"Yes! Great job, Sandshrew! That's win number 99!"

Ash, Clay, and Cyrus all stared, befuddled. "Am I dreaming?" Cyrus asked. "Or did I seriously just see a Legendary, a Scizor, and a Hisuian Growlithe - the last one, admittedly, not being that surprising - lose to a single Sandshrew?"

"Yes," said Clay. "Yes, you did." He stepped forwards, past the morose-looking Ash. "Kid, what's your name?"

"I'm AJ!" the Sandshrew's trainer replied.

"Well, I'm Clay, a Ground-type Gym Leader," said Clay. "And I have to ask - how did you get that Sandshrew so strong?"

AJ was happy to show them - clearly he was quite pleased by Clay's question - and in no time at all had led the group to his training area, where he showed them his Strength Intensifiers, his dumbbells, his pool that he had Sandshrew dive into multiple times a day to increase his resistance to water, and his other Pokemon, which included a Butterfree, a Beedrill, and three Rattata.

"I did notice you using a whip during the battle," Cyrus pointed out during the tour. "I must warn you that under League Article 7-d-"

"-during League battles, Pokemon must operate under a height requirement of 100 feet?" AJ frowned. "Are Butterfree and Beedrill flying too high?"

"No, that's League Article 70," said Cyrus. "I am talking about League Article 7-d. Which, I believe, states that whips, and anything that can be considered a whip, are illegal to use with regards to Pokemon training."

"Without the knowing consent of the Pokemon involved," AJ pointed out. "League Article 7-e. Believe me, I've memorized the League Articles - I may be tough on my Pokemon, but you'll find all of this is legal."

"Hm," Cyrus grunted.

"I noticed you mainly used Dig to strike from under the earth," Clay observed. "It didn't matter during this battle, but I've learned from experience that variety in where your Dig comes from is important, and sooner or later you'll run into opponents who are capable of facing you on more equal terms."

Ash glared at Clay. "I still don't understand how a Sandshrew gets so strong…"

"Your Trainer seemed pretty mad," Sandshrew observed, hoisting one of his dumbbells up and down over and over again.

Kubfu nodded; his body still ached from taking Sandshrew's Fissure head-on. He hadn't expected the powerful Ground-type move, and it had come too fast for him to dodge. At least he'd landed a Rock Smash before being knocked out, though it hadn't done much. "He hasn't faced a loss like that before," Kubfu explained. "I won't lie - just a couple days ago, I would have been just as furious as he is. But a battle is a battle - sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose."

"Unless you're AJ," said Sandshrew, hoisting his dumbbell again.

Kubfu frowned. "Do you think I could try out one of those Strength Intensifiers?"

Sandshrew shrugged. "I don't see why not."

Kubfu stepped into one that was lying on the ground nearby. Instantly he felt it tugging hard at him, threatening to snap his arms and legs together, rendering him unable to move. Gritting his teeth, Kubfu pulled against the Strength Intensifier; while he couldn't spread his arms and legs out all the way, he did manage to keep them from snapping together.

"Huh," Sandshrew grunted. "Not bad for a first-timer. Though I guess I should have expected that - you might not know it from how I reacted, but that Rock Smash you landed on me actually hurt quite a bit. It's just that I've been trained to suppress pain as much as possible."

"Trained…to…suppress…pain?" Kubfu asked through his clenched jaws. "Doesn't…that…hurt?"

"Oh, in the beginning, it hurt quite a bit," Sandshrew admitted. "Some days I really did just want to lie down and give up. But AJ never stopped encouraging me. He made sure I was always well-fed, and when my muscles were screaming at me and I wanted nothing more than the pain to stop, he distracted me from it by filling my head with dreams of conquering the League. Of course, he promised it would grow easier, and over time, it did. And you know what? Ever since I started training with AJ, I've never lost a battle. So I can safely say all the pain was worth it."

Kubfu used Focus Energy, trying to strengthen himself further, and managed to pull the Strength Intensifier apart ever so slightly more. "So," said Sandshrew, "if I heard the tall Trainer right…you're some sort of Legendary?"

"Legendary-in-training," said Kubfu, continuing to strain against the Strength Intensifier's pull. "I cannot…consider myself a full Legendary…until I have grown strong enough…to access the Tower of Mastery…where I may read the ancient texts…in order to ascend to my true form."

"I've never met a Legendary before," Sandshrew murmured. "Hey, do you think-"

Before Sandshrew could finish, though, Team Rocket burst in, which put a damper on that particular conversation.

"So…" Sandshrew muttered some time later from the inside of his cage, "…turns out pure strength training doesn't help much against Psychic holds. Who are these guys, anyway?"

"Team Rocket." Kubfu leaned against the bars of his own cage. "We've had a few run-ins with them before - they're really strong."

"Why, thank you!" said Aron, who was watching the duo's cages while Liza and Drake drove the car they were all in. "Glad to have left such an impression!"

"Not you," Kubfu growled. "Either one of us could beat you in a single move."

"Yeah, well, ya can't now, 'cause you're stuck in cages!" said Aron gleefully. "So act tough all ya want - the boss loves tough Pokemon!"

"You realize these cages are built for normal Pokemon?" Kubfu queried. "I could probably break out of here any time I wanted."

"I could definitely break out of here any time I wanted," Sandshrew added. "The only reason I'm not is because I can't handle the Lunatone, and they'll send that thing out the instant they realize we're out of our cages."

"But, you know, we could break out just to give this Aron a punch in the face," said Kubfu.

"Yeah, we could," Sandshrew agreed. "On three?"

Aron gulped. "Now, wait just a minute…"

"Quiet down back there!" Liza ordered. "And Drake, can't you drive any faster?"

"Liza," said Drake, turning to look at his partner-in-crime, "I think I should point out that it's a little hard to drive a car through a dense forest at anything less than ten miles per hour. Maybe we should have come up with a better escape plan?"

"Like what, Drake?" Liza asked.

"I dunno," said Drake. "A hot air balloon?"

"A hot air balloon?" Liza glared at Drake. "Are you serious? What kind of criminal organization uses a hot air balloon? They're conspicuous, they're fragile, and they move even slower than this stupid car!"

"Well-" Drake began, before he was abruptly reminded of why he should have been keeping his eyes in front of him rather than on Liza, courtesy of an inconveniently-placed tree.

"Nice going, Drake," Liza growled.

"Hey, guys?" Aron asked from behind.

"Not now, Aron," said Liza.

"Why won't this car reverse?" Drake asked.

"Because it's broken, Drake!" Liza cried. "You've crashed it into a tree! We had a foolproof plan to steal a literal Legendary, and now it's not foolproof, because you've gone and crashed our car into a tree!"

"Guys?"

"Not now, Aron!" Liza growled. "Come on, Drake. You do realize we're going to have to explain this to the boss, right? Why did I even let you drive?"

"Because you're too small to reach the pedals?" Drake guessed.

Liza's face twisted into a furious snarl. "You did not just go there."

"Hey, you asked," Drake said defensively.

"I swear," said Liza, "if I hear one more crack about my height-"

"GUYS!"

"What, Aron?" Liza asked furiously, spinning around.

The very beat-up looking Aron pointed to the two torn-open cages sitting in the back of the car. "I was trying to warn you…"

Liza and Drake looked at each other. "You know what?" LIza asked. "Screw this - let's just fly away on Dragonite and pretend this never happened. We just…had a breakdown."

"Yeah, good idea," said Drake.

From there, things went smoothly. Kubfu and Sandshrew got back just as everybody was realizing they were gone. Sandshrew immediately convinced AJ to start trying to teach him how to resist Psychic moves, and Ash (whose displeasure at AJ's training methods was clearly motivated by his anger at losing so badly to him) eventually allowed Kubfu to take one of AJ's Strength Intensifiers. In general, everyone left the area in fairly high spirits.

Well, aside from the group of evildoers flying away atop their Dragonite.

"You know," said Drake, "we actually might have gotten away if we'd used a hot air balloon…"

"For the last time," Liza growled, "we are not going to use a hot air balloon! Never!"

One Forgettable Trip To The Pokemon Tech Institute Later

"Wow, that place sucked," Ash griped.

"I will admit," said Cyrus, "the Pokemon Tech Institute was lacking in any sort of actual technical skill. That Cubone had no right to lose so badly against your Hisuian Growlithe."

Clay coughed pointedly.

"Ah, I mean, your Hisuian Growlithe did very well to overcome such a type disadvantage."

Hisuian Growlithe let out a bark of thanks, and Ash joined in with a "Thanks, Cyrus!"

"We're certainly running into a lot of Ground-types," Clay murmured. "Which reminds me - when are you going to catch your next Pokemon?"

Ash frowned. "I…guess I haven't thought of that. I know I'll need more than Kubfu, Scizor, and Hisuian Growlithe…but at the same time, I've grown attached to these three, and haven't considered what happens when I add more."

"Oh, look, it's an Oddish!" Ash cried.

Clay glanced at Ash. "You wanna catch it?"

Ash shrugged. "Sure. I don't have a Grass-type yet! Hey, Oddish! Let's battle!"

Oddish looked up from its drink as Ash sent out Scizor. Hisuian Growlithe let out a whine. "I know," said Ash, "but we're in the middle of a forest. I'd rather not accidentally set something on fire."

Hisuian Growlithe nodded sullenly.

At the same time, Scizor began clacking his claws together. Recognizing a challenge when it saw one, Oddish wasted no time in lunging forwards, energy glowing around its body as it prepared to attack Scizor with what was most likely an Absorb.

Scizor punched Oddish. Oddish flew backwards.

"Ouch," Ash murmured sympathetically. "Well-"

Before he could say or do anything else, a yowling Litleo leaped out of a nearby copse of trees and opened fire - literally - on Scizor with a barrage of Embers.

"What the - Scizor, dodge with Quick Attack!" Ash's cry was unnecessary, as Scizor was already dodging with Quick Attack. The Litleo twisted and flung more Embers at Scizor; Scizor dodged again, then leaped in for a punch, his battle with Oddish forgotten.

Oddish, for its part, was running away as fast as its tiny legs could carry it.

"Crap!" Clay cried; glancing around, Ash realized that one of Litleo's fiery blasts had struck a nearby tree, setting it ablaze. "Tympole! Get out here and quench that fire!"

For some reason, Tympole was curled up in a ball as he materialized; as soon as he saw the fire, though, the Water-type immediately leaped into action, lunging forwards and unleashing a barrage of Bubbles at the blazing tree. Ash heard a yowl and turned in time to see Scizor land a Pursuit to Litleo's face. Litleo stumbled backwards; twisting, he opened his mouth and began to charge up a massive amount of energy. Ash's eyes widened. "Scizor, get back, now!"

Scizor, hearing the alarm in Ash's voice, lunged away as Litleo unleashed a spinning wheel of fire - probably a Fire Spin, if Ash had to hazard a guess - through the space the Bug/Steel-type had just been. In the meantime, Tympole was finishing with his quenching of the flames; as he turned around, a smile on his face, Litleo's Fire Spin slammed into another tree, setting it alight.

Tympole sighed and began to spray Bubbles at the new fire. As Scizor skidded to a halt beside him, Ash saw Litleo twisting and racing back into the woods after Oddish.

"Wait!" Ash cried, but his voice reached only empty air.

"Murkrow, Zubat follow them!" Cyrus ordered, releasing the two. The Flying-type duo flew off swiftly; Ash turned in time to see Clay release Sandile, and the Ground/Dark-type swiftly unleashed a Sandstorm, aiding Tympole in quenching the flames.

"Let's follow Murkrow and Zubat!" Ash cried. The three Trainers recalled their Pokemon and, together with Hisuian Growlithe, raced into the woods.

Two minutes later, their chase was abruptly halted, courtesy of a net trap the overeager Ash had stumbled into.

"If I had a nickel for every time I have been caught in a net trap over the course of the past week," Cyrus muttered, "I would have two nickels. Which is not a lot, but it is strange that it has happened twice."

"You think this is another attack from Team Rocket?" Clay asked.

"I dunno," said Ash, "and I don't want to stick around long enough to find out! Hisuian Growlithe, can you burn through this net?"

Hisuian Growlithe, despite being tangled up in a fairly uncomfortable position, began to exhale a shaky Flamethrower in response, slowly burning through the strands encasing the three Trainers. Before long, the net had been ripped open enough for the Trainers to squeeze through the gap one by one; Ash first, then Cyrus, and finally Clay.

Clay sighed disgustedly as he finally managed to regain his footing on the ground. "I doubt it's Team Rocket - they would've probably been nearby. But that begs the question of who would put a net trap in the middle of a forest. That's a major safety hazard."

"That would be me."

The three turned as Cyrus's Murkrow came fluttering out of the bushes. "Murkrow?" Ash asked. "You can talk?"

"No." A woman walked out of the bushes after Murkrow, the Litleo from earlier padding along beside her and Cyrus's Zubat flying above. "I'm Melanie," the woman said. "I saw your Flying-types and figured I'd follow it. They're the kind of Pokemon poachers sometimes use…but you three don't look like poachers to me."

"That's because we aren't," said Clay. "You the one who put down this net trap?"

"I am," said Melanie. "And I'll explain. First, though…would you mind following me? The explanation will be easier when we're back at my home."

She was right. The explanation made a lot more sense once Ash, Clay, and Cyrus saw the large commune of wild Pokemon Melanie - and Litleo - were in charge of protecting. The Fire-type had apparently hit it off with Hisuian Growlithe, for the two of them had been chatting all the way to Melanie's Hidden Village. Now the two were frolicing while Ash, Clay, Cyrus, and Melanie sat at a table in the center of the Hidden Village, the former three listening to the latter's speech.

"I built this village to treat abandoned and injured Pokemon," Melanie explained. "And I built a series of pit and net traps in order to protect them from poachers. I apologize for any pain my traps might have caused you."

"I know you're scared of poachers," said Clay, "but you should take those traps down. Pit traps can break limbs."

Melanie sighed. "I'm just afraid Litleo isn't strong enough to protect these Pokemon." Litleo broke off from his play to shoot a glance at Melanie. "He is strong, of course," Melanie continued. "He showed up one day and volunteered to protect the village - and he's pretty good at it, even if…" She trailed off.

"Let me get this straight," said Ash, gesturing to the forest around them. "You have a community of mostly Grass and Bug-type Pokemon…living in a bunch of wooden huts…stationed in the middle of a forest…and your primary protector is a Fire-type?"

"Hey, we didn't choose him," Melanie pointed out. Litleo sniffed affrontedly. Melanie sighed. "You're right, though…not that we aren't grateful, but one of the main reasons I still have those traps is so that Litleo doesn't have to get involved. Because every time he does get involved, well…"

"Litleo! Poachers are trying to kidnap a Bellsprout!"

Litleo leaped forwards, a Fire Spin exploding from his jaws. For the next two hours, the poachers and the Pokemon of the village teamed up to contain the resulting forest fire. Luckily, this taught the poachers that there was a value to Pokemon besides earning money, and they walked away with new outlooks on life and a few burn scars each.

"Litleo! A family of Paras are trapped in a collapsed cabin!"

Litleo freed the Paras by burning down the cabin. And the two to either side, for good measure. At least the Paras were freed, though the various Pokemon who had been living in the other cabins weren't exactly pleased.

"Litleo! A Butterfree accidentally flew into the lake and now it's drowning!"

The Butterfree was swiftly rescued. But, truth be told, no one knew exactly how Litleo had managed to set the lake on fire in the process.

"…he means well," Melanie finished with a sheepish expression on her face.

Litleo shot a glare at Melanie.

"And he's helpful!" Melanie added hastily. "More than half the Pokemon in this village owe him their lives." She glanced over at Litleo as he resumed playing with Hisuian Growlithe. "He seems to be having fun with your…weird Growlithe," she observed.

"Yeah!" said Ash. "Hisuian Growlithe's really friendly."

"It appears that way," said Melanie. She sighed. "Look…Ash, your name was?"

"That's me," said Ash.

"I like Litleo," Melanie stated. "He's been so helpful, and he's good friends with the Pokemon that he hasn't set on fire. But…the fact is, he doesn't really have room to grow here. And I can tell he's frustrated. I'm no Pokemon battler - traveling the region and challenging Gyms isn't up my alley. And I think Litleo deserves a Trainer more suited to his growth than me. So…I was wondering if maybe…"

"Hey, what's that?"

Clay's query drew everyone's attention upwards. Ash's mouth fell open. "No way. Is that…a hot air balloon?"

"I still can't believe we're using a hot air balloon," Liza grumbled. "Explaining the car was bad enough - what happens if this gets destroyed? We haven't wasted this much equipment in so short a timespan for years!"

"Relax, Liza," said Drake, working the balloon's bellows with his well-muscled arms. "I know what I'm doing. It's a simple plan - we float down into that village full of Pokemon, grab all we can carry, and float away, with Dragonite and Lunatone fighting off anyone who tries to stop us! And the best part is that the kid and those Gym Leaders aren't around! It'll just be a standard operation, and we'll have an actual haul that we can present to the boss. Something to show for our week or so of non-communication! It's foolproof!"

"Ya know I don't like it when ya say that, right?" Aron asked, huddling at the bottom of the balloon's basket.

"And Aron's afraid of heights!" said Liza.

"It ain't that I'm afraid of heights!" Aron protested. "It's just that…I do better on the ground, that's all…hey, wait, is that who I think it is down there?"

Drake, Liza, and Aron all looked over the side of the descending balloon basket to see a trio of very recognizable Trainers looking up at them and beginning to release all their Pokemon.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Liza groaned. "Even when we're not hunting them, they're showing up? I told you we should've gone somewhere that wasn't nearby for our next job!"

"Come on, Liza, it's not a problem!" said Drake confidently. "Even if they're there, it's not like we need to fight them for long! All we need to do is stall them long enough for us to be able to grab some Pokemon and get out!" He began to reach for a Pokeball. "Dragonite-"

"Hey, what's that Litleo doing?"

Aron's query brought Liza and Drake's attention back to the ground. Sure enough, there was now a Litleo looking directly at the balloon. As the three members of Team Rocket watched, the Litleo began to inhale, fire glowing at the edges of its mouth.

Team Rocket's eyes collectively widened. "Dragonite/Lunatone!" they cried in synchronization, but before they could do so Litleo unleashed a telltale Fire Spin. The fiery tornado flew upwards, slamming into the bottom of Team Rocket's balloon, which promptly began to spin alongside the flames, knocking Liza, Drake, and Aron off-balance.

"We…really gotta…start thinking through…our plans better," Aron noted, stumbling to and fro.

Liza grabbed onto the side of the balloon basket nearest to herself and glared at Drake. "Drake…"

"Yes, Liza," said Drake, grasping onto the side of the basket nearest to him. "We're never using a hot air balloon ever again."

At this point, the Fire Spin exploded outwards, and the balloon was sent flying away, dragging the members of Team Rocket with it until they were nothing more than a twinkle in the sky.

"Are you sure you want Litleo to leave?" Ash asked, afterwards. "He did a really good job of chasing away Team Rocket…"

"Yes, I'm sure," said Melanie. "Like I said, he has no room to grow here. And to be honest…neither have we. With him around, we've all let him handle everything without growing stronger ourselves. Perhaps we'll focus on that once he's gone." She paused. "Also, we're tired of him setting everything on fire. There, I said it."

"All right, then!" said Ash. "Litleo, do you-" He stopped short upon seeing that Litleo and Hisuian Growlithe had already stepped into battle positions nearby. Both looked up at Ash; Hisuian Growlithe let out a bark, and Ash understood immediately. "He wants to battle?"

Litleo nodded, eyes shining.

"All right, then!" said Ash. "Hisuian Growlithe, open with Flamethrower!"

Hisuian Growlithe unleashed a swift Flamethrower; Litleo countered with a Fire Spin, and the two fiery attacks came together with explosive force. "Tackle!" Ash yelled; Hisuian Growlithe lunged forwards, his body glowing. Litleo did the same; it seemed, as they came together, that Litleo's strike was more powerful, but Hisuian Growlithe's natural resistance to Normal-type attacks balanced it out, and the two were once again rendered at a stalemate.

Huh…they fight almost in the same way…Ash frowned. And with similar levels of strength…how is-

Unexpectedly, Hisuian Growlithe's body suddenly blazed with fire and he shoved Litleo backwards. Taken aback, Litleo staggered; Hisuian Growlithe leaped at the stumbling Litleo and landed a vicious Bite. Litleo yowled, toppling over. Seizing the opportunity, Ash tossed a Pokeball at the felled Litleo; the sphere struck true, and after a few wiggles it stilled, then flashed.

Ash grinned. "All right! I caught a Litleo!"

"So…Ember, Headbutt, Work Up, Fire Spin, and…I've never heard of Noble Roar." Scizor cocked his head. "You and Hisuian Growlithe aren't all that different."

"I noticed," Litleo replied. "Then again…I don't know Flame Wheel."

"Neither did I until about five minutes ago," Hisuian Growlithe pointed out. "But Scizor, even beyond that, we are different. Litleo has more buffing and debuffing moves, whereas I go more for straight power. We may have similar movesets now, but I have a feeling we'll be developing in different directions in the near future."

Litleo frowned. "I don't usually use Work Up or Noble Roar. Things just always happen so fast…it doesn't feel like I have time to waste on buffing or debuffing when I could just attack."

"Hey," said Kubfu, "I've gotten pretty good at using Focus Energy in conjunction with my attacks. I can help you out on that front."

"And maybe I can start teaching you how to use Flame Wheel," Hisuian Growlithe suggested.

"And maybe I can stay the hell away since you seem to have a nasty habit of setting things on fire," Scizor griped.

Litleo smirked. "I have a feeling I'm going to have fun on this team."

"Oh, just you wait," said Hisuian Growlithe. "Just you wait…"

Three episodes in one chapter - that's a new record! These episodes weren't all that different from canon - I felt AJ deserved some expanding since Kubfu's strength-based mindset felt interesting to explore in conjunction with AJ's Pokemon, and the Hidden Village obviously got highlighted because new team member, but Pokemon Tech Institute would have literally been the same but with different Pokemon and no Team Rocket, so I just cut that out.

Speaking of new team member - Litleo! Not what I would have picked, given how much his early moveset and fighting style overlaps with Hisuian Growlithe, but I don't choose the Pokemon, and if the randomizer says Ash gets a Litleo, then by Arceus I'm giving him a Litleo! Besides, I definitely plan on Litleo and Hisuian Growlithe eventually going in very different directions move-wise, if you're worried about the two feeling overly similar.

Side note: when I generated Ash's Kanto team, I instantly knew that the chapter after this one was going to be an absolute riot...