is Annoying Girl?" Ash growled at him, but he probably thought Green was still a thief.

"I'll give you our home address, but I ask you to NOT call her that again. She hasn't done any thieving for years, and I refuse to believe she will go back!" He argued as Blue gave him a side glance.

"I won't deny that things may have changed, but given how I saw my best friend in charge of Team Rocket, it's a bit hard to trust things right now." He said as Ash gave him his home address.

"And even then she was annoying in her own right." With that, he released his Charizard.

"On that note, can you show me your Charizard?" Ash released his Fire/Flying type, who saw Blue's Charizard and bowed.

"Well, seems she was telling the truth when she said that You're Charizard was a future one that would blow us away. Keep training him like you have." Ash smiled as Blue looked over and approved his Charizard.

Then he remembered a separate question related to Serena.

"Hey, you know all the Charizard in the Charicific Valley, right?" Blue looked at him.

"Yes."

"Do you have a Charizard that holds his tail and is named Salamè?" Blue looked shocked at Ash.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Well, that blonde girl is X's daughter." Blue stared at Ash in shock.

"And her mother, Y, is in Pallet Town."

"Oh boy! I can't wait to see what Water Type comes out of this Egg!" Misty exclaimed as she saw the egg.

"Patience Misty. I also have my OWN Egg to hatch, and you should be excited for Grandpa Canyon." Misty began to vibrate extremely fast.

Blue and Ash then suddenly made their way down from the loft area.

"Nurse Joy, do you mind if I use a long phone?"

"No problem at all, Blue! Just insert this." She handed a blue key to Blue, who bowed and went to the nearest phone.

"So Professor, how am I doing?" Ash asked, as he made a quick call to Oak to make sure he got Abra.

"Excellently, Ash! Your Pokédex is coming along nicely unlike the last timeline from what I'm understanding. And Gary has been doing great as well!" Oak said with pride as Abra then popped up.

"Glad to hear. I might be sending over some of my Pokémon for you to study soon, so be ready." Oak nodded as Abra got back into his Pokéball and Ash retrieved it.

"Thank you, Liza." Blue said as Serena came into the room after her and Misty had swapped back into their regular clothes.

Blue noticed her and walked over.

"You're Serena Gabena, right?" Serena was shocked that Blue was talking to her, but she nodded.

"This Pokémon used to belong to your father, X. I know you and Liza are sharing Charla, but I think it would be better for him to be with his friend's family." With that, Blue released a Charizard from the ball.

The thing that stood out with this one, however, was that he was holding his tail like if he let go, it would fall off.

"This is Salamè. He used to belong to X." Serena stared at the big dragon as Charla released herself and bowed to it.

Salamè was looking at the girl confused, as she stared at him.

"You're my father's Charizard?" Salamè stared at Serena in shock as Blue nodded.

Serena touched his belly, as if unable to comprehend that she was talking to one of her father's old Pokémon.

Salamè looked at her hand, and then brought her into a one arm hug, still not letting go of his tail.

"I'll send you to mom after this is done! I have so much I want to talk to you about!" Serena said, as Misty looked at Salamè.

"Question, why is he holding his tail like that? I can understand Charmander, but a Charizard?" Salamè looked at her annoyed before he brought his tail up to his mouth and blew on it, revealing …

"Is that a Charizardite X?" Ash asked as he saw a Mega stone in the tail flame.

"Indeed. It's bonded to him like that, and Salamè doesn't want to risk losing it." Brock nodded at that.

"Plus, if he knows the tail attacks, he has better control than most who have to swing their whole bodies." Salamè nodded at that as Serena ran over to a phone and called home.

Y was about to go to bed when her phone began to ring.

"Arceus damn telecalls, WHAT NOW!?" She groaned as she answered the phone.

"Hey, mom." Y's tune changed the moment she heard her daughter's voice and saw her blink onto the screen.

"Serena! Deary, why are you calling me so late at night?" She asked as Serena took on an uncertain look.

"Well, does this big guy look familiar?" She asked …

As a Charizard holding his tail came into the picture.

Y stared in shock at who it was, knowing only one Charizard who did that.

"Salamè?" She asked in shock, as the Charizard nodded.

"I'm sending him over since I already have a female Charizard, but I figured we could set you up with the Charicific Valley since he's an important head there." Y just nodded absently as Serena returned him to the ball and zapped it over.

She took the ball after she hung up and went outside, releasing the old guy.

Both she and Salamè stared at each other, like they were trying to convince themselves it wasn't a dream.

"Do you still have?" He blew the flame out on his tail revealing the Mega Stone.

"It IS you! How has it been!?" She asked, before he took on a saddened face.

"Well, Ash is saying he will try and free X from Lysandre! So we can hope!" Salamè looked at her with contemplation.

It had probably been a long time since he HAD hope for this.

"Gren?" Both of them turned and saw a Greninja staring at them.

She would think it was Ash's, if she hadn't seen it was a female.

"Croaky?" She asked, as the frog nodded.

That was enough for Y's tear ducts to break.

And she cried happily the rest of the night.

"Damn that Ash Ketchum and his friends! Ever since they appeared, our operations have been going out of control!" Archer growled alone in his office.

Red had been acting differently to how they controlled him before.

He seemed to become more jovial every day, and he was no longer acting as a pawn now.

"What's their connection!? Is Red planning on betraying us? If so, why is he taking control and not revealing it to the police?" He said as he began to walk angrily around his office.

He finally began to lose it and threw a chair at the wall.

"WHAT DO I NEED TO DO!? I CAN'T FIND THE REAL GIOVANNI RIGHT NOW, AND HE NOW HAS THE MEWTWO PROJECT I WAS WORKING ON UNDER HIS THUMB! WHAT DO I DO TO STOP THIS AND RESTORE TEAM ROCKET!?" He shouted as he began to collapse on the ground.

"It seems you and I have a common enemy." A voice called out in his head.

"Who's there!? I won't suffer any trespass from a Psychic type!" He said as he swung around his room trying to see who or what it was.

"I too was stopped by him. In a different timeline, but he has a habit of appearing at the WORST time." Archer growled.

"Who or whatever you are, are you talking about Ash? What's your stake at this!?" He ordered as the room seemed to get darker.

"I had almost taken the power of the Sun Dial in Kalos. I had nearly succeeded with others, but he intervened and ruined my plans." Archer began to realize that Ash was throwing a wrench into the plans just like back then.

"What are you proposing?"

"That you and I work together. I have seen who you are, Archer. Just like me. I can help you with Ash when the time is right, and we can bring back Giovanni." Archer considered this and nodded, but had to make sure of one thing.

"I don't make deals with bodyless voices. Show yourself so I know who I'm talking to."

"A fair point. I am right behind you now." Archer whirled around and saw a Pokémon that looked like an upside squid with a devilish smirk on its face.

"My name is Malamar, and we have MUCH to do to make Ash SUFFER."

DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNNN!

THAT'S RIGHT THE EVIL MALAMAR IS BACK AND WORKING WITH ARCHER!

THE PLANS MAY NOT BE STARTING YET, BUT SOMEHOW IT HAS ESCAPED THE DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD TIMELINE!

AND NOW SERENA HAS MET THE FIRST OF HER FATHER'S OLD POKÉMON AND JESSIE GOT BACK HER OLD FRIEND FROM ALOLA AND IT IS HERE TO STAY!

(I DON'T KNOW IF MIMIKYU WAS EVER SAID TO HAVE A GENDER, SO I'M GOING WITH GENDER NEUTRAL PRONOUNS FOR NOW WITH IT.)

AND YES ODIN AND FREYA HAVE EVOLVED INTO THE NEXT STAGE.

BUT I WON'T BE EVOLVING THEM AGAIN YET.

WAIT TILL THE INDIGO LEAGUE!

ON THE SENTAI I MENTIONED, THAT'S A FAN ONE MADE BY MAGICWINGS01 ON WATTPAD. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THE SAME ON FANFIC.

ALSO, REDFLARE RANGER, I WILL BE PUTTING UP THE LIST OF JESSIE AND JAMES POKÉMON SOON, SO IF I MAY ASK FOR A LIST OF MOVES, THAT WOULD BE VERY APPRICIATED!

ALSO, LIKE ONE OF THE CHAPTERS SAYS, I HAVE ONE OF THOSE NOW!

IT'S COMPLETELY FREE, IT'S UNDER THE SAME NAME AND YOU CAN CHECK ON THE PROGRESS OF THE CHAPTERS THERE SO YOU KNOW THAT I'M NOT SLACKING!

TILL THEN FOLKS, ASH AND HIS FRIENDS WILL BE HEADING OUT OF CELADON AND ONTO THE NEXT JOURNEYS.

ASH WILL ONLY STOP FOR TWO SECONDS IN THE NEXT TOWN TO STOP THE SLEEPING PROBLEM, BROCK WILL REUNITE WITH A CERTAIN FIRE FOX …

AND ASH WILL RUN INTO AN OLD ALOLAN FRIEND THERE AS WELL!

THEN IT'S OFF TO THE FUSCHIA CITY GYM!

BUT NOT BEFORE GRUNGY CITY WHERE ASH HEADS OUT OF KANTO FOR A HALF HOUR AND ENCOUNTERS SOMEONE FROM THE HISUI REGION.

OR AT LEAST THE MODERN VERSION!

I'M SUCH A TEASE.

TILL THEN, REMEMBER!

THE SABER IN YOUR HAAAANNNNDD IS A PEN TO WRITE IT DOOOOWWWNNNNN! WORDS TO SAVE THIS WOOOOOORRRRRLLLLLLDLDDDDDDDD!